POISON IDEA
Kings Of Punk (Reissue)
Southern Lord (2013)
Rating: 8/10
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Early hardcore was a truly American art form. Bands like DRI and Black Flag made dangerous, dirty music that was the sound of the youth in revolt. Hardcore was ugly music by ugly people, and within it was all the rage and fury of the disenchanted.
Poison Idea was a major force in this movement, and their music has influenced generations of punk and metal bands, as shown by the covers of the band’s songs released by Pantera, Machine Head and Turbonegro.
In 1986 Poison Idea released their first full-length, the 11 songs delivered as Kings Of Punk. The fine gentlemen over at Southern Lord have reissued this hardcore classic as a double CD including a remaster of the original album plus two live sets. All show the power and grit of American hardcore at its finest.
Fans are well aware of the primary failure of the classic punk and hardcore releases… production. These songs were recorded on a tight budget, often in a DIY fashion that led to less than optimal sound quality. Remasters of these seminal albums have restored the music to better quality than the original releases. Kings Of Punk has new venom in its bite, thanks to the work done cleaning up the audio. The sound is huge, while still raw.
‘Lifestyles’ tears open this collection with breakneck speed bass and drums, courtesy of Chris Tense and Dean Johnson respectively. The rhythm section is crisp and pounding. Tom “Pig Champion” Roberts’ guitars sound menacing, and singer Jerry A. spits out his lyrics with vehemence. The mix is loud and abrasive. Where too many remasters have tamed the fury of the original content, the work done to this version of Kings Of Punk serves to enhance the power of these songs.
Poison Idea separated themselves from the rest of the hardcore scene by keeping a bit of rock in their style. Bad Brains incorporated reggae, and Black Flag’s out of tune guitar solos brought in a noise ethic that has been emulated ever since. Poison Idea used traditional rock sounds within the context of their songs to create something just on the brink of palatable, while still being a rude noise.
‘Short Fuse’ has a great guitar lead, and ‘Ugly American’ has an excellent rock progression, tied up in dirt and hatred. While embracing these rock standards they also pioneered some of the hardcore time shifts and rhythmic techniques that went on to become mandatory among speed metal bands. ‘Ugly American’ changes from a brooding rock song to a chugging punk anthem, ending on a speed passage that would have made an early Slayer jealous.
More than just a punk rock milestone, Kings Of Punk is a great hardcore album. ‘Death Wish Kids’ seethes with raw energy, while ‘Made To Be Broken’ opens with a pop riff that has been ripped off by other bands several times over the years. ‘One By One’ has a similarly catchy opening, before faltering into an off kilter riff in the vein of Fugazi. Jerry A.’s vocals sound like a young Henry Rollins possessed with piss and hate. These are dirty, sweaty, angry songs delivered in harsh tones. In short, Kings Of Punk is everything a hardcore album should be.
If there is a single factor that keeps this release from being perfect, it is the live content. The live songs vary in quality, and improve as the album progresses. The problem is that there’s just too much of it. The same song appears on this collection three and four times in many instances. As a fan who collected many of these original hardcore releases on cassette, I’m ecstatic to have the original album remastered on CD, and even to hear an early concert as an archive of the power of Poison Idea. Three concerts in a row, comprised of mainly the same songs, makes listening all the way through in a single sitting a chore.
This is a great release, but suffers a bit from overwhelming the listener by the sheer volume of the material presented.
Jim McDonald
