The Casualties

En la Linea del Frente is a track-for-track repeat of the Casualties' 2004 album On the Front Line, only with all lyrics sung in Spanish rather than English. This is a band that dresses in full-on Oi! regalia (neon-colored mohawks and liberty spikes, studded leather, bad teeth, middle finger always directed at the camera, etc.) but delivers songs that owe more to East Coast hardcore circa 1982 than to British yob punk circa 1980. This is, of course, just another way of saying that every song sounds exactly the same, and that each one is a headlong whiny roar. The result ought to be dead boring, but somehow it isn't; maybe that's because each song is about two and a half minutes long, or maybe it's just that the Casualties' energy is so infectious and strangely joyful that it carries you along without letting you stop and think about whether the music itself is very interesting. But if you do find yourself getting cerebral in mid-mosh, then consider this question: when the lyrics are completely indecipherable anyway, how does it matter what language they're written in? OK, never mind. It was a dumb question. Next track. (The CD includes a CD-ROM track with live footage and other bonus goodies.) ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide