There are many types of punk rock music nowadays from oi to hardcore to melodic and even to pop. The mainstream airwaves are flooded with bands like Green Day, Good Charlotte, and Sum41 that only show one small portion of the genre. Huge festivals featuring punk rock music like the warped tour travel the country every year proving that punk music’s popularity is unbridled and a force to be reckoned with. The problem is most people only know what’s played on the radio and MTV. Not that those bands are bad, it’s just a disservice to some amazing bands that play other types of punk every night. Erie’s own Throwbacks are a perfect example.

Their recent release "A Clown Called Malice" is an awesome punk rock n’ roll record. Representing the blue collar hard working hard partying side of punk, "A Clown Called Malice" bursts with a vengeance. The ‘life sucks but were gonna have fun anyway’ motto radiates from every track. Crazy Joe’s crunching, gruff vocals scream incessantly through track after track. Morbid Rob’s powerful pounding bass fluctuates through many different heavy styles all complementing the hard driving guitars of Jason and Steve and Jay’s lightning fast drums. These five guys can play anything at anytime but what separates them from the rest is that they're good at it. With influences from the Ramones to Motorhead with many stops in between, they deliver one powerfully original sound.

The 12 track CD starts off with the Motorhead like sound of "Sick" which is more metal than punk but still punk enough. It charges along like an out of control semi with heavy bass and screaming guitar solos. Joe’s vocal stylings shine through to set things off for the whole record. Next up is "Skinheads in Space." This is a great example of playing fun rock n’ roll. Most bands seem to have forgotten this idea. Not many bands could or would write a song about a punk rock space flight, but the Throwbacks love to. The CD continues with songs about steel workers, losing women, drugs, patriotism, and getting by. Things the average American goes through everyday and can relate to. The song "Red, White, and Blue" is a shout along track about America taking a stand against anyone that threatens us, which fits well after September 11th. The song "Johnstown" shows how proud workers get screwed over by the corporations they work for. The song "Crank Lab", the fastest and heaviest track on the CD, shows the reality of drug dealers and society. Some might say it glorifies drugs but it doesn’t, it just gives us the truth. It’s important to see the truth even if it’s not pretty. The song "Throwbacks" screams out an anthem of having fun and staying young. It sticks to their theme of getting by and having a good time. All of these songs are delivered with intense energy and pump the listener full of adrenaline. The choruses are great to scream along with. Even though it’s just verse, chorus, verse, chorus it’s always explosive and never boring. The Throwbacks give us punk with a toughness that’s not often captured and never heard by the masses.

Other songs such as "Enemy" and "Everyday" tell us about the struggles that everyone goes through and how to appreciate yourself no matter what anyone else thinks. Sometimes you just have to tell it like is. Every song is not rough and tough though. The song "Aislin" talks about losing a child and how much these tough burly guys can still love. It’s a really warm song. This album shows many sides of its members and shows off how talented each one is and how they can still play as a tight unit. A band like this could go places but you realize as you listen to this that the music is how the members get through life. They don’t have to go further, they just want to share their music with anyone that wants to hear it and that’s it. The CD ends in a perfect way with the song "Wild Life." It captures the whole recording and their mantra of ‘street rock n’ roll with an evil grin.’ Here’s to the wild life, oi oi. - review by Alex Harrilla

For more info visit the Throwbacks page here on PlayErie.com.

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