The Ska War Is Over (Capdown in general)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Capdown in general
Date:	24/02/08 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Capdown were a magnificent Skacore band that put on an explosive live show.

Disadvantages: The band are sadly no longer with us, they've recently brought an end to it all.

Capdown were a Milton Keynes Skacore band between the years of 1997 and 2000. They originally started life under the name of Soap, deciding on the name of Capdown at a later date which is actually short for Capitalist Downfall. During their ten year reign they released a total of three studio albums, as well as releasing a live DVD of a performance with Rude Bones entitled 'Live in Brighton', and a live CD also; 'Live in M.K.'. Three EP's were also released, their 'Time For Change EP' which came in 1999 and was their first release, a split EP with the band Link 80, and another split with Hard Skin and Southport, a Christmas themed EP aptly titled 'Christmas Fisting EP'.

The band were well known for their electric live performances, and although there were times in their career when they were not so explosive when performing, for the most part their gigs were a joy to behold. I personally went to see the band on a large number of occasions throughout their career, and more often than not was thoroughly impressed with what I had witnessed from the band.

Their first album, 'Civil Disobedients' was released through Household Name Records in the year 2000. It was a feisty Skacore affair and featured their best known track 'Ska Wars', a track that will perhaps forever erupt from the sound systems of clubs across the UK. 'Civil Disobedients' is without doubt my favourite of all the albums that the band released and is an album that I shall always hold in incredibly high regard. It was the first album of this sort that I ever really got into, an album that exposed me to a world of Ska and Hardcore and opened my eyes to the excellence that these scenes respectively can possess.

'Pound for the Sound' followed in 2001, another brilliant album and once more one of my favourite albums of past, present, and probably future. It must be said that 'Pound for the Sound' is still an album that I play on a regular basis and I must make it known in no uncertain terms that I have a great fondness for this Capdown release. Following on from the release of this album Capdown could and should have been huge. They toured with a number of high profile bands such as Less Than Jake, Bad Religion, and Hundred Reasons, even playing alongside Green Day in 2002 on the bill for Nottingham's Distortion festival. Despite the success they could have enjoyed, they always shunned the support of major labels, something which can be viewed as a part of the bands rejection of capitalist values.

Despite their early career being extremely busy and having released two albums in two years in 2000, and 2001 respectively; there was little activity from the band thereafter. They toured sporadically and were often quite hit and miss, making a brief surge in 2003 with the release of two singles. The singles they released were 'New Revolutionaries' and 'Act Your Rage', a suggestion that they would soon be releasing a new album. A new album never came until 2007 however, but 'New Revolutionaries' is actually one of my favourite Capdown songs of all time. The track possesses a great bite about it and is one that I always love to listen to. Hearing the band perform the track live was always fantastic, Capdown always rattled their way through it with great vigour and intense rage. Giving it their all and shouting out the chorus, the fans always did their job too and I was always proud to call myself a member of the crowd when I was in attendance.

Capdown's third and final album 'Wind Up Toys' was eventually released through Fierce Panda Records in February 2007. It was by far the weakest of the three that they released but nonetheless contained a couple of quite impressive tracks. It was the beginning of the end for Capdown, they had been away for too long and the scene that they had always been a part of had gradually decayed and declined over the years as band after band had decided to call it a day. It was in the November of 2007 that Capdown themselves decided that enough was enough and brought an end to their decade of destruction. They played one final tour and waved goodbye to the fans that had followed them for all these years. The tour was planned to come to its climax in their home town of Milton Keynes, due to licensing issues however this never happened. The band did say that they would reschedule the show for a later date, but as of yet no news has been announced of this. All I can say at current is that no news is good news, but if/when the band do announce their final show I am sure that there will be many happy faces not only in Milton Keynes, but around the country also. As a result of the explosive live shows with which Capdown made their name, I have no doubt that people would travel for miles around in order to see the band one final time.

It was nice knowing you Capdown, your music always brings a smile to my face and for this I thank you.

Summary: All good things must eventually meet their end.