We don't care about your labels and your fucking trends / We only care about the music and hanging out with our friends / So stand to the side and don't get in our way / Kids like you drop out of hardcore every single day.
This quote from "Pep Talk" sums up what Know the Score is about. Playing hardcore for the sake of having fun and playing music. That's all there is to it, plain and simple.
All Guts, Still No Glory is a re-release of their debut offering packed with four brand new songs and a cover. "Hands of Stone" is the first of the new tunes and it is business as usual for Know the Score. Know the Score brings fast thrashing guitar riffs, punk-ish drumming, and variably coarse shouted vocals. This song kills it, especially the breakdown for the final thirty seconds.
"Bullshit Artist" is a thirty-second blast of thrash-influenced hardcore, reminiscent of early D.R.I. "Did Not Commit"starts off similarly and boasts a short, wicked Clevo-hardcore schooled solo in the middle followed by another killer chug-fest breakdown. "Concrete Coffin" is a sub-minute blast of abrasive hardcore with a huge sing-along in the middle of the track.
The final new recording is a cover of One Life Crew's "Necessary Vengeance." The band sticks true to the original; for the most part it's a straightforward cover that pays homage to one of the band's influences. It's funny that this is the first time a Know the Score song has reached over the two-minute mark.
The remainder of the tracks here are culled from the original recording of All Guts, No Glory. These songs have been re-mastered, so they pack an extra wallop. Fan-favorites from the band including "Safety in Numbers," "Ex-Members of I Don't Give a Fuck," "Phased Out." And "Red Sox Nation My Ass" are featured here. I loved them when I first heard them, and I still love them now. Short, fast, aggressive, punishing hardcore with lyrics are straight to the point, you can't top that!
A lot of times reissues like these are a waste of money; normally it's just labels cashing in on current fame. But with this release being out of print from a defunct label and the addition of the new cuts, it's worth grabbing, even if you have a copy of the original. Know the Score continues to impress and demonstrates why they are one of the best current hardcore bands.
