BROWN SUGAR, BROWN LIQUOR

Somone tell me more about The Wastoids. I know nothing other than the fact that they did a demo tape and then an EP. Where can I get this EP? Does it exist in hard format? These songs are great. Thank you.

CARNAL LEFTOVERS

Here's the brilliant first demo tape release "Premature Autopsy" from the legendary Nihilist. Doubt I need to go into much depth about the band really? I hope not anyway. Swedish. Pioneered Swedish death metal and the Sunlight Studio sound. Went on to become Entombed etc. This came out in 1988 and for a tape of such age, this copy I recently procured on eBay is in great condition. As I mentioned, this was the bands very first release and as a result the songs here possess a kind of thrashy sound, thanks largely to LG's vocals still being in that somewhat developmental stage. It wasn't really until the bands last demo "Drowned" that he really nailed the low end that helped epitomise the bands trademark sound. Heavy traces of a driving death metal sound soon to come are still very apparent here though, and two of the tracks on this tape did go on to re-appear on the first Entombed album. This marks the second of the three Nihilist demo tapes that I now own. I posted about the tape that followed this, "Only Shreds Remain" at the end of last year. All I need at this point it the aforementioned "Drowned" demo and it's a complete set. I suspect though, that that tape may be the hardest to get my mitts on, it's certainly regarded as their best stuff.

ALTERED STATES

Another notch in the belt for fine Irish hardcore, here's the debut demo tape from Disguise. I knew nothing about this band until Static Shock Records recently upped this tape in the web store for sale, to my surprise to an extent, as this band features members of another Irish group that I am obsessed with and I am normally all over the members numerous projects. The best way to describe this band would be to use various Bastard and Japanese punk comparisons. It actually reminds me heaps of the demo by Japanese band Sex Messiah from a few years ago. Simplistic, mid paced stuff with a semi rough recording, nailed together by heavily delayed vocals. If you liked the reverb and delay apparent in the vocals in previous works of this bands members, you'll certainly be into this. Nine songs here, this thing could easily be pressed to vinyl. I suspect that it may be at some point. No evidence to support such an idea, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Really really great demo. Heaps of really catchy bits.

DEATH RATTLE

The next Pantera reissue, their final output, "Reinventing The Steal". This album was released just before I left high school, and it certainly had a different effect on me at the time than their previous stuff did. You see, all of their albums leading up to "The Great Southern Trendkill" had been released before I actually took an interest in them and before I'd really discovered heavier metal like this. I think I missed the initial release of that album by about six month or more, so as a kid when I discovered them, I think somewhere in my head, subconsciously I put all their older work up on some kind of pedestal automatically, and instantly regarded them as classics. The fact that I'd never really heard anything so aggressive and something that I connected with so strongly as well was certainly a large contributing factor. So when RTS was unleashed it didn't hit me with quite the wallop that the older stuff had. As an adult though, when I rack up all of the their 2nd era releases, this one would have to be one of my favourites. Simultaneously walking that wire of accessible by the mainstream, while still retaining a pretty anti social approach, behind TGSTK, this was probably their darkest album. A degree of irony also has to be observed though in the track "We'll Grind That Axe For A Long Time". Certainly a response to the wider speculation by the media and fanbase about inner turmoil within the group, citing Phil's alienation from the rest of the band, they were to split less than 18 months later.

WAR NERVE

Pretty sure I've mentioned on this blog before my roots in popular metal of the 90's. The first aggressive bands that I ever took interest in were typical 90's Roadrunner groups like Fear Factory and Machine Head. I still remember the day I bought my first ever metal CD's with my own money. They were "Astro Creep: 2000" by White Zombie (a record that I plan to obtain at some point), and this, "The Great Southern Trendkill" by none other than Pantera. Two years ago I posted about the reissues of the bands albums "Far Beyond Driven" and "Vulgar Display Of Power" when they were initially released, but to my dismay I wasn't able to speak about this record as it didn't get that reissue treatment at the time. Well Rhino Records finally decided to give this thing another shot this year. Beats paying upwards of $100 for an original. Not sure how this edition differs to the original, as this comes as a 2 x LP in a gatefold sleeve but I know that for the first time the track "Suicide Note Pt.1" has been included. For whatever reason it was omitted on the vinyl version the first time around. Probably a censorship thing, I remember being aware when I was a kid that it ruffled some feathers at some sort of corporate level.

Regardless of if I still pay much attention to this band these days or not and aware of how they're generally looked at by most punks as uncool, they'll always be a band that I regard highly. The ethos of the title alone dictated a massive part of my life as a youngster. Whether the band members themselves were just big rockstars making a good amount of cash or not, at the time I think I was too young to really understand the music business (do I "understand it" at this point?) and so as a result I hated just about everything that I regarded as the mainstream. To this day that attitude still resonates within me quite a bit and is likely the main reason why I'm so attracted to things like punk and anti social forms of music. I don't at all maintain any kind of a hero worship mentality when it comes to any bands that I love, but if there's any one musician that I would give a left nut to meet before I die, it would be Phil Anselmo. He wasn't a rockstar, just a social fuck up. He still is. I bet (and hope) he came up with the title for this album.

BRED TO LOSE

A recent acquisition is the new EP "Paranoid" from our own Kromosom. Arguably Australia's most recognised punk band on an international level at the moment, Holy Terror Records recently released this. My copy is on black wax, and as far as I know a few other colourways also exist. This would have to be the bands roughest recording at this point, just blown out, crusty hardcore. I don't really know what else to say. I don't know a massive amount about this kind of hardcore, I just know that I like this, and that the band is fantastic live.

BALL AND CHAIN

Another split, and what could possibly one of my favourites of this year, the Coke Bust/Vaccine split 7". Two labels can be held responsible for this, Refuse Records out of Europe and Drugged Conscience from the US. Now I thought that there was going to be an equal contribution into this record from each label resulting in a single press with both labels names on it. It looks like though, that each label is doing their own presses respectively. This is the Euro version on green wax that was recently sold on the bands Euro/English tour. I think it was a relatively small press and is hence sold out now. I may be wrong though. I have a friend over in England who grabbed me a copy. The Drugged Conscience press is still to materialise, and from what I can tell will be in a larger edition and available more widely once it's eventually pressed.

I've loosely followed Coke Bust and their output since Headcount Records pressed their demo to 7" years ago. I wouldn't say I've ever been the biggest fan but they're one of those bands that I've always just managed to pick their stuff up with a deal of ease. I think their songs here are probably my favourite of theirs at this point. I mean they don't really differ at all from any of the bands previous material, it's just straight up, fast, loud hardcore, but these tracks have a really great, really loud mastering job and as a result are really punchy.

Much the same can be said for the Vaccine tracks. Good, loud, clear recording. Again, exactly the same kind of stuff that the band is already well known for; spastic, misanthropic, bursts of blast violence. I really thought that the band wouldn't be able to impress me any further after their stretch of previous great records, but I'd argue that at this point, this may be my new favourite Vaccine material. It's a bit of a toss up between these songs and the stuff from the demo. I was a little daft and didn't realise that on the previously mentioned Euro tour Vaccine were also in fact selling copies of the Euro version of their new 7" EP "Dead Inside" pressed by Cut The Cord That... Records, so I didn't ask my mate over their to nab me a copy. Bugger. Painkiller are handling the US edition very soon. Will post about once it's in my hands

WILL BY MOUTH

Lack of updates lead to massive backlogs. I've been lazy blah blah blah and now I've got a shit tonne of material to wade through. To start, here's this new split 7" between Converge and Napalm Death on what Deathwish Inc has described as 'vinyl bong' colourway which I gather just basically means it's a press of all random coloured stuff like the last Converge split with Dropdead. Two tracks from each band, a new one and a cover from Converge and two new ones from Napalm Death. The ND tracks are extras left over from the recording sessions of the LP they put out this year that sucks, so to be honest I haven't really given these songs much attention. The one or two listens I've given them is enough for me to know that I'm not really into them. Rather typical of modern ND I suppose, but they suffer with a really boring recording, much like the new album of theirs.

The Converge stuff doesn't really thrill me that much either. Like their songs from the other small record releases they've been a part of over the last 18 months, they're recorded somewhat roughly (in Converge terms anyway), but in a good way. They cover an Entombed classic with a pretty on point approach, but it's not the best Entombed song out there. Their new song doesn't even exceed a minute long and shows massive potential with a really cool, knuckle dragging build up into what sounds like will be a great break, but then said break doesn't really follow through with the thick, groove that gets my fists clenched. I don't know, I am all for short songs, but when your only new material on a new EP barely exceeds 50 seconds, I take it as a bit of a cop out. I'll always back Converge no matter what at this point though. I'll always buy their records and I'll always lord their older material, but I worry that post 2004 Converge is really just an overhyped rehash of their glory days (Jane Doe). With that said though, they launched the orders for their new LP "All We Love We Leave Behind" this week along with a new, really cool song, so maybe they'll prove me wrong?

VIOLENT REACTION SHIRTS

The new 7" from the UK's Violent Reaction is due within the next week or so on Quality Control and Static Shock Records, and at the same time Rain On The Parade out of Canberra will be issuing an Australian edition of the EP on cassette. Exclusive to the Oz version is artwork by a good mate Jack. I liked the art so much that with the bands permission I had it printed on a really limited run of shirts. These are available in Australia for $15 postage paid and internationally for $20 Australian dollary doos. I suspect most of these will remain in this country but I am happy to send to the former colonies if demand is warranted. Sizes run S, M, L. Send an email or just straight up paypal to- stylecat19@hotmail.com. Be sure to include your full postal address and required shirt size. Bulk orders attract better postal rates obviously.

USELESS LAW

I've been on a bit of a demo hunt over the last few days and in that time I've managed to find some bangers. Perhaps I'm a bit behind the ball on a few of these though?

Wolfsblood from Canada up first. I just read their interview in the latest issue of Counterfeit Garbage Fanzine and was compelled to give their two demo tapes a go. They take a stab at a pretty tried Boston sound with both tapes. The first tape has a pretty low-fi sounding recording but it's certainly got it's own merit. Their second demo certainly steps it up a whole lot. You can still purchase it at Grave Mistake.

This morning Static Shock Records put up for sale a handful of new demos by bands that I hadn't heard about yet. I was primarily drawn in by the debut recording from a band out of Dublin called Disguise only because they are comprised of members of a well documented favourite of mine, Crowd Control. This demo is basically a tribute to Japanese hardcore. If you like Bastard you will like this demo. If you like the massive delay in Andy's vocals on that last CC LP you will also like this demo. You can download it here, and buy it here.

M.F.P. are from Boston and play... you guessed it, Boston hardcore. Not sure if it's by the usual suspects or not, but regardless it's pretty ripping. This edition that SS is selling is a secondary version, the first having sold out earlier in the year.

Featuring members from previous Californian band come record label, Video Disease, Stoic Violence are self described as an early Boston crew/NYHC orientated bunch of misfits fronted by a vocalist that would have been more suited to a band like Die Kreuzen. There's a certain Boston vibe going on here, but they also definitely slide into that stark outsider punk territory spear headed by various Washington classics like Void. Buy it here or here.

The Flex demo has been doing the rounds for a few months now and I had been meaning to get my hands on my own copy, I was just perhaps a bit lazy about it. Well since SS threw some up this morning along with these other tapes I grabbed it. Expect cool things from this band.

Very behind the ball with the next band I know, but I've just discovered the Clear demo this week and I'm pretty stoked. From what I can tell tapes are long gone, but Triple B Records is currently running pre orders for the 7" version.

Last up, the World War 4 demo. I was just turned onto this last night. Featuring various Boston Nu Scene heavy weights, along with Mark Porter of Floorpunch. If you like that band you should certainly find interest in this. No tapes floating about yet, but apparently they'll be sold at some gig happening this week. Who knows if they'll ever make it available for a reasonable price online. eBay, here comes the fanatics.

Fuck yeah for demos.

BOILING POINT

I guess this is technically the last piece of the puzzle for me in terms of my X-Claim reissues collection. The Exclaim boot/reissue of the first SS Decontrol LP "The Kids Will Have Their Say". Black vinyl. I doubt I need to go into depth about this thing. Not my favourite of the Boston pack, but obviously an essential addition to any real collection. I'm not paying dumb amounts for an OG press, so this boot will be more than enough. I read somewhere that this was suspected to have been pressed by someone in new York, but I'm not sure if that rumour was ever actually substantiated. To my knowledge this is more or less identical to the legitimate version.

SOCIAL PROBLEM

A couple months back, new label out of Sydney, Urbn Rage Records released this all Australian compilation LP, "Split Scene". It's a mixed bag really and hardly what I'd call a good representation of the wider Australian hardcore punk scene, but it certainly presents a good example of a good chunk of the harder bands coming out of our fair land currently. I think I can find interest in about half of the music here, with a couple of really great songs on one hand (tracks by The Weight and Hurt Unit) and then on the other a couple of absolute turds (fuck it, there's only one horrendous song here and it's by Outright). A point I suppose I should make; a couple of bands that I've worked with previously (Downpour, Sick People, Shackles) have made their way onto this thing. Cool.

NOT NOW, NOT EVER

Another piece, and almost the final, to the Extortion puzzle, the transparent cover for their demo 7" from a couple years back. One variant of something like four or five covers that Coffin Cut Records did. Not sure of the numbers for this thing, or for what purpose it served (show release, pre order etc?).

All I really need now are the two limited covers for the split 5" with Rupture that RSR did. Those two have always seemed to elude me.

NO CREDIT

Further to last weeks post regarding the new split LP between Extortion and Cold World, here's the other two colour variants that I mentioned. Red and black, both from RSR direct, unsure of the numbers.

MUTILATED REMAINS

In April last year I made a post about the brilliant Swedish death metal band Repugnant and their LP "Spawn Of Pure Malevolence". At the time of that post my more in depth knowledge about the band and any of their other releases was relatively minimal. Further (basic) research revealed a small handful of prior releases including various EP's, tapes and splits, all of which were long OOP and massively hard to get a hand on unless willing to pay silly eBay prices. Luckily for late comers like me, a couple of record labels have decided to reissue a couple records of theirs this year. This is their "Premature Burial" 7" picture disc originally released in 2004 by Soulseller Records and reissued by the same label in the last couple of months. Side A is a couple rough tracks taken from the sessions during the recording of their previously mentioned LP (including a cover of a classic Nihilist number) and side B is some live cuts. I'm not a massive fan of picture discs but this EP was never issued in any other format so it will do.

The bands flawless EP "Hecatomb", originally released as a 7" in '99, then 12" the next year is to be reissued as a 12" again by High Roller Records out of Germany (and possibly a few other labels too from what I can gather) at the end of August. Pre orders are up now. I've got mine.

CHOKE ON THIS ONE

My fondness of Australia's own Extortion is well documented within the pages of this blog. Easily my favourite Australian band, and close to one of my favourites on an international level too. They've been a bit quiet for the last 18 months or more, reportedly buckling down to write some quality stuff following the less than favourable reception of their last few records. Granted, neither the split with Completed Exposition or the "Loose Screws" 10" were up to the par of the majority of their previous catalogue, but both records were none the less still entertaining. I get the impression that most of the sceptics out there believe that the band is well beyond their peak at this point, and maybe they could be, but if their contribution to this new split LP with Austria's Cold World is anything to go by, nobody has informed them yet. Three colour ways in total have been pressed for this split, this now sold out white variation that came from the bands only, and red and black (of which I will be posting about at some point in the coming weeks) direct from the label responsible, RSR. To my relief the label has forgone it's usual route in issuing this thing with dozens of variations in the cover etc (to my knowledge anyway), collecting Extortion records has certainly drained my hip pocket over the last few years. As usual, Rohan's handled the artwork for this thing. It's a bit of a departure from his usual style, but it certainly shows a relatively creative idea. What it actually means and whether he's trying to convey some kind of message here is beyond me though.

I'm trying not to sound like a fucking music reviewer here so I'll try and keep it simple. Extortion's tracks are great. Certainly their most 'pro' sounding recording at this point, the music here would arguably be the best stuff they've written since "Degenerate". I know what kind of an extremist statement that may sound like, but I mean it, really. Rohan's vocals are at their loudest and most stressed, the blasts come on thick, and the slow riffs are catchy as hell. Apart from a few new ideas in a couple of the slower, more typical hardcore tracks, this thing is classic Extortion. I don't know why I even slightly doubted whether this would be good, because it's fucking top shelf fast hardcore.

I can't get so excited about Cold World. I don't know a huge amount about them really other than the fact they go back a fair while. The first time I listened to them a few years ago they just came across to me as relatively straight forward, one dimensional, slightly crusty Euro hardcore. A lot of people rave about them, but I just can't get into them much. I have more or less the same opinion about these new songs of theirs too. Now like I said, the last time I paid them any kind of attention was years ago, but I'll be honest in that I don't really remember them taking quite the angle that they seem to be attacking here. This is fast, angry hardcore not dissimilar to what Extortion do so well with, but it's just boring. I won't rave on any further. Maybe I just need to invest a little more effort?

It may be common knowledge to most that Extortion have a few records in the pipeline at the moment, two of them being splits with American heavy weights Hatred Surge and Low Threat Profile. There's also a possibility of a brand new LP before the end of the year, depending on what the band decide. There's also talk of another split with another as of yet unnamed band (well I know who it is, but I'm not sure if I'm aloud to reveal who it is at at this point), that heaps of people are likely to get excited about. Keep em coming.

FORCED OUT

Rain On The Parade out of Canberra will be issuing the Australian tape version of the debut EP from the excellent UK band, Violent Reaction. The vinyl version is due for release in the coming weeks thanks to Static Shock and Quality Control. Thomo from ROTP tells me that he expects the cassettes to be ready within a week. 50 copies in total. I will have 10 for QLD only. If you're a local hit me up. Their demo from late last year was so fucking good and this will be one of the best releases of 2012.

UGLY AMERICAN

Long touted as the ugliest band in hardcore, and it is a hard fact to deny, here's a reissue of the first proper LP by none other than Poison Idea, "Kings Of Punk". Originally pressed by Pusmort back in 1986, it's been reissued by a few labels a handful of times over the years, this is an edition from this year by Taang! on clear vinyl. Debatably their best stuff, it's certainly my favourite. For the era of punk that this record came about within the recording is outstanding and manages to translate their power as a band very well. It took me a while to really grasp how good thse guys were, and I just about kick myself for it. What a record. What a band.