‘Around my neck there is a rope, the government is at the top, the arm is pulled, the people drop, we jolt around so desperately, the music fades – perhaps we’re free?’ (Eroded Freedom)

The Legion Of Parasites were an English anarcho-punk band who were active throughout the 1980s and briefly reformed in the late 1990s.  Undesirable Guests was the band’s debut vinyl release in 1984, a year prior to arguably their most well-known release, The Prison Of Life!

It represents an intriguing insight into the evolution of hardcore punk in the mid-1980s.  For while the band were firmly rooted in the anarcho-punk scene, they had a notable appetite for sustained eruptions of hardcore speed.  This imbued their sound with a flavour of early crossover thrash that the band deftly blended with their more traditional anarcho-punk elements.

The riffage is woven through with catchily understated melody and is matched by some notably feverish drumming that favours uninhibited vigour over precision.  The vocals segue from the semi-shouted to a more rapid-fire snarl as demanded, supported by plenty of group chanted choruses.  A blend that works particularly effectively on Savages and Party Time.

Promises, Eroded Freedom, and Hypocrite all lyrically focus on Thatcherism’s bleak grip on the country, while the horrors of war and the nuclear threat are the preoccupation of the balance of the tracks.  So, while The Legion Of Parasites may never have quite reached the heights of recognition enjoyed by some of their contemporaries, this is a fascinating slab of hardcore punk history.