Review: “Almost The End” by Only Attitude Counts

Austrian Hardcore crew Only Attitude Counts have been doing their thing since 1993 and Mike (Vocals), Horace G. (Guitar), Erik (Bass, Vocals), Flo (Drums) and Fips (Guitar) have had one goal in mind. To spread to message of the core values of Hardcore ethics as far and as wide as people’s love of their music can take them. They’ve played in almost every country in Europe and have a rich back catalog of material to plunder.

From the very start of “No Justice – No Peace” it’s clear what Only Attitude Counts are about. They’re a classic Hardcore band in the vein of Biohazard, Sick Of It All and Born From Pain. The opening cut is the surge of a lighting strike through the veins as it rides rides roughshod over the powers that be. The production is clean and crisp and guitar tones are very much of now. “Jumped The Shark” keeps the adrenaline flowing with gang chants and New York Hardcore stylings while “All Ages” punches harder with some fist clenched lyrics and a slick solo. “Almost The End” sees vocalist Mike adopt some of the tones of Biohazard’s Billy Graziadei and the song itself could easily be from the “State Of World Address” era of that band, such is the quality of the material. “Powertrap” has more of the Punk side about it with a beefed up The Offspring style riff from the age before they went comedy dumb. One Life, Once Chance is the message and it’s loud and clear.

“Pick Your Side” takes more of a politically fired up approach, complete with “whoa” moment that simply says you should know the difference between the truth and a lie and you need to make a choice. “The Mirror” is one of the longer cuts at just over 4 minutes and makes good use of the extra running time with longer introduction before the first verse. Mike at his vicious best with the lyrics and managing to crowbar in a whammy bar moment, false ending and some tempo shifts breaks up the relentless pacing nicely. “Beyond the Limit” has some Crossover Thrash leanings and a face melting solo that shows off some skills while “A Grasp At Fate” is a headlong Hardcore rush. Failing to headbang to this one is not an option and it features some of Flo’s finest kit work on the album.

“Above The Ignorance” slows things down for its opening before roaring back into the breakneck speed of the rest of the material on offer here. There are a couple of places where the accent appears in the vocals but they are few and far between and that’s partly down to the overall speed of proceedings. “My Agenda” is a short sharp protest against the naysayers about believing in yourself and following your own path that rattles through like the runaway train that doesn’t stop at the station. Bringing back some Crossover riffs “Transform” barks and bites while calling for change and has an impressive change up for the final riff set and verse.

“The Sickness of Our Times” uses a buried vocal in the chorus that adds a demonic sounding dimension while remonstrating about the current state of society. It’s bass heavy New York Hardcore styling and attitude are unmistakable. It’s up to our generation to unite and achieve our goals. Who said Hardcore wasn’t rooted in political activism? “Whether the Storm” is a high energy biter of a track that again has thought provoking lyrics to occupy your mind well after the moshing is done. It’s slightly off kilter solo isn’t something you would normally associate with a release of this kind but it is marvelous. “Worship The Truth” brings some big cymbal hits to the table as a 110 second bomb blast of old school hardcore punk that could have been on any radio station in the last 40 years and is a candidate for air play on the next Grand Theft Audio in car radio. “Resilience” is a 33 second blast of “get up, stand up, we stay to the end” and the truth is, we need more bands like Only Attitude Counts. They turn heads and change minds [7/10]

Track listing

1. No Justice – No Peace
2. Jumped The Shark
3. All Ages
4. Almost The End
5. Powertrap
6. Pick Your Side
7. The Mirror
8. Beyond the Limit
9. A Grasp At Fate
10. Above The Ignorance
11. My Agenda
12. Transform
13. The Sickness of Our Times
14. Weather the Storm
15. Worship the Truth
16. Resilience

“Almost The End” by Only Attitude Counts is out now!