Maximum Penalty “Demo ‘89 & East Side Story” CD

Awesome. It looks like I Scream Records strikes again with another badass re-release from a relatively underappreciated act in Maximum Penalty's "Demo '89 & East Side Story". Admittedly I've never been much of a Maximum Penalty fan. I saw them live once or twice in the mid-90's around the time of their first full-length and thought they had an energetic and individual sound, but I never really looked into their recorded material for whatever reason, so it's great that this disc has allowed me to see the error of my ways...

One thing about this band is that I'm always surprised when I learn new facts about 'em. I was pretty stunned when I first discovered that their unique (and talented) vocalist Jimmy Williams (perhaps best known to some for his contributions to Skarhead's "Game Over") had actually once drummed for anarcho/crust punk legends Nausea, and now with this re-release I've learned that the band actually started up in the mid-80's, which I never knew. Since their first proper release didn't come out until 1994 I've always associated them more with that whole era. According to the I Scream website, Maximum Penalty recorded three demos between 1986 and 1989 before that first proper release, which was the "East Side Story" EP—appearing on this CD along with their 1989 demo. However, the brief liner notes (lyrics are also included, which is a great touch) almost make it sound like the '89 demo was the band's first, so I'm a little cloudy on the actual facts in the early Maximum Penalty timeline.

That's no big deal, though, because the important thing is that this is more than likely some of the band's strongest work. While they blended their hardcore with somewhat more of an open and rocked out/melodic direction during portions of the 90's, the 1989 demo maintains their unique vocal flare with a harder-edged attitude, and the music is chunkier and significantly more metallic all around—flirting with hints of the type of crossover flavor that one might expect given the time period. Apparently some of the material from 1994's "East Side Story" EP was leftover from the 1989 demo, but musically and vocally the band's development is very much apparent, with an eerier melodic tinge to the delivery of the singing as well as more variation in tempo and melody in the riffing (expect a little post-hardcore dissonance, for example). Very cool all around.

Maximum Penalty "Time Flies Fast"
Maximum Penalty "Distressed"

I'm all about these kinds of releases and I hope I Scream continues down this path from time to time. More people need to start digging up overlooked classics like this and throwing 'em back out there, for sure. Well done. Definitely pick this shit up if you're into it:

RevHQ
Very Distribution