ANTIDOTE
Antidote's Thou Shalt Not Kill EP is one of the most sought-after pieces of hardcore history. Released in 1983, there were only 1,000 copies of this 7-inch originally pressed and subsequently, bootlegged versions started to pop up everywhere in various formats. Founding Antidote guitarist Robb Nunzio said, "Seeing an original copy of the 7- inch going for hundreds of dollars on eBay really put things into perspective kids should be able to afford and enjoy that fantastic record." Bridge Nine Records was proud to make this classic EP widely available again in August 2010.
Antidote formed in the depths of New York City in the early 1980s when guitarist Robb Nunzio decided to start a band. Nunzio reflected, “One day I heard Black Flag and things just changed for me. I started Antidote with my buddy Arthur from Queens on drums who just left The Misfits and Tom Victor (Prong, Danzig) played bass in the beginning. Louie, our first singer, was a roadie for the Bad Brains. They gave us our first breaks.†The Thou Shalt Not Kill 7-inch came out in the summer of 1983 and at the time, no one had heard NYHC sound so clear and well-produced. “As fate would have it, the original lineup split up and I decided on the strength of the music to keep going with my friend and High & The Mighty singer Drew Stone on vocals. We went on to perform the songs on Thou Shalt Not Kill and many others for eight years before calling it quits, Nunzio continued.
Fast-forward to 2008 and Antidote reunited to play the A7 reunion show in NYC, which was the first time they had been on stage together in over 15 years. Current Antidote vocalist Drew Stone commented, "We couldn't believe how many people packed the room to see us and as soon as we hit the first notes, the place exploded. Throughout the set everyone barked out the lyrics to the songs and the room was electric - it was intense and best of all it was a lot of fun." What started out as one "reunion" with Nunzio, Stone and longtime bass player Zum led to the band getting bigger and better and reignited more interest in Thou Shalt Not Kill than ever.
Enter Bridge Nine Records: owner and hardcore enthusiast Chris Wrenn was at the Agnostic Front 25th Anniversary show in NYC in February 2010 and had the opportunity to show off the AF/B9 re-release collaboration to Antidote. Chris pitched the idea to Drew to do the same for Antidote and a partnership was made. Wrenn said, "Thou Shalt Not Kill is one of the most important hardcore records of all time. The songs on that record are timeless and I knew that I wanted to expose a whole new generation of fans to Antidote, but still do the re-release justice so the old fans would be excited as well." Nunzio went on to say, "For Antidote, there was never any question about what label we wanted to be on - the attention to detail and the respect it garners from the community made Bridge Nine the only choice for us. We are very excited to be involved with the label, they do it right."
Finally after all these years Thou Shalt Not Kill received a proper release on August 24, 2010 from Bridge Nine Records on CD, 7-inch and digital formats, having proven to be such a popular reissue that it's now on its third vinyl pressing from B9. The packaging is the same as the original with updated liner notes from Robb Nunzio himself. Drew Stone continued, "Sometimes I just can't believe that it's 2014 and Antidote is playing great shows to a whole new generation of wildly enthusiastic kids. The interest in the band is unbelievable. We are pretty blessed right about now and don't think that we don't know it. Something about being a little older now and having lived a few lives makes us really appreciate the situation."
In 2012, the reunited Antidote even got together to record a brand new album, their first in 21 years. Dubbed No Peace in Our Time, the quick, hard, 10-song effort was described best by Stone: "We finally made the hard-as-fuck old-school back-to-basics record that we always wanted to make." That record in question was self-produced by the band themselves and mastered by the legendary Howie Weinberg (Ramones, Tom Waits, Nirvana), and led the band to make more regional live appearances and even visit Europe for the first time when they played Belgium's Ieper Fest in the summer of 2014.
Drew Stone - Vocals • Nunzio - Guitar • Zum - Bass • REA - Drums
RELEASES
