Marx would have to rephrase -- history repeats itself: first as a tragedy, then as a reissue. With Speed, it's more of a long-awaited rehabilitation than a blatant case of collector exploitation. Originally issued in on LP in 1992, and limited to 1000 copies, this ten-song rarity (here expanded to 14 tracks) has achieved near-legendary status over the years, earning the quartet a reputation as The Other Seminal Kentucky Band (besides Slint). Explosive, masterful studies in convoluted rhythmic configurations and violent quiet-to-loud dynamics like astringent opener "Car Crash Decisions" and "Proposed Production" present a vital take on the always dubious "art-punk" category, a damaged vision of contorted electricity that benefited from Steve Albini's sympathetic production, realized with naturalistic detail on an eight-track in his basement, no less. The quartet avoided trite punk-rock clichés by adhering to an obscure and oblique approach akin to Fugazi's (it's worth noting that three of the album's bonus tracks were recorded at Inner Ear studios in DC by McKaye associate Don Zientara). You'll hear authoritarian riffing (probably a strong influence on contemporaries like Helmet), labyrinthine drumming, dueling atmospheres of tension and release, detached melodicism and frequently indecipherable vocals -- all of the intense sonic dramas that would later characterize the post-Spiderland underground (Bastro, Rodan, June of 44, et cetera). Frantic nightmares of feedback and hardcore fury like "Ribcage" or the almost literally incendiary "King Octane" are solid proof of Crain's greatness, which makes it all the more incomprehensible that the band had to languish in relative obscurity for more than a decade; somehow, only a few listeners paid attention at that time. This is one of those rare occasions where a reissue is not an opportunistic move, but a valid chance to rescue an important piece of music from oblivion.