Punk Rock Bands

Punk rock bands have their etheric roots in the angst of a much earlier era where hollering masters infused the ethers with the viscera of rebel disgust and impatience with the more flowery movements of the time. Punk is seeded in the fist-waving rebel yell of a generation that forced the world to look at stifling taboos and celebrate the ferocious face of honesty.

1. Bad Brains: The music of Bad Brains is touched by their Rastafarian roots, but their almost death-metalesque intensity established them as early seeders of the hardcore punk scene. Their fan-base is legion, following them throughout the years with a near-manic loyalty. They're considered the holy grail of punk rock because of the purity of the spirit in their artistry. They started out as a kind of jazz fusion outfit but quickly found their true place in the rebel circles of the time. The band has split up and reformed more than once, but always manage to form again like Voltron. The group's Dr. Know is known to guest small shows with other bands from time to time. Word in industry circles has them in the studio recording. The Beastie Boys, Living Colour and Rage against the machine are among the many they influenced by them.
2. The Slits: The Slits were a mostly “female” band that rose to prominence with a large heading body of female members. They're considered one of the best makeshift bands of the punk scene. Like the greater portion of punk bands, their undertones were colored with reggae rhythms, but their sound was largely experimental overall. Admittedly, when they first began, they were just learning how to play. They credit their own mammoth message-driven self-image as a factor in their unashamed projection of punk force. They refused to sound “the same” like so many they considered to be uninspired.
3. The Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols fixation of chaos made a major impact upon the punk scene that's reverberating even into the rebel music of the present time. An anti-establishment demand formed of hypnotic bass and savage guitars supported the shock lyrics that created complications for them with venue organizers and similarly “concerned” officials. Mayhem and controversy followed them, and unfortunately claimed the life of frontman Sid Vicious in the form of a heroin overdose only two years after he joined the band. The Clash cite them as direct influences.
4. The Clash: The Clash brought a ska-tinged, highly politicized ethos to the punk scene. Effectively the early punk newsmen, they came together in 1976 with songs steeped in anti-aristocracy that directly addressed what they saw as abuses of the common man. To this day there are die-hard appreciators who consider them the greatest rock band of all time. They inspired the formation of numerous garage bands. In essence, that was the core purpose of their punk existence as a sonic entity.
5. The Ramones: Emerging in 1976, The Ramones was composed of eight similarly surnamed (by choice) leather-jacketed makers of minimalist speed punk. Despite inspiring an instant hate (which didn't last) or love at first listen, they were a definite foundation of the punk scene (obviously influenced to some extent by protopunks The New York Dolls and The Stooges). They never really “succeeded” commercially with their more honestly fierce material. There gold was in street cred. Of their best, “I Wanna Be Sedated” is one of their shining almost pop-punk anthems.