Reviews

MRR #516 • May 2026

Arüspex The Death Instinct LP

ARÜSPEX is a relatively new band from Northern California, and I was not familiar with their work until this review. Their name refers to the priests who practiced divination through the inspection of sacrificed animals’ entrails in ancient Rome, and although for all we know, they may have been a bunch of merry lads, this choice for a band’s name does signal grim bleakness rather than upbeat optimism. Fittingly, ARÜSPEX plays what is often referred to as “blackened crust,” and if the term tends to be used improperly, I think it is relevant here. The post-HIS HERO IS GONE neocrust of the ’00s (EKKAIA, AMBULANCE, or FALL OF EFRAFA of this world) is definitely summoned, but the black metal influence is also very strong here. It sounds quite versatile, with epic, melodic D-beat crust moments, full-on black metal blastbeats, and mid-paced atmospheric bits working together to tell an overall good cohesive story. The extreme vocals reek of anger and despair, and the production matches the genre’s prerequisites. I’d be lying to claim I’m an ecstatic fan of the blackened crust genre, but ARÜSPEX does it very well, and I can imagine them being praised quite highly by the certified amateurs.

Bleakness Blurred Visions LP

Gothic death-punk with a tinge of orgcore coming to you straight from ol’ Paris, as if PAINT IT BLACK collaborated with the DISPOSSESSED to bring you a melodic hardcore version of the CURE. Fantastic production; the natural distortion on the guitar is absolutely classic and clean, while the bass is punchy and crisp. For a trio, these folks pack a huge punch. It doesn’t sound like they did a lot of overdubbing either, so I’d have to assume this is a pretty faithful recreation of how they sound live. Everything feels huge and soaring—vocals, guitars, and hell, even the drums. Really solid slab and well worth checking out.

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band V.3 LP

BUMBO’S TINTO BRASS BAND cranks up the weirdness and delivers ten songs to annoy your neighbours with. Yes, “everything sounds slightly off” is definitely a trope in the art-rock side of the post-punk spectrum, but it’s not an easy one to nail at all. One might think it’s about tuning your instruments a bit weird or playing slightly off-beat, but I believe it’s more of a headspace that you can either get into or not…and it sounds like they were born there. I really enjoyed how unapologetically amorphous this record is, and I’m sure you will as well. Bonus points for the vocalist who sounds like D. Boon.

Coachez Sonic Thumpers cassette

The opening track “Hot Shooter” is the best thing here. It sounds like NICK CAVE fronting AC/DC, and that’s the best thing I can say about it. Overall, this sounds like a group of people who have played their instruments for years and decided to finally start their first band. The riffs are decent, and while the musicianship is on point, the songs are too long and couldn’t hold my attention. “Longsnapper” tops the seven-minute mark, and the whole EP is only twenty minutes! The biggest standout to me is the vocals, and that’s because they are a complete mismatch for this band. There’s a croony, deranged quality to them that I could see working well with the right music, but here they fall flat against the sonic dumpers the band is cranking out.

Cult Objects Amulet LP

I was not especially “wowed” at first. To me, the lyricism stood out the most, as it felt quite poignant, especially in the track “Natural Death.” Some of the first couple tracks blended together as they were similar tempos and styles, but they were immediately disrupted by the absolutely funky, groovy piece that is “Diamond Dust.” That caught my attention and got me hooked again for the next couple tracks.

D. Sablu Righteous Light EP

This honestly kicks some serious arse. Coming across like an unholy union betwixt the ferocity of DISCHARGE and the riffier end of POISON IDEA, Mr. Sabludowsky’s singular wail cuts through the ensuing melee like a banshee, making for an exhilarating eight minutes or so. Very few releases are good enough to warrant an immediate replay, but I was wheeling this one up within seconds of completion. Good gear.

Dräumar Draümar LP

Here an extraordinarily powerful debut from what has to be Oslo’s preeminent hardcore outfit. The riffs on this sucker are mind-melting. There’s some noodling that has me convinced their guitarist has an extra digit or two on their fretting hand, but it’s the foundation of riffage that I keep coming back to. Check out “Blodigler” or “Parasitt” as examples of how absolutely raging this band is even when the shredding is held at bay. Through and through, this shit just kills. Pissed-off vocals, intricate basslines, fantastic drumming…even the interludes are rad. Grip this or die sad, punk.

Eristetyt Meri EP

The Finnish punk scene has done so much to influence and shape extreme music that it’s hard to believe it gets often overlooked. ERISTETYT is a Finnish hardcore punk band born in 1989, rooted in the raw, D-beat-driven tradition of the country’s classic scene. They draw clear influence from early pioneers like RIISTETYT or MELLAKKA—both urgent and shamelessly primitive, emphasizing aggressive, fast-paced songs and a stripped-down, metallic aesthetic typical of Finnish hardcore. After an extensive catalog of noise, splits with the likes of AGATHOCLES, and assorted compilation appearances, ERISTETYT delivers Meri via Terminal Records, recorded in 2021. The songs are simple but effective, locking into relentless rhythms while the drums push everything forward with a pounding, almost militaristic intensity. It carries that classic harsh delivery, more about attitude and force than clarity. Meri has an essential hardcore quality: direct, aggressive, and immediately repeatable.

Freak Phone Demo 2025 cassette

When I picked up this tape and saw the name FREAK PHONE and the artwork of someone crudely tonguing the handset of a landline telephone, I assumed I was in store for a world of novelty art-punk nonsense. Thankfully, what I received when the tape kicked in was bare-bones, no-frills, RAMONES-core rock’n’roll from Portland, Maine. What might feel overly simplistic to some comes across as a breath of fresh air. In today’s world, modern-day RAMONES-worship bands often seem to be scared to just…be RAMONES. There’s always a fresh take or some artistic flourish added to the tried-and-true formula. What the hell are these acts thinking? You can’t smarten up good old-fashioned, glue-sniffing, moron mutant rock’n’roll! Based solely on the demo, FREAK PHONE doesn’t seem to fall into that trap. Here’s hoping there isn’t some novelty aspect to the band that would cheapen their sincerity in some way. This five-song cassette delivers pure, unpretentious rock’n’roll, including an awesome take on “I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight” by RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON. It’s simple, it’s catchy, and it doesn’t need a damn gimmick.

Gamma Subconscious cassette

Six cuts of ripping hardcore from across the pond, GAMMA’s Subconscious is tightly wound up and bristling with early ’80s USHC goodness. This is right up my alley; not many frills, pissed-off, fast, and loud. Overall, they remind me of Nashville’s G.U.N. Great stuff, highly recommended.

King Slender There is Your Image in Light LP

The kids these days have done a really solid job categorizing the different eras of emocore, and while I’m not really sure which generation this sound falls into, I am a sucker for the proto-screamo, dissonant chord, artsy form of the genre like BOYS LIFE, CAR VS. DRIVER, and INDIAN SUMMER. KING SLENDER also scratches that itch, sounding very much like early PIEBALD before they started incorporating melody into their music. I know that the Midwestern noodly emo sound has held the spotlight for quite some time at this point, but this style has always been the “true” emo in my opinion. This is a fantastic record, and you need to check it out if you’re into the aforementioned bands.

Life Expectancy Sold cassette

To say that this is a noisy recording is an understatement, and this is coming from a fan of crasher crust who owns the full ZYANOSE discography. I had not heard of LIFE EXPECTANCY, but after reading the “crasher” tag and seeing they were from Liverpool, I was curious to say the least. And what a listen it proves to be. This band is certainly not for those of us who like tunes in their punk. Sold makes most contemporary crust bands sound like the EAGLES. I have to admit that I struggled to complete the first round, but once I understood what LIFE EXPECTANCY was up to, looking to crank up the noise and indeed push it to the limit, I started to appreciate them more. The band clearly strives to experiment with the traditional formula with more rough noise, a hypnotic atmosphere with a seemingly endless D-beat, evil possessed vocals, and overall more challenge for the listener in an already challenging genre. So yeah, probably not the ideal Christmas gift for you nephew. Beside the usual suspects, I am reminded of Japanese bands like DEATH DUST EXTRACTOR, late ABRAHAM CROSS, or late TRUTH OF ARISE, because they experimented with and added to the Japanese crust blueprints in their own way. Maybe vintage ANTISECT moving to Kyushu in the mid-’80s and also getting into satanism? This sort of thing. I salute the daring wall of noise that I personally get and enjoy, but I believe few will.

Medicinal Buildings Abandoned LP

Hardcore and/or hardcore punk out of Long Island that can’t quite decide if it wants to be the former or the latter. The vocal stylings are fairly unique and interesting, but the music is far too predictable and solid-state to rise to anything particularly engaging. I really found myself distracted by the general sound and production here. While they may find success when their friends show up to the South Shore VFWs, this sound can’t afford the bridge or tunnel fare to get much further.

Omen Negation Omen Negation demo cassette

OMEN NEGATION is a three-piece punk band from Portland, Maine. It’s a long trip from one Portland to the other, where their significant WIPERS influence comes from. This tape certainly has plenty of driving guitar riffs in that style, but somewhere along the cross-country trek, it seems to have picked up a hitchhiker, adding a touch of early 2000s folk-inspired indie rock/pop punk to the mix. That aspect is mostly noticeable in the singing. Vocals feel intentionally off-time, with the singer attempting a kooky, off-kilter style, reminiscent of the HOLD STEADY and similar indie rock acts. Backing vocals pepper the tape with strained, yelling harmonies, which are probably the clearest nod to that 2000s folk-leaning pop punk sound. An eight-track demo, recorded very crisp, clear, and professionally. Some of the guitar licks are real head-bobbers, but the vocal delivery leaves the songs feeling like head-scratchers.

Psico Galera Memorie Di Occhi Grigi 12″

It is hard to quantify a proper reaction to a record like this for the simple fact that it’s rare to encounter a band that breaks through the trappings of trend and convention. Listening to this album is like looking at a map that includes a weird new territory that didn’t previously exist. There are the contours of the punk we know, but every song fucking explodes out into an extra-dimensional shape with insane modulated guitar shredding, trance-inducing vocal refrains, and pummeling death beat drumming. If it weren’t so infectious and raging, it would be truly unsettling. Experimental, cosmic, bizarro hardcore for the real freaks. I’ve enjoyed all of PSICO GALERA’s output, but this is lightyears beyond their preceding material. If you catch yourself feeling bored with punk, give this a spin and try to keep your brains inside yer gourd.

Public Figures Figure It Out! 12″

Debut EP from this young Melbourne band that has a sonic depth and insight beyond their years. There’s a swagger and attitude as if JOAN JETT and PATTI SMITH had been in the original lineup of HOLE. Lyrically, there’s a strong identity of female power and resistance with a fresh honesty. Bonus info, band member Evie creates all their music videos, which are an amazing reinforcement of their energy and essence.

R.D.A. Brave United in Trust LP

If you ever wanted proof that punk didn’t just explode in the same old places and burned just as violently in Southeast Asia, dig into R.D.A., short for REFORMED DESTRUCTION FOR ACTION, and their feral debut Brave United in Trust. Released in 1987 on Twisted Red Cross, the original cassette dropped straight into a scene already boiling with bands like the WUDS and DEAD ENDS. There’s a looseness here with their MINOR THREAT/UNIFORM CHOICE type of hardcore that modern bands spend years trying (and failing) to fake. And like so many releases from that era of Filipino DIY punk, Brave United in Trust didn’t travel much as it stayed trapped on cassette, circulating hand-to-hand, until now. In 2025, the record finally made its way onto vinyl for the first time, nearly four decades late, but right on time for anyone still chasing the real thing.

Head Wound / Soft Exit split cassette

Fucking rad split release from two innovative projects out of Kuwait. I love hearing bands from underrepresented regions, and this one smokes. HEAD WOUND presents a four-track stylistic buffet of modern punk that genre hops and never loses a sense of frenzied energy. “D.B.V.T.Y.” glides effortlessly between heavily produced and melodic NINE INCH NAILS-style alt/industrial into blitzes of full-volume, full-mayhem cyber grind. The next song, “Evel Knievel,” pairs dissonant post-punk with stuttering, effusive vocals, sounding like BLACK EYES for a minute before touching on metallic sludge and remixed egg-punk. Is it unfocused? Sure, but the intensity runs so high that it functions as a unified piece. SOFT EXIT might stretch the bounds of some MRR expectations with their experimental junk IDM, but the four tracks here work as a counterpoint to Side One. Think of a dumpster dive behind the Warp Records warehouse while an Arabic chant narrates your digging. Skittery drums and warm synths play hopscotch with massive black hole club beats and field-recorded speech samples. It is bewildering and head-bobbing. Check it out!

Spooky Visions Unraveled cassette

Is bedroom synth punk a thing? Because this sounds like bedroom synth punk. KRAFTWERK via punks with Casios is the vibe here—it works best on the more propulsive tracks, but the cold, robotic vibe is nice and thick throughout. Two original tracks and two covers (WALL OF VOODOO and ROKY ERICKSON), the latter of which gives a glimpse into a more expanded, full-band sound that could be in the project’s future. Solid, quick listen.

Storm Boy Beast Machine Theory CD

This is a pretty perfect example of a band that’s not doing anything wrong, but just doesn’t bring any novelty to the genre of melodic late ’90s/early ’00s punk. This is worn-out Chucks music that is played competently, recorded reasonably, and presented without fuss or pomp. That said, it doesn’t keep my attention, and sits squarely in a space of music that is inoffensive and impossible to quantify. I truly think these folks have a blast playing these tunes, and I hope they continue to do so for as long as they can. I’ll cheers to them for getting up there and doing the thing, but I just cannot see myself returning to these songs.

Strängt Förbjudet Lyxfällan EP

You came here looking for some CHUCK BERRY-esque punk rocking from Sweden, and now you’ve found it. Four whole songs of it, on one 7” record, no less. No frills, no pretense, and no words that I really recognize except “Anticimex.” Recommended for fans of the KIDS.

Stres / Svobodný Slovo Pohled Ven!! / 333 Stříbrných Kokotů split LP

This is a raw and valuable snapshot of early Czech hardcore punk, issued in 2026 by Papagájův Hlasatel Records. Bringing together 30 tracks from the late ’80s and early ’90s, the record captures two closely connected Sokolov bands at their most urgent, STRES and SVOBODNÝ SLOVO. Musically, it’s fast, aggressive HC punk with a distinctly underground feel. SVOBODNÝ SLOVO (“freedom of speech”) delivers short, hard-hitting songs rooted in the faster side of hardcore, giving off a UKHC vibe, while STRES (you guessed it, it means “stress”) leans into a rough but controlled USHC-type mood. The recording quality may be unpolished, but that only adds to its authenticity. More than just a collection of songs, this split works as an important document of the early Czech hardcore movement, imperfect, loud, and full of angst.

Sweet Reaper Still Nothing LP

SWEET REAPER’s Still Nothing is their fourth LP since 2015, and this Ventura three-piece continues to operate in the same waters as the Denton, Texas power pop/punk axis—think MIND SPIDERS, MARKED MEN, RADIOACTIVITY—so it tracks that Jeff Burke mastered the album. But these beach rats aren’t coasting on the comparison. They bring a distinctly Southern Californian sweetness to the formula, at times layering some tight vocal harmonies over the buzz and drive, with tracks like “Zero Candles” and “Meemees” adding a ’60s pop warmth. Seth Pettersen’s vocals sit in a familiar upper register, but at times he adds a Billie Joe Armstrong-esque nasal whine. Lyrically, the album lives in a state of exhaustion without surrender: relationships crumbling, systems failing, but still just enough gas in the tank to keep moving. This is fucking good! Eleven songs and not a dud in the bunch. Also available on cassette from the band’s Naked Time Tapes.

Totälickers Totälickers LP reissue

In celebration of its twentieth anniversary, a reissue of TOTÄLICKERS inaugural LP has been released. It seems like just a little bit ago that these Barcelonian punks were hitting the scene with their street-level punk crudo, but here we are twenty years on. Honestly, nothing much has changed in the past two decades of punk, as the LP still sounds fresh if you’re uninitiated. A barrage of D-beat, lyrics en español, buzzsaw guitars grinding out lightspeed melodies, a punk classic and yours to be had.

Uschis Mutti Urlieb LP

From Bremen, Germany, we get a full head-on punk stomper from USCHIS MUTTI that touches on a bunch of stuff in the hardcore and punk fields. Päpsy’s vocals are delivered with machine-accurate precision, flowing with the music and making her words and message as much an instrument as they are budding with powerful imagery. Punctuating her vocals are BumBum and Arne, perfectly disrupting enough to move Urlieb into an unpredictable, interesting, and melancholy atmosphere. What USCHIS MUTTI delivers is a heavy hardcore punk record with thoughtful songs, some twisting and some straightforward, leaving you with a cratered feeling and wanting to fill the hole with more USCHIS MUTTI. The LP has eight songs that average three minutes each, with the last track “Horner Eck” slugging forward and slowly gaining speed, reigned in at a couple seconds under seven minutes. Everything about this release, from the sequencing to the songs themselves, feels deliberate and thoughtful. USCHIS MUTTI, I feel, had a big-picture plan on what they wanted to do with Urlieb. I’m really digging this record.

V/A Ready! Aim! 1! 2! 3! 4! A M.O.T.O. Tribute CD

Ready! Aim!! 1!2!3!4! A M.O.T.O. Tribute features 46 bands covering songs by M.O.T.O. (MASTERS OF THE OBVIOUS), which should tell you something about the reach of Paul Caporino’s songwriting. The man has been at it since 1981—45 years of garage rock filtered through pop, new wave, and occasional metal detours, and the one constant across all of it is that the hooks are relentless. Caporino writes melodies with a ’60s pop instinct that won’t leave you alone, the kind of songs that burrow into your head even when the lyrics make you wince. “Dance Dance Dance Dance Dance to the Radio” is a good example: you might argue with the words, but good luck getting that bop out of your skull. On a comp this size, interpretations range from faithful to sideways, and the quality varies. I hadn’t heard of most of the artists here, but standout contributions from ERIC AMERICA featuring BRONSON TERMINATOR TEW, ERIC CUNHA, POPDUDES, HOUSEGHOST, PAINT FUMES, and SHERI LYNN featuring the SWEET LOVES kept me hitting play. If you’re already a fan of Caporino’s work, there are plenty of good takes here to keep you happy. If you’re not, do yourself a favor and check out the originals. The man might be the Brian Wilson of garage rock: prolific, obsessive, and incapable of writing a song that doesn’t stick.

Venom Snipers In Jail demo cassette

Brief, weird hardcore demo that recalls the era when SST Records started encouraging the freakos to grow out their hair and reach beyond traditional punk blueprints. The band rips serviceable blown-out chords à la early BLACK FLAG, but the unique vocal style is what sells it. Imagine a weathered, tobacco-destroyed baritone narrating a driver’s ed scare video or reading a Cormac McCarthy audiobook: world-weary, emotionless, and intimidating in its detached authority. Now place that voice front and center, doing deadpan spoken word over hardcore punk. I went from “What the fuck is this?” to “Yes, sir, I’m listening” in five seconds. I don’t want to get grounded again, you know?

Wristwatch III LP

The best offering yet from this fiery Madison, WI post-garage-punk trio. This is five songs from their first record and five songs from their second record, re-recorded. This time around, they ditched the drum machine in favor of their live drummer, and it really pays off. What I dig most about this is that it’s infinitely more aggressive in nature than their previous releases, and honestly, more than most of the stuff I hear in the genre. It’s pissed-off and weird, but also really melodic and hooky, and there’s an explosiveness to the songs that was lacking on their previous releases. The music is tight, angular, intricate, and sonically combustible. You can feel the energy of them all playing together, and it makes a world of difference. There’s some killer guitar work going on, and when the bass needs to shine, it really shines. Bassist Ty Spatz lays down a sick bass line during the track “Rules,” and it’s one of my favorite moments on the album. It reminds me of an angrier DEVO meets early PAVEMENT or the BUZZCOCKS. Vocally, the JAY REATARD influence is still there, but it’s not the star of the show. Vocalist/guitarist Bobby Hussy has come into his own vocally, screaming maniacally and theatrically, adding an additional layer of tension to a record already busting at the seams with tension and anxiety. The closing track “Fix” is a highlight of the record for me and a perfect demonstration of everything I liked about the LP packed into one song. It’s tense and moody, working through several musical passages that push it past the five-minute mark before resolving and releasing all that goddamn tension. Play it loud!