BAGHEAD // BIG BLEACH

You read the shit I said yesterday about FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES? Well, replace a few of the date-specific cultural references and fast forward 12 years and that's me watching these Hattiesburg, Mississippi bands wreck the joint in Oklahoma City last spring. Fukkn crucial. 

IT'S THE BIG BAG SPLIT

FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES

You remember the mid 2000s when this band exploded and Andy just wrecked everything in his path with complete disregard for personal safety? I remember that, and it was awesome. Skimming in the wake of those Danish bands who aped everything so precisely in an ocean of full stacks and misanthropy, these dudes were like a fukkn sunrise hurting your eyes so bad you have to look away. Five tracks in five minutes...I want this back.

FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES

MALACHI TOUR TAPE

Remember a few days ago when I mentioned the MALACHI Europe tour back in 2009? Well we listened to this tape constantly on that tour, and it brings a smile to my face every time I put it on. The tour mix tape is an important thing, a thing mostly gone the way of youtube and podcasts and playlists I am afraid....I should give a shit about that, but I don't give a fukk.

TOUR TAPE

TRAAG

Weirdo manipulation and amalgamations of sound that bridge worlds of psychedelic industrial and drug induced soundscapes. Yeah....Nostilevo rarely disappoints, but 2013's Surface World is one of their best releases to date. The year is almost over...stay weird. 

SURFACE WORLD

INVERSION

Portland melodic crust that, as the title suggests, is delivered with the pure power that comes from DIY recordings. I am fully aware that this style of hardcore is out of vogue with the stomp mosh kids and the Oi! revivalists, but I'll be damned if it doesn't just hit the right nerve every now and then. 

BASEMENT DEMO

HELLTRAIN

On the 2009 MALACHI European tour we rolled up to a frigid show in Stuttgart (it was January, every show was frigid) to find that we were the only band on the bill....and we were early. When you have time to kill and an empty room to use...things happen. Marek (INSUICIETY, MÖNSTER, many more) was on tour with us, and that fool hits the drums real good, so we started a band with him on drums, me on bass and John and Dathan playing guitar. No vocals...we figured that we would just figure that part out at the last minute. The "last minute" turned into drafting a stranger who wandered in from the bar as we were using our soundcheck time to create our new band. Dude ran through it once and then it was showtime. Four songs, probably not more than eight riffs total, and I bet at least three of them are just open E. We named the band HELVETE-something-or-other, that I remembered translating to "HELLTRAIN," but it was a long time ago and the beginning of the tape is tough to make out. Six minutes total, including in intermission that was apparently us just hanging out on the stage as if there was no one in the room. Interested labels get in touch.

Formerly Known As: BEWARE OF THE DOGS

John and I did the same thing with a different drummer/roadie at an ill-attended ARTIMUS PYLE gig in Cesena, Italy in 2003. Would love a copy of that set, because Jensen was a mean ass front man..

CHRISTMAS SHIT // AJUDANTI DI PAPAI NOÉU

Oh come on...I had to post this today, right? Fukkn typical. '90s chaotic hardcore from two Espirito Santo, Brasil bands. Djeh nah dah....

SPLIT TAPE

J.S. AURELIUS

The title pretty much sums this one up perfectly, and the source pretty much ensures quality. I suppose I could say a lot of things, but I will leave it here: this is mandatory, my friends. Headphones and volume strongly recommended.

FOR LUXURY OR THERAPY? MEDITATIONS ON DRUG USAGE

MISERABLE FRIEND

Even with all of the adoration heaped upon MY BLOODY VALENTINE (justified) over the years, and modern band's often apparent inability to attempt nothing new aside from aping some past icon who has not yet been aped (guilty), I find it odd that there are not more MBV ripoffs in our midst/s. And please don't misunderstand, Wisconsin's MISERABLE FRIEND don't sound like Shields & Co., but they are doing the damn thing, man, and that's the mood they set. And they set it right. I mean, "Wasteland" has that one guitar part that is straight NEUROSIS in production and presentation, and "Coming To Life" is just really good fuzzed out indie/psych, and I swear I heard THE CURE more than once, but these kids are just taking it all in and then doing their damn shit. And it's awesome. And that's what the kids are supposed to do. 

THAWED, FLAWED + SUFFERING

¡¡¡REDIOXXX!!! "EL CANDELABRO"

One hour radio show from somewhere south of me. I'm not going to mislead you, the first song is really awful, but there are some creamers on here for sure, and I'm a fan of the DJ who talks after every...single...song. Everything from hardcore to grind to noisecore to punk to weird commercial screamo is covered, in other words: "something for everyone." But I know that only about 0.3% of you are going to take the plunge...

EL CANDELABRO

I want to party with this dude. 

-OTRON

Take a break, my friends. Not like the "cool down" break while the sun is rising after a night of dancing on the beach, but a "clock out" break while the whole world goes to absolute shit. Take a break. Step into a new (old?) and different world where the bad things and the bad times don't just don't matter....they don't exist. -OTRON play other sounds....like Jan Hammer reincarnate (even though Jan ain't dead), every track is a perfect montage. This is perfect prog/soundtrack/synth for a new generation - I just wonder if you are strong enough to submit.

DOZE ON

MICROFILM

I feel like things have been pretty raw at TEHQ for a few days now. I also don't feel like there's any reason to clean it up. 2004 demo from Japan's MICROFILM is blown out hyper fast and frantic hardcore delivered the way that apparently no one outside of that island can. Even when they drop a catchy riff ("Revenge"), these kids are so amped and full of energy that you want to jump through the walls. There are hundreds of Japanese bands, especially from the '90s/'00s, that slipped between the cracks and flew constantly off of the outsider radar...and a lot of those bands are really fukkn good. Readers:  I present MICROFILM.

WRISTCUTDEMOTAPE

LUCID TERROR

Raw and primal black grind from New York. It's just....ugly. Elements of cro-magnon death metal, but I feel like these mutants are, in their heart of hearts, pure grind freaks. No bullshit here, nothing special. Just filth and dirt and a distortion that comes from pushing too hard (as opposed to trying too hard....you get me?). Do it....

WHIP IT TIL YOU FAINT

VIOLENCE

This Oakland outfit only played a few shows before things fell apart...and I sadly didn't even see them once. One time I was in a line outside the show, waiting to get frisked, stubbornly refusing to even attempt to pull some weird "scene card" that I probably didn't even (don't even) have to jump the line so I could see the first band....and so I listened to aural strains of VIOLENCE outside the venue instead of seeing them in the flesh. They sounded like a complete mess. And I wish I had tried to pull that card. And these eight minutes is all that is left. Four women. No guitars. Weird and uncomfortable post punk presented as noise punk....yeah, I really wish I had tried to jump the line that night. "We Want Anarchy" is fukkn primal, there's just no other way to describe it. It's not "good" buy any classical definition, but it's more "real" than most of the bullshit that passes as punk in these modern days. Keep it weird, y'all. Keep not giving a fukk. 

VIOLENCE

Also - try searching the internet for a band called VIOLENCE. Seriously. It's fun. 

UNUR

Chicago dark/minimal synth powerhouse UNUR returns with Halt And Start, four brilliant pieces of gorgeously dated (and timeless) dreary electronics with guitars that conjure Peter Hook (yes, I know Hook plays bass, I am not a complete idiot, just a partial one) and a driving tempo that comes off the like grown offspring of late '80s Belgian acid house. Yeah....UNUR are doing it that good. Good enough that I don't shy away from either comparison and good enough that I keep coming back to these tracks over and over....Modern Tapes are not fucking around. 

HALT AND START

IZGUBLJENA ALTERNATIVA

If this isn't what you want, then I don't really know why you bother paying me a visit. 1985(?) Yugo comp featuring UBR, QUOD MASSACRE, DISTRESS, NECROPHELIA, SOLUNSKI FRONT and DVA MINUTA MRŻNJE.....if you monkeys want something better than this....? Fukk, I don't know what to tell you. 

IZGUBLJENA ALTERNATIVA

For what it's worth and/or extra encouragement, there are eight tracks of primitive live/demo shitcore mania tacked onto the end of this tape that are not credited on the insert...to some ears, these might be the finest (read: shittiest) ten minutes on the entire cassette. So if you are feeling jaded but still think you are brave....? Well, then there you go.

PADKAROSDA

As with many things, and especially music, it's all in the presentation. Hungary's PADKAROSDA released this demo in 2013 (stateside distribution by fellow/former blogger Music Not Noize) and they instantly got lumped in with a burgeoning scene of death rock revivalists. But listen to the tracks here and replace that flanged guitar with a JCM800 pushed to its limits, the early Finnish fuzz on the bass will fit right in, and the aggressive vocal snarl goes from some introverted proto goth mystery to fiery communist-era determination. I don't argue with the classification this band has been given (and their more recent recordings are decidedly less aggressive and more in line with death/goth rock), but this is a fukkn hardcore tape to my ears, and a really damned good one. 

SZABADULÁSOM MÚVÉSZETE

NAMATAY SA INGAY

The second demo from these NYC punks is even more vicious than the first. Tough as nails and desperately fierce, the five tracks on this tape are a perfect example of what happens when you do it right and you do it with intensity..."Room 11" is so simple if you break down the parts, but holy shit is that track powerful. And the intro for the closer "Kalma Konsensya" seems like the band is trying to reign it in for effect but they are still dying to break loose - this is an energy that carries into the slower chorus riff of the song as well, and it's an energy that you can't fake. You have it or you don't....and NAMATAY SA INGAY have it. 

THIRD WORLD BASTARDS OF NEW YORK

Physical copies from Aklasan Records...

SUBURBAN BITCH

Sometime in '04/05 we got a call that there were some friends in distress. Buzz (SHOTWELL) and Janelle (PANTY RAID, TOURETTES, Tales Of Blarg) had started a summer band so they could help their friend move across country. The plan: make a demo, book some shows, drop friend off, leisurely vacation their way back to the west coast. Pretty chill plan...until the van dies in Wisconsin Dells and the hotel says you're scumbags and you can't stay there anymore and sleeping in a ditch starts getting old., Their bandmate/s and taggers along had already gotten rides to Milwaukee, and I drove to The Dells to collect Buzz, Janelle and their belongings from a van in a gas station parking lot at 3am...we left the van there (sans license plates) and brought them to our pad to work on a new plan. They only stayed with us for a couple of nights, their road crew was soon reunited and everyone started trickling home on their own. That was the summer I met the brilliant and (still) inspiring Melissa Shakes, and my second encounter with Brontez (who re-introduced himself by mentioning how excited he was to turn 18 in a few months so he could start his career as a porn star), but I never saw SUBURBAN BITCH play a show. 

SUBURBAN BITCH

The sound? Classic '90s East Bay with plenty of Mission District for good measure. Sloppy. Raw. Punk.

VOLAHN

Even visitors who only casually dip their toes into the overwhelming and mind melting world of USBM will sure know the name VOLAHN. At the center of the incestuous Circle of Southern California artists who have been consistently cranking out some of the continent's most unique and compelling sounds, VOLAHN share members with countless other acts and are responsible for live performances that defy description. Epic and introspective black metal, spread out over almost 60 minutes....Aq'Ab'Al is their opus. Ancient souls and modern desires will hold you over...until there is more. 

AQ'AB'AL

In case you have any doubts....see VOLAHN in the flesh. Whenever possible. 

I.R.A. (INFEXION RESPIRATORIA AGUDA)

Demos from 1989/90 and a live set from 1991 all crammed onto one cassette....and people say "fan club" editions are bad?!? Snagged this one from a 100¥ bin in Osaka last year, and I once again thank the discount gods for this steaming pile of seminal Colombian hardcore. You will thank them too, especially with the guitar drops out for the chorus of the 43 second, two riff masterpiece "Confusíon," and the out of tune stomp "Poco Ambiente" that follows will have you once again bowing in praise. Classic shits, raw and urgent.

ATENTADO TERRORISTA // BARQUIZIDIO