Though Black Flag and X could match their intensity, Dead Kennedys were surely the most influential proponents of late-’70s US punk. Theirs was a remorseless blitz, topped off by the hammy vibrato of the outraged and fabulously sarcastic Jello Biafra, Feargal Sharkey’s evil twin. The vile croak of “God told me to skin you alive” before “I Kill Children” still shocks today. This is the classic debut from 1980, with a bonus CD of single edits and early B-sides, and a lyric sheet so small you’ll need a microscope. It’s worth it?really.
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