too much unity

In recent times I have realised how little modern kind of more 'straight up' hardcore I listen to. Put it down to the fact that there just aren't that many good bands doing the style justice, at all. Of the current crop, by far for me, Waste Management do it the best. I think there would be quite a few people that would argue that fact in favour of either The Omegas or Boston Strangler, but to me, if you're talking about a perfect rendition of early 80's USHC, then these guys are the best bet, and this, their second EP, "Power Abuse" cements it totally. Another of the recent Painkiller Records batch, I actually managed to snag the limited blue vinyl this time, nice. Sweet cover by Kenny Fontaine, the bands drummer.
This was released as a tape last year, so the music has been floating around for a while now, but it's good to see it finally getting the vinyl treatment that it deserves. Obviously this format lends itself to a far superior sound quality, and there was a live set on the tape that you don't get here, but other than that, it's the same product.
I don't know, I don't really get the comparisons, but with this new music, alot of people have been likening these guys to certain Japanese hardcore bands of old. Granted I don't listen to alot of the stuff, but to me this just sounds like Boston '82. Attribute alot of that to Carm's vocal delivery of course, but it's got all of the hallmarks of what I talk about. Short songs built with simple chord progressions, alot of which are centered around breakdowns. Simple, nihilistic lyrics. Hollow snare drum sound etc. There are noticeable differences here though, mostly in the general pace of the thing. It's not quite as fast as the older material (though there are a few very fast "1-2-1-2" tracks), and the quick little snappy, Neg FX styled snare fills that were so predominant on the the last 7" are fewer in number. Really though, the differences aren't massive from before, and I struggle to understand the new comparison that this EP has brought the band. Who knows though, I may be way off?

Bottom line.

if you please

Pretty sure most people who read this blog regularly or who know me know how fond I am of Get Destroyed from Arizona/California. Heavy PV is the order here and this is their massively delayed third 7" EP, "Shut In". For reasons I don't know it's been a good six months or more that this record has been waiting to get pressed. White vinyl limited to 100 copies, there's also a more common press on black wax. A handful of influential labels have had a hand in getting this pressed. Chalk it up to Give Praise Records, 625 Thrash, To Live A Lie Records and RSR. All great labels in their own right, I am curious as to why it takes four separate groups to press one 7". All four labels regularly press their own records, so I doubt it's a finance issue. Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks this band fucking rules, and they all just wanted a hand in it.
Out of the current crop of current Northern American PV influenced bands doing the rounds at the moment (and there is quite a few of them, alot of which I have posted about on this blog in the last twelve months), these guys and Scapegoat remain at the top of my favourites list. Blatant Crossed Out and No Comment comparisons aside, this is just straight forward, no bullshit hardcore. What sets these guys apart from alot of their peers is their unique ability to write some really original structures. Their fast bits are just that; FAST bits, not really that much to it, but they get really creative with the obligatory slow parts too. I'm no music 'reviewer' so I won't use stupidly arrogant words to describe what I mean, nor am I that good at really purveying what I am talking about on a base level, so it's hard for me to describe well. They just seem to be good at making shit sound INTERESTING, a feat that evidently seems to be getting harder and harder to achieve for most bands who take a stab at this genre as time rolls by.
Now with all of that praise in mind, I will be honest in saying that I did enjoy their previous 7", "Burnt Offerings" a little more than this. Those creative slow bits that I spoke about were a little more frequent. The recording qualities on said record were also noticeably rougher. Here there's less grime and slime, and the guitar tone is obviously a little heavier/downtuned (not sure if I am using the right terms, like I am no reviewer, I am also no guitarist). It's possible that the recording here just allows the guitar tune to really shine through properly though, but it's certainly the first thing I noticed when I laid this EP down on the turn table and gave it it's first spin.
With each release the guys have gradually experimented and progressed though different vocal approaches. Ben's main vocal stylings have always been the base through all three EP's, but with each one they've always thrown in different little touches here and there too. On "Burnt Offerings" it was the very Alex Hughes styled closed mouth vocal delivery. At one point I actually thought it was the Hatred Surge main man conspiring with the band, but when I interviewed Nik he informed me it was just a style that Ben tried out where he cups his hands over the mic ball and his mouth. One of the most most noticeable additions that you will probably hear with this EP is the really low, chesty, almost grunted vocal stylings that are thrown in a few times. It's reminiscent of some more obscure MITB stuff and it pops up on a couple songs. The other big one is the inclusion of some female vocals in a few places. These are the pipes of Grace Perry of Arizona local grind heathens Landmine Marathon. It's a welcome, tastefully applied touch that doesn't at all get annoying like some female vocals sometimes can.
Over the years this band has broken up only to reform a few times from what I can tell. This more or less comes as part of Nik moving out to San Diego or somewhere similar to study and the rest of them staying in Arizona I think. After the second EP they said they were done, then this new release was announced, only to be delayed for ages like I mentioned. Now in the last few weeks they have gone on record to say that they've written a handful of new songs that they hope to have included on a brand new LP next year. I shat when I read that. I hope it happens.

greed and disgust

Back in late April/early May I posted about a promo tape that Boston's Soul Swallower had just released. That was a preview of this new s/t LP of theirs. As most of you would know this was part of the latest batch of releases that Painkiller Records just recently launched. As with the Brutal Supremacy Comp, I was hopeful that I'd get the limited colour of this (white), but it looks like I just missed by a bee's dick. Bummer. Black vinyl, again of an unknown amount, probably something around 800. I can't imagine they would have pressed more, especially since the last time they did an LP of this nature in the form of the Breathing Fire LP, they reportedly had trouble moving a large percentage of the press. Learn from your mistakes.
I think when this LP was originally announced on the Mind Eraser blog in September last year alot of people were surprised. After the original 7" from 2005/06 not much else happened in the Soul Swallower camp. I don't think they bothered with many shows, and obviously the members were otherwise occupied with their many other musical projects. Well it seems that they're doing at least a few shows this year so perhaps they're making more time for the band, and maybe they plan to write some fresh stuff, who knows. As some may have heard, most of the material here is older stuff that was written around the same time of the release of the 7".
So I have mentioned it before, but this is basically Mind Eraser rearranged. Well kind of, DFJ and Brendan just swapped duties. No listed Bass player though, but I wouldn't be surprised if Carms fills in on the live front. Where this differs to most ME stuff immediately noticeable is the obvious vocal duty arrangement. Brendan's higher end is vastly different to the approach of DFJ obviously, so that's one thing that changes it up a bit. CC experiments with alot of different fret work too. I've heard these guys compared t alot of 80's thrash/death metal and the like (Sodom, Venom etc) and I guess to an extent that comparison rings through here and there. Alot of tremolo riffing, and a good proportion of crazy picked leads for good measure. Initial impressions though might lead one to believe that this could more or less just be ME left overs (or vice versa depending on how you look at it), and I mean really, especially with alot of the later ME material in mind, this could well be.
Who knows whether this band will do more, this was certainly a surprise for quite a few. My only concern if this band were to become a little more 'active' would be if Mind Eraser output were to suffer as a result, as we all know I like that band quite a bit. It's been too long since they did a good full length (and I don't count "C/Uc", that was just two songs.

mad medicine

I've noticed that when it comes to modern hardcore and punk, the majority of the stuff I enjoy is produced by a select number of bands and people that all seem to have some kind of link in one way or another. The Impalers are a good example of what I speak about. I don't listen to a massive amount of straight up d-beat styled crust punk. The odd band here and there, that's about it. The main reason I've come to enjoy this band I supposed is because the main person behind it all is Chris Ulsh of Mammoth Grinder and Hatred Surge. This is the bands debut s/t 7" on white vinyl, recently pressed by two entities, Todo Destruido and W Tapes. Total Discharge/Motorhead worship, out of all the music that I listen to that runs this vein, I dare say that this is the most faithful and focused of it all. Not sure of the pressing details with this record. I do know that alot of people seem to be freaking out on how to get their hands on it, though I had relatively zero trouble. I merely emailed Waldo at W Tapes, paid him and he sent one out quick smart. I have dealt with him before with the distro of the Impalers demo tape so that may have something to do with it.
Pressed recently for a handful of shows that band played around the time of Chaos In Tejas, this thing is somewhat limited in numbers I think, though I haven't heard an exact amount. Plans were being made to press a second run for wider distribution, but I never actually heard if that happened or not. It's possible that it has and that this record is a product of the rumoured press. It would explain why I had no trouble getting it I guess.
Alot of people got excited about that demo, and for good reason. Perfect sound for a demo of it's nature. This recording takes it up a total notch though. The recording is crystal clear without sounding overdone, and Chris' vocals are easily at their peak of anything that he has done. This beats any of his work on Mammoth Grinder and anything else. Mad man.
Worth your pennies. I heard that they had split, then I heard the contrary somewhere else. I hope they haven't. I hope they record a full length.

brutal supremacy

You knew this post would happen eventually. It may be something like 18 months or more in the making, but you knew this day would come. The fabled "Brutal Supremacy" 4 way split/comp double 7" is finally in my sweaty hands. Four bands that I am rather fond of together on the one release. Now, as I have said numerous times, I insisted on, perhaps foolishly, checking the Painkiller Records website multiple times daily for months leading up to the release of this record, and delay after delay just did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm. And as I expected, there is absolutely no disappointment here. I ordered this within hours of it's launch, soon enough I thought to get my hands on the coloured vinyl version. Not soon enough it would seem though. From what I can gather from numerous conversations I've observed on various forums, I didn't miss out by much, quite possibly even a few orders. I guess I'm kind of bummed but what's the big deal? It's still a fantastic package, even if I normally hate releases of this nature. Black vinyl of an unknown amount, probably around 1000 or something. I should mention that I ordered this a few weeks before I left for the UK, but it only arrived this week, heavily delayed (again) by the late running covers for the Waste Management 7" that I grabbed in the same order.

Sleeve folds out into this six panel black and white piece.

With the other side being this poster.

The Hatred Surge contribution would have to be my favourite on the whole comp. Four tracks of grinding mayhem. From the same recording sessions as the stuff from the split with Mammoth Grinder, I think part of the delay in the release of this record was due to these tracks. I heard that somewhere anyway, but there's got to be something more, as the MG split surfaced at the beginning of the year and we're just seeing this now. Now, when I posted about that split I spoke about how fond I was of the HS contribution to that record and how it was my favourite stuff of theirs so far due mainly to the excellent recording, and the inclusion of Rahi as full time vocalist. Much could be said for these four songs. First impression is that they're slower in nature to most of the bands older stuff, mostly of the mid paced variety with very fast blasts thrown in at different intervals. The first song "Brutal Tyranny" is a great example of what I'm talking about: it's a reasonably slow song with simple riffing that progresses gradually, until the last 15 seconds or so when it explodes into a crazy grind chord with Rahi just continuously grunting over the top. When you think about it, it's a very simple idea, yet extremely effective. Another high point of the comp would be their last contribution, "Brutal Supremacy". Again for the majority of the song, it runs a very slow pace, arguably some of the slowest stuff the band has done, until the last 40 seconds or so where it runs a handful of different tempo progressions, all built around simple riffing. It's probably my second favourite HS song now, second to their song "Pressures" on the "Trapped In A Scene" comp LP. These guys have certainly come into their own now as a full unit as opposed to just a one man show.
I guess the Mind Eraser portion of the comp was what I was looking forward to the most. I doubt I need to really explain why to regular readers. Pretty much my favourite modern/current band. Now these tracks may fall just behind the Hatred Surge songs in terms of pure gut wrenchablility, but in their own right they are certainly in a league of their own. Most bands just CAN'T write music like this. What's interesting to me the most about these new tracks is that three of them were written by Brendan (drums), not CC. As far as I know Chris has always handled (at least) most of the basics of the construction of ME tracks, this is the first time on any of their recordings they have bothered to actually credit individuals within the band. Brendan also handled lyrics for the first two songs, as well as a large chunk of vocals on the opener "Brutal Supremacy", a contribution which certainly adds a new dimension to the average ME song and juxtaposes brilliantly with the regular stylings of DFJ's low end. While Brendan's three songs are of the much faster variety, virtually grind with slower bits thrown in, as is typical with alot of later ME, CC's song "Graveyard" is a slower affair that's introduced with a rumbling bass rhythm that progresses into some faster matter. It's alot more reminiscent of early ME. Thinking about how ME of the last few years has certainly as a whole been alot faster in nature, I'm now questioning how much input Brendan (or other members of the band for that matter) has had in the building of songs.
Of all the contributions on the comp, Iron Lung's piece is probably the least entertaining to me. Now as per the track listing on the back cover, there is actually three songs here, all three with the name "Brutal Supremacy". This could easily just be one longer piece though, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was written as just that. There is a noticeable gap between the first two numbers, but after repeated listens, I can't make the jump from 2 to 3. All that really defines the three songs are the tempo changes, but as we all should know with IL, tempo changes, sometimes multiple ones within a single song, are a very regular thing. Who know's what the band's intention was, it doesn't really matter. It's a rougher recording here compared to the better IL material, perhaps why I'm not as into it as I am with most of their stuff. There's certainly no instant gratification going on here like what I get from all the other music on offer. Perhaps with more attention though, I'll begin to be able to appreciate these songs how the band probably intended. On a side note, there's an Iron Lung live in Australia tape being released before the end of the month through their own label entitled "I Hate You Mother Fuckers". Nice.
And the Scapegoat portion. This side of the comp puts to rest a little bit of confusion in my head that I have mentioned on this blog before. All of these tracks from this recording were originally brought to my attention by a friend nearly three years ago. Not sure of how he found them, but he linked me to a download page from the Painkiller site that would otherwise be invisible to regular search engines and the like, unless you had the specific URL. Like some kind of secret file sharing address. I'm no IT guy so I don't know how common this kind of thing is, but I doubt it's irregular. Anyway, I listened to these (at the time) untitled songs over and over again for a good chunk of 2009/10, the whole time without knowledge of song names etc. It's good to finally know the deal. At one point a reliable source made mention that they were eventually going to make it onto a planned second 7" on Painkiller, but as time passed that record just never surfaced. Then this comp was announced. Until I actually laid ears on this record though, I didn't know whether these would be those same songs. Well, yeah, they are, though they have been remastered to add an appropriate layer of filth and grime that suits the band perfectly. From the session though, two songs have been omitted, the Anti Cimex cover, which was officially released on their winter tour tape from last year, and a long, slow, untitled instrumental with a very cool groove based riff, that hasn't seen any kind of proper release at all. Who knows, it probably won't now. Fans of the bands demo and first 7" will notice an arguably more 'up beat' approach to these songs, but they still retain that defined Scapegoat feel. I will be posting about their new LP in the coming week too, which possesses an even more up beat approach again, though out of everything they've done now, which spans across a good half decade, this is my favourite Scapegoat material.

In terms of record nerdism in twenty eleven (apart from maybe the Get Destroyed 7", the Mindsnare/Ringworm split 7", if that happens this year, and an official vinyl release of the Corpsessed EP), this release cements that it's all downhill from here. Thanks Painkiller.

muzzle

I don't know a huge amount about Montreal's Vile Intent, other than that they play furious powerviolence influenced by the standards. This is the follow up to last years "Shadow Of The Skull", the "Regression To The Mean" 7". Diseased Audio Records pressed something like 375 copies on black wax.
This is their best stuff to date. Better than the last 7", and the demo, and the tour tape they did. Six tracks of gruff hardcore, the A side is consistent of stop/start tempos with more of an emphasis on the ring outs during slow bits than the last record. Flip it, and it's a four minute instrumental that rips pretty hard on Infest songs of the same nature. Nearly half of it is feedback too, I like that.
Clean, tidy, matte packaging that uses pretty obviously grim and dark artwork courtest of Mr. Chris Colohan. Wouldn't really expect much else from a band of this nature, and why would I anyway? Suits them to a tee. Great band.

paper houses

Kowloon Walled City are a bunch of guys whose vinyl I've been wanting to get a hold of for a while now. I first heard them around 18 months ago or so via some kind of online outlet, I don't remember, possibly their own website. It's been a busy 18 months, and with that business I kind of lost track of this band for a little bit.

One of my local records stores is closing down, and over the last few weeks they've been having a massive sale. I missed the first couple of weeks of said sale though due to my little trip abroad (I hope all the people I know in the UK are okay considering the current circumstances by the way) so I kind of assumed that I would have missed out on most of the good stuff. Last week I was in town so I dropped in. It's a little weird walking into that place now, it's virtually a shell of the previous store, to an extent, it's a little sad, even if the place was always full of hipster wankers. Anyway, amongst the shelves of pretty much nothing, I managed to stumble upon this Kowloon Walled City LP, "Gambling On The Richter Scale". This was pressed by The Perpetual Motion Machine back in 2009. This is the first press of what's described as clear vinyl. The photos make it look grey or white or something and that's because it's a very opaque kind of clear. Good thick wax.
These guys play a pretty sturdy brand of low end, broody doom, heavily reminiscent of some of the better moments brought to us by bands like Neurosis and the like. Part in due to the somewhat clean production, I'm also reminded at times of some of the slower moments that Converge have written in more recent times as well. This could easily be a band that would record with someone like Kurt Ballou. The main problem I have with this band (and many bands trying this style) is the vocalists weak approach. Now, when I say weak, I'm not really saying that he can't yell, he can. I just wish his bark was a little more intense, had more low end, made him sound like he was about to rip off your fucken head. It does work though, I just wish for more sometimes.
With the LP version came this free CD edition too. The artwork runs much the same theme, with some slightly altered colours.So as you've read, I bought this at my local's closing down sale. It cost me half the regular price of $26. I doubt I would have bought it had it been the full price (I'm trying to cut down on the amount of shit I buy and keep it to the essentials), but it's certainly worth the $13.

simple future

Not that many good bands come out of Brisbane. The list has grown slightly in the last 18 months or so, but generally, this city is a bit of a wasteland when it comes to interesting hardcore. Tear Gas were originally spawned here, though since then, nearly half of the band has moved to Melbourne. They're still a band none the less, they just play less often, obviously. I remember their first show when they were still undecided on their name proper, and when Neil would paint his face with a blue stripe across his eyes (something like that anyway, it's been a few years). Back then they were called both Tear Gas and Vaccine, as in they hadn't decided yet and people around town were referring to them as both names. This was a good year, maybe more before the Bostonian Vaccine band had released their ripping demo tape. When the guys decided to go with Tear Gas Neil told me it was because another band from the States had decided to use Vaccine. Not sure if Neil was talking about the mentioned Yankees or not.

From the word go this band was the most hyped in town, due mainly to the fact that nearly all of the guys had been in, or were still part of some other notable Brisbane acts. That and the fact that the bands frontman, Neil is/was (he moved south) reluctantly the unofficial godfather/big daddy (for lack of a much better word) of the Brisbane crust fuelled scene, and everyone loves him. The first show was mental, and every single time I've seen them since it's been much the same story.

This is their new LP of burning spirits hardcore, "The Way Of All Flesh" on black vinyl thanks to Hardcore Victim Records. A perfect progression from the last 7" and the demo before that, this could possibly go down as the best Australian release of 2011, though we still have five months left, so lets not get ahead of ourselves.
Artwork and layout from this city's and country's premier penman, Murdoch Stafford. He manages to outdo himself every time.
Now I don't pretend to listen to a massive amount of this kind of hardcore. I like Bastard and a few others and that's about it. I'll tell you what I hear though; a predominate amount of songs structured around a fast d-beat, with plenty of metallic melody, heaps of leads from both Will and Geordie, and a nasty snarl from Neil backed a few times by some crew style vocals. Most of the tracks hover around the two minute mark or slightly less and the production/mix is top notch and probably the best the band has used so far. There's a handful of songs that I haven't heard before, but they have used some stuff from the demo, and also some live favourites that hadn't seen the recorded light of day until now.
As far as I know, this LP was supposed to be available on their recent tour of the USA and jaunt at Chaos In Tejas, but as is the same old story, pressing issues at the plant fucked with those plans. It's out now as you can see though, and unlike the last 7", I have a feeling that this record will be more widely available. Well alot more so than that EP anyway.
I think most of these songs were written and recorded before Neil and Lee moved to Melbourne. I have no idea of their collaboration schedule now with such a massive amount of land between them, I just hope they keep it together. Amazing live band, and better recorded.

wyverns keep

I Exist are a band that has certainly experienced a massive amount of popularity over the last 18 months. Of course, if you're Australian you probably are aware of the fact. This is their brand new album, "II: The Broken Passage". Resist Records. Murky kind of green and brown vinyl. As far as I know this is the pre order, more limited pressing, though I can't be sure, I can't find any information anywhere.
One of the first times I posted about these Canberra dirt balls, it was about their first LP, "I: A Turn For The Worse". Back then I think I made it quite clear how 'on the fence' I was about them at the time. If you're unfamiliar with these guys, they play a brand of hardcore that experiments moderately with some obvious sludge influences. Aaron, the bands main song writer and founder has a taste in music that you could fairly describe as that of the metal fan. He's made it obvious of his fondness for everything from Iron Monkey to Acid Witch to Eyehategod. And he's gone on record (like he really needs to though, the influences are somewhat obvious) many times about what he's trying to do with the band. I liked that first album. When I spoke of it though, alot of my post was centred around how I wanted it to be more sludge. While Aaron and co did experiment with it, they just didn't use it enough in my opinion. Too many hardcore structures, not enough riffs. I kind of thought that they would grow out of it. They haven't. If anything, this album panders more to the average Australian hardcore kid. The production is noticeably cleaner, the songs are slicker and more streamlined and there has been an obvious drop in the amount of massive riffs and slower, longer tracks. Apart from one or two great songs (this posts namesake being one of them), this album is a bit of a let down for me. I liked the grit of the first album.
It had to be expected though I suppose. With the bands step up to Resist Records, one would assume that they've got a bigger crowd to please, and maybe a bit more pressure to move the units. I would have thought that their relentless national touring would have been enough to please the hordes though, it's got them this far already.
Artwork is notably more boring with this one too. I loved Glenno's work on the older stuff. This comes across as a little safe, maybe boring and even generic. But perhaps I'm missing the point?I'm kind of hoping that Aaron just has a massive mental breakdown and starts writing huge, dirgy, dirty music, cause this is just too clean.

short straw

Everyone's been raving on about this LP, the debut Dead Language s/t album. This is on black vinyl, pressed by Iron Lung Records. I doubt at this point that I really need to explain this band? Members of a handful of great band playing blast ridden hardcore.
So basically this is just Iron Lung with Andy from No Comment on vocals plus a couple other guys from notable background filling the blanks. A few months back the band released a really good preview track that managed to build a bit of hype, but I've been a little disappointed with this album as a whole. Don't get me wrong, most bands work their entire lifespans to create music like this, but this just doesn't match up to most of the other music that these guys have created over the years (and decades). I'll listen to "Downsided", or "Sexless//No Sex" any day before I spin this.
Reading over my post, I realise that I sound really neg about this LP. I do like it, I just don't like it as much as I thought and hoped I would, or as much as associated releases.