Japanese punk metal legends G.I.S.M. will see their seminal «Detestation» album reissued in “fully-authorized” fashion for the first time since it first saw the light of day in 1983 through Dogma Records. Few records in punk history have had quite the cult impact as «Detestation», released two years into the band’s existence. Recorded at Our House in 1983, it was produced by the band with Konishi Koji providing engineering support. As aptly put in Relapse‘s bio for the band (here), to say the album “was ahead of its time would be the greatest understatement. It incorporated elements from so many genres: hardcore, punk, heavy metal, glam thrash, industrial, and experimental. It was almost as if listeners didn’t know what to do with the record’s music but gravitated to it nonetheless as they recognized it was something unique and special.”

It’s not just that G.I.S.M. wrote and recorded music that was beyond what one would expect from punk or metal back then, but that they made it dangerous. “After all, what good was playing a dangerous genre if no one felt like they were in danger?” the biography continues, adding that the band’s “performances would be akin to the hyperchaotic experimental noise shows of Hanatarash and Hijokaidan which were wreaking havoc across Japan as opposed to the safer-by-comparison punk shows of the day.”

«Detestation» will be re-released on December 4 by Relapse on cassette, cd, digital, and vinyl formats. Pre-orders are available here.