William_the_Bloody

Discharge

I shall start my set with Discharge as they are typically cited as the godfathers of British hardcore, crust and D beat amongst other things. I did a hardcore countdown over a year ago where I posted a lot of my favourite songs by these types of bands, but this will allow me to revisit things in more detail.

A couple of things to note, although I enjoy writing, I just do this for self therapy, so if a review seems short it is because my words matter not, it is only the music that is important.

Reality of War ep (1980)

Although I am aware of the historical significance of this album that has resulted it being praised by music reviewers as a groundbreaking feat for 1980, it is simply not very good when you compare the ep it to its American hardcore counterparts that predate by two years. (Black Flag: Nervous breakdown 1978, Misfits Bullet 1978) I would recommend these instead for your fledging hardcore kick.

** stars

Society´s Victim

William_the_Bloody

Fight Back ep 1980

Their second ep, 5 songs...most of them are brutally awful including War is no Fairytale, but another glimmer of hope keeps me from panning the ep, I vaguely remember this song, but it starts off with a nice driving bass line, and Tony Bones guitar playing helps out a bit.

** stars

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William_the_Bloody

Decontrol 7 inch 1980

Three songs of better production value with a band that seems to be finding their step. Decontrol is a decent single but nothing special, still I'm feeling generous.

**1/2 stars



Why? album 1981

Man if I were on a punk rock forum, I'd be on a collision course with Discharge fans because I really don't think there is anything redeeming about this album, especially when I compare it to what else had already been released, or was to be released in the punk world that year. I could ramble off a dozen or so albums & singles that were better, but what really drives me batty about Discharge's early releases is the redundant chord progressions on many of their songs, da da da da da da da da, dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee and repeat. Nevertheless, it should be noted that I am a big fan of Tony Bones guitar work overall, so an evenly balanced album, but unfortunately nothing stands out.

** stars

William_the_Bloody

I am going to skip over the Never Again 7 inch to get straight to the meat, but if your a fan of Tony Bones craftsmanship there are some nice solos in here.

Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing Album 1982

Well this is it, the album that inspired thrash metal bands like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Sepultura to name a few. It is a good album, with good song structures and a very talented guitarist. I can see why metal fans are big on this release as there is a solid degree of technical proficiency, and a tinge of morbid despair that is not prevalent on many other notable hardcore albums. (Crust/Grind aside)

In rating the album though, I do have to beg the question as to whether is it on par with the American thrash metal releases that would follow it a year later, most notably Metallica's Kill em All, and Slayer's Show No Mercy. Some would say this is an unfair comparison because Discharge was a DIY punk band on a small recording budget, while the latter two had signed to the majors and therefore had corpoarate backing, which makes a considerable difference in the recording quality, even if it's taken off the floor in one take. Nevertheless, Discharge is often referred to, somewhat unfairly, as a seat warmer for the American thrash metal scene because of the bands dissolution shortly following this release, so it's worth the comparison, and the short answer is no. I won't touch on Kill em All because the first three Metallica albums are largely regarded as the bench mark for hard music in general, and I can't think of many metal or punk releases that can stand up to them, so a better comparison might be Slayer's Show No Mercy, in which the answer is still no, because as good as Tony Bones is, Hanneman and King are all over the map with their solos on the first Slayer release and on a personal level, I always found that Discharge had a more sluggish sound than the speed of some of their peers (G.B.H. Exploited ect) so...

***1/2 stars

Free Speech For The Dumb



Protest And Survive




The Nightmare Continues



State Violence State Control 7 inch 1982

Man I feel like I've just put Discharge through a pummeling so I think I'll go soft on this release, I find the overall chord progression of State Violence, State Control to be a bit slow for my liking but once again another excellent little solo from Tony Bones, and Dooms Day is just the right tempo for me so close out on

*** 1/2 to **** stars

State Violence State Control



I think I'll stop Discharge here as after this release Tony Bones would leave the band and Discharge would go off in a...different direction. Next up either G.B.H. or The Exploited.

Pg 1 Sisters of Mercy (Goth rock)
Pg 2 Blood for Blood (Hardcore)
Pg 3 Gallows (Hardcore)
Pg 3 Smiths (Alternative Rock)
Pg 5 Ceremony (Hardcore)
Pg 5 Violent Femmes (Alternative folk/folk punk)
Pg 6 Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Indie Rock)
Pg 7 Metric (Indie Rock)
Pg 8 Suicidal Tendencies (Crossover Thrash)
Pg 8 Trash talk (Thrashcore)
pg 8 Discharge (Hardcore)