The third album from legendary Canadian punk rock pioneers – D.O.A. from 1982. The fancy edition for the 40th birthday will be published by Pasażer Records in late May 2023.
“War on 45” was the successor to the albums “Something Better Change” and “Hardcore ’81”, which are considered to be absolute classics of punk rock today. It was recorded in mid-1982 during several late-night sessions in Los Angeles (at night the price of the studio was half the price). In politics, it was a time of intensification of the Cold War and the arms race, and a lot of local, more or less bloody conflicts – hence the overtones of the title and most of the songs contained on it. You can hear the war there. On the other hand, the title “War on 45” is a parody of the then-popular lame compilations with hits like “Stars on 45”.
On the occasion of War on 45, a new line-up of the band crystallized. Joey Shithead and Dave Gregg were joined by Wimpy Roy from the Canadian band The Subhumans, who had just ceased to exist, and the drummer was Dimwit – the older brother of Chuck Biscuits, who in turn had just left the band.
8 tracks known from the original release were enriched with 7 bonuses, mainly from the demo recorded a few months earlier, when the drummer was still the aforementioned Biscuits (also known from many other legendary bands – Black Flag, Danzig, Social Distortion etc.). Thus, on one LP you have two best Canadian drummers of all time: the Montgomery brothers – Biscuits and Dimwit.
The album includes two covers from both its US and European releases, and a 12-page booklet with unique archival photos, posters, and a story of the making of the album written by the Canadian godfather of punk rock, frontman D.O.A. – Joey Shithead, where many delicious anecdotes are told.
This album blows your mind as hard as D.O.A. always could and sums up one of the best periods in the history of these world-famous punk pioneers.
The new edition of “War on 45” will not be played at a fast 45 rpm, but at a regular 33 rpm.
Tracklist
A1 Liar for Hire
A2 I’m Right, You’re Wrong
A3 America the Beautiful
A4 Let’s Fuck
A5 War
A6 I Hate You
A7 War in the East
A8 Class War
B1 Rent-A-Riot (1982 demo)
B2 Liar for Hire (1982 demo)
B3 Race Riot (1982 demo)
B4 America the Beautiful (1982 demo)
B5 No Way Out (1982 demo)
B6 No God, No War (1981 demo)
B7 I Hate You (1982 demo)
Label: Pasazer Records