First ever official release of 1983 suburban hardcore masterpiece!These songs were recorded in west suburban Chicago in 1983 by Lombard, Illinois based Evil I. This record perfectly captures the spirit of the first wave of hardcore punk. Cutting vocals, tight rhythm, shredded guitar and a take no prisoners attitude make for a timeless hardcore document. Originally distributed by the band at shows, it remained largely unheard outside the Chicago scene until now.Mastered from the original tape and pressed into 160 gram green vinyl (500 pressed) in a 20pt board jacket with printed inner sleeve, lyric insert and liner notes by the band.Our take: Alonas Dream Records delivers another outta the ballpark hardcore punk reissue, this time an unheard 1983 ripper from suburban Chicago band Evil I. As far as I know, Evil I has never been reissued in any capacity, and if you knew Evil I before this reissue and you weren’t going to shows in Chicago in the 80s, I am seriously impressed at the depth of your knowledge. For me, they’re a totally new band, and I can’t believe something this killer has flown under the radar for so long. When I first listened to this record, I was blown away. While the recording is very raw, the band just fucking blazes. It’s not that they’re super tight—in fact, they’re pretty loosey goosey—but they are super fast and their songs are full of these changes that are quirky, tricky to execute, and extremely potent. The other standout aspect of Evil I is their vocalist, who sounds so fucking pissed. The singer reminds me of Julie Lanfeld from Sin 34, but with a maniacal, John Brannon-like level of anger. There isn’t much material here, which means I’m going to flipping this record a lot. Maybe I should buy two.
