KULTURKAMPF - Caught In An Evil Web Of Violence 12"

KULTURKAMPF - Caught In A Web Of Violence 12"
(Looney Tunes//England)

This U.K. anarcho band's discography LP was suggested by some friends. This compiles 2 demos and a live track from 1984. I was able to find this in the Social Napalm distro. I love these types of bands for their infectious melody and driving purpose (which is sorely lacking in today's punk & HC). This is a good quality reissue, the cover could be made of better material, but the songs themselves sound great, especially considering how old they are, it's not like they had this stuff digitally archived back then. If you're into bands like A Touch Of Hysteria or The Zounds, I would highly recommend this. The music and vocals may not be quite as well done as the afore-mentioned bands, but the spirit is still there, great stuff, thanks to Loony Tunes for putting out this obscure band's demo tracks for the rest of us to enjoy.

4 / 5 bells

New TRAUMA & TRAGEDY LPS

TRAUMA 12"
(Feral Ward//USA)

I admit, at first listen, I just thought the demo was "good" but wasn't blown away, then a few months ago once I heard that the Trauma LP was about to come out, I played it again, but LOUD this time and it clicked better for me, and got me pumped for the LP. I remember thinking that the vocals were probably going to be what would make or break the LP. I picked this up at the Columbus Tragedy show on 5/17 and I am happy to say that I was not let down. The sound is perfect and the vocals are strong and catchy. If you are looking for no frills hardcore punk with no gimmicks, here it is. This is Billy (Tragedy/Deathreat) on guitar and Todd (Tragedy/Deathreat) on drums with a member of the classic 80s Portland HC group, Final Warning on vocals. If this isn't trebly or mysterious enough for you, I feel sorry for you. Raging Portland HC at its best. Imagine a more raw and stripped down Deathreat, if you will. You should be able to get this soon from Feral Ward and various stores & distros.

4 / 5 bells

 

 

TRAGEDY - Darker Days Ahead 12"
(Tragedy Records//USA)

Holy shit there are tons of garbage reviews and blogtalk about this record out there. Indie blogs are all talking about this "secret" hardcore band Tragedy that the reviewer found out about through crusted-blackened handshakes and back alley dealings. Ok, I get that you need to cover this record, but come on, find someone that knows something about hardcore or the history of the band or the style of music to write about it. Fuck.

Picked this up as well at the show in Columbus. The CD version has a nice digipack tri-fold with letterpressing and the LP version has a great textured sleeve. Word is, the LP will be remixed or remastered for the official version, I am not sure which, but in listening to it, it doesn't sound much different than the CD version to my ears, so I am guessing that a remix is what we are headed for. Not that I think it sounds bad.

Kudos to them, this is their 4th lp in 10+ years of existence and I can completely understand the want to do something different. The Death Side and Japanese HC influence is almost gone as there is only one song with fast (ie thrashin') parts, and in its place, I hear a lot of Killing Joke, Amebix, High On Fire and Bolt Thrower. Yes...BOLT THROWER...a lot of it. Ever since I saw Matt Pike (High On Fire) tell the sound guy at a show to put on the s/t Tragedy LP some years ago, I could see a little circle of influence that the two bands started having on each other. Especially on Nerve Damage for Tragedy, and on this new album it is glaringly obvious. I have to admit, on first listen, I wished at different times for a classic Tragedy Japanese HC style ripper, but then it was "Oh shit, nevermind, this part is sick." The title track, "Darker Days Ahead" is by far my favorite, it is a Killing Joke style headbanging mechanical anthem that can easily stand up there with the best songs in their catalogue. "We never think of the future. It comes soon enough" has been echoing in my head for days. I love the 2nd song, you know the one that usually has a fist pumping, headbanging pace on their albums...and of course, the Motorhead style stomper, "Power Fades" is another immediate stand out for me. The only song I am not real crazy about is "The Feeding Hour," but one out of 4 albums and 2 7"s is nothing to cry about.

In truth, this still sounds like the same band; just imagine an album full of the slower and mid paced songs from the 1st 2 records with a modern day doom metal drum sound and a little more experimentation with the guitar riffs. The guitar sound is similar, the lyrics and vocals are of the top quality that I have come to expect from this band (Todd with the Entombed-howls and Billy with the Bastard-growls). The only thing that could really make me like this more is if they had a couple fast hardcore tunes on here, but maybe that would have been at odds with some of the production values they chose (they recorded with Billy Anderson instead of Polymorph this time). I think some people are not going to like this, but then again others will love the freshness and new direction.

Steel your patience and withold your Ebay dollars from the flipper-scum, this will be widely available soon enough.

4 / 5 bells

WHAT? A brand new FACE UP TO IT! 7" ??

FACE UP TO IT! 7"
(STONEHENGE//France)

That's right, after several years, France's FACE UP TO IT! have a new 7". Fuck your trendy HC, this is for the true fan. 7 songs of RIP ROARING savage HC. When I first put this on at 45 RPMS, I thought I had it on the wrong speed...nope, this shit is fast. Some of you may remember that they were around when the thrash bands of the 2000s were at their peak. They are still playing in this style, but fuck, this rages. Nice layout, great songs, nice time changes, tight fuckin execution, I can't find anything wrong with this record. If this isn't cool enough for you, you're a damn fool.

4.5 / 5 bells

V/A STEP INTO THE LIGHT 12" & VENDETTA 7"

VENDETTA 7"
(VENDETTA MUSIC//Japan)

FANTASTIC 4 song 7" from VENDETTA from Japan. This year I vowed to slow down on my consumption of new Japanese HC releases, but I couldn't resist this one based on the reviews that I was reading. They have a raw sound mixed with a great melodic, UK82 vibe that I am just a sucker for. I gushed enough about the 2nd SKIZOPHRENIA 7" when it came out, but I think this record is even better!

4.5 / 5 bells

 

V/A STEP INTO THE LIGHT 12"
(NINGEN-DO//Japan)

This is one compilation that I didn't want to buy. It was expensive and each band only has one song. I prefer a good solid JPHC comp to have 3-4 songs from each band. Then you also have the problem that most comps just aren't that good anymore...but Japanese comps tend to be able to pull this off better than most places. I went ahead and said "fuck it" and bought this with the VENDETTA 7". There are lots of bands that I like on it, so why not, when convenience is on my side? Most of these bands are more on the melodic UK side of things, which is a nice little twist from what Japanese HC is most known for. This is kind of a part 2 of The ACTION 7" comp that came out a few years ago. I absolutely love the ROUGH STUFF song (saw them play a great set last year on the GASMASK TERROR Japanese tour), and of course, the SKIZOPHRENIA, FOLKEIIS (although I wish they would go for less of a muddy guitar sound) and VENDETTA songs are great too. The multiple inserts are really cool, each band gets a side of a separated 7" size insert. Although I would have been in favor of less bands and more songs on this comp, I still say this is a keeper (although not essential).

band listing:

Side A
ROUGH STUFF
VENDETTA
END OF SEEDS
THE DRUNK BO!S
REJECT

Side B
THE LAST MOMENT
SKIZOPHRENIA
FOLKEIIS
STRANGENESS

3.5 / 5 bells

ZYANOSE - Insane Noise Raid CD

ZYANOSE - Insane Noise Raid CD
(L.A.R.V.A.E.//Japan)

Ok, so obviously, we haven't done shit with this blog lately, been way too busy to keep writing detailed reviews. So I decided that I will just start reviewing everything that I take in for my personal collection. The reviews are going to be quick and dirty, but they will be much more plentiful and maybe timely enough to give people an idea on if they want to take a chance on something or not. Ironically, first up is the new ZYANOSE CD.

After Amanda and I got rid of over 400 CDs this is the first new CD that I bought in a while. First off, the packaging is great, I love how it looks like a pop CD, I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but the scrawled CRASS shirt girl was a nice touch. To top it all off, this cute looking CD is called INSANE NOISE RAID!

This 9 song ditty has actually given me a bit of a sigh of relief in knowing that I am not just some old hardcore dude that hates all the new noisy HC bands. The sound is perfect for what they are trying to do, and the bass guitar is fuckin' burly. The songs are well crafted, the CD goes through some nice time changes, too. I found that I was gritting my teeth through the whole CD. Love it.

Catch them if you can at Chaos In Tejas this year. Also, word is that this will be issued on vinyl by Black Water soon. I hope they keep the same vibe on the packaging!

4 / 5 bells

5/17 TRAGEDY show in Columbus

Columbus, OH
Thurs. 5/17
@Carabar 9pm
115 Parsons Avenue


TRAGEDY
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
NUKKEHAMMER
SILO