Signifying Nothing

Signifying Nothing Podcast January 7th 2012

By admin on Jan. 6, 2012.

United Youth-Fuck Your Standards (Demo)
Vaccine-Patriot (Crime In Blood)
Infest-Break The Chain (Slave)

Lethal Aggression-Newcaster Lies (Life Is Hard…But That’s No Excuse…)
Staring Problem-Scattered Pieces (Pissed Human Dick)
Give-Life Unknown (Self Titled)

Bl’ast!-Look Into Myself (The Power Of Expression)
Crow-Occupied Japan (Vertigo)
Cro Mags-Do Unto Others (Age Of Quarrel)

The Rival Mob-Raw Life (Raw Life)
Black Flag-I’ve Heard It Before (Blasting Concept Volume One)
Mauser-New Threat (End Of The Line)

No Hope For The Kids-Cold Touch of Death (Angels of Destruction)
Overkill-Hell’s Getting Hotter (Blasting Concept Volume One)
Hatred Surge-Brutal Supremacy (Brutal Supremacy)

Siege-Conform (Demo)
Siege-Walls (Cleanse The Bacteria)
Siege-Grim Reaper (Demo)

Christian Mistress-Mother of Mercy (Mother of Mercy)
Blasting Concept-Wake Of The Spudnik (Self Titled)
State Of Alert-Public Defender (Bootleg)

Free Spirit-Selfish (Free Yourself)
Mind Eraser-The Way Is Shut (Brutal Supremacy)
Soul Swallower-Absolute Power (Devoured)

No Tolerance-Sentenced (Demo)
Discharge-Two Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles (Never Again)
Rest In Pieces-Toys R Us (My Rage)

The Mob-Common Criminal (The Way It Was)
Confuse-Hate War (Japan One)
Cause For Alarm-In Search Of (The Way It Was)
Gil-Find Your Real Self (Japan One)

Antidote-Real Deal (The Way It Was)
Kuro-Selfish Cow (Japan One)
The Abused-Nuclear Threat (The Way It Was)
LSD-Just Last (Japan One)

Bad Brains Live In Philadelphia PA 1982
Fearless Vampire Killers
The Big Takeover
Joshua’s Song
Right Brigade

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2011 ends as a pretty strong year for new releases. Wading through the bullshit in hardcore seems to get harder and harder each year, but here is a list of the top records in various formats I enjoyed this year.

Demos/Tapes/CD
• Our Side
• Cervix
• Blessed Offal

Seven Inch or Less
• V/A-Brutal Supremacy Compilation
• School Jerks-Control
• Citizens Arrest-Soaked In Others Blood
• Death Evocation-Self Titled
• Waste Management-Power Abuse
• No Tolerance-No Remorse, No Tolerance
• Vaccine-Crimes In Blood
• Mauser-End Of The Line
• Give-I Am Love
• Gasmask Terror-Like Daggers

Longer Players
• New Lows-Harvest of the Carcass
• Soul Swallower-Devoured
• Scapegoat-Self Titled
• Technocracy-Diary of a Terrorist
• Omegas-Blasts of Lunacy

Reissues
• Cro Mags-Age of Quarrel
• Supertouch-WNYU
• Void-Sessions 81 to 83
• Faith-Subject To Change
• Bastard-Controlled In The Frame
• Adrenalin OD-Let’s BBQ
• NYC Mayhem-Crossover Days
• Negative Approach-Friends Of No One

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November 2011 Reviews

By admin on Nov. 25, 2011.

Sick Fucking O
Demo

Members of Voorhees are back with a new band that sounds like…Voorhees. Obviously, not as classic as Spilling Blood Without Reason, but good angry 82 era hardcore that will be enjoyed by fans of Voorhees for sure. Cool Devo cover at the end.

Defile
Demo 2010

Fast, angry, hardcore somewhere between midwestern style and power violence. I bet live you can hear a bit of Rorschach in their sound too. I’d like to hear more.

Slowburn
Demo

Members of a variety of NJHC bands including Spirit, Vision, and Floorpunch playing melodic, Turning Point, style hardcore. This isn’t too bad, but it’s not something I would listen to that often. The members of this band have done much better before.

Beware
Demo

Members of Stick Together and a few other PA bands doing pretty bland Chain of Strength style hardcore that has all of the flaws most 1980′s “melodic,” nearing emo, hardcore bands have. The generic 88 styling of Stick Together are way better. I’m shocked by how many people are so into this.

Bloody Hammer
Demo 2010

Moderately generic Oi! trying to sound like all of the classics. This isn’t a bad effort at sounding like Four Skins, one of my favorites, but isn’t something I will listen to much. I don’t dabble too deeply in this genre during modern times, but check this one out if you love this stuff.

Good Times
Demo

This was handed to me on the way out of a show. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be serious, but the music moves between 88 style hardcore to chugga chugga idiot metal. Add in some pretty misogynistic lyrics and this is pretty shitty.

Hatred Surge
Deconstruct LP
Rescued From Life Records

Taking cues from bands like His Hero Is Gone, Neurosis, and Mind Eraser come this LP by Hatred Surge. Brutal hardcore with alternating male/female vocals. This is one of my favorites of the past few years.

Rorschach
Remain Sedate Reissue LP
Gern Blandsten Records

While I like Protestant a lot more than this one, the first Rorschach LP is an essential part of the evolution of post youth crew hardcore in the nineties. The influence of late eighties bands like Breakdown can still be heard from their very early sound, but so can the incoming influence of bands like Bl’ast!, Voi-void, and Die Kreuzen as well. As with Protestant, the resisue is greatly aided by remastered sound.

Miles Davis
Bitches Brew Live CD

I highly doubt this is a legit release, but worth checking out. The liner notes are hilarious though: the writer acts like NO ONE has ever heard live material of Davis from this era. Tape traders have avidly passed around shows from his electronic years from a damn long time. Ignoring that is comical. There are better shows out there.

Young Republicans
Sabatoge Your Cookout 7″
More Than A Witness Records

One of the great holy grails of the tape trading circuit when I was a teenager was the Young Republicans demo. As you probably know, members of, and songs, from this tape moved to New York City and did a slightly more well known band called Youth Of Today. This demo is pretty generic early eighties hardcore that isn’t bad, but doesn’t really stand out. Worth noting is the songs that did move over to Youth of Today and eventually Project X as well, which is an interesting historical note. Just for that, I strongly suggest picking this up.

Waste Management
Get Your Mind Right 7″
Painkiller Records

Wow!!!! Serious SSD worship from this Massachusetts band. The music is more in the vein of early NYHC bands like The Abused or Agnostic Front, but the pleading, sick, Springa style vocals are unbelievable. I hear a little bit of Crucifix too (SSD meets Crucifix? Fuck.). This would have fit in nicely alongside records on XClaim! or Rat Cage. Nice cover of “Fight,” out of nowhere, in the middle of the record too.

New Lows
Self Titled 7″
Lockin Out Records

Somewhere amongst Word As Law era Neurosis and Humanity Is The Devil era Integrity comes The New Lows’ debut single on Lockin Out. this is a style can be fall apart quick because of too much chugga chugga or experimental bullshit, but The New Lows keep it together. My only complaint is a few too many kickbox style mosh parts. That shit is so corny; however, the band can’t be punished for the idiotic way a crowd way react to them.

DropDead/Converge
Split 7″

DropDead did a split with…Converge? Okay. The DropDead side of this split is pretty good, up to their usual good standards. Converge are just not a band who have ever interested me. Post hardcores love that shit.

Wasted Time
Futility 12″
Grave Mistake Records

Wasted Time come back with an excellent followup to their debut 7″, this time heavily soaked in Kings of Punk era Poison Idea and Oi! bands like Blitz and 4-Skins. Wasted Time is able to tread between an authentic old style and more modern production and stylistic values. This is one of the best records of the decade.

Innumerable Forms
Dark Worship 7″
Hell Massacre Records

Justin Detore’s death metal project is exactly as awesome as it sounds. Serious old school death metal which really stands out in a genre I don’t dive too deeply into outside of most of the classics. A lot of the newer Mind Eraser (Justin’s day job) material in somewhat in this vein, or at least heavily influenced by it. Excellent and worth tracking down.

Gasmask Terror
Black Sun Fake Gold LP
Solar Funeral Records

Gasmask Terror are an interesting band whose sound falls somewhere between UK82 and D-Beat styles. I think this LP drags a little bit, but I think I have a general distaste for longer records in this style from most bands outside of the heavyweights like Discharge. This is definitely worth checking out.

Waste Management
Power Abuse 7″
Painkiller Records

Yes!!! Brutal SSD style hardcore from members of Mind Eraser. This record takes the best of early Boston and New York with some seriously raging lyrics (especially “Too Much Unity”). A definite contender for record of the year.

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Reviews For The Week Of August 8th

By admin on Aug. 9, 2011.

I don’t need to explain this one.

Bad Brains
171A Sessions 7″

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of Bad Brains demos are popping up the past few years? These are three versions of songs you probably know, but heavier than say the Black Dots session. A live, horrible, reggae song ends the record. Not really that essential.

Waste Management
Tape

Members of Mind Eraser, etc doing really ILL Boston 82 hardcore ala SSD. The best part about this one is the pleading, furious, Springa style vocals. One of the best bands going today. There is a live set on here too with Abused and DYS covers. I’ve been waiting for someone to proclaim there is “too much unity!” for years.

Give
Heaven Is Waiting 7″
Deranged Records

This is my least favorite Give record so far. Heading away from Swiz and more towards something like Avail, this is a little too poppy for me. Still, their other records are so solid that a few misses here and there are acceptable.

Various Artists
Youth Crew 2009 7″
Upside Down Records

Youth crew? Most of these bands sound like Chain of Strength. The only really decent band here is Break Through. I found most of the bands to be rather uninteresting. This style is really in need of a hiatus.

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