Lifelong companions i’d say! From the early stuff of “Hardcore ’81” (1981), “War on 45” (1982) and the John Peel Sessions “Don’t turn yer back (on desperate times)” (1984) D.O.A. have been in the picture, only to move into some sort of hard rock sound in the late 80s and finally odd trash with “Murder” in 1990. And then correctly calling it a day, from where i sit for good musickal reasons. Now looking at all their massive output over the years their 1992 “comeback” on Alternative Tentacles put them back on the map big time: Great lineup as a trio with Wimpy Roy (of Subhumans fame) and excellent production by John Wright of NoMeansNo fame. And that makes it stand out from all the stuff they did – good songs are matched here with perfect production and excellent recording.
The verdict:
1977 – yes, but with a scent of hardcore
published by a cool label – Alternative Tentacles – any Q?
found in a cool shop – Michelle Records, back then a great place for vinyl!
catching sound – perfect mix of punk, hardcore and most likely the best produced and recorded D.O.A. album…
the lyrics – surprisingly sharp, to the point and up to date still today with the climate issue.
I have seen them so many times over the years that i have lost count but i still a wee bit frustrated that i missed their acoustic tour in August 14 in Hamburg. Nevermind – i am sure they will be back!
The sticking song of that record is “Hole in the Sky,” a song people have dubbed as a song “Al Gore would like if his wife had better taste“:
now you're gonna burn! there's a hole in the sky the ozone's ripped and you can't hide burning death and corporate greed cause there's a hole in the sky you can't see but it's a mess killing the ozone put our planet to death making profits out of thin air the sky's opened up you can't hide anywhere now you gonna burn! there's a hole in the sky the ozone's ripped and you can't hide burning death and corporate greed cause there's a hole in the sky take a walk outside see the blue sky watch your step might be suicide well it's pretty obvious you think they'd learn but when money comes first we're all gonna fry yeah you're gonna burn! there's a hole in the sky the ozone's ripped and you can't hide burning death and corporate greed cause there's a hole in the sky burn, yeah you're gonna burn yeah you're gonna burn (c) Sudden Death Records / Alternative Tentacles 1992
Now listen up:
Let’s be frank: D.O.A. are key to punk in Canada. Just take the number of cool folks who went to join Joey “Shithead” Keithley – be it Chuck Biscuits, Randy Rampage, Wimpy Roy, Dimwit and Ken Jensen (RIP). Whilst this one is in my list of loveliest vinyl it is way to “small” to represent the 30+ years of joy D.O.A. have been bringing and making PUNK and CANADA one item in my mental map! And sure they also had their hands in some cool Hockey-themed (like in Icehockey!) punk songs – love them for that too!
What else? Make sure you read “I, Shithead” from Joey, a cool biography written with a lot of wisdom. It’s even in it’s third print run since being published in 2004!
And whilst you are at it, seek more via these great flicks: