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NAfter one of the most famous siblings of hardcore punk, she wrote her autobiography last year The Blood And The Sweat: The Story of Sick Of It All’s Koller Brothers submitted, the book will also be published in German on February 26, 2021.
The autobiography is about the career of Lou and Pete Kollerwho have been traveling the world with Sick Of It All for almost 35 years now. blood & Sweat – Sick Of It All – The story of the Koller brothers is told by the two themselves on 272 pages, which is almost equivalent to a conversation that was written down, which gives the book a lot of dynamism. The well-flowing comments from family, friends and companions, which give a deeper insight and fill the sections of life with other beautiful anecdotes, also ensure dynamism.
Marginal stories include Marc Nickel, who brought Sick Of It All to Europe for the first time, or friends such as Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer), Kurt Brecht (DRI), Barney Greenway (Napalm Death, Benediction), Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura, Cavalera) Conspiracy) that Lou and Peter shared the stage with over the years.
Of course, the two other long-term Sick Of It All members Craig Setari and Armand Majidi also have their say, and their stories make for a laugh or two.
After a foreword by musician Chris Carrabba, directs Howie Abrams (Finding Joseph I: An Oral History Of H.R. From Bad Brains), the book, which also contributed to the autobiography.
The book then starts with the childhood of the two, in which music has always played a central role. Through brothers and friends, Lou and Pete get in touch with punk early on and quickly get to know the burgeoning hardcore scene in New York. From Queens she was drawn to the city again and again in her early teens, especially the CBGB, before the decision was made to start a band herself.
The two narrators then go into the whole history of the band, discussing the early years in more detail than the later ones. The first live shows, the first album, the first overseas tour, arguments at shows, internal problems – the biography is very entertaining and never boring. There are always small jumps in time that loosen up before you return to the chronological point.
Conclusion
A strong autobiography that can not only be recommended to Sick Of It All fans. I can only warmly recommend the book to many young bands, because it makes it clear that success, no matter how it is defined, is “blood and sweat” and only seldom flies towards you. A band you’ve been active with for decades is hard work – but in the end Lou and Pete convey that the most important thing is to always be there with all your heart.
The strong translation into German by Andreas Diesel should not go unmentioned.
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