Great Big Shit Sandwich

As prophesied, I've got some more dirty noise for you from the Bay Area's notorious band of marauding crust-metal bandits, Depressor. Today you get their EP (Caustic Records) containing five originals and a stomping cover of "Largactyl," and their split with Agathocles (Dental Records) with 3+ tracks from each band: Depressor at its most evil, and Agatho at its minciest. If you still want more Depressor, check out their split with Unholy Grave here or here, and their glorious "Book Of The Dead" 2x7" here. For more Agathocles, check everywhere.

The EPs

Dragged To Hell By Angels

I feel almost guilty disseminating Depressor's arcane "Book Of The Dead." But, hey, it's too amazing to be secretly fondled by the mere 666 of us who managed to get our nerdy mitts on a copy. This double 7" easily has the most astoundingly awesome packaging of any record or CD I own. From the black and silver type and drawings of the main sleeve and inner sleeves, to the burnt pages (some of which are parchment) emblazoned with creepy pencil sketches, this thing just blows the mind! I almost forgot to play the records when I first got it, which was a serious blunder on my part. The eight tracks herein are the most "mature" of the band's output, alternating between galloping crusty metal and straight death metal. It's still rough and dirty, but there's a refinement on these songs that wasn't there before. The dark artwork of The Book complements some of the most evil and heavy metal you'll ever have the displeasure of enjoying. Ignore the itchy sensations you'll feel on your head and ass while playing this-- it's just the tail and horns you're growing.


All Depressor EP's and splits here


Some of my favorite pages from The Book (a reproduction is in the link above):











If you need some more Depressor, I'll be doing a post soon on their EP and split with Agathocles!

The Unholy Princes of the Split

We finish up this noisy split-week with the runners up in the race for split EP proliferation: Unholy Grave. These far-east dudes can always be relied upon for raw, yet unpredictable grind/hardcore. This split presents six roughly recorded UG tracks; supposedly they were recorded live in 1998, but the only actual "live show" recording seems to be the unlisted sixth track. I've heard mention that the band has somewhat dubious stances on certain current issues in the world. At least one track backs up that notion: "Just Another Terror?" Here the band rants that terrorists "Must be stopped!!" However, they don't mention at what price this stoppage is to be carried out. Isn't there enough fear-mongering in the mainstream?

Anyway, Depressor is a band I can completely sink my hooks into! These east-bayers shroud themselves in a bit of mystery-- releasing their records in small quantities, and generally not using much pomp in their "self-marketing." I kind of respect that, but I also think a lot more people out there should check these guys out. Depressor plays "Amebix-crust," and started even before the huge Nor-Cal/Pac-North West stenchcore revival. The band was first called Charger, and then gathered more troops and renamed. The recordings on this release are definitely from their more crusty era (they are heading more in the direction of early death metal these days). Tempo-wise, the band is not fast or slow, but every second of each song is heavy with distortion and rage, conveying the desperation cum defiance of their lyrics. All the songs in some way reflect the human desire to break free from the imposed order of things, but for me "Mold" hits home the hardest. This one explains how traditional forms of education systematically kill our creativity and only prepare us for life as a functionary in the profit machine. Original? No. But it's powerful in its stark presentation and in its stripped-down honesty-- the theme song for the paradox that is my life...

Download

"A Reality that's infinite

And yet they're telling us how to think

Creativity is kept on a short leash....

Many hours a day of mindless drudgery

Is training for what will be the rest of your life"

from "Mold" (Depressor)

Note: I wasn't sure where exactly the track "Subsystem" begins, so I did my best to estimate (it runs together with the previous track). Also, I put Depressor's heavy and noisy cover of "Largactyl" on this mixtape.

Fugitive Equilibrium Mixtape #1- Cover Songs

While listening to the new Leatherface Tribute 2xCD comp., I couldn't help but recall all the great cover songs Leatherface and many other favorite bands have produced over the years. I figured, why not do a mixtape with a few of these? Finding no reason not to, I went to work for the past week ripping some of my favorite cover songs from new and old CDs and records (a couple were downloaded). The end-product is the 21 track monster you will hopefully be downloading shortly. Considering the different sources, you can imagine the variation in sound quality. But the quality of the music is undeniable! Many of the tracks are favorite bands covering other favorite bands, but several are songs I only like as they appear here in their more punk interpretations. I can almost guarantee this will make for a most entertaining ride to work tomorrow, or an enlivening soundtrack to your spring-cleaning adventures. I hope you enjoy listening to this half as much as I enjoyed assembling it!

Tracks:

1. "Raise the Curtain" (Jerry's Kids) by His Hero Is Gone from the "Fool's Gold" 7"

2. "Search and Destroy" (The Stooges) by Cursed from the "Hell Comes Home" 7"

3. "Largactyl" (Amebix) by Depressor from the self-titled 7"

4. "No Sanctuary" (Amebix) by Crow from the Prank 7"

5. "My War" (Black Flag) by Rorschach from the split 7" w/ 1.6 Band

6. "Purple Haze" (Jimi Hendrix) by Antischism from the "All Their Money Stinks of Death" 7"

7. "Greedy Bastards" (Antischism) by Capitalist Casualties from the "Pigs Suck" Comp.

8. "Candle in the Wind" (Elton John) by Leatherface from the "Fill Your Boots" Lp

9. "Razor Blades and Aspirin" (Leatherface) by Drunk from the Leatherface Tribute Comp.

10. "The Usurper" (Celtic Frost) by High On Fire from the "Art of Self-Defense" Lp

11. "Clutches" (Nausea) by Kylesa from the "Delusion of Fire" 7"

12. "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper) by Action Patrol from "The Weak Force" Lp

13. "Stigmata Martyr" (Bauhaus) by Angel Hair from the Gravity Recs. 12"

14. "Pressure" (Negative Approach) by Union of Uranus from the "Reproach" Comp.

15. "Chory" (Post Regiment) by Ballast from the "Fuse" Lp

16. "Memories of Tomorrow" (Suicidal Tendencies) by Despise You from the "Reality #2" Comp.

17. "Right Brigade" (Bad Brains) by Shank from the split Lp w/ Iron Lung

18. "It's Time" (The Faith) by Under Pressure from the "Still No Future" 12"

19. "Who Are You?" (Void) by Under Pressure from the "Still No Future" 12"

20. "My Rules" (Void) by MK-Ultra from the "Melt" 7"

21. "Movin' On Up" (The Jeffersons TV show theme) by Born Against from "The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure" collection Lp

Listen

More 7" Comps That Don't Suck Vol.5: "Disoppress"

To satisfy your Saturday afternoon noise hunger, here's another out-of-control, non-sucky comp. "Disoppress" was released around 1997 on Disoppress records, a label I am not familiar with. There are some good unknown bands on this one (for me at least) and a couple of long-time heroes (see back cover). The styles are all either straight forward political hardcore, or total ear-assaulting grind/noise. The one exception, and a real highlight on the record, is Depressor, who play metallic industrial crust. Depressor now plays with a drummer, and their releases (if you can find them) are definitely ones to look out for. First, the disclaimer: the production isn't great and my copy's a little warped... sorry about the (extra) noise. Second, the actual noise... Download