Review by Felix on December 9, 2020.

I never had the aim that my record collection covers the whole spectrum of extreme metal and the neighbouring regions, not at least because of my limited financial opportunities. But my metal brother unerringly bought some early hardcore pearls. Agnostic Front, Crumbsuckers, Gang Green, to name but a few. Given this situation, one day I decided to fight back and School of Violence, naturally an anti-Reagan-band, was the name of my first weapon.

The lyrics were socio-critical as hell. Lines like “The creatures around me, hostile and cold, I see no progress in this primitive world” or “The man at the top turning human feelings into corporate loss” led me clearly before my eyes that I (hobbies: metal, football, fast food and nice girls, the latter unfortunately only from a distance) was just one of those assholes who were 'Following Blind'. But simultaneously the songs illustrated that School of Violence were nothing else but a part of this “primitive world”, because their songs lacked inspiration and individuality. Thus, it was easy for them to grumble about “the man at the top”, because they probably knew that they would always remain the men at the other end of the scale. The ten songs trot along the road like a dog suffering from progeria and without developing an adequate quantum of energy. They don’t lack velocity, but the relatively inoffensive sound prevents a proper impact. The music itself is less punk-affine like the songs on 'Another Wasted Night' and comparable albums, but it also has not much in common with Bay Area thrash. Fulfilling the wishes of technically interested metal fans or celebrating razor-sharp riffs is not on the agenda here. That’s more or less okay, but we have to face another problem as well.

The guitars, the choruses, the vocals – each and every component lacks expressiveness. The album does not annoy with bad tunes, but it is somehow annoying in view of its complete bloodlessness. It takes until the verses of 'Stranger' before I develop something like a closer interest in the album – too bad that this song is on the ninth position. Generally speaking, School of Violence want to create a cold and impersonal atmosphere in order to underline their lyrics which point out all the abuses of the world. But regardless of its lyrical message, a band has always to keep in mind that the music stands in first place. Otherwise the artists should have written a book. School of Violence fail when it comes to the creation of intoxicating guitar lines, brilliant riffs and sections with recognition factor. Everything appears cheap, the album starts no fire and triggers no thunderstorm. The music is just there and it evaporates as soon as the opulent output with a playtime of 31 minutes has come to the end. (31 minutes, isn’t this very hardcore?)

We the People…? was neither fish nor fowl. Dudes with a weakness for sounds that combine punk attitude with relatively fast metal (I don’t want to speak of speed or thrash metal, because the album emanates completely different vibes) will probably give a higher rating. But guys like me who think that Gang Green’s best songs are “Just One Bullet” or “Why Should You” instead of “L.D.S.B.” will not lapse into ecstasy. The only thing that touches me here is the way the drummer (R.I.P.) died.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Review by Carl on August 25, 2020.

For me personally, the biggest selling point of this album was the fact that this band featured C.O.C. vocalist Karl Agell, but I've got to admit that their punky sounding band name also played its part in me picking this up. I've always had one leg in punk and the other in metal since I was 12. If punk metal is your bag then School of Violence will not disappoint you.

The band has constructed their sound out of the noises brought forth by such ruffians as Discharge, Venom, Broken Bones and Motörhead. This sturdy base is fleshed out by the metallic riffing, clearly inspired by the more ballsy speed metal bands like Exciter, Whiplash and early Carnivore, and in album closer 'Marionettes' I even hear the influence of Dead Kennedys seeping through, something I can certainly appreciate. The band doesn't focus on extreme speed like their colleagues Cryptic Slaughter or early D.R.I. did, but have a more thudding, primal approach to their music. The influences of both hardcore punk and speed metal are well balanced out and the album sounds as a whole. In a genre like this you have your fair share of bands that sound like they don't know what style to pick, but S.O.V. steer well clear of this, sounding coherent while they're doing it. The music is highlighted by the gruff and heavy production, sounding powerful with the right gritty sound to it, making the band sound exactly the way this sort of music is supposed to sound. The only thing I'd would like to say is that the guitars could have been a little louder in the mix because at times they get overpowered by the drums. Another thing I'd like to point out is that Agell's vocals can get somewhat tiresome towards the end of the album. The man has a somewhat limited range and employs a gruff delivery, reminding me of Sheer Terror's Paul Bearer, and it's hard to keep this interesting throughout. These points aside, what we have here is a pretty pounding punk metal platter that I often play when I need a shot of no-nonsense music.

This is an album that can easily hold its ground in the current wave of black/thrash/speed metal that is so popular these days and I can recommend this album to all who are into stuff like Toxic Holocaust, Inepsy, Whipstriker and others like that. It's perhaps not the greatest album ever, but it sure as hell delivers the goods in style.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10