Local Album Review // Brother's Keeper // You Can't Kill Me (Greatest Misses Vol. 1)
5/5 stars
The biggest surprise reunion of 2026 has to be the return of the Erie hardcore band Brother's Keeper. The band celebrated 30 years since their first full-length album The Continuum and 25 years since their final album Fantasy Killer with packed shows in Erie over a recent weekend. They marked their return with an album of reinterpreted versions of some of their classic material and used the shows as a vehicle to release the album. On You Can't Kill Me (Greatest Misses Vol. 1) Brother's Keeper put a fresh spin on some fan favorites – the songs sound more polished with tighter riffs and solid rhythms. Singer Mike Ski's vocal style is grittier and lower than on previous releases. The album goes as far back as 1995 with the song "Ladder" from the EP of the same name and extends to their final release Fantasy Killer (2001), which contributed four songs to You Can't Kill Me. Opening track "Someone's Gonna Die Tonight," features New Jersey Hardcore's Tim Singer of Deadguy, whose presence gives the song a heavier feel than the original Fantasy Killer recording. Some other standout re-recordings are "Sweet Revenge," "I Shot JFK," and "The Continuum." This feels like a warm-up to a whole new chapter in the Brother's' Keeper legacy, considering that they also included a new song "Asymmetrical Warflair" (featuring Drug Church). We can expect an album of new music and some more high-energy shows in the future.
