Major ConflictWhat a punch from the past this gem is. Major Conflict is a raw, gritty hardcore band from New York, circa the early 1980's. They featured former members of Urban Waste, including singer Billy Phillips and then later Johnny Waste and John Dancy after Urban Waste faced their ultimate demise. But the same problems that plagued Urban Waste caught up to Major Conflict, after missed recording sessions, missed shows, and fights on stage, Major Conflict took on a nice face as well as a new sound. Extremely unique for the time they were playing in. The new group consisted of Dito, Mike O' Shea and Johnny Feedback of KRAUT. Shame the six songs they recorded were never released to the public until now because if they were people would still be talking about Major Conflict. The raw NYHC sound fused with the melodic punk of the Stiff Little Fingers. But after all that's what made them so good, they were uncompromising and just didn't give a fuck. Regardless, if you enjoy GREAT old school hardcore you will love this album. Songs like, "Not a Fucking Song," "NYC" and "Outgroup" are fresher than most, if not all, of the new old school hardcore bands of today. Seriously, "Not a Fucking Song" is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Starting off with what sounds like the theme to Scarface but played by the band into straight hardcore fury. It had great leads, great changes, and overall just a great feel to the song. Buy this and get taken back 22 years. Mad props to the people at Mad At The World Records for putting this thing out because I probably would've never heard it if they didn't. The re-mastering of this thing sounds amazing, either that or the original tracks just sounded amazing. It just has the rugged recording quality that just adds to the rawness of their sound. The layout is a huge plus as well, with easy to read lyrics (as if you needed them), band photos and some fliers, as well as letters from people involved with hardcore in the 80's giving homage to Major Conflict. Also, there's a video for "NYC" on the enhanced part of the CD, which is really fucking cool. Pay respect to the old school and get this thing now.
Rating: 4/5
Songs worthy of replay: NYC, Outgroup, Not a Fucking Song