80's punk Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Daily Terror “Aufrecht”

sfilzen — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:47:29 +0000

Daily Terror “Aufrecht” 1984. Aggressive Rockproduktionen. German punk rock with a classic early 80’s punk sound. Daily Terror originally formed in Braunschweig (aka Brunswick) as Bombed Bodies in the late 70’s and dissolved fairly soon after in 1979, and frontman Pedder Teumer went on to form Daily Terror (the other two members, Kat and Pelle, formed Sluts). We picked up this LP last week in Berlin at the most excellent punk record shop Cortex Records which happened to be just a couple of blocks from the apartment we rented for the week in the Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Aufrecht (or Upright in English) is Daily Terror’s second release and it’s really great (though all in German so I have no idea what they’re singing about). My top tracks include the Clash-esque “Hinterlist” and the tight rat-a-tat “Hallelujah.” “Armes Schwein” starts off with an almost gentle acoustic-ish guitar lead-in and the track is borderline mellow, but also more than borderline menacing and then the next track “Leichenberg” launches into a gritty track super-reminiscent of Stiff Little Fingers. Given how long its been since this LP came out, it’s tough to find much in the way of video but here’s a live performance of the first track on side B, “Bundeswehr.”

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Red Rockers “Condition Red”

sfilzen — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:32:28 +0000

Red Rockers “Condition Red” 1981 415 Records. The debut LP from New Orleans-based 80’s punks. Of note: their cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” features Jello Biafra on backup vocals. It’s a good pairing as Red Rockers are less Cali or east coast hardcore which would become more widespread the next year or two, and more Clash, (they opened for The Clash when they toured Louisiana and Texas in early 1982), The Dils (from whom they got their name from) or DK in their political punk style. Their official first release, an EP from ’80, features a few of the tracks that appear on Condition Red: the single “Guns of Revolution” (also the EP’s title) backed with “Teenage Underground” (also on this LP) plus “Nothing to Lose.” My top tracks are the short, sharp and punchy “Peer Pressure,” “Grow Up,” the anthemic and politically biting “Dead Heroes,” the aforementioned Johnny Cash cover “Folsom Prison Blues” and the dark “Hold On.”

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The Flesh Eaters “A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die”

sfilzen — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 18:10:25 +0000

The Flesh Eaters “A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die” 1981/2024 limited edition red vinyl reissue on Jackpot Records. Early punk supergroup featuring X’s John Doe and DJ Bonebrake, The Blasters’ Dave Alvin, Bill Bateman and Steve Berlin (also from Los Lobos), plus Flesh Eaters founder/frontman Chris D. (aka Chris Desjardins). A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die was their second LP and it’s weird AF. In the punk canon it’s more campy Cramps or Devo with a death wish than their early SoCal LA contemporaries like the Germs or other harder-edged bands (though Chris D’s vocals occasionally have a Darby edge). Herky jerky weirdness abounds, accented with squawking sax’s and shaky maracas (all of that and more on the track “Satan’s Stomp“). While it’s “trashy…blues horror” (Allmusic), there are for sure ass-shaking moments like on “Pray til You Sweat,” the boogie-down “See You in the Boneyard” and the vaguely Bo Diddley-esque, maraca-forward “So Long.” The John Doe penned “Cyrano de Berger’s Back” would appear later on X’s 1987 See How We Are (sidenote: Billy Zoom was replaced on that LP by fellow Flesh Eater Dave Alvin on guitar) and again on their 2020 surprise release Alphabetland.

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Bad Brains “Spirit Electricity”

sfilzen — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:10:21 +0000

Bad Brains “Spirit Electricity” 1991. SST Records. Six (or seven) song 10″ EP of live tracks recorded in 1987 at shows in Providence, Rhode Island and in L.A. while the DC punks toured for I Against I (an all-time favorite album of mine). Like most Bad Brains releases (and shows for the matter), the tracks vacillate between lightning speed and shredding hardcore punk and, in a whiplash move, mellow grooving roots reggae. The EP leads off with the apparently rare live recording of “Return to Heaven” which has H.R. at his vocal peak; Wiki states that this version of the song on Spirit Electricity is the only official live version. “Let Me Help” is just as raucous and then without a pause it segues into a mashup of the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” and The Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow” with a vibe so chill my eyes are red just listening to it. Side B has the Bad Brains classic “Banned in DC” and “Attitude,” two of the fastest, most insane punk songs ever both from their 1983 LP Rock for Light, followed by another chillllll reggae groover, “Youth Are Getting Restless” which H.R. introduces with a shoutout to the South Africans who were in ’87 actively fighting apartheid. It’s a great EP: the sound quality is fantastic and Bad Brains are at the top of their performance game.

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Black Flag “Who’s Got the 10-1/2?”

sfilzen — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:52:11 +0000

Black Flag “Who’s Got the 10-1/2?” 1986. SST Records. Last night we saw “Black Flag” perform at X-Ray Arcade. The quotes are because it’s just Greg Ginn (on guitar) from the OG lineup(s) and three other young musicians who look about the same age as my kid. It was good…it was weird. The kids did a good job and absolutely put their heart and snarl into the show but it was grandpa with the grandkids. Again, weird. The Queers opened and they’re also down to just original member, Joseph P. King aka Joe Queer. At least the rest of his band felt a bit more age appropriate. (The Queers were fun, though their sound got pretty repetitive quickly, but it’s short, sharp, dumb and silly punk so I didn’t mind.) We only stayed for the first half of Black Flag (OMG there was an intermission! Like we were at the fucking opera or something) so I’m not sure what they played during the second set but we got “Nervous Breakdown,” “Damaged,” “Six Pack” and “Wasted” during the first half.

Who’s Got the 10-1/2? is a live LP recorded in August 1985 at Starry Night in Portland, Oregon. This is Rollins-era Flag (the back cover of the LP has him in those tiny, sweaty 80’s athletic shorts) so deep screamy yet guttural vocals over Ginn’s shred and the hardcore rhythms of bassist Kira Roessler (the only other woman in Black Flag until the current singer, Max Zanelly) and drummer Anthony Martinez. For an 80’s live punk album, the quality is surprisingly good, especially Side B’s “My War” and the long mashup of “Slip It In” with “Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie.”

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Hüsker Dü “New Day Rising”

sfilzen — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:07:21 +0000

Hüsker Dü “New Day Rising” 1985. SST Records. Midwestern 80’s punk, the third LP from Minnesota’s Hüsker Dü. A mix of chaotic, rough n’ ready punk, power pop and melodic punk. It made the UK Indie chart at #10 in ’85 and while it had no chart presence to speak of in the US, it was well-received critically and was included on some best-of lists (Spin, NME, Rolling Stone), both at the year of its release as well as retrospectively. The title and lead track, “New Day Rising” is a cacophony of scratchy sound (Bob Mould apparently hated the record’s production and I have to say I agree with him on that), but a really great punk track that is more in line with the Dü’s early hardcore material, as is “I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About.” (The album closer “Plans I Make” is just pure punk chaos, not even a lick of pop). I also like “I Apologize” and “If I Told You” which start to lean more power pop/melodic punk. The track “Celebrated Summer” mixes it all together – that track was sort of released as a single, sent as a promotional 45 to radio stations only – with bursts of speed and moments of delicate acoustic guitar. “Perfect Example” is a jangly alt-rock track, recalling R.E.M. more than anything else (it’s fine though a bit boring). “Terms of Psychic Warfare” is a beaty ass-shaker: power pop with punk edges and an anthemic feel – it’s great! “Books About UFO’s” is a bluesy rocker with piano which does not at all wedge into the punk genre (but it is a fun song, it’s too bad the production is so sucky as it could have sounded much better). I’m not sure I agree that this is one of the best punk releases of the era, but it is a great LP and demonstrates the evolution, in real time, from hard punk to punk pop that was trending in the mid-to-late 80’s.

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Social Distortion “Prison Bound”

sfilzen — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:29:31 +0000

Social Distortion “Prison Bound” 1988. Restless Records. We saw Social Distortion perform at Summerfest on Friday, the 4th of July, scoring free VIP front row wrist bands last minute so we were all up in there! And while they didn’t really play much from Prison Bound, their second studio LP, it happens to be one of the only ones in our collection I haven’t already written about. I’m also not that familiar with it: I was super into the band around ’85/’86 after seeing Another State of Mind and listening to their debut Mommy’s Little Monster (1983) on repeat. And then got back into them with their “comeback” album Social Distortion (1990). Prison Bound is for sure punk but has a lot of driving country blues sound that teases their switch to a more decidedly rockabilly punk sound in ’90. See especially “Like an Outlaw (For You)” that has literal wagon train sound effects (whistles, yeehaw, you get the idea) and a spaghetti western feel. “No Pain No Gain” has a sinister lost in the western desert flavor (it’s pretty good). The opening track “It’s the Law” is probably the best on the LP. While not a single (none were released from the album), it did get some commercial radio play; that track is, according to wiki, a remake of Social D’s “Justice for All“, which appeared on the 1981 compilation album The Future Looks Bright. I also like the punk-forward “I Want What I Want.” The title track is a decent mid-tempo rocker but not overly exciting. Prison Bound has one cover, “Backstreet Girl” by the Rolling Stones, which is so-so, just like the remainder of the tracks on Prison Bound.

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Squirrel Bait “Squirrel Bait”

sfilzen — Wed, 14 May 2025 18:11:57 +0000

Squirrel Bait “Squirrel Bait” 1985. Clear red vinyl EP, Homestead Records (and cover designed by Steve Albini). Young punks from Louisville, Kentucky, at times melodic and others more hardcore. Six of the eight tracks were originally recorded in ’84 when the band members were still in high school. They toured the Midwest in the mid-80’s, opening for bands like Hüsker Dü, Naked Raygun and Big Black (hence the Albini hookup). I have vague recollections of seeing the band’s name on flyers – and it’s entirely possible I saw a show if they ever played Wisconsin back in the day – but I honestly don’t remember Squirrel Bait; their style of punk isn’t my favorite. If pressed my top picks would be “Hammering So Hard” and “Disguise” – both are alright when the band stays sharp and tight, but the emocore sound is not my jam. “Perfect” is interesting, with tempo changes, some angularity along with its rhythm — mathcore. Although there is a fair amount of fawning over the band and this EP (they are torchbearers for Fugazi, they were a huge influence on Dave Grohl, blah blah) and about what some of the band members went on to do (playing with The Lemonheads, the Breeders, forming and dissolving a bunch of punk bands), Squirrel Bait isn’t doing it for me. And because it was the mid-80s’ and punks had no money, there’s virtually nothing out there visually but I did find this performance of “Sun God” from Squirrel Bait:

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Flipper “Album-Generic Flipper”

sfilzen — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 18:30:49 +0000

Flipper “Album-Generic Flipper” 1982. Subterranean Records. Noise punk, Flipper’s debut LP and considered one of the best punk releases from the 80’s. Very influential to the punk/grunge rockers of the late 80’s/90’s: Buzz from the Melvins counts it in his top 5, Kurt Cobain ranked it in his top 50; Krist Novoselic even joined the band in 2006. I can also personally attest that Judah Bauer (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and his brother Donavon (20 Miles, w/Judah) listened to Flipper at their parents’ house in the mid-80’s and it may have had an impact on the Bauer bros sound.

Generic is mostly sludgy and sloooowww for punk, especially considering the early 80’s California punk sound which was, decidedly, not. Compared to their contemporaries, Flipper’s tracks are epic in length. The dirgey, head-banging (slowly) “(I Saw You) Shine” clocks in at well over 8 minutes. Usually I’d get bored but the bass line is kinda great and there’s some pretty good guitar licks. Also epic is “Sex Bomb” (just under 8 minutes), one of Flipper’s most well-known tracks. Flipper released that song as a single in ’81 and recorded a new version for Generic. One reviewer says about “Sex Bomb” – “[it’s] the closest thing ’80s punk ever created to the beer-fueled genius of the Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie,” and a song with a great beat that you just can’t dance to.” It even has saxophone! Also great is “Way of the World,” which actually is a bit danceable, if totally nihilistic (lyrics include “There are hearts no longer beating, And there’s entrails still on the floor. That’s the way of the world.”), “Life” which has a Gen-X shrug about…life, and punk blues-riff laden “Nothing” which is actually an ass-shaker, though sloppily so. “Living for the Depression” is really the only high-speed punk song on the LP and it’s a real ripper for Flipper.

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Negative Approach “Tied Down”

sfilzen — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 20:27:48 +0000

Negative Approach “Tied Down” 1983. Touch and Go Records. The first (and only) LP by the Detroit hardcore punk pioneers. Relentlessly tough, angry and growling. We saw Negative Approach play a couple of years ago when they toured with 7 Seconds; though not the original lineup which disbanded after Tied Down‘s release and tour. Singer John Brannon seemed just as intense and ragey as he reportedly was back in the day.

Negative Approach at X-Ray Arcade 2022

Tied Down is super-aggressive, even for early 80’s hardcore standards. The roary/screamy style of singing has never been my jam so about half of the tracks on this very short album are a bit much. But, I really do like a few of them: the title track “Tied Down” is great, and “Nothing” slows down just enough to make it a real ass-shaker punk anthem. (While “Evacuate” also slows down, it goes all the way to sludge and mud mode). The vocals on “Live Your Life” are actually (mostly) understandable and the riff is catchy! (It’s still brutally hardcore though).

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