No Survivors

Growing up as a metalhead in the early 80's, listening to Maiden and Priest, and then gravitating to harder and faster stuff like Metallica and Slayer...I suppose it was inevitable that I was going to discover punk and hardcore. Attracted by band names like Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Suicidal Tendencies and Dead Kennedys, it seemed like a natural fit with the shock tactics and aggression of thrash.

Given that I've been listening to a ton of metal lately, I guess that it is a natural progression to find myself starting to listen to more and more of those punk bands that I started blasting from the stereo when I was 15 and 16.

Growing up, the big question was always "Who's better...Iron Maiden or Judas Priest"...and then as time went on, the two big names that I'd pit against each other were G.B.H. and The Exploited. It was always a tough call as to which one I liked better. Here we are, 30 years later, and I think I can finally crown G.B.H. as the winner.

I've been listening to those early G.B.H. songs a lot lately. Every day, I'm listening to City Baby Attacked By Rats, City Babys Revenge, or the first Leather Bristles album, and I'm amazed at how well these songs have held up over the years.

So what do I do when I start obsessing about bands? I start checking eBay, of course.

Just like the Raven records I bought at the start of the year, I found myself drawn to the 7 inch records when I was looking at the options to buy. Right off, I found a near mint copy of the Catch 22/Hellhole 7 inch...and it was in the States as well. Sold.

Once I had one G.B.H. 7 inch, I couldn't stop there. I needed more, and a UK seller quickly gave me the fix that I needed with the No Survivors record. It was beat up a little, but it still plays fine, and the one two punch of No Survivors and Self Destruct kicks my ass every time.

While I was buying the G.B.H. record from the UK seller, I noticed that they also had a few other punk classics available for auction, so I went after them as well.

While I still don't find them as strong as G.B.H., the early Exploited stuff is no slouch. It had been a long time since I'd heard these songs, and now that I've listened to this Dead Cities 7 inch, I've had to add The Exploited to my list of current obsessions. This shit is catchy as hell...let the eBay searches continue!

The final 7 inch that I'd won from the UK seller was the Holiday In Cambodia record from Dead Kennedys. My introduction to this band was their Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death CD. At the time I just thought the title was Jello's dig at society, and I had no idea that it was because it was a compilation of their 7 inch and b-side songs. I've always been content with owning just that CD...until now. Seeing this 7 inch lit a fire under me, and in addition to my obsession with the three different covers that are available for the Holiday In Cambodia release, it has got me thinking of putting in some serious work into building up my DK record collection.