THE WILL TO DIE

Another Friday, another comp tape...is this shit getting old? I hope not, because I've got fukkn heaps more of these things. The Will To Die comes from Smash Apathy fanzine, and I can only imagine how all over the place that zine must have been based on this tape. Primarily New York/Philadelphia/New Jersey acts (with the exception of SUBHUMANS), this is 90 minutes filled with noise, punk rock and live chaos: MURPHY'S LAW (just their theme song, live and rowdy), ED GEIN'S CAR, total noise from SMERSH, ROK TOTS, THE NILS, SFA, a fucking insane freakout from COED HOMOSEXUAL, GSS, LETCH PATROL and others. 30 tunes here from 21 bands, and excepting the really bad PRIEST cover (granted they altered the lyrics, but it's still rather trying) and one shitty tune, this thing smokes. Now if only I would tell you which one was shitty so you could skip it...but I won't.

THE WILL TO DIE Side A

THE WILL TO DIE Side B

BARBED WIRE

WHOA!!! I don't know how this one slipped under the radar for so many years, but this 5 song slab from BARBED WIRE is a scorcher! Ferocious UK82 styled hardcore punk with a little touch of DISCHARGE (especially on "TV Drug"), and they deliver a killer cover of THE REZILLOS classic, a nod to their fellow Scots that sounds more like a hardcore tune than I ever knew it could. This is the final installment from the three band tape that also brought us THE DEAD and INTERNAL DIMENZIONS...if only there were more gems on the B side!

BARBED WIRE

GRAVEBOUND

Brutally sinister downtuned and downtrodden hardcore from Tennessee. The bass sounds like OTTAWA (it is not often that I hear that destroyed and distorted bass tone replicated), but the approach is total CROSSED OUT melded into moments of southern sludge/doom. These songs will make you want to hurt the people that hurt people, fucking awesome. DROP DEAD cover? Oh yeah, they nail it.

STABBING CONTEST

There's too much chaos and shitsystem to accurately divide this up, so here are the ten tracks that will crush you over the next 10 minutes and 23 seconds:

01. Wages

02. Self Destruct

03. Eucharist

04. Red Smile

05. Snuffed Out

06. Crawling

07. Bridgeburner

08. Submit

09. Drug Mule

10. Washed Away (DROP DEAD)

GRAVEBOUND have hard copies of this cassette for sale, and for cheap. Hit them up, cause tapes are way fukkn cooler than 01s and 00s posing as music: gravebound(at)gmail(com)

INTERNAL DIMENZIONS

Sometimes I listen to something and I get the impression that it was an accident. These three songs from INTERNAL DIMENZIONS are disjointed post punk with awkward vocals, a really poor mix and drums that are EQed to sound like a cheap drum machine - and it's awesome. I imagine that in their perfect world, these kids recorded the perfect punk/new wave EP that the masses would dance to like there was no tomorrow (and indeed, "Is It You" has that hands-swinging-side-to-side 80s brat pack movie beat fucking nailed), but this is so gloriously raw and unmistakably punk and I want more than these three lone songs by an English band about whom I know nothing at all. The soaring guitar leads that start the brilliant "Wargames" are worthy of any CRIMINAL DAMAGE smash hit (or later BLITZ, to place the credit properly), and while the last tune is a little long and takes a while to get rolling, it's like UK punk put through a bizarre new wave filter...and since I happen to love both genres, I have no complaints. First THE DEAD, and now this? Someone made someone a good fukkn tape, and I am happy to share.

INTERNAL DIMENZIONS

ACEPHALIX

The 2008 demo from San Francisco's ACEPHALIX. I've seen them play punk shows, and they confuse the crowd because the music they deliver is metal. I've seen them play metal shows, and they confuse the crowd because they are punks. But every time I see them they improve, and I've heard their upcoming LP and it is a fucking monster.  Since this demo, ACEPHALIX has changed line-ups a few times, most notable is the absence of the female vocalist on this recording, but the current roster is more dialed than just about any hardcore/punk/crust band I've ever seen live - these dudes fucking live in the studio and it shows. Deeply personal and bitter lyrics (read "Head Wounds," fukkn shit!) that are searching, set to plainly ferocious music that. Last year's EP on Prank was a killer, but I was floored when I heard the LP recording...perfect marriage of evil hardcore, MOTORHEAD paced metal and brutal crust and it's still totally addictive.  I pulled this tape out as soon as I got home, and yeah, it fucking rules too.

ACEPHALIX

THE DEAD

Though it defies all logic, it appears that THE DEAD were perhaps the only 80s UK band to take that moniker. I could wax on about the band's history, but instead I suggest that you just go here and get some background. These five tunes are not on either of the demos listed on KFTH, though two of them appeared on the 1984 split with FAMOUS IMPOSTERS...if anyone has it then feel free to let me know if these are the same versions. The keyboards might turn some folks off here, but the song writing here is fukkn ace, and Claire's vocals are excellent. Never mind the fact that SIMPLE MINDS so clearly nicked the opening lick from "Don't You Forget About Me" from THE DEAD's "Duty Calls" (it's a dead ringer), the song is still a classic jam.  This demo came to me on a tape with BARBED WIRE and INTERNAL DIMENZIONS, and all the shit is good so I'm gonna put them up one by one this week...you know, to give you kids something to look forward to besides homework and mowing the lawn.

THE DEAD

SCHIZOPHASIA

It occurs to me that this might be a rather pointless post (as opposed to all of the other ones, that are completely essential) since fans of the raw blown out UK82 meets Japan distort assault that Canada's SCHIZOPHASIA have perfected are probably already familiar with the band and their numerous demos. This is a total earfuck massacre, but underneath the mess are fucking great songs, and they play them in a manner that pays homage to the past without aping it...these kids are on another plane entirely, just check out the 2009 demo if you have any doubts. Sadists of The Earth Inferno from 2008 is the hardcore attack, and the flip side of the tape is the 2009 demo which is just harsh and brutal noise. There are tracks listed, but it would have been foolish for me to try to separate them, so one 10 minute blast is what you get. After five demos (these two are numbers 4 & 5), SCHIZOPHASIA finally went to wax earlier this year - SMRT still has copies, and I recommend it fully - after working the kinks out on cassette for years, it seems logical that the first vinyl release would be a stunner.

SADISTS OF THE EARTH INFERNO + 2009 Demo

2009 DEMO:

01. Bomb Blast

02. Mecha Soldier Advantage

03. Hide Amongst The Rubble

04. Finding Survivors

05. Salvage

06. Caught

07. Lazer Beam Attack

08. Brainwashing

09. Your (sic) Now One Of Them 

NORTH ATLANTIC NOISE ATTACK, vol. 1 - UK

Just like the title says: a compilation of punk and hardcore from the UK. This Lethal Dose tape (catalog #LD10 for those keeping track) features OI POLLOI (three tracks off the first demo), POLITICAL ASYLUM (who are criminally under appreciated, probably because they released primarily - if not exclusively - cassettes, making them unappealing collector fodder) with tracks from the Walls Have Ears tape, SUBHUMANS, THE STUPIDS (who I sometimes forget were fucking incredible...after I ripped this tape I blasted the Van Stupid LP and it was so damn good), CIVILISED SOCIETY with two killers from their 6 track demo, CHAOS UK ("4 Minute Warning" still gives me chills), GENERIC, LUNATIC FRINGE, and the unfortunately named but really good FRANKFURTER. This thing fucking smokes, and I think it's probably the perfect compilation for you to listen to today.

NORTH ATLANTIC NOISE vol. 1

MATA MATA

One more installment in my seemingly never-ending exalting of the virtues of the raw ponx from Los Angeles. This time it's MATA MATA, featuring the TUBERCULOSIS guitarist on drums, and Black Twighlight centerpiece Eddie on guitar. MATA MATA are a way nastier animal than most of the dance inducing bouncy punk these folks are responsible for, and I'm guessing that the inclusion of Eddie is a strong factor in that regard. These tunes are full on blown out and ferocious hardcore, the likes of which I haven't heard since I last blasted DEATHREAT. There is a similar Japanese influence here, but the riffs are totally unique, Phil's vocals are fucking out of this world...how this one dude can sound so fucking pissed and still convey the personal frustration of just fucking getting through the day totally floors me. MATA MATA might be my favorite band from the posse, but please check them all out here, the shit they are doing is bordering on inspirational.

MATA MATA

HATEFULS

Great four song banger from 1983 French rockers HATEFULS. First tune is classic snotty midtempo punk with a repetitive riff and and super catchy vocals, "Police Force" is a DISCHARGE worthy ripper, but with mystery in place of the anger (I know that sounds weak as shit, but I promise it works in their favor). "Fachist" over utilizes the single string guitar lick from "Peter Gunn," but somehow manages to win me over with the chorus...and the last tune takes it right back to killer moody punk rock. I've got their '84 demo that I'll put up soon as well, but meanwhile cut your teeth on these jams.

ANCIENNE demo 1983

ANAL WARHEAD

I'm still not sure if this is the best band name ever, or one of the worst (the recently released ASSPISS single might hold the "worst" title), but names aside, this ANAL WARHEAD tape is packed with some of the most ripping hardcore that's blasted my ears into oblivion for ages. This is total American hardcore punk, the kind that the Rust Belt brought us in the 80s, angry and hopeless and hell bent. There's something in the water in Albany, and while it might make the water taste funny, it makes those people punk as shit. ANAL WARHEAD have a newish EP out on Loud Punk, so after you've melted your face with the demo, I suggest you buy it.

ANAL WARHEAD

ANAL WARHEAD in a basement in Albany - a picture that features three of my favorite Albany dudes.

CAPITAL GAIN

This one is a total mystery to me, but it's a damn fine rock and roll mystery, and one that I do not mind reading over and over again. CAPITAL GAIN came from Bridgend, England, and graced us with this metal tinged scorcher in 1987, but that's where my vast well filled with invaluable information runs dry, and I'm left to just revel in these tunes. "Epoch Of The Business Person" has a bit of unnatural fade out, and the two following tracks might be from a different session - one where the guitarist had a bit more say in regard to the level of his (or her) all important instrument, but the female vocals are a killer constant throughout...except on the short instrumental "Motor Mentality." There's liberal SACRILEGE influence here (mostly on the vocal department, the music is way more punk/less crust), and whether intentional or not they remind me of New York's PRE METAL SYNDROME, whose LP also came out in 1987. My copy of this tape starts with "Plug-In Drug" cut off a bit (you deal with the hand that life gives you, right?) and then there's this weirdness at the end - I've included one of the tracks (perhaps the band included them, originally?), but these sounds continue on the tape for 15+ minutes, as if the whole thing were being replayed backwards at half speed.  It sounds kinda cool, but perhaps cooler if you are really high, which I currently am not. Perhaps I will get really high and then revisit this stuff later...when it's dark. 

CAPITAL GAIN demo 1987

DOLPHIN

I got this tape in the mail in 2003, while I was living in Milwaukee.  I popped it into the deck of our trusty E350 one night on my way to work at a bar south of downtown, and before I even hit the freeway I was digging this hard, and after driving for less than a mile I pulled the van over to check out the insert so I could sing along by the side of the road (what boss is going to reprimand you for being late due to an intense love of hardcore? no fucking boss I want to work for!).  I was getting into "Biomechanical Feedback" when I saw the phone number on the photocopied j-card, and I figured what the hell...so I called.  Bassist Rachel wasn't home, but I left a message with her very confused roommate, telling her that I was from 2,000 miles away and I loved the shit out of the DOLPHIN demo, and that was all. DOLPHIN were from Bellingham, Washington, and graced us a just as killer CD only demo later in 2003 before disbanding. Fucking great tape.

AIR RAID DEMO

I went to Oakland last night to see Rachel's current band MURDERESS, more metal than DOLPHIN, and a fucking juggernaut live. Good fucking shits, go see them in LA today/tomorrow.

TELECOMMANDE

I think you will find that this excellent French retardo punk has just the right kind of good vibes to prepare you for the coming spring months. Imagine Pepe Le Pew (the cartoon skunk) fronting for THE SPITS...yeah, it's that kind of good. I have spent my whole morning dubbing, stacking, listening to, organizing, alphabetizing and otherwise just fucking around with tapes, unintentionally reinforcing exactly why it is that I do this.  Tapes rule.

3615 TELECOMMANDE

 

The band keeps it mysterious, but you can download their other tape here. 

LORO DECIDONO...TU PAGHI!

AAARRRGH!!! Fuck! This shit is so good it melts my fukkn brain! BCT was the vehicle that first exposed most of my friends to all things killer, European, and hardcore, and there was serious emphasis put on the noise coming from Italy. BCT #25 is one of several BCT tapes chock full of raw Italian HC, and this volume features jams from CCM, I REFUSE IT!, P.S.A., VIVISEXZIONE, CANI, KINA, NOISENOISENOISE P.N., SAVAGE CIRCLE, and the brilliant but until today totally forgotten by me LONDON '77. Mostly live recordings, excellent quality raw punk shits, this is fucking mandatory.

THEY DECIDE...YOU PAY!

VILE INTENT

Ugly music.  Heavy and ugly and very angry.

VI VI VI

HEX

Fucking killer first demo from these dudes. I've got the Not The Promised Land demo posted here in case you missed it, and even though this one has been upped here and there previously, these tunes are just too good to not glorify. The guitar at the start of "Is This To Be..." totally reminds me of THE ALARM if they were punks (ok, maybe they were punks at first, but I'm talking about a punker version of THE ALARM's new wave shits) and then by the second tune HEX have settled into dark moody anarcho punk. Five tunes, clocking in at an imposing 21 minutes, but I assure you that from the raging guitar break two minutes into "...No Fairytale Ending" straight through to the disjointed stumbling ending to "As Others See It" that closes the tape, you will be enthralled.  You hear me? You won't just like this tape, you will be fucking enthralled.  Look it up if you want, but basically it means that you're gonna really really like it. Trust me.

Poison In The System (Spanner In The Works)

THIS BITTER LESSON

THIS BITTER LESSON released the little known Value Of Defiance demo in 1982, and this one came a year earlier. Many of the same tracks are on both releases, but this tape also has "Volume Control," "Perfection" and a couple of others. The shit was way out of order and the song titles are all hand scrawled on a note that came tucked inside, so it's quite possible that I've misnamed something...the earth will continue to rotate - just barely. This is quintessential anarcho art/punk...10 songs that bridge the gap between rudimentary UK punk and noisy self indulgent pieces focusing more of sounds and the spoken word. Claire's voice is in a league with Eve Libertine/CRASS, especially during the spoken bits...enjoy.

THIS BITTER LESSON

RAID

In 2000 I played a show in Shizuoka, Japan. I'd given myself a mohawk a few days earlier (my first one at 28 years old, not bad - but pretty silly looking with a beard) but arrived to the show with my new hairdo in it's 'down' stage. After we checked, a dude lumbered up to me with missing teeth, brass knuckles hanging from his wallet chain, shaved eyebrows, and a bright red mohawk (also down). He spoke little English, but kept asking "Why not up?" and picking up my floppy hair.  I explained "lazy" and "no time," but then when I said "no hairspray" he jumped up and ran to his car. He came back with a utility belt loaded with two different kinds of hairspray, an array of combs and brushes and a blowdryer, and he dragged me into the bathroom. That dude worked on my mohawk for almost an hour before he started his own, and it was fucking perfect. I went from 6'2" to 6'8" and it jutted up from my head in a flawless fan...pure ridiculous beauty. My mohawk did not move for several days, it even lasted through a few showers. But the mohawk wasn't the highlight of the evening...the dude was in RAID, who we played with that night, and they were one of the best bands we saw on the whole fukkn tour. He was in RUSTLER in the 90s, and RAID were made up of the remnants of the old guard of traditional Japanese hardcore punks in Shizuoka...the kind that are just edgy enough that you love it but you keep your distance as well.  When their set ended, the singer threw the mic directly into the face of a kid who had ridden the train for 2 hours just to see us play (oops?)...as the kid was being hustled out covered in the blood shooting out of where his nose had been earlier that evening, we showered him with as many shirts and records as his friends could hold. Mohawk dude rushed home after the show to make me this tape, which was very nice of him, and he was very drunk when he returned...I'm glad he did, and these tunes receive regular play a decade later. I don't think RAID ever made records, but if one three song demo is going to be your legacy, then you would hope that the songs are this good.

RAID

THE HAPPY CITIZENS

Your guess is as good as mine, and even after a few listens I don't really know what the hell to make of this.  THE HAPPY CITIZENS recorded this in 1986, and it is equal parts noise, new wave, retardo punk, nonsense and dance music. I imagine most of you have already moved on by now, but this held my interest simply because it's so out there and really doesn't make any sense, even though I imagine the intent was to make some kind of commercial music. On that front, THE HAPPY CITIZENS have failed miserably, but they've put together 40 of the oddest minutes of my day, and for that I thank them.

DEMONS demo II

309 CHORUS

The 90s get a pretty bad rap when folks talk about punk and hardcore and, to be fair, it was an era packed with a lot of schlock, but to discount the decade that brought us BORN AGAINST and TALK IS POISON would be fucking stupid. The emotional hardcore that is the source for a lot of the "90s sucked" talk was rooted pretty firmly in the midwest - and they are some of my favorite bands from those years. Sure, GRADE sounds pretty crap if you listen to them today without the context, but loads of bands have weathered the last 10-15 years pretty well...like 309 CHORUS. This Milwaukee band came just after BURIED, L.S.D. (the first honest DIY touring band I ever met) and DEMISE and took the personal approach to punk to another level. I never got to see them, but played many times with DAMITOL (who featured guitarist Andy and early guitarist Jeremy) and ANIMAL FARM (with Grant, the guitarist who replaced Jeremy, and future member of the aforementioned TALK IS POISON), and plus their singer Scott (who departed after this demo I believe) was my boss for both of my stints living in Milwaukee. Fiercely political mid tempo hardcore with a songwriting style that owes as much to the plodding AmRep shit that was going on in Minneapolis as to the disjointed introverted oddness of mid 90s Gravity Records shit. Chaotic and meaningful; two things that way too much music is missing these days...and a lot like life.

309 CHORUS

also, my wife took these photos years before I knew her...weird, huh?

6 MORE YEARS OF SHEER BLOODY HELL

This comp was released as a benefit for Martin Foran who was wrongfully convicted for robbing a pub in 1984. I wonder how much money the sale of this raised for his legal defense, but I'm glad they put this stuff together for me to enjoy in (what was then) the future. There are some usual suspects on the TDK D90, like THE INSTIGATORS (reasonable quality live tracks), CULTURE SHOCK, SHRAPNEL, THE APOSTLES, A.O.A., and  OI POLLOI, but the fun shit here is lesser known bands like GODORRHOEA, INCEST BROTHERS and LIFE CYCLE. 30 tracks from 13 bands in total, and consider yourself warned: the tape opens with some horrific live drum machine driven tunes from THE NEXT WORLD, but once you get past those, you can rock out to the freedom of Mr. Foran!

6 MORE YEARS OF SHEER BLOODY HELL?

ASHDAUTAS

More dreary black metal from the Black Twilight folks in LA. ASHDAUTAS are noisy, grim and uncomfortable.  I also heard one of the members say: "I just took a bunch of LSD, I think it's giving me gas." Perhaps that might give a little insight into the bizarre vibe that the Crepusculo Negro releases seem to all have?

Where The Sun Is Silent

The files are split simply into sides A & B, as the music is presented as two long movements.  The song titles are:

I. Purity Of Disease

II. With Blades We Speak

III. Synaethesia

IV. The Yawning Black Beyond

I'm leaving town again this weekend, driving Oakland's LAUDANUM to the Northwest. Thursday April 8 in Olympia @ Northern; Friday April 9 in Portland @ Plan B; Saturday April 10 in Seattle @ The Comet Tavern.  All three shows with SAMOTHRACE, ATRIARCH, and FAWN. Stop by and get your doom on.

DEFECT DEFECT

Portland's DEFECT DEFECT started the way an eager punk band should, by embarking on a financially suicidal tour of Alaska and Northwestern Canada. I heard stories of crust punks devouring salmon in one hand with a 40oz in the other, and traveling 30+ hours by ground and ferry to arrive at a house show...that, my friends, is dedication. It might also be stupidity, but since I've been in the same boat (or ferry, so to speak) I'm going to go with dedication. This demo starts off conjuring up the ghost of BLACK FLAG in the form of "Yeah, I'm A Terrorist," and then DEFECT DEFECT settle into thesimple but fiery garage-esque punk that they are known for. Six songs, one party.

 DEFECT DEFECT

ANATHEMA

Killer raw UK punk shits for your Tuesday. Discounting the cover of "Hey Joe" as simply a terrible idea, these five tunes are catchy as hell, and the guitar in "Head Ache Pills (Drugs And Thrills)" is as close to perfect as a band could ever hope to get. Side B has duplicate versions of "Head Ache Pills" and the excellent off kilter "Altercation" and the rampaging "Eating Shit."

SHIT YOU CHOSE TO TAKE

SEX PRISONER

I think the kids call this powerviolence? Nevermind the genre and call it whatever you like, but Tucson, Arizona's SEX PRISONER are nothing if not powerful and violent sounding music. At the onset of each song, rumbling noise gives way to a rush of low end roar and churning rhythms that fail to identify themselves with seemingly needless things like "riffs" or "songs." SEX PRISONER just attack, and the aftermath is left for the listener to dig through and try to discern some kind of meaning. This is what happens when you build a city where there is no water: people get frustrated.

SEX PRISONER

BOG PEOPLE

After I put up the VIVID SEKT/BOG PEOPLE tour cassette last week, folks asked for the BOG PEOPLE tape...and I am happy to oblige (the tunes from the VS/BP tour split are all on the bands' respective tapes, so the split probably wasn't a necessary post, but I had just had my mind blown by both so it seemed logical). This shit is worth all the hype, killer introverted UK punk worship from Portland presented here in the form of 8 songs. The guitar is affected brilliantly, and the drum attack is as close to perfect as one could ever hope. I suggest listening to this on hallucinogens.

81 in 09

I bought this tape in Oakland, after I had mailed my first copy away to a friend.  Imagine my sadness when I got home and it was blank...no music to be heard, and I hadn't even gotten around to ripping the first one before I sent it off.  Curses! But as soon as I mentioned this (on the VIVID SEKT/BOG PEOPLE post) the band got in touch, and mailed me these killer tunes before I could even make it home from Los Angeles - and our van goes pretty fast.  So cheers twice to BOG PEOPLE: once for making the tunes, and then again for making sure I got them.

CORPSE AND 2 VEG

Lo-fi live demos are rather amazing, and I especially like that bands like CORPSE AND 2 VEG don't even bother editing out the between song banter that, in this case, takes up as much time as the songs. This is rudimentary anarcho shits, with emphasis on animal rights as the song titles might suggest. It's worth noting once again how amazed I am at how many 80s UK bands focused their lyrical energy on anti-hunting, anti-meat eating, pro-animal subjects...I support it and all that, but it seems sometimes that were no other worthwhile ills in the world during that decade. I would think the politically minded would have been more inclined to yell about Apartheid more than tofu, but then I was only 12 when this was recorded, and I lived in Oklahoma, and I probably ate a hamburger that day (I'd have to check my 7th Grade Food Log to be sure, but the odds are pretty good).

LIVE AT AMESBURY SPORTS CENTRE 07/1984

I'm going to be in LA this weekend with N.N. from San Francisco.  Saturday night in LA, Sunday in Compton.  The flyer is here, and these shows are gonna be great. The Silenzio Statico Ponx are out in full effect, and RAYOS X, TUBERCULOSIS, MATA MATA, LA VOZ, ANIMALITOS, POLISKITZO, RABIA AL SYSTEMA, SICK 'EM, KRUEL and loads more bands are gonna be blowing my mind. They will have tapes for sale, and so will I...for my friends in Europe, you are missing out.  For my friends in southern California, let's fukkn dance the shit out of a backyard!! 

ALTERNATIVE TO NOTHING

What better way to celebrate then end of the week than with an ultra lo-fi comp of semi competent UK punk? I couldn't think of one, so I whipped up this 80s gem featuring DEFYANCE (sic), THE ANGRY, UNORTHADOX (sic),  SCREAMS OF CHILDREN, LIBERTY and others. Noisy and full of hiss, the way tapes should be, this comp has some great underknown bands (some of whom apparently cannot spell their own names, a quality that should be celebrated) and a couple of throw away tunes from A.T.N., whom I assume are the tape's namesake. If you are as drunk as it sounds like many of these bands were, then your Friday is probably going to be just fine.

ALTERNATIVE TO NOTHING