The rawest punk outfit to ever come out of Greenland. Another swift discharge of chaotic noise-mongering in the fashion of cult classic DISASTER. They take the blueprint left by DISCHARGE, the mindset of DISCLOSE, and they just rage. Four tracks that sound like an enormous door slamming in the depths of hell.
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.
Loose, jangly crust Á la early DOOM demos or ABRAHAM CROSS, with the buoyancy of some early ’90s grind like UNRUH or ACRID. Tight-as-fuck snare and grizzly basslines, sizzling feedback cross-channeling buzzsaw strings and ugly vocals. Lots of breakdowns in the DEVIATED INSTINCT/APARTMENT 213 sense, while constantly driving forth like DEFORMED EXISTENCE or CRUSADE. Low levels of subtle dirge, DISCLOSE riff-raining terror followed by more breakdowns. This is so good. Heavy as fuck with a hard stance toward animal liberation and this world of constantly accelerated pollution. This is worth your attention and speaker destruction. Six tracks of obliterating, downtuned crustcore guts, in a D-beat skeleton, a total distorted onslaught.
A new band from Milan, of the Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni collective and Sistema Mortal tape label scene. SKALP plays plain, simple hardcore, with plenty of dirt, distortion, and guitar screams. When it comes to such rudimental songwriting, all focus shifts to the flow of the music and how it sounds. They have that extra energy which functions as a definite presence, lifting this demo to be easily enjoyable because it is eventful. Occasionally sounding D-beat-ish, it’s fast-paced hardcore with reduced but entertaining (and recognizable) riffs which are better when they become hectic. Grunting, well-placed vocals sounding very mean and aggro, yet the anger is directed and frustrated not mindless.The last three songs are live recordings, and in quality they do not differ radically from studio recordings, creating an instant desire to want to see them live. Sung in Italian, the music is rather reminiscent of Scandinavian brutality or British primitivism, while the guitars do venture around the tape, although never too wildly. It’s dirty, attacking hardcore, with D-beat energy. Hope this is just the beginning because I want to hear more. Many people are able to quickly put together great demos or 7”s, so did SKALP. I wish for more.
