Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band originally consisted of brothers Lou Koller (vocals, bass) and Pete Koller (guitar), drummer David Lamb and bassist Mark McNeely. Over the years, the line-up changed several times. From 1994 onwards, the long-standing line-up consisted of Lou Koller (lead vocals), Pete Koller (guitar), Craig Setari (bass) and Armand Majidi (drums). Lou Koller died in July 2026 following a recurrence of oesophageal cancer. Sick of It All is associated with the New York hardcore scene and had sold at least 500,000 records worldwide by 2020.
The band members met while attending Francis Lewis High School in Queens. They initially considered the name General Chaos before adopting the name Sick of It All after discovering that the proposed abbreviation "S.O.A." had already been used by another band. Sick of It All played their first concert on 17 May 1986 at the Right Track Inn on Long Island. Following early line-up changes, the band recorded the "Sick of It All" demo in 1987, began performing regularly at CBGB, and released the self-titled EP "Sick of It All" through Revelation Records.
Although Revelation Records expressed interest in releasing the band's debut album, Sick of It All instead signed with Relativity Records in 1988. Their debut studio album, "Blood, Sweat and No Tears", was released in 1989. The album sold more than 100,000 copies and established the band within the hardcore punk scene. During this period, Sick of It All toured extensively in the United States with bands including Youth of Today, Agnostic Front, Murphy's Law, Bad Brains and D.R.I. The line-up changed several times before Armand Majidi and bassist Rich Cipriano returned for the recording of the second studio album, "Just Look Around", released in 1992.
In 1993, the band toured Japan, the United States and Europe, and released the live album "Live in a World Full of Hate". That year, Craig Setari replaced Rich Cipriano on bass. Sick of It All signed with EastWest Records and released their third studio album, "Scratch the Surface", in 1994. The album became their first to chart, reaching number 67 in Germany, and included the singles "Scratch the Surface" and "Step Down", both of which received airplay on MTV. The band supported the album with extensive touring across North America, South America, Europe, Japan and New Zealand, including appearances on the inaugural Warped Tour in 1995.
The follow-up album, "Built to Last", was released in 1997 through Elektra Records. It reached number 32 on the US Heatseekers chart and featured songs including "Us vs. Them", "Busted" and "Good Lookin' Out". After completing their contractual obligations with EastWest, Sick of It All continued touring internationally and Revelation Records reissued the band's debut EP to mark its tenth anniversary.
In 1998, Sick of It All signed with Fat Wreck Chords. The album "Call to Arms" was released in 1999 and reached number 84 in Germany. During the same year, the band toured with Slayer and Meshuggah. Their sixth studio album, "Yours Truly", followed in 2000. In 2001, they released the documentary "The Story So Far", documenting the band's history, and in 2002 issued the live album "Live in a Dive". Their seventh studio album, "Life on the Ropes", was released in 2003, followed by the compilation "Outtakes for the Outcast" in 2004.
In 2005, Sick of It All signed with Abacus Recordings, a subsidiary of Century Media. The album "Death to Tyrants" was released in 2006, coinciding with the band's twentieth anniversary. They celebrated the milestone with a concert at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City and continued touring in North America and Europe. In 2007, Lou Koller suffered a back injury during a tour with Dropkick Murphys, leading to the cancellation of several performances. That year also saw the release of the tribute album "Our Impact Will Be Felt", featuring cover versions of Sick of It All songs by numerous artists.
The band signed directly with Century Media Records in 2010 and released "Based on a True Story", their first studio album in four years. The album entered the US Heatseekers chart at number 30 and also charted in several European countries. Sick of It All continued to tour internationally and marked their twenty-fifth anniversary in 2011 with the release of "XXV Nonstop", a collection of re-recorded songs from their catalogue, and a special anniversary concert at Webster Hall in New York City.
The band's eleventh studio album, "Last Act of Defiance", was released in 2014. They supported the album with tours in Europe and North America and performed complete live renditions of "Scratch the Surface" and "Blood, Sweat and No Tears" at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas. Between 2015 and 2017, Sick of It All continued extensive international touring while celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. To coincide with the anniversary, they released the EP "When the Smoke Clears" in 2016.
The twelfth studio album, "Wake the Sleeping Dragon!", was released in 2018. It reached number 17 on the US Heatseekers chart and number 31 in Germany. The band supported the album with tours throughout North America and Europe. In 2020, touring was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that year, Lou and Pete Koller published the autobiography "The Blood and Sweat: The Story of Sick of It All's Koller Brothers", covering their personal lives and the band's history. Touring resumed in 2022, although Pete Koller missed part of the European tour because of hernia surgery and was temporarily replaced by Craig Silverman. Sick of It All continued touring in 2023 and stated that they hoped to release another studio album in 2024.
In early 2024, the band completed a short tour of Australia. In June, they cancelled a planned European tour after Lou Koller announced that he had been diagnosed with an oesophageal tumour requiring treatment. A benefit concert featuring several bands was held in November 2024. In May 2025, Koller announced that he was cancer-free. However, he revealed in September 2025 that the cancer had returned. In August 2025, Craig Setari stated that the band was working on new material and hoped to resume live performances in 2026.
On 24 July 2026, Sick of It All announced that Lou Koller had died following his battle with cancer. His death occurred shortly before the band's fortieth anniversary. At the time of his death, the future of Sick of It All had not been announced.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick_of_It_All
Studio albums
Blood, Sweat and No Tears (1989)
Just Look Around (1992)
Scratch the Surface (1994)
Built to Last (1997)
Call to Arms (1999)
Yours Truly (2000)
Life on the Ropes (2003)
Death to Tyrants (2006)
Based on a True Story (2010)
XXV Nonstop (2011)
The Last Act of Defiance (2014)
Wake the Sleeping Dragon! (2018)
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…shrink me down again