VIOLENT MINDS interview 2007

Here's an excellent interview with one of the best USHC band from the previous decade. Taken from Dumb Hardcore#1 from 2007 if I remember correctly. It contains probably the best tour story ever printed in a hardcore fanzine.

RIP Mark Harvey

Just heard today that Mark Harvey, bassist of my favourite grind band ever Warsore, passed away on tuesday. I've been a fan since I got their demo back in '96 from Giulio The Bastard old distro. I've always been such a fan that I've interviewed him in both my old zines. The last one, from 2003, it's up here. Warsore was the very first band that started my still-going-on interest for australian hardcore. I've exchanged a few mails with Mark over the years and we ended up doing some record trades (I still have the Die Kruzen "s/t" lp that I got from him for my copy of Massacre "from beyond"). He was a record collector too and introduced me to tons of awesome aussie stuff. I've tried to meet him when I was in Melbourne in '06 but unfortunately he replied when I wasn't anymore in town. A truly grind legend. Rest in peace, mate.

20/09 update: went thru a box of old letters and I've found a couple I got from Mark. Here's the one about the aforementioned trade plus a Warsore flyer that was still inside another letter:

I Kill Junkies

Recently, after an 8 years long hunt, I've been finally able to cross off from my want list a record that, outside of australia, nobody seems to care about. I'm talking about the legendary Three Found Dead/ Elbow Deep split lp. Released in only 200 copies on vinyl by Youth Enrage Records, a label run by one of the 3FD guy, it was one of those uber rare records that kept eluding me for years. I wasn't even able to find it on mp3s until I've asked help to an aussie mate. When I was just resigned that I'll never own a copy of it (it wasn't even on discogs until a few months ago), I've finally found a copy for a very good price. Unfortunately there are a few skips on E.D. side but I'm quite sure they'll get fixed once I find a bloody place with one of those machine to clean vinyls. Well, at least I've been able to get a partial refund so I've ended up paying next to nothing for it.

While this record came out in 2000, it still has a strong 90s' vibe. Tons of funny samples, fat pants, wrestling & skateboard references and a lot of songs on both sides. 3FD from sydney has a strong 80s' USHC sound filtered via 90s' way of playing it. They didn't hide it at all since there are four(!) covers of US bands on their side! They kinda remind me what Jerry's Kids or Gang Green would have been if they were from downunder. Great un-PC lyrics that are always a winning point in my book, expecially from an era when it was totally uncool being cynic & sarcastic. If I'm not wrong, members went playing in other excellent bands such as Masstrauma and Deathcage. The sample at the end of their side it's probably the funniest one I've ever heard. Their side is simply perfect. If they were from the US, people would still rave about'em. On the other side we got a side project that involved Arms Reach members minus the girls. Heavy downtuned powerviolence with some metal influences. Not too different from their main band, except that ED were way less serious. Solid effort, too.

Not only this rules musically, but a lot of effort has been put also on the packaging. Gatefold cover, 3 inserts (I got also the promotional flyers) and glow-in-the-dark vinyl. The liner notes from the label's head honcho reminded me that this split lp came from an era where hardcore records were less manufactured than today and a DIY record was something more than another mere product of the hardcore industry.

Lo Stato Ha Bisogno Di Te? Bene, Fottilo.

Some records never get the repress treatment. Other get repressed way too frequently. This time, while FOAD has reissued EU's Arse discography on lp just a couple of months ago, Black Water has also repressed both their eps almost at the same time. Since I do not like discography lps and I already own a copy of the split with Impact (unfortunately just the 2007 repress), of course I've opted for a copy of "lo stato ha bisogno di te? bene, fottilo" ep (which translates to "does the state need you?, well, fuck it". The guy on the cover is indeed tearing off from the wall a military poster for the national conscription). A perfect reproduction of the original. To my knowledge, no stupid limited coloured vinyls or useless cover variations. That's the proper way to do it.

Udine's finest 1982 debut ep is unanimously considered the first ever d-beat record that came outta italy. The Discharge and UK influence are indeed pretty obvious, both musically and lyrically. I must admit that I've always had mixed feelings about this ep. Sometimes I love it, other I cannot stand it at all. While the songwriting is pretty solid, the sound is too poor and singer's high-pitched screams are quite annoying. For sure a good debut release but there's way better italian stuff from that era. Just compare it with their split w/Impact that came out a year later. There's no game, man. That's the record where they nailed it perfectly. It's definitely superior under every point of view. That stuff is perfect. That being said, "lshbdt?b,f" is a record worth owning and I'm glad to finally have a copy without having to shell out 100 eurobucks for it. On the other side, if you want to get rid of your OG copy of the split, get in touch.

Noise In Your Head

Archaic debut ep "noise in your head", courtesy of LVEUM, is a new project that involves a guitarist from Berlin (Marco, ex LADM, La Piovra, Smart Cops & many others), a singer from Barcelona (Guille, ex Invasion/ Destino Final) & a drummer from Venice (Mattia, ex La Piovra). I met Marco a couple of times more than 10 years ago (nice guy) and since then I've always kept an eye on his various projects. Archaic is my favourite since the long gone L'Amico Di Martucci days. But don't expect something similar. These three tunes are way more experimental. LVEUM described it as a mix between Fogna & Destino Final (d'uh). Archaic indeed remind a more industrial version of Fogna with reverbed vocals. Guille creepy lyrics fit perfectly with the music, making it sounds even more gloomy if this is possible. One of the most interesting & original record I've got in a long time. Got the limited orange (this is orange, I don't know why people keep calling this colour "gold") version that looks awesome with the minimalistic black cover/insert. Hope this project will turn into something more serious and to see more stuff coming out under the Archaic monicker.

RABIA interview 1994

Going thru my zine collection to find something for this month, I've found an interview with the mighty Rabia. Obscure japanese noisecore mainly influenced by the rawest south american hardcore bands. Featuring members of C.F.D.L., they released only "por que?" demo and "pecado contra natura" 7" on Overthrow that I still need badly. Taken from MRR#134 (all japan issue).

Svart Sement

Norway might be mainly known for being the home of black metal of course, but it also has a nice hardcore scene. For sure it has never been as prolific as its scandinavian counterparts, but there's no doubt that, back in the early 80s', a handful of excellent bands released some quality stuff, mainly under the legendary X-Port Plater label. In more recent years there has been a couple of awesome norwegian bands (Insurance Risk & Shipwrecked), but these were more boston hardcore oriented. No one has been able to reproduce the typical (or should I say trve??) norwegian hardcore sound in the right way (even if some tried). Until Urbanoia released their "svart sement" ep last year. Pressed in a mere quantity of 200 copies by the band itself, these four tracks keep the Svart Framtid legacy alive and bloody healthy. Seriously, if someone told me this was a lost recording session of the aforementioned band, I would have blindly believed it. Aesthetically also the cover seems to be a tribute to the Betong Hysteria ep with that font and the spherical picture. A great debut ep for sure that is also a well done homage to the traditional norwegian sound but it's solid enough to stand on it own. A new ep is impending and should be out pretty soon on D-Takt in europe and Solar Funeral in the states.