The record opens up with a quick 5-second burst called Who Cares that’s not much more than one chord and a couple drum hits, at which point the real show begins with the song Death. Death sets the tone for where the rest of the record goes, speedy, tuneful guitar lines that ascend and descend scales a couple times each measure, good clean shouts, and ripping loose rock solos. The solos tend to start as scrappy rock n roll leads but at some point they collapse into a mess of hardcore squeals. Actually if you slowed the tempo a bit the songs could easily fit as KBD-style proto hardcore which is maybe what keeps them sounding so catchy. Actually they sound like a slightly less Rock n’ Roll version of The Worst at their normal speed if that makes much sense.

My favorite C.I.A. song is Commie Control, which has a great call-response style verse that is built around a fast succession of snare rolls, before breaking into a steady hardcore beat. The best part is the middle section which is kind of a melodic, slow motion skank part. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but it just sounds great in the middle of the song before breaking back into the main riff.

Cash-wise these things have been gaining in ebay price over the past couple years, and I yearn for the days when they were going for much less. Regardless it couldn’t happen to a more deserving release, and it’s been booted a couple times, released on a semi-legit cd on lost and found once, and will sooner or later get the shitty GTA treatment (bad artwork, dumb title, and probably padded out with a few practice tapes no one needed to hear). Regardless if you look around you can find the songs easily, and if you want to own one like this one,  make sure it’s the 6 track version on Shmegma and it has a folding sleeve. FYI they also have a s/t lp which isn’t as furious but is still alright, and songs on the Nice and Loud, Connecticut Fun, and Die Jerry Die comps.

Unit Pride’s 7″ fits the characterization of “second rate but still straight” perfectly. They can’t really stack up to heavy hitters like UC, Youth Of Today, etc. from the ‘88 class of straight edge hardcore, but they still deliver everything you need. Fast catchy riffs give way to crew back ups and some solid mosh parts. The lyrics are about as sesame street posi-core as could be possible (”friendship means the world to meee”), but the songs keep a fast clip and the vocals are rough enough that it never leaves me feeling too silly. All the other tell tale late 80’s low rent edge core characteristics are here too. Drums that sound like buckets and boxes, clean bass, mosquito-buzz guitars. Arguably this is one of the first records of note from the genre that wasn’t influenced by early 80’s bands like Minor Threat, SSD, etc., and instead was modeled on (then) current bands like Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. Obviously when this kind of thing starts happening, it tends to signal that a particular musical strain is plateauing, and though the well was probably dry by the time this 7″ actually came out, it still offers some memorable riffs and sing alongs.

Track 2 is Wide Awake and I think this song is the best on the record. Its got the most urgent delivery, the hardest sounding riff, and probably the best breakdown, which is really all you should be looking for in something like this. There’s nothing to intellectualize, and you can’t justify this to the Brooklyn crowd. It’s like trying to sell a Kung-Fu movie to a serious movie critic. “Well the part where the hero fights with one hand tied behind his back on a roof-top has some awesome jumpkicks”.  In some ways this endears the style more to me. No jerk-off who has to use annoying/pathetic qualifiers like “raw”, “inept”, “blown out”, “psych-punk”, “later-flag”, “monster-riff”, is going to be able to rub their stink on this wonderful little slab. No, songs like Think About It are only for people like me, who can differentiate pressings of the Side By Side 7″, and who have a collection of live sets from WNYU’s Crucial Chaos, which Unit Pride performed on btw. And speaking of pressings, you’ll notice this is the original pressing on Step Forward records.

Can you believe the dude who put out the Deathwish 7″ and Slaanted Enchanted does the best sports blog online? http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/

A couple worth noting:

• Cold World “Ice Grillz” 7″ test press - $127.50
• Breathing Fire 7″ test press - $62.50
• Antidote 7″ - opening bid at $500, unsold
• Nihilistics s/t LP - opening bid at $45, unsold
• Judge shirt - $172.50
• Turning Point - $100
• Judge discography test press - $580

Side 1.
7 Seconds: Regress No Way, We’re Gonna Fight
Civil Dissident: 20th Century Holocaust Pt. II, Death for a Buzz
Instigators: 53rd State, The Blood is on Your Hands, Free(You’re Not)
Siege: Sad But True, Cold War, Walls
Corrosion of Conformity: Kiss of Death
Crude SS: Nazi Go home, Sprang Alla Komunhus
Akutt Innleggelse: Tenk Na!
The Execute: Slash(Live)

Side 2.
Part 1: Black Mass
Poison Idea: Typical, Die on your Knees
Genocide Express: Genocide Express, Factory
Inferno: Wir Sind Schon Tot, Freited
Mob 47: Fred & Rattuisa, Sjuk Varid, Nedrusta Nu, Snuten Styr
Septic Death: Terrorain, Change
Enola Gay: Grav Et Kul, Enola Gay
Holy Dolls: Beast of the Apocalypse
Zyklome A: People Die, Angry Face
Extrem: Nazi Raus

Anyway this copy is a blue vinyl edition which is relatively hard to come by. There’s also some on orange vinyl that include a poster and a bonus 12″ of out takes - good luck grabbing that. I’m not gonna break this down track by track, but pretty much every band that’s not Part1 (ugh) brings something good to the table.

If you were someone who’d never heard hardcore music before, and I only had 15 minutes to give you a basic idea that could approximate the entire genre, I’d just play you Victim In Pain. It’s hard, it’s tuneful, it’s rough, it’s anthemic - it’s everything. When I talk to people who are interested in playing drums or guitar in a hardcore band I suggest learning to play Victim in Pain straight through. It has only a few different drum beats overall, each one relatively simple and economical, but you should be able to do basically anything you want with them with a little ingenuity. The bass and guitar take a similarly simple approach but they surge with energy and nearly every riff sticks in your mind thereafter. Basically it’s all the proof you need that skill is secondary to a good riff and an energetic delivery. But let us not forget the recording, which is the perfect template for any band worth hearing. Tight snappy drums with a natural sound, no funky effects no wild reverb, just power hits. Guitars that sound like buzz saws but are bright and defined. Vocals front and center, no effects, no studio magic, just balls out yelling. Best of all, peanut-butter-thick bass with the fuzz up to 10 and the tone knob down to zero. The antithesis of the over polished, twangy, thin ”Sans-Amp” bass sound popular in “modern hardcore” (you know the shit I mean). I challenge you to find a better hardcore compass. I absolutely guarantee this album CANNOT lead you astray. It’s fucking impossible.

The tracklist might as well be a greatest hits list. Victim In Pain the song is probably the most recognized AF song ever, but Last Warning, Your Mistake, and Power could all compete for that title, and all are featured on here. I’d go so far as to say this is one of very few hardcore full lengths were probably every song has been covered by a band at some time. Speaking personally I’ve performed no less than 6 (out of 11) of these tracks in tribute to the perfection found in the grooves of this slab.

The original pressing was run twice on Ratcage Records with a gatefold sleeve. The second pressing has an Important Records Distribution logo added to the back cover. Later it was licensed to Combat records but the violent cover art was removed in favor of an all black cover.

I got the first tape they didfrom Greg at a show and when I took it home I was pretty sure it was recorded on a boombox. “I think they’d be good if they recorded in a studio, but I can’t hear any of the songs on this“. The titles were stuff like “Fuck Responsibility” and “High School Sucks” which seemed cool considering how over-serious most hardcore bands were at the time. So in the spring of 2003 when I heard they were going to the local Dead Air Studios, I was eager to see how things would turn out.

I rode out with some friends on night in May ‘02 to do the crew backup vocals on Mental’s first studio recorded demo (affectionately known as demo 2).  When we got there, they were finishing up guitar tracks. I recall thinking it would be a late night because they hadn’t even started the vocals yet, one of the many times in my life I’ve been so very wrong. Greg laid the vocals down for 9 songs in probably 40 minutes. Mostly first takes as I remember it, and he sounded great. Brash, angry, youthful and confident. The tunes sounded great too. I was shocked actually, at how awesome it sounded for such a young band. I knew this would be a new favorite. It sounded a lot like old New York hardcore bands, maybe with some other stuff thrown in, or perhaps just the hindsight the 90’s provided. I’ve never quite put my finger on it, but it sort of always reminded me of the first Sick Of It All 7″. Maybe with some Straight Ahead and Token Entry too. It didn’t really sound like one thing or a particular band to me, I just thought it was good, and at the time it pretty much stood alone. Logos for straight edge hardcore bands had got really scratchy and lyrics quite serious and wordy. When Mental came along they had big cartoon letters and seemed like they were having fun on their recordings (even moreso live). It kind of just took an unnecessary chip off the shoulder of Hardcore for a little while, without ever being too jokey or goofy. It’s not really easy to walk that line, and it was sort of how I knew they were something special. A breath of fresh (”fresh”) air.

I went to the recording for their 7″ later that year, again at Dead Air and I remember being at least a little surprised how much more they had their shit together already. They did 11 songs in a day I think. There might have been an extra half day to finish up vocals and do the mix, but I still remember being in awe at how fast the band had moved, even though they were releasing a 7″ they had enough material laid down to make a 12″. All of my bands up to that point had struggled just to get demos together. After demanding that someone yell “bust!” prior to a breakdown in one song, it was put on me to be the one to do it, although I think someone from the band could have done it better.

Once their 7″ came out it seemed like things never stopped for Mental. The record came out in the winter of 2003, but by summer 2003 they’d recorded a demo of the absurd side project Dumptruck, and another E.P. to be out by the year’s end. Tours and endlessly colorful t-shirts followed, as well as a couple more records. The first time I saw the whole USA from the window of a van was with Mental, lifting guitar cabinets and drums on a nightly basis. I guess it’s weird to write about stuff that is so recent, but it was good times, even when it wasn’t good times, and I still play these tapes (and 7″) pretty often.

Shout out to Gil who is the only non-straight edger ever in history to like Insted. To me this is insane. It’s like going to confession once a week but not being Catholic. Gil you’re one of a kind buddy.  This one’s for you.

Music For Nations of course had a deal with Megaforce to issue Creeping Death as a 12″ single in Europe adorned with cover art of an ominous fantasy landscape in greens and blues which was painted on the back of hundreds of denim jackets in the state of New Jersey alone. The 12″ was issued of a few different collectible colors, 3 of which I’ve linked here, which are fairly tough to find. The b-side of course is the original Garage Days Re-Visited E.P. with the fairly well known covers of Am I Evil (Diamondhead) and Blitzkrieg (by the band of the same name),  both middle school favorites of some of my friends.