The Stains is a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band from the

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. One of the first East Los Angeles punk groups, the band started playing punk in 1976. Their debut album, produced by

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

house producer

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (prod ...

, was recorded in 1981, and released by SST in 1983. The debut album is often considered influential in bridging Hardcore punk and Heavy Metal before the creation of Thrash Metal. The band has been on tours with Black Flag,

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

and countless others. They were one of the bands that played at a 2001 "anniversary show" memorializing the landmark East Los Angeles punk venue Vex Populi (and music writer Josh Kun wrote in ''

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

'' magazine that their set was "punk rock enough for the Stains to leave a pool of blood on the stage's wood beams"). On the album, the band's members were Jesus Amezquita, lead guitar, Robert Becerra, guitar; Viscarra, bass; Gilbert Berumen, drums; and Rudy Navarro, vocalist. Their style is described as hardcore and speedy,Fred Beldin
"The Stains Review"
http://www.allmusic.com and as an innovator in bringing elements of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

into hardcore. Guitarist Robert Becerra's performance style was a model for

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...

's musical concepts for Black Flag.Stevie Chick, ''Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag'' ( PM Press, 2011), , p. 148
Excerpts available
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

. Viscarra and another Stains drummer, Louie Dufau, later played with

Dez Cadena Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, init ...

in his post-Black Flag band DC3, and Viscarra also played with

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matte ...

band

Blood on the Saddle Blood on the Saddle is an American country-punk band, though often referred to as a cowpunk band, from Los Angeles, California, United States. Greg Davis (vocals, guitar) formed the band in early 1983 with the original line-up of Ron Botelho (up ...

References

Hardcore punk groups from California SST Records artists {{US-punk-band-stub