Bad Brains In The City

This is a compilation of rare, and not so rare, studio and live recordings. All nicely restored from the best possible sources. There are no full sessions or complete live sets. This is more of a collection of the best sounding recordings i could find. Everything flows together quite nicely though, and it turned out better than i expected. Hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

Bad Brains in The City

"Bad Brains in The City" is a nod to both the song Redbone in The City and the Bad Brains taking over New York City in the early '80s after being banned from D.C.

Hard to believe that some these songs, including tracks that were later injected with steroids for the band's self-titled cassette on Roir, and the Rock For Light LP, were written in the late '70s. While the classic rock scene was winding down, and post-punk was thriving with bands writing great songs, the Bad Brains were busy writing blueprints. Taking inspiration from the fresh new punk scene, and introducing the elements that would be the very beginnings of the hardcore sound that exploded in the early '80s. The speed, the anger, the buildups, the breakdowns, the energy... the template. Of course there's countless arguments about "who was the first hardcore band?", and bands like D.O.A. are brought up. Well, i can't tell you who was first, i can only tell you who was the best. In my opinion, by 1981, the Bad Brains had recorded material that is unsurpassed in the genre to this day.

OK, enough ranting about the greatness of the band as i could go on forever about it as i'm sure many others could. On to the recordings in this collection..

First up are four tracks that are reason enough to start downloading. These are demos recorded sometime in 1980. There's no information i can find on these sessions, but they are as essential as any Bad Brains recordings you've heard. These songs sound similar to the 1979 "Black Dots" versions, but these are faster, heavier, and more aggressive. They sound (both production and performance wise) much closer to the sound on the Roir tape than the "Zientara Sessions" on the Black Dots release (recorded on 4-track at Inner Ear Studios). I wouldn't be surprised if they were recorded at 171A Studios, but i'm not sure if they recorded there prior to 1981. The first three tracks are especially vicious, and maybe the earliest true representation of the powerhouse the band would become. There were two other tracks from these sessions not included here. Don't Bother Me, which was unfortunately cut, and Supertouch/Shitfit which had some major drop-outs and other problems. The sound quality on the four demo tracks that did make the cut are excellent. Restored to the best of my abilities from FLAC files and converted to 320kbps mp3s. Absolutely essential.

Next up are three tracks recorded at 171A in NYC by Jay Dublee in 1981. Two rippers (Black Dots and Send You No Flowers) and one Sex Pistols tribute (Redbone in The City), that didn't make it onto the Roir tape, but were finally unearthed and released as a 7" on Cleopatra Cafe Records in 2009. This unofficial release, made in Ethiopia, also included an unreleased reggae influenced track entitled Recognize, recorded live in San Diego on Nov. 10, 1985 at Wabash Hall in San Diego, CA. The band's self-titled cassette on Roir was recorded at 171A from August-October of 1981. Jah Calling, Pay To Cum and I Love I Jah recorded live at 171A on May 16, 1981.

Pay to Cum is from the original 7" version (the band's vinyl debut), originally released on Bad Brains Records in 1980 and both bootlegged and re-released countless times since (to this day). Recorded in December of 1979 at Dots Studio in NY. This track was ripped from a remastered CD version.

The Rat Music For Rat People compilation LP was originally released on Go! Records in 1982. These versions of How Low Can A Punk Get? and Don't Bother Me (printed as "You") were exclusive to this comp, and to me are the definitive recordings of both. Recorded live at The Elite Club in San Francisco on March 20 of 1982. I can only imagine hearing the opening riff to How Low Can A Punk Get? for the first time back in '82. Fuck, nearly 30 years later and this songs wipes the floor with anything considered hardcore recorded during the past two decades. The Rat Music For Rat People comp also included D.O.A., Flipper, Circle Jerks, Crucifix, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, T.S.O.L., Avengers and The Dils (great song). How's that lineup? Yeah, they don't make 'em like that anymore. The comp was re-released in 1988 on CD Presents Ltd. with new cover art. CD Presents Ltd. followed up Rat Music For Rat People with Vol. 2 in 1984 and Vol. 3 in 1987 (not as great as the first 2, but worth it for the amazing Rocks of Sweden by Naked Raygun and a few other stand-out tracks). CD Presents put out a comp of selected tracks from all 3 LPs, released in 1987 on CD. In my opinion they should have went the whole ten yards and re-released all of it. Once again, these tracks are ripped from remastered CD versions.

Next is one of the best live Bad Brains sets i've yet to hear. A great soundboard recording of Bad Brains tearing up The Elks Center in Philly, PA on January 30 of 1982. This is not the complete set. Supertouch/Shitfit (is this song cursed?) and Riot Squad were both cut off mid-song so i left them off the set. I Also left off Attitude, as it sounds like they didn't have the recording levels adjusted properly yet, and the song has a kind of "wall of noise" sound. After that the set sounds fantastic, and includes all the classics you would expect from an '82 set. The reggae songs sound especially great on here, Rally Round Jah Throne being a personal fave.

As to make up for the three missing tracks, i included Riot Squad and Attitude from a set live at the Filmore, recorded on March 20, 1982. I also included The Regulator and I and I Survive from this set, as they are not on the Elks Center set. The entire Filmore set is available for download on various "pay for mp3" sites, including Amazon. It should be free.

The demo version of Re-Ignition was recorded in 1985. No info on this recording. I prefer this version of the song over the LP version. It's a bit slower and looser, and has a cool little dive-bomb guitar part during the main riff. Hopefully more I Against I demos make their way online. I'd love to hear more.

Next up are 3 songs recorded live at The Bandshell in Daytona Beach, FL. recorded 3/20/87. Excellent sound, excellent performance. I Against I especially kills.

The unreleased song was recorded at Madam's Organ in 1980. Sound is a bit rough on this one but it's a great hardcore song. It's tracks like this and the unreleased song Success from 1979 that makes me wonder just how many tracks the Bad Brains recorded (or just rehearsed) that never saw the light of day.

H.R. - vocals
Dr. Know - guitar
Darryl Jennifer - bass
Earl Hudson - drums

If it's not this lineup, it's not the Bad Brains.

Lethal Aggression - 1985-1990 Anthology

Lethal Aggression were a crossover hardcore/thrash band from Asbury Park, NJ. One of my favorite bands to ever come out of the NJ hardcore scene. Being from Jersey myself, it was classic NJHC bands like Lethal Aggression, Mental Abuse, Social Decay, Dirge etc that inspired me to start my first band back in 1987. At some point, one of my old bands (possibly S.M.O., one of the many demo-only bands i was in at the time) most likely played with Lethal Aggression. The late '80s/early '90s are a blur to me now. All i remember is that for a while we had one a hell of a scene, and it was a fun time. So here's the music. All ripped at 320. Enjoy!

Lethal Aggression Anthology

The original Lethal Aggression lineup didn't last too long. John Salterelli on vocals, Rob DeFroscia on guitar, Spencer on bass, and Phil Giordano on drums. That incarnation of the band lasted a few shows until Spencer and Phil were replaced by George Yeck and Kenny Lund. With this lineup the band recorded their 1985 demo and first full length LP.

From The Cunt Of The Fucking Whore demo

lineup:
John Salterelli - vocals
Rob DeFroscia - guitar
George Yeck - bass
Kenny Lund - drums

This classic NJHC demo was recorded on Nov. 4, 1985 in a garage in Hoboken. Opium-fueled and cranked out in 3 hours (from 3:30 to 6:30), for less than $60 bucks. My favorite Lethal Aggression recordings by far. In 2001, the demo was released on CD by Relapse Records, along with the band's unreleased Godservation LP from 1991. The demo rip here is not from the Relapse CD. This is a restored version. Nice full sound, no tape hiss or other noises. I personally think it sounds better than the one on the Relapse CD, which is well worth buying (if it's still in print) for the great Godservation album.

Life Is Hard... But That's No Excuse At All! LP

Excellent debut. Re-recorded songs from the demo plus a shitload more. Originally released on both LP and CD by Funhouse Records out of Germany in 1988. Recorded at Waterfront Studios in Hoboken, NJ. Mixed in Ohio and mastered in Germany. In 2007, the CD was re-issued with lots of bonus material. The Circle Pit Of Life demo (2006), the Subliminal Erosion 7" (1990), the "Just Killed Rock n' Roll" 7" (1987), and 2 live tracks from the band's first show. Recorded in May of 1985 at the Brick Roller Forum. All remastered. For some odd reason, the track-list for the LP was changed on this re-issue. Another release well worth hunting down for all the great bonus material. The rip here is from this re-issue, with the tracks put back in the correct order, or as close as possible since their seems to be tracks both missing and added from the original 1988 version.

Between 1987 and 1988 the band contributed tracks to various compilations, including the Complete Death 2 LP (1988 Metal Blade/Death Records) and the live L'Amour Rocks comp LP (1987 Mercenary Records).

Subliminal Erosion 7"

Shortly after the release of the LP, Rob DeFroscia left the band and joined Breakdown. Former Social Decay bassist Dave Gutierrez came in on guitar. With this lineup the band recorded the Subliminal Erosion 7". Originally released on Virulence Records out of France in 1990 with fold-out lyric sheet. Another fine slab of madness, only letting up for the comical Spooge 2. Seems the band could never get away from that song. This rip is also from the 2007 re-issue.

The rehearsal tracks were recorded on 5/5/86. Thanks to the amazing Lockjaw blog for this one. Once again, these tracks have been fully restored and sound much better than the original rip. These rehearsal tracks are fantastic. The band speeds through 9 tracks including a cover of Bad Brains' classic Right Brigade. The rehearsal version of I'll Fight is just furious. It kills the LP version. I get a big NYC Mayhem vibe from these recordings, both in the music and the production. Awesome.

In 2009 Lethal Aggression released the Ad Nauseum full length on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. 13 new tracks and 36 minutes of live recordings on the "untitled" tracks 14, not credited on the CD. Check it out.

Hopefully this post exposes this great band to some people who may have never heard them. This is stuff that needs to be heard. If you like what you hear, buy whatever is available. It's all top shelf.

For more on the band, check out the great Demo Tapes blog run by Tommy of Social Decay.

side note - there will now be "Easter Eggs" on the blog. If you see anything that is a clickable link (it could be a letter, a word, a comma etc), it leads to a surprise download.

Youth Korps - 1982

Great hardcore band from Connecticut who released one incredible demo in 1982, played some shows and called it a day. If ever an '80s hardcore band should have stuck it out and released more material, this would be it. Youth Korps were way ahead of their time, being maybe the first band to throw quick 2 second bursts of speed into slower paced hardcore songs. Listen to JB Theme, it's pretty much the blueprint for what bands like Crossed Out perfected 10 years later. Amazing how one obscure demo from 1982 had such an influence, although it's rarely acknowledged in the same way bands like Deep Wound and Siege are. The demo remains an absolute classic of the genre and will always be a personal favorite.

The demo seems extremely popular now though, and litters the internet on various blogs and message boards. I figured i'd post the version i have, as it's the best sounding rip i've heard. As a bonus, i've added on a great sounding rehearsal track (the vocals on this one are vicious), and a quick 4 song live set, with 2 unreleased tracks and an alternate, slower version of Hang On Belushi (thanks to Damaging Noise). All ripped at 320. Enjoy.

Youth Korps 1982

Jon Bauer - vocals
Ed "Wedge" Feltch - guitar
Mike Hurley - bass
Bobby "Pin" Pyn - drums

The demo was recorded on September 18, 1982 at Radiobeat Studios in Boston. Produced and engineered by Lou Giordano. Finally released as a 7" in 1991 by Crucial Response Records out of Germany.

I've seen the demo labeled as the "Quick and the Dead" demo, although i've never seen an actual copy. The demo cover that i've seen online (shown in this post) has an illustration by Al Feldstein, which was used for a cover of an old issue of EC Comic "Tales From the Crypt".

Youth Korps contributed tracks from their demo on the Birth Defect comp tape (1983), and the Brain of Stone comp tape (1984 BCT).

According to online sources, the band formed on November 14, 1981 and broke up on October 25, 1982.

As a side note - there's a file floating around the web of a supposed rehearsal set. Only the first track is legit (the one in this collection), the other 3 or 4 songs are badly recorded versions of demo tracks being passed off as rehearsals.

For more Youth Korps posts, check out Pay No More Than blog, and Rare Punk which has some great scans.

Freewill - 1988

Sorry for the delay. I'm finding myself with much less time for this blog since my work hours changed (and having another kid), but i intend to keep it alive, and have lots of great music on the way. In the works - Jersey Fresh, Mecht Mensch discography, revised Absolution and Warzone collections, and a huge goth punk/deathrock post. Until then..

Freewill were a melodic punk band from California who recorded some excellent music in 1988.

Their legacy is a 7 song demo (cleaned up for this post), and 10 tracks recorded for an LP on Wishingwell Records titled "Sun Return" which was unfortunately never released. Besides some test presses which are out there, this LP was released as the "Almost Again" CD in 1995 by the notorious Lost & Found Records out of Germany.

Describing the music here is a tough one. The songs have a certain charm to them that i just love. It's punk. It's hardcore. But they have a pop, almost emo vibe that makes them unique. Maybe a lo-fi, minimalist Dag Nasty meets Descendents? Most of these tracks wouldn't sound out of place on those old Shredder "The World's In Shreds" comps from the late '80s. There's really no description that will do the band justice, just check it out. Enjoy:

Freewill discography

Scott Gravois - vocals
Paul Cranston - guitar
Charlie Trujillo - drums
Mike Hartsfield - bass
Kevin Necessary - bass

The CD on Lost & Found is a mess. Besides the mixed up and incomplete track list, the CD has Kevin Necessary credited to playing bass, although i can't find anything else online to confirm he played on any recordings (the demo maybe?). The CD also mistakenly credits Mike Hartsfield as Mark Hartsfield. Mike also played in Outspoken, Strife, Enswell, Solitude, Against the Wall and several other bands. He founded New Age Records in 1988 and co-founded Network Sound Records in the early '90s with Outspoken bandmate Dennis Remsing. You can check out an interviews with Mike Hartsfield here and here. As far as other Freewill members playing in other bands, i have no info.

Shortly after recording for the unreleased LP, Freewill changed their name to Stone Telling and re-recorded 9 of their songs for an album on Network Sound Records, released in 1994 on both LP and CD.

According to the album notes: Recorded in November 1988 at Pendragon Studios in Hermosa Beach, California. Additional recording in August 1990 at EP Productions in Huntington Beach, California.

I've never heard the Stone Telling re-recordings, and really have no desire to.

I've heard rumors of a second unreleased Freewill LP, but have never came across any solid proof. If anyone has any further info on the band, please comment.

Fuck Rock: ABC No Rio comp LP 1991

This is the final version of the Fuck Rock compilation that came out in 2010 along with the 25th anniversary issue of Artcore Fanzine. I want to thank all the bands & people involved that waited a couple of decades for this record to see the light of day. Eternal gratitude to Welly from Artcore for masterminding the project & Aston from Boss Tuneage records for his role in putting it out. Last but not least, Vin from B&Q for graciously putting this up on this blog. The comp is dedicated to the memory of friends that have passed away since these recordings were made: Francisco (Pancho) Alegria from Huasipungo, Tom Ota from Warning & Pete King (early ABC scenester)- RIP old buddies.
-Freddy Alva

FUCK ROCK


Side A

ABC NO RIO - Intro
Rorschach - Synthetic Intelligence
Warning - Blind Leading The Blind
Citizens Arrest - Pressure's On (Red C)
Animal Crackers - Roadkill
Born Against - Resist Control
GO! - The Dead Ones
Inflatable Children - Ignore Me
Antiem - God Dog

Side B

DJ Chuck Love - Intro
Animal Crackers - Farting Is A Spiritual Release
Citizens Arrest - Touch & Go
GO! - Kept
Inflatable Children - Landshark
Hell No - Deal With It
Huasipungo - Stupid Ambition
Born Against - Well Fed Fuck
GO! - The ABC Song

I'm excited to have this on the blog again. The final version (5 extra tracks) of the long lost ABC comp, excellent sound quality straight from the master tapes. Ripped at 320. Thanks to Freddy and all the bands for letting B&Q be the home for this piece of hardcore history. Enjoy!

Following text taken from the previous Fuck Rock post:

Rorschach
Charles Maggio - vocals / Keith Huckins - guitar / 
Nick Forte - guitar / Chris Laucella - bass / Andrew Gormley - drums
Tom Rusnak replaced Chris on bass in 1992
Synthetic Intelligence. A crushing version of the track that originally appeared on the "Fear of Smell" comp LP (Vermiform 1993). I was lucky enough to see Rorschach a few times back in the early '90s, and they were completely devastating every time. One of the most powerful live bands of the era. Probably of any era.

Warning
Neil - vocals / Todd - guitar (more info as i get it)
Blind Leading The Blind. Great Discharge inspired track. I can't find any info on this band at this time, but i'll be updating this page as more info comes in. If you know anything about this band, please leave a comment.

Citizens Arrest
Daryl Kahan - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / 
Joseph Martin - bass / Patrick Winter - drums
Touch & Go / Pressure's On. An alternate recording of Touch & Go from the mighty "Colossus" LP (Wardance 1991) and a cover of Red C's "Pressure's On" from the classic "Flex Your Head" comp LP (Dischord 1982). CxA were my favorite hardcore band of the '90s, yet, as many times as they played ABC, i missed them every time. I'm still kicking myself. They're playing shows again with the original lineup, including Ted Leo who sang on the demo. Fuckin' A!

Animal Crackers
Ted Leo - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Squeaky - guitar /
Charlie Adamec - bass / William Tarrant - drums
Roadkill / Farting Is A Spiritual Release. Christ, i haven't heard Animal Crackers in over 15 years. Fast hardcore punk songs with Ted Leo's vocals adding a pop edge. I'm pretty sure this stuff was recorded around the time he was starting Chisel (who i love).

Born Against
Sam McPheeters - vocals / Adam Woodrow - guitar / 
Javier Villegas - bass / Jon Hiltz - drums
Bret Blue replaced Javier on bass somewhere between '91-'92, so i'm not sure who plays drums on these recordings. Born Against had tons of bassist and drummer changes during their existence (for more info check out the Born Against WFMU Sessions post).
Resist Control / Well Fed Fuck. Resist Control was originally performed by Adam's former band, Life's Blood, and Well Fed Fuck is an alternate recording of the closing track to their "9 Patriotic Hymns For Children" LP (Vermiform 1991). I got to see Born Against at ABN No Rio once (with Merel i think) and they were just insane. I'm not sure what Sam was on, but i wanted some. "We're Jock Gestopo, and this first song is called Born Against".

GO!
Mike Bullshit - vocals / Aaron - guitar / Steve - bass on "The Dead Ones" and "Kept" / Anthony Emo - bass on "The ABC Song" / 
Jim Paradise - drums 
The Dead Ones / Kept / The ABC Song
These tracks are not exclusive versions unfortunately, but GO! was a huge part of the ABC No Rio scene and i'm glad they're represented on the comp. Two tracks from the "There Is No Man" 7" (Tasty Records 1991) and one track (The ABC Song) from the great "Why Suffer?" 7" (Forefront Records 1990). GO! is still putting out records and playing shows. Very fun shows.

Inflatable Children
Derek Stukuls - vocals / Gregory Benton - guitar / 
Gregory Stukuls - guitar / Brian Huppi - bass / Jeff Moynihan - drums
Landshark / Ignore Me
I'm pretty unfamiliar with this band. But i plan of fixing that, as this is killer stuff. Pretty sure "Landshark" is an exclusive track, as it's not on the LP or split. "Ignore Me" was released on the split 7" with Puzzlehead (Old Glory Records 1991). Not sure if this is the same version, as i've never heard that split.

Antiem
Rich Trash - vocals / Jon Hiltz - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Melissa York - vocals / Patrick Winter - drums
Dog God. A massive sounding wall of noise by this ABC "supergroup". I couldn't believe this was Rich Trash (Manacled) when i first heard it. He sounds like a rabid dog here, ready to kill someone. Monster of a song. I need more of this.

Hell No
John Woods - vocals / Janis Cakars - guitar / Joe Martin - bass /
Jim Paradise - drums
Deal With It. Yet another band with Janis on guitar and Joe on bass, and yet another great live band. This song sounds familiar, and i'm pretty sure it's a re-working of a song from the first record, with a different name.

Huasipungo
Esneider - vocals / Ivan - guitar ('91-'92) / David Wilentz - bass/guitar ('91-'92) / Mike - bass ('91-'97) / Francisco - drums ('91-'92) / Naoki - drums ('91-'92) / Amanda - guitar/vocals ('92-'93)
Stupid Ambition. I'm not sure the exact lineup of these recordings, as Huasipungo was contantly changing members (and their were more member changes after '92 that i didn't list here). This is a re-recording of one of the band's earlier songs, when they played completely chaotic and frantic hardcore. One of my favorite, and one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated bands of the '90s.

Crowd Of Isolated - 1987-1989

 
I Try To Tell About A Way is my single favorite hardcore album to come out of Germany. I first heard the band sometime in the late '80s on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU in NJ. Crowd Of Isolated seemed to be on the playlist just about every Thursday night for at least a year. From the radio show i taped a few songs which i listened to constantly. My favorite track was Don't Stop My Fight, which made it's way onto just about every mixed tape i made during that time. I still can't help but sing along every time i hear it. That track just struck a chord with me and i couldn't go a day without listening to it. A few years later i was able to get a copy of the album through some German mail-order. Eventually i came to appreciate the album as a whole, and it became one of my favorite hardcore albums on the late '80s.

Until recently i was not at all familiar with German hardcore/crossover and at the time Crowd Of Isolated sounded like no other hardcore band i'd ever heard. They had a definite Iron Maiden vibe in just about every aspect of their music, yet it still remained very much hardcore punk. It was crossover, but not in the usual way. The vocals were like a combo of Bruce Dickinson and Elmer Fudd, and once in a while a little Rozz Williams would creep into the mix. Although that may not sound good on paper (or a computer screen in this case), it worked. The music was a mix of melodic, catchy metal riffs, hardcore, and even maybe a touch of emo at times, for lack of a better term. Favorite tracks other than the amazing Don't Stop My Fight would be Under Pressure, Cold Dark World and Love Of My Life, but the album is perfect from start to finish. Absolutely essential.

The rips of the lp, ep, and comp tracks here are excellent. Absolutely no surface noise or pops. All 17 tracks are as close to CD quality as you will ever find. Enjoy!

Crowd Of Isolated

vocals - Gurke

guitar - Guschtel

bass - Claus

drums - Jürgen

The I Try To Tell About A Way LP was released on X-Mist Records in 1987, on both black and white vinyl. It was recorded at Kong Studio in Reutlingen in November of '87. The LP came with a foldout lyric sheet. It was mastered by G. Pauler at Pauler Acoustics. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Great cover art by Jaenette. Never repressed as far as I know, and never released on CD.

The Hardcore Vol. 1 comp LP was released on Starving Missile Records in 1988 as a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Produced by Mike Just. Cover design (which reminds me a lot of Richard Kern's photography) by Pyhacore. Bands on the comp: Artless, EA80, Aidscats, K.G.B., Crowd Of Isolated, Boskops and Dream Police. The 2 C.O.I. tracks on this comp sound like they were from the LP sessions, as the recording is closer to the sound on the album than on the Bad Actors ep which followed.

The Life Is Change comp LP was released on Beri Beri Records in 1989. It included a 12 page booklet about the bands: EA80, The Vernon Walters, Magnetic AD, Crowd Of Isolated, H.D.Q., Putten, Billy And The Willies, Karma Sutra, The Plot and The Ex.

The Bad Actors 7" was released on X-Mist in 1988. Lyric sheet included. Recorded at Kong Studio by Heinlin. Produced by Armin Hofmann. Insane cover artwork by "Paul". 250 copies came in special self-made covers.

The band's second full-length, Memories and Scars, was released on X-Mist on LP in 1990 and on CD in 1991.

Other comps C.O.I. appeared on:

Small Bands Big Sound comp 7" (1989 Anti-Schelski Records)

tracks: Dear Old Man / Mr. Tear

Rough Enough comp 7" (1989 Vibration Hardcore)

track: In A Field Of Roses

X-Press comp LP (1990 X-Mist Records)

track: Indian Girl

Remember The '90s comp LP (1990 Gusch Records)

track: In A Field Of Roses

Laugh And Hate comp CD (1991 Rough Trade)

track: Tremendous Strength

Trust #10 flexi ep (199? Trust Vinyl)

track: No One Can Stop Us

If anyone has any of these tracks and can share them, please get in touch.

Crowd Of Isolated on Myspace.

Breakdown - 1987-1997

Massive hardcore from Yonkers, NY.

If you're even slightly into NYHC then you already have most of this stuff. I try and avoid posting stuff that's still available, but i've seen the '87 demo and Blacklisted ep on at least a dozen blogs, so i don't think including it here will make a difference. In a perfect world, if any of this stuff is still in print and you don't have it, you should buy it and this collection should only act as a convenient companion piece, not as a final product. If there's a problem just let me know and i'll revise the collection.

This is a collection of Breakdown material spanning ten years. Every track like a brick to the head. Enjoy.

Breakdown: 1987-1997

1987 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Don Angelilli
guitar - Carl Porcaro
bass - Rich McLoughlin
drums - Anthony Drago

The '87 demo was recorded at The Loft on May 26, 1987. Six tracks from the '87 demo were released as a 7" in 1990 on Blackout! as a combined effort with Noiseville Records. I remember seeing a double 7" of the entire demo back in the '90s as well. I'm not sure if that was a bootleg or not. In 2002 Blackout! released all 9 tracks on CD. There was also an unofficial CD release put out by Lost and Found in 1995 titled Dissed and Dismissed which included the demo along with 2 extra tracks, all remastered with new cover art. I'm pretty sure the last re-issue of the demo was the 7" put out by Dead Serious Records in 2005.

Shortly after the '87 demo was recorded, Carl, Rich and Anthony left the band due to personal differences and formed Raw Deal with Anthony Comunale (formerly of Token Entry) and Mike Sentkiewitz (formerly of Sick Of It All). Raw Deal were good, but in my opinion they never recorded anything even close to the intensity and heaviness of the Breakdown demo. One of my favorite NYHC demos ever. Total caveman shit.

1988 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Rob DeFrosia
guitar - Richie Kennon
bass - Mark Sisto
drums - Larry Kaplan

I'm pretty sure somewhere between the '87 lineup and '88 lineup there was someone named Pete who played drums for a short time with the band. I'm also pretty sure he's credited as playing drums on the version of Sick People from the New York Hardcore: The Way It Is comp LP.

The NYHC: Where The Wild Things Are comp LP was recorded in 1988 and released on Blackout! / Noiseville in 1989. Mastered at The Loft. Incredible comp with my personal favorite Breakdown recordings. Dissed And Dismissed in particular is a monster. The stellar lineup was Outburst, Killing Time, Life's Blood, Breakdown, Sheer Terror, Maximum Penalty, Uppercut, Norman Bates And The Showerheads and Gorilla Biscuits.New York Hardcore: The Way It Is was released by Revelation Records on LP in 1988 and on CD in 1993. Liner notes by Ray Cappo. Photography by B.J. Papas, Beth Lahickey andRichard Unhock. The bands: Bold, Nausea, Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Trip 6, Breakdown, Youth Of Today, Sick Of It All, Krakdown, Side By Side, YDL and Supertouch. Like many people, this comp was my exposure to Breakdown and lots of other great bands. I think Sick People floored everyone back in '88.

The Runnin' Scared demo was recorded sometime in 1988. I have absolutely no info on this demo, and i've never owned or even seen an actual copy. I only included (and revised) the 2 tracks on the demo that were exclusive to it at that time. I had a shitty rip of the other 2 tracks to work with (All I Ask and Dissed and Dismissed), plus the comp versions are infinitely superior. I put a lot of work into these 3 tracks and i think they sound great. The song What It Is from this demo later appeared on the New Breed tape, and 2 of the tracks were re-recorded nearly 10 years later for the Blacklisted ep.

The Song Don't Give Up was taken from the New Breed cassette. A great exclusive (at the time) track to that tape. Cleaned up nice.

1997 lineup:
vocals - Jeff Perlin
guitar - Mike Dijan
bass - Larry Susi
drums - Lou Medina

Completely different lineup again, with Jeff being the only remaining original member. With this lineup the band released the Blacklisted ep on Eyeball Records in 1997. Recorded at Mother West NYC. Mastered West West Side Music. The vinyl release contained 5 live tracks (all '87 demo songs). Great ep.

The live tracks were recorded in 1987. I'm not sure of the date or venue, or even city for that matter. It was listed as live in CT, but i get the feeling it was a NYC gig. Great, yet pretty sloppy set. They do an instrumental version of Telltale, originally written to be a Breakdown song, but later recorded (with lyrics) by Raw Deal on their first demo.

The song We'll Be Back was taken from the live WNYU set from 1988. This song was unreleased, although according to an online article by Christ Minicucci, Breakdown recorded this track, along with an alternate version of All I Ask, at Gian Studios on March 25, 1988. I'd love to hear those tracks! You can read that article here.

Lions and Cheetahs!