OUT OF TOUCH // CACHE OF STRATEGIC ARMS // NECRO-E // ZIG-ZAG

I will never pretend I was in the tape trading world, and especially not in the hey day of the 1980s. I didn't know shit then, and if my adult procrastination is any indication then I would have been the worst trading partner ever...never mind the fact that I would have had exactly zero bands that anyone gave half a shit about to offer in exchange for quality sounds from around the world. But fortunately for me (and, indirectly, for you) I have been lucky enough to make friends with punks who were enthusiastic tape traders in The Golden Years, and some of those homemade friendship offerings make up today's post. Four Japanese bands...perhaps you know them? Perhaps you can help sort out the track listings for your fellow Escape denizens? These recordings are all killer but lack complete information.....

OUT OF TOUCH

This is their 1993 demo. I have two versions of their 1993 demo, but this one doesn't the have the live version of "American Dream" at the end and the overall recording sounds a little heavier. My guess is that this is simply a result of duplication quality, but purists are welcome to compare the two - the other one is here if you wanna get wild. And enthusiasts should visit Escape Is Terminal for a live OUT OF TOUCH set from the same era, and if that still isn't enough then I re-upped their 1991 demo.

OUT OF TOUCH

CACHE OF STRATEGIC ARMS

C.O.S.A. released but one EP in 1992(?), but this cassette features ten tracks attributed to them. The first song is studio, and the remainder are rehearsal recordings - fist in the air Japanese hardcore with a serious rock 'n roll bent. Four tracks are listed on the insert that came with the tape, but instead of guessing, I will leave the detective work up to you. Dudes from this band went on to form EFFIGY and REALITY CRISIS.

C.O.S.A.

NECRO-E

Gloriously primitive death metal. While NECRO-E were unknown to me before this tape, their output is churning filth at its finest. As you can see, I was given a subpar insert that lists three tracks...but this tape features nine. Ethereal introductions and interludes make up a few of the cuts, which tells me that this is not (or is at least a different version of) the Assemblage Of Emanated Embryo demo, but these tracks are of a substantially more disgusting quality than the version of that tape that I tracked down here, and knowing nothing of the band I cannot honestly tell you where these tracks come from. Different versions of the demo were released in 1991 and 1992...hopefully a death metal expert will come forth and enlighten us all?

NECRO-E

ZIG-ZAG

While there's a lot of "hmmmm, I wonder where these songs came from" with today's other bands, ZIG-ZAG are a total mystery. Ripping Japanese hardcore, the kind of shit that would likely be lumped under the "Burning Spirits" umbrella - gratuitous leads and insanely powerful vocals. Maybe there is information to be had - but good luck searching the internet for a band called ZIG-ZAG. For the style, this is fukkn perfection....anyone?

ZIG-ZAG