HSR GRV//TRTRKMMR

HUSERE GRAV create some of the most ominous and cavernous music I've come across, ranging from  dark ambient soundscapes to harsh jolting noise. On these 9 tracks, they cover the full spectrum of sound and emotion, ending with "Burning Pictures," which comes off like a rail car lumbering angrily through a burning world. While their sounds are intense, nothing can prepare you for the onslaught of Milwaukee's TRTRKMMR - so cacophonous that the listener is lulled into submission. The percussion tracks on this recording are manually mutilated, and they provide the background a pure hatred, music that is as confusing as it is awe inspiring. The guitars push the boundaries of kvlt black metal into new territory, and the vocals soar with the subtlety of an air raid. The last two tracks are the most conventional, "Torpid Yet Sentient" is a plodding and simple song that even hints at melody within the confines of these harsh sounds, and "The Loved Dead" descends into a whirlwind that is almost soothing after the disjointed and unnerving 25 minutes. This is one of the most intense listens you will find on Terminal Escape.

HUSERE GRAV // TRTRKMMR

There are still copies left of this very short run release, TRTRKMMR can be reached at: thethirdofthestorms(at)gmail(com)

THE BOOS//FURY OF A THOUSAND ZEUSES

Gloriously fukkd melodic punk from THE BOOS, the same charm that makes WHITE TRASH SUPERMAN one of the best at this game seeps through a wash of basement dust and beer. FURY OF A THOUSAND ZEUSES released one EP in ridiculously low quantities right after I moved to Milwaukee in 2002, and this demo was a sweet find after wearing the grooves of that slab down until they were paper thin. Chaotic and brilliantly crafted Midwest hardcore punk steeped in the tradition of the region and reared on alcohol and speed, catchy as shit with brilliant guitars buried once again under an appropriately shitty recording. This tape is bizarrely still available, probably because Eric gets wasted and makes copies on a boom box in his bedroom: ericapnea(at)hotmail(dot)com.

THE BOOS // FURY OF A THOUSAND ZEUSES

Today is the start of the Riverwest 24, one of the single greatest events of which I've ever been a part (and I am, to be fair, but a very small part). A total test of endurance for riders and volunteers alike, this year shapes up to be even more insane that last, and I can't wait for the 7:00CST start. Expect more Milwaukee sounds tomorrow to continue my appreciation for my old home.

CAGES

I am going to Milwaukee today for my annual exercise in consumption and self abuse under the guise of volunteering at a bicycle race, and I hope to spend some time with some of the people involved in this project while I am there. CAGES combine transfixing noise/soundscapes with haunting female vocals that urge comparisons to an older, more resigned and sadder DIAMANDA GALAS. The music on this tape is garnered from various live performances in Buffalo, New York during 2006-08, and they often take on an ambient quality - while "Psalm To Mother" is an inwardly violent and cacophonous piece, the tracks that follow spend more time in the background than they do in your conscious aural field. "Burial" can sometimes slip completely by me when I listen to Anti-Realist (I think this is my favorite song on the tape, it just requires...demands...undivided and intense attention), and I'm jarred back to a harsh reality by "Cavern" to close the release. The harshness of CAGES is shrouded by their calm but erratic exterior - far from a crew of artsy noisemakers, emotion and turmoil permeate these songs. To listen to CAGES and not feel something is to simply not feel, and if that is the case then I feel for you...or maybe you just need to listen harder. And louder, these songs are better at maximum volume.

ANTI REALIST

Released in early 2011 by Död Universe, purveyor of many fine slabs of thought provoking noise.

SAME-SEX DICTATOR

SAME-SEX DICTATOR are making some of the ugliest music around, combining the low end hollow attack of GODHEADSILO with the incessant fury of modern distorted noisy crust/hardcore bands. The vocals are a sinister blend of black metal anguish and early HR snarl, and the whole production is indescribably pissed. This came as a gift to Terminal Escape, and to gift your own copy, I suggest contacting: jebodiah_b(at)yahoo(dot)com. Their recent 12" is more of the same rage, but this four song banger should serve as a perfect primer.

SAME-SEX DICTATOR

SELF ABUSE

SELF ABUSE has remained on the second tier of '80s UK bands, you only seem to hear about them after delving a little deeper into the world of less appreciated acts, but I think this 1984 demo is one of their highlights. Never mind the whining off key vocals in "On & On" that sound as if there were a producer behind the board trying to convince the boys to go for a chart topper and throw in some new wave crooning, just get into the driving jerky beat of "Another Nightmare" and "Strange Life," two certifiable burners. Moments of SLAUGHTER & THE DOGS and EDDIE & THE HOT RODS creep into the tunes - just enough rock 'n roll to keep the train rolling, and the guitar is straight '77 punk in the best way. The ten song live recording on the flip is predictably rough, but the sound is good enough to let their hooks shine through, and it's clear that SELF ABUSE were a seasoned live act. It always pleases me to hear these live sets...the band is positively killing it, and are greeted to a lackluster smattering of forced applause before going into the next song. Just goes to show that even "back in the day," some of the best bands played gigs in front of paltry apathetic crowds who had no idea what they were witnessing.  The SELF ABUSE discography is lengthy, and many of their other releases are available on many blogs (including this one), so get to clicking.

SELF ABUSE Demo & Live 1984

THE LOWEST FORM

Noisy, chaotic, and clearly well versed in the classics, THE LOWEST FORM have dished out a demo that keeps blowing my mind every time I listen to it. They sound frightened and uncomfortable, which is how you will feel after listening to this at full volume. But instead of my uninformed descriptors, here's what the band said when I asked them for song titles: "Yes, please share the tape. The band isn't mysterious, thensinger is really lazy and didn't get the tittles on time. The band is a hardcore band. That's all."  So there you go - no song tittles and a really lazy thensinger and a hardcore band that has spent more than a few hours cramming ferocious Japanese hardcore into brains steeped in monstrous UK thrash. There's an EP out now too, you should buy one.

SOME HORRIBLE BUG

HYSTERICS

Saturday was a good day to be a punk rocker in San Francisco. First I trekked down the hill to Thrillhouse and caught a surprise set from NAPALM RAID (they killed - even better than I thought they would be live, and I thought they would be great), then RAW NERVES (lots of new songs, lots more mid tempo parts that sound like '80s youth crew put through a present day crust filter - they were the best I've ever seen them), and then ARCTIC FLOWERS (seriously, why have I not posted their demo here? I gotta get on that...the new 12" rules, and they were great as always). I had to leave before ACTS OF SEDITION got rolling (missed the piñata, shit!) so I could hit the other show at 17th & Capp...This is a famous corner for SF punks; back in the late '90s there were shows at 190 Capp (I saw the first TALK IS POISON show there), another random space around the corner on 17th street, plus the Debauchery Warehouse and that other place full of junkies next door. So many fukkn shows on that corner...and now there's a spot to do it again? Color this guy stoked, and I hope it sticks around. New band DISPLEASURE started things off (NEON PISS and FUGITIVE KIND members, killer female fronted hardcore) and then local heroines BRILLIANT COLORS (the recent addition of Hubbs on second guitar has given the band kick in the pants, the last few shows have been stellar). NO STATIK, HYSTERICS and CULTURE KIDS rounded out the night. CULTURE KIDS are like the San Francisco mystery band - they rarely play shows, but they write the best fukkn songs ever, and have this amazing live energy. Apparently they have a record, but I've never seen it, and even when I've asked members if I could buy a copy they seem confused and discombobulated at the prospect of disseminating their music. They ruled, of course. HYSTERICS are a female hardcore band from Olympia, and here is their demo for you to listen to. It is great, they are great, and if you live in Oakland, then you should know that they are playing tonight in Oakland, which will be pretty convenient for you, since you live in Oakland. If you do not live in Oakland, then it might be difficult for you to make it to the show, which is too bad, because it looks like it's going to be a very good show. 

HYSTERICS

MERCHANDISE

Last year's (Strange Songs) In The Dark was a gorgeous exercise in noisy shoegazing music - the kind of record that you can put on and it consumes every crevice of your day. Brilliantly DIY and full of soul searing guitars, it was one of my favorite releases last year. Drugged Conscience were responsible that record, and also for two cassettes that preceded it (and created the buzz around that long player's release that out them onto my radar in the first place), and I was happy to get them on loan a few weeks back. One of those tapes, Terminal Jagger Jane's Addiction, is a banal and boring jaunt into a world of '90s alt rock bands that I avoided after high school, and I was disappointed - was that excellent LP just a fluke? And why do my friends have such awful taste to suggest that I listen to this? But then out of a faith in the good in other people, even (especially) strangers, I popped this S/T tape into the deck and I just smiled. These are the stairs that Merchandise used to climb up to the heights of (Strange Songs)..., these are the musical vegetables they stayed at the table to eat so they could grow into the band that made that magnificent album. There are still flirtations with the sounds of unnecessary bands from twenty years ago, but these songs are airy and personal and this time they have taken those sounds and ran with them - walls of politely distorted guitars sound like leaves blowing around their songs, with a quietly booming bass subtly urging the mass forward. The vocals are more forced than their full length, and certainly this tape lacks the indescribable breathy quality that makes that slab so infectious, but "Moving Out" modernizes SWELL MAPS superbly, and the opening minutes of "It's A Man's World" are the best sounds to cross the desert to since the third PHARAOH OVERLORD record, and morph into a wonderful proto-indie number that makes me want to pull out my WEDDING PRESENT records. The guitars control the emotion of the tape, and it's awesome to hear them in this context, knowing that MERCHANDISE took those guitars in the direction that they did. Transitional songs from a band hitting their stride, moments of confidence interspersed with innocent and hesitant steps in different directions.

MERCHANDISE

BACK OF NED'S UTE

Never mind the ridiculous title, this 1987 comp is packed with killer jams from Down Under. There is a distinct but indescribable quality to a lot of Australian punk featured on today's tape, exemplified by classic bands like X, SCIENTISTS, MASS APPEAL and the made-for-movies DOGS IN SPACE with a futuristic driving punk killer featuring a pre-INXS Michael Hutchence. The late '80s Aussie sound that started to cross over into the US college radio world is represented well on Back Of Ned's Ute as well: PSYCHOTIC TURNBUCKLES, COSMIC PSYCHOS, LIME SPIDERS, UPS AND DOWNS and EASTERN DARK (who come off like  dead ringers for Flip Your Wig-era HÜSKER DÜ with lighter vocals) all contribute excellent tracks. The standouts on this tape, however, are from bands I had never heard before I popped this tape in the deck - THIS IS SERIOUS MUM are the Australian WARLOCK PINCHERS, THE WRECKERY deliver swampy spaced out jams, the MOFFS song is perfectly dreary misty evening dark post punk, THE WET ONES could have been lifted straight from an '80s teen movie (that's a compliment) and SHOWER SCENE FROM PSYCHO play synth driven female fronted catchy shock punk at it's finest. THE HARD ONS make a few appearances as well (including "Girl In The Sweater," which is still among my favorite punk tunes ever) as well as noisy punk legends VENOM P. STINGER.   Musically, this tape covers all the bases, and does so with class and style - 90s minutes of hot sweaty action to get you through your Friday (even though it's winter there).

BACK OF NED'S UTE

RHINOCERVS

Los Angeles' mysterious black metal collective RHINOCERVS get even darker on their second release. Four more movements, taking a bleak caveman approach to creating morose metal - not exactly the sounds you might expect to come from sunny Southern California, but this collective have mastered not just a sound, but a feeling, and they have managed to capture it onto cassette with their second nameless cassette. Track 03 is the standout for me, haunting gothic guitar leads and a white washed aura that takes over the entire track even before the song totally hits its stride. This crew, like the Black Twilight collective, is making some of the most interesting music in the US right now, regardless of genre. Truly desolate and desperate sounds...

RHINOCERVS 02

DISCLAIM

Yokohama metallic thrashers DISCLAIM produced some of the roughest and most violent sounding Japanese hardcore of the late '80s. While this demo admittedly lacks a little bit of the polished punch of their EPs (and contains a few of the same tunes as the Let's Chaos And War and Fuck Money EPs), these 1987/88 recordings showcase the unbridled anger that seemed to fuel the band. The second side (the last eight songs) features a slightly beefier recording and songwriting that indicates the band had been ingesting tremendous amounts of shochu and CHAOS UK. Raw and primitive Japanese hardcore.

VIOLENCE CORE

STARING PROBLEM

I am beyond enamored with this Carbondale trio (that;s in the south part of Illinois, for the geographically challenged) - breathy and transfixing "alone in the corner while it's dark and no one is paying attention to you" music. STARING PROBLEM manage to incorporate brooding death rock guitar sounds (think early CURE and CHRISTIAN DEATH) into simple and straightforward midtempo (or slow) jams fronted by a woman who sounds like the singer from the SHANGRI-LAS. This tape appeared in my inbox a few weeks ago, and I was hooked instantly - these songs are full of echo and mystery, and still manage to come off as quirky and energetic. I've used enough adjectives. Thank you to whoever gave it to me. Now it's time for you to listen. 

STARING PROBLEM

This tape comes from our friends at Modern Tapes, and based on my lurkings on their simple and humble little website, that label is about to become one of my favorite new discoveries.

LEBENDEN TOTEN

LEBENDEN TOTEN are the modern masters of noise punk. Those of you who look to Terminal Escape on Mondays for a dose of ear shattering madness are coming here for this, in all of it's various and sundry manifestations, and Cataleptic Noise Contamination delivers. An excruciating listen, released on cassette as promotion for their 2008/09 Australia tour. There is nothing like them.

CATALEPTIC NOISE CONTAMINATION

HAUST

This tape took a lot of mental gymnastics to try to describe. There's a feel to their riffs and song structure that reminds me of KYLESA - rather mathematic but not pretentious, but I get the feeling that they are a metal band. It might be the vocals (sinister and evil and distorted throughout), but it's really just a general vibe thing...I feel like HAUST are metalheads. Whatever they are, or wherever they come from (Norway), I love these downtuned headbanging anthems.

POWERS OF HORROR

DSU

Just like the title suggests, these Danish kids play fast. Real fast. Light speed and ultra chaotic, DSU dish out 14 songs in a hair under ten minutes, blazing by in a whirlwind of blasting skate thrash insanity. Brasil's JÄZZUS is the closest reference you'll find on The Escape, but simply put: if you like your shit fast, then you like DSU. 

FASTER THAN YOU'LL EVER LIVE TO BE

BAD ENTRAILS 5

For the folks who enjoyed Bad Entrails 1 and 3, I present you with the next odd numbered volume in the series: Bad Entrails 5. This 1987 compilation tape (just like the previous volumes) features many well known mid/late '80s ragers and a handful of overlooked and under appreciated acts. The Psychic Brain Slash folks were masters at making a mix tape with the appropriate flow - an aspect of a good compilation that is perhaps more important than the quality of the songs. As an example, THE COOLIES otherwise unnecessary psychedelic versions of SIMON & GARFUNKEL classics sound pretty good coming right out of the IMPOTENT SEA SNAKES track (admittedly, these COOLIES tracks are pretty bad and are the cassette's low point, but the transition still works quite well). They start to steer away from strictly hardcore bands, with the aforementioned bands and BIG BLACK, BUTTHOLE SURFERS, and BEEFEATER making appearances, but these acts are tempered with CHRIST ON PARADE, FANG, GANG GREEN, ADRENALINE O.D. and a host of other rippers including Florida's AMAZING GRACE whose first track is positively smoking shit-hot Motörpunk (the two best songs on the tape are AMAZING GRACE's "No Solution" and the EFFIGIES mystifying goth/disco/'70s cop show montage number "Something That..."). 90 minutes of action, with two tracks on the B side that are not listed and I cannot seem to identify (even though I know I own copies of both - which makes it even more frustrating). Help in this department would be appreciated, but mostly I just want you to blast this while you start the weekend.

BAD ENTRAILS 5

THE REFUSENIKS

I never got to see this band, but their 2004 Nineteen To The Dozen LP still gets regular spins, and I love their seemingly illogical marriage of tough Boston hardcore with melodic late '80s US punk guitars (HÜSKER DÜ, MISSION OF BURMA, et al), a union that sounds especially huge on this live radio set. Some of the guitar leads start to become a little gratuitous, but then they launch into a song like "Nosebleed" and you remember that you are listening to a hardcore band - a really good hardcore band. A criminally under recognized band, in my humble opinion...this set was recorded live on WERS in 2003.

REFUSENIKS

THE NERVOUS

These Denver punks make use of the same hooks that snag fishes like THE VICIOUS or MASSHYSTERI, and still manage to sound less polished and less derivative. Perfect ADOLESCENTS guitars get garaged up ever so slightly and do battle with bratty female vocals and a rock solid rhythm section...THE NERVOUS are just good fukkn punk, and though the demo is only four songs, I've had no problem playing the tape on repeat all morning. Enjoy.

THE NERVOUS

NO SANCTUARY

NO SANCTUARY was active in Philadelphia during the mid/late '00s, forging their path with a pigeon hole defying version of DIY punk. To describe them lazily, NO SANCTUARY play modern anarcho punk, moody, dark, often led by the bass guitar, with a style unmistakably shaped by American basement punk shows. While their style is truly their own, you will still hear snippets that reference certain bands (new and old) contained in these jerky rhythms and dissonant guitars.  The mostly instrumental "Satellites" is the standout track, with searing, choppy guitars that owe as much to primitive black metal as they do to angular punk, and the gruff vocal delivery on "We Refuse To Sing" would put these kids right in line with any number of second wave UK bands while the brooding pace of "Multiply" harkens to the darker goth side of anarcho without eschewing the punk roots. This tape is not pretty, the anger and frustration are as evident as the passion for the music, and that's what makes it beautiful. I got these songs from the guitarist years ago (thanks Brad), but just recently came across a cassette version (thanks Peter) and am happy to share it here.

NO SANCTUARY

SKULL COLLECTOR

Noisy, hollow hardcore from 2008. SKULL COLLECTOR have ceased activity, but their dark and mysterious approach to chaotic hardcore mixed with the lo-fi echo of doom metal guitars still pleases my ears. This is far from the bullet belt set, this is pure, raw and internally violent music. Eight minutes of madness on the A side, one breathy 10 minute noise track on the flip.

MILDEWED MINDS

IRON LUNG

The IRON LUNG Comedy Hour was recorded in late 2001 at Burnt Ramen Studios in Richmond, California. It was one of the funniest live shows I have ever seen, and most everyone who was in attendance would surely agree. Between bursts of their now trademark brand of powerviolence, Jensen and Jon were on fukkn fire, ripping into the crowd and themselves with surgical precision. They were awesome, and it seemed like a logical and brilliant idea when Enterruption decided to release the recording on cassette. Even in their infancy, IRON LUNG were one of the most devastating live bands going (a legacy that they have solidified over the last decade), and The Iron Lung Comedy Hour Live features several tunes that haven't appeared in their live sets for years. Of course, a lot of the comedy has a certain "you had to be there quality" to it, but the "Water - the building block of life" bit holds up nicely to last year's "Vote Black!" from the Supersonic live LP. 

For the purposes of your entertainment, I have separated the tracks so you can either hear the entire set, or just listen to the wit and wisdom of these two modern day wordsmiths. It's not ego that drives them...it's confidence.

IRON LUNG Comedy Hour 

(actually only 19 minutes long)

IRON LUNG Comedy Hour

(music free, pure comedy version)

(the tape comes with stickers...you just get pictures of stickers)

ABALIENATION

When I first started touring, our favorite places to play were the places where people simply gave a shit and/or were nice to us. Maybe we were ignored by most of the cool kids in New York City and Seattle, but Kent, Ohio was like our second home for a few years. Binghamton, New York was one of the towns we loved visiting, and ABALIENATION was the main reason we kept coming back. These four dudes treated us like family from the start, and the shows we played there were always at least good, if not great. They were the kings of their small upstate New York town (seriously, how many DIY bands do you know that have inspired tribute compilations filled exclusively with other bands from their city?), and staying with them always felt like we were also royalty...whatever they had was ours, and I still regret that we never had the chance to return the favor. I doubt that ABALIENATION ever toured outside of the Northeast, and they only managed a couple of non-cassette releases (these dudes were the masters of cassettes - at least three tape only recordings that I can remember), but the tracks hold up brilliantly in the context of early '90s politically charged hardcore punk. If BROTHER INFERIOR had reinvented themselves as a street punk band, then this is what they might have sounded like. The bass shreds all over this tape, courtesy of Big Jim (who also gave us what might have been my first radio interview, however unnecessary it likely was at the time), while two freakishly tall twins (we dubbed them Massive Mike and Mega Mark, to go along with the "Big" moniker the bass player was saddled with) handle guitar and vocal duties. The drummer (a normal sized fellow presumably given the name Louis by his parents) was not surprisingly known in our van as Little Louie, and rounded out the band of misfits who took in a band of oddballs from San Francisco several times from 1994-96. I'm not sure where the dudes went or if they continued making music (I ran into one of the twins a several years ago in Toronto, and he was still a punk and still making music, and with that many years in the game, most people are approaching "lifer" status, so I imagine he's still at it), but these songs still bring a smile to my face and I am pleased at how well they have weathered the last 15 years. "Everyday" and "Punk 'Til I Die" are the standout tracks here...get some fukkn punk into your day.

SAFE 4 YOU

NUMB TONGUE // NO TASTE

This 1984 comp started the label that would eventually become Empty Records in Germany who, under their moniker Masking Tapes, were also responsible for the Godfodder cassette that appeared on Terminal Escape last year.  Without the booklet, I have little information about most of these bands, but I know that the tape is stuffed with quality weirdo punk from all over the world. I can only assume that ARCHIVSKA ZABAVA are from Eastern Europe, and their plodding guitar noise laden tracks lend credence to my assumption. BORN WITHOUT A FACE are noisy and fukkd sounding Midwest punk from Michigan. GLORIOUS DIN I know little about, but I snagged their Leading Stolen Horses LP in a bargain bin somewhere in Oklahoma decades ago (probably Shadowplay, thanks Ruth) and this is the first time since then that I have seen their brilliant goth/post punk anywhere else. I think that BABY ASTRONAUST were from Minneapolis - goofy art punk shits. DICTATRISTA and CRASH BOX from Italy both contribute tracks (the former unfortunately suffer from rather poor quality, but the songs are great), while Southern California kids UNIFORM CHOICE get into the mix with two tracks from their 1984 demo. West Germany's ST-37 offer up killer fast female fronted punk songs that just might be the best on the tape, while Northern California weirdos ASBESTOS ROCKPYLE (whose members were, I believe, responsible for this comp?) and ARCATA BOYS CHOIR throw in some drug addled psych punk tunes. The tape is rounded out by more weird sounds from DOC  WÖR MIRRAN (think CHROME and you'll be in the neighborhood), a mesmerizing edgy and angular track from BRAVE NEW WORLD (whose Initiation 12"is still one of my favorite random purchases ever), and early recordings from a band called FAITH NO MORE - a band that went on to make a few records that a few people purchased. These folks proved on their virgin voyage that they were very adept at assembling compilation tapes, and went on to release several different and diverse compilations for public consumption. Random arty punk and important but unheard bands mingle harmoniously with established international hardcore acts and it all makes sense. This one will ease the pain of your daily trials and tribulations, like a foot massage for your mental ears and your aural soul. Seriously. Try it.

NUMB TONGUE // NO TASTE

LIMP WRIST

It was more than ten years ago when Karoline and I stopped by Martin's place in Chicago and he blasted these tunes for us. He dubbed them off as he did, and made an impromptu cover of sorts (pictured above), packaged the whole thing in a 7" sleeve and we were on our way, suddenly hip to this insanely killer new queer hardcore band. The demo recordings on this tape are pre-vinyl versions of tunes that would later wind up on their self titled 7" and 12", including a few tunes ("Man To Man," "Limp Wrist vs. Dr. Laura," [cut off by a too damn short tape!] "OD'd On Pop" and one more I can't seem to identify) with no vocals. There is a nearly constant track of guitar feedback present through most of these songs that I fukkn love - makes me wish that the vinyl version of "Brotherhood" had this much noise going on. I've had the pleasure of driving LIMP WRIST on tour twice, with two different guitarists, and can honestly say that I've never seen a bad show - raw, pissed, and saucy, even in their early days. This tape comes complete with false starts and fuckups that were absent on the Don't Knock It Till You Try It demo that featured six of these sixteen tracks. The flip side is full of songs from the recording session that became the first two records, and I threw them into the folder in case there are still some fools out there who have missed out. Crucial hardcore, no matter who is in the band or who they choose to fukk, but more importantly, it's crucial hardcore that addresses (or confronts) the awkward homophobia (and sex phobia in general) prevalent in punk and hardcore even to this day. LIMP WRIST are fun, but it's serious fun...and it rules.

OUT OF THE CLOSET AND INTO THE PIT

As luck would have it, LIMP WRIST are playing this week in San Francisco. Coincidence, of course. Tonight at The Big Gay Warehouse (look it up) with LIVID, PERMANENT RUIN and NO STATIK, and tomorrow at El Rio (21+, sorry kids) with BRILLIANT COLORS and DRAPETOMANIA. After that they hit the West Coast, and then it's off to Brasil. I'm sure they will have a gay old time.

LIMP WRIST in Providence, 2006. Photo by Karoline, in case you didn't click on the link at the beginning of the post, you should do it now.

BLEEDING PYLES

BLEEDING PYLES evolved into KRONSTADT UPRISING shortly after these rehearsal tracks were recorded in 1981. Classic second wave UK punk that shines through a questionable recording and arguably competent delivery, these songs seem to come from two different sessions; the first two are of a notably higher quality but the ones that follow are primitive and raw punk of the highest quality. No need to go into the muli-membered history of the band, as that has already been handled here, but suffice to say that even in their rough form, these tunes are an excellent listen, and a superbly random artifact leftover from the early days of UK punk.

BLEEDING PYLES

RISKY BUSINESS

Continuing on a theme of by-the-books hardcore executed with surgical precision, and staying in Halifax for a second day while I'm at it. RISKY BUSINESS bulldoze their way through five tunes filled with obvious New York and Boston hardcore influences. There is an art to crafting a hardcore song around the perfect breakdown, and RISKY BUSINESS are like the second coming of Picasso on this demo - crushing breakdowns surrounded by meaty cro-mangnon hardcore. If the music hadn't sold me (it did), then the lyrics would have picked up the slack: "Look at this mess you've fuckin' got yourself in / You've just lost a friend, your shit's worn thin / I'll stand down and turn the other cheek / Your life is fuckin' shitty and that's good enough for me." No clue what happened to these dudes after this 2004 demo tape, but if this is the document you have left as your band's legacy....well, you could do a lot worse. RISKY BUSINESS are like the good natured, well intentioned meatheads who hang out at shows and are mostly awesome dudes, even though you find yourself shaking your head sometimes wondering what they were thinking when they did that stupid thing that they felt really bad about the next day...it's like that, but in the form of music. And it rules.

RISKY BUSINESS

"Livin' each day with a stick up your ass / Doin' it our way means having a blast / Every little thing seems to piss you off / You better fuckin' chill 'cause I've had enough / Turn that fuckin' frown upside down / A little hard work and we can can turn it around / Life is too short to be down in the dumps / If you you wanna chill with us then you gotta loosen up / Yeah!! Ungh!! Loosen, Loosen Up!!"

from "Loosen Up" (and yes, the "Ungh!!" is printed on the lyric sheet)

NAPALM RAID

Definitely more crust than noise, NAPALM RAID crash through eight tunes filled with amped up DOOM riffing and heavy Japanese hardcore influences. Everything here is pretty much by the book, but not unlike yesterday's post - if you're going to do it, then you had better fukkn do it right. Love the guitar leads, especially the metallic bits on "Run Like Hell," and the gutteral vocals push this tape over the top. Also,  since it's America day...they are from Canada.

CORRUPTION OF THEIR LITTLE MINDS

NAPALM RAID are touring the West Coast now, and most of these songs got crammed onto an EP by the Rust And Machine folks. 

TRENCH ROT

If you are going to play hardcore, then you should probably make sure that you do it at least as well as TRENCH ROT. Paying equal attention to '80s US classics and blistering Swedish delivery, these California kids have cranked out one simple but monstrous demo tape. No information whatsoever, but some easy internet action will lead you to a few distros that are still slinging this bad boy, and I advise you to use technology to your advantage. Of course, you could also choose you use technology to just download it and save yourself $4, but then you'd just be a part of the problem, wouldn't you?

TRENCH ROT