Dead End

I might not sound popular, but I'm not a huge fan of all the new english bands that are hyped everywhere right now. Quite sure that when the hype will disappear, most of them will quickly fall into oblivion. Except for Violent Reaction. The band that started this scene is without any doubt the best of the bunch. And their last ep "dead end", released in the UK by Quality Control and in the US by Painkiller, just confirms it. Their most solid output for sure, boston hardcore perfectly melted with the best english street punk. These six tunes are bloody good & memorable and you'll find yourself singing along them after the first listening. Add a huge guitar sound and a great production and you got an instant winner. sXe hardcore back to its roots and far way from the boyscout attitude of most of these bands. I feel a bit weird for liking a band that just signed to Revelation, a label that represents everything I dislike in hardcore, but I guess there's always a first time. And honestly, this sounds closer to Negative Approach or SSD than YOT or Bold.

I got the european press that has a different artwork than the american press. The sleeve is formed by 5 panels that, when opened, surprise! It forms a huge X. As cheesy and boring the whole Xs thing is, I must admit that this looks pretty damn good. Overall, a very nice package for one of the most solid ep released this year.

Ser Nosotros Mismos

One of the most anticipated (well, at least to me!) release planned for the year of the lord 2014 has been the Tercer Mundo "ser nosotros mismos" 12", again courtesy of Cintas Pepe Discos outta Mexico. I've already praised this label and band in one of my previous post about TM's debut ep of a couple of years ago. I know it's hard to believe but "ser nosotros mismos" is even exceeding the ep's greatness. This time TM has indeed a better production that makes them sound catchier but at the same time it maintains their classic brutal and raw sound. Dan/SPHC has nailed it perfectly so I'm gonna keep it short and just quote him: "Their 2012 first EP was championed and heralded around the world as a modern classic by those in-the-know, as one of the most seminal and powerful hardcore records of the current times. Expectations must be high for their 2014 first LP.....and expectations are met. A rough and raw sound that manages to stay powerful and listenable, a rough and raw performance that manages to stay tight and fluid, and most importantly, fucking powerful and memorable songs that are dynamic, tense, and brutal all at once. A flawless, perfected hardcore record in a world full of half-hearted efforts".

As with all the Cintas Pepe releases, a lot of effort has been put also on the graphics. Indeed this is not only a solid release, but it also looks pretty damn good! It comes in a beautiful hand screened cover & insert with lyrics and infos in spanish and english. The labels look great too, love the stabbed mexico sketch on side B. For sure a solid contender for the best lp that came out this year.

BESTHOVEN interview 2006

Classic brazilian d-beat band. Interview taken from Agitate 'zine #8 from 2007.

Give Notice of Nightmare

Been waiting for a couple of parcels to show up but they're taking their time. So I guess it's time to post something about one of the main score of the year that I did few months ago. When it comes to japanese hardcore, it seems that a lot of people are obsessed with ADK or Dogma Records. Solid labels of course, but when I think to the label that defines japanese classic hardcore sound, I only have one name in my mind: the legendary Selfish Records. This label has released over the years so many classics by even more classic bands such as Death Side, Gauze, Outo, Systematic Death, Lip Cream and many others. Not to mention all their classic compilation lps. Such a great label! Over the years I've been able to accumulate a decent part of their catalogue. Of course it's still a long way until I'll complete it, but overall I've managed to get all my main wants. Except for a couple of titles: Deathside "bet on possibility" lp & Nightmare "give notice to nightmare" lp. These have eluded me for a lot of time but a couple of months ago I've been finally able to secure a copy of the last one. Now please sell me your copy of "bet on the possibility"!!

Along with Gauze & Warhead, Nightmare is one of the few classic japanese bands that never broke up and it's still going strong after all these years. But when it comes to their records, 1990's "give notice to nightmare" lp is their highlight moment. Perfect sound, incredible songwriting. I can't find anything to complain about 'coz there's nothing wrong here. Classic metallic japanese hardcore/punk in one of its finest moments. Ok, perhaps the pixelated picture they chose as cover could have been something better (been finally able to understand what it is only when I got this copy in my hands!) but this is an undisputed classic so I'll just forgive them for not using something as cool as they did for their "s/t" ep of a couple of years before.

The copy I got is in immaculate conditions. Seriously, it looks like it came out from the pressing plant yesterday. Got it from a notorious european collector that was unloading a huge part of his collection. Sent him an offer I thought was fair, et voilà: I've finally been able to cancel it from my wantlist.