Subhumans

Comprised of the band's earliest, and ostensibly greatest, material, Death Was Too Kind is the latest addition to Alternative Tentacles' "Reissues Of Necessity." While not a straightforward re-release of a seminal album, as the series infers, Death Was Too Kind is actually something more. It compiles the Vancouver outfit's first four years - 1978 to 1982 - via their Death To The Sickoids and Firing Squad singles, self-titled EP and tracks "Look At The Dawn" and "Pissed Off... With Good Reason." Basic and primal yet energized and vitriolic, despite some of this material being on the wrong side of 30 years old, it's still as inspiring and rousing as when first recorded. In fact, given the lackadaisical atmosphere punk has taken lately, Death Was Too Kind injects fresh life into a dying beast.