Dr. Know is perhaps best known as the former punk band of child actor Brandon Cruz who played Eddie on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" which starred Bill Bixby. A shame, because the real talent of the band appears to be held at the songwriting helm of vocalist/guitarist Kyle Toucher who unfortunately was not present when the band recently reunited, instead reforming with the less talented Cruz on vocals. Back in 1983, it was Toucher who took over vocal duties after Cruz left when band infighting came to a head just as they were beginning to record Plug in Jesus, and based on the recordings it payed off for the better musically. Cruz you may also remember as the douche who dared to fill Jello Biafra's shoes in the Dead Kennedys "reunion" shows.
In my opinion Dr. Know released some of the best hardcore records of the 80s with Toucher as vocalist and songwriter. Although well known in the punk and metal underground they never got as much attention as other excellent bands that play a similar style like GBH and Discharge. Unlike those bands however Dr. Know have a much more Sabbath-y feel as well. The band actually originate from a hardcore scene from Oxnard, CA that was dubbed 'Nardcore', which included other acts like Stalag 13 and Ill Repute, most of which released their music on the Mystic Records label (including this release). Dr. Know I think is the best of the pack however and a real highlight of their discography is the scorcher "Watch It Burn" from the Burn EP.
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