Are You Bonescratch?

The month of May almost beat this blog(ger) to death, and June has thus far been a time of recovery.  The rest of this and next month should be much more productive, but as usual, no promises.  For this comeback post I have a handful of releases from a displaced spirit, or a response perhaps to an Ebullition/Old Glory/Gravity Records catalog sent in a bottle across the Pacific.  Bonescratch is one of the few proofs that that style of hardcore crept its way to Japan before the end of the decade that spawned it.  If you're thinking Merel, Angel Hair, Assfactor 4, and End of the Line, then we are speaking the same language.  If not, prepare your ears for their first sputtered morphemes from the lexicon of nineties entropy: frustration and angst in both form and content, followed to their logical end-- complete dissolution.  To my knowledge, the folder linked below has all of band's releases, minus comp. appearances.

Bonescratch 
"Last Words Gone" 12" (Bloodsucker Records, 1998)
Sawpit/Bonescratch split 7" (Vernacular Records, 1998)
Bonescratch/In/humanity split 7" (H:G Fact, 199?)
"Diaglam" CD (H:G Fact, 1996)

Cast Aside Your Chains and Dance

It appears that another crime against humanity has been committed: the Kakistocracy LP remains out of print. When I picked up my copy around 2006, it was a revelation. A hardcore band could in fact be politically charged, devastating, intelligent, moody, modern, even a bit polished in their production, without succumbing to the pitfalls of pretense or stigma of categories. While these well-read anarchists raise the hairs on your neck, they simultaneously raze the rickety foundations of our masters' illusions-- at once with the wrenching dissonance of their chords, taken together with their words inspired, and at times directly lifted, from Goldman and Berkman. The outpouring of idealism, aggression, frustration, and perseverance is almost too much to take in one listening, but it can be worked up to one side at a time. The band has several other smaller releases, my favorites of which are their last 7" and their split with Nux Vomica. There have been a couple of rumors bandied about as well, one involving a split LP with Chronicle A/D, the other promising a second LP. I've given up on the first, and eagerly await the second. For now, the first LP should be easy to find is such places as this.

Kakistocracy LP (@ 320 kbps)

Unforeseen Disasters

Another exhumed time capsule of the nineties, the "Unforeseen Disasters" comp offers an almost complete sampling of what was going on in that decade. Specifically, this one was planted in the loamy catacombs of The South, even more specifically, Georgia and the Carolinas. Of greatest interest for me is what I believe to be an exclusive track from Damad, which represents one of their earliest vinyl outings (along with the In/Humanity split). The same can be said for Initial State's "Die Silent," but that track also appears on a No Idea comp and on the band's own LP. In/Humanity, Quadiliacha, Blownapart Bastards, and El Toro each bring an eclectic tidbit to the gathering, making this shindig short, but hotter than Georgia asphalt.

"Unforeseen Disasters" (Passive Fist Records, 1994)

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)

Song of the Week: "Only To Infinity" (Remains Of The Day)

Blame them for tainting the American well with a hemlock dram of "neo-crust" if you will, but I tend to credit Remains Of The Day with playing powerful and unique hardcore (yes, they were similar to Cwill, but still different enough). I think I heard somewhere that they had a member of Hellshock in their line up, but rather than stenchy crust, ROTD opted for dramatic narratives with fast and energetic tempos (mostly), dabbed with a few slow and somber interludes. If you follow the rule that crust should be simple and straight forward, this band is not for you. But if you like it when bands tunnel across boundaries and smuggle in musical contraban, maybe you already know this band, or should.

"Only To Infinity" (ripped from the vinyl version of "Hanging On Rebellion." Buy the full album at Crimes Against Humanity Recs.)

This post should be called "Remains of the Year," as the last week of school is finally here! Hopefully this means that posting will become more regular. I'll make that a goal, not a promise.

The Kindness Of Others

Finally! I've been looking for the missing link to my little collection of In/Humanity splits forever, and now I at least have it digitally. This is all thanks to Mike (& wife), who's one of the coolest guys I've never met! If you know these bands already, the '90's screaming madness supplied by both will surely make your day. Shit, just the track title, "Dork Side Of The Farce" made mine. As a bonus, Mike threw in In/Humanity's long lost "Intolerable" 7"; you know, the one the band disowned. It's pretty hilarious to contrast this to their later work... night and day! You can still get the other In/Humanity splits here, and the Bonescratch 12" here (although I plan to re-rip that sucka soon).


Big thanks again to Mike and Co.

Get both EPs here






And, while I'm using other people's rip donations, I'll go ahead and re-post the massive Mine LP ("Tetanus"). I've been meaning to re-rip my copy, but bass player, Christian, found the original post and sent us these nice clean rips before I had a chance. Thanks a million, Chris! If you like you're hardcore smart, metallic, and brutal, I highly recommend! In another related coincidence, the Pope recently posted Mine's 7".

Get "Tetanus" here.

Song Of The Week: "Begin To Breathe" (Initial State)

I was on the bike, waiting at a signal last Sunday afternoon. The track list on the pod was finished, the light was changing; I had to choose a band quick. The reflexes didn't delay or fail me: "Abort The Soul" by Initial State it would be. And, for the hundredth or so time, I came to the same conclusion-- this has got to be one of the all time most powerful hardcore records! I've never pedaled so hard and furious in my whole life!

If you've had a chance to skim around this sight, it isn't surprising that Initial State shaped my musical expectations for the last 13 or so years. The band was basically Antischism after years of having endured a few beatings from life and getting their hides toughened and thickened in the process. The result was a name change and an album of such dread-inspiring conviction and power, that the band probably figured it would be pointless to try to match it with a follow-up (just a theory). I could let the adjectives pile up: urgent, bleak, noisy, heavy, fast... they all apply to Initial State, yet none of them are quite adequate. To sum up the desperate mission of the band, I offer my favorite track, "Begin To Breathe." It also illustrates the band's ideas about humanity's future. While I don't quite subscribe to their primitivist bent, during the time that this song arrests me in its clutches, I'll practically believe anything they tell me!






Lyrics











This is easily an album worth owning, so fork over some coins to Prank Records or your favorite distro and get a copy. I've owned 4 myself over the years: The original pressing on Clearview Records, The Prank CD (sat on/broke it), the Prank LP first edition (Clearview sleeves with electric tape cleverly covering the old address/clear vinyl), and the more current LP (sold it after finding the former item in the list for cheap). So, yes, I think I'm obsessed with this album! Members are/were involved in notable bands like, Chronicle A/D, Institute, Guyana Punchline, etc.

This Is Helsinki, Not Boston

You listen to entirely too much hardcore and grindcore (and other genres ending in -core). As a result, I shall be forced every now and again to give you a little injection of melody to break up all the screaming and yelling. So drop your pants; it won't hurt a bit. As a matter of fact, I think you'll like today's prescription: the War Of Words 12". These Finns (don't confuse them with the Bostonian band of the same name) did time in Diaspora and Life's A Riot, and will definitely appeal to you if you're partial to bands like Imperial Leather, La Fraction, Happy Bastards, and Signal Lost. Weaving in and out of the mid-paced punk explosions, you'll find soaring bass lines that give the tracks a "California" feel; but the first thing you'll notice I think will be the vocals. The young lady vocalist is especially noteworthy, alternating between slightly harsh shouting, and downright lilting melodies. There are a few somewhat saccharine choruses, but the greatness of the rest of the material counters that nicely.

If you own a turntable, have some extra cash, and find that you like this record, please help out either Crimes Against Humanity Records or Puke 'n Vomit Distro. I think these two outlets have some of the last copies of this disk in North America (only 500 were pressed). CAH Records is struggling to survive, so head over there NOW and throw some scrilla his way (there's even a sale going on). Download blogs get a lot of shit for taking away revenues from labels, but I'd like to believe we actually help their sales. Prove me right.



HERE

Scrotum Grinder

Half the population will cringe at Scrotum Grinder's name, but once you're over that, I think you'll find the experience rather pleasing. SG is yet another southern band that plays to the colder, darker side of the human experience, conjuring the atmosphere of Karst and Damad, but approaching it by way of the aggressive, discordant route of Initial State, Chronicle A/D, Anti-Product, etc. The tempos on this debut 7" (Burrito Records, 1997) are unpredictable, which I love, and the vocals are some more of that harsh female fire like that of the above bands, or Ojorojo. This is a quick little record, but it packs some serious heat! Some trivia: The bass player, Steve Kosiba was in In/Humanity and played bass in Assück for about five years. Scrotum Grinder also released a split 7" with Combatwoundedveteran and an LP/CD on Prank Records (the latter of which is fairly easy to find).

Back Cover










Get SG's "Geld" EP here

Oh, The In/Humanity!

I was putting off doing this post, hoping to find a cheap copy of In/Humanity's split with Bonescratch first. Nope. Not happening. If anyone has a copy they want to sell me, the e-mail address is to the right. To my knowledge, In/Humanity did only three other splits, the diversity of their split-mates providing testimony as to how difficult it is to pinpoint and categorize In/Humanity's sound.

The first offering is, I believe, chronologically first as well. It's their split with fellow southerners, and modern sludge masters, Damad. Although I'm not the biggest fan of most early Damad, the songs herein are two of their most evil! It's great to hear such early material from these boys and girl, even though, as you can imagine, the production could be better (especially in the vocals). The track "Tinnitus" is an exclusive(?) and "Slow Heal II" is a variation on a theme the band would continue with on the "Rise and Fall" LP. Flip it over, and this time around, In/Humanity offer a very primitive version of their rackety and sardonic madness. Two noise tracks, two "music" tracks... definitely a sign of what was to come...

Back Cover

(Scroll down for download link)

In/Humanity shares this next split with fellow South Caroliners, Premonition. I picked this up when I saw In/Humanity in SD (with Huasipungo) around 1996, so the cover art and insert are a little different than some versions. Premonition play emotive, yet upbeat punk rock, sharing stylistic kinship with the more energetic moments of Car vs Driver, Policy of 3 and Still Life. I actually enjoy their approach to this style, but unfortunately their track on the Inchworm Food Not Bombs benefit comp is the only other output I know from this band. Leave a comment if you know where else to find Premonition stuff.

When I first heard the In/Humanity side, I wasn't sure at what speed to play these two tracks. Sure enough, the insert was no help; the band encourages us to play them at whatever speed we will! In keeping with this assertion, I have ripped them at both speeds. Believe it or not, they actually do sound fine either way! (Which means you get 3 versions of the song "Bud(d) Dwyer Superstar" in one download!)

Here's the (literally) cut and past insert In/Humanity included for this version of the EP. It was created from an actual '70's rock album sleeve. A little help in identifying the band would be much appreciated.

(Keep scrolling for download link)

Finally, as if you're ears and patience haven't been tested enough, here's the final installment: The In/Humanity/Half Life split. Half Life are from Japan, and play metal that fuses the better aspects of two different coasts (Japanese metal and NYC moshy stuff). Although not my usual cup 'o Joe, there's some pretty righteous metal picking going on here with traditional Japanese vocals. Only one song from Half Life on this one, unfortunately.

In/Humanity offer an original with an outstanding title, "Kill the Cop Inside," and a re-recorded version of "Budd Dwyer Superstar." Nice tracks, but still not as good as the band's later work.

Back Cover

Congratulations on making it this far. I didn't realize that these EP's (ripped at 320) would make for such a big file. This one's for the fans, though. It's near 100 MBs, so get your favorite beverage, put on your favorite In/Humanity or Damad LP, and....

Download all three eps.

Born Under The Shit Sign

In anticipation of the In/Humanity reissues, it's time for a post of some of their out of print (and now permanently deleted?) material. The "Your Future Lies Smoldering at the Feet of the Robots" 7" is a good place to start, showcasing three "mature" and fairly well recorded tracks. For those unfamiliar with the band, they were a difficult animal to classify. Gasp, GOB, and Born Against are good starting reference points, with special emphasis on the snide humor of the latter two bands. The true origins of course, date back to the primordial soup of the early Gravity/Ebullition Records sound which blew the chaotic and creative possibilities of hardcore wide open. There's a fair amount of chaos on these tracks, but the band knows exactly what it's doing. The lyrics are brilliant critiques of our decaying world, but unfortunately the printing is too small to reproduce easily in this post. As most people know, the singer went on to form The Guyana Punchline.

As mentioned before, Prank Records is repressing In/Humanity's second full length "The History Behind the Mystery," and reissuing their long out of print first LP "The Nutty Anti-Christ" (Passive Fist Records) this fall. He will apparently not be repressing the singles collection, so in partial consolation I'll be posting three of In/Humanity's four split EPs in the next post (tomorrow?).

Download

Old Promo Poster

Bonescratch

That's right, Bonescratch. Athough based in Sapporo, Japan, you may want to hold back any assumptions about Bonescratch's music. This isn't "Burning Spirits"-style hardcore, or blown-out distorto-Discharge worship. Instead, Bonescratch wear their diploma from the San Diego School of Hardcore on their sleeve (or perhaps it's the Ebullition or Old Glory school?). The good old days come to mind when it seemed that every month some new band would form with ex-members of Heroin, Indian Summer and Native Nod were considered "hardcore bands," and "chaotic" was an essential term used in every music review. Bonescratch released their "Last Words Gone" 12" in 1998 (on Bloodsucker Records), at the tail end of this thriving period of blurred distinctions, providing evidence that the SD sound did in fact land on the other side of the Pacific. Within these grooves, the band stirs up your emotions with the buoyant guitar sound of mid-period Antioch Arrow, the throbbing bass of Angel Hair, and vocals that sound like/are a Japanese guy screaming like Sam McPheeters of late-period Born Against. If this description sounds good to you, you will probably love Bonescratch (as I obviously do). If you don't know what or who the fuck I'm talking about, check out Bonescratch anyway... the worst that can happen is that you'll dismiss them as "interesting" and move on. The band also released a split 7" with In/humanity, but no other records that I'm aware of.

Bonescratch - "Last Words Gone"

Konfrontation - Another Reason Why Sweden Rules (musically)!

In my fervent search for more furious Swedish hardcore along the lines of Skitsystem, Kontrovers, Martyrdod, etc., I happily came across Konfrontation. Their name and cover art are rather unassuming, but within the grooves of their LP, "Nedbrytningsprocessen" (2005?), festers some of the best hardcore of this style I've heard so far. Like their genre-mates above, Konfrontation uses plenty of speed and distorted guitars, but on several tracks (see samples below) the song writing is rather unpredictable, leading the listener into slower moments of melody, and downright slow moments of undistorted guitar picking. Perhaps being in that region of the world, the progressive metal scene (Burst, Cult of Luna) has inadvertently leeched into Konfrontation's way of doing things. Either way, this blazing record is firmly planted in the DIY hardcore vein, and if you enjoy the dark, Swedish style, this album is essential!

MP3s:
"Inatvant Hat"
"Underkastelse"

Buy if for Cheap (Americans):
Crimes Against Humanity

Europe:
Dist & Confused
Halvfabrikat

Mange

The word of the day, girls and boys, is HEAVY! SoCal's Mange serve up the heavy with a steam shovel! Consisting of members of anarcho-grind legends Phobia, and now featuring members of crust-metal gods Dystopia and progressive metallers Anubis Rising, Mange have managed a very sparse output of some of the heaviest sludge metal ever produced. It all started in 1997 with their "Junkie" demo, followed the next year by the immensely heavy "Disillusioned" CD (Half Life Records). Release-wise, the band showed little sign of life until they put out their 2005 self-titled demo, which has a decidedly doomy, "Noothgrush-esque" lean to it (not a bad thing at all!). Their one readily available release is of course, "Disillusioned." This disc showcases one of the heaviest guitar sounds I've ever heard (the heaviest?) with tempos that are all over the place, but stay in the "fairly slow" range most of the time. The riffs are often catchy, but not too noodly, leaving enough space for the heaviness to sink through to your very soul. If you enjoy Phobia's traditional grind vocals, you'll find a similar delivery here, which of course, works well with the overall intimidating heaviness of the final product. Listen to this after a bad day, and all will be forgotten.

Sample the Heaviosity:

"Wealth of Ignorance"

"Fallen Depart"

Support the Band/Label (as always):

Half Life Records

Crimes Against Humanity

Thin The Herd

Chicago seems like a sleeping beast when it comes to good crusty hardcore... and it has awakened under the name Thin The Herd! Wrench in the Gears Records put out Thin The Herd's debut LP "Mournful and Overcast" about a year ago, and I don't believe it has received the attention it deserves. These guys bring the noise the way I like it: crushing and frantic drumming, heavy and dark rhythm guitar, and lead guitars that stagger the line between chaos and melody. Imagine the unrestrained ferocity of Hail of Rage's throaty vocals and steamroller crust rhythms, coupled with Kakistocracy's dissonance and urgency. This is one powerful record brought to you by potentially one of the best US crustcore bands around.

Thin The Herd is indeed still around, but it seems the members are focusing on their other (metal) band, Black September, quite a bit more at present. Perhaps with some encouragement, they'll at least leave us another great album before ceasing operations.

MP3's:
"Barely Breathing"
"Indulgence"

Supplies:
Crimes Against Humanity
Young, Angry, and Poor

Skrupel - Das Powerviolence!

Whoever coined the ridiculous term "powerviolence" should be located and given a severe melvin (a procedure known in other regional dialects as a "snuggy" or simply a wedgie). Nevertheless, this musical term has stayed with us, and we're familiar with what it designates. Which brings us to Germany's Skrupel, who play powerviolence/fastcore the right fuckin' way! The obvious lineage of influence/comparisons would be Siege, Infest, Heresy, Luzifer's Mob, etc. Like a proper powerviolent band, they have their share of split 7"s out there, but their "Gyroscan T5-11" LP/CD is 17 tracks of metallic, fast, hardcore that never gets boring. Skrupel's Checklist for Keeping the Listener's Interest -Rule #1: Do not rely on speed; but if your going to play fast, have a drummer that mixes it up! Rule #2: Write distinguishable, catchy riffs. Rule #3: Try not to use monotone/overly mechanical grindcore vocals. So, if you're bored with most grindcore and fastcore, you may be pleased with Skrupel. Like many German bands, they play with great precision and calculation, but have fun/don't take themselves too seriously. The LP is in danger of going out of print, so hurry if you're interested. Also check out their split EPs with Phobia, Rupture, Brutal Death, and Godstomper.

Mp3s

"Think"

"Demoralize"

"White Sheets"

Buy Skrupel Releases:

Puke'n Vomit

Crimes Against Humanity

Thought Crime