Scratch the Surface

Scratch the Surface is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk band Sick of It All, released on October 18, 1994, by East West Records. It was the band's first album with bassist Craig Setari. Sick of It All self-produced the album and recorded it with engineer Tom Soares at Normandy Sound in Warren, Rhode Island. In writing the album, Sick of It All pursued a darker and heavier sound than that of their previous releases, which vocalist Lou Koller attributed to accusations of the band selling out following their move to East West, whilst drawing influence from a variety of heavy metal, speed metal, Oi! and hardcore bands.

Upon release, Scratch the Surface received generally favourable reviews from critics and peaked at number 67 on the German Albums charts. Sick of It All promoted the album for over two years, touring with Helmet, Korn, Orange 9MM, Quicksand, Strife and CIV, and performing on the inaugural Warped Tour in 1995. The album's title track was released as a double A-side single with "Borstal Breakout", reaching number 95 on the UK Singles Chart, whilst the music video for "Step Down" entered rotation on MTV. Although it failed to break Sick of It All into the mainstream, Scratch the Surface is the band's best-selling album, having sold 250,000 copies worldwide by 1997. Retrospectively described as a classic album, it has been credited with exposing hardcore to a wider audience; the band have also credited it with expanding their fanbase in Europe.