INFEST

Infest are one of my favourite bands and even before I really knew much about them or had heard more than one song, there was this mysterious pull they had. The ultra-gritty xeroxed covers, the howling singer who sounded like John Brannon with the rage-knob on eleven and the fact that a punk band was willing to play such agonizingly slow breakdowns. Once I heard Slave, I knew I'd finally found the hardcore band I had been fantasizing about! Of course this band is insanely popular and I'm sure for most punk fans it's hard to hear something like this and see it as any different from the countless other bands that played this way... but that's beside the point!

Infest did this first. Siege? Sure, they were playing this fast in 84' but not with this precision, intensity or conviction. As far as I'm concerned, Infest were the final death rattle of american hardcore. After them there is nothing truly innovative or genre defining (maybe Feel the Darkness). There are countless great hardcore bands from the 90's and beyond but game-changing, they are not. This is where hardcore terminated. Infest killed it and they did so in the most glorious way possible. I hope I haven't set the bar too high but if you've never experienced Infest, you must do so ASAP. I've included links to my favourites of their catalog.

p.s. Don't talk to me about Fucked Up because I don't care

SLAVE LP

MANKIND 7"

NO MAN'S SLAVE LP