Henry Rollins's early '80s outfit S.O.A. (a.k.a. State of Alert) only issued a handful of tracks and played nine shows before they broke up, so news of Dischord Records unearthing a previously unreleased demo from the DC act should come as a boon to old-school hardcore fans.
The imprint announced today (January 16) that it will be delivering S.O.A.'s first recording session this March as the tellingly titled First Demo 12/29/80. The eight-song set was recorded at Inner Ear Studio with Skip Groff in late 1980.
Two songs from the sessions, "Disease" and the punky Boyce & Hart tribute "Stepping Stone Party" (which predates Minor Threat's similar cover), surfaced on the landmark Flex Your Head compilation, while "Gonna Have to Fight" was included on the group's raw No Policy 7-inch from 1981. The remaining tracks are alternate versions of songs that also appeared on No Policy.
You can see the tracklist down below. The vintage live pic of Rollins that serves as the cover art is up above.
S.O.A. are noted as being one of the earliest DC hardcore bands, with No Policy being the second-ever release on the venerable Dischord imprint, as well as the act Rollins sung for before linking up with Black Flag. They formed in October 1980, but called it quits by July 1981. The troupe also featured future Faith/Embrace/One Last Wish guitarist Michael Hampton, Iron Cross bassist Wendel Blow and drummer Simon Jacobsen.
First Demo 12/29/80:
1. Public Defender
2. Gonna Have to Fight
3. Gang Fight
4. Disease
5. Draw a Blank
6. War Zone
7. Riot
8. Stepping Stone Party
The imprint announced today (January 16) that it will be delivering S.O.A.'s first recording session this March as the tellingly titled First Demo 12/29/80. The eight-song set was recorded at Inner Ear Studio with Skip Groff in late 1980.
Two songs from the sessions, "Disease" and the punky Boyce & Hart tribute "Stepping Stone Party" (which predates Minor Threat's similar cover), surfaced on the landmark Flex Your Head compilation, while "Gonna Have to Fight" was included on the group's raw No Policy 7-inch from 1981. The remaining tracks are alternate versions of songs that also appeared on No Policy.
You can see the tracklist down below. The vintage live pic of Rollins that serves as the cover art is up above.
S.O.A. are noted as being one of the earliest DC hardcore bands, with No Policy being the second-ever release on the venerable Dischord imprint, as well as the act Rollins sung for before linking up with Black Flag. They formed in October 1980, but called it quits by July 1981. The troupe also featured future Faith/Embrace/One Last Wish guitarist Michael Hampton, Iron Cross bassist Wendel Blow and drummer Simon Jacobsen.
First Demo 12/29/80:
1. Public Defender
2. Gonna Have to Fight
3. Gang Fight
4. Disease
5. Draw a Blank
6. War Zone
7. Riot
8. Stepping Stone Party