Various Artists - American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986

Genre soundtrack Publisher Rhino/ADA External Links Official "American Hardcore" Website

The burning fast rhythm guitar licks. The thrashing of the cymbals and crack of the snare and thud of the double bass. The finger running bass and the barely comprehensible voices of singers screaming into their mikes. If that's enough to get your blood pumping and your sweat flowing, then American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986 is without a doubt your kind of CD. It's not short of songs, and it's definitely not short of vocalists who seem to have trouble discerning between singing and losing their voice.

The musical ability of punk rockers requires great technique and talent, all played at an alarming velocity. The key word in punk rock? Speed, closely followed by volume. While I don't mind the actual music, it's hard to judge the talent level of the vocalists, as I have a hard time defining whether they consider hoarse shouting to be singing. The drums are consistently the backbone of the songs, with super swift beats built upon the double-bass kick drum and super loud sounds coming from the multiple cymbals. The rhythm guitar is the forefront, providing the riffs that set the mood for the whole track. And finally, at the back is the bass, hardly noticed when it's there, but definitely noticed when it's not. While the CD itself boasts 26 different artists, including hardcore rock legends Black Flag and Gang Green, the songs are all so similar that it makes it hard to discern between one band and the next.

As for the lyrics, there's not much to say except that vulgarity and political incorrectness rule the day. Hardcore punk is generally viewed as punk rock that takes an unorthodox approach towards social and political issues. The tracks on this CD are no exception, as the listener is bombarded with messages to "Kill the Commie!", "Fuck L.A.!", and that if "You call it religion, you're full of shit." Thankfully, it's hard to hear the words anyways, but either way, the lyrics are full of thought, feeling, and not a little bitterness. The top tracks on this CD are "Boiling Point", "Came Without Warning", and "I Hate Children", simply because the structures of their songs are slightly more complex than the other ones on the disc.

This CD, made as an audio soundtrack to the feature-length documentary film of the same name is hard-edged, aggressive, offensive, loud, fast, and probably what your parents don't want to hear. It's full of anger and emotion, both sentiments of which come out in the music. The disc might not be a huge hit with everyone, but for punk rock purists, it will be a long-awaited compilation of some of the most classic songs from the 1980's era.