7Seconds The Crew (Deluxe Edition) LP

7 Seconds is an iconic and influential American hardcore punk band from Reno, Nevada. Over the last 40 years, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes over the subsequent years, with only Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth remaining constant members. This release is a Deluxe Edition vinyl reissue of 7 Seconds' iconic album The Crew, which is considered a landmark of the punk and hardcore genre. This deluxe vinyl release includes a deluxe 20-page booklet featuring rare photos, flyers, testimonials, and behind the scene stories from iconic figures such as Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat), Jello Biafra ( Dead Kennedys), Fat Mike (NOFX), Keith Morris (Circle Jerks & Black Flag) and graphic artist Shepard Fairey. 7 Seconds will be touring to promote the release, and the band will be around to promote the release actively.

The Crew finds the band residing proudly in the blurry confines of all-out hardcore, with abstract, paste-together riffs for verses and anthemic sing-along choruses to drive the point home. The sound is thin like it was recorded in an aluminum tool shed, but the band is tight and clearly inspired, and Kevin Seconds' vocals are mixed high enough to be easily discerned (a lyric sheet is included for any words that fall through the cracks). Subject matter covers classic hardcore concerns like youth power, friendship, sexism, racism and supporting the scene. When the talk turns to drugs, the 7 Seconds attitude towards non-consumption is less dogmatic than most of their straight-edge contemporaries; rather than pointing accusing fingers, the band tends to focus on their own choices and leads by example. Kevin Seconds is one of hardcore's better vocalists, and his lyrics betray a blossoming maturity even as he advocates mass vandalism and rhymes 'riot' with 'try it.'...The Crew roars with the joyful abandon of those nascent hardcore days, however, when 'I'm gonna stay young until I die' was a political statement upon which no one was allowed to renege.