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!
Sounding a lot like the FLAMIN’ GROOVIES in both their early ’70s “Slow Death” sound and their later jangly guitar stage, this single is pretty rockin’. While they don’t flip out totally, it’s good, powerful R’n’B rockin’, especially the B-side.
Both sides are typically rockin’ Aussie stuff, with a DOLLS sound updated by Motor-City-type late-’60s rock. Rock’n’roll, dudes.
Maniac accelerated speedcore and the bites are intense. Their third release has head-choppin’ activity which never backs off, their best yet. Laced with metallic thrash and abrasive vocals and produced with a booming sound, this crossover ignites to drive you mad. Take off this buckled jacket, I want to flail.
Great! Who are these guys? Awesomely powerful English-style thrash meets almost a DC-like hardcore approach meets DOA at their best! Great lyrics to boot.
This French band has put together an impressive package with photo cards and cover booklet. The single is right in the JOY DIVISION, early NEW ORDER, experimental vein, although “Santa Maria” is a little more rockin’. I know this doesn’t sound great, but they’re not bad. Needs more edge to make me happy, though.
A wonderful noisy and crude assault on your ears. While the musicianship is basic and loud, there are structure, changes, and thought behind it all. Good and intense, political as well.
The A-side sounds like the SAINTS (second LP) meets ’60s pop-punk—OK. B-side is way rad, a snarling ’60s punker with SKY SAXON-ish vocals and nasty instrumentation. Once again, Sweden leads the way in this genre.
The debut vinyl from this German band has eleven hard, tight, melodic thrashers, and a good, steady fast beat with several speed changes that give the music a memorable identity. There are some serious metal-edged guitar leads, but the songs are structured well so they’re not overpowering. Excellent production creates the impression of the music being in 3-D! Worth looking into.
This year’s Original Packaging Award winner, this single comes in a cardboard X-mas stocking. Is the music as zany? No, but it’s rockin’ R’n’B-type ’60s stuff, especially on the B-side. Fun.
The EXPLOITED of Japan, believe it or not. The music has a simple marching, pounding beat and the vocals have a nice gravely flavor to them. Some of the song titles include “Insanity,” “Sex,” and “Barmy Rat.” Get the picture? Nothing too exciting that already hasn’t been done.
Both tracks are from previous LPs, and while both are OK punk, they certainly aren’t so superior to warrant separate release. “H-Bomb” captures live energy, though.
Beki Bondage, formerly of VICE SQUAD and LIGOTAGE, falls flat on her face on this EP. She has a great voice, but the music is completely characterless and bland pop and rock. TOYAH has done music in this vein infinitely better.
Pretty decent older punk styles, both live and studio. Lots of melody, raw rhythm guitar, choruses, etc. Good music to file records to.
The ADICTS show the return to their hallmark pop-punk style, replete with snappy arrangements and solid hooks in three of the four songs here. Almost up to the quality of their first few records, though admittedly they have softened their sound.
Fuckin’ kick-ass English thrash with blatant early DC hardcore influences; they even do a great cover of MINOR THREAT’s “In My Eyes.” Great emotional personal/political lyrics that shed new light for a lot of English bands. Powerful as hell! Simply one hell of a record.
A Cleveland-area comp of varied underground bands. There’s hot punk/HC from SPIKE IN VAIN, OFFBEATS, DARK, GUNS, IDIOT HUMANS, as well as moodier post-punk from SHADOW OF FEAR, FAITH ACADEMY, DEATH OF SAMANTHA, and others. Outside of just a couple of tedious cuts, this record is fine listening.
First NorCal comp in a while, this one features some East Bay bands (SPECIAL FORCES, BONELESS ONES, FANG), Sacto’s TALES OF TERROR, Santa Cruz’s BL’AST, and SF’s VERBAL ABUSE. Lots of metal or “heavy” punk, some thrash, and lots of power. Good recording brings out the best in these bands.
This excellent 90-minute tape will strike the fancies of the thrash speed metal, post-punk, and alternative music fanatic. The majority of the material comes from demo tapes and exposes several new bands, which makes it worth looking into. Book included.
Crazed thrash attack, compliments of this 15-band international compilation. With the likes of CONCRETE SOX, SACRILEGE, WAR OF DESTRUCTION, and CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, you might have guessed that a majority of the material is in the hard-hitting speed metal style. But also there are several great thrash moments brought to you by STUPIDS, ENTROPY, and LÄRM. If this sounds like your bag of tricks, then play it loud and I assure you that your ears will smile.
Mr. Beautiful must have his head up his butt, cuz outside of the FREEZE’s “Warped Confessional,” OYSTER’s “Headhunter,” and GANG GREEN’s “Let’s Drink Some Beer” (previously unreleased), you get mostly MTV-quality rock from a slew of groups. Occasionally OK moments, but overall it’s hurtin’.
Mostly SoCal bands like ENTROPY, ILL REPUTE, SCARED STRAIGHT, STUKAS OVER BEDROCK, DOGGY STYLE, DON’T NO, as well as DRILLS, and AMATEUR GYNECOLOGISTS. Sound quality varies, but everything rips… good listening. This label has also just released in the US the INSTIGATORS live tape.
An all-female band comp put out as a non-profit project by two women in Canada. The music itself is all pretty hot, ranging in punk styles from thrash to classic punk to garage to pop/punk. Some bands included are: ICONOCLASTS, A.S.F., RAUNCHETTES, UNWARRANTED TRUST, INDUSTRIAL WASTE BAND, RUGGEDY ANNES, BARELY HUMAN, and PRE-METAL SYNDROME (among others). Good job, and comes with a booklet.
This excellent Northern sampler has something for everyone. You expect great tracks from SNFU, STRETCHMARKS, and NOMEANSNO, but this LP showcases other positive young bands like MY DOG POPPER, S.C.U.M., SUDDEN IMPACT, and the RUGGEDY ANNES. Entirely recommended.
An interesting hardcore sampler put together by the folks at Ax/ction records. Every branch of the thrash family is represented: metal thrash, generic thrash, speed thrash, good thrash, and bad thrash. Most of the material comes from demo tapes and offers something for everyone. Some the standouts include: VERBAL ASSAULT, STUPIDS, DEATH SENTENCE, and PTL KLUB.
Imagine mixing FRANK ZAPPA, CAPT. BEEFHEART, TESCO VEE, EUGENE CHADBOURNE, DOC DART, and SACCHARINE TRUST down to one demented guy and his musician buddies. Jazzy, discordant, pun-filled, at times melodic and/or rockin’ with horns, various percussion and tape effects. Original and weird enough to be recommended.
Not metal at all, but a sort of psychedelicized heavy punk sound. Very well-produced, this eleven-song tape is both “different” and yet still powerful. Most of the lyrics are a cut above, too. Worth checking out.
A change from this band’s earlier HC thrash release. This time, the band leans toward a very melodic, underground big-beat sound much along the same lines as KILLING JOKE. Two of five songs are instrumentals and really show the band’s musical ability.
Interesting schizo release. Simultaneously rough garage and well-done moody post-punk, and lyrically both sensitive and crude. Female vocals (with echo or harmony?) sound cool. Sounds like LOU REED meets SIOUXSIE meets GIRLS AT OUR BEST.
The primitive compositions on this EP reminded me of the late, great CHILD MOLESTERS, a similarity which even extends to the sick lyrics. Unfortunately, the songs lack that essential catchiness that made the MOLESTERS so great. There’s good spirit here, but the music veers toward genericness. (Not to be confused with VIRUS, the NY band whose test press we reviewed eight months ago, but whose LP is yet to come out!).
Another great package from IPR. Mid-tempo with ’60s pop and surf influences, punchiness, and a little goofiness. Not a standout, but they definitely have merit. I especially like the instrumental “Dangerous Visions.” There’s only 1500, so collectors beware.
Somewhat garagy thrash, coming out of the ruins of ARSENAL (not the NY/SF combo) and is pretty decent, though the bulk is live recordings. Actually, the playing is pretty tight, and hey, how can you go wrong with titles like “Republican Children,” “Team Gilligan,” “When Mom Find Out I Drink,” “Conceptual Realizations of a Life as Applied to the Oakland Coliseum,” and “Reagan Is a Poseur!”?
This second LP is in many respects a disappointment. Simple generic thrash with Jello-like vocals, ranting and raving about social rebellion. The music doesn’t rage and the vocals become old very quickly. A big step down from their first release.
SPORES make some interesting musical choices on this LP of mid- to fast-tempo mutant punk. The songs are quite catchy, but also often have that added instrumental difference (chimes, echoes, weird breaks) that makes for distinctiveness. Not earthshattering, though it’s a solid and recommendable LP.
Good atmospheric production makes the noise hang together better than on a lot of their releases. “Fuck” is bleeped throughout the A-side, which really grates more than the music. Flip is the A-side backwards, and no bleeps.
These crazed noise-makers were caught live at Miami’s Cameo Theatre in late ’85, and this tape brings it all back. Obnoxious distorted guitar and echoing vocals amount to just about all of this entire cassette. Sound quality is poor, but in many ways this adds to the character and helps the listener get a feel for what this band is all about.
This live recording dates back two years (SEPTIC DEATH haven’t played live in well over a year, but will regroup this summer, according to Pushead) and features a whole slew of songs, including some not on their studio LP. The sound quality is definitely lacking on the bass end, but gives a good representation of their breakneck stop-and-go thrash interspersed with metalish breaks. The first of a whole series of 10″ live discs on this label.
As you might have guessed from the song titles, this isn’t the Long Island outfit of the same name. Far from it, both sides are instrumentals borrowing from the YARDBIRDS and ELECTRIC PRUNES, but doing pretty toned-down semi-psych stuff. Nothing to rave (up) about.
While the A-side is more on the slow metal side of punk, the flip rocks more, has challenging lyrics (see article this issue), and reminds me of good early RUNAWAYS. Raunchy indeed.
A novelty record, to be sure. Side one features a flute and rhythm machine backing a ridiculous monologue about middle class guilt on starving Third World peoples. The flip is a satire on sex-oriented rock songs set to a grinding guitar and a beat. Twisted.
Combining garage, noise, punk, and spoken word, this crude trio will not appeal to most in their simplicity, but their commitment to the original punk aesthetic should. “HC Rebellion” has some important criticisms to hear, which you can also do live (see tour ad this issue).
With all the skill of an early GERMS record, these guys will punk rock their way into your twisted little heart. Aptly titled, this EP is goofy and enjoyable. Playable at any speed.
For the most part this is good rockin’ thrash which reminds me of the ZERO BOYS combined with the efforts of a mid-tempo AOD. Out of these eight songs, a couple don’t seem to make it, but the remaining ones hold this tape together. Good effort.
Classic mid/late-’70s Midwest garage punk, one side studio and one live. Full of grunge and satire, Les Black and Co. do covers (“Ring of Fire”) and plenty of originals. Raunch and roll.
This is an ambitious overview of the lifespan of PERE UBU. From the early acid garage sound of their early singles, to the final, more jazz-influenced release, this labor of love contains extensive liner notes about each phase of the hand and each recording.
The recording is pretty rough, but that won’t stop you from enjoying this. Intelligent lyrics are propelled by tough and loud thrash. Noisy but controlled, with plenty of energy and determination. Good start.
Most of the songs by the Arizona-based band are in the medium-paced punk vein, with a few slower or more rapid-fire. The production sound is thick here and, combined with their rock influences, makes for a lot of listening. Not awesome, but well done. Question remains though why they chose this label often accused by German punks of pro-Nazi connections.
On the NILS’ debut solo release, their music is distinguished in that they can easily shift from all-out ripping hardcore to a more poppy song with cool harmonies and nifty melodies. A very good record from a band that doesn’t sound like anybody else.
More of the muscle/hair punk rock that they approached on the Flipside comp. Doesn’t really bother me, but those who are rebelling against the NUGENT guitar riffs might want to stay clear. PINK FLOYD cover on the flip…hmmm.
Fusing punk, metal, rock, and other forms, this second release by NOMEANSNO is delivered with lots of power and punch. Their experimentation hangs together pretty well too, sort of like what BLACK FLAG could do with a bit more imagination.
This is the most blatant, consciously political effort yet by the MINUTEMEN. From the painting on the cover to their choice of covers (CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”), they attack war, Central American repression, and political apathy—and all the while still pumping out, fast and furious, the thrash/pop/jazz/rock sound they’ve honed to an edge.
