While bands like
the Meatmen and the Necros are often credited with being the focus of the Midwest hardcore scene in the early '80s, most of the kids hanging out down in the Cass Corridor were checking out Detroit's own violent breed of eardrum shredders,
Negative Approach. In 1983, Corey Rusk's Touch & Go label released a ten-song LP named
Tied Down, which would be the first LP from
Negative Approach and the third LP from the then-unknown independent label. It was well received by the faithful, as frenzied masses of teenagers decked out in shaved heads and jackboots religiously attended the band's chaotic gigs, which were often headlined by groups like
the Misfits and
the Meatmen. During this period, vocalist John Brannon screamed until his eyes bulged out of their sockets as he performed songs from
Tied Down like "I'll Survive," "Dead Stop," and the dirge-like anthem "Evacuate." Brothers Graham and Rob McCulloch and drummer OP Moore wrote some punishing music that appropriately matched the nihilistic imagery of Brannon's lyrics, which spoke of the frustrations and the pressures of being a teenager and the struggle to survive it all. The LP was posthumously released on
Total Recall, an anthology of the band's entire recorded catalog; vocalist Brannon would go on to form
the Laughing Hyenas and, subsequently, Easy Action. ~ John Griffin