Proletariat is a hardcore band from this area which has been around for about a year. The first material I heard from them was "Abstain," the foundation of the song is manic guitar rhythms, biting words and vocals, thudding bass, and an erratic obnoxious cowbell, all this layered together make an interesting catchy song. Since "Abstain" they have released 3 songs on "This is Boston Not L.A.", the "Distortion" cassette and a song on "Unsafe at any speed."  The band is made up of Richard Brown-vocalist (complete with English accent), Frank Michaels-guitar, Tom McKnight-drums, and Peter Bevilacqua-bass and vocals. The band has been playing in town this past summer. The Proletariat is not your usual hardcore band (a la Black Flag, Meatmen, SS Decontrol, and Jerrys Kids, to name a few). What separates them from the masses of hardcore bands sprouting up everywhere is their ability to keep a balance of playing cuttingly fast songs but sometimes refraining from that usual mode of hardcore. The band creates catchable rhythmatic songs without losing their raw urgency.   Proletariat seem to draw their musical influences from early British punk bands, Sex Pistols, Clash and the Buzzcocks as well as from upbeat funk punk, Gang of Four, and Killing Joke. Their material, believe it or not has hooks that grab your attention. The phrasing of the lyrics meshes very well with the pace and structure of the instruments. The lyrics are highly political with the influential factors being Marxist. They show much more intellect than other hardcore bands, the topics they choose to write about are cerebral and well thought out, their political stance is made obvious in their music.   Early last spring they featured three songs on "This is Boston Not L.A." a hardcore compilation released by Modern Method. They next released the "Distortion" cassette, and they have a song on "Unsafe at any Speed" another hardcore compilation.  The three songs on "……...Not L.A." are "options," Religion is the Opium of the Masses," and "Allegiance". Out of the three "Religion" is the best. "Religion" is a complete attack against religion "What good is everlasting when you first have to die." The song drives at a fever pitch until close to the end when it slows down and vocalist Richard Brown chants prayer like "God is good God is great let us thank him for our food, Priest are men, men are mortal no better than you or I." One thing made clear in this song is that these guys aren't very happy. This chant shows sarcasm at its best.  The "Distortion" cassette is another step up, it’s better than anything by Proletariat on "…..Not L.A." Outstanding cuts are "Blind" and "Torn Curtain." "Distortion" is a great bargain, the 30 minute cassette has Proletariat o side 1 and nothing on side 2—it’s left blank for you.  From what you hear on vinyl you may not take what they have to say very seriously, the one way you can be convinced they believe in what they are sayings is to go see them. You will be exposed to an energy level at one its highest peaks (and 4 very upset young men.)  I recently caught a show by Proletariat at a Boston club, what happened was something short of paradise. There were supposed to be two shows that day, an afternoon all ages show and an evening over 20 show. The management of the club cancelled the all ages show due to poor advance ticket sales. I went to the 20 over show and the remnants of the underage show turndowns were more than the complete 20 over audience which consisted of some 30 to 50 unmotivated people. This produced an angry band.  Late in the set vocalist Richard Brown unleashed an attack against the club management very nicely stating the fact that clubs don’t sell too many advance tickets to local brands, so his tirade was justified.   Proletariat also competed in the 1982 WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble at Spit/Metro. They made it to the semi-finals by way of one of the most intense fever pitched sets ever to hit Spit. One thing they demonstrate they can do effectively is motivate the audience into a frenzy. The end result is participation and slamming.  Proletariat is a band on the rise, they are one of the busiest hardcore bands in Boston and have a continually growing following. "Distortion" has only been out for about 3 or 4 months and there is already talk of an L.P. out soon.