At long last here's a solid fucking reissue of this painfully rare 1983 7" from this legendary NYHC act, transferred straight over from a copy of the original 7" by the one and only Alan Douches at West West Side - and it sounds really good considering. The levels are nice and loud, the tones are forceful with a good low-end presence, etc. This is basically textbook hardcore/punk with a good level of pissed off attitude and speed, a little bit of heaviness for its time, and a unique yelling vocal approach that definitely inspired later bands like Youth of Today. John Joseph from the Cro-Mags is credited with backing vocals on the catchy but still in your face "Real Deal" but you'd never really know it otherwise, and among the stronger tracks are the ultra vicious "Got Me on the Line" and the slightly more midpaced and at times rocked out in rhythm patterns "Something Must Be Done", which really stands out from the other songs. Make no mistake though, as memorable as these songs are there's not really any melody involved, it's straight up aggressive material. The layout has been adapted from the original 7" with some added liner notes from John Joseph (just a brief recounting of his opinions on the band) and the lyrics handwritten inside the foldout sleeve. Lyrically the tracks mostly deal with frustration and day to day issues, with "Nazi Youth" of course attacking racism and the ever controversial "Foreign Job Lot" taking on the at the time (the 80's) popular topic of illegal immigrants. The content's all straightforward, nothing worth writing home about. Listening back to this now it's not all that evident exactly why this is heralded as such a classic of the scene because it has been around 21 years since its original release, after all. That's not to say it's weak, it's a fucking awesome EP to this day. It's not something that really blows my face off, but it's a fast and furious little effort that keeps things as short and sweet as possible with no songs hitting two minutes in length. I definitely think its rarity has added to its status as a "classic", but it's impossible for anyone like me who was only six years old when this came out to truly grasp its historical significance. So I say fuck it and just enjoy the killer tunes... and be thankful that this fucker is finally available with ease now!
[Hell Bent]
Running time - 9:14, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Real Deal, Got Me on the Line, Something Must Be Done]
Hell Bent Records - http://www.hellbentrecords.com
