Review Summary: This album will rigorously drag itself from reggae to hardcore, but you'd be surprised how good an album like this could actually be.
Bad Brains' debut album is, though seeming musically exquisite through genre alternation, fairly mediocre. The emerging DC Hardcore sub-genre does not typically contain even a hint of reggae, which is the majority of this album. That aside, however, the first 5 songs are extremely rebellious-sounding. Opening track "Sailin' On" dives right into the speed and ferocity that the listener will learn to crave after the 5th track. The sole wish of a typical punk-listener (besides for this album to have no reggae whatsoever) is for the hardcore songs to be a bit longer. "Don't Need It" is a pretty bad song on this album (relatively), but makes up for it with the later hardcore anthem, "Banned in DC", about an unofficial ban stating this band can't play at venues in DC. Reggae songs include "Jah Calling", "Leaving Babylon", and "I Luv I Jah", which, in all honesty, are not bad songs at all, but a person buying this album expects a hardcore album, and transitioning between such genres can be difficult. One may wonder how a band, let alone an album, could achieve such a bridge.
This album did contribute to the bridging between hardcore punk and thrash, audible with the complex beginning of "F.V.K.". All mediocrity considered, I believe that this vocalist is a very good one indeed, and suits this album perfectly. From the high pitched chanting in "Attitude" to the melodic vocalization on "Leaving Babylon", he has lots of range.
The production does not hold back such music -- a person who usually listens to such music should be used to it. However, the production is pretty bad, bluntly put.
Considering all ups and downs on this album, I can honestly give the debut Bad Brains LP a 3/5.
