Subhumans Demolition Wars Demos 2xLP
Sealed Records unapologetically does it again, this time with an epic double album including SUBHUMANS’ three early demos recorded before the release of their iconic first EP Religious Wars. This massive undertaking is actually a reissue as Bluurg Records had released these three recordings on a tape entitled Demolition War Parts I-III in 1981, so it’s pretty unlikely anyone already has a physical copy these days anyway (beside that hammered old punk at the pub who rather embarrassingly claims that “punks were punks back in the days”—you know the sort, avoid at all costs). As ’80s demos recorded cheaply at Warminster’s local youth center and The Old Bell, the production is raw, but the band was already so skillful, tight, catchy, and proper energetic that it confers a new charm to otherwise well-known anthemic songs from their early period, and the record brings some further context to the band’s first steps with some interviews and collages. As a bonus, it even has three unreleased numbers in case you needed additional arguments. If you have never heard SUBHUMANS, I envy you, because you are about to discover a wonderful slice of snotty UK punk. This might not be the greatest point of entry into the catalog of one of the most respected and most consistent anarcho-punk bands still playing and delivering (which is more than can be said about legions of “reformed punk legends”), and 60 minutes of raw versions of (even undeniably great) old school punk songs could be a bit hard to take for a newcomer. However, it is obviously a mandatory purchase for anarcho lovers.