Mind Eraser at some Scion sponsored gig. I giggled at how DFJ bums out the bouncers.

Blessed Offal
Self Titled Tape

Death metal coming highly recommended by friends who dig this stuff. While a few songs go on forever, Blessed Offal keeps them interesting with enough changes of pace to not lose me. This is pretty good.

United Youth
Demo

Decent 88 style hardcore that goes by in the blink of an eye. I see a lot of potential for an ep. Keep going.

Vaccine
Crimes In Blood 5″
Painkiller Records

I am glad this is a 5″ because there is about three minutes of music here. I don’t think a single song goes over 30 seconds. Vaccine fit somewhere in between Infest and No Comment, playing blazing fast hardcore with some changes within those brief songs. This is excellent.

Black Flag
Live At The On Broadway CD

Huh, this is totally weird. I’ve had pieces of both of these sets (the debut of the “My War Demos” lineup) for about 13 years, but only parts put together to make one set. Even weirder: It was labeled “Los Angeles 1983,” not even the right city/year. This obvious bootleg (hello, poser alert, on the wrong song titles) puts out very nice soundboards of two Flag shows from 1982 at the On Broadway in San Francisco. My Rules and I’ve Got To Run are brand new songs, and some of the My War songs are played as well. Obviously, this is essential material from Black Flag, but I’m not sure if you want to support the bootleggers.

Bl’asting Concept
Self Titled LP
It’s Alive Records

Our old friend Fred Hammer put this one out on his long dormant It’s Alive label. Not surprisingly, because of their name, this band must be big fans of Bl’ast!, Fu Manchu, and Annihilation Time. Heading more towards the rockier sound of the latter two bands, I lost a bit of interest when listening to this one. I think there is a big audience for a band like this right now, so I’m sure you will check it out for yourself.

War Hungry
Self Titled LP
Six Feet Under Records

Somewhere between Iron Age and…Life Of Agony (? Seriously? People like that crap?) comes the new record from PA’s War Hungry. This is pretty metal and would have fit in with all the Roadrunner Records bands the kids in my high school who were into “hawd” bands dug. I’m glad I stuck to Floorpunch and Voorhees. This is definitely not for me.

Mauser
End Of The Line 7″
Vinyl Rites Records

Burly Discharge/Anti Cimex inspired hardcore from the cess pool of Florida. This is a genre filled with lots of garbage, but this stands out as an essential modern piece of d-beat hardcore.

Whirl
Distressor Tape
Bridgetown Records

As if D-Beat and youth crew hardcore being genres filled with garbage was annoying enough, shoegazer is another genre where the good is heavily outweighed by the bad and vastly overrated. A friend told me Whirl were very much in the vein of Slowdive, so I checked this out. “Sounds like Slowdive” indeed! This is beautiful, dream like, shoegazer ala Slowdive. After a soundbite from Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, Whirl slam into some fantastic music. Seven songs is a perfect length for this, leaving the tape at its ending before any hint of boredom, a big problem with this genre, ensues.

The Rival Mob
Raw Life 12″
Lockin’ Out Records

The Rival Mob are one of the best bands out there today. Somewhere between Madball, youth crew hardcore, and Ringworm, they sound fresh and interesting without anything silly or outside the realm of hardcore. Great stuff.

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State of Alert
No Policy Bootleg LP

This is a pretty complete bootleg LP with all of State of Alert’s recorded material. The No Policy 7” on Dischord, the tracks from Flex Your Head, two demos, and a live set. I’ve heard all of this before, but completeists will dig having all of this in one place. Why hasn’t Dischord done a discography for them already?

Various Artists
Brutal Supremacy Compilation Double 7″
Painkiller Records

The long awaited debut compilation from Painkiller Records does not let down. Mind Eraser and Scapegoat continue to plow through their always excellent careers with a nice handful of unreleased versions of songs from each band. Hatred Surge seem to have had some lineup changes, but I am still reminded of His Hero Is Gone when listening to them. Iron Lung are a band I had heard about for awhile, but never really heard before. They remind me of some late eighties Touch & Go bands like Shellac, Butthole Surfers, etc and some of the nineties Gravity Records emo bands. Pretty decent stuff. All bands are worth your time.

No Hope For The Kids
Angels of Destruction b/w Cold Touch of Death 7”
Backwards Masking Records

This is definitely my favorite NHFTK record. The A side is a heavy, melodic song that reminds me of the Adolescents a lot. The B side is a faster song with some riffs pretty reminiscent of The Misfits. A two song single is about all I can handle from this band. I did not like their LP.

Christian Mistress
Mother of Mercy b/w The Hereafter 7″
Nasjonal Records

Fantastic Venom soaked metal from this Portland band. Great riffs and changes without become boring or tedious, which a lot of metal gets for me very quickly. A lot of people think the vocals sound like the singer of The Gits, and I can definitely see that.

Free Spirit
Free Yourself 7″
Triple B Records

One of the few impressive youth crew records of the past…oh, let’s say, 15 years or so, combine “second tier” bands like Confront and Hard Stance with a bit of Token Entry to put out a great seven inch. I think there is a lot of potential here, unlike most of the junk coming out of this genre.

The Rival Mob
Hardcore 4 Hardcore 7″
Six Feet Under Records

Members of bands like No Tolerance and Mind Eraser (including one of the illest dudes I know, DFJ…his tweets during the Royal Wedding should be taught in schools) playing hardcore somewhere between good Madball and good Ringworm. I love how noisy Doug’s bass is on this record. This sounds modern without all the stupid chugga chugga or tough guy poses.

Supertouch
WNYU LP
Horror Hotel Records

What more can you say about this? The Supertouch NYU set is, by far, the definitive recording of the band. You probably already have this from the tape trading circuit (my rip was the one frequently passed around for years it seemed), so this LP isn’t super essential. It’s a nice idea to get definitive copies of NYU sets. I’d love to see a label do a series of them.

Soul Swallower
Devour LP
Painkiller Records

Back after a multiple year hiatus, Soul Swallower follow up on their debut seven inch with more ugly hardcore in the vein of Citizens Arrest, Napalm Death, and Rorschach. There is a sense of progression here towards a more noisy, ugly, sound. Some of these songs had been on demos recorded around 2006 (one recorded with a member of DropDead), but there are new ones here too. A candidate for record of the year.

California Love
Reaping The Whirlwind LP

Members of Look Back & Laugh playing power violence in the style of No Comment, Neanderthal, and other California bands. This is pretty good, but I rarely listen to it. If you’re a big fan of this style, I would still check it out because I bet you’d like it.

Reveal The Truth
Courage 7”

Pretty generic thrashy youth crew style hardcore from this Florida band. This reminds me a lot of many of the bands on the old Voice of 1000′s compilation. If you can’t get enough of this style, you’re love this band.

School Jerks
Control 7″
Cowabunga Records

Serious early Black Flag worship from this Toronto band. Think Jealous Again era Flag. This band has been progressing quite nicely as each release goes by. I would highly recommend checking this band out.

Maggot Minded
Tape Compilation

A tape compilation with primarily west coast bands. Most bands play decent modern hardcore with the highlight being HIV (ex-members of the excellent band Cold Sweat).

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Obliteration-Fascist System (Self Titled)
Capital Scum-Final Nail In My Coffin (Clutch The Flag)
Cop Out-Burned Down (Self Titled)

Mind Eraser-Withdrawal Symptoms (The Prodigal Son Brings Death)
His Hero Is Gone-Leash (Fifteen Counts of Arson)
The Proletariat-Bread & Circus (Soma Holiday)

Government Warning-Arrested (Arrested)
Trauma-Policy of War (Demo)
Political Asylum-Flight of Fancy (Solitary)

Fear of God-Two Sides of the Coin (As Statues Fall)
War Cry-The New Age (Not So Distant Future)
Messiah Force-Silent Tyrant (Female Fronted Heavy Metal 1976-1989 Disc Two)

Off!-I Don’t Belong
Dag Nasty-Circles (With Shawn)
Mauser-Social Lobotomy (Summer Tour Record)

Corrosion of Conformity-Prayer (Animosity)

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Members of XFilesX, Mind Eraser, and others come together to combine the best parts of early Madball and Ringworm into some brutal contemporary hardcore. Very heavy riffs and great mosh parts. This band has run a bit under my rader, but I am looking into more by them for sure.

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1. 1.6 Band, Self Titled LP, USA, 1992
2. Acme, Self Titled 7″, Belgium, 1994
3. All Chrome, Flounders Flyers College & Canada LP, USA, 1999
4. Arms Reach, Self Titled 7″, Australia, 1998
5. Assuck, State To State 7″, USA, 1993
6. Aus-Rotten, Fuck Nazi Sympathy, USA, 1994
7. Bastard, Wind Of Pain LP, Japan, 1990
8. Bikini Kill, The Anti-Pleasure Dissertation 7″, USA, 1995
9. Born Against, Industrial Relations Department 7″, USA, 1990
10. Breakdown, Blacklisted LP, USA, 1997
11. Burn, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1990
12. By The Grace Of God, For The Love Of Indie Rock 7″, USA, 1996
13. Charles Bronson, Youth Attack LP, USA, 1997
14. Citizens Arrest, A Light In The Darkness 7″, USA, 1990
15. Chopping Block, Grizzly Fetish 7″, USA, 1991
16. Cop Out, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1993
17. Crossed Out, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1991
18. Crown Of Thornz, Train Yard Blues 12″, USA, 1995
19. Dead Nation, Face The Nation 7″, USA, 1998
20. Deadguy, Work Ethic 7″, USA, 1994
21. Death Side, Bet On The Possibility LP, Japan, 1991
22. Devoid Of Faith, Purpose: Lost 10″, USA, 1999
23. Disclose-Tragedy LP, Japan, 1994
24. Down But Not Out, Demo, USA, 1998
25. DropDead, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1992
26. Electric Wizard, Come My Fanatics LP, England, 1996
27. Endpoint, In A Time Of Hate LP, USA, 1990
28. Eyeball, More Days To Come LP, Germany, 1998
29. Eyehategod, In The Name Of Suffering LP, USA, 1992
30. Face Value, Coming Of Age 7″, USA, 1990
31. Fastbreak, Where It Lies 7″, USA, 1997
32. Fit For Abuse, Mindless Violence 7″, USA, 1995
33. Floor, Dove LP, USA, 1994
34. Floorpunch, Goal Line Stand Demo, USA, 1995
35. Four One One, This Isn’t Me LP, USA, 1991
36. Fu Manchu, The Action Is Go LP, USA, 1997
37. Full Speed Ahead, Demo, USA, 1998
38. Gauze, Kao O Aratte Denaoshite Koi LP, Japan, 1997
39. Get High, Demo, USA, 1996
40. Gordon Solie Mother Fuckers, Chairshot Politics 7″, USA, 1998
41. H-100′s, Distort Cleveland 7″, USA, 1995
42. Hatchetface, Volume Two LP, USA, 1995
43. Haywire, Private Hell LP, USA, 1990
44. Heroin, Paper Bag 7″, USA, 1992
45. His Hero Is Gone, Fifteen Counts Of Arson LP, USA, 1997
46. Huggy Bear, Don’t Die 7″, England, 1993
47. Human Remains, Using Sickness As A Hero CD, USA, 1996
48. The Icemen, Rest In Peace 7″, USA, 1991
49. In My Eyes, Demo, USA, 1997
50. Infest, Mankind 7″, USA, 1991
51. Inmates, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1995
52. Integrity, Humanity Is The Devil 10″, USA, 1996
53. Into Another, Ignaurus LP, USA, 1994
54. Jello Biafra With DOA, Last Screams Of The Missing Neighbors LP, USA/Canada, 1990
55. Judge, The Storm 7″, USA, 1991
56. Kiss It Goodbye, She Loves Me…She Loves Me Not LP, USA, 1997
57. Laughing Hyenas, Crawl 7″, USA, 1992
58. Leeway, Desperate Measures LP, USA, 1991
59. Los Crudos/Spitboy, Split LP, USA, 1994
60. Madball, Dropping Many Suckers 7″, USA, 1992
61. Mainstrike, Times Still Here 7″, Netherlands, 1995
62. Man Is The Bastard, Sum Of The Men 12″, USA, 1992
63. Man Lifting Banner, Ten Inches That Shock The World LP, Netherlands, 1992
64. Mouthpiece, What Was Said LP, USA, 1994
65. Mukilteo Fairies, Closet Check 7″, USA, 1993
66. Neanderthal, Fighting Music 7″, USA, 1990
67. Neurosis, The Word As Law LP, USA, 1990
68. No Comment, Downsided 7″, USA, 1992
69. No Escape, Demo, USA, 1990
70. Out Cold, Self Titled LP, USA, 1994
71. Paintbox, Screaming Shouting Crying LP, Japan, 1999
72. Poison Idea, Feel The Darkness LP, USA, 1990
73. Puncture Wound, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1999
74. Quicksand, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1990
75. Ringworm, Demo, USA, 1991
76. Ripping Corpse, Dreaming With The Dead LP, USA, 1991
77. Rollins Band, The End Of Silence LP, USA, 1992
78. Rorschach, Protestant LP, USA, 1992
79. Rupture, Righteous Fuck 7″, Australia, 1991
80. S.D.S., Scum System Kill 7″, Japan, 1996
81. S.O.D., Speak Swedish Or Die 7″, Sweden, 1990
82. Saint Vitus, Die Healing LP, USA, 1995
83. Septic Death, Theme From Ozobozo LP, USA, 1992
84. Skewbald/Grand Union, Self Titled 7″, USA, 1991
85. Sleater Kinney, Dig Me Out LP, USA, 1997
86. Sleep, Sleep’s Holy Mountain LP, USA, 1993
87. Spazz/Black Army Jacket, Split 7″, USA, 1997
88. Speak 714, The Scum Also Rises 7″, USA, 1999
89. Sportswear, It Runs Deep 7″, Norway, 1998
90. Supertouch, The Earth Is Flat LP, USA, 1990
91. Talk Is Poison, Straight To Hell 7″, USA, 1998
92. Team Dresch, Personal Best LP, USA, 1995
93. True Blue, Demo, Germany, 1998
94. Turning Point, It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn LP, USA, 1991
95. Verbal Assault, On 12″, USA, 1990
96. Voorhees, Spilling Blood Without Reason LP, England, 1994
97. Warhead, Cry Of Truth LP, Japan, 1991
98. Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! – The Record, Compilation 7″, International, 1991
99. Forever, Compilation 7″, USA, 1991
100. Rebuilding, Compilation 7″, USA, 1991

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Playlist
Ignition-Lucky Thirteen

Reagan Youth-New Aryans
Assuck-Wall Of Shame
SOA-Disease
Mind Eraser-Abuse Excuse
Born Against-Xmas Eve

Jerry’s Kids-Straight Jacket
Electric Wizard-Son Or Nothing
Spazz-Wooden Shoes
S.O.B.-Humanity Or Stupidity
Madball-Get Out

Dead Kennedys-Macho Insecurity
Report Suspicious Activities-Guantanamo
Infest-Judge Me
Impact Unit-Regular Boy’s Haircut
Black Flag-Louie Louie

Family Man-All Stick & No Carrot
Haywire-Sword Swallower
No Comment-Hacked To Chunks
Mouthpiece-Column
Hollow Ground-Cold Reality

Void-Authority
Tragedy-The Waiting

Splitting Headache-War Hero

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Playlist
Bastard-Misery
Cro Mags-Life Of My Own
Crucifix-Stop Torture

Iron Age-Evil Ways
Rorschach-Bone Marrow Biopsy
Born Against-The Nail That Sticks Up
Spazz-On Parade
Husker Du-Games

Tragedy-Rabid Panic
Violent Children-New Pride
Get Real-On My Own
Out Cold-Aids, Toxic Shock, PMS, & More
Full Speed Ahead-Reaching An End

Mind Eraser-Manhood
Madball-Legacy
Ignition-Sinker
Minutemen-Song For El Salvador
Koro-Acid Casualty

Signal Lost-Domestic Relief
Dead Kennedys-Hyperactive Child
Heroin-Leave
Bad Dirty Hate-Title In Japanese
Breathing Fire-Agent

Government Warning-See The Truth
Larm-Opium Of The Masses
The Twats-Only In This To Get Laid
S.O.B.-Don’t Be Swindle
The Trust-Can’t Commit
Circle Jerks-Paid Vacation
Odessa Five-Flying Saucer
Righteous Jams-Bust It

Black Flag-White Minority
Shitlickers-Sprackta Snutskaller
Assuck-Corners
Rudimentary Peni-Teenage Time Killer
Talk Is Poison-Dry Run
Clockcleaner-Walking With My Lady Friend

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Iron Age
Constant Struggle LP
Youngblood Records

This record came to my door hyped to death. I have to say though this is really good. If you like bands like The Cro-Mags, Crumbsuckers, True Blue, Icepick, etc you will be into this. Some songs remind me of Madball too. I dig the Metallica style riffs too. There is plenty of changes and variety on here. My only complaints are a few songs kind of drag on too long and the production is a little thin. For this kind of band I want the production to be huge ala Best Wishes. Overall, this is excellent and definitely worth looking into. BW

Aversion Online also reviewed this record recently.

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Thanks again for taking time out to do the interview. How are things going with Damage II? Are the upcoming west coast dates coming together?

Damage II is going real well, things are moving a little slow, but we’re still getting somewhere. We are playing a show with Hatebreed, Biohazard, Madball at the end of December. I talked to Joe Hardcore (Punishment) last night and he told me only two days are not booked in California. We are going to have our 7″ out by then and hopefully kids will like us.

I heard one of the new songs last night and it is awesome. There’s definitely been a lot of growth. Can we expect some more changes in your overall sound compared to the stuff released before?

Damage II only has two original members from Damage. Two new guitar players and a new drummer contribute to the sound progression. The new stuff is definitely harder than the old, and it’s a lot of fun to play. Once we get back from California, we are going to spend some time off writing and relaxing, so we will see I suppose.

You recently acquired a new guitar player. How’s he working out? You all getting along?

Well, No Rights picked up another guitar player, Damage II still has the same dudes. As far as the new No Rights guitar player, he is a great dude, you will see in California. His name is Jay “Chaz” Pepito (of ICE AGE fame), and is one of our good friends.

Damage II played Posi Numbers awhile back. What was it like for you to play an event like that surrounded by so many good friends and good bands? Do you think Stillborn Fest will be a greater experience than Posi Numbers?

Posi Numbers was actually my first show with the band, so it was pretty cool. I didn’t really know what to expect. I think we got a real good reaction, and at worst we had a lot of fun. The Stillborn Fest we are playing is in a huge venue in Philly. I just saw Gwar there last week. I think it’s going to be insane, that plays sells out at like 2,500. Luckily, we are opening so we can get it over with and make way for the shit to come.

You’ve got a lot on your plate recently. Between juggling schoolwork and Damage II, you’ve also got another band called No Rights. Tell us about that.. how are crowds around Philly reacting to you guys?

No Rights is a band I started one day almost out of the blue. I had seen George, the singer, at a few shows since I moved to Philly, but one show I realized something, he had to sing for a band. It was American Nightmare when they played two shows in one day, and the singer Wes had an ear infection. All of their friends took turns singing songs at the first show. George sang a song, and was punching kids and going insane. You had to be there, but I knew he had to sing for a band. I talked to him, and told him that I was starting a band for him to sing in. I picked some of my good friends and we had a practice. A few weeks later, we recorded a demo, it’s real rough, but so are we, I guess. As far as Philly crowds go, there are a handful of kids that like it, but most don’t understand (and most are scared of Georgie!). We play early 80′s hardcore, but it’s 2002, most kids never listened to the early hardcore, so I don’t think they dig it. You can really tell when we cover songs by Negative Approach or Agnostic Front, and some of these kids don’t know what the songs are. Oh well I guess.. We have a ton of fun doing it.

Any future plans for a new No Rights recording?

We have 5 new songs that we are going to record the first week in December, but I’m not sure what we are doing with them. We are hoping to do a 7″ at some point, but need to find someone to do it. Who knows.

A lot of people from the west coast (who pay attention) know you as the original bass player for recently defunct San Francisco straight edge band Some Still Believe. What do you love most and hate most about both coasts?

It’s hard to say. I was born in Philly and moved to California when I was real young, but I still had Philly roots. I love the Sixers and Eagles, Santucci’s Pizza, and the rainy/cold weather of Philly. I’ve only been here for a little over a year, so things could change. I can’t really think of anything I LOVED about the West Coast… actually, there are amazingly hot girls out there, but I found a good one and got married, so that is in the past. I love Gilman St. and going to shows there.. And there is no good Mexican food in Philly, California has incredible Mexican food. I have friends on both coasts, so that’s cool, something I love. My wife is on the East Coast, but Knife Fight is on the West… fuck.

Tell us about the dates you’re doing soon on the west coast. Who are you going out on the road with?

We are flying out there on the 2nd day of 2003, and playing from the 3rd to 12th, up and down the West Coast. The tour was supposed to be Punishment/Damage II/One Up, but unfortunately, One Up had to cancel. I’m pretty sure No Rights is picking up their slot on all the shows, so it will be fun. Our first show is at Gilman, and I think that’s a great way to start off the tour. Then we are driving straight up to Seattle for the next show. We are playing with Champion up there. I honestly don’t know who most of the shows are with, but I do know that Striking Distance and Desperate Measures are touring at the same time and I think we are meeting up and playing one big show together. I think that’s in Goleta, but don’t quote me. We are playing a show in Redding where I grew up, that’s going to be tons of fun.

You’ve been into hardcore for quite awhile and seen a number of awesome bands. List off some of your most memorable shows.

The most memorable show to me wasn’t really a hardcore show, it was a Rancid show in Berkeley. But, as far as hardcore goes, nothing really comes to mind as the “BEST” per se. SSB played the first hardcore show to sell out Gilman, that was pretty crazy. You could’ve walked on kids heads from the front to the back. Although they haven’t happened yet, I’m going to see the Madball shows and they will be something to remember. Just recently Horror Show had that going away show for Nicky and that was pretty cool, kids were into it. Nothing to crazy I guess, just normal shows that were extra special in my eyes.

Finally, what would you say is the shittiest thing you’ve had to deal with in the years you’ve been involved in hardcore.

Lame kids. It’s the downfall of hardcore. Kids that are in hardcore for some social reasons. So they can climb up some dumb fuck ladder of coolness or something. I got into punk rock and hardcore cause I didn’t fit in with everyone else, that “everyone else” seems to be invading now. Fuck em. I guess that’s kind of why I wanted to start No Rights, as a FUCK YOU to everyone I think is a waste of space. Hardcore is about having fun with friends, not worrying who your friends are.

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