Strong Intention - What Else Can We Do But Fight Back

(Excuse the lo-fi art today, can't find anything with high enough resolution!)

This is a barking mad, rabid display of hardcore punk power. Strong Intention's music is underpinned by what seems like genuine disgust and anguish at the American work-a-day life, which sets them apart from their peers in a sea of similar bands. Songs like "Model Citizen", "Consumer Sucker" and "Economic Outpatient" are perfect examples of this malice utilized to deliver scathing punk noise with an alternative diatribe to the work/sleep/die/repeat model of life.

My only complaint with this record is that the sound is a little thin. Yeah, punk is DIY as fuck but a little boost to the sound quality here would be enormously beneficial for the band's anger and energy. It is not badly recorded, it just sounds a little flat compared to other records as it fitted into the rest of my listening for the day, which was absolutely fine when I got used to it, but it doesn't hide the fact that the production is a little flat. That aside, this is brilliant, and strongly recommended listening.

Head Noise - Special Effects Improves The Defects

(Words by Gareth Burra)

Head Noise are a 3 piece Electro Art-Punk band from South Wales, often using a keytar as a primary instrument as well as an array of nontraditional instruments. With no live drums or an actual drummer they are certainly a different act and stand out from the crowd with their less conventional, more experimental approach.

So here we have the bands new 6 track mini-album "Special Effects Improves The Defects", a very fun sounding release here; upbeat, with some wicked little electronic jingles and beats throughout, which wouldn't sound out of place in an 80s disco or a soundtrack to a film set in such era, truth be told.

Some highlights of the EP, for myself, are "Finally Snapped", which may be my favourite of the bunch, with its dark and ambient sound - I'm getting some major A Flock Of Seagulls-esque vibes from this one - as well as "Diamond Planet", with its perfect groove and a more alternative 80's sound.

Overall a nice little release her; its fun, its fresh, its different, and stands out. Nicely done.

Hellbastard - Feral

One thing I will say about Hellbastard is that Hellbastard live is a different beast to Hellbastard on a record. Whilst the band have always stood apart from their peers (even when they wallowed in the crust scene), there is an undeniably experimental, forward-thinking edge to the band's bizarre mix of metal, punk and other things in-between. Granted, this experimentation doesn't always pay off, but on the Feral record, it pays off in spades.

My only initial complaint is that the snare sound is pretty synthetic, but you can adjust to this fairly quickly. That aside, the production is solid and dense, and nothing is left fighting for breathing space. I remember checking out the video for "We Are Coven" when the single first dropped and was taken aback by the ambitiousness of it all. "Shame On Us" is super catchy in a chuggy way, and "And The Point Of Your Being Is...?" has a cracking guitar solo towards the end.

All in all, the world is a better place with Hellbastard in it, and Feral is a solid addition to their repertoire.

Killbite - Discrimi-Nation

Killbite are a hardcore band out of Bremen in Germany, playing in the heavy, almost metal style rather than the punky, upbeat style of hardcore. Discrimi-Nation isn't a million miles away from the powerviolence sound; hard-hitting, dark, distorted, angry as fuck - there are many tracks here worthy of getting the pit moving, whilst a few others are more thought provoking and morose, especially the untitled closing number.

This is thoughtful, powerful hardcore music with a strong message. Asides from a 10" on German label Break The Silence, the band have been very dedicated to the DIY approach and this album is self-released on both CD and vinyl. Physical copies are available directly from the band. 

This Becomes Us - This Becomes Us

(Words by Burra, The Fresh Prince Of Porth)

This Becomes Us is the solo collaborative release from Future Of The Left (and not forgetting ex-Million Dead) bassist Julia Ruzicka. This debut contains ten tracks of absolute pure gold, featuring a different vocalist on each track, including Black Francis from The Pixies, among others. Opener "The Picture of Delorean Gray", is a cracking little number; a nice and fast-paced, hard-hitting, fuzzy, punky number that leads into the bouncy "Undervalue Love", which has a kind of dark pop vibe to it. 

The third track - and a possible favourite -  is "Big Hitter" (featuring the vocals of Billy Mason Wood), which has quite an At The Drive In sound to it, I'd say. Absolutely love this one. Not to go for the obvious and lazy review, but "Painter Man Is Coming" (featuring the vocals of Black Francis) has such a nice Pixies vibe to it. This is a lovely track, and is very reminiscent of some of Pixies' finest work at times. Another favourite from this release.

I would describe "At The End Of Everyday" as having a very early 2000's kind of sound; I'm thinking like that original emo/post hardcore sound that was starting to come out around then; Cursive, Rival Schools etc. vibe I'm getting - it is refreshing to hear, either way!

The short and sweet "Simple Too" leans towards a distorted-yet-arty punk type of sound, leading into "The Gift That Nobody Wants", which sounds very Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster-esque, "Songs In My Mind" is great, really like the vocals on this one, a catchy little punk number with some powerful female lead vocals from Chantal Lewis-Brown. "Sassessa" is cool; a more laid back number compared the rest of the bunch, yet still upbeat and driving. The album's closer "This Horse Needs Peace" is a well-placed last track to the record, and a subtle instrumental outro to the whole thing.

Overall though, This Becomes Us - despite having a different collaboration on each track - still does the wonderful thing of managing to sound like a fully flowing, coherent album and not just a compilation of songs. As solo projects go,  this is exceptionally well done!

Billy Talent - Afraid Of Heights

(Words by Burra, writaen a'yon thon billae talgan)

Everything I could have wanted from a Billy Talent album is right here. I'm happy that they've released yet another solid album from start to finish, as few bands nowadays manage to release cracking record after cracking record with little filler, but so far Billy Talent haven't let us down there at all, I feel. This is full of catchy hooks - both vocally and musically; the catchy riffs and shouty choruses that this band have mastered so perfectly and what makes them so great to listen to. "Ghost Ship Of Cannibal Rats" is a standout track on this one for me - it literally has all the right amounts of the above mentioned and more. Easily my personal favourite, and I'm pretty sure most fans of the band will agree with on this one too.

Another big highlight is "Rabbit Down The Hole", a very anthemic number. But, as I say there's literally not a bad song on the whole album. In a nutshell, if you're already a fan of this band you'll love it, whilst it is also strong enough to maybe pick up some new fans who might have been late to the party upon checking them out. Very high energy, very fun, very enjoyable! It's also worth noting the drums on this record were instead performed by Alexisonfire's Jordan Hastings - who's also touring with the band too - as regular drummer Aaron Solowoniuk is currently unable to drum due to a multiple sclerosis relapse (both drummers feature in current 2016 promotional pictures).

2 Minuta Dreka / Umigliazione - Split 7"

This is my first experience with Umigliazione - who play hardcore punk style stuff mashed up with super noisy freak-outs. They play 3 songs here, in 4 minutes or so, and it's definitely not what I expect to hear. I'll have to check these guys out more, as this is very brief.

On the flipside, 2 Minuta Dreka offer up a massive contrast. This is far from the band's later, groovy material. On this 7" we have nothing but pure 7MON-worship; offering up 70 (yes, that's right - 70) tracks in roughly 4 minutes. The "songs" are grinding blasts of scraping bass noise and guitar shreddery on top of the usual smattering of blast beats and distorted vocals.

2 Minuta Dreka self released this under the Grind Block label and it is limited to 1000 copies, so should be fairly easy to get a hold of if you are so inclined (copies are currently 2 Euros on Discogs).

Darkthrone - The Cult Is Alive

Just quickly gonna put dibs on a review of this seeing as there's three of us writing now (four if Kristian gets off his ass and follows up with more). Darkthrone's The Cult Is Alive marked a turning point in the band's career; effectively buffeting their sails with a healthy second wind that easily saw them extending their legacy by another ten years or so. Let's face it, by the late 90s / early 2000s, Darkthrone's output was lacking somewhat. Nothing particularly terrible surfaced, but there was an awful lot of old shit coming out and being re-packaged, and then that was followed by records that were, dare I say it, almost like Darkthrone's attempts at nu-metal (or should that be the effects of the dire 90s rubbing off even on one of metal's most innovating bands). Again, not particularly bad, but albums like Hate Them and Sardonic Wrath lacked the freezing fire that Under A Funeral Moon and Transylvanian Hunger had.

But I digress. Moving swiftly along to the mid 00s, and Darkthrone dropped this fucker, seemingly out of nowhere, hitting the refresh button on their career. If someone told me 15 years ago that Darkthrone were a punk band I'd have a good chuckle at their genre-defining-ineptitude (actually I probably would have asked you who Darkthrone are, but there you go). Moving black metal into crust punk territories has been done a thousand times over, but let's face it; Darkthrone opened this type of shit up to a whole new generation of metalheads who hadn't quite made it to checking out Hellhammer yet. 

"Cult Of Goliath" is the ferocious opener, and the single off here (if that terminology is correct) is "Too Old, Too Cold"; a bitter and almost tired number, whose malice carries the nonchalant crust along sufficiently enough as not to become boring. "Graveyard Slut" has Fenriz taking on vocal duties in lieu of everyone's favourite grim and frostbitten school teacher, Nocturno Culto, and is also one of the greatest songs in the history of time. "Shut Up" is also another amazing stand out track with some fantastic lyrics ("begging for this and asking for that / shut up, fucking twat!"), as is the crusty-favourite, "Whiskey Funeral". 

This record proved so immensely successful that the next four Darkthrone records essentially followed the same template (although the latest one to date was a bit King Diamond-y for me). Strongly recommended listening!

Glue - Demo 2012

I need more stuff like this in my life! I stumbled across this little hardcore punk gem last month, and haven't been able to get enough of it. It's not exactly aeons long with six tracks clocking in at just over eight minutes, but it's a dirty ride, with a proper old-school production style. The bass drum is so fat, and whilst the guitars have Dead Kennedys written all over them, the riffs are busy and fresh. 

There's not a bad track here in all honesty, but my favourites are the intro, "The Jokes Write Themselves" and the fast/slow fuckery of the closing tune, "Falling Apart". Glue are from Texas, in the US of A and seem to have a bit of a cult following, with the 7" version of this demo selling for up to £20 on Discogs, which is a hefty price for a 7" EP. Have a goosey.

Fukpig - Belief Is The Death Of Intelligence

For me, this is the ultimate Fukpig release, and it trumps anything else they've ever done (which in itself is no small feat). If the first three tracks alone aren't enough to get you hooked then I think you are listening to the wrong genre, mate. "Die Bastard" is fucking vicious, "Britain's Got Fucking Aids" is a rabid stroke of pure genius, and "This Is England" completes the hat-trick of brutality with a back'n'forth blasting atmospheric minute and a half. 

The sound is perfect in the nastiest way possible; the drums are crystal clear and the guitar is like a fuckin' buzzsaw. The vocals...well, they have to be heard to be believed, as any description I could attempt probably wouldn't do them any justice. I think that Belief... is much more focussed (and angrier) than the band's debut - which loses itself a bit - and with that intense production being just spot on, I find it really hard to fault this beast of an album. Is it grind? Is it d-beat? It's fuckin' necropunk!

Misfits - The Devil's Rain

It turns out that sometimes you just can’t polish a turd.

Back when this steaming pile of shit was first released, I, like many other Misfits fans clinging onto hollow vestiges of hope, checked out this record with fingers crossed. Hey, you gotta admit that the cover art is totally fucking epic - what fiend wouldn’t be half-tempted by the glorious image of Mr. Skullface looking all power metal? But, when a masterpiece of a sleeve hides a terrible turd of a record then the whole situation seems a million times worse for some reason; it’s like you’ve not only been totally gutted but you’ve been lied to as well. It’s like the small comfort in a rapist whispering creepily “it’ll all be over in a few minutes”, and then you find out later on that you’ve got HIV.

I want to line up the legions of yes men who told Jerry Only it was a good idea to do another Misfits album (especially after Project 1950) and machine-gun them all with paintballs. Musically, Devil’s Rain is soundly put together, although it’s a little boring and Only’s bass is mixed suspiciously low. This record is like the …And Justice For All of the horrorpunk genre. 

But seriously, my real issue here is with the vocals - the out of tune, tired and flaccid croons of a withering legend trying to mimic peers departed; a retarded karaoke lovechild of Danzig and Graves, which fails to not only reach the prowess of either, but also to spark any sort of ignition on these already half-arsed, plodding, tedious songs. 

It genuinely baffles me how anyone aware of the Misfits legacy could possibly enjoy this album, and I strongly suspect that anyone who willingly paid money for this record may have some sort of mental illness. Avoid. 

For the love of holy fuck don’t click play on this video.
 

Wail Of Sirens - Final Demands

Wail Of Sirens play dark, metallic hardcore with an artistic flair, giving this EP a Converge-meets-Discharge vibe, which as you are more than likely aware is not a bad thing at all. It seems Wail Of Sirens are a fairly new band because I can't find absolutely any information about them online (but then again, I'm an idiot) but that to me is even more of a reason to check these guys out and give them a chance.

Final Demands is only 4 songs long, and with half of them not reaching the two minute mark, it doesn't give you much to go on but it's a cheeky debut and seems to get the point across fairly well. Actually, the length of these tracks would fit perfectly on a 7" record (hint hint haha). But no, physically, Tired Of Life Records have put this EP out as a tape release, but you can also stream it for free from the group's Bandcamp page (check the player below!).

Misfits - Static Age

Static Age is probably my favourite "early" Misfits release (even though it wasn't released for sometime after). Earth A.D. is fast and even heavy, Walk Among Us probably the most legendary, but Static Age the most solid and consistent. Static Age to me, feels like a true long player, despite the fact that these songs have been released here there and everywhere over the last 30 odd years or so, in various guises and mixes. Static Age finally pulls together the early Misfits era into a genuine album.

I don't think there's a single track here that's not a total Misfits classic, or - some would probably agree - are not total punk classics in their own right. It's a weird, rocky and romantic take on punk music that hadn't quite fledged into the horror punk that Danzig's Misfits would become so renown for. It's like The Rolling Stones meets Electric Wizard at a Sex Pistols gig (if I could be so bold). The horrendous lyrics for "Last Caress" just don't seem to fit the swaggering vintage rock, but hey, I'm not complaining. I'll also say quickly that a lot can be said about Jerry Only, but fuck me this bass sound here is spot on. It tends to lead the songs, where the dissonant guitars fuzz out the remaining space. Banging, son, as us Brits say.

The title track seems like more of a intro that anything, and the album for me begins properly with the excellent "TV Casualty". "Return Of The Fly" is the best song in the world with the worst lyrics in the world (and again that warbling lead bass), and that's followed by the hat-trick of "Hybrid Moments", "We Are 138" and "Teenagers From Mars". "Theme For A Jackel" bring piano to punk in such a bad way as Embalming Theatre brought piano to grindcore ("Bulldozer Blues" haha) but the three tracks that round off this album are some of my favourite songs of all time. 

I googled this album because I was writing this review and I was fucking elated to find out that the band (or what's left of it) are currently touring Static Age, playing it in it's entirety, and are coming near me a few days before my birthday. Fuckin' A.

Emissaries Of Syn - Off Message

Wow, this is an unusual one! Take death metal tunings and riffs, the swagger of crossover-thrash era d-beat and the lyrical content and delivery of punk and hardcore, and you've got Emissaries Of Syn. Imagine all this "dark hardcore" type of stuff that is being peddled by Southern Lord given an injection of British authenticity and humour. It's like Black Breath but with Mitch Dickinson from Unseen Terror on vocals. 

This EP kicks off with "Einstein's Monsters", a cheeky, nuclear-themed number, but the whole thing really gets going for me with the excellently-titled (and extremely catchy) "The Only Way Is Ethics". Current political issues are touched upon in "Spare Some Social Change" and "Help Define Heroes"; the former dealing with the current austerity issues of Britain and the latter dealing with the somewhat sensitive subject of the armed forces. 

The playing is spot on; the drumming is savage, the guitar work spotless and that good ol' 80s meat-grinder bass sound is more than welcome. If you think the clean, political punk vocal delivery doesn't match the heaviness of the music, just give it a chance - everything will click into place!

As far as I can tell these guys are a fairly new band so check out the EP in the link below.

Fukpig / Kroh - Split 10"

Fukpig bring their haunted crusty d-beat mind-melt to this 10" with Kroh; a confusing clean vocals 'n' super heavy doom combo act. I believe both bands share the same guitarist, but I could be wrong. The guitar tone is really similar by both bands though, even if musically they are completely different. Fukpig bring us three tracks of blackened punk madness, my favourite of which must be "The Prisoner", although opening track "Docile Subjects" brings all the synth creeping in the universe. Kroh lament us through two sludgy hymns of stonery goodness, my favourite of which has to be "Retribution", that although with a softer vocal has a bit more punch to it all round. 

I believe that this is quite a collectable now; not that many of these 10"s were made and like all Fukpig vinyl (this is no exception), it has a habit of disappearing very quickly. Self-released under Devizes Records - also home to both bands. 

Total Abuse - Total Abuse

Total Abuse play messy, vicious hardcore with a downtuned, sludgy twist. Tracks range from the short 'n' fast machine gun cannon to more plodding, progressive numbers, and to the downright weird and unusual. This self-titled record is noisy as fuck, and probably has some roots in the harsh noise or avant garde. 

I originally mistook this as a full length album but it's classed as an EP, which is unusual because y'know, records just shy of half hour usually get counted as albums in these circles. Not that it particularly matters. It still sounds amazing. I'm not really into hardcore punk that much so it's always fuckin' great when I hear something that I can really enjoy jamming. It's probably Total Abuse's noisy tendancies that help them fall into my comfort zone. Some of the slower songs actually sound a bit like Big Black, for example, "Banned In Austin" sees layers of screeching dissonant guitars fighting over a plodding bassline.

Check it out!

Dwarves - Blood Guts & Pussy

I absolutely love (The) Dwarves. They are probably one of the most fun bands I’ve seen live, and all their albums (even the dodgy pop punk ones) are bursting with a childish, youthful punk energy, even as the band continue to age in the physical world. Blood Guts & Pussy shows a much more hardcore punk orientated side to Dwarves that unfortunately quickly died out as they adopted a cleaner, more mainstream sound. It matters not though, as for me, Blood Guts & Pussy is an absolute classic in the fields of short, fast and loud.

It’s very cheeky to call this an album as it’s over really, really quickly, but I don’t suppose its short enough to be an EP either. Opener “Back Seat Of My Car” is probably the most punk thing ever, as is “Drug Store” and the enormously rude “Let’s Fuck”. “Fuck You Up And Get High” is one of the simplest yet greatest tunes written in the history of music, while “Flesh Tantrum” is a stomping, bass-heavy mid-pacer dripping with malice. “You make my skin crawl!” spits Blag Dahlia, over and over.

The only downside with Blood Guts & Pussy is that it kinda just fizzles out; there’s no real ending as such, it just starts, fucks you up and then finishes abruptly. I guess it could be fleshed out a bit more with a few more solid tracks but then again I think that more than likely detract from the whole point.

Yeah, I’m Gonna…

The Judas Cradle - The Self-Inflicted EP

Warning! Self-promotional post!

 

I just wanna take a post to tell you all about my new grindcore band The Judas Cradle (google the definition for epic luls and potential cringing). Formed out of the ashes of Newport death metal crew O.A.P., The Judas Cradle became a real thing in September of last year. We’ve have been rehearsing pretty much weekly since, and we recorded our debut EP in our rehearsal space. It was released in December online, and we had physical copies made up in January, which were all put together lovingly by our guitarist Will.

 

We have about a 100 of them to go around at shows and shit, but this EP is available to be spread far and wide on the net. So give it a download, rate it or hate it. If by some astronomical odds you fancy a copy you can get one off my Discogs page!

 

Grind it!

 

Human Touch - Human Touch

Wow, this fucking rules! Human Touch is some insane shit, playing grind-speed hardcore punk with frenetic, worryingly spastic female vocals. Imagine mixing Minor Threat with Despite You, or something. I'd absolutely love to see this band perform live, because after only 5 songs (only one which has any substantial length) I'm left a little shocked, and most definitely wanting more. 

The sound is spot on; definitely paying homage to true hardcore production styles of old but incorporating modern clarity. There's nothing worse than losing amazing grind or hardcore in a muddy, shitty mix, and thankfully that doesn't happen here. Apparently this EP was recorded in an attic apartment, so kudos to whoever recorded it, because it sounds great. 

I'll shut up now. Just make sure you press play. 

Psycho - You Love Us... You Hate Us

This was a random purchase for me a couple of Christmas' back, from some D.I.Y. / punk / hardcore record shop in Cardiff. It's been a while, and the shop/label is long gone (at least at that location), but I (obviously) still have this record and still spin it every now and then. I picked it up because I am a massive fan of Anal Cunt and was aware that they had done a split with Psycho at some point. Couple that with the randomness of finding a Psycho record in Cardiff, and the deal was sealed, as far as I was concerned. I can't really remember how much it cost me, but it wasn't much.

I don't have many 12" EPs. I think the format has died out somewhat, especially in the underground, what with the increasing price of pressing vinyl (I'm not even gonna go into the pressures of the digital age). Spinning at 45 rpm, this record doesn't last very long at all, but it's an awesome little blast through some thrash-paced hardcore punk nonsense. I'm aware that Psycho have several "eras" to their sound, like they did grindcore for a while, etc. etc. I'm not really sure where this fits in in the whole Pyscho "journey" but it's still a really cool EP that I would recommend to anybody with an interest in the faster side of life. It sounds to me like Motorhead meets Dead Kennedys.

This awesome, almost beer coloured 12" was released in 1988 under Pyscho's own record label, Ax/ction Records.