What is there to say about SSD's long out-of-print 1982 debut, The Kids Will Have Their Say, that hasn't already been written? Long heralded as the first straight-edge album, this collection of songs captures a time and an era in the nascent hardcore scene before formulas and posturing. In other words, it's an unfiltered artistic statement that's singular in scope and vision. The Boston act's debut was extremely limited, never repressed, and has gone on to have a life of its own despite the fact the only affordable way to listen to it has been low-quality streams on YouTube. Now, after being out of print for 40 years, the album will be available on vinyl by Trust Records with updated remastered audio and a painstaking recreation of the iconic cover art courtesy of Bryan Ray Turcotte.
Over the years the mythology of the album has only grown—and this reissue of the album is sure to introduce this prescient and powerful collection of songs to a new generation of fans who never had the opportunity to see the original lineup of guitarist Al Barile, vocalist Springa, bassist Jaime Sciarappa and drummer Chris Foley perform live. In many ways, SSD launched the hardcore scene in Boston as we know it and the band's kinship with Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye arose out of the fact that both acts refused to conform to society's still shifting standards at the time. From the unbridled aggression of SSD's "Boiling Point" to the stripped-down groove of "How Much Art," the album was as reactionary as it was revolutionary and is an artistic statement that remains to be remarkably complex for a group of guys barely into adulthood. Whether you're buying this because you're lucky enough to own the original pressing or you're hearing the album for the very first time, this version of The Kids Will Have Their Say is a striking document of the nascent hardcore scene that sounds just as vital today as it did when it was originally recorded. In a genre where authenticity reigns supreme, SSD stands tall as torchbearers, embodying the essence of hardcore music with every chord and lyric; this record is a must-have for new and old fans