It’s great to hear what sounds like prepubescent kids talking about how straightedge they are - I mean that in all honesty, at their age I was just as convicted and my voice sounded the same to boot. Musically and lyrically it’s somewhat primitive - but there’s an endearing quality to the sound, and the breakneck pace most of the songs is a plus. I think this record appeals to me so much because it just sounds like kids doing what they like, playing the music they love with all the earnestness and sincerity of wide-eyed kids, not yet ruined by the crushing reality of life. I know that “talk is cheap” but I’ll take Crippled Youth over Bold any day. Just a year later, Crippled Youth would become Bold, and Matt’s voice would begin to change on the together comp. By the time Speak Out came out, he sounded like an adult: yuck!
This is a German bootleg from 1991, complete with anti-vivisection propaganda.