What Good Is Grief to a God?

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What Good Is Grief to a God? is D.I.'s third full-length studio album, which was released in 1988. Although the record did not sell very well, What Good Is Grief to a God? was anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's moderate success with their 1984 debut album, Ancient Artifacts, and its 1985 follow-up Horse Bites Dog Cries. As Horse Bites Dog Cries might be considered the follow up to the Adolescents' Blue Album (D.I. had been billing themselves as Ex-Adolescents with that line-up), the material on this album was expected to be as much a follow up to the HVY DRT EP release (Savage Beat, 1985) by those close to the rhythm section. Since the departure of the Agnews, the addition of Stevie DRT and now Hedge from HVY DRT, much of the material was written and arranged as a trio including Bosco. Casey was mostly absent during rehearsals, and Mark "The Kid" Cerneka did not arrive until just before recording sessions commenced.

It wasn't until the label paired the band with Randy Burns, a heavy metal producer (Napalm Death, Megadeath, et al.) that the hole left by the absence of Agnew and Royer's twisted inspirations and Taccone's sonic savvy became so obvious. Not one song on the album was written by a lefty playing a right-handed guitar (Royer)- and it shows (ironically, not for the better). Melodies were hit and miss, but even at their best moments they never approached the hooks from O.C. Life, Stand Up, Imminent War, or Pervert Nurse. Not even the darkness could hide it; The Puppet hints at Purgatory or Wounds From Within, but Burns' over-the-top production, sludgy tones and bad edits were a mismatch for D.I., in spite of the label's good intentions. The trio would protest enough so that the 24 Track masters were taken to Brett Gurewitz at Westbeach Recorders, where he remixed half the album. It is rumored that was the first time DRT heard the expression, "spit-shine a turd." It wouldn't be until "Tragedy Again" (1989) that the HVY DRT follow-up started to ring truer, and more importantly, Casey began to find his way back to form.

What Good Is Grief to a God? was the first D.I. offering not to include a performance by Rikk Agnew, who did play drums on Guns and Purgatory from the original 1983 Revenge Records EP (re-released by Triple X in 1986 as Team Goon) and nearly half of the studio tracks from "Ancient Artifacts". Although the "Ancient Artifacts" cover pictured brothers Rikk and Alfie Agnew, John Bosco, and John Knight, the latter 3 did not perform on any studio release until Horse Bites Dog Cries in 1985. Despite Rikk's legacy as a guitar player, it wasn't until the "Horse Bites..." line-up that he held that position in the band. Stevie DRT joind this line-up in 1986, replacing Knight just prior to the "Team Goon" sessions. By 1987, both Agnews had departed and Bosco had taken over on rhythm guitar. New members for What Good Is Grief to a God? were Mark "The Kid" Cerneka on lead guitar and Hedge on bass.

"Johnny's Got a Problem" was originally released on Horse Bites Dog Cries and included on the Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol 2. The track heard on W.G.I.G.T.A.G. was recorded for the album during regular sessions at The Music Grinder and is arranged differently from the previous released versions. Triple X, in conjunction with Circle A Skateboards, released this version on a 1988 promo single (B/w "Don't Do It"). The 45 was pressed on blue vinyl and is considered extremely rare and collectible. Standouts from the album were not necessarily those regularly played live; They Must Want To Die, No Mistakes, The Puppet, and She's Obsene (sans vox edit) are among the better performances here, but rarely, if ever, were played publicly. They Lie, You Die/Fatso Nero, Terrorist's Life, Sinning Artist Max, and Don't Do It all transferred better in front of a crowd at faster tempos, a few of which can be heard on the Live At A Dive album (1993, Triple X).

Track listing

1. "They Lie, You Die/Fatso Nero" (3:22)
2. "Terrorist's Life" (3:19)
3. "Sinning Artist Max" (2:47)
4. "They Must Want to Die" (2:27)
5. "Girl Scout Camp" (1:31)
6. "No Mistakes" (3:23)
7. "Shadow of a Fool" (3:52)
8. "The Puppet" (2:39)
9. "Don't Do It" (3:13)
10. "Witch in the Canyon" (2:25)
11. "Wanderings of a Giant" (4:04)
12. "Johnny's Got a Problem" (2:10)
13. "She's Obscene" (2:20)

Personnel

• Casey Royer - Lead Vocals
• John Bosco - Guitars, Vocals
• Mark "The Kid" Cerneka - Guitars, Vocals
• Hedge - Bass
• Stevie DRT - Drums