ALBUM REVIEW: Oi! Ain’t Dead – Chaos In Nederland (Rebellion Records)
Five years after the last volume, this is the eighth instalment in the long-running Oi! Ain’t Dead series from Rebellion Records.
As the name suggests, it concentrates on home-grown talent from the Netherlands, and includes 19 tracks by 16 different bands, all but two of who were new to me.
Every one of the tracks are new and exclusive to the compilation at the time of release, and it kicks off with On The Rampage, whose track Breaking Free reminds me a lot of melodic Canadian oi! band Bishops Green.
Like most of the bands featured, they sing in English, which seems to be the universal language of the oi! scene.
I was familiar with the old-school sound of Bent Out Of Shape, who’ve been on my radar since they released their seven-song demo (reviewed here) back in 2020.
The only others I’d heard before are One Voice, who shared a split 7in single with Gimp Fist back in 2020.
There are other familiar names though, not least Ronny Hamersma, best known for being in London Oi! outfit Crown Court (who aren’t featured here).
He’s in no fewer than four bands, as frontman of Day Drinker, guitarist for Malad, drummer for The Reapers, and handling guitar and drums for Armistice! Oh, and he recorded vocals for the One Voice track too…
Everyone will have their own favourites; apart from the always listenable Bent Out Of Shape, mine were Bullbar, whose two anthemic tracks, Safe For Tourists and Liquor Store, slipped down a treat, and Stealers, whose Mean Man is a lively affair.
City Riot sing about the skinhead tradition in A Way Of Life and Oi! At the Pub, while Complaint adapt the Millwall football anthem for their contribution, No One Likes Us.
Elsewhere, there are contributions from Diamond Dogs, The Young Ones, Live By The Sword, Subrockers and Shortcuts – all bands worth checking out in their own right.
The Dutch oi! scene certainly appears to be in a healthy state if the bands on Chaos in Nederland is anything to go by. 8/10.
