Los Violadores - s/t LP

Label: Fanclub; Year: 199?; Format: Vinyl LP

First and foremost, let me tell you that this full length has been officially reissued two years ago by Spanish label Beat Generation so there is absolutely no need to hunt down a copy of this counterfeit release which came out about fifteen years ago when I had obtained it. It's a good thing that many of those releases that were first bootlegged in the '90s are now slowly but surely seeing the light of official reissues, becoming accessible to old and new punk aficionados alike. And even though I do not support or particularly like counterfeit releases, in many cases it is, or at least was the easiest and cheapest way to hear certain releases that one has nearly no chance of landing an original copy of. Before I bore you to death about that issue though, you will probably have guessed why you need to check out the reissue of this outstanding release, because let me tell you, it is an extraordinary good punk rock record, and does not contain a single daft song, nope. Los Violadores started life in 1980 and there is an excellent write up about the history of this Argentinian band that I found online, so please feel free to click on the link provided at the end of this review. As for the twelve songs found on this platter I could write an entire book worth of praise, not kidding you. Why this LP does not appear on all these countless lists of best ever punk rock LPs really baffles me as honestly it should be plastered all over the place. If people were looking to the United States or the U.K. in 1983, when this LP was originally released, then they found mostly raging hardcore punk on one continent, or the relatively boring sounds of countless UK82 bands on the other side of the Atlantic. One only needed to have an open mind and venture south to Argentina where Los Violadores were from. If you like your punk rock fast, yet tuneful, filled with melodic hooks and a loud and caring bass guitar, then this LP will satisfy your punk rock needs 150%. Think of D.O.A. at their very best, or New York's Kraut, Finland's Lama, and so on, you get the picture. Plus let me tell you, Spanish is a great language, and it works well for punk rock, doesn't it? The band continued to release more records since the early '80s, and even as recent as 2009, but from what I have heard they really became far more mainstream in the '80s already, and only their 2nd LP is still worth a listen. Still, it's about this release here which should be in everybody's collection!

Band History: http://www.shit-fi.com/articles/LosVioladores