It was that kind of genuine negative energy that made Drunks With Guns the greatest punk band ever to bulldoze St. Louis. An ongoing battle between Doskocil's obnoxious mouth, Stan Seitrich's Flipper/Black Flag/Sabbath guitar and the massive dumbo rhythm section of bassist Mike DeLeon and drummer Fred Broadhacker, DWG began its rampage in 1984. The quartet's self-titled debut single sports one of a classic sleeve showing four sauced, weird-looking guys sitting stupefied atop kegs with beers in hand and countless empties of Milwaukee's Best and Meister Brau at their feet. The three songs inside (mastered from cassette after the reels "accidentally got erased") are some of the heaviest, stupidest post-HC around — messy, visceral mono-riffs with Doskocil groaning low-rent paeans to car races at the Kiel Auditorium, "giving drugs to little kids" and getting his lights punched out. - [Trouser Press / Badaboom Gramophone #3]

St. Louis' noise punks Drunks with Guns' original mid-'80s run only lasted for a few years, a few 7"s and about as many live shows, but their initial singles were influential to the Amphetamine Reptile scene and those that came after. Stream a few of their songs below. Frontman Mike Doskocil reformed the band with bassist Jim Broyles and new members in and played a show -- reportedly only DWG's fifth ever -- at Chicago's Liar's Club this past spring. From Razorcake:

After all the turmoil and multiple false starts after the first song, it was obvious they had pulled it off. Mike was on it from the get-go, Jim was totally throwing down the groove that Mike wanted, and—as far as I could tell—both guitar players and the drummer nailed it. From what I understand, people in the crowd had come from as far away as California and I think they got the set they deserved. The people up front were totally into it. The people in the back of the room—I don’t know for certain if they fully grasped what was happening or how totally insane it was that it was happening thirty-three years later—show number five for Drunks With Guns. Mike in any other band is in the back, playing drums and killing it, but with DWG he gets to be front and center being Mike and that’s as entertaining as it gets.

Drunks with Guns are now going on what they're calling their "first tour in 30 years," including East Coast shows. The only announced shows we've found so far are NYC's Brooklyn Bazaar on October 12 with Brandy (ex-Pampers) and Conduit (tickets); and Philadelphia's Ortlieb's on October 14 with Rubber and Storks (tickets).