When this band originally came together and recorded their first missives, the two principal members of the band, Scott Eakin and Dave Araca, were only 12 and 15 years old. After listening to this massive reissue, which features almost all of the bands recorded output, you get the sense that these were a bunch of restless kids growing up in dead-end America, who were mighty pissed off at that fact. Unlike other punk rock scenes of the time, which could be very white collar and positive, the Midwest scene was more blue collar and pissed off, with a little sense of nihilism that goes along with it. Some of these kids were probably destined for life in a factory, not at a university, like a place like Washington,  DC, so they had a little more to rage about.

Plus, when you listen to a band like this, you hear traces of their influences, which include Cleveland’s own Pagans, Dead Boys, and The Stooges, but sped up a bit. So, they were a little bit more negative and dark. To put it in hardcore terms, you hear traces of early Black Flag, mixed with Poison Idea, as well as some good ol’ rock ‘n roll, hard rock, and metal influences. (If you think the Cleveland metalcore of Integrity and Ringworm came out of a vacuum, think again.) In fact, many Midwest hardcore bands always had a hard rock influence — it was a regional trait. Of course, they sped it up.

“I’m Not Right,” which opens the album (and appears in several different versions on the record), is a misfit anthem par excellence, while “Kill The Preps” shows their anger at the more preppy people in the world, which shows that they would have nothing to do with fashionista hardcore today. “Waste Of Talent” is their metal move, with falsetto singing and a ripping guitar solo. It’s a sweet slice of crossover, and you can bet Dwid Hellion and the Human Furnace were listening. This is just a small sampling of the songs on display here, some recorded with very low fidelity, which only adds to their grotty punk charm. There’s even a messed up cover of “The Jetsons” theme song, which proves that they either had a strange sense of humor, or they just liked cartoons.

So, if you’re a fan of the loud and fast stuff, this is definitely one reissue you will want to pick up. It’s an essential piece of Cleveland hardcore, one that probably proved very influential to those who came after it. As always, Smog Veil does an excellent job with the packaging and artwork.

(Smog Veil Records, 1658 N. Milwaukee Avenue #284, Chicago, IL 60647)