Intensified Chaos That’s Not Freedom 1982 LP
Arisen from the punkest of graves, this recently rediscovered artifact of early ’80s hardcore is a serious trip. The story of INTENSIFIED CHAOS traces all the back to the inaugural issue of this here institution, Maximum Rocknroll #1, which was packaged in with the Alternative Tentacles compilation Not So Quiet on the Western Front. Most of y’all familiar with this band will recognize them from having contributed the opening track of said comp, with their eponymously titled ripper “Intensified Chaos.” As the story goes, the group’s demo evaporated into the ether, lost to the spikes and studs of time all the way up until, well, now. So, here in all its glory is the official document of Orinda, California’s INTENSIFIED CHAOS, represented by the six songs from the original demo and nine live tracks to round things out. The obvious burning question is, of course, if this is worth its weight in wax, and I’m happy to dutifully report that it fucking rips! The influence of GBH is quite apparent, but geography fleshes out the context, calling forth the energy and savagery of CRUCIFIX and BLACK FLAG. I’ll dock them a point for the contrived British snarl, but that’s because I fucking hate John Lydon, and the guys probably didn’t. All said, this is an intriguing piece of punk history, and it holds up just fine 40-whatever years later.