Rock for Light is the second official full-length album by hardcore punk

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 pioneers Bad Brains

Bad Brains

Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...

. It was produced by Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....

 of The Cars

The Cars

The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...

. The 1991 re-issue was remixed by Ocasek and bass player Darryl Jenifer. The re-issued version has some extra tracks, an altered track order, significantly different mixes and, on most tracks, a speed increase of the master which results in a raising of the pitch by one-half step.

The album contains a number of re-recorded songs from the band's first album, Bad Brains

Bad Brains (album)

Bad Brains is the first full-length studio album recorded by Bad Brains. Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys has been quoted as saying that this album is "the best punk/hardcore album of all time"...

, released the previous year, as well as a number of new hardcore punk

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 and reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 tracks. It was the last Bad Brains album to feature only these two styles of music, as the band eventually experimented with funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 and heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

.

It was the band's last album for three years as Bad Brains broke up after its release, the first of several such break-ups during their career.

The original mix is only available on the out-of-print PVC Records version. However, some of the original mixes appear on the recent Banned in D.C.

Banned in D.C.

Banned In D.C. is a compilation of hardcore punk and reggae songs by Bad Brains.All the tracks have been previously released, except for the instrumental version of "Riot Squad"...

compilation.

Original vinyl issue

Side A

1. "Coptic Times" − 2:11
2. "Attitude" − 1:12
3. "We Will Not" − 1:39
4. "Sailin' On" - 1:50
5. "Rally 'Round Jah Throne" − 4:39
6. "Right Brigade" − 2:13
7. "F.V.K." − 1:00
8. "Riot Squad" − 2:07
9. "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" − 3:35

Side B

1. "Joshua's Song" − 0:33
2. "Banned in D.C." − 2:03
3. "How Low Can a Punk Get?" − 1:55
4. "Big Takeover" − 2:35
5. "I and I Survive" − 5:17
6. "Destroy Babylon" - 1:23
7. "Rock for Light" − 1:40
8. "At the Movies" − 2:18

Remixed CD re-issue

1. "Big Takeover" − 2:29
2. "Attitude" − 1:09
3. "Right Brigade" − 2:07
4. "Joshua's Song" − 0:32
5. "I and I Survive" − 5:13
6. "Banned in D.C." − 1:57
7. "Supertouch" − 2:20
8. "Destroy Babylon" − 1:19
9. "F.V.K. (Fearless Vampire Killers)" − 0:58
10. "The Meek" − 3:37
11. "I" − 1:55
12. "Coptic Times" − 2:06
13. "Sailin' On" − 1:45
14. "Rock for Light" − 1:36
15. "Rally 'Round Jah Throne" − 3:58
16. "At the Movies" − 2:16
17. "Riot Squad" − 1:59
18. "How Low Can a Punk Get?" − 1:49
19. "We Will Not" − 1:34
20. "Jam" − 1:15

Personnel

• H.R.
  H.R.
  H.R. is the stage name of Paul D. Hudson, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Bad Brains. His vocals can be quite diverse, ranging from a rapid-fire nasal whine, to feral growling and screeches, to smooth near-crooning or staccato reggae rhymes...
  
   - vocals
• Dr. Know
  Dr. Know (guitarist)
  Dr. Know is the stage name of Gary Miller, guitarist for Bad Brains, regarded as one of punk rock's most innovative and important bands...
  
   - guitar, backing vocals
• Darryl Jenifer - bass, backing vocals
• Earl Hudson
  Earl Hudson
  Earl Hudson is the drummer for Bad Brains, regarded as one of punk rock's most influential and innovative bands. He is the younger brother of the band's lead singer H.R.. Although he has rarely recorded or performed outside of the band, he and fellow bandmates, guitarist Dr...
  
  - drums, backing vocals