played a huge part in the noisy movement of the 1980s; they took to the dirtiest, dingiest mudhole they could find and sullied it from top to bottom until it looked and sounded like some hell-bound bogeyman. It's not too far-fetched to think of as the American equivalent of , the Texans donning the mantle that was dropped when disbanded. contains everything the band ever recorded, including a few lo-fidelity instrumentals. never received the notice it deserved, but the musicians could pound out brilliantly frenzied and highly original / that sometimes rivals the material released by singer and bassist ' future (and much more well known) project, . The first eight songs were originally released in 1984 as an eponymous EP; from the opening crashing bars of to the terrifying lyrics heard on (a song which reads like something culled from a medieval book about torture), this band obviously never had any desire to control itself. Only one slight reprieve can be found in the relatively tender a song replete with weeping strings. Songs nine through 20 first saw the light of a sickly day as , 's one and only full-length that found the band expanding its musical palette: insane numbers ( ), jaunty, faux grooves ( ), goofy riffs ( ), and a spot-on cover of the - rocker complete with exclamatory horns. The remainder of the disc comprises the songs from their definitive statement, the 1987 EP. A little more money went into this recording; as the sound quality is better than on , it was definitely worth it. and are whirlwinds of pounding drums, foreboding basslines, and scathing, blinding guitar phrases. The band never played so well or wrote better songs. Highly recommended to any fan and aficionado. ~ Will Lerner