Hard-core punk, New York style.
Poised for attack, a blazing introduction kicks off From Companionship to Competition and proves to be an enticing sample of the upcoming ferocious, torrid blare set to assault your ears.
Despite being obviously influenced by bands such as The Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat and Black Flag (paid homage to in 'Only Dicks Don't Like Black Flag'), Kill Your Idols opt for a new brand of hard-core punk rather than falling into the easy trap of replicating their influences' sounds and manage to bring their own edge to their music.
'Stuck in a Rut' begins with a fantastic bass sound, before exploding into a raucous, chaotic snarl. This is definitely one of those songs that grabs your attention on the first listen, and its frantic melodies and crazy guitar solo followed by a slow paced head-banging muddy beat shows that the backbone to Kill Your Idols' thrashy punk isn't quantity, but quality (only one song on the CD is longer than two and a half minutes!).
'I Hate My Guts' may be your typical punk song, but it sounds tight without being polished and is reminiscent of Rancid (minus their signature organ!). '20 Bucks' is a short but sweet punk nugget, and the following, amusingly-titled 'Only Dicks Don't Like Black Flag' is severe yet melodic and quite possibly one of the best tracks on the album.
The title track, 'From Companionship to Competition' is another fantastic track, pounding with energy and fury and even comes complete with chant-a-long, "Don't want my, don't want my, don't want my MTV". As well as being a damn good tune, the lyrics are also very poignant ("Not sure who's real and who's living a lie, turning a lifestyle into something you buy"), especially with all the current pop-'punk bands' crawling up the charts, clad in their matching Hot Topic-approved uniforms.
I won't analyse every track on the record as it's fair to say that this album isn't like many others – there don't seem to be any better-than-the-rest tracks, as each song is energetic, well written and full of piss and vinegar! Kill Your Idols are unlikely to ever be huge, but that's probably the way they want it. If you enjoy a bit of powerful old-school punk rock, you're money definitely won't be wasted with this lot. Go and buy this now!