Scratch the Surface

Scratch the Surface is the third studio album by American hardcore band Sick of It All, released in 1994.[4] It was the band's first major label recording on East West Records, their first venture away from an indie label.

Scratch the Surface
Studio album by
Sick of It All
ReleasedOctober 18, 1994
Recorded1994 at Normandy Sound, Warren, Rhode Island
GenreHardcore punk
Length35:20
LabelEast West
ProducerSick of It All, Billy Anderson[1]
Sick of It All chronology
Just Look Around
(1992)		 Scratch the Surface
(1994)		 Live in a World Full of Hate
(1995)
Singles from Scratch the Surface
  1. "Scratch the Surface"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Step Down"
    Released: 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[1]

Scratch the Surface became Sick of It All's most successful release and produced two singles: "Scratch the Surface" and "Step Down".

The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Heatseekers – Middle Atlantic chart[5] and 121 on the UK Albums Chart.[6]

Critical reception

Decibel called the album a "hardcore magnum opus" and a "slab of extraordinarily lithe, stylized aggression".[7] Trouser Press wrote: "As a blast of unreconstructed hardcore in a time and a place where such a thing was once impossible to imagine, Scratch the Surface makes Sick of It All's principled point loud if not clear."[8]

Track listing
  1. "No Cure"  – 2:58
  2. "Insurrection"  – 1:50
  3. "Consume"  – 3:42
  4. "Who Sets the Rules"  – 2:45
  5. "Goatless"  – 1:21
  6. "Step Down"  – 3:15
  7. "Maladjusted"  – 2:25
  8. "Scratch the Surface"  – 2:51
  9. "Free Spirit"  – 1:53
  10. "Force My Hand"  – 2:28
  11. "Desperate Fool"  – 1:52
  12. "Return to Reality"  – 2:43
  13. "Farm Team"  – 2:22
  14. "Cease Fire"  – 2:58

Credits
  • Lou Koller - vocals
  • Pete Koller - guitars
  • Craig Setari - bass
  • Arman Majide - drums

Production

  • Billy Anderson - producer, mixing
  • Tom Soares - engineering
  • Fred Bortoloti - Assistant engineering
  • Thomas Bricker - Art direction
  • BJ Papes - photography
  • Howie Weinberg - mastering

Additional musicians

  • Fred Bortoloti - backing vocals
  • Billy Anderson - backing vocals
  • Timothy Shaw - backing vocals
  • Brian BTJ - backing vocals

References
  1. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1013.
  2. Franck, John. "Scratch The Surface – Sick of It All – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 442.
  4. "Sick of It All | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. "Sick of It All". Billboard.
  6. "Chart Log UK: DJ S - The System Of Life". www.zobbel.de. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  7. "Sick of it All – "Scratch the Surface"". Decibel Magazine. August 28, 2012.
  8. "Sick of It All". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 9, 2021.


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