Tad

(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

Tad were, toward the end of the 1980s, one of the most vulgar attractions of Seattle grunge. Singer Tad Doyle, from Idaho and instantly recognizable for his guttural snarl, led the raids of his quartet, loosely inspired by Killdozer, the Stooges, the Cramps, and X. The group debuted with the single Daisy, but established itself with the album God’s Balls (SubPop, 1989). Ambitiously blasphemous tracks such as Nipple Belt, Satan’s Chainsaw, and Behemoth actually belong more to hardcore and power pop than to gothic hard rock.

The single Loser and the mini-album Salt Lick (SubPop, 1990) found the right formula, with a terrifyingly noisy sound that injects massive doses of psychosis and neurosis into the “voodoo grunge” of Wood Goblins (perhaps his masterpiece), the “grunge and roll” of Hibernation, the uncontrolled industrial roar in the vein of Big Black in Potlatch, and the wild howling of Axe To Grind and Glue Machine. Doyle had simply picked up the hardcore/heavy metal crossover where Black Flag had left it, updating it to the sounds of Seattle and Chicago. A crude, violent yokel humor permeates the lyrics.

8-Way Santa (SubPop, 1991), with Jinx and Giant Killer, continued the saga of this grunge maniac toward a slightly less ugly, chaotic, and noisy sound. The EP Salem, featuring Leper, moved further toward a more melodic style. The lyrics, meanwhile, had become increasingly verbose and of dubious taste.

The result of this change of direction is clearly visible on Inhaler (Giant, 1993), where Doyle’s love for the most virulent hard rock erupts in more formally composed songs such as Grease Box and Ulcer.

Infrared Ridinghood (East West, 1995), which continued in the direction suggested by Inhaler, becomes increasingly melodic and linear, as if Doyle were trying to forge a hybrid alloy of the Stooges and the Beatles (Ictus and Dementia). His snarl had turned into a pop falsetto, and his butcher-shop riffing into a discreet background noise.

Pared down to a trio, Tad continued to serve their monumental riffs and visceral growls in singles that rank among his best, namely Obscene Hand (Amphetamine Reptile, 1998) and Oppenheimer's Pretty Nightmare (Up, 1999).

Busted Circuits And Ringing Ears (MVD Visual, 2008) is a documentary on the band.