‘Countess Thatchula, Political vampire, Her reign of terror, Must soon expire, Sinks her fangs, Into this nation, Sucks out jobs, Spits out inflation’ (Thatchula)

Ripcord are a band whose long-term legacy has, perhaps, gone onto to outstrip their initial impact, as groundbreaking as that was.  By furiously melding UK82 and US hardcore influences, together with a healthy slug of thrash metal, the band unleashed a dynamic that was to undeniably reshape the future of hardcore punk.

The band hailed from Weston Super Mare and were a defining force in English hardcore between 1984 and 1988, releasing two full-lengths and a slew of EPs.  One of their earliest releases was The Damage Is Done, which the band self-released as a flexi 7-inch in 1986.  The nine tracks from this release constitute side one of this reissue, together with two additional tracks.

The remastering of the album is spot on – punchy and lending a fresh clarity without diluting the intrinsic rawness and just shy of sloppy ferocity that characterised the original material, including the distinctive crumpled drums.  And the tracks still burst with the seething fury that fuelled the era as the band challenged the warped Thatcherite ideology that not only inflicted huge social dislocation at the time but laid the groundwork for many of our current inequalities.  Kiss Of Death continues to land with a particular sledgehammer velocity.

Side Two captures a show in their hometown that same year.  The discordance is upped a further notch as the live intensity of the band is vibrantly captured in a nine-track set that includes six tracks from The Damage Is Done, plus three from the band’s self-titled demo also released in 1986.  The accompanying lyric booklet pulled together by Quality Control HQ and La Vida Es Un Mus Discos is excellent, including several extensive fanzine interviews with the band, as well as numerous flyers from the era.