DIOXINA's sole vinyl release, Nessuna Pietá, doesn't quite stand up to many of their Italian contemporaries - their approach comes across as more metal than the unhinged hardcore that helped put Italy on the map (though I confess that a revisit in preparation for this post resulted in considerable mind moshing and fist banging). But long before that 12" was released in 1985, DIOXINA were banging out skinhead anthems of the highest caliber, most notably on 1983's Skins E Punks = T.N.T. compilation EP, a taped version of which I listened to with wonder for a solid decade before I learned anything more about any of the bands. The two tracks from that comp (including "Franz," an infectious midtempo burner) are featured on this rehearsal recording, and the other eight tracks are just brilliant UK influenced gruff Oi! delivered with pure insistence and barely contained energy. The vocals are appropriately rough, and while this session is quite raw, any nuance lost in the recording is more than compensated for with power. "Contro Potere" is screaming, and will power you through all of the rough patches you might encounter today, and the follow up "Eroina" throws a drunken ska groove in my face and has me dancing before I even realize what's happened. Would be nice if DIOXINA had left us with more than a 20 songs from their brief run, but I'll take what I can get.
Live versions of these tracks can be heard on Escape Is Terminal, originally released as a split with fellow Italian skins ROUGH in 1983. No, I do not have the ROUGH material, but I would certainly like to have it....
1 comment:
That photo of the cassette looks like it came from Red Raginni who was in Dioxina. We used to trade tapes back and forth inthe early 80's. Thanks for posting this.
Post a Comment