Laughing Hyenas

One of the most powerful and punishing rock bands of the '80s and '90s, the Laughing Hyenas merged the deep-focus throb of the Stooges with the bluesy, scuzzed-up post-punk of the Birthday Party and Pussy Galore. At first, the band specialized in noisy, menacing dirges overlaid with the tortuous, throat-shredding vocals of frontman John Brannon, best heard on 1989's You Can't Pray a Lie and 1990's Life of Crime. As time passed and their lineup shifted, the Hyenas' blues connections became more and more explicit, looking back to the Rolling Stones and original sources like Howl...