DRI

It's a frickin' tragedy that millions of headbanger kids only know the metal side of the thrash equation. The "Big Four" have earned their place in music history, sure, but there was a small army of great hardcore bands who defined the punk side of "punk/metal." One of the best was D.R.I., whose Dirty Rotten record set the standard for thrashcore—the fact that it seems to be re-released every few years shows that even three decades later, those same 22 songs just keep giving and giving to generations of new punks (although their follow-up Dealing With It was arguably even better). At yet even now, as they play their 30th anniversary show at the Avalon, they've never gotten the credit they deserve. Like the Dead Kennedys' anthems, D.R.I. songs like "I Don't Need Society," "Capitalists Suck," and "Reaganomics" actually stood for something—resistance of the faster, loudest order. The band has been on and off, and hasn't written a new song in years, but who cares? Time to give this band its due. - Steve Palopoli sanjose.com