Washington, D.C.'s Bad Brains paved the way for the underground punk scene of the eighties, and they did it simply by playing faster than anyone. After them, and especially after Black Flag, circuits would begin to develop around the States whereby anyone in a punk band with enough gumption could pack up a van and hit the road, but without Bad Brains shifting between the inherent politics of reggae and the high-speed thrash of punk-no one would have had a clue what to do in that nebulous period of time where any jerk with a synthesizer, a passing knowledge of Elvis Costello, and a bottle of hairspray could form a band. Led by guitarist Dr. Know, Bad Brains released a string of cassettes beginning in 1982 with a self-titled tape, and with their blistering live performances, Bad Brains soon became the greatest hardcore band touring the country. But as the hardcore scene was only beginning and the tour routes which would later be paved by Black Flag and Minor Threat were still little more than stopoffs at some kids basement in Topeka, combined with the difficulty of distributing Bad Brains' various tapes, the band never managed to break outside of their devoted cult following. After delving into metal towards the end of the eighties, and releasing a few lackluster major label records in the nineties (I And I among them) Bad Brains called it a day.

Advertisement ...................................................

There quite simply wouldn't be punk rock as we know it today if Bad Brains hadn't taken up the cause and furthered the momentum of punk by stretching it into new forms and investing their political and sexual politics into the mix. By the time hardcore got its motor running, punk bands had become new wave bands signed to controlling record labels, but Bad Brains helped inspire a generation of up and comers to find their own way to control their scene, their music and their lives. Much less, the music is mind-bendingly fast with solid rhythms and driving beats that will get you jumping out of chair.