For review and radio play consideration:
Please send vinyl (preferred), CD, or cassette releases to MRR, PO Box 3852, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. Maximum Rocknroll wants to review everything that comes out in the world of underground punk rock, hardcore, garage, post-punk, thrash, etc.—no major labels or labels exclusively distributed by major-owned distributors, no reviews of test pressings or promo CDs without final artwork. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!
Four bands share this comp: WOUNDED KNEES (twisted metal thrash), RESPIRATOR (mostly strange thrash), 7 MINUTES OF NAUSEA (inaudible noise), and NO IDEA (hot powerthrash). Mostly good stuff here.
A solid U.S. comp with VERBAL ASSAULT, FALSE LIBERTY, HALF OFF, and a smorgasbord of other dandy acts. A great introduction to smaller U.S. HC bands, booklet included.
If you’re familiar at all with the great Smoke Seven releases during 81-’83 and don’t own them, get this LP. Nineteen of the best from REDD KROSS, BAD RELIGION, MIA, JFA, etc. All previously released but all great punk rock classics.
YOUTHQUAKE, FORETHOUGHT, and MORAL CRUX are the standout acts on this well-rounded comp which included sounds ranging from garage-y punk to super thrash. Great stuff here.
An international sampler featuring DEPRESSION and GASH from Australia, SONS OF ISHMAEL, HALF LIFE, FAIR WARNING, and DEHUMANIZERS from N. America, FUCK GEEZ from Japan, and MOTTEK, K&T, SO MUCH HATE, and RAPED TEENAGERS from Europe. There’s little in terms of melody, lots in terms of pounding speed and intense lyrics.
A solid comp of mostly melodic garage punk and thrash. Hot tunes are by: ROT, VERMIN FROM VENUS, FOE, and TERMINAL CHOICE. Good show.
A mostly-French comp with BRAINWASH, BUTCHER, RAFF, and several more (including TOLBIAC’S TOADS, who we’ve heard nasties about), and then GOVERNMENT ISSUE. Mostly ’77 punk styles here, but Germany’s MANIACS’ thrash tune is the hottest track.
If you’re yearning for punk, garage mania without the noise element, here it is. Grinding guitar, punchy drumming, catchy melodies, slightly psycho but stark rhythms. The first track is awesome, the EP a find.
This is the underrated NJ UNDEAD featuring ex-MISFIT Bobby Steele. The cassette included all the material from their three hard-to-find EP’s plus an extra track. All great, early, style punk. Recommended!
Pretty solid speedcore that doesn’t really stand out from the pack. Okay lyrics about religion, war, and other topical subjects. Not bad but not amazing, either.
Great! These guys prove way beyond their first single that they rock hard using a neo-psyche element but with a powerful 80s style. There’s some really catchy songs here and well worth listening. Good fun. Good rock n roll.
It’s about time! This collection of tracks from 1981-2 sports a series of outstanding tunes by vintage TSOL, including one clinker (“Weathered Statues”): the rest is dynamic, upbeat, guitar-oriented TSOL at their best and near-best.
Best effort yet from these inspired French punkers. Both sides of this single exploit powerhouse guitar and vocals with absolutely irresistible riffs and melodies. Total ace!
With a name like the SWAMPSURFERS, I was expecting psychobilly weirdness, but this is relentless thrash not unlike RAWPOWER. Crazy stuff within.
Not as speedmetal as I thought their second LP might be, though there’s plenty of guitar wanking woven into the HC. At least they don’t try to come up with a gimmicky imitation of “Institutionalized” here, but the lyrical content is pretty thin, with lots of egotism. Okay, but not special, especially considering the time between albums.
Hot, energetic ’77-ish punk with a mixture of personal and horrific lyrics. At places, sounds like the MISFITS. Great stuff here.
Similar to labelmates CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN, this band manages to blend their hayseed weirdness with some wonderfully scruffy weirdness to produce a garage band that’s not afraid to try anything. SPOT is a bit more aggressive than CAMPER, however and their brand of humor less esoteric and more just plain strange
Hard to believe this band is German. The music sounds like ANGRY SAMOANS, the vocals are U.S. style snotty punk (the singer is actually an American ex-G.I.), the lyrics are sarcastic SoCal-type, but instead of sun-baked retard we get some genuine insight. Hot as hell!!
One of the better garage bands, the SICK ROSE had a single out a while back and like this LP, they’ve got the ’60s sound down but they also manage to throw in a taste of their own into the music so it’s not just an American ’60s sound, just influenced by it. Maybe somewhere between the CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND and THE SEEDS.
Fine people, these dogs, A Bay Area band that tirelessly supports their scene, play great shows and just “care” in general. They’ve added a new guitarist and lost their old singer, so they’ve got a beefier sound but they’ve lost a little of their great spazz quality. Still, this record rocks comfortably between punk and rock with a nice hayseed quality—friendly record and friendly folks.
Combining elements of punk, country, blues, rockabilly into something other than “spaghetti western” music is no easy feat for an Italian band, but they do it well. Fun, and not pretentious.
A marked improvement over their debut EP, SCREAMING BROCCOLI opt for a poppish rock approach to gently satirical material. The jaunty humor and poppish sensibilities of this record recall early ANGST, though this has a less aggressive sound.
I haven’t liked too many amelodic trash bands lately, but these guys attack their music with such enthusiasm it works. Raging vocals, pounding snappy drums, insane guitar noise, reminds me of early Brazilian HC. Definite.
This re-release of the band’s two EP’s on one record is a definite treat for those who missed out the first time around. Both sides are packed full of the intense, harsh sound that this English band was known for, as well as more of Nick Blink’s cover act. Not for tame ears or eyes.
This colorful outfit put out a couple of recent releases that we missed, this being the latest. As with their other material, this is well-crafted pop punk, accented by female vocals with somewhat feminist/radical lyrics. Underneath the colors and pretty music lies some disturbing realities worth checking out, especially for fans of X-RAY SPEX, SLITS, CRASS…
RIFLE SPORT had a record awhile back and it seemed that they had broken up. But now they’re back and while there’s still a nice, gruff Minneapolis punk sound in there, there’s also a new element. Probably due to producer Steve Albini (BIG BLACK), the sound is a little faster and more rhythmic, sort of a punkier BIG BLACK, okay?
Three songs here, exploring a faster paced punk sound with a certain lack of musical distinctiveness. I tried playing their first EP after hearing this, and the contrast is telling: the conciseness and good hooks of the old RHYTHM PIGS has been lost along the way.
Last time we saw RHINO on their own vinyl, Dangerhouse Records still existed and it was still the 70s. I guess they’ve reappeared just to prove that not every revival has to be lame. While not quite as exciting as that old single, this still cooks, though at times slumps back into rock tedium. Could have been a lot worse.
RESISTANCE can do many punk styles, and included herein one finds DOA-ish punk, 77 punk, post-punk, a punk ballad and hardcore. While none are overwhelmingly powerful or tight, with that variety they should mature into something to consider.
A powerful fast punk sound which reminds me a bit of a non-metallic MOTORHEAD. “No Time” and “These Days” are the standout cuts.
Well, Felix and company are back but there’ve been some changes. Side one if the more “punk” side, though only two of the tunes are really hardcore tunes, while the others are slower and go into metalish or post-punkish territory. Side two is decidedly lighter, sounding like a poor man’s LOVE. Lyrically there’s a lot of “regret” themes (mainly having to do with drugs), a few generally “outside view” tunes, and even two love songs. Glad Felix is turning it around, but I hope the next release shows more verve.
While not as melodic as most of their Swedish counterparts, this outfit plays excellent hardcore. And compared to most other bands of this ilk, they are way more melodic. Like their previous 7″ (we fucked up and didn’t review it last year – also available at this address) this disc has power, hooks, and depth. Check them out.
A diverse selection of noises from garage-y punk to speed metal to jazzy material all with a spacy guitar sound and personal lyrics.
Kind of a “history of…” tape consisting of material from 82-’87. Of course it’s obnoxious, snarly punk rock from these Canadian jokers.
Some good mid-tempo punk metal here. I hear traces of MOTORHEAD, ACCUSED, etc. Side one lacks in sound quality but side two captures their spontaneous intensity. 13 songs, 3 covers, and English lyrics.
Humorous themes abound on this one, a slab with the fast/slow. HC approach and vocals reminiscent of the CRUCIFUCKS. Basically raw and okay, but the ultra-fast version of the CURE’s “Killing an Arab” is priceless.
Hot metallic thrash with mostly gloomy lyrical themes. The vocals get a bit muffled at times, but tunes like “No Future” deserve to be heard.
The two songs by THE PAINKILLERS are like 60s punk blues meets PERE UBU and BIRTHDAY PARTY. The YETTIS “song” is like the BUTTHOLES meets PAINKILLERS. You figure it out.
Very powerful, drunken punk and thrash extremely similar to POISON IDEA. Heavy on the drive and power. Good job, dudes.
Here’s the dark and virtually unknown underlings of hip, European, noise-punk. OH’ DEV’s second one is all right. Lots of the ol’ dissonant, psycho guitar with poetic spoken style vocals and lyrics of the disquieted character. But they’re upbeat enough of the time to demand a few listens and the title track is great.
Very good, early-style LA punk with clean hooks and straightforward melody. I don’t think it’s an insult to say they’ve got a sound that’s like early TSOL. Could use a full LP of this.
Sort of a FLIPPER meets BIRTHDAY PARTY with the accent on the less pretentious noise side. Lots of grunge and painful guitar attack, some set to poetry. Pretty gripping.
I’ve always enjoyed stuff like this: tight, to-the-point thrash with basic production and snappy riffing. Although I can’t say this is remarkably original, it connects with charm, fun, and touches of songwriting quality. Very good!
NABAT, Italy’s longest running skinhead band, returns with their original and hard-hitting Oi, this time delving into reggae a bit as well. Consistent, diverse, and powerful stuff. This LP is dedicated to Nelson Mandela (among others), which sets NABAT prominently apart from the racist stupidity of most other bands. Good.
With a name like this, I expected an early THEM raunchy R’n’B sound (band name is a great THEM song), but it’s pretty lightweight 60s pop with only a lilt of “G-L-O-R-I-A” in it.
Imagine SCRATCH ACID meets THE CRAMPS meets LIME SPIDERS with a straight ahead approach but without much of the neo-’60s feel at all. Pretty damn fun, trashy and demented with two grindy guitars.
More grungy street punk from these jokers. Some catchy tunes here, and “We Rule the World” is damn rockin’. Cool Stuff.
Some fast, juvenile sounding punk here with personal lyrics. Good stuff here and they have a totally cool logo: a sleeping cat!
Both sides of his German band’s latest are excellent pop punk. Well produced, catchy tunes and lots of guitar and vocal choruses. Classic punk.
Is there such a thing as getting “BYOed”? While their latest release is pretty decent pop punk (at best they sounds like an American NEUROTICS), it’s a bit weak compared to the previous 7″. All the tunes are mid-to-slow paced, have very good lyrics, and I bet they really rock live. But at this point, they seem to be going the way of the RED ROCKERS.
