Viewed twenty years later, “Dealing with it” represents the crossover ideal. With its blinding speed, pissed vocals and 25 tracks, this is very much a hardcore record, entirely bereft of frills or pretence. That said, what makes it not just another hardcore record, but rather one of the finest ever made, is the skilful recuperation of metallic influences. The overall sound is a thick, burly double-bass-driven roar, with frantic leads erupting and collapsing back into buzzsaw rage and blunt-instrument chug. Brief steamroller passages break up the thrash, and a couple of outstanding mid-tempo tracks prove no less potent than the otherwise consistently mach speed numbers. Upon its release, DRI became perhaps the most popular hardcore band in the world. While 1985-86 saw the first wave of hardcore bands mellow out or break up (BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDYS, BAD BRAINS, HUSKER DU, MISFITS, SS DECONTROL, DOA et al), and countless three-chord outfits peddle a tired rehash, the crossover bands alone were able to retain the power and intensity while still offering something new, and DRI sat comfortably at the forefront of this movement. Never a band to be overly concerned with subtlety, and no doubt eager to capitalize on this new-found status, they chose to name their next record “Crossover”.
Released in 1987 on Metal Blade, “Crossover” was a huge disappointment. While one might not be advised to judge a book by its cover, this LP would suggest that one might easily do so where a heavy metal record is concerned; in place of the rough, unpleasant artwork found on earlier records, the jacket bore a garish silver rendition of the band’s “moshing man” logo, and that was just the start. A quick survey of the back cover revealed a mere dozen tracks, and things only got worse upon the needle hitting the groove. The metal elements with which DRI had deftly fortified their hardcore on the preceding LP had taken over nearly entirely, with a much slower, “heavier” approach prevailing, and a cleaner, production job sapping the fast parts of their ragged energy and leaving a powerless, monotonous drone. From frantic but unfocused hardcore through tight, ripping thrash and onto routine, tedious metal, DRI had provided a handy guide to the potential and pitfalls of the punk/metal crossover in three successive albums.