Big Dog is an Oi! band from Buffalo featuring members of Violent Way, with a massive guy named Graham on vocals. The guys from Violent Way deliver heavy and aggressive Oi!, while Graham tops it off with his rough voice. The result is four fierce tracks with a perfect sound and plenty of guitar solos.

From what I found, all members of this project are very active musically. Besides Violent Way, they also run a post-punk / new wave project called Deluxxe (there’s even a picture in the booklet of Graham wearing their shirt – so you know what to check out when you’re not in the mood for hard-hitting Oi!). With Big Dog you can clearly hear the band’s musical skills, which makes the recording sound top-notch.

The first track, Shine Your Boots, is a total anthem. From the very first listen I knew I had to have this EP in my collection. Next comes the slower and heavier Violent Thoughts. Side B kicks off with the fastest track, White Collar, and the EP closes with Downtown With The Boys. Lyrically, the songs revolve around violence, skinhead culture, pride in working-class roots, and belonging to the Oi! subculture. I was surprised this EP didn’t get more attention, because in my opinion it definitely deserves it.

This project is one of my favorites – both musically and lyrically it delivers exactly what I expect from Oi!. The four-track EP format also fits it perfectly.

If you love Oi!, grab this before it’s gone. A killer EP once again released by Mendeku Diskak. The sleeve also includes all the lyrics.