GenturZine

After nearly 30 years of recording, longtimers Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret continue to run the show, along with return bassist Mike Gallo and new recruits Joseph James (guitar) and Pokey Mo (drums). Agnostic Front have survived various lineup changes and flirted with a few musical styles (namely metal) since their early days as New York hardcore pioneers. But from the third quarter of their career on, they have stayed consistent, blending thrash, metalcore, and Oi! styles. Madball/Cannibal Corpse producer Erik Rutan brings out the finer traits of all three styles for My Life My Way, while simultaneously making the band sound as big and heavy as sonically possible. Roger Miret's distinctive vocals -- which are delivered in more of a yowl than a growl -- are straining but remain powerful, and even (gasp!) melodic at times. Other than the occasional big hook, there are only a few departures from the usual steady riffing. “A Mi Manera” is sung entirely in Spanish, and the killer cut “That’s Life” revives the haphazard fury of the early years in under a minute-twenty, as Miret yells “Who fucking cares!?” Agnostic Front's devoted fan base, that's who. ~ Jason Lymangrover, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label Producer	: : : : :	Mar 22, 2011 Hardcore 34:09 Nuclear Blast Freddy Cricien

Considering that the Beastie Boys were a fledgling punk group before they were rappers and MCA (Adam Yauch) was often seen slam-dancing front and center at Bad Brains' legendary early performances, he would seem the perfect candidate to produce and resurrect the newly reunited group. In truth, he does a fantastic job capturing Bad Brains on Build a Nation, and they rock nearly as hard as they did in their glory days before they switched to funk metal -- Yauch explained that his goal was to replicate the raw sound that he remembers from their live shows and the first self-titled Reach Out International Records tape. Although the group recalls some of its best hardcore roots with an added concrete-shattering low end not found in a lot of its early recordings, the problem is that frontman H.R. simply doesn't have the energy or larynx that he once did, and has to resort to a lower octave and sing in an Anthony Kiedis "Give It Away" vocal style. But who can blame him? It was over 25 years ago when he unleashed his furious shriek and wide array of spastic crooning voices, and it takes a young man's fire to spew microphone venom with that ferocity. Often, he moans his vocal lines in an imitation Lee Perry reggae voice (even on the punkier songs) and has to resort to a lot more studio trickery and delays to make up for his lack of dynamics.

This washy style of singing doesn't always feel completely appropriate, but it fits perfectly when the Brains flip the switch to their reggae grooves, which now sound more authentic than ever. This should be no surprise since their last album consisted of only dub music, and their yellow, red, and green album art looks remarkably like a Marley bootleg with a track listing that includes "Natty Dreadlocks 'Pon the Mountaintop" and "Jah People Make the World Go Round." Since the album was recorded at the B-Boys' Oscilloscope Laboratories, many of the reggae numbers have elements of the Beasties' instrumentals on The Mix Up; it sounds like keyboardist-for-hire Jamie Saft may have borrowed Money Mark's organ while Yauch added some of the percussive instruments laying around the room for a few numbers. Even when the washed-out dubby vocals coincide with thrashing guitars, the heavy songs work remarkably well, too. The combination of the two styles makes for an interesting result, especially in "Let There Be Angels (Just Like You)" and "Universal Peace." While Bad Brains never quite match the intensity of their early days, this is easily the best record they've released since Quickness, and maybe even since I Against I. Fans of H.R., Gary, Darryl, and Earl should be happy to hear that they're finally back on track and sounding relevant again. ~ Jason Lymangrover, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label Producer	: : : : :	June 26, 2007 Hardcore punk, reggae, punk metal 37:34 Megaforce Records Adam Yauch

It probably won't come as a huge surprise to fans of this hardcore band that they've released their first full-length dub recording. After all, Bad Brains have proven in the past to be adept at reggae as well as punk. Their relatively straightforward approach to dub isn't particularly otherworldly or eccentric, but this album is a solid effort even if it doesn't break a lot of new ground. The band sounds quite comfortable with this format (including Darryl Jenifer's melodica playing). Altoist Peter Pittner, tenor saxophonist David CasT, and trumpeter Greg Glassman effectively enhance the sound on tracks such as "Jah Love" and "Ghetto"; Ray Chinna lends some flavor to the mix with his vox guitar on "Ghetto" and "September"; and the other guest musicians are also in good form. You can entertain yourself by picking out traces of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in "Cowboys," the Indian influences on "Ragga Dub," the traces of hard guitar rock on the group's dub version of their punk classic "How Low Can a Punk Get," and the vocal samples on various tracks. Or you can just mellow out and enjoy the mostly relaxing groove. The enhanced CD includes a small amount of footage of the band and some brief comments of praise from musicians such as Perry Farrell (who describes his music as a cross between Duke Ellington and Bad Brains), Billy Corgan, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Flea. ~ Todd Kristel, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label Producer	: : : : :	November 26, 2002 Dub, reggae, punk rock, instrumental 53:54 Reggae Lounge Darryl Jenifer & Gary Miller

For God of Love, Bad Brains' first album for Madonna's label Maverick, the original lineup of the group reunited. Presumably, this was for the reported multi-million dollar record contracted -- which was offered after the success of Green Day and the Beastie Boys -- and not because the band had any great love for each other; during the supporting tour, HR slugged their manager and left the group, only to return within a week. Ric Ocasek, the producer of their breakthrough Rock for Light, also returned to produce the record. However, just because all the original participants returned, it didn't mean the sound or the inspiration returned. God of Love was flat and unenergetic. It failed to have an impact and faded from view soon after its release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label Producer	: : : : : :	May 23, 1995 Alternative rock, reggae, heavy metal 47:50 Maverick Records Ric Ocasek

Bad Brains took longer than most bands do to reach the majors (that is, among those that ever do), and by now they are very different from the group that made its debut with a self-titled cassette on ROIR in 1982. As heard on Rise, they are basically a thrash metal band with elements of rap and reggae. In other words, they're fairly trendy. Meanwhile, of course, they're now playing in a bigger league, and their competition includes everyone from Metallica to Public Enemy, against whom they come off as reasonable competition, but no more. Hope they got a big advance and didn't spend it all in one place. ~ William Ruhlmann, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Label Producer	: : : :	August 17, 1993 Hardcore punk Epic Records Beau Hill

This is an interesting, if not entirely successful detour into funk-metal for the band that pioneered Rastafarian hard-core punk. Everything is slowed down here, and the sonic textures have thickened considerably. Drummer Earl Hudson delivers both ponderous, stomping metal rhythms and funked-up grooves, while Dr. Know gets to show off his chops a bit more than he has in the past. The religious messages have, if anything, gotten more mystical and less coherent -- song titles like "Soul Craft," "Voyage into Infinity," and "Messengers" give you an idea of what to expect. "Don't Blow Bubbles" may or may not be a slightly homophobic cautionary tale for the age of AIDS, and "Sheba" appears to be a paean to King Solomon's wife (a perennial favorite subject for reggae musicians). As on I Against I, reggae is given short shrift on this album. In fact, the only reggae rhythm to be found at all is on "The Prophet's Eye," an awkward tune that feels tacked onto the album's end. Fans will defend it, and Quickness is by no means a failure, but it's also far from being Bad Brains' best work. ~Rick Anderson, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	September 14, 1989 Hardcore punk 33:52 Caroline Records

I Against I was for Bad Brains what London Calling was for the Clash -- the band's first fully mature work, one which successfully brought together all of its diverse influences while at the same time showcasing a singular vision. Also like London Calling, it was to be the band's masterpiece, in the original sense of that term -- a creative pinnacle which they would not reach again. The album opens with the title track, a blistering and musically exhilarating deploration of violence, and then moves directly into "House of Suffering," easily the most complex and yet viscerally compelling song the band ever produced. Singer H.R. digs deep into his bag of voices and pulls them all out, one by one: the frightening nasal falsetto that was his signature in the band's hardcore days, an almost bel canto baritone, and a declamatory speed-rap chatter that spews lyrics with the mechanical precision of a machine gun. He positively croons on the surprisingly melodic "Secret 77" and "Let Me Help." But his voice isn't even the best thing happening here. It's the incredibly tight, funky, and tonally rich interplay between guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson that gives this album its deeply satisfying texture. The stop/start rhythms of "Secret 77" and "Sacred Love," the gorgeous guitar hook on "She's Calling You," Dr. Know's completely counterintuitive ability to meld the raw directness of hardcore punk with an almost supernatural virtuosity without sacrificing the power of either approach -- this is music-making of an order not usually seen in rock & roll. ~ Rick Anderson, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	November 1986 Hardcore punk 31:53 SST Records

After the tinny sound quality of the band's debut, the second Bad Brains album came as a real blast of sonic fresh air. Producer Ric Ocasek is largely responsible, but the increased tightness and focus are also a function of maturation. This band was a weird bundle of contradictions from day one: black Rastafarian instrumental virtuosos playing hardcore punk, formerly the exclusive domain of white, aggressively atheist musical amateurs. That last contradiction would come to full musical flower on I Against I, but Rock for Light shows the band at the height of its punk energy. "P.M.A.," "Joshua's Song," and "Coptic Times" are typical examples of Bad Brains' unique blend of punk velocity and Rasta ideology. When they suddenly swing into mellow reggae (on "I and I Survive," "The Meek," "Rally 'Round Jah Throne," and the dubwise instrumental "Jam"), the effect is like some kind of pleasant musical whiplash. The 1990 CD reissue of this album was remixed by Ocasek and bassist Darryl Jenifer, and it includes several bonus tracks. ~ Rick Anderson, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	1983 Hardcore punk, reggae 38:18 PVC Records

For fans of hardcore, many would agree that the holy grail of the genre is Bad Brains' self-titled album, originally released back in 1982 as a cassette-only release on ROIR. The ensuing years after its initial release haven't dulled the album's fury and rage in the least, and it's still impressive how the band can switch gears from red-hot hardcore to cool reggae dubs in the blink of an eye. All the classics are here: "Sailin' On," "Banned in D.C.," "Pay to Cum," "Right Brigade," as well as one of their strongest reggae tunes, "I Luv I Jah." The back of the album boasts a quote from the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, which sums up the proceedings simply, "the best punk/hardcore album of all time." [Although Bad Brains was available on CD on the now-defunct In Effect label in the late '80s (then titled Attitude: The ROIR Sessions with a different album cover), it's since been remastered and re-released with its original cover, as well as an untitled bonus track added at the end.] ~ Greg Prato, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	Feb 1982 Hardcore punk 33:56 ROIR

On its fifth album, Simi Valley's Pulley delivers its most impressive batch of tunes to date. Matters is one forceful melodic anthem after another, be it "Huber Breeze," which fuses the trademarks of SoCal skatepunk with Beach Boys-derived harmonies, or the charged, angsty "A Bad Reputation." Producer Matt Hyde may be credited for injecting new life into a band that was sounding trite as of 2001's Together Again for the First Time, but frontman Scott Radinsky and guitarist Mike Harder are the main creative culprits, building infectious, innovative material like "YSC," which puts a bluesy spin on nostalgic punk, and the memorable, appreciative ballad "Thanks." Still, "Insects Destroy," former major-label pitcher Radinsky's parting shot at the greedy sports world he left behind, has to be the fiery best of what is easily Pulley's most respectable release yet. ~ John D. Luerssen, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	April 6, 2004 Punk rock 33:35 Epitaph Records

From the opening riff, it's obvious the listener is in for one hell of a ride. It's been two years since Pulley's last album, and in the interim guitarist Jim has departed, thus the title Together Again for the First Time. But being reduced to a quartet has not diminished the band's sound in the least; in fact, Pulley sounds stronger and tighter than ever. The album is packed with a baker's dozen of tracks that crackle with energy, and the production (by Ryan Greene and the band itself) captures the excitement of its stageshow and pulls it directly into the studio. A non-stop barrage of blistering tracks, all clocking in at just over two minutes, this is Pulley at its most frenetic. However, that doesn't mean melodies and harmonies have been thrown to the wind; if anything the hooks are brighter, and the songs more anthemic. The themes remain diverse, but mostly personal, the lyrics sharp and conveying deep emotions in just a few words. "Long Lost Trip" is particularly notable, etching the futility of living one's life by others' values, "Sick Feeling" is a taut vignette of a dying relationship, "In Search" is about one in trouble, while the exuberant "Hooray for Me" is a celebration of bandhood with a bluegrass tinge. They're right, it is just like the first time, only better. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, AMG

Download

Report Bad Link

		Buy this album to support the artist and the label. It's totally worth it!
Album Info Released Genre Length Label	: : : :	October 9, 2001 Punk rock 29:56 Epitaph Records