Reviews

Campary

Eye For An Eye Teraz LP

Including their 2005 split with the HUNKIES, Teraz is the eighth full-length album by this Polish powerhouse. EYE FOR AN EYE fires off ten tracks of their signature metal-tinged punk, with scorching female vocals and hardcore breakdowns. It’s obvious that EYE FOR AN EYE has been honing their craft for many years, and Teraz finds them at the top of their game. Alternating between brutal and melodic, each song feels like the result of the kind of chemistry that is reserved for long-running bands. The lazy comparison is to POST REGIMENT, due to the vocals and being from Poland, but EYE FOR AN EYE veers far more into an aggressive, metallic territory with lots of tempo changes and even some blastbeats. The production value on this album is quite polished, which detracts from the energy, but suits the mosh parts well enough. Overall, a strong effort from a group of seasoned hardcore veterans. 

Pisscharge Edën LP

FUCK YEAH!!! Get past the band name and doom metal-looking LP cover. There are so many reasons this Hanover band’s (made up of Brazilian, Chilean, and German band members) debut LP is awesome! First, this sounds so fucking urgent, not in a “we liked and wanted to sound like urgent hardcore from the ’80s” but actually like urgent hardcore from the ’80s, where the emotion, politics and passion of what the band is trying to express fuel the intensity. Second, it doesn’t sound like hardcore from the ’80s, nor is there any particular direct reference point except maybe the experimentation and intensity of later ’90s and ’00s Brazilian hardcore (this is way more aggressive but let’s say… MERDA?), where anything: melody, metal riffage, or simple boot-stomping punk can throw itself in to twist around the fourteen tracks of hardcore steamrolling. Third, it has absolutely wickedly scathing female vocals. Fourth, it is dedicated to the memory of Brazilian feminist and anti-police violence activist Marielle Franco, who was assassinated in 2018 in Rio de Janeiro. “Never forget / Organize without fear!” Fifth, the balance of chaotic looseness and musical competency is perfect, where sandpapery blasts of simple metal riffing charge simple and loose, but there’s still deft thrash. Sixth, songs are sung in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, with a fold out lyric sheet containing translations. Seventh, the punchy recording is mastered well, but also balanced with sounding really raw. Eighth: Q: And D-beat? A: And D-beat. Ninth, the band is self described as “Antifa punk, no grayzone.” I’m sold!