Skate Hard, Mostly in Australia.

Check out this 1989 CBS Records compilation titled “Skate Hard.” Nothing says “Skate Hard” in the 80’s like a skeleton shredding the wasteland, or a garbage can for that matter. The board may say early 80’s but the Rectors and fingerless gloves say… well, early to late 80’s as well. It’s got a curious lineup of bands, many that I know and sometimes love, and a few that I’ve never heard of. The vast majority of the acts hail from Australia. There are many that are comparatively well known like the Hard-Ons, Cosmic Psychos, Celibate Rifles, and Screaming Tribesmen. Then there are those that are more (globally) obscure, like Ratcat, Ya Ya Choral, Hitmen, Massappeal, Proton Energy Pills, Voodoo Lust, Hellmen, Psychotic Turnbuckles, Splatterheads, and the Kryptonics. Did the Kryptonics get their name from the wheels? I have not been able to discern this. This compilation seems like a great time capsule of a musical scene in Australia, except for the bands that aren’t only out-of-place geographically, but musically as well. Why include Ozzy Osbourne, Living Colour, The Godfathers, and 24-7 Spyz? Probably because the brass thought those names might expose fans to the Australian scene. Here’s a worthless tidbit of info: I was an early adopter of CD’s and 247-Spyz’ Harder Than You was the very first CD I ever bought. I enjoyed their high energy cover of Kool & The Gang’s Jungle Boogie but the rest of the album did not click with me. You see kids, at one time you had to buy the whole album to listen to tracks that weren’t played on the radio or MTV. Music on MTV you say? Yes, that used to be a thing as well.

– Thanks to Jason Harrison AKA Bobcat for the pics.

Can you still buy any of these now defunct bands? Rest assured, in 2018 Buttercup Records released a compilation of Hellmen tracks called the Fantastic Sound of Guitars, Unlimited. The cover art is appropriately included here.