The Class Assassins "Treason" ep

Side A, “Treason” has this underlying reggae beat to the song that reminds me of VERBAL ASSAULT’s “Tiny Giants” partially for the same reggae back beat, but partially because the sound is beefy. Beefy rock reggae from punks. Makes sense coming from punks who are anti-racists. Reaches back to the roots rebel army origins of the band’s appreciation for bands like the RUTS and SLF. The B Side, “Start Again” is more like what I am used to hearing from the CLASS ASSASSINS. Having just recorded a version of this song for our radio show I appreciate the heavy vocal interplay that comes together as gang chants in this song that live somewhere between SHAM 69 and RANCID. The music is more along the lines of the SKIDS with the not so subtle celtic riffing that made BIG COUNTRY a phenomenon. “Start Again” is my favourite of the two numbers and should have been the A-Side, but both songs are great. And it kind of baffles me how this band doesn’t have more people talking about them especially given that the singer was in an early rendition of CHRONIC SUBMISSION and the bassist was in DIRECT ACTION. Thos are two heavyweights as far as Toronto hardcore is concerned and should take nothing away from the others who played in PROBLEM CHILDREN, HOCKEY TEETH, and BOMB SHELTER. All of these bands were great in their own right. And although bringing together that much talent can be risky as is the case with Brazil’s football team, the egos are in check with the CLASS ASSASSINS. In fact I would say that the egos are no existent. These guys just play stripped down back to basics punk with loads of melody and is an example where bringing together this much talent can blow you away. There are a few examples of this like LIMP WRIST and the SWARM and now streetpunk has a role model. (Rebel Time Records – 2-558 Upper Gage Avenue, Suite 162 / Hamilton, ON / L8V 4J6 / Canada / www.rebeltimerecords.com)