Reviews For The Week of July 18th
By admin on Jul. 18, 2011.
Talk Is Poison…one of the best bands of the past 15 years…
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).
Citizens Arrest-Colossus: The Discography
By admin on Jan. 27, 2011.
Citizens Arrest
Colossus: The Discography Double LP
Nuclear War Now Records
Citizens Arrest are one of the most essential bands of the late 80′s to early 90′s period when hardcore was taking a turn towards uglier, noisier, and harsher sounds. Contemporary to bands like Rorschach, Burn, and No Comment, Citizens Arrest’s sound is equal parts influenced by bands like Napalm Death and Siege, and more youth crew oriented bands like Youth of Today or Infest. This discography contains pretty much everything it could possibly contain in a very organized manner. Their lukewarm demo (includes vocals by Ted Leo, that guy emos and post hardcores love so much) begins things, followed by one track from their legendary WNYU session. Their essential seven inch follows, which really shows the influence of early DC bands like Void and Youth Brigade, but also Siege and Infest. A variety of compilation songs comes next. Finally, their monstrous LP Colossus, finishes the discography. Heavily influenced by both Infest and Napalm Death (and other early Earache bands), their LP is the band’s finest hour. Daryl’s vocals are ugly, getting close to death metal styled sounds. I always wanted bands to cover the Utopia intro as a teenager. An absolutely essential and very influential set of recordings. It looks like this might be out of print already?
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Signifying Nothing 03×01
By admin on Sep. 2, 2010.
Sorry I sound so manic during this episode. I was waiting for a phone call about a job, which has had a number of bumps along the way, so I might sound a bit cranky/silly.
- Episode 03×01
Napalm Death-Evolved As One (From Enslavement To Obliteration)
Black Flag-White Minority (Jealous Again)
Negative Approach-Hypocrite (Tied Down)
97a-Blind Fury (Abandoned Future)
Floorpunch-Shottsie (New Jersey)
Rancor-Till The End (Demo)
Free Spirit-Stand As One (Demo)
White Walls-The Great Excuse (Demo)
The Rival Mob-I.I.B. (Demo)
Splitting Headache-Highway Hypnosis (Night Terrors)
Scapegoat-Thoughtless (Self Titled)
Iconoclast-I Like You Less Than Apple Pie (Discography)
Clitboys-I Hate The KKK (Demo)
Mind Eraser-World Unfolds (Generations)
America’s Hardcore-America’s Hardcore (We Got Power)
Bikini Kill-Carnival (CD Version Of First Two Records)
(yes I know the Bikini Kill song cuts off. I didn’t notice until I was done)
Discharge-It’s No TV Sketch (Decontrol)
Direct Control-Hardcore For Heroin (Self Titled)
Out Cold-Useless (Permanent Twilight World)
149 Dead Marines-Abuse (Demo)
1.6-Bullet To The Brain (Broke Up)
Pisschrist-Never Give Up (Split With Framtid)
Shattered Faith-Reagan Country (American Youth Report)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Running For Cover-Dark Well
By admin on Apr. 19, 2010.
Running For Cover
Dark Well LP
Art of The Underground Records
Released after they broke up, Running For Cover’s LP is just as good as their previously released material. This band reminds me a lot of early Napalm Death and No Comment. Fast hardcore with heavier, slower, parts. If you like this, make sure to track down their seven inch as well.
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Breathing Fire-Years of Lead
By admin on Apr. 12, 2010.
Breathing Fire
Years of Lead LP
Painkiller Records
About seven years ago, Breathing Fire’s demo really blew me away. I remember listening to it every day in the fall of 2004 while studying before my evening classes. Brutal, heavy, and very dark hardcore in the vein of bands like Eyehategod and Rorschach. After years of delay, Breathing Fire returned with this LP. The influence of bands like the aforementioned is still very prevalent, but so is other bands like Saint Vitus and Napalm Death. Easily one of the best of the decade.
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