This compilation featuring 10 pioneering Northeast Ohio hardcore bands was originally released in 1984. The reissue (available on old-school vinyl with a digital download card) tags on tons of bonus tracks, bringing the final count to 64 songs. Very few of the bands are as good as the hardcore groups that were springing up in Washington D.C. and New York City at the same time, but there’s plenty to like here. The Guns’ “Locked Inside” is every bit as incendiary as Suicidal Tendencies’ classic “Institutionalized,” and there’s plenty of vitriol running through songs by Starvation Army, Zero Defex, and Positive Violence. The music is undeniably abrasive — the vocals on the Dark’s “Sacrifice” and the Paroles’ “The Executioner” sound like screams from a wounded animal. And it perfectly captures a forgotten corner of local music history. — Niesel
This article appears in Nov 10-16, 2010.
