MICHAEL BERDAN

 

Berdan doesn't just conjure dark industrial sounds on The Life Of The World To Come, he fukkn embodies those sounds. This third of UNIFORM has been lurking for a while, but I feel like last year's release on Deathbed Tapes was a bit of a coming out party...coming out to honest intensity and pure darkness. These are classic synth driven industrial sounds reminiscent of early Wax Trax! and PIAS fodder, but nothing here sounds dated in any way. The...World To Come was created in and for the now and that's exactly how it lands. These songs fucking yearn - even in the calmer moments like "vigil" you can feel the wanting and that is exactly what I want more of. So...I'm still here. Waiting for the world to come while living in the world that is already here. Taking all of it. 

THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME

MACHINE GUN ROMANTICS

 

In celebration of the upcoming (and necessary) repress of HATRED SURGE's Human Overdose LP, we take a moment to remember one of the earlier Alex Hughes contributions. Before HATRED SURGE, before MAMMOTH GRINDER, before SACRED SHOCK, even before KNUCKLE SCRAPER (but before xPOWERBUTTx) came MACHINE GUN ROMANTICS. Five doses of blistering and irreverent Texas fastcore with seven live blasts recorded in Denton. Play fast...or don't. 

DEMO '03

INSPECTOR 12

 

On the flip side of the SOCIAL INTERROGATION recording that started the week, I found this recordings from Madison's INSPECTOR 12. They were before my time (Speak Your Mind is from '88) but everyone I would meet from Wisconsin talked about the band and listening to them with hindsight it's easy to understand why. Draw a line between the positive idealistic hardcore of 7 SECONDS and the melodic nihilism of GRIMPLE...you'll find I-12. There were a slew of EPs through the start of the '90s and most can still be had pretty cheap - but you're here for the tapes and this is a solid half hour of determined Midwest DIY punk. 

SPEAK YOUR MIND

HOLEHOG

 

This sophomore effort from Sacramento's HOLEHOG is a fukkn beast. They've taken the fierce raspy hardcore that dominated Radiation Blues and tempered it with a '90s DIY hardcore influence that moves the band into their own lane. They never let up on the intensity (take rippers like "Riding For A Fall" and "Rats" for example), with vocals that range from full on AUS ROTTEN dominance to desperate idealism. Song construction is where the band has really progressed - the clenched fists and studded jackets are still front and center, but HOLEHOG don't really seem too concerned with how the shit is supposed to sound so they end up sounding like....themselves. And that is powerful shit. Choice cut: "Jackals."

DYSTOPIAN REALITY

AVOID

 

I posted this ripper eleven years ago today, and I'm celebrating by posting it again. AVOID offer up four doses of the most primal thrash metal to ever emerge from the depths of Rock Spring, Wyoming on 1988's Induct To Sacrarium. The guitars are way too loud in the mix (which is perfect) and there's a notable Bay Area thrash influence but the song construction is head and shoulders above your typical knuckle head banging fodder. I already wrote at length here, so happy birthday to this post and crank the shit out of "Infection" when you're doing your adult shit today...if only to remind you that you'd rather be doing hesher shit instead. 

INDUCT TO SACRARIUM

SOCIAL INTERROGATION

 

A well loved and never released piece of Wisconsin hardcore history courtesy of Tim Burton (DEMISE, NONE LEFT STANDING). Madison's SOCIAL INTERROGATION existed for a blip in the late '80s, kids who ran with bands like INSPECTOR 12 and KAVITY KREEPS and recorded a ripping (if rudimentary) collection of tunes around 1988. "Poor Little Monkey" is the standout - the drums try to pull away (especially on the live version) while the band pounds the shit out of the simplest three note riff with determined teenage ferocity. Six studio tracks and six (two from the demo and four covers) recorded live...and the joy of (still) discovering this shit is indescribable. 

S.I. - SOCIAL INTEROGATION 

Live photo from The New Loft from Tim. 
Shirt photo from Grant. 

SUBRACHO DOBRACHO

 

Raging raw Japanese hardcore on 1991's Good For Nothing gives way to crunchy melodic metallic punk on Tell Me Momma If You Love Me, released the following year. Both iterations are slamming (and I am digging on the poppier iteration of SUBRACHO DOBRACHO more than I did when I initially posted these gems back in 2010) early decade and under the radar punk. 

GOOD FOR NOTHING // TELL ME MAMA IF YOU LOVE ME