What one hardcore/punk album has stood the test of time for you?

Randy Johnson with Against The Wall at Spanky's in Riverside, CA, Photo courtesy of: Mikey Fastbreak

Randy Johnson - Pushed Aside / Against The Wall

The hardcore/punk records that have stood the test of time for me are the ones that are unflinchingly self-interrogating. It's a generic truth that hardcore/punk records are the best at confronting how fucked up everything around us can be, which worked perfectly for me as an alienated kid. But the albums that still work for me today "get the persons that got them good, themselves, themselves, themselves." So, yeah, Embrace tops my list. The way those songs are put together with those layered guitars over mid-tempo beats and perfect choruses will always work for me. For some of the same reasons, I'm still really into Verbal Assault, Trial. As for as it being a hardcore self-interrogation, the record opens with Trial, which sets the table for the record to blast away the all too easily expressed generics and slogans that were all over the place and get back to the pissed-off awareness that hardcore/punk is at its best. I also really, really still love and listen to Dag Nasty, Wig out at Denko's, which is just so fucking good for so many reasons.


Bobby Sullivan with Soulside at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, Photo: Ken Salerno

Bobby Sullivan - Soulside

Rock For Light by the Bad Brains. This record blasted onto the scene with so much skill in the music, it changed the game. They introduced the fast tempos that defined the hardcore genre, the rootsy reggae to satisfy any reggae enthusiast and even a tinge of pop to give this record some unforgetable vocal harmonies. But overall it's the passion in the music and the lyrics that gives it that undefinable something, which makes it not matter how good the recording quality is. I still get chills listening to this one.


Dan Yemin feeds the crowd with Paint It Black, Photo: Face The Show

Dan Yemin - Lifetime / Paint It Black

It doesn't officially qualify as an album, but my pick is most definitely the "Out Of Step" EP. From the opening blast of "Betray" through the sellout-smashing snarl of the hidden track, "Cashing In," this one is perfect. Truly original & pissed as fuck, this still gets me just as stoked as it did 25 years ago.