All request week begins, and although I have three posts planned, feel free to try and get one more in (the catch being that I have to actually own the thing already). This and the next post are requests from way back, so the guys who asked for them may very well not be around to enjoy them. We are though, and like all requests made from commenters thus far, they turned out to be splendid choices for anyone with ears for the good noise. The first is from a couple of Portland bands from the late nineties, War Machine and Yankee Wuss. The first starts off on side A and then continues leveling and blasting its way through part of side B. These guys had something to say and weren't gonna stop until it got said (except for the track "Yuppies out of Punk" which I can't locate on any of the grooves). Portland, 1990's pretty much sums up what to expect musically: D-beats until tomorrow, and simple yet catchy riffs. My knee-jerk comparison was to Excrement of War, but there are probably a ton of local references that would do just as well. In fact, members probably played in those bands too (Detestation is one I know for sure).
Yankee Wuss have overlapping political sentiments with War Machine, but the similarities end there. Their lyrics are less broad and more snide, and musically they tend to flee frantically from the cliches of their time and place. The tempos range from fast to faster, and the shouting and screaming matches this; but then there are the melodic vocals and the light guitar distortion. This might throw people off, or it might suck them in. I find it refreshing myself, like all the best aspects of Ottawa, Manchurian Candidates, and The Hated congealed into eight tracks. The light distortion is even more perplexing considering the members' connections to Atrocious Madness, Midnight, Detestation, and (to a lesser degree) Harum Scarum, but fuck type casting. This thing rages raw and pissed in its own kind of way.
Institute first blipped on my radar a few years ago during a random search for Damad, but this post can be credited to eastcobb for finally getting me to upload the goods. Institute materialized from the same vapors as Damad, Kylesa, Karst, etc., but opted for a more expansive sound. The same dark universe is seen tinted through colder, slightly industrial eyes, kindred spirits of which might include early Counterblast, In Nomine Christi, and Christdriver. The voice samples and noise effects add a nice layer to the mix, but for me it's the hypnotic rhythms and driving metal riffs that are the real flesh. I'm posting my own rips of the one vinyl piece I own by the band ("Two Shadows") and tracks from "The Piano Player" which I downloaded from the band back when they made available both records to the public.
