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

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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

Starving with our Stomachs Full

Another commenter has prompted me to dust off yet another post from '08 which I've been wanting to polish up for a while anyway. Asebia would make a great bookend to another slab of cold Northern gloom posted recently, and I daresay these Copenhageners stabbed even deeper into humanity's diseased viscera. They then proceed to mop up the filth left by this ailing beast with its own entrails. The attack is swift like all great scandi-thrash, but the evil metallic flourishes and abundant tempo changes really lend Asebia a singular signature I've come to admire in them and similarly gifted bands like Konfrontation and Acursed. Below their LP has been re-ripped at 320 kbps, and I've included the minimal graphics of the layout. Apparently there was a cassette version of these 10 excellent tracks, but its production is a bit mysterious and its distribution a bit shoddy.

Asebia "Face of Civilization" LP (Plague Bearer Records)

If Just I Could Burn As Well...

Since we're on the topic of The Assassinators, I noticed that this CD is becoming harder to find outside of Australia. It collects the band's demo, comp tracks, and the 7" I posted a while back. All twelve songs are as consistently invigorating and catchy as you'd expect from this band...

D/L here (for a limited time???)

Buy here.

Song of the Week: "Mit Mareridt" (The Assassinators)

Here's one of my favorite Assassinators songs from a 7" I've been playing uncontrollably for a couple of months now. Addiction is inevitable with these Danes, from their tight, traditional structures and galloping punk drumming, to the contagion-laced vocal melodies and harmonies (the comparisons to Bad Religion and La Fraction are not entirely misplaced). This is one of the few bands I know that can somehow sound so sweet and digestible, and still hold a stern place in the political/crusty hardcore canon. I've also heard that the band is no more, sadly, but this 7" is available all over the place. So, support them, and while you're at it you can support DSB who is also rad.

"Mit Mareridt" by The Assassinators from the split with DSB

Hashish Eaters

The Assassinators' 7" is a somewhat recent release, but since I can't stop listening to it I felt the need to share it with you (and it's out of print now). This Danish band gets compared to La Fraction excessively, so in my pessimism I figured they sound like nothing of the sort. They actually do, though, with some mixed in accents of other melodic European hardcore bands like Inner Conflict and Post Regiment. The band departs from the La Fraction mould with their less stylized lead vocals, more pronounced harmonies, and a layer of somberness that gets me all excited. The pop sensibilities and melody will compel you to spin this thing over and over, but there's enough punk grit to keep your crust-credentials intact. Listen; become addicted; then track down a copy of their LP released on Alerta Antifascista (You can also get these tracks on a CD along with a lot of other material here or here).

The Assasinators 7"

Asebia "Face of Civilization" LP

If your addiction to dark, metallic scandi-crust is as insatiable as mine, this may be the fix you've been scrounging for. Asebia sound like Swedes, but are actually Danes. Their "Face of Civilization" LP was released by Plague Bearer Records in 2003 and went fairly unnoticed in North America (as far as I can tell). It's too bad, because this is some excellent, world-class hardcore that could easily hold its own next to Skitsystem, Kontrovers, or Acursed. Asebia use speed generously to convey their fury, but keep each song interesting with tense intros, and slow interludes, many containing some evil black metal-type guitar picking. In addition to being sonically riveting, the lyrics are amazingly literate and thought-provoking (especially considering that they are mainly in English and the band is Danish). Themes cover a variety of topics symptomatic of our post-industrial predicament, including class exploitation, the dilemma of "freedom" for citizens of more more privileged states, and the anonymity of mass economic murder resulting from globalization. I've posted a photo of the lyrics from the back cover below if you're interested.

Asebia LP