Reviews

Fuzzed Atrocities

Fukker Demo EP

With inverted crosses on the Ks and a logo that has three skulls (two goat skulls and a human one that is being stabbed), an alert listener like myself can guess that this band called FUKKER is probably not arsing around with fancy melodies or ambitious songwriting (or even with tuning for all I know). I must say, I was not familiar with this Australian lot. Contrary to what the aesthetics hint at, FUKKER is not an evil metal-punk band, but a rather classic käng hardcore one, with a well-balanced, fuzzy, distorted sound and shouted vocals with a bit too much echo for my taste (a trap that too many hardcore bands fall into these days). I suppose they don’t intend to create anything new here, but it is done well enough and it reminds me a lot of the Japanese take on the Swedish hardcore sound, not unlike a hungover CONTRAST ATTITUDE covering SHITLICKERS and DISARM or something, but the closest comparison would be early GIFTGASATTACK. This six-song demo was originally released on tape in 2019 but this is the vinyl version of it released on two Australian labels that specialize in raw and noisy hardcore, Televised Suicide Records (BOOTLICKER, ODIO, DISEASE, KOSZMAR, etc.) and Fuzzed Atrocities. Did I mention that FUKKER covers NO FUCKER? Cheeky bastards.

Hävittäjät Lost Tapes Collection cassette

Some Australian punks (ex-members of KIROTTU, KRÖMOSOM, and LEPROSY) singing in Finnish and playing Finnish-styled hardcore? Sign me up for that! Punishingly raw and dirty hardcore with a leaning towards KAAOS and TAMPERE S.S.. Released through Roachleg Records, which has been consistently putting out the rawest punk hardcore out there, with the help of Fuzzed Atrocities. Not much else to say about this one except you’ll feel dirtier after listening to it.

Bipolar / Nukelickers Death by Desperation split EP

The internet says that listening to NUKELICKERS may severely damage one’s auditory receptors, but as usual, the internet tends to blow things out of proportion—if you are a real punk, that should not scare or inconvenience you in the least, more so if you chose to listen to the band knowing full well what you were in for. They’re called NUKELICKERS for a reason, it’s like SHITLICKERS going atomic. NUKELICKERS is truly the death of music, I guess in a good way. I could not stand more than eight minutes of the band, and that would already be considered a prolonged listen, but the three-and-a-half minutes of noise on the first side of the split EP feels exhilarating and liberating after a day at work doing as little as possible. This is actually a Berlin-based solo project aimed at destroying preconceived views of what music is supposed to be like. The drums are far too loud, with the crash cymbal being the real star of the show, the guitar is distorted to the max, and the bass sounds like a drunk plane. There is an element of crude, primal Swedish mangel like SHITLICKERS, obviously, but it goes further (or deeper?), and is certainly sweet on old school noisecore like ASYLUM, BIGADA DO ODIO, or RAPT. Strangely hypnotic. On the other side, BIPOLAR is a band from Greenland. Yes, Greenland. Etah City to be accurate. I don’t think I even knew of a punk band there before BIPOLAR. That’s what makes international punk magical, so magical in fact that BIPOLAR happens to worship at the international church of DISCHARGE like myself. With a font copying DISASTER’s, you already know if you are going to like the band’s four songs. Besides the Brits, DISCLOSE appears to be a solid point of reference, and I am reminded of some ’90s Swedish bands like HARASS or DISHONEST. The music sounds a little sloppy at times, which is fine for the style and confers a proper punk feel. They are not the best at this brand of distorted, orthodox D-beat, but they are certainly good enough for me. This is D-beat for the D-beaten. BIPOLAR is a pretty prolific bunch, and there are more recordings on their Bandcamp if you think you are DIS enough. This modest EP reeks of the true DIY punk spirit, it is a short run so don’t sleep on it if you are a die-hard.

Sociedad Bastarda Maqueta Askerosa demo cassette

Florida is not a place I associate much with punk rock, but SOCIEDAD BASTARDA proves me wrong. In our modern world, we are constantly fed new music that we are told is the next hottest shit in town, so bumping by chance into a brilliant unknown band like this lot feels like a breath of fresh air. What’s not to like in being sonically brutalized by dis-loving cavemen crust music? With a front cover depicting three visibly intoxicated crusters discussing the merits of the mighty GLOOM (just another day at the office, right?), and further unsubtle references to crasher crust with a logo using the classic double crass circles and the ELECTRO HIPPIES smiling face and the band openly thanking bands like ABRAHAM CROSS or DOOM for existing, the listener should know what kind of bollocking is to be expected. Unsurprisingly, SOCIEDAD BASTARD’s music is distorted, heavy, and crustier than your oldest pair of socks, but I would not describe them as being strictly crasher-noise-oriented. Beside the obvious DOOM/SORE THROAT structuring influence, the Japanese school of crust is also proudly represented with solid hints of CONTRAST ATTITUDE and ABRAHAM CROSS, and the band is clearly into the Swedish classics as they reworked two songs from BOMBANFALL and SHITLICKERS—to top it off, I am also reminded of more modern furious Scandicrust tornadoes like FLYBLOWN or WARVICTIMS. Quite a smoothie, that one. The production is cavernous and pummeling, the band’s slight sloppiness further adds to the impeccable crust vibe of the songs, and I love how the two pissed vocalists (en Español) work together here, too. I can definitely imagine SOCIEDAD BASTARDA delivering something really good on a proper vinyl release. This is gruff crust at its most asqueroso, the way it is meant to be. Yet another good one from Roachleg Records.