Often credited as the pioneers of hardcore punk Washington D.C.'s Bad Brains have a sound so manifold it would be unjust to bind them within the sole genre they established. Bad Brains began as a Jazz fusion band in the mid '70s in the same vein as fusion ensembles such as Chick Corea's Return to Forever and were well versed in the Hard Rock of the era ie. Black Sabbath. The introduction of punk and ska punk to the band began the formation of the diverse yet iconic sound attributed to Bad Brains. While the initial success of the band is sometimes credited to the novelty of seeing an entirely African American band play punk music, their contributions to a wide spectrum of music (hardcore, punk, metal, alternative, hip hop, ska, reggae...) stands testament by the large number of successful (culturally and commercially) bands that have directly drawn influence from the band. To name a few: Faith No More, In Living Color, Fishbone, Sublime, Black Flag, P.O.D., Deftones, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and many many more. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins once noted that he was inspired by the pacing of Bad Brains' abrasive, hard, fast rhythyms juxtaposed to mellow, smooth reggae and it was this dichotomy that Corgan used to develop the Pumpkins' sound.
I have personally had the pleasure of seeing a Bad Brains performance live and it is unlike any punk concert I have seen before. Singer HR stands tall, stern and relatively unmoved raising two peace signs while creating a myriad of vocal textures and literally emitting multiple voices.
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