12/12/09 @LOD: NIGHTBRINGER (MI), DISCO ASSAULT (Ontario), IGNORANTMOTHERFUCKER, GODEATER

Great show coming up.

1579 Indianola Ave.
@The Legion Of Doom
9 pm
$5 donation

NIGHTBRINGER (killer rock and punk from Michigan, members of Ruination & Bloodpact)
DISCO ASSAULT (80s hc meltdown from Canada)
IGNORANTMOTHERFUCKER (thrash punk from Columbus)
GODEATER (Columbus Neanderthal worship)

Columbus 11/13/09 Urban Blight (Toronto), Duress (Chicago), Picked Clean, Vile Gash

MAJOR RAGER 10/30/09 Locusta/Heath Deadger/Kurt Russell/Artillery Breath

Friday Oct. 30
205 E. Duncan
Columbus, OH
9 pm $5

10/24/09 Columbus: LEGION OF DOOM semi-annual Halloween covers show!

*Citizens Arrest isn't happening.

----------------------

*10/26 - The cover show was a blast!! Despite having a wisDOOM tooth taken out and an arm injury, I was able to hack through the Slayer cover set with fellow brothers in metal worshipping the ALTAR OF SACRIFICE-- Ross from Exseraphim, Dru from Locusta and Robby from Black Dove/Paralyzer. We had such a blast getting together and learning 4 songs from Hell Awaits (Hell Awaits, Kill Again, Praise Of Death & Hardening Of The Arteries). We had so much fun that once we hit the outro at the end of Hardening Of The Arteries, we just went ahead and played Hell Awaits again! Although, I doubt many people noticed...

All the other bands that I got to watch ripped, this is always among my favorite shows of the year. I'm really glad we were able to pull it together and join in the fun...although it would have been ideal to have more than one practice!

Here are some videos from the night. The Slayer one is pretty dark, sorry, we had to dim the lights for MAXIMUM EVIL!

MISFITS- Horror Business

COCK SPARRER- Working & Take 'Em All

SLAYER- Hardening Of The Arteries & Hell Awaits (reprise)

Also, here are some photos taken by Jimmy "Total" Turri.

PERDITION: East Coast Tour Tape (2009)

I was extremely excited to get this young, raw punk band to Columbus on their tour this year. There had been a bit of a buzz about them, people were happy to hear a band playing mid-paced d-beat really well, so I was happy to get to see them in Ohio. Wow, I have to say that their live show devastated me. I rarely get this excited about an American band these days, fucking great energy and perfect sound. Raw & noisy, but still powerful & dripping with ugliness and sweat.

It was on this tour that I picked up this "10-track cassette." 6 studio songs and 4 live songs, including a cover of a raw punk classic: Game Of The Arseholes by Anti-Cimex. Fucking hell, this band has it down. Well done lyrics and great sound. The songs on this tape are at least as good as their 7", so track this down if you can. I don't know if they plan on doing anything else with these songs other than just have them on the 75 tour cassettes that they made. Great band, can't wait to hear more from them...I will be picking up whatever they put out next!

WARNING//WARNING

I had no knowledge of this French band until this demo tape was mailed to me out of the blue a few months ago. To my delight, it is from members of GASMASK TERRÖR, and to a, should I dare, even better delight...the tape is great! Obvious love for CONFUSE and LEBENDEN TOTEN here, who can be upset about that? Noisy punk but with a more rocking approach rather than the unlistenable approach (which also have obvious merits). Great use of reverb on the vocals and also tasteful use of a wah-pedal (didn't think someone could say that about a raw punk band, did you?). Word is, they will have a record come out on a certain Japanese/French label soonish, so be on the look out. I am definitely looking forward to it. Besides the music, I really love the layout. The use of the pink highlighter pen is a nice touch. Photocopied j-card insert, is really the best format for a punk demo. It's nice in theory, to upgrade to cardstock or do some kind of other fancy design-y shit, but when it gets down to it, I really like the look and feel of a well done photocopied insert. It's just classic. Really great job.

Interview in the November 2009 edition of Maximum RockNRoll:



Get a subscription to MRR here.

I don't like to include full downloads on here, because I think punk should be more about search and discovery rather than having everything laid out in front of you, but this demo has been sold out for quite some time, and I want people to get excited for their upcoming record, so here is a rare event for me: Go here to the band's website for a download of the demo w/artwork.

10/13/09: THE ASSASSINATORS (Denmark) & BLACK DOVE in Cincinnati

10/17/09 Columbus: SISTA SEKUNDEN (Sweden) @LOD

10/17 Columbus
@The Legion Of Doom 9pm
1579 Indianola Ave

Sista Sekunden (ripping HC from Sweden, members of Skitkids & Intensity)
Black Dove
Godeater

**This show should start somewhat on time, since there are many other shows going on that night.

10/9/09 Cleveland: Phonographic Arts 1 year Anniversary show

Can you spot the difference?

First one to get it right wins a free life under one tree release.
Go!

A collective effort! I like that!!
The answers:

Top pic: (from L to R)
Top:
THE MOB "Let the tribe increase" LP first press?
CROW "Last chaos" LP (Crow Recs. #0 1987)
ARMAGEDOM "Silencio funebre" LP (Absurd Rec. repress 2005)
Bottom:
JAWBREAKER "Unfun" LP first press. Cute
TRAGEDY "Nerve Damage" LP Silk screen cover.
SACRILEGE "Behind the realms of madness" LP (Pusmort)

Bottom pic:
Top:
THE MOB: 2nd or so pressing without the "Pay no more" on the back.
CROW: Overthrow repress 1994.
ARMAGEDOM: Real deal on Rainbow Recs.
Bottom:
JAWBREAKER: 2nd press. still cute
TRAGEDY: Gatefold sleeve
SACRILEGE: Children of revolution press.

There you have it!
You all get a big wet kiss from me next time I see you!

PAINTBOX: Trip, Trance & Travelling 2x12" and Relics 12" OUT NOW!

 

Afters years of waiting, in the summer of 2009, Trip, Trance & Travelling was finally released on CD in Japan by H:G Fact. I knew it was going to come out on vinyl a couple months later, and bought the fucker anyway because I couldn't wait..if that tells you anything about how much I had been anticipating this third album of theirs. I have been in love with this band since I first heard them. Ultimate brilliance. Needless to say, I was not let down, I found myself floating on clouds of gummi bears while the hordes down below stabbed eachother with forks. Haters be damned and Chelsea R.I.P., too bad he didn't get to see this masterpiece come to light.

This is now available through Prank Records in the USA or H:G Fact in Japan (who also has the CD version which was done in an extremely nice tip-on gatefold digipack). Also, can't forget that the Relics collection is also out on 2x12" & CD...this collects my personal favorite material of this phenomenal band. Don't miss out on a great way to have their harder to find material all on one release. FUCKING SHIT.

H:G Fact (Japan) :: http://www.interq.or.jp/japan/hgfact/
Prank (USA) :: http://www.prankrecords.com

PAINTBOX “ TRIP, TRANCE & TRAVELLING” 2XLP
The Third LP from Tokyo’s PAINTBOX was almost ten years in the making is finally available on Vinyl. Combing the ferocity of Japanese hardcore with influences from across the music spectrum-Classic rock, J-Pop, Psychedelia and more- this double LP is an almost 70 minute journey through a myriad of emotions and Sound scapes that stretches the concept of a hardcore LP to it’s limit in a way only Japanese legends PAINTBOX could. ( Prank 105) Comes in a heavy weight tip-on Stoughton sleeve with fold out lyric sheet with English lyric translations. Mailorder copies on Yellow vinyl.

PAINTBOX "RELICTS " LP
Collecting PAINTBOX’s four 7” releases- their debut 7” EP, “DOOR /PROVIDED RAILRAOD” 7”, “CRY OF THE SHEEPS” and “BACK REPORTER” FLEXI with tracks from tribute records to both POISON IDEA and JAPANESE legend GHOUL, “RELICTS” is as much of an overview of the bands progression as a litmus of their skill at combining diverse music ideas within the framework of “Burning Spirits” styled hardcore. ( Prank 104) Mailorder copies come on Blue vinyl with a bonus blue vinyl LP of the “Raise the capital” show only CD-R of live tracks , full color record labels , insert and obi strip. Limited to 300 in the U.S.. The copies in stores will just be a single LP of the studio material.

See here and here for more info.

Paintbox releases (minus comp stuff):
• Debut 7" (1998- H:G Fact)
• Singing, Shouting, Crying CD/12" (1999- H:G Fact, Kill Ugly Pop, Prank)
• The Door/Provided Railroad 7" (1999- H:G Fact)
• Back Reporter Flexi (2000, H:G Fact)
• Earthball Sports Tournament CD/12" (2000- H:G Fact, Prank)
• Cry Of The Sheeps CD/7" (2001- H:G Fact, Prank)
• Genseki 7" (2009- H:G Fact)
• Relics collection CD/12", 2x12" (2009- H:G Fact, Prank)
• Trip, Trance & Travelling CD/2x12"(2009- H:G Fact, Prank)

NUKKEHAMMER/VILE GASH/FAILURES/RAW NERVE

FLYER BY ALEX WARHEAD.

FUCKED FOR LIFE:Distortion & Death demo review

Release Date: July 2009
Quantity: 100 cassettes/100 c.d.s

Tracklist:
Symptoms
Determined to Fail
Distortion and Death
Down the Hatch

FUCKED FOR LIFE are thrashing 5 piece d-beat hardcore from Cincinnasty. Hank of BRODY'S MILITIA on bass. Really tight bashing, gruff vox, and fantastic drumming. Their tightness and bad attitude remind me of early POISON IDEA but with a prominent scandi sound in there. Certainly F.F.L have no influences beyond 1985 which may be before some of these maniacs were born!! Can I borrow your time machine? Songs are about hating life, getting fucked up, distortion, and getting fucked up, in that order. This tape had me making fists at cyclists from my car. Fuck bicycles! "Distortion & Death" is their anthem, simultaneously catchy and neck-breaking. SIKKKKKK! The last song "Down the Hatch" is a mid tempo rocker with a killer riff akin to "Detroit Rock City" by KISS but played with a hatred for non-alcoholic beverages. Being familiar with the F.F.L. live wall of distort, this demo seemed a little quiet but its not like i didn't love it and I'm ready for more. If you like wrecking ball hardcore punk, check out FUCKED FOR LIFE, they are one of the best bands in Ohio.

July Trip to Philadephia & NYC

Amanda and I went up to Philadelphia and NYC to hang out with our good buddy Josh. Saw some other good shit while we were at it.



We went to the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Metropolitan. Blew my mind, they had over 60 different pieces of his work. It was overwhelming to see that many of his pieces together at once. Fantastic and strange to see all these weirdos walking around looking at screaming Popes and people painted to look like bloody pieces of meat.

While we were trying to figure out our food options around Central Park, we heard this girl singing, like someone out of the musical, Annie. We looked around for a bit, confused, trying to figure out where this hideous, cute little voice was coming from. We then looked up and saw this girl sitting in front of her window, from the 5th floor (or so), just singing at the people down on the street. Bizarre.



We also went to the free Mission Of Burma / Fucked Up show. It was ok, and weird. I haven't seen Fucked Up since their 7" days, and they actually sounded pretty good, considering that it was outside, by the waterfront. Lots of ironic looking people walking around. Infuriating. Mission Of Burma sounded kind of shitty, but it was still cool to see them play, I guess.

Brian and I dicking around at the free show:


After that, we went to the show that I was more exited for- Tragedy / Morne / Brain Handle / Blacklisted / Brainkiller. Like a dumb fuck, I was too late and missed Brainkiller. I really wanted to see them, their demo is great. Oh well. Brain Handle, Morne and Tragedy all destroyed. I was really pumped to finally see Morne...fucking crushing. I love the Filth Of Mankind records and obviously Grief rules, so this was highly anticipated for me after the great demo that Morne released. They did not disappoint.



Brain Handle:


Morne:




Tragedy:


Big thanks for Josh, Erica/Ariel and Amanda for a great trip.

8/02/09: SAVIOURS/SOURVEIN/NUKKEHAMMER columbus

sreepy floyd on back up vocals.

8pm doors $8
9:05-9:35 Tank Destroyer
9:50-10:20 Nukkehammer
10:35-11:15 Sourvein
11:30-12:30 Saviours

8/10 PERDITION (NYC) @LOD in Columbus

PERDITION is great midpaced, raw d-beat from New York. This show also marks the return of PANCREATECTOMIE. Ears will be fukked on this night.

ASSASSINATORS U.S. Tour 2009!

Great Denmark punk group finally coming to the U.S. in October. Check out their LP and 2 7"s.

THE ASSASSINATORS USA TOUR

OCTOBER 2009
8- NYC
9-PHILLY
10-PITTSBURGH
11-DETROIT
12- CHICAGO
13- CINCINNATI
14-ASHEVILLE
15- RICHMOND
16- BALTIMORE
17- NYC
18- BOSTON/PROVIDENCE
19- ALBANY
20- NJ

8/15/09 Preying Hands (ex- BALLAST) Columbus show

This should be a major rager, I had not seen BALLAST live since their demo days, and when I saw PREYING HANDS last year on their home turf in Montreal, they blew me away. Great melodic hardcore punk, I am looking forward to this one.

Other shows in the area that Black Dove are playing with them:

Fri. 8/14/09
Cincinnati @The Catticorn House
Preying Hands, Black Dove +TBA

Sun. 8/16/09
Pittsburgh, PA @Roboto 7pm
722 Wood St. Wilkinsburg, PA
Preying Hands, Black Dove, Auryn, Assymetric Warfare

7/15/09 Last House On The Left show (Columbus)

The word "AMAZING" gets overused time and time again, but in this case, I think it is the most appropriate word to describe this flyer.

WINO: Punctuated Equilibrium LP/10"

Label: Southernlord Records SUNN99
Release Date: January 26, 2009/ vinyl summer 2009
Side A
Release Me 6:30
Punctuated Equilibrium 2:50
The Woman In The Orange Pants 3:33
Smilin Road 5:10
Eyes of The Flesh 4:14

Side B:
Wild Blue Yonder 6:26
Secret Realm Devotion 4:52
Water Crane 2:02
Gods, Frauds, Neo-Cons and Demagogues 3:12
Silver Lining 4:24

bonus 10"
Side A
Chest Fever4:33
Der Gift (The Poison) 2:44

Side B
The Comet And The Moon 4:45
On The (Sacrificial) Lamb 2:20

One of my favorite records of 2009 given THEE supreme vinyl treatment. Scott "WINO" Weinrich is definitely is a legend of underground rock, He has been called "The Godfather of Doom Metal", "America's Lemmy" and "Guitar Worlds' 64th Greatest Metal Guitar Player of All Time". That should be good enough for a short bio. Punctuated Equilibrium is Wino's first solo effort in nearly 30 years of playing Power Fucking Trio, Biker Doom, Stoner Van Jams, Heavy Metal Spirit Rock, Whatever you call it, we all should have started paying attention in the 1980s. This LP with bonus 10" EP is signature WINO songwriting; a blend of Black Sabbath, Grand Funk, Metal Punk and lead guitar ripping that makes Frank Zappa smile from beyond. If you don't dig guitar solos then I'm sorry, maybe you should try some WINO. On this album WINO is joined by drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and John Blank on bass. Needless to say these guys are top notch players and I'm sure they were stoked to play on this record because It wouldn't be as good without them. The first cut sets the tone, This is where I open my sunroof because "Release Me" has less gloom and doom than I expect from WINO. Spirit Metal for sure! The second (title) track is thrashy metal punk that shows WINO's other side, The side of a dude who saw VOID and SSD on acid. "The Woman in the Orange Pants" is the first instrumental on the album and it is similar to the super heavy prog moments of WINO's last band THE HIDDEN HAND. "Smilin Road" could easily be off MOUNTAIN's Greatest Hits, and I mean that in the best way possible. On this track I noticed how great of a drummer J.P. Gaster is. He Smokes! The last song on side one "Eyes of the Flesh" has that unmistakable WINO DOOOOOM vibe, sick wah leads that nod to SAINT VITUS. Side two kicks off with a song that sounds like WINO jamming with the rythym section of FUGAZI and getting the DUB treatment. "Secret Realm Devotion" is a 70s style burner with a cool dumptruck low end wah wah riff. "Gods, Frauds and Neo-Cons" is another heavy proggy jammer with good lyrics about war and deception ala MC5. The verse at the end of song segues into the last cut "Silver Lining" a positive but heavy WINO vibe permeating the verse, culminating in a solo guitar freak out. Since the vinyl version comes with a bonus 10" ill be reviewing it too. Side C starts with a THREE DOG NIGHT cover which is really good and has some cool keyboard hooks. Der Gift is a short Prog jam with a bunch of otherwordly guitar sounds. "The Comet and the Moon" is a kinda poppy 70s rock song dedicated to his wife. Lets see you do that, tough guy. The 10" closes out with another Soulful Riffer that has a little southern rock feel. So when does the next one come out already??

The artwork and packaging for "Punctuated Equilibrium" are fantastic. It comes with lyrics and liner notes where WINO lays down some heavy wisdom. The 10" actually has its own pocket on the inside of the gatefold. The vinyl is forest green swirled and it looks great with the full color record labels. Its really cool to see Southern Lord records give the best treatment to this recording, Good job robed hessians.

Sadly, bass player Jon Blank passed away soon after the release of this record, R.I.P.

Mamma, I'm coming home....

So I am going to be playing in my hometown area, in Parkersburg, West Virginia on July 24th. I actually grew up in Marietta, OH, which is just across the Ohio river...population, 14,000, nestled on the edge of Appalachia. We're not quite playing on the showboat Becky Thatcher or an Armory dance...but nevertheless....this should be interesting!

6/29 last minute LA ARMADA and DIENTE PERRO Columbus show

Big thanks to Austin and The Monster House for letting these two bands on the show! They are playing first, so be sure to get there on time and bring at least $5 to donate to touring bands. I have heard great things about La Armada's live show...looking forward to this. I think I saw them 10 years ago in Chicago?!

Monday 6/29
The Monster House
115 West 10th Ave
Columbus Ohio
9pm sharp!

La Armada (hc punk from the Dominican Republic, but now live in Chicago)
Diente Perro (from Puerto Rico, on tour with La Armada)
The Copyrights
Dear Landlord (midwest pop punk from IL/MN)
Hot Iron (Cbus punk slop)

CROW: Flock Of Beast 7" and SEE YOU IN HELL split 7" REVIEW

CROW: Flock Of Beast 7"

Label: Prank (USA) - Prank101
Release date: May 2009

Tracklist:
side A:
•Flock Of Beast I

side B:
•Flock Of Beast II

CROW / SEE YOU IN HELL split 7"

Label: Phobia (Czech Republic)
Insane Society (Czech Republic)
Release date: May 2, 2009

Tracklist:
Crow side:
•Traitors
•Annihilation

See You In Hell side:
•V Zajeti
•Nadechnout Se

I am always chomping at the bit for new CROW material and when I found out that these new EPs were coming out, it was no different. For those that don't know, CROW is a Japanese band that has been releasing great material since the mid 80s. The trademark vocals are haunting and coarse...I love it. The music has transformed a bit since the early days of their DISCHARGE inspired d-beat days. For the most part, their recent stuff is crusty, metallic, dark hardcore, with a little experimentation here and there.

Each of these records come with 2 CROW songs, I have to admit, the songs on the SEE YOU IN HELL split shine a little brighter for me. The first song, "Traitors" is just fantastic. It starts off with an epic midpaced riff, that is harmonized, but then it picks up in pace. These days, "epic" and "crust" seem to scare people, but CROW defies all odds as they can do no fucking wrong. I don't feel that it takes away from their power, it just sounds wicked and haunting. Of course, I have to talk about the packaging for the SEE YOU IN HELL split. Really nice, silk screened, fold out covers, in silver ink, on black card stock. Looks great. The only little problem is that some of the type in the insert is too small and doesn't come through perfectly on the screen. The limited edition comes on red vinyl and 2 DVDs from SEE YOU IN HELL's '07 tour. It may seem like a bit much, but there is a lot of footage of many of the different great bands from their tour. Damn, I also have to mention, that the Czech band, SEE YOU IN HELL's side surprised the shit out of me. It's their best material that I have heard yet. It sounds more raw and seething than the previous efforts that I have heard. I will really be looking forward to their new releases...see if they can keep it up. I'm happy to say that their side is just as good as the CROW side. Fuck.

Ok, I just got the Prank ep today, "Flock Of Beast." When I first saw it, the cover art was a bit of a surprise, since they have never used a plain old picture of themselves live...as you can see, it's a picture of the vocalist. I usually look forward to some sick cut and paste, black/white art or even better, something hand drawn, like the demon face that they have been using on their recent releases, including both of these eps (originally from the cover of "The Door Of The End" 12" ep). Nevertheless, it still looks cool and you can't fault them for doing something different. 2 songs on this one and the songwriting is decidedly nastier than the SYIH split. Side A is a chugging, mid-paced, monster while side B picks up the pace but keeps the dark and ugly tone and ends in a mess of howling.

Both of these records are still available, and a re-mastered repress of the "Bloody Tear" 12" is coming down the pipeline as well. I'm crossing my fingers for another U.S. tour eventually, since I was a dumb ass and didn't fly to go see them when they came before.

DISCOGRAPHY:
•Who Killed Dove? 7" (1986, Crow)
•V/A Eye OF The Thrash Guerilla 12" comp tracks (1988, Selfish)
•Last Chaos 12" (Crow/Overthrow)
•The Crow 12" (Grind/Crust Records)
•Anarchy, Chaos, Destruction CD
•Death Of Nuclear Arms 7" (Crow)
•The Door Of The End 12" ep (Crow)
•Neurotic Organization 7" (Prank)
•split 7" with Artimus Pyle (Mangrove/Prank)
•Suck My Dick! comp tape (don't know anything about this one)
•V/A Cry Of Soul comp 7" tracks (Crow)
•V/A Patrick comp 7" tracks
•Live at Watts tape
•Live At Gilman DVD
•Bloody Tear CD/LP (Mangrove/Prank)
•The Vicious Dominant... tour 7" (Prank)
•Beating Of The Wings OF Destruction 12" (Crow)
•split 7" with See You In Hell (Phobia/Insane Society)
•Flock Of Beast 7" (Prank)

6/19/09: M.O.T.A,STRUCK BY LIGHTNING,BEST FRIENDS,BASTARDS,NUKKEHAMMER show

THRASH TIL DEATH worship

CLASSIC FUKKIN RAGER. I finally got this record on ebay. I have bid and failed multiple times. It is now in constant rotation. Released by Pusmort in the USA and Selfish in Japan circa 1987. It features GAUZE, OUTO, SYSTEMATIC DEATH and LIPCREAM!!! Every track is killing and the cover is a classic. Thrash Til Death definitely kick started my interest in Japanese HC. I first heard it in Rapid City in 1996 or 1997. Jason Wade had it and we drunkenly jammed it at the "house of shit" all the time along with his copy of the S.O.B./Napalm Death flexi and the SIEGE 7". Sorry kids, records just aren't this good anymore. Thanks Jason. Thanks Pushead.

Cult Ritual Ohio shows with Vile Gash

Flyer by Alex M.

There is also a show in Pittsburgh on 6/25/09 with Cult Ritual, Slices, Vile Gash and at least another band that I can't remember right now.

6/09/09 Bone Awl, Ashdautas, Volahn, Hex Noir, Nukkehammer show

Flyer by Andy.

6/09/09
Carabar 10pm FREE
115 Parsons Ave.
Columbus, OH

BONE AWL
ASHDAUTAS
VOLAHN
HEX NOIR
NUKKEHAMMER

6/5/09 Lotus Fucker, Sacrifidelus, Penis Geyer, Nukkehammer show

Flyer by Alex M.

FRIDAY JUNE 5
THE 15TH HOUSE
365 E. 15TH STREET
COLUMBUS OH
9PM $5 DONATION

LOTUS FUCKER - Distortion saturated hardcore noise from Baltimore
SACRIFIDELUS - On tour with LF, shares some members. The band says they are more along the lines of melodic, Polish, hc punk.
PENIS GEYSER - Ungodly time signatures.
NUKKEHAMMER - Don't worry about it.

I am really looking forward to this show. The LOTUS FUCKER demo is great. I believe this will be in my top 5 Columbus shows of the year.

5/25/09 Project Hopeless (Sweden), Expendable Youth, Empire, Painkiller show

MONDAY 5/25/09
9 PM @THE LEGION OF DOOM
1579 INDIANOLA AVE

ALL AGES. NO BOOZE. RIPPERS ONLY.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got the Project Hopeless 12". The political nature of the album really reminded me of the 90s U.K. anarcho-crust punk bands like Disaffect and Sedition. It was often mundane at the time, but in today's climate, it is actually a breath of fresh air. Most hardcore bands of today don't dare have such starkly leftist lyrics...maybe out of fear of sounding too naive? This mixed with a brutal Swedish hardcore sound is a great mix, in my book. Either way, I am looking forward to this show. From here, it looks solid all the way around. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Columbus' Empire in a while. For those outside of Ohio, they are our very own Integrity worshippers, playing heavy as shit hardcore. Great stuff. I am also interested to see Painkiller, I have heard good things.

Band links:
PROJECT HOPELESS
EXPENDABLE YOUTH
EMPIRE

THRONES/NUKKEHAMMER/ELJESUSDEMAGICO/DEERHEAD 5/12/09

RID THE WORLD demo review

Label: The Sacrosanct Opuscule (USA)
Release Date: April 2009
Quantity: 100

Track List:
Guillotine Christ
Lapse In Intelligence
Never Left The Locker Room
Carbon Copied For Your Safety
Giving Up
Sick Combat
RTW

A lot of great bands get forgotten over the years but apparently not INFEST. The influence of INFEST on HC music seems to grow instead of wither as time goes on. When INFEST was around they didn't really fit in with any scene and went under the radar, Now INFEST seem to be one of the biggest influences in USHC. Much more so than the bands that overshadowed them during their existence in the late '80s and early '90s. At this point in 2009 there are lots of INFEST emulators, most of which i have not heard or wished I had not. I recently got the RID THE WORLD demo from Snake of TSO label who put this out. RID THE WORLD is a hardcore band from Cleveland, which is one of the best places for a hardcore band to be from. Killer TSO packaging in red and black. Good job guys. The logo and insert are direct rip offs from INFEST. Everything about the RID THE WORLD demo screams "I FUCKING LOVE INFEST", therefore I have high expectations. The intro is bad; some dude making jokes about religion, then the INFEST worship begins and RID THE WORLD deliver the goods! Kill the Peace! GO! The recording is good, the bass guitar is gross and should serve notice to "powerviolence" bands with weak bass sounds. You wussbags could learn from RID THE WORLD. The lyrics are topical/political and fucking pissed. I especially like the song about dog fighting, "Sick Combat". I'm also totally into the fact that 7 out of 7 songs have gratuitous use of the word "fuck". So hardcore Joe Denuzio would point and say "FUCK"! The last song, RTW has a slow part/breakdown that is so frickin' hard! Cleveland must quake every time they play it. It almost made me go out and get a crew cut. INFESTesque and fast HC lovers order this from TSO now. Shreds.

Crude: Attitude 12" reissue review (versus mode)

Original Straight Up pressing on the left, Feral Ward reissue on the right.

Label: Feral Ward (USA) - YAN 056
Release date: April 2009
Quantity: 1000?

Track List:
•Stand And Fight Again
•Over The Wind
•The Scum Selled Oneself
•Never Give Up Willpower
•Positive Will
•Human Feelings
•True Bravery
•No Light Soul Of State

Finally, a real Crude album is released in North America. I no longer have to drop my head in dismay when people talk about how raging the "Immortality album" is, when in reality, it is just this weird compilation of Crude songs...and not really a Crude album at all. It's crazy to think that it has been 8 years since this band from Hakodate, Japan has released a proper album. Since the Attitude album originally came out, there has been the live tracks on the Wandering Folk split CD, the low-fi recording on the 3 way split CD/one sided-LP with Burial and Nightmare, and the recent H:G Fact 7" where they completed a proper recording of the songs from the 3 way split. Hopefully, their recent touring and releases lead up to a blistering new masterpiece. And also, hopefully Crude starts to get the attention that they deserve, in this part of the world.

The Attitude 12", in my view, is the 2000s answer to Death Side. The ripping leads are too many to count, and the furious hardcore punk onslaught is non-stop, from the infectiously catchy first track, "Stand And Fight Again" clear to the end, with only a few moments lull during the somewhat ballad-like track on side B, "True Bravery." The drums sound like they are ripping through your speakers as the cymbals max out the treble frequencies. This quality gives the band a bit of an updated feel (as far as Japanese HC Punk is concerned) and a new take on a classic sound that few have been able to capture successfully (Selfish from Finland, being another prime example of the exception).

Original Straight Up pressing


Feral Ward repress

As usual, Feral Ward did a nice job. A good choice for the band to do the repress with him. The repress is mastered at 45 RPMs instead of 33, like the Straight Up version that was released in 2000. I'm not really sure why a short 12" like this was done at 33 to begin with. The result is, we get to headbang and play air guitar to a slightly louder record. The mastering job sounds very similar, except slightly more powerful, possibly due to the RPM change and better vinyl quality? There are some slight packaging differences to note. The dusk-like sky has been replaced by a more ominous cloudy sky and the back has a similar situation going on, but the song titles have been placed in a way that is actually legible. Of course, the nice pocket sleeve with rounded edges was a great touch. One thing that slightly bothers me is that it looks like the ostriches were re-done using Live Trace in Adobe Illustrator...but obviously, that has no bearing on how raging this album is. However, one thing that does...is the change in label art! I can't imagine why Feral Ward changed it! I want to see a picture disc of this album with the original label art graphics on it.

Feral Ward classy label art:


Original label art made by ragers who don't give a fuck:

Ok, despite the cowardly disregard for psychadelic, bald-headed raging, here is the Bells Of Doom Toll verdict: DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE, GET THIS SHIT IMMEDIATELY.

P.S., please do a nice reissue of the 1999 12" as well, I like that one even better.
Love, B.O.D.T.

Discography (known to me):
•Crude s/t 12" (1996, Mad Preacher)
•Crude/Violence Moment split 7" (1996, Blood Sucker Record)
•Crude/Grass split 7"
•Crude 4 song CD (1997, Straight Up)
•Crude 2 song 12" (1997, Blood Sucker Record, 2 songs from the above CD)
•Crude 1999 12" (1999, Straight Up)
•Crude: Attitude 12" (2000, Straight Up / 2009, Feral Ward)
•Crude: Immortality compilation 12" (2003, Deranged)
•Crude/Burial/Nightmare: Axis Of Wolves 3 way split CD/LP (2007, H:G Fact / 2009, Hate)
•Crude/Wandering Folk split CD (2008, Straight Up)
•Crude: Just Go Ahead 7" (2008, H:G Fact)