SMART PILS

I love the shit out of this band - dual vocal brooding UK anarcho punk whose Bluurg LP is still a frequent spin at TEHQ. SMART PILS were way ahead of their time, enough so that I felt it necessary to include both versions of "Life Cycle," "Iceland" and "Solitary Man" that were on this tape. Worthy of adoration by fans of bands as diverse as SIOUXSIE, THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, CRASS and COCTEAU TWINS, it's high time you started counting them amongst your favorites.

SMART PILS

EWA BRAUN

The first time I toured Europe, in 2003, we played a brilliant show in Vrah, Czech Republic. A tiny village with a punk venue on top of a hill...great bands, enthusiastic (and slightly warped) punks, and a disco party after the show that would have been brilliant had it not been for the 14 hour drive that awaited us the next morning. The man behind Malarie Records was manning his distro stall, and let all of us listen to the stuff that we had never heard of - including Poland's EWA BRAUN. Released by Nikt Nic Nie Wie in 1994 (and they still have vinyl versions available - I strongly suggest that you order a copy), Love Peace Noise is the kind of record that envelops you, and was the soundtrack to an alcohol fueled restless night filled with fruitless and futile attempts at sleep while the dance party raged in the next room. This tape defies genre classification, EWA BRAUN take the off kilter rock and post punk sounds from bands like yesterday's SMIERC KLINICZNA and Polish pioneers KRYZYS and add crushing and chaotic walls of sound. The 6 minute dirge "Ziemia" that opens the second side owes as much to HAWKWIND as it does to the first waves of Seattle grunge, and sets a tone mirrored by most of the tape...dark and introspective, chaotic and on the verge of violence. This band was active around the same time as Canada's ONE EYED GOD PROPHECY, and it conjures similar emotions when I listen to it, though the bottled angst on Love Peace Noise is more restrained and somehow more tense at the same time. I bought the LP from Martin that night, and snagged a copy of the cassette so we could listen to it the next day on our drive to Poland...I still pull it out often, and today that cassette is yours to enjoy.

LOVE PEACE NOISE

ŚMIERC KLINICZNA

The title says it all, but this tape leaves me with as many questions as answers. Poland's SMIERC KLINICZNA released two relatively ripping singles on the Polish state Tonpress label in 1983 and 1984, but these tracks, recorded live from 1982-84 reveal a much more rock oriented side of the band. Songs like "Kukurydza" hint towards the trash that those EPs offered, but most of this tape focuses on killing psychedelic jams and creating party vibes...it almost makes me wonder if those two state label EPs were attempts to "market" the band to "punks" - perhaps I'm reading (or hearing) too much into these tracks, but the vibe I get is completely different from how I feel after spinning "ASP" b/w "Jestem Ziarnkiem Piasku" (which I did just now so I could confirm this vibe thing I'm experiencing at the moment). "Siekiera" starts off as the rager on this tape (the song has nothing to do with the band of the same name), but it then digresses into a downtempo chill out with sporadic vocals reminiscent of southern neighbors F.P.B., and fits in nicely with the 'festival feel' set by most of this tape. At first listen, "Nie Przedpraszaj" and the prematurely cut off "Homokracja" might seem even further removed from the punk umbrella, but if it's raining, but I assure you that these songs do not mind staying dry underneath the protective punk shelter.  Call this one "psych/punk meets hippie/rock meets total/art/weirdness under the Iron Curtain and records two live tapes over three years" - enjoy if you dare, but an open mind and historical context might be required for full appreciation.

PUNKY REGGAE PARTY czesc 1

BOG PEOPLE

In the classic tradition of the '80s UK bands, Portland's BOG PEOPLE slapped a rehearsal recording onto their Radiation Years demo and repackaged the whole thing for their recent trip down the west coast. I strongly suggest snagging the proper demo as well (most of you have already), but the songs are given a rawer treatment here, and they manage to capture some of the live fury within the confines of a rehearsal studio. Six of these are tunes we've heard before, but the new ripper "SGP" is music to my ears, and there's a studio teaser ("Mass Effect") from the forthcoming BOG PEOPLE record. Noisy distorted UK82 styled punk from Portland - Noise Punk Monday is currently in full effect.

05-12-09 REHEARSAL

HAZZARD'S CURE

I've only seen these gloomy apocalypse metallers once, but was struck by their ability to hold my interest through one drawn out epic after another. This demo starts with a whiskey drenched solo laden intro, and then the metal comes in waves, taking ASBESTOS DEATH style trudging doom, combining it with stoner, black and prog metals, and making the whole operation sound new and relevant. The GENESIS CLIMBER and ACTS OF SEDITION drummer sits behind the throne for this operation, which explains much of the technical proficiency you are about to listen to...good jams.

HAZZARD'S CURE

BLOODY HAMMER

Melbourne, Autralia hardcore raw punx gone Oi!...and the result is fantastic. The path that BLOODY HAMMER tread upon is well worn, but there are reasons why we do some of the things that we do - and sometimes the reason is to make killer songs. From Yeap's strangely dark vocals, as if he is trying to sing an octave lower than his voice would like to be, to Tristan's perfect leads - this is flawless fist pumping action. They will inevitably face CRIMINAL DAMAGE comparisons, not so much due to musical similarities as to band member lineage (BLOODY HAMMER members come most notably from PISSCHRIST and SCHIFOSI), and those comparisons are certainly warranted, but these Aussie's eschew obvious hooks in favor of clever songs that sneak up on you, and with a track like "Street Kids" on your demo, folks like me are completely sold.

POGO ROCK

ESSEX AND EAST LONDON PUNK

Sometimes two days seems like a long time to stay away from UK punk. And then I hear songs like THE ACCUSED's "Live A Lie" and I wonder why I ever left at all. This glorious mix tape starts with four UK82 scorchers from THE ACCUSED, and only gets better from there. POISONED BY ALCOHOL are nothing spectacular, but if you heard it blaring out of a shitty stereo about 2/3 of the way through the party you would likely rush over and try to find out who had made the sounds...and there's something inescapably great about the vocals. THE DREAMS stick out like bikers at a J-Pop show on this tape, but their two tunes are blazing punk rock and roll the likes of which NEW BOMB TURKS perfected a decade later...like NINE POUND HAMMER, M.O.T.O. and EDDIE & THE HOT RODS all getting loaded together, I'm not sure what they are doing on this tape or where/when they are from, but I'm well psyched to hear the tunes. THE SINYX featured a KRONSTADT UPRISING member in a later lineup, but I could give half a shit about that after hearing the brilliantly tinny guitar and snotty vocals that are the focal point for their two songs...great fukkn shit. Flip the tape and get into RIGOR MORTIS (the UK punks, obviously, not the US thrashers); six rippers and an unfortunate cover of "Tequila" (again I ask: why did so many '80s bands insist on adding pointless covers to their demos and live shows?) and STONE THE CROWZ wrap the tape up with five dark pre UK crust numbers. I feel like people who put together mix tapes should sign them so I can give proper credit for an excellent compilation - "Job Well Done!"

ESSEX AND EAST LONDON PUNK

PEOPLE AGAIN

I don't spend a lot of time posting crust, but don't let that lead you to believe that the genre is not well loved at TEHQ, especially when done as well as this. Wisconsin's PEOPLE AGAIN were active for most of my residency in Milwaukee, and I saw them level more than a few basements, but these two songs are possibly the pinnacle of their output. Charging like a herd of elephants, PEOPLE AGAIN are a full on assault - in line with Europeans like EKKAIA, obviously nodding in the direction of Portland, but with a pace that is relentless and leads more in line with US hardcore than the Swedes so often adored by the melodic crusters of the world. PEOPLE AGAIN dished out a split EP with yesterday's guests SARJAN HASSAN a while back, so it seemed fitting to get their demo up today.

PEOPLE AGAIN

Drummer/vocalist Zak is one of the sometimes drummers for CONQUEST FOR DEATH (he played on the Japan tour tape released last year), and he gave me this tape at the wedding of our guitarist Craig in February. I knew he had given it to me, but somehow between the wedding and home, I fukn lost it. Too ashamed to ask for a replacement, I chalked it up to my bad fortune and got on with my life. Then, in July, I was packing for a trip to Wisconsin to go to Zak's wedding to my dear friend Abby and pulled out my suit. I don't wear a suit often, so it should have come as no surprise when I pulled the PEOPLE AGAIN demo out of the pocket of the jacket. Hooray for weddings! But in case you thought 8 minutes of crust was the best thing to come out of their nuptials, get a load of the sweetest looking matrimonial photo ever:

(elephant hats, in case you were wondering)

SARJAN HASSAN

I heard that your day wasn't going quite fast enough, and that there were not nearly enough movie samples between the songs that make up the soundtrack for your life. Well you're in luck, chumps, because I have the 2005 demo from Malaysian crossover thrashcore studs SARJAN HASSAN. Eight songs in under ten minutes, vocals that land somewhere between a scream and a shriek, and drums that fly by in a blur...and then there are the circle pit breakdowns - you must have circle pit breakdowns. These dudes did a split tape with one of my bands a few years ago, and we played with them in KL in 2008 (they took 30 minutes to set up, and then tore the roof off the joint all out of tune and thrashtastic)...the guitarist looked like this afterwards, I guess he was pretty stoked:

SARJAN HASSAN 2005 DEMO

GENERIC

GENERIC were anything but generic. Maybe these tunes delivered today might sound a little "dated," but in 1985, this combination of '80s UK hardcore, unwaveringly fierce politics and a steady diet of early anarcho punk resulted in an amazing demo (and a few stellar records that followed). The guitar tone is fukkn textbook, it's the kind of sound that bands should walk in to the studio with, play it for the engineer and say: "Make me sound like that" (seriously, just the intro to "Time To Jump" could be cloned and repeated and the result would still be better than most of the records released today). Who would have the nuts to record "Coca-Killer" today? And if someone did, then they would more than likely just be called idealistic twits (as GENERIC may well have been back then), but the song is dished out with pure sincerity and comes off not preachy, but rather factual. GENERIC first appeared on Terminal Escape via the North Atlantic Noise Attack compilation, but these tracks completely smoke that stuff - this just crushes me. Enjoy.

JOIN THE CONSPIRACY

SENSELESS APOCALYPSE

Why should Noise Punk Mondays be limited to raw DBeat and the tried and true formula of reverb drenched vocals and ear splitting high end guitars? Why not delve deeper into the tombs of genre defying sounds? I couldn't think of a logical reason not to, so here's the 1993 demo from Shizuoka's SENSELESS APOCALYPSE. After a 5 minute dirge, the nicest grinders I've ever met blast through six numbers tuned so low that riffs become a thing reserved for memories and wishful thoughts. Manabu's vocals border on absurd, but so do 0:07 grind songs reminiscent of MEAT SHITS and other '90s purveyors of fine scatological noise core. In 1998, SENSELESS APOCALYPSE played (the old) Mission Records and blew minds, then released the Senseless Stereotyped Idea full length the following year (a truly amazing record that questions the genre dividing walls that separate grind, hardcore, noise and originality in much the same way that many MELT BANANA records do), but this is S.A. at their most primitive - and should not be consumed by the weak.

185 SONGS DEMO

The recording posted was in fact NOT a SENSELESS APOCALYPSE demo. It came to me from a third party inside the S.A. demo case on an unmarked cassette, and I went forward assuming that I had the 185 Songs Demo, when in fact I did not. I apologize for the confusion, but I hope you enjoyed what was very likely a MEAT SHITS demo. I believe that an "Oops" is in order...

SELF COMMUNION // DROWNER

Death dirge synth drenched noisescapes from SELF COMMUNION. There are hardly words for how much I love the funeral procession pace of the two note opening track ("Mr. Hyde") that features only synth and vocals, and from there the tape continues with two more repetitive industrial downers - fukkn great shit. SELF COMMUNION is one half of the art team Feeding, and is also a sometimes member of PIG HEART TRANSPLANT. One track in two parts from DROWNER - "Failure" is harsh walls of noise tempered with disconcerting electronic manipulations that would sound very natural in a Tsukamoto film. Awesome.

SELF COMMUNION // DROWNER

COMPLETE DISORDER

All you UK punk nerds just looked at the title and got ultra stoked, but you can put your panties back on and slink out of the room hiding your boners because this shit is from San Rafael, California. All you punks who like punk that is good - well today is your fukkn day, COMPLETE DISORDER is classic mid '80s US hardcore. Notable highlights: the drum sound, specifically the snare; the spoken vocals and goth vibe on "Insomnia"; the almost 7 SECONDS feel of the song structure, even though COMPLETE DISORDER are more punk than the DC inspired hardcore of Reno's finest. Unknown and under-appreciated...that's our specialty at TEHQ, and COMPLETE DISORDER are both.

COMPLETE DISORDER - Through Our Eyes

MIXED COMBAT

One killer hour of bands recorded live on Portland's Life During Wartime radio show. A smattering of Europeans (LA URSS, GORILLA ANGREB, NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS), a couple of Canadians (BRUTAL KNIGHTS and FUCKED UP from when they still played punk), two token Texans (DESKONOCIDOS and SACRED SHOCK), but most of this shit highlights the current crop of punk from Portland Punk City: VIVID SEKT, HELLSHOCK, LORDS OF LIGHT, CRIMINAL DAMAGE, NERVESKADE, THE DISKORDS, DEAD SECTION and loads more bands ranging from balls out crust warriors to melodic dance inducing punk rock. One song from each band, just a great mix tape culled from the archives of LDW - top quality live-in-the-studio recordings that can only be heard on the show - or on this volume of Mixed Combat. This is Volume 1, I can only hope that more are to follow.

MIXED COMBAT Volume 1

SEALINGS

The third installment in the affinity for,  bordering on love affair with, SEALINGS shared by Terminal Escape and the mighty Cosmic Hearse. These English bedroom rockers are much rawer this time around; the stripped down 4-track session highlights the drum machine, and the blown out recording masks the pop sensibilities clearly lurking behind a wash of brooding distortion. The first side is faster than the stuff on their two previous cassettes, but the flip lands closer to shoegazing introspective art rock than ever before (check the almost PAVEMENT-esque "Bowling Alley") while digging deeper into the cavernous world of lo-fi rock made in dark closets while the roommates are sleeping.

SEALINGS 2010

FREE RADICALZ

One of my bands (OPT OUT) played a show last night at Submission, we were one of three locals playing with a Portland band I had never heard of called FREE RADICALZ. Our set was a wash of feedback, a total blast, and lasted for about 8 minutes, FUGITIVE KIND and FACE THE RAIL were great as always, but then we all went to school. Earlier yesterday, I got sucked into listening to one of my current favorite albums (I feel like "favorite" albums tend to rotate and fluctuate...except for a certain few), DAVOVA PSYCHOZA's Antropofobia - it's a near perfect blend of ultra simple 3 chord riffs and subdued but hopelessly catchy leads and charismatic vocals, it's ultra fast bare bones punk that gets stuck in your head for fukkn days but they take such a simple recipe and turn it into a gourmet platter - and I was thinking, "I wanna see a band do this, this is the kind of punk I want to hear right now," and then I saw FREE RADICALZ. See above description, but modernize that shit and inject just enough Portland into their veins. I mean old Portland, like WIPERS, with guitar leads reminiscent of the early '00s PDX melodic crust wave seeping into songs that are straightforward punk with charismatic vocals (see above accolades) and a steady pace that gets me completely wound up when the final descending chords of "Unspoken" fall into the single note feedback that indicates to me that it's time to flip the tape and start again. I wanted to see a band like this last night - NEEDED to see them - and there they were, right in front of me. Fukkn perfect, fukkn punk. Maybe 20 people paid to see the show last night, but we all left walking on clouds. 

FREE RADICALZ

Running in circles is just driving me insane // Everyone's so content I can't relate // Cuz nothing changes in this town // And I won't waste my life just hanging around // Break free from Doom Town // Radical New Kids // Won't stand this shit for another day...

FREE RADICALZ

EYES ON YOU

A great five track burner from EYES ON YOU. 1986's killer Received With Thanks 12" was one of the last releases from COR Records (who were also responsible for records from POLITICAL ASYLUM, CHAOS UK, XPOZEZ, SACRILEGE, A.O.A. and loads more), and this demo from the previous year features more of the same tuneful punk. Clearly a few US bands had infiltrated the band's sound, and Bob Mould's vocal patterns are just as evident as the MOVING TARGETS guitar parts (Bob Mould creeps back in during the solos), and EYES ON YOU use those influences blatantly to crank out catchy punk full of huge guitars and hooks galore while never straying to far away from their UK punk foundation. I have no cover and no information about this tape other than what you see in the scan, and I apologize for posting this without so much as song titles...but I'm sure you will find the music well worthy of overlooking this relatively minor shirking of my duties as blog administrator.

EYES ON YOU

VAASKA

Today, Noise Punk Mondays honors the departure from the Bay Area of Uncle Lo-Lo. Logan (that's what God named him - it was society that dubbed the man "Uncle Lo-Lo") has been all butt-hurt lately because he claims that I give more love to Albany than to Texas on The Escape, so today I present Logan's raw DBeat punk band: VAASKA.  Killer noisy shits with unmistakable rock down through the very core -even when they try to deliver bare bones DBeat, VAASKA tweak it just fukkn right. They are playing shows in Europe soon, and even my European friends will agree upon seeing them live: You can take the raw DBeat out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the raw DBeat. Killer cover of "¡Policia No!" to close out this fukkn rager, and on the day that Uncle Lo-Lo boards a plane and ends his entirely too short stay in San Francisco, let it be known that I have love for Texas. A bizarre and conflicted love, especially after my adolescence spent languishing there, but a love nonetheless. 

VAASKA

GUIGNOL & MISCHIEF BREW

I realize that this might be a tough sell for a lot of folks who stop by The Escape, but I assure you that if you take the leap, you will be rewarded with wonderful tunes. This tape came to me courtesy of Terminal Escape visitors (like yourself) who also happen to be friends, and it falls well outside of the rather narrow musical parameters that I have set up here (though that was not my intent at the outset - it just kinda happened that way because I'm into punk) but GUIGNOL & MISCHIEF BREW define their own parameters on this release, so preconceptions be damned. Fight Dirty is a fucking party on wheels - equal parts Old West soundtrack, Gypsy fireside brawls, Eastern European horn ensemble, THE POGUES on steroids and a smattering of THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS...it exists on a whole different plane, and that plane is way more fun than the one we are currently spending our time on. 

FIGHT DIRTY

Also - I saw DEVIATED INSTINCT Saturday night and was pretty floored. Only stayed for a few songs since I'm a grown up and have to get up early to go to work (which doesn't necessarily make me an adult...it might make me working class, or perhaps just an idiot, the jury is still out) but I STRONGLY encourage punks on the West Coast to go see these fools - shit was amazing. Sunday in San Francisco, hopefully I'll stay for the whole thing!

STREET LEGAL

I know - the cover is probably the best thing you've ever seen, right? I was so totally prepared to ridicule the shit out of this release when I popped it in the player...I mean, BUTTHAND?! Turns out Butthand isn't just a snortle inducing name for a tape, it's a fukkn killer demo from Kansas City's STREET LEGAL. Female vocals, great bass work that drives infectious hooks deep into your subconscious so that tomorrow at work I'll be mentally humming "Fast & Free" but I won't know what the song is or where it came from - it will just be in there. Can we get back to the cover for just a moment? Yeah, that's an ass superimposed on the back of a hand flipping you off. Similar vibe to the equally killer NECRO HIPPIES demo, even though they don't really sound that similar...they feel similar, and that's what a vibe is all about, ain't it? Seven songs - great tape - get into it.

BUTTHAND

THE APATHY COMPILATION

You want killer mix tapes on your Friday - and fukk, you've earned it, so why shouldn't I deliver? Well, luckily for you (and for my reputation), delivery is one of my specialties! Today, I present The Apathy Compilation, courtesy of Apathy Tapes...this mix comes from 1981 and was likely put together by an enterprising young chap (or lass) in his (or her) bedroom late at light while the parents were asleep. "Job well Done" I say to Apathy Tapes, because this is a top notch collection of early UK punk, featuring the likes of VIOLATION, DISTORT, CHRONIC, LIVING DEAD, FRICTION AGITATORS and others over the course of one glorious hour (give or take a few minutes). This shit is all top quality, so dig  in like I know you want to. I want at least a dozen comments about how great this tape is.

THE APATHY COMPILATION

SOOTHE

Four rippers from Japan's SOOTHE, clocking in at just over nine minutes. Musically, SOOTHE don't stray too far from the classic Japanese hardcore formula, though there is something innocent and adolescent sounding about these songs and the female vocals often sound as if they are coming from a very very angry teenage girl. Healthy bits of melody (especially from the vocals) make for a more than infectious listen. These songs will likely be shunned by Japan hardcore purists (see: innocent and adolescent), but I can't shake a distinct COMES comparison - especially with the vocals - and I can't get enough of them.

FIST

INTERNAL AUTONOMY

More dark punk from INTERNAL AUTONOMY. The vocals are still drenched with SIOUXSIE influence, but simultaneously softer and more on edge, and the guitars are distorted and fukkd so much that moments sound like a lost JESUS & MARY CHAIN recording with driving bass and drums moving things along at a steady pace. "Sick" is a total Crass Records throwback tune, while "Buffalo Land" is dreary 4AD styled shoegaze reanimated in the form of political punk, and the combination is fantastic. There are moments I could live without (the solo that extends through the majority of "The Pain" is a notable example), but as a whole this demo is an excellent chunk of late '80s female fronted UK anarcho/goth punk. 

SONG AND SPEECH

VACUÜM

Yesterday morning we wrapped up the mixing for the VACCUUM records (two EPs plus some other stuff, hopefully all out in the near future), and today I give you the 1982 LP from Dutch "rhythmbox" rockers VACUÜM (copied onto tape, of course). This cassette copy is missing a couple of tracks, but that is more than made up for by the great original mix (the 2005 remix that circled the web sounds too modern and clean - who wants that in their punk? not me...). This two piece lands somewhere between cartoon punk and Deutsch punks CHAOS Z, and while the vibe (and the primitive drum machine) might a little too bouncy and happy sounding for some, this tape is still rammed with driving punk songs and a killer piercing guitar sound. VACUÜM were among the first punk bands from Holland to sing entirely in Dutch (even the cover of DEAD KENNEDYS "Nazi Punks Fuck Off," or rather "Nazipux Rot Op"), and arguably the first to rely entirely on programmed drums. This record is definitely random, if not necessarily rare..."Aerobic Pogo" and the primitive techno backbeat to "Vissen" are my favorites, but you should not take my word for it - dive in and make your own favorites. 

VACUÜM

THE HELPLESS

Holiday or not - Noise Punk Mondays returns with a vengeance. Maybe it's sunny outside, and maybe you have the day off from your shitty job (to my foreign friends: today is an American holiday meant to honor the workers, even though the "holiday" was actually manufactured to divert our narrow and short sighted American minds away from Mayday, the internationally and traditionally recognized day to support labor), and maybe you are outside with a grill cooking delicious food and getting hammered because that's what Americans tend to do on this day...unless you are unfortunate enough to work in a service job, in which case you are likely working today. Isn't it ironic that the people in most need of a fukkn day off are the ones that have to work on the day that is supposed to support and honor people who deserve a day off? Man, our shit is fukked up. Anyway, holiday or not, my calendar still reads Monday, and that means fukkn Noise Punk Attack - today in the form of THE HELPLESS. These dudes sprouted from the ashes of DEAD NOISE and feature a member of KRUEL, but mostly they just fukkn destroy. You name yourself after KURO, and you have just made yourself some big fukkn shoes, and THE HELPLESS fill them with style. A meaty bass and drum make for a perfect backdrop for noise guitars and destroyed vocals (which is why we really listen to this shit anyway, right?). THE HELPLESS are everything you hope for in the world of internet driven, distortion laced noise//punk. Cheers to Jon for sending this tape my way...they were great when I saw them with CROW in the spring, but these recorded tunes offer just a touch more clarity and this demo is fast becoming a favorite at TEHQ. There was mention of a Bay Area show in the fall, I hope that wasn't just talk.

NUCLEAR//FIRE

FACE UP TO IT!

Staying on the European continent today, but traveling north and east a few hundred miles to the French city of Bordeaux and picking up the pace for FACE UP TO IT!'s 10 song, 9 minute demo. This bad boy was recorded in 2000, near the height of the 80s thrash revival and the birth of what would soon come to be known as fastcore. It's not hard to imagine a sweaty 17th century building full of rampaging, circlepitting Frenchmen and Frenchwomen losing their fukkn marbles while FACE UP TO IT! blaze through DC influenced hardcore tinged with late 80s UK thrash (hence the HERESY moniker), throwing in a NEGAZIONE cover just to ramp up the singalong factor. FACE UP TO IT! are still killing it ten years later, faster and tighter than this recording, but there's something appealing about the earnest attack on the demo. Drummer Luc is responsible for Kängnäve (both the blog and the killer single page zine from the '00s), and helped me identify a bunch of early French punk I had on an unmarked tape. Which reminds me, I need to post that shit...

FACE UP TO IT!

YAKUZA HORROR

Europeans love the shit out of crust. I know that we have had our flings with crust and Dbeat here in Americaland as well, but seriously, the Europeans cannot seem to get enough of it. The result of this love affair with a predominantly monotone subgenre of our beloved punk rock is a ten story high rubbish heap of utterly forgettable records and tapes (and, oh yes, the fukkn CDs!!!) released by legions of utterly forgettable third rate Eurocrusters, sucking up the very resources that these bands sing about saving. But this love affair also brings us bands like YAKUZA HORROR, who remind me that such a done to death brand of rage can be rendered exciting once again - that crust is popular because sometimes it's fukkn GOOD. Dual vocals (the high raspy one and the low gutteral one), killer straightforward tunes and a classic approach to DBeat hardcore/crust...this shit slips into just about every cliché, but after one song I stopped caring, because it all works so well. The band comes from Spain, and the demo comes from 2005 - enjoy your Saturday.

YAKUZA HORROR

Story of the day, courtesy of one of my bosses at work:

DOCTOR, upon examining my boss: "Interesting, you seem to have what we call 'Cocaine Nose.'"

BOSS: "Well, I've done cocaine every day for the last 50 years."

FLIPSIDE VINYL FANZINE: Volume 1

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

ANTITODO // NAPA

Back to South America today, with Colombia's ANTITODO and NAPA from Ecuador. ANTITODO play 80s UK influenced hardcore punk full of catchy fist in the air choruses, raw delivery and killer double snare hits and I'm hooked. "Largate!!" is a great UK82 burner, and the bouncy rhythm of "Mundo Falso" is totally infectious - these songs were recorded in 2000, but could have just as easily come from 1984 (or from South Central LA circa 2010). NADA are rougher, rawer and offer up eight rudimentary hardcore punk tunes. Plodding 1-2-1-2 beats and gruff vocals buried in the tape hiss, but still songs like "Invasión Yankee" manage to shine. ¿Te usta el Punk?

ANTITODO // NAPA

SNUFF FILM

The Bay Area's most prolific post-teen miscreants offered up this document to support their ill-fated (and ultimately cancelled) winter 2009 US tour. MIGRAINE and ECOLI ditched tour due to van failure, but fortunately they managed to leave us with this collaboration cassette, which sold out before I even knew it was finished. SNUFF FILM take discordant guitars to dizzying heights and bury the vocals in an ocean of chaos so that half the time you wonder if you are even listening to a voice at all...Take 1 makes me kinda seasick, but fortunately the voyage is over just before the 13 minute mark. A creepy concept album of sorts, the songs chronologically follow the path of a snuff film from the initial luring of the victim to the thought process in the mind of the film's creator (the final song, "Producer," is a totally fucked dirge both musically and lyrically, leaving the listener feeling rather dirty), and the lyrical approach suits the affected musical assault. This collaboration features all of the members of both bands writing and playing together, and existed only for this release.

TAKE 1