SSD (band)

Last updated

SSD
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres
Years active1981–1985
Labels X-Claim, Modern Method, Homestead
MembersSpringa
Al Barile
Jaime Sciarappa
Chris Foley
Francois Levesque

SSD (Society System Decontrol) was a straight edge hardcore band from Boston. They released two records as SS Decontrol and then formally changed their name to SSD. As SSD they released two more records with a heavy metal influenced sound. However, the group is often simply referred to, including all its periods, as SSD.

Contents

History

Formed by songwriter/guitarist Al Barile (then a machinist at the General Electric plant in Lynn, Massachusetts and a student at Northeastern University), SSD started performing at smaller venues throughout the Greater Boston metropolitan area, like Gallery East, in the summer of 1981. The band quickly gained notoriety within the local music scene for intense, charged performances and the provocative antics of their core group of followers, the Boston Crew. [2]

The original lineup was Al Barile on guitar, Springa (David Spring) on vocals, Jaime Sciarappa on bass and Chris Foley on drums. [3] They released their debut LP The Kids Will Have Their Say on their own X-Claim label in 1982. [3] Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat was a friend and supporter and his Dischord label's logo appeared on the back cover.

In 1983 they added second guitarist Francois Levesque and released the EP Get It Away , widely regarded as their best record, and one that helped define Boston's straight-edge scene. [3] [1] The X-Claim pressings of it and The Kids Will Have Their Say are both highly collectable.

Like many hardcore bands in the mid-1980s, particularly in the Boston area, SSD began heading in a heavy metal direction. [1] In 1984 they signed to the Boston label Modern Method and released the How We Rock EP, which was rooted in the hardcore sound but exhibited overt heavy metal characteristics, such as a relatively high number of lengthy guitar solos. After signing to Homestead they released the Break It Up LP in 1985 which saw the band expand further into the metal genre, leaving behind all trappings of punk and hardcore. SSD broke up in November that year. [3]

Barile went on to form Gage, Sciarappa joined Slapshot, and Springa went on to join Razorcaine and Die Blitzkinder. [3]

Scott Schinder, in his book Alt-Rock-a-Rama, described SSD as "The most important hardcore band to emerge from New England." [4]

Discography

See also

Related Research Articles

Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison Idea</span> American punk rock band

Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980.

DYS is an American straight edge hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, who were part of the "Boston Crew" in the 1980s, along with contemporaries such as SSD and Negative FX. The group later expanded their sound, becoming one of the first hardcore bands to veer into heavy metal.

<i>The Kids Will Have Their Say</i> 1982 studio album by SS Decontrol

The Kids Will Have Their Say is the debut album by the Boston hardcore punk band SS Decontrol. The album was released in 1982 as a split-release between Dischord and X-Claim records. The album was only pressed in 1,900 copies and never re-pressed, making it quite a collector's item. However, a bootleg version was made in the late 1980s, but the label names on the back of the sleeves are switched to Discord and Ex-Claim, making it easy to separate from the original pressing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege (band)</span> American hardcore punk band

Siege was an American hardcore punk band from Weymouth, Massachusetts. Formed in 1981, they were active in the Boston hardcore scene from 1984 to 1985, and reunited briefly in 1991. Drummer Rob Williams and guitarist Kurt Habelt led a live ensemble of reunion performances between 2016 and 2023.

The F.U.'s are a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1981 as a three-piece band, released three records and appeared on the compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A. before changing their name to Straw Dogs in 1986 to market themselves as a heavy metal act. In 2010 The F.U.'s reformed under their original moniker.

Jerry's Kids is a Boston, Massachusetts, hardcore punk band, formed in 1981, from Braintree, Massachusetts, United States.

Negative FX was a hardcore punk band from Boston, formed in 1981. Though the band lasted only a short time, playing a total of five shows, the band was well known for their involvement in the local straight edge scene of the early 1980s. Along with members of the bands DYS and SS Decontrol (SSD), Negative FX was part of the "Boston Crew", a group of social friends who traveled around the country with SSD and other Boston hardcore bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slapshot (band)</span> American hardcore punk band

Slapshot is an American hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band has been active for over 30 years, releasing eight studio albums and a number of singles and EPs over that time period. Though there have been constant line-up changes, founding member Jack "Choke" Kelly has remained a constant member of the band and its primary vocalist and leader.

Gang Green is an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year, and the band experienced numerous lineup changes until its dissolution for the second time in 1992. Doherty has been the band's only constant member and has kept Gang Green active from 2005 onwards. The band was influential in the formation of the East Coast hardcore punk scene, and went on to become one of the forerunners of crossover thrash and speed metal in the late 1980s.

<i>This Is Boston, Not L.A.</i>

This Is Boston, Not L.A. is a hardcore punk compilation released in 1982. It is considered the definitive album from the Boston hardcore scene, as several of its most prominent bands appear on the record, namely, Jerry's Kids, the Proletariat, the Groinoids, the F.U.'s, Gang Green, Decadence, and the Freeze. For them, with the exception of the latter, This Is Boston, Not L.A. was also their debut release. Al Barile's band, SSD, were asked to contribute, but they refused to participate.

<i>American Hardcore</i> (film) 2006 film

American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.

<i>You Got It</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Gang Green

You Got It was the second full-length album from Boston, Massachusetts hardcore punk/speed metal band, Gang Green.

<i>Preschool</i> (album) 1997 compilation album by Gang Green

Preschool is a compilation album of early material from American hardcore punk band, Gang Green.

<i>Get It Away</i> 1983 studio album by SS Decontrol

Get It Away is the second release from the Boston hardcore punk band SS Decontrol. It is the first release to feature Francois Levesque. The cover art, featuring a trash-strewn city street, was done by Pushead, who spelled out his girlfriend's name in part of the trash.

<i>How We Rock</i> 1984 studio album by SSD

How We Rock was the third release from the Boston hardcore punk band SSD. It was rooted in the hardcore sound but exhibited overt heavy metal characteristics, such as a relatively high number of lengthy guitar solos.

<i>Break It Up</i> (SSD album) 1985 studio album by SSD

Break It Up was the fourth and final release from Boston hardcore punk band SSD. It saw the band delve further into the metal genre, leaving behind their punk and hardcore roots.

Bullet LaVolta was an alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in January 1987 by four college disk jockeys: Clay Tarver, Bill Whelan (bass), Corey "Loog" Brennan (guitar) and Chris "Cruster" Guttmacher (drums). The band later added singer Yukki Gipe after he responded to an advertisement. The band's style of music was a kind of punk, heavy metal, and hardcore punk hybrid, reminiscent of diverse bands such as Naked Raygun, Motörhead and early Fugazi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Proletariat</span> Punk rock band from Massachusetts

The Proletariat are a punk rock band from Southeastern Massachusetts, whose heyday was during the 1980s, when they were active in the early Boston hardcore scene, sharing the bill with many of the best punk and hardcore punk acts of the time, despite their recorded output having a decidedly non-hardcore aesthetic; the Proletariat show more strongly the musical influences of early British post-punk bands such as Wire and the Gang of Four in their fractured guitar sound and Marxist-themed lyrics.

<i>Soma Holiday</i> (the Proletariat album)

Soma Holiday is the second release and the first studio album by American punk rock band the Proletariat. It was also the debut output for Radiobeat Records.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McCaleb, Ian & Robbins, Ira "SS Decontrol/SSD", Trouser Press , retrieved July 19, 2011
  2. ↑ Cogan, Mike (2006) Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture, Greenwood Press, ISBN   978-0-313-33340-8, p. 216
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 True, Chris "SSD Biography", Allmusic, retrieved July 19, 2011
  4. ↑ Schinder, Scott (1996) Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-a-Rama, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, ISBN   978-0-385-31360-5, p. 1825
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.