Having borne witness to the live fury of Scream at a formative part of my teenage punk rock journey, the band left an inedible stamp on my life, and rapidly became, and remain, my favourite Dischord, and DC (even though they’re actually from Virginia) band. They were a steadfast example of musical evolution, and proof positive that progression didn’t, and doesn’t. have to a dirty word, and could, and can, be something wonderful.

When they split, as all legendary bands are want to do, the Stahl brothers carried the same spirit of musical adventure and boundary pushing into Wool, the band they formed in the wake of Scream’s demise. And DC Special picks up where both Wool and Scream originally left off, and delivers eighteen tracks* of pure, early DC Hardcore infused rock and roll that is jaw dropping in it’s raw, beautiful melodic aggression and makes you want to sing-a-long with each and every song that’s packed to bursting with rebellion and hope while dancing until your (in my case, middle aged) heart nearly bursts with sheer, unadulterated joy.

Some albums are worth waiting for, and DC Special is worth every moment of the thirty years* that it’s taken for it to become a reality. It’s older and wiser than it’s predecessors, but it’s still driven by the same energy, urgency and made up of the sort of songs that’ll live long, and thrive, in your soul. You don’t want this record, you NEED it… Tim Cundle

*There’s twelve tracks on the vinyl. and eighteen on the digital release, so you know what that means don’t you? You have to buy the LP AND the digital release.

**I know, I know, Complete Control came out a decade and some change ago, but that was an EP, so…