Gaikkodibehtet Muvrrat Vuolás

You know I'm a sucker for this stuff. Diaspora are, you guessed it, female fronted crust/peace punk/hardcore... this time from Helsinki. The "Gaikkodibehtet Muvrrat Vuolás" LP contains 16 tracks of the good stuff: it's fairly straight forward, catchy at times, and always pissed off! Think of them as a more melodic Antischism, a less melodic Harum Scarum, a less dark Ojorojo, or an even more estrogen-powered Mushroom Attack! Think of them however you like; share your thoughts if you can find the time.

"Gaikkodibehtet Muvrrat Vuolás" LP

I posted a comp with one of their tracks here too. I believe this LP is out of print, but contact BBP Records (UK), Elderberry Records (Sweden), Ruin Nation Records (Germany), Witchhunt Records (Finland), or Yellow Fever Records (UK) to see if they've got any extras.

Oh, and Some members are in a great melodic punk band called War of Words.

Green As A Dying Whore

Between the post you see here and this post, you can have the entire Spine Wrench discography. I normally don't pay much attention to bands that use drum machines or could be considered "industrial," but Spine Wrench nail it real nicely. Not to mention, there's some residual crustiness from guitar/vocals man, Mid's, days in the mighty Deviated Instinct. In the two folders below, I've put rips of the EPs entitled "Tapping The Vein, " and "Spite Junkie," as well as re-ripped versions of the "Heeldrag" and "Soulscape" (this time from the CD edition which has an extra track) EPs, and a compilation version of the track "Spite Junkie" (all ripped @ at least 256 kbps). This should more than adequately meet your head-banging needs.


Spine Wrench Eps
Spine Wrench Splits

Song Of The Week: "Truth Right Now" (The Fix)

I wish I could be cool and say that I've been into The Fix since the beginning, but it isn't so; I only found out about them when Touch 'n Go Records finally released the retrospective LP. But discovering another contemporary of Negative Approach and Minor Threat that rivals each of those bands' greatness 30 years after the fact... it's almost as exciting as being there!

"Truth Right Now"

I can barely swim the tide
some official tells me save
every fuckin' cent I spend
I turn to dig my grave
I was looking on
concerned but not convinced
thought they'd gimme rope
They only wanted me lynched

It's my country
tis of thee
God sheds no grace
No not on me

Power overruns me
conspiracy so plain
nobody'd warned me
no profits bein' claimed
little bits of wisdom
we read but don't write
I wanna hear
the truth right now

Praying Into The Void

So this is it. The beginning and the end. This blog has a special emphasis on under-appreciated bands of the '90's, and Suicide Nation rank at the top. Black metal, grindcore, the sweaty chaos of living room shows, and blunt atheism... it was all harnessed and re-released in a cohesive tapestry by these five Arizona minstrels. The best material by them is always a little rough and ugly, but I wouldn't have it any other way. These two tracks, "A Prayer To The Void" and "City Of Demise" are superbly representative of this tradition and are essential if you enjoy the band's first LP. You can pick up their entire discography on this site, minus the second LP which is available here. If you know of any other vinyl output by SN that I've missed, please let me know!

The 7"

Creation Is A Suicide Nation

Some pretty rad cover art, huh? I call it... "Polar Bear in Ice Storm." If you look very closely, you'll see that this is indeed the Suicide Nation/Creation Is Crucifixion split 7". Unfortunately, I don't own the original press which actually does have cover art, but at least you get the two tracks and the lyric sheet. It saddens me a little knowing that this is probably my second to last post concerning Suicide Nation. Make sure you have their first LP and their split 7" with Yaphet Kotto (which are excellent!), and check back here in the next couple of days for one last piece to the puzzle. And, if SN's beautifully titled track, "The Covenant Of Shit," wasn't enough, we also have here the debut on this blog of noise/tech-grind/metalcore activists, Creation Is Crucifixion. Their track is pretty brutal and hair-raising; it's just too bad the production is so darn shitty!

The split

This Post Will Self-Destruct...

... in 24 hours! While I don't generally post records that are in print, this post is a gift to all the regular readers of this blog, especially Sean from NY who owns this split, but has no means of playing it. By now you might know Mass Grave (from Canada) who play brutal, high-energy grindcore that will satisfy fans of ENT or Disrupt any day of the week. They have other releases available that you should see about getting, too. Stormcrow should already be in your lexicon as well, but just in case, they are one of the best stench/crust-core bands going today. A couple of the tracks on this split have some gradual build ups, but eventually deliver the jugular attack this band excels at. You should still be able to find their full length, "Enslaved In Darkness," their split CD with Sanctum, and their split 7" with Skaven around in several places.

The Mass Grave/Stormcrow split was released by Agipunk and Mangled Ankle Records, but can be found in the states here, here, and possibly over there. It comes in a great gatefold sleeve, and if you have 12 or so extra bucks, it's more than worth adding to your collection!

Link has been removed. Enjoy these teasers:

Mass Grave- "Unconsciously Mundane"

Stormcrow- "Poisoned Minds"

Song Of The Week: "Silly Girl" (Descendents)

I've got some residual Valentine romance left in me on this oh-so amorous President's Day. I don't get excited over most holidays anymore, and truth be told, I can probably count the number of good Valentines Days I've had on a single hand. But lately, since finally getting it on vinyl, I've been listening to Descendents' "I Don't Want To Grow Up" a little too much. Somebody seriously needs to stage an intervention for me, because I just can't stop! I'm surprised the crack-like combination of eighties pop rock cheese and sap, and punk rock adrenaline rush hasn't been deemed illegal in most countries. I think if The Breakfast Club had been a more punk flick, this album would have been the perfect soundtrack. In many ways it became the soundtrack to my own teen experience. Of all the heart-string tuggers thereon, "Silly Girl" is for me the song most connected to the hormonal dictatorship of that fleeting time. The simple guitar line and angst-fueled lyrics conjure more of the frustrated-crush-feel, rather than the sense of carefree fun (as many of the other tracks do). But I guess that's just like me-- I gotta have some sadness or pain in my music, even if it is the Descendents!

"Silly Girl"

PS- Do we still need a disclaimer about the naive chauvinism of the band, or are we beyond that by now!?

Okara Revisited

I thought I had a firm handle of what the visitors to this blog like: straight hardcore and grind! But every once in a while, someone will contact me about the less aggressive bands I like. A couple of people now have stumbled upon FE by searching for the elusive Ottawa trio, Okara. I did a post during the first weeks of this blog, but did not post an entire record by the band. So this revisit goes out to Brian who reminded me that Okara was indeed awesome, more people need to know about them, and that an immediate repost is urgently in order! Below you'll find links to the band's discography minus one 7" that I'm missing temporarily. First you'll get their playful, dazzling, and perplexing LP, "Months Like Years," where the band shows itself in full control of its faculties and had the best production of its career (which still wasn't great, but it adds grit to an already heavy piece of rock!). Equal parts jazz, San Diego rock, and New Math, every track is full of hooks and grooves, but also a fair amount of nerdery. In addition, you'll also get Okara's split with Mothman, where Okara sound different than usual, but Mothman sound uncannily like Okara. Maybe the labels were switched, but a closer look reveals that the above conclusion is correct! Finally, I've included what I call "The Rose" 7", which I believe to be Okara's second. On it you'll find some of the best and darkest of the band's output-- four chilling tracks that render the poor production negligible. All three musicians are incredibly talented, but I think on all these records

you'll find yourself drooling over the rhythm section's incredible precision and energy. If there's any interest, I may post some bands related to Okara, like Shotmaker, Three Penny Opera, and 30 Second Motion Picture, but we'll just have to see about that. If you're interested in vinyl copies of the LP and 7", try this distro, where you can also find out about members' later projects.

Okara LP

Okara "Rose" 7" and Split with Mothman

All ripped at 320 kbps with inserts, etc...

Beldurrik Gabe

As promised, here's the sixteen track LP by shadowy Basque hardcore mercenaries (or at least that's how I picture them...), Karkaba. I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy their 7" a bit more, but if you love truly visceral hardcore, and especially if you love '80's South American bands, Huasipungo, or even Crudos almighty, this is one hell of a gratifying feast!

Karkaba "Beldurrik Gabe"

Get the band's 7" here.

Begin The De-Machofication...

As the sparse light of late winter signals the rising of the fauna, the minor subterraneans scurry at the feet of an awakened behemoth-- new to us, but seemingly older than the damp hills which held it dormant. Its name is Cull...

Yes, it is another gift from the musical birth machine of Portland, Oregon. And I promise I am not just posting Cull's new CD because Jacqui has been kind enough to comment here in the past and might be one of the cooler people on the planet. This post comes mostly from my sincere love for all things darkly metallic and crusty, and from my new and instantaneous appreciation for this band. The tendency to compare slow and heavy bands to Neurosis is a bit tired, so I'll choose some newer candidates with regard to Cull. The overall experience reminds me of the dissonant guitar cavortings of another new favorite, Agrimonia, as well as the deep and blackened forays of melancholia explored by Asunder. The three tracks are long, but are in no way indulgent, nor will you find yourself consigning them to "background music." The songwriting is entirely too inveigling for that, as are the scathing and bewitching screams that punctuate its urgency. So, what shall we label Cull? As you can see from the tags below, such an enterprise is neither easy, nor necessary. I can imagine fans of "progressive metal" claiming them, but I can also foresee a fair number of modern crusties lured into the fray (especially fans of the more epic bands like Remains of the Day, Fall Of Efrafa, Wake Up On Fire, etc.). Basically, if the harmonious melding of beauty and ugliness is what you seek, you can add the name Cull to your personal repository.

The Cull CD (mp3)

The Cull CD (m4a)

This is what you could/should do to support Cull:

- Go see them on tour next month (and buy the CD!)
- Become myspace "friends" with Cull
- Comment here on how much you like Cull
-Bloggers: post this CD!
-If you run a label, offer to release the vinyl version

Song Of The Week: "Guilt" (Plutocracy)

It occurred to me that I haven't posted anything really fast or really slow in a long while. In trying to reconcile the dearth of either, I got to thinking about the handful of bands that can do both the fast and slow thing expertly. While Plutocracy unleashed a shit-load of insane tunes, "Guilt" always impressed me with the way the band fused a catchy as hell stoner sludge riff amidst the usual Pluto grind lunacy. They always used extreme tempo shifts, but in this song it's as though they discovered "Take As Needed For Pain" during the previous night's smoke-fest and couldn't resist infusing their new inspiration. "Guilt" also comes from my favorite phase of the band's life: the middle... the time when each track flirted with total chaos, but was always reined in by the talent of the players. Their take on grind is impossible to duplicate. Some of the members continued doing similar but different things in bands like No Less, Agents Of Satan(?), Spazz, etc. Respectable bands in their own right, but Plutocracy laid waste to all!

"Guilt"






Hopefully sooner rather than later, I'll re-rip Pluto's live split with Phobia at a higher bit rate; stay tuned...

Itzul Gaitezen Haitzuloetara

The first description I read of Karkaba employed words like "primitive" and "powerful." Said description and the utter lack of any web presence for this mysterious Basque band led me to grab all I could find by them. Both "P" words above apply to the band's sound without a doubt, although, as is usually the case with great bands, words don't quite suffice. Karkaba have an excellent ear for good, crankin' old school riffs, and play them with tons of genuine rage. And, speaking of rage, the vocalist issues some of the most sincerely pissed off sounding yells of recent memory. The black and white photography adorning the covers and booklet is disturbing, yet nicely composed and consistently themed. I've included the lyrics in the folder below, which are mostly in the Basque language with Spanish translations provided. Definitely check this 7" out if you like your music good and raw. It's a rather long and satisfying EP, but if you want more I should have the band's LP up soon.

Aqui

Hard To Swallow: A Follow-Up

Not too long ago, I posted a bunch of ripping gems from the UK's mighty Hard To Swallow. Some of you apparently liked them too, so I thought I'd update you on some matters. Vocalist, Bloody Kev, stopped by and detailed the convoluted family tree of bands related to HTS. You can read that here. It also turns out that Kev started a blog which so far documents the bands and projects he and his mates have been involved in over the years. It's called Keep It In The Family! and you should check it out immediately! He's got links to lots of HTS material (thanks for links to my blog, man!), and will be posting live and unreleased rehearsal tracks one day in the future (in addition to lots of other music links you'll be interesting in exploring). So continue checking in over there and here for further updates...

No free music today... go to Bloody Kev's blog!

Dead and Gone & The Gaia

Every once in a while, Prank Records will crank out a little limited gem under the legs of their more high profile output. I missed out on the Dead And Gone/Gaia split... until now! It's kind of an odd pairing, but when both bands cook, little else matters. Such is the case here. Dead And Gone garnered some well deserved attention a few years ago with their Neurosis-shaded metallic punk. These sound like fairly early tracks, although I can't verify it because my copy had no insert. I can verify that the rhythm section's work on "Violets" conjures a beautiful, hair-erecting phenomenon when I listen to it, and that I wholly recommend these tracks...

With this split, The Gaia makes its third appearance on this blog. It's no coincidence-- I love the energetic hardcore these ladies belted forth! The three offerings herein have pretty good sound, and definitely fall more on the hardcore side of the slippery, diverse rock spectrum this band had mastered. If you enjoyed the material on the "This One" CD, you get more of that kind of tough love (I can't seem to find my copy, but I'm pretty sure these songs on not on it).

Enjoy

Song Of The Week: "Not Even Death" (Unhinged)

In the early days of the FE blog, I did posts on several formative favorites-- one being the band, Unhinged. It's about time for a revisit. I'd like to focus on "Not Even Death" because it was the second track I had ever heard from them, and it was the one that really grabbed me by the short ones. I had yet to hear Initial State or Zero Hour, so the impact of such simultaneously aggressive and mournful hardcore weighed heavy on me. It still does. And when I hear other bands playing emotive crust, I can't help but compare them to these bands, who set the quality benchmark high early on. Another thing that struck me about the 7" on which "Not Even
Death" appeared, is the choice of cover photos. It seems to be a stretch of the I-5 along Camp Pendleton or San Onofre. In the foreground is a sign I grew up seeing often: a silhouette of a family running-- their features drawn like caricatures of the Mexican stereotype. It felt eerie that these constant reminders of economic inequity, exploitation, and blatant racism would hit a nerve with a crust band thousands of miles away too. So maybe Unhinged left me with an early sense that the world wasn't so big after all, and that there were others out there who felt outraged. But really, I have no problem admitting that I was just blown away by the incredible power of their music.


"Not Even Death"

How do I know where I'm going. When it's going too far. Is it beer or blood I'm sweating. Is it love or hate I'm feeling. And then you wake up one morning. You find your soul's into bits. And then there's nothing left not even death. Not even death. I've seen a man he had only one eye. He said to me I want you to die. Try to wake up but I'm not asleep. Try to walk and never to scream. Try to find the help inside myself. But all I've found is a black hole. All I have found is a man with only one eye. Who's telling me I want you to die. And then you wake up one morning from no sleep at all. You find some friends calling for you. Small gestures you daren't name. I've
seen a smile when I thought I'd die. They said to me we want you back to life.

Stay Female Fronted Blog just posted the band's discography in case you don't have it.

Hardcore For The Broken & Battered

It's been far too long since my last proper Out Cold post; perhaps these two deleted 7"s will atone for the gap. This post provides a beautifully abrasive sampling of the two periods that compose OC's long history. "Lost Cause" (Fudgeworthy Recs) features the original line up (with a different vocalist), and if it wasn't for the recording date on the back (1994), you'd think this was an eighties band you overlooked. The music, the recording, the hairstyles... total eighties! This is a good thing, but their later releases are awesome too...

"No Eye Contact" (Kangaroo Recs) is more along the lines of most of OC's releases. Sheehan had taken over on vocals, and the band had refined their relentless working-class-hero-hardcore sound. If you've heard any of their albums after the self-titled one (sometimes called "Web Of Lies"), then this EP will satisfy the Out Cold addiction you've developed from that experience. Each side comes from two different recording sessions in 1997 and 1998 respectively, and damn if all the tracks don't completely shred!

Both 7"s are Here