HARSH WORDS

I am glad I loved HARSH WORDS before I knew who was in the band. I wrote some words about the tape in a magazine a while ago (just went back to check and confirm that they were indeed good words...and they were), and then NO STATIK had the pleasure of sharing a stage with them in Atlanta earlier this month. Imagine my surprise when I find out the drummer is Jason (NO, AMERICAN CHEESEBURGER, GOAT SHANTY, and so many more) and the axeman responsible for those erratic bursts of shred is Tom from QUEST FOR FIRE and The Breakfast Nook (those are Milwaukee references, sorry foreigners). So I was not even remotely surprised that the sum of these parts might equal a killer act, but I still was not prepared for the complete annihilation that HARSH WORDS were about to bestow upon me. It was everything that I hoped and expected from the live incarnation of the band that created Reptile Brain in the studio...and more. Pure US hardcore deconstructed and presented in minute regurgitations with insane leads and urgent vocals that harken up thoughts of the finest the Southeast has to offer (and they dish out 31 seconds of proof that this comparison is warranted on the second side of the tape). And absolute juggernaut, it's hard to believe that this many riffs can be crammed into just ten minutes, but these dudes make it seem effortless. On the one hand you need this...but it's might be over your head, so be careful.

REPTILE BRAIN

WEIRDING MODULE

On 2010's New Age Series Vol. 003, WEIRDING MODULE produce hypnotic primitive electronics that draw you in as much as lull you into submission. Subtle waves and meticulous transitions, the second side opens with ten minutes of FROESEian atmosphere and closes with a six minute awakening, making me wonder what Vol. 004 (which does not, as near as I can tell, exist) would have sounded like immediately after. This one is for a dark night - transformative and deep far beyond the mere drone of an analog synthesizer.

NEW AGE SERIES VOL. 003

ESPERANZA

so many experiences are passing you by // so much life wasted inside of those closed doors

The first few shows I ever played in Los Angeles were beyond disheartening. By the mid-'90s we (the "we" in this sentence was FUCKFACE) had found a few pockets outside of LA proper, and had some great shows in Orange County and the Inland Empire, but Los Angeles was still a total bust. Everything changed in '97 when we (the "we" now refers to WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?) played a show at the PCH with LIFES HALT. It seemed like the whole metro area had just exploded with fast, political (and fun) hardcore bands, and a house show with DIRTY DIRT &THE DIRTS on a subsequent trip (actually, it may have been the day after the PCH show) solidified that impression. Young kids tearing shit up with intent and purpose were everywhere, and all of a sudden Los Angeles was the raddest place on the planet to play. Countless killer bands came out of that era, and like ESPERANZA, many of them were gone in the blink of an eye. Rich from DIRTY DIRT and Steve from THIS MACHINE KILLS (who booked the shows at The Pink House in Santa Barbara [wait - shit, was it Biko House? am I getting my decades mixed up?], another former strike out city that had become a great place to play) joined forces to crank out this powerhouse demo - bare bones hardcore with breakdowns that perfectly personify the brand of New Millennium West Coast hardcore that turned my life around and opened my eyes. These dudes were fun as shit but the lyrics are smart and visceral - and this eight minute demo and a few comp tracks (Histeria and Barbaric Thrash Demolition) is all we got. Rich and Jake went on to PLEASE INFORM THE CAPTAIN THIS IS A HIJACK (and Rich is now a PhD), Steve went on to be insanely famous but still the same dude the few times I've run into him, and the other members were in DESCARADOS, MUGRE and certainly more that I'm either forgetting or never knew about. This demo makes me nostalgic and determined without lamenting for the past - it's a reminder that whatever your "present" is, it's going to be somebody's "past," so you need to make it as awesome as you can. 

ESPERANZA

Whenever someone has something to say you say "fuck it" but you, you never say shit

At the very least you could offer and argument but you never even say shit

It's quite plain to see that there's a lot more to be done,

And working for change isn't necessarily contrary to fun

This is a part of my life, not an escape from it

THIS IS A PART OF MY LIFE NOT AN ESCAPE FROM IT

SEDITION

I don't know enough about SEDITION to put them in any kind of context, but I know the sound of punishment when I hear it. This demo churns out four downtuned burst of hatred, but it sounds like every moment is a struggle but emotionally and musically. The determination is visceral and pure, the final minute of the tape ("Killing With Intrigue") is a crushing (p)re-interpretation of ramshackle hardcore but through a lens of primitive crust/grind - awkward metallic breakdowns are the only break from the constant surge of primal power. Make no mistake, I am not implying that SEDITION are amateurish in any way - from the very first notes of "Caught In The Middle Of A Pissing Contest" you know you are in store for an absolutely disgusting aural beating and for six minutes that is exactly what you get. 

SEDITION

INTERNAL AUTONOMY

INTERNAL AUTONOMY seems ripe for rediscovery. Simultaneously insistent and dreamy, their vaguely goth/new wave by way of anarcho punk should be perfectly suited for legions of '00s punks struggling to embrace '80s roots that they never actually had. Also, INTERNAL AUTONOMY are really fukkn good. Vocals take center stage, a howling caterwaul that relaxes into a lilting monotone when the music requires it. Decidedly more melodic and subdued than earlier demos, this mysterious 5th Demo ventures into what might have been college radio fodder in an alternate universe, but then there are certified UK punk bangers (like the third track) to remind you where these folks are really coming from. The final seven songs that make up the second side of this tape are are demo gold - drum machine rehearsals, blown out and way more "out there" than the studio efforts. Genuine gems, interesting oddities...the final three tracks might be the result of one dude in a bedroom with hallucinogens and a 4-track, but the result is mesmerizing and well worthy of release on its own. But today it is presented to you the same way it was presented to me, because that's the way it should be.

5th DEMO

PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE

Sometimes you meet people and you have conversations...and sometimes afterwards you really think about things. About your life. About the choices you've made and the path you've chosen. Tonight was one of those nights - a few relatively brief interactions that knocked me in my gut and woke me up. I hope that you have one of those night (and/or days) soon...and I hope that you actually and honestly evaluate where you are, even if what you see makes you uncomfortable. And I hope that you don't just look to the ones that came before you and forged your path, I hope that you look to the ones that followed and lived by ideals instead of examples...the ones who have made their own path. Punk has digressed far beyond a mere commodity, but the root is still valuable and more than worthy of nurturing - both for our own benefit and that of those who do not yet know that punk even exists. Look at yourself in the mirror. Live punk.

SO MANY REASONS TO THINK?!

ARSEN AKA KÖNIG DER MONSTER

I feel like this band got a little lost in the shuffle of late '90s/early '00s European apocalyptic emotional crust (to be fair, it was a pretty epic shuffle), but listening to these songs today makes me pine for that era of anguished screams and chaotic blasts broken up by drawn out quiet interludes. I feel like the people who made this music graduated to either melodic Eurocrust or black metal, as ARSEN AKA KÖNIG DER MONSTER creep right up to that form in the road without ever making a turn. For comparisons, start with AKEPHAL, ONE EYED GOD PROPHECY and ZEROID, though I think the in between bits from ARSEN... lean more towards whatever one might think emo sounds like than any of those bands. Just epic, and it holds up brilliantly after a decade (and perhaps especially if heard completely out of "scene" or context). This cassette from Fuck Yoga contains the entirety of their criminally limited vinyl output: 2002's Black Sunday EP and the following year's stellar No Gods...Only Monsters from Unsociable (who were responsible for ZEROID, ALLE DER KOSMONAUTEN and INSUICIETY, among many others). It's going to be a powerful Wednesday in your ears.

BLACK SUNDAY // NO GODS...ONLY MONSTERS