Bad Brains’ Earliest Studio Recordings to Be Released in November

Bad Brains hold a unique position in the history of punk music. The four-piece group, which formed in Washington, D.C., was instrumental in creating the template for hardcore punk. However, in a genre that was predominantly white, their identity stood out: four Black musicians who blended ferocious rock with authentic, roots-driven reggae. The band's influence was both immediate and enduring.

For many fans, they are the definitive hardcore band. Dave Grohl, who led Foo Fighters and previously drummed for Nirvana, has credited their records with teaching him how to play drums—he would pound on pillows along to their tracks. In 2024, a mural honoring the group was unveiled across from CBGB in New York City, the legendary venue where they performed regularly. The band's internal dynamics were as explosive as their music—they broke up repeatedly, often just before achieving wider success—yet their early albums and, most importantly, their scorching live performances rank among the most powerful rock of the 1980s. For a band whose members sometimes disagreed about musical direction, that friction may have been part of what made their concerts so electrifying.

Now, their discography is expanding with a release that is both archival and new. On November 6—possibly timed to coincide with the upheaval that might follow the midterm elections—a seldom-heard recording of their first proper studio session will be released as "Are You Ready: The First Studio Recordings" through Trust Recordings. An earlier demo was issued in 1996 as the "Black Dots" album, but this six-song session was recorded in just one hour at Inner Ear Studios in March 1979, three months prior to that demo. Ian MacKaye, co-founder of Minor Threat and Fugazi and a longtime friend of the band, remixed the tracks. MacKaye has been active with archival work recently, including a project with Henry Rollins to restore the catalog of psychobilly legends the Cramps. The EP will be available on vinyl, cassette, and digital platforms.

This release complements the band's full catalog, much of which had been out of print for years but has recently been properly reissued and is now available for streaming. One highlight is a previously unreleased version of their iconic debut single, "Pay to Cum," which arrives today with video footage shot at CBGB in October 1979. "The riff for 'Pay to Cum' began as a stream of punk rock energy inspired by the Ramones, the Damned, and Return to Forever," bassist Darryl Jenifer explains, capturing the band's unique fusion of influences. "It was a gift that became a launching pad for our sound—pure, straightforward three-chord chaos with a few breaks and a stop. The title actually meant nothing to us; it was just a playful pun." The video features footage filmed by Barry Masterson at CBGB on October 24, 1979.

On November 5, the day before the album's release, Jenifer and MacKaye will appear in conversation at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, where they will discuss the session and the band's formative years. Then, from November 6 through November 22, an exhibition of archival Bad Brains material will be on display, drawing from the collections of Darryl Jenifer, Alison Braun, BJ Papas, Lucien Perkins, Alec MacKaye, Roger Gastman, and others.