Germs Incognito--that's what the title of the legendary Los Angeles punk's LP stands for, but there was no way to disguise the Germs. One of the first and most ferocious California punk bands, the Germs were ignited by the outsized charisma and drug-addled, light-speed poetry of doomed singer Darby Crash and the maniacal guitar mangling of later Nirvana and Foo Fighters member Pat Smear. More spit out than sung, Crash's lyrics dealt with apocalyptic, paranoid visions of cults, conspiracies, and rebellious anti-heroes. Opener "What We Do is Secret" puts the Ramones sound through a meat grinder and serves as a mission statement for the nascent clandestine society Crash envisioned. "Lexicon Devil," re-recorded from an earlier single, is dosed with methamphetamines and set free to tear meat from bones. Star producer Joan Jett does a fine job of reigning in the whirlwind, harnessing the band's strengths through unobtrusive production.