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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. We reserve the right to reject releases on the basis of content. Music without vocals or drums will not be considered. All music submitted for review must have been released (or reissued) within the last two years. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!
Smartly divided between the “guitar” side and the “machines” side, this sampler has a K-Tel greatest hits feel to it. Aside from a STEVE ALBINI spoken word track and songs by NAKED RAYGUN and the WIPERS, all of this is previously released. Still, it’s nice to have a listen to SONIC YOUTH, SCRATCH ACID, BOY DIRT CAR, and others all in one sitting.
A benefit tape for this Arizona fanzine. It’s short but very sweet, with absolutely raging tracks from FALSE LIBERTY, VIRULENCE, PSYCHO, and more. Explosive stuff.
This solid 4-track EP contains upbeat HC with a uniformly slicing guitar attack from the likes of GAGIZE, WEEDY EGGS (more pop-punkish), SWORD, and REZIST (excellent ripping thrash). Good record.
A 60-minute compilation consisting of nine UK and French political punk bands, like ANATHEMA, FINAL BLAST, and PIN PRICK. Excellent sound quality, and includes a band information booklet. Nice job!
Three bands here: NECROPHILIA, playing fast buzzing thrash; HERPES DISTRESS, with a straight-forward ferocious approach; and SOLUKSKI FRONT, who show more control, but still rock. Keep up the good work.
This EP contains very basic, simple power chord thrash, the vocals uninventively mimicking the guitar progressions for the most part. The instrument sound is biting, but the record itself is rather generic.
This flexi comes with 10 Years On #7, and contains a pair of ’78-style pop-punk tunes. Nothing special, though, as they’re fairly lacking in excitement. Oh well — it’s free with the zine, though.
This latest in the series (which is not being issued in sequential order) covers the Pacific Northwest, home of many of the earliest U.S. garage bands like the SONICS, WAILERS, KINGSMEN, and PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS, none of whom appear here. What does appear are a host of lesser-knowns, bands that would play bars/frats and rock out. Hottest are SIR RALEIGH, and the STATICS. The rest will appeal only to historians, with the usual fine liner notes by Lee Joseph.
This sampler from the Cryptovision label goes to great pains to capture that trashy, one-take sound. The most successful at this are the DISTRACTION BOYS, MOD FUN, and STEPFORD HUSBANDS. The other groups have a more forced, contrived sound.
This compilation contains a few tracks from already released LP’s (DR. KNOW, COC, MENTORS), some unreleased tracks (DRI, UGLY AMERICANS, BEYOND POSSESSION), and a few odds and ends (INSOLENTS, DEPRESSION, and CIVILIAN TERRORISTS). As you might guess, this is death/speed metal up the ass. Aargh!
This East Coast band offers songs that are simple, catchy, and have a nice, aggressive edge, which is combined with equally catchy vocal patterns. Maybe it’s that this band put some thought into what they wanted rather than directly duplicating their influences. Good strong effort.
This neo-’60’s band touches on folk rock, blues-based punk and punk/psych — some soft, some tough. Sounds like Chicago meets S.F. a la ’67. Okay if you got your head on backwards, babeee!
At first, I thought this trashy Canadian group was trying to mine the same area as REDD KROSS, but after a few listens it became pretty obvious that they play a lot better than the McDonald brothers. And as they have some pretty cool hooks, too, I’d have to recommend this to folks who dig both the DESCENDENTS and STOOGES.
TERMINAL CHOICE have that clean melodic SoCal sound with caring, thoughtful lyrics. Only four songs but definitely worth it. Good job, guys.
I can’t help thinking ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN when I hear these guys. They do have some decent pop numbers, but most of it is minor key dance songs or crooning ballads. I’m sure they’ll be a college radio hit.
A really excellent punk record. Some tunes are melodic, some thrash, some slow, some raging, some metallic, etc., but all are hot. Very enjoyable.
Neo-psych with the emphasis on the Farfisa organ, the song structures sound remarkably like those of YARD TRAUMA, yet without that guitar bite. I enjoyed the instrumental on the flip, with its surfish overtones. Unremarkable, but entertaining.
Every time I started thinking this was generic thrash, S.O.C. Would throw some twist in to surprise me. A thoroughly home-produced LP (the sound is okay though, but the silk-screened cover is definitely tacky — literally!), there’s plenty here for HC fans — with little or no metal.
Not aggressive at all, the A-side is a weak pop punk tone with too much pop. The flip is a PISTOLS cover, well done, but out in a different version on a previous 7″.
After hearing the LP with RED KROSS and this EP, I have to say anything connected with SKY SAXON is pretty much doggy doo. Only two songs of four actually have SKY on them, the rest are strictly SS-20 (not the Ohio punk band) and if you’ve heard their LP on Voxx, you know how wimpy that can get. Sounds like outtakes from some DOOBIE BROTHERS record.
For a Denver band, they sure do sound English. They’re of the doom and gloom JOY DIVISION school but more like BAUHAUS in their better moments. They also do some neo-’60’s ballads which rise above the gloom.
The hard-edged rockers on this album usually have some hook or twist to make them quite listenable, whether it’s the hard and varied guitarwork or a melodic twist to the vocals. The compositions don’t, however, really stick to the ribs, a fact attested to by the fact that the best song here is “Ex-Lion Tamer,” the WIRE song.
Pretty much lives up to its title. The A-side is an early live show from 1966 and the performance is as dismal as the recorded quality. The reunion show from 1972 on the other side fares a little better. Except for the annoying tape drop-outs, the performance shows just why these guys are hailed as one of the best garage bands ever.
Side A features 11 live songs from Mexico’s SOLUCION MORTAL, a great set! Side B features Germany’s R.Z. AMOK doing 9 studio songs, also sounding good. Lyric and band into booklet included.
Reminds me a bit of the INSTIGATORS, with a fast and powerful yet melodic sound with good lyrics. Only four songs but darn good.
Bands that are (and look) heavily ’60s influenced shouldn’t use song titles of ’60s songs for their own compositions. The A-side is not the STONES’ title, though it is a decent pop tune. The flip is too insipid to go into.
A one-joke band, at least on this 45. Side one rocks for you holy rollers, while the B is a countrified goof.
This is Tim’s (ex-C2D) new project, playin rockin’ mid-tempo punk comparable to the later C2D material. Lyrics are in the horror/gore vein, of course. Fun.
SHONEN KNIFE, an all-female band from Japan provides enjoyable, and very simple pop and pop-punk on this LP. The endearing cuteness of the songs reminds me of a more poppish KLEENEX, with light lyric themes to boot (“I Wanna Eat Chocolate Bars”, “Ice Cream City”). Just adorable… Pretty good, too.
This Aussie ensemble concentrates on catchy songs, all done in a variant of the Mersey style with a slight rockabilly edge. There’s a lot of bouncy poppish fun on this album, though a harder guitar edge would have made it perfect. Pretty good.
Finally, a MESSIAHS record which isn’t on a major label which means I’ll finally add this trio’s powerful rock’n’roll blues to my collection. Psychedelic guitar, singalong lyrics, and a raging rhythm section in four of their old hits.
A chorused guitar sound and sung vocals provide the musical interest on this set of poppish punk songs, with the melody following the guitarwork in most cases. SCOUNDRELS succeed best when their songwriting wins over, but there is an inconsistency in that regard here. Good lyrics.
A compendium of this Aussie band’s material between ’82-84. Their slower tunes appeal to me the most, down and dirty a la STOOGES with lots of guitar noise. Those tunes that approach blues a la NICK CAVE leave me fairly cold, but they are a minority on this release.
Two thrash tunes (just very fast punk, really) and two punkers, all enjoyable. Good change of pace from metal/HC.
The humorous themes and high-velocity HC energy here reminds me of BEDLAM’s debut record, albeit with slightly less punch. Includes a fun version of a STALIN track, “Powerplug”, as well as eight other short ditties. Not great, but good.
A post-punk feeling comes from this LP, but the power and message is in no way compromised. The structure of each song is straightforward, bold, and creative. Loud, raw sound mixed with strong vocals that deal with personal philosophies and enjoyments. A lot of variety makes this surprising and striking.
A three-song job in the throbbing, rhythmic vein. All the “fed up with generic punk” types will like this generic post-punk stuff.
R.I.F. specializes in power chord punk with sung melodies, in the accessible Swedish style. The five tracks here don’t connect in the same way as the ASTA KASK or TREDJE KONET, but the record is well-crafted and definitely hummable. Very good.
This band has a basic thrash sound with a good bit of melody, but the heartfelt lyrics and good production sets this tape apart. Comes with booklet (with translated lyrics).
A very intense and rowdy thrash release. Seven songs in all, blazing and tight with manic vocals. A cut above, and an excellent debut.
Medium-fast paced neo-psych. High production, moody atmosphere, strong drums, and jangly guitars. Decent but a tad slick.
I could’ve guessed this trio was from NY by their thrash/metal/mosh sound, which reminds me a little of the CRUMBSUCKERS. Lyrics are in the abstract vein. Good job.
More of that irresistible British noise pop appears here on this second 12″ by the PRIMITIVES. The title track has the same mid-tempo guitar power and good female vocals that made their debut so special, though the two songs on the flip are lighter and slower.
21 songs of melodic yet powerful punk, alternating between driving and lighter cuts, enhanced by anti-war lyrics. Contains studio and live material.
A four-song release in the pop-punk mold—good pounding beat, lots of powerful clean guitar, and melodic songs and vocals. Sounds more like French punk.
A four-song thrasher with metal-ish solos. Lots of power but pretty generic — you know, flying-V guitars and all.
A three-song standard pop punk/thrash release. Nothing special, but as with most Japanese records, production and taste add. Decent.
Grungy rockin’ punk backed with vocals much like the late Darby Crash. Catchy tunes with personal lyrics dealing with religion, morality, and politics make this worth a try.
These guys call themselves a HC ska band and that’s pretty accurate: upbeat jangly ska tunes with Oi choruses. Mostly energetic stuff here, lotsa fun.
I like this group a whole lot and I think they’ve got some great sounds with them, and that’s why I’m just a little disappointed with this debut LP. They really thrash out here with some cool ideas, but there just aren’t enough great ideas and it suffers a sameness throughout. A good record, but not a great one.
