Negative FX
Negative FX

When talking about the Boston Crew, Negative FX must necessarily be mentioned.

Legend has it that their music inspired a small group of guys to start playing, even adopting a name very similar to theirs: NOFX, I don't know if you've heard of them, but that's irrelevant to me.

Before computers messed with our brains, bands used to make nice hand-drawn posters; in America, there are collectors of flyers who go crazy trying to find those of Negative FX. In their short history, they performed only five concerts. However, they did record a demo titled "Government war plans" and a decent self-titled album released in 1984.

Negative FX plays dirty and noisy music composed of songs lasting no more than a minute and thirty seconds. The recording doesn't particularly entice the listener, being decidedly dirty and poorly produced, full of mistakes and quite rushed. The guitar riffs by Patrick Raftery lack particular ideas, almost every song stubbornly attacks three repeating power chords throughout the entire track, occasionally varying at the chorus, the same goes for Rich Collins' bass. The drumming is relentless and disorienting, played by Dave Brown who executes violently accented beats with the snare, worthy of primitive Grind. The greatest merit of the band is the vocalist Choke, who, not coincidentally, we later see as the voice of Last Rights and Slapshot. His voice verges on screaming, comprised of pure vocal cord shouts. There is no melody in his tracks except for a rare few, in any case, if this album musically has positive sides, it is all due to his particular style of singing.

Negative FX's songs are a bit too monotonous and repetitive for my taste, I'm not saying they are reluctant, but they tend to blend into one another due to a lack of varied musical support. The album starts at a hundred miles an hour and ends at a hundred and fifty, it's impossible to catch your breath; once a track is over, there's no room for reflection as the next one is already halfway through. In my opinion, the best tracks are shot immediately, leaving the rest of the album to overly instinctive and noisy songs.

I have the strong impression (though not the certainty) that this album was recorded all in one go; I can perceive greater clarity in Choke's voice and the musicians in the early tracks, while as the album progresses, everything gradually decreases in quality.

But ultimately, noise is an essential element for Hardcore and I believe I've already been too strict; the message, as often happens in bands of this genre, is the key to their work. They attack society, standing against war and law enforcement, against social brainwashing and in favor of straight edge principles. The flagship track of the album is the legendary "Feel Like a Man", truly a classic, followed by good pieces like "Together", "Protestor", and "Turn your Back".

In conclusion, I can say that this album has a certain historical value, but musically I've heard much better. My certainty is that if Negative FX had continued to produce works, they would have been able to delight us with something of higher quality, but given the almost immediate dissolution of the band, they didn't have the time.

Not of lesser importance is a fantastic artwork, which makes the purchase of the album much more appealing, and I can only recommend it to fans of the genre.