Rich Labbate of Insted on the 3 records that stand the test of time to him

Rich with Insted, Photo courtesy of: Mikey Fastbreak

There are a lot of records that stand the test of time for me but after much thought and digging back to compare, I have to go with:

Bad Religion - How Could Hell Be Any Worse

As decades have passed and my taste in music has expanded, I go back to this record and it STILL impresses me - even when I remove the sentimental value from it and analyze it from a musician’s standpoint. The music is aggressive, the sounds are raw yet melodic, and the lyrics are still relevant today. It blows me away that they wrote this record when they were teenagers in high school. Every single song moves me. There are no songs that I skip over and after thousands and thousands of listens, it still gets weekly plays from me. This was one of the first punk records I ever bought and truly is a hardcore/punk masterpiece.



Honorable mentions have to include:

Agnostic Front - Victim In Pain

From the shocking gatefold photos to the incredible live shot on the inside, the socially aware lyrics, and songs of unity. A-Z, these songs are classics that stand the test of time. When I think of NYHC this is the record that represents it to me. This record sounds just as rowdy as it did in 1985. Awesome!

Minor Threat- two seven inches on a 12” (Yes, I bought this as a 12”. I wasn’t there in 1981 when they originally came out). This record is timeless. I had to buy this record twice because I wore the 1st copy out from playing it so much. I recently bought a 3rd copy on colored vinyl just because it’s that incredible.

Those 3 albums get my vote. Many others are great but there might be just 1 songs or 2 that I find myself skipping. The above mentioned are pretty much PERFECT in my eyes. There are also plenty of records that have not stood the test of time and are just a memory.


Rich with Insted at the Country Club, Reseda CA, Photo courtesy of: Mikey Fastbreak