special introductory paragraph!

Minor Threat

Out Of Step

Complete Discography

First Demo Tape

Live: DC Space/Buff Hall/9:30 Club DVD

Minor Threat - Dischord 1984.

Oh yeah, Minor Threat also invented the "Straight Edge" movement with this record, so if you ever see Lyle Preslar smoking a cigarette, kick his fucking piece of shit sell-out ass.

Reader Comments

chris@intown.net (Chris Schwarz)
A classic. Indescribably good. Undeniably significant. I bought Minor Threat's self-titled debut for $6.00 on a whim, and, along with Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, this little piece o' plastic changed my life forever. I was in high school when I purchased it, a very sports-oriented school absolutely reeking of machismo ("Jock-O-Rama," anyone?) and couldn't help but fall in love with songs like "Bottled Violence," "Small Man, Big Mouth," and "Straight Edge." Them quick, noisy little blurs called songs dealt with irresponsible drinking, bullshit masculinity/machismo/bullying, anti-peer pressure, etc. -- the kind of shit that's encouraged and goes in most high schools. This album exposed some different ideas to an impressionable young kid like me who was just trying to fit in, and basically said, "It's okay not to fit in. You don't have to get drunk to be cool. Think for yourself." After listening to this album, I basically laughed at any of the high school football heroes who thought they were cool when they got drunk and hit women, or crashed their cars and stuff. Whatever. This band had speed, anger and INTELLIGENCE, and is a big reason why hardcore is called "hardcore." I can safely and confidently say with 100% absolutism that Minor Threat's self-titled debut was (and still is!) the most important album of all-time for me.

Twotontruck@wmconnect.com
All Punkers Become Landscapers...this is the title of my great, new, soon-to-be written and released punk opus on GO-ON-RECORDS (Go-On-Records.itgo.com). Hell yes, I love Minor Threat! And who's the band whose song has the lyrics "Goddamn motherfucker son of a bitch, I can't move, I can't twitch!"

armlesspete@hotmail.com (Robin Kempson)
yeah straightedge wot-eva blah....minor threat are fucking cool. just got the demos tape on re-release vinyl...yummy. if you want definitive 'ardcore...then look no further..(but get some limpwrist too.QUEERCORE!)

catalan@tepic.megared.net.mx (Ernesto Catalan)
Minor Threat's first album (their first two 7 inch EP's put together) is a defining moment in Hardcore music. When I first listened to it, I was heavily into early thrash metal, like Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer. We have to remember that at that time, heaviness meant playing at full speed. So under that guideline, Minor Threat were an unbelievably heavy band. Their sound was probably the tightest of any punk band at the time. I have to agree with mark that, although Hüsker Dü's infamous "Land Speed Record" (an excrutiatingly intense and fast album) was already out, Minor Threat's debut was just as intense and 3 times more precise, probably predating from thrash metal to Emo. The guitar sound of Lyle Preslar is a no-nonsense affair, sounding as if he just plugged his guitar directly into a Marshall stack cranked at 11 (the way good distorted guitar sounds should be achieved!). Ian MacKaye's vocal delivery is so intense, his voice craks up on many of the songs. Brian Baker's bass is just downright pummeling and Jeff Nelson's hyper drumming set the standard for all hardcore to come. One thing I may disagree upon is the unnecessary bashing of a band like Green Day. They too have a right to exist, and for those hardcore purists who insist that true punk means bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat, just remember that The Ramones are THE band. Period. And they played with the melody and energy of Green Day. I don't see, read or hear ANYONE bashing the mighty RAMONES. So when you think of "punk" remember that it also means being melodic.

To recap, a great site for reading classic hardcore albums reviewed. Stay Punk!!!

maxblackburnboy@netscape.net (Max Blackwell)
I've been driving around since 1985 with an old crappy Radio Shack tape of Minor Threat, Minor Threat on one side and Bottled Violence recorded umpteen times on the other . When ever I sit in heignous traffic I pop that thing in and think of my JFA skateboard and my new wave girlfriend who had a problem with cutting and sugar ingestion. OI! OI !Fucking OI!

Out Of Step - Dischord 1983.

I just don't understand folks who don't dig this record. The double-guitar assault is so pleasing to the ear! The whole presentation is a lot more fully-developed than that on the other record. I mean, I can see how this kind of sound could get boring (see Ian's next band, Embrace, for a good example - their songs are good, but don't even approach the level of greatness displayed by Lyle and Co. on this release), but in the hands of talented young craftsmen, they retain every bit of lively organic energy that was first dreamt of back in '63 when The Beatles recorded their earliest hardcore song, "Thatcher Sucks The Dick."

Reader Comments

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
I THINK THIS ALBUM WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST LANDMARKS IN PUNK ROCK. EVEN MORE SO THAN MINOR THREAT. THE DIVERSITY OF THESE SONGS SHOWED THAT IN ORDER TO WRITE A KICK-ASS PUNK ROCK SONG, IT DOESN'T JUST HAVE TO BE 1-2-3-4 VERSE CHORUS VERSE CHORUS SOLO CHORUS RAH RAH LETS PLAY 5000MILES AN HOUR BECAUSE WERE PUNK. THERE IS SOME REALLY TERRIFIC HOOKS AND TURNS THAT REALLY CAPTIVATE THE LISTENER ON EVERY TRACK. FROMM THE FIRST D CHORD IN "BETRAY" TO THE STRING QUARTET ENDING OF "OUT OF STEP", THIS ALBUM PROVES THAT PUNK DOESN'T HAVE TO JUST SOUND THE SAME. PRESLAR LIGHTNING SPEED CHORD CHANGES REALLY COME TROUGH ON SONGS LIKE "LOOK BACK AND LAUGH" AND "NO REASON". AND MACKAYE HAS NEVER SOUNDED MORE AGRESSIVE AND INTELLIGENT THEN HE HAS ON THIS ALBUM. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS ALBUM WELL THEN "BOO-FUCKIN-HOO!"

steve.robey@mindspring.com
Easily in my top 5 hardcore albums of all time. If you're so inclined, go ahead and pick up "Complete Discography" (why shouldn't you? It's got everything and it's probably cheaper by now), but keep an ear peeled for the 9 songs that make up this brief album. Utter classics, all of em. In fact, I can't really think of a single song this band released that isn't considered a frickin classic. "Stumped, " perhaps, though I love that song too. In short, having Minor Threat in your collection is as essential to the person wishing to understand punk/hardcore as the Beatles are essential to the person wishing to understand 60s/70s rock.

Here's a personal anecdote to leave you with a hearty chuckle. Once, like, when I was playing this album? This guy comes over to my dorm room? And he says, like, what is this noise? And I say, like, dude, it's Minor Threat? And he says, like, ok? And I say, do you, you know, like it? And he says it's ok? But you can't really tell what he's saying so he can't really enjoy it completely, you know? And I went, t-uh! And so another Minor Threat fan was born.

* Complete Discography - Dischord 1988. *

Message to parents: Please be advised that Mr. Ian MacKaye uses the F word (which is "fuck," a slang word sometimes used to describe the beautiful and natural act of lovemaking) quite often in these songs. For the love of God, be careful, because you certainly don't want your child cussing and using the "fuck" word in school.

Reader Comments

olivia@camtech.net.au (GaZZa)
I'd just like to say that I've just got into minor threat in the last few months and I am obsessed with them. They are one of the fastest punk bands ever. I bought the cd complete discography, and along with the dead kennedys plastic surgery disasters, it is my favourite album. Every hardcore punker should have a minor threat record in their collection.

dswalen@concentric.net (Doug Swalen)
Hmmmmm...I'm having some problems here. See, my problem is I'm going at this whole punk thing ass backwards. I heard Nirvana before The Cows or Crass. I heard the metal version of Suicidal Tendencies before the punk version. And I heard The Offspring before I heard Minor Threat.

A lot of the people I know who were back into the punk scene, some since the beginning, hate The Offspring. Mark isn't too fond of them. Personally I loved Smash (less the new one and I was repulsed by their live show with all the teenyboppers prancing around...the stupid little shits wouldn't know a punk tune from a hole in the ground).

Anyways, I loved Offspring and couldn't understand why old school punks didn't. Then Mark sent me a tape of Complete. After the first minute, or about half a Minor Threat song, I knew why. The Offspring sound like a lame ass ripoff of Minor Threat, though The Offspring's singer at least sounds different. But the problem is I still like The Offspring and this wasn't what I had expected from Minor Threat.

I know more punk band names than I've heard songs from. I've never heard Circle Jerks, Husker Du, X, The Misfits, Black Flag, etc...but I know who they were and what they're place was in punk history. Similarly, I'd heard OF Minor Threat, but never HEARD Minor Threat. And I think I'm suffering a case of severe overexpectations here. I'd heard how Minor Threat was this kick ass faster than the speed of light hardcore band. I had this mental image in my mind of what those words implied and the final product didn't match with that image very well.

Is Minor Threat fast? Sure, but I've heard faster. Does Minor Threat kick ass? Sure, but I've had my ass kicked better. Is Minor Threat hardcore? Hrmmmmmph....uhhhhhhh...well it DEPENDS on what you consider to be Hardcore. People have called Black Flag's Damaged hardcore, but I can't call THAT hardcore. People have called Dead Kennedys hardcore, but I can only call one album as hardcore, the rest were more plain vanilla punk or "surf guitar" punk. Hardcore for me is nastier and faster than the average punk band. This may be my "metal" slant on punk that colors my judgement, but while I see some Minor Threat as qualifying and deserving of the "hardcore" label, I'm not so sure that it all fits in that label or that the band is truly "hardcore". To be honest, I've heard some pretty mean punk shit back in '83 on a college station that I would definitely call Hardcore. I consider Suicidal Tendencies' first album to be most definitely hardcore and one of the best hardcore albums ever made. But Minor Threat musically, though plenty angry and fast, isn't quite in the same league from my perspective.

Assuming that Complete is in chronological order (I have no way to tell from here), the first songs are the best. Some truly nasty and fast shit going on here folks, though musically some of the songs are kinda redundant. That lyrics make up for some of the musical difficiences. I loooove what Minor Threat did with "Steppin Stone"; making the song sound like an old 1930's recording but slowly suping up the mix. And the ending is way cool with all the echoes going off in the background. I do have to take exception with one of Mark's comments and I quote:

"A compilation of two 7-inch EPs originally released in 1981, this little record presents what surely must have been the tightest, loudest, and fastest hardcore of its time. 1981 - let's see. It's faster than Damaged, it's tighter than Land Speed Record, and it's older than Dirty Rotten LP - alright then!!!!"

Er...Mark...have you forgotten Dead Kennedys' In God We Trust? It came out in '81 and as far as I'm concerned, though Minor Threat was fast, this one's as fast if not faster....though Minor Threat was tight, this one's tighter....though Minor Threat was loud and angry, this one is louder and angrier. "Religious Vomit", "Moral Majority", and "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" by themselves kick the shit out of Minor Threat's first album in total in my view. Even Biafra's voice rises to the occasion, something it didn't do on any other DK album. It was DK's only true Hardcore album and then they moved on and diversified.

But getting back to Minor Threat. I was surprised how weak the mix is. It could be due to a lame port from record to CD or due to faulty equipment that Mark used to record it (which I seriously doubt). In any case it sounds like a garage band. The later material sounds better quality wise compared to the early stuff but not by leaps and bounds. By comparison, Suicidal's first album, also an indie effort, shows much more clarity in the mix.

Taking into consideration that Minor Threat were something of a pioneer in the punk genre, I'd give this album an 8. But it doesn't make me jump up and down and shriek like it does for Mark, and, compared to Dead Kennedys or Suicidal Tendencies, it doesn't floor me nearly as much.

diman@telematrix.com.au
Minor Threat are one of the best bands to come out of the early 80's punk/hardcore era. Every one of their songs are pure anger and they are catchy as hell. When I first heard Minor Threat, they blew me away on first listen. Very few bands have the ability to do that. One of the greatest tragedies was that the band broke up and they did'nt make more records. I have heard some great punk bands in my time, including DK, Black Flag and Husker Du, but Minor Threat were definately the best. The Complete Discography CD is a must get - it's a CD that has no peer.

xfoundationx@mail.geocities.com (Dean Reis)
THE ADDITION OF THE "SALAD DAYS" 7" IS REASON ENOUGH TO BUY THIS RECORD. "SALAD DAYS" IS PROBABLY THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED STRAIGHT FORWARD PUNK SONG EVER WRITTEN

clinty007@hotmail.com (Clinton Cox)
I had heard lots of Minor Threat stuff, but didn't have any albums. Then, a few months ago, I bought the discography used for 6 bucks. I have listened to it so fucking much lately. Man- all the shit's on there. It's so damn cool. They're the coolest political band ever. It's hard to not notice , with Ian's shaved head and blaring the fuckin' f- word all the time. With that album, I completed my 'fuck it all' attitude. I don't wanna smoke. So what if I don't. I can do whatever the hell I want.

InMyEyes82@aol.com
uhhh......minor threat is NOT a political band. they WERE however, the tightest, loudest most incredible band in the "hardcore" genre, which has produced many shitty bands that ripoff MT. like H20 or Bad Religion for example!!! but it's funny how everyone thinks they were these perfect puritans that started the straight edge movement. first of all, they did not mean to create this thing where there were a bunch of stupid shit skinheads who beat up people that did drugs and booze. it was just a song! and i have heard from many people that ian drinks some now! so people do change, by gum! oh, man. it's funny to hear earth crisis saying that minor threat was for animal liberation. so many shitty, run-of-the-mill bands in this field have given the original a bad name. now "hardcore" is just a synonym for heavy metal played at a fast pace with stupid vocals and band members with shaved heads. anyways, digressing from my rant, i maintain that MT was a rare collective with the mix of melodic songwriting, honest lyrics, and unbelievable energy. i don't know how people can listen to that shitty brit- pop crap like radiohead and pulp or ditsy raga-rock a la pearl jam and alice in chains. this is where it's at.

studio@iafrica.com (Stephen Kramer)
I totally agree with chris. Minor Threats thinking attitude was awsome. I discovered Minor Threat totally by accident when I was 14 on a tape someone gave me of Suicidal Tendencies first album.This was 3 years ago. I think those 2 records plus the first Circle Jerks album DK in God we Trust inc. and Black Flags wasted are the essential hardcore reords ever. I got the Discography recently,its cool.

areygers@chapman.edu (Adam)
one of the 5 albums i would take to that proverbial desert island, this record kicks serious boo-tay. if you like minor threat, you will love the bad brains, who (in my humble opinion) were THE GREATEST hardcore band of all time. they were the inspiration behind the whole dischord crew and even the biggest inspiration for mr. hardcore, hank rollins. i hear a huge bad brains influence in this album, even though they were kinda at opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to drugs... anyways, both bands kick ass and i wanna be like them when i grow up..

imes.judy@mcleodusa.net (Elliot Imes)
Great CD. Though I haven't gotten it yet, I've listened to it a lot, and it's phenomenal. Ian certainly was an opiniated young man, and still is. And for those of you who don't know it, the Suicide Machines do a cover of "I Don't Wanna Hear It" on their quite good CD Destruction By Definition.

By the way, a little side note: InMyEyes82 is a fuck. Anyone who says Bad Religion is a shitty band needs a serious check-up. And how the hell could they rip off Minor Threat when both bands started out at the same time? And Bad Religion's been around for nearly 20 years. That's more than Minor Threat could pull off. Plus, BR is a bit more experimental. So fuck off.

yearzero@earthlink.net (Chris Collins)
This is absolutely one of the most jam-packed intense collections ever released. I got a lot of listening out of it and it still really means a lot to me. Minor Threat weren't just one of the best hardcore bands, they were one of the best ROCK bands ever. This was IMPORTANT music.

The crucial difference between Minor Threat and 98% of other hardcore bands was that these guys never catered to the beliefs of their particular subculture. These guys were just a LITTLE too smart for that. The hardcore scene after about '82 (and in some places before) was characterized by countless musically indistinct bands endlessly delivering the same beaten to death platitudes ("Racism sucks"... great, thanks for going out on a limb and letting me know). MT were bright enough to distance themselves from any such "movement".

"I consider Suicidal Tendencies' first album to be most definitely hardcore.. but Minor Threat musically.. isn't quite in the same league from my perspective."

Now how do you argue with this kind of statement... I'm afraid MT were one of the most distinctive and creative of the hardcore bands (esp. midwest and east). From the sheer force of their first 2 EPs to the fresh approach of Out of Step, they were a band that (?!) evolved musically (and not into metal like every other band did when they realized they were incapable of musical development) rather than followed a preset path. Why? Because BEING Minor Threat, they couldn't imitate Minor Threat like everyone else! Instead, they had to do something new which is exactly what they did. This was an exciting sound that they were pioneering, but like everything else it eventually turned stale after a couple of years, so like all the other bands (Black Flag, Middle Class, Bad Brains..) who created it in the first place and were interested in music or emotions rather than political posturing, they moved along and left the hard-corpse for the vultures (Suicidal, MDC..). And to this day the vultures still have it up and walking while trying to convince themselves they're doing something real and important. They don't realize they're a cartoon.. and a pretty fucking hilarious one sometimes.

This band however, were true originals who transcended any labels you might slap on them. They mattered a whole hell of a lot.

paulst@wfs.co.uk (Paul Stewardson)
Very intense, very tortured, probably the only true punk band ever. A friend lent me this album in school and it blew me away. A song like "Out Of Step" just means so much to you when you're fourteen. Since then I have played this album sporadically but always with fondness. This and Fugazi's first album 13 Songs prove that Ian Mackaye is one hell of a talented guy.

bwheeler@mcclusky.navy.mil (Brandon Wheeler)
there's nothing more exciting and more blood pumping than listening to any of Minor Threat's songs at any time of the day, especially after cranking it up loud enough so the neighbors get pissed off. it just get the webs out so easily. even though i do prefer it early in the morning to start the day off with the reght thought, fuck you all...

it is true, Minor Threat didn't last too long on the circuit. but really, does anything THAT good last long enough... HELL NO!!!!!!

IanMackaye is a very very talented hardcore standout and his name won't be soon forgotten.. i just have to find some more of his shit!!!!

i went through a phase of thinking music wasn't something i wanted (especially after getting 90 cd's ripped off) until i heard 10 seconds of a song that i remembered in my past... guess who??? that's right, minor threat.... so half an hour later, i'm home listening to Complete and the phrase fucking hardcore came to mind.

Minor threat has to be the best band i know... don't get in my way when they come on, of course it's all in fun. too bad they didn't stick around......

Jonsdl@aol.com (Jon Dailey)
only 2 records. many years after we are still talkin about them. i started listening to m.t. when i was a 12 year old kid in an alternative school for fuck ups. a kid loaned me the cd. i was blown away. i didnt know what punk was til then. ive heard alot of punk bands. most of the time its all political and that gets old after a while. mind you im not knocking all political punk.. but they were diffrent. finally its not fuck the goverment, its fuck you. the songs are about people, people i know and you know. its about those 3 kids that beat my ass when i was a kid because they thought i was weird. to think that in 2 records they put that much influence out there. the music was raw and natural. the lyrics are better than any others. minor threat is a must for anyone who has ever felt diffrent.

LJW@mail.amsa.gov.au (Lachlan Watt)
A point of interest as far as Minor Threat is concerned - Ian MacKaye has gone on record as saying that they broke up because the others were writing songs that sounded like U 2, and were interested in chasing down a deal with one of the majors. According to Steve Albini, Lyle Preslar now works as one of those slick A & R reps for a major record label - hard to believe he was ever in a band with one of the founding members of the mighty Fugazi.

Great site by the way!

rupturedspleen@rupturedspleen.fsnet.co.uk
There is no denying Minor Threat. At a time when most bands played generic punk (look at some of the other bands on the Flex You Hear LP, crap!). however, along at the same time SIEGE were around, ever heard of them, they blew Minor Theat away when it came to speed, aggression etc. though they go unheard of......

Chad78lindsay@aol.com
Man they just don't punk like they used to!!! Minor threat is the best!!!! more new bands should take their lead, punk has turned pretty precious, now day's all the new crap is junk with a little melody. Punk is raw now orchestrated.

TAKAROFARM@aol.com
THE FIRST PUNK I EVER REALLY GOT INTO WAS THE DEAD KENNEDYS(PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS). THAT WAS UNTIL I FOUND MINOR THREAT. I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES WHEN I SAW A WEB SITE ABOUT THE THREAT. I FIGURED THAT MOST PEOPLE HAD EITHER FORGOTTEN WHAT KICK ASS PUNK WAS ALL ABOUT OR JUST DIDN'T GIVE A TOSS.

I WAS LISTENING TO THE DISCOGRAPHY EARLIER TODAY AND REMINICING ABOUT THE GOOD OLE DAYS WHEN A RED MOHAWK EITHER MEANT YOU WERE ONE CRAZY MOTHERFUCKER ABOUT TO GET IN A FIGHT OR JUST FUCKIN' NUTS, PERIOD. I GUESS I WAS LUCKY GROWING UP IN THE D.C. METRO AREA WHERE I COULD SEE AND PARTICIPATE IN THE PUNK SCENE THAT WAS D.C. BANDS LIKE THE EXPLOITED, FUGAZI, AND A SKA BAND FROM PHILLY- SCRAM SEEMED TO BE PLAYING ANY TIME I HAD THE DOUGH TO GO. THE PUNK SCENE NOW SEEMS WEAK AND COMMERCIALIZED, SO I ASK BUT ONE QUESTION: ANY CHANCE OF A MINOR THREAT REUNION TOUR?
WOULN'T THAT BE FUCKIN' SOMETHING, EH???
LATER.

eye95@aol.com
Minor Threat did not invent the straight edge movement, it evolved out of a song which Ian wrote the words to. He was not trying to get a movement started but simply show that he had a different mindset on dealing with highschool. He wanted to seperate himself from all the trendy people in Highschool who adopt the mindless "do whats popular" attitude. in the 70's,doing drugs, drinking alcohol and having meaningless sex was a side effect of the peace and love 60's. after young punks read the lyrics, a lot of others adopted the same attitude and a movement began independent if Minor Threat. As a matter of fact they had already broken up by the time the "movement" spread from D.C. One of the things that some don't get from the song is that Ian says that these are not a set of rules as a reaction to those who claimed he started a"movement". To this day he will deny starting a movement. That was a phenomenon that happened after the fact that a lot of people misunderstand the origin.

Cqwerv@aol.com
To Doug Swalen,

To say that "Hardcore for me is nastier and faster than the average punk band" is one thing but then to use this to claim that Black Flag and Minor Threat are not hardcore bands is ridiculous. That is as absurd as saying Black Sabbath aren't really heavy metal (even though they practically invented it) 'cause they don't sound like Slayer.

I can't (and won't) comment on your tastes (as we all have our own opinions) but your grip of musical history needs some work. If you've "never heard Circle Jerks, Husker Du, X, The Misfits, Black Flag, etc," then you really need to do some research before you go around saying various bands weren't hardcore 'cause they didn't sound like Suicidal Tendencies (who were pretty much latecomers to "the scene").

BTW, in one paragraph you say you haven't heard Black Flag yet you follow that up with "People have called Black Flag's Damaged hardcore, but I can't call THAT hardcore." ?????

UltraVegetaxXxXx@aol.com
Well- they certainly did rock- thats for sure. Not my favorite- that goes to the good ole Misfits- but I'm creepy and I have weird tastes. But definately up there. Too bad hardcore sucks now. . . damnit. Oh well, I'm off to blast some Minutemen.

bobbyspence@msn.com
minor threat is good,but the best hardcore bands at this time in between 81-85 were definately MOB 47,D.R.I.,B.G.K.,DISCHARGE,M.D.C.,and thousands more (i saw the mdc and dri reviews on here already too).I'm not trying to say that minor threat was insignificant but there was way more important bands to listen to.

P.S. whats with all that straight-edge crap? people act as if straight-edge is the most important thing to ever happen? i don't see why? you can't drink,have sex,or smoke.I guess sXe (straight-edge) is for kids who were rejected from the kids who actually did drugs.

Jcjh20@aol.com
Fuckin great CD. The first half is the most tightest, energetic, loudest, amazing shit ive ever heard in hardcore (I like it way better then Damaged, and In God We Trust, although those are also great classic records like this one). The lyrics are really thoughtful and you can even scream along with Ian on these songs, since they are catchy, but at the same time energetic as heyell, you just gotta move yr head or something. The second half is more slower stuff, and longer then the first half songs, but still great stuff. The Wire cover ("12XU") is awesome as hell and more energetic then the original. And i agree that this album, as well as a few others spawned a lot of shitty rip-off bands in recent times, but this stuff is the real deal. 10/10.

WBinder007@aol.com
So I buy the complete discography CD and listen to it a few times through and think to myself, "Jeez, this can't actually be what everyone considers so groundbreaking, can it?" But, lo and behold, it is. And I am thoroughly unimpressed with it. Sure, some of the lyrics are good and occasionally a riff will seem less generic than the rest, but overall I cannot give this more than a 6. Of course, I'm a little biased considering I hate Fugazi, who I had the misfortune to hear before Minor Threat, but still, I just don't see how this can be considered better than albums like In God We Trust (or anything else by the Dead Kennedys, for that matter), which was released three years earlier than anything by MT, or the slightly slower and more diverse Demolition War EP by the Subhumans (also recorded in '81) or Bad Brains' s/t album, let alone countless other early "hardcore" albums. Although, now that I think about it, Demolition War wasn't really that hardcore, it just kicked ass. But anyways, I can see how this could have inspired countless bands to form during the mid-to-late 80's, but now, to me at least, it doesn't have much to offer to set it apart from the other hardcore punk from the early 80's.

And to Zach English I say: Get your fucking facts straight. Bad Religion formed at the beginning of 1980, the same year as Minor Threat. The two main differences between the two groups in their geographical locations, and the lyrics to the early BR songs, which were, in my opinion, better written than Ian's. Saying Bad Religion rips off Minor Threat is pointless and ignorant. Plus, Brian Baker joined BR a few years back. And as much as I like Bad Religion (even their newer stuff), I'll still take the Dead Kennedys and the Subhumans over them any day. Of course, most punks think my opinions on music have no credibility because I don't like Minor Threat, the Misfits or Black Flag, so feel free to ignore this if you think you're a true punk.

pumpkinhead_27510@yahoo.com (Mike Burrus)
Perfect hardcore. i give it a 10. it's so energetic, and fast as hell. have you considered reviewing any new hardcore bands, like Death By Stereo or Boy Sets Fire? Death by Stereo is fast as hell, with some metal influence and fucking hilairious lyrics. Boy Sets Fire is very serious, with mostly political lyrics and lots of amazing guitar interplay. They sort of remind me of Fugazi, but with a skullcrushing, gritty distortion and a little more aggression. anyway, if you've heard those bands, let me know what you think. take it easy. later.

drazy@gatecity.com
HARD-CORE (hard-kor) adj. 1.) contstituting or of a hard core 2.) absolute; unqualified 3.) Minor Threat

narcotik@ureach.com (Bill Grey)
Hello, great web page! I really learned a lot about the old school punk legends. Well, considering I am only 16 you may be wondering, "how do I know about Minor Threat?" Besides, of course, what I just read..... Well, when I grew up I was lucky to have a great brother who enjoyed the preachings of: Minor Threat, Social Distortion, Dead Kenneddys, MisFits, Ramones, NY City Dolls, Black Flag and MANY more. So, of course I was pushed in the right direction in my music habits :-). I listened to my 1st Minor Threat song when I was 12. The song "filler", the album "Dischord", when 1st listening to this song I was truely inspired and it has ever sense been my favorite. I always loved to SPEED of Dischord and the album will always be a favorite! I listen to new punk and for the most part I can't stand it! There's NO F'IN message! Just a band talking about a girlfriend that left or some other outlandish crap. In any case I would suggest that every person who even remotely enjoys punk style music absolutely must listen to Dischord!

Matt
I just got the Minor Threat discography, and while I really like it, I'm kind of like Doug Swalen coming at the whole scene backwards. While I consider myself more of a metal fan, I've had enough exposure to punk and hardcore to like it and appreciate it, and with this album, I'm trying to begin to hear the roots of a lot of what I would call hardcore today. But like him there's more bands that I've heard of than HEARD. Considering how few young punkers these days probably have even heard of Minor Threat and many of the other seminal bands from that time, I think any effort to try and at least hear it and know more about it (even if it's not what you thought it would be), should be praised, not criticised. Seeing the recording dates for all the tracks has made me realise that a style of music I thought was maybe only 10-15 years old, is really much older, and it makes you wonder why there's still so many bands today sounding very similar.

m.s.macleod@actrix.gen.nz (Malcolm MacLeod)
An actual fact I've never heard Minor Threat but I've heard Rage Against The Machine's cover of In My Eyes and it sounds like one of the most awesome punk songs I've ever heard. Lyrics like "You tell me nothing matters, you're just fuckin' scared" just get you thinking. I'd like to get into some early 80s punk cos I've heard a Discharge song as well that kicked ass but it's hard to get hear it cos it doesn't get played on the radio and napster's not there anymore and not one of my mates are into anything that non-mainstream. But I'm sick of hearing the same mainstream crap so I'm interested in getting in to it.

petkoi@hotmail.com (Petko Ivanov)
Howdy everyone,

Ive been getting into hardocore for a while now thanx to my geometry techer who is th emsot awsome guy ever, but anyway as far as i think it Minor threat is the forst and one of the best hardcore bands ever, the emotion which the band has, the shier energy is unbeatable. I listen to Dead kennedies, but you can beat minor threat, i mena its like two diferent things, for that matter they were truly the first o do what they did. I dont think i ever have or wil lagain hear the same passion in a band. An thats what its al labout, hardcore music for hardcore feelings.

Somebody using an email address that doesn't belong to them
fuck minor threat, fuck u, fuck stupid dumbass straight edgers, fuck singing using the word "fuck" and refusing to fuck. FUCK U FASCIST IDIOTS.

p-c-@prodigy.net (Peter Church)
I never liked Minor Threat back when I was into hardcore in the 80`s. A lot of my friends did but I always thought the "Straight Edge" thing was retarded. I remember one of my friends lent me "Out of Step" and I found the lyrics repulsing[ I was a serious waste back then]. After reading reviews of this discography cd and friends saying they liked them still to this day I went out and bought it. I have to say I think I did miss out on something back then. Oh well, Never too late for punk rock the way I see it in this cesspool world of commercial ca-ca like U2 or gangsta CRAP.

I really like the songs"Minor Threat, Guilty of being White, Screaming at a Wall".

Now I need to get a t-shirt and a poster and collect all their vinyl represses[stickers too]. One of the top 5 ever hardcore albums I would say and my current fave. Too bad they have so few songs though.

cpino.mhs@tuhsd.k12.az.us (Cindy Pino)
minor threat is our was the best band ever before they broke up.

tero.hakulinen@pp.inet.fi
Me and my pals have this sort-of-a-band back here in Finland. We're music buffs, really, definetly not very talented musicians. At one point I really felt insecure about this band thing, 'coswe really can't play that well... enter MINOR THREAT! This group really gave me more coonfidence in to the whole band thing! Minor Threat played simple, fast and catchy punk songs simple music with message and really made a difference. Complete Discography is one of the best albums I own, really, and MacKaye's lyrics gave me new confidence and made me look things on a new perspective. The same thing could be said about Fugazi, too. Ian Mackaye has really affected in my life, and has become one of my personal heroes.

elpescado@fishside.com
found this site and its increbidle! mt is and have been the best hc sxe band ever and no band will put mt out of the place mt got!

if u are in a punk band and have never covered an mt song u are not a punk band! how great is to play screaming at a wall, step in stone or any of the 20 and something songs of the best cd ever made in the punk industrie: complete discogaphy

i heard minor threat through a friend in 1990, 7 or 9 years later of its realese, yea i m from guatemala a 3rd world country where things used to come very late, before de internet launch, a friend of mine named jose antonio was borned and lived in DC and he live in the same neighborhood where MINOR THREAT recorded their songs! yea the first time i heard the album i couldt stop it!

its been 12 years now since i first listent to it and i still feel the same energy the same peace , the same anger, the same harmnoy, the same feeling inside of, minor threat, will always be alive!

i´d love a minor threat reunion, a unike show , who cares where , i ´d do anything to be in the pit singingalong the whole songs!

rcuff@co.la.ca.us (Robert Cuff)
i think bad brains were faster, harder, varied, unique and much more original than minor threat. and oh, i believe that they invented this hardcore stuff. their first release "pay to cum" came out in 1980. much faster and than the dk's who probably predate them.

jbhippie@hotmail.com (James Hippie)
I was a little too old and set in my degenerate ways by the time I heard Minor Threat (I was 16 or 17 in 1984 when I heard Out of Step), so I wasn't at all impressed by this whiny band advocating a drug and sex-free lifestyle. What I remember most about them is the undeniable (but to my mind negative) influence they had on punk music at the time - overnight every half-assed garage band became Minor Threat clones, towing the straight edge party line in a typically gullible teenage fashion. I remember being at the Cathay de Grande in Hollywood and watching band after band of Ian doppelgangers - perfect imitations in every respect, right down to closing their set with a cover of Minor Threat covering Stepping Stone. Punk was already pretty played out and dogmatic by then, but Minor Threat and their puritanical ideology was definitely a step in the wrong direction for me. Maybe if their music existed in a cultural vacuum and could be separated from the impact and influence it had I might find it interesting as a curiosity (as in, "Shit, were these guys for real?"), but as it stands I'll pass on all that D.C. Scene bullshit.

And anyway, during those interminable straight edge shows I was down in the basement of the club getting drunk with El Duce, so it didn't have much of an impact on me. Now it's 18 years later - Ian is still Ian, El Duce's dead, and I'm an old crank having a mindless debate over a band I couldn't care less about. What's going on here?

pos545@yahoo.com
Yeah, Minor Threat definitely did the original to "not your stepping stone."

Or, maybe, it was the sex pistols...

see sex pistols- burton on trent recordings for details.

i heard minor threat wore colonial outfits whenever they played that song live. in fact, i think that's where paul revere and the raiders got the idea from.

them some bitch ass biters

MinorthreatO@aol.com
This has got to be on of the best cds of all time. The best songs are: I Don't Wanna Hear It, Straight Edge, Screaming At a Wall, 12XU, In My Eyes, Out Of Step, Look Back And Laugh, No Reason, Cashing In, and Salad Days. I would give it a 10.

DrLipchits2049@cs.com
I think you guys should stop being such close minded fundementalists bastards and remember what Jello Biafra is always talking about. Your turning punk into a "self centered social club" in the words of Jello Biafra. Stop trying to make every band sound the same. Ideas are what really matter. But if you must argue, The Dead Kennedys have a great original sound and Jello Biafras Cyniscism and political views and lyrics easily surpass that of Minor Threat. Jello Biafra is the true punk rock pioneer and has done more for the punk scene than anyone else by far. He is a true genious.

I think Wbinder is the only person who has made any sence in all of this. The Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra and Bad Religions' GregGraffins lyrics are way smarter and more meaningful for everyday life and the way this world is run than any of Ians lyrics. Straight Edge is really simplistic and brainless in its nature. I pretty sure people were smart enough before MT came along to not take drugs or have sex if they did not whant to.

opeth1213@yahoo.com (Eric D.)
all the Minor Threat you need... i prefer the first couple Fugazi albums a tad to MT, but they wrote some great songs and theyre all here... Filler, Straight Edge, Out of Step, Cashing In (we're gonna be alright... with the money we're makin of you tonight) and Guilty of Being White (or as Tom Araya would say, Guilty of Being RIGHT!). Also see if you can find the live album We Sold Out and We Suck Live, funny for MacKaye intro to Straight Edge where he announces "drug addicts are fags." Kinda immature for a guy who's renounced straight edge now, but funny nonetheless. And whatever you think about straight edge (i'm straightedge in a recovering alcoholic sorta way... where's my Marlboro's?) these guys are definitely influential for that, though im not sure Earth Crisis and Vegan Reich was what they had in mind... 10/10.

frankie@dawson9310.fsworld.co.uk
i am fom england,i have a good friend who lives in los angeles who has a friend in new york.the one thing that connected us all together in the early eighties was the awesome sound of minor threat blowing us all away at the same time.i am glad now when i look back that they called it a day when they were at their peak.too many good bands out stay their welcome in the hardcore scene(D.R.I.a very sad case) not many bands bring out a discography where all the tracks are great

chrispgibson@hotmail.com
An intelligent, interesting, inspiring, innovative, exciting, energetic listening experience.

heretik042@gmail.com
To "inMyEyes82"

Get a clue! You sound like some kid who watched "American Hardcore" and now thinks he's some authority on what "hardcore is" and isn't. I've seen you little herbs all over the net as of late. You probably weren't even born yet when Minor Threat broke up. Bad Religion ripped off Minor Threat? STFU! You may as well have posted "I don't know what the hell I'm talking about - throw things at me and call me names". If you had a clue as to what you were talking about, you wouldn't have posted such basura.

H20 ripping off MT? Sure they are undoubtedly influenced by them (although they seem to owe more to 7 Seconds as far as my ears are concerned), but a ripoff? There's a difference between derivative and straight out copying. Put a sock in it. I don't claim to have "been there back in the day" - I didn't pick up on HC until '87 and didn't start hanging out until the early 90s. I don't claim to know everything about HC, but I have problem putting some herb on blast for spouting ill-informed bullshit.

Oh, and you can blame the "bald guys playing metal" thing one of my favorite bands - the Cro-Mags (and a host of other skinhead NYHC bands). Some of you kids today are in dire need a boot party . . . where the hell are my oxbloods?

edoslan@gmail.com
just bought this CD again. As an old man (mid 20s) who works in a corporate office, this CD still effects me with its sheer exuberance, not a word typically associated with hardcore - "I might be an adult but I'm a minor at heart". This rings way more true than MDC and their Utopian dreams, ha!

David Poulter
One quick question: where are some people getting their facts from here? To claim that the DKs In God We Trust Inc. "was released three years earlier than anything by MT"? Let's see, IGWTInc came out in December of '81 by which time Minor Threat had released their first two seminal EPs. Maybe folks are getting confused that your review is of the 12" that compiles these two 7" which came out in 1984. Yet this individual feels free to tell someone else to "Get [their] fucking facts straight". Mind you a claim that Bad Religion has ripped off Minor Threat is totally head up the ass stupid so I can understand their ire.

As far as In God We Trust Inc it is a great EP yet many folks at the time found it disappointing as they felt that Jello and the boys were aping HC bands like, you guessed it, Minor Threat. Hell they even mention in the Wikipedia entry for In God We Trust. Me? I loved it, love the other DKs stuff more granted. And I too love Minor Threat.

I don't think anyone would be so presumptuous as to claim that Minor Threat was the first "hardcore" band but only a moron would deny that they were one of the earliest, one of the most influential and one of the best HC bands. They got their rep honestly. There may be bands you like better but that doesn't diminish Minor Threat's importance so far as 80s punk is concerned.

First Demo Tape - Dischord 2003.

Oh no, I've BEEN ARRESTED FOR SPOUSAL ABUSE!!!! And all I DID WAS RECITE MY LOVE POEM!!!!!!

Oh I forgot to mention -- every time I GET EXCITED AND HIT "CAPS LOCK," I GRAB A HAMMER AND SHAKE IT AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!! Maybe that's why NONE OF THOSE STARVING ORPHANS LIKED MY LIMERICK RECITAL!!!!!

Say! Do you ever just have no ideas at all?

Great! Come on over! Sting's here too.

Reader Comments

dave@happydrifter.com (Dave Wagner)
This is the greatest review ever written.

Live: DC Space/Buff Hall/9:30 Club DVD - Dischord 2003

To be more precise, the three shows include the second ever Minor Threat show -- only Ian's second time singing in front of an audience! And he clearly has no idea what to do with himself! The two remaining shows include a 1982 New Jersey show featuring the coveted five-piece line-up, some woman who keeps interrupting the rock music to announce her birthday, and more shaved heads than a bowling ball.

Look, we can't all afford to spend $39,95 a month on a subscription to www.similesthatmakeanysenseatall.com. The final remaining show includes a show recorded just a couple months before the band broke up. Who fucking cares? All three shows are muddy and fudged up, and it's not like they have any pyrotechnics or fancy stage costumes. Watching Ian MacKaye on stage is like watching school in summer -- NO CLASS.

Heh heheh h ohhh yeah, that waaaaaaaaas Swwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweet! Let me try another one. The feeling I get when watching this DVD is the same feeling I get when making love to a skinny woman -- LIKE I'M FUCKING (A) BORED (BOARD).

Awww now - that is GOOD! I am GOOD! I am a wordsmith! Let me try one more since I'm clearly hot and on fire this evening.

Watching Jeff Nelson's drums is like watching Russell Crowe's girlfriend: THEY BOTH GET A FAST, HARD POUNDING THAT ENDS IN ABOUT FIFTEEN SECONDS.

Man, I'm totally sending these in to Playboy's 40-Year-Old Party Jokes That Aren't Funny At All!

Reader Comments

CATTZ22@aol.com (Geoff Johnson)
I just recently got into Minor Threat and they easily jumpred to the top of punkcore list. I'm about fifteen and am a freshman in High School. About every other kid at my school is hardcore and has never heard Minor Threat's name in their lives. I, personally am into punk and harder punk... and hardcore where I live is shouting 'til the point where you can't understand what's going on in a deep voice. I DON'T consider Minor Threat hardcore and you can bitch at me all you want but I won't change my mind. Maybe I am speaking as of today but hardcore certainly isn't what it used to be.....And one more thing.... every punk in the world shouldn't have to listen to fucking AFI....(no offense Aaron S.)
R.I.P. Minor Threat

Get your Minor Threat CDs here, please!