Alcoholics Unanimous - It Pays to Drink! CD (Brilliancy Prize) - Second CD by these drinkers, and the first from the Philadelphia version of the group. AU consist of a couple members of Rancid Vat and some others doing all drinking songs (mostly covers). The sound is a blend of old rock n roll and old country , very cool and would be great drinkin music even without the lyrical bent. The Whiskey Rebel handles most of the vocals in this version of the group - it's his first time that I know of that he did lead vocals and he sounds pretty good. Anyone who likes rock n roll and drinking must own this disc...that's all I'm gonna say except to leave you with some song titles to give you an idea what to expect - "I'd Rather Stop Breathing than Stop Drinking", "I Only Hate You When I'm Sober", "Wine", "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down", etc, etc. For more information, click here!
Angry Aryans - Negrodation Of Character 7" (Tri-State Terror) - Yes, this record is just as extreme and vile as you would guess from the band and record titles. Main reason I checked this out was because this is the first band that I know of that has ever covered Black Flag's "White Minority". Musically these guys remind me of a cross between NYHC and Cocknoose, with the vocals on the HC side of things. The lyrics on this are all centered around one topic (guess what it is...) and are as brutal as the music. This record is bound to offend everyone, I'm pretty jaded as far as being shocked by something but it even threw me a bit. It's up to you to decide if you want to support it, but if the musical description interests you, I'd say go for it - this record is heavy and energetic as fuck. For more information, click here!
Antiseen - Mean Woman Blues one sided 7" (Our Area, Germany) - Two new studio covers this time from Antiseen. The title track appeared in a live version on the recent COS Supershow 97 comp - the tune is pretty straight-forward so needless to say, this version is not a whole lot different, still nice to have a studio recording of it though. The second tune is the Stooges "1969" which originally appeared on the b-side of the Masters Of the Sky 7". This version is actually a bit different from their previous cover of it - it';s obviously taken from the same recordings that produced the "Jailhouse" track - in fact at the end of the song, you can hear the recording fade out into "Jailhouse". Good stuff all around as always - very nice full color cover, and colored vinyl - and probably pretty limited, this should be a nice collector item for all Antiseen fans.
Antiseen - 15 Years, 3 Chords, and One Hell Of A Bloody Trail book (Baloney Shrapnel) - Quite an ambitious undertaking here, around 200 pages covering the entire history (15 years, hence the title) of the Antiseen. Mostly a collection of stuff from other sources, ie. interviews from zines, tons of phots, reproductions of old flyers, etc. Also includes introductions from Jeff Clayton and Joe Young (the two original members of Antiseen still in the band) themselves. Overall, I learned quite a bit of stuff here even though I already knew a lot about the Antiseen. Jeff Skipski of Baloney Shrapnel did a nice job putting this fucker together. This is the type of thing that will only appeal to die-hard Antiseen fans though - so if you are one and don't have this yet, what the hell are you waiting for?? For more information click here!
Antiseen/Nothing But Puke split 7" (Our Area, Germany) - Quite a treat (or perhaps a curse) for the collector scum out there - this new split 7" is limited to 450 copies, with 3 different vinyl colors/sleeve colors (150 of each). Anyhow, I don't care about the color of the wax too much , just glad to have a copy of this. It's billed as Antiseen vs. Nothing But Puke - and is one hell of a showdown! Antiseen do a new version of their old tune "Absent Minded" - not a big revelation, but still a nice version. Nothing But Puke represent the Community Of Filth and were the definite underdogs on this split.. Their tune "Anthem" is simply heavy as fuck...and the vocals are gruff behind belief. This track blows away the tunes I heard from them previously on the Community of Filth comp. In fact, by just judging the two songs on this record, I'd say Nothing But Puke would have to be the winners this time around. Hopefully, they'll be some more NBP releases of this quality available soon!
Boulder - The Rage Of It All promo CD of upcoming LP (Riveronfire) - Cleveland's metal-core kings offer up their first full-length. Boulder are a hard band to pin down, their previous release, the 555 10", reminded me a lot of Sabbath or the Melvins. This release is a bit more aggresive than that release however. But still with a humorous edge to it. Try to imagine if Eyehategod all got really drunk and decided to take out most of sludge influence and release it with 80s metal influence. That would give you somewhat of an idea, though not exactly. Boulder sound really tight on this release, with guitar solos aplenty. Only complaint may be that some of the tracks go on a little bit too long. But overall, this release makes me want to go pick up a 12-pack and drink all night listening to some old metal!
Chaos 88 - Welcome To Atlantic City CD (Tri-State Terror) - Chaos 88 are a spinoff project from a racist skin band - as you could probably tell from their name, some of that attitude spills over into this project. Overall though, the lyrical bent here is more a GG-type "I hate everyone" attitude than a straightup racist one - there's only racial comments on two of the thirteen tracks here. If you've made it this far in the review, I assume you're more interested in the music than the band's attitude so let's have a look. Chaos 88 remind me a lot of Murphy's Law especially in the vocals - but the music seems more influenced by early 80s West Coast melodic punk with a bit of 77 stuff added in as opposed to ML's NYHC. The combination of music and lyrics is quite bizarre - as the music is pretty upbeat and fun sounding - but most of the lyrics revolve around violent drinking binges. OK by me though. There's a couple slower tracks on here that aren't that great. But the title track, "Dirty Whore" and "K9 Killer" are catchy as hell from the first listen. Also includes good covers of the Angry Samoans and Anti-Nowhere League as well as samples from such flicks as Falling Down, Henry and Silence of the Lambs. Well worth checking out. For more information, click here!
David Allan Coe - Recommended For Airplay CD (Lucky Dog) - This is the latest studio work from Coe - his first studio release on a major label in quite some time (maybe the first this decade). Of course this isn't Coe's finest release - he has over 50 releases out already and is around 60 years old. But this is still a very respectable work. Some of the tracks on here are actually tunes that can stand up to some of his classics such as "Drink Canada Dry" "Drink My Wife Away" and "A Harley Someday". As you can tell from the titles, Coe can still whip up a good drinking tune. Many of the tracks are based upon Coe's recent divorce (seems like you can say that about a lot of Coe albums) and have a slower bluesy feel to them. Not everything here is great, but there's really not anything too bad either. I wouldn't get this if I didn't have a bunch of stuff from Coe already - if you don't look for the X rated stuff and a greatest hits release first - but for fans, this is a good disc to pick up.
Crossface - 6 song demo CD (Nature Boy) - This is the first CD I have seen that was actually called a demo. Anyhow, Crossface are a new Cleveland hardcore band following in the tradition of the old school Clevo HC groups (Confront, Integ, Die Hard, etc, etc). None of the 6 tracks on this CD stand out like their influences did however. Not to say that this is a bad release, just not a particularly great one. Since I don't listen to a ton of NYHC sounding stuff, this probably won't get too much play from me. Still the first track "Out In Shame" is pretty catchy, and it is cool to see new groups playing this form of HC when it really isn't fashionable any longer. Not a bad start for a demo.
Dayglo Abortions - Stupid World Stupid Songs CD (GOD, Canada) - A greatest hits collection from Canada's finest. I assume most people here are well aware of the great Feed Us A Fetus LP - but many people seem to not be familiar with its followup Here Today Guano Tomorrow - where the guys cranked out total 80s metal simiiliar to what the Meatmen were doing at that time. Great record indeed. The Two Dogs Fucking LP was the last I had heard from these guys, and it was rather disapointing - still very metal influenced - but more of a thrash-core/crossover type sound - and a bit of seriousness added in the mix. On to this disc - it smartly sticks primarilly to the first two great discs previously mentioned - though there are quite a few selections from the last 3 records as well. Taking the best songs from those releases and mixing them in with old favorites makes them a lot more palatable. Still, I don't really dig how these guys reveal they are being sarcastic (like it wasn't obvious in the first place) on cuts like "Isn't This Disgusting" and "Homophobic Sexist Cokeheads" and the Persian Soup insert. Still though, this is an excellent disc for drinking - almost every cut is top-notch and there are 23 of them in a little over an hour. But why didn't they put "Dragons" on this release??
Desert Sessions Volume 5: Poetry For The Masses 10" (Man's Ruin) - This is my first exposure to the 'Desert Sessions' series... I guess the premise of this is that anyone can send in lyrics to be performed by someone - the line-up is different on every track but Josh from Kyuss seems to be the one element holding the series together. Anyhow, checked this out since Blag from the Dwarves does vocals on a couple of the tracks. The first track was pretty standard heavy-rock sounding stuff, pretty energetic and catchy though. The second track is just plain bizarre - a bunch of keyboards and drums while Blag whines a poem about domestic violence - pretty damn funny! The closer of side 1 "I'm Dead" is the most rocking song on the disc - one of the best tracks I've heard in a while but I have no clue as to who is playing it. Main highlight for Dwarves fans will be "Punk Rock Caveman Living In A Prehistoric Age" which has Blag singing over a good R&R tune. The quirky rock of "Goin To A Hangin" finishes off the disc. I'm pretty sure these releases are pretty limited so I'd recommend checking this out quick, all 5 tracks were above average. For more information, click here!
Drink Around The Clock zine (Brilliancy Prize) - A magazine comprised of nothing but drinking stories! Compiled by thee Whiskey Rebel of Rancid Vat. Many stories by Reb and Marla from Vat and the rest of the Confederacy Of Scum. As well as plenty by just plain unknown drinkers. I don't really want to go into much details on the stories, as almost all of them are fucking funny and I don't want to leave any out. This thing is fairly big, small print and next to no ads so trust me you'll be getting plenty of entertainment for your cash. About 100 times more entertaining than your average political-minded fanzines. They're also taking submissions for a possible second installment so start writing (and drinking!). For more information, click here!
Dwarves - Lick It CD (Recess) - A collection of the earliest Dwarves stuff, this covers the years 83-86. The first half of the disc is very similiar to the Horror Stories CD (except one of the versions of Lick It is missing). Also included are the tracks that were only on the first vinyl pressing of Horror Stories. The second half of the disc is what will interest Dwarves fans - all 6 tracks from the 12" the band released when they were still known as Suburban Nightmare. Also a bunch of other stuff that I really have no idea what it is (no liner notes to help out either) - probably unreleased Suburban Nightmare or Sexually Deprived Youth (another pre-Dwarves project). All this stuff sounds like basic garage rock - even more so than the Horror Stories LP. Dwarves fans who hate that record probably won't find too much of interest here. Even those who do will probably find this stuff more interesting for historical reasons than actually really great tunes. Some songs I never would have even guessed to be the Dwarves. One track does stand out though - "I Hate Girls" which is totally typical early 80s punk/HC - I wish more stuff like that had been included, but this is still a pretty cool release. For more information, click here!
Dwarves - Free Cocaine CD (Recess) - This is a vastly expanded reissue of Recess' previous Dwarves reissue "Toolin For Lucifer's Crank" (of course, one track off of that CD isn't here, and that CD is now out of print - but it's just a not-very-different sounding of "Fuckhead" thats missing). Anyhow, let's take a what at what's all here. First off, the "Lucifer's Crank" 9-song 7" in its entireity (despite what the title of the previous reissue may have led people to believe, it only contained a couple of the LC tracks). We also get the "I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend" and "Thats Rock And Roll" 7", a few tracks previously only available on obscure comp (Dope,Guns, and Fucking #5, Groin Thunder, The Secret Team comp on Bomp), and the "Toolin For A Warm Teabag" 12" in its entireity (not annoyingly cut off as on the original reissue). I'm not gonna comment too much on this stuff, as most hardcore Dwarves fans have already heard much of this stuff, except to say that if you haven't and consider yourself a Dwarves fan, much of the above-mentioned material contained on this disc is essential. What is really of interest to big Dwarves fans however are the 10 or so unreleased tracks. Much of the stuff has been unreleased in any version in the past (ie. these are songs that not many have heard before, not just alternate versions) and sounds like it was recorded sometime between Horror Stories and Lucifer's Crank. Very raw and very good stuff. "Fuck So Good" (covered by Blag's one-off bluegrass project Earl Lee Grace) is finally available, there's rather strange versions of "I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend" and "Fukking Life", and as previously mentioned quite a few completely unreleased songs that are real good. Only puzzling thing is the fact that the song "Sex&Violence" still hasn't appeared in legit form (it was available on a bootleg 7" of the same name) even when this would have been an ideal place for it - gotta save some stuff in case there's another reissue I guess! With the amount of unreleased stuff on here and 39 tracks total, this is a must. For more information, click here!
Dwarves - Sugarfix/Thank Heaven For Little Girls CD (Subpop) - I've written way too much about the Dwarves this issue to really say too much about this - just that it's pretty damn essential if you don't have the originals. This disc features all the tracks from Thank Heaven including the CD/7" only cut and the vinyl-LP only cut. Also includes "Gash Wagon" which was only released on the vinyl version of "Blood Guts N Pussy". I wish Subpop would have fully reissued everything - there's enough room on the disc - though only the Underworld CD single and the alternate version of "Speed Demon" are missing.
Gaza Strippers - Laced Candy CD (Man's Ruin) - Gaza Strippers are Rick Sims (of the Didjits, Lee Harvey Oswald Bands and a brief stint with the Supersuckers) new band, and won't be a big shock to fans of his previous work. The sound is very close to the later Didjits stuff, except that their is a slightly bigger sound with the second guitarist. The whole CD has a very big sound, great production, though not too clean as to be annoying. This band caught on with me a lot quicker live where I immediately thought they rocked. Both this release and their previous 7" took some time to grow on me though. A couple tracks such as the opener "Automat" and "Cmon Join the Ride" are straight-forward rockers that I loved from the first spin. But a lot of the more odd or poppy tracks such as "Brainwasher" and "Dear. Mr. Hubble" took a few listens. Wasn't sure if I loved it or hated em at first, but now I think this CD has very few moments that do not completely rock. And Sims lyrics are still as bizarre as they have been in the past. If you dig any of the bands mentioned above, don't hesistate to check out this release. Also available as a 10" record, but it is missing 4 of the tracks. For more information, click here!
Gordon Solie Motherfuckers - Chairshot Politics 7" (Riveronfire) - A 7 song release from this spinoff of Nine Shocks Terror. Overall, I like GSMF better than Nine Shocks - it's cool to hear Tony Erba on vocals again. The music is a bit less Jap-core influenced than 9ST with some early 80s punk and youth crew HC influences thrown in. "Corporate Jobbers" is definitely the best track - a rager of a song combined with venomous lyrics concerning the state of pro wrestling in 1999. Fans of this style will love this shit. I think it's pretty damn good myself but after reading the liner notes, I kinda wish they would have persued the original concept of the band some more (the original plan was to be a sillier group with a complete wrestling theme and a stageshow to match).
Hammerhawk - The Future (Written In the Past) CD (HMF, Netherlands) - Hammerhawk is an old metal band of the Netherlands that played some gigs with the Mentors in California as well as their US tour. This CD is a compilation of old Hammerhawk stuff from the early 80s to the 90s along with some brand new stuff. I dig old metal, but this isn't quite in my category. I enjoyed quite a few parts of it though. Especially the cover of "God Of Thunder". Some other choice moments as well such as "Deep Sea Tragedy" and "Discovery". Not as much sick humor as I would have expected from a band that toured with the Mentors but "Blow Up Doll" shows some definite Mentors sicko influence in its lyrics. A pretty good CD that probably won't appeal to many reading this, but worth checking out for the metal fans.
Hellacopters - Doggone Your Badluck Soul 10 " (Man's Ruin) - I haven't been able to keep up with the massive amounts of Hellacopters stuff being released, so I picked up this up assuming it was new material. Actually this is a reissue of the Hellacopters portion of the Hellacopters/Gluecifer split 10" that was released in Sweden though I think the title track (the sole original) may have been added on later as it doesn't seem that all this stuff would fit on one side of a 10". Also, Man's Ruin has released a CD containing this 10" and the Gluecifer stuff, as well as a Gluecifer 10" with their stuff on it. Got all that?? If not, go search for a Hellacopters discography page. Anyhow, enough with all the info, let's get to the music on this record. Quite a different sound than I am used to hearing from the Hellacopters, much less punk-influenced and more rock though this may be due to the fact that 4 of the 5 songs are covers. Didn't like it too much at first but it grew on me in a hurry. The MC5 and Bob Seger covers are my pick out of the covers. The original track is a straight-up 7-minute chunk of stoner rock ala Kyuss/Monster Magnet which wasn't really what I was hoping for from this release, but is damn nice nontheless. 10" is limited to 3000 copies, 3 different sleeves for the collector scum. For more information , click here!
Hellacopters - Grande Rock CD (Subpop) - The third full length LP from the Hellacopters (not even including the 10"s, splits, etc!). Seems that they might be cranking out stuff a bit too fast these days, as this LP really doesn't have the edge that their first two LPs did. The first LP was great - a mix of New Bomb Turks type stuff with some obvious Kiss influences. The second LP was quite good as well even though the 'rock' sound was definitely starting to take over. The 'rock' is about all that remains on this latest release. In fact, it sounds quite a bit like the record reviewed above, except that these are all original songs - so the novelty of hearing the Hellacopters do a bunch of rock cover doesn't carry over to here. Don't get me wrong, there are a few good tracks on here....but this is pretty weak compared to their earlier efforts. Hit List - issues #1 and #2 (zine) - Hit List, for those in the dark, is a new zine created by Jeff Bale (co-founder of MRR). Quite a batch of writers he has gotten together here. You get such heavyweights such as Tesco Vee, Jeff Dahl, Whiskey Rebel, Gregg Turner, Frank Kozik, among others that do not interest me quite as much that have recently bailed from MRR. This is the type of zine that should have popped up a long time ago. Sure, there have been some interesting publications here and there such as the ones put out by Whiskey Rebel and Alan King, but nothing with as wide coverage as this. The zine's main goals seem to be promoting kickass rock n roll and promoting free speech. MRR has been a PC dinosaur with next to nothing worth reading for quite some time now, Flipside has way too much stuff that does not interest me whatsoever and is more geared to those in California. The newer zines that have popped up to attempt to provide an alternative to MRR aren't much better than that rag themselves. Hit List isn't without its own faults, but it's the first zine that seems like it will come out on a regular basis that is actually exciting to pick up. Things I could certainly do without is all the emo coverage is the record reviews which really don't seem to fit with the mag's character. Also, since many of the zine's writers are just leaving MRR now, there is a lot of debate about that zine which isn't always all that interesting. The potential of this new mag is tremendous however, and I hope that it is met. Issue #1 featured a long and fairly interesting (if confusing) article about "Lords Of Chaos", a book written about the black metal scene. Issue #2 features an article about the Confederacy of Scum written by Jeff Skipski (wish this would have been as in-depth as the black metal article, oh well...), the Templars, a profile on Junk Records, and plenty more. Not all of the article topics are real interesting to me but they all do seem to be well-written and intelligent. The majority of Hit List writers have been around one hell of a long time, and are interesting and know how to write - things that cannot be said about many other zine writers today.
Hookers/Electric Frankenstein - split CD (Man's Ruin) - A CD compiling a 10" from each bands along with bonus tracks from each band. Pretty good deal for those of us that don't demand stuff on vinyl (though vinyl is always nicer...). The Hookers feature the ex-drummer of Nine Pound Hammer (who featured Blaine, now of Nashville Pussy on vocals) on vocals and this was my first exposure to them. They sound pretty much like you'd expect, in the Nine Pound Hammer/Nashville Pussy vein. I wasn't blown away by their half though, even though this is the type of stuff I dig. A couple songs (Rock N Roll Motherfucker, Let's Get High) were really great. But a lot of this stuff just doesn't stand out at all amidst all the other bands that have been doing this type of stuff lately. Pretty good Antiseen cover though. This disc was also my first exposure to Electric Frankenstein believe it or not. They didn't grab me at first but I ended up digging their half more than the Hookers. EF aren't dramatically different than other 'rock' bands around these days, but their influences do seem to reach a bit farther than other bands. Quite a few standout tracks - "Hostage Situation", "Hammered" and "You're So Fake" are my favorites on the disc. It's obvious these guys have listened to their share of Dead Boys, Stooges, Pagans, etc and have managed to come up with a somewhat unique sound. Good stuff, even if they're not quite as great as the hype would have me believe. Criticisms aside, this is a fun release to down some beers too. For more information, click here!
Integrity 2000 - s/t CD (Victory) - The change of band name from Integrity to Integrity 2000 isn't just a gimmick - it shows the beginning of a new Integrity line-up. Only Dwid remains from the previous line-up. The new bands consists of some members of 216 and Mushroomhead, and vocals are actually shared with Jay (216/Mushroomhead/State Of Conviction). I think just about every previous thing Integrity has done has been great, but haven't cared for much of the 216/Mushroomhead stuff, so I had some doubts about this release. Luckily, those doubts were unfounded for the most part unfounded - this release is as heavy as anything Integ has done in the past. There are some major differences though - most noticably in the guitar style - Dave Felton is the sole guitarist here, so there are fewer solos than with the Melnick/Novinec line-up. Also, where Aaron Melnick's style seemed to be influenced at times by early 80s metal, Felton's seems to be more 90s influenced (Pantera, etc). And make no doubts about it, this is metal record 100% - Dwid has been quite vocal in the past about his disillusionment with today's HC scene and that is very obvious here. The other major difference here is the precense of a second vocalist which is quite hard to get used to - but works to great effect at times such as on "Violated". "The Burden Of Purity" is another stand-out track, which manages to incorporate a violin providing a very odd backdrop to the song. Overall, this is a great heavy release and should be checked by those are not metal-phobic or expecting another "In Contrast Of Sin" or "Those Who Fear Tomorrow". Also, as has been the case with other recent Integrity efforts, the last half-hour of the CD version includes a couple tracks that are more in the Psywarfare vein - this time consisted of jungle beats, backwards music, and a ton of strange effects. Pretty interesting stuff, even though it sounds nothing like the first half of the disc. For more information, click here!
Limecell - Bloodthirsty Stalker 7" (Headache) - First release in quite a while from Philly's Limecell and it kinda threw me for a loop. I enjoyed what I've heard of their previous output, and especially liked their contributions to the recent COS live comps - but this is their best stuff yet. The A-side of this is a studio version of one of those live tracks - a good track on the Supershow CD but here with a pretty metal-sounding intro and a pretty mean-sounding rendition of the song all the way through - making this version even better. The B-side "Crazy Dave" is a short, fast rager of a song that kicks a lot of ass as well. I hope Limecell keep this intense sound up, and release some more stuff soon!
Melvins - The Maggot CD (Ipecac) - Well the Melvins lost their major label deal (no big surprise, I'm shocked that it lasted as long as it did) and seem to be no longer working with Amphetamine Reptile either. So they sign with a small indie and decide to release three new albums in a 6-month time period. For all the ups and downs in the Melvins career, they sure do have a lot of balls to attempt something like that. The Maggot is the first CD of this trilogy and is a return to their earlier all out heaviness that defined their output in the late 80s and early 90s. Those disapointed with the more experimental Melvins stuff will certainly be pleased. I am as well, I think this is their best release since Lysol. Some more strange sounds do pop up now and then but overall this album is propelled by Buzz's heavy as fuck riffs. If you liked the Melvins in the past, you'll like this - if not, you're probably not reading this review. Oh yeah, don't get too used to this return to their old style - the second and third release in the trilogy are supposed to be way out there...
Merzbow - Aqua Necromancer CD (Alien8, Canada) - Yet another release from the most prolific Japanese noise composer - Masami Akita. I have noticed a lot of people comment about Merzbow CDs recently that "hey, this release is actually pretty different from Merzbow's usual style!". Looking back at his releases in 1998, it seems that actually most of his releases this year have been different from his usual all-out harsh wall-of-noise type sound( Tauromachine on Relapse was probably the closest). This is a good thing in my opinion, not that I don't like his more harsh releases, just that you need to have quite a bit of variety when you release a CD every couple months or so (not an exageration, I can think of six Merzbow CDs released in 98, and I'm sure there's more stuff I don't even know about). With that said, let me warn that if you didn't enjoy the more experimental sounds of Merzbow's 1930, then you shouldn't bother with this release. On Aqua Necromancer, Akita takes some of the ideas begun on 1930 and pushes them even furthur with the addition of sampled beats and drums. In theory, this sounds like a good possibility of disaster - I haven't really been longing for a Merzbow release thats dancable! But this isn't dancable whatsoever, the sampled beats just add a hypnotic, psychedelic background for Akita to work his noise magic on top of. This is a very well thought-out release, making it the best Merzbow since 1930 in my opinion. For more information, click here!
Merzbow/Genesis P-Orridge - A Perfect Pain CD (Cold Spring, UK) - It was bound to happen - noise giant Masami Akita finally collobrates with Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV). I have to confess with being rather unfamiliar with the vast majority of Genesis' work. Perhaps, fans of his will enjoy this CD a bit more than I did Not to say that I didn't like it myself, just that it isn't one of Akita's stronger recent works in my opinion. The main problem seems to be that very little actual working together between the two actually occured. Genesis seems to have recorded some spoken word a few months before Akita fit it into his own noise creations. The recent trend of Merzbow releases being less harsh works well with the spoken word, nice job fitting it all together. While this can be a great CD to listen to at certain times (especially with headphones, without your full attention this CD isn't worth bothering with), I have to feel that it could have been quite a bit more than what it is. For more information, click here!
Monster Magnet - Space Lord picture disc 7" (A&M) - A pretty nice looking limited picture disc from Monster Magnet. The A-side is one of the lamer songs from their recent Powertrip CD and the first big radio hit from it. Slightly different version than the LP, actually I think it's a shorter edit that accompanies the MTV video. In other words, no big deal. The B-side is an unreleased track though and makes this thing worth picking up. It always bums me out when I think about how major labels bands such as Monster Magnet and Butthole Surfers end up having their best tracks on some barely obtainable single-type release, and that is what has happened here. However, fans should be pleased if they manage to get their hands on this release. Very nice slow, somewhat psychedelic track. Overall, even with the crappiness of some tracks on the last CD, Monster Magnet hasn't made much compromise to their original sound, which is a very good thing to see.
MSBR - Final Harsh Work #5 CS (Spite) - Pretty insane packaging on this one - I didn't pay too much attention to it when I bought it at the MSBR show - just that it came in a plastic bag with a dogtag identifying the tape and some bizarre object with it. Later found out that the object is an actual pig's nose and that it was attached to the cassette with a couple screws. The tape itself is pretty good as well - one long piece on each side totalling around 50 minutes. Not sure what the deal is with the title but this is a pretty harsh example of Japanese noise - changing quite often throughout each tracks - very complex and layered with some pretty psychedelic moments at times. I'm not a big fan of cassette-only releases but this is a nice release and a good reminder of the great MSBR show that I saw on his recent US tour. Numbered edition of 50 copies.
Mike Ness - Cheating At Solitare CD (Time Bomb) - I'm sure this solo release from Mike Ness of Social Distortion will have lots of people screaming "sellout!". I mean afterall, it's not very punk rock musically and has a guest appearance by fuckin Bruce Springsteen. Those with open minds will find quite a bit to like here however, at least if the more recent Social Distortion stuff is somewhat to your liking. The disc's sound is a mix of mellower Social D stuff, country and rockabilly and sometimes a bit of a swing influence as well. Some of the swing influence didn't go over too well with me, but most of the time it is merely a slight addition to a song that would not otherwise be classified as swing - I don't think many people will be dancing to this release. Ness's usual themes of hard luck, lost love, and kicking drug habits all pop up here as expected and fit well with the musical styles pursued. 13 original tracks and pretty good covers of Hank Williams and Bob Dylan. Not a great release, but an interesting change of pace that should be enjoyed by Ness fans.
KK Null - 0.0004 CD (Vinyl Communications) - Null's latest offering on Vinyl Communication doesn't differ much from his last release on that label, Extasy Of Zero-G Sex (reviewed last issue). Not too surprising as it was recorded in the same studio just a month after that release. Luckily, the quality of this release is about equal to that release as well which means it is another good listen. Once again the sound is created from solely guitar and Null's army of effects. Lots of layers to this release with looped guitar noise in the background with more changing guitar noise up front. A few very short tracks thrown in this time which are somewhat more assaultive at times than the previous release, as well as longer tracks that take a while to fully unfold. Overall, it's easy to say that if you have enjoyed other recent releases from KK Null, you'll probably want to check this one out as well. For more information, click here!
Poison Idea - Learning To Scream 7" (Taang!) - New 3 song release from Poison Idea, who without the mighty Pig Champion and the return of the original rhythm section are probably at their skinniest since the "Pick Your King" days. As might be expected, this sounds more like the early Poison Idea stuff than their more rock-sounding stuff they did before their breakup - this sounds closest to the "Kings Of Punk" LP with a bit more of a rock feel. None of the songs here have the amazing ferocity of trhat classic LP though - but certainly aren't bad either. Jerry's voice still sounds great, and all the tunes are fairly catchy. This is actually a damn good release compared to a lot of new stuff coming out, but still doesn't measure up to some of their earlier classics.
Rancid Vat - The Darkest Souls In Rock N Roll CD (Brilliancy Prize) - FIrst studio full-length release from the Vat in quite a while. This features both tracks from their recent split 7" with Born Bavarian (see below) and 7 other new tunes. Actually, Vat fans have already heard many of these tracks from recent live releases but the studio versions are a lot better in most cases. One of my favorites from the COS Supershow CD "Eat Hot Lead" is even better and more venomous here. After nearly 20 years, Vat's sound is still changing and still quite hard to pigeonhole. I'd have to say they sound like a combination of garage rock, COS stuff, country and metal right now - not an easy sound to imagine but it works really well. Also included on this disc is a bonus track containing a live radio broadcast that ends in disaster - very funny and I actually enjoyed it more than the Vat live CD from a year back despite the inferior sound quality. For more information, click here!
Rancid Vat/Born Bavarian - split 7" (Our Area, Germany) - 2 tracks from each band on this release - the Vat tunes are taken from their new CD (see above) - Vat sound very straight-up R&R with a slight country influence on these songs, good stuff. The first track is an ode to Jesco the Dancing Outlaw and the second is a Hank Williams cover. Germany's Born Bavarian represent the Community Of Filth (Germany's answer to the Confederacy of Scum - BTW, this is the first time COS and COF bands have appeared on the same release) with two tracks of their lo-fi grungy sound. Still haven't really figured out what to make of these guys yet - their sound is really crude and the vocals are gruff as hell. Still a unique and interesting sound however, and I'd have to say that the sludgy "Southern Fried" is my favorite of the two tracks. Limited to 500 copies.
Ruiners - Blank Your Life 7" (Non-Commercial) - First 7" from this Cleveland band that was around for a while in the mid 90s but ended after the H100s were formed. Now that the H100s are over and the rest of those guys are busy with 9 Shocks Terror, The Ruiners are back. Never heard them when they were first around, but this 7" is some damn good stuff. The band consists of Chris Erba (H100s), Schlacter (Inmates, Cider, etc), Wedge (9ST, H100s) and Bob Zeiger (Ringworm, Hangnail, etc). Those familiar with the other bands these guys have been involved with won't be too surprised at the sound of this record - straight forward angry Cleveland thrash. There are some parts of the record that are more mid-tempo sort of like Black Flag (circa Damaged) which mixes things up in an interesting way. Very good debut.
Season Of Discontent/Noumena split 7" (Gameboy) - A split release featuring harsh noise from Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Noumena represent PA and their side here is much more like their live sound than their previous CD. That CD was hard to describe - kind of ambient experimental guitar drones. This release also features guitars but they are only used as instruments of audio torture here. Good but it helps if you have seen them live so you can see how these sounds were created. Season Of Discontent are the Ohio side of the split and are all out electronic madness. Their sound has gotten much heavier since their original demo tape and their contribution here is also faithful to their live show. My main complaint about their live show is that it sometimes goes on too long - well that isn't an issue here since it is only a 7"! Bizarre aluminum foil packaging and colored vinyl. For more information , click here!
Septic Death - Crossed Out Twice CD (Bacteria Sour) - Finally all (well, most) of the Septic Death studio recordings all in one place - and best of all, this was released and put together by Pushead himself, not some shady semi-bootleg shit like other SD releases that have been popping up. This combines the Attention LP, Burial 7", Kichigai 7" along with a bunch of tracks I was unfamiliar with previously. I assume these are from the Japanese-only CD "Theme from Ozobozo" and the recent extremely limited 7"s. This newer material is good but a bit more complex than the early stuff which I enjoy more. Admitedly, this is probably because I have those earlier songs many, many times before and hadn't listened to the original vinyl in a long time. Anyone who has ever been a SD fan should pick this up even if they have most of this material - it's great having it all in one place and the packaging is amazing as is to be expected from Pushead.
SOD - Bigger Than The Devil CD (Nuclear Blast) - Was curious to hear this one and expected it to be pretty bad. I mean, afterall, the original SOD LP was released 14 years ago! Was actually better than I expected, but still it isn't a classic like the Speak English Or Die LP or even USA For MOD. The original lineup is all here, and the sound is pretty much like you would expect. Billy Milano's humor is pretty much the same as well. The main drawback to this release is that this group already did it all better over a decade ago - there is just no way for this release to have the same impact that the earlier stuff did. If I was still 15, I might be laughing my ass off but I still think I'd prefer the earlier stuff. That said, there is some funny shit here like "Celtic Frosted Flakes" and especially the two 'ballads' near the end of the disc which makes it worth at least making a tape of this from someone.
Supersuckers - Canpipe 7" (Aces & Eights) - Well, the new Supersuckers LP still hasn't come out due to all sorts of label problems (mainly due to some changes in several major labels) but here is a teaser with 2 cuts, neither one of which is supposed to be on the new LP. No country this time around just straight up rock n roll ala the old Supersuckers stuff. Canpipe is an ode to the beer can pipes that get made in times of desperation. If you don't know what I mean, the handy instructions on the cover will fill you in. The B side is "Play Some Rock N Roll" and sounds just like the title would lead you to believe it sounds. Overall, this is a damn good record and I really hope the full-length comes out sometime this year!
J. Wiese - Cat-Woman Is A Cat-Vampire 7" - Debut 7" from a new West Coast noise artist. J. Wiese is obviously following in the vein of a lot of Japanese artists. The A side of this is definitely more spazztic of the two, definitely reminds of Masonna. The B side is no less intense but relies much more on atmospherics than just plain extremity. This 7" is a good start and it should be interesting to see where J. Wiese goes from here. For more information, click here!
V/A - Bulit For Speed LP (Victory) - A tribute to Motorhead in case the title didn't tip you off - with the roster mainly consisting of Victory bands but with quite a few outsiders as well. There was only 4 tracks on here I was really interested in hearing so let's look at them first. Integrity's "Orgasmatron" is so close to Motorhead I wouldn't have identified it as Integrity but they do justice to one of my favorite Motorhead tracks Electric Frankenstein also comes through with "We Are The Road Crew" - great version! Zeke and Speedealer were the other two bands I was looking forward to checking out - and was satisfied by their songs but not blown away - they were just OK, credit goes out to Victory for including them though as they were more fit for doing Motorhead covers than most of the bands here. The other 7 cuts here range from passable to pretty stinky - it's pretty hard to fuck up a Motorhead song - but some of the bands seem to try their hardest. For more information, click here!
V/A - Destructo Rock - A Tribute To Antiseen CD (Baloney Shrapnel) - I gotta admit to not really digging tribute records - usually the band is not worthy of such a project or the bands doing the covers just plain suck and fuck the originals all up. This Confederacy Of Scum approved project fares pretty well though. Some of the best contributions come from Limecell, Rancid Vat, Punk Rockets (doing a cool medley of I Don't Ask You For Nothin and I Don't Need You), and the Tunnel Rats. No duds at all though and a good selection of tunes spanning Antiseen's career are represented. Of course, their isn't a lot of variety or drastic changes in the originals - but who the hell would want a pop-punk cover of the Antiseen or something anyways?? The most eyebrow-raising tune however is gonna be the one original tune on the disc provided by Bootleg Bill which gets included by mentioning Antiseen in the song. VERY un-PC is all I'm gonna say about the lyrics - Johnny Rebel also gets a shoutout if that gives you a clue - music is a nice mix of 77 punk with southern style rock - good track, and one that will probably piss a lot of people off. Also includes liner notes but Alan King of Hellstomper/Kill The Scene. For more information, click here!
V/A - Hot Curly Weenie Vol. 2 CD (Recess) - Picked this up almost exclusively for the new Dwarves track - which is a pretty good track although far from their best - sounds like it could possibly be an outtake from "Young And Good Looking" - no Blag vocals here though!. The rest of the stuff wasn't as bad as I expected though. Of course, the Quincy Punx are great, though both of their tracks are previously released. A few bands that surprised were Furious George who I always thought were pop-punk but actually have a fairly rocking sound at least on these tracks, Pud who contribute a nice Misfits-sounding tune though I suspect this track may be a departure from their usual style as I have heard them compared to OPIVY, Sex Offenders who play pretty good early 80s style stuff with female vocals. There's some other good stuff scattered around this disc as well. Of course, also tons of stuff that is way too poppy for my taste. Overall, the good points and the low price make this CD well worth getting, just stay near the skip button! For more information, click here!
V/A - Sadomachinism CD (Misantropic Agenda) - A compilation with pretty cool packaging and a pretty diverse lineup. The outer package for the CD is a piece of metal with the title hand-pressed into it. This package (and perhaps the enitre CD) is limited to 500. The lineup ranges from Japanese noise heavyweight, some Vinyl Communications artists usually associated with hardcore techno to a bunch of Cleveland's more well-known noise groups. Merzbow, Aube and KK Null represent the Japanese portion of the disc. Null offers up another interesting track of layered guitar noise that would fit just fine on his recent CDs. Merzbow's track is most surprising on the disc, combining his recent interest in incorporating drum sounds into his work while also featuring the all-out-noise assault he is best known for but which has been missing from his recent work. Kid 606 and Titwrench are the VC artists I previously mentioned and both of their tracks here are far less techno than I anticipated which is a good thing in my opinion. Interesting tracks from both. Cleveland is represented by Psywarfare, Lockweld, Season Of Discontent and Three Bloody Monkeys. Psywarfare's track is a bizarre blend of hard techno and industrial, not the type of stuff I would usually listen to but pretty aggressive and intense nontheless. Lockweld's track starts off somewhat mellow with Karen whispering over it, but quickly proceeds into the mayhem you'd expect. Season Of Discontent's track is taken from their demo that they released recently, a good straightforward harsh track, and even if you have the tape, it's worth hearing here as it's easily twice as loud on CD. Other artists on here are Carthage, Residual Orchestra, Gerritt and Never Presence Forever. Definitely a good comp to check out. For more information, send mail here!
V/A - Short Music For Short People CD (Fat) - 101 bands doing songs in the 30-second time range. Some pretty good bands on here which inspired me to check this out - Dwarves, Poison Idea, AOD, White Flag, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, etc. Those bands all offer up some damn good tracks and the first four I listed are even unreleased as far as I know. Unfortunately, much of this comp is in the same vein of stuff that Fat usually releases. In other words, general pop 'punk' crap that no one likes besides skaters and high school kids. Too many of these tracks seem like novelty tracks as well - bands that would never do a track in that time length except for this comp. Even with the short track lengths, too many of these songs get on my nerves. Worth it once if you're a completist of any of the bands listed above. Otherwise if the idea of a 100 bands on a comp is appealing, go search for the We Got Party comps on Mystic - you'll only get 40 at a time, but the quality is much better overall.
More Apt. 2324 E-zine #4
Whiskey Rebel Interview
Cleveland HC fest in Detroit report
Live Reviews
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