Half Japanese

I have neither sad story nor heroic epic to account for the lack of posts.  I've just been finding other things to do with my time.  To make up for said "lost" time, I offer a resurrected idea, the "grab bag o' splits."  Four splits had to be chosen from my teeming bins; the international theme was not enough to quell the chaos.  Japan would have to come to the rescue!  Each EP in the bag has one Japanese band featured-- beyond that, quality counts, style doesn't; obscurity is a plus.

This first split sees Norway's Angst wrestling with Idora for the last scrap of whale meat.  Figuratively speaking, I hope.  Both bands represent their respective countries as well as the time period (early '90's) smashingly-- Angst discharging an arctic blast of thrashed-out Norse-core with modern flourish, and Idora doing what their country has mastered for ages, but with an exceptionally scathing guitar sound.

If a bit of South American brutal primitivism is your thing, Venezuela's @patia No deliver it, Machetes in hand.  Their three tracks also appear on the collection LP they put out on Alerta Antifascista/Skuld, but here they are, in their original place of nativity, next to Japan's Jabara.  These guys are probably best known on this coast for the 12" they put out on Prank, and these two Death Side-esque rippers ended up on that one too.

It's Germany and Japan, reunited once again, this time not for world domination, but for intricately wrought ass-brutalization.  Deutschland's Atka provide the fractal grindcore geometry combined with repetitive autistic mind-melting guitar loops, while Swarrrm are up to their usual tricks, escaping the psych-ward long enough to smear their rambling manifesto in feces all over the infrastructure of our decaying civilization.  Ecocentric Records was having a hard time keeping their online store online, and I had a problem downloading my digital version, so my own rips are provided, and I hope you'll contact the label to get a real copy if you can.

  The last goody in the bag is a double creature feature of dirty, metallic sludge.  Hellchild's chugga-chunkiness has graced many a split, and here they are again, busting out Wesley Pipes with Tennessee's very own cannabis crematorium, Bongzilla.  H:G Fact never lets us down, even when the bands are not the label's usual fare.


Get all four splits in this bag.

Recently Re-upped: Mine "Tetanus" LP + Dawnbreed Split 7"

Coming Up: the fulfillment of a request!

Haldol

I'm forced to ignore many band submissions due to scarcity of free time, but I couldn't ignore Haldol. The first impression was that of a hazy deja vu-- not that I had heard it before, but that at some point I imagined a band with this sound; perhaps it was more of a hopeful premonition. Haldol is hardcore, certainly, but in between the fits of frantic riffs and raspy snarling, the band enters musical space evoking what I can only fathom to be the inner demonic cage match induced by the drug for which they are named. The jarring tempo changes could be a liberation from this, or the victory of those inner demons. Either way you look at it, the outcome for the listener is more like the majority of other drug experiences-- ups, downs, fatigue, cravings, and, finally, addiction.

According to Geoff, Haldol is engaging on a tour soon or now, so get in touch. The demo is available on a sliding scale for download at their bandcamp page, and will perhaps be released on cassette one day. Songwriting for an LP is in the works, so keep checking with them and over here for updates on that. For the next few days I'll have the demo available, as long as you send the band some dough as soon as you become hooked.

Haldol Demo

Once again... Bandcamp

Hide The Sun

Some more haunting melodies here to usher you into to the fall. Dimlaia got compared to Neurosis, etc. a lot, but I suspect that was due to a lack of any truly similar band to compare them to. In addition to the creeping pace of their music, Dimlaia's sound is defined by gorgeously tenuous guitar lines that seem to break apart at a mere gust of wind, and which afterward reconverge only to crumble again. It only takes a listen or two to know that this cycle is carefully orchestrated, although it gives the impression of randomness or improvisation. Overlaying the arrangements is an ambient shroud of autumnal melancholia, which should be ventured cautiously by those prone to moodiness. The band also avoids the trap many heavy bands these days fall in of getting too indulgent with their song lengths. "Hide The Sun" is an excellent example, packing in an epic's worth of power into a mere three minutes, and allowing the music to do most of the communicating.

"Hide The Sun"

Dimlaia featured Carl Auge (original bassist for HHIG) who also painted the art used for the cover (as well as the cover for their split 10"). Life Is Abuse Records still has copies of the Dimlaia CD as well as the Drain The Sky EP (ex-Dimlaia). The above mp3 was ripped from the Stonehenge Records vinyl version of the album.

Light In May

Vengeanceismine was hoping to see some Swarrrm posted, and the plan was to put up the Swarrrm/Embalming Theatre live split. Turns out, that thing is available all over the place, so it's not going to happen. The next choice was easy: the split 10" with Dimlaia! I ripped this for Zmaj over at Cephalochromoscope a while back; be sure to check out all the Swarrrm stuff they've got over there! The split in question today is not exactly rare; in fact you can find it in places for super cheap. But I think it is technically out of print, and if you don't have money or a turn table, it would be terrible for you not to enjoy these tracks. Swarrrm kick their usual ass, and I would go as far as to say that this is my second favorite release of theirs (number one being the split with Muga). If Envy went grindcore and replaced their vocals with field recordings of an afternoon at the local insane asylum, you might have something similar to what Swarrrm discharge. They're brilliant, as are Dimlaia, but in a different way. Dimlaia hold us by the hand, reassuring us with their beauty that everything will be all right, as they lead us to the deepest, darkest caverns of the human predicament. But take comfort, because as long as there is art like Dimlaia produce, the darkness remains navigable. Get this split by any means necessary! Amazing music, white vinyl, and a gatefold cover clad in Carl Auge's (Dimlaia, His Hero Is Gone, Drain The Sky) haunting art. Here are some rips to hold you over:

Here.

Tragedy's Uncle

I tend to dote on the "Nightmares" LP by ...From Ashes Rise, so I've kind of neglected their earlier work. You know what? These guys were pretty awesome from the start! Take this first 7" for example, "Fragments Of A Fallen Sky." It may not be as Swedish or "Memphis" sounding as their 12"s, but the brooding atmosphere and crushing guitar thunder foretold of a band whose name would be used to describe hundreds of imitators in coming years. Hear how it all began...

"FOAFS" by FAR

Bombing The Pulpit

I'm gonna make this quick and terse, like the music. Repercussions is a hardcore band. All the things that never get old about hardcore can be found in the grooves of twelvers like this one. Members may hold kinship with Signal Lost, Deathreat and Cold World, but what should matter is that it cranks rough and gritty all on its own. I'll go ahead file this under raging-bullcrap-free-listening-experiences.

Here

Destroy The South!?

Maybe we should keep Southern traditions intact after all, since that region harvests some damn fine bands! Four of them are gathered here on this early release by the great At A Loss Recordings, "Destroying Southern Tradition." Compilations are probably not high on your download priority list (assuming you have such a thing), so I'll just show you the track list and let you decide:

Here

Urânus Is Gone

Hardly any one's enjoying the obscure stuff I've been posting, so it's time for a classic. The His Hero Is Gone/(Union Of) Uranus split 12" was one of the greatest things the nineties squeezed out of its fruitful, if irregular bowels. Whether everyone out there has these tracks already or not is irrelevant; I've always wanted to post this beast. HHIG were one of a few bands who revitalized my interest in hardcore at a time when I could have gone in some pretty embarrassing directions; so potent was their influence that here I am over ten years later, more enthused than ever about our little subterranean niche. They must have done the same for hundreds of musicians, as HHIG/Tragedy worshippers span the globe these days. Uranus' influence was more subtle, but they left their mark in a huge way too, and did so even more after their discography CD finally emerged from its icy, unmarked grave. The split itself was limited to somewhere around 500, and was sold exclusively on the bands' joint tour ('97? '98?). The Uranus tracks are of course compiled on their CD, but these recordings of the six HHIG ragers weren't ever reissued (don't quote me on that). These recordings also represent the last output by the line-up as heard on the "Fifteen Counts Of Arson" LP. The re-recorded versions (with new members, including Yannick from Uranus) would occupy the slab known as the "Fool's Gold" 7", which went through a confusing number of pressings on different labels. In addition to rougher sound quality, we're treated to a feverish, tribal-ish percussion intro that seems curious when held alongside the bands other work.

So, if you don't have these tracks, I've gone ahead and ripped this piece at 320 kbps, and included some pics of the insert and so forth in the folder (the photos didn't turn out great so I may post some better ones if the occasion should present itself).

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that these are two of the most amazing and important hardcore bands ever!

Right... Here

... which is Spanish for "The Guapo"

Apparently, the El Guapo Comp was a real pain in the ass to assemble and release, and well, it was only slightly easier to rip it! Regardless of these ripping complications (read more below), I felt that this comp was such a classic (for me at least) that I simply must post it. Being an early 625 "Productions" release, the conclusion seems foregone that several, if not all the post-Plutocracy bands will be represented (Spazz, No Less...). The line-up in general is...
intimidating! Many of the who's who of mid-nineties "powerviolence" are in attendance, at varying levels of quality. I've spun this thing so many times since its release, a note on the sound quality may be in order.

Disclaimers: First of all, according to Hirax Max, pressing number one had shitty mastering (my copy-- pressing number one). Second, I was not always as near-retentive as I am now regarding my records. This one has been a casualty of neglect and it shows in the fuzz and crackle; not to mention the giant scratch which makes the first three tracks a little hard to listen to, and which led me to delete one between-song audio sample (many apologies). For the most part, though, this is one hell of a noisy comp, and sound quality isn't a huge factor. The final issue is the track tagging. The band SBC supposedly has five tracks, but it wasn't clear how they are divided. I decided just to combine them into one giant track. With regard to No Less's track, I had to guess at the title. And finally, for the track that appears between Pisspoor's and Ansojuan's, I just assumed (perhaps wrongly) that it was an unlisted Pisspoor track and tagged it as such. There's always a glimmer of hope that someone out there is more astute than me at this (comments are more than welcome).

So here it is... around 40 headache-inducers conveniently assembled for your listening joy/agony/hilarity.


Here

Dimlaia

Maybe I wasn't paying too close attention, but Dimlaia's debut self-titled CD seemed to creep quietly out of its hole upon release. I can't imagine why it went so relatively unnoticed, because it's quite a beautiful record. The songs were recorded in 2001 (& 2003) and released in CD form on Life is Abuse Records in 2003, and then as a nice gatefold LP last year on Stonehenge records. Yes, Carl Auge, who played bass on a couple of His Hero is Gone records, plays bass here and does vocals. But Dimlaia sound nothing like this predecessor band. In spacier, quieter moments, the band creates its signature haunting atmosphere with rolling bass, twisted, duelling guitars, and, occasionally, cello. At different moments of emotional explosion, you're sure to get a heavy pummeling of distorted chords and even a little "chugga chugga," but there is no predictable pattern from one track to the next. Dimlaia takes a very different route than other slower, progressive bands of the hour, and opt for less indulgent song lengths. Instead of lulling the listener through hypnotic repetition or ambient stretches, they leave their mark relatively quickly, and, like an image poem, let the mood/image of the music fester in the listener's mind long after the song's end. The use of vocals is rather sparse. The low growl, tense yell, and and melodic singing of the three vocalists are used sparingly, as complements to the instruments' more commanding roles. As dark and desperate as these songs are, I can't help but detect hints of hope on most tracks, some kind of light or transcendence forged from their own musical adventure.

As a bonus, the insert/gatefold is emblazoned with Carl Auge's swampy, Tennessee dusklight-bathed artwork, which I find intriguing. And, if you like Dimlaia's music, also check out their split 10" with Japanese nutjobs, Swarrrm, on Superfi records, and Carl Auge's other band called Drain the Sky , which is musically similar.

mp3s:

"Hide the Sun"

"Goodnight Sweet Ghost (your wounds bleed through me)"

Purchase:

Support the always excellent:

Life is Abuse Records

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