Deadline - M.A.D. (DC, 1982)

In 1962, Hudson Institute nuclear strategist Herbert Brennan introduced the term "Mutually Assured Destruction" (aka MAD or M.A.D.) to describe the folly of structuring international relations around a shared ability to blow the world sky high. Two decades later, teenage punk band Deadline noted the enduring relevance of Brennan's terminology with a furious 46-second blast of hardcore that warned of a world "heading for annihilation." They embellished this song with a magical two-note guitar break.
Deadline formed in 1981and featured a pre-Fugazi / Rites of Spring / Happy Go Licky / Messthetics (etc) Brendan Canty on drums. Canty was joined by Christian Caron on guitar, Terry Scanlon on bass and Ray Hare on vocals. During their brief existence, Deadline supplied a trio of songs to the early harDCore compilation, "Flex Your Head." "M.A.D." was recorded as part of a demo tape the following summer, shortly before the band split. These songs were not available until 1989, when Canty's band-mate Guy Picciotto released them as a one-sided 12" called "8/2/82" on his label, Peterbilt. The now-scarce vinyl edition was reissued on CD in 2007 as a split effort by Peterbilt & Dischord.