FIX COMPUTERS FIX, THE FUTURE HE PREDICTS...

Well, that minor problem that was stopping me from uploading crap turned into a major problem and now my PC wont even turn on. Its probably a good thing, the Internets a time waster and Id rather be playin' some snooker or reading books anyway.

I hate this time of year, everyone thinks the "birth of Christ" and the changing of the calender year means they can party like a motherfucker and not look like a dick, false. The best part about it is this year the holiday season, in my town at least, has coincided with a really bad batch of heroin. Last week, 2 days before Xmas a dude OD'd and died in his car 15 metres up the road from my house and just this past Sunday as I was riding into town I saw another dude OD'ing on the grass on a busy street. What made it cooler is the 2nd dude is an old metal head, he started out on H Street probably around the same time he picked up Motorheads 1st LP and got their logo tattooed on his hand. It was a surreal sight, middle of the day with a thunderhead cloud overhead, riding up the road listening to Obituary's cover of CF's "Circle of Tyrants" and here's this bloke, foaming at the mouth. Heroin is fun. The other downside of the holiday season is the people who come to my town to holiday- Baby boomers, westies, Europeans. Every kind of filth.

Anyway, before my computer crashed I planned to treat you to a write up on the 1st Vandals 12" but things popped up. Id already uploaded it, and you'll find the link below. The Vandals are a pretty important band to me because they were almost like a right of passage, when you grew up in the 90s on the coast bodyboarding you had to be exposed to them from an early age. Its silly and its ignorant but its great. Theres 6 songs on the 12"- ones about eating acid and hitting Disney land, another is about life in a punk house, then there is one about Urban Cowboys, the Legend of Pat Brown that details the escapades of one of HBs sketchiest punks and it closes with a song about an Anarchy Burger. Apparently Vin Diesel quotes lyrics from that last song in the movie XXX but I'm not gonna watch it to verify. There was also a cover of Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel with some changed lyrics but I removed it from the folder before I zipped it. You are better for it.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/vd3o7x

IT'S GONNA WORK ITSELF OUT...

So my computer is currently being raped and pillaged by a "self-restoring Trojan Virus", I'm no good with computers but I know ENUF (hard demo) to know that this means shes pretty well fucked. Until this gets itself sorted out, or I pay a Dimmu Borgir fan to come round and fix it, there's not gonna be any uploads or major posts. It's a pity, I know. I had some good shit planned but that's on the back burner til I resolve the technical difficulties.

Finally, listen to the first 3 LP's from these guys, do it religiously.

HEALTH SUCKS

Another late night, unedited and spur of the moment post. Deal with it.

When its 2 in the AM and I start getting hungry Ill usually reach for a Snickers bar, yehyeh I know, I'm a fucking slob, and a hate filled one at that. But bear with me, now you cant go a Snickers without washing it down with a Coke, Snickers'll always leave your mouth drier than a nun's cunt and caked with more brown shit than god knows what. Cos I'm the kinda nerd that dreams about punk bands and wakes up halfway through sleep to listen to whatever the fuck Ive dreamt about, my mind subliminally connects various products, phrases, objects, whateverotherthingsicouldtypehere etc to certain bands and sounds. Coke and Snickers combo will forever and always lead to a compulsion to jam JFA's "Blatant Localism" EP. But I'm not here to talk about that...



Due to the disorder I mentioned above, when i see the sleeve for JFA I always have to listen to Code of Honor's single from '82. Code Of Honor are probably best known for their split 12" with the almighty SICK PLEASURE, who Ill no doubt post about down the line. They basically were SICK PLEASURE but with a different vocalist and a different sound and approach to boot. While SP delved into life's underbelly with songs about Speed Ruling, killing bus drivers and wanting to kill your parents etc COH always had a more idealistic approach to improving both society and yourself. Alot of the time this kinda lyrical approach can ruin a band for me, but while COH's lyrics are overtly hopeful they are not overly optimistic. The main lyrical focus is giving encouragement for the youth of their day to make a change and build a better future, kinda admirable but also naive. Who fucking cares though, its 2008 and this is Internet hardcore talk, right?



Anyway, on with the show. On this here single you get two rippers, the A side "What Are We Gonna Do?" is a crunchy upbeat number with alot of breaks and metallic tendency's, by metallic I'm talking metallic for 82' HC which really means "these cats can play their instruments, dude". For me the backbone and probably the highlight of COH is the riffing of Mike Fox who shows alot of chops and more flair than most of his contemporaries. This is best showcased on the flip, "What Price would you pay?" which is the winner on this split, 80 seconds in vocalist Johnithin Christ lets out a "SMASH IT UP!" and then from the middle of nowhere, in a curve ball comparable to the "Smoke It, Get High" call and riffarama combo on Sabbath's "Killing Yourself To Live", Mike Fox rips into a banger hard rock riff. Ridic.

Anyway, not much more to add here. This is just great Cali punk/hardcore, from the time when men were still men and sheep were scared. Also, bands take not of the art on this one. A picture of a dude on a Vert ramp, or something equally basic, and a handwritten logo will look better than any blood splatter computer dickheadry or Varsity font/finger point combo photo, anyday...

Download the EP here-

http://www.sendspace.com/file/vkm8r9

Also, as a weird side note there are a couple of spoken word parts on the B-Side of the record and at times Johnithins voice reminds me of the young punk from the start of "The Decline...", I think his names Eugene but I'm not to sure. Anyway that inevitably leads me to put on "The Decline...", almost always I'll just skip through to see Derf Scratch spit at people and make sexist remarks while coking like motherfucker. FEAR post, coming soonish, maybe? Give guns to the queers.

I AM THE LAW

Well, it's been a couple of days and I've not had the drive to post anything. On Friday I found out about the suicide of a guy I used to hang with back in high school, well before I nailed myself to the X, when life was easy and financial trouble meant trying to get a lobster together so you could throw in for a mix and get yourself a 4 pack of Johnny Reb cans. Ive been contemplating alot of deep and heavy life related shit this weekend, but I'm gonna spare y'all the grief. This ain't no live journal, right?

I killed time tonight integrating my latest record purchases into the collection, its always a horror job but It meant uncovering some killer jams Id all but forgotten about and its a good way to fill in a lazy Saturday night. And just this past half hour, I wasted my time making an add for issue 2 of my printed fanzine NOT GUILTY. Suitable only for assholes. Its pictured above w/ THE MENTORS- Get Up And Die 12" which I intend to upload and post in a future post. One of my favourite MYSTIC RECORDS 12"s and Its soon to be one of yours too. Classic band, who needs a foldback to put your leg up on when you have a chained up wench on all fours ready to take the weight???

You should be able to tell where the inspiration for the add came from and if you cant, hit the red X. NOT GUILTY #2 will be out early in the new year, finally. You might notice I tore off the $2ppd price tag, while I hope to hold the price steady at $2 who knows what the economy crash has done to the printing industry this past year. Who cares though, like Cliff Hanger once jockingly sang "the pictures are perfect, the layout precise. To maintain the quality, we jack up the price". The add is gonna appear in issue 2 of DOWNSIDED, despite issue 1 being kinda dull I have higher hopes for Sean's 2nd issue, in part due to my contribution of an IRON AGE i/v and in part because a zine named after the best S-A-H record deserves to rule, right? Checkout Seans blog here- http://www.skullfuckery.blogspot.com/ In between posting pics of bad grindcore and joke band records he might turn you onto something decent.

And last but not least, I just wanted to let you know the current format for my blog- "upload some low bitrate mp3s and talk shit about a good record" is not the only thing Ill be doin' here. Expect reviews, pictures, ramblings and some other bullshit in the near future.

Over and out.

DID YOU CUM? I EAT AND RUN...

I LIVE FOR SODOMY!!!






Its nearly 3am and its hot as hell, so this ones gonna be brief and unedited. Dig?


Carnivore to me are the greatest NYHC crossover band, even if the first LP pictured above is, to use one of their own lines, more along the lines of "post Armageddon, neo-barbaric" metal. They still jocked NYHC, the back of the inner sleeve on the record has Taggart art of moshing skins and wolves bashing hippies for Sodom's Sake (its pictured below for your viewing pleasure). They were also accepted in the hardcore scene, which is kinda surprising considering the anti-long hair tales Ive heard. As you might be aware Pete Steele also ended up being a co-writer with AF and penned those lyrics to your favourite tune "Public Assistance".



This certainly wont appeal to all of you and I wouldn't want it any other way. Carnivore is man music, its misogynistic and akin to what would happen if you put the guys from Heavy Metal Parking Lot in the wastelands in Mad Max. On the 2nd LP the themes got even more out of hand and the music took a turn in a harder, more NY sounding direction.







I couldn't upload the whole LP as a result of a bad internet connection, so instead I posted the 84 demo. Only listen to this under the cover of nightfall, while eating a nice cut of sirloin and rocking a loin cloth. If you don't have hair on your back, steer clear.


Download the 84 demo here-

http://www.sendspace.com/file/tutadg

Also- Im currently working on a printed matter Carnivore article, expect it before 2012.

I DON'T NEED TO BE LABELLED PUNK OR SKIN...

JUST ERASE ALL THE LABELS SO WE ALL CAN BEGIN!

Fuck, I love this 7" and I think the hate, or general lack of interest, shown towards it is ridiculous. I know it doesn't quite stack up against the heavy hitters from the early NYHC set but really, how many 7"s do? I'm also aware vocalist Keith fell into the Krishna trap (can you trust a man in an orange bath robe?) and the band had a comeback that was sub-par. None of that really matters because I'm talking NY 83 and even when its considered "OK" its miles ahead of most of the pack.

The formula on this one is pretty simple, stop + start 82/83 hardcore but there is something about it that gives it its own style. I think its Keith's vocal approach, singing with more clarity than his contemporaries and with his own cadence that would later show its influence in the vocalists involved in the second coming of New York's scene from 86-89.

PIC TAKEN FROM ISSUE #5 OF TVOR ZINE

The lyrical themes here are pretty stock standard- unity, friendship, self belief, anti-capitalist etc. There are also 2 songs that have straight edge themes, though the band themselves were never a straight edge band. I guess you could call all the lyrics "generic" but who fucking cares, its not a poetry contest. Really though, the reason this records worth discussing is because of the track "UNITED RACES". Its like they built the song around the mosh break, the break on this one clocks in at around 30 seconds which was unheard of in 83. The chorus is definitely has the biggest hook to, it festers in your brain for hours after the needle leaves the wax.

Not much else that I need to say about this slab really. I'm a sucker for early NYHC, 83 HC in general and records with 3 panel wrap-around sleeves, so this one ticks all the boxes.

After the self-titled 7" and before Keith's Krishna preaching tore the band in two, they recorded 4 tracks, intended to be a 7" on R-Radical but it was never released. One of the tracks "Time Will Tell" made it onto the P.E.A.C.E. Comp LP and is the best of the 4 but it doesn't really match up with anything off the bands debut. It's merely a curiousity thing and probably for completists only but if you read a blog like mine I sure hope you are a completist.

Download the s/t 7" + the unreleased 7" here-

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2z5fhp

And as a bonus, here is an interview from MRR #10.

Q: HOW MANY PUNKS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

A: TWO. ONE TO GET A BOTTLE OF ROBITUSSIN AND ONE TO FIND A NEW APARTMENT.

Total Classic. Honestly this EP is a top 10 hardcore 7" for me, I know you have to think differently but like the Spirit Of Truth- "I don't give a fuck what you think, Bitch!".

Personally this has all I really need from an '82 USHC 7"er, I could fall back on over used descriptors like "lo-fi", "machine gun drumming", "rough and ready", "buzz saw guitars", "meat and potatoes" etc but I won't. I'm also gonna steer clear of over-analysing this and dropping big words just to let you know that I read Lester Bangs work and can kinda string a sentence together, this is just hardcore punk in it's purest form and it doesn't need any decoding. You either get it or you don't. If you don't get it, Ill give you 30 more seconds- enough time for you listen to the 25 second short opener "Fascist" and if you aren't nodding at the end, enough time for you to drink the kool-aid. Yes. I remember hearing a while back that they chose the name after hearing that WHITE CROSS was the code name for the Methamphetamine doses administered to the Nazi Forces during WWII, who knows if thats true? I'd like to think it is...

Anyway this is a true no-frills killer. The art on this is great too, an alien looking fetus in a gallon jug in a hay stack? What the fuck?

Download here- http://www.sendspace.com/file/6c8lo2

"DISCHARGE SAID "IT'S NO TV SKETCH"--

YOU'RE GODDAM RIGHT, IT'S LIFE OR DEATH!"



Time for my first post proper and what better place to start than 90's Cleveland? Well I can think of a few but cmon, the clock is crawlin past 2:30 in the am and my supply of Coke is gettin low.

Clevo has a long history of animalistic punks chargin' on PBR, wrestling and the best tunes from the land of rising sun. Often these punks end up banding together to put out hardcore punk bangers. The GORDON SOLIE MOTHERFUCKERS- "Chairshot Politics" 7" is banger, for sure.

While the lyric sheet may read like a laundry list of topics all punk bands sing about- Capitalist pigs, the police, conspiracy theories, depression, the state of punk etc etc the jams are urgent enough and the vocals manic enough to make it totally believable and let it land in "fuckin' killer, man" teritory instead of "how cliche..." territory. Keep in mind this was recorded in 98 and while everyone was reviving youth crew or tuning to E, Tony Erba and co. were breaking bottles and listening to Judgement. I spin this record more than the 10" on 625 because 1) its not on 625 2) the art is superior and 3) the recording is more rough and ready, just how i like it.

Im a glutton for Cle-Punk trivia and while I dont really have anything about this record in particular, I heard a certain GSMFer, one that didnt play on this record, crashed his car into a church. While drunk. If that isnt the most punk crime ever, what is?

Love the Matrix on this one too- "Wrestling is still real..." "And Pines is still fat". You can always count on Tony Erba to talk trash like a true wrestling fan, especially when it comes to Chubby Fresh (and Dwid).

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ifav18

Download the EP via the link above, or just throw it on your player, make sure when youre done you jam one (or all) of these...



And, as a mere afterthought, heres a piece of Clevo trivia for ya. When DISCHARGE played Clevo, I think it was on the 86' tour, Mike Duncan who was the singer for legendary clevo HC band THE PLAGUE took exception to the metalled up direction DISCHARGE was taking. He reportedly bashed Cal, to me thats why Clevo rules. While everyone else is jumping on bandwagons, these cunts are bashing people for jumping on the bandwagons. Also, another little nugget, on the insert to THE PLAGUE- "Just Say No" 7" who can you see slam skanking? None other than Wedge, future drummer for GSMF and every Clevo band that mattered since (except those featuring Spot, and I guess, Marcus Upstab).

THIS IS NOT A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYTEM...

Greetings scum. This is "I'm Appalled". I'm appalled by your horrendous behaviour, I'm appalled by the way that you act. This blog is about punk music, a long lost and forgotten art, the only kind of music thats ever mattered. This is not a fanzine, nor a "webzine", whatever the fuck that means. Printed matter is still the right way.

Keep your cock in your hand, our first real post is coming soon.