1981 to now
Connecticut
From a stencil on a wall to a record release show in Wallingford. Everything that got us here, in order.
1981
FORMED
Connecticut, year zero
Joe Dias starts the band. BADBOB Therrien on guitar, Sach on bass, Glenn Sanders on drums. There is no hardcore infrastructure in Connecticut yet, so they build one.
1982
DEBUT
"Never Work" hits
The debut 7" lands on Incas Records, cut at Audio West in West Haven. Critics call the title track a new punk anthem. By December The Village Voice has it in the top five singles of the year.
1982
TOAD'S PLACE
Opening for Public Image Ltd
Toad's Place, New Haven. PiL's only Connecticut appearance. John Lydon, Keith Levene, Martin Atkins, Pete Jones. Lost Generation opens. The flyer still exists.
1983
BAD BRAINS
H.R. shows up
"Military Heroes" goes out on cassette with a guest appearance from H.R. of Bad Brains. National attention follows a band that never left the state to get it.
1984
LP
"Return From Incas"
First full-length, recorded at Presence Studio in East Haven. Chuck Reynolds on bass.
1985
THE SCENE
"Victim" + "Connecticut Fun"
The second LP arrives with Bryant Kane on bass. Incas also assembles "Connecticut Fun," the compilation that captures every band orbiting the Anthrax club, Youth Of Today and Vatican Commandos among them.
1989
ANTHRAX
"Midnight Meat Train"
Recorded in Wallingford for Anthrax Records, the label run out of the club that defined Connecticut hardcore.
1991
UNRELEASED
"Altered Visions," shelved
A whole record goes into the can and never comes out. Then the lights go down for a long time.
2025
THE RETURN
Cafe Nine, New Haven
Joe Dias opens with four words: "It's been a long time." Nine songs. The room sings the last one from the stage. New material is already being tracked.
2026
NEW ALBUM
"Cursed"
The first new full-length in over three decades. Record release show September 12 at Cherry Street Station with NYHC legends Urban Waste.
Missing something?
Forty-five years leaves gaps. If you were at a show, shot a photo, kept a flyer, or taped a set, send it over. We are still assembling this.