In an age where the definition of hardcore is maintained by the number of pins you have on your ripped jean jacket, the amount of time it takes you to "do up" your faux-hawk, and the incalcuable array of "True" bands you listen to, it's really a shame that a legendary band such as the Bad Brains dont act as more of an influence on a tired and worn scene of back beaten hipsters with ironic Misfits shirts adorned in a ritualistic and trend worthy fashion. Believe it or not(?!), Hardcore used to be a term to describe Punk music. And at the forefront of this musical revolution were the Bad Brains. Punk went from a near nagging urgency to pure unbriddled and violent rage. Not to say that the Sex Pistols weren't vital (obviously they were) but their working class snide wasn't as instantly identifiable to the fractured youth in America as it was in London. The Bad Brains were "ours", they were DC's, they were Hardcore.

While it's a lenghty debate to say that the Bad Brains invented hardcore, they have as good a resume' as anyone else. Dr. Know laid down primal and aggressive punk riffs and spiked it with an uncanny sense of virtuosity and melody that had just as much to do with fusion as it did with punk. Earl Hudson was more than your average thrash drummer, he could just as easily put down a funk groove and let the rhythm resonate. And more often then not he switched between his massive thrash attacks and his subtle jazz leaning on the drop of a hat. Daryl Jennifer was a steller bassist in his own right, not content to simply follow the guitar lines, but to compliment them with a keen sense of subdued power and bottom heavy rage. And the real showstopper, vocalist H.R., was the loose cannon that steared the ship. He would yell, growl, spit, rant, chatter, and any other adjective you can find in order to convey his vague esoteric religious lyrics. Utilizing and mastering many differant forms of hardcore vocals, and also able to pull out some surprisingly melodic singing at times. Did I mention they played reggae?
After 20 minutes of scathing hardcore in front of tattoed skin heads, and bitter, resentful youths. The Bad Brains would break it down and thrown in some roots music to break up the intensity. Live shows for the Bad Brains were legendary, and left a mark on the DC area for years to come.

With a handful of classic releases like "Bad Brains" and "I against I" the Bad Brains cemented themselves into the minds of rebellious youngsters everywhere. It's strange that a band seemingly so un-hardcore (Jazz-Trained black virtuoso's singing about jah??) would single handely change the way hardcore was seen by the music world. Pushing the boundaries of punk far past it's carthic beginings. Eventually the Bad Brains left their hardcore roots and struck for a more modern metal sound, and sadly failed to strike a chord as much as they did with their original albums (partly because H.R. had left the group) Tis a shame that the genre these guys helped create has turned into a Holier than thou mosh pit of downtuned E chords, and scenesters identified more by the X's on their hands then the biting intensity of musical integrity once encapsulated by the mighty Bad Brains.

Bathory took heavy metal to new heights (or depths) of evil in the mid 80's. By taking the speed and intensity of punk and thrash, and mixing it with dark, morbid imagery of satanism and beastiality...a new genre was formed. Black metal. Some would call them the first Black metal band, of course their were others playing around with the same sound (Venom, Hellhammer), Whereas venom coined the term, Bathory further defined the sound. The Dark Thrash of "Bathory" and "The Return", and the full fledged black metal assault of "under the sign of the black mark" left a huge impression on the minds of many metal fans, and a new age of black metal devotees would take the Bathory blueprint and put their own unique voice on it. But like all visionary's, the man behind the band Quorthon took Bathory to new creative heights, by taking his already mastered Black Metal sound and infusing epic atmospheric and folk inspired landscapres, the epic "Blood Fire Death" gave rise to a whole new sound, coined "Viking Metal". Bathory tore down the walls of a near stagnant genre and threw it into the depths of hell. Essential for any fan of the extreme genres of music.

Forget that Queens of the stone age crap, Kyuss are the true desert scorched warriors of the ancient adjective "jamming out". And boy do they know how to do that, their legendary (and unmatched) album "Blues for the red sun" is classic, stoned, and a hellofa lot a fun. Kyuss lay down their thick stoner grooves with so much conviction it brings a tear to your eye. "Allens Wrench" soars with energy, and manages to pack an unexpected whallop. The runaway classic "Thong Song" starts off with a floaty verse, and witty lyrical prowess, and builds into an intense groove ("HURRAY FOR YOOOOUUUUUUUUU"). Kyuss brought a fresh take on the Sabbath inspired sludge grooves of the past, by speeding it up, and letting the bone crushing rythem take control of the songs.