After their first LP, Prepare to Be Let Down severed ties with Ruiner's previous releases, they decided to revel in the past for a little while. I Heard These Dudes Are Assholes. compiles all of their releases previous to PTBLD: the What Could Possibly Go Right... EP; a split 7" with Day of the Dead; the Still Smiling demo; and then a demo of the song "The Lives We Fear."

These songs have been remastered and, though I have never been an audiophile, there is definitely a noticeable difference between the original releases and those on IHTDAA.. Each instrument sounds much more intense and compelling. With a band that plays such driving hardcore songs, it is hard to go back to the muddy versions. The bass tone on these recordings might just be the ideal setting. The guitar work is not very technical, but the semi-heavy riffs and octaves are perfect for this style of hardcore. As always, the vocalist's desperate scream coupled with the extremely personal lyrics completes the band. It's hard to imagine lyrics more personal than those of the singer.

For those vinyl purists, this is the first time to hear the two songs omitted from the 7" split with Day of the Dead. Outside of that, the demos are definitely worth a listen, even though they sound pretty sketchy.

To some extent, compiling these recordings seems to be a little premature. Both 7-inches, though out of print, can still be found in distros and relatively cheap on eBay. Additionally, the demo was re-released as a cassette just a couple of months ago. To me, the let-down of IHTDAA. is that there really isn't much to offer for fans who have EP and the 7"s besides a couple of relatively rare and less polished-sounding demo recordings.

Nonetheless, this release is essential to anyone into the Bridge 9 hardcore scene -- though if you have the EP and split 7", the improved quality and the demos are probably not enough to warrant the purchase.