The Best Hardcore Albums Ever by Ben Merlis of Surprise Vacation
The Best Hardcore Albums Ever by Ben Merlis of Surprise Vacation
Sep 27, 2016 · 11 min read
First off I’d like to make it clear that Surprise Vacation is neither a hardcore band nor an emo band. We’re a punk band, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s all one big dysfunctional, extremely angry family. I used to be in a lot of hardcore bands, as was our drummer Javi. He HATES the idea of bringing up former bands, so I won’t, but I’d like to think it adds weight to the following list (even though it doesn’t, because opinions are opinions, and every opinion is as valid and invalid as the next). Our former guitarist Jeff Capra was in a handful of emo bands in the ’90s (namely Embassy and A Sometimes Promise) — this fact REALLY has nothing to do with anything, but people who read this site regularly might find it interesting.
A few points I’d like to make:
- I’m a sucker for melody, early Dischord, early Revelation and early LA/OC, which should be obvious.
- I only picked one record per band to keep things interesting.
- I didn’t really labor over the order (after #2), so if you disagree with the order, okay, your version is better.
- If you don’t like some of the records I picked, make your own list. Then I’ll read it, and think, “AH, WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT RECORD?” Because I’m STILL thinking of records I left off, as I press send.
1) Minor Threat — Minor Threat EP (Dischord, 1981)
Look at how I actually picked a record instead of just saying “Complete Discography CD.” I made a choice. A very large music publication did a list like this recently, and they didn’t make a choice. If you have the CD, I’m referring to the first eight tracks. This is the greatest band ever, and this where the term “straight edge” enters the vernacular. I was 5 when they broke up, but my cousin Pam who grew up in Rockville, MD used to see them play a lot. I am retroactively jealous of her. Retroactive jealousy is a very real thing.
2) Black Flag — Jealous Again EP (SST, 1980)
Ron Reyes is my favorite Black Flag singer (Keith Morris is a close second). I’m not counting that last album they did with Ron when I say that. Although, vocally, he’s still got it. I cracked my bed in half pretending to stage dive to this record when I was 13. If someone was to ask me what hardcore was, and I only had one song to illustrate it, I would play him/her “Revenge” off this record. That sums it up. It’s anti-cop, but in a really personal way. Josh Landau from The Shrine owns the guitar amp used on the early Black Flag records. It’s really a PA head. I got to play “Revenge” through it once and it REALLY sounded like the record, even without one of those clear guitars. I don’t know if anyone will ever top the anger in that song.
3) Gorilla Biscuits — Start Today LP (Revelation, 1989)
There aren’t that many albums of any genre that are perfect from beginning to end. This is one of them. When they got back together in 2005 I went through hell to see them play CBGB. Me and my friend Kevin Jaros bought plane tickets for a show we didn’t even have tickets for, and by the grace of Civ coming out with a clipboard and taking names of people from out of state, we got in. Hilly Kristal said he couldn’t help us get in even though we were willing to pay. He owned the entire club and he couldn’t help us? Then they toured the west coast the very next year, so it wasn’t even necessary to go through all that. I love the melodies on this record. The harmonica, the whistling, the breakdowns that don’t sound exactly like each other, the endless use of octaves. Vocal placement too. He’s not singing on the beat the entire time. He staggers his words. I think that’s a key reason so many people know every single lyric on this record. Within hardcore, this is a hit album, and there’s a huge backlash against it. Leave it to us hardcore kids to turn on something the minute it gets too popular.
4) Dag Nasty — Can I Say LP (Dischord, 1986)
It kind of makes me sad that the lasting legacy of this album will be the fact that it’s a tattoo on some famous guy’s chest. But maybe it won’t be. “The future is unwritten,” said Joe Strummer. Can I Say stands on its own as a classic hardcore record with melody. You can play hardcore and not sacrifice any melody — so why not? The controversy with this one is it was recorded with replacement singer Dave Smalley who was only in the band nine months or so, and didn’t write these songs. I think he added value to the music though. He yells for a really long time on “What Now?” and then forces it at the end. It’s like diving at the finish line of a race. Brian Baker’s guitar work is phenomenal. He could have played any kind of music, but he chose to play hardcore — it doesn’t usually go down like that. People will often just play what they are capable of, and hardcore ends up being a genre dominated by entry-level players. “Justification” is the ultimate musical rejection song that anyone in a band can instantly relate to — “I’m trying my hardest, but he didn’t like the tape!” That specifically refers to Marginal Man dissing them back in the day, and I apply it to the unwillingness of every label I contacted to put out the Surprise Vacation album. That’s what good lyrics can do. You can apply them to your own life.
5) Lifetime — Hello Bastards LP (Jade Tree, 1995)
This came out in 1995, when hardcore for the most part was a) slow, b) metallic, c) unfun. Hello Bastards violated all those rules and brought a breath of fresh air to it. A lot of people would consider this album and Start Today pop-punk, and not hardcore. I don’t really care what the fuck you call it — it doesn’t make it rule any less. Plus you’re wrong. This album is only 25% pop-punk TOPS. There is a lot going on here guitar-wise, and I think Pete Martin is coming through one speaker and Dan Yemin is coming through the other. I could be wrong. It doesn’t really sound like anything that came before it. There might be some hints of Descendents, Gorilla Biscuits, Dag Nasty, Screeching Weasel, and Jawbreaker (especially in the lyric department), but this combination is unique. Like all great albums, Hello Bastards inspired a lot of inferior copycats, but all that garbage that other people were doing doesn’t take away from the power of this record.
6) Inside Out — No Spiritual Surrender EP (Revelation, 1990)
Zach de la Rocha was bar none one of the best hardcore vocalists of all time, as evidenced by this record. Unfortunately, he started doing a whiny rap-guy voice with Rage Against The Machine, and never snapped out of it. This record is political, emotional, powerful in every way, and has lots of whammy bar action, which is always a plus. Ebullition was originally going to release a full length by Inside Out, but the band went with Revelation instead and we got four songs (six if you bought the CD). I wish this band had recorded more of their songs. There is a lot of live stuff floating around, and they had A LOT of great songs, including one called “Unbroken,” which inspired the naming of a certain band, and “Rage Against the Machine,” which is actually a term coined by Kent McClard of . . . Ebullition. I can’t imagine how many bands I’ve seen cover “No Spiritual Surrender” over the years.
7) Germs — (GI) LP (Slash, 1979)
First, let’s just say Pat Smear is a savant. I’m convinced he knew how to play the intro to “Roundabout” by Yes the day he picked up a guitar. Then there is Darby Crash. It is that rare intersection of intelligence, charisma and self-destruction that makes some of the best art. Evolution is a process too slow to have saved his soul. He was that sort of boy that was never much loved, his idea of fun was society’s grudge. His words, not mine. Think of all the bands that copied their sound . . . time’s up. I can’t think of any either. They are impossible to imitate. Discharge is easy to imitate. So we get what we get. (GI) is the first hardcore full-length ever, and almost four decades later, no one can step to it. Plus they’re from LA! Represent!
8) Adolescents — Adolescents LP (Frontier, 1981)
The soundtrack to my adolescence was Adolescents. I bought this in April of 1992, and listened to it while watching my city burn from my bedroom window. I’m in the middle of this huge online argument where I’m saying if you enjoyed high school you’re not punk. I’m constantly reminded of the lyric “Teachers are my friends so why do they make me stand in front of a class of gawking fools who’ll never understand?” They’ll never understand! This is the perfect soundtrack to teenage alienation, period.
9) Circle Jerks — Group Sex LP (Frontier, 1980)
I worked at a record store called Aron’s, and Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris would come in a lot. One time I said to him, “I just read this new book called American Hardcore, and it says the Circle Jerks were the Monkees of hardcore.” He paused for a long time and said, “The Monkees are a good band. I take that as a compliment!” And he was right. 14 songs clocking in at 15:43 — Group Sex has to be great because it simply doesn’t have time to suck. And it’s hilarious. That phone number he gives out on the last song for people who want to have group sex . . . was actually their drummer’s number! Musically, it rips. The drum breaks on “Red Tape” — scary good. Listen to the way “I Just Want Some Skank” goes into the intro to “Beverly Hills” — that breakdown. Eat your heart out, new jack straight edge bands with breakdowns in all your songs. You’ll never write another “Beverly Hills.”
10) Reason To Believe — When Reason Sleeps Demons Dance LP (Nemesis, 1990); Government Issue — You LP (Giant, 1987) [tie]
Two vastly underrated bands whose singers left the planet in 2016, WAY before their time. Reason To Believe’s sole album is a complete package — speed, fury, melody, musicianship, songs, lyrics. Everything top notch. Jon Bunch exudes love without being cheesy. Try doing that in the context of hardcore. I’ve had long conversations with friends about why this album isn’t more appreciated. It might be as simple as the fact that it’s been out of print for more than 20 years.
Next to the Bad Brains, Government Issue probably had the best ever rhythm section in hardcore, with bassist J. Robbins and drummer Peter Moffett. The later era of Government Issue tends to get short shrift because it isn’t as fast, but there’s so much going on there. John Stabb seems like he’s dealing with deep personal issues by being sort of a class clown in the early days, but at this point he’s more introspective, with songs like “Wishing” and “Man In A Trap.” The killer sitar solo on the former is also a plus.
11) Bad Brains — Black Dots LP (Caroline, 1996) (recorded in 1979)
12) T.S.O.L. — Dance With Me LP (Frontier, 1981)
13) Judge — New York Crew EP (Schism, 1988)
14) The Faith/Void — The Faith/Void LP (Dischord, 1982)
15) Uniform Choice — Screaming For Change LP (Wishingwell, 1986)
16) The First Step — What We Know LP (Rivalry, 2006)
17) Youth of Today — We’re Not In This Alone LP (Caroline, 1988)
18) Verbal Assault — Trial LP (Giant, 1987)
19) Turning Point/No Escape split EP (Temperance, 1991)
20) Mouthpiece — Face Tomorrow EP (New Age, 1995)
21) C.I.A. — God, Guts, Guns EP (Shmegma, 1983)
22) Angry Samoans — Back From Samoa LP (Bad Trip, 1982)
23) D.R.I. — Dealing With It LP (Death/Enigma, 1985)
24) Scream — Still Screaming LP (Dischord, 1983)
25) Chain of Strength — What Holds Us Apart EP (Foundation, 1990)
26) Battalion of Saints — 2nd Coming EP (Mystic, 1983)
27) The Middle Class — Out Of Vogue EP (Joke, 1978) — FIRST HARDCORE RECORD EVER!
28) Bad Religion — How Could Hell Be Any Worse? LP (Epitaph, 1981)
29) Agnostic Front — Victim In Pain LP (Rat Cage, 1984)
30) Cro-Mags — the Age of Quarrel LP (Profile/Rock Hotel, 1986)
31) Discharge — Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing LP (Clay, 1982)
32) BOLD — BOLD EP (Revelation, 1989)
33) Carry On — A Life Less Plagued LP (Bridge Nine, 2001)
34) Antidote — Thou Shalt Not Kill EP (Antidote, 1983)
35) Side By Side — You’re Only Young Once… EP (Revelation, 1988)
36) Reagan Youth — Youth Anthems For The New Order (R Radical/Reagan Youth, 1984)
37) Agression — Don’t Be Mistaken LP (BYO, 1983)
38) Unity — You Are One EP (Wishingwell, 1985)
39) Insted — We’ll Make The Difference EP (Nemesis, 1989) Their drummer Steve Insted took the photos of us for the Surprise Vacation album!
40) SS Decontrol — Get It Away EP (Xclaim!, 1983)
41) Sawhorse — Sawhorse EP (Ebullition, 1992) Sarah Kirsch R.I.P.
42) Swiz — Swiz LP (Sammich, 1988)
43) Forced Down — Stifle EP (Vinyl Communications/Down Side, 1990)
44) Beyond — No Longer At Ease LP (Combined Effort, 1989)
45) Dead Kennedys — Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables LP (Cherry Red, 1980)
46) 7 Seconds — The Crew LP (BYO, 1984)
47) Deep Wound — Deep Wound EP (Radiobeat, 1983)
48) Sportswear — Building, Dwelling, Thinking LP (Supersoul, 1999) Peter Amdam R.I.P.
49) Crucifix — Dehumanization LP (Corpus Christi, 1983)
50) Anti — Defy The System LP (New Underground, 1983)
51) The dozens of records that will pop into my head or be pointed out to me after this list goes public (Washed Up Emo, 2016)
Okay y’all, go start your own list!
-Ben Merlis