Life Sentence
Life Sentence. Shit, I damn near wore out the grooves on their first LP, playing it what seemed to be every day in 1988. I didn’t know much about the band at the time, other than that high profile bands such as DRI and Corrosion of Conformity sported their t-shirts in photos. That, and they were pretty smoking live when I finally got the chance to see them. Apparently there was a whole world of drama surrounding the band that I never knew until many years later. If you’re interested in tales of drug addiction, legal matters, and band animosity then head over to the Punk Vault and read the comments. As for the music, Life Sentence’s 1987 debut LP was pretty killer - breakneck speed, chunky guitar, and all sorts of breakdowns that my brother and I used to slam to in our basement. Ahhh, good times. the second “Life Sentence” LP No Experience Necessary was released in 1989. It was OK but seemed to lack gutfire. A disappointment for me, both then and now. The first album still remains a fun listen though (hot metal licks aside). Hopefully someone will give this a reissue, along with what I’ve been told is a great pre-album demo. My favorites:
from 1987 s/t LP
Life Sentence - Problems.mp3
Life Sentence - Punks for Profit.mp3
Life Sentence - In The Streets.mp3
Life Sentence - Figure It Out.mp3
from 1989’s No Experience Necessary
Life Sentence - Win, Lose, Or Sue.mp3
Life Sentence - No Experience Necessary.mp3
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Oh man, listening to “problems” brought me back to ‘87 when I first heard them. My vinyl is long gone … what’s a bro gotta do to get the rest of the tracks from you?
I meant ‘88.
Guav… click the link in the post for “Debut album”, it will take you to the full tracks
Oh, I am dumb. Thanks
Awesome. Don’t have much to add that you didn’t say, only that the song “race to die-election day” was on a tape I made off of WPRB in high school, and it took me years to find out who did the song and track down the album.
oh yeah, I also remember a fanzine interview with them from a zine done by some 12 year old kid. The zine was called “puke and snot”.
Here’s a Life Sentence story for you. I went to see them play with Underdog (I think) and it was at a time when my parents were VERY unsympathetic to punk rock so I had to get home before they played (would have liked to have seen them but it was getting late). My car was blocked in by a member of the band (Life Sentence) and he refused to move the van to let me pull out. He said that “they rocked” and I needed to stick around to watch them. Their roadie (or whatever he was) also threatened to beat my ass if I tried to leave. I don’t know if they were having a bad night, but does anyone else know if they were like this all the time?? Don’t mean to hop on the rumor mill but this event was so unlike the typically tight scene I was used to that I found it most unusual. The 1st LP does totally rock.
Mal… saw them twice in 88/89 time frame. First time the show was packed and the band was pretty tight. Second time, poor promotion resulted in only a handful of people. The band played a short, uninspiring set. After the show I got cornered by Eric B, who was totally fucked up and out of his mind. I’m not sure which show was the norm, but I do remember them kicking ass at the first gig (I was young and impressionable though)
fucking amazing bass lines. takes me back to high school when all the punks and metal kids would just play this record to death. It was always in my cassette deck, too bad they never played california.
Saw them at the Anthrax, they had these teased out Nikki Sixx-style metal hair wigs on. Good times.
I wore my Life Sentence to jury duty many years ago. I know I got out of it, but I forget if the shirt had anything to do with it.
I am suddenly, excitedly and joyfully 16 again for a minute.You have made my day. Thanks!
I was friends with Joe and the guys back then and they played that Underdog show at CBGB’s. I forget the actual reason the band had problems, but it seems Joe wigged out and totally left the hardcore scene…yes this is a great record!
Hmmm…I remember when this came out & some folks got wildly excited about it. I got a copy a few years later & found this to be pretty generic stuff & wondered what all the fuss was about it. Its a short generic hardcore album released in the mid 80’s like a zillion other short generic hardcore albums. Nothing more, nothing less.
… “Problems” still kicks my ass everytime I hear it. It makes me want to start a pit in my living room. Joe has a more recent band called Regress and that’s recommended.
Joe has a band called Regress now.
thanx alot for posting the full lp!
Been looking for all of these tracks for years! Been listening to this on a cassette made back in 88 on a 50$ dual cassette boom box. Am mighty grateful for the digital tracks…
It’s great that you posted the songs. I used “Figure It Out” on a video I made in art school. I had to use like 25 images/second to do the song justice.
I knew the guys well and spent alot of time around them.The 89-90 tour was the best with Jeff and Gus on drums.There is still a legal battle pending over something and i know Eric is homeless and a junkie.For what it’s worth,i was around eric,jeff and gus for a long time.Eric loved the scene are they were hardly dick’s to anyone.No more than your average touring band getting shafted on pay after you pack the place.But,it was a great time for me because i was around alot of the chitown bands back then.They toured all the time and never made alot of money,not like thses bands of today.They did share the stage with alot of great bigger touring bands tho,not many can say that.And both of their records are still popular after all these years.
Eric - thanks to you, I went and dug out my well-battered copy of “No Experience Necessary,” and fell in love with this album all over again. I know it isn’t your favorite, but is there any chance of you posting the remaining tracks from this album?
Is there any possible way i could get the rest of the tracks from “no experience necessary”? Ive been trying for a long time and was surprised to find some of them here. Thanks for any possible help.
[…] After I posted the first Life Sentence LP last spring the requests started rolling in for the whole of the second LP. So here it is, no use fighting it anymore. No Experience Necessary was the 1989 follow up to the classic debut LP. Anyone expecting a repeat of that LP will be disappointed, as that thick guitar sound is missing. Lots of speed and annoying guitar leads on this one. I can still groove on about 1/3 of this thing, the remainder sounds pretty boring these days. I’ve posted my favorites below, but you can download the whole thing as a .rar archive here […]
man i saw life sentence twice in 86-87.once in a backyard and another at a VFW hall.wow this brings back memories!fuck yeah!
I saw them at Gilman St. supporting No Experience Neces..
I liked ‘em a lot. I think maybe they were opening for
Poison Idea. It’s all a haze.
Ha! Wigs at he Anthrax! Tom and I were just trying to have fun. Those wigs cost a shitload of money (for us). Eric refused to join in on the fun (the rot had set in). Underdog were great guys and lotsa fun. Don’t remember blocking someone in and refusing to let them out. They wouldn’t allow me to drive (I scared them) so it wasn’t me. Backyard and basement shows were almost always the most fun (still are!).
Joe
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I use to see them all of the time when I lived back in Wisconsin. Mostly supporting national acts in Madison and owning the shows in Kenosha. Possibly my favorite band ever. Thanks for posting this.