I don’t like to throw the word “legendary” around too often, but there are few terms that fit a band like The Faction, whose name I knew long before I heard their music for the first time. Formed in the early ’80s, the band coalesced around pro skateboarder and bassist Steve Caballero and was composed entirely of pro skateboarders. They, along with Big Boys, JFA, Agression, and others, pioneered the hardcore punk subgenre of skate rock. Skate rock melds the aggression and fast tempos of hardcore punk with powerful guitar leads and occasional solos. The genre is closely tied to the sport of skateboarding, with lots of skateboard-related imagery in artwork and lyrics. Indeed, The Faction’s “Skate and Destroy” from their 1983 LP No Hidden Messages remains a perennial favorite of generations of skaters and appeared on the soundtrack to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 video game. This remastered 40th anniversary edition of The Faction’s first 7” brings their brand of shredding to a new generation of punks and skaters. It’s a bit ironic to have a 40th anniversary edition of a record from a band with a song called “Yesterday Is Gone,” and its lyrics about not dwelling on the past, but I’m too busy thrashing to care. Has anyone seen my board? –Paul J. Comeau (IM, [email protected])