The Hostile Ones are a band from Helsinki, and this is their latest release, put out on a ten-inch vinyl. I first came across mentions of their activity in 2022, so unless the band had been secretly creating something underground before that, this is a fairly new project. They sing in English and play skinhead hardcore, or Oi!core—call it whatever you like.
From the very first listen, the influence of Agnostic Front is clear, specifically their late-90s albums Something’s Gotta Give (1998) and Riot, Riot, Upstart (1999). Since that happens to be my favorite AF era, this record immediately resonates with me. Hostile Ones even reference this influence visually—the Agnostic Front logo appears right on the cover. The band also openly declares their SHARP affiliation, which comes through thematically in songs like Not Like You.
The mini-album offers eight tracks on the likeable 10″ format, which isn’t all that common. It was released on the Prague-based label Knockout Records, which, besides releasing music, also organizes Oi!, punk, and hardcore shows in Prague. Musically, it’s a mix of Oi! and hardcore in the spirit of the early 2000s, when this subgenre was probably at its peak in popularity. Apart from Agnostic Front, the vibe also reminds me of bands like Discipline or Hardsell, who at the time were blending Oi! with a harder sound (by the way, Hardsell recently announced their breakup, which really bummed me out). Hostile Ones fit right into that lineage with their material.
Side B contains three older tracks—Matchday Madness (a football anthem), Hostile Gear, and The Cost—all firmly rooted in the skinhead hardcore tradition. Side A then features five new songs: Only Talk, Violent Mob Mentality, Are We Clear, Skinhead Mentality, and Not Like You.
The Hostile Ones clearly know what they’re about and what they love to play. And they manage to deliver it exactly the way skinhead hardcore should sound—with the right dose of aggression, directness, and pride in skinhead culture. The record comes with a poster, but no lyrics. Those you can find on Bandcamp—probably when you’re looking up a Hostile Ones gig in your city. And probably we’ll meet each other there.
TOP TRACKS: Only Talk, Not Like You
