Bad Brains - Bad Brains (1982) Genre: Hardcore Punk, Reggae

Bad Brains

Bad Brains (1982)

Genre: Hardcore Punk, Reggae

This band influenced a ton of my favorite artists like 311, P.O.D, Sublime, Beatie Boys, Deftones, John Fruciante, Henry Rollins… and I can go on and on. They are a real anomaly in the punk and the extended rock world; they are black Rastafarians playing super extreme punk.  

Vocal and Lyrics: H.R.’s vocal style takes a while to assimilate and appreciate, and during this period he's at his best. He has a very original way of singing that becomes one of the trademarks of this band.10

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Dr. Know is a formidable guitar player; he dances circles around most of the punk guitarist of the time.

Bass and drums: The rhythm section plays at a very high tempo; they give a feeling of speed and urgency. But the real merit here is that these guys play at break neck speeds on the punk songs and then they can super slow it down and play a super relaxed reggae, seamlessly. 7.1

                                 

Melody and Structure: Being the fact that they had a jazz back round, makes them able to compose with a certain level of sophistication, compared to other punk bands at the time. 7

Sound, Production and Feeling: The album doesn’t sound very good; they probably recorded it for zero money, but over the years I’ve learned to appreciate the rawness of the production. This album captures there energy unlike any other album that fallows. 10

Songs: Man, most of these songs are classics; many of them will be covered by other bands over the years. 13

The Bad: Nothing

Originality: These guys where trail blazers on so many levels, for hardcore punk, for black rock and for reggae, this album is a milestone for all those genres. 12 

Overall:59.1