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!
Somewhere in the midst of JIM MORRISON, MARK RILEY, NICK CAVE, the CRAMPS, and other rockin’ doom and gloomers steps in this Greek band that screams, moans, and sings of inner turmoil and damnation, and basically gets down, jams and rocks out. What more can be said except it’s mostly pretty good.
A four-band, four-track comp featuring HEX, STALAG 17, OI POLLOI, and SYMBOL OF FREEDOM, all from the British Isles. All the bands are powerful as hell, though SYMBOL OF FREEDOM is the most traditionally Britpunk (though they’re from Wales) and the least dynamic. An excellent release.
For the most part, this international comp kicks out some classic fast-tempo punk and hardcore. With bands like the INSTIGATORS, DETONATORS, SONS OF SADISM, MOSKWA, and a dozen others, most will hear something enjoyable here. Good production, a well-rounded sampler.
A four-band international comp with a cool title. POLITICAL ASYLUM and NEUROTIC ARSEHOLES play fast, melodic punk on Side One, while Side Two showcases a thrashier sound with MASSACRE and SOLUCION MORTAL.
Okay, this latest volume of raging thrash contains more of Sweden’s finest. Included are AVSKUM, DISCARD, DTR, SSS, EXISTENZ, SLAM, DISARM, BEDROVLERS, and many more. As with the other Really Fast comps, you get really fast thrash with the usual Swedish flair for hooks, though this one tends to be more straight noise thrash.
A largely German comp (MOTTEK, R.A.F., GIER, COCKS, TOXOPLASMA, etc.) with a couple of tracks each. There’s also TOXIC REASONS, ARTLESS, and FRITES MODERN thrown in, making for an energetic, well-recorded sampler.
An on-target English comp with grade-A stuff from OI POLLOI, GENERIC, SUBHUMANS, and more. A consistently great tape, and comes with a lyric book, too.
Four Mersey-like tunes, but nothing to click your Cuban heels over. Why bother rehashing the past, especially with cover tunes, when the originals win hands down?
One of these two German pop bands, TOT ODER gets the bonus points for interesting instrumentals. Still, both songs are fairly slow and lilting, lack engaging hooks, and are listenable primarily through my adoration of female vocals. Uninspired.
A bit confusing (their logo is “TCACT”) but this is the latest TIN CAN ARMY release. This multi-track 7″ has one side of up-tempo punk, and one in a more jazzy punk vein. They are experimental in some ways, though their pop HC format and vocal sound reminds me most of the DKs.
Their second big ‘un is as ripping as Peruvian Vacation, again with a decided North American feel to their hardcore approach. Lots of melody, but not at the sacrifice of power or energy. You can guess what the lyrics are like.
Containing younger siblings of TERVEET KÄDET (and on Laja’s label), this one-sided, six-songed EP is a raging, eccentric, jazzy thrash noise fest, much in the crazy approach of the late NEOS. Real short tunes, no let up.
Good noisy buzzsaw guitar drive at mid-fast tempo. Young roots punk with verve and garage appeal. Good production.
The SECT make their debut on vinyl with two ’77 style punk anthems in the STIFF LITTLE FINGERS vein. Both sides are up to the highest standards; skillful melodies, a hard guitar sound, and solid lyrics (especially on “A Free England”) make this one absolutely essential.
A three-song job, two of which are decent pop-punk with femme vocals, while the third has a bit more spunk, especially in the singing (cool choruses). Decent.
Not unlike an Italian MIRACLE WORKERS, this band has five mid-to-fast-speed garage psych punkers on this likable 12″. Nearly everything here is catchy but the snotty vocals and kinetic energy of “Out of Control” is definitely above the standard. Very good record.
Stop-on-a-dime powerhouse thrash with interesting musical tidbits here and there. A dozen songs of tight and forceful HC that is definitely worth checking out.
Pop-punk with a good beat and a decently noisy delivery. Some ’60s and ’77 influence, but the production gives some of that current UK noiseband feel to it. Good putdown song aboout JESUS AND MARY CHAIN.
A two-song flexi, unusual in that this Japanese release doesn’t come in a sleeve (Japanese sleeves are the most expensive looking I’ve seen). Good ’77 punk with cool singing and rockin’ power, especially the drumming.
I hear a cross between DOA and TOXIC REASONS on this one. PÖBEL MÖBEL? Hmm, should have known it’d be a Swedish band with those melodies. Good.
A live recording, the centerpiece being a cover (under the title tune’s name) of the MEMBERS’ “Solitary Confinement.” Also included are some ranting poets and a few other NEUROTICS’ cuts. Great shit.
Acknowledged by many to be Europe’s best thrash band, this release (out both in Holland on Konkurrent and in the US through Mordam) show their power. Songs are multi-layered with lots of growly singing and non-generic structures. Remind me a bit of a cross between the OFFENDERS and early DIE KREUZEN. Yet another Italian powerhouse.
Out in two versions (“raw” mix and “final” mix – the former being livelier, the latter more homogenized). Even on the raw mix, the sound is pretty clean and straightforward, a very powerful British type of hardcore. Good stuff.
Undistinguished, straightahead hardcore with occasional lead breaks is the basic style here, the power-riffs underscoring a fairly aggressive instrumental attack. Half of the lyrics are in a bizarre kind of English that makes no sense whatsoever.
The music is decent punk in a ’77 style with slight metal influences, but the singing is so “sung” that it defeats the whole purpose – no oomph or anger.
A pretty good tape consisting of basic, English-sounding punk and thrash. Not too complex, but a couple cuts were definitely catchy and fun.
Pretty slick-sounding (and looking), this band combines older punk and speedcore. Though the sound is big, there’s a homogenized feel to it all, an impersonal wall.
A four-song EP that comes with a one-sided flexi, all in a PISTOLS ripoff sound. Okay, but “old” and not delivered with the gusto it’d need to be special.
Formerly the ACID DROPS, the Aussie quartet has a blues-based post-punk edge, sort of like a slicker early GUN CLUB. One clunker tune out of four.
Some excellent ’60s surf/psych stuff, generally really rockin’ and with top notch production. More energetic and less derivative than many bands of this nature, especially surprising considering their country of origin.
Reminiscent of many of the Italian HC bands, this group rips along at 90 miles an hour, but hardly generic. Lots of speedjazz influence, but it doesn’t detract from the overall power. Five songs, lots of power.
One of the better sounding modern metal-inspired HC bands with the GISM influences. Overwhelming power and drive without obnoxious solos. Great drumming and guitar as well as vocals. Comes with a live flexi, fancy photo booklet, all enclosed in a sealed paper bag.
Three of the four songs on this EP use an extended slow introduction followed by an explosive Swedish thrashfest, while “Andring” simply lets loose with the goods from the start. A solid dose of tight HC, though not quite up to the best material from their LP.
A pounding, eerie but simplistic guitar/noise post-punk throbber on the A-side while the B-side is a bit poppier but still simple and big in sound. They’ve got a live feel despite the studio recording, which probably saves them.
Three more quite VELVET-y songs , with only one “hit,” having any bite. I think I’m sick of this band’s current mellowing. Liven up, guys.
Sounds like LES THUGS meets BUTTHOLES meets GUN CLUB. Powerful blues-based rock’n’roll filtered through an ’80s outlook. PERE UBU on speed? NOMAD-itis? It rocks, though not as insane as the 7″ers.
A three-song speedmetal and metal-punk release, with the accent on the metal. Not as bad as some, but still a dinosaur.
A one-sided release, and as the title might imply, the single tune here is a Brit-style soccer chant and a good sounding one at that. Lots of power.
Mid-tempo metal-ish thrash and power HC. Not uplifting, but well done for what it is. What is it?
Solid strength with harmonious riffs that has a total MOTORHEAD feel to it. Vocalist has a rough edged style and spitting punk feel with metallic influences, smashing drums and drooling guitar piercings. Tight, well played songs in a totally different Japanese style.
Good sounding punk/Oi with some lyrics that are as stupid as they come. Glorified ignorance.
This New Zealand comp pretty much consists of dark and somber guitar bands. It’s also pretty obvious that more than a few have used the VELVET UNDERGROUND as a starting point, but that’s not a complaint. Some of the tracks by the CLEAN, VERLAINES, CHILLS, and GORDONS are beautiful progressions from both VU and the Scottish Postcard label. Good stuff.
WDM (Finland) clock in with a hot DISCHARGE-like ripper, III KATEGORIJA (Yugoslavia) have a “heavy” thrash sound on their three short blasts, MARITAL LAW (England) have a long, slow-tempo punk tune, and I REFUSE IT (Italy) finish it off with their jazzy HC sound. An indie international effort.
A collection of Swiss acts from ’77 — ’79. As expected, most acts possess an older punk sound, but TNT’s “Razzia” stands out as an uptempo rocker.
A sharp little 7″ with some hot Japanese bands. A mixture of gargling vocals, wild feedback, distorted guitar riffs, good melodies, and straight forward thrash. Crazed action all grooved into a slashing sampler.
Many of the tracks on this garage/psychobilly comp are previously unreleased, many are covers , and most all rock. You get the likes of PURPLE THINGS, X-MEN, TALL BOYS, MILKSHAKES, CANNIBALS, STING RAYS, and more.
What a tape! 1-1/2 hours of bands like DIATRIBE, UPRIGHT CITIZENS, INSTIGATORS, PERDITION, RAZZIA, and a zillion more. Of course there are a few clunkers, but this still gets a thumbs up.
A consistently good sampler of some of Europe’s best acts, including RATTUS, SCAPEGOATS, ICONOCLASTS, BRISTLES, and RUNNING RIOT. The energy here is kept at a feverish pace, so check out this hour long thrashathon.
Four bands here: HONEY DEEP WET, NO LIP, REAL, and MERRYGOROUND. Average of a couple of tunes each, and I found none of this material truly outstanding, though none is really boring or incompetent, either. Accent is on the message in lyrics, though, which won’t do much for most of us.
Here comes a good, concise comp. from Yugoslavia, featuring six acts who favor the straight forward hard and fast approach. Honorable mention goes to MRGUDI and YUGOSLAV SUN.
