Heresy

With an excellent collection of old photos, a detailed first-person account of the band’s interesting, albeit short, history and complete lyrics, this is a valuable collection of the earliest material of one of the UK’s thrash originators. Playing approximately one million times faster than most bands in either the U.S. or Britain were at the time, Heresy were a vital part of keeping hardcore relevant long after the ’80s ended, bringing a new sense of speed and urgency to the genre. As the first of an intended trilogy of releases, this collection includes the band’s previously unreleased seven-song demo tape — a grittier, more brutal indication of the direction they would later head in. Complied alongside two seven-inches that sell like expensive gangbusters online and two additional unreleased tracks, this first collection is a fascinating look at the most naive moments of a soon-to-be hugely influential band.