Iron Age - Constant Struggle

[Youngblood Records]

This is a weird one for sure. Musically, this is an almost picture perfect Cro-Mags ripoff. To the point where, if someone told you this was a lost Cro-Mags record, you would probably believe them. Unfortunately, for someone llike me who doesn't like the Cro-Mags, there was no chance of me musically liking this, BUT conceptually, this is the most amazing hardcore release I've seen all year.

Now I know a lot of what I'm about to write may sound insulting, but I wholeheartedly mean all of it in a good way. Iron Age not only wants to sound like an 80's hardcore/crossover band, they want to BE in the 80's. Everything about the total package of this CD is completely 80's. They even have a crappy 80's guitar sound and overall dull production. If you've never seen the LP up close, please expand the picture above and take a look at that cover art! It's SO BAD! You could throw this in a dollar bin and NO ONE WOULD EVEN GLANCE AT IT! I'm assuming this is an old picture from some random book, unless the band went back in time and got a teenage Gary Gygax to draw that shit out for them.

It doesn't stop there though. The rest of the packaging is up to snuff with the cover. There's no fucking way any of this was coincidental. I have never seen a band so dedicated to emulating an old hardcore band/genre. They make every other band's commitment to rehashing tired hardcore seem half-assed remedial.

Seriously, I was programmed to never like this musically, but if you liked the Cro-Mags or likeminded music, please buy this. Fuck, buy 3 of them and give a couple to your friends. You will never find another CD released in 2006 looking and sounding 20 years old as much as 'Constant Struggle'.

Iron Age is secrelty from the 80's where there is no internet, so here is Youngblood Records on Myspace