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More DCHC in the form of the oft neglected: 1-sided Deadline lp. AKA: Deadline - “8/2/82″. Released on Guy Picciotto’s Peterbilt label in the early 90’s in a 12×12 hand screened manila envelope, I doubt most people even knew what they were buying when they got it, and with a pressing number I’ve heard as 300 or 500, it’s really scarce now.

Deadline is the definition of “also-ran”, but I hereby declare this to be one of the 10 best 81-83 DCHC recordings that I know of (and I’m pretty sure I know most of them). The only previous release by Deadline are 3 fairly lackluster tracks on the Flex Your Head comp, and if not for the fact that their drummer was Brandon Cantry, later of Rites of Spring and Fugazi (among others), there wouldn’t be much at all to say about those tracks. They’re sort of a less skinhead oriented Iron Cross vibe. Kinda slow, sort of heavy for ‘82 hardcore, but not that great. This 1-sided lp though, which was originally a demo bears little resemblance to those tracks. It’s much faster, buzzing with energy and speed, and may induce spontaneous slamming.

There’s nothing really ground breaking that happens on the Deadline 12″, but it’s really well played, and catchy. Most of the songs are a more tuneful take on the Youth Brigade demo, or maybe like if the Faith wasn’t as preoccupied with melody and just kinda… “went for it”. Maybe that’s a little contradictory, but let’s just say, it’s somewhere in between the two. An important piece of it are the super energetic vocals of Ray Hare, who delivers in a higher register than Youth Brigade’s Nathan Strejeck, and with more omph than The Faith’s Alec Mackaye. When he gets to the last verse of the song Closed Door and shouts “sick of people who don’t know what they’re doing” it’s like having someone grab and shake you while yelling in your face. It has a sense of urgency and importance despite being a pretty pedestrian line in the song.  The next song, Outside The Law has an equally cathartic delivery in the chorus of “Anything to get by/Anything to survive” as it rises with maximum intensity over the mid-paced riff. Most of the lyrics deal with these typical kind of teenage anger releases, with some basic political stuff mixed in, but it’s that sense of urgency that makes it count. It’s the intangibility that comes from a great delivery.

There’s sometimes not a lot you can put into words about a good genre record. Deadline weren’t originators, or really important for anything. The reason they’re worth mention is because they played meat and potatoes USHC really well, better than a lot of their influences and peers, and definitely better than half the bands better known than they were/are. Their songwriting is surprisingly developed, albeit simple, their vocals and call response backups are electric with energy, and the songs last just as long as they need to. If you don’t know this record it was finally issued on CD via Dischord/Peterbilt last year. If you were ever into early DCHC I highly recomend it.

PS - you’d be well advised to check the seller’s other auctions