The Templars – Clockwork Orange Horror Show / 1995, 2005 TKO / 7 Tracks / http://www.thetemplars.com / http://www.templecomberecords.com / Reviewed 21 May 2005

The Templars have been around for a shit-ton of time, and the oi style played by this NYC band is refined to the point that it is an artform. The slightly tinny sound of this album, even after the remastering treatment it got is not enough to diminishing the enjoyment that one can enjoy from this album. All is here, and even the bass gets its turn on the disc’s first track “Doing The Dirty”. “You’d Better Beware” is more of the same, with the only problem coming in a paper-bag sounding set of drums (again owing to the limitations of the vinyl on which it was originally released). “You’d Better Beware” even uses a very spacy-sounding set of distortion for the guitar that provides a nice derivation from the line touted by the bass on the track. The timeless sound of the Templars is one that does not dwell too long with the Sham 69!/early-eighties sound too long, instead taking up some of the down-and-dirty rock of rockabilly acts and even some arena rock (which in turn was influenced by The Who) guitar riffs (during “War on the Streets”).

“War on the Streets” is pure sing-a-long oi!, with The Templars bashing forth on the track until the strains of their first cover, Major Accident’s “Leaders of Tomorrow” comes on. “Leaders of Tomorrow” seems to not have quite the energy that was invested on The Templars’ own songs; without being familiar with that specific Major Accident track, perhaps this is a limitation of the original track instead of a weakness attributable to the band. “Clockwork Orange Horror Show” continues much of the same from The Templars, but does not have that catchy luster that many oi! anthems (“Hersham Boys”, for example) have.

However, the true ending of this disc comes in the secret track “Modern Day Ripper”, a track which sounds more solidly recorded and much more spastic than any of its on-disc relations. The Templars even through in a sizzling guitar solo onto “Modern Day Ripper” that really finalizes the disc and leads listeners out on a high note. This is music from a decade ago, and it still holds the vitality that it did when it was first released in 1995. TKO has put this album out at precisely the right time, a release which will have the effect of perhaps bringing people away from the single-oriented, filler-heavy album (Wakefield and The F-Ups, I’m looking your way).

Top Track: Modern Day Ripper

Rating: 6.1/10