Anal Cunt

Two CDs collecting the earliest material (both unreleased and released) from notorious noise grinders Anal Cunt's career could only mean a total song count in the five digits, which is almost the case on The Old Testament, a massive double-disc set collecting the band's output from '88 to '91. The release includes the classic 5643 Song EP, the band's first demo (unreleased until now), the Unplugged EP and over two hours of other compilation tracks, material from splits and other miscellany. For a group that based a 20-plus-year career on being shocking, the most shocking thing here is just how enjoyable it is to listen to this era of the group, before the songs became songs and the titles became too out of control. Here, it's the band's classic vacuum-cleaner-in-the-dryer take on music, a sound that, especially back in the time when this was first released, is extremely novel, very shocking and tons of fun. Best unreleased rarity: a cover of a song from a Muppets TV commercial. Best live moment: infamous, and sadly deceased, vocalist Seth Putnam beginning a German concert by saying, dead seriously, "Hi, we're the Beatles," before the band dive into their one-of-a-kind grind-noise insanity. They're gone, but will certainly not be forgotten.