all things old school: SUDDEN IMPACT & 80's Canadian Skatepunk

Saturday, October 19, 2019

SUDDEN IMPACT & 80's Canadian Skatepunk


It's hard to believe SUDDEN IMPACT is getting some (deserved) praise these days. From re-releases to reunion shows, not only them but the 80's Canadian rich underground scene in general are benefiting (at a certain extent) from current social networks, exposing them to newer audiences!

Through their not-so-extensive carrer, SUDDEN IMPACT's musical style went from this rad skatepunk in the early 80's to a ripping crossover sound as the decade unfolded, two of my favorite styles. All very catchy to the ears and easy to get pumped by!

They hail from Newmarket (near Toronto) and just the other day they performed live at this year's 77' MONTREAL FEST alongside Pennywise and many others. Both their LP's (No Rest From The Wicked and Split Personality) got reissued on CD with extras a few years back by Marquee Records from Brazil and it seems their demo Freaked Out will be pressed on 12'' for the first time by Supreme Echo!


Last year (aka 2018) they were also featured in this amazing book about the roots of Toronto Hardcore scene called TOMORROW IS TOO LATE with many other local bands. A limited 7" compilation was issued to go along with the book, listen to it here.

That right there is already another good source to dig for more great off-the-radar bands, but today we're going to focus and what I consider are one of the very best early Canadian's skatepunk groups and their respective albums from that era:

Starting off with MICRO EDGE, featuring one or two Sudden Impact members. They've put out a handful of demo songs dating back to 1983, Ugly Pop Records came along and released these songs on 12" format this very year, just gnarly! Those sold-out fast.


HYPE, another great act from that era, put out 2 albums in the mid 80's, the second one "Burned" being their best stuff. Also, just recently, both records got remastered and reissued on CD. Even though it can be, at a certain degree, debatable of what or where Skate-punk really stand as a music sub-genre I feel this band and SC.U.M. (sonically) falls right into what was being made in SoCal and Nardcore scenes at that same time, like B'LAST, J.F.A. and AGRESSION to name a few, all dubbed as skatepunk bands.

S.C.U.M. released one hell of a LP back in '85 "Born Too Soon..."! The cover art can be very unappealing but the skatepunk music is dead on! Their acronym means Society Controlled Under Murderers and represented an stance against the Montreal Police Force, as it's better explained here. This album got a needed reissue on CD with bonus tracks in 2006, including a version of the song Exit Death with their previous singer, previously featured in the comp It Came From The Pit from 1985!


DOWNLOAD I includes:
Sudden Impact - No Rest From The Wicked + Freaked Out Demo (Fringe Product/Diabolic Force, 1986)
Sudden Impact - Split Personality (Fringe Product/Diabolic Force, 1988)



DOWNLOAD II includes:
SC.U.M. - Born Too Soon... (Psyche Industry Records, 1985)
MICRO EDGE - '83 Demo
HYPE - Burned (Fringe Product/We Bite, 1987) 

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