LA veterans Junkyard follow up their excellent 2017 comeback album ‘High Water’ with the release of a ‘new’ album entitled ‘Old Habits Die Hard’. Now, this album contains long lost songs recorded back in ’92 and features original members David Roach, guitarists Brian Baker and Chris Gates, bassist Todd Muscat and drummer Pat Muzingo.
These songs have actually been previously available and Junkyard diehards will probably already own the albums ‘Joker’ and ‘XXX’ that the band self-released and were selling over 10 years ago.
This collection of songs were slated to be released as the follow up to 1991’s ‘Sixes, Sevens and Nines’, but of course Grunge happened, the music scene changed, the band were dropped by Geffen and the proposed album shelved. It’s a familiar story that rings true with so many bands from that era.
Presented here in all their glory are the handpicked gems from those sessions, released for the first time on vinyl.

While ‘Sixes. Sevens and Nines’ followed a more laid back, country rock direction, with the likes of the MTV friendly ‘All The Time In The World’ and ‘Misery Loves Company’, the band found themselves trying to deliver hits for their record label, but still remaining true to their punk rock roots and write the songs they wanted to play. Those sessions provided an album that harks back to their first album and ultimately the sound the band continues with to this day.
‘Old Habits Die Hard’ is pretty much as you would expect, it doesn’t stray from what Junkyard were doing at the time. Hard, bluesy rock with a southern twist and a sleazy delivery.
That trademark bluesy swagger is evident from the off. The likes of opener ‘Pushed You Too Far’ and ‘Fall To Pieces’ are prime Junkyard. It’s all spit and sawdust, engine oil and cheap whiskey, as Gates and Baker trade dirty riffs and southern licks while vocalist David Roach spits lyrics like a punk rock Vince Neil in his prime.
At times the band comes close to repeating themselves. The bloozy ‘Blue Sin’ is pretty much a rewrite of ‘Long Way Home’ from the debut album and ‘Take Me Home’ is very similar to ‘Blooze’ the opener of that very same album. But I’m nit-picking, as they certainly didn’t struggle to deliver the singles the record company demanded. ‘Tried & True’ could’ve been the strong single contender. Heartfelt, full of sentiment, but with that bluesy Junkyard swagger still intact. Baker and Gates’ howling leads and fat riffs don’t disappoint. Again, ‘Holdin’ On’ is more evidence of that. A great melodic verse that leads to a catchy chorus, with nice gang backing vocals thrown in for good measure. It’s a song that would’ve been pure MTV fodder back in the day and it still holds up all these years later.
With its instantly hook-ridden chorus and metal riffage ‘I Come Crawling’ is the band taking the bull by the horns and delivering the goods. Elsewhere, the acoustic and countrified ‘Hanging Around’ is Junkyard doing their laid back balladry thang, which they always did with style and substance.

It’s interesting to note that Junkyard never actually split up and have been touring sporadically for their entire career. And while I feel ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ is not as strong an album as ‘High Water’, it’s a snapshot of where the band were heading during the Grunge years and proves they still had the songs when the record company ditched them for plaid and goatees.
This collection of songs do not sound dated or out of time because Junkyard were never part of that whole scene anyway. They continue to do what they have always done, play low down and dirty rock ‘n’ roll with attitude, because they are doing it to please nobody but themselves. As they say, old habits really do die hard.

Author: Ben Hughes

Acetate Records: Here

Buy Old Habits Here

 

Acetate Records unleashes Junkyard’s previously unreleased 1992 album “Old Habits Die Hard” on November 22!
“Junkyard is not a band from the 80s. Junkyard is not a band from the 90s. Junkyard is pure kick-ass bar-hopping motorcycle-ridin’ rock n roll that seems as relevant today as when they first started.” – Riki Rachtman

Junkyard opens the vault and blows the dust off a killer collection of recordings slated as the follow up to 1991’s “Sixes, Sevens and Nines.” Guitarist Brian Baker’s (Bad Religion, Minor Threat) opening riff serves up the concoction of raucous, bittersweet, bloozy rock that follows. Loose and tight in good measure, with stomping beats and dual guitars zigzagging around David Roach’s raspy howl… make no bones about it – this band could play.
The strut and swagger of “Pushed You Too Far” and the soulful “Tried & True” are balanced by the slow, dirge of “Blue Sin” and the melancholic duet “Hangin’ Around With My Dreams.” “Old Habits” recalls everything from Sticky Fingers-era Stones and ZZ Top to the Ramones and Lynyrd Skynyrd (who they toured with in ’91). More than anything else, though, it sounds like Junkyard.
Back in 1992, Junkyard was a well-oiled machine, their previous two releases performed well, they had multiple videos in rotation on MTV, and successful club and arena tours under their belt. Looking to infuse more of their musical sensibilities into their third effort, they began writing and recording and in a short few months, they had compiled over 20 songs. The new material reflected more of their alt/punk roots, which wasn’t much of a directional change considering their strong punk pedigree.
But the major label’s rush to jump on the next “popular music trend” quickly led to Junkyards demise. “At this point, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album had been out a few months and we all kinda knew which way the wind was blowing,” singer David Roach recalls, “we didn’t really ‘officially’ break up as a band, it was as simple as the party’s over.” So, with zero fanfare, the band members signed their release paperwork from Geffen (a whopping 2 page fax), gathered their gear and parted ways… the tapes were left to gather dust in the vaults.
Twenty years later, Geffen re-released the first two Junkyard albums and once again, the band was in demand. Tours of Japan and Europe followed, including a headlining slot at Serie Z Festival in Spain, and the band started writing again. In early 2017, Junkyard released “High Water”, their first full-length album in 26 years on LA indie, Acetate Records. The album peaked at 24 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Charts and Junkyard once again played to packed houses across America and Europe. With the band back in form, it seemed like the right time to dust of the tapes.
“Old Habits Die Hard” pretty well summarizes where the band was at the time,” Roach continues, “The addition of Tim Mosher (yes, way back then) brought another element to what Chris Gates and I had been doing. So it was the hard rock, blues, southern thing plus some more melodic and punk which was also a natural course considering where we came from.”
“During the months we recorded these songs we were in various stages of dealing with Geffen. Trying to write a single, but also trying to not care and write for ourselves. The songs indicate the direction we were ultimately not able to take until all these years later.”
“Old Habit’s Die Hard” will be released via streaming, CD and ‘Beer’ colored vinyl on November 22, 2019. A limited number of signed LPs will also be available via acetate.com.

A limited number of signed LPs will also be available!

Track Listing:
1. Introduction
2. Pushed You Too Far
3. Out Cold
4. Tried & True
5. Fall To Pieces
6. Blue Sin
7. Holdin’ On
8. Staredown
9. I Come Crawling
10. Hangin’ Around
11. Take Me Home
12. One Foot In The Grave