Dirty Rotten Imbeciles

The release of a greatest hits package is generally a sign that a band is desperately treading water. In the case of D.R.I., they've already drowned, but this collection of songs shows what a great band they once were. The 17 songs are wisely culled from their early releases, before they decided pandering to the speed metal crowd was the way to go. It was when D.R.I. walked the line between metal and punk that they were at their best, as the songs from Dealing With It attest to. Never ones for subtlety, they released Crossover in 1987, and what seemed very metal at the time is much less so when compared to what passes for "hardcore" these days. Even though they lagged in later years, D.R.I.'s influence on the direction of hardcore punk is undeniable.