U.S. Bombs

by Steve HueyAn American punk revival band that draws on classic early British punk for its inspiration, the U.S. Bombs formed with a lineup of vocalist Duane Peters, guitarists Chuck Briggs and Kerry Martinez, bassist Wade Walston, and drummer Chip Hanna. The group signed with Alive and debuted in 1996 with a self-titled EP and the album Garibaldi Guard!, which was followed the next year by Never Mind the Opened Minds. A leap to the Epitaph subsidiary Hellcat later in 1997 produced the album War Birth; 1999 saw a three-song EP recorded for TKO entitled Hobroken Dreams, as well as the full-length The World for Hellcat and Alive's Put Strength in the Final Blow, which was originally released in 1995. Chuck Briggs departed the group and was replaced by former Youth Brigade member Jonny Wickersham. The new millennium showcased a much fresher U.S. Bombs as well as the release of the band's fifth studio effort, Back at the Laundromat, in early 2001. The live album Lost in America: Live 2001 followed a year later before their next album, Covert Action, surfaced in early 2003. Put Strength in the Final Blow was reissued that same year on Peters' own Disaster Records with new artwork and expanded liner notes (as well as appending their out of print debut 7"). We Are the Problem was issued next in 2006 on Sailor's Grave.