Death Ridge Boys

Death Ridge Boys

Society Overdose / Turn The Tide

Black Water

***Hot off the heels of their full length on TKO, Too Much Bullshit, DEATH RIDGE BOYS give Black Water a nice new single. There isn’t much to say that hasn’t been said before from their several previous releases from these working class oi! loving Portland mainstays. They have never been broken, therefore need no fixing, so these two new jammers are taken in with open arms. For newcomers to this band, these fellas play melodic, anthemic street rock filled to the brim with inspirational political lyrics. In this singles case, gruffly sung tunes about the singer (Will from TALK IS POISON, PRESSING ON, etc) and his journey into punk, discovering the world is a fucked up place in “Society Overdose”. The B-side “Turn The Tide” is a mid tempo rocker about fighting to not let the bastards have their way. Both tracks are modern day anthems for an insane world.

Death Ridge Boys

Too Much Bullshit

Tko

***In recent years, the ever-mercurial tastes of the subcultural throngs have shifted, and Oi!-influenced punk music is now enjoying a renewed interest and cache in the current scene, even among the most dyed in the wool, capital “H” Hardcore circles. As such, a new vanguard of standard bearers have emerged, and Portland’s DEATH RIDGE BOYS are waving the banner high. Formed in 2017 by TALK IS POISON's WILLIAM HARRIS, along with by members of PRESSING ON, FOR THE WORSE, and RAW NERVES, to name a few, Death Ridge Boys play a fiercely political brand of streetwise punk/Oi! that pays homage to the genre’s roots through a decidedly modern cultural lens. On their third full length (and TKO Records debut), Too Much Bullshit, they’ve crafted a 12-track bruiser of an album: brimming with anthemic, melodic, and unabashedly Leftist Oi! that competes with the best current bands. Musically rooted in the timeless sounds of originators like the Business, 4-Skins and Angelic Upstarts, Too Much Bullshit is heavy on the football chant and '60s-style guitar leads that give Oi! music the urgency and immediacy that still resonates over 30 years later. Topped off by Harris’ gruffly melodic vocals and incisive lyrics, these songs buck against cops, modern technology, endless proxy wars, and anything or anyone else with their boot on the throats of the American working class. Lifelong Oi! fans will find everything here that first made them fall in love with the style, and new initiates will immediately get what all the...

Death Ridge Boys

Boots On The Street

Black Water

***Originally recorded and released in the height of the pandemic as a cassette / bandcamp only release. The vinyl version of this comes back fully remixed and remastered making these powerful tunes sound better than ever! Side A finds four original numbers of anthemic Oi! with empowering staunchly anti-fascist lyrics dealing with taking our boots to the streets, a nod to a bygone era of old Portland, and how it’s darkest before the dawn. The B-side holds three covers, very atypical of a band this style, though they nail each of them with a touch of what makes DEATHRIDGE BOYS stick out of the crowd in the first place. They chose Big Boys, 7 Seconds and most surprisingly, a fantastic jaw dropping version “Mannequin” by Wire. Not common for a band who’s obvious go to’s of inspiration are the standards (Blitz, Cock Sparrer, and some French oi! a la Camera Silens), but it shows how versatile this band can be. DRB’s have firmly planted their boots in the Portland punk scene over the years and seem to get better with each release as this one indicates, showing the diversity, maturity, raw catchiness, and heartfelt sing alongs of a band hitting their stride.