Lit

From the evolutionary graph charted by Kort Prosess and Angst came what may be a climax in the incredible Jin'Rik'Sha.  Released on the cusp of the new millennium, the "End Present" 2x7" is four sagas that could be about any number of cynical matters, but to me represent the victorious cannon blast of these musicians reaching their peak, while also laying of the first brick of the road they hoped would guide us into the next decade.  The Norwegian palm-muted savagery rears its dragon head here and there, but really "End Present" sails headlong, and with frightening precision, into the misty waters of The Modern.  While I've read some comparisons to HHIG/Tragedy, I'm not wholly satisfied by those.  If forced to find an analogous contemporary, I would elect "Conquest:Writhe" or "In Coveting Ways" era Burst.  But all great records should stand alone, regardless of context, and this one turns out to be a true, towering beacon.  While the four tracks below are the band's only vinyl output, it wasn't completely the end for the members.  Read this old post from 7 Inch Crust for more info about Jin'Rik'Sha's legacy.

Thanks, eastcobb, for suggesting this post!

Jin'Rik'Sha - "End Present" 2x7" (Heart First Records, 1999)

By request, the Hanging Rotten link has been updated.

En Stille Død

Work started again, and everything else stopped.  I've fallen into a groove with work, though, and I'd like to jump start life as I once knew it again, including this here blog.  The next few posts will be a bit of a catch-up game: requests fulfilled, missing pieces finishing puzzles of previous posts.  Today brings a post I've been sitting on for a while, since I posted the Angst/Idora split, in fact.  So here's a big trunk of Norwegian wood up side your temple, to floor you until the next post (I promise it won't be long from now, and it will probably be Idora related).  I tried to include the flexi these bruisers put out, but my budget is not generous enough for what the collectors are asking.  If you like Norwegian hardcore, you probably know Angst.  If you don't like Norwegian hardcore, you must not have heard any.  This 7" is one of the best examples of this now traditional style, and as good a place to start as any for those out of the know.

Angst 7" (Heart First and Fangst Records, 1992)

By request, I've re-upped a 7" from related legends, Kort Prosess HERE.

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!

Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class

Whew! I got kind of busy there, but I think I'm back. My last day of work was Friday, so I'm gonna focus on catching up on blog stuff as much as I can this week while still maintaining my regiment of running around stupidly in the sunshine. Tonight we have one of Mikxx's recent obsessions: Norway's IOU! "A Cause For Anxiety" 7" was recorded a couple of years before the LP, and is a little less heavy and metallic. The band plays an intelligent take on the more modernized forms of old gritty hardcore... Born Against and Fucked Up come to mind, but as always, those are just ambiguous reference points. When it comes to music, the country of Norway has rarely let the world down, so see what you think...

IOU's "ACFA" EP

Song of the Week: "Cut" (Drunk)

Last time I posted Drunk, the download numbers were a little... modest, but the Song of the Week is all about... me, damn it! So I proceed with "Cut" for the week's selection, for the usual reason of its brilliance. The more rock-influenced nature of the band may put people off for the first listen, but great things are bound to happen with my favorite guitarist in the line-up (Roger from LBHTLI, So Much Hate, and I think Bannylist), and English lyrics that put many American/English bands to shame. The punk rebelliousness and abrasiveness is all there, it's just projected through the more wise lense of experience and therefore more subtle (or does experience make us wise, or just more confused? Lately I've been leaning toward the latter...).

"Cut" by Drunk (from the split LP with Goatboy)

SOTW: "Middelalder" (La Casa Fantom)

I've been listening to a lot of La Casa Fantom lately. Almost daily. After you wear out a record, revisits are inevitable, but I've been playing their self-titled LP like it's brand new. It just doesn't get old for me, and fewer bands can nail such schizoid tempo and genre shifts so seamlessly, especially considering there are only two instruments. Grindcore one second; spacey rock the next. This one's pretty much an instrumental, so the member's chops are all there is to rely on. Guitars? Who needs 'em!?

"Middelalder" by La Casa Fantom

Song Of The Week: "Burn" (Life... But How To Live It?)

A while ago, I posted a shit-ton of Life... But How To Live It? tracks that I had downloaded. Back then, rumor had it that Boss Tuneage was going to issue a double CD discography for the band. Over a year later, and it has yet to be substantiated. Considering this, LBHTLI continues to rank as probably THE most detrimentally overlooked of the truly great "punk" bands the world ever produced. I won't insult the band by attempting to put the beauty they created into words... I'll just go ahead and present, for the third time on this blog, the band's epic diatribe on American hypocrisy, "Burn." It's tied with "Jealousy" for my all time favorite LBHTLI song; I hope you like.

"Burn"

"Burn" (Live)

Like A Bow-Staff Through The Head

Bands from Norway tend to rock hard, and in this respect, Kort Prosess is extremely Norwegian! The 7" depicted above is perhaps their heaviest and most unrelenting release (Heart First Records, 1994?). The thick metal guitars, the pounding drums, the low guttural vocals... this is some powerful hardcore! To break things up, the band throws in some great semi-melodic picking and so forth, but not quite as much as on their other efforts. I can't recommend enough this EP, nor anything else Kort Prosess ever released (check out their other 7" here and their double 7" here).

Bow-Staff penetration point

"Make Sure The Machine Is On When God Is Calling"

Every once in a while I seek comfort in a little melody, and this would be one of those days. Today's reason for singing is a split LP between Goatboy and Drunk. Ontario, Canada's GB start it off with a heaping 13 tracks of impassioned idealism in the form of melodic hardcore. Present on each track is a nice mix of snottiness and sincerity, which tends to remind me of fellow Northerners I Spy and Propaghandi, as well as other similar and obscure bands like The Krupted Peasant Farmerz and Quadiliacha. I didn't realize how long Goatboy has been around, but their discography cites their first sign of recorded life at 1990. I couldn't really say at this point if they're still active...

I dig Goatboy, but to be honest I bought this split because of Drunk-- a Norwegian rock-punk band of considerable brilliance, whose lineage branches off from such God-like entities as So Much Hate and Life...But How To Live It?. Sounding nothing like their forefather bands, Drunk's modus is a more refined form of rock, but the punk pulse cannot be subdued. Sometimes it remains below the surface, driving the slower tracks with a tense energy; but at other times ("Ransom"; "Murder") it runs the show, pushing the tempo into a punk rock frenzy, and arresting the listener with a crescendo of clean, driving guitars, salient vocal melodies, and poignantly perplexing lyrics. Being so used to rougher forms of rock, it took a while for me to adjust to the Drunk's medium. I'm glad I didn't give up, because it's pure genius! The band's exquisite (and sole) full length, "Company Tie," is widely available-- hopefully you will/have pick(ed) it up. And, if you haven't heard So Much Hate or Life... But How To Live It?, I don't know what else to say, but get thee hence and hence immediately! (You can also hear Drunk cover Leatherface's "Razorblades and Aspirin" here).

I wanted this LP to be ripped at 320 kbps, so I did, but it was ever so slightly too big. Therefore:

Goatboy Side

Drunk Side

Lash Out & Burst

This EP may not come from two of the most obscure bands, but it's out of print, and the bands are great, so here it is. Lash Out play what has become known as metalcore, but don't let that deter you. I'm starting to think I should be a little less prejudiced about that (rather overplayed) genre. LO play with a ton of scathing conviction, sincerity, and technical skill. Only one song from them, but it leaves an impression, for sure. The two Burst tracks are outstanding remnants of the period of time just prior to their "going Relapse." I enjoy their Relapse releases quite a bit, but in some ways I love their more hardcore work better. If you dug "Conquest:Writhe," or "In Coveting Ways," these tracks come from that era. Very "modern" and intricate, but still full of raw hardcore fury!

Listen

Life... But How to Live It?

Absolute criminal neglect! I don't believe there are any Life But How to Live It records/CDs in print. Even Ebullition has let the glorious 12" to your left out of circulation. Oslo's Life... But How to Live It was one of the most creative and talented bands ever to be associated with the words punk or hardcore. Certainly, many will object to the latter term completely, even with the looseness with which that term was tossed around in the '90's. But LBHTLI exemplified the politics and ethics of hardcore, even if they did employ a whole lot of rock elements. The main factors that made this band such a standout force in music were the amazing guitar work and soulful vocals of Roger Andreassen and Katja Osvold respectively. As the band progressed toward the middle period of their short 5 year existence, Andreassen became more daring with his squealing brand of rocked out, fretboard artistry. The two eps that followed their "Day by Day" LP are testimony to his over-the-top, hyper-active guitar genius, which is why I placed them at the top of the download list below. Then there's Katja... The robust melodies she belted out are a rich mixture of the angst of punk, the catchiness of pop, and the soul and sincerity of folk. Lyrically, the band blended their political message with a very earthy, personal touch, which only endeared them more to their '90's audience. To those who have never listened to this band, I would suggest entering their musical world with an open mind (especially if you are an exclusively crustified grindcore type!). And to everyone: below are tracks from the "Green" EP, the "Burn" EP (also appear on the Ebullition 12"), the self-titled LP, and the "Day by Day" LP. Thank you to a few anonymous people on Soulseek who have unknowingly contributed to this collection!

Enjoy:

First two LPs
"Ugly" and Eps

Some members are currently in a punk band called Drunk.

Summon the Crows - "Scavengers Feast"

The crusty-ass stenchcore revival has reached Norway! Summon the Crows is Oslo's answer to American bands like Stormcrow and Hellshock, and European bands like Filth of Mankind and Instinct of Survival. On "Scavengers Feast," (Nakkeskudd Plater/Cradle to the Grave Records) you get 13 tracks of bestial crustcore played EXCEPTIONALLY well. These chaps don't rely too heavily on the chuggin' Bolt Thrower worship, but instead mix in subtle melody and a bit of dissonance to keep the listener alert and on edge. What you get is what you should always get from a crust record: something rather modern, but which nods respectfully to Deviated Instinct and Amebix. And, if you dig below the death-obsessed surface of STC's lyrics, you will easily find a distinctly anarchist lean to their ideas, especially with respect to making personal decisions in life. This album is solid as hell, and absolutely rises above much of the overwhelmingly abundant and often mediocre output of the DIY world. See what you think:

MP3's:

"Salvation?"
"Life is Shit"

Buy It:
Profane Existence

Kolokol - (Hopefully) The Future of Hardcore

For a band that started in the mid '90's, Norway's Kolokol have given their fans very little output... until now. Moo Cow records has finally released (3 or so months ago) Kolokol's first LP "Flammer og Farger" (CD is available in Norway from Sjakk Matt Plater). For the uninitiated, Kolokol play a fast, thrashy style of melodic hardcore punk that deserves a category of its own. The star here is the guitarist, who alternates frantically between moments of dischord and catchy melody. At times the squeely chaos of his playing reminds me of fellow countrymen/women Life... But How to Live It (but not quite as involved and complex). The vocals are shouted with plenty of angst, though I wish they would have recorded them a little louder. But Kolokol has the ingredient for which there is no formula: Energy! They simply exude the shit. If you play their records too loudly, make sure there are no sharp or heavy objects close by!

I am posting songs from Kolokol's "Tilbake Til Start" 7" as well, because it would be a shame for people to miss out on this excellent disk. Here the band cranks through 6 songs which were written in the '90's. These tracks are decidedly unrelenting and fast, and afterward, you feel as though you listened to an entire album ... it's that satisfying. On the LP, the band has more space and is more "mature," so they play around more with tempo changes and song structures. Whichever incarnation of Kolokol I listen to, I must conclude that they are one of the best hardcore bands in Europe. Give 'em your support!

Listen:
"Ingen Mennesker" from "Flammer og Farger"
"Ny Tid Truer" from "Tilbake Til Start"
"Solgt" from "Tilbake Til Start"

Support:
Hardcore Holocaust
Feral Ward