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Bad Brains. Forget about music genres. If there ever was a band that fuses together multiple Rock genres and flips the bird at the status quo simultaneously, it is Bad Brains. When I’m in the mood to listen to a band that plays from the gut, the heart… Bad Brains. Punk Rock, check. Hardcore Punk, check. Reggae, check. Hard Rock, um, check. Some flashes of Thrash? Bad Brains can. Oh, don’t forget about some Funk in the rhythm either… Bad Brains will deliver. Ska and Heavy Metal… it’s been part of Bad Brains diverse musical identity as well. If you are totally new to Bad Brains and all of this sounds confusing, need not worry, Bad Brains is the antidote to stagnant music listening. In other words, you are never going to hear of or find another band like them… and if you do, it would have to be a cover band of Bad Brains, which in the end would never come remotely close to the original.

Since Bad Brains released their debut, self titled album in 1982, there has been untold “flavors of the month” in Heavy, Extreme, Alternative and Punk Music. Since 1982, there has only been one Bad Brains. To span three decades while releasing eight ultra legit studio albums is monument. (Granted, their 2002 release I & I Survived was/is an instrumental dub album, with H.R. not present on vocals. Regardless, it shall always remain as a unique musical representation of/from Bad Brains). Think of it this way, it is easier to span three decades and release fifteen albums, all the while just two or three are justified. As I see and hear it, Bad Brains has accomplished what the Beatles, Ramones, The Who and Led Zeppelin, (to name more than a few), before them already had… an astoundingly identifiable style of music, which sound is impossible to confuse with any other band.

Bad Brains will forever be regarded as a Hardcore Punk originator and rightfully so. Only at the end of the day, what really matters is the overwhelming uniqueness that flows from their songs hot as magma, ultimately creating a cooling down – experience in music listening, which once again gets ramped up from the Bad Brains ride you embark on… a Bad Brains trip never stays the same. Sound cool? Bad Brains is just that. In the sad event you have never listened to Bad Brains, there is still time to redeem your hijacked and commercialized, MTV and/or VH1 soul. I picked the Bad Brains album – Quickness, as my listening choice today. Quickness may not be heralded as the greatest Bad Brains album made, regardless, I am not into any unfair comparisons to their iconic, self titled, debut album either. Quickness is a listen into just how an album can encompass so many great qualities of heavy, hard and at times softer song structure. This fantastic Bad Brains album was, (and always is), a slap to my forehead reminder that a band does not have to sell out sports stadiums and win multiple Grammy Awards, in order to be appreciated and accepted as realistically legendary, genuine, unapologetically diverse and damn right hard & heavy.

Bad Brains – Quickness was released in 1989, on Caroline Records.

Bad Brains – Quickness Track Listing:

Soul Craft

Voyage Into Infinity

The Messengers

With The Quickness

Gene Machine/Don’t Bother Me

Don’t Blow Bubbles

Sheba

Yout’ Juice

No Conditions

Silent Tears

The Prophets Eye

Endtro

The original Bad Brains lineup:

H.R. – lead vocals

Dr. Know – guitar

Darryl Jenifer – bass

Earl Hudson – drums

This entry was posted on January 5, 2010 at 3:03 pm and is filed under 1980's hardcore punk bands, 1980's punk rock bands, 1990's hardcore punk bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's punk rock albums, 1990's punk rock bands, 1990's punk rock music, 1990's rock bands, 1990's rock music, 1990's hard rock albums, 1990's rock albums, alternative rock albums 1989, collecting rock music, current heavy metal bands, current punk rock music, diverse metal music, diverse punk rock music, essential hardcore albums, essential punk rock albums, essential rock albums, hardcore punk rock history, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands, heavy metal music, independent record labels, metal odyssey, Music, old school punk rock, punk rock album covers, punk rock albums, punk rock history, punk rock music, rock music with tags 1980's punk rock albums, 1980's punk rock bands, 1980's alternative rock albums, 1990's punk rock albums, 1990's punk rock bands, 1990's rock albums, Album Review, alternative rock bands, alternative rock music, bad brains, bad brains band, bad brains hardcore punk band, bad brains quickness album, bad brains quickness album review, current punk rock bands, hard rock music, hardcore punk rock bands, heavy metal music, metal odyssey, Music, music reviews, punk rock music, reggae music, rock music, rock music reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.