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!
Mediocre production hurts this otherwise intense thrash attack. There aren’t any musical surprises, but it’s delivered with exceptional power, and that makes all the difference. Good debut.
CONFLICT return with more CRASS-like pile-driving punk on “Berkshire Cunt,” along with a very heavy anti-vivisection theme throughout this EP. Both are immensely powerful in their own distinct way, and the gruesome pictures should stimulate some animal lovers into action. Not for the faint of heart or weak of ear.
Oh boy, six more tracks from these guys. Though none of the songs here grab me as much as the two on the single, all are still worthwhile. They’ve got a European tour in the works, so they may be the next Aussies to be heard on our shores.
Another Sydney ’60s-influenced psych band. This one owes more to the BYRDS than to the punkier elements, but it is very catchy and worthwhile all the same.
Thrash with a weird metallic sound to it, almost like an electrified acoustic guitar or bass. Sometimes it seems overcrowded—too much noise at once, too repetitive. The slower thrash numbers have more impact on this new cassette, but personally I like their first tape better.
A fine tape’s worth here. It reminds me of what a cross between 7 SECONDS and the VANDALS would sound like. I really go for it in a big way. DERANGED DICTION is originally from Missoula, Montana, but they’ve relocated to Seattle.
A fine garage debut from a band out of (relative) nowhere. The LATIN DOGS specialize in chunky ’77-style punk propelled by an abrasive sheet-metal guitar sound, though some cuts have a more accelerated tempo. Their themes are predictably anti-establishment, but the lyrics reflect more awareness and sensitivity than the norm. A-OK.
Blistering rough-arsed metal thrash! Untamed havoc of shimmering propensity, thrusting wild whines of alarming guitar wails into glass-shattering breakneck speed as chilling vocals by the storming crooner Mike Muir claw forth a devastating attack. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES are a screaming cyclone of sheer power and determination, and this LP shows why they have such a strong following.
Excellent guitar-oriented rock and roll. This EP contains three well-crafted pop-rock songs with good quasi-’60s hooks (all of side one and “Micro-Wave Mother”) and one faster punkish number which rips heavy cocaine users (“Kola Sketch”). Clever and not easily classifiable, the TAZERS deserve your attention.
I seem to be having a flashback. Is this early PINK FLOYD? The WATCHBAND? No, it’s a current band that’s gradually become more original and biting than those LA copycat psych groups. The guitar etches notes green and purple inside my brain. Please shut the window.
Entertaining garage punk from Florida. If “Nixon” is a satire, it’s a good commentary on gross ignorance; if not, these guys must have gotten A’s in the right-wing “Americanism” course that all Florida high school students have to take in order to graduate. “Dead Air” is faster and considerably better.
Five varied hardcore bands appear on this Nevada sampler. SUBTERFUGE play mid-tempo British-style punk; TWISTED MORALS OF AMERICA have a slow hard sound with a wicked raw guitar; the infamous MIA (who’ve recently reformed) employ their furious thrash attack; F-8 sound primarily like full-on DISCHARGE; and SELF-ABUSE attend the 7 SECONDS school of tuneful thrash. Great!
There are eleven bands on this latest compilation from Chainsaw fanzine, mainly from New York state and Pennsylvania. It contains a lot of thrash, some punk, and some art/noise material. The musical competence varies from band to band, but most are good. They include the REVENGERS, NO THANKS, SOCIAL DISEASE, WASTED TALENT, the FATALITIES, SUBURBAN AGGRESSION, SMERSH, CRACKED ACTOR, NOTA, and others.
An excellent DC compilation which deserves a much wider distribution than it has so far received. It contains diverse material from a number of relatively obscure bands, including garage thrash by MEDIA DISEASE, raw experimental punk by CHALK CIRCLE and the NUCLEAR CRAYONS, powerhouse thrash in a Dischord vein by SOCIAL SUICIDE, NEOS-type 78 rpm thrash by UNITED MUTATION, and garage rock by HATE FROM IGNORANCE. The gritty production accentuates the good music, so look for this.
These guys might be punk’s answer to FRANK ZAPPA. The music ranges from garage punk to heavy metal to metal-punk to rock to thrash to experimental stuff to just plain ridiculousness, and is interspersed with talking, interviews, and blank space. This album is simultaneously imaginative, challenging, and dumb beyond belief.
The re-release of this LP, since the Stern brothers weren’t too happy with the first and were determined to put out a true quality product. Features only four songs off the first, and when these guys do something right, they go all out! This totally enjoyable slice of black vinyl is perhaps one of the best records money can buy. Lots of diversified touches, variations, and good harmonies from punk rap to hardcore speed and energy, which has all the melodies rumbling in your head. When you get bored of the rest, this performance will still reside on your turntable.
A great compilation of tracks from the vaults of Poshboy Records. There are many gems here, but the CIRCLE JERKS’ “Wild in the Streets,” the CROWD’s “Modern Machine,” and TSOL’s “Peace Through Power” rank as highlights in an album that also includes chestnuts by AGENT ORANGE, BLACK FLAG, and UXA. Good variety and quality make this record mandatory if you don’t have the original recordings.
A cool collection of skateboard bands compiled by Thrasher magazine. The pure “skatecore” sound—thrashed-out music with melodic teenage vocals—is represented here by the FACTION, JFA, and the SKOUNDRELZ; LOS OLVIDADOS and Canada’s RIOT .303 offer powerful older-style punk, the former fueled by a truly bone-crunching guitar, the latter by engaging choruses; MINUS ONE have a great ’60s pop approach (especially on “I Remember John”); the BIG BOYS present an awful throwaway “rock” cut; and the DRUNK INJUNS favor slow metallic songs with built-in tension.
Penny Rimbaud’s distinctive production spices up four new compositions by ANTHRAX on their second EP. “Violence Is Violence” and the title track boast fast tempos and a blistering guitar sound which underline well-taken lyric concerns; the two cuts on the B-side aim for subtler effects, with equal success. This is political punk that’s both unusual and exciting.
If this release is representative, the ABRASIVE WHEELS are already in decline. The A-side is a pathetic punky cover version of ELVIS’s old hit; the flip is a pedestrian Britpunk song with a decent chorus. Whatever happened to kickers like “Burn It Down”?
This is a profoundly different sort of CRASS album. It counterpoints a thrashy, wild instrumental backdrop with an extensive lyric essay attacking the politics of power, nuclear escalation, organized religion, and especially our sheep-like passivity that allows it all to happen. CRASS apparently feels that their message hasn’t sunken in yet—hence the numbing music and emphasis on words—and they obviously hope that action will replace boredom and endless posing in the contemporary punk scene.
A rich, abrasive guitar onslaught provides an aggressive energy to this debut EP by the ACTIVES. The recording seems a bit muddy here, but two songs in particular (“Riot” and “Out of Control”) suggest that this group can emerge from a standard Britpunk style with catchy, change-of-pace instrumentation. Recommended.
The A-side here includes slightly modified versions of two songs that appeared on their recent Forces of Law 7″ (reviewed in MRR #6); the flip has three fine new thrashed-out cuts that have that distinctive DESTRUCTORS mix, with its highly exaggerated snare drum and hi-hat. Add a Pus cover and better sound quality, and you end up with a damn good show.
Easily more powerful than their first two EPs, Unrehearsed Wrongs contains some fine mid-tempo punk compositions including “Gas the Punx” and a catchy reworking of their classic anti-vivisection song, “Animal Farm.” Some of the tracks seem repetitious, but I enjoyed the poetic changes of pace and the guitar-heavy production. Check this one out.
Eight new songs from the band that previously released the classic All Rock Stars Should Be Drafted EP. Side one features six short, punchy, creative thrash-style numbers, while the flip has two longer, slower, and more experimental songs. A creative outfit.
The second BOMB SQUAD release really kicks ass. It features some killer older-style punk and some more thrashed-out numbers, all of which are delivered with zeal and commitment, as are the lyrics. This semi-obscure band does it right!
Really powerful thrash with pronounced metallic lead breaks. CIA may not break any new ground, but with this debut they prove themselves to be one of the East Coast’s best new entries. Lyric-wise, “Commie Control” is pretty inane, but the other titles make a lot of sense, which they backed up by playing at the DC “Rock Against Reagan” show.
This sounds like a live recording because it’s hard to pick out much detail. Nonetheless, B.I.U. deliver a strong thrash onslaught with thoughtful political lyrics. I’d like to see these characters get into a studio.
More of that pop-punk sound so characteristic of LA’s Poshboy Label. The production quality contributes to CH3’s powerful overall delivery, and the songs are as catchy as usual. I’m not too thrilled by the romantic themes that appear here, and it’s depressing that another new band is covering a sexist STONES song, but this album is pretty entertaining.
Now these San Jose guys really shredded. They were among the kings of ’60s raunch rock, excelling at straight-on ’60s punk, psychedelic freak-outs, and atmospheric folk-rock. Whatever, this album is all super-cool (except for “Misty Lane” and “Tender Trap”), sort of like the early STONES. Go out and get it.
The music on the CLITBOYS’ debut is solid straightforward stop-and-go-thrash, but it’s the lyrics that stand out here. In this era of widespread punk jock attitudes, it takes a lot of guts to belt out songs like “Gay’s OK” and “Slogan Boy,” but this Milwaukee band isn’t afraid to tell it like it is (or should be) and face the consequences. More power to ’em.
A fine sounding debut. It’s got the classic SoCal punky thrash sound a lot TSOL and BAD RELIGION, mixing hard attack with pop sensibilities and clean production. They come off better on record than the time I saw live, when they indulged in some retarded sexist banter.
I really like this debut release by Atlanta’s DDT. They do two charged thrashers, two deranged post-punk numbers (side two), and an absolutely fabulous ’60s-style psycho-pop song (“Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”) That reminds me of the early LAST and is vastly better than most of today’s self-conscious neo-psychedelic music.
An eclectic mixture of material can be found on this EP—CLASH-type rock with horns and spiffy backing vocals (the title track); snappy punk with clever lyrics about future “punk” politicians (“Vice Presidente”); and a harsh critique of military recruitment set to slower CHELSEA-style material (“Professional Killer”). Multidimensional and thoughtful.
Three songs, three styles—rock ’n’ roll punk on the title cut, folk-heavy metal-punk on “Communisty,” and thrash on “California.” All are produced well and performed well, though they might be a tad too clean for THE END’s garage approach. A good basic release.
This four-track EP doesn’t live up to the EFFIGIES’ standard. The record’s title track has a notable guitar riff, and the thick, heavy metal-punk instrumentation keeps the excitement rolling; the compositions are less distinctive than usual, however. Rambunctious, but not exceptional.
Like their cool debut EP, JFA’s album is chock full of super enjoyable thrash tunes. Their songs, whether high-speed blasts or the occasional surf-style instrumental like “Baja,” are perfect for hot fun in the sun—skateboarding, surfing, drag racing and, of course, slamming and skanking. The main improvement here lies in the area of production—the guitar has more edge this time around. Even though they’re from Arizona, JFA are the California beach band of the ’80s.
This tape contains fourteen songs that shred musically and lyrically. It’s an all-out thrash attack that I highly recommend.
“Inside My Head” is an excellent example of ’78-era power-pop, with enough guitar punch to justify the “power” half of the term. It succeeds in generating a bit of misty-eyed nostalgia, but the lame flip features disposable white reggae-rock.
This new JONESES EP is a 50/50 proposition. Half of it is really lame rockabilly-type swill that seems to be aimed at the STRAY CATS’ trendy audience; the other half consists of raunchy guitar-oriented blasts in the HEARTBREAKERS mold, and it makes it worth hearing. Still, it should have been a 7″.
Garage punk (the instrumentation) meets early SoCal surf punk (the vocals), drops acid (the production), and voila! I really like this seven-song debut.
A good tape with original, intense thrash. The lyrics are pretty dark and depressing, but somehow they don’t crush you down, maybe because they’re obliterated by the screaming fuzzed-out guitar.
Strong ’77-type punk appears to be the LITTLE GENTLEMEN’s stock-in-trade. Side one contains two engaging guitar-heavy numbers with brain-damaged leads (“General Hospital”) or sing-along choruses (“Rant Rant Rant”); the flip has a more experimental number with a scratchy psyched-out guitar laid over a rhythmic bass and drum. Atypical.
As with their first record, the sound here is tight and raw, and the vocals rip. And as with the first EP, there are some good lyrics and some real losers—”Portland” and “Full of Hate” are sound critiques of politics, but “No â’¶” perpetuates the common misinterpretation of anarchy as a lack of order, and “She’s a Slut” exemplifies the old double standard at work.
Four new songs that come enclosed in a well-researched and informative fold-out sleeve. The music is in MDC’s intense, complex, stop-on-a-dime thrash style, but the vocals have developed into an amalgam of rap and hardcore phrasings. This latest assault by one of the world’s leading political bands, in terms of both beliefs and commitment, is strengthened by excellent production.
This sounds like ’79-style US punk with Debbie Harry singing. Most of the cuts put me off, mainly because of the poppy vocals, but I do like “Gimme More Distortion.”
A reprise performance by one of the great ’77-era American punk bands, Cleveland’s PAGANS. At first, I was put off by the “Recorded Live Spring 1983″ sticker on the cover, because a lot of their recent material has had an unappealing arty quality. But although there are some covers like “Seventh Son” and relatively subdued numbers (“Angela,” “Wall of Shame”) here, it also contains several raw garage punk blasts with exceptionally gritty vocals. Tracks like “Give Till It Hurts,” “Cry 815,” “Cleveland Confidential” and the classic “Dead End America” make this limited edition album well worth it, but I wish someone would release some older material from the vaults.
Great tape! Some of it is slow, painful FLIPPER-ish noise, and the rest is manic. There’s a helluva lot of feedback, whether droning or thrashing, and the vocals are cool. And how can you hate a band that loves to bowl?
A strong three-track outing that displays more ’60s punk influences than I’ve heard in them before. The title song and “Not Now Generation” are hammering metal punk efforts that remind me slightly of what the STOOGES might sound like today; the other number (CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL’s “Fortunate Son”) is the most obvious ’60s connection.
The new MISGUIDED EP is louder and more powerful than their debut, but the off-kilter drumming tends to interrupt the momentum of these somewhat disjointed thrashers (especially “Defy Standards”). Mixing problems are involved, though a spirited amateruish quality characterizes the entire record. “Blacklist” has lyrics of considerable contemporary relevance.
