Dischord and Minor Threat get a lot of props… because they should. With the release of the archival outtakes, Out of Step Outtakes, the label and band yet again release material that is worthy of release without being exploitative. The long and short of it is that the band had a little bit of extra tape after recording the Out of Step EP/LP, so they re-recorded two early Minor Theat tunes to see how they would sound with new fifth Beatle…er… Threater… Steve Hansgen. So, here are the unreleased “recorded for fun” tracks along with the full instrument “Addams Family,” a portion of which was previously appended to the secret track “Cashing In.”

Well, it’s a very interesting release. “In my eyes,” much like also re-recorded “out of step” seeks to clarify the birth of Straight Edge. While MT had meant the concept a sort of a guide, pretty much as soon as they released it, it became an enforced RULE, much to the chagrin of various bandmembers. It’s interesting to hear literal teenagers create a mantra that controls people’s lives through today and then immediately, have issue an addendum saying that people are taking their words too literally. Indeed, on the new version, MacKaye wryly calls out, “…and now, the answers to all your questions.” The re-recording looks at the issue- what do you do when you created a cult.. when you didn’t even mean to.

“Filler.” One of the band’s first songs, making a new version here, almost accidentally reflects n the same issue. While the original version scolded a friend that drops his friends for a religion, can it be coincidence that they band chose to re-record this song along one of the two songs that created the sxe religion? It’s also worth noting that in the song, the subject seems to be complaining that his friend would rather be with his girlfriend than the boys. Though, to me, this seems to be commenting on the strategy of many religious institutions circa 60s-80s where churches and cults would purposefully have comely young women search out young male recruits. Is the subject (i.e. Ian) mad that his friend has a girlfriend, or is he mad that his friend has been bewitched by someone that happens to be a girl? MacKaye has talked about how, particularly in the Slinkees and Teen Idles, that punk often seemed to be “too grown up” and that you don’t have to stop being a kid when you’re a kid… hence the names of both Teen Idles and Minor Threat. So, is the girlfriend issue really just the result of the fact that some people mature quicker (i.e. get into girls) quicker than others… or, as mentioned, is it really JUST about religion?

Wither way, the re-recordings mostly stick to the arrangement of the older versions, though “In my eyes” has new ad-libs. With Brian Baker now on second guitar and Hansgen on bass, the band has almost a heavy metal quality and it shows in the songs. They are just a little bit slower, and have that larger, rumbling sound prevalent in metal in the 80s. A few other hardcore bands made the full leap to metal- SSD, Suicidal Tendencies, Gang Green- and the results were mostly lacking. These new recordings suggest that maybe the band was contemplating a similar move, either on purpose or subconsciously, but wisely chose not to head into more… “fashionable” areas.

“Addams Family”, now in its full form, wraps up the release. Perhaps more art-rocky than the raw speed of previous MT material, the track forecasts Embrace and Fugazi, all while having the metal-clank. Mostly instrumental, the tune raises the question- what would have happened if Minor Threat had stayed together? Really, Fugazi mostly answers that question, but these recordings show that Minor Threat was just about to take a quantum leap before they shattered. Though, in this case, because of what came after, that might not be as a big of a tragedy as it would be for other acts.