Artcore23

VINYL ‘N’ CD’S

ABDUKTIO
‘TULI KULJC KANSSANI’ CD
Or ‘Fire Walk With Me’, latest full length from these Finnish heavy hardcore types. Pounding and slightly metallic with throaty vocals and atmospheric intros building into technical dual guitar breaks and full throttle hardcore parts. They appear to be a politically motivated bunch too, which is a good sign. Sounds like just about everything else I hear of this style these days, meaning anyone under the age of 25 will probably think this was excreted by the gods. FULLSTEAM

THE ACCUSED
‘OH MARTHA!’ CD
The Accused are back! But can they cut it? This is much better than the last album I heard back in the mists of time, in fact it’s the most cohesive songwriting since ‘Return Of...’ and ‘Open Casket’ records. Tom’s intense guitar crunch is still intact, really kickin’ on ‘Fast Zombies Rule’, ‘National Embalming School’ is another standout (there’s a video on-line of this sucker), and ‘Crapassreality’ is a nice stab at anonymous internet tools. Each page of the splatter fest that is the CD booklet has been crafted by a different comic artist, and there’s oodles of old slasher movie samples throughout. Proceedings are concluded with unlisted versions of the great ‘Distractions’, ‘Martha Splatterhead’, ‘Slow Death’, ‘Take My Time’ and ‘Fuckin 4 Bux’ from ‘Return Of’ which are all up there with the originals (albeit a little more polished), making the total 19 songs. Yes, drooling grave robbers, the Accused CAN still cut it! CONDAR

A COLLABORATIVE RECORD
‘JETS VS THE ELITE’ 7” EP
A split between the Dauntless Elite and Jets Vs Sharks where each band does an original and then a song where each band has penned the other’s lyrics and guest vocals on each other’s song. The Elite do a good cynical Dillinger Four homage ‘scene’ song, and then the odd collaboration. Jets do their slightly metallic screamo type thang and then their odd collaboration. I dunno. BOMBED OUT

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
‘THIS MICROCOSMIC WAR’ CD
A gruff and emotional melodic band from Australia. The fact that they flew Frankie Stubbs over to produce this, says a lot about this record, and yes the Leatherface thing is there, and mixed in with the seemingly requisite Hot Water Music and Milloy house style. But it doesn’t end there. They’ve taken this and mixed in a pile of other ideas and layered them over the top, most notably a splash of what can only be described as ‘emo’ (in the sense of decent modern-day bands like End On End), with violin and female vocals interlaced within. Whether or not that particular commercial virus has washed up in Oz on some rat-ridden ghost ship yet, wouldn’t affect what A.D.I.T.F. are doing here though. Although they deny it, the intro bars to ‘Something’s Out Of Tune’ uncannily resembles ‘Hand of Law’ by legendary Oz rockers Radio Birdman. But one hat-tipping amongst a great set of oustanding songs? What else need be said? Apart from ‘Red Sky’ could be a hit single (“Everybody’s gonna jump ship.” Exactly). NEWEST INDUSTRY (SEE AD.)

ADOLESCENTS
‘O.C. CONFIDENTIAL’ CD
I think it would be unfair to even try to stand this up to their debut, as it’s simply unrealistic, although I’m sure a few idiots will. This does though, as I expected, sound more like their sophomore ‘Brats in Battalions’, and that’s no bad thing. In fact, it sits middle-ground between ‘Brats’ and their debut, because the songs are better here than on ‘Brats’, it’s not padded with covers, and the whole thing seems more like a focused set. Tony continues the socio-political lyrics he introduced to the band in the ‘Brats’ era too. All the hooks and harmonies and trademark dual guitar interplay are present, and on songs like ‘Hawks and Doves’, ‘Lockdown America’, ‘California Son’ and the title track, this is the Ad’s totally back on form. FINGER

ADOLESCENTS
‘THE COMPLETE DEMOS: 1980-1986’ LP/CD
Kicking off with a four unreleased songs from a practice tape from 1980, followed by their first 1980 demo tape with four classics from the first LP. Then the second demo from 1980, this time with five songs, four earlier debut LP songs and ‘Do the Eddie’ later featured on ‘Brats in Battalions’. This is rough and ready as it was taken from old cassette. Then, the highlight of this collection, the first version of ‘Richard Hung Himself’, later made famous by Adolescents spin-off D.I. Originally recorded at the 1981 ‘Welcome to Reality’ EP session but left off the original record. This finishes with a jump to 1986, and two different versions of ‘Brats’ songs. All in all, a cool retrospective for old and wrinkled Adolescents fans/nerds. Newcomers should really seek out their classic self-titled debut first though. FRONTIER

ANDRALIS
‘INNER TRAUMA’ CD
Yet another metal album that kicks off with a blatant Slayer rip-off. I’m not being funny, but if we kicked off an album with the intro from ‘Nervous Breakdown’ copped as our own or something, we’d get laughed out of town, and yet metal bands get away with it. I guess that’s the nature of the beast. The two page thanks list, including the band and everyone the individual members have ever met in their entire lives, names ‘god’ first on each one. Wow, crap AND stupid, that’s no mean feat. MAUSOLEUM

A FREEZE FRAME BURNT IN TIME
‘COMPILATION’ CD
A ‘classic unreleased punk EP collection’? How can something be both classic AND unreleased? Four bands, with four songs each. First up is the Skeptix with their crunchy metallic ‘82 stuff. Then it’s SPIKE and Blitzkrieg with an imaginary EP made up of songs from previous releases, accompanied by a nice montage of Blitzkrieg memorabilia on some leopard skin, and there’s even a stand-up cardboard cut-out of SPIKE that he’s made of himself. Adolf and the Piss Artists carry on with the U.K. ‘82 stuff. Then it’s U.S. Policestate with SPIKE on vocals for two tracks, and there’s even a picture of SPIKE underneath with SPIKE’S name scratched into it, just in case you missed it. RETCH

AIRBOMB
‘PNUK’ CD
Imagine prime British punk rock fired up on English Dogs (‘Bow To None’ era) with a little Cock Sparrer anthemicism... but with a twist. For Airbomb add in conscious Ramones gusto and Misfits ‘Eath A.D.’ style hardcore pummel and woah-oh! Throw in some occasional early Rancid bass walking, and a solid songwriting ability, and you have it. These guys put on a belting live performance too, so it’s a damn shame they don’t attract more notoriety than they do. PNUK

AKIMBO
‘FORGING STEEL AND LAYING STONE’ CD
Roaring heavy revolving scale rock for fans of stoner and bands like the Melvins and Neurosis. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES

ANNALISE
‘HERE’S TO HOPE’ CD
Continuing in their tradition of bouncy sentimental Pearl & Dean indie-mod-pop-punk. Annalise are the sonic description of middle England. It’s like listening to a cricket pitch at the end of a summer day or seeing souped-up scooters on a bank holiday seafront. They epitomise everything about English indie music, like listening to Blur on Lookout, or Squire on Crackle. There’s a song called ‘New Sound’ for all us old farts who were around in the eighties. And if you look closely enough at the photos, there’s one of our flyer exhibition boards and Graham Sleightholme slamming to 7Seconds on the front cover. Heh! NO IDEA

A.O.S. (ANOTHER OPPRESSIVE SYSTEM)
‘DISCOGRAPHY 2000-2004’ CD
A collection of all the 7” EP’s to date from this Connecticut D-Beat style anarcho crustcore band. Doom-laden down-tuned bass-driven Tragedy and Wolf Brigade poundage, right down to the bleak black and white artwork and song titles like ‘Release the Dogs’ and ‘Wings of Destruction’. The band are also offering an amnesty on bootlaces where poseurs everywhere can send theirs in to be incinerated, with A.O.S. to play a live set under the blanket of acrid black smoke that will result. Wah! Wah! Wuuaarrgghh! PROFANE EXISTENCE

ANONYMOUS TIP
‘GREETINGS FROM WASTELAND’ CDEP
Talk about covering all the bases! During the first four minute or so song, this London lot manage to cover hyperfast technical melodic stuff, a Sublime dope-reggae break, and a screamo outro. Number two is much the same, with very short reggae breaks, and even a few ‘Oi’s!’ Song three is full-on Sublime homage that turns into some more middle-class-core... and on... and on... As Huey Greene used to say; “It’s make your mind up time!” 10:01:01

ANTI-STATE
‘ANARCHO PUNK VOL.2’ COMPILATION CD
ANTI-SOCIETY
‘ANARCHO PUNK VOL.3’ COMPILATION CD
These are certainly little time capsule that opens in a plume of dust. Volume two has twenty one tracks from those you’d expect; Mob, Flux of Pink Indians, Blyth Power, Amebix, Subhumans, Poison Girls, Decadent Few, Chumbawamba, Civilised Society?, the Sinyx and Decadence Within. Volume three has twenty three tracks from the likes of Icons of Filth, Sears, A.O.A., Liberty, Karma Sutra, Icon A.D., Exit-Stance, Alternative, Thatcher On Acid, Part I, Apostles, Hagar the Womb, Stalag 17 and Oi Polloi. Lengthy liner notes and brief histories of each band lovingly prepared by compiler Sean McGhee, all in stark black and white of course. My only minor gripe would be the fact that some of the material seems to be off old demos, and as rough or rare they may be to attract old collectors and completists, young newcomers may have been better served by some of the full-blazing anarcho classics by the likes of Amebix and Subhumans, to encourage further investigation. These really are great though, and take you back to the time and place, like listening to those old Mortahate compilations again. Excellent work all ‘round, but where’s the pay no more than price? Ha ha... OVERGROUND

ARMALITE
‘S/T’ LP/CD
Featuring Atom (without his package) on vocals and guitar, Mike McKee (Kill the Man Who Questions), Dan Yemin (Kid Dynamite etc.) and Jeff Ziga (True If Destroyed), this jumps between a Kid Dynamite approach and a homage to Revolution Summer D.C. ala Gray Matter/Embrace all put through a Fuel/Pinhead Gunpowder meets Dillinger Four blender, with an occasional mid-period NOFX vocal spanner in the works, not to mention hefty chunks of Jinx of Brand New Unit style guitar jangle. There’s influences coming at you from all directions, but ultimately this is catchy pop punk! NO IDEA

ASSHOLE PARADE
‘SAY GOODBYE’ 7”/CD
Two lost sessions from the late 90’s make up this fourteen song set of bandana thrashers. Blast-beat-a-go-go that no doubt sounds like half a dozen trendy thrash bands who I haven’t taken any notice of. The most important thing is they do a cover of ‘Red Tape’ by Circle Jerks, and the lo-mixed dirty hardcore guitars remind me of ‘Earth A.D./Wolfsblood’ by the Misfits in places. Overall they remind me of Stikky when they go fast, and Christ On Parade when they slow down, and there’s a definite air of Prank about them. NO IDEA

ATTICUS 3
‘DRAGGING THE LAKE’ COMPILATION CD
A set of soul-less corpo-nu-rock designed to promote a clothing company owned by one of celebrity retards Blink 182. As well as their bland of gutless pap, there’s Taking Back Sunday, MxPx, Lucero, death Cab For Cutie, Rise Against, and many other either Jesus fruits or major label rock slaves, like the highly ridiculous locals Funeral For A Friend. This is like the ‘Emo’ equivalent of generic thrash in that all the bands follow the same pattern of guitar octaves and whining black-fringed and ear-tunnelled ‘please love me’ vocals. In a way it’s good to actually hear all these bands whose names I see bandied about by clueless fools, know your enemy and all that, but sitting through this is like experiencing some kind of mindwash, bland doesn’t even begin to describe this shit. I can’t help wondering if the people in these bands would even be playing in bands if there weren’t bucks in it. All these bands represent to me is people who need fucking haircuts. SIDE ONE MONEY

BALLAST
‘SOUND ASLEEP’ CD
Doomy intros, images of birds in flight. Anarcho crust cliches? Well that’s where it ends. I’ve long wondered at the anarcho scenes abandonment of melody, but it’s seen somewhat of a renaissance. This is fast galloping anarcho hardcore with (mainly) female vocals, choruses and passion. Imagine Nausea, Civilised Society? and a smattering of Joyce McKinney Experience (vocally, in places), all through blender production. Ballast are already standing out from the crowd of this sub-genre. PROFANE EXISTENCE

BANE
‘THE NOTE’ CD
I’ve never taken enough notice of 90% of straight edge or ‘hardcore’ or whatever it is now, to tell you who this sounds like (although it invariably does sound like someone). There’s a metallic guitar crunch, lots of slow parts on the toms, and a vocalist who yells in one constant flat off-key throughout, and ‘group shouts’. I’m sure this is probably ‘old school’ in that it doesn’t sound like Slayer. The lyrics all seem to be overly earnest, and about ‘the kids’, and the overall feeling that you are being told what to do. Swish packaging with a badly coloured rip-off of the Pettibone style as a comic book. And all on a religious cult funding, zombie chanting, record label (that I usually won’t review, but I wrote this before realising what it was on - duh). EQUAL VISION

BEHIND ENEMY LINES
‘KNOW YOUR ENEMY’ CD
Pounding political Pittsburgh protest peace punk from some former members of Aus Rotten, and who are themselves now defunct. That said this is highly reminiscent of Aus Rotten but with a d-beat pound production. Essay style informed lyrics on specific subjects, and an all enveloping black and whiteness. PROFANE EXISTENCE

BELLIGERENT DECLARATION
‘S/T’ CD
A modern hardcore band trying out different styles and approaches within that framework, all from a political perspective, especially of a very pro-woman stance. The results are mixed, but you can tell by the instrumentation that they’re a new band. They dabble with melodic hardcore, heavy stuff and straight up old fashioned punk rock, and there’s explanations to each song. I think when they’ve sharpened up a bit, and outgrow the slogans, Belligerent Declaration will get their name about a bit. BEAUTIFUL LIFE

BICKLES CAB
‘YOUR SOCIETY’ 7” EP
Fast angry U.K. crusty hardcore in the style of Tragedy and From Ashes Rise with serious political lyrics, red and black splatter vinyl and nine songs to get their teeth into you. TOWN CLOCK

BITCHES AND BASTARDS
‘BITCHSLAPS!’ CD
Norwegian Oi! plod from two skins and two herberts. Ten quality songs about rapists, nonces, drinkin’, coppers, politishuns, chaos and being a skin. Like you didn’t already guess right? PUNK SHIT

BLACK COUGAR SHOCK UNIT
‘GODZILLA TRIPWIRE’ CD / ‘HELLO...’ CDEP
I didn’t really get these until I saw them play live a number of times. It’s the recording I couldn’t get on with. It’s produced from the same school as Iain Burgess, in that iit has a very live sound. Beyond that, this carries on from Alex Ulloa’s previous band Panthro U.K. United 13 with his anthemic approach to delivering brooding songs of bitter resentment and revenge. Mid-tempo stalking riffs that build and grow in your head the more you listen to them. Imagine that whole Gainesville sound, but mixed in with ‘All Rise’ era Naked Raygun and a little Torches to Rome. The EP has three originals and three covers (Devo, Buzzcocks and Steve Martin!) NEWEST INDUSTRY

BLACK SUNDAY
‘TRONIC BLANC’ CD
A one woman band playing a lo-fi new wave synth punk influenced by everything from Devo to some of Posh Boy’s more pop outings. Sometimes jarring, sometimes brooding, but all with those synth undertones and drum machine hi-hats. Throw in some early U.K. and N.Y. punk influences and I think you get the picture. DIRTNAP

BLOWFLY
‘FAHRENHEIT 69’ CD
I guess Blowfly must be the hip hop equivalent of Judge Dread. This be ultra crude sex obsessed funk with ‘Blowfly’ a.k.a. Clarence Reid, an artist in his own right, and songwriter for the likes of K.C. and the Sunshine Band, and guest rappers. I have to admit this isn’t really amusing to me, it’s just blunt and gutteral with no irony or sarcasm, but I can appreciate how fans of hip hop, especially the old stuff, would enjoy it, at least musically. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES

BOLD
‘THE SEARCH 1985-1989’ CD
I remember us all jokingly referring to this band as ‘Bald’ back when they appeared. They started out as teeny-weeny Crippled Youth, and released the ‘Join The Fight’ 7” EP (featured here), then changed their name and went on to become semi-legendary in the straight edge scene with an EP and a couple of albums (their later incarnation Running Like Thieves being named after one of them). This is an anthology of all those releases; the hardcore-by-numbers of Crippled Youth, the Youth of Today homage of the early Bold, and beginning with the meandering and aimless trudge of their later stuff. This is yet another case of a bunch of also-rans somehow becoming legend over time and then writing; “It’s funny, when I look at all the old pictures of us, I can see we were at the genesis of what would go on to become such a huge movement within the hardcore scene, almost eclipsing the politics and values that preceeded us” on an anthology CD. Talk about a bloody legend in your own... milk and cookies recess. REVELATION

BOMBSHELL ROCKS
‘THE CONCLUSION’ CD
The ultimate Swedish Rancid homage band return with, well, more Rancid homage. Great production and structure help deliver the goods, but really, if you like ‘...And Out Come the Wolves’, you’re going to either love this or hate it, depending on how jaded you are. HOUSEHOLD NAME

BONES BRIGADE
‘OLDER THAN SHIT, HEAVIER THAN TIME’ CD
This one of those early anthologies of this bandana thrash skate crossover combo, featuring early EP’s, demo’s and unreleased tracks. This is OK, what you’d expect, gnarly shredding skull ripping bowl fests, with intense snare blasting and six string snarl, all decked out in fake Pushead art, and a Faction cover for street cred purposes. This is pretty bitchin’ dudecore, but the in vogue crossover lead guitar noodling is a bit over the top. The best moment for me was the insane blasting on the Septic Death style ripper ‘Daggers Rule’. COALITION

BOSTON X
‘S/T’ 7” EP
A secret one off project featuring members of other Boston hardcore bands trying to re-live the X-Claim! glory days. The cover is just an ‘X’ and there’s a foldout insert with lyrics, but that’s about it. Musically attempting the whole SSD / DYS thing, but sounding like a modern day amateurish hardcore band attempting SSD / DYS. There’ll be no tour, no gigs and no nothing else, but I’m sure this’ll be reaching big bucks on eBay pretty soon. STR8NTRUE/F.N.S.

BOTTLE OF SMOKE
‘TORONTO ROCK’N’ROLL COMPILATION’ CD
Like the title says, from great new bands like Sinkin’ Ships to oldies like Random Killing, all the bases are covered, all from a punk and rockin’ perspective with lots of garage influenced bands. Other bands I’ve heard of include Cold Blue Sky, Dayglo Abortions (did they move to Toronto?) and Die (wuz Cheerleader) totalling twenty five. A nifty litttle booklet with lots of info and photos helps to tie everything up into a solid package. RUBBER FACTORY

THE BREAK IN
‘UNBOWED’ CD
Normals used to laugh in my face twenty odd years ago when I told them I listened to something called ‘hardcore’. If they’d have told me then that ‘hardcore’ before its final demise would end up as generic heavy metal for the fucking normals now, I would’ve laughed in theirs too. Ain’t it funny how things turn out. IN AT THE DEEP END

BRUTAL JUSTICE/KNOTAROT
‘SPLIT CD’
“Brutal Justice started as a joke”... rough and tinnily recorded basic hardcore from the U.K. that sounds like the South Coast Hardcore, like Pilger mixed with No Substance. Knotarot, from Austria use a laptop as a drum machine, and therefore sound a bit like Kraftwerk playing hardcore and occasional pop punk. It’s original if nothing else. RAGNAROCK/CLEAN IT UP

BULLETS TO BROADWAY
‘DRINK POSITIVE’ CD
Ex-Teen Idols, Rehasher and Army of Ponch people bashing out a melodic pop punk with male and female vocals, all ultra-catchy and Less-Than-Jake-without-the-ska-style, it has it’s feet planted firmly in the late nineties pop-skate-punk explosion. HOUSEHOLD NAME

BURIAL
‘NEVER GIVE UP... NEVER GIVE IN’ CD
Not a lot of info on this, but at first glance it looks like Burial like their d-beat. These Germans remind me of Deathside with a little Raw Power influence thrown in, and no doubt a few rare old Japanese records too. Open-mouthed bellowing style vocals that roar and snarl like early Genocide Express or Dean Extreme Noise Terror on a good day. The studded leather jacket pack take note. DERANGED

BUZZKILL
‘DRIVEN BY LOSS’ CD
International Hives from the Crypt Snakes. IN AT THE DEEP END

BUZZOV*EN
‘WELCOME TO VIOLENCE’ CD
This is a collection of these dreadlocked and drug-addled freaks from North Carolina, featuring their album and two EP’s from the early-mid 90’s on Allied Recordings. Sounding like a cross between Neurosis (‘Aberration’/‘Word As Law’ era) and Eyehategod. Pounding Sabbath and C.O.C. induced screaming and swirling sludge with lots of eerie sampleage. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES

CAN’T DECIDE
‘S/T’ CD
I never really took much notice of this lot back when they were around. This is John and Baz from Ripcord, John from Heresy and Simon from Lunatic Fringe, right after Ripcord and Heresy split, and heading in a more melodic direction from their previous projects, in spite of the Black Flag name tag. Two 12” EP’s, one split 7” (a cover of Kraut’s ‘All Twisted’) and a demo, totalling 27, and Can’t Decide, especially the vocals, sound almost uncannily like latter era Instigators (‘Phoenix’ / ‘Shockgun’) all with that unmistakeable ‘Whitehouse’ guitar sound, and a photo of the band atop said studio overlooking the Severn floodplane between Kewstoke and Worle. BOSS TUNEAGE

CAREER SUICIDE
‘SIGNALS’ 7” EP PICTURE DISC
Peddling their usual brand of fast and snotty early eighties Hardcore very much influenced by early Circle Jerks, Black Flag and Angry Samoans. In fact, vocalist Martin Farkas sounds more and more like Keith Morris with each release and it’s getting scary! Beverly Hills, Century City! EVEN WORSE / WAY BACK WHEN

CHAINSAW
‘MONOPOLIZED’ 7” EP
No frills Japancore with lo-mixed vocals, crossover leadbreaks all over the shop and group shouts. WAY BACK WHEN/EVEN WORSE

THE CHARMING SNAKES
‘AMMUNITION’ CD
A brooding tom-tom with dual guitar and distorted vocals classic American indie sound abounds with the Charming Snakes, taking me back to the early 90’s, and all those post-Dischord bands, mixed with Merge and the pacific north west. The panned guitars really works with their approach, and there’s a rockin’ edge, that leaves them somewhere between Superchunk and the Hives. The fucked up trumpets on ‘Epic Jams’ gives off a real air of Alice Donut or Tragic Mulatto, but overall, we’re still talking early 90’s post grunge here, and they seem to know what they’re doing. DIRTNAP
CHIXDIGGIT!
‘PINK RAZORS’ LP/CD
Awww, now there’s cute, everything’s pink and poppy. Generic pop punk like Bracket or Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on Lookout when they lost it for this kind of bubblegum tripe. Hear Chixdiggit soon on the start of some kids cartoon, and pass it off as something some session musicians knocked up in half an hour. This is going off as this is gnawing at me to the point of violence. FAT WRECK
CLIT 45
‘SELF-HATE CRIMES’ CD
These So. Cal. spikey kids mix up their U.K. ‘82 influences with a hint of the O.C. old school, and end up coming off a bit like the Unseen with echoes of U.S. Bombs and latter day Adolescents in the vocals in places. There’s some wall-of-guitar production and it’s no surprise to see Ron Martinez of Final Conflict was in the studio. Fairly generic but there’s something about it I like. B.Y.O.
COMBAT ROCK SOUND
‘COMPILATION’ CD
A nicely packaged label compilation here, representing the amount of bands the ten people in Finland who are into punk have put together - ha! It’s a varied set, with multiple inclusions from Wasted, Manifesto Jukebox, Endstand, Hero Dishonest, Nine and I Walk The Line. And single offerings from the likes of Phoenix Foundation, Bombshell Rocks, Unkind, Oi Polloi, Selfish, On A Solid Rock, I Excuse and From Ashes Rise. COMBAT ROCK
COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN
‘THIS IS NOT AN ERECT,
ALL-RED NEON BODY’ CD
No. Face it. This is dogshit dressed up as dogfood, that you forced yourself to like ‘back in the day’ (2003) cuz you were too scared that all the trendy turds you think are your friends, but who just bitch about you behind your back, wouldn’t talk to you if you didn’t at least pretend to have their limited 5” test press on blueberry swirl, but it doesn’t matter now because you’re indie rock. NO IDEA
COOPER
‘MAKES TOMORROW ALRIGHT’ CD
“A criminally catchy blend of Circle Jerks, Beatles, Police with the Descendents and Dave Brubeck looking over their shoulder”. ha ha ha... man, that brightened my day. Seventies Euro rock with a little new wave quirk thrown in for the current trends. Fucking Supertramp meets Dave Edmunds at a Pavers gig. KUNG FU
THE COOTERS
‘PUNK METAL’ CD
As the title suggests, this is er, very ‘punk metal’. But more in a rockin’ crusty way than a pummelin’. For fans of Motorhead, Very Metal, Varukers etc. You can probably hear it on the jukebox in that junkie cesspit on Stokes Croft in Bristol. PROFANE EXISTENCE
COUGARS
‘PILLOW TALK’ CD
Jesus Lizard style thumping contortions recorded in that booming drums Burgess style. Sounds a bit like tweaked seventies rock with horns and a Melvins collection. Not on my hair farm. GO-KART
CRIME DESIRE
‘WE HATE ALL LIFE’ CD
Arty thrash core from Carlsbad California, dark and obsessed with crime, murder, death, serial killers, Blood splattered, nihilistic, and pretty pretentious, as these things usually are, this lot seem to have intentionally untuned their instruments and screamed out of time and key. The resulting atonal cacophony is like listening to SSD and Das Oath simultaneously on different hi-fi’s, or recorded over on an old tape recording. The ‘you will obey’ sheet says ‘Bl’ast, Neos and Siege’... wishful thinking indeed. COALITION
DAN
‘THOLOGY’ DOUBLE CD
Dan used to be a staple of U.K. punk gig goers back in the late 80’s. Along with Visions of Change, Joyce McKinney Experience, Incest Brothers, and other ridiculously named outfits. To this day, I still own two albums, and they had interview in these pages back in 1988. Listening to this, they definitely come from a different place and time, somewhere I’m not too sure kids today will get in the slightest. They were a very English sounding pop punk (no, not that pop punk) with an indie edge (no, not that indie) largely brought about by the great traditional melodic punk female vocals. They also had a great guitarist in Wal, and you can hear all those legendary North East HDQ/Leatherface style riffs. One minute, they’d make a serious political point, and the next they’d be doing a pop thrash rendition of ‘If You’re Happy and And You Know It’. Their naive artwork would only add to this imagery. Imagine if Crass had been nursery school teachers, and you’re halfway there. BOSS TUNEAGE
DASH RIP ROCK
‘RECYCLONE’ CD
A country pop ‘n’ roll anthology with all the ‘chaw spittin’ yeehaw of a saloon where you’re certainly not welcome, that’ll suddenly turn heel to a different era, and be a twee indie pop mix of All and They Might Be Giants. Stop throwing yer glasses at the chickenwire y’hear, or the boys’ll stop playing! ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
DEAD KENNEDYS
‘LIVE AT THE DEAF CLUB’ CD
This has been out a while, but I just received it for review. If you ever wondered what the rest of the set sounded like after hearing the three Dead Kennedys inclusions on the original ‘Can You Hear Me? Music From the Deaf Club’ compilation LP alongside K.G.B., the Offs, Mutants, Pink Section and Tuxedo Moon, well here it is, a well recorded set from the Dead Kennedys. Obviously, you know the rest, like you don’t know all the songs from ‘Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables’ right!? The early version of ‘When You Get Drafted’ as ‘Back In Rhodesia’, a previously unreleased tune; ‘Gaslight’, and their old covers, totalling fifteen, will be enough for the old fans to want to hear this. The mock Winston Smith artwork is pretty bad though, and the band member photos on the back cover omit Biafra for obvious reasons, leaving this with an odd flavour. You either want it or you don’t. MANIFESTO
DETESTATION
‘S/T’ CD
Gloomy Portland crust in the Nausea vein, with female vocals but with a D-Beat twist. This includes their self-titled LP and ten EP tracks, to a total of twenty two. Standard-fare topics and artwork, but this has a certain rumble that keeps your attention for longer than most of this style. Does this system Waaarrrggghhhkkk? PROFANE EXISTENCE
DIRECT CONTROL
‘YOU’RE CONTROLLED’ LP
‘NUCLEAR TOMORROW’ 7” EP
Fast and snotty early eighties style hardcore from this Richmond lot. A fast and ripping style, bringing to mind Canadians Career Suicide with early DFA, and adding some strong San Francisco Hardcore in the form of Verbal Abuse, Dead Kennedys and Crucifix influences. Sneering lyrics about thrashing and hardcore, nuclear war and Ronald Reagan, what more could you want?! In fact, this also reminds me a hell of a lot of Corrupted Morals great ‘Chet’ EP. You should already be running to the post office to buy some dollars to send off for these with a letter written on the back of a flyer. Slam gonna slam! KANGAROO (LP) / SORRY STATE (EP)
DIRTY LOVE
‘BABY YOU SUCK’ CDEP
Sometime members of Intensive Care, U.K. Subs, 53rd and 3rd, Stains, Menace and Emergency bashing out a female vocal-led rockin’ anthemic and catchy 1977 style rock‘n’roll punk for fans of the Avengers (‘Taste So Good’!), Adverts, Penetration, London or the Boys. This actually sounds like it’s been remastered from 30 years ago or something. Authentic as fuck. Ace. SHOUT BACK
DISRESPECT
‘WARTORN’ 7” EP/ ‘JUSTICE IN A BAG (2004 RECORDINGS’) CD
Anarcho crust from Minneapolis with three vocalists. Straddling the divide between U.S. crust bands like Nausea and Misery (Jon’s on guitar) and old U.K. ‘82 bands English Dogs and Varukers. The CD contains both their EP’s and Abrasive Wheels, L7 and Turbonegro. PROFANE EXISTENCE
D.O.A.
‘SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE’ LP/CD
This ‘Sudden Death’ re-issue has been out for a few years, but it just got sent in: D.O.A. have always been one of those love ‘em or hate ‘em bands, and personally I’ve always fallen into the former, seeing as they played a major role in my fledgling punk days, and that will never change. To a lot of people, their rock edge, never sat right, and I can imagine, to kids today, D.O.A. will sound old and alien, and they just won’t ‘get it’, like they ‘don’t get’ so much other stuff. But I can’t help but see how D.O.A. fit into the bigger picture of the early North American punk scene and how they rank alongside Black Flag for their pioneering spirit and work ethic. This gem, their 1980 debut long player, features such absolute classics as; ‘New Age’, ‘The Enemy’, ‘Thirteen’, ‘The Prisoner’, ‘World War Three’ and ‘New Wave Sucks’, how many bands these days have that many memorable songs on their debut, or any other, record? Exactly. SUDDEN DEATH
DRIVEWAY SPEEDING
‘REASONS ARE NOT ANSWERS’ CDEP
Going for the Leatherface vote, but with whispered Dave Smalley style vocals (on the opener) and lots of guitar chime, bass chords and snare rolls building into rising melodics. They enter some Jawbreaker and Hooton3Car territory, and overall the laid backness of Driveway Speeding just fits the Crackle bill with their U.K. edge. CRACKLE!
DRONGOS FOR EUROPE
‘HOTLINE TO HADES’ CD
Anthemic U.K. ‘82 punk in the style of One Way System, External Menace and Picture Frame Seduction. The gruff vocals remind me of No Choice in places. The riff and singalong for ‘Fight For Your Rights’ is uncannily similar to ‘Bro Hymn’ by Pennywise. Fans of this kind of stuff will not be disappointed. PUNK SHIT
DUANE PETERS AND THE HUNNS
‘BEYOND WARPED’ DUAL DISC
Couldn’t get the CD side to play in my player, but it worked on my DVD, this is a super flashily packaged ‘CD/DVD glued together’ type thing of a live set at the Warped Tour ‘04. A whole lot of time, money and effort has been put into such an average band. IMMERGENT
DUGONG
‘QUICK TO THE CITY’ MCD
Take latter-day Dischord art, some post-post Nuemoindiealtrock, a round of cafe latte, and some Coldplay and Keane type radio one whining bollocks, and you’re in the right neo sensitive male dorm, no doubt popular with the ‘too grown up for punk now we’re twenty five’ camp. The art is a real treat of seventies wallpaper kiddies, paintbox expressionism that would fit well on a Woodstock album. Crack out the Christmas jumpers and brown trousers... or not. BOMBED OUT
EPOXIES
‘STOP THE FUTURE’ LP/CD
Second installment from these Portland new wave revivalists, and there’s no surprises here. Catchy synth and guitar led pop punk with theatrical female vocals akin to Hazel O’Connor or the Rezillos and a hefty Adam and the Antz influence throughout. The synth is too loud in places and grates on your teeth, but apart from that, fans of this band or genre, will not be disappointed. FAT WRECK CHORDS
FAT DAY
‘SNARL OF PULCHRITUDE’ CD
This is a collection of Fat Day’s eight 7” releases from between 1993 and 2003. There’s not a lot in the way of info on this CD, with just the front covers and photos of these unlikely looking characters. Starting out as straight up snarling punk, they grew progressively more quirky as time wore on, and sound very much of their area and time; the Boston area during the nineties, like scene pals Kermit’s Finger, Showcase Showdown, Bratface and Penis Fly Trap. Throw in a little Apocalypse Hoboken style oddness and you know what to expect from these bearded and bespectacled fruit loops. 100% BREAKFAST
FIGHTING SHIT / DEAD AFTER SCHOOL
‘BOTHERED!’ CD
Christ, these bands look young! Or am I just old? Ha ha. Probably the latter methinks. Fighting Shit are insane Icelandic thrash with full-on Swedish metal production and quiet screamo bits. Dead After School are a posi-thrash-with-melodic-bits-core band from XhampshireX with cool ‘scene’ lyrics sung by everyone in the room, with their fists aloft. Having songs like ‘Jesus Is Not My Homeboy’ restores your faith in ‘the kids’. CAT ‘N’ CAKEY
FILTHY THIEVING BASTARDS
‘MY PAPPY WAS A PISTOL’ CD
I thought this was going to be yet another faux Celtic knees-up, but there’s more to this Swingin’ Utter spin-off than that. Yeah, there’s tin whistles and accordions, but there’s all sorts floating around, and they don’t lose sight of the song in the genre, like so many do, each distinct and catchy. So let’s say, the Pogues bare-knuckle fighting with Camper Van Beethoven in a sixties docklands bar while the Kinks take bets is pretty close. ‘Crutches and Blow’ is a Beatles ‘Rubber Soul’ rip-off too. B.Y.O.
FINGERS CUT
‘MEGAMACHINE’ CD
American acoustic-led college rock. If They Might Be Giants went emo, they’d probably sound like this. THICK
THE FIVE OUTSIDERS
‘ON THE RUN’ CD
Do they have surf in Sweden? I bet it’s bloody cold. Twelve Swedish surf instrumentals from the stable of Out Cold. ACME
FIYA
‘BETTER DAYS’ CD
Throaty melodics from Gainesville with that usual Hot Water Music edge and beards. Mix this with a Gilman or Ebullition early 90’s feel and that’s pretty much the angle. NO IDEA
FORGOTTEN REBELS
‘TOMORROW BELONGS TO US’ CD
This is a fairly old anthology of these 1977 Toronto punks, featuring their 1978 EP and demo as well 1980 demo and live material. The Rebels are full of Johnny Rotten snot, the Pistols influence heavily apparent on EP opener ‘National Unity’. A more early Buzzcocks and Wire influence is felt on ‘Third Homosexual Murder’ and ‘Reich‘n’Roll’ is blatantly stolen from Johnny Thunders’ ‘Chinese Rocks’. This is pretty basic four-four thud punk that sounds like it could’ve come out of any British council estate of the time. The demos and live are rough but historical, and overall Mickey De Sadist and the gang will appeal to all old fans of 1977 punk. OTHER PEOPLE’S MUSIC
FORMER CELL MATES
‘HUSTLE’ CD
Davey of the legendary Leatherface in a new project with former members of other apparently well-known bands. Imagine the vocal hooks of early rockin’ Police sung by Dr. Bison all with the jangling power of Leatherface, and the edge of a dirty bunch of grisled old rockers, and you have it nailed. The playmanship and production lets the northern rock shine, and the flow of the melodics really gels it all together to result in one city-wrecking monster of an album. What with some occasional guesting by Frankie Stubbs, the overall melodic beast that is ‘Hustle’ will see Leatherface fans shittin’ twinkies over this. NEWEST INDUSTRY
FRIVOLVOL
‘FRIVOLOUS VOL. 2: THE FALSE
SECURITY PROGRAMME’ CD
Technical offbeat screamcore from Finland. Metallic throbbing guitar and throttling vocals with off-key parts and off-time beats. This is like a mix of Anarcho crust, San Diego jazz emo noise and technical doom metal all at the same time. For fans of bands I’ve no clue about, but I could lie if you like, to make myself look hip. Ah, fuck it. IF SOCIETY
FROM PLAN TO PROGRESS
‘BOMBS, TOWNS AND CHORDS’ CDEP
In a hectic Strike Anywhere style attack, Brighton’s From Plan To Progess burst into their debut with passion and urgency. All nasal SoCal style vocals and political lyrics, it’s like listening to ‘Chorus of One’ played by Pennywise back when they were interesting. The incredibly catchy ‘Running For Their Lives Again’ is such a great song. My only complaint is that this is too short. Watch out for this lot! FPTP www.fromplantoprogress.com
THE FUNCTIONAL BLACKOUTS
‘S/T’ CD
Raw Chicago punk that sounds like it should be on Dirtnap and be from Portland. The harsh tinny production hurts the ears, but adds to it’s authenticity, almost like a live recording from the Masque or something. Imagine the Briefs, Skulls and early New Bomb Turks ruining a wedding reception with a food fight, and you’re on it. A cover of the Germs’ ‘Land of Treason’ adds to their arsenal. But for fucks sake, turn down the treble on the cymbals! CRIMINAL I.Q.
GARMONBOZIA
‘S/T’ CD
I’ve reviewed this before on vinyl. Can’t remember what I wrote, but this is melancholic crust punk with wrenching female vocals and a cello to add to the despair. Desperate lyrics penned by a ‘schizo affective bi-polar with chronic anxiety, depression and a borderline personality disorder’. If you can empathise with that, you may glean something from this. PROFANE EXISTENCE
THE GIRLS
‘S/T’ CD
The new new wave of the new wave, if the photos are to be believed, this lot do their hair and apply eyeliner before performing live in their underwear. Synths and quirk as you’d expect, along with camp dramatic vocals. The Girls remind me of XTC confused with side two of a Rodney on the Roq compilation. DIRTNAP
GLUEBALL
‘THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY’ CD
I remember the cover art for this on an old 70’s MFP ‘Western Theme Tunes’ LP that my grandparents had when I was a kid. This is super fast and relentless U.K. Punk with annoying guitar squeals that wail on almost constantly. Hyperspeed oompah drums behind repetitious two chord guitar, which the bass follows religiously, and vapid ‘blah blah’ lyrics, usually around four lines per song, and you’ve already heard the entire album. This sounds like the kind of thing that would be on Golf. All style, no substance. NAKED DOG
GOLDBLADE
‘REBEL SONGS’ CD
The first time I’ve ever received a release on this label and the first time I’ve heard Goldblade, and they’ve both been around for years. Well yeah, straight-forward, woah-e-oh singalong, street-oi-punk that I imagine would fit in well on a label’s roster with a name like ‘Captain Oi!’ Pretty basic lyrics and graphics throughout, with titles like ‘Cops and Robbers’ and ‘Fighting in the Dancehall (Fucking in the Streets)’, fans of Wasted Festival, Upstarts and Blaggers I.T.A. may well go for this brand of rock ‘n’ roll herbert punk. CAPTAIN OI
GONZALEZ, JOSE
‘VENEER’ CD
This Argentinian, raised in Sweden started out in a Big Black style band, then an indie band, before releasing his own solo acoustic work. Made semi-famous recently when one of the tracks here (a cover) was used for a Sony TV commercial (the one with the coloured balls bouncing down a hill in San Francisco). Anyway, this understated acoustic singer/songwriter material, with a heavy mid to late sixties influences, that reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel circa the Graduate mixed with Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues. Other than that, this is pretty engaging original stuff. PEACEFROG
GRABASS CHARLESTONS
‘ASK MARK TWAIN’ LP/CD
Yet another Hot Water Music tribute band mixing in the current drinkin’ ‘n’ croonin’ vibe (ala Dukes of Hillsborough et al) for hip scenesters to yeehaw to. If bands with bad dress sense and beards play these kind of tunes, they’re the second coming of christ. If bands with boots and badges play the exact same melodies (most of this record has been lifted off old Mod records anyway), they’re written off as third rate street punk. It’s a funny old world. NO IDEA
HAMMER
‘S/T’ 12” MLP
Full speed ahead throttling hardcore out of Japan. Belting bandana core that sounds a lot like What Happens Next mixed in with some of that olde Bristol crusterised wall of guitars. They even sing (and put titles and lyrics) in their own tongue. For fans of the old ‘Thrash ‘Til Death’ compilation and the bands featured like Lip Cream Gauze, Outo and Systematic Death. DERANGED
HAMMER BROS!
‘II’ 7” EP
On ‘STR8NTRUE’ a subsidiary of FNS of Boston, comes the Hammer Bros, all bald and bedecked in Cro-Mags shirts and a N.Y. graffiti style logo and cover art depicting a skinhead caving a sharks skull in. This is N.Y. style mosh-core with lead breaks and melodic guitar out of Boston I presume (with a song called ‘Thrashachusetts’). For fans of Kill Your Idols. STR8NTRUE/F.N.S.
HERESY
‘1985-’87’ LP/CD
I never rated Heresy. Always thought they were one of the most over-rated bands back when all this even more over-rated Britcore tripe was flavour of the month. This beautifully put together digipack with booklet, contains their first demo, ‘Never Healed’ flexi, two live songs and the ‘Thanks!’ EP, totalling 19 tracks of total thrash noise that Pushead probably played air guitar too in one of his sonic zoomfest moments. The later stuff reminds me of Ripcord meets Icons of Filth at 1,000 miles an hour. BOSS TUNEAGE RETRO
HIGH TENSION WIRES
‘SEND A MESSAGE’ CD
Briefs style high octane rock‘n’roll KBD skinny tie pop punk for fans of the Marked Men and the Dickies. DIRTNAP
HITECHJET
‘600 MILES FROM...’ CD
Boiling Water Music. Semi-skimmed. One sugar or two? I made a brew. Then switched it off. IN AT THE DEEP END
THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
‘ENTRAILS’ CD
A driving wall of heavy throttlin’ blister punk not unlike Tragedy, From Ashes Rise and the like. Black and white cut and paste artwork that gives off the same feeling, all stark like a cross between Artimus Pyle and Eyehategod. Fist shakin’ shit. NO IDEA
HORACE PINKER
‘TEXAS ONE TEN’ CD
This starts off a little jagged with a distorted angry song, but quickly slips into their tired and tested melodic formula, leaning more on the American independent rock than punk for inspiration. The drumming occasionally fucks with your head, and it seems like you’re always waiting for the chorus to take off... but it doesn’t. THICK
I OBJECT
‘FIRST TWO YEARS’ CD
Hardcore thrash with female vocals from Syracuse, New York state. Rough and hectic with angry lyrics about standard topics. This CD is comprised of 7”, compilation and unreleased tracks totalling 25 tracks with an Avengers cover (‘We are the One’). Sounds like it belongs on Profane Existence. TOWN CLOCK
INTENTION
‘AFRAID AT THE EDGES’ CD
What happened to Ivor the Diver? This Midlands lot have changed a bit. Complex melodic, slightly metallic, hardcore with vocals that jump between screaming and a Jello Biafra style. Angry political lyrics on non-standard topics which have actually been thought out. If the first Therapy? record had come out on Alternative Tentacles in the early nineties, it might’ve sounded like this. BLACK
IPANEMA
‘ME ME ME’ CDEP
Wiz and his Mega City Four legacy continues, with a sound very much of the grunge era. The twee vocals and downtuned riffola sees this sounding like bands like Alice in Chains to me. I guess this kind of thing will become fashionable again. BOSS TUNEAGE
JELLO BIAFRA AND THE MELVINS
‘SIEG HOWDY!’ CD
As he claimed in court, you can tell Biafra writes at least some of the tunes. As soon as opener ‘Halo of Flies’ kicks off, he follows the overly structured lead guitar tune religiously, and to be honest, it grates. ‘The Lighter Side of Global Terrorism’ gets things back on track of this Lard’esque project. With ‘Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)’ Biafra finally unleashes years of pent-up hatred upon his former band mates, and it’s not pretty. Then there’s the live updated version: ‘Kali-fornia Uber Alles 21st Century’ seeing him become Schwarzeneggar. After this and the six new studio tracks, the CD is padded out with three long and largely dull remixes of songs from the last record by Dalek, Al Jourgensen and Dale Crover along with the engineer even get in on the act. The Ministry mix works best, with a deep bassy resonating feel that really brings out a few different aspects of the song to the original. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
JETS VS SHARKS
‘THESE TIRED MONUMENTS’ MCD
I’ll ignore the Emo intro guitar chimes and cut to the sweat-drenched Sharks running full tilt. Musically, yeah, slightly irritating metallic emo undercurrents in places, but overall imagine Grade circa ‘Under the Radar’ played by a U.K. D.I.Y. band with the accompanying pitfalls of doing it for real. There’s a little Hot Water Music and Fugazi in the rockin’ ‘The World Is My Fuse’ (title lifted lovingly from Rites of Spring lyrics of course). A bit like Doghouse if it really had been in the doghouse so to speak. CAT’N’CAKEY
JUDGE
‘WHAT IT MEANT - THE COMPLETE
DISCOGRAPHY’ CD
Never bothered listening to this kind of crap then, and nothing’s changed. Their ‘New York Crew’ EP, ‘Bringin’ It Down’ MLP, ‘There Will Be Quiet’ 7”, ‘Chun King’ LP and a one song Don Fury demo are all included here. Wannabe Youth of Today slick N.Y.H.C. that began the evolution to the sub-metal going by the name today. Bad Minor Threat derived lyrics like; “Smoking that butt it makes you mature, a slave to sex and you tell me you’re pure, you slam that beer it makes you a man, I’ll try to keep my cool but you better understand.” Preaching that ever-so-amusing ‘individuality’ to crowds of a thousand hooded clones. Laughable or legendary? That depends on whether you consider this kind of stuff to be the beginning, or the beginning of the end, of Hardcore. REVELATION
KROMBACHERKELLERKINDER
‘NEVER.EVER.FUCK.DIE 1993-2005’ CD
The final release from this German hardcore band after twelve years, although they’re new to me. Roughly translating as Cellar of Children, these guys mix up the old melodic style of 7Seconds and N.Y. edge of Gorilla Biscuits and bring it up to date in the same way as bands like Kid Dynamite. Gruff vocals and lead guitar breaks abound and unlike many they know how to put a song together. Really good stuff, wish I’d heard them earlier. HORROR BUSINESS
THE KRUNCHIES
‘S/T’ CD
Harshly recorded with searing guitars, this sounds like a twisted early L.A. punk of the What? records variety with slashing Germs chordage and male/female vocals, but forced to take speed and stay awake for five days and then write an album. CRIMINAL I.Q.
LAST UNDER THE SUN
‘ALL EMPIRES CRUMBLE’ CD
Kicking off with the belting one minute thrash of ‘Fuck the Government’ and then the solid punker ‘Bring Me Their Heads’ L.U.T.S. have changed a bit, angered a bit and streamlined their sound from what I recall. This is straight forward punk rock with a real fired up anti- war in Iraq agenda. No lyrics, but you don’t need ‘em. These guys are pissed off, and good on ‘em. IRON MAN
THE LAWRENCE ARMS
‘OH! CALCUTTA!’ LP/CD
A lot more instant, with short catchy songs, rather than the flowing more conceptual approach of their last record, this album just grabs you with it’s cutting, almost staccato verses and anthemic as hell choruses. For the uninitiated, the Lawrence Arms rose from the Jawbreaker obessesed Broadways, and have since developed their sound, so those influences are still there, but a lot more subtle. Mix in a touch of say locals Alkaline Trio’s earlier, harder sound, when they were still writing more caustic songs, and before the videos and make-up, and you’re getting the idea. Existing fans will in no way be disappointed, neither will new listeners. FAT WRECK
THE LOCUST
‘SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST’ CDEP
Pointless pretentious noise or crap thrash? You decide. IPECAC
LOOK AT ALL THE LOVE WE FOUND:
A TRIBUTE TO SUBLIME ‘COMPILATION’ CD
As the title states, this is a tribute to drug-addled ska-reggae types Sublime, featuring Fishbone, Avail, No Doubt, Mike Watt, Camper Van Beethoven, Ozomatli, Pennywise, Los Lobos and the Vandals, amongst others. A really varied mix of artistes pay tribute, ‘a portion’ of the proceeds going to charity. KUNG FU
LOSING SIX SECONDS
‘OMNISCIENT AND IN CONTROL’ CDEP
A pefect example of hardcore in Britain right now. Overly structured with over the top heavy metal guitar noodling that just seems to go on and on over the top of stop and go double bass drum thud and downtuned bass, topped off with rasping ‘angry’ vocals. ENGINEER
THE LOVED ONES
‘KEEP YOUR HEART’ CD
Solid pop punk anthems from this Philadelphia three piece featuring one-time members of Kid Dynamite, The Curse and Paint It Black. Driven by a great bass sound (with a break nicked from Rites Of Spring on opener ‘Suture Self’) and vocal melodies for fans of Ann Beretta, American Steel and of course Kid Dynamite.Ultimately the Loved Ones come off like a blend of One Hit Wonder and Pinhead Circus. Urgency and desperation drive the tunes along apace and hook you in almost instantly. This is a great album. I foresee glossy mags, Warped tours and A&R flirtations. Good though. FAT WRECK
LOVE THAT KILLS
‘...TO CRUEL NAILS SURRENDERED’ CDEP
Joy! I’m met with the cover graphics of yet another a girl pretending to be dead surrounded by splats. Oh, the originality. The music? Well it’s heavy metal. Sorry, slip of the fingers, it’s hardcore. The opening wet-fart-salvo of ‘Bloodless’ imparts; “Such a beautiful bloodless corpse still warm yet breathless, a velvet cut a severed vein a crimson wound lies in my chest.” A bloodless corpse with a crimson wound? You’ve lost me. The theme continues with songs like ‘Razorblade Smile’ and ‘Hangmans Game’. I’d pay to see these “hardcore” bands attend a live autopsy. IN AT THE DEEP END
MARTYRDOD
‘IN EXTREMIS’ CD
Apocalyptic d-beat from Sweden with bleak Nick Blinko style art and the screams of a thousand lost souls all forced into a bean tin. This has that all battering production of bands like Entombed. HAVOC
MEDICATIONS
‘S/T’ CDEP
Latter day D.C. music is such a strange thing to me. I used to buy every release when it came out for years, until the label headed off into uncharted territory and I rarely catch glimpses of it these days. This is one of those glimpses, and yes, I can hear the later Fugazi in there for definite, mixed in with a little Holy Rollers of old, but all accented with that indie rock edge that all the bands seem to have had for a while now. If that’s your thing, this is too. DISCHORD
MERCURY LEAGUE (THE)
‘LA LIBERTAD NO ES UN SHOW’ CD
What a confused mess! This could only really be a product of the present day ‘scene’. Brief outbursts of late 90’s Epi-Fat harmonies, interspersed with those unlistenable backing ‘emo’ screams, twin ultra-metal guitar noodling, lots of chug-skwee and twin kick pedal galloping drum rumble, with dire production finishes the sonic cacophony. All in all this gives me a gnawing feeling at the back of my neck because it sounds like it’s been recorded over a worn out old cassette and I’m actually listening to three bands all at once. There’s two possible reasons for this. First is the band has a lot of disparate influences, and have rushed to record this too soon before ironing out the pushing and pulling that happens with some new bands. The other is, they’re trying to please everybody and every trend. I don’t really care which, I just think they need to address either before entering a recording studio again. TOTAL SELLOUT
MERCY SUITE
‘CRESTFALLEN’ CD
Twin guitar melodic indie metal with flat vocals. BOMBED OUT
MIA RIDDLE / JAMES BLACK
‘SPLIT’ CD
A girl and an acoustic, and a kid and an electric. The girl does the whole aimless American college girl who likes old films, cats and baggy jumpers thing, and the guy’s got too many Billy Bragg records. Great for the post-everything ‘scene’ hole. CLEAN IT UP!
MILLOY
‘MORE THAN A MACHINE’ CD
Milloy have ironed out any weaknesses of their two EP’s an trimmed the fat present in some of their older songs, and have delivered the goods 100% this time. The massive anthems like ‘Blackjack’ and ‘Less Said’ showcase their mixing of the Hot Water Music meets Leatherface school of melodics to sometimes blistering effect. Make this mandatory if you’re interested in current U.K. bands. CRACKLE
THE MINGERS
‘PASSION NOT FASHION’ CD
I had to struggle to free the disc from the elaborate D.I.Y. looking packaging, nearly breaking it in the process. Anyway, this is U.K. punk rock, with rough but melodic female vocals and political lyrics about all the standard topics. Of course, being English and punk, this reminds me of Dan or Joyce McKinney of old, but what did you expect? That’s a finer pedigree than saying it sounds like some modern day pseudo-metal shite. A solid and engaging album by a band who obviously mean it, maaan. GO DOWN FIGHTING
MISERY
‘NEXT TIME / WHO’S THE FOOL?’ CD
Combining to recording sessions, the ‘Who’s the Fool?’ LP and ‘Next Time’ sessions which included their split LP with Ass Rash, but adds an unreleased track. For those who don’t know, this is heavy crust influenced by Antisect, Amebix and Extinction of Mankind. Misery never really did anything for me, but fans of crust love ‘em, so what do I know?! PROFANE EXISTENCE
THE MOVEMENT
‘REVOLUTIONARY SYMPATHIES’ CD
Going for the socialist angle now, like the Strike did, these Danish mods play what you’d expect; jangly mod with a power pop edge, some ska thrown in, and rough vocals very much influenced by the Bosstones. They thank the Style Council for ‘great inspiration and encouragement’. Make of that what you will. AGGROPOP
MxPx
‘PANIC’ CD
Oh there’s a surprise, the opening track is all pseudo-political and somewhat similar to ‘American Idiot’. I’ve gotta give it to this trio of new testament cheesecakes, they do a good job of concealing their agenda, as there’s no obvious references to the lord in the lyrics or credits. But swing by their website and visit their ‘Religion and Philosophy’ forum for the real deal. All the requisite tattoos and piercings are present, the stencil splatter graffiti graphics, the vaguely pathetic attempt at lyrics with some kind of meaning, the whole package. Really, if it’s pedestrian radio rock you’re after, MxPx strike the right pose every time. SIDE ONE
NATION OF FINKS
‘RETURN OF THE PISSED OFF BASTARDS’ EP
Heavy hardcore from the U.K. with amusing cynical sones aimed mainly at ‘the scene’ like ‘Don’t Call Me Crusty’, ‘Love Hardcore, Hate You’, ‘If I Was True Metal I’d Kill Myself’ and the astounding ‘Fuck What Bridge Nine Stands For’. The lyrics read like the review section of this zine, can’t really fault that! Ha ha ha... KANGAROO
NAUSEA
‘PUNK TERRORIST ANTHOLOGY VOL.1’ CD
For those who don’t know, Nausea were an important anarcho crust band in New York at the time of Abc-No-Rio, Squat Or Rot and all that jazz. They took heavy influence from the U.K. bands such as Amebix and Discharge and gave it their own slant. Heavy and dirgey for the most part, they fitted right in with the scene of the late 80’s that they were part of. This collection is a spattering of songs from their ‘Extinction’ LP, ‘Cybergod’ and ‘Lie Cycle’ EP’s and other bits and pieces. It would’ve been nice to have had some liner notes and indication as to where the tracks are from, as the newcomer will have no clue. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
NAVAJO CODE
‘REMOVE.REPAIR.REPLACE’ CD
Ex-members of Scuttle mixing up a U.K. edged scream-a-thon ala Jets Vs Sharks, and a latter day Revelation approach, like Dead Inside playing in a Garrison style. This is upbeat, rasping and appears to have a pulse and a dose of anger and urgency. For fans of what a lot of bands in the U.K. are doing at the moment. FIREFLY
NECK
‘SOD ‘EM AND BEGORRAH!’ CD
Self-promoted ‘London Irish Psycho Ceilidh’ and I guess that’s what it must be. Think Flogging Molly and all the rest of the throng. This Irish thing really is overdone, and I never cared for it. HIBERNIAN
NIGHT AND THE CITY...
‘S/T’ 10” / SPLIT W/ THE ‘TAKE
Night and the City (of Broken Promises) hold great affection for the angular screams of San Diego of the early nineties, Washington D.C. of the mid-late eighties and the U.K. emo scene of the mid nineties. Put the rise and fall screams of Heroin on Armed with Anger records, call the song ‘Dance of Death’ and add some Void style skeletal artwork, and there you have it. The Take (on the split 7”) run through two of their structured melodic but heavy tunes that look to Jawbox and Burning Airlines and their ilk for inspiration. Both records have elaborate D.I.Y. packaging full of silk-screen, canvas, brown paper and string. DETOURNEMENT
NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS
‘STORKØBENHAVN’ LP
More Danish punk rock influenced by a different time and place. This lot mix a bit of Toxic Reasons anthemicism with a hefty chunk of No Future / Vice Squad U.K. ‘82 gloom, but mainly they seem to be going for the old German sound like Neurotic Arseholes, Blut+Eisen, Toxoplasma and Razzia. Imagine Demob had a track on Keine Experimente, that’s the basic idea. KICK‘N’PUNCH
NORTH LINCOLN
‘TRUTH IS A MENACE’ CD
Punk rock from Michigan heavily inspired by Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker with steady choruses and a melodic guitar wall. Straight forward but solid song structures which rise and fall in all the right places. Fans of both the above will go for this in a big way. NO IDEA
NO USE FOR A NAME
‘KEEP THEM CONFUSED’ LP/CD
Well the familiar stop and go duggada-duggada gallop shows it face occasionally, but for some reason Tony Sly’s vocals have moved up a key or two, and he’s got a long black side-parted fringe. I guess this is a conscious shift with the trends with an attempt to disguise it in the title, but they end up just sounding like a band from the last fashion trying desperately to stay relevant in a commercial ‘punk’ world where trends hurtle by ten-a-penny. It doesn’t work guys, go back to what you knew. You’re not keeping anyone confused, in fact, you couldn’t have been more predictable. FAT WRECK CHORDS
OI!LERS
‘STREET TUNES FOR THE BOYS’ MCD
‘Hardline street punk’ from Greece which declares; “We wear boots and we wear braces, we’ve got tattoos and scars in (sic) our faces. No right wing, no left wing, middle finger’s what we think.” In fact, most of the lyrics seem to be about wearing boots and fighting, oh and shouting ‘Oi!’ a lot. The word’s ‘generic’ and ‘derivative’ really don’t do it justice. FIGHTING BOOTS
ONION FLAVORED RINGS
‘TWO MINUTES’ ENLIGHTENMENT’ CD
I pressed play and thought “San Francisco. Early Lookout. Sounds like a cross between Sweet Baby Jesus, Sewer Trout, JChurch and Angst.” So I check out the hype sheet and it says; “OFR hails from San Francisco, and features former members of Crimpshrine... Monsula...” Ain’t I great? Seriously, I’m a fucking genius! Folky, slightly jangly indie punk with mutliple vocals and harmonies. Sounds like it came straight out of San Francisco. It did. NO IDEA
OUT COLD
‘GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD’ LP/CD
As you’d expect, this does exactly what it says on the tin. No holds barred 1981 style Massachusetts Hardcore that’s basically an exact cross between Negative Approach and early Poison Idea. Songs like ‘Total Human Monster’ and ‘Innocent Bystander’ rock like most bands of this ilk today just can’t muster. Admittedly, album in and album out, they never stray too far from their chosen path, but if you’re onto a winning formula, why bother? ACME/KANGAROO
OVER IT
‘SILVERSTRAND’ CD
Super slick melodic pop rock from California, taking it’s cue from Blink 182, er... and the rest of it. Sounds like seventies stadium rock to me. Too damn nice for it’s own good. LOBSTER
PANEL
‘COMMAND BOX STREET SCENARIO’ CD
Heavy post-Hardcore out of South Wales, and this is well out of the ordinary. Take aspects of Quicksand and Helmet with the melodic subtleties of Jawbox, all in their prime in the burgeoning days of U.S. Indie and Grunge, and what you have is a trundling juggernaut of an eight song album very much akin to Canadians Bionic. Bristling with layered guitars and a songwriting sense (my god, there’s choruses!) rarely this sharp in this country. All wrapped in some post-modern graphics very much of the Jason Farrell school. All this and they didn’t use the word ‘Rock’ once in their press release! CASCADE www.panel-online.co.uk
PANSY DIVISION
‘THE ESSENTIAL’ CD/DVD
A best of anthology of this gay pop punk band from San Francisco. Thirty twee jangly tunes from all their Lookout releases and a bonus DVD with fifteen live and video cuts. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
PAUL CARTER
‘OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER’ CD
An acoustic punk album by an old punk geezer from Derby I believe, and it’s like John Cooper Clarke playing Toy Dolls songs supporting the Notsensibles. Songs titles like ‘Wasted In Morcambe’ (sic), ‘Jessica the Checkout Girl’ and ‘Gob On You Granny’ should give you a good idea of what he’s getting at. PUNK SHIT
P.F. COMMANDO
‘MANIPULERADE MONGON’ CD
This is an official re-release of relatively unknown seventies Swedish punk legends Punk Force Commando’s ‘Manipulated Mongoloids’ LP from 1979. As you can imagine, this leans heavily on early U.K. and New York punk influences (for example ‘Johnny Bugger’ sounds a lot like Eater playing ‘Chinese Rocks’). There’s songs about Sid and Nancy, Auschwitz and London Sightseeing, all played at a pretty mid-tempo pub rockin’ pace. Makes you wanna sneer and do the grapple and gob and that... can’t say much fairer than that, innit you dirty rotter. YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS / IMPERIAL
PICTURE FRAME SEDUCTION
‘SEX WAR’ CD
Kicking off with the Exploited style thrash of the title track, these reformed Welsh veterans are very much dedicated to ‘U.K.82’ (there’s even a song of the same name), even when they slow up the pace, it’s for a tribal paced U.K. Decay/Killing Joke approach. Occasional metallic guitar squeals along with Keith’s vocal style are reminiscent of English Dogs (‘Left Me For Dead’) on songs like ‘Pitchfork Pete’. The production’s a tad odd in places, and the nine bonus live tracks do seem a little surplus to requirements, but this is a solid return for fans of this style. CULTJAM
PLEASANT VALLEY CHILDREN
‘WELCOME TO BEDLAM VALLEY’ CD
Ah PVC, remember them well. Saw them god knows how many times back in the late eighties, and next to Bad Beach they were the U.K.’s closest thing to a writhing later Black Flag (Pig Havok seemed obsessed with the Rollins era Flag from lyrics to bermuda shorts) mixed with the more twisted sounds of bands of the day like Victims Family. This anthology collects everything they put to tape; the ‘Fuck Kill Destroy’ LP, ‘What the World Needs Now’ 7” EP, ‘Who Needs Love to Have Any Fun’ demo tape, along with comp. tracks and various arse-abouts. I preferred the earlier stuff (of course) on the demo (in fact, the demo booklet material herein was from the Artcore Audio Archives, as I think Sned smoked his during a marathon Sabbath session), but for those in the present day who like the kind of noise Dead Inside made... geddit. FLAT EARTH
POINTED STICKS
‘PERFECT YOUTH’ LP/CD
Anyone who read the last issue will remember maestro Kip-Xool’s piece on these Vancouver teen heart throbs, and he must’ve been reading Joey Shithead’s mind, cuz not long after, this popped through the letterbox. Warning: this is catchy new wave pop punk with keyboards from 1978, and admittedly, this LP was the Sticks most soft and commercial work, and their more raucous punk rock material can be found on their 7”s (the version of their pop hit ‘Out Of Luck’ here is far inferior). You could say they were the Canadian equivalent of the Buzzcocks with the twee vocals and pop melodies, but there’s also a hefty Elvis Costello influence (‘When She’s Alone’) which might’ve gone some way to seeing them become Stiff’s only Canadian signing for that pop classic 7” release mentioned above. They also remind me a lot in places of later Zounds on songs like the great ‘True Love’ (both bands coincidentally sharing that song title). The Sticks also featured the considerable drumming talents of the late punk journeyman Ken ‘Dimwit’ Montgomery (Subhumans / D.O.A. etc.) So, if you can handle a bit of pop, hearing great tunes like ‘Part of the Noise’, ‘American Song’ and ‘Somebody’s Mom’ are gonna make you wonder how these weren’t huge. SUDDEN DEATH
PROPAGANDHI
‘POTEMKIN CITY LIMITS’ CD
Ever honing their craft, Propagandhi have produced yet another masterpiece of political hardcorepunkmetalrock, as if members of Crass had a secret speedmetal Rush tribute band on the side. This is by far their darkest record yet, and there’s an emotion lurking in the vocal/guitar interplay that has grown since the last outing. Listening to their records chronologically, is like listening to the progress of any punk rocker growing up; from belligerent snotty fuck you, through knowledge-found anger, to an inevitable despair upon the realisation that you aren’t, after all, going to change the world, but by damn you’re not going to give up without a fight. Apart from being brilliant, ‘Rock For Sustainable Capitalism’ not only bites the hand that feeds, it’s also a very true, and much needed, statement on “independent” music today. FAT WRECK
PROVOKED
‘INFANT IN THE WOMB OF WARFARE’ CD
‘PREPARE FOR THE COLD’ CD
Straight forward Minneapolis anarcho crust punk with raspy female (although you wouldn’t know it) vocals and guitar leads. This reminds me of a lot of the 1987 era U.K. bands like Pleasant Valley Children, early Concrete Sox and Generic, along with a dose of Misery and the like. Rough production and drumming, which makes it sound even more 80’s authentic. The first CD opens with their own vocal version of the ‘Network’ classic rant “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”. PROFANE EXISTENCE
PUNX UNITE
‘LEADERS OF TODAY’ CD
This is a joke right? Sideonedummy putting out a compilation of 32 street punk acts? Talk about covering all the bases. The garishly awful packaging and foldout full colour collage of all the bands says it all. With their sneering and posing with their studded leathers and mohicans, somewhere in America like it’s some Brummy council estate in 1982. You get the Casualties, the Briggs, the Unseen, Clit 45, the Virus, the Forgotten, Toxic Narcotic, A Global Threat, and many more, all sounding strangely familiar, with their convincing Dick Van Dyke accents. “Oi! You bloody twot, do you live anywhere near Hersham?” (Actually happened). SIDEOIDUMMY / CHARGED
PUSH ME UNDER
‘THE DAY LACKS COLOUR...’ CDEP
Funny, cuz I knew exactly what this badly recorded piece of crap was gonna sound like just looking at the cover graphics. It’s that awful screamo metal crud with song titles like ‘It’s Hell On Earth But We’re Safe In Our Black Hole’ and five minute space rock breaks. You get the picture. Buy some new influences. FAITH IN MY CHEST
R.A.M.B.O.
‘BRING IT!’ LP/CD
Crust-by-numbers with climbing melodic guitars under gutteral vocals all about fighting cops and corporations with your barehands, after you’ve finished your lentil soup. This is aptly depicted on the cartoon cover art of the black-clad, red and black flag bearing, dreadlocked vocalist facing down a riot cop atop a pile of bodies. The album comes with a DVD of masses of professionally compiled tour footage from all over the globe. I just gave it a quick look, and I knew it, as soon it said ‘Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia’ at the bottom of the screen, onto the stage jumps our old pal and globetrotting punk drunkard Skinny Jon Evans, he throws something at the vocalist’s head at point blank range and jumps off the stage. The DVD on the whole, is more like a holiday travelogue for the band. HAVOC
RAT BYTE
‘S/T’ 7” EP
Upturned baseball caps and bandanas, an attempt to recreate skate thrash hardcore of old, with song titles like ‘My Boss is a Jerk’ and ‘Fuck the Cops’. Hailing from Connecticut this is pretty basic and generic, and lacks that spark that makes you sit up and listen apart from one song; ‘I Want Out’ which shows real promise, and if they continue in this direction, things may get very interesting down the line. The guitarist is heavily influenced by early Government Issue and they have that early CT sound ala Seizure and Vatican Commandos. One to watch. PARTY TIME / F.N.S.
REAL McKENZIES
‘10,000 SHOTS’ LP/CD
Out of all the pretend celt bands, this bunch are probably the most convincing. For one, it’s not the usual ‘Irish’ schitck, and two, they mainly play straight up punk rock with a Scottish feel and bagpipes. On songs like ‘Best Day Until Tomorrow’ they remind me of the Lillingtons, probably due to the vocal melody sounds like it’s been rinsed through a vocoder. If ye like a Celtic folky knees-up and a wee dram or two, you’ll either love it or hate it I’m sure. FAT WRECK
REBELATION
‘POUNDS AND PENCE’ MCD
Slow skanking trombone and Hammond led ska/reggae very much in the vein of later Specials ala ‘Do Nothing’. Mix in the whiteness of the ‘Tone doing ‘Johnny Too Bad’ and that’s the deal. DO THE DOG
REGULATIONS
‘S/T’ LP/CD
The latest rage from Scandinavia for the trendy thrash scene. These Swedes play early L.A. inspired punk very much like Young Wasteners did before them, with snot flying, spot-on guitar sound and song titles you’ll never guess where they lifted from; ‘In 1945’, ‘Sex With Jesus’ etc. Obviously there’s a lot of early Black Flag and Circle Jerks ‘Decline of Western Civilization’ floating about in the mix, but add in a little Sick Pleasure and Dead Kennedys riffage (‘I Don’t Need’) for that early ‘S.F. Underground’ edge. Not quite as instantly engaging as the Young Wasteners, but getting there. KICK‘N’PUNCH / HAVOC
REMAINDER FOUR
‘ON WITH THE EXPERIMENT’ CD
Indie rock with female vocals. Well there’s lovely then. A fiver says the t-shirts only come in skinny fit, small and tedium. BOMBED OUT
RIFU
‘BOMBS FOR FOOD, MINES FOR FREEDOM’ CD
A Tragedy style pounding from four Norwegian guys who look far too clean for this shit! Hasn’t anyone told them that they’ll get nowhere with clean t-shirts? Where’s the filth and bad attitude? And not one fucking mention of ‘dogs’ anywhere? C’mon kids, get with the fuckin’ program, it’s all about stench. Now bugger off and live on a park bench somewhere long enough to forget about your rich parents and come back with the real deal. Fuckin’ kids, Geezus! GO-KART
RIISTETYT
‘KAHLEET’ / ‘TUOMIOPAIVA’ 7” EP’S
Ancient Finnish thrashers Riistetyt (Exploited, believe it or not) with one new and one vintage EP recorded in 1984. The new one ‘Kahleet’ sees them in the modern Scandinavian D-Beat vein but very much of the Rattus old school vein, all barking, and on the old, due to the vintage production, they sound more like Terveet Kadet of old, as you’d imagine. HAVOC www.havocrex.com
THE RITES
‘WISH YOU NEVER KNEW’ 12” EP
‘TOTALLY FUCKED’ TOUR 7” EP
Ex-Tear It Up, Cut The Shit and Down Tn Flames guys doing their 1000mph take on early eighties Hardcore with deep throaty vocals and lyrics of nihilism and fuck you. Mixing up Negative Approach, SSD, the Nihilistics and the Groinoids, all dark and nasty, cutting sharply between brooding and blasting. The 12” is complimented by some great cover graphics, and the ltd. to 100 tour EP has a great cover of Zero Boys ‘Hightime’. EVEN WORSE / WAY BACK WHEN
RUMBLESEAT
‘IS DEAD’ LP/CD
This is Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard of Hot Water Music, and Samantha Jones of Bitchin’, doing acoustic basement tapes back in ‘98/’99. Like Greg and Greg was to Bad Religion, this is very much the same as Hot Water Music in melody and structure, just acoustic. Akin to what Against Me did much later, and to much more applause, but somewhat better. I think this is all their recorded work (four 7”s and a handful of comp. tracks) totalling eighteen songs over an hour, this is a mix of straight-up heartfelt melodicism and more traditional sour mash swillin’ southern American blues, which when Jones sings along with Ragan and Wollard, is reminiscent of X. And of course, there’s a nod to Leatherface here too. NO IDEA
SATANIC SURFERS
‘TASTE THE POISON’ CD
Ah, melodic hardcore from Sverige that really blows the cobwebs. I don’t know what to write cuz I played this death and have forgotten everything I had to say. Like Rise Against without the sold out metal crap, Pennywise before they’d spent their penny, or Strike Anywhere running a gallop with Millencolin. This record proves that melodic hardcore can still be pulled off by those who know how, and was one of the musical highlights of 2005 for me. Good lyrics about stuff ‘n’ shit and er... yeah, it rocks dude, like bitchen’, got any free stickers? Gnarly! HOUSEHOLD NAME YA / BAD TASTE
SCREECHING WEASEL
‘WEASEL MANIA’ CD
A best of collection from these Chicago punk legends spanning 13 releases, fifteen years and totalling 34 songs complete with lotsa photos ‘n’ liner notes. Da Weasel had a place on my stereo, mainly back in the mid nineties, but like most bands who do more than half a dozen albums, they either went slightly stale or I did. Musically, somewhere between the Ramones and the Queers, Screeching Weasel had their day in the sun with the pop punk generation, but as always, times changed and you could imagine no-one caring if they brought out a new record now. It’ll all go full circle though, and in 10 years this stuff will be being fought over on eBay. ‘The Science of Myth’ is still an amazing song. Make ‘My Brain Hurts’ your first Weasel purchase. FAT WRECK CHORDS
SCURVY DOGS
‘S/T’ 7” EP
Rippin’ but rockin’ thrash with clipped throaty vocals that remind me of Christ on Parade or Econochrist. Political and angry lyrics and dark oil-paint effect cover art. Sounds like it’s from San Francisco, but the late eighties not now. Gotta be a good thing. KANGAROO
SELFISH
‘CAUSE PAIN’ CDEP
Hectic Finnish Hardcore from the crust camp which seems to have metallic noodling intro’s before rattling into some D-Beat with Rattus attack vocals. ‘Living Out Loud’ is straight off some ‘classic’ rock triple album with punk vocals. Overall think Wolfpack meets Motorhead at a Tragedy gig. COMBAT ROCK/FERAL WARD
THE SHINING
‘S/T’ 7” EP
Nihilistic Dutch death thrashers a-go-go. This is loud, powerful and nasty hardcore with pissed off lyrics. The guitars cut and thrust from a guy who must have rubber wrists to scratch this fast. While a snarling little man barks out his nega-rants and all in all this is one teeth cleaning brutality parade. Boxed In meets Attitude Adjustment. PICK UP / UNDERGROUND PUNK SUPPORT
SICK 56 / HIGGINS++
‘NEW DAY, NEW ENEMY’ 7” EP
A Blackpool all-star split effort here. Sick 56 turn in an anthemic One Way System style U.K. ‘82 punk tune with, this time, lyrics about prison sentences being too short for drug and gun dealers. Andy Higgins (backed by Sick 56) bangs out two singalongs, one short intro type number, and a reworking of the old Erase Today standard ‘Got a Revolution’. Comes on lemon sorbet vinyl. J.S.N.T.G.M.
SINKIN’ SHIPS
‘ALL SIGNS ARE WRONG’ CD
NOT the ‘hardcore’ band of the same name, this lot are from Toronto and play a powerloaded rockin’ punk with strong melodic female vocals, by a lady who looks like she could batter the ‘hardcore’ band if they challenged her to the band name. Sometimes frantic cutting guitars have shades of Leatherface mixed with garage punk, and the sometimes anthemic, sometimes broody, catchy-as-fuck vocals are halfway between Tilt and Jingo De Lunch (as in, great). Could be massive, but probably won’t be. SINK AND DESTROY
SMASH THE STATES
‘...FROM THE SOUTH’ COMPILATION CD
Regional compilations, like other formerly great things about punk rock, are all but consigned to history in today’s straight-to-record-deal competitive world of rock-with-a-haircut. This CD covers some of the southern states with thirty five bands, most of whom I’ve never heard of. The cover stars give off a street punk feel, but whereas there’s a gruff D.I.Y. feel to a lot of it, there’s more to the mix than that; the early New Bomb Turks feel of My So-Called Band, the DC stylings of New Mexican Disaster Squad, the Gilman feel of I Live With Zombies, the manic thrash of Hairball, the rudimentary oompah-core of the Fighting Mailmen, the White Pigs approach of the Dead Kings, to the Not So Quiet on the Western Front feel of Destroyed Tradition, it’s all here. SUICIDE WATCH
SMOKE LIKE A FISH
‘HERE’S ONE WE MADE EARLIER’ CD
A collection of early works of this U.K. ska outfit, compiling EP’s and compilation tracks, including a hyper cover of ‘Bankrobber’ by the Clash. Full-on 2-Tone style Hammond organ underwrites the Madness chirpiness and Bad Manners gusto herein. Takes me back to when my white socks would scream at my two-tone trousers to come down and meet my loafers, but my legs wouldn’t stop running up and down the same six tiles on the youth club dancefloor long enough to let them. DO THE DOG (not the donkey)
SNOWBLOOD
‘BEING AND BECOMING’ CD
I woke up after the first track had concluded it’s eight and a half minute intro ambience, and tuned my senses to the second track’s chord bass overture that suddenly developed into a crushing death knell rumble. The album continued in much the same manner, with quiet, harmonic intros with understated vocals that brought to mind Slint, later Honor Role, and even a sometime modern melodic feel, like Elliott, but all equally tempered by these intense Godflesh meets Neurosis and Eyehategod battering outbursts. I suddenly had this tense unnerving feeling that something bad was about to happen. SUPER-FI / LAWGIVER www.snowblood.com
SOFAHEAD
‘PRE-MARITAL PREDICAMENT’ CD
From the North East and playing a similar female vocal led melodic indie punk to their previous incarnation; Dan. Sofahead were from the late eighties, and very similar to the great Leamington Spa band; the Joyce McKinney Experience, with that recognisable guitar style of their locale, and when the gruff male vocals cut in occasionally, it’s Leatherface all the way. Herein lies their two albums, steeped in the production and weird effects that could only come from the late 1980’s, hearing these again, took me right back. BOSS TUNEAGE
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
‘THE SECRET HISTORY OF LONG
ISLAND PUNK’ COMPILATION CD
A great Killed By Death style collection charting the largely unheard sounds of Long Island, kicking off with Jimi Lalumia and the Psychotic Frogs with a Devo meets the Twinkeyz tune ‘Death to Disco: Disco Sucks’ backed by a version of ‘Wipeout’. The primal hardcore cot-rages of the Nihilistics 1979 debut EP ensue followed by Isms ‘Big Apple’ compilation contribution. The great find here then is the ‘Four’ EP from the Dead Virgins from 1983, a great basic hardcore era punk record, vocally reminiscent of very early Agent Orange in places. Then Horror Planet’s deranged ‘Cow Pies From Outer Space’ is featured in it’s entirety (including the two tracks on the enclosed LP). Then two 7”s from Sea Monster which start off with the promising Weirdos sounding ‘Sex God Chant’ but then head off into Cramps style rockin’ and tiresome eighties post-goth shit. Jimi Lalumia concludes proceedings as he started, with a rendition of ‘Twist and Shout’ (and another) live with Johnny Thunders from 1991. A great little chronological time capsule with mainly entire recordings, sleeves and liner notes. Great! UNDER THE VOLCANO / WINGED DISK www.underthevolcano.net
SONIC BOOM SIX
‘SOUNDS TO CONSUME’ CD
It comes to something when a ‘ska’ band spews forth the angriest tyrade against punk being sold out to the mainstream I’ve heard in a long time in ‘The Rape of Punk to Come’, while the vast majority of ‘punk’ bands have nothing intelligent to say on the subject. Anyway, this is a unique mix of ska, punk, rock and funk mixed with a kind of urban, almost hip hop edge to the female vocal delivery. Lengthy lyrics on real subjects that has all but evaporated from most bands these days. A wacky spaced-out urban cover of ‘Safe European Home’ by the Clash. One for fans of Capdown, Adequate Seven etc. MOON SKA EUROPE
SOVIETTES
‘LPIII’ CD
I thought everyone hated this skinny tie new wave shit? Well I guess they must’ve secretly lied, or someone bullshitted the kids. Either way, here be some skinny tie new wave shit, much in the vein of the Epoxies (without the synth). Catchy and sometimes a little moody, this be rockin’ like a female Briefs (the band not the underwear knucklehead) and sounds like it should’ve been on Dirtnap, and in fact was probably originally intended for (ooh, controversial). OK, but it wouldn’t drive me ape (you big gorilla). FAT WRECK CHORDS
SPERMBIRDS
‘SOMETHING TO PROVE/NOTHING IS EASY’ CD
Classic! Classic! Classic! I’m sorry but you’re just going to have to buy this now. This is what European hardcore sounded like in the late eighties, and these Germans (with American vocalist Lee Hollis) were one of the best at it, peddling their irreverant hardcore that caught the ‘skate’ tag at the time. Heavily influenced by the Angry Samoans (there’s even a cover of ‘Lights Out’) some of the sexist lyrics were always hard to take, and they copped a ton more flak for them then than they would now. I think Hollis even apologised later. Anyway, their first two albums are here as well as their tracks from the debut split 7” with their (w)alter-ego Die Walter Elf and a few live cuts. There’s also covers of Agent Orange and Wire’s ‘12XU’ all in a nice digipak with a full lyric booklet. I can still remember the day I bought the first album, on my birthday in 1987 when it came out. I don’t remember what else I bought. ROOKIE/BOSS TUNEAGE
THE SPITS
‘19 MILLION A.C. EP’ CD
Lo-fi garage punk with keyboards and masks with a recording so bad it sounds completely authentic. In fact, they should press some 7” vinyl, and leave the covers in the sun after squeezing a tea bag on ‘em, and start the bidding in internetland at $49.99 for pretentious knobs to lap up. Quirky and new wave-like and a bit like the current crop of trendy fake shit coming out of the U.K. (but recorded on an old computer cassette recorder) but with covers of the Dicks, GG Allin and Afrika Corps for authenticity points, and er... a mix between Devo and the Ramones in the influence department?! DIRTNAP
STOKOE
‘THE EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN A...’ CD
Dickie Le Hammond of Leatherface (and HDQ) fame with a set of songs. The tunes are here, and the competent female vocals carry them well. The guitars make the choruses take off just as you’d expect and the whole thing is riddled with Hammond’s signature style, all layered in the studio. Listening to this though, you can’t help but wonder what a Leatherface record would sound like in the here and now with the Stubbs / Hammond working together. The weird artwork of people in fancy dress and masks makes the whole thing look like some old episode of Dr. Who. ROOKIE/FLIGHT 13
STORMCROW
‘ENSLAVED IN DARKNESS’ CDEP
Crust metal with belching death grunts and song titles like ‘Anguished Existence’. Blah, blah... do your laundry. NO OPTIONS
STRAIGHT CORNERS
‘BAD HEROES’ CD
Straight-up melodic punk from Germany of the late nineties variety sounding a hell of a lot like early A.F.I. (the guy pictured on the front cover even has an A.F.I. t-shirt on) mixed with all the ‘Epitaph’ of Pennywise. Good lyrics, questioning the the fascist rebirth in Europe, and the ‘Marketing of the Revolution’, questioning people who wear Che Guevara t-shirts. Spot on. HORROR BUSINESS
STRETCHARMSTRONG
‘FREE AT LAST’ CD
Poorly disguised major label pretend ‘hardcore’ that used to be on a christian ‘rock’ label. All the makings of a classic here then. WPO
STRIKE ANYWHERE
‘TO LIVE IN DISCONTENT’ LP/CD
A collection of their early material, including the recent near classic ‘Chorus Of One’ 12” EP, plus their demo which made its way onto the Fat Wreck Chords 7” EP and their Euro tour 7” and competent covers of Dag Nasty and Cock Sparrer (?!) Thirteen tracks in total of rabble-rousing melodic hardcore anthems guaranteed to stir the most jaded of adrenal glands. I don’t know what the CD packaging looks like as I only bothered to buy the garishly striking picture disc that includes little info apart from song titles. In these commercial times, I as ever wait for the sellout, but in the meanwhile, damn if this band didn’t restore yer faith in the whole punk / hardcore type thing when you listen to them. CHUNKSAAH / JADE TREE
STRUNG UP
‘WARFUCKED’ 7” EP
Strung Up turn in another great record with sharp graphics, this is getting to be a habit! Still sounding like a genetic experiment on Verbal Abuse, Special Forces and Bad Posture of old, these S.F. crazies know how to knock out the stripped down and pissed off hardcore. I particularly like the back cover shot of the guitar and skateboard in a toilet as it looks just a little bit like the Code of Honor ‘Fight or Die’ sleeve pic. KANGAROO
SUICIDE BID
‘THIS IS THE GENERATION’ CD
A political reggae project by members of the Filaments, King Prawn, Ex Cathedra, P.A.I.N., Inner Terrestrials and Deathskulls amongst others. I guess you have to like reggae. HOUSEHOLD NAME
SUICIDE MACHINES
‘WAR PROFITEERING IS KILLING US ALL’ CD
Serving up their usual blend of political power-ska, Suicide Machines empty both barrels in pathos and passion, so much you could almost forgive them for their major label beginnings. Sounding as close to how Operation Ivy would sound in 2005 as you’re gonna get, and about ten times more convincing than Leftover Crack and others at this genre in the present. That said, ska just gets on my nerves these days and it’s not something I could sit through, but if you do, this is about as good as it gets for this stuff. Song title of the issue goes to; ‘I Went on Tour for Ten Years... And All I got was this Lousy T-Shirt’ It’s funny cuz it’s true. SIDE ONE DUMMY
SUICIDE WATCH
‘GLOBAL WARNING’ CD
Ian and Rid formerly of Decadence Within, reunited along with Ade from Ian’s later Stampin’ Ground and Simon from Rid’s later Burnside, doing their take on Slayer / Death / Exodus style speed metal, their real love from the mid-late eighties. Even the artwork looks exactly like an old speed/thrash metal album, which I suspect, is the same artist as all those old Death records etc. They really should’ve worn wigs for the photos though, just for authenticity - ha ha! MAUSOLEUM
SWELLBELLYS
‘BULLETS AND BLADES’ CD
From Scotland, the Swellbellys play an exact mix of the Exploited and Assert with songs about violence and weapons, friendship gone bad, the war on terror and paedophiles. GO DOWN FIGHTING
THE SWORD
‘S/T’ CD
The two geezers from Joe Ninety who didn’t go on to Dauntless Elite ended up doing this with an ex-Dugong. Yes, all the anthemic melodics are in place very much continuing where Joe Ninety left off. You can also hear those Snuff / Guns ‘n’ Wankers influences that were also in effect before (the ace ‘Western Front’), but there’s also a hefty spattering of Samiam in the mix (just listen to the great ‘Live As You Learn’, ‘To Make a Change’ and ‘Tonight’s the Night’ try to deny it). Nine songs for about two quid? Do yourselves a favour. Outstanding. CLEAN IT UP www.cleanituprecords.co.uk
THROW RAG
‘13 FT. AND RISING’ CD
Down‘n’dirty garage rock‘n’roll with vocals that sound like Axl Rose in places, and guest appearances from Lemmy, Keith Morris and Biafra on two. Songs about pretty much nothing. B.Y.O. / KUNG FU
TIGHT PHANTOMZ
‘CRAZY WHEN WET’ CD
Rock with a capital ‘R’ and a silent ‘C’. SOUTHERN
TODD
‘PURITY PLEDGE’ CD
Stoner rock with a capital ‘S’ and a silent ‘B’. SOUTHERN
TRAPDOOR FUCKING EXIT
‘CROOKED LIFE / STRAIGHT WORLD’ LP/CD
On this third album, these Swedes seem to be finally getting where they seem to have been trying to get. Taking the revolving-scale rock of later Black Flag and adding it to the San Diego sounds of Drive Like Jehu along with loud echoes of Rites of Spring, all thrown together into a modern power mix. They seem to have cracked the songwriting code on this, their best one yet. I like this. NO IDEA
TURN ME ON DEAD MAN
‘GOD BLESS THE ELECTRIC FREAK’ CD
Chordy psychedelic space grunge rock from the label that brought you ‘70’s Rock Must Die’. Kyuss meets T. Rex... and I’m sure you can imagine how much I’m loving this. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
TV SM!TH
‘MISINFORMATION OVERLOAD’ CD
Christ, I’ve not heard what the Adverts frontman has had to say since, blimey, some gig back in the late eighties I think. Opener ‘Good Times Are Back’ with it’s Cock Sparrer style lead breaks, Mike Ness style melody and perfect pop structure is an absolute blinder for sure. The songs flow from there on in with a true Englishness not unlike New Model Army, mainly due to some great socio-political lyrics, an art lost on many of the young ‘punks’ of today. Those kind of lyrics that strike a chord, speak the truth, and make you nod in agreement. There’s something folky in songs like ‘Small Rewards’ and a fist-waving defiance in ‘Not In My Name’. I didn’t know what to expect, but not this. A truly impressive record. BOSS TUNEAGE
(THE) UGLY TRUTH ABOUT BLACKPOOL
‘VOLUME ONE’ COMPILATION CD
A history of Blackpool punk related activity put together by Andy Higgins, kicking off with Skrewdriver’s ‘Anti-Social’ (controversial!) This is followed by Zyklon B, Male Models, Syntax, One Way System, The Fits, Membranes, Erase Today, Pink Torpedoes, Uncle Fester, Chang, Sick 56 and more, totalling 27 bands and tracks. Not only that, somehow he got support from the Arts Council, Blackpool Council and the Blackpool Evening Gazette for this! J.S.N.T.G.M.
THE UNDERHILLS
‘GET SMART’ CDEP
Straight-up three-chord Queers ‘n’ Weasel influenced 4-4 punk out of the Ramones mold. Solid and catchy with woah-oah’s all over it and a Lookout records feel. CABANA ONE
UNKIND
‘EI MITAAN’ CD
Mid tempo rumbling D-Beat with those trendy melodic guitar leads. Similar to Wolfbrigade and the rest of their ilk. COMBAT ROCK
UPSTAB
‘SOMEONE THREW A GALLON JUG OF THUNDERBIRD WINE AT ME’ 7” EP
Belligerent snotty trash with a heavy bass and chaotic edge. I have no idea where they are from (even after reading their their website) or what the songs are about, but I get the impression they’re a bunch of wacky pranksters intent on self-harm. Only 200 pressed. WAY BACK WHEN/EVEN WORSE
USELESS I.D.
‘REDEMPTION’ CD
Ultra melodic and produced nineties style pop punk from Israel akin to say Bodyjar on the good side, or MxPx, Blink 182 and all the other overground bands of this ilk on the bad. This is to the point of being borderline Busted or Son of Dork in places, it’s so mainstream and slick sounding. It’s so saccharine sickly sweet, you can’t help but reach for the off button. Oh, there’s a surprise, it’s on... KUNG FU
VEE DEE
‘FURTHUR’ CD
Authentic sounding seventies style Rave Up style punk from Chicago in the present day. Garage rock in the true sense of the word with a no messing delivery. Definite hints of Radio Birdman in amongst the rockin’ for sure (‘Kaleidoscope Death Ray’), and a little early San Francisco punk feel like say the Breakouts (‘Tet Midwest’) all with some suave East Bay Ray meets Deniz Tek sick six string riffola throughout. Nice. CRIMINAL IQ
VILETONES
‘A TASTE OF HONEY’ CD
Another old anthology of Toronto ‘77 dog collar rockers the Viletones, and this set is all one session from 1977. They resided Somewhere between Eater and the New York approach of Ramones and Dead Boys, meaning they finish up sounding and looking like early, ‘Static Age’ era, Misfits, with the noteworthy ‘Screaming Fist’ standing out from the pack. The package is sparse on information, going instead for a photo collage, but this fun set is full of energy and snot. OTHER PEOPLE’S MUSIC
WARPED TOUR 2005
‘COMPILATION’ DBL CD
Oh joy! Corporate rebel rock for the t-shirt generation. Look, it’s two discs with fifty bands and tracks, like one big namedrop of wannabe industry sucks who’d like nothing more than to be the next Green Day. There’s reams of metal and emo and emo and metal dogshit, christian pop punk, faux street punk and all the other nutrasweet bullshit that hangs out in the schmooze tent in smeared eyeliner and a studded belt. In short, if you play air guitar to your cosmetic glossy rock revolution when you’re not playing Tony Hawks, get this, it’s your ready made Myspace influence list, the last word in dress-up punk. Turning rebellion into money, it’s... SIDEONEDUMMY
WEAVING THE DEATHBAG
‘COMPENDIUM’ CD / ‘S/T’ 7” EP /
‘LOST IN THE WORLD’ 7” EP
Belting hardcore thrash from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and these kids are pissed off! Twenty six tracks in twenty nine minutes, all dealing with a variety of issues, from scene to politics. Technically proficient hardcore with relentless drumming and vocals barking at you. Good production and artwork too. Shred central. HUNGRY GHOSTS
DEMO TAPES ‘N’ CD-R’S
BULLET OF DIPLOMACY
‘ROOM 526’ CD-R
Winging in on from leftfield is Academy Morticians offshoot B.o.D. Influenced by the music and politics of the likes of Nomeansno, Biafra and Chomsky, this definitely shines through in their work. This demo EP is definitely darker and more brooding than their previous outings, with layered melodics and melancholy harmonies, and a more fluid rock-filled monster has reared it’s head, but losing none of the politics or social commentary. profitganda@hotmail.com
CRASH THE POSE
‘THRASH CAN SUCK IT’ CD-R
D.I.Y. blender thrash with high pitched death grunts. Seven songs in five minutes and fifteen seconds. www.myspace.com/crashthepose
CRIMINAL I.Q. RECORDS
‘DIGITAL SAMPLER’ CD-R
Like the title says, this tiny little three inch CD contains tuneage by M.O.T.O., Phenoms, Krunchies, Veedee, Manhandlers, New Black and the Functional Blackouts, most of whom have full-blown reviews herein. Seven songs.1000 copies. www.criminaliq.com
DA CAPO
‘THE LONG, TALL AND SHORT OF IT’ CDEP
Kicking off with ‘See You In Hell’, very much of the New Bomb Turks and Didjits school of garage rockin’ punk, Da Capo have honed their swagger and turn in six well structured stop‘n’go rockers, recorded live with no overdubs (no mean feat with that Wah-Wah in effect). Hear great tunes like ‘Monkey Say Monkey Do’ and wonder loudly why a band like this has no proper release! This EP is reproduced on a 7” vinyl effect CD-R (multiple limited edition colour pressings) in a miniature die-cut sleeve and insert. Totally D.I.Y. and for real. £4.50/$9.00ppd. from: 13 LON PENLLYN, RHIWBINA, CARDIFF, CF14 6BZ, WALES, U.K. www.geocities.com/dacapo05
THE DEAD NEXT DOOR
‘DEMO’ CD-R
Cool laid back melodic rockin’ punk from Southern California that’s reminiscent of Automatic 7, Social Distortion and Welt. Strong and confident songwriting and a little bit o’ street punk thrown in their theme tune. Promising stuff. mrchrismurphy@hotmail.com
DEK
‘WATTATATA’ CD-R
At face falue with the cutesy naive cover art and L.A. industry deluxe press pack including band photos, full colour press cuttings and no less than four DVD-R’s and a CD-R of artwork of these fifteen year olds, you’d think they were some Busted/McFly project headed for the big-time. Maybe they are, but the music is not what you’d expect from these Seattle kids. Rough and snotty punk rock very much of the old school, and very much like other young bands of the present day the Snobs and the Diffs (with a definite mid-period A.F.I. influence thrown in). The thing is, the band features the son of former Dead Kennedys and T.S.O.L. manager Mike Vraney, Mark Vraney, and the title track features Ron Emory of T.S.O.L. on guest guitar. It’s obvious that Vraney junior has spent his formative years listening to his dad’s old T.S.O.L. and Dead Kennedys records, and transcribed it to this snarling set. If you can ignore the terrible artwork, and the fact that this little lot have already toured with T.S.O.L., Social Distortion, the Adolescents and the Presidents of the United States of America(!?), and will probably be on Megacorp Records inside a year, then give this a go, you might be surprised. FINGER
DUCK STAB
‘SONGS 1-5’ / ‘SONGS 6-12’ CD-R’S
Rasping throaty structured fast hardcore with intelligent lyrical themes from Leedster scenesters. www.myspace.com/duckstab
THE FORCE
‘MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU’ CD-R
Heavy metal with screaming and crappy sung parts like a million other shitty bands. Hate to break it to you German lads, but it’s been done. The Force from Grass Valley, California, did this exact Star Wars theme in the nineties. www.horrorbiz.de/theforce
FORMALDEHYDE JUNKIES
‘S/T’ CASSETTE
Now this is authentic. Muddy production and a devil may care approach to garage hardcore from St. Paul, Minnesota, that would see them fit quite nicely onto one of the ‘Master Tape’ compilations. A reworking of an old Zero Boys standard, and a little Meat Puppets chaos occasionally thrown in. nohawk3@hotmail.com
FROM ANATHEMA TO LIQUID CHAOS
‘NAIVE ANARCHISTS’ CD-R
This is a confusing mess of a CD. I think it’s different bands, maybe of the same members throughout different times. I think some of it is old anarcho band Anathema, and I think the other bands are Compassion and Liquid Chaos. If it is the same band with different names, then they change from eighties anarcho stuff to festival ska to outright techno dance shit. Hippies? creamcropzine@aol.com
GIVE ‘EM THE BOOF
‘COMPILATION’ CD-R
Not a lot of info, but I think these are all young Surrey bands. All the modern styles are covered from pop punk to ska, indie and everything inbweteen, and includes Killing Pablo, Sniper wolf, Just Called Charlie, Bottlenex, Chalk Four, Ennything and many more. www.boofrodrecords.com
GURKHA
‘DEMO #2’ CD-R
Deep in the bowels of Mordor, the returning Ork battalions, toast the slaying of countless legions of menfolk in the recently fallen Rohan. Saruman looks on at this mass of murderous beasts, and steam rises as they beat their chests and bellow to the stars, lit only by the flickering bonfires that cast dancing shadows on the walls of their subterranean hell. Suddenly, torches are lit, the stage is set, and the writhing mass surges forward to witness the crushing crust battering ram of Gurkhaaarrrggghhh! martin.einon@blueyonder.co.uk
HEROIC DOSES
‘THE FIRST DOSE’ / ‘ETHIC CLEANSING’ CD-R
Old fashioned punk rock from the London area with wobbly Jello style vocals, and a basic three-chord approach. Mixing the sounds of U.K. and U.S. punk with lots of random backing vocals from all directions. D.I.Y. in recording and attitude. www.heroicdoses.co.uk
MASTERS OF THE OBVIOUS
‘RAW POWER’ CD-R
Or M.O.T.O. for short, this is Ramones influenced good-time rock‘n’roll punk from Chicago, so obviously there’s a Screeching Weasel reference in there too. The vocals also remind me of the Lillingtons and the Marked Men. www.motorock.com
NANCY REAGANS
‘DEMO’ CD-R
A Jangly indie / mod sounding punk, like blending Annalise with JChurch from members of various South Coast bands. Came with a free balloon. Russsmith1983@hotmail.com
ONLY UNTIL...
‘DEMO’ CD-R
Quiet ‘n’ loud screaming emo catharsism. www.onlyuntil.com
RAGGEDY RECORDS
‘PROMO #1’ CD-R
A compilation CD from South Wales of underground young talent. Losing Six Seconds, Mook, Pete’s Sake, Dick Truth and the Accused (someone tell ‘em) amongst others. Fifteen bands and tracks covering all the bases that young bands do these days, Mook being a standout. yogi_rezmo@hotmail.com
RUBBER FACTORY RECORDS
‘DISTRO SAMPLER’ CD-R
A rounded sampler from this Toronto label, featuring Sinkin’ Ships, Cold Blue Sky and Cheerleader 666 amongst the 16 bands and tunes. All diverse and D.I.Y. www.rubberfactoryrecords.com
SADIE HAWKINS DANCE
‘EP’ CD-R
Slick melodic indie rock with distorted wobbly female vocals and lots of lead guitar riffs. carol_synko@hotmail.com
SHORT SHARP SHOCK
‘6 SONG DEMO 2005’ CD-R
Crossover thrash with stupidly synthetic sounding drums, shedloads of guitar solos and barked vocals about skating, aggro and violence. Reminds me of all the mid-late eighties anarcho bands just when they started to experiment with metal. meatclaw@aol.com
TV PARTY
‘NOTHING’S EASY - 1ST DEMO’ CD-R
Straight up, no frills, stop‘n’go hardcore from High Wycombe in the Pilger vein but with a more negative edge, like something old from the mid-west. The vocals are a bit laid back, but this is promising stuff. Watch this (my)space. www.myspace.com/tvparty
UP LATE
‘S/T’ CD-R
Young Sheffield amateurish practice amp punk jangle. Sounds like something John Peel would’ve played. www.uplate.tk
VIDAS EM CHAMAS
‘S/T’ CD-R
Fast belching Brazilian hardcore with that octave guitar playing that’s popular with your Tragedy / From Ashes Rise type bands, while a ultra-heavy bass throbs away. www.vidasemchamas.cjb.net
YOU ME AND THE ATOM BOMB
‘FOR ALL THE PEOPLE TRYING’ CD-R
Recorded at their second practice? It doesn’t sound like it. This is one of the Jets Vs Sharks spin-off bands, and it’s a Dillinger Four meets Jawbreaker affair with instant hooks and I could see this band on No Idea. www.youmeandtheatombomb.com
VID’S ‘N’ DVD’S
DESPERATE TEENAGE LOVEDOLLS - DVD
Well known in punk circles, this is David Markey’s (Sin 34 / We Got Power fanzine) debut teen flick from 1984. Chaotic and very D.I.Y., imagine the film your school pals used to talk about making, coming to life. Beyond atrocious acting and hapless lip-synching, all put to the nowadays oft re-told teen-dream story of some girls who want to be in a famous band, and how they go about pulling it off, but this version being a little more sordid than your average Bratz cartoon with shooting up and muggings all over the place. See Dez Cadena in a non-speaking role, along with various members of Red Cross all put to a punk rock soundtrack including the Bags, Nip Drivers, Greg and Greg and White Flag. WE GOT POWER / ECLECTIC
NARDWUAR - THE HUMAN SERVIETTE - DVD
A massive five and a half hours of footage on two discs of this Canadian nutjob (known for his work at Flipside and Razorcake) as he accosts celebrities of various standing, and harrasses them with a microphone and often ridiculously probing personal questions, concluded with his half-arse catch phrase “doot doola doot doo... doot doot”. If you’d like to a badly dressed goof annoy people like Snoop Doggy Dog, Mikael Gorbachev, Slayer, Gwar, Jello Biafra, Dan Quayle, Michael Moore, Gene Simmons, Marilyn Manson, Ian Mackaye, Busta Rhymes, Blur, Vanilla Ice, Thor and Cradle of Filth amongst others, then look no further. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES
OUT COLD. - LOOKING THROUGH
COMMUNIST EYES - DVD
As you’d expect from Out Cold, there’s no arsing about on this DVD. Just a live set, in Russia, filmed on one camcorder, in 2004, lasting for just over half an hour. Apart from the simple sleeve, and cool insert which has the setlist on one side and flyer on the other, this is like something you’d get off someone’s trade list or under the table at a record fair. Raw and stripped down, just like the band. ACME
THE SLOG MOVIE - DVD
Another Dave Marky production (We Got Power fanzine and Sin 34), this time a video-zine filmed in 1981-82 that takes you on a real D.I.Y. ride through the sights and sounds of SoCal punk at the time. Beginning with two young punk kids spraypainting band logos onto walls and floors, before heading off into live and interview type footage of Wasted Youth, Circle Jerks, Symbol Six, Circle One, Chiefs, T.S.O.L., Fear, Red Cross and Sin 34 playing on Santa Monica pier, before Sin 34 travel to play in S.F. for a gig. There’s a Black Flag skateboard advert, ‘a Day in the life of a Punk’ skit and footage of Oki Dogs with Pat Smear, Danny ‘Scranny’ Wasted Youth and Randy Rampage hanging out. A good insight into the scene, really gives you feeling of what it was really like. WE GOT POWER
ZINES
KEY: TITLE / ISSUE / PAGE COUNT / PAPER SIZE / PRINT: X=XEROX-L=LITHO / PRICE
ADVENTURES IN PHOTOCOPYING #1
36 / A5 / X / ?
Random zine full of insights into the maker’s mind. No bands or other standard zine fare (aprt from reviews), instead there’s stuff about tinnitus, the internet, Berlin and cartoons, amongst other such stupidity. 1A MILL LANE, HARLOW, ESSEX, CM17 OLN
AGITATE #6
20 / A5 / L / 40p
Anarcho crust type zine with stuff on Extinction of Mankind and Ruin, as well ‘Cardiff Anarchist Network’ and I.D. cards. All stark visually, and obviously suited to the black and white approach. Standard reviews as well. P.O. BOX 202, SHIPLEY, BD18 3WB
BALD CACTUS / HEADWOUND #23 / #17
48 / A4 / L / £1
A split issue of two Leeds regulars. The bald one’s half first, which has Peter Bower records, C.D.S., No Substance, record, zine and live reviews. Headwound has stuff on Insurgence records, No Respect, Opcio K-95, Burn All Flags, Forced Entry, a tour report, ranting, and piles of reviews (I’ve never sung with an American accent though ya cheeky bleeders) of all stuff. Great issue of two quality mags. 145-149 CARDIGAN ROAD, LEEDS, LS6 1LJ, U.K.
BARBIE’S DEAD #17-19
12-16 / A4 / X / 50p
Regular cut and paste slapdash shenanigans from Alex as usual. #17’s got a Pilger interview, #18’s got a Japan holiday report, #19 is mainly reviews, and all have these as well as ranting and a U.K. Subs obsession. WOODHOUSE, THE SQUARE, GUNNISLAKE, CORNWALL, PL18 9BW, U.K.
BEAT MOTEL #1 - #2
52-64 / A5 / L / £1.50
Beat Motel is out of Ipswich and is influenced by Real Overdose. You won’t find the masses of band interviews like RoD though, and they really go for a unique ‘zine’ approach of a plethora of nonsense of all kinds.The first issue came with a lighter and there’s interviews with Sick 56 and stuff on home recording, and the second issue comes with a CD-R of something called Zeeb and there’s stuff on Ballistics, the Big, Tesco and straight edge. There’s reviews and all the usuals. 71 RECTORY RD, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK, IP2 8EQ, U.K.
BLACKPOOL ROX II #8
20 / A4 / X / FREE
This is basically all reviews and editorial from Andy Higgins as well as blow by blow account of ‘The Ugly Truth About Blackpool’ CD (reviewed herein), sorta like an accompaniment. www.jsntgm.com
CITIZINE #7-9
48-52 / A4 / L / $3.25 (U.S.)
Sharp looking zine from L.A. covering all things old and punk rock. You’ll find indepth present day interviews with John Denney, Joey Keithley, Kira Roessler, Derf Scratch, Spit Stix, Billy Zoom, Steve Albini and many more among the pages. And if those names don’t mean anything to you, then you’re probably better off not checking this great classy mag out. All the usual review stuff goes on, as well as spoof horoscopes and political satire. www.citizinemag.com
CODEYE #14
32 / A5 / X / ?
Interviews with Dogsflesh, Sick 56 and Punk Shit distro, 3CR, D’Corner Bois, 999, Iron Man records and all the usual live ‘n’ record reviews. 23 FALKLAND ST, MIDDLESBROUGH, TS1 4JH, U.K.
DO THE DOG #38-39
8 / A4 / L / FREE
This is a newsletter or ‘Skazine’ for the label Do The Dog, which is totally dedicated to the Ska. 65 BLACKDOWN WAY, THATCHAM, BERKSHIRE, RG19 3FY, U.K.
EVERYTHING FALLS APART #5
36 / A5 / L / 50p
Interviews with Los Destructos, Hardy St. Pro’s, Chillerton, Minority Blues Band as well as a Dina tour diary, reviews and the rest of it. The thing that sets EFA apart is the fiction and original sparse, almost emo look to it. There’s also much comment on a variety of things, mainly booze. P.O. BOX 215, LEEDS, LS26 0WP, U.K.
GADGIE #19-20
32 / A5 / L / ?
Aside from Marv’s madcap ramblings, #19 has an interview with See You In Hell, and #20 has Flyblown and shedloads on Urko. There’s reviews of everything conceivable, but of course, the thing that endears Gadgie to it’s legions are the madcap ramblings of Marv. P.O. BOX 93, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE, PE21 7YB, U.K.
HEARTATTACK #46
64 / A4 / L / 50¢
Haven’t seen this rag for years, mainly cuz it was always up there with Punk Planet for the most pretentious ‘hardcore’ stroke emo stroke ‘how are we going to save the scene this week’ zine award. So, what’s changed since the last time I saw it? Well, obviously D.I.Y. hardcore and thrash are back in vogue, as well the new crusty type bands, so surprise surprise, that’s what’s covered here, from Zegota to Caustic Christ, as well as pointless photos of bands like Youth of Today, Bad Brains and Soulside, just to let you know that they really are old school y’know. I like the intro to the reviews the best, which starts; “Review items with UPC barcodes printed on the covers go in the trash.” Ace! I love this kind of punk realism. Forget all the plastic used to put out our vinyl and CD’s maaan, barcodes are the swastika of the capitalist machine! Sometimes, don’t you get the feeling people need to do a little update on shit they were told to think when they were fourteen years old? www.ebullition.com
HUUTO #6
80 / A5 / X / ?
Argh, this zine is the worst! Pages and pages of text with photos of classic old hardcore bands, and all of it is in bloody Finnish! That aside, there’s interviews with Drowning Nation, Felix Von Havoc, Otto Itkonen, Al Quint, Jallu of Passing Bells and Phoenix Foundation and more. There’s all the reviews that you always get and it all ‘looks’ like a great zine. Jussij@mail.com
IMMIGRANT #2
64 / A5-4 / L / ?
Sharp as tacks Greek zine here which is that odd size between A5 and A4. It’s half and half of English and Greek and has stuff on D.I.Y. Vs commercial punk, P.O. Box, Burial, No Hope For the Kids, a large comic strip, Spacement Records and shitloads of live and record reviews. P.O. BOX 8442, 10010 ATHENS, GREECE
INFINITE MONKEY #6
40 / A5 / L / ?
Ewan’s cut’n’paste rant sheet here, with interviews with Serpents, Guapo, Snotnosed, Patient Zero and Red Right Hand as well as a pile of the usual reviews, with the music ones written in that constant paragraph style. infinitemonkey@fastmail.fm
INITONIT #19
28 / A5 / X / 50p
A small issue from Paul this time, featuring MDC, Deadline, Bonseplinter, all the reviews you could shake a stick at, and ranting, ranting, and more ranting! Oh, and some ranting... which is what sets this zine apart. 10 REGENTS COURT, PRINCES STREET, PETERBOROUGH, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, PE1 2QR, U.K.
INSIDE ARTZINE #10 1/2
40 / L / 5 EURO
This is a ‘special’ of ‘underground art’ entitled ‘Terror’ and it’s all glossy and full colour, and looks promising. It is just that though; art. Not a lot else but a variety of images in various media, all making socio-political points with the use of juxtaposed imagery and clever devices, mainly about the present day climate. A lot of these have something to do with penises. A lot of the text is also in German so I have no idea about the depth of thought beyond the spectacle. P.O. BOX 2266, D-54212, TRIER, GERMANY
JUNK #1
8 / A5 / X / £1
This is a new zine from around these parts, with a novel idea. They put gigs on, and with the proceeds, put out the zine, which has a free CD-R of bands on their label ‘Cat Corpse’. The zine itself is basically a guide to the compilation, which has Festerin Nun, Mook, Headshot, Captain Smash, DSF and the Scruts. 102 NEW ROAD, YNYSYBWL, CF37 3HB, WALES, U.K.
KICKING AND SCREAMING #12
64 / A4 / $4
When you first catch sight of this glossy full colour mag out of the FNS empire in Boston, you are met with the menacing gib of a member of skinhead band Discipline. Inside you also have stuff on Cryptopsy, For The Worse, Broken Bones, (London punks!) Four Letter Word, Bust Streetwear, John Holmstrom (legendary creator of ‘Punk’ magazine out of N.Y. circa ‘76 and cartoonist extraordinaire of the Ramones pictured reading Artcore), the Offside Boys, Have Heart, Candy Striper Death Orgy, Reagan Youth and Taang Records. Most of the interviews, sadly, have been heavily edited (a typically lengthy FLW interview has been cut down to 27 lines!) so that kind of detracts from the whole thing, and it comes across like a dumbed-down ‘lifestyle’ mag. Sorry. P.O. BOX 1299, BOSTON, MA, 02130, U.S.A. www.kickingandscreamingmag.com
LAST HOURS #10-12
116 / A4 / L / £1.50
Hmm, I can’t find #11 anywhere. Anyway, this zine seems to grow with every issue, and is doing the work of both Fracture and RTB of old. Interviews in #10 with Sleater-Kinney, Dwarves, Propagandhi, Water Into Beer, Abandon Ship and much much more. #12 has Zegota, Behind Enemy Lines, Levellers, Sonic Boom Six and much more. They do try to be all things to all men (and wyymynnn of course) and that’s a tall order, but at least they’re consistent and keeping at it. Masses of the other standard zine fare as well. P.O. BOX 382, 456-458 THE STRAND, LONDON, WC2R 0DZ, U.K.
LEFT OF THE DIAL #8
90 / A4 / L / $3.95
Sadly, the last issue of this slick and indepth magazine devoted to all things intellectual in punk rock. This one has David’s ‘Visual Vitriol’ flyer exhibition accompaniment (that featured in Artcore #21) reprinted in all it’s glory, as well as indepth chats with Really Red, Frontier Records, Robert Earl Keen, Shawn Stern, the Fall, Peter Case, White Stripes, Liars, Strike Anywhere and a pile more including some Biscuit memories of the U.K. from before he died. Punk Planet if they liked punk. Now it’s... www.leftofthedialmag.com
LET’S JUST PRETEND #3
60 / A5 / X / ?
Basic but nicely done zine here from a girl called Kate. Stuff on Bouncing Souls, Pilger, Dwarves, No Comply, Mercury League, Jets Vs Sharks and a load of comment and reviews. All put together with a real love and belief in what she’s doing. Oh, and a patch too. 59 CANNING ROAD, CROYDON, SURREY, CR0 6QF, U.K.
MASS MOVEMENT #18
80 / A4 / X / £2
The usual thick fare from Mass Movement, all chock full of... Steak Knife, Jack Rabid, Adolescents, Spermbirds, Three Inches of Blood, Tozzer, Dillinger Escape Plan, Circle Jerks, Bones Brigade, George Tabb, Suicide Watch and a whole host of other crap to wrestle to. Reviews of everything, and everything’s great. Columns by just about everyone. Oh, and a mini-comic called ‘Super Justice Punk Rock Trio’. Ack. The reviewer of Artcore in here has two beefs with me. One is that my zine reviews are more like listings. Well, when you get to the end of all the music reviews, which you prefer to do all yourself, to give one opinion rather than farm all the crap out to other people. By the time you get to the zines, you are literally fried. The other, is that I apparently mistakenly listed MM as a ‘Xeroxed Fanzine’ when in reality it’s a ‘Litho Printed Zine’. Well, I’m not too sure what the difference between a ‘zine’ and a ‘fanzine’ is exactly, but one of the first things they taught us at print school is how to tell different printing processes apart. Now to tell if something is a xerox (take for example the cover sheet of MM) you bend it, and if the image breaks up, it’s a xerox / laser printed (like the cover sheet of MM). And to tell if something is litho printed (like the rest of MM), wet your finger, and if the image doesn’t run, then it’s litho, if it runs on the other hand (like the rest of MM) it’s inkjet / repro. Sorry to break it to you, but whoever charged you for litho printing, ripped you off. 12 WEST STREET, ABERKENFIG, BRIDGEND, CF32 9BB, U.K.
MOST PUNKS ARE TOTAL ARSEHOLES / STICK TWO FINGERS #1-28
32 / A5 / X / 50p
M.P.A.T.A. is a crazy handwritten zine which looks straight out of the eighties and has an interview with Intensive Care and much insane ranting. S.T.F. is even more handwritten bananas and I’m not even sure if the interviews are real or spoof. Nutso smasho! P.O. BOX 35913, LONDON, N17 9YP, U.K.
PART TIME PUNK #15
48 / A5 / L / £1
Ian’s regular indepth look at ye olde punk rock that he loves, and this one’s got Poly Styrene, Members, Picture Frame Seduction, Thrills, Brigandage, Derita Sisters, Jack Rabid, Jayne County, Lydia Lunch and much more. Loads of reviews and all the usuals. 22 MALDON ROAD, BITTERNE, SOUTHAMPTON, SO19 7AE, U.K.
PROFANE EXISTENCE #47-49
100 / A4 / L / $5
This mag is now stunning. It’s the zine of all zines for those who’re into their anarcho / crust / d-beat etc. It’s got full colour covers, a perfect bound graphic novel size, and chock full of everything of these styles. #47 has Extinction of Mankind, Blown to Bits, Ballast, Avskum, Iskra and artist Kieran Plunkett, #48 has A.O.S., Psycho Faction, Words That Burn (like it!), Migra Violenta, Disrespect, Hellshock, the Dagda and the art of Steve V.O.W. #49 has Born/Dead, Voetsk, Mutiny, Schifosi, FxPxOx and the photography of Christine Boarts Larson. Each issue is jammed with all the columns and reviews you’d want, and is graphically spot-on too. What more could you punks want? www.profaneexistence.com
RAZORCAKE #26
114 / A4 / L / $4
Woefully out of date I know, but this issue had This Is My Fist, Fucked Up, Chinese Telephones, Billy Zoom and Kira Roessler as well as your own weight in columns and reviews. Razorcake seems to deal in mainly the modern perceived version of ‘KBD’ punk and garage bands, and I think it could be that much better if it broadened it’s coverage a bit. But hey, that’s what they’re into, so who am I to complain. P.O. BOX 42129, LOS ANGELES, CA 90042, U.S.A.
SLUG & LETTUCE #83-85
20 / A3 / L / FREE
Consistently amazing newsprint zine from Chris(tine) outta Richmond, virginia. There’s mountains of personal ramblings and socio-political columns, coupled with heaps of reviews and her great unique live photography. Add to that military regularity and you’ve got a must for anyone with half a brain. It’ll be hitting twenty years soon too. P.O. BOX 26632, RICHMOND, VA 23261-6632
SUSPECT DEVICE #45-46
32-68 / A5 / X-L / £1
Well here’s one that’s even older than this yur rag, and Tony, Daz et al are still consistently churning out the zines on a far more regular basis than I ever could. #45 has Circus Act, Self Abuse, One Way System, Non More Black, Mercury League and Jeff Caudill. #46 has Paint It Black, Abandon Ship, Dirty Love, Black Veins, Varukers, Fire Still Burns and Fighting Shit. #46.6 (Xmas issue) has the Violators, Flamingo 50 and Intent (with a free Intent CD).Gaz and Tony’s diehard enthusiasm, is what keeps SD going and keeps it different. P.O. BOX 295, SOUTHAMPTON, SO17 1LW, U.K.
TAKE YOUR SHOT #2
28 / A4 / X / 50¢
This is a ‘hardcore’ zine out of Athens with stuff on 100 Demons, Vodka Juniors, Last Priest, F.P.O., Vitamin X, Dead And Gone Records and D.R.I. That’s about it apart from reviews and cartoons. THESSALIAS 43, GLYKA NERA 15344, ATHENS, GREECE
THE COMPUTERS ARE TURNED OFF... #1
20 / A5 / L / 50p
This is bizarre. The cover is individually hand-drawn in biro! The rest is scrappy handwritten carve and slap style zineage with stuff on Crash The Pose and Dead Sea Fucking Scrolls, as well as mucho ranting lunacy. 10 NIGHTINGALE CRESCENT, WEST HORSLEY, SURREY, KT24 6PD, U.K.
THIRSK FIRST#1
40 / A5 / X / 50p
Rich T of Small Sailor zine returns with this, a nifty looking mag with the Foamers, Mingers and artist Kristen Ferrell. A pile of columns and reviews fill it out, and the layouts are cool, sharp cut ‘n’ paste that look totally like tyhe eighties style - good design but D.I.Y. Keep at it Rich T! P.O. BOX 132, THIRSK, YO7 1WR, U.K.
TRACE & TRACE #1
28 / A5 / X / ?
Ex-Cardiffian, now Leedster, Steve Watts, brings us some tracings of his favourite gig photos. Basic rough line drawings outlining band members in kind of silhouette. That’s it, nothing but one band a page. I like the idea, but these would be really good if they were more detailed. sertenity_now@fastmail.fm
TRUST #112-114
68 / L / 2,5 EURO
This longstanding German zine is consistent and eclectic, covering all manner of bands and with a very definite house design style. #112 has Tephra, Breather Resist, Black Friday 29, Bear Vs Shark, Jello, Escapado, Combat / Endstand and Le Tigre. #113 Modern Life Is War, Zann, Evens, Fat Wreck, Debris Inc. and Daniel Johnston. #114 has Drunk, Fuse And..., Hollow Skai, Ani Difranco, Just Went Black, Four Letter Word, Campary Record and William E. Whitmore. There’s masses of reviews, tour dates and everything else you’d ever need from a mag here, if you can speak German. POSTFACH 11 07 62, 28087, BREMEN, GERMANY
YOU CAN’T SAY NO TO HOPE #6
8 / A5 / X / FREE
Great little personal rant zine here, with stuff rightly slagging off the young punks’ obsession with wrestling. There’s a veggie beer guide, and stuff on how to make bat boxes! Really original and fun. 71 MERLIN AVENUE, NUNEATON, WARWICKSHIRE, CV10 9JY, U.K.
ZINEOPHOBIA #3
64 / A5 / X / £1
Chunky local effort here, all in a chaotic cut and paste style. Interviews with Rollins, Evens, Night and the City of Broken Promises and El Sid. Rantings from the editors and friends on the music related stuff they care deeply about, and reviews a-go-go. The slapdash layouts add to the youthful vibrance of this, with pen scribbles, and hurriedly sliced images. Zineophobia can only go from strength to strength with this enthusiasm. 18 BIRCHFIELD CRESCENT, VICTORIA PARK, CARDIFF, CF15 1AE, U.K.
ZINE ZINE #3
44 / A5 / X / ?
Great looking zine listing zine from Germany much like Factsheet 5 of old. In other words, nothing but zine reviews, listings, articles and obsession. All in German so I don’t have a clue about anything else, except Artcore got two lines written about it, so I guess they like emo or something - ha! FIDICINSTR. 3, 10965 BERLIN, GERMANY
ZONKED! #9
40 / A4 / X / £1
Zonked is consistently one of the best zines you could read. Not only does Pete inject so much of his persona into it, but he just writes great stuff on his travels and his love for music really pours from the pages. Interviews with Four Letter Word, Observers and Slaughterhouse 57 as well as a lengthy travelogue on a trip to Namibia, reviews all over the place, great photos of old bands (by Pete himself, not cut and pasted from some website for cred points), and another report on his heroic attempt at the amateur leg of the Tour De France. Man, I cycle every day, but there’s no way I’d even entertain doing anything like that kind of shit! Zonked rules the wasteland! 46 ASHFORD ROAD, BRIGHTON, BN1 6LJ, U.K.
BOOKS ‘N’ COMICS
.45 DANGEROUS MINDS ‘THE MOST INTENSE INTERVIEWS FROM SECONDS’
EDITED BY STEVEN BLUSH / GEORGE
PETROS / 384 / A4 / L / £14.95 / CREATION
Blush’s follow-up to ‘American Hardcore’, this book is a collection of indepth interviews, originally printed in Seconds magazine, that was based out of New York between 1986 and 2000. There’s all manner of musicians, artists and authors, as well as nazi’s, serial killers, satanists and worse are covered here, including the following... G.G. Allin, J.G Ballard, Afrika Bambaataa, Glen Benton, David Bowie, Joe Coleman, Julian Cope, Jayne County, Glenn Danzig, Mike Diana, Allen Ginsberg, Ron Jeremy, Wayne Kramer, Anton LaVey, Charles Manson, Stu Mead, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Rahowa, Richard Ramirez, James Earl Ray, Henry Rollins, Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Stryper, Tiny Tim, Rozz Williams and Wino, amongst many others, and no stone is left unturned. There’s also a list of quotes entitled ‘They Said It In Seconds’ of other notables. Not the first of it’s kind in recent years, and basically a coffee table book for either those who like to shock, the arty, or pretentious depending on which way you look at it. ISBN 1-84068-124-1 www.creationbooks.com
I, SHITHEAD - ‘A LIFE IN PUNK’
BY JOEY KEITHLEY
234 / A5 / L / $17.95 / ARSENAL PULP PRESS
This is a few years old now, but I only got my mitts on it last year, so here goes. This, as you’d expect, is Joey Shithead’s story, and after a chapter on his formative years, the tale takes a musical twist and heads deep into punk country. I have no idea how the hell this guy remembered all that he did, but it doesn’t seem like much has dulled over the years. After a while, the story sets into a routine, with each chapter charting albums and tours chronologically, with added tales of what went on along the way. It’s a story of friends, punk and total belief, and is an enthralling read for any fan of D.O.A. or punk rock in general. Black Flag gets all the credit these days for pioneering hardcore across the plains and ranges of North America, but these Vancouverites played just as an active role in travelling to far flung corners of their continent, and world, and taking shit to spread their message. For some reason, this has largely been forgotten in the present day, probably due to the fact that D.O.A.’s music is slightly more rock influenced, and less ‘hardcore’ for the largely narrow minded ‘scene’ now. Like it should be for everyone, D.O.A. were one of the first bands I got heavily into when I discovered hardcore, so this for me, is a great thing to have. ISBN 1-55-152-148-2
66 THOUSAND MILES PER HOUR #2
BY MICHAEL CAVALLERO / 32 / A4 / L / $3.50
This is actually the third installment of Mike’s comic. Anyone who read the last issue of this mag should already know what it is and what it’s about. The artists is former guitarist / vocalist for Johnny X and the Conspiracy, Sticks and Stones, and is also known as Johnny X, as immortalised in the Bouncing Souls song. Anyway, the story continues, centred around the town of Squareville, New Jersey, and the character Evie Pryce, all penned in Mike’s unique quirky, almost fifties B-Movie style. There’s aliens, punk rock, mob hitmen and entire-town-abduction! What else do you want? I’m not going to elaborate further, as you should support the guy and read it for yourself! TRUE BELIEVERS PRESS www.chunksaah.com
THEY COULD HAVE BEEN BIGGER THAN GOD
‘A DISCOGRAPHY OF NOW DEFUNCT
INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS THAT RELEASED VINYL’ BY JOACHIM GAERTNER
282 / A4 / X-L / 22 EURO POSTAGE PAID
As the title suggests, this is purely a listings book of discographies of independent labels. Over 2,000 labels are covered from 1976 to the present, and you basically get artist, title, year and catalogue number. Obviously there’s holes and labels missing, but this is the first edition, so it’s to be expected. It’s a handy research resource for nerds,collectors and writers who want to double check release info from a different perspective, as books and websites like Flex do it as an A-Z of bands, and this is labels, so therein lies the relevance. ISBN 3-00-015609-7 www.get-happy-records.com