MOB 47

This has been a long overdue post. However, it is pretty fitting to feature Sweden's OG hardcore band MOB 47 a week before they play here in Brooklyn (get info/tix here).

To be really blunt, these guys are like what Agnostic Front is to hardcore in America. These Swedish punx only have 22 songs to their name but I only have eight of them, which are featured in the now-legendary Kärnvapen Attack EP. You can pretty much purchase it at any independent record store but if you can't, order it at Havoc Rex - who officially reissued this hardcore gem.

HORRÖR

It's been a while since I put on some crust, or even discovered some new crust bands to listen to. Today, I stumbled upon HORRÖR from Spain. These guys are very much rooted in the Swedish side of things but there's still something about them that makes them listenable and not recyclable. They're worth a listen. Or you can just say you know one more obscure crust band from somewhere in Europe.

HORROR SHOW

Deathwish Inc. does not disappoint (usually) with quality hardcore and while surfing around their site and e-shop, I came across this hardcore gem: Philly's HORROR SHOW.

Listen to the two tracks, "Inconsiderate Me" and "One For the Angels," on the Deathwish artist page. Basically, this is the sound for East Coast hardcore, i.e. Gorilla Biscuits, first Judge EP, Minor Threat, etc... these guys know how to do it.

I'm not sure where you can find their actual releases, but Deathwish has the "final vinyl collection of all existing Horror Show recordings" in the form of Notes From The Night That Never Ended. This is definitely worth your time.

THE PIST

Here's a band that was tipped on to me last night by Weibs of the Metal Inquisition Radio Show/Natur. Whilst discussing hardcore and punk bands, he mentioned THE PIST: a band I'm surprised I never listened to! Early-Eighties British punk/hardcore "piss off" attitude played by a bunch of old East Coast dudes. They formed in '92 and only lasted four years, with only one full-length, Ideas Are Bulletproof, to their name. If Kill Your Idols, Poison Idea, Negative Approach and early Bad Religion mean anything to you, this is a band to listen to.

POPULATION REDUCTION

I haven't been focusing on the grind and power-violence side of things recently and I feel awfully bad about that, especially when a band like POPULATION REDUCTION exists. Goddamn, do these Bay Area grinders know how to shred. Basically, take the best bits of early grind (Napalm Death, Carcass, Extreme Noise Terror...the usual suspects) and throw in some Capitalist Casualties and a pinch of riffing from Nuclear Assault and you get these guys. The cool thing is that the band is only made up of two people: Dr. X on drums and vocals and Peter Svoboda on guitar and vocals. They do have bass tracks in their studio record, Each Birth a New Disaster, so I wonder what they sound like live. I first heard these guys on their split 10" with the mighty Abscess and was way impressed. Quality stuff here!

CRUDE SS

Are you surprised that this hardcore gem is from Sweden? Of course not! Here we have CRUDE SS, a unique hardcore band that played fast and morbidly slow with extreme feeling and aggression. It doesn't look like they will ever play again (haven't done so since '85) since Hocke, their drummer, died. Bummer. At least we got this crude music to enjoy.

Supreme Brutality, part VI - FROM ASHES RISE

Okay! It's been a long time coming and I think now that we're only 3 days away, I'll pack the shit outta this feature starting now. Anyway, the biggest surprise (aside from Sodom canceling) is the addition of reactivated melo-crusters FROM ASHES RISE! I've been a fan ever since I got their amazing split 12" with Victims a while back. Imagine Tragedy playing a more melodic and less nihilistic brand of hardcore. Don't worry, FAR are just as pissed off. It's great to see them close out the fest... I just hope everyone will have enough energy left!

Here are some clips of them playing in Montreal a few weeks ago. In HD, of course.

BEAST

"What the fuck?" That was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard BEAST from Sweden. To put it in a nutshell, these guys have a hard-edged garage punk rock sound. Imagine Germany's Dean Dirg with a more "Swedish heavy metal" touch, if you will. Not sure if they have any releases out (yet) but it appears they have shirts already. Check them out for a good, fun listen!

WITCH HUNT

WITCH HUNT has been a band that I've been listening to for quite some time now. They play really aggressive and catchy punk, and they go from really melodic to really fast (like Bad Religion) or both at the same time. I also hear a lot of influences from indie rock and 80's post-punk/new wave. The dual female/male vocals aren't cheesy like many of the modern metal bands (ugh!), which is such a breath of fresh air. But yeah, these guys/gals are fast as hell! Check out their split with Sweden's To What End?, which is the record that got me into them.

Garage Days at Lucky 13 Bar

Here's something I don't see very often here in New York City...

My friend Mike from Inhuman has been DJ-ing at Lucky 13 Bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn every Wednesday night as part of the Garage Days event. He spins the best old-school hardcore, death metal, heavy metal, punk, etc. and Johny of Brooklyn-based Candiria will be tending the bar. Next week's installment will feature the go-go dancers that Lucky 13's famous for so I suggest you attend this!

I know all of you have a Facebook. Click here for more information!

What happened?

Maybe I was born too late.

Mandatory Suicide

Listen up, you demons: the legendary crust punk band from Finland, RIISTETYT, is playing an early show at ABC no Rio in the Lower East Side. Check out the flyer below.



The Rockstar Bar in Brooklyn will have the late show. Why not go to both?

THE ICEMEN

Here's the latest band that is blowing my mind right outta my fucking head: New York City's THE ICEMEN! This band formed in the early 80's around the same time the New York hardcore scene is starting to roll but didn't release anything until 1992 with their only EP, R.I.P. Obviously, this cult status means they are simply amazing.

I heard of these guys when connecting various NYHC people together. One of my favorite drummers, Mackie Jayson from Cro-Mags and Madball, played with these guys and I've heard a few songs by them a while ago. Last night I was lurking in Generation Records with some friends before the Ace Frehley show and I stumbled upon the band's second official release, The Iceman/It'll Be Your Grave 7" single.

This single pretty much has everything I love about hardcore punk and metal. It's quite evident from the first few measures of "The Iceman" that these guys, rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Marco Abularach and bassist Noah Evans, worship heavily at the altar of Motörhead. Add Mackie's signature power-drumming style and you have some totally crushing crossover. "It'll Be Your Grave" has some serious Bad Brains feeling and this dates back before Cro-Mags(!)... no shit.

I seriously can't stop listening to this. I'm pretty happy that it came with a download card. This is 4 and a half minutes of solid fucking gold!!

Supreme Brutality, part IV - D.R.I.

Because I'm feeling a bit punk/hardcore this weekend. Here are the fathers of crossover: D.R.I.









I don't care what anyone says - their later shit is awesome, too!

Supreme Brutality, part III - WOLFBRIGADE

We're gonna take a detour today and touch upon one of the greatest crust/hardcore punk bands out there: Wolfbrigade. These Swedes aren't your typical crust punks, as they have very metallic tendencies (think Iron Maiden), which mainly include lots of guitar melodies and such. Actually, I would say these guys are a much more aggressive Bad Religion! Personally, they're one of my favorites and I'm extremely happy to be seeing them among all of the other pristine bands on the bill. Anyway, here's a few Wolfbrigade vids to get you stoked.

Supreme Brutality, part II - SODOM

Here's the second installment to Supreme Brutality, the MDF special: fuckin' SODOM!







And of course...

Post Apocalyptic Inquisition, part I

I woke up this morning sore as hell from carrying around a crate full of records, but it was damn worth it. Thanks to Tooth and Ryan for hookin' it up! If you haven't heard already, they're in a sick old-school heavy metal band called Natur. I wish they can play their own music on their own show. That would be something.

As for me, it was an experience DJ-ing for the first time. I got some pretty good feedback and allow me to use this post as a doorway to check out some of the bands I played. "Pick your poison" is the phrase but I say, "fuck it - pick 'em all!" You'll find some new bands, not-so-new bands, and everything in between.

*****

Ketzer - this is a band that Tooth was raving about when I played them, and he has every reason for it. These German youngsters play an insane style of blackened thrash metal that is as sinister as their debut album's artwork. You can get Satan's Boundaries Unchained on Kneel Before The Master's Throne's distro. If you're into Nifelheim or early-1349, you'll dig these guys.




Midnight - Here's a band from a few of Ohio's black rock n' rollers. Basically, these guys play 100% pure blackened rock/metal in the vein of Venom and Motörhead with some punk-feeling splashed on top. I blind-purchased their great EP Farewell To Hell a while back and it's still being spun around here. You can find it on Nuclear War Now! Productions' distro.



Skitsystem - Sweden's finest crust band! They broke up a while ago but thankfully reformed and will play shows again. Whew! These guys were the first crust band that I listened to back in like '05 and there was no turning back. Tomas Lindberg from At The Gates/Disfear and Adrian Erlandsson of At The Gates was in the initial line-up but have long since quit. These guys are as brutal as ever and you can get their albums at Havoc Records.



Ulysses Siren - These fucking guys! For those of you not aware of the glory that is Ulysses Siren, let me give you a heads up. These Bay Area thrashers only released 2 demos in their entire career and lasted for maybe 2 or 3 years total. Relentless Records just put them out in one package called Above The Ashes. You can get the super-limited vinyl version at The Omega Order. Do you like your trash fast? Look no further.



*****

Look for part II soon...

BLACK ANVIL

Just a few moments ago, I was informed that New York City's very own Black Anvil just got announced as the opening band for Norway's kings of northern darkness: Immortal. I've been following Black Anvil for quite some time now, and I'm more than happy for them for landing this gig.

For those of you who don't know these guys, let me fill you in. Black Anvil was formed after the demise of Deathcycle, and saw bassist/vocalist PD and guitarist GWB II get heavier and heavier from their Kill Your Idol days. If you know any of those 2 bands, don't expect Black Anvil to sound like them. Instead, expect a full-on blackened thrash attack with hardcore (think Cro-Mags) influences tastefully peppered in. That's a fact most idiotic journalists in the metal "underground" twist.

Listen to Time Insults Insults The Mind and you'll see what I'm talking about. There are Dissection-like passages, Celtic Frost tendencies and a good chunk of Motörhead-worshiping within their music. Stand out cuts with said things are "LTHLTK", "Margin For Terror" and "Ten Talons Deep".



Relapse Records just signed these guys and the album should be easily available at every independent record store. The LP version is on Monumentum Records and I'm pretty sure it's limited.

Finally, if you're from around New York, you've probably seen a flyer or two with them on it. They'll play any show that's heavy and they've recently finished a tour with Marduk on both coasts. With their upcoming album Triumvirate finished, expect them to play a lot more shows. The next confirmed gig for them is at the Scion Rock Fest in Ohio with Cannibal Corpse, Voivod, D.R.I., and a shitload of other bands and at S.M.B. Fest with NYHC stalwarts Merauder and Ringworm in Brooklyn on May 29. You know where I'll be.

Black Anvil on MySpace
Black Anvil in the studio

Upcoming Shows

For all of you people in the New York City metro area:

3 sick shows coming at ya this week. Tomorrow will be Jersey City's old-school grind/death poser-killing machine Grind Bastard at the Lit Lounge in the East Village. Tuesday will hold a pretty good blend of old-school thrash, metallic NYHC, and psych-filled hardcore with Total Social Suicide, Inhuman, and Iron Age (respectively). Finally, on Saturday, get yer fix of (even more) grind and power-violence at the Union Pool in Brooklyn for Misery Index and Magrudergrind, with zombified thrash/death practitioners Mutant Supremacy kicking things off. It's gonna be quite the week, so get off your ass and come down to these ragers!

Check out flyers (none for the Grind Bastard and Magrudergrind shows) and links below.



Grind Bastard @ MySpace
Inhuman @ MySpace
Iron Age @ MySpace
Total Social Suicide @ MySpace
Magrudergrind @ MySpace
Misery Index @ MySpace
Mutant Supremacy @ MySpace