SSD (Society System Decontrol) was a

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

band from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. They released two records as SS Decontrol and then formally changed their name to SSD. As SSD they released two more records with a heavy metal influenced sound. However, the group is often simply referred to, including all its periods, as SSD.

History

Formed by songwriter/guitarist Al Barile (then a machinist at the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

plant in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

and a student at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

), SSD started performing at smaller venues throughout the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

metropolitan area, like

Gallery East Gallery East is an art and performance network based in Boston, Massachusetts notable for being one of the first venues to host hardcore punk rock shows for an all-ages audience. Founded in 1979 by Duane Lucia and Al Ford, it closed its location a ...

, in the summer of 1981. The band quickly gained notoriety within the local music scene for intense, charged performances and the provocative antics of their core group of followers, the Boston Crew.Cogan, Mike (2006) ''Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture'', Greenwood Press, , p. 216 The original lineup was Al Barile on guitar, Springa (David Spring) on vocals, Jaime Sciarappa on bass and Chris Foley on drums.True, Chris
SSD Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved July 19, 2011 They released their debut LP '' The Kids Will Have Their Say'' on their own X-Claim label in 1982.

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

was a friend and supporter and his

Dischord Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...

label's logo appeared on the back cover. In 1983 they added second guitarist Francois Levesque and released the EP '' Get It Away'', widely regarded as their best record, and one that helped define Boston's straight-edge scene.McCaleb, Ian & Robbins, Ira
SS Decontrol/SSD
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'', retrieved July 19, 2011 The X-Claim pressings of it and ''The Kids Will Have Their Say'' are both highly collectable. Like many hardcore bands in the mid-1980s, particularly in the Boston area, SSD began heading in a heavy metal direction. In 1984 they signed to the Boston label Modern Method and released the ''

How We Rock ''How We Rock'' was the third release from the Boston hardcore punk band SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and ...

'' EP, which was rooted in the hardcore sound but exhibited overt heavy metal characteristics, such as a relatively high number of lengthy

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

s. After signing to Homestead they released the '' Break It Up'' LP in 1985 which saw the band expand further into the metal genre, leaving behind all trappings of punk and hardcore. SSD broke up in November that year. Barile went on to form Gage, Sciarappa joined

Slapshot A slapshot (also spelled as slap shot) in ice hockey is a powerful shot. Its advantage is as a high-speed shot that can be taken from long distance; the disadvantage is the time to set it up as well as its low accuracy. It has four stages whi ...

, and Springa went on to join Razorcaine and

Die Blitzkinder Die Blitzkinder was a comedy rock project that performed in Boston clubs in 1989 and 1990. It featured vocalist Springa from SSD, backed by The Slaves. All concerned wore Gestapo uniforms (minus the Swastikas) as Springa played on German stereoty ...

. Scott Schinder, in his book ''Alt-Rock-a-Rama'', described SSD as "The most important hardcore band to emerge from New England."Schinder, Scott (1996) ''Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-a-Rama'', Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, , p. 1825

Discography

* '' The Kids Will Have Their Say'' (LP, X-Claim, 1982) * '' Get It Away'' (EP, X-Claim, 1983) * ''

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" is a Christmas song that originated with a poem by Emily Huntington Miller (1833–1913), published as "Lilly's Secret" in ''The Little Corporal Magazine'' in December 1865. The song's lyrics have also been attribute ...

'' (7", Taang Records) * '' A Boston Rock Christmas'' (various artists compilation, Boston Rock, 1983) – "Jolly Old St. Nick" * ''

'' (LP, Modern Method, 1984) * '' Break It Up'' (LP, Homestead, 1985) * ''

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

'' (compilation, Taang!, 1993)

References

External links

*Al Barile'
SS Decontrol MySpace page
* X-Claim Record
SSD biography
* X-Claim Record
Gage page

SSD music video for "Get It Away" on BlankTV.com
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Hardcore punk groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston Crossover thrash groups Heavy metal musical groups from Massachusetts Straight edge groups Homestead Records artists

History

Discography

See also

References

External links