BAD BRAINS: Rise Cassette

By 1993 the argument about whether Bad Brains still counted was already well underway, and Rise walked straight into the middle of it without apologising. HR was back, the band was back, and the result was something that didn't fit cleanly into any one box, which had always been the point.

Bad Brains built the template for what hardcore could be when it refused to stay in its lane. Rise leaned harder into the alternative metal and funk-inflected side of what they'd been developing since I Against I, with enough reggae undertow to remind you this was always a band operating on its own frequency. It's not Roir Sessions, it's not Rock for Light, but if you want to understand how far their influence ran into the 90s alternative scene, this is part of the evidence. On cassette, which feels appropriate for a band who came up when tape was the only way music actually moved.

Cassette. Genre: Hardcore Punk, Alternative Metal, Funk, Reggae. Origin: USA. Original release: 1993. This pressing: 1993.

Fans of: Fishbone, Living Colour, Rollins Band, 24-7 Spyz.