Monday, April 30, 2012

Atolls and Serial Killers Part II

The time has come to rehash the surliest and burliest metallic hardcore of the nineties.  Two factors prompted this (yet another) Enewetak post: a request for a re-up, and a long ago kick-down of some rarities, compliments of a mysterious stranger.  The first link below includes re-rips of the band's "Easyrider Sessions Vol. 1" 7" and 8 previously unposted tracks including a Guns n' Roses cover and another recording of "Deadbird" among other raw and nasty numbers.  Dirty sludge twists around chunky mosh in this JG Ballard-like collision of tissue and metal that always sends me reeling.

Enewetak- "Easyrider Sessions Vol. 1" and rarities

It has come to my attention that the Enewetak/Unruh split 7" link died, so here is a refresher:




Here

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Masquerading in a Failing World

Here we have another situation where a commenter has helped me with my procrastination problem.  I've been sitting on this Calloused post for months now, and with all of the Minneapolitan madness of recent posts, now is the perfect time.  As mentioned previously, Minneapolis has produced an enviable number of great crusty hardcore bands, many of which escape notice outside of that area.  Calloused may unfortunately be one of these bands. They wowed me on their now classic split LP with Shitlist, and as with any band this uncompromising, their other releases are no let down.  Posted today are the band's final 7" and "The Masquerade" 12" (the tracks from this one I believe also appeared on the CD version of the Shitlist split). Calloused is of interest to any hardcore nut who can appreciate the musical benefits of repetitive cranial trauma, but also welcome a touch of sadness thrown in for complexity and a sense of tragic resolution.
Calloused - "Still Failing World "7" (Sin Fronteras, 2003) and "The Masquerade" 12" (Fired Up!, 2002)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Darkness Revisited


In wading through the bone heap of dark and obscure hardcore that this blog has become over the years, it's hard not to stumble over a few relics that could use a bit more polishing, or which deserve some further exposure befitting their hallowed place (at least in my world).  The records you see above and below are getting the treatment today due to previous ripping issues, such as low bit rate (Zero Hour),  a turn table apparently on meth (Asebia- thanks Mikexxx for pointing it out), low volume (Nux Vomica), or a barely-attached needle (Ambulance).  Obviously, I felt they were worthy of doing this all over again, and I can't recommend these bands enough if they are new to you.  We begin with Zero Hour, who became one of my all time favorite bands on the strength of their 7" alone way back in 1995.  I still can't listen to these four songs without feeling like I've been nailed in the chest by a flying hobo sack of wisdom and emotion.  This is the EP's third and probably last appearance on this blog, the first being almost five years ago.


The folder also has re-ripped versions of the band's excellent tracks from the split LP with Apeface.

Zero Hour Tracks

Original Post
Asebia was incredible, dark, metallic Scandi-thrash from Denmark.

"Face of Civilization" LP

Previous Post





Nux Vomica have former members of Wake Up On Fire, and are now based in Portland.  Their fantastic debut always kills me.

The Uninspired 7"

Original Post

Ambulance didn't last long with this line-up, sadly, but they managed to put out one unrelenting, long-playing manifesto of Swedish gloom and despair.  This was the last record I ripped/played before my last needle broke off the cartridge.  I should have re-ripped this long ago...
                                                "The End of Our Time" LP
                                                            Original Post

Monday, April 9, 2012

A Very Special Brew

Whether you're of the opinion that Axegrinder was derivative or just happened to be doing similar things at the same time as other early UK crusties, you can't deny their place in the 'evilution' of the genre.  I for one have thoroughly reveled in their savage and methodical torments since discovering them for myself about a decade ago.  "Grind the Enemy" was Axegrinder's raw punisher of a demo released before their opus, "Rise of the Serpent Men;" but the rips I've been stringing along for years were a bit lacking. Now that I think of it, I probably could have found better rips if I was more persistent.   But, enter the (Italian?) bootleg operation, Pelvic Alee, who got it in their minds to release the demo on LP recently.  When this arrived at my doorstep, I was quite the giddy mess-- so much so that I decided to rip it.  The "label' did a quality job all around from the sound (keep in mind this is a 26 year old punk demo), to the covers, to the insert which includes lyrics and a biography of the band.  Check it out; I don't know if the quality is any better than what you have, but I wouldn't be much of a host if I didn't share.

Axegrinder "Grind the Enemy" demo, unofficial LP release

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Wires of Storm and Song

I hope the reader will forgive my ADD by springtime proxy that has kept me away from this blog for so long. I hope s/he will also forgive this brief break from crusty hardcore to allow us to revel in a band which I always associate with spring, and not only because they are so obviously influenced by Rites of Spring. The Shivering may have artistic roots in DC/Maryland (ie. The Hated), but there is something all too Californian about them (Burlingame to be exact). The sap-risen angst of these youths pours out in April torrents of awakening and transformation, and always with that stabbing twinge of sadness, perhaps due to the overwhelming grandness of the splendor surrounding them, but with such little time and such paltry senses with which to take it all in. A noisier and more aggressive Rites of Spring is as good a start as any in describing The Shivering (or Bullets In, if you've heard of them), but their early work did garner at least one Jawbreaker comparison (merely a genre reference point). The link below offers their CD, two 7"s, and a 10".



































"Behind Broken Eyes" CD (No! Records, 2000)
"To the Ground" 10" (Council, Into the Hurricane, and Owsla Records, 2002)
"Wires of Storm and Song" 7" (Council Records, 2002)
"Brand the Lion's Mouth" 7" (Council, Ahoalton, and Into the Hurricane Records, 2003)