THE CORPSE

I could rave about this tape for ages...but I'll try to keep it to one paragraph. In 2003 I was in Poland and was asking my host for tips on which of the multitude of 80s Polish bands represented in his distro I should check out. Yeah sure, DEZERTER is bad ass, but I knew nothing at the time of bands like TILT, REJESTRACJA, or the gentlemen featured today: THE CORPSE. The Fight Against Rules demo came out in the mid 1980s, and these tunes would stand strong against any western crossover/thrash punk madness. The tape I bought had the demo along with a rehearsal from 1995 and the Elektrokardiogram demo from the same year...that shit is good, I'll share it later, but it can't hold a candle to these fukkn ragers. Ultra intense hardcore, stellar songs and a raging delivery, regardless of where this came from I can't believe they remained relatively unknown.  Refuse Records issued this bad boy on CD, but I felt compelled to share the cassette nonetheless...oh yes, Robert from Refuse is the dude who told me to buy this in the first place, so I guess it makes sense that he is the one re-issuing it.

FIGHT AGAINST RULES

CORPSE

I know this demo has been posted elsewhere, and traded for years before there was an internet to post on, but these songs are too good for me to not add one more set of files to the mix. Aside from the We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor Mortarhate comp, this 1983 demo was CORPSE's only release, but these songs are of legendary caliber. Classic anarchopunk with plodding UK82 drumbeats and lyrics almost as visceral as the guitars. At times CORPSE are gloriously off, like the vocals in "Opium Den" or the out of tune bass in "Anger," but this tape should be mandatory listening for all young punks.  Prepare yourself for the finest quarter hour of your day.

Demo Tape 5.11.83 (8 Track Studio)

ACID REFLUX

Albany does it again (well, to be fair, Albany did this back in 2006). ACID REFULX blow through ten songs in as many minutes, pulling no punches and sparing nary a riff in the process. I fukkn love this band, and I've never seen them, a fact that burns me every time I blast this shit. They got some records, and if you are a punk then you should buy them, and if you need proof as to the accuracy of my declaration, then simply download this demo and blast the fuck out of it. "A.B.A.B. (All Bosses Are Bastards)," "Do Your Parents Know You're A Ramone?," and the brilliant "Customers Fuck Off" are highlights, but this band is a perfect storm. Essential, and way punker than I will ever be.

ACID REFULX

For more about how I love Albany, please click here, I think I'm gonna ask the tourism board to start giving me a taste.

PAH!

The title says that PAH! is a punk compilation, but I think they should have called it a punk as fuck compilation. This C60 is all over the place, with rehearsal room antics from HIDEOUS MUSHROOMS, two killer tracks from PANIK ("Shit Can't Play Guitar" is a brilliant song, but could this possibly be the same band as THE PANIK who released the killer It Won't Sell EP in '77?), blown out live tunes from LOST CHEREES, one of which ("Noiz") is an instrumental I've not come across before.  RIOT/CLONE offer live recordings as well, and then REBELLIOUS YOUTH chill the mood way down with their electronic dub tune. X-CRETAS and A.P.F. BRIGADE are not surprisingly highlights, but HEALTH HAZZARD came out of left field with ultra catchy songs that made me revisit their older demos (and THE REFUGEES tape that will go up eventually). TOTAL CONTROL and WARNING round out the line up, making for the 60 punkest minutes of your Friday. Side B is way rougher...but then who amongst you dislikes a little chaos?  

PAH! Side A

PAH! Side B

FACELESS PEOPLE

Brooding Deutsch punk by way of Somerset .  THE FACELESS PEOPLE plow through four songs that owe as much to late 80s self absorbed shoegazers as they do to German stalwarts EA80 but with a rather  affected English accent. Midtempo, melancholy and and rudimentarily simple tunes, but I think you'll find that after a couple of listens you will find yourself singing along with "this is an empty tah-own // there's nobody he-ere" just like I was.

THE FACELESS PEOPLE

PRONOUNCED DEAD

Chicago in the 1990s cranked out a healthy heap of great bands - some that went on to cult stardom and others who remain virtually unknown to all but the punks lucky enough to live in regional proximity or the ones who passed through on tour. I was in the latter group, and in 1996 we played a show at a very unwelcome bar set up by South Side Rich from MOB ACTION (pumps fist in the air and exclaims "Hey-ul Yeah!! We gonaa get all Cuh-RAZY and shit!! - if you've ever me him, then you know exactly the move about which I type). The bar hated us, and Rich raided their liquor as we were walking out the door, but I was talking to some dudes from the other band in the parking lot. The other band was SUBURBAN REFUGEE, whose EP on Beer City and split with Eugene's most unfortunately named band BIG BUBBA are languishing in a $1 bin near you at this very moment. SUBURBAN REFUGEE ruled hard, and were super nice dudes, and after they were done PRONOUNCED DEAD came out of their ashes (at least two, maybe three of the same dudes?). SUBURBAN REFUGEE were good...PRONOUNCED DEAD fukkn kill on this demo. Six songs of breakneck downtuned thrashing crust assault, when the bass takes it (like "Withdrawn Today...Gone Tomorrow" specifically), there's just an indiscernible low end rumble tiding you over until you get your head handed to you.  These weren't the cool Chicago kids that the record traders went apeshit over, these were the ones doling out the hardcore out of sheer necessity. My point is: I'm glad I played show in that shitty bar.

PRONOUNCED DEAD

THE SECLUDED

File this right along with THE CONVULSIONS and SMILES, but Wales' SECLUDED sit back a little mellower, with an almost street punk groove at times. This 1982 demo was the bands only recording, and it is well worthy of whatever legendary status it might have - each one of these tunes is infectious and I can't rewind the tape fast enough when it's over. Fucking perfect driving UK punk with bouncing bass lines that positively demand a pogo pit right this very second, even if you are the only punk in the room. Smiffy, Stu, Lou and Brainy fucking nailed this one, I only wish they had given me more.

WE DESPISE SOCIETY

FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES

This band kinda exploded in the mid 00s, their live sets were in a league memories of NO JUSTICE, but FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES absolutely had the tunes to back it up. This three song demo was for their first batch of out-of-Minneapolis gigs, the first of which was in Milwaukee. Also worth noting that at that Milwaukee show, their fill-in bass player (who now sings for this band) met them at the show and kinda learned some of the songs half assed in the kitchen...but the whole place erupted, so John's mastery of the songs was merely an afterthought. The JUNKIES blast through "Shitty Life," "Total Wreck" and "Nuke The Frats" in just over three minutes, and you can hear shades of DC circa 81 (but sped up) and Midwest circa 80 something, and all of it is crammed through a fuck-shit-up filter and the don't-give-a-fuck-o-meter is pegged on 11. There are several records you need to track down if you don't already have them, and a couple of the dudes have become the moguls at the helm of Fashionable Idiots Records, who put out some records that totally rule, and others that fucking suck.  Too bad you're going to have to buy all of them to figure out which ones are which.

FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

I know I've posted plenty of things that I haven't known all that much about, but this one might take the cake. I have the J-Card you see above, and an address for Graeme in Scotland. This was on a tape with the ANOTHER WARCRY demo (killer killer shit, the same tunes that were on this mix tape posted last fall, highly recommended) and a brilliant but unreleased ALTERNATIVE ATTACK recording that will go up in the coming days, but who the fuck are UNKNOWN PLEASURES aside from a band who liked JOY DIVISION enough to take their record as a moniker? Clearly they are indeed JOY DIVISION fans, judging from the songs they plodded through at this rehearsal sometime in 1985 (including a side-splittingly horrible cover of "She's Lost Control"), but aside from that gem and one DAMNED tune, UNKNOWN PLEASURES slog through relatively uninspired and rather mellow mid 80s UK punk. What's interesting is simply that I've never heard of it at all (nor had anyone I spoke to), and the internet provided only fruitless searches for answers. And so I post...

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

SIKTAPE SAMLINGSKASS 1

A 2002 compilation of Northern Swedish acts (except a 23 second noisecore assault from Finland's VASELIN) that focuses heavily on the well documented and awesome crop of bands from Umeå, where  Sik Records is (was?) based. Lots of stripped down snotty hardcore from TRISTESS, THE VECTORS, and others, while TOTALT JÄLVA MORKER, ETT LIV KVAR and AMBULANCE represent the crusters. There is plenty of raw KBD worship as well (UNGJÄLVAR's brilliant "Hata Raggare" might steal the tape for me), and closing the tape with THE HIGHWAY DEMONS is so perfect that I wouldn't be surprised if the band had been approached just to fill the final spot on the compilation. Most of these bands stayed under the radar (under my radar anyway), but here I am giving you another shot...don't let this opportunity pass you by.

SAMLINGKASS 1 Side A

SAMLINGKASS 1 Side B

GEPØPEL

This should fall in the "needs no introduction" category. Holland's GEPØPEL were exposed to the outside world via this crucial BCT Presents split cassette in 1985 (I skipped the FUNERAL ORATION stuff because most of the tracks are either on this demo or their second one which is gonna go up here eventually). Totally raging simple hardcore delivered at a blistering pace (except for "Slecht," which is painfully slow) with the same endearing vocal delivery that makes early FUNERAL ORATION so hopelessly catchy. If you haven't heard this, then you need to get on board...cheers to Blake for lending me the original for this one, way better than the fourth generation copy that introduced me to this band.

GEPØPEL   

ATOMICDEATH

Four songs, but I wish this tape lasted for an hour. Crushing apocalypse crust from Malaysia courtesy of ATOMICDEATH, if this were from the US or Europe then I have no doubt people's heads would be spinning. SLAYER drenched riffs, but slowed down just enough so that every last drop of the power can be enjoyed...I'm trying to avoid using the word "epic," but I don't think it's possible. The singer has a slightly higher, 80s thrash metal approach (think first SODOM LP), and combined with the twin axe attack and heavy double bass heavy surges, you'll be sold on ATOMICDEATH before "Bestial Pain" is over. For a domestic reference, this tape can sit right alongside HELLSHOCK and STORMCROW, and I think that a full length from ATOMICDEATH could easily put them in the ranks of the elite. Missile Massacre comes to us from the fine folks at Black Konflik, well worth checking out for your personal copy, in addition to tapes from CHAOS DESTROY, WARDOGS and others. Get amongst this shit.

MISSILE MASSACRE

Seriously...tell me you don't want to party with these dudes.

SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN

Four members in this West German band, and still they couldn't track down a guitarist? What the hell is wrong with people?! Clearly this was an attempt to make something "different," and I grudgingly confess that on most of this demo SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN succeeded. No song titles to share, but bass and organ drive these four tunes and it all lands somewhere between arty late 70s proto punk (only a decade too late) and late 60s heavy psych (only two decades too late). I think that with ordinary keyboards, this would be total crap, but the organ gives it a scary carnival feel and makes the mid tempo dirges seem eerie and off kilter. I could easily imagine this music coming out of a very fashionable and hip scene circa 2010, but we would all find some way to dismiss it, and instead talk about how those new kids can't hold a candle to SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN, then we would pat ourselves on the back for simply knowing who SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN are and revel in the fact that we are more worldly and experienced than those young upstarts and who were those kids fooling thinking they could make music as authentic as the stuff that we like? 

SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN

But seriously, fans of THE VANISHING, THE VSS, CHROMATICS and SUBTONIX might want to check this out, because when put in that context, SHARON TATE'S CHILDREN do indeed sound ahead of their time, even if they did not necessarily weather that time all that well.

BLOODY GEARS

Boston's BLOODY GEARS just do it right. The opening guitar lick could be from a long lost SUPERCHUNK tune, the band comes in and instantly I wish that FUCKED UP were still good, cause when they were good, they sounded like this BLOODY GEARS shit that I'm rocking right now. Add the vocals and I hear MOVING TARGETS (also from Boston, in case you're keeping track) and I was sold before the first song even hit the chorus. There are five songs on this tape, and they all rule - give me the chorus of "Running" over 90% of the shit I hear in any given day. The guitars are in the realm of Stan from ARCTIC FLOWERS/SIGNAL LOST, and the overall feel sits pretty close to the latter, but it's really all about the songs...great fukkn songs, and even better songwriting, something that is pretty rare. The band has their own blog here, and Deranged is releasing an EP from them soon.  

BLOODY GEARS

ABADDON/REJESTRCJA

ABADDON should be well known to my well rounded readers, one of Poland's finest 80s exports blow through six songs on this tape, including a version of "Wet Za Wet" that has almost no discernable guitar...actually, most of the recording is lacking in the guitar department, but I'm not sure if this is a different recording or simply a bad reproduction. REJESTRACJA sound mellower on this practice tape than the recordings that I've heard before, but that voice is chilling even buried in a wash of cymbals. REJESTRACJA's only official appearance was on the 1986 Jak Punk To Punk compilation on released Polish state label Tonpress (ABADDON's "Wet Za Wet" was also featured), and their two songs make it easy to understand why people have been passing around practice and live tapes of this band for 25 years. Five songs here, and though I have no titles, I figure this guy might be able to help us out. This is the flip side to the TZN ZENNA tape posted a couple of weeks back.

ABADDON

REJESTRACJA

Here's a short video from the Jarocin festival in 1982, I'm not sure if the REJESTRACJA performance is more interesting, or the footage of the Eastern Bloc punks putting safety pins through their cheeks. This whole film is well worth checking out, even if your Polish is rusty.

WEIRD TV

WEIRD TV sound like they are from the Pacific Northwest - dirty fuzzed out rock with a snotty singer who sounds equal parts Cobain, Zapata and Crash (Kurt, Mia and Darby, respectively). Aside from the ill-advised version of "Gloria" - a song that is right up there with "Sonic Reducer" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" on the "Don't Do That" list - these tunes have the perfect mix of grunged out 90s post rock and new millennium art soaked punk. I think that WEIRD TV could easily venture into unpleasant hipster territory on future releases, but for now I stand firmly in their camp. Oh...they're from Olympia, so I guess that Pacific Northwest supposition was pretty spot on.

WEIRD TV

NATTY CHARIOT

End the week with a mellow swagger instead of a raucous explosion. Natty Chariot comes to us from the same chap who put together the excellent Behind The Iron Curtain mix tape posted back in January, and this time, as the subtitle suggests, we get one solid hour of Jamaican reggae/dub singles. The tempo is dreary and dragging throughout, but the vibe is fukkn excellent on tunes like "Natty Dread Come Over" from LITTLE BOP and KING TUBBY & MICHAEL CAMPBELL's spaceland freakout "Internal Energy." The vinyl crackle on the tape's namesake performed by OBSERVER is almost as mesmerizing as the monotonous driving beat and, and I ROY's "Drifter" with it's lazy horns seems positively upbeat by comparison. A few years ago, you never would have convinced me that I would have liked this tape, but it started with my friend Peter and slowly my mind opened. No, it has nothing to do with weed, but Natty Chariot is a burner.

NATTY CHARIOT Side A

NATTY CHARIOT Side B

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

The folks at the online version of Maximum Rocknroll asked me a few questions, and I answered them. This magazine has been and still remains a huge fucking part of my life, and I'm happy to share the link to their site. Daily updates, killer photos, loads of website/blog links, new bands from around the globe...just another way to better spend your time in front of the computer.

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

HATEFULS

As Luc (from the sporadic but excellent Kängnäve blog) pointed out a few weeks back, the Ancienne demo that I posted was the likely just the first from HATEFULS ("ancienne" means "older," and that tape was from 1983), and with my vast multilingual repertoire I am going to guess that this demo, seemingly titled Nouvelle, is actually just their "new" one...or at least it was the new one in 1985...and I didn't even finish college. More killer KBD styled punk shits this time, though HATEFULS have mellowed a bit on this three song recording. The combination of "Voodoo" b/w "Too Many Rules" would have made an essential slab of wax, but alas these kids were destined to remain on cassette until some bearded chump converted their lifes' work to 00s and 01s and shared it with you.

HATEFULS 1984/85 demo

GENESIS CLIMBER

The Bay Area's GENESIS CLIMBER are not your ordinary band, and these two 10+ minute jams will scare off anyone looking for a pogo friendly soundtrack. But listen to the attack on the four steel rounds at the start of "Kosmos Of The Mind" and it will bring images of destruction to your mind and a smile to your face. It doesn't? OK, then nevermind and I'll see you tomorrow. Those of you smiling, please enjoy the bizarre amalgamation of late 80s Dischord vocals with prog/hardcore hybrid bands like ASBESTOS DEATH manifested circa new millennium. Their 2009 EP took me completely by surprise, and this demo heads even further out onto freakout pier, threatening to leap. Recorded live (my only complaint is that the obvious low end assault that drives this band is rather lost on this recording) on 21/12 (nerds), this should give you a good idea what their upcoming 2xLP will consist of. I for one, am excited.

Live At Minmel's

DEFAULT

I swear I used to have a 7 incher from DEFAULT, but apparently it wasn't very good and didn't make the cut during the last purge, and now I'm kicking myself in the ass, cos this demo is rippin'. I seem to remember they were from Germany, but now I fukkn forget, so I'm left to present you with these 5 songs of mid 80s hardcore punk with no background (let the flogging commence).  Equal parts early HC and scorching UK punk, DEFAULT have a gloriously gritty guitar sound , and songs like "More Than Fun"  are total classic material. What would happen if you combined COURT MARTIAL and 7 SECONDS? I'm not sure either, but it seems like DEFAULT might have tried to pull that experiment off back in 1987, and I thank them for it.

Faith Or Fraud demo 1987

VIPER

Do UK82 drum beats with chaotic vocals and out of control guitars sound like something you might enjoy? Yes? Then this is your jam. 

Committing The Seven Deadly Sins

DIATRIBE

So last week I pulled this tape out, hadn't listened to it in years, and holy shit!! I forgot how much this thing rips. I started converting these six scorchers to a handy digital format so I could share them with you and cruised the 'nerd looking for a little more background. San Diego's DIATRIBE were around for just a few years and left us with a cassette only demo that blows doors on most mid 80s HC from anywhere on earth, they took the best moments of DISCHARGE and added a CRUCIFIX ferocity  - that much I knew. But what I didn't know is that they were back in action...well, kinda. I found the band's myspace page and in the comments section is a brief argument between the singer (side note: the singer is Vinnie Fono, later frontman for 90s bands CHRONIC THRILL and SHITGIVITS, who set up the first couple of shows I played in San Diego. Back then we thought he was ancient and crazy, but he treated us well) and the guitarist...it seems Vinnie has assembled a new band that features exactly one member from the 90s DIATRIBE: Vinnie Fono. A few days later I was trolling a message board (no disparaging comments, I'm not proud of it...and besides - you are trolling a blog right now, aren't you?) and DIATRIBE came up as one of the finest under known 80s USHC bands, and then came this link to a story about the "reunited" DIATRIBE and an argument in the comments section that will make your head spin. Sad to see this six song legacy being tainted by decades old divisions, but none of this changes the fact that these tunes will melt your face. Classic American hardcore.

AFTERMATH demo

RAKOSI

I heard about this Hungarian band last year from my friend Spencer, who has spent a few stints in Budapest. Their ten song demo made the rounds for a few months and was recently put to wax (Lengua Armada Records - already sold out, check your local distro) and issued on cassette for the North American audience (Combat Action Tapes, also responsible for the recent SUCIO PODER reissue - they've still got copies of both, hit 'em up). The attack here is stripped down hardcore punk, with only a third of the tracks even reaching the 50 second mark. Simple riffs that are delivered with total ferocity and mosh inducing tempos that are over before you know it. It's like an accidental hybrid of USHC and 80s Spanish punk with a classic Iron Curtain delivery. The jerky nature of "Tinana" is worth the whole demo, and the 23 second three chord DISCHARGE-esque ripper "Egri Joska" has managed to get stuck in my head countless times since Spencer slipped this tape my way. Check out the band here, and hopefully there will be more releases in the future.

RAKOSI

AMPUTAPE PORTLAND

Portland kills it once again, this time courtesy of the Amputape label. A 40+ minute compilation featuring bizarre insanity (TRANSIENT, SEI HEXE), killer crust/HC (ABANDON, RAW NERVES, SQUALORA), the apocalypse female fronted metalcrust of MURDERESS, just plain apocalypse from MACHINE GUN CONGRESS and just plain metal from HONDURAN. No lengthy write up describing how each of these bands are awesome, just me letting you know that each of these bands are awesome, so download if you don't believe me, and then send Amputape your four measly dollars and get one for yourself.

Amputape Portland Side A

Amputape Portland Side B

PHANTOMS OF THE UNDERGROUND

If you feel like skipping out on your job and heading straight to the pub, then I've posted this tape just for you. Newcastle's PHANTOMS OF THE UNDERGROUND were a streamlined beer drenched machine that should have been headed for the big leagues with a sound that falls right in line with THE DAMNED, PETER & THE TEST TUBE BABIES, EDDIE & THE HOT RODS and other slick, Johnny Thunders worshipping punks. Not sure where their train got derailed, but they only left us with two demos, this one from 1984. "Ready For The Night" and "Miss Another Day" are fukkn classics (perhaps they knew this, and that would explain why they gave us both songs twice), "Blood Money" is a total rock and roll burner. Sure their version of "Search & Destroy" was probably a stupid idea even in '84, but when you are this wasted, your time should be spent crafting perfect punk tunes and chatting up cute girls, not mastering the art of the cover song.

PHANTOMS OF THE UNDERGROUND