forget the horrible cover and the curiosity of Pure Hell being the first all-black punk band (this album was recorded in 1978 and went unreleased for 28 years, the group had been on the NY scene since the '74); I have had this for a couple of months now and it really is a blistering riff-factory or an album. Stylistically you are looking at (and i say this because it's true) the New York Dolls on speed, the lead guitar is very prominent in the mix and they can obviously play - this ain't no Ramones template punk album.
Unfortunately by 1978 this might have sounded a bit redundant anyway, but there are some genuinely great moments on this that would have gone down in history if they'd had a better manager/been white/had less wah-wah solos, and there is a good amount of diversity across the record.
Un(der)rated
faiv traks: Noise Addiction, I Feel Bad, their version of These Boots Are Made For Walking is surprisingly not cack