There are a handful of albums in recording history that just socked me out and left me breathless upon first contact. The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers, for instance. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. System of a Down’s Toxicity.
Rastacore icons, Bad Brains is not a mere band. They’re an experience. They’re the sound of justice, spirituality, equality, love and repressed anger. If you’re not familiar with them, think of Bob Marley throwing a side hustle show with the loudest punk band you can imagine. Bad Brains albums are often constructed with blazing, fierce punk rock or hard proto metal with interludes of sedate traditional reggae psalms to mighty Jah and King Haile Selassie I, the Jesus figurehead of Rastafarian religion.
Bad Brains are dear to my heart and while I Against I is one of the rare albums they don’t drop a dub or reggae track, it is THE most righteous sound I’ve ever heard coming out of a set of speakers. The Bad Brains weren’t merely breaking racial divisions; they were punching out a dictum of unity the likes no one ever saw until then. I literally sagged to my knees and shook my head with a tear swelling in my eye upon first listen in 1987. Just wow.
–Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Roads Lesser Traveled 
Everything you said. Yes.
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I appreciate that, man. Their importance can never be overstated.
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I remember Bad Brains, although I never listened to them. The last few albums I can think of that hit me this way are probably “White on Blonde” by Texas, “Hide and Seek” by The Birthday Massacre, “Hitch” by The Joy Formidable, and “Fantasies” by Metric.
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Give them a try if you get around to them. Haven’t heard Texas, but those other three are all gems!
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