Green Noise Records is proud to present Prime Primitive: 1976–1977, a vital archival release from legendary New York City punk band Testors, available May 30, 2025. Capturing the essence of the band’s earliest studio and live recordings, this LP offers a long-overdue look at one of the rawest and most uncompromising acts to emerge from the original NYC punk underground.
Founded by Sonny Vincent in 1975, Testors took shape in the grimy backrooms and sweat-soaked stages of Max’s Kansas City and CBGB—two epicenters of the East Village scene that gave rise to the Ramones, Richard Hell, the Heartbreakers, and Television. Testors stayed firmly committed to the fire and fury of pure rock’n’roll, leaving behind a trail of scorched earth and unforgettable shows—including a tour with the Dead Boys that spread their chaotic energy nationwide. Far from lacking recorded material, Testors had a wealth of songs and studio sessions, but due to their fiery temperament and their desire to burn every bridge in sight they simply rejected the compromises demanded by record companies. Their often violent, stripped-down sound helped shape the American punk blueprint that thousands of bands would follow.
Testors erupted on the New York scene at the epicenter of the punk rock explosion. Absolutely one of the best raw, catastrophic, and shocking bands to ever grace the stages of Max's Kansas City and CBGB’s during the mid-70's punk heyday, Their incendiary sound consisted of dueling guitar noise and Sonny Vincent's street poetry. Testors created music that stands the test of time. Painfully delicate, unabashed, unrepentant, explosive, and savagely persuasive. Their earliest recordings are considerably tougher, louder and more desperate than any other music made at that time (or since) and after you let it latch onto your soul, you're forever indebted to New York's toughest, rawest, REALest punk band for the rest of your fucking life. It’s a crime against history that the Testors never got their due: a band li
Prime Primitive captures Testors the way they were meant to be heard—on vinyl, no CDs, no digital downloads, no AI. Just the real-deal slab, in an exclusive silver foil jacket for true
believers to have and to hold. Adding to the celebration, a newly unearthed video titled Testors – 1979—featuring rare 16mm footage of the band and candid backstage moments with Testors, the Dead
Boys, and Johnny Thunders at Irving Plaza—will be available via the Green Noise Records YouTube channel. Directed and edited by Robert Luttrell, with words and music by Sonny Vincent, the video
offers a raw visual snapshot of an era that refuses to fade.
Prime Primitive is a sonic time capsule of Testors at their most volatile and vital. Side A compiles nine of their early studio recordings from 1976–77—taut, feral tracks that hiss with
desperation and attitude—while Side B delivers five ferocious live cuts that find the band tearing through their set with unhinged intensity. All tracks were newly remastered for this release by
Timothy Stollenwerk (Stereophonic Mastering) in close collaboration with Sonny Vincent, ensuring maximum punch, grit, and clarity. Every song was written, arranged, and produced by Vincent, whose
compositions and streetwise lyrics remain as bracing now as they were nearly fifty years ago. These aren’t just recordings—they're artifacts of a cultural explosion, finally given the fidelity
and sequencing they always deserved.
