The name DRI came from an acronymous Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, the actual whole name of this american Metal/Hardcore band that is one of the very few hardcore - related bands I can say I absolutely Love !!! D.R.I. started as a fast hardcore band in Huston , Texas , USA , in the year of 1982. by the end of the same year they released their first album "Dirty Rotten LP" that has been re - issued several times first time in 1983 as a 12īī EP.
First time I heard this EP was around 1994, when My punk days where long gone ( I was a BIG fan of punk rock back in 1991, but it didnīt last long, Iīm not really sure why ). However, even being a 100 % punk-hardcore album, Dirty Rotten LP became a favourite of mine that time, because, i dunno, I canīt explain, but the music was suberp, high energy and somewhat "metal" in a certain manner, even not being Metal at all... LOL. For years I just couldnīt believe that this EP was released around 1983, as it was unbelievably fast music for that time. As Ive read around internet, D.R.I. was labeled "the fastest band in the world" By this time. imagine bands playing as fast as Slayerīs "Reign in Blood" in 1983 and you get the picture. Altought the music sounds much more chaotic than really aggressive or brutal ( there where way more aggresive bands than them , like Slayer or Venom and such ) it holds my interest for the energy and passion its played with. Comparing it to boring punk bands like Green Day and Bad Religion I almost canīt believe its punk lol. anyways, after this D.R.I. became one of the first Punk Hardcore bands to have close ties with the Metal scene, to the point of having members wearing Slayer T-Shirts on concertes and of course having Metal Influences on their sound . The second album ( not including Violent Pacification EP ) despite of still being Very on the more Hardcore sound, shows their first attempts to mix punk with Metal in a combination that reportedly left many among the punk scene unsatisfyed. I only have "Dealing With It" in MP3 for now, and, despite of being mostly a hardcore album, I still find it to be great music and intense high energy quality rock. from more hardcore ( Stupid, Stupid War ) to clearly Metal (Argument than War) to Hardcore with that unmistakable hint of Metal ( Madman, How to Act ) the way for what would be latter called " Crossover" was being paved. And it was only confirmed with the release of of the album "Crossover" that probably named the style, in 1987.
An Album I only had the opportunity to hear recently , "Crossover" shows D.R.I. still mantainning the rawness and speed of hardcore , but adding generous doses of heaviness and more "dark" riffs to make this one of the first albums that sounds very hardcore and very metal and the same time. Still ( I think ) better things where to be made.
In 1988 they released a even more Metal oriented Metal CD , 4 Of a Kind, which for me is probably their best album, Very metal on the riffs, albumst sounding like a speed metal act, altought some combinations between major and minor riffs ( a very typical characteristic of Crossover as a style ) and some of the rawness of the past is kept, but by the time this album ( which contains some of my favourite "Crossover" masterpieces like "Do The Dream", "Gone To Long" , "Man Unkind" and others ) D.R.I. was no longer just a "punk hardcore" band, accused by many punks of being "sell outs" , using long hair, they where certainly a Thrash - Speed band then, something confirmed on the follow follow up "Thrashzone" ( 1989 ) that shows D.R.I. going even further to a more "mature" sound, with heavier guitar sounds and slowing down the tempos, altought the "punk" feeling is a bit more present here than in 4 of a Kind. Songs like "Thrashard" and "Enemy Within" are perfect examples on a REAL fusion between punk and Metal in terms of Riffs and musicianship, while others like "Worker Bee" and "Drown You Out" shows D.R.I. playing great Heavy Metal with fast hardcore speed and energy and songs like "Abduction" that show D.R.I. straight on the Thrash-Speed side. great songs on this album. After a small hiatus they came in 1992 with another good , altought not as good as their previous ( In My Opinion ) CD, called "De-Fi-Ni-tion" showing the band get in a heavy direction but, curiously, with a much more rough production than their previous 2, which where albums that had EXCELLENT productions ( for a hardcore-related band ). I never listened to with much attention altought there are certainly some good ( mostly Metal oriented ) songs there, like "Acid Rain" and "Say it" and some more punk oriented numbers like "Dry Heaves" which is a funny, interesting DRI song.
.after "De-Fi-Ni-tion" they released a Live Album with a somewhat "poor" production ( altought not that "horrible" ) yet with a strong "live" feeling called simplly "D.R.I Live" , being this album recorded on their "De-Fi-Ni-tion" Tour. Most of the songs on this Live album fall more on their Hardcore early begginnings and there are very few of my very favourite album of them "4 of a Kind"there. however they give the deserved space for the more metal tunes of "Thrashzone" and "De-Fi-Ni-tion" too, but If you only like D.R.I. playing their more Metal oriented songs I think that this album is not that reccomendable. November of 1995 saw D.R.I. releasing their ( til now ) last studio album ... in almost 9 years ... for the few Ive heard of "Full Speed Ahead" this is by far their most "Metal" and heavier album to date. They even came to a tour here in Brasil ( in early 1997, a show I UNFORTUNATELY missed ... ) and Kurt said they toned the guitar sound down to obtain a "heavier" sound on an interview
.I saw one clip for the song "Syringes In The Sandbox" and I absolutely loved that song, however, I still didnīt had the opportunity to listen to this album more carefully, but seems to be one of their best ones.
