The Exploited Let's Start a War (1983)

The Exploited's fourth record finds the band with an entirely new lineup (only leader Wattie Buchan remains), but never fear, the new boys prove that they are entirely capable of thrashing and, what's more, they are eager to thrash. Great, thunderous rockers like "Kidology" and "Another Day to Go Nowhere" fulfill the obligatory youth-angst requirement while "Let's Start a War (Said Maggie One Day)" and "Rival Leaders" (among many others) represent the epicenter of the group's familiar antiwar/anti-Thatcher sentiment. Nothing new in the grand scheme of punk rock in general (or The Exploited in particular), Let's Start a War…Said Maggie One Day is what it is – punk rock comfort food.

The Exploited remain a battered but unbowed street punk tradition. Together (with various lineups) for decades, the band has given angry voice to the U.K.'s disenfranchised working poor, and traces of their rusty buzz saw sound can be heard in huge acts throughout the worlds of punk and metal such as Slayer, Rancid, and Metallica. A reissue of their 1992 (mostly) live album, DON'T FORGET THE CHAOS captures all of the madness and fury of the band in their obnoxious prime, between 1983 and '84. The lo-fi live quality of the recording fits the raw blasts of noise like a worn leather coat, and classic anti-authority rants such as "Let's Start a War," "Anarchy," and "Punk's Not Dead" sound as they should without glossy production or unnecessary adornment. Listeners who aren't used to uncompromising street punk may not know what to do with DON'T FORGET THE CHAOS, but fans will treasure this deluxe addition of an essential punk document.