Album review: Antiseen – “Here to Ruin Your Groove (deluxe reissue)”

TKO Records – 16 Jun 2023

Antiseen’s 1996 favorite gets the deluxe reissue treatment.

TKO Records continues to impress with their ongoing deluxe reissue series. They’re breathing new life into classics from their back catalog, specifically Antiseen, Poison Idea, and The Templars. It’s no less impressive than what Trust Records is doing with the BYO catalog. Next up is the 1996 Antiseen favorite Here To Ruin Your Groove, which had been out of print on vinyl for two decades. 

Antiseen formed in Charlotte, NC in 1983, and started releasing material in the mid ‘80s. The basic blueprint was a raunchy combination of hardcore punk and southern rock. On paper it sounds like a disaster, but somehow it worked. By the ‘90s, they were really hitting their musical stride. 1991 saw the band backing up shit-flinging outlaw scumfuck GG Allin on the now classic Murder Junkies LP. 1991’s Southern Hostility and 1992’s Eat More Possum are also among the band’s most beloved material. 

The entire side A of Here To Ruin Your Groove is classic, including the animated narration by The Dean of Sods. “Ugly American”, “Spare Change”, “People Like You” (with some tasty organ), “Funk U” (a tribute to wrestler Terry Funk) and “We Got This Far (Without You)” are all fan favorites. The late, great Joe Young’s guitar is relentlessly pummeling. Singer Jeff Clayton howls like a wounded animal. Overall, the sound is fantastic. 

Side B takes a more eclectic and occasionally darker turn. “Billy the Kid (A Real American Hero)” adds a country twist. “Self Induced Lobotomy”, “O.D. For Me”, and closer “Justifiable Homicide” are flat out angry. There are also two covers. “Sick Things” comes from Alice Cooper’s 1973 masterwork Billion Dollar Babies. Original Alice Cooper (band) guitarist Michael Bruce even plays on the track. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Needle and the Spoon” feels like a stark warning after “O.D. for Me”. 

The updated Here To Ruin Your Groove leaves the original 17 track album intact. (This is the way it should be done.) The bonus material is on a second LP. “Fornication” and Antiseen’s signature tune “Fuck All Y’All” were hidden bonus tracks on some of the CD versions. A cover of The Stooges’ “1969” and the later single “Jailhouse” round out side C. Side D is a six song live set from 1997 recorded at the legendary punk venue the Outhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. 

Repressing a great sounding, remastered version of Here To Ruin Your Groove is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. The extras are really just the icing on the cake. Together they provide a snapshot of one of the most important southern punk bands of all time at the peak of their powers. Old and new fans and collectors alike will find lots to like. 

For vinyl fiends: Here To Ruin Your Groove is a beautifully recreated gatefold double LP with full color glossy jacket and printed inner sleeves. It also comes with a “16 by 20” black and white poster, a metallic sticker and a CD of the original 1996 album. Four hundred copies were pressed on orange and purple vinyl. There is also a rarer version on Groove-A-Delic orange and purple, which appears to be clear with the other colors swirled in. That one is limited to only 100.