Psychobilly and punk rock icons The Living End briefly infected in the best way US and A’s rock radio stations with their blistering single “Prisoner of Society” from their flawless self-titled debut studio album in the late-’90s, but as the years rolled on, their fanbase dwindled here, whilst growing rapidly in their native Australia. Such a seismic shift would drastically modify a band’s gumption and create an internal state of emergency, but TLE took it in stride and made seven more solid albums. We ranked all eight of ‘em below, and no, “Hellbound” and “It’s for Your Own Good” do NOT count here, as we are sticklers for accuracy, and both of those gems are EPs. We may not need no one to tell us what to do, but our heads and hearts just can’t mislead the globe with such an unforgivable gaffe.
8. “Shift” (2016)
The Living End’s seventh full-length studio effort, was the one with the longest/widest gap between album to album, and said stat didn’t do the band any favors in any way, as it likely was one of many catalysts in making the album lose this competitive medal ranking race via the non-honorable stinker #8 position. Still, ANY record from The Living End is a gift from the lord above, so we’re not that made about this one, and we’re glad that the band kept on running to a German sounding and tasting follow-up LP. If you had the chance to see the band on this album’s run through the United States, you are not only a rare breed, as TLE NEVER comes here, but you’re lucky as well… Few bands match The Living End’s musically dense power trio sweat-soaked live set!
Play it again: “Keep On Running”
Skip it: ⅓ of it
7. “Wunderbar” (2018)
Perhaps the fact that The Living End’s eighth and final full-length studio LP as of press time, was their lone album to be recorded in Europe, was the reason for its eponymous album title. It’s like that time we went to England and kept saying “the lift” every time we talked about an elevator. And we talk about elevators a lot, but regardless, this album was more of a sonic return to form after “Shift,” so we’ll take our Königsberger klopse with a generous helping of Labskaus and drop the needle on the vinyl one more time. Anyway, the band signed with notable metalcore and post-hardcore label Rise Records, and said partnership may not make sense on paper, but it sure does in our reverential Warped Tour hearts.
Play it again: “Otherside”
Skip it: ¼ of it
6. “The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating” (2011)
The first solid LP referenced here, The Living End’s sixth full-length LP is ranked sixth here, and had the unfortunate statistic of being the first follow-up to the perfect “White Noise.” While it sadly didn’t make much of a dent domestically, likely because few people here even knew that the band existed anymore, “The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating” did the polar opposite in Australia, and actually won the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards) Award for the Best Rock Album. Produced by Nick DiDia of Powderfinger, Dirty Honey, Nine Days, and GG Allin notoriety, and mixed by Brendan O’Brien of every band in the early-’90s fame, this album is one of the better-sounding releases from TLE and truly deserves your both attention and time in the morning and evening, but definitely NOT the afternoon, but that’s for another day.
Play it again: “Machine Gun”
Skip it: “Ride The Wave Boy”
5. “State of Emergency” (2006)
One step behind? Maybe? Anyway, we here truly feel that The Living End’s fourth LP is their first one to have zero chance here in the United States of America/Benetton for many reasons and one being that the powers above are a bunch of meatballs, but the band certainly didn’t act as if they knew or were aware of any of that, as it rocks and rolls from Alabama to ambulances. In addition, said record not only is their second highest selling effort in Australia, but it debuted at the number one position on the aforementioned ARIA charts… NUMBER. ONE! Reborn. Still we don’t know what’s on your television, mobile phone screen, or, wait for it, radio, but we do know that several songs from “State of Emergency” are on Aussie devices and that makes their vegemite much, much, much spicier and chock full of taste.
Play it again: “Til The End”
Skip it: “Order Of The Day”
4. “Roll On” (2000)
The Living End’s sophomore LP was far from a slump musically, and less like a hyperactive version of The Stray Cats a la their debut album and more like a more straight-ahead version of the late-’70s British punk rock scene, in a truly good way. Also, not enough credence is given to drummer Travis Demsey for his work on “Roll On,” of whom this is his last record, but we want you, the uber-smart and savvy reader, to recognize such, as well as to bow down to his replacement, the beyond capable Andy Strachan, and pray to the heavens regarding the epically awesome mainstays of TLE, vocalist/guitarist Chris Cheney and upright bassist/vocalist Scott Owen. Fun fact that is funner than you think: This album is also the band’s first of many to feature the band on its cover. In closing, DON’T SHUT THE GATE!
Play it again: “Pictures In The Mirror”
Skip it: “Astoria Paranoia”
3. “MODERN ARTillery” (2003)
Short notice? So what! One said to the other that while entries number four and three here may change on the day, the week, month, year, Jimmy, or the freaking decade, the more, uh, modern entry wins today over the smelly gymnastics mat entry, so “MODERN ARTillery” wins the bronze medal; in the end, that’s all that matters anyway. If you want to be a saucy little tomato, start your listen to “MODERN ARTillery” with its epic final track for the “play it again” highlighted song, “The Room,” and try not to marvel. Also, track four here, “End of the World,” has the distinction of being featured on the soundtrack for “Tony Hawk’s Underground 2,” which undoubtedly exposed the band to poser dorks like you worldwide. Yes, we are certainly putting you down, and no, we won’t hold or let up.
Play it again: “The Room”
Skip it: “Rising up from the Ashes”
2. “White Noise” (2008)
It’s quite fitting that “White Noise,” The Living End’s fifth full-length studio album, came out almost exactly ten years after the band’s self-titled debut was released, AND that it’s easily their second best… NUMBER FIVE IS NUMBER TWO! Sadly, “Wunderbar” came out ten years after this LP and it isn’t in the bronze slot in this piece or anywhere else, so we hope that TLE puts out another full-length in 2028 to counter Germany. Like pretty much every album after #1, there were crickets domestically for The Living End, but “White Noise” would have pleased American fans of Green Day, Jack White and Led Zeppelin, so open up your ears, jackasses! FYI: There are no “skip it” tracks for this record and the gold medal winner below. If you disagree, take it up with the other Karens in your life and check your ego at the end of the world.
Play it again: All forty-four minutes and twenty-six seconds front to back
Skip it: Black silence
1. “Self-Titled” (1998)
What more could be said about one of the more underrated/sufficiently aggressive rock debuts of the 90s? Well, like we stated so epically in the last section, there are no “skip it” songs on this LP or on the silver medal-winner, so if that monumental chosen statistic by yours truly doesn’t get you to log into your bloody sister Mary’s Tidal account and stream a track, thus donating a more than whopping .0004 cents to The Living End’s former record label, our second solution indicates that we don’t know what will, and that makes us feel trapped and torn down in a bloody riot. Still, we’ll be here next Saturday regardless, with American assault rifles and our heads down low. The ending of this piece is closing in on us all, so if you only have an hour left to live, listen to “The Living End”.
Play it again: You read this far so you know the answer
Skip it: You read this far so you know the answer