Description
Some records document a scene, while others put it under pressure. Soziedad Alkoholika's 1991 debut clearly belongs to the latter. An album that didn't ask for permission--it simply took over--with an uncompromising combination of urgency and confrontation that helped shift the center of gravity of an entire generation. The channels through which Soziedad Alkoholika could find its audience had to be built almost from scratch. Hardcore had a network of fanzines and small media outlets that did make room for bands like this, although their irregular publication schedules and limited reach made sustained exposure difficult. Metal magazines, meanwhile, operated according to different codes and within different circuits. Some outlets did recognize what was happening, particularly in the Basque Country, while voices outside that scene also chose to support the band. But the album's growth was so rapid that within just a few months, it was no longer possible to treat it simply as a marginal phenomenon: the audience had already made its decision. However, just a few months after its release, the relationship between the record label and the band deteriorated to the point where an implicit agreement was reached to destroy the record. This abrupt withdrawal of the album from the catalog only increased its cult status, making its reissue now, 35 years later, a release of major importance--almost a historical event. Revisiting this album today should not be an exercise in nostalgia. Not everything has aged in the same way, nor should it have to. Some elements inevitably belong to their time, but the album's personality remains completely intact. First-ever reissue. Includes liner notes.
