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
Yet another badass compilation, the Homeless Benefit comp EP is an amazing and aggro glimpse at the end of the nineties-- excellent intentions and voraciously violent music. Read the band list below to understand why I had to post this even though The Pope did the honors years ago, then go to his blog while you listen and read his dressing-down of Jeanxseberg's naive lyrics.
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...
Judging from the download stats, the visitors who happen upon this site like their music with plenty of speed. I haven't neglected to notice this, and to prove it, here's a fast one for you. This LP, "Trapped Inside" is, I believe, the first full length by LA "powerviolence" heroes, Lack of Interest (Slap-A-Ham Recs, not sure about the date, but it's SAH 52). This record sees the band at its most raw, pummeling you with 24 tracks (only four of which break the one minute mark, and even then only barely) of unbridled spite delivered with surgical precision. The terse vocals are most definitely influenced by fellow Burbankers, Infest. The Denunzio intonation is hard not to notice, but on these recordings I also detect some of that guttural barking of Paul Bearer (Sheer Terror). Either way, this outing is fierce as hell, and there's even a few LOI classics that (would) appear(ed) elsewhere in different form, such as "What's Up" and "My Life." LOI's album "Take Another Step" is easy to find in some distros and ebay stores, but you can find their split EP with Stapled Shut and various comp. tracks here, their split with Spazz here, and their unreleased LP with a different singer here.
As you can probably tell, I was really into the whole '90's west coast powerviolence/fastcore situation. Here's another little artifact with a bunch of favorites on it: The "Deadly Encounters Hardcore Compilation" (Agitate/Kill Music Records, 1997?). Half the bands on this one are from somewhere east of here (3 of whom are very well known!), but otherwise you'll notice the usual cast of LA and Bay Area superstars. As with many comps like this one, the cover is photocopied, the sound quality is checkered, and the songs are hit and miss. There were many detrimental skips on this ep, which I had to "repair" manually or with editing software; I hope it's not too noticeable.
