DISTURBING THE COMMON PEACE

 

Recently received a request to re-up this one, and figured that a re-post would be better - the original post is fifteen years old after all, and who's really gonna dig that deep, right? 1984's Disturbing The Common Peace is the quintessential Greek punk comp, the dark and distinct sound that epitomized their scene through the next decade is captured here with EX HUMANS, STRESS and PANX ROMANA with the slightly lesser known ADIEXODO, CHAOS GENERATION and GROVER. Two tracks from each, bootlegged and reissued countless times since then....with good reason. 

ΔΙΑΤΆΡΑΞΗ ΚΟΙΝΉΣ ΗΣΥΧΊΑΣ

D.I.Y. CONSPIRACY VOL.2

 

Sometimes with the comps I don't know if it's better to just go: "here. it's a comp. the tracks generally fall into ____ genre. enjoy?" or if I should dissect the shit track by track. It's even harder with collections that aren't genre specific because the dissection can get really pedantic and I feel like I'm gonna lose you...and I don't want to lose you. So anyway....here's a compilation. I've posted a few of these Covid-era collections previously and I'm pleased to say that reaching for a 'new' volume still gives me those good shivvers because I know I'm about to bump a bunch of tracks I've never heard from bands Ive never heard of. This second volume is more about the catchy almost-garage shits, and listeners would be forgiven if they mentioned SOVIETTES and./or REATARDS when referring to bands like GULG BEACH and LA VASE, but then there are some rippers on the flip from GHETTO GOSPEL and SKARA and there are some primitive blackened punk/metal shits from UDDA so maybe there isn't any kind of theme at all. Maybe the intent was just to collect a bunch of good ass bands from all over this flat-ass planet and present them in one place for you to listen to. If so? Success.

DIY CONSPIRACY VOL.2

LUNAR MIASMA

 

One half hour of meticulously crafted psychedelic space sounds from LUNAR MIASMA in the form of Heavy Mist. It's just before six in the morning as I write, and this is making me dream of dreaming in the bed that is still warm....these are night sounds. Ominous, foreboding, beautiful night sounds. 

HEAVY MIST

GULAG

 

Got this little piece of magic from Matt a few years back and was extremely pleased to pull it out earlier this week for a late evening rip 'n blast. As I confessed a few years back, I'm far from a Greek punk aficionado, so I file this shit in the extremely pleasant "listen and enjoy" category....although this shit piques my interest at a dangerous level. GULAG hit the same verve that DAVOVA PSYCHOZA did when I first heard them in the back room at MRR decades ago - it's addictive and melodic punk and it sounds like it's not just coming from the other side of this world...more like another world entirely. Simultaneously gorgeous and intense, these tracks are culled from the Big Talk EP, In The Showyard LP and the debut Είσοδος Κινδύνου 0°C 12" from 1987 and literally every song feels essential. So enjoy Γκούλαγκ like I did...and because Matt is a real one, there are a few SAD LOVERS AND GIANTS tacked onto the end of the mix. 

GULAG

CANTOS OSCUROS

 

A stunning collection of obscure tracks put together by the folks at Little Axe in Portland, Cantos Oscuros is an hour long journey into a series of other worlds that left me reeling. MARTHA JEAN-CLAUDE, THOMAS MAPFUMO, ARLETA, FALLING STONES, HILDA MURILLO, NORA HERMOSA.....and a few artists the even the creators couldn't identify. Choice cuts for me are the devastatingly mournful cut from OH JHANG-SAN and a subdued screamer from Tacoma, Washington rock 'n rollers THE WAILERS. Sprinkling a few North American rockers (KEN DAVIS, THE JENSEN SISTERS, CARLA OLSON, THE WAILERS) into a mix filled with artists from Indonesia, Suriname, Cambodia, Jamaica, Greece, Japan, Sweden and Zimbabwe helps to contextualize all of the included music instead of presenting any of the songs as exotic anomalies. But really....? It's a fucking beautiful collection of sound, and that's what I'm here for. 

CANTOS OSCUROS

D.I.Y. CONSPIRACY VOL.6

 

The beefiest contribution to the DIY Conspiracy series, from the bulldozer Scandi-crust of CONVINCE to SHEEVA YOGA's fastcore/grind and an absolute smasher from ΝΥΞΗ leading the charge. Bands from Chile, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Greece and Czech Republic spatter a Swede-heavy volume in a series born out of Covid isolation. Pop one of these shredders in and you'll be instantly reminded how big DIY punk is....and then you'll likely skip the reflection and start raging. 

DIY CONSPIRACY VOL.6

D.I.Y. CONSPIRACY VOL. 1

The DIY Conspiracy folks spent the year of Covid cranking out some serious mix tape heat, and I was happy to get the first six installments in one hefty batch. Hardcore, crust, DBeat, punk, doom from Bulgaria, Brasil, Italy, Austria, Chile, Greece, Russia, Australia, Singapore, Portugal...this is the kind of conspiracy I can get behind. 

 

DIY CONSPIRACY VOL.1

Defend DIY Punk indeed - especially from thieves and charlatans. 

But that's for a different post. 

ANTIMOB

 

Greece's ANTIMOB are one of the most under-appreciated current hardcore bands I can think of. Every single release has flawless sonic and aesthetic presentation, and they've spent the last decade improving on their own sound instead of trying to recreate (or reinvent) themselves. Passionate, epic, powerful hardcore punk...not sure what else a fellow like me could ask for. 

ΣΤΑΥΡΩΣΗ

GULAG

No sense fronting: I don't really know shit about Greek punk. I know PANX ROMANA, I have a couple of ANTI... records, HIBERNATION was a monster in the late '90s Skuld/Profane realm and those STRESS reissues from a few years ago get pretty regular spins, but I still don't really know shit about Greek punk.  I first heard GULAG on the Disturbing The Common Peace comp and those tracks are really good, but 1990's Στην Αυλή Των Θεαμάτων (In The Showyard) is a straight killer. Classic tuneful/tunefilled '80s (East) Euro punk to be filed alongside VERDUN, F.P.B. and EU80, GULAG approach punk with a fearless intensity that opens doors that most punks would walk right by without even bothering to knock. Powerful melodic vocals throughout that give the band a(n almost) goth edge but instead seem to opt for honesty, something far too often lacking in punk from any generation or region. This tape was hand (and lovingly) crafted by someone a long time ago, with all of the album info typed out and presented with a color copy of the cover for underground distribution and/or communication. Let's hope the motivation was the latter. 

Στην Αυλή Των Θεαμάτων

GOFILTHGO

This Greek outfit made me eat my words a few months ago when I implied that one of their records looked kinda cheesy. "Yeah, whatever, I know exactly what this sounds like" I told Lydia. But Lydia assured me that it was a really good version of the supposedly generic thing I was about to review and I still scoffed....until I dropped the needle. I apologized to Lydia immediately, and I apologize to GOFILTHGO today - this is bombastic DBeat mania with healthy doses of noise and chaos. Exactly what you fools are used to listening to on Mondays at The Escape (though I admit I've lost my way from time to time).

NO ESCAPE FROM NOISE DISTRUCTION

LIFEWRECK

OK, so I don't really like the bass tone at the start of the first song - that is the beginning and the end of my list of complaints about this ten song kick in the face. Raw, forceful fastcore/PV with brief excursions into epic crust, the echo and effects are on the backing vocals (and it makes them sound massive) while the leads are just distorted by pure power and remind me of AKEPHAL even though the band doesn't (so really, that is a rather stupid "comparison," eh?). The whole thing lasts twelve minutes, but these Greek warriors cram an awful lot of power into those minutes, and I look forward to hearing more.

DEMO '13

ANTIMOB

I've been sitting on this one for far too long, even though I listen to these tracks all the fukkn time. Greece's ANTIMOB were stellar on their first cassette release, but these jams from their forthcoming full length blow the roof off the damn joint. European crust tempered with geographical proximity to Eastern Europe and the punk history offered by that region and an aural admiration for anthemic Japanese hardcore....and the whole thing is delivered with an intensity forced by trying times in a powerful nation. This is hardcore built for riding into battle.

ANTIMOB

WORLD CLASS PUNK

Jakke handed this gem off to me when I was in New York a few weeks back, a brilliant picture of international early '80s hardcore and punk. Compiled by Mykel Board and released by ROIR in 1984, World Class Punk gave a peek into scenes in corners of the world often overlooked, especially in the pre-interweb infancy of punk. COPULATION (Switzerland) dish out a dark post punk dirge that might steal the whole tape for me,  POP GUNS (South Africa) sound like JOE JACKSON - just brilliant pop, WARRIORS OF THE LAST DAYS (Columbia) slog through a wholly inept number with a determination that cannot be faked - though France's NÉVROSE make a case for being even more brilliantly chaotic while CCM (Italy), BASTARDS (Finland), BGK (Holland), RATOS DE PORÃO (Brasil), PURRKUR PILLNIKK (Iceland), DEZERTER (Poland) dish out the kind of quality they are famous for. Sweden's DANSA SKIRKER blew me away and Spain's SLIPS Y SPERMA are raw hardcore brilliance. File this one in the mandatory column, and read Mykel's liner notes here or buy yourself a copy here.

WORLD CLASS PUNK

ANTIMOB

Most excellent crust tinged hardcore from Greece's ANTIMOB. There are flashes of euro-crust heaviness on this 2007 demo, but ANTIMOB manage to sound totally original within the admittedly narrow confines of that subsubsubgenre, cranking out seven tunes that draw from the same influences as Germany's THE NOW DENIAL. Awesome guitars, delivering motörcrust with weapons better suited for full on sweaty bar rock (it's a combination that works brilliantly) - there is nothing fancy here, but everything here is good. Stand out track: "In Front Of The Machines," full length coming later this year (supposedly and hopefully).

UNCONSCIOUS

The well publicized festivities in Austin start tomorrow, but things are ramping up tonight with this photo show, featuring my wife and a load of good friends who take really awesome pictures. If you are attending the well publicized festivities in Austin and are getting into town tonight, then I expect to see you here:

NO JUSTIFICATION

I shouldn't need to convince you to check out '80s international anarcho/punk/hardcore comps, should I? If you need convincing, then trust me (that should be all you need). If you are still leery, then I'll tell you that No Justification includes tracks from HATE THAT SMILE, MEDIA CHILDREN, BROTHERHOOD (their tough ass youth crew is a welcome treat on this mostly punk comp), TT TASK, Greece's GULAG, EVE OF THE SCREAM and more. Little information about several of these bands, and a few never appeared to have made it to vinyl, which is a shame since every track here is at least solid (if not great). And if you still aren't convinced, then I'll start to tell you how much time I spend every week ripping, editing and uploading these multi band comps - seriously, that's a lot of clicking and typing.

NO JUSTIFICATION

ΔΙΑΤΆΡΑΞΗ ΚΟΙΝΉΣ ΗΣΥΧΊΑΣ

Exotic Underground in Bulgaria slapped this brilliant Greek comp onto cassette a full decade ago, and now this transformation into meaningless (but easily digested) 01s and 00s takes an excellent release even further from its origins and closer to you. Released in 1984 on Enigma Records (from Greece, not Southern California), ΔΙΑΤΆΡΑΞΗ ΚΟΙΝΉΣ ΗΣΥΧΊΑΣ (translated: Disturbing The Common Peace) features some of the best dark punk that the Mediterranean nation had to offer. The CHAOS GENERATION tracks are mesmerizing, and are well worth the whole download on their own (although the cassette does show some evidence of extensive love during their tracks), ADIEXODO, GROVER, STRESS and the better known PANX ROMANA and EX HUMANS are also included - two tracks per band.

DISTURBING THE COMMON PEACE

ABOLISH AUTHORITY

I'm not even sure where this shit is from, much less when ABOLISH AUTHORITY made this magic, but these four songs are fucking stellar crusty metalpunk, and I love it!  The word "areti" (second song: "Operation Areti") is Greek for "virtue," the blank tape that this demo came recorded on has banal instructions in English and Greek, and if I listen to these tracks alongside ANTI and CHAOS GENERATION I can hear similarities...so I guess they are Greek? If someone knows anything about this band, please let me know.  These songs have been on heavy rotation at Terminal Escape for several weeks, and I think you will enjoy them...if you don't, then I'm not sure what the problem is.

ABOLISH AYTHORITY

THRASHER THE CAT'S FAVES

Friday comp tapes are back, kids! To reward your patience during my recent absence, I'm dishing out a full 90 minutes of 80s punk and hardcore from Retaliation Records.  A few tracks from each band, and this comp has some serious heavyweights like LEGION OF PARASITES (whose tracks on this comp are fucking smoking, even if their sound quality is a little blown out...ok, it's a lot blown out, but the tunes rule), NEGATIVZ (don't know much about them, but they contribute my favorite songs here), Germany's ANEEB with some rudimentary D-Punk, minimal ska from 3/D SCREAM, killer early 80s USHC from THE DETONATORS (the only US band on the comp), brilliant tracks from Greece's EX-HUMANS (I never understand how some bands, like this one, are so totally ignored) and more (I know it's hard to imagine more, but I swear it's true).  I can only assume that Thrasher was indeed a cat, but thankfully this feline had impeccable taste in punk, and I thank her human for putting these bands together for us to enjoy. My tape came with photocopies of the label stickers...so I felt compelled to scan them in for you, which I'm certain everyone will appreciate immensely, right?  Happy compilation listening!

THRASHER LOVES THESE TRACKS - SIDE ONE

SHE LOVES THESE SONGS TOO - SIDE TWO