Orange County punk rock act D.I. is back with a brand new album On The Western Front. This is their first release in over 10 years since the band reunited back in 1995. The CD was put out by Suburban Noize, a label more commonly known for rap/rock albums (Kottonmouth Kings, Big B, OPM).
Lead singer Casey Royer was the original drummer for Social Distortion, but left to work on The Adolescents before forming D.I. The band has been a cluster of friends throughout the years with members coming and going. When members left for various reasons, there was always a friend to help out. Casey has been the only original member and is the heart of the band.
Any true punk rocker has seen the movie Suburbia, the 80’s classic punk rock film that had a live performance of D.I. playing “Richard Hung Himself.” Seeing that movie when I was a kid got me interested in punk rock music, and I immediately had to check out D.I. If you have no idea what I am talking about, and like the classic punk rock sound, then you need to go out and find this movie.
Starting off the CD is the title track “On The Western Front.” Upon hearing this CD, one might mistake the age of this band and find it hard to believe that they have been around for so long. This is a high energy punk rock song, with Casey Royer singing about his hate towards the California legal system. Once I heard this track, I knew I was in for a good album.
“OC’s Burning,” follows the opening track. Here, Casey Royer has no problem speaking his mind on what the O.C. (Orange County) has turned into, and declares “We must fight back, we’re taking Orange County back.”
I thought “Punk Rock Suicide” was another great track. The song is an ode to the musicians who we have lost over the years due to personal battles and natural causes. The song itself reminded me a lot of Fear and had a great little guitar solo to end the track. This song unquestionably resurrects the 80’s punk rock sound at its finest.
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