STAND UP

 

STAND UP only gave us this one five minute blast in the mid-teens, but those five minutes hold up. Nasty, primitive USHC - hints of turn of the century fasctore tempering a clear affinity for '80s Rust Belt ferocity. It's great, but you'd expect nothing less from the WHITE WARDS/GAG/NASTI crew responsible for this five song one and done. 

NO LIFE 'TIL WE STAND

YOU FIGHT FOR NOTHING

YOU STAND FOR NOTHING
THERE'S NOTHING YOU BELIEVE
YOU FIGHT FOR NOTHING
YOU STAND FOR NOTHING
AFRAID TO TAKE A STAND

PIONIER SERIÖS

 

I first came across PIONIER SERIÖS from the venerable Tape Attack blog some years back and I was hooked instantly. Their experimental approach to cold industrial sound instantly grabs you, and just screams German with every beat. They captured the rambling digital vibes of early CABARET VOLTAIRE, elements of pre-techno, and (accidental?) nods to SF pioneers FACTRIX, all while sounding like they were in the throes of some wild sexcapades, and all while creating a music that stands weird and proud after more than four decades. I next came across PIONIER SERIÖS when the folks at ZZK Tapes reissued Berlin in 2019 and I had all of those same feelings again, but mixed with the excitement of hearing it all again. You can still get physical copies from them...and you can have those feelings too. 

BERLIN

ROTE ZORA

 

The sole release from ROTE ZORA is everything you could want from a frantic, anxious hardcore punk explosion. Blast after blast of erratic mania - just barely out of tune, mostly not quite in time, recorded in a cardboard box, guitar freaking out as much (or more) as it plays a riff. Fourteen minutes of marginally competent and fukkn brilliant total primitive snotty hardcore. "Represión." They're fukkn pissed, and you can feel it. 

ROTE ZORA

KAUPUNGIN VALOT

 

Maybe this is like looking so far through yesterday's post that you can see the an alternate realm where everything sounds different. Or maybe Huomiseen is just an example of a sonic mission realized, much like Spread Plague Hell before it. To say that the first full length from Tampere's KAUPUNGIN VALOT is infectious would be a supreme disservice to the recording - these are MARKED MEN and GENERACIÓN SUICIDA caliber hooks and you'll want to (or wish you could) sing along to every song. At once gloomy and pleasantly resigned, this is a band who know what they're doing and what they're trying to do...and there's no reason why you should feel uncomfortable moving from "Perverted Lunacy" straight into the dreamy "Tän Kadun Päässä" - because you (also) know exactly what you're doing and exactly what you want. 

HUOMISEEN

RUIN

 

I know it's not quite Hallow's Eve yet, but this putrid offering from RUIN will surely get you in the right mood. For one dozen minutes, your thoughts will be churned and dismembered by churning blasts of classic death metal...injecting the plague of hell itself into your veins. These four songs were the beginning, and the amount of filth this crew has churned out in the last few years is pretty terrifying, so carve that shit into your pumpkin.

SPREAD PLAGUE HELL

JAMS (AND OTHER EROTIC DAYDREAMS)

 

Listening to this mothermukkr was an absolute thrill from start to finish. Compiled by the folks at Get Loose, Jams And Other Erotic Daydreams is a perfect (if not comprehensive) snapshot of DIY hardcore from the mid 2000s through date of conception. The big dogs (SKITKIDS, DIRECT CONTROL, SEX/VID, DOUBLE NEGATIVE) sharing space with the pups who made smaller, more regional splashes (ACID REFLUX, SOCIETY NURSE, RAYOS X, GOUKA, N/N) and a reminder that I (still) don't give half a shit about MILK MUSIC. Maybe they were really nice people. Ninety minutes to remind you that punk is cool, and that it was cool too. 

GET LOOSE TAPES: JAMS (AND OTHER EROTIC DAYDREAMS)

CRUDE DRUGS

 

You like BLACK MARK? You American hardcore punk? You like KEINE KLASSE? All of these things are connected to KC, MO rockers CRUDE DRUGS. Seven minutes of hardcore from the end of the first decade when fukkn everyone was cranking out the serious no bullshit shit. CRUDE DRUGS was first, then BLACK MARK dropped the same demo with a different cover, then two of the dudes did the NO CLASS thing. And it all ripped. The same thing is happening now, somewhere. So pay attention. 

ORANGE SODA TAPE