Through the progression of any genre of music, sounds will change. Bands once heavily influenced will begin to develop, mold and eventually perfect their own style. So has been the case with hardcore for the past few years. Whereas before, almost every band sounded closely in many aspects, hardcore sounds and looks completely different these days. Change is good, but sometimes I just the miss the days of yesteryear, and one of my favorite types of music, youth crew hardcore. Diehard Youth seem to feel the same way and are doing something about.

With their latest release, "...without the kids we would be dead", Diehard Youth display a vast array of influential prescence in their music, primarily from youth crew hardcore. The shout alongs are present in pretty much every song, and are packed in with quick tempo changes, and lead vocalist Andy "Diehard"'s furious voice.

The sound is similar to early Madball/Sick Of It All, but modernized with some standard punk riffs to change the pace. Most noticeably is the lack of any spooky stuff, as seems to be the latest trend in hardcore.

All in all, Diehard Youth get 2 thumbs. I like the direction they are going and look forward to future work. DIY, bitch.