SHAM PAIN interview 1993

MRR interviews are often boring and quite generic to say at least. And this one ain't an exception unfortunately. That being said, I don't think there are many interview with SHAM PAIN, probably the best hc band ever from Puerto Rico, out there. So enjoy it. Taken from MRR#119, april 1993

2010-2019 TOP TEN

Like any true record nerd out there, I do love top ten lists. Could I miss the opportunity to write a end of the decade one? Afterall, it only happens every ten years. Hence a good reason to reanimate my now defunct blog.

In 2010 I was 33 years old and still trying to check out as much new bands as I could. 10 years later, I've almost lost interest in new bands and I'm generally listening to old music only. After being into, for a lack of better words, extreme music for almost three decades, I guess it's a natural process. Everything has already be done way better years ago. The hardest part of writing down this list was indeed the new releases part. I'm not totally out of touch but most of the time I gave a chance to the flavor of the month, I usually got disappointed quickly. 

That being said, people are still able to write good music for fuck's sake! For sure the 10s' won't be remembered as the most innovative decade ever, but at least something interesting has been released. I'm also pretty sure I've missed out awesome and incredible new bands, so feel free to fill up my gaps!

NEW RELEASES
-V.A. "¡Brutales Matanzas!" lp (2010, Cintas Pepe Records)

The debut release of what would soon became a cult label was a compilation lp. Full of new and obscure bands from Mexico and Perù. What might sound like a financial suicide to many, turned out to be the most solid compilation of the decade and proved that south america scene is still healthy and strong.

-FOGNA "s/t" 7" (2010, Bat Shit Records)

Ok this was released as a demo in 2009 but it was put on wax the following year so I've decided to include it anyway. Straight outta Sicily, gloomy and pessimistic hc deeply rooted in the golden era of our penisula tradition, perfectly mixed with some goth/post punk. A true gem, I still hope their "Paura Nella Città Dei Morti Viventi" ep will see the light one day.

-ネメシス (NEMESIS) ‎"慟哭 (Dou-Koku)" 7" (2011, Ratbone/ Flower Of Carnage/ Solar Funeral)

A truly underrated japanese future classic. If this was recorded in the late 80s', it would have been another must-have from Selfish Records. It sounds like a rabid inbreed between Nightmare and Kuro. Perhaps being a shortlived band didn't help their legacy. Check also their second ep which is equally good.

-PEOPLE "Fairy Tale" lp (2012, Damaging Noise Records)

Between late 00s' and early '10s, noisepunk became trendy and suddenly all the smelly crusties started playing this style. Japan of course had the best bands. But most of these bands didn't age well to my ears. Of course I like my hardcore chaotic and noisy but when you're focused only on distortion, you forgot to write good tunes. People from Fukuoka instead followed the path traced by the Swankys and assembled a very remarkable album. Too bad it came out on a dodgy american label that ripped many people off.

-GUTTERGODS "Innersense" lp (2013, Cool Death Records)

When hardcore has became generic and predictable, these aussie weirdos managed to break all the rules and assemble an unique album that sounds like nothing you've listened to until now. Early Agnostic Front meets Christian Death meets Leftovers? Yes, please.

-INFERNOH "7 Spar E.P." lp (2013, D Takt & Rapunk Records)

Sweden kept unleashing tons of great bands paying homage to their ancestors. But no one managed to do it better than Infernoh. Brutal kang punk with memorable tunes and catchy riffs. A future classic for sure!

-FRAMTID "Defeat Of Civilization" lp (2013, LVEUM/ Crust War/ Black Water)

Framtid finally released their second full length and we all immediately understood that all the noisepunk or crashercrust (I hate this term) released during the hype of the genre was totally useless and forgettable. While producing a wall of noise, Framtid proved again that your songs can also be memorable. Since Kawakami is gone, these guys had no competitors.  

-TERCER MUNDO "Ser Nosotros Mismo" lp (2014, Cintas Pepe Records)

This was one of the first band that kept coming to my mind when I started thinking about this list. While their debut ep is equally good, I've opted for the lp since it has a slightly better production. But it's still the perfect mix of rawness, political awareness and, at the same time, catchyness that make south american hardcore unique. And Tercer Mundo were absolutely the best at doing it. Que viva hardcore!

-経血 (Keiketsu) "Scapegoat" cd (2017, Hikan Label)

I've only discovered this band recently hence not owning this album yet (but the lp reissue is on my way). It was love at first sight, er...listen. Total on point The Comes and The Nurse worship with an ADK touch. I can't get enough of this shit! 

-OUTRE TOMBE "Necrovortex" lp (2018, Temple Of Mystery Records)

This decade saw me going back to my first love: death metal. The old school one, of course. While most of the modern bands weren't able to capture my attention, Outre Tombe second album instead was an instant winner to my ears. They sound like a perfect mix between two of my favourite bands ever: Bolt Thrower and Autopsy. Throw in that they "sing" in french, the most delicate and less brutal language ever, and somehow it bloody works! 

Honorable mentions: ANTIMOB both lp, EXIT UNIT 7", PSICOGALERA 7", CUNTS/ ANAL BUTT split 7", CONTROL/ EXITHIPPIES split 7", INNUMERABLE FORMS lp, SACRIFICIO lp, PERVERTED CEREMONY lp,, MUSTANG lp, URBANOIA first 7", EXACERBACION 7", TEARGAS lp, HIMEI eps, LARMA lp, ROCKY & THE SWEDENS lp

REISSUES

Ok, I've cheated here since I've posted 11 records but it was impossible to cut any of these. There have been tons of excellent reissues during this decade so it was pretty hard to decide what to include and what to exclude. Tons of mediocre stuff has been kept on print over the years but there were some classics that for some obscure reasons managed to get a proper reissue treatment only recently (Gauze albums are the perfect example). Plus there are some super obscure records that are almost impossible to find that finally got properly reissued. I think my list is a mix of both:

-ZOUO "The Final Agony" 7" (2011, Crust War)
-SAGATRAKAVASHEN "Sexual Lust" 7" (2013, Umbrella Records)
-THE FIX "Vengeance/ Jan's Rooms" 2x7" (2014, Touch & Go)
-VA "Rodrigo D. No Futuro" lp (2015, Beat Generation)
-ASTAROTH "Guerra De Metal" 7" (2016, Epidemia Records)
-SHITLICKERS "GBG 1982" 7" (2017, Negative Insight Fanzine)
-NURSE "discography 1983.1984" lp (2017, LVEUM)
-ATOXXXICO "Punks De Mierda" 7" (2017, F.O.A.D. Records)
-GAUZE lps (2017, XXX Records) 
-CONVULSE "World Without God" 2lp (2018, Svart Records)
-ソドム (SODOM) ‎"聖レクイエム" lp + 7" (2018, F.O.A.D. Records)

LIVE SHOWS
I'm old and jaded. Most of my old friends moved to something else many years ago. Gigs in italian squats still start way too late and are usually filled with way too many crappy opening bands. I don't like being in overcrowded place. Yeah, I didn't attend that many shows during this decade. These days, I can persuade my lazy ass to go out for a live show only if there's a band that I do really like. Anyhow, I've still managed to see some great live action:

-NERORGASMO
-BLASPHEMY
-IRON MAIDEN
-DEATHSIDE
-MUSTANG
-MORTUARY DRAPE
-IMPACT
-GOBLIN
-TERRORIZER
-RADIO BIRDMAN

Sistema Para La Violencia

When Discogs surfaced in the record market, I've immediately quit using eBay for buying. I was tired of auctions that ended for way more than the real value of a record, shill bidding and all the other bullshits you had to deal with the infamous auction site. In its early days, Discogs seemed to be a more fair place to buy rare records from. Almost everything was priced honestly and you didn't have to deal with boring bid fights anymore. Like all the good things, it didn't last for too long. Once a record was sold for a high price, the next copies were of course priced way more expansive. It didn't matter if they were in worse conditions or missed something. Prices skyrocked over the last 10 years. And to say fair grading disappered is an understatement. But, overall, it seems like good deals online are still out there if you are patient. Recently a first press of Herpes "medellin" 7" popped up for an extremely good price. It was from a new seller with zero feedback and  it was graded VG/G+ so I was a bit sceptical about the real conditions. But the price was too good not to take a chance. Not only the record took only three days to land in my mailbox but, to my surprise, it was one of those rare cases when a record is not simply conservatively graded, it's totally undergraded! While I was expecting something totally thrashed & partied and a few pops and tons of surface noise were expected at least, it turned out to be in pristine conditions and it plays perfectly. Couldn't ask for more, especially for one of my most sought-after records of the last 10+ years. I've already talked about this EP here, so I won't waste more words about it. I'll just add that it was a real pain in the ass to find a proper plastic sleeve for the stupid oversized cover. Never understood why colombian bands/labels printed such big covers....
At this point I've almost completed my medellin hc/punk collection. I just miss 5 eps. Please get in touch if you can help, I'd love to finish it this year.

GRIEF interview 2000

Not a huge fan of sludge but I do really enjoy the big names from the 90s. And Grief, along with Corrupted, were the undisputed kings of this sub-genre back then. Taken from #2 of canadian 'zine Infection that came out around 2000.

Ruido Unidad Ideologia

You know, a scene is solid when even an obscure compilation that totally lacks of the classic big names is flawless. V.A. "Ruido Unidad Ideologia" lp, presumably self-released by the bands in 1991, is the perfect example of the aforementioned theory. I've been praising old & modern mexican hardcore for a long time, but this compilation explains it all. Like old italian hc/punk, all the bands from this scene sound unique and with that peculiar urgency that makes a hc band great. Even the most obscure ones. Here are featured four bands with 3 tracks each: Clamor Inexorable, KK Core, Libertad Para Todos & Adictos Al Ruido. Not only this is the only appearance on wax for all of them. It's also their only release ever. I know KK Core put out a killer demo and I've been told that there's an Adictos Al Ruido rehearsal tape flowing around (if you have more infos, please share them!). But this lp is the only official artefact left for the posterity. Yet, all the four bands featured here bloody rule. Not only they rule, they all also have a peculiar sound that don't make them sound like the clone of any other of their contemporary country mates. One of my fave compilation ever, glad I finally scored a copy for a decent price. Not sure about the pressing infos, but I've been told recently that almost all mexican old records were pressed in a quantity of 1000 copies since the pressing plants wouldn't simply press in lesser number. Comes with a nice inserts with all the infos you need.

Colhendo Desespero

Not for everyone. You've probably seen this sentence often associated with bands, labels or zines that wanted to give themselves a trve underground aura. You know, just to give you the feeling you're part of something special & exclusive. But, in an era where both punk/hc & extreme metal have been decontextualized and deprived of their original meaning to become another meaningless product for insecure teens looking out for an easy rebellious identity, it just sounds like mere posturing. Although, it still fits in perfectly for a band like Putrefacao Humana. Here we are entering in one of the darkest corner of brazilian noisecore underground. A very obscure band from the early 90s that's almost unlistenable. And when I say this, I mean that this trio makes bands like Ulster, Necrobutcher or Noise sound overproduced and polished. Shit-fi recording and noise not music attitude at their worst (or best, according to your point of view). Before being repressed on wax for the first and only time three years ago, "Colhendo Desespero" was originally released as a demo tape in 1994 and, according to the artwork, it features 85 tracks. But, unlike more "organized" noise bands like Anal Cunt or GBN(!!), here you can't really say when a track start and finishes. It's just a blurred mess 'till side one ends. Then, you'll flip it to side B and it's again an aural butchery until the end. Honestly, everything is so messed up and confused that it can only make you say: "what the fuck is going on here?". But that's part of the charm of it: while their resources were obviously very limited, they still put so much passion and energy in what they were doing to make the final result epic. This was pressed in a limited quantity of 300 copies and it's still available out there. But, seriously, it's not for everyone. It's just for the true noisecore fanatics!

Desastre Humano

Last summer I visited Nicaragua. While organizing our trip, I realized that my knowledge of this country's scene started & ended with Sacred Reich "surf nicaragua" 12" (great song, btw). I've asked to some internet nerds who seem to know every obscure band from the most remote places on earth with no success. On the process of trying to get any infos, I've ended up chatting with this guy from Costa Rica on instagram. He knew jackshit about nicaraguan scene but at least he introduced me to Flor De Cana (the best Rum from there) for which I of course developed an addiction as soon as I landed in Managua. He also got me curious about Costa Rica so I started looking around for good bands from there as well. One of my first discover was grindcore band Exacerbacion. When I saw they had an ep on SPHC, I knew I must check them out. Flash forward to 6 months later, and I've finally managed to get a copy of their "Desastre Humano" 7". This is old school grindcore the way it was supposed to be played: songs are fucking memorable, not just mere blast beats & virtuosity bullshit. Music is raw and brutal but, on the other side, they keep it simple and direct and, most importantly, they have great catchy riffs as well, if that makes any sense when we are talking about grindcore. Kinda like Terrorizer, if you got my point. These guys have been releasing tapes & records in the underground scene for 10 years but, since they are not coming from a cool western country, they are not getting the recognition they definitely deserve. And that's a shame, since this is some of the best grindcore I've listened to in the last 10 years. So do yourself a favour and check them out since Exacerbacion simply rules!

Danger Situation

Αντίδραση"Κατάσταση Κινδύνου". No, I'm not trying to improve the intellectual level of this blog by throwing down random greek letters to get rid of you dumb punks. I'm talking about one of the highlights of the greek punk/hardcore scene: Antidrasi (reaction) debut lp "Κατάσταση Κινδύνου" (danger situation). The greek scene has always been not well-known outside of their borders. I guess  the main reason was the language barrier: their peculiar alphabet made it simply impossible for non-greek speaking fans to remember the band's names. Nonetheless, in the early 80s' greece had a strong punk scene with incredibly solid bands such as Stress or Γενιά Του Χάους (Chaos Generation). While hardcore was already sprouting all around europe, over there it erupted only around mid/late 80s'. One of the first band doing it was Antidrasi. Their 1989 debut ep "Αίμα Στους Δρόμους" (blood in the streets), released by Wipe Out! Records, is unanimously recognized as the very first hardcore slab of wax that ever came outta greece (one of my TOP WANT, by the way). Their debut full length was released the following year on the same label and it's a milestone: rough, without compromises and energic HC with a sound and songwriting that remind a lot hc/punk bands from mexico & south america from the very same period. You know I'm a sucker for this kind of sound so I immediately felt in love for Antidrasi as soon as I discovered them recently (never paid attention to the greek scene until recently, shame on me!). The artwork features a zombie-cop with a greek flag dripping blood so, even if you don't understand a single word of their lyrics, it's not too hard to figure out that they are not talking about tzatziki or moussakà. Greece has always had a strong political protest tradition (as we saw as well in recent years), so of course it's not a big surprise that its punk/hc bands are extremely political.

There are three presses of this record: the first one from comes with a 'zine, 2 posters and stickers (if you can provide scans, please get in touch); a repress from the same year without inserts and different labels (the one I got) and a third and final press from 1993 on red wax. I've got mine for very cheap so it's not that hard to find a copy for a good price if you look around...

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