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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!
Fusing punk with noise damage, this release is much more accessible than I would have predicted, based on their earlier album. It features older-style punk riffs that sound nice and out-front, with really clear vocals, simple beats, and dissonance coming from somewhere. As the title might indicate, the songs focus on some of the nastier disappointments in life.
An unexpectedly good 45 by an upstate New York group. “She Wasn’t Home” is a tasty pop number with reasonably loud guitars and a strong ’60s-style chorus; the B-side is a moody, quasi-psychedelic cut with “heavy” lyrics, maaan. I like both, but the LUMPEN PROLES certainly won’t appeal to those who only like hardcore.
LOVE CIRCUS makes more raw psychedelic noise on their first 12″ effort, yet they generate neither notable songwriting nor a pervading sense of atmosphere. Even though “Live Forever” contains some pleasantly brooding instrumental touches, they’re usually more annoying than inspiring.
Although the superb re-recorded versions of “Don’t Give It Up Now” and “Help You Ann” alone almost make this album worth buying, a series of horrible cover versions (including “I Confess” and two KINKS kompositions—”Live Me Till the Sun Shines” and “Tired of Walking”) and uninspired originals conspire to undermine its overall value. Boston’s LYRES are potentially a great ’60s-style punk band, but except for a triad of gems (“I’m Tellin’ You, Girl,” “The Way I Feel About You,” and “Not Like the Other One”), they don’t live up to that potential here.
Jeff says this is great garage punk that’s gonna end up on his Top 20 this issue. Jeff also says that BORN WITHOUT A FACE is a politicized version of the MEATMEN, and he loves their horror-movie moniker. So why the hell isn’t he writing this review?
A great example of the true spirit of DIY punk, the likes of which haven’t been heard in many a year. The music here is primitive, stripped-down punk rock Á la ’77-’78, recorded at the singer/guitarist’s house in two days with vocals sounding like they’re coming out of the closet and no remixes. On the plain cover, the same fellow describes the course of his socio-political self-realization, which ultimately led to the making of Catch the Plague, and the results are ten times more honest and relevant than 90% of the stuff produced by various modern “hardcore” cliques. “This Is the Punk” says it all.
A New York band that doesn’t do thrash? Yes—this three-song release features metalish punk with poppy vocals and lots of guitar work. The best track is “Out Group,” which provides commentary on the local scene, and there’s also a good instrumental. Give them points for trying to be different.
Although they ended up being nothing more than a schmaltzy pop band, the NEW COLONY SIX started their career in the mid-’60s with this mighty, near-perfect punk album. The group had a solid rhythm section, no-frills guitar breaks, and, most importantly, a domineering organ. They were also blessed with the ability to sing in harmony, which probably contributed to their eventual downfall, but the vocals here perfectly offset their crisp garage sound.
MY 3 SONS is a young experimental band from New Jersey. “Starving Artist” is a droning metallic cut Á la FLIPPER, and it’s quite good if you like that sort of thing; the flip is an overlong mood piece with chimes and stream-of-consciousness lyrics that I find unlistenable. Not really my cup of tea.
A loud, abrasive post-punk group with pretentious lyrics and a unique, metal-edged guitar sound similar to—but not as extreme as—that of BIG BLACK. Most of LIVE SKULL’s songs are measured, droning thangs (except for the faster “Boil”), but it’s the distortion and controlled feedback emanating from the two guitars that really lift them above the pack.
Like label-mates CHOIR OF PAIN, EXTREME HATE makes for uncomfortable listening—noise, distortion, the wrong speed…in other words, “pet rock” at its most annoying. Buy and die.
Aaargh! ILL REPUTE may not extend the thematic or musical limits of modern thrash very far, but this album is so fucking ferocious that it doesn’t matter. The band wails, the guitar screams, the vocals are really snotty and impassioned, and the production has an edge that further accentuates all of these advantages. A wicked release that’ll motivate you to try stage diving off of your kitchen table.
A live recording that mostly consists of long, extended jam-type songs. They integrate jazz and funk rhythms into a sort of cockeyed bluesy rock ’n’ roll format. Although they’ve come a long way from their charmingly psychotic teen-torture years, I personally wish they’d go back. Then again, most of us “grow up” sometime, for better or worse.
HÜSKER DÜ’s version of the BYRDS’ psychedelic classic is an impassioned, screaming track which combines their live fury with a certain studio sophistication; the flip is an intense live version of “Masochism World” that loses a bit of its spunk due to rather bootleggy production values. Yet another iconoclastic release from the HÜSKERS.
A new thrash outfit distinguished by a clean, undistorted guitar tone, unusually youthful vocals, and some clever bridges. The overall sound is too thin to generate a spastic head-banging response, but some of the tracks have exuberant choruses (like “New Hope” and “I’m a Nerd”). Give it a listen.
If you don’t like this amazing slab of vinyl, don’t even pretend that you ever liked thrash punk. GANG GREEN’s assault is unbelievably tight and intense, and Mr. Doherty’s guitar work flails away mercilessly. “Terrorize” is particularly awesome, so nerds should steer clear.
A very impressive potpourri of “redneck” rock, garage metal Á la STOOGES, punk, and parody makes this FIENDS debut a must-have. Instead of parroting the form of various genres of rock ’n’ roll, these guys manage to transmit its cocky, devil-may-care spirit. The guitars are loud and punky, and the decadent humor that shines forth on jams like “Riot in the Men’s Room,” “Battle Axe,” and “Rock All Night” simultaneously promotes and pokes fun at adolescent “drink-fight-fuck” fantasies. If you don’t think they’re a laugh a minute, you must be one of the zombies on the cover.
There are two kinds of bands in this world—those that appreciate any help which others offer, and those that whine and complain when others don’t give them the attention they think they deserve. Unfortunately, FANG falls within the latter category, and it’s a mighty test of my fairness to say anything good about the spoiled, self-centered babies. Even so, their album contains the same humorous mixture of fast semi-thrashers (like “Road Kills”) and slower, droning numbers (like “Suck and Fuck”), so if you liked Landshark, you’ll go for this as well.
Mystic describes these guys as a “hardcore speed-metal death band,” and I can’t improve upon that summation much. DR. KNOW plays fast thrash and semi-thrash with heavy metal guitar leads and depressing, horror-inspired lyrics. They’re tight as a drum and undeniably powerful, though some of the aforementioned metal parts are excruciating. In the L.A. STAINS tradition, but quite a bit better.
Contrary to the claims of a crooked East Coast distributor, this is not an “official” DEAD KENNEDYS studio album. It is a bootleg, recorded live off a radio broadcast in Munich, Germany in December 1982. The copies with the white cover have better sound quality than the copies with the blue cover. Either way, buy at your own risk.
The B-side cover is a bit light for me, but the original on the flip is real good. Even though there might be too much of that trebly ’60s Farfisa organ sound, it still manages to snarl its way through to a cool BLUES MAGOOS-type rave-up at the end. Great!
Raw thrash emanates from Colorado’s BUM KON. They have a frenetic instrumental attack and intense vocals, but the generally poor production doesn’t always highlight their potential—note, e.g., the variation between the muddy title song and “The Draft,” which has a much hotter sound.
Ultra-primitive garage punk form the wilds of South Florida. Although the production is excessively raw and trebly, I find BROKEN TALENT’s combination of raunchy guitars and screechy singing rather appealing. “My God Can Beat Up Your God” is a classic satire about religious chauvinism, but what the hell is the title track about?
A five-song statement on the drawbacks of participating in what they consider to be the farce of electoral politics. It includes chants, rap, funk, poetry, and thrash, all performed with gusto by a variety of shifting personnel, an arrangement which epitomizes their anarchist approach. Unique and timely.
Our second compilation showcases 23 bands from 17 countries, spanning the east, west, north, and south of this pathetic globe we inhabit. We can’t be too objective, but we think that most of the selections here are great, though three or four are only so-so. In any case, it provides a good introduction to worldwide punk and hardcore for those who are unable to purchase overseas releases. For those that are, there’s also plenty of unreleased stuff.
The second lavishly illustrated volume of Underground Hits again features a mixture of German and American bands, but this time around, the production isn’t as good and the two punk groups representing Germany (CANALTERROR and SPUX) aren’t quite as impressive. Still, it contains material from some excellent US outfits (the ANGRY SAMOANS, YOUTH BRIGADE, the MEATMEN, HÜSKER DÜ, the FU’s, GOVERNMENT ISSUE, and ADRENALIN OD), and represents another positive effort to unify the international scene. AOD’s unreleased tracks are hot.
Eight Swedish bands appear on this compilation. Most of them play thrash, but some traditional punk and industrial-type outfits are also included. MOB 47, the BRISTLES, and P-NISSARNA come off particularly well here.
A Swedish compilation album featuring a variety of punk styles performed by new and not-so-new groups. The bulk of the record consists of basic ’77-style punk bands (SABOTAGE 81, the LIVIN’ SACRIFICE, ADRENALIN, ROLANDS GOSSKÖR, HJÄRNDÖD, ASTA KASK, and DNA), the best of which are SABOTAGE 81, who produces some catchier-than-average tunes, and ASTA KASK, who have a driving, upbeat sound. ANTI-CIMEX, SUNE STUDS OCH GRÖNLANDSROCKARNA, and NYX NEGATIV present a more contemporary thrash attack, but the generally muddy production detracts from this collection’s overall power (as it did on the Really Fast sampler).
An underground Norwegian compilation with four groups. ALLAHRM are a boring rock-oriented band with some traditional rock ’n’ roll elements (in “Vegspringar”); TEROR boasts a basic Britpunkish attack with a bit of edge and a loud bass; NORRRSKE BUDEIER have a female singer and a mid-tempo punk sound (except on the thrashed-out “Á… VÁ¦re”); and FADER WAR are full-tilt thrashers with an ultra-fuzzy guitar buzz and somewhat off-kilter drumming. Uneven as a whole, but it has some notable high points.
This tape features nine Sao Paulo-area bands—PSYKOZE, ULSTER, OLHO SECO, RATOS DE PORÁO, 365, HINO MORTAL, ETC, SP CAOS, and RUIDOS ABSURDOS—who do some proverbial ass-kicking. These recordings were done live and, unfortunately, the sound quality isn’t really very good (lots of vocals, but little clarity of instrumentation). As a result, it’s mostly the excitement and emotion that’s conveyed here.
Three lesser-known Finnish bands share this tape. I’m tempted to say they are less well-known for good reasons, but I’ve been spoiled by the likes of TERVEET KÄDET. These bands—NUSSIVAT NUNNAT, LAPSILTA KIELLETTY, and KAUNEUS & TERVEYS—seem to be newly formed, as the predominant sound here is garagey. There are moments of experimentation amidst the punk and thrash mash, and given the price ($1 and I.R.C.), it’s a bargain.
There are tracks here by nine excellent Italian bands, including CHELSEA HOTEL, SHOCKIN’ TV, TIRATURA LIMITATA, EU’S ARSE, NABAT, DARK RIDE, PEGGIO PUNKS, CCM, and ROUGH. Hey, pasta punx rule!
An older-style punk band from Canada, complete with wonderful fuzzed-out guitars and lyrics you can actually hear. I didn’t like it as much at first, but now I think both sides are good. Hey, they even have guitar solos!
This young Italian band presents highly dissonant, disjointed, and unmelodic thrash that is very well produced. The guitar seems totally weird, as it is so clean and smooth in contrast to the rest of the music, not to mention most punk guitar sounds.
Holland’s VANALLES & NOGWATT have sort of an English skunk sound. The chunky drumming keeps the mid-tempo songs from really springing out at you, and adds restraint to a guitar that seems to want to fly.
Scraping tonsil bites of harsh vocal growlings overpower the raw early punk flavor that this new Finnish ensemble grind out. Not the “stereotyped” Finnish assault of chaotic thrash, but something musically more in the line of PERSONALITY CRISIS or SKREWDRIVER, building a vulgar progression of power thrusted into snarling hacks. UNICEF contains former members of LAMA, but this band is very different. A gargling release.
Hmmm! Garage/folk rock/industrial music. Well, if it’s not that, what is it? You can find out for a mere 60¢.
After hearing the fairly traditional ’77ish title track from this EP by a Polish punk band, I thought it might be more of a curio than a record I listened to a lot. But the other three songs turned out to be tight contemporary-sounding thrashers with memorable vocal parts, instrumental hooks, and one picky lead (in “Wojna glupcÁ³w”). DEZERTER easily holds their own against the better Western bands, so I strongly recommend looking for their releases.
A very “noisy” tape, as production facilities in the Third World appear to suffer as much as the people. CÁ”LERA are a very bass-heavy band with lots of buzzing guitar and clear vocals—even I can understand some of the Portuguese. Most tracks here are in the mid- to fast-paced punk style, and they have strong political lyrics.
This tape represents DC’s funky/arty/noise/psychedelic garage groups. The bands include HATE FROM IGNORANCE, BLOODY MANNEQUIN ORCHESTRA, CHALK CIRCLE, GREY MATTER, BLUE CROSS, the PSYCHODELIC TRASHCAN, etc. There’s a little something for almost everyone here.
A bunch of cool Fresno cats associated with the MANIAX, Blitz, and Stop Skate Harassment have put out this innovative little tape. THINK TANK combines unique post-punk arrangements, very thoughtful lyrics, and all-out thrash blasts in an effective, distinctive way. They even do a raunchy cover of the CLASH’s “1977.” Highly recommended.
This cool platter is kind of hard to describe. “Spiders” is a warpo trashed-out number with psychobilly vocals and a sporadic slide guitar; the flip is more of a traditional rock ballad that doesn’t quite click. Different.
I can’t help but think that this is what Rod Stewart would have sounded like had he gone thrash. I’m referring specifically here to Will’s high, cracking vocal delivery. He combines with Phil and Dave from SIN 34 to produce some quirky, unusual modern thrash.
In about a year, these guys could put out a killer record. They’ve got their thrash licks down, but need to develop their distinctiveness a bit. Also, the lyrics, which seem highly satirical, are pretty ambiguous. On a few songs, though—like “Power Games”—you can see how intense they might become.
For a garage effort, this tape sounds pretty good. It’s a neat mixture of thrash, older powerchord punk, and rock’n’roll Á la HEARTBREAKERS.
The TROTSKIDS play quite a bit faster than most of the new French skunk bands. They have the same heavy sound and irresistible soccer chants, but the accelerated tempo adds a lot more punch and appeal, at least for me. Great stuff that I strongly recommend.
Garage-quality recordings don’t really add much charm to post-punk bands, but this guitar-bass-drum trio still manages to carry their particular form of expression across. They fare best on the “rockier” numbers, which remind me of BLURT without a sax; the slow, “painful” songs are less appealing.
A not-too-exciting release. It’s fairly standard older-style punk, delivered rather listlessly. The only thing I know about this band is that they are from France.
Even though this tape was recorded before they had a drummer—his tracks were overdubbed—it shows potential. SQUIRT produces some of the best Swiss thrash I’ve heard. It’s not quite up to the Alpine levels attained by other European bands, but it’s definitely worth a yodel or two.
A new Vancouver outfit with former members of the SUBHUMANS. “Bawl and Change” and “The Closet” are terrific guitar-heavy pop blasts that’ll motivate you to bop; the other songs are clever rockish numbers that can be compared to English band SPHERICAL OBJECTS. Not bad at all.
