January 2014 – #368

Top Ten: 

HARD SKIN-live
LANDVERAAD-live
DESTRUKT-live
BACCHUS-live
VITRIOLIC RESPONSE-live
RUINED FAMILIES-live
CIORAN-live
INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL-live
WARPATH-live
DEAD RAMONES-live

BESTHÖVEN/FINAL SLUM WAR – split LP

In DISCHARGE worship as in life, some things never change. Thankfully, BESTHÖVEN is one of them. Twenty-three years into staking their claim as the world’s greatest (and most prolific) one-man D-beat band, this split finds Fofäo in top form, bringing us six new tracks—including a FORÇA MACABRA cover—of his huff 'n stumble brand of brilliantly inept noize. As usual, the production is paper-thin and bass-heavy, and of course there's nothing 'shredding' or 'technical'  about the guitar solos—they just fucking rip, ok? Those seeking a crash course in how to write anthemic shit-fi need look no further than 'This World is Dying'; seriously, I think I might never get that chorus out of my head. On the flip we have Barcelona's FINAL SLUM WAR playing some charging raw punk with an obvious debt to South American hardcore. While their songs tend to blur together a bit more, there's a buzzing metallic edge to the guitar tone that I really dug, and the vocals are satisfyingly dark with nice touch of cavernous 'verb. All in all, a great split, recommended without hesitation. (WB) (Rawmantic Disasters/Nuclear Fear/Imminent Destruction) 

FALTER – "Descent" EP

Angry, oft-chugging brutal hardcore from Milwaukee, FALTER cover a lot of ground in this ten-minute slab of bad feelings, hinting at a crusty atmosphere without actually going too far down that rabbit hole. While it’s mostly aggression and straight-up grime, the pretty, downtempo breakdowns were actually the highlight for me. Starting the second side of the 7” with one? Genius. Dark ‘core kids in the FULL OF HELL/SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP camp should definitely check this out, but to be honest I’ll probably just wait ‘til they start a doom band a few years from now. (WB) (Reality is a Cult)

GERANIÜM – LP

A repress of a record that was criminally overlooked (at least in the U.S.) in 2012, this is massive, sometimes gorgeous screamo/crust of the highest order. GERANIÜM hail from France and deliver a tense, deliberate take on the neocrust sound, coming off like a more fragile AGE OF COLLAPSE. Along with a plentiful trove of great crescendos and raging D-beat breaks, the vocals are a critical component, supremely raw and with a serious sense of passion and pain—worked for EKKAIA and it works here. Every time you think you’ve figured out what they’re up to, there’s a new element that’s just as gripping as what came before it, and the riffs feel instantly familiar in a way that let’s you know this is a record to remember. So many bands collapse under the weight of their ‘epic’ intentions, but GERANIÜM know how to make every note count, and there’s a immediacy throughout that few in this style are able to pull off. I need to get my hands on the split they just put out with FINISTERRE, damn. (WB) (Dingleberry/Dream Comes True/Up The Punx/Lubic/Contraszt!/Emergence/Tanker/Subversive Ways)

KRATZER/KVAZAR – split LP

A Greco-German collaboration twice over (one band and one label representing each country), fans of modern blasting hardcore should definitely give this one a shot. Thesaloniki's KVAZAR definitely own the split for me, solidly crusty grind that manages to sounds nasty while incorporating some melodic elements that give the songs a sense of depth and variety. KRATZER start on a similar note—though the focus here is more on dark hardcore than pure grind—and I definitely enjoyed the first few songs, but as their side progresses things go in a more shimmery post-metal direction that left me cold. Oh well. I guess this is KVAZAR's final release, apparently they've been broken up since 2010! Damn, guys, I hardly knew ye. (WB) (Blastbeat/7 Degrees) 

LAVATCH – "Mental Deterioration" CD

A lot of bad decisions went into this one, oof. This group of angst-ridden souls from Cologne waver between melodic hardcore and tuff metalcore breakdowns with way, waytoo many crab vibes, throwing in the occasional spacey part for good measure. A lot of the more upbeat sections are honestly just pop-punk with mismatched screams laid over them, and really the whole thing just feels too clean for it's own good. There's no denying the sincerity of LAVATCH's intentions, and every once in a while a riff will pop up that's pretty damn awesome, but the world of polished hXc this represents means nothing to me. (WB) (Mudcore)

V/A – "Monomaniac, Vol. 1" EP

The concept is simple: throw together a bunch of today’s illest fast bands and have them each contribute a song (or three) in the minute-ish range. There’s some serious heavy-hitters on this 7”—THEDOWNGOING (Australia), SETE STAR SEPT (Japan) and DETROIT (Canada, confusingly) give an idea of the international intention here—and whole thing feels coherent despite the wide range of grind and black/death metal sounds it encompasses. Never thought I’d see CLOUD RAT and DIOCLETIAN on the same record, that’s awesome. I’m generally pretty compilation-skeptical—especially in the oversaturated world of latter-day grindcore—but this is just a great record from start to finish, with zero throwaway material and more than a few new bands I’m stoked to have discovered. There’s more to come, apparently, so keep eyes peeled in the future. (Blastbeat)

Year-End Top Ten for 2012

MAUSER – "Isolation" EP (La Vida Es Un Mus / Vinyl Rites)

MAUSER are one of those bands where every release manages to outshine the one that came before it, and the latest 12" only cements their spot at the top of the current U.S. raw punk dogpile. Crossed paths with these dudes on tour in New Orleans, where they tore the roof off the tiny cafe space we were playing, and they had hands-down one of the best sets at Chaos in Tejas. Their drummer is a fucking beast (Hi Mike!), and "Deterioration" is a serious contender for my favorite mid-tempo hardcore song ever. That upcoming tour with FOLKEIIS and MUNDO MUERTO is definitely one of the more exciting things I'm looking forward to in 2013.

PERMANENT RUIN – Demo (Self-Released) + "Hell is Real" EP (Adelante Discos)

There's no question in my mind, PERMANENT RUIN was the Bay Area hardcore band of 2012, playing about a million shows and blowing away every single crowd with their blistering, faster-than-thou anthems of smash. What's not to love? All three of their releases from last year (a bulk of the demo was released as a flexi by Radical Punks Never Die) are shining examples of what DIY can aspire to, with brillantly searing artwork and lyrics and absolutely killer recordings. Some of the best noise not music made by some of the raddest people in punk. Never sleep.

RØSENKØPF – LP (Weird)

Far and away the most-played new record in my house last year. The eau d'goth was certainly in the air in 2012, but no one can accuse RØSENKØPF of being trend-followers or retro knockoffs, if for no other reason than there's simply no one else making sounds out there quite like this (if you put a gun to my head I guess I'd describe it as psychedelic anarcho-industrial darkwave?). Their live set was something else, employing a whole mess of fun toys to realize those throbbing, trance-inducing beats by any and all means necessary. We played with them on a show in El Paso (watching Soren discover his first night out that he'd accidentally bought a four-foot-long kids sleeping bag was definitely up there for most adorable moment of tour) and when I caught them two weeks later at Oakland's Terminal they were even more mind-bogglingly seamless.

CLOUD RAT –  splits with REPUBLIC OF DREAMS (IFB / Moment Of Collapse / React With Protest / 50 Year Storm) and XTRA VOMIT (IFB)

CLOUD RAT have been around for a few years, but like many folks I came across them only recently, having been instantly converted upon hearing their split with XTRA VOMIT a few months ago. CLOUD RAT are indeed a grind band, but one whose lineage has as much to with (fucking great) screamo and the dreamy, esoteric margins of black metal as it does with ASSÜCK (don't worry, these kids probably totally love ASSÜCK too). "Emotive" is a descriptor that would make a lot of trve grind fans gag, but fuck 'em, because CLOUD RAT are putting out some of the best loudfastshit in the world right now. Their LP "Moksha" is coming out any day now and I will be shocked if it's not one of the best records of 2013.

ZYANOSE – "Noise Philia 2005-2011" LP (540 / Todo Destruido) + "Isolation" EP (Distort Reality)

Japan's most glorious crasher crust disaster, ZYANOSE have recognized that bringing the chaos is a practice best informed by being totally wasted, and this is an ethos which obviously permeates everything that they do as a band. There were so many memorable sets at Chaos in Tejas (still can't get over how good WINTER was) but ZYANOSE was easily the most boisterous and fun, and their ability to produce absolutely paint-peeling noize punk shriek with two basses and no guitars still has me scratching my head six months later. The discography roundup is totally essential for anyone who recognizes that inner ear canals are extremely overrated, while the new EP shows off a band at the top of their game, doing what they do best and clearly having way too much fun. "Aaaaaaaaaargh" never sounded so sweet.

ALARIC/ATRIARCH – split LP (20 Buck Spin)

Another record that I know I'll be listening to for many years to come, this split was the logical conclusion of a long-time affinity between the two bands, who have toured together more than once and who I've personally seen play together more times than I can count. ALARIC are one of the few modern acts whose effects-laden sound I'd consider worthy of comparison to THE CHAMELEONS (my favorite post-punk band), and I continue to be amazed by their ability to stay true to their early 80s source material within an utterly modern recording aesthetic. "So Far Down" is one of most memorable tracks in their repertoire but the closer "Weep" is the real standout here, an absolutely devastating riff that builds out into an wistful, expansive dirge; I'm not exaggerating when I say ranks up there as one of my favorite goth/post-punk songs of all time. ATRIARCH continue to refine their CHRISTIAN DEATH-meets-blackened doom approach to great effect, and I think the material here is their finest, most coherent to date.

WATER TORTURE – "Shellfire!" EP (Diseased Audio) + splits w/ SEA OF SHIT (Diseased Audio) and THEDOWNGOING (Nerve Altar)

We have seen the future and it is fucking horrid. Mutants of all stripes will find refuge in the demented sounds of WATER TORTURE, where fist-crushing powerviolence merges with all manner of bleep-blorping electronic goodness to bring the MAN IS THE BASTARD trajectory into the 24th century. Splits with some of the best punky blasters out there right now only seal the deal: WATER TORTURE are one of the most exciting bands I got into last year, and probably the most fun I've had listening to a grind record since that crazy PSUDOKU rewired my consciousness in late 2011.

HEXIS – "Seputus/Fatum" 45 (Black Lake / Skaven / Monotonstudio / Enjoyment / Gardens / Braincrushing) + "X" EP (IFB/Maximum Douglas/Orchid Scent/Parade of Spectres/Panda Banda)

Nightmare music of the highest order. In a year that saw so many mediocre (not to mention sketchy) fusions of black metal and dark hardcore, HEXIS from Copenhagen were one of the few that did it right, integrating European heaviness a la BLACK FREIGHTER into a deliciously nauseating mindfuck that bears an avant-garde kinship with bands like PORTAL and EHNAHRE. No matter how many times I listen to these songs, HEXIS always seems to trigger the same sense of anxiety and impending doom. Then again, I keep putting it back on…

BELGRADO – "Panopticon/Vicious Circle" 45 (La Vida Es Un Mus)

It would have been easy for BELGRADO to stumble or stall after releasing their landmark self-titled LP, but if their newest material is any indication, the creative well has far from run dry. Lucky for the rest of us! As we all know by now, it's easy enough to throw on some reverb and recreate that sound, but BELGRADO set themselves apart from so many post-punk revivalists by writing great fucking songs, and the two at hand are no exception. The vocals—and oh, that guitar tone!—retain an instant familiarity, but with a strangely timeless quality, and there's no denying their mastery when it comes to painting paranoid landscapes with an almost cinematic precision. I don't want to say that their set at 1-2-3-4 Go! was a revelation—that's way too corny—but I think I just did.

COMMUNION OF THIEVES – "To Serve Man" Demo (Self-Released)

At the risk of gushing, COMMUNION OF THIEVES are basically in 'dream band' territory for me, tempering their epic d-beat crust foundation with a dose of gorgeously atmospheric black metal to produce some of the most incredible songs I've heard in the decade or so that I've been listening to punk. Lyrics in Spanish and English explore feminism, religion and the soul-crushing realities of industrial civilization with a first-hand focus on the experiences of immigrants on the U.S./Mexico border, and Alison's perfectly caustic vocals add a whole other dimension to the music. The first time I came through El Paso on tour COMMUNION OF THIEVES was supposed to play but had to drop at the last minute, being replaced by their awesome death metal/crust side project NUCLEAR SCORN. Needless to say, I was thrilled when we got booked with COMMUNION and RØSENKØPF this time around, and it would be an understatement to say they exceeded all of my expectations; seriously, some of the most inspired drum work I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live. Real talk, there is no band in the world right now whose first full-length I want to hear more.

Reissues

DISCHARGE – All EPs (Havoc)
WARRIOR KIDS – "Les Enfants De L'Espoir" LP (Katorga Works)
KNOTS – "Action/Heartbreaker" 45 (Last Laugh)
VARUKERS – "Another Religion, Another War" LP  (Havoc)
CURRICULUM MORTIS – "Sentencia de Muerte" LP (Ultra Sonido)
PICTURE FRAME SEDUCTION – "Hand of the Rider" LP (Queer Pills)
THE DICKS – "Hate The Police" EP (1-2-3-4 Go!)
MAN IS THE BASTARD / AUNT MARY – split (Six Weeks)
ABUSE – "Manifest: 1994-2004 Discography" CD (Haunted Hotel)
ABADDON – "Wet Za Wet" LP (Warsaw Pact)



More records that ruled it: D-CLONE LP, PUTREFACTION LP, REIVERS LP, PASSIV DÖDSHJÄLP EP, NO STATIK EPs + LP, HAMMERS 10", CONDITION EP, NEW FLESH DEMO, DAWN OF HUMANS EP, CRIMINAL CODE LP + EPs, AGE OF COLLAPSE LP, HUNTING PARTY EP, LOTUS FUCKER LP, SYSTEMATIK DEMO, FORWARD LP, SICK/TIRED EP, TEMPEST EP, TRAGEDY LP, T.A.D.R.O.E.V. DEMO, VACCINE/COKE BUST SPLIT, RAPE REVENGE EP, VUEVE S.S. EP + SPLIT, HUMANXWASTE DEMO, HOST EP, NEON PISS LP, DNF EP, JUNGBLUTH DEMO, KROMOSOM EP, TO THE POINT EP, ORDSTRO DEMO, CRIMSON SCARLET 45, YADOKAI EP, SIX BREW BANTHA LP, ANASAZI DEMO, ARCHAGATHUS/PIZZA HI-FIVE SPLIT, YADOKAI EP, REPLICA DEMO, GHASTLY SPATS EP

Demo Reviews – February 2012

HOOKERS MADE OUT OF COCAINE – A sigh of disappointment and an eye-roll from me on this band's name and the title of their practice space demo, 'Whoricane.' What we have here is a drum/bass two-piece that play catchy, sometimes-sludgy punk with both members singing (mostly) in unison. Without being a throwback band in any sense, this has a distinctive punk-turning-into-hardcore vibe that had me thinking of Southern California in the early 80s. Half of the song names are seemingly arbitrary combinations of numbers and letters (e.g. S-319), suggesting these are working titles, or perhaps something weirder, I really couldn't tell you. (Will) (7-track CD-R, no lyrics included, donovantroth@aim.com)

FAMILY STONED – This demo finds FAMILY STONED expanding from a base of fuzzy garage rock into more cosmic dimensions, hopping between the throbbing pulse of krautrock and the bedroom psych of 80s revivalists THE RAIN PARADE without getting stuck too long on any one particular kick. I got really stoked at one point on what sounded like a perfect homage to the homespun glory of NEIL YOUNG's best work, only to quickly realize I was in fact listening to a cover of his "Helpless." Ha! This tape feels like a lazy Olympia summer full of bongwater stains and faint, sentimental memories. Highly recommended, recommended for the high. (Will) (5-song cassette, no lyrics included, thefamilystonedolympia@gmail.com)

LITTLE MISS AND THE NO NAMES – Brash, smarmy, and fun as all hell, LITTLE MISS AND THE NO NAMES channel the gritty-yet-poppy glory of first-wave U.S. hardcore to full effect on this debut release. Hailing from Boise, Idaho, this band has a couple members of SEPTIC DEATH, though you'd probably never guess that from this recording. This tape took me a few listens to warm up to, but I've had the 'Small Town, Small Minds' line from "Scene Hick" stuck in my head for about four weeks now and it's not showing any sign of moving on. (Will) (4-song cassette, lyrics included, headbonesmerch@gmail.com)

BERSICKER – Fitting perfectly into the current global "raw punk" tendency, BERSICKER from the UK pummel your stereo with primitive, bass-heavy d-beat, played at a slow, deliberate tempo alongside some deliciously delayed-to-shit vocals. Lyrical themes are, you guessed it, typical crust fodder (think nuclear war and you'll be off to a warm start), but I was happy to discover the band opting for a more sideways approach than the standard shock-troops-n'-gasmasks fare. Like any good hardcore set, this demo is way, way too short, and always ends right as I remember how fucking stoked on this band I am. (Will) (3-song CD-R, lyrics included, theonebersicker@yahoo.co.uk)