D.O.A.
Bloodied But Unbowed: The Damage to Date: 1978-1983
Sudden Death Records
· Elusive early releases finally reissued. D.O.A. will be playing at Broken City on Thursday, November 16.
Along with bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat, and the Dead Kennedys, D.O.A. helped pioneer hardcore punk and its do-it-yourself ethic. From their homebase in Vancouver, B.C., D.O.A. toured relentlessly up and down the West Coast, earning enough money to put out a couple of sporadic singles, four EPs, and two albums under their own Sudden Death imprint. While the record companies formed by their contemporaries may have gone on to a measure of international fame, Sudden Death has not, and D.O.A.’s long insistence on putting out their own records has limited their commercial success.
Punk was about making music, not records, and between 1978 and 1983 few bands could make music to match the intensity of D.O.A. and their politicized repertoire. What they lacked in sophistication and subtlety they more than made up for in emotional rawness. The critical reception of Joe Keithley’s I, Shithead autobiography and the War on 45 reissue in past years, has helped to spark interest in the band’s back catalogue. Included amongst the 19 tracks collected here are "Fucked Up Ronnie," "World War 3" and "Slumlord," as well as the Demics-esque "2+2" and "I Don’t Give a Shit," credited as a "Vancouver punk traditional."
The last few years have demonstrated that D.O.A. have taken a renewed interest in cementing their place in punk history, and Bloodied But Unbowed serves as a reminder of the vital role played by the band in the early days of punk.
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