Various

The last All-Skanadian Club was released in 1997 and featured some bands who continue rocking to this day like the Planet Smashers and the Salads and some who faded away like the Malchicks. Regardless, Volume III came out right in the heart of ska's renaissance and helped bring Canadian ska to people across the country. Bands like the Planet Smashers toured relentlessly and everywhere they went they brought copies of the All-Skanadian albums with them, helping spread the popularity of ska and of Canadian talent in the genre. The Planet Smashers and (Venice Shoreline) Chris Murray are the only holdovers from the 1997 instalment of the All-Skanadian club, but some new Canadian ska talent is on display in this edition, which was co-produced by Stomp records and Skapages.com. There are some bands here that may fall off the radar, Toronto's Nightshift for one recently broke up, but there's a lot of new talent here. King Konqueror's "Hush Up" is a great introduction to the energetic Halifax band for anyone who hasn't heard them yet, and other talented bands like the Mad Bomber Society and the Bombasts are featured, which are worth the price of admission. Hopefully this latest edition to the All-Skanadian series can bring Canadian ska to a new generation of fans like the past editions have. I do have one beef however — how come the Arsenals, perhaps the most-exciting band in Canadian ska continue to get no love on these compilations?