Kraut

Kraut stood among the foremost acts in New York’s hardcore punk community, unleashing rapid, forceful, and resolute rock whose words confronted both intimate matters and political subjects. Although firmly rooted in the NYHC milieu, the band absorbed sounds from earlier British groups, an approach that shaped their landmark debut LP from 1982, An Adjustment to Society. The 1984 release Whetting the Scythe introduced a pronounced heavy-metal edge to their approach, while Live at CBGB’s, captured at a 2002 reunion performance and issued in 2004, captured a robust middle ground between their earlier and later periods.

The group formed in 1981 with an original roster that included lead vocalist Davy Gunner, guitarist and vocalist Doug Holland, bassist and vocalist Don Cowan, plus drummer and vocalist Johnny Feedback. Their first public appearance came at a high-profile slot supporting the Clash on 11 June 1981 during the British band’s summer run at New York City’s Bond’s International Casino. Later that year they issued their debut single, “Kill for Cash” backed with “True Color” and “Just Cabbage,” on their self-run Cabbage Records imprint. Several months afterward they followed with a second single, “Unemployed” backed with “Last Chance” and “Matinee,” and turned their attention to recording a full-length album. Kraut scheduled a Boston date opening for the Professionals, the U.K. outfit featuring Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. Jones responded favorably to their set and agreed to contribute guitar parts on three tracks of the fifteen-song An Adjustment to Society, which appeared in 1982. The album moved briskly and received warm notice within hardcore circles, prompting Cabbage Records to arrange distribution through Faulty Products for wider retail placement. The band also produced a clip for “All Twisted,” one of the first independent videos to receive airplay on MTV. In 1984 Kraut delivered Whetting the Scythe, a nine-track EP whose thicker guitar textures reflected heavy-metal songwriting influences. Handled by Enigma Records, the EP performed solidly, and for the supporting tour the quartet recruited second guitarist Christopher Smith, formerly of Battalion of Saints, further emphasizing their metal direction.

Kraut soon reverted to a four-piece when Doug Holland departed to join the influential NYHC outfit the Cro-Mags. The revised lineup recorded demos for a projected third album, yet in 1986 Christopher Smith died suddenly after an accident in his bathtub, leading the remaining members to disband. Davy Gunner and Johnny Feedback later performed with Gutterboy, which secured major-label contracts through DGC and Mercury. In 1989 the independent punk imprint New Red Archives issued Night of Rage, assembling standout material from concerts in 1982, 1985, and 1986. Six years afterward NRA released the compilation Complete Studio Recordings 1981-1986, also issued as The Movie, which presented An Adjustment to Society and Whetting the Scythe complete alongside non-album single tracks and three pieces from the unfinished third album. In 2002 the original lineup staged a one-off reunion at CBGB in New York; the performance was taped and surfaced in 2004 as Live at CBGB’s. Cleopatra Records supplied a deluxe vinyl reissue of An Adjustment to Society in 2023.