Reviews

General Speech

Blaze Still Nothing Ever Change LP+CD

An all-around great compilation of highly ferocious, emotive, and danceable Japanese hardcore from the early ’90s. I found the vocals and repetitive structure to be annoying at first, but if “Skill!,” “Why,” and “But Nothing Ever Change” don’t immediately hit your pleasure receptors, then you should give up on hardcore. The glossy record contains a booklet with extraordinary colored mohawks and crusty street punk looks, but the real substance lies within the CD collection containing all studio material plus seven extra demo tracks. I’ve never heard anyone play drums like this and the mastering is perfect, allowing everything to come through crystal clear. I would say the LP and CD combo is the way to go on this one. An essential reissue considering you’re getting all the bands’ output for only like 1/5th the price of the original 7”.

Felchers Felchers LP

Solid hardcore punk record in the vein of BLACK FLAG, RKL, and fellow midwesterners ZERO BOYS. Surf-y drums, dynamic riffs, heavy reverb and treble on the guitars, and wreck-your-throat raw vocals. They catch you off guard, and keep you enthralled through all sixteen tracks, like mid-tempo rocker “Decimal” which features some weird horn or something. Maybe just a poorly played saxophone? Whatever it is, it’s punk.

Legion of Parasites Undesirable Guests 12″ reissue

I love discovering bands that were orbiting some of the major players in the punk scene back in the day but never received much recognition—bands you see on old flyers from a CRASS gig but never really hear. LEGION OF PARASITES is one such example, and after doing some research and hearing some of their material, I’m bummed that they weren’t able to take off more than they did. LEGION OF PARASITES were a UK anarcho-punk band active in the mid-to-late ’80s who played as a support act for everyone from CONFLICT to BROKEN BONES. After a whimper of a demo, they pulled themselves together and released this, their first 12” Undesirable Guests, receiving more if not still minimal acclaim. LEGION OF PARASITES have a sound similar to many of the bands on the CRASS label, but stand out for their wild drumming, excellent SUBHUMANS-esque vocal delivery, and surprisingly catchy tunes. Each song here is strong, and as mentioned before, the drumming is out of control. Check out the D-beat on “Party Time” and the galloping bounce on “Eroded Freedom.” These are genuinely good songs and I’m left scratching my head as to why I don’t hear these guys talked about more. Oh well, at least now thanks to General Speech we can all listen to what we’ve been missing.

The Last Survivors 2001​–​2016 LP

“Important” is an understatement when describing this band. The LAST SURVIVORS amalgamate the raw energy of UK82 with the ferocity of Scandinavian hardcore, delivering a relentless sonic assault that leaves listeners electrified. Their music pulsates with the unbridled spirit of rebellion, echoing the grit and determination characteristic of their predecessors. This LP collects their 7″s on Crust War, Dan-Doh, and Pogo 77, as well as other rare tracks, fully remastered for vinyl. In the words of Jacky Crust War: “There were some bands we couldn’t ignore. That was the one, the LAST SURVIVORS.”