Flag Of Democracy - 23 (Buy Our Records, 1988)

I'm sure a lot of suburban punks like myself were only familiar with FOD by name from their mention in the Dead Milkmen song "Bitchin' Camaro." That was pretty much my only knowledge of the band for years, until I lucked upon this CD along with the CD of Adrenalin OD's first 2 albums, both on Buy Our Records and both now long out of print. I've actually never seen a copy of either CD before or after that.

I was already a fan of Adrenalin OD's raw thrash sound, and Flag Of Democracy was in a similar vein, but I noticed that they seemed to have more of a sense of melody. Listening to them now, they almost remind me less of a hardcore band and more of a pop punk band playing at hyperspeed. And even though the vocals are completely spastic (the singer was often compared to Jello Biafra), there are still great harmonies and backing vocals. That weird mix of mania and melody reminds me a bit of The Accused, another favorite of mine.

Although their debut, Shatter Your Day, has more of the "hits," 23 is a great followup with songs like "You're Fucked," "Teen Beat" and "All That You Need" displaying their humorously cynical look at things. Plus it was my introduction to the band, so it remains one of my favorites.

FOD is still going these days with 7 albums under their belt. They released an album about a year ago that is as great as ever. They've also just re-released Shatter Your Day with tons of cool bonus stuff. Hopefully a remix of their 3rd album, Down With People, is on the horizon since it's their muddiest sounding recording. Still awesome though.

Flag Of Democracy - 23 (I've replaced the download link with the bandcamp link since the preorder for the remastered reissue of 23 is available here.)