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Against All Authority

All Fall Down
1998
Hopeless

Against All Authority - All Fall Down (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Hey_ska
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Published on August 31st 2007

Against All Authority used to be one of the best ska/punk bands around, doing a great job of mixing fast ska with even faster punk to form their unique "fuck you" ska sound.

All Fall Down starts out with the title track. The extremely fast-paced intro basically punches you in the face and continues to beat you until the ska breakdown comes in and saves you. This is one of the best opening songs for a record I've ever heard.

The record itself is one of the best to skate to as well. Songs like "Justification," "Toby," "Daddy's Little Girl," "Louder Than Words" and of course, "Sk8 Rock" are all fast punk songs with a little bit of ska peppered in there to keep things fresh -- great for skating down the street while flipping off traffic.

Then it's time to chill out a bit. "12:00 A.M.," "At Our Expense," "What the Fuck'd You Expect" are slower ska songs with mid-tempo punk verses. They're great refreshers to all the mayem that the album has to offer. "Watered Down & Passive" is the same as the songs mentioned before, except it pretty much stays ska the entire time: slow, fast, slow, fast...you get the idea.

The next group of tunes are songs that are just plain AAA. "Stand in Line," "We Don't Need You," "The Mayhem & the Pain," and "Keep Trying" are all plain ska/punk songs that sound like you could put them on Destroy What Destroys You and they would fit right in. These are some of the best AAA songs and they really defined their style.

Finally, the album ends how it began. "When the Rain Begins to Fall" is a straight up breakneck punk song at first, then goes to a smooth ska breakdown. It's in the same style as the opening track "All Fall Down," save for the ska part, which is a bit slower and less energetic.

Along with their first album, All Fall Down ensured AAA's place in the ska/punk world. This was AAA's last official ska record before they took it to more of a punk approach. Although this isn't as good as DWDY, it's the record that got me into AAA and it is still amazing. So if you want to skank your ass off...this is for you.

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Posted by rkl on 2007-09-03 11:22:37
My Score:

Against All Authority used to be one of the best ska/punk bands around
i dont know what the fuck youre talking about... yes, this album is their pinnacle, but the new stuff is still decent. not 10/10 decent like this, but still a solid 7 or 8.

as far as the people bitching about the live show... any venue the books AAA at this point(its been 10 years now) knows what theyre getting. in my newly adopted hometown in south texas, they seem to play here once every month and a half or so, in the same exact venue, so really, im not quite certain what youre talking about here.

how do you destroy a venue for a punk show anyhow? do your promoters rent out a KoC hall and then not bother to move tables/chairs out of the way first out of sheer laziness?

Posted by CANNON on 2007-09-03 00:30:04
My Score:

This is my favorite AAA album. The drums sound SO good. The only thing that sucks is that there are no melodies. The singing follows the EXACT root note of every single chord.

But I love Danny Lore's pumped up scream.

Posted by ChokingVictim on 2007-09-02 19:59:33

their live show is good. when i saw them in march with whole wheat bread, the whole entire venue got fucked up.

the band wasn't doing anything, but i guess they weren't trying to get anyone to stop, so i don't know.

it was great.

Posted by AlmostPunkENough on 2007-09-02 13:46:51
My Score:

such a great fucking album. reminds me of high school, one of the few things that does so in a good way.

Posted by nhoj on 2007-09-02 03:29:59
My Score:

I saw this band last year and they showed no respect at all for the venue they played... I know punk rock is based on rebellion, but when a venue that takes no profit allows you to play and make plenty of cash off of it, you should respect those that allow it to happen. I lost all fucking respect for this band in twenty minutes, or at the very least their piece of shit lead singer.
Nhoj

Posted by mattbeall on 2007-09-01 20:19:38
My Score:

One of my all time favorite bands and a great record. Their live show is absolutely still worth seeing.

Posted by joeg on 2007-09-01 17:53:42

their live show was perfectly fine when i saw them recently.

Posted by dietrich on 2007-09-01 16:53:19

their live show was awesome on the rbf/ltj tour, even if they did only play for a like 20 minutes. they played a lot of songs from destroys what destroys you

Posted by klonny on 2007-09-01 14:38:20

THIS SONG GOES OUT TOO ALL THE KIDS WHO NEVER FOLLOWED THE RULES

I NEVER DID WHAT I WAS TOLD
I'M A FUCKING TIME BOMB READY TO EXPLODE

May have been good then, but their live show now sucks.

Posted by ExtraCheesePizza on 2007-09-01 13:52:39

I remember stealing this from an old girlfriend freshman year of highschool and it not leaving my cd player for about a week. Great album from a great band.

Posted by cuffer on 2007-09-01 12:58:35

A real good album. I always think its funny how their songs go from fast and pissed off punk to a happy ska breakdown. They do that better than everyone. The first time I heard "Louder Than Words" I was completely blindsided by the horns. It was awesome.

Posted by ChokingVictim on 2007-09-01 11:32:04

easily their best. when i heard "all fall down" on one of the hopeless comps, i was blown away by how good it was

and taken aback when the horns came in

Posted by Nick_V on 2007-09-01 09:41:59
My Score:

Terrific album! Reminds me of my senior year...

Posted by MikeStupid on 2007-09-01 08:07:12
My Score:

Definitely their best album. "The Mayhem And The Pain" fuckin' kills.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 2:58 AM (EDT)

Jones, you're an ignorant pig with a small mind and disgusting views. Get an education, you Nazi.

Posted by dlangl4 on 2007-09-01 02:09:14
My Score:

I like Destroy What Destroys You better, but this one is still excellent.

Posted by joeg on 2007-08-31 22:43:32
My Score:

this will always be my favorite AAA record. i haven't listened to AAA in years but i saw them last week for the first time in 8 years and forgot how much i used to like this band.

Posted by JerryCola on 2007-08-31 22:15:46

This is a good album...

Their new album, not so good.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 9:30 PM (EDT)
My Score:

see comment below

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 9:29 PM (EDT)

best aaa release.

Posted by Rastid on 2007-08-31 20:52:28
My Score:

ummm... i like their newest one best? but i like this too? score is for unwarranted "used to be"

Posted by PaC on 2007-08-31 20:25:55

I liked the first record best. My band at the time opened for them one time when they toured for this. They were awesome live.

Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-08-31 20:10:23
My Score:

just got this a couple months ago. great stuff.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 7:18 PM (EDT)
My Score:

best aaa release.