This quartet (originally comprising ex-Discharge guitarist Bones, Baz, Oddy and Nobby) may not be good spellers, but they certainly have a clear idea which end of a guitar to bash. Playing at maximum stun volume, Broken Bones’ lack of literacy presents no obstacle to the blunt protest songs with clear and indomitable rock power on Dem Bones. An early and distinctly British center ground between parochial punk (BB generally play too slow) and modern metal (but more topical and fiery), Broken Bones could be the modern answer to the MC5. Or just another would-be Black Sabbath.
By the time of the half-studio/half-live F.O.A.D. (suffice to say three of the initials stand for Off And Die), Tezz had taken over bass chores from Oddy and the band had grown older and louder, finding a niche in the pre-dinosaur echelon of indie metal. The seven studio tracks sound pretty routine — all muddy bottom and squalling guitars — while the boiling nine-song speed-metal/Oi! live side (London, 1986) is treblier but equally indistinct.
Decapitated, which shares a single CD with Dem Bones, compiles the contents of four singles (a dozen tracks in all), including 1983’s “Decapitated” and the 1985 10-inch, Seeing Thru My Eyes.