I Against I

My second favorite bad brains record

I also am a deeply closeted schizophrenic gay man

Where has this album been all my life?? One of the most fun things about the 1001 is hearing bands that influenced a ton of other great acts. The list of bands that Bad Brains influenced is crazy - according to Wikipedia, this includes the Beastie Boys, Guns 'n Roses, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, and, of course, Living Colour - I say "of course" on the last, because if you didn't know any better you might think this is a Living Colour album, even though it came out three years before LC's debut album. I enjoyed the hell out of this album. It rocked and the musicianship was outstanding, especially Dr. Know on guitar - talented playing, fantastic sounds - occasionally sounds like he's channeling EVH, but plenty of originality - but also outstanding, funky, rocking bass and drums. Add in some occasionally insanity in H.R.'s singing (especially in Return to Heaven and I Against I) and it all adds up to an awesome album. Favorite tracks: I Against I (crazed but cool), Re-Ignition, She's Calling You, Sacred Love, Hired Gun. Heck, even the intro rocks!

Absolutely rocks hard

loved it. great punk album. i slept on Bad Brains and i need more.

i will always have a soft spot for bad brains

Great album

Wow. Never heard of these guys but this was a great punk album. I really enjoyed the style and flavor and will listen again. Trying to be less stingy with my highs and lows so 5 stars.

This one was a lot of fun. I'd listen to this again for sure.

Heard of them before but never heard their music. This was great!

Seminal Washington D.C. hardcore punk that would go on to influence everyone from Pantera to Living Color, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine & endless others. Essential in all ways.

Did not know what to expect but this was a pretty fun surprise. Dynamic, energetic, groovy and all other things that makes metal great. I usually prefer more melodic and epic stuff but this tics tons of boxes.

Bad Brains is insanely cool. This album doesn't have the raw edge of self titled, but instead leans more into metal. A hugely influential band deserving to be listened to by everyone who gives a shit.

An awesome surprise. Never heard of these lads and from the cover art and wiki summary I didn’t have high expectations. But it’s really fun and hard and funky and a bit cheesy. I don’t give out many 5 stars to albums I’ve never heard of before but this one can join that elusive club.

Very awesome punk album

I really like the bad brains. I do like their early more hardcore related stuff better but I always disliked the reggae songs. Since there are none on this record it’s pretty awesome!

Not the Bad Brains album I expected or would have personally chosen, but you know what? Hell yeah. Hell fuckin’ yeah. Inarguably one of the first alternative metal and funk metal albums, sure, but what I find more interesting is how obviously influential it’s been to hardcore and specifically post-hardcore up to this very day. Like, I was a big fan of Glassjaw back in the day; Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence is just a straight-forward version of I Against I with problematic attitudes about women and more emo-tinged vocals. And I think because I could immediately note the bands who took clear inspiration from this record, it helped me appreciate this more. Instead of making Bad Brains sound dated, this makes those other bands feel cheap and unoriginal. And I Against I is so deeply original. Sure, it’s got a clear alt metal/funk metal angle, but it always preserves the band’s hardcore punk roots, and blends the two together in a way that is so unique that I can’t think of any other band who sounds like this before or since. Even the copycats couldn’t replicate the specific mixture Bad Brains is working with on this record. I’ll 100% need to sit with this to let it grow on me– and I do wish we got at least one of I Against I’s predecessors on this list– but this is an instantly great album, and one I know I’ll be revisiting frequently.

ive never heard the sophomore bad brains record so idk if it at All bridges the debut and this but im not sure what could tbh FHJSFHJSF, even seeing the genre tags i dont think i was prepared, cuz tbh any way u scratch it this is just incredibly striking and creative music. its a forerunner to a genre or two but it fundamentally stems from authentic creative decisions...the picking and choosing of elements from punk and funk and metal into something aesthetically cohesive ...catchy and immediate but also meaty and stewing in its own emotions. and ofc just v v v enjoyable...riffs and melodic ideas often go crazy even when theyre just midtempo stompers. its hard not to imagine mike patton taking a bunch of notes from this and maybe his projects pushed these things even more Out There but (with all due respect) certainly never as fundamentally radical on any level

One of the first punk records I ever bought. I like Rock Against Light better but this is still a classic.

Real punk isn’t just overdriven guitars, power chords and screaming. It’s about challenging preconceived notions, whether politics, music, art or society. This album is one of the more refreshing takes in punk.

I've only really heard one track from Bad Brains before this, so I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but it's pretty damn good, regardless of my partial bias towards more rock and metal-based albums on the list. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I listened to an NPR podcast a while ago about Black Punk, and I really felt at home with this album. It had all the elements I liked and a little more. I felt like I heard a lot of classic melodies in this album!

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

Genius :) just unhinged genius - love love love

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!

That is what I am talking about. 5

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.

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.

Classic, easy five stars

Amaaaaazing!

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.

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

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

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

4.7 One of the most important pieces of the hardcore puzzle, pretty much is the stepping stone between punk and pure 90s emo hardcore faves: I against I, sacred love

ridiculously great. punk rock.

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

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.

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.

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.

So influential but so original. Just great!

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.

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!

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

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)

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.

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

Incredible record

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

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.

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.

This goes so hard and hits so well.

- 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.

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.

stupendous. dreadlocks and mohawks! 5 stars.

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.

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.

Great album, pretty fresh and raw. Some of the earlier tracks were a bit heavy but I've listened to the second half of the album over and over. She's Calling You, Sacred Love and Return to Heaven were stand-out tracks

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

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.

I enjoyed it.

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

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.

Sometimes I forget how great this band is

very cool

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

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

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

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

Rock and Roll!

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

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 !!

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

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

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

POTENTE

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.

Pleasant surprise!

Really enjoyed this album.

Bad Brains might be benefitting slightly here from the fact that I had The Offspring yesterday. Both albums broadly in the punk realm, The Offspring album suffered from a tragic lack of imagination, ambition and variety, this one does really well on all of those fronts. Having never managed to investigate Bad Brains, but having the gut instinct that I would be into them, this was a great opportunity to get on with it. I have to say I will extend that investigation because I enjoyed ‘I Against I’ a great deal and I’m getting the impression that this may not even be their best album. I love how they never sound like they are putting any restrictions on themselves. Whatever feels right in any particular song, they just do it. Pushing genre boundaries left, right and centre. This is the kind of behaviour I will easily fall for as long as the outcome isn’t dog shit and there isn’t a hint of that here. I’ll definitely call this a 1001 winner for me. There aren’t a great deal of first listens for me on the list so it’s a genuine treat when one of those hits the mark.

Bastante buen album

I liked this album more than I thought I would. The music is a punky metal, with a certain dark undertone of intrigue entering the songs as the album progresses. My favorite songs were "Re-Ignition", "Secret 77", and "Sacred Love". The over-the-phone-from-jail vocals on "Sacred Love" really fit the tone of the song.

enyojable punk. i find interesting how here are longer songs with a style singing more dramatic and relaxed. feels weirdly cohesive with how the the guitars and lyrics keep that punk vibe

Great stuff

To quote the great poet and art critic Montgomery Burns. "I may not know much about art but I know what I hate...and I don't hate this."

OG DC Hardcore is such a wide variety of sounds. It's crazy this gets the same label as Minor Threat, but here we are. It's a good listen overall.

Never would have known of this one! Very cool, rocks hard. Definitely hear how they influenced bands I've listened to a ton like Sublime and RATM.

Four stars because Rock For Light gets the five if it pops up on this list. Legends.

The band's kinda rockin but the vocalist kinda sucks

Bad Brains is such a classic band. They have such a unique sound in the hardcore scene and I love it. Yeah this particular album isn’t my favorite by them. It doesn’t reach the level of their self-title record. But I respect the weirdness they go for with this project. It’s obvious that legendary band Mr. Bungle got heavy inspiration for their vibe from this record. If I could rate half stars I would give this a 3.5/5

Dope

I only knew a little Bad Brains prior to listening to this, was different than I expected in a good way.

This was a pretty good punk album, and I heard a lot of different styles of music in it that I associate with later time periods as well.

Had a great time listening to it. Energetic fun.

Surprisingly slow and melodic, but it's good!

Punk'd

3.5/5

not bad - post punk, cleaner sound than old school punk. sounds quite good

No one else sounds like this. This was really fun to come back to.

A band I'd heard about a lot as an influence on some music I loved, and they are great.

Was an unexpected treat

Expected it to be terrible - not like a hyped up black Carnivore! Sick!!!!

Oohhh. This is cool! I actually really like this album! Bad Brains are a name that I've heard thrown around a bit in music discussions. Apparently they're among the most influential bands in the formation of hardcore punk as a sub-genre, so that's pretty cool. It definitely gives the band justification for having an album on this list. I Against I however was a bit of a turning point for this band though, as this album includes prominent influences from other genres like metal and funk. I actually really liked this, but I think I've seen more praise for the band's first two albums over this, so I'm not sure if this one would stay on my 1001 Albums list that I may or may not make in the future. I guess I should probably listen to those first two albums someday, shouldn't I? I should. If they're anything like this, they'll be awesome. But yeah, back to what I was going to say, this album's extra influences make I Against I feel less like a hardcore punk album and more like a ska/funk-metal type thing. It kinda reminds me of Fishbone, which is awesome because I loved the Fishbone album that I listened to for this project. The production feels pretty similar, especially with the bass tone which I really enjoyed. The music here is super fun and I love it. H.R.'s vocals are solid. Apparently he recorded the vocals for "Sacred Love" from a prison phone because he was locked up on a marijuana charge. That... is punk as hell. Great stuff. The writing on the songs isn't spectacular or anything, but it gets the job done. You've got some cool songs on here. I really liked the title track and "Re-Ignition" in particular. Man, this is sick. I do think I enjoyed the Fishbone album that I compared this to more, but I still had a lot of fun with this. If this isn't even their best album, I would love to see what their best is like. Solid 4/5.

You know I was into this more than anticipated—I did not expect Secret 77 to be such a Duran Duran song

better than i've suspected

Some kind of metal? Never heard of it before though. Bit thrashy, bit post-punky. Really interesting sound. Technically proficient but with that punk DIY sound. I guess hard alt rock? Is this a precursor to metalcore?? Secret 77 has some new wave feel to it as well. Some grunge feel in Hired Gun Best track - House of Suffering, Sacred Love 4 stars for a completely new sound/genre for me

Dey dope

Truly underrated band

Had Tickets for them in 2026 but they sadly had to cancel :( Love it....OG Punk

Highlights: Re-Ignition, She’s Calling You

I Against I blends hardcore, metal, and other styles in a way that feels ahead of its time, and it’s easy to see it as a precursor to later crossover or alternative rock. Many of the tracks lean heavily into metal, with tight riffs and even guitar solos, making it feel far beyond straightforward punk. Knowing that this came from an all-Black band in that era makes it even more striking. Personally, I still prefer the rawer energy of their earlier album Bad Brains, but this one stands out for its ambition and genre-blurring approach.

I actually rlly liked it

Met de relatief veel matige (overwegend Britse) punkplaten in deze lijst steekt dit er met kop en schouders bovenuit. Wat een feest om te luisteren. Echt weer zo'n groep waar de legacy doordreunt in de meest succesvolle en interessante acts van dit moment.

The Bad Brains album I was tge least familiar with, I think we're going to get better acquainted quite soon.

7/10

Bad Brains I Against I is such a great album. The talent of the players in the band is crazy evident to go from hardcore to heavy metal to reggae. But even with that being said H. R. Is the key. His lyrics and voice are amazing to create this great album.

It's been a while since I've listened to some Bad Brains. I remember enjoying the hell out of their self-titled debut years ago. They started as a jazz fusion act before amping up the tempos and becoming a cross-pollination between hardcore punk and reggae, though even that melting pot of sounds wouldn't be enough to satiate. Starting with I Against I, the band incorporated more genres like heavy metal, funk, and soul. The result is a very ambitious record, albeit not entirely without flaws. I think one of the most apparent highlights with Bad Brains compared to their contemporaries is their technical prowess. Dr. Know can absolutely shred on the guitar, and not far behind him were Darryl Jenifer's delectable bass lines and Earl Hudson's explosive drumwork. The intro into the title track alone is the type of commanding instrumental performance that this band is capable of. Of course, the member who got the most spotlight on this album is H.R., who expanded his vocal range from rapid-fire chatter to feral screeching and even some impressive baritone singing on cuts like "Re-Ignition" and "Secret 77". The group employed a good variety of styles, from the blistering fast-paced hardcore of the title track and "House of Suffering", to the soul-infused funk swagger of "Secret 77", to the heavy metal shuffle-beat of "She's Calling You", to some more glossy sheen on the guitar with the melodic sway of "Hired Gun". Now, while I respect the variety of styles employed on this record, it does lead to some tonal and production inconsistencies. Probably the most notable example is "Sacred Love", where, at producer Ron Saint Germain's suggestion, H.R.'s vocals were recorded over the phone while he was in prison. It's certainly a choice, one that I could see was done to thematically tie in to the lyrics of being physically distant from one's lover but still spiritually connected to them, even if I found it did not translate well in the execution. Also, for as much as I've been generally okay with the light religious undercurrents in the lyrics, given the group's Rastafarian background, it definitely reached an uncomfortable point with the closer "Return to Heaven", as H.R. calls people to come away from the packed rats down in hell back up to their holy place. There's this lingering, unclear insinuation that those who don't follow their religious practices are considered detestable beings that need saving. It's not as overtly intolerant as later records like Quickness turned out to be, but it did leave an odd taste in my mouth at the end, which says a lot as a Catholic. Aside from that ending, I still enjoyed I Against I overall. I recognize how widely influential Bad Brains was to several bands with their early output, and as such, they are worth checking out.

I had heard bits of Bad Brains in the past and am the weight their name holds in the Hardcore world. This album had grit but wasn’t nearly as heavy as I had anticipated, seems they flexed their reggae, funk muscle and laid off the more aggressive punk, hardcore sounds. It still made for a good album, it was interesting had some dark haunting vibes at times. With all the genre melding their doing it’s clear to see how their influence branched out to nu-metal acts like Deftones and Korn or Pop-punk acts like Green Day or Offspring to the Beastie Boys. They had a wide reach and that is respectable in its own right. I’ll definitely get my ears on their debut release after this. 4 stars

Better than Coldplay

A big fan of self-titled, think its cool how this album has a different sound. Bad brains has yet to disappoint.

Not my favourite, but they get an extra mark for inspiring those who came later.

Good brains

Whoa!

Had always heard of these guys but never took the time to listen. Really liked this album - title track was my favourite. and can hear its legacy in so many that came later.

Surprisingly I like it

Listened while driving to and from toddler soccer practice. Really fun album, full of that 80s stank that I love. Sounds a little too much like the Smiths for me to consider it a classic on its own merits. Liked it a lot!

Das fetzt

he call me a brat like my fav color green

Huh. I'd never heard of this band before, but I generally liked them even if it was a little disjointed. This feels like another band that I would have loved if I were a teenager rather than a baby when this album came out. 3.8

Great vibes throughout and such an obvious influence on rock music to come. Solid grooves and riffs throughout.

Nice surprise here. Melodic 80s punk (post-punk?) with great musicianship. Re-Ignition was my favorite track.

One hell of an album. Influential yet underrated. Will listen to more of Bad Brains.

i was prepared to give this a 3, but then i listened to it again (rare for me - you need to impress me basically right away) and thought - hm. there's something here. something appealingly sludgy and sleazy. it's weird and moody and i liked it a lot more than i thought i would. these brains might be bad but this album is good!!

cool album. never listened to these guys but they sound pretty awesome. also why does hired gun sound like a megadeth song favorites: intro, i against i, re-ignition, hired gun

1/26/2026. I'm enjoying the grunge. 7/10

Damn fun, Totally a sort of bridge/ mix of a few things album, it rips tho. Sacred love recorded over the prison phone is wild/ amazing... What a sound, lots going on here, gets into a bit more of a hair metal vibe but I can see the door open to some good trash/ heavy metal. Track "I against I' is the slapper, most punk, then the rest of it kinda drifts away from that style, first 3 tracks fuck 4

I was expecting a fast and furious hardcore punk. I wasn't expecting a weird mix of punk and hard rock with R&B, funk and pop. I can see where Turnstile got their sound from.

A cool album that sounds similar to something like Faith no more.

Review - A good hardcore album. I'd only listened to their earlier stuff before, fun to hear the influence of more reggae music, and how their style became closer to what I think of as NYHC as their career progressed. Rating - 8/10 Need to hear? YES

poppier than expected.

I have never heard of this band before but I saw they have a Live at CBGB album and I am excited to listen. Track 1 starts off reminding me kind of Alice in Chains. I am not sure how I feel about the vocals, it feels very experimental. However, the guitar parts are good. Honestly, I can't tell how I feel about it. I think it embodies punk rock pretty well, but I am not sure if I really enjoy it or not. I definitely do not hate it. Track 5 is pretty good, the guitar solo is absolutely heavenly. Track 8 was also really good, those two have been my favorites so far. Overall, this album has been pretty good but not great. Instinctively, I would give this album three stars, but because of the sick guitar solos, I will give it four.

solid

Reggae metal is sort of insane. I like an album that is a little nuts and complex and this is certainly that. Touches of metal, funk, reggae and soul in a punk shell make this a pretty confusing listen but pretty damn fun. Seriously I heard bits of Misfits, Pantera and Anthrax and then suddenly bits of... Prince? I love how inky and sort of sludgy the bass sounds and the guitar tone is excellent. I get a lot of benefit that this touches in genres and sounds I like a lot but even on the outside looking in you have to respect the vision and ideas. Vocally this album is pretty substandard too, but again I like a lot of Prince so the random "screeches" do a lot for me, otherwise the vocals may not be something to hold at insane heights but they're good at absolute minimum. Sacred Love being recorded through a phone call is such an interesting and organ way to get that sort of static sound that massively benefits this genre like it would for not many others. On a sidenote the sound created on Secret 77's start is amazing, and pretty close to the sounds created on Dream Theater's Awake which stands as one of my favourite albums of all time. I could listen to that first 20 seconds for HOURS. Best songs: I Against I / Sacred Love Worst songs: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 25/51 (below Boston, above Fear of a Black Planet)

The band moves away from the hardcore sound into a more funk metal sound. I really don't really enjoy the music that this album inspired but a lot of great stuff here.

Yeay 🤟

At first I thought why is this essential, and then then as the album I realized why. Regge punk is so cool and I had no idea it existed (probs for a rzn that is racism) but if this cane out today pitchfork would be ALL OVER IT. Def ahead of it’s time. Loved secret 77 the best.

Good for 1986 :-D. They certainly rock but not my jam.

Pretty good. Nice variety. I’d do 3.5 if I could. My wife said this album is too jazzy.

I wish these guys weren't so hard on themselves with their name... how could they make an album this good if they had bad brains??

album was awesome... love these guys!

I like the self titled more but this is a good album. Very unique take on punk/hardcore at the time in DC as one of the first and preeminent bands doing it. There’s a lot of hair metal shredding in this compared to like Fugazi but that’s definitely not a bad thing. I like what HR is doing vocally for the majority but sometimes he hits these strange melodies or growls that just don’t do it for me. Still, would recommend that anyone listens to this and hopefully this will be the first album Alfonso reviews.

Finally, I get a Bad Brains album. I’ve heard the name Bad Brains for a while, since the hair metal days at least. I’ve never listened to them, or at least nothing more than hearing a song or two. At the time I checked them out, I was way into hair metal and Bad Brains was known more as a punk band. In fact, some call them the pioneers of hardcore punk. I didn’t understand punk during the ages of 13-18. I was into Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen. You know, the holy trinity of guitar wankery. So if there weren't blazing solos, I didn't want to hear it. Though now I see what an idiot I was. Bad Brains, according to my friend Wikipedia, formed as a jazz fusion band. That kind of makes sense. Jazz can be chaotic and Bad Brains and their fans could be chaotic at times. In 1986, the band released I Against I, their third studio album, which was just everything. Metal, punk, reggae, funk, soul, whatever you wanted, you got on I Against I. I think it’s just weird enough to work. I Against I appears to be the band’s most influential album, if not its best. The album would go on to inspire bands from Sublime to Sepultura to Rage Against the Machine to Jeff Buckley and others. The album offered a different kind of sound at the time to those who weren’t into the whole hair metal scene. The album sounds like it was produced by the people who brought us Megadeth’s Peace Sells, But Who’s Buying and So Far, So Good, So What. As a Megadeth fan, I love both those albums. The guitar work is great with some very chunky riffs and great solos that would fit nicely into the hair metal scene. The vocalist H.R., is a great singer for this style of band. He sings, he raps, and he kind of uses an English voice like Donovan provides in Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies. There are times you can hear a bit of Glenn Danzig in his voice. He’s really refreshing and weird. This album is definitely going into my regular rotation. I love the sound and the spirit of the album. I think this would be a good one for fans of metal and hard rock to listen to. But I do think if you go in with an open mind, you’ll find a lot to like about I Against I.

"I Against I" is a surprisingly good and diverse rock/metal album. Lead singer Hudson's vocals vary in style from rapid fire to near crooning throughout the album, and is accompanied by a vibrant instrumental section.

7/10 Surprised me - never heard of them and wasn't what I expected. A little bit too crunch crunch squeal guitars for my day to day taste, but it was fun. Extra star cos it's nearly Christmas

Leopard print. Ash trays. Cheap beer. Newspapers and garbage bins dented on the sides. Glitter.

It's not their self titled but glad it's on the list. An extremely forward thinking sound, embraced the Reggae sound and the Rastafarian philosophies here.

I had never heard of Bad Brains until I recently discovered Kurt Cobain was a fan of their debut album. I really enjoyed this and then promptly added another album to my collection.

Early genre expanding work. Incredibly influential for all who came after.

these dudes rock. some wild sounds and tricks for 1986. i dont usually fuck with hardcore vibes but i fuck with it, and the weird reggae tinged alt rock stuff. favorite song is She's Calling You, maybe Re-Ignition

Review Rating: 8/10 Bad Brains might be more known for their first two albums in the early 80’s, during which the band was maybe the most prominent emerging live act in hardcore punk in D.C. and out of the East Coast. But a few years later, Bad Brains swapped the raggae style of their early works for a funk + metal sound while keeping the elements of hardcore ethos that defined them. The result is something that influenced genres to come and is a damn fun time in its own right. As usual, the band brings an infectious energy, unique vocals, thrashy riffs and funky grooves. I'm actually happily surprised that this is the album in this book, even thought I think Bad Brains S/T also probably should be. But I Against I is maybe the first example we can find of an alternative metal and funk metal album, it is straight up influential alone because of this. These genres and the post-grunge and nu-metal waves that followed can't trace their influence back further than this. I mean, I feel like this thing is even begging for some rap verses to kick in, it seems like it just misses sharing a space with the also emerging hardcore hip-hop sound on the East Coast. I don't think Bad Brains gets the credit they deserve for pioneering alt and funk metal sounds, compared to some bands with a grungier hard rock style. Here they are in 1986 on I Against I literally doing it first. Extremely underrated and underappreciated now, and the only reason I don't rate it even higher is because I don't think it's perfect, just a very solid alt metal and post-hardcore classic. Absolute highlight for me is House of Suffering into Re-Ignition. If I actually could recommend a definitive Bad Brains release, it would be The Youth Are Getting Restless, a live album at the peak of their powers. And to add a recommendation for a mandatory listen if you like this style of music, check out the modern classic Diaspora Problems by Soul Glo. It might just be the ultimate evolution of the sonic ideas presented on this album.

The Good: Me against Me… Masturbation! The Bad: Finding out that the second me is the rest of the world… The Ugly: Getting assaulted by the rest of the world and Ja… Bad Brains, interesting name for sure, especially if you dig into the history of the band. More interesting is the fact that these are some awesome musicians who just one day decided to switch from fusion jazz to punk… Problem is that I am not the biggest punk fan, though I am, according to my yearly roundup from Spotify, a fan of proto-punk, post-punk and on and on. Needless to say that Spotify does not understand that I am on the 1001 journey, so my entire yearly roundup is massively influenced by the terrible taste of Mr Dimery. Which leaves me with the question, how many stars is this album worth? Though it wasn’t the most enjoyable listen, it wasn’t terrible either… how I wish we could rate these from 1 to 10*… this would be a 7 so that I know to listen to it again at one point… 4* just to keep it on my list of things to hear again in the future at some point...

what an intro omg i am in love this is epic house of suffering- such cool vocals and the fast paced drum beat is awesome 'pain does not mean feel no joy' - re-ignition-- fucking epic melody and weird vocal chorus AND THE GUITAR SOLO "he that oppress reproach his maker, he that honor him have mercy on the poor"

Great for a workout, really enjoyable 4/5

Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

Really liked this album. I wished I would have heard Bad Brains in the 80's. This was exactly the type of music I was into!

Sometimes this project makes me feel stupid. Today is one of those times. Of course, I'm aware of the band Bad Brains. Everyone knows the iconic lightning bolt cover of their self-titled debut. I had a copy of that album on CD in the '90s. I enjoyed it, but the blistering energy of the early hardcore, along with H.R.'s fairly erratic vocals, kept me from loving the album. I might have even enjoyed the dub elements more than the hardcore. Basically, I appreciated the ROIR album as an influential recording but not an essential one. That's probably why I didn't pay much attention to their later recordings. In my defense, I was only nine or so when this album was released, so I wouldn't have had much of a chance to listen to it until it was already a decade old. At nineteen, I had a lot of classic music to learn about, in addition to the '90s alternative and golden-age rap coming out at the time. Even with those caveats, I really missed out by sleeping on this album. It appears that Bad Brains had a similar trajectory to punk bands that came just a few years earlier: they started out relying on pure energy, improved their playing over time, and matured as artists, leading to greater creative depth in the music. In retrospect, it's a total no-brainer that Bad Brains would follow this track, since ROIR had both high-speed hardcore and dub reggae. We'll call I Against I post-hardcore since that label is available, but it feels like it has that post-punk ethos to me. I Against I hits just right. It's still hard and energetic and entertaining, but the songs have much more creative structure and depth. There are no purely dub tracks here, but there are dub elements all over the record. The post-punk (even new wave!) influences shine through. Take the track "Secret 77." It starts out with a spacy instrumental reminiscent of the texture of The Cure's Pornography album, transitioning into guitar lines that sound as if "Hungry Like the Wolf" raw-dogged a shot of bottom-shelf whiskey. Awesome. H.R. has his vocals under control here, too. They still feel different and dangerous, but he has learned how to use his weapon rather than letting it get away from him. If this album has one flaw it's that it's too short. My ADHD having ass loves short records, but twice now I've experienced I Against I ending too early, before I had my fill of it. This is a record that I'll put in rotation and enjoy over and over again. Four stars.

You can tell the influence they've had on Nirvana and the grunge movement. Very skilled guitar

Not like many groups I have heard outside of Faith No More and Living Colour. Pretty cool outside of the crunchy power chords and metal leads. A 3.5 for me, but bumping.

Bad Brains ken ik vooral van naam en dan met name dat het een voorloper van hardcore bands uit de 90s was. Ik had dus een aardig potje teringherrie verwacht, maar ik vind het best wel 80s eigenlijk. Secret 77 had ook zo door Spandau Ballet uitgebracht kunnen worden, bij wijze van spreken dan. Het is een soort mix van Living Colour en Faith no More, en dat vind ik eigenlijk best tof. Er zitten stukken bij die meer 80s metal zijn, zeker door een paar van die schurende gitaarsolo's. Verder zitten er best veel funky elementen in, door de gitaarriffs en de bassloopjes. Ook hardcore punk herken ik er soms in, wat zich vaak kenmerkt door het meezingen van de overige bandleden of het publiek, zoals bij Let me Help. Ik herken in Hired Gun een oude versie van Turnstile, het lijkt me alsof die knapen goed leentjebuur hebben gespeeld hier. De genres op dit album zijn aardig gevarieerd, ik vind het verre van de herrie die ik vooraf had verwacht. Ik zou het totaal typeren als "funk metal". Misschien moet ik nog even wat andere albums van Bad Brains luisteren, want blijkbaar had ik een verkeerd beeld van ze. Ik heb het album ervoor gepakt, Rock for Light, want daarin zaten ook veel nrs van de debuutplaat, en dat klinkt al meer wat ik vooraf had verwacht. Veel razendsnelle korte nummers, met af en toe een reggae-intermezzo. Het album na I Against I, Quickness, is meer groove metal en daar hoor ik ook wel wat meer gelijkenissen met de hardcore uit die tijd. Wel vet om te horen dat ze best een aardige ontwikkeling doormaken. I Against I is denk ik het meest toegankelijke album wat ik heb geluisterd nu en blijkbaar ook het best verkochte album. Het ene heeft ongetwijfeld met het andere te maken. Misschien wel terecht om dit album dan uit te kiezen, laat ik het een keer met de snobs eens zijn. Qua cijfer zit ik op een ruime 4.

I really like how this develops over the course of the album. The music was always solid but the vocals really came into their own as the album went on.

Not my cup of tea, But I find it an overall well played album. Secret 77 She's calling you We're the highlight of this album. Vote: 3.5/5

Again I don't know where to land--obviously a hugely influential album, in particular to many subsequent bands that I grew up on and love. I think what surprised me the most was that I like some of tracks more than I expected. I'd always assumed Bad Brains was "just" punk, but the influences of funk and metal on this are interesting.

Another record/band that clearly inspired Pearl Jam's sound. It's so cool to learn about the component parts of what felt, as a teen, like a singular revolution. I don't think I'm necessarily going to come back to it, but I'm inspired to listen to some other Bad Brains records.

I Against I is a short album that impressed me. I mean, that guitar wailed, like, the entire time! I kept hearing the guitar in the background and, damn, Bad Brains knew what they were doing with the guitar. They also knew what they were doing with this alternative metal sound because they're ahead of the curve in 1986. More than that, they used reggae and funk, which just made a good album better. And what was "Sacred Love"? That song was recorded over the phone while the lead vocalist was in prison?! Power move.

I had never heard of Bad Brains, and I'm not really sure what I was expecting from this album...but in the best way possible, this wasn't it. This is a unique combination of late-stage punk, 80s hard rock, and a touch of early-stage 90s alternative...all dancing across a bed of funk. There really wasn't anything else like this at the time. This album came and went quickly, and left me wanting more. This is probably a 3.5 for me, but a no brainer for a round-up. It's wild that the global score isn't even a 3 on this one.

There’s nobody quite like Bad Brains. Hardcore / punk infused with Rastafarian vibes. The album blasts off like cannon in the first half with some of my favorites from their catalog. House of Suffering is probably my favorite Bad Brains song and the title track is also way up there. While the second half slows it down a touch and they really explore where they can take their sound. Sacred Love is a track where this new groovier Bad Brains really comes together amazingly well. I don’t know that this album is universally palatable but it was a staple in my teenage years. Love this band.

Very good! The immediately “hell yeah” guitar intro (on a song called “Intro”) was a fantastic way to kick off this project and a good way to start the day! Very fun and invigorating sound, and fun vocals on songs like “Re-ignition”.

Not my favourite Bad Brains but any album of theirs is better than most.

One of my favorite albums from my youth.... Still holds up. Haven't listened to it in awhile - glad it came up today. Definitely perked me up.

How was it? It was alright but it did have influence on future important bands

Really solid. First heard them when I was watching the Foo Fighters Sonic Highways docuseries and thought they seem pretty cool. Now that I've heard an album from them I can confirm they're pretty cool. I don't love the vocalist but he's not terrible either. Other than that, everything was fire. They play so fast and hard, there's really no way to describe it. It's like an auditory flamethrower. It's incredible.

Une belle découverte! Du punk en avance sur son temps. Instrumental de qualité.

Hair metal and Reggae influenced Punk? I’ll listen to that any day.

I lost my original review of this when I refreshed the page unfortunately. This was a pretty cool Bad Brains album. I still struggle a bit with the vocals but I really loved how melodic this record was. I feel like they pulled in a lot of different influence into the hardcore sound which is super cool. I feel like they could grow even more on me if I spent the time on it. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened at some point.

Bad Brains fucking rock, I don’t listen to them nearly enough. You forget how dripping with riffs their music is, this goes metal, jazz, funk, new wave, the lot. The current wave of post-punk bands owe a ton to these lads. Not my Bad Brains album of choice, but really enjoyed listening to this.

Baustelle, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Solide Nummer.

i like it, but i wont lie im very intrigued by their earlier reggae punk albums. i got to check those out on my own time, if they aren't on this list already

Første tanke var Iron Maiden og Modly Crue, så gik den over i noget helt andet med slap bas.. Så var der lidt Guns´n Roses over det. Den får lige et fokuseret lyt mere en anden dag. Men umilbart en 4er for underholdnings værdien.

Punk/metal mash-up. Det gynger voldsomt og sejler rundt. Det ene øjeblik er det tonsetungt. Det næste er det lige på og rå punk. Så smider vi da lige en guitarsolo ind. Og en funky bass-line. Når jeg ser på hvilke bands/artister Bad Brains har haft indflydelse på, så er det mere eller mindre alt det musik jeg hørte som teenager. Ikke underligt at det her tiltaler mig.

My second favorite Bad Brains album. I tend to like their shift towards reggae more than just straight punk. Still a really unique album that doesn’t get trapped in the 80s. 8/10

I liked Return To Heaven and I against I. Nothing else really stood out amongst each other. But it’s good enough to reach three stars.

I loved Banned in DC and I hope it's on this list. This is a bit of a backslide from there

Uma das primeiras manifestações do Hardcore, mistura inusitada de Punk e Reggae. A sonoridade do disco evoca uma vibe bem underground, abafada. Os riffs de guitarra rápidos se misturam com uma linha de vocal crua, em algumas partes soa mais como falada do que cantada e conta com alguns gritos guturais aqui e ali. Olhando para o ano de 1986, deve ter soado inovador.

This is another album that, although I don’t have the same nostalgic attachment to it, objectively has influenced entire generations of artists to this day. Everyone from Sublime, Dillinger Escape Plan, Lamb of God and more who’ve risen from the underground all cite this and the Bad Brains cannon as gospel Aside from the hype or how you “should” feel about it. It’s a good album. For me it’s less about the individual songs and the entire vibe of the record. How can you not want to grab a longboard rip down the sidewalk at the beach listening to this? I can’t even stand on skateboard and I’m willing to risk breaking my neck. That’s how cool they are My biggest beef with this record is the production. Although crisper/clearer than their previous records, the big 80s gated drum sound is a bit much at times. That being said, I Against I, Secret 77 and She’s Calling You are all my favorites. Songs that push the musical boundaries of what they’ve done previously. Faith No More owes them some royalties

Overall: 8/10 Pretty great punk album with hints of heavy metal and reggae! I've always heard of Bad Brains, they're one of those bands that is considered legendary but a lot of people don't listen to them. That's a shame cause I thought this was pretty great and I'm gonna be checking out the rest of their discography as well. Fav Song: Re-Ignition

Interesting concept for musical notes, not something typical or that I already heard before. I like it.

geiler vibe von stimme und instrumentals, hört man selten. Gitarre ist krass

I liked more than yesterday

Wow! Totally unexpected. These musicians are so good and the music is so intense. Love it.

Amazing album, really liked this one

Feeling stupid I never listened to this banger before

Really liked this despite only really listening out of one ear whilst working. A very pleasant surprise, I thought it would be way more discordant and lacking musicality, happy that I was very wrong about that. Fave Tracks: Re-Ignition, She's Calling You, Hired Gun 4.3/5

"I Against I" is the third studio by American rock band Bad Brains. Alternative metal, hard core punk, funk rock and funk metal are the Wiki-listed genres. Yes! The album found the band broadening out from their early punk style into funk, soul, reggae and heavy metal. The album title "I Against I" is a Rastafarian phrase meaning "we" and signifying union of the speaker, audience and Jah (God) in love and peace. The bandmembers were H.R. (lead vocals), Dr. Know (guitar), Darryl Jeter (bass) and Earl Hudson (drums). The album had wide-spread critical acclaim and was very influential in the metal, ska and punk scenes. The album opens with the instrumental "Intro." Guitar riffs and a heavy bass and drums. Hmmmm...this album can go in a lot of different directions. And they start fast in the self-titled "I Against I." Fast drums. Lots of starts and stops and pace changes. Aspects of metal, punk and funk. H.R. vocals are all over the place including yodeling. They crank it up a notch in the next song "House of Suffering." Extremely fast drums and a thumping bass. They're back to their punk roots. Is H.R. in jail? Is he talking about the world? God? If you're' going to have a title like "House of Suffering" you better bring it and they do They slow it down a bit in "Re-Ignition." A grinding, chugging rhythm section. More of a heavy metal guitar riff. The world needs a new start otherwise, the world's fate is sealed. "Secret 77" starts out heavy. The rhythm changes funky and Dr. Know relies more on hard rock guitar slashes. I believe H.R. is singing about revolution and mercy on the poor. This album combines a lot of styles...punk, heavy metal, funk and hard rock. The band has no problem changing pace and styles between and within songs. The musicians can definitely play. You can hear the Eddie Van Halen influence in Dr. Know's guitar with the riffs and it also reminded me of Living Colour's Vernon Reid. There's a Rastafarian tilt to H.R.'s lyrical themes (at least to me) with revolution, love and change. Overall, this a very solid album where past influences are present in their music and they are laying down music influential to future bands.

3.5 but rounding up / I like punk music, but I have a hard time thinking that I'll come back to revisiting this album. It lacked any feeling of a wow factor. Listening to the first two Bad Brains albums before this I did find this album to be more succinct in its sound, though, and one of the reasons I rounded up instead of down for it felt like an exercise in reaching what might be their peak.

This rocks. I was a little meh on the first half but the b-side is awesome. Favorite: Let Me Help. I bet there's deeper layers to it all, but that's what I've got for this one. 4.5, rounding down.

Mildly aggro punk music that's decent. I can see why it's on the list, even if I don't fully appreciate it.

um, wow???? love it. so weird and fun. I wish I could understand literally anything they were saying.

This is the most highly produced Bad Brains album I’ve heard. It comes through with way more clarity, weight, and density than anything they released before it. While it still has its aggressive moments, this one leans more into funk metal and melodic territory. H.R. still delivers some explosive yelling, but he’s way more soulful, and actually sings on many of the tracks. In some ways, this album reminds me of what bands like Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers were doing in the late 80s and early 90s, but with a much sharper, and more hardcore punk edge.

Top track: Secret 77

Great punk album from that weird timeframe where DC was spinning off so much weird good stuff!

Never even heard of the band before. Great angry punk music although no outstanding songs. Enjoyed the albums guitar and drum base.

Zaskakująco dobre. Jakiś taki punk z lat 90-2000

Like the style and you can’t underestimate its influence, but the songs aren’t quite 5-standard

Did not transcend me

No one escapes the 80’s production! No one! Pretty good album otherwise. 3.5/ 5

I've always meant to listen to Bad Brains, so I was happy this album popped up in the list. I guess I thought they were strictly a punk band, but this album has a lot of range, which was interesting to hear. I can definitely hear the Brains' influence on bands like Living Colour and Fishbone aka bands I really like.

Clásico del Hardcore gringo de los años 80.

Was unfamiliar with this one until today. I love it when that happens. It's telling to me that the reviews on this make it seem a love it or hate it kind of thing. Were it not for the vocals I think this would be a 5/5 for me. I think the vocals really take away from the rest of what's going on. Some of the vocals aren't too bad - Secret 77 is a good example of how they could have at least improved the vocal lines a bit. But I think I just don't like H.R.'s voice. Sacred Love being recorded over the phone from jail is a cool story but it would have been better had the vocals been recorded in studio. It played like a backing track with shitty vocals layered over, which, I suppose, is exactly what it was. Aside from the vocals, brilliant playing all around. It's raw, edgy, tight, aggressive, erratic in a good way, well payed. Some of the guitars are very Vernon Reid-esque in playing and tone. And that's a pretty big compliment. I really liked it but I'm going to have to dock a star for the vocals. 4/5

This kicks ass

Yea man. Never heard them before that I know of. Into it.

Never heard of these guys before. Cool punk with some sick guitar playing

nothing stands out but its very good

4/5 - Fun riffs with some urgency - Solid precursor to hardcore punk - Some screaming, but those moments are fleeting - Unclear which "i" wins, but it appears to be a win-win scenario.

Decent metal. Not over the top. Not main stream.

Not what I expected, but what I got was really cool.

Just really good, bro was cooking. Favourite Song: I Against I Honourable Mentions: She's Calling You

Woah woah woah, that’s good. Only thing I don’t like is when he does that gremlin voice (LMAO), but other than that this goes crazy. After some thought into it this just falls short of a 5, very good album tho

I didn’t read any info on this and went into the listening experience completely blind. Honestly, so shocked at the release date as it sounds way more modern. Decent album, would return to listen again.

Never heard of the band before but this was bloody brilliant. I’m surprised it has such a low average rating. I’ll definitely be checking out some more of their stuff when I’m done with my Ozzy binge. Top Track - Re-Ignition

I didn't mind it, it had a great story behind it. It's got a good fact about the song recorded from prison. Deserves to be on the list.

Have never heard this whole thing before outside of I Against I and this shit rules. Very weird that mainstream-adjacent punk didn’t take the funk influence from this until more recently.

Fun mix of reggae, hard core and punk. Vocals trend from irritating to excellent from song-to-song. Good energy and an enjoyable listen - 7/10

Bad Brains, 4 gasten die eruit zijn als Reggae types die zoals ik het nu hoor een soort hard rock album maken. Apple omschrijft het als 'alternative', maar dit voelt echt wel heel rock-y. Heel interessant, maar best lekker wakker worden moet ik zeggen! Heerlijke solo in Let me Help Is het mooie muziek? Nee. Rockt het? Keihard. Echt wel leuk om een halfuur naar te luisteren. En laat het album precies een halfuur duren. 4 reten. FAV Re-Ignition, Let me Help, Return to Heaven

The singer reminded me a bit of Chuck Moseley, the original singer from Faith No More. That's pretty weird, since he DID sing for them for a brief stint (90-91). I have their first album, but keep meaning to get this one. Glad I was able to give it a listen, some good punk here. Top tracks: "I Against I," "Sacred Love," "Return To Heaven"

These guys feel like Faith No More meets Living Colour meets Megadeth. And I dug it. I actually listened to a few tracks from their debut album first and you can hear how they went from more hardcore punk to funk metal. I'm not surprised to learn that they were pioneers and major inspirations across a few genres. The bass and guitar are so good on this album. They absolutely slayed on the title track, Re-Ignition, and She's Calling You. Secret 77 and Sacred Love both had a darker sort of shadowy feel, which I also dug. Nice surprise with this album.

I’d never heard of Bad Brains before so this was totally new and I didn’t know what to expect. At first I found the lead singer’s voice of putting, but it grew on me as the album went on. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Favorite track: Secret 77 4

A magnitude down from the st and Rock for Light, but still mostly stands on its own

Not my favorite Brains album, but the front half rips! Lots of experimentation on that back half tough. Not all of it hits (looking at you She's Calling You). When they're on, they're ON, and the production here is slick but heavy.

Undeniable talent and creativity

Big classic 80s punk

Finally some lean punk rock that isn't bloodless or boring. This is dirty, no-bullshit, and ahead of its time. Moves fast and takes you with it. Unpolished but not at all sloppy. The bass guitar work goes crazy and I really enjoyed the lead vocal performance.

So good ole punk rock! I actually enjoyed this and loved the hard edge guitar and drums. Vocals were good, but not great, but didn’t detract enough to give a lower rating.

I've never heard Bad Brains before but I liked this album quite a bit.

3.5 stars. Rasta alt-metal. Some Motorhead meets Collective Soul vibes? Interesting sound. Better than a lot of the stuff coming out of the 80's. No particular bad tracks but not standouts either.

There were a few songs I didn’t enjoy, but overall this was great

"the vocals to "Sacred Love" were recorded over the phone from the prison where H.R. was serving time on a marijuana distribution charge." is quite possibly the most metal sentence ever written.

I really think it should have been banned in DC here instead. Better album, still like this one Will I listen to again: 75%

Molón, siento la influencia que ha tenido en otros grupos posteriores. Me pongo inmediatamente a escuchar más discos suyos.

Listened to July 2020. Still sounds unlike any other punk band from that era. Sometimes a bit noisy and frenetic for me, but I get that it's part of the appeal.

3.75

Fav song: Re-Ignition I'm not a fan of hardcore or punk but I did like this album. I think the vocalist is what makes it.

Good

Not too bad.

Thoughts before listening: Bad Brains get a TON of respect and praise within the punk and hardcore communities, but I always had a hard time getting into them. Its hard to understand their lyrics and the melodies get buried with the speed in which they play their songs. I understand thats a selling point for hardcore punk, but it kept me from latching onto Bad Brains the way I did more melodic punk bands like Bad Religion, the Ramones, and the Descendents. Review: So I feel like the bulk of my exposure to Bad Brains has been to their first album Banned in DC which can be a tough listen due to the sloppiness of the songs and shoddy production (similar production issues plague a ton of 80s punk releases) This album however is a better experience. The songs are slowed down quite a bit and the melodies aren't getting buried. HR still uses his yelp that I don't always love, but he's also singing a lot more here. They are melding their different styles really well with punk, hard rock, and reggae influences sprinkled throughout the songs. This is a 4-star album to me.

Another one that sounds pretty ahead of its time. Not a sound I enjoy however

Some good punk

It's not a perfect album, but it is one of the most influential punk albums. Bands as diverse as Anthrax, Rage Against The Machine, Beastie Boys, Guns N Roses, Green Day, Nirvana, No Doubt and countless others have cited this album as an influence. It's considered a seminal classic for a reason.

This was exactly what I needed to hear today. I've been sleeping on these guys.

4.5

Groovy, and the solos are incredible. Doesn’t have the same raw aggression as their self titled.

DC's very own Bad Brains have always been one of my favorites, if not my favorite, of the city's early hardcore scene (sorry Minor Threat). Their self-titled debut is about as fiery and fast, yet as skilled as early '80s hardcore could get. This album, while more melodic, slower, and metal adjacent (I guess sort of post-hardcore in many ways), I've always appreciated for completely different reasons. 'I Against I' is one of the band's best songs and sort of harkens back to their more straightforward DC hardcore sounds (with the structure almost mirroring that of 'Banned in DC'). While a song like 'Let Me Help' has a lot of the guitar work you'd expect out of '80s metal, especially with that guitar solo, but again, with a larger appreciation for vocal melody. Songs like 'She's Calling You' and 'Secret 77' are sort of funky as well - with these prominent basslines; these remind me a lot of what Fishbone was doing around this time. And while they tone down the straight-up reggae cuts on this album, their appreciation for the Rastifarian culture is still put on display on a few of the songs here, especially on 'House of Suffering' So yeah, I really enjoyed this, maybe not as much as their straight hardcore debut, but it's a solid switch-up nevertheless.

I'm giving an extra star here, signifying the fact that this band matured and grew, and built something, while less impactful, more meaningful.

It helps that I have a soft spot for the DC punk scene

This was a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed it a lot.

Cool guitar, melodic songs are better

Difficult album to rate. I don't really like the voice but really enjoyed the abrasive guitar riffs. reminded me of Les Berurier noir 3.5

As far as I know, this band is very important for hardcore punk. And now I get why. This record is packed with raw energy. I liked it a lot

It's good. Enjoyable, some of the vocal work was a bit annoying, same with some of the cheesier guitar bits. Creative project, though, I like it. 4/5

I had no expectations going in, but holy shit. I Against I and House of Suffering are both really good hardcore punk (and borderline prog?) songs. Re-Ignition sounds so much like a Coheed and Cambria song that I can't believe this album came out in 1986. The influence that this sound had on the first several Coheed albums is so strong, I can't believe I had never heard of this band before. I definitely hear some Faith No More on Let Me Help. The rest of the album was also very good. 4

A little too much metal mixed in with the punk for my tastes, but Bad Brains was a great punk band.

nice

Hardcore, metal, punk, reggae. A very interesting concoction. I enjoyed their rock and metal riffs mixed with funky bass lines and that powerful snare. Not overly keen on the vocals all of the time, but I could pick out many different influences and styles that mingled quite nicely. Some tracks you could hear RATM, sometimes elements of Dog Eat Dog and even at times some Faith No More. Is it weird that I could hear some INXS in there (I think I’m going crazy). Can’t say I liked every song, but they were all energetic. Quite liked “She’s Calling You”. Wasn’t what I was expecting. For me a low 4, but a 4 nonetheless. Might venture into some of their other stuff.

This is heavy metal light, and I kind of liked it, although I can’t remember any of yesterday’s songs. 3.5

Cool

This is brilliantly original and, reading about the band, I expected to love it. I do love elements of it (guitars, funk, some thrashy moments), but I'm not a fan of the vocals and some of the more American-style punk sound is less my thing. So 4 stars with the caveat that I can completely understand why lots of people give it top marks!

Seriously, the album I needed on a low energy day. House of Suffering is one of the best ‘new to me’ songs I’ve heard on here in a while.

Never heard this before but I hear so many more recent bands in it, ridiculously influential. A brilliant listen

DC punk royalty.

Truth be told I am biased. My uncle really liked bad brains and I always wanted to be like him. I had a bad brains Obama t shirt in 2008. This is definitely the most i've liked bad brains. Theres some great melody and rhythm between the breakdowns and hardcore. I think this album's greatest strength is its creativity and I'll probably keep listening to this album and get more accustomed to some of its bitterness.

Man, I love a good hardcore punk album. Shit is just in and out so quickly. It saves me so much time in a day. I've been curious about Bad Brains for a while. I think this album showcases their range and skill as a band well, but I could also see how this would be a band that could only truly be experienced live because what they do can't be replicated in a studio. Regardless, this band has a really cool sound that seems to have influenced a lot of other bands 4/5

A sharp, spiky, paranoid album. Very much “post-punk” in a way that I prefer to a lot of actual post-punk albums. Really like the sound here, atmospheric, mixing heavy and light textures together. Best song: I Against I

This is great heavy punk

For some reason, I always thought Bad Brains were a ska band that had passed me by. They are not. This album felt quite punk in places, and then very Faith No More in others. I liked the vibe of this quite a lot. The sound of the guitars had me rocking out and having an all around good time, and the vocals weren’t too overproduced or smooth which went very well with the music. I guess I like Bad Brains now!

Intro n/a I Against I 3.3 House of Suffering 3.4 Re-Ignition 4 Secret 77 3.4 Let Me Help 3.3 She's Calling You 3.3 Sacred Love 3.4 Hired Gun 3.5 Return to Heaven 4 Score: 3.511111111

Always fun to revisit Bad Brains. Used to love this band when I was younger and I still really enjoy them to this day. They seem to be one of the more talented bands to come out of the hardcore punk genre. The album is produced very well and sounds excellent even by today’s standards, I was kinda shocked by how good it still sounds. Awesome album.

This is a good jam. Punk and metal, just the right mix.

I'd only ever really listened to the self titled album. This album benefits from much better production and starts really strong. The title track and re-ignition are standout tracks. There are a few bits of filler in there, but generally a good album from an iconic band with an important place in the history of east coast hardcore and black punk generally, often name-checked by the Beastie Boys.

Great album. Smoother and more consistent than some of their other albums, but it still has intensity and really speaks to a group of people and a generation that were making their own voice. It is still revolutionary as no one can really replicate what Bad Brains were doing, especially for the place and time.

Hardcore isn't really my thing so I haven't really checked out Bad Brains before - this is great! Not really hardcore, more alt metal - I can definitely hear the influence they had on Faith No More. (As an aside, is there any hardcore hardcore on the list? The Minutemen album didn't sound very hardcore to me either? 🤷) Anyway, good stuff - liked the experimentation. Fave tracks - "I Against I" and "Re-Ignition" are great. "Sacred Love" is probably my top pick. "Return to Heaven" is cool too...

I was surprised by how poppy this was, given I have heard another Bad Brains record that was very punk. This was enjoyable varied.

This was so sick ? Favs: I against I, Re-ignition, She’s calling you, Hired Gun

I'm a hard-core fanatic and love Bad Brains though this album isn't their best maybe to some but it was cool to listen to for the first time in decades. Which is why I'm here.

I liked it.

More 80s metal than the hardcore punk I’m familiar with from them. Not bad.

More than just a punk record, Bad Brains flirt with funk and soul to great effect too. Genre melding that works.

Dope

I'm not sure how, but I completely missed Bad Brains. I really enjoyed this and will be listening to more.