Your Turn Next

Concrete Sox' “Your Turn Next” is an album that proves hardcore punk wasn´t dead — it just put on a pair of steel-toed boots, picked up a chainsaw, and started thrashing like a rabid squirrel. Released in 1986, this record came charging out of the UK like a drunken punk rocker in a mosh pit—loud, aggressive, and with absolutely no regard for your personal space. It’s one of those albums that asks, “What if we took hardcore punk, cranked the volume up to 11, and threw in some thrash metal just for fun?” Well, the result here it comes…...

Let’s talk about the crossover aspect first, because Concrete Sox were mixing genres like a bartender with a vendetta. "Your Turn Next" is what happens when punk and thrash metal get into a bar fight, decide they actually like each other, and end up forming a band. On the one hand, you’ve got the raw, unfiltered aggression of hardcore punk—fast, furious, and straight to the point. On the other, you have thrash metal’s penchant for shredding guitars and drumbeats that could double as artillery or machine gun fire, sometimes bordering on grind- or at least thrashcore like in “Each day a new low”.

From the first screeching introductory notes of "Intelligence quest" you know you’re in for something special. The guitars start to thrash with the precision of a well-oiled chainsaw, hacking through the riffs with a blend of punk attitude and metal musicianship that was in my opinion groundbreaking for its time. And then there are the drums, which sometimes pound away with such ferocity that I’m convinced the drummer, John March, had been mainlining energy drinks before every recording session.

The vocals, provided by lead singer Vic Croll, sound like they were recorded in a wind tunnel while Vic was trying to fend off a particularly aggressive swarm of bees. His delivery is a perfect blend of punk sneer and metal snarl, as if he’s simultaneously telling you to get off his lawn and inviting you to join him in setting it on fire. The lyrics themselves tackle everything from politics to societal decay to the general feeling that the world’s gone to hell in a handbasket—a sentiment that, let’s face it, is as relevant today as it was in the '80s. It’s like a crossover sermon, delivered with the subtlety of a Molotov cocktail. It needs to be added that on track no. 8, “Salt of the earth”, some feeble female voice becomes part of the sonic delivery. If this was the trigger for Cradle of Filth´ affinity of including female vocals on their recordings is not known to me…..

But what really sets "Your Turn Next" apart is its complete disregard for musical boundaries which in 1986 was a still rather new experience for me. It’s an album that says, “Why choose between hardcore punk and thrash metal when you can have both—and then some?” Songs like "Sustain the Orgy" and "Your Turn Next" seamlessly blend the breakneck speed of thrash and aggression of punk with the technical prowess and heaviness of metal, creating a sound that’s as infectious as it is intense. This was one of the earlier examples of crossover thrash—a genre that would go on to spawn countless bands, but few with the same reckless abandon as Concrete Sox. Not to forget that the socks (attention: pun intended) did hail from the UK, at times when the US in comparison was a fertile greenhouse, spitting out bands like D.R.I., S.O.D. and many others.

The production is pretty rough around the edges. If you’re looking for polished soundscapes and mixes, you’ve come to the wrong place. This album sounds like it was recorded in a basement after the band spent all their money on beer instead of studio time. But in my humble opinion that’s part of its charm. The rawness of the production only adds to the ferocity of the music.

In conclusion, "Your Turn Next" is an album that takes some of the best elements of hardcore punk and thrash metal, tosses them into a blender until the walls start shaking. It’s a chaotic, energetic, and in large parts unrefined piece of work that helped to move the crossover thrash movement out of the US forward. If you’re a fan of either genre, or just a sucker for fast and loud music, then this album is a must-listen.

Rating: 80/100—because there’s not many better soundtracks for smashing your expectations (and possibly your furniture).