7 year bitch – ¡viva zapata! (1994)

We expend a lot of energy trying not to be irritable, so when anger rises it rouses the question of whether to silence it or push forward. That, of course, depends on stimuli. For 7 Year Bitch, the stimulus was the death of their guitarist, Stefanie Sargent, and the brutal murder of their friend, The Gits’ vocalist, Mia Zapata. As the title suggests, this is an album about life and when it is taken: spiritually and literally. The power chords stream forward with direct resolve, fighting undeterred and poison-tipped. ¡Viva Zapata! is menacing, but more, it is tributary – inciting exhilaration in the name of a pained counter-rally. 

30/30

A favourite: ‘Kiss My Ass Goodbye’