by Jake Dalton

Created on: October 04, 2010

The instant I press play, is the same instant that I start fidgeting nervously in my seat.  Blood begins pumping, and an insatiable urge to utterly destroy all physical objects in sight sets in.  Pure fury is hard to capture in words, but luckily for all of us, Minor Threat left us a whole load for our ears.  Alone, the albums were as powerful as dynamite, but the Complete Discography is a hydrogen bomb.  As such, you should lock all valuables in a nearby bomb shelter before you begin seeing red with these classic hardcore heavyweights.

Every song is an anthem to teenage frustration, and every message is empowering.  Classics such as “Straight Edge” and “Filler” attack drug use, promiscuous sex, religion, and other assorted “crutches” one might use to escape reality instead of facing it head on.  “Screaming at a Wall,” “I Don't Wanna Hear It” speaks with any teenager, with the latter track title being something I’ve said myself millions of times to assorted authoritarian figures.  “In My Eyes” and “Out of Step (With the World)” are practically a sermon of personal empowerment and individualism.  Minor Threat is one of those few groups that had something to say that everyone should have heard, yet unfortunately haven't.

But the true power of these recordings isn't just in the message; it's how they sent that message.  Although the band had been broken up 7 years before I was born, although I've been desensitized by death metal, modern hardcore, and other forms of extreme music, and although I can't say I've listened to every single bit of music in the world, I can still say with complete sincerity that this is the angriest and most energetic record out there.  So many bands have covered “(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone” that the number is probably higher than my age.  When Minor Threat did it, it sounds more like a threat than a demand for respect.  Thousands of punk bands have been thrashing out 3 chords and shouting in people's ears for years.  But Minor Threat did it the best, and if we were lucky enough to still have them around, they still would be.

This album is the epitome of punk rock, a raging attack against authority, a cry for personal empowerment and individuality, a manifesto of a culture fighting back on a personal and public level, and so much more.  Minor Threat simply isn’t a band describable by words alone, much like the pure, unadulterated fury they left on their records.  They may never have the respect they deserve, but they certainly made their point.  And luckily, the Complete Discography will be around for years to come to continue making it.

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