The Formative Years – This is Boston . . .
I vividly remember the first time I got to listen to Modern Method’s This Is Boston, Not L.A. compilation, which ignited a passion for bands with a chip on their shoulder from the “Athens of America” that lasts to this day. The compilation comprised songs of seven bands, five of them having played an integral in shaping American hardcore at large and my outlook in particular.
Jerry’s Kids open proceedings with their first ever recordings, delivering six flawless smashers, Proletariat followed infusing the flow of the compilation with their idiosyncratic Wire-esque brand of punk rock and Marxist outlook on things.
Groinoids offer a neat interludium before the F.U.'s warming things up with a quartet of straight forward slashers, before Gang Green take things to another level with what at the time blew minds with their speedy and thrashy approach. Decadence deliver a hit with “Slam”, a song off their 4-song demo, which is worth tracking down. The compilation culminates with The Freeze, whose eight tracks with their dark lyrics and original melodies are another highlight.
The Freeze’s evolution from their first “I hate tourists” 7” via the This Is Boston compilation and their contribution to the Unsafe At Any Speed 7” compilation to their fantastic “Guilty faces” 7” from 1982 is fantastic with the bands pumping out gem after gem.
While SSD never really resonated with me to the extent the aformentioned bands did, another hardcore band that had a tangible impact on me during my early teens was Siege, the sound of which pushed the envelope and created the foundation for what was to become labeled as “power violence”. What a mayhemic onslaught their demo was with its rapid-fire delivery and guttural vocals.
Deep Wound, yes J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr’s first band, and its first self-titled 7” must be one of my all-time favourite early hardcore releases before they ventured on, took a few pages from Siege’s playbook, which saw their musical output spiral into a maelstrom of fast-core songs that helped to create the blueprint for grindcore and experimental noise acts.
