Reviews

MRR #509 • October 2025

Atomski Rat Krvava Ravnica cassette

The folk-ish intro leads the mind to an unpredictable landscape, not too distant from something DEAD CAN DANCE would do, but as soon as you start to wonder if you are playing the right record, ATOMSKI RAT drops the bomb on your ears. A barrage of noisy hardcore/thrash soon follows. This Serbian outfit perfect the art of playing thrashy, crusty riffs in the vein of heavyweights EXTREME NOISE TERROR, with a sensitivity towards darker melodies like Swedish champions WOLFBRIGADE. In other words, this feels like a band that decided to only play the steady crust mid-tempo riffs from a grindcore album. And I mean that in a great way!

Brigada Subterránea Brigada Subterránea cassette

BRIGADA SUBTERRÁNEA from Santiago, Chile released this self-titled cassette over a year ago, but it still hits with a fresh dose of dark sound that is as much gothic punk as it is Oi!-inspired street punk, and it fucking rocks. The combo of overdriven, chorused guitars and gravelly vocals is great, but BRIGADA SUBTERRÁNEA also throws in some Tresillo rhythm and an incredibly intricate approach to song structure. This nine-song cassette is an absolute must-listen.

Canines Canines demo cassette

I was really drawn to the grittiness of these tracks. The growling, disgruntled vocals really added to the atmosphere of unease that they created. Their cover of “A Forest” by the CURE (titled “Une Foreât” on their demo) caught me off guard in the best way; I didn’t recognize it at first, but I really enjoyed their iteration of it, especially with the intensity of desire that built with the repetition of the word “again.” There were a couple songs where I felt they built the tension super well, but then there wasn’t quite the explosion that I had imagined. Regardless, I loved the grunting and growling and pure emotion in every track.

Dead Mammals II LP

Engaging noise rock/heavy grunge record from this Rochester, UK band. Pulling from sounds like COP SHOOT COP and HELMET, the bass and drums lock together like a machine, as the vocalist moves from slurred sing/speaking into screaming with ease. Slow builds are key here, like on “Itch,” which features an ominous mid-tempo chug, even through the eventual atonal guitar solo release. A few tracks like “The Ground Takes Anyone” and “Heir Sid” veer into grungy waters with loping minor-key guitar figures that crash into Big Muff crunch, not unlike vintage ALICE IN CHAINS. Big riffs and big moods abound for the rockers among us.

Dog Lips Danger Forward cassette

A nice mixture of new wave, post-punk, hardcore, and a hint of surf rock. There’s a really solid juxtaposition between the music and the vocals; reverb-heavy sparkling guitars, fuzz-punched bass, and guttural-yet-melodic singing. The drums sit nicely in the pocket and keep everything moving and danceable. Sounds like JOY DIVISION smashed together with ANGELIC UPSTARTS. Catchy and charismatic as hell. This is well worth a play.

Electric Prawns 2 Perspex cassette

A real wild, tripped-out experience awaits you with the second release by ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2, although it doesn’t say that name anywhere on the cassette’s artwork. Driving garage punk, plodding post-punk, weirdly beautiful pop-psych, ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 touch on all of these subgenres and more throughout the odyssey of this release. This is not going to be palatable for all of you dear MRR readers who surely have greatly reduced attention spans from all the years you’ve spent huffing inhalants or damaging your brains in some other way. With six of this tape’s nine songs pushing or surpassing four minutes in length, it’s sure to be off-putting for those preferring their punk songs short and sweet. Personally, I say buckle in, dim the lights, and enjoy the journey. The tape starts off sounding like if EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING was a full-on post-punk band. I’m sure part of that comparison is coming because ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 are also from Australia, but it’s more than just that. As the tape continues into its more out-there realm, you end up with tracks sounding like JOHN’S CHILDREN, Mark Bolan’s pre-T. REX mod-rock band. The only thing that truly isn’t for me on the tape is the final track, which is an incredibly long acoustic guitar sing-along number likely intended to be a LOVE-inspired track rather than some hippie nonsense, but maybe take an early exit from this rollercoaster ride, skipping the final lap to avoid that one.

Glitterfast Glitterfast EP

Tokyo’s GLITTERFAST hits us with a punk rock blast of rare pedigree. With a blunt and blaring garage style in the shining spirit of the RAYDIOS and TEENGENERATE, these guys are no frills and all kills. The songs couldn’t be more straightforward (“Japanpunk,” “Faster, Louder”), nor are they in need of any excessive decoration. Hell, they could barely be bothered with sleeve art. They’re just playing that wild O.G. rock’n’roll in the vein of other modern-day torch-carriers ANGEL FACE (featuring the mighty Fink himself), helping to keep the dream alive. God bless ’em—it rules.

Humble Beginnings Overanalyzing the Manifestations of the Unconscious 12″

This, to me, has a very ’90s pop punk flavor. I mean, this is a reissue from 1998, and by the time that you read this there is a high chance that this will already be sold out, but it is aurally transportive back to ’90s pop punk. This release is a terrific footnote to plop in with BUGLITE, SLEEPASAURUS, WESTON, PLOW UNITED, and so on. If you were around in the late ’90s NJ scene and missed out on this piece of history, you now have a chance to amend those poor life choices. If you are interested in ’90s NJ pop punk and have always wondered what it sounded like in the ’90s, you now have a chance to be that person, too.

Kirkby Kiss Four Color Black LP

KIRKBY KISS’s second full-length Four Color Black serves as a journey back to the hardcore sound of the early ’90s, tapping into that potent blend of dissonance and unpredictability. From the first track, it’s clear the band is channeling the chaotic power of acts like BOTCH or DEADGUY without straying too far from hardcore roots, from BAD BRAINS to FUGAZI. What really stands out is how KIRKBY KISS manages to weave the complexity of emotions into their sound. It’s not just about power or anger, it’s about connection, vulnerability, and coming to terms with the darker aspects of life.  The album closer, “Am I Seeing This Clearly,” features none other than JJ Janiak from the godfathers of hardcore DISCHARGE, alongside some synth work by JP Parsons from FALSE FED (who Janiak also sings for).

Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro 12″ reissue

LAS ÁNIMAS DEL CURATO OBSCURO formed in Mexico City in the latter half of the 1980s. Although short-lived, the band, through earlier adoption of post-punk and gothic rock, inspired a burgeoning underground of dark rockers. Originally released in 1988, the eight-song full-length Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro was self-released and distributed by the band. However, now in 2025 it is available for international purchase through the wonderful humans at La Vida Es Un Mus. This lovingly reproduced 12″ captures the gritty, cool swagger of LAS ÁNIMAS DEL CURATO OBSCURO with perfect accuracy. Guitar riffs that drift into focus and fall away, synthesizers that scream with intergalactic melancholy, and a tight, danceable rhythm section form songs that are constantly shifting jams. All this variety is crystalized into structure through lyrical themes that capture the various aspects of a relatable disaffected adolescence. In total, Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro is an astounding listen from start to finish.

Mako Vanish… Into Darkness cassette

Tennessee-based extreme music novelty project themed entirely about sharks, as could potentially be deduced by the name. My initial thought of the project is that it was probably a fun, goofy thing to do with some friends over the course of a weekend, and I highly doubted we would see another release by MAKO. Doing some digging, I have found that, against all odds, this is somehow the band’s fifth release, and they are a self-proclaimed “sharkgrind” band. Well, guess I was way off. Granted, I don’t have a ton of knowledge about modern grindcore or its subgenre of goregrind, and know absolutely nothing about its sub-subgenre of sharkgrind. Onto the music. The band’s shark obsession might sound like a fun gimmick on paper, but MAKO proves that even apex predators can flop. There are plenty of hooks, but unfortunately they’ve all gone dull, resulting in a sea of forgettable riffs. Mostly the recording just kind of sounds like unremarkable grindcore, but there are multiple times where the song will be bopping along at a decent pace, then the tempo drastically slows down when blastbeats are forced in, waiting for the beat to catch up. Peppering the little surf drumbeat into the most tongue-in-cheek song on the tape (“Shark Attack!”) was a fun little touch, tho. When all is said and done, this is a real catch-and-release kind of cassette for me.

Plasma Mua Et Voi Omistaa LP

Finnish punk architects PLASMA hit the ground running. Their debut LP is frothing with swagger, doing the “classic yet fresh” thing effortlessly via ten tight cuts. Loaded with poison-tipped tupa-tupa and head-bobbing hardcore style, this hits all the right spots for a stunning first impression. Bouncy bass, bumping drums, malicious licks, and a lovely punk sneer—everybody’s on fire here.

Point of No Return The Language of Refusal LP

Veterans of Brazilian hardcore who refuse to stay quiet. After years of silence, POINT OF NO RETURN returns with a sharp political blade: themes of labor, ecology, colonial injustice, authoritarianism; the record cuts deep. The riffs are heavy, often a metallic mosh, and gang vocals ring with communal anger. It’s straightedge ethics married to global struggle. The production is punchy but raw enough to keep the edge. This isn’t nostalgia and it isn’t safe—it’s a summons.

Neglected / Positive Outlook Final Solution / No More War! split LP

The record that no Bay Area nerd even knew they needed until they heard it, because holy shit, these two demos are stunners. POSITIVE OUTLOOK featured VIOLENT COERCION/ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT guitarist Eric McIntire, and after a few member changes in 1987, they kinda morphed into NEGLECTED when the sound got a bit darker. Both bands played screaming ’80s USHC—fast ’n loose and full of energy, the kind of shit that needs to be unearthed and preserved. The LP comes with a massive booklet full of stuff that was probably just sitting in a shoebox until F.O.A.D. came calling…mandatory dose of under-appreciated Bay Area hardcore.

Recall Corpse EP

There must be something in the water (or more likely in the cheap beer) in Montreal, because new punk bands seem to spring to life there everyday. I had not heard of RECALL, but am familiar with some of the other bands the members are involved in. You can tell that their sound has been carefully thought out, especially the guitar tones, and it is, overall, a well-crafted EP. However, if it sounds good, I am a little confused about what they are actually trying to achieve in terms of genre. There is a D-beat element to be sure, but the production and the vocal flow and tone don’t really fit with the style. It lacks that raw brutality one associates with the D, and while I assume American hardcore is still the prime influence, I don’t think RECALL quite got that balance between both worlds. I am not a USHC fan so I might be missing the point completely, but it doesn’t do it for me.

Scrapped Plans Buddy Buddy Belgium LP

This record is brought to you by a sort of  pop punk supergroup featuring Grath Madden (the STEINWAYS, ROBOT BACHELOR, etc.), Michelle Shirelle (the STEINWAYS, HASTY), Fraser Murderburger (the MURDERBURGERS, WRONG LIFE, the PHASE PROBLEM), Kieron Jordan (DON BLAKE), and, of course, Mikey Erg (every other band on the planet). The TL;DR story here is that this sounds like a deliciously balanced mix of the STEINWAYS and the MURDERBURGERS, but that simplification would betray the quality of  this project. Two pillars hold this up: songcraft of the highest order by people who love the melodic side of punk rock so fucking much, and the fun they probably had making this record. The songs sound like they just came together with clever hooks and catchy melodies out of an epic hangout session, which from what I’ve read is kind of what happened. Standout tracks for me are the ones that spotlight Michelle Shirelle (one full-band and one acoustic), but as a long-time enjoyer of the work of everyone in this band, this was tailor-made for me.

Seein Red This LP Kills Fascists LP

A long-overdue vinyl release of SEEIN RED tracks from 2001–2003 that were originally released on compact disc in 2004 to coincide with a Brazilian tour. To fit on vinyl, they had to shave off a few cuts, so what we have here are 35 tracks of timeless, political hardcore punk. I’ve had the privilege of seeing the band live a few times, and these tunes capture their energy and vigor well. Fast as fuck and absolutely pissed at the state of things (still sadly poignant twenty-plus years on), this is the perfect encapsulation of why punk remains relevant, both as musical genre and as a social movement. While they don’t sound much like LOS CRUDOS, I think of SEEIN RED in a similar way—true classics of the modern era. And to top it off, they’re still going strong to this day, having released a killer LP just last year. Uncompromising and unyielding, SEEIN RED offers a blueprint for lifelong dedication to DIY punk.

Shrinkwrap Killers Feed the Clones Pt. 2 LP

This is a refinement to the highest degree of this project’s original mission. Carrying on the baton of the SPITS’ catchy post-apocalyptic brain damage rock, or at least hinting at it, this project carves its own identity as self-assured and grim pop songs (to a degree) buried in aeons of cosmic sludge. There’s a theatricality to the proceedings in the best way possible, especially in more dirgelike fare like “Eminent Death,” but there is nothing cornball here. The music is excellent, the melodies and harmonies laser-focused, and the scope has a space opera sheen even while keeping me mired in the muck of the gutter. If you’ll indulge me, this feels like punk’s answer to SLOUGH FEG’s cosmic RPG concept record Traveler, but while that band is mighty if terminally uncool, this project manages to construct something no less epic but much more rad. The stabs of spooky Ed Wood synth queasily piercing the tight mutoid punk never grows old, and overall this is a wealth of ideas all in one majorly satisfying package.

Terror Management Band Austerity Gospel LP

This is the second LP from this Florida crew, featuring Mike Taylor of PALATKA fame.  Everyone here’s been in five other bands with names like MINIMUM RAGE or STAB THAT MOTHERFUCKER, so the pedigree is real. They bill themselves as “Southern Gothic noise rock,” and what that translates to is 39 minutes of feedback, lurching riffs, and rant-sung vocals that evoke the experience of someone cornering you at a party to explain why everything is collapsing. The problem for me is momentum. When I think noise rock, I default to the AmRep strain of ’90s bands that sounded relentless, punishing, always moving forward. Austerity Gospel doesn’t really deliver that drive. Too often, the music sinks into plodding tempos without the weight that might make those moments feel crushing. Instead, some of these songs drift toward post-rock soundscapes. The second song “Minorcan” especially feels more MOGWAI than UNSANE, which for me blunts the record’s impact. Not a bad album by any stretch, but it left me wanting more force, less drift. Maybe it’s about expectations? Check it out if you’re a fan of music that drifts between post-hardcore, post-rock, and noise rock without fully committing to any. “The Chisel” was probably my favorite track.

The Corpse Jarocin ‘88 LP

The CORPSE from Poland was a band I wasn’t terribly familiar with before receiving this assignment. I couldn’t find too much on them online, however they do have a pretty cool demo from ’88 called Fight Against Rules that’s worth checking out. Anyways, Jarocin ’88 is a pretty decent live recording of the band playing what was (according to some liner notes) potentially the first hardcore punk gig in Poland. The CORSPE plays a great set that showcases their thrashy speed and ferocity. Their sound has some obvious Japanese and UK influence (they have their own song called “Protestuj I Przeżyj,” or “Protest and Survive”), as well as a little bit of rubbery surf guitar sprinkled in to nice effect. I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say this is essential, but definitely an interesting recording worth a listen.

Oi!takus / The Spiky Tops Operation Pogo split EP

Listen, I know I’m only supposed to focus on the music here, but I need to get something off my chest, because I see this happening more and more and if this review can help change even one mind then my job is done. If you choose to do a split with another band, it completely defeats the purpose of doing it if you upload both halves to different Bandcamp accounts. It even makes less sense if you don’t link the listener to the other side within the same page. The whole idea of a split is to expose your listeners to a completely different band. If I have to actively search where to find the flipside of a record, then the experiment has failed. With that being said, OI!TAKUS plays a generic form of neckbeard street punk chock-full of anime references, and SPIKY TOPS play a generic form of power pop street punk chock-full of your typical punk tropes, and both bands sound like the type of punk act you’d see on some Nickelodeon show like iCarly. Seems like they had fun, though.

V/A Comp Punksylvania Live, Vol. 4 LP

There are two things to keep in mind when you read this review. The first is that this is a live record, but the sound is clear and the bands all deliver a high-energy performance that makes you feel like you are right there. The second thing is that I love this very, very much. When I see a DCxPC record in my in box, I get stoked, and this one seems to have set a new bar for me. This has everything from goofy songs about by a person’s husband being fucked by a werewolf (in the song “My Husband Got Fucked By a Werewolf” by the KARENS), to blazing thousand-mile-per-hour hardcore from SHIP OF FOOLS, to completely unhinged, blazing-speed ska hardcore oddballs the CHEMICAL IMBALANCE. All the bands turn in a top performance, so anything I call out is just the little bits that push this over the edge—SOJI, SUBURBAN DOWNGRADE, WORKING CLASS STIFFS. MARY SHELLEY brings in a B-52’S and EPOXIES element that completely blindsided me with greatness. This is a great live comp with consistent sound quality and amazing song choices. So, here is the ultimate question of how I feel a compilation should be judged. Did this make me want to seek out new music by any band or bands I haven’t heard or heard of until now? Yes it did, 100 percent. And sonuvabitch, now I have to go find the first three volumes, too.

Without Skin Collecting / Inner Debts LP

Man…if this past is the future? I am fukkn here for it. France’s WITHOUT SKIN delivers uncompromising heavy hardcore with metallic leads and meandering art/core riffs. Think of a time when ASSAULT, ANODYNE, TORCHE, and CAVE IN walked the earth and just destroyed shit, you know? That’s the energy I get from WITHOUT SKIN—power without pretense. The internet suggests that they’ve progressed considerably since 2022’s four-song assault Ascents, but it’s a progression that comes with an increased focus on the greater mission that lets them exude power in a manner of their choosing, you know? This one was extremely refreshing, highly recommend.

Yuasa-Exide Go to Hell Encyclopaedia Britannica cassette

Eleven tracks of scruffy, four-track psych pop from prolific Minneapolis singer/songwriter Douglas Bussan. Prolific as in twenty-plus full-length albums of distortion-cracked melodic gems that kind of sound like GUIDED BY VOICES or DEERHUNTER caked in several feet of dirt and grime. Bussan, joined by a revolving cast of friends on these DIY home recordings, has a gruff voice like a lo-fi TOM WAITS calling from a distant payphone, which grounds each melody with world-weariness and authenticity. There is a repetitive droning quality on tracks like “More Surreal” and “The Picture You Painted” coupled with a raw earnestness that pulls you in for repeat listens.

Zeal Illusion of Peace LP

For most punks, the word “zeal” has something of a bad connotation, as it might remind one of that excruciatingly annoying colleague who would do anything to be noticed, praised, and rewarded by the boss. We’ve all had coworkers who groveled their way to the top and would have sold their mums if it meant they could garner a small pay raise. Fortunately, ZEAL does not partake in this kind of capitalistic zeal, as they are hardcore enthusiasts instead. The Illusion of Peace LP is a crucial reissue of their tape released in 2024, an absolutely brilliant recording that ticked a lot of highly cherished boxes. ZEAL is from Ottawa and delivers high-intensity, seemingly unstoppable hardcore punk that takes inspiration from the good shit: mean, gruff käng and triumphant Japanese hardcore. The band reminds me of DESTRUCT in terms of relentlessness—listening to this LP makes me feel invincible and just happy to be there (the feeling never lasts long, but you know what I mean). The power of ANTI-CIMEX or DRILLER KILLER gets the front seat with epic Burning Spirits hardcore bands like BASTARD or DEATH SIDE close by. I am not always a sucker for the trademark “gang chorus,” but they do take the intensity up a notch here. I am also hearing mid-’00s studded bands like Portland’s BLOOD SPIT NIGHT or GUIDED CRADLE from Czechia. We are drowning in bands these days and there’s a fancy American novelty hardcore band supposedly reinventing the genre every fortnight, so hyperboles have become the norm in how we talk about punk. Still, you can believe me when I claim that this is a fantastic, impactful hardcore punk album that deserves a lot of attention.