Reviewed on Oct 8, 2005 by Tom

Aah Italy, the land of ice creams, beautiful women, vespa’s, pizza’s, mama miracoli and other such tempting oddities. But besides all that they have quite a number of amazing bands out there. Vanilla Sky, Beerbong, Shandon, Nitrojuice, Persiana Jones, Forty Winks, Sun Eats Hours, Meanwhile, … the list is endless really. And now you can easily add Eight Mockers to that list as well. What's there to say then about my new favorite band of the moment? Well, they where simply called The Mockers originally at the bands inception around the end of ’98, the band changed their name somewhere in 2002 for mysterious reasons they are not willing to unveil, and slowly started gaining a local fan base before releasing “Worthless Coins”, their first EP in 2000 and venturing on their first European minitour in May of 2001. Enter 2003 with the release of their debut full-length!

I’m going to be very frank here: “Ready To Explode” is just that, a bomb of a record. That being said, it is highly unlikely the band will ever get the promotion they rightly deserve, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to try and make a difference. Fact is, they could fare a lot better than releasing their record on UAZ Records. What self-respecting label doesn’t even have a website with at least the marginal amount of contents? I swear that website has been showing the same “Coming Soon” announcement for years! Well it’s not soon enough by any means! I know the guys in Persiana Jones are probably very busy touring their asses off, but this is just bad marketing for their bands. Anyways enough babbling: on to the music.

This is THE disc of 2003. I know I’m a bit late, but better late than never right. Fact is, “Ready To Explode” is one of those records that doesn’t bore, even after repeated listening spans, and that simply has a whole lot to offer. If you proclaim yourself to be a ska-core fanatic, then this is simply one of those records that belongs in your collection, because it’s the best CD I’ve heard in the genre since a long time, hands down!
These Italian studs combine a frenetic pace with technical abilities and festive, feel-good brass rhythms in a very convincing way that can easily stand the test in comparison to their overseas peers. It’s like running the festive side of the Mad Caddies (Duck And Cover era), Rise Against's special brand of melodic harmonies and fellow countrymen The Shandon's feel for all-out rocking and ska-rhythms through a rough blender, and the mix that results could very well be The Eight Mockers. The only thing I don’t like about the release (and I truly mean the ONLY thing) is that they chose to cover a track by The Dire Straits. I’m sorry but there’s only one bunch of guys who are the sultans of swing, even though The Eight Mockers come mightily close at times. The flow of the album is very fluent, and never do their compositions let down, even on mid-tempo tracks like “Once Again Maggie” and “Carry On” which is very reminiscent of The Shandon, who let go of somewhat of their festive edge on their latest release and cut down on the brass input as a whole, but if they aren’t careful and get their acts together again, The Eight Mockers might very well prove to be usurpers to the throne and steal away the title of “Italian Ska-core Kings”. While tracks like “Carry On” already get things going for me, the majority of tracks are fast and energetic, and all pure gems in the genre at that, while the vocals and their many arrangements are often a bit raw, shouty and edgy to offer a darker shade to the music that fits the music remarkably well. Add to that a crisp production and you know we’ve got a winner in every aspect! I’ itching to see this band in live conditions, and I’m dying to hear the new tunes they’re supposedly working on. Fans of the Mad Caddies in their Duck and Cover era definitely need to check this band out, even though the Eight Mockers are anything but copy-cats and have fully succeeded in creating their own sound! The Eight Mockers just breathe quality, every inch of the way!

“Ready To Explode” is not a gargantuan release that will smash your whole view of how ska-core should be played, but it’s nothing short of a little beauty in it’s own right all the same. It’s compelling, it makes you feel good and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t get the skank going. Don’t hesitate for one second to check this band out if the occasion arises. A true Europunk discovery if there ever was one!

Listen to Falling Down and Too Senseless To Accept

Related Links:

• www.eightmockers.com
• www.uazrecords.com

1. Welcome Home
2. Legalized Crimes
3. Carry On
4. To Preserve...
5. Walk Of Life
6. Conscious Of My Strength
7. Every Day
8. Falling Down
9. Till The End
10. Once Again Maggie
11. Clones
12. Too Senseless To Accept

Band Profile

Band Of The Month November 2004

Album Reviews

Ready To Explode Oct 21, 2003

Interviews

Jan 20, 2005