This was the Los Angeles punkers' 5th album released shortly after the success of their previous album's 'No Control' tour. ATG was the last record to feature drummer Pete and also one of the 1st releases to feature songs written by other members other than the usual duo of singer Greg and guitarist Brett. With it's melodic & frenetic pace balanced by quick off-the-mark vocals, catchy trademarked multi-harmonies, metronomic beat and pragmatic intellectual lyrics (largely poetic reflections on progress tackling disorder) rife with 'check-your-dictionary' wording which is not surprising coming from Greg's UCLA master's degree and Cornell's PhD, the album's rigid but exuberant textured tone in fairness is a very repetitive formula and has been stiffly criticized by many as boring but it's still a polished delivery, and anthemic with edges of ominous that also saw their hit single '21st Century Digital Boy' re-recorded 4yrs later & with a video on their 8th album, 1994's 'Stranger than Fiction' (the song is a playful homage on KING CRIMSON's '21st Cenutry Schizoid Man' from 1969). ATG was the band's first 100,000 seller, and was re-issued in Apr 2004 with new cornfield/missile art. Happy 35th Anniversary.

Their most dissonant & industrial record, their first as a trio, and first without original singer Snake.

Congrats Grey Cup champs.

45YRS AGO TODAY

Happy 45th Anniversary to a career-defining & critically acclaimed classic that arguably stands as the band's best album, if not their strongest contender. AOS's signature title track with its legendary rumbling bass intro & rollercoasterish driving pace was their perfect self-statement of not wanting to be defined by any singular label: it was just pure loud, hard, speedy, adrenaline-induced rock & roll. The trio was emerging as one of the foremost contributors in British heavy music (a pre-cursor to/of the NWOBHM alongside IRON MAIDEM, SAXON and DEF LEPPARD) in a watershed moment whose style was rounded out with a fresh biting sound that even when slowed down still displayed a pulsing energy. The album cover of them dressed as wild west gunslingers also suited their punkish motif as outlaws. AOS was the band's 4th album but 1st to receive US distribution, is consisitently featured on all-time/best-ever lists, and has been influential & inspirational to countless metal bands. R.I.P to Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Taylor and Eddie Clarke.

“If you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away but if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth.”
35YRS AGO TODAY