I Against I

I Love. Bad Brains. Any hardcore kid worth his camo shorts (and I'd like to think I am) knows that what The Ramones were to punk, Bad Brains were to hardcore, a reignition (like their song, heh) of a genre that had grown bloated and moribund with mainstream exposure. Before they were getting banned in DC (also a song title, check it out) for their unrelenting, thrashy brand hardcore punk, Bad Brains were honing their musical craft as a band that played metal, funk and rhythm & blues. This is displayed in songs like House Of Suffering with its blistering drum flourishes and succinct guitar solo, something that was unheard of in punk, but that the Bad Brains harnessed with attitude and vitriol befitting the grittiest gutter punks. Individual virtuosity aside, what made the Bad Brains, and this work in particular, so iconic to this writer was their ability to be go from hard-driving, to groovy, to downright menacing all within a single album. This is a feat that would be commendable for any rock band, let alone one in a scene where bands are hardly known for musical range or diversity. Straight up classic. 5 stars, my guy.

Thank you, album generator, for forcing me to finally fix a gaping hole in my musical education. I've been meaning to check out Bad Brains for ages, especially since I moved to the DC area 14 years ago, but somehow have never to my knowledge heard a single song. And either I waited way too long to check out something so terrific, or the wait helped me to appreciate it all the more. "I Against I" is their third album, and apparently marked a bit of a shift and evolving of their sound, away from their hardcore punk roots. In trying to digest this album, and figure out what I think of Bad Brains, I listened to it 3+ times. (The second because a raucous carpool of 6th graders made the first hard to hear, and the third and other snippets because I increasingly realized that I loved it and wanted more.) At first I wasn't sure what to think of H.R.'s vocals. They were all over the place. And while there were some times where it seemed like he needed to reign it in a bit or stick to one style, the more I listened the more I realized there were multiple voices(?) I liked and most made up for the bits I didn't like. The guitars and the drums, though, I loved from the start. I was initially surprised, as I was expecting more of a punk sound from what I knew of the band. So the heavy metal and other influences took me on a ride that kept me on my toes. It certainly wasn't all perfect, but it grew and grew on me. I checked out their self-titled debut, and there was the hardcore punk I had been expecting. I liked it, but not as much as "I Against I." I waffled back and forth between 4 and 5 stars for quite a while. When it comes down to it, I think its a 4-star album. But a combination of the pleasant surprise, the missing piece, the breadth of influence, the passion and the joy, and finally, the comparison to other new-to-me 4s finally sealed the deal.

One of the most important hardcore punk records from one of the most important hardcore punk bands. There’s reggae, punk, rock, metal and all kinds of genres on this. I think I like Banned in DC better but this is a great listen. Favorite track: I Against I Least favorite track: Return to Heaven

Yes, yes, yes. This is the way. Hardcore built on reggae grooves, vocals doing backflips, sparkling solos flying out of all the chug. It has it all. If you weren’t bouncing along to “She’s Calling You” do you even have a soul? Here is a band in total control of rhythm, dynamics and melody and using it to funnel their anger (and sense of a good time - remember “Edification first, then we can have some fun”) at a society falling apart around them. Show good taste: enjoy Bad Brains.

This album shocked me, I wasn't prepared for this level of melodicism from a Bad Brains album. The Bad Brains I know are loud and abrasive, without subtlety. I am glad to find this side of this legendary band. 4 stars

1. intro - 0 2. againzt i - 0 3. houze of zuffering - 0 4. re ignition - 0 5. zecret 77 - 0 6. let me help - 0 7. zhez calling you - 0 8. zacred love - 0 9. hired gun - 0 10. return to heaven - 0

This album is so tight that it made me pass out.

An interesting album to be sure. The music is a combination of hardcore punk (which Bad Brains did not like to be called), reggae, and metal. Some songs also have a new wave tinge. The music itself features strong reggae inspired bass lines with guitar work that is slightly phased (in typical eighties fashion) that ranges from more punk inspired rhythms to virtuosic leads that sound more inspired by contemporary metal. The vocal delivery is similarly nuanced and ranges from growled phrases to a more straightforward delivery. Despite the range of influences and styles, this album is coherent and unique.

Schizophrenic riffs, tunes and vocals to start, which I took for a distraction technique, i.e. they don't really have a sound. Then I noticed both the tempo and the changeability hadn't let up by track 4 and realised that is sound. Liked it a lot better at that point. But then it turned to borderline metal sludge in the second half. So I'll hedge.

I've never heard of Bad Brains so I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I'll listen again & check out more of their stuff.

There is no socially appropriate time of the day to play Punk on speakers. That's what I believe, and so to solidity it I played this album at three different times of the day. My family rates this 2/5 and that makes me wonder where did it go wrong. I am a little ashamed as a big punk fan (for status and for the music) that I never heard of Bad Brains ever before. This album tears me apart because songs like Sacred Love and Secret 77 are perhaps some of my favourite songs yet I'm not sure if this deserves a 5/5. The album was an experience start to finish and it was extremely fun to listen to, speakers or earphones. Maybe Bad Brains has more consistency otherwise, like in their self titled as I've been told, but as my first bad brains album I will give this a 5/5. I don't care. 5/5

Much more metal than I was expecting, but that punk ethos runs deep. Honestly, what's more punk than delivering your vocals over the phone from a jail cell? These guys are it, always have been, always will be.

Flawless. I love Bad Brains, but I return to this album much more than any other. This album takes in so much timely influence and then spits out much more. H.R. delivers vocally. The confluence of hardcore with funk is perfectly executed. Just superb.

this is a classic album that i'm betting gets low scores globally. but i fucking love it - they were unlike anything else happening at the time, and holy shit, were they something. i got to see them at the channel in boston, back in the early 90s!

Way ahead of its time… Amazing vocalist. Great story on one of the songs he called from prison and they recorded a song through the prison phone. He was in jail for distribution of marijuana. Metal is that?

Great fast aggressive technical music. But the vocals are the star.

The best punk bands are the ones that don’t conform to the generally accepted norms of what punk is “supposed to be”.

Like living in a kick drum. Pure energy.

beautiful album i wasn't expecting. really showing my knowledge of punk here.

I Against I is not what I was expecting upon looking at the album cover. I was expecting some reggae/hip-hop - guess it shows that you don't judge a book by it's cover! This was a cool listen to some mid 80s punk/ska of which I have never heard of the band. Best: Hired Gun Worst: Sacred Love 3.5 Stars

Couldn't really get into this.

I generally cut punk albums a lot of slack. Pretty music isn't the point, right? But, dang. This album is a royal mess. It makes no sense, the production is trash, the songs are poorly written and poorly performed ... it's just not good. It's not good punk, it's not good hardcore, it's not good rock. It's just not very good.

Let's see what can I find positive to say about this? It was relatively short! Also, every once in a while one of the songs would start to sound good. It usually didn't last long, but there were a few glimpses of semi-goodness. I guess that's about it. 2 stars.

I can't say I'd heard of Bad Brains before, so I wasn't sure what exactly to expect. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise - an absolute rush of punk rock with some funk and reggae elements. This was an interesting and energetic album throughout, and I've gotta say I really enjoyed this one. Favourite: I Against I

First of a rant: the reason why I went to the Amnesia Rockfest in Montebello, Québec, back in 2013, was because that edition of the festival featured the most incredible hardcore lineup ever, including, among other big names, Discharge, Cro-Mags, and Bad Brains, three bands I absolutely wanted to witness on stage, and three bands who cancelled at the last minute; Discharge and Cro-Mags, who were indeed touring together, got blocked at the frontier, while, if I remember correctly, Bad Brains singer H.R. got severely ill of his throat. Well, I guess I was much less lucky than people going to that piss pool of a festival to see The Offspring or Marilyn Manson, damn it! (Hey, at least I saw Alice Cooper! I even cried then!)  I read somewhere, some years ago, that when I Against I was released every hardcore/metal/punk venue played the song Re-Ignition before shows, with the whole audience going "Whaaaaaa?" every single time as a consequence. It wasn't the first time Bad Brains got us all going "Whaaaaaa?". From the start Bad Brains was an all black band playing hardcore, a genre predominantly, if not exclusively up to that point, white . And the audience went "Whaaaaaa?" (Racetraitor was a hardcore band who were utterly outspoken about white supremacy and white privilege decades before our modern social scientists started even mentioning those topics. By their confrontational approach, they used to call "crackers" the kids in their audience. "Racetraitor" and "crackers" are both white supremacist terms, reconfigured within the context of their thought provoking stance. It didn't go down well. The band earned an awful backlash from all the social and political sides involved, and their credibility as artists and individuals was severely questioned. - Straight Edge was a lifestyle that promoted a no alcohol, no cigarettes, no meat, no drugs, no promiscuous sex, no coffee, and no pharmacological drugs way of life. Straight Edge was also one of the most violent forms of hardcore punk music around. - Racetraitor ideologist and leader said recently: "We’ve had one time that turned into a physical fight. In the end, everybody was kind of forced to talk about what we wanted them to talk about. They just couldn’t ignore us." - The band would soon break up, one of the members would become a lawyer and work in the international human rights, another one would join pop-punk band Fall Out Boy. - This is the world in which we were growing up) Bad Brains was also a band of very technically skilled musicians who had all studied jazz. And the audience went "Whaaaaaa?" Social justice was a key factor discussed in the hardcore subculture, and so were the Bad Brains, but they were also concerned as much with spiritual issues, promoting the "Positive Mental Attitude"; they also practised the rastafarian faith and played reggae. And the audience went "Whaaaaaa?" Ric Ocasek was an early fan of the group and he went on to produce their second album, a few years before I Against I was recorded. And the audience. Yes, you got it.  The crucial point of this album is that, up to this point, and also in all of their subsequent releases, hardcore and reggae where two different styles that were never really meshed together, probably in the intent of keeping intact the sacred, spiritual nature of the genre. A groovy as hell record, I Against I showcases a real battle of Bad Brains against themselves. All of their influences, from jazz to punk, to reggae, soul, funk, and anything else come together in a streamlined, flawless, smooth even, beast of crossover never heard before nor since. All of these ingredients are integral part of the songs in a way that is impossible to discern, dissect, or separate, as if everything was actually processed through a blender in an irreparable manner. Like life itself, like death itself. Like the remnants of a battlefield served on a plate. I rest my case. PS: If you haven't watched the documentary Afro-Punk, I suggest you do as soon as you get a chance. Peace out. 

POTENTE

I was so surprised. Best new album so far. Incredible.

OK, if we're going to talk about all time albums that have 10+ songs and come in at right around 30 minutes, this has to be in the discussion. "Sacred Love" is an all time classic. Same with "Re-Ignition". Just a little below would be the title track, and "House of Suffering". This is the band that is the all time contrast against something like Living Colour. This is a real punk, hardcore, thrash band, that happens to be black. The blackness is not the point. The blackness is just part of what makes it real. Punk is about dissatisfaction with the status quo, and honestly, it's amazing there haven't been MORE fantastic punk bands that are black, given how the status quo has favored whites for centuries. I love Bad Brains, I was just listening to "The Youth Are Getting Restless" earlier in the week, fantastic album, have great memories of seeing them live and the crowd just SEETHING with energy, and the band inciting a near riot... it was wonderful, feeling all those feelings that strongly as a young person and wanting to see things get better for all people, everywhere. Music can be a force for positive change. Full stop. Note that I wrote this entire review without listening to this record. I don't need to listen to this record again to know how how important it is, how vital, and how much other music pales in comparison to the raw emotion and excitement of Bad Brains in their prime. Turn it to eleven before putting this on. If you are pissing off the neighbors, you are doing it right. So interesting to hear more nuances in the studio recording. Genre bending for sure. I love the Day Tripper / She's a Rainbow pairing they did live, hints of that here, seeds for the future. What a record!

The second I heard the opening track I knew I'd be really liking this album. I don't have a huge review of this album, I just enjoyed it a lot. It's exactly the sound I'm into and it was cool to hear it from an artist I'd never heard of before.

A totally unique album in the hardcore punk scene. Bad Brains infuse their music with reggae, heavy metal, and post-punk elements to create a sound that I find super satisfying (particularly their screeching guitar tone). H.R. in particular is incredible on here, with his vocals going from croon to weird falsetto to gnarly scream in the same line.

Wow! Raw and aggressive, in the way I kinda like it. Much better than I expected.

Love it. The way I found out about the book. Also, learned what I against I means.

Very good stuff! Gonna be giving it a second pass, and probably picking a couple tracks out to put into regular listening rotation. What can I say, I like what I like.

Genius :) just unhinged genius - love love love

That is what I am talking about. 5

Classic cracking listen . Spans genres, created an iconic riff with Ignition. Highly recommended

When it comes down to it, HR may be my favourite punk singer. And to be even more wild: is the title track the single greatest hardcore song? I think it might be. Anyway, an easy 5.

I had a blast listening to this one !!! It was super fun and wow I want to learn how to play guitar super badly. The song titles made me curious about the songs and I knew I would like all of them !!

I enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this album.

Yes, so good wish I’d listened to this earlier in my lifetime.

Wow...I did not expect that! Other than the Ramones, I've never been a fan of American punk. I guess it's what you grow up with. I was lucky enough to grow up during the original UK punk movement, and so I obviously tend to value that more. So, when I heard Bad Brains for the very first time today, I was very pleasantly surprised. The style and 'feel' of the sound was very much more aligned to 1970s UK punk (in my very humble opinion) and so I really enjoyed it. Thank you 1001 !

I have long loved hardcore punk and Bad Brains are the keystone band in that scene

Rock and Roll!

Can’t believe I’ve never heard of these guys! Really cool blend of thrash, punk, alt rock, and funk. I can really see how these guys must have been huge influences on 90s bands.

This album rules. I love when they veer from style to style, and when HR just goes unhinged with his vocals. So many things on this album I hear replicated by other, later artists, but I have a hard time not hearing bits from GWAR's America Must Be Destroyed in I Against I.

Ihan huikea levy! Niin vähän kuuntelen enää raskaampaa rockia, että tää ja Big Black ovat olleet tosi virkistäviä löytöjä listalta. Saattavat olla ainoat vitoset, jotka olen antanut ennestään tuntemattomille.

ALL KILLER NO FILLER!! A singularly powerful album - retains the great intensity even when it slows down.

What the hell kind of music does a good brain make if the bad ones sound like THIS?!?

Startlingly good. I had no idea Bad Brains were this heavy, versatile or skillful. One of the best things I've listened to through this app, of late.

ridiculously great. punk rock.

Not as fast as their earlier albums but still great. Changing up their song is one of the more punk things they could do!

Sometimes I forget how great this band is

I must admit. Ive only heard them in the background before, never actively listened. This was pretty rad, to say the very least.

Much love to the Brains!

If you don't like this album, you don't get it. You never will.

had heard of bad brains before but never heard any of their music, i am immediately a huge fan, funk, punk & reggae is right up my alley

So influential but so original. Just great!

Incredible record

Geil, hätte mir früher richtig gut gefallen, gefällt mir auch heute noch richtig gut.

I'm really surprised I hadn't already heard of this album or group. I'm further surprised that, for once, I hear "oh so and so must have been inspired by this" in the album but do not conclude "and did it better...maybe this was better in its time" - this album is still good IMO. Re-Ignition and Hired Gun are highlights with the intro and Let Me Help as lowlights but still decent. 4.5

Pretty cool punk album. Interesting reggae twist. No complaints here

This album was an absolute joy. It was like if you took the DNA of Danzing, Pantera, and Bob Marley with some dashes of punk and grove then threw it into the primordial ooze. Even during the few moments I wasn't digging a sound or a vocal it quickly tossed in a thing I loved. Re-ignition genuinely gave me chills. I'd rate it a 6 if I could.

This goes so hard and hits so well.

Big fan of Bad Brains. Had this one on vinyl back in the day. HR's vocals are so memorable and infectious. But I'm kinda confused as to why this album is on the list vs their self titled debut from '82, which I think is much more potent. This album has them leaning more into metal, and I suppose it might be more innovative, even influential, in that way, but I guess I prefer them more strictly hardcore. I'm with Adam Yauch in that I think the "yellow album" is the best hardcore punk album of all time. "I against I" shows they were at least as versatile as they were ferocious. This 5 stars is for all of Bad Brains since this is, unfortunately, their only showing on the list.

- I love this shit. It felt exciting and fresh. Very varied too. Reminded a bit of faith no more at times. She's calling you was a highlight.

Really great punk music. It’s amazing how they can seamlessly switch from different parts of the song so fast. The reggae elements feel more minor and woven in, too, which is nice. Don’t have any other thoughts, but I like this.

Seminal album in the history of music.

Slaps so hard. Hardcore is my favorite subgenre of punk, and this album is an iconic example of it. Mixing in the reggae/funk elements adds so much to it.

Another great surprise, and a lesson in don't judge a book by it's cover, or in this case an album by its typography! Bad Brains is new to me - but the sounds are right there in my wheelhouse! I really enjoyed this and it grew on me as I listened it over the course of the day. Hints of Def Leppard / Van Halen (except not as pretentious), Metallica, early Beastie boys, Green day, Pixies etc - I can imagine Bad Brains was an influence on many of the bands I really love! Even though I think its probably more like a 4.5 - I'm bumping it up to a 5! I'll be putting this one on rotation!

Classic, easy five stars

Really refreshing punk music — I’ve put my punk listening on pause for a while and this reminds me of what I’ve been missing and then some. Increasingly frenetic and firmly on the pulse in the nation’s capital. The kind of punk album I’d put in a Time Capsule for Martians to listen to to get a taste of the US that has a fair balance of our rough history as well as impressive creative exploits made in spite of and because of it. The message of Bad Brains’ music is influenced by the musicians’ Rastafarian faith, so it’s more positive than other hardcore groups. I appreciate that because I like hardcore music but don’t like the lyrics usually. Secret 77 is a bop.

Their best album? It is the only one I know (apart from the Banned in DC compilation), but I would not be surprised if it is true. It is a bit of a mix between hardcore and some kind of funk metal. Very strong songwriting, so much better than all the numerous bands it has inspired - on which I am usually less keen.

very cool

literally so good all the way through i loved every single TRACK dude

I’d always been told Bad Brains were a uniquely creative take on punk and I was not disappointed. I liked each track better than the last.

Surprisingly good. I really liked it and will probably have to check out their other stuff sometime soon

Amaaaaazing!

Pleasant surprise!

Super duper classic hardcore/punk. If you heard of Fugazi, listen to this first.

Faves: Re-Ignition, Secret 77, She's Calling You, Sacred Love (the little reversed sound in the chorus where it sounds like the air is getting sucked out...I wish I knew anything about music so I could describe that properly)

Another boom dropped by Bad Brains. This one is less hardcore, little more experimental. A total boost of adrenaline.

stupendous. dreadlocks and mohawks! 5 stars.

Was always aware of bad brains because of everyone having a sticker or a shirt. I can see why.

So much to like, such genre-crossing strength. Prodigious punk, hints of reggaeton, early alt-rock, uncaged aggression.

Fierce.

That was a crazy mix of punk, heavy metal and reggae, short enough to not get stale. Very 80s film soundtrack-y and reminded me of the very limited faith no more I've heard. Recording vocals over the phone while charged with marijuana distribution is about as punk/reggae as it gets so they definitely lived the ethos.

Classic D.C. hardcore band but this album is far from that sound. The album got some great songs like "I against I", "Re-Ignition" and "Let Me Help". Bad Brains got great energy through the tracks and the songs have a varied style as they mix in reggae and heavy metal. Overall it's a pretty cool album.

Only ever listened to "Pay to Cum", so it's fun listening to this because I can hear how it influenced other bands I like (Faith No More and Deftones, for sure). It's extremely unique, with some crazy vocals. I'm not a huge reggae guy, but I love the little splashes thrown on this record. Favorite tracks: "Secret 77", "Re-Ignition"

Enjoyable guitar and bass work. 7/10

This was a great way to kick off the day! History of hardcore right there.

This was rad as hell

Punk with face-melting, virtuosic heavy-metal guitar. I'm very into the vibe---with just 4 parts (drums, bass, 1 guitar, vocal, for most tracks I think) the mix is great. Lots of fast tracks, but track 4 e.g. is really groovy and catchy. Kind of a reggae groove to track 5---interesting change of pace and not *too* out of place. Track 7 has a very 80s vibe (think the Police plus hair rock). Track 9 is great, sounds a bit like a punkier Rush. I like the eclectic influences---I'd say the band is at its best when it sounds less like Van Halen, which fortunately is most of the time.

Hey this is great. We need more Black punk music. Silly fun angry fast and rocking. And it's barely half an hour! Checks basically all my boxes.

Great Punk album; definitely adding some of the songs to my hardcore playlist

I was not familiar with this album at all. And it also wasn't what I expected. But I found that I was really enjoying it, and will listen to it again!

I was not as familiar with this one as i was with their self titled album. Good, you can hear them starting to branch out from pure hardcore. Worth another listen.

4.3 - They've clearly earned their reputation for being amazing musicians - Bad Brains is head and shoulders above peer bands. The fact that Black Flag and other lesser bands get more accolades to me stinks of racism. Great to hear black rockers that put Washington, DC on the map.

brings me back to high school...

The guitar riffs in that album were solid. The thing I didn't like was the singing in some of the songs. It didn't tie very well for me with the more metal-y riffs. Other than that, quite a solid album