Hard-OnsSo I Could Have Them Destroyed

We think it has to be said, the Hard-Ons are one of the greatest ever Australian bands and one of the most important punk bands this country has ever produced.

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Now that’s out of the way So I Could Have Them Destroyed Is the 12th studio album from the band and the first to feature original singer Keish De Silva in almost 20 years.

The album sounds nice and loud, huge in fact, bigger than the Hard-Ons have sounded on record in recent memory, the power of the band just bleeds out of the speaker. The tracks on display are a great example of the variation the band is capable of with balls to the wall rock riffage meshing seamlessly with incredible melodies on the stand out track Bad, Bad Temper to Match and the single, Oh.. You’re crushed?!

Not that they ever broke form, but the Hard-Ons sound more vital than ever on So I Could have Them Destroyed.

The multi-layered vocals on Midnight are out of this world and sound like the Buzzcocks if they were an 80’s Gothic punk band. Blackie is in fine form throughout with some incredibly tasty licks, the return of Keish allowing him to focus on guitar. There is a noticeable number of power-pop tracks sprinkled throughout the album bringing to mind a more classic Hard-Ons sound, the track Harder And Harder would be a top 10 hit in an alternate musical universe.

Despite the melody there is still some extremely hard stuff on here with the thrash-metal of the laser fast Float and heavy riffling Do The Bunk. Not that they ever broke form, but the Hard-Ons sound more vital than ever on So I Could have Them Destroyed. The record is a perfect starting point for new fans and will please the faithful. Absolutely essential for fans of Australian guitar music and punk rock.