Forward To The Caves

I won't play the cool guy pretending that I was already familiar with Psycho Sin. Before their "forward to the caves" lp was reissued by General Speech a couple months ago, I've never heard this band before and didn't even know of their existence. Hailing from New Jersey, they were around in the second half of the 80s' and during their existence they self-released a fair amount of tapes, an ep and this lp. The original vinyls sell for a small fortune nowdays. Somehow the label description intrigued me, so I decided to give them a chance and ordered this without even listening to it before. For some reasons I was expecting some anti-PC proto-noisecore but I couldn't be more wrong. Psycho Sin were a very political oriented band. From the interview featured in the insert, I got the feeling that they were more interested in politics than music. And you can definitely hear it. This band indeed falls perfectly in the "good bad music" or "shit-fi" category. They were loud and fast but they could barely play their instruments. Their music is neaderthalesque in its ultra primitive approach. If hardcore/punk usually is not renowned for musicians virtuosism, well these guys sound like they had no clue in how tuning their equipment. But luckily the lack of playing technique is compensated by a ferocious approach that makes the final result quite interesting and entertaining. Throw in some keytar, some weird industrial parts and you got Psycho Sin. I still have to figure out if I like this band or not, for sure an unique band worth checking out if noisy & primitive music is up your alley. I've read somewhere that one of the member of RAPT  was part of the band since he was living in NJ in that period. That makes perfectly sense since their "caos non musica" approach is quite similar. Superbly packed with a zine full of pics, flyers, artworks and a couple of interviews, some stickers, a poster and a cdr featuring 73 tracks (50 of them were never printed on cd before).

Generation Gas

In an era where everything is available with just a couple of clicks, you gotta be extremely dedicated to find something really obscure. Today's 16 years old kids have a musical knowledge that I could only dream of at their age. Everyone knows everything in these days (well, they suppose to do). But apparently there's still something that needs to be discovered out there. The two uber-dedicated nerds behind Not Very Nice & General Speech managed to find a totally obscure recording session from the 80s that almost nobody has ever heard of. Of course there are tons of obscure demos out there, but this one has that peculiar characteristic that makes it totally worth: IT DOESN'T SUCK!! G-Gas is indeed an extremely good band! How the hell two kids from the midwest ended up discovering it is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, they hailed from Sapporo, Hokkaido and managed to record the 9 songs on side A around 1984. And now, for the very first time, they've finally been released to the masses. Side B has a live recording. They shared members with Tranquilizer & LSD. They indeed sound like a bit slower, less fuzzy and more controlled version of the first mentioned band. Well, at least on the studio session, the live material is indeed way closer to the Tranquilizer first flexi chaotic approach. An extremely well done release (that comes with pics, fliers & an interview), support Zach & Tom and the detailed and passionate job behind their releases!

Coups Et Blessures

I know next to nothing about Oi! and generally I find it quite boring if I have to tell the truth. So I'm not even sure how I ended up giving this ep a possibility. Probably 'coz everyone and their grandpa were mentioning it as the best ep released in 2015? Well, it bloody is. Rixe debut ep "coups et blessures" (which roughly translates as "hits and wounds") contains 4 tunes that will get stuck in your brain immediately and won't left soon. I've been basically listening to it for a whole week now and I still want more. These three parisiens have been able to mix perfectly the traditional catchy approach of french Oi! with the more brutal sound of bands like Nabat and Blitz. The final result are 4 skinheads anthems perfect for drunk singalong. As a result of being slow, I've ended up with 4th press with red cover. Previous ones have blue cover. Can't wait for more material by them. Another winner by LVEUM. 

MELLAKKA interview 1984

Here's an early interview with one of my fave finnish band. Not the best interview ever but still quite informative and interesting. Taken from Phoenix From The Crypt#4 from 1984.

12 Distorted Truth For The Dumb

The unholy trinity that brought us Nemesis first & second eps a few years ago (a.k.a. Solar Funeral, Ratcage & Flower Of Carnage Records), teamed up again to reissue Bandit "heathen rock" cd from 1991 on vinyl for the very first time. Bandit was a name that I remembered from some old japanese fliers from late '80s/ early '90s or saw it mentioned somewhere. But I've never made an effort to discover something about them. For sure a band that generally didn't get the attention they deserved. Pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that they released stuff on cd only. Yeah, a very dumb reason for not giving a band a try. I'm quite confident that this band would have been huge & cult if their stuff was released on wax back then. Anyhow, after reading a description I've ordered it directly, basing myself solely on the the fact that it was released by labels I trust. And I wasn't disappointed at all. Superb japanese hardcore comparable to the more thrash oriented bands like Systematic Death & Lip Cream. Perhaps a bit sloppier but with the same level of intensity of the aforementioned japanese hardcore institutions. Hopefully this reissue will do them justice. Comes with Sugi artwork and a full-coloured 12 pages booklet filled with pictures, fliers and all the infos you need. Essential if you consider yourself a japanese hardcore fanatic.

Tu Tienes La Razon

I must admit that 2016 started quite well when it comes to record collecting. I've been indeed able to finally secure a copy of Atoxxxico "tu tienes la razon" lp, released back in 1990 by Puro Pinche Ruido Records (which I assume was run by one of the Atoxxxico member). It's been on my wantlist for a very long time but I was able to get a copy for the price I wanted to pay only recently. As I always say, being patient pays off. Here we're talking about the one and only album released by one of the most iconic  punk/hc band from the first wave of punk mexicanos. Raw & abrasive ruido but at the same time catchy as fuck & with an unique songwriting. The final result is very memorable. Better than their legendary debut ep "punks de mierda" if you ask me. Along with Xenofobia & Masacre 68, one of the most influencial mexican harcore band ever. It gets also extra points for being the very first record with a Fear Of God cover on it (according to Erich Keller). Members of Atoxxxico also played in other legendary mexican bands such as Cacofonia, Anarchus, Masacre 68, Histeria & AK47. Their singer Alejandro "El Mosh" was also a student leader so Atoxxxico ended up playing at UNAM (Mexico City university) quite a few times whenever the students occupied it! The band is still active. I've seen somewhere a flier of a gig they are going to play soon with Xenofobia & Masacre 68! Now that's a reunion that I wouldn't miss if I could afford a ticket to LA...here's some of their old fliers I've posted last year...

You Walk Alone

I hate 95% of sXe hardcore and usually I try to avoid to post records that are already posted in EVERY other goddamn blog out there. But since these days I do get a new release every other eon, I couldn't miss the opportunity when I finally got one. Yeah, it's the No Tolerance "you walk alone" lp. You've waited for it for the whole 2015. By now you've already listened to it and you already felt in love with it. Another proof that the usual suspects from Boston can do no wrong. As you can see, I got the UK press on limited blue wax that should be already worth a lot by current collectors standards. Comes with the thickest insert I've ever seen. Seriously, it must have taken a couple of trees just to have enough paper to print a single insert!