2017 End Of The Year list

Haven't posted anything this month even if I made some great scores recently. Being busy/not feeling inspired were the main reasons for the lack of posts. Anyhow, 2017 has been a decent year I guess. About record collecting, my trend of not caring about new releases is stronger than ever. I've bought very few new releases and only five of them made an impression. Do I have missed something worth checkin out? On the other side, there has been some long due awesome represses and I've managed to delete from my wantlist lots of stuff that was on it for way too long. It's also worth mentioning that the best score this years were made via trade. I haven't done as many trades as this year in 10+ years. I hope this will keep going in the future. Nothing better than scoring a rare record without shelling out a single euro!

New releases:

-EXIT UNIT 7"

-CUNTS/ANAL BUTT split 7"

-CONTROL side of split 7" with EXITHIPPIES

-PERVERTED CEREMONY "sabbat of Behezael" lp
-SACRIFICIO "pulidores de tumbas" lp

Represses/ Discographies:

-ATOXXXICO demos lp + punks de mierda 7"

-GAUZE lps

-EKHYMOSIS & NEMESIS 7" (keep rare colombian metal represses coming!)

-SKITSLICKERS 7"

-NOISE demos lp

-NURSE discography lp

-KOBRA live 7"

Scores:

-RASIX 7"

-SAGATRAKAVASHEN borealis tape

-WRETCHED "in nome...", NERORGASMO 7", INDIGESTI "osservati.." lp & SHOTGUN SOLUTION 7"

-Got back tons of classic death metal/grind from my teenage years: TERRORIZER, CARBONIZED, AUTOPSY etc...

In Nome Del Loro Potere Tutto E' Stato Fatto

Over the years, I've managed to slowly cover pretty much the entire Wretched discography in this blog. Considering that I will never own a copy of their split with Indigesti (unless I get pretty lucky or rich), their only record that kept eluding me was "in nome del loro potere tutto è stato fatto" (in the name of their power everything has been done) 7", self-released by the band in 1983, even before their own legendary Chaos Produzioni label was born. I was tempted by the recent offical box repress but, since it was the only one I was missing, I decided to wait. Of course it could have been easier if I'd shell out the  money that sellers on discogs ask, but it was always way too overpriced. Recently I was setting a trade with a japanese friend who I know has multiple copies of it (!!).  I asked if he wanted to part from one copy and, when he agreed, I couldn't believe my quest was finally over without shelling out a single euro. Coming from the land of the rising sun, of course it is in immaculate conditions. It misses the italian insert but, oh well, I can definitely survive without it.

Here we got early Wretched finest moment. From the legendary artwork to the matrix, everything is simply perfect here. The eight songs featured here are some their most iconic: "la logica del potere", "spero che venga la guerra" & "non posso sopportare" are some of the highlights of their entire discography in my opinion. The sound is perfectly balanced in its roughness: not too raw like the Indigesti split ep material but also not too well produced like in their full length. The perfect recording for a hardcore/punk band. One of the few reasons to be proud of my hometown.

SPEW interview 1998

Here's a well hidden japanese grindcore secret: The Spew. As far as I know, they recorded only 6 tracks that can be found here. Essential short noise/grind for all the maniacs out there! This is probably their only interview ever, taken from spanish 'zine Ironia#4 from june 1998. (my scans do not suck, Ironia'zine low quality pixelated layout does!)

Tales Of A Pretentious Asshole#007

Let's talk about a local well hidden secret this time (perhaps due to their jawbreaker name?): the mighty Sagatrakavashen. This was a name that kept popping up occasionally on local 'zines during the '90s, but I've never managed to get a copy of their demo. Then oblivion removed this name from my mind. Until recently. Some japanese friend posted about this band on instagram, and suddenly my interest in this band resurfaced even more intense than back then. And, unlike 20+ years ago, we now live in an era where every information is virtually just a couple of clicks away from you. I indeed ended up finding Pentacolar (the mastermind behind this band) phone number extremely easily. I immediately called him and we got a long and interesting talk about his band from back then. He also provided me a couple of copies of the recent repress of "Sexual Lust" on 7" and even a copy of their extremely rare last tape titled "Borealis".

But let me put everything in the right context before I start. It's the year of the lord 1989. Black Metal, as we know it today, doesn't exist yet. An unknown band hailing from a small mountain town just a couple of hours away from where I live, managed to create that exact music a few years earlier than most of the well known norwegian names.  Pentacolar himself told me that their main influences were Celtic Frost "morbid tales" & Bathory debut album, so it's not a big surprise that they ended up sounding like Dark Throne or Immortal before they even existed. And please don't lemme start talking about their look: corpse-painting, leather pants and studs? Ok, Pentacolar's shoes look more like they were stolen from a Kiss cosplayers meeting, but I guess you got the point. These guys were simply way ahead of their time! Expecially the opening track "necromanzia" is just pure second wave of black metal from the first to the last note under every point of view. The extremely raw production (we're fully in the shit-fi department here) just gives it even more atmosphere. There's an 8mm video of them playing this song in their crypt (their only gig ever) that I hope will see the light one day. Sagatrakavashen started as a solo project, but for this tape Pentacolar was joined by Satanic Drums (worst nickname ever!) so the band became a duo. This brought a strong '80s italian hardcore influence. According to Ugo (Pentacolar's real name), songs on side B were composed with the support of the aforementioned drummer who was mainly a hc kid. Indeed both "reincarnazione" and "lussuriosa" (my fave Saga track!) sound like an incestuous mix of Bathory and Wretched. The band indeed consciously defined itself "black-core" and I think they totally nailed it. The shit-fi production makes it also sounds a lot like early mexican hardcore or ultrametal & punkmedallo from Medellin that was recorded on the other side of the globe in the very same period. And that's not a big surprise since the conditions were pretty much the same: shitty equipment, same influences in almost the same catholic and latino cultural background. 

"Sexual Lust" was originally released on tape in 1989. Two versions of this tape exist: one with 4 tunes plus the intro and a second one with an instrumental track and an extra one. Originally they were supposed to release the first version on 7" as well in 1990, but for some obscure reasons only 100 copies were made back then. 23 years later, due to the attention the band was getting, Pentacolar decided to print 300 more copies of it under the flag of his label Umbrella Records.

In 1991 Saga went back to the one man line-up (if I remember correctly, it was due to Satanic Drums' conscription). So Ugo recorded their third and last demo "borealis" before disbanding forever. (Yes, there's a first demo titled "forza arcana" recorded in 1988 as a solo project as well. But I've been told the production is so raw that is unlistenable). Here you'll get another unhealthy dose of their black-core with the same uber-raw production that I totally love! Not a lot of copies of this went around and I've been lucky enough to get also a couple of unreleased tracks recorded on it! That being said, the title track, "alba tragica", "notte di salem" and "I am the sign" turned out to be pretty solid tunes with all the trademark Saga elements but maybe with a bit more of metal and less hardcore influenced. "Marilou", a weird mid-paced, almost stoner rock tune, close the dances. The unreleased ones do not reach the same level of greatness so it's totally understandable why they had been cut off. All in all, a pretty solid follow up to "sexual lust", their masterpiece in my opinion.
Trivia note: on the lower left corner of "sexual lust" cover, you can notice a crushed box. It's from a very well-known biscuits brand from Valtellina, the valley where Saga came from as well.   

Hymn To Abramelin

Last week I went to the local record fair. My main goal was to conclude an already settled trade. Once the trade was done, I started lurking around the various crates. A first press of Blasphemy "fallen angel of doom", exposed on the wall of a stand that was mainly selling dad-rock, captured my attention. I decided to check it later since I thought there was no one around that could be interested in this particular record. After visiting a couple of overpriced dealers (300 € for a Declino ep in shitty conditions, lol), I went straight to the Blashemy one with no hurry at all. Of course, as soon as I arrived, I immediately noticed the record wasn't exposed anymore. Then I saw, right in front of me, a bloody metalhead buying it in that exact moment. Well, this time I've had to bite the bullet since it was nothing but my fault. As soon as the lucky bastard left, I started to talk with the dealer to only discover that the price was  good too, damn it! Then he told me "well, check these 3 crates, there's good stuff in here as well!". So I hopelessly started the process of flipping through endless piles of records. Of course there was nothing I was looking for so I gave up after the second crate. While I was quietly leaving, hoping of not being noticed, the guy told me loudly: "what, you don't check the last one?". I felt forced so I submissively went through it as well. While I was almost done with this crate as well, I finally found something I was looking for: a copy of Messiah "hymn to abramelin" with the red cover (it's the second press but I like it more than the first one on black). I briefly negotiated the price with the dealer so I ended up paying a fair price for it.

What can I say about this record? Perhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked band ever. Hailing from Switzerland and featuring a future member of the mighty Fear Of God, these guys got unfortunately overshadowed by Hellhammer/Celtic Frost. But in 1986 they released this monster of a debut album that was way ahead of its time. While there's still an undeniable slightly thrash influence going on, the main ingredients are definitely more closer to the first black metal wave and even proto-death metal, I'd dare to say. Something not too far from another classic album released during the same year on the other side of the globe: "Morbid Visions". With whom it shares also the same kind of raw production that would soon become a standard for the second wave of black metal. For sure a pioneering band that set the standard for the bands to come and still sounds relevant today. Too bad they never got the attentions they absolutely deserved.

Pulidores De Tumbas

I didn't want to buy this record at first. Their debut ep was good fast hardcore but nothing far away from your average hardcore band. Plus, I was scared that they turned "goth" like most of the mexican hardcore outputs of the last two years. And both artwork and title presumed that everything went exactly in that direction. But since it was released by SPHC, basically the only modern label that's releasing new bands I care about, I decided to give it a try. And I'm glad I did it since this is a huge improvement compared to "juvetud descerebrada". Sacrificio debut full length "pulidores de tumbas" has a perfect recording: everything is balanced smoothly so you can hear distinctly every instrument. The songwriting has improved a lot compared to the ep. It's an awesome riff after another. Like for Tercer Mundo, the only other modern mexican band I'd dare to compare to Sacrificio, they didn't rip off the classic mexican hc sound. They created their own style which is always a nice touch in an era where hc/punk has became an endless repetition of the usual boring clichés of the genre. I don't think I've heard another 2017 hardcore release that sounds so fresh without upsetting the rules of the game. A serious contender for the best lp of the year if you ask me.

The leader of the fuckin assholes

Not being a big fan of UK punk/hc bands in general, I've skipped the first two issues of Negative Insight'zine. But their third effort got my attention as soon as they mentioned its not so imminent publication over a year ago. I guess everyone was excited about it since it comes with the first official reissue of one of the most fundamental record ever: Skitslickers "GBG 82" 7". If you're reading this blog, I suppose you're already familiar with this unfuckwithable masterpiece so I wont waste your time with too many useless words. It's one of the top 5 best HC eps ever. Period. Also, I was happy with my late 90s bootleg of it so I didn't buy this for the record. I've bought it for the 'zine. Not the cheapest 'zine you'll find around for sure, but worth every penny. Pro-printed in full sized glossy paper, it comes also with a huge Skitslickers poster. Focused on the early 80s' Gotheburg scene, it shows through every page that the editor knows what's he's talking about and is very passionate about it. It starts with very good interviews with Absurd (although, I would have loved to discover more about the rumours of the singer becoming a priest!!) & Disarm. Then you'll get a lot of "behind the scene" pictures from photographer Sebastian Todor. But the cherry on the cake is of course the very long and in depth chat with Lasse, the singer of Skitslickers, where he goes into details about the concept behind the band and you'll discovered a lot of unexpected infos about their attitude. Then you'll get another long one with the other swedish hc institution: the mighty Anti-Cimex. Here drummer Charlie tells a lot about their eps days. Another highlight of NI#3 is the report of the infamous Anti-Cimex/Agoni Chainsaw tour of the UK that happened in 1986. All written by point of view of the organizer & various direct witnesses (including well-known names of the UK scene from back then) of every single date. All in all, a high quality publication that I'd strictly recommend to everyone out there. I think they pressed a lot of copies but I'd get it as soon as possible since this will be sold out quickly. Too bad the next issue will be again focused on something I don't care at all... 

GORE BEYOND NECROPSY interview 1992

Very early interview with japanese noise masters Gore Beyond Necropsy when they had just released a demo! Taken from japanese 'zine No Deception#3 from 1992. Arigatou to Jum for providing the goods once again!

Anal Cunt live at wilmers park 1993

While everybody was crazy about Nirvana and grunge, in 1994 me and a few selected friends worshipped Anal Cunt and their debut full length "everybody should be killed". Here's a full set of the kings of noisecore, captured on stage on the 19 of June 1993. RIP Seth Putnam.

888 Noise

There's no informations at all in the Control/Exithippies split 7" released by Paank Lyvet earlier this years. No song titles, no band logos on the cover. Nothing. Which is quite annoying. That being said, I'm glad that Control from Fukuoka are back! I'm pretty sure you've heard endless bands being compared to Confuse. Usually, most of this stuff is just utter crap. But Control is perhaps the band that nailed their city mates legendary sounds perfectly. 6 years has passed since their split with Stagnation and "live to distroy public places" ep came out. But I'm happy to say that their sound didn't evolve at all. Pure Confuse worship perfectly executed from the start to the end. Nothing more, nothing less. While the noisepunk trend faded away few years ago, these guys kept doing their own thing, not caring if it's hyped or not. One of the best band outta japan right now. On the other side, Exithippies. An unique band that usually leave me speechless. I like them when they play noisepunk, but I don't get it when they mix it with techno/electronic music. We tried to do something similar with my grind band in the mid/late 90s. It doesn't work, simply. Well, there's tons of people praising this band so maybe it's simple my problem. But if you want my 2 cents, this ep is worth for the Confuse, ooops, I meant Control side only.

Carrion For Worm

I still remember a copy of Nuclear Death second full length "carrion for worm" lp sitting for years in New Zabrinskie Point's metal section. While flipping through records, every time I bumped into it, I always stopped, grabbed it and stared at the cover. It had one of the ugliest yet intriguing artwork ever. It looked like it was drawn by a very disturbed 7 years old kid. Seriously, a creepy long haired dude with  a dead cat hanging on his belt that's ripping flesh out of what looks like a dying calf with a human face? And a worm shaped zombie looks at it while crawling out of the soil? They definitely knew how to get my attention. But this artwork was too disturbing for 16 years me so I always put it back and went through the rest of the crates. Then one day, while talking with the drummer of a local grindcore band from back then, he mentioned them as one of their main influences and started praising them. So next week I finally asked to the record shop owner to listen to it. I wasn't prepared for what came outta the speakers. This wasn't nor your average overproduced yankee technical death metal neither classic grindcore. Like the cover, the music was ugly, dirty and with one of the lowest production ever. I didn't like it immediately. It took me several years to finally understand and digest it. Nuclear Death was, and still is, the most unique band that came outta US in the early 90s. Fronted by Lori Bravo (perhaps the first female death metal singer ever?), this Arizona trio assembled some of the most original music at the time. While they never stand out for their musical ability, they created a dark and gloomy atmosphere by lowering down their sound as  much as possible. Compared to their debut album "bride of insect" that still show some thrash metal influences, here they tuned down their sound so much to create one of the most depraved atmosphere ever. The only other record that has the same vibe is perhaps Blasphemy "fallen angel of doom", another contemporary masterpiece also released by Wild Rags. Add to that also an original lyrical approach. While everyone was dealing with satanic, horror/gore or political stuff, Nuclear Death went for the darker side of the human mind, its most depraved ideas and perverted thoughts. Something as hard to deal with as their music and artwork. If the word "cult" has been definitely abused in the last few years, well Nuclear Death is absolutely a band that deserve this adjective & status. Scored this copy recently still sealed for a good price.

BANNLYST interview 1985

While looking for something else, I've stumbled into this old interview with Bannlyst. One of the best norwegian hardcore band ever. Interview taken from Guilty Face'zine#1 from 1985

Hombre: Oveja Negra Del Universo

Do obscure records still exist in 2017? For the better or worse, long gone are the days when a serious effort, time and lots of dedication were essential to  build a decent underground music knowledge. Now every goddamn record is virtually just a few clicks away from you. At this point, the concept of "obscure releases" must be completely reconsidered. And the mere fact that Nemesis "hombre: oveja negra del universo" 7" (originally self-released by the band back in 1987) has just been repressed, would probably answer to my question. If such a forgotten gem from Medellin got the repress treatment, even if in the limited quantity of 300 copies, it means there's a market for it. What once was a well-hidden secret among the collector nerds, now has been democratized for the masses. If this means I can no longer dream to find an OG first press for cheap, then I should be grateful to Epidemia Records for this reissue. Nemesis was a short lived band from Medellin that fits perfectly the ultrametal parameters. Think to a mix of Slayer & Celtic Frost, filter it via south american lo-fi metal production, and you got a solid release. Perhaps not on the same level of greatness of Parabellum, Reencarnacion or even Astaroth, but we're not too far from it. Apparently Epidemia also reprinted the band demo on cd but for some reasons I completely missed it. A must have for all the ultrametal and south american metal fans in general. But stay away if you can't deal with lo-fi production and tons of rawness!

The A.B.C.'s of Noisecore

A is for Anal, B is for Butt and C is for Cunts. Body cavities always had an important role in naming noisecore bands. Glad to see new bands keeping this important tradition healthy & alive. Here we got indeed Cunts from japan sharing a slab of wax with Anal Butt from USA. SPHC delivers again some noisecore at its best (or worst, it just depends on your point of view). Cunts from tokyo have been around for over a decade and they are part of that peculiar japanese tradition of making noisecore with only vocals delivered via a special microphone that also unleashes a wall of feedback noise & drums. Nikudorei and World indeed immediately come to mind while listening to their side. If noisecore is already a minimalist style, Cunts reduced it to its mere bones. An aural assault that's the equivalent of a caveman hitting a skull with some femurs while simultaneously screaming his guts out. Simply brilliant. Anal Butt from baltimore, who of course won the prize for the best band name ever, are more traditional. Stick clicks, blast beats and noise for 10 or even less seconds. Repeat it for a copious amount of time, close the record with a hardcore stomper, et voilà. We got a masterpiece. No metallic bullshit here, just plain ol'noisecore the way it's supposed to be played, like the forefathers of the genre taught us almost 30 years ago. No song titles for both bands, a cover that would embarrass your girlfriend (or should I better say your mom, since chances you got a girlfriend while listening to this kind of stuff are close to zero) make this even more a modern classic. Considering that it's the debut on vinyl for both bands, I got high expectations for the future! Only 300 pressed.

As Statues Fall

They must have printed the wrong logo on the cover, that's the only reasonable explanation. A band composed by Joe Denunzio, Matt Domino and Bob Deep Six is essentially the Infest recent line up minus Chris Dodge. I don't know why they have chosen to release this ep under the Exit Unit monicker and, honestly, I don't even care. This is the new Infest ep and it bloody rules. Unlike the last Infest ep "days turn back", which was rejected songs from "no man's slave" recording session, these are all brand new tracks composed and recorded between 2011 and 2015. The sound is crispy and powerful, all the trademark elements that made Infest one of the best hardcore band ever are all here. Those guys are unstoppable. Not only they are touring everywhere in the world, they've been also able, in their late 40s, to assemble the BEST ep of the year. On side A we got eight perfect powerviolence butcheries, played like only the godfathers of this genre can do and dressed with some of the most negative lyrics I've read in recent times. Side B, to maintain another Infest tradition alive, has a long midpaced instrumental stomper that will make you want to smash your head against the wall again and again. This record is basically the most awesome riff ever, instantly outclassed by the following one, for the whole time it lasts. I was about to say that the current state of HC is quite sad if a bunch of old fat dudes has just released the ep of the decade. But, honestly, I don't care. It's nothing new of course but when you've invented a new sub-genre more than 25 years ago and you're still able to nail it down perfectly, you've won everything.    

For The Security

Let's talk about a forgotten jewel from the golden era of swedish death metal: Carbonized debut full length "for the security", released by Thrash Records outta france back in 1991. Considering that it's one of the best five album EVER that came from that scene and that Lars Rosemberg from Entombed and Christoffer Johnsson of Therion were part of the band, I cannot really understand why people don't praise it like they should. My guess is that this album is quite peculiar for your average death metal fan. It doesn't follow strictly the classic swedish death metal formula, it goes beyond it. It's full of blast beats (making Carbonized probably the first swedish grind band ever?), riffs are way far from the classic swedish DM recipes and there are a lot of tempo changes and weird song structures in general. The final result is something unique in its greatness. Death/grind with an almost psichedelic vibe going on for the whole album. If you can image a weird mix of Nihilist, Repulsion & Voivod, then you'll get a vague idea of how Carbonized sound. If they were on a bigger label than Thrash, they would have probably gotten all the attention they deserved. Essential classic. Scored this copy easily and for a very good price, too. Later stuff is too weird for my taste, but this and debut 7" are mandatory!

CROSSED OUT interview

Great and informative posthumous interview with californian powerviolence legends Crossed Out. Taken from Bloody Ways 'zine #1 from 201?

Sangue Inutile

If you happen to dig a bit in the the early 80s' hc/punk scene from my hometown, Kobra is one of those name that, sooner or later, will pop up. It's one of those quite obscure bands that's mainly known between the collector nerds for their only release, 1985's "corri nel sangue dei tuoi nemici" (run in the blood of your enemies) self-released 7". Like it frequently happens, obscure doesn't necessarily mean great. It's like how Wretched would have sounded if they had a poor guitar work and were influenced by bad metal. Not even the fantastic cover could save that ep from its mediocrity. Apart from that, Kobra are mainly known for their 1983 UK tour with Wretched. Recently I was reading in General Speech #9 about a great live recording captured during that aforementioned tour. I usually avoid live recordings but this one intrigued me. I've asked around but since I'm not cool enough in the tape trading circuit, I couldn't get my hands on it. Then this bootleg ep, pragmatically titled "live queen's walk community centre nottingham 13 aug 83" surfaced in a distro. Recording is of course raw but not bad at all for being captured on stage. What really surprised me is that you can hear a completely different band here. While "corri nel sangue..." totally lacks of the trademark urgency of italian hardcore, songs here are more energic, faster and direct compared to the material they released 2 years later. It reminds a lot the Wretched side of their legendary split with Indigesti. All the eight songs featured here were also completely unknown to me. Perhaps material for a demo that unfortunately never got recorded? Anyhow, this bootleg re-evaluated completely Kobra in my books. A great piece of history for Milano and 80s italian hardcore in general.

Seasons Are Going And Going...And Lives Goes On

A couple of weeks ago, while I was listening to the recent SPHC repress on wax of Final Exit 2008 "seasons are going and going...and lives goes on" 3"cd, my partner suddenly came in the room. While she sporadically appreciates some hc/punk music, she usually hates grind/death/noise and everything in the middle. To my surprise she said: "I like this band. Who are they? They remind me Melt Banana. No wait, how was called that John Zorn band?". "Naked City", I promptly answered with my heart full of pride. "Yeah, Naked City! They sound like them". And I think she nailed it perfectly. It would be indeed too reductive to tag this album, and this japanese duo in general, simply as a noisecore band. 

I've been enjoying Final Exit since they released their first split eps in the mid 90s. They've always been an unique band that was able throw in their low-fi noisecore assault a lot of weird and unexpected parts. But on "seasons are going and going...and lives goes on" they've outdone themselves to assemble their masterpiece. In barely 10.30 minutes, they melted perfectly their aural decimation with NWOBHM, Death Metal, HC/Punk, Pop, Doom, Surf, Rock, Industrial and Jazz parts. While they've obviously taken clue from Anal Cunt and Meat Shits (they are indeed named after the last ones), both Hisao and Ryohei are excellent musicians who could play whatever genre they wanted but consciously choose to stay loyal to their roots and keep gracing us with their wonderful noisecore. They've been able also to avoid the usual clichés of the genre: "SAGAGALGO" is a twelve tracks concept album about the flowing of the time. Tracks are named after the 12 months and the artwork reproduces perfectly the four panels of the cd version. It's housed in a full-coloured gatefold cover with a beautiful picture to represent each season. SPHC has given this reissue all the attention and quality it needed.

Muerte Convencional

Recently I've been finally able to cross off from my wantlist one of my mexican top wants. I've scored it again from that endless pit of insanely hard to find south american records that is my friend Jum's collection. I'm talking about the Desgarracion Brutal/ Regimen Democratico split 7", the only vinyl effort by both bands (DB also released a demo tape). Released in 1992 by Producciones Septima Regione (a label run by the Hereja guys), this might not be as well known as other mexican punk/hardocore classicos, but it's on the same level of greatness. Both bands offer two tracks each. DB are the undisputed winner here, uber brutal & wild mexican hardcore with guttural vocals in the vein of Atoxxxico or M.E.L.I. This sounds way better than their demotape. Regimen Democratico plays a more controlled & predictable style of hardcore/punk, but still with an unquestionable mexican flavor. Solid band as well. Scored this copy in immaculate conditions for a great price. The artwork looks like it has been draw by a 8 years kid and I love it for this reason. An awesome split that should be in every south american hardcore fanatic's collection, good luck finding one!

Privilege Of Evil

Some saturday afternoon of 1993 I was, as usual, digging through New Zabrinskie Point's grind/ death/ black metal lps crate, looking for a way to spend the few money I've saved during the week. Instead of buying bus tickets or food, I used to save every lira I got to buy an lp during the weekend. I had just discovered death metal a few months earlier and everything was new and exciting to me and my friends. We usually bought records basing ourselves solely on how cool an album cover was or on the sporadic suggestion of older metalheads that were lurking around the shop. I bumped into a copy of Amorphis debut lp "the karelian isthmus" and was immediately intrigued by it. I liked the logo & the artwork and the guys on the back cover looked cool as fuck. Then I timidly asked to Stiv (the shop owner) if he could play it for me. While he usually blasted only Oi! or hardcore bands (and I've always suspected he hated metal in general), he was always extremely kind and friendly and played whatever we asked him. After the melancholic intro, "the gathering" erupted in all its slow brutality and a few seconds later I was immediately a devoted fan of this unknown finnish band. Flash forward to one year later. As soon as I found they just released a new album titled "tales of the thousand lakes", I immediately bought it. Of course again on vinyl simply 'coz back then they were cheaper than cds. Loved every single notes out of it just like every one else. While being weird and experimental, it was still brutal as fuck death metal! Expectation for the following album were of course high but when "elegy" came out in 1996, I was extremely disappointed. It wasn't metal enough for me and I simply lost interest in the band.

Recently I've been playing Amorphis first two full lengths a lot. While checking their discography on discogs, I've discovered their ep from 1993 titled "privilege of evil" that I've never heard of back then. It has just being reissued by Relapse in 2013 for the very first time on vinyl. After a quick listening on youtube, I immediately ordered a copy. While it came out one year after "the karelian isthmus", it has been originally recorded one year before it and was supposed to be a split lp with Incantation (!!). Here Amorphis doomish death metal was extremely raw and the melodies that characterized their sound were just outlined. The result indeed is not too far from other finnish death metal institutions from the same era (Demigod, Convulse & Disgrace above all). Three of these tracks are indeed a rougher version of songs that would be featured on their debut full length. Cherry on top, an Abhorrence cover, "vulgar necrolatry" with Jukka Kolehmainen (Abhorrence singer) doing vocals!! While you basically get only 2 unreleased tracks, this is an essential listening for all early finnish death metal maniacs! 

FINAL EXIT (japan) interview 1996

Japanese premiere crazy noisecore heroes. 20+ years later, they're still around! Short but informative interview from their early days. Taken from Coroner's Report #3 from 1996.

Excrete Your Own Shit!

Time to fill in some embarrassing gaps in my collection of two heavyweights of 90s grindcore. You know them since I've talked a lot about them in this blog: Warsore & GBN. Let's start with the australian undisputed kings of grindcore. Their split with Nee!, released in 1997 by Mortville Rec. was the last piece I needed to complete my Warsore collection (well, not considering all the posthumous releases that keep coming out). Scored it for cheap from a swedish dealer. Here these melbourne hillbillies have been captured at their peak: everything is balanced so perfectly without being overproduced that the final result is probably one of their best studio performance ever. Can't praise this band enough. As far as I know, this is their only release that came on coloured wax (or was the lathe cut with Egrogsid on clear?). On the other side,  dutch noisegrind  band Nee! pales in comparison. Poorly recorded and badly mixed (drums are way too high!!), they are just another number in the endless list of forgettable bands. 

I've been listening to Gore Beyond Necropsy a lot lately and since I still enjoy them as much as I did 20 years ago, I've decided it was about time to finally complete my collection. I've started with their split with tasmania's Egrogsid, released by Dry Retch twentyone  years ago. GBN was and still is one of the most extreme noisecore band ever. Started as another mere Carcass clone, they quickly morphed, or I'd better say mutated, into something deformed, scary & unique. Their ultra downtuned putrid sound, surrounded by a constant wall of feedback noise, mixed with some of the lowest growls ever and insanely fast drumming shaped what has become their trademark sound. Here they still used a drum machine and it fits perfectly in the gloomy atmosphere they created, making these eleven tracks sounding even more extreme. Not only GBN were a true aural butchery, their records also always looked damn cool. They had one of the most putrid logo (and band name) ever, all their artworks were dark and filthy and they used the coolest font ever for all their inserts/backcovers. No band pics were in their releases, adding more mystery to surround these japanese maniacs. The only one I saw in the 90s was a very blurry one featured in a zine. They simply built the perfect iconography for the putrid noise they played. Eighteen years old me was impressed just as much as forty years old me still is. Egrogsid performance on the other side aint bad at all. Filthy grindcore not too dissimilar to Warsore (with whom they shared some members). Overall, a very solid split release!

Shotgun

Over the years, there has never been too much bands outta Rome that caught my interest. The roman scene always seemed to me more youth crew & Oi! oriented. And I've never developed any interest in these two sub-genres. That being said, there are a couple of classic roman bands from the early 80s that played pure hardcore in the classic crazy italian style. One of them is Shotgun Solution. The best HC band that ever came outta the capital city. They released only a four songs EP titled "shotgun" in 1983 on High Rise Production. Simply a masterpiece. High-octane, fast & unpredictable hardcore that resembles a bit Negazione but, like all the italian bands from the golden era, simply sounds unique. Scored this record via a trade with a guy that I've met a few times at some gigs more than 10 years ago and then completely lost touch with him. Ahhh, the internet era! Cover has seen better days but this is what I call "italian EX conditions". For some reasons it's almost impossible to score local hc classic that weren't used to party hard back then...

Demo Tapes 1991-1995

As far as I remember, there has always been an inappropriate use of the term "noisecore". I still have vivid memories of me & my friends going to this anarchist squat in milano in the mid/late '90s to see a gig of unknown bands tagged on a flyers as noisecore. It turned out to be kinda of grunge bands with some feedbacks a la Sonic Youth. Needless to say we were all quite disappointed. Then it was used to describe crappy metalcore bands in the early 00s'. That kind of popular shit that was on Hydrahead Records. In more recent years I've seen it used also to describe noisy hardcore influenced by Kyushu bands. Stuff like Control, Isterismo & the likes. Not totally inappropriate but "noisepunk" is a more appropriate word to describe this scene. Indeed, true noisecore has to follow quite strict parameters: songs must be ultra-short, uber-distorted & with blast beats, lo-fi production & the "singer" must screams his guts out like a dying pig. It has to be released on split 7"s or, even better, DIY tapes. Bands attitude must be radical and dogmatic. This is what true noisecore is all about. Perhaps the only underground subgenre that has never turned mainstream and probably never will. And Noise outta Brazil fits perfectly these rules. They are indeed one of the undisputed pioneers of this style, being active since 1991. As the title suggests, this lp compiles the early demo tapes from this incredible band. Not only their music is radical and truly applies to the "caos non musica" mantra, their political attitude is even more drastic. They indeed follow a hardline anti-capitalistic politics so the only way to get their records/tapes was via trade. Even if you can actually buy this lp, they would be proud of me for getting my copy via a trade that I did with Dan/SPHC. So glad they did this reissue since, while their vinyl outputs are quite easy to find, the early tapes are extremely difficult to get. Not for everyone, but if 7MON, early Cripple Bastards, GBN and similars are constantly on your playlist, you won't be disappointed. 

Mutha Records flyers

Here's some awesome flyers (stolen from the net) of one of my fave american hardcore label ever: the mighty Mutha Records! Also a couple of old articles/reviews of Chronic Sick masterpiece...

Severed Survival

I think I've already mentioned here the big metal records purge I did in 2001. One of my biggest regret ever. Anyhow, a dozen metal records that meant something special to me avoided it. One of them was my copy of Autopsy debut full length "severed survival" released by Peaceville around 1989. To be more accurate, a copy of the second press from 1990 with the different (and way better IMO!) artwork. One of my fave death metal album ever, that I bought in the early 90s' from the legendary Stiv Rottame's New Zabrinskie Point record shop in Milano. This record survived several minor purges until 2014. Had to sell it in order to buy a more expensive record. Regretted it immediately, of course. Recently I've decided that it was time for it to come back in my collection. Found a copy for the same price I had sold mine and it was even in better conditions!

 1989 was a crucial year for death metal. It erupted from the underground to become a recognized genre worldwide. And Autopsy debut album can be included for sure in a top ten of death metal album from that seminal year that had a huge role in shaping and defining this new way of playing metal. Like everything that came out in a creative and experimental period, it has its own unique putrid sound that makes it a masterpiece. Of course songwriting is not yet your formulaic and boring US brutal death metal formula. It's a mix of death metal and doom, all dressed with perverted gory lyrics. A masterpiece, all superbly packed in a sick artwork and a printed dustsleeve with one of the coolest collage of pictures of the band.

Latino America

I'm a dysfunctional record collector. Over the years, I've started tons of collections. But I've never managed to finish a single one. Usually, I get obsessed with something else and simply forgot about the rest. As the new year started, like everyone else, I made a list of goals for 2017. Of course most of these good purposes will be forgotten soon, but I'll try to achieve at least one: to finally complete my Medellin hardcore '89-'93 collection. I've been working on it for more than 10 years and at this point I just miss a few eps. But these records ain't neither easy to find nor cheap. So, when I found someone selling one of my colombian top wants on a messageboard for a honest price, I simply couldn't pass it. Few days later, Rasix "latino america" 7" was finally mine. I almost got another copy a few years ago but the seller retracted last minute. Glad it went that way. This one is a stock copy from an old distro, cover is in great shape and it comes with the rare insert. "Latino America" was released in 1990, just one year after their split 7" with Sociedad Violenta. But it marks a huge step forward, both in songwriting and production. Songs are indeed better written and the sound is way more powerful here. Yet, all these six tracks are catchy and memorable. If you're not familiar with Rasix, don't expect ultradistorted proto-noisecore a la Imagen or Restos de Tragedia. They're more meat & potato (or should I better say rice & beans) straight forward "vieja escuela" hardcore in the vein of I.R.A. Nonetheless, excellent band. 

According to the insert, this was released by a mysterious label named Lufer Records, even if everyone claim it has been self-released by the band. Maybe was it their own label? As you can see, the copy I got has pink labels. I've just seen another copy like this. All the others have orange labels. Considering that there are at least two presses of the Rasix/Sociedad Violenta split ep, it wouldn't be a surprise to discover that there were two pressings also of this ep. But that's part of the beauty of collecting south-american records: informations are scarce and rare, just like the records themselves...

Tales of a pretentious asshole#006

Last time I did a "tales of a pretentious asshole" post was more than 2 years ago! Time flies. And, honestly, I wasn't inspired enough to do another one until today. Anyhow, vol. #006 will be about a quite obscure mexican band from early/mid '90s, Revolucion X. Nothing cult or extremely rare that goes for big bucks in these days (indeed, you can cop both these eps for quite cheap!), but a very good & unique band that in my opinion deserves more attention. Plus, there isn't a lot of infos about them out there. I can't even figure out from which mexican city they came from (my guess is DeEfe/Mexico City) since there isn't a contact address in both eps to get in touch with the band directly. 

Their self-titled debut ep was released in 1994 by french label New Wave Records (same label that gave us Ataque Frontal ep) in collaboration with other french labels. It starts with a sample of the EZLN (zapatist army of national liberation) declaration of war from 1993 (also printed on the big fold-out cover) and has Pancho Villa on the cover. Yeah, Revolucion X was a very politicized band which is something you should expect from a mexican hardcore band. But instead of talking about the typical boring hc clichés, their lyrics were about the real political situation in mexico and south america. They also threw in a good dose of humour which is always a winning point. Also they don't sound very mexican: vocals are snotty & nasal like a californian band, few songs are quite melodic and the sound generally is more raw & sharp than dark & downtuned. Not sure how many were printed but it's easy to find for around 5 eurobucks.

During 1995 Lengua Armada and Armia Records both from Chicago joined forces to release the best Revolucion X effort: "Politica Y Esparcimiento..." 7". Housed in a folded cardboard with logo stamped in front and a beautiful artwork glued in the back cover, songs included here are simply perfect: 10 fast, brief and direct nightstick hits of pure hardcore madness. Vocalist seems to spit a thousand words every second. Guitar sound is abrasive, drummer plays fast for all the time. Yet, every song is still catchy and memorable. Awesome release. It includes some great hits like "I love mexican tv", "salinas asesino" & their mastepiece "julio iglesias disecado"! Again, they mixed political lyrics with dummie ones perfectly. This goes for something around 10€, so I think they printed no more than 1000 copies...

The band was supposed to record another EP but unfortunately it never happened. I've been told by a reliable source that also a tape (demo?) exists but it's super rare. Here's a RX discography that I've put together. Considering the lack of informations that surrounds this band, feel free to share any other infos in the comment section!

-"Canciones Electorales" tape, 199?, self-released?

-"Revolucion X" 7", 1994, New Wave Records

-"Politica Y Esparcimiento" 7", 1995, Lengua Armada/ Alarma Records