SPIKOR and the SPIDER CREW up on MANSLAUGHTER THUG LIFE

Hey folks, got inked today, around four to five hours suffered through the pain, but it was worth it, every single minute of thinking "Fuck, what the fuck am I doing here and why the hell I do it, damn it!!!", the result is great!!! I am very happy and satisfied with it. While I could start to puke when I think of the finishing actions tomorrow of our ''moving into a new apartment'' posse with the hurt and aching skin on my back, but anyhow, it's just great that I have this motif now finally!!! A photo or picture of it I will post some day in the future on the right side of this very blog together with the photo of my Bulldog Tattoo. At least I plan to do so. Ahrg, and next coming tuesday already the next tattoo date is up, brass knuckles to my left leg or so you might could name it.

So, okay, before I will go pretty soon to bed I felt the need to do something up here, and so I do, even it's just some little stuff. Or two little actions I will carry out up here for now for you.

First again I will give you just a small picture, living out my nerdyness once again, giving you a picture that will take you and me, that will take us once again back to my favorite planet ETERNIA, showing us the attack of one of my favorites, the mighty SPIKOR, on HE-MAN and FISTO. It's great art and great done, all in the 200X MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE era style, my total favorite era of HE-MAN & THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and it really makes me pretty sad that "MATTEL" was too stupid to run that line competent and succesful and such a awesome character and figure like SPIKOR never saw the light of day in this to me so damn important very line. But okay, anyhow, just enjoy this picture and then that's it with it and the next little stuff is then now coming for you.

 

 

 

And this next new little stuff is a nice video clip of the so far still current title track of the still newest and with this so current SPIDER CREW album titled "STILL CRAZY BUT NOT INSANE". A album that unfortunately totaly went away on me so far, but I somehow really need to change this in the future. This is a brilliant anthem of a song, Oi! and Streetpunk influenced Vienna Style Hardcore with clear New York Hardcore roots at its damn fucking very best and I expect also the complete album to be exactly like this. Still, so it seems, one of the best Hardcore bands around!!! Vienna Style, baby!!! Just enjoy it and turn the speakers of your computer to the max volume!!! I really love this band since I saw them live for the first time, hm, and that's maybe already ten years ago or so from now on and it was right here in good old Goslar Rock City. Good times it had been!!!

 

 

SPIDER CREW - "STILL CRAZY BUT NOT INSANE"

 

Okay, and then that's it for today, enjoy the picture and the video clip and then for today it's again already now bye bye, tomorrow the clock bell rings loud pretty early and a lot work is to do while I am also damn fucking tired and just "through with it all" today respectively tonight. So, yes, good night and sleep well or party damn hard before you're going to sleep well and all that stuff!!!

The Triumph...

Hey folks, I know it's pretty silent this month, but thank the gods things are almost done for 2012. Looking at new albums that I still have to review it's currently just the great new STOMPER 98 album left, speaking about 2012 releases, as well as also the split 7'' of the LAZY BASTARDS and THE DROOGIEZ waits to be reviewed by me for you up here, okay, but that's a 2011 release, as well as also the first demo of HORRIBLE x HANGOVER really needs to be reviewed finally up here, okay, and that's also a 2012 release by itself. But, you see, not much work left to do for me in this department up here for you.

Speaking about 2012 releases I somehow did reviews on all the stuff in stock, but surely there are still a big bunch of new albums out that I want to have like the new PATRIOT album (finally they are back), that I need desperately, or the new albums of different acts and artists like DISCHARGER, IRON CITY PATRIOTS, STORMWATCH, MANOWAR, MOSES PELHAM, THE CORPS, RAZORBLADE, DROPKICK MURPHYS (the new album should to be released soon, for all what I've read on Facebook), just to name some. But don't ask me when I will finally have all or at least some of this ones, currently I really have to have a open eye on my fiscal ressources, so we will see. But for now, honestly, I am pretty happy that the very most stuff of all the record reviews for this very year so far are finally done...

That's good. I am currently a little bit fed up with doing reviews on records so far, it was very much of this stuff that I've done this very year, so even over the last two months or so I tried to put again more intensity (or however you may like to call it) in it all and working again more precisely on and myself into the reviewed albums (and I think I've done so) at the end of the day it's pretty good that now finally I will really have some free time up here to get other stuff done, especially posts of the ''Sports'' (PHIL HEATH and KAI GREENE will be next) and the ''AMERICAN Oi! HISTORY SERIES'' categories will be done some soon time again by me, and also some new ''Movie Reviews'', which are really fun to do, will come soon to light again up here. Interviews will be done as soon as I got them settled together finally, in the pipeline are interviews with WARKRUSHER (Grindcore) and DEATH WILL SCORE (Hardcore), but don't try to nail me on any date. Ah, and, yes, and...

The supplement check up, that I've announced, will... okay, yes, it will come, but... you still have to wait for it a little bit longer... I have honestly to admit that I somehow acted like a real Personal Computer Scientist and somehow accidentially not only deleted all the pictures but also all the already written articles and the written down ingredients lists and the empty supplement packages are nowadays gone into the waste... so, you see, it will still take some time... I'm surely very sorry!!! Damn it!!! It was a tremendeous farce... fuck it!!!

Anyhow, even I've written and meant it so that I'm so far currently nowadays almost through with the work up here for 2012 there's still some stuff in the pipeline and in 2013 things will go on again or start again, see and say it like you want, but don't ask me when the so far last stuff for 2012 will be coming up finally here, because currently I really don't have that much time even I'm pretty sure that it will still be this very year of 2012, so better calm down. There's a lot going on at the moment, with me getting ready for my new work and also moving into a new apartment as well as into a new town with my girlfriend and the final work or moves will be done this weekend, then tomorrow I get also my back inked and then coming tuesday my left leg, then I must and will see how I will be able to keep my sporting schedule going on over the next week or the next two weeks, my sporting schedule that together with my nutrition plan and supplement addition will drastically change directly after Christmas (bulking up is then done so far, then comes conditioning, probably the hardest part, down from 120kg to just 110kg or 105 kg), but thankfully I was a good boy and done all my homeworks and reached my aims for 2012 in this department, yes, so that a little bit more regenating training is perhaps a good thing for me. Then also finally my sister and her man are coming for a visit over the holidays again and that's something that I really look forward to, also my family and friends and especially my beloved girlfriend really deserve to see and get more from me than pretty often the last months (due to work and Bodybuilding and stuff like this), so there's a lot about to happen over the next days, so that I can't say how and when I will find the time to get things done up here. But stay tuned, you may be suprised when I get it done sooner than later, we will see, but not that you say that I didn't warned you.

Next friday, the 21. of December I will be at the first day of the traditional "WINTERBREEZE" concert, the acoustic part of it, in Goslar in the "B6", so anyone reading this who can be there make sure to be there, it will surely be a fun time this evening. Saturday my father celebrates his birthday, so that's more important, family business and so, you know the deal, so that I won't be seen there at Saturday. Hm, anyway, maybe it would also be a pretty good starting point to do finally a new gig review or report again, we will see. Hm, thinking about it, some fanzines I have also somewhere still lying around waiting to be reviewed, I will try to find them and see if it still makes sense to do reviews on them. Anyhow, anyway...

Okay folks, that is it for now, I've said or written to you all and everything that I wanted to tell you for now, so now I will just give you a great picture for now and then that's it for today or tonight, and with this picture I can live out some of my nerdyness again and also it's  one of my favorite pictures of this department for sure, even HE-MAN got slaughtered in a brutal way, but okay, it was done by the almighty HORDAK, my favorite, so at the end of the day I can somehow live with it at least a little bit... ;-) This brings us to the headline or the title of this very post, because you now see "THE TRIUMPH" of HORDAK over HE-MAN. Enjoy it and then that's it for now, more soon in the near future or so. Thanks for you attention and interest and the time you spended on reading this little article. Cheers folks and then good night and sleep well and dream better, we'll read us soon again.

 

 

VARG - "LEGACY EP" (German Pagan Metal; Appetizer eleven track CD EP release via "LEGACY MAGAZINE" in 2012)

VARG - "LEGACY EP"
("Legacy Magazine"; CD):

So, next one and at least for this very one here we will stay for a little while longer in the Metal department. This one here is a little appetizer CD release as a foretaste of or for the new album by Germanys Pagan Metal darlings of VARG that's released as a free garnish of one of the very last issues of and via the german Metal magazine of the name of "LEGACY" and so you should also know by now how the title of this little album came to happen and what's the meaning of it, of the name or title of "LEGACY EP". This band is heavily discussed over here in Germany, some name them as too commercially and label them as PC mainstream dickheads that rape and use and abuse this whole Pagan/Viking thing for the benefit of money making and that are just into it for the sell out, some other label them as Nazis or at least "Nazi friends" that just moved by pure money greed driven into the middle, politically and commercially, of the Metal scenery, and again some others defend them against the upbraidings of both sides and celebrate them as one of the best Metal bands of today, especially from Germany. Okay, if they believe in this whole Pagan thing or if they just use it as a gimmick, pffff, I don't care about, I don't know about it. But, in my perception, it won't make anything that much better if they would believe in a sky or heaven that is filled with a lot of neurotic Superheroes with some more or less spectacular Superpowers that come down to earth to have some fun with fucking, fighting, drinking, and fucking, fighting, drinking, and, of course, killing and, again, fucking, fighting, drinking with their disciples and believers, I mean, for example, I love the whole "MARVEL" and "D.C." thing, but I wouldn't form a personal religion I believe in out of it, and the "MARVEL"/"D.C." Superheroes aren't even neurotic or at least not so heavily neurotic like the whole ''nordic gods''... Yes, okay, this was of course surely some sort of a little bit overdrawn so cool down your mood, all you brave Pagan Vikings outta there. ;-) And, yes, you can believe what ever you want, at least if you ask me, and this is all good and fine and this is also how it should be. But, anyway, yes, I think that you can make some good money with this whole Pagan thing, especially in Metal, but that's nothing new and is well known for many years now, so now secret or evil conspiracy going on here or anywhere else. Hm, and I think that the guys in VARG surely don't run in their private life around with, for example, red and black corpsepaint, as well as for example the guys in ENSLAVED won't be running around in their cloathings made out of leather and fur as well, so you see, who should blame them for making some money with and out of this whole Pagan stuff thing, neither they believe in it from the heart or just use it as a money making vehicle for their very own fiscal benefits. If they are Nazis or at least "Nazi friends" I also don't know, hm, and after I am not in business with some thought police stuff I also don't care for it that much. Okay, to dress up in ABSURD shirts on public photos wasn't and isn't that smart of you if you don't share their political beliefs in NS and WP and don't want to be positioned next to them on the NS/WP sector, and also it's not so smart to play and/or make concerts with ABSURD and in their musical and political department when you have no political alliances with them, if it's true what was some time ago ''everywhere'' on the web to read, but everyone can make mistakes and make wrong or questionable decisions, but anyhow, bottom line is that neither I know nor I care about if they are anyhow into NS and/or WP or not, and what's from my point of view the deal with this whole sell out affair I think I have also already pretty much enough pointed out. Hm, but anyhow, that magazines like "ROCK HARD", "METAL HAMMER", and "LEGACY" hype them like cold beer for free on a hot summer day at a Metal festival and propagate them as totally politically credible by any means is anyway pretty strange if I think back and remember what a big trouble some of this mags did back then in cases of bands like UNLEASHED and MORBID ANGEL, to name just two examples. So, okay, enough thoughts and words about this band and its standing and the controversial discussion around it all, now back to the topic, this little CD and the music featured on it. We get eleven tracks in total on this silver shining compact disc, hm, and okay, after this is more or less my first experience with VARG, hm, I have to admit that I have not a single clou which songs are pretty new up on this very one here, but judging by the datas of year and age listeted behind the song titles then the opening track "GUTEN TAG" is from 2012 new and seems to be also the title track of the brandnew album of VARG as well as the third song "TIER" that is from 2012 and also labled as exclusive (I guess for this very disc here), the other ones are, "WIR SIND DIE WÖLFE", "SCHWERTZEIT" and "ROTKÄPPCHEN" (feat. Anna Murphy... who ever this may be) are all from 2011 and so I would guess that this tracks had been already released on older respectively earlier released albums of VARG before this one here. Beside this five studio recording songs from 2011 and 2012 we get also six live recorded songs, "WOLFSZEIT" (written in 2007), "BLUTAAR" (written in 2010), "VIEL FEIND, VIEL EHR" (written in 2010), "DONAREICHE" (written in 2007), "NAGELFAR" (written in 2011), and "SKAL" (written in 2007), all songs had been live recorded in 2011 at the band's very own "WOLFSZEIT" named festival in pretty good sound recording quality. So, okay, then for all what I know or think to know then VARG started as a Pagan Metal band and are always everywhere labeled still so today, also by themselves (I think so). Lyrically, however, but musically they honestly seem to me more than some sort of aggressive, heavy, yet pretty melodic kind of pretty modern and only slightly northern influenced ''Death'' Metal stuff than something anyhow like Pagan or maybe Viking Metal stuff, with what I personally by myself associate more bands like for example the above already mentioned ENSLAVED or something like this, hm, and also the music of VARG, judging by this eleven track disc here, isn't anyhow really ''occult'' or ''extreme'' or what ever, it's more than anything like this pretty trendy and mainstream compatible and especially the big bunch of ''tough'' and ''paganized'' kiddie Metalheads will really cheer up to this stuff for sure. Okay, what ever this now precisely may mean... Personally for me, I just think that this is pretty much one of the most overrated and mostly hyped bands in Metal today, point and fact. But maybe it's just a matter of age, who knows... a matter of taste surely, but anyway... We get mostly in heavy mid tempo to as well heavy sort of up tempo paced forward stomping songs with a some sort of hymnal approach to it all. Heavy yet melodic and pretty massive done somehow dark guitars, a pretty stunning and powerful rhythm section, all pretty stoic hammering and such stuff, while some solos and leads shake it all here and there a little bit up, so that it's pretty stoic but never really monolithic or something like this. And then there are still the lead vocals, more or less guttural done pretty hysteric drooling lead vocals, but that are done totally stale and also damn commutable without any charisma and also anything but really skilled, and not to talk about the terrible crappy dull and dumb abysmal lyrical outpourings, all done in german, but one short translation of a very embossing line of the lyrics to "TIER" which means "ANIMAL": "Your blood starts to flow and it makes me horny." What a bullshit farce, even they want to deal with serious issues, like psychotic sickness like in this very case, they do it in a totally ridiculous adolescent way, sorry guys, but that's just nothing than a incredible ridiculous farce. The other lyrics are more or less about some strange "Unity!" stuff with a for some specifics folks maybe pretty questionable vocabulary used in it (but, in this case, they are totally right, because why ever should they care about the wellbeing of such defaming PC nutjobs), about being some sort of misunderstood outcasts that live their lifes with a true and self-determined cause in contrast to the countless members of the faceless grey mass running through the streets of this world, and about some more or less mythological and respectively or paganized topics and they like to adjure heavily some sort of a battlefield and final battle last stand atmosphere, hm, even they look also even with their wanna be evil snoots and the pretty unsightly red and black corpse or face paint like the well raised affluent middle class kids playing what they think a rebel against the modern society must be that they also maybe in reality in fact really are. Okay, anyhow, back to the music that they bring us, some last words that I forgot to point out before I gave you a overview over the contents and qualities of their lyrics, so I just have to say that even the guys in VARG are pretty well skilled and well versed musicians they really lack any protrude ability to write anyhow songs that really stipulate themselves in your ears, it's a very insipid and convertible style and sound that they play that also lacks any atmosphere with a however and whatever Pagan feeling to it all, and so I really ask myself why the hell this guys are so heavily cheered and celebrated on the one side and so heavily deuced on the other side (even maybe because of different reasons from their different groups of hostile contemporaries), neither the music nor the lyrics give any reasons for this, so it's again, so I think also in the case of VARG, that it is again nothing else than the political and ideological discussion around this band and nothing else that heated it all so up and helped the guys heavily out to gain such a pretty big presence, success and following. Anyhow this tells a lot about what's going on in Germany no matter in which however subcultural underground music secenery. But think for yourself a little bit about it all and come to your own conclusions. What's left to say is that the artwork is very strait and slender and also aesthetically a pretty ridiculous cliché affair, just by looking at the cover picture you should know what I mean, but at the end (at least just by looking at the coverage) pretty okay for a free release, and the production sound of the album respectively the studio recordings is pretty good and loud and hard and brutal, while also the live recordings have a pretty decent sound quality. Okay, absolutely nothing for me and I can't imagine what can or just could make anyone go nuts about this band, by judging just by this disc, but I think I am also anything but in the target group, so fans may see it very different and will be made hungry by this little appetizer disc. Decide for yourself what you make out of it, choose your side or so, haha ;-) ... The points they get for their pretty strong song "WIR SIND DIE WÖLFE", the only track to stand out and is really worth listening to it, as well as their at least pretty sympathic live recordings and their backbone to go their own way without bowing down to their ''enemies''. Guys, you're doing right with this. (3 of 10 points)
(http://www.varg.de/)
(http://www.facebook.com/VargOfficial)

ARMORED SAINT - "SYMBOL OF SALVATION" (U.S. American Heavy Metal from 1991; Re-Release CD-Version on "METAL BLADE RECORDS" from 2003)

ARMORED SAINT - "SYMBOL OF SALVATION"

("Metal Blade Records"; CD):
Quite a "big time" ago I reviewed a now a days pretty old "METAL BLADE RECORDS" label sampler compilation disc (http://manslaughterthuglife.blogspot.de/2011/02/metal-eruption-by-metal-blade-from-time.html) and on this comp disc there was also a great song titled "REIGN OF FIRE" by the mighty ARMORED SAINT to be found, a song that is in fact the opener song of the originally in 1991 done ARMORED SAINT full length album "SYMBOL OF SALVATION", and a song that back then blasted me away right from the start and that still is today a total anthem for me and so it was pretty clear that I really needed to finally grab the already mentioned "SYMBOL OF SALVATION" album one day and this very year some few months ago I finally did so and bought it, the re-release version of it from back then in 2003, and this all for the price of just 5,00 Euro bucks. And, okay, I think that maybe already a lot should know what this is all about here and now, it's about ARMORED SAINT, it's about damn fucking Heavy Metal from the United States of America, it's about true and real Metal, yes baby, that's it what's now coming for you, aimed at ya!!! And also yes, this is pretty much a through and through Old School affair, but that shouldn't make you wonder if you keep in mind that this is a album originally from 1991, so it should be very clear that especially by looking at it from today on it's a through and through Old School album, very sympathic and authentic, but anyhow it's also beside this 1991-to-2012 view on it surely a Old School Heavy Metal album and affair, even more sympathic and authentic, of course. So, okay, with this set straight, here we go on and ahead in this review, so onward we now march!!! Somehow I always got and still get the impression that ARMORED SAINT are very often some sort of overlooked by a lot of guys into Metal music. And this impression I also get by looking at my own record collection, where only two albums of them are to be found, this one here and their "RAISING FEAR" album on 12'' LP. Don't ask me why, why I only have two albums, and why they are so often pretty much overlooked, I can't tell it you. Maybe it's because their no fancy circus clichés approach that sets them apart from most of their current ''rivals'' in more or less classical Heavy Metal and maybe it's also their U.S. American Metal heritage and background that features no kindergarden poppy melodies, refuses too over the top eunuch style of singing and don't gives a damn about trendy cirmes bullshit dumb ass so called ''True'' Metal attitude'n'style'n'sound, instead of this it's mostly in strong stomping Mid to some Up Tempo coming, heavily by the strong guitar riffing work dominated, very heavy and crushin' rocking Bad Ass Heavy Metal from the States, the real shit, nothing for bullshit kiddies no matter of which day and age. And, about this album in particular, there's also a strong 1980's Heavy Metal and Hard Rock touch to be recognized, perhaps or pretty sure not at least because of the original release year of 1991 that was still pretty close to the 1980's and so it's all heavy, hard, sharp, no fancy poppy bullshit heavy Metal music that would have also been a great fitting movie soundtrack for some of the great Action Movies of this age like for example "THE WRATH" or "INTERCEPTOR" how it was named over here in good old Germany, it's all full of pure testosterone and definitely has a lot of guts. As well as also a great varying diversity is to be recognized, like the far ahead of its time "TRIBAL DANCE" with its tribalistic rhythms and arrangements and the somehow spoken styled sung lead vocals in the verses. Or the great slightly bluesy old school Rock & Roll styled lead riffing and the general arrangement of "THE TRUTH ALWAYS HURTS" or the cool somehow sort of classical guitar instrumental "HALF DRAWN BRIDGE" and the pretty proggy power ballad "ANOTHER DAY" with its sort of mixture out of latinamerican/hispanic and oriental lead (and solo) guitar arrangements. And also don't forget the pure grooving bomb that "HANGING JUDGE" is with it's singing lead guitars and it's perfect rocking rhythm background and the invokening lead vocals. Also the stomping title track, "SYMBOL OF SALVATION", with its suprising twists and turns is just a great moment of real Heavy Metal music and art, and the absolutely heavy hitter "WARZONE" commands you to bang your head and mosh hard, with its crushing mid paced rhythm and its stoic and mercyless heavy guitar work. Whoaaa, what a bomb!!! "BURNING QUESTIONS" then is great fast forward rocking Heavy Metal stomper with guitars that have the intensity of a roaring chainsaw and the voice of hypnotic intense singing, not to speak about the great strong and smart lead vocals, and all in all this is a pure fists up in the air song and definitely one of my personal favorites here. "TAINTED PAST" follows up with a great Country and Western music styled guitar intro going over and on in a limber grooving example of 1980's/early 1990's hymnal Hard Rock anthem with a strong Heavy Metal guitar work, again and again shortly nicely loosed up by the already mentioned Country and Western like guitar playing, thumbs up. Last one is "SPINELESS", a first class stoic rocking and banging classical Heavy Metal slasher with the right attitude, the right intensity, and the right approach. Nothing spectacular and the only not so good and strong song with a more average level of quality, but the great lead vocal arrangements make a lot up for good. And now I've talked about mostly all tracks but forgot totally my three personal absolute favorites, the this album opening trio of "REIGN OF FIRE", "DROPPING LIKE FLIES" and the almighty "LAST TRAIN HOME". Three total anthems of one of a kind, amazing, worth alone buying finally this very album here. "REIGN OF FIRE" with its intense heavy sawing yet very hymnal arranged melodic guitar work and its great tension building rhythm work and not to forget about one of my alltime favorite guitar solos ever, Metal in particular, as well as music in general. This is an awesome track, a strong up tempo paced headbanger track, and a great way to kick an album off. Only problem could be, that it really takes some time before you come to listen to the other tracks, after you have to listen to this track again and again for a whole while. But you should go on, not at least because it's the larger than life fist in the air rocking mid tempo headbanging hymn "DROPPING LIKE FLIES" with a outshining guitar work and brilliant done forceful lead vocals that's up next and that will force and command you to sing with it loud and to bang your head hard, a awesome song. Up next then is the larger than life dramatic and intense arranged very powerful even its at first sight/listen pretty ballad-styled composed, arranged and written "LAST TRAIN HOME" with its impressive heavy stomping bass and drum work, great out shining guitar playing and really a great charismatic and outstanding lead vocal output, not to forget about the great damn singing lead guitar playing. One fucking stand-alone atmospheric and intense ''goosepimples song'', truly larger than life. After this, the album continues with "TRIBAL DANCE", so read above to go through this album song by song. This is a amazing stand-alone U.S. American Heavy Metal album that is full of diverse varying and just damn great, forceful and shining guitar work, charismatic and strong lead vocals, a massive rhythm section, and just amazing songwriting and it's all really damn fucking skillful like not much else, and even it's original from 1991 this album is still today in 2012 fucking fresh, interesting, intense and grapping and so totally stands its ground. So, by any means, if you still don't have or even know (about) this very album and if you are at least anyhow a little bit into Heavy Metal especially of the U.S. American kind then make no further mistakes and just buy this masterpiece album finally for your own good, you would miss a lot if you don't do so. Expect also a bunch of cool lyrics that cover a wide distance of several different topics, a amazing artwork, and also a powerful, clean yet earthy production sound. The complete package by a still active far too often overlooked legendary and amazing band. If it wouldn't be for "SPINELESS" it would get the best rating grade, but also so it's a phenomenal strong album, period. It's just: Great!!! So by any means:  Buy it!!! (9 of 10 points)
(http://de.myspace.com/armoredsaint1)
(PS: Ah, and I totally forgot to mention that after this very one here is a re-release edition there's also some bonus stuff on it. In this particular case two video clips that can be played via Quicktime on both either PC or MAC, and it are the videos of or to "REIGN OF FIRE" and "LAST TRAIN HOME", some nice stuff, so check them out as well.)

LAZY BASTARDS - "HARD LINES AND SWEET SOUNDS" (Bavarian Streetpunk on "SUNNY BASTARDS RECORDS"; CD-Release in 2012)

Don't ask me why the hell I scanned it all a little bit bevel... ;-)

LAZY BASTARDS - "HARD LINES AND SWEET SOUNDS"
("Sunny Bastards Records"; CD):

Here's the next review up here and the next one on a release of the bavarian Streetpunk Rockers of the LAZY BASTARDS, and this is the review of me on their current one, their newest release titled "HARD LINES AND SWEET SOUNDS" from 2012 done via "SUNNY BASTARDS RECORDS". And, yes, I know that I primarly planned and wanted to do a review of their second release, the split 7'' with THE DROOGIEZ but however so now I decided to change this planned working schedule a little bit simply due to the fact that I listened to this here really often over the last days and weeks and so here's the review on their newest one for you by me. Like I've already written in the review on the debut of them that I had done some days or so ago they started as a pretty ordinary melodic more or less pretty modern (what ever this now may exactly ever mean...) Streetpunk band that did a solid to good job but failed to shine out of the crowd. On their second release, the already mentioned split 7'' with THE DROOGIEZ, they already showcased and displayed a pretty strong development just to end up here for the moment, on their current new release, "HARD LINES AND SWEET SOUNDS", with delivering one hell of a strong sing a long focussed hard hitting and sharp striking yet catchy and melodic and very hymnal and anthemic Streetpunk album and with being on of the very best current and active bands in or on or of this sector. Compared with their debut CD EP release they changed their drum player and in all they really made a truly huge step forward. The songwriting is by far more tight and focussed and the sing a longs are so incredible forceful that you simply can't refuse them to show their whole force and pure larger than life hymnal character and its impact on you during you listen to their music and songs. It's all there what you want if not even need: Fast paced and sharp aimed played hard hitting yet very catchy and melodic guitar work, a nicely but still strong in the background (but not too far in the background) buzzing and sawing bass work, damn tight cracking and heavy pounding forceful drumming, sharp spitted and rough voiced yet anthemic styled throaty sung lead vocals (nicely ''drunken/thirsty'' styled done but thankfully no awefull ''wasted on a drink'' stuff) and mighty full throttle high energy background chants and mighty powerul sing a longs. Beside this expect mostly fast pace of the songs, but yet still cool and strong arrangements, within the whole fast running Streetpunk machinery  you will find a lot of nice suprises if you just listen with some good attention to the album and its songs, a lot of different moods are awaken by the songs, and with the slow paced and melancholic "BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE" and the somehow Country or so influenced "WOKE UP" also the whole guys that just listen on a superficial level to albums will find some big open suprises that probably no one would ever have expected to get to hear from the guys in the LAZY BASTARDS crew. It's all there, it's all here, and it's done so damn good and strong and so fucking tight and also so incredible catchy and hymnal that this is just a damn strong shining Streetpunk album that you really need to have and call your very own if you are (still) only a little bit into (great) Streetpunk music. The ingredients may sound not so creative and original and pretty genuin or common, but they do it so damn fresh and alive/lively and strong and enthusiastic that it is really exciting and just great, so they really have what it takes to shine and stick out of the crowd, and if you like your Streetpunk somewhere between COCK SPARRER, RANCID, TIME AGAIN, ROGER MIRET & THE DISASTERS, and OXYMORON then you will for sure celebrate this band and album like fuck. Also strong and nicely diverse lyrics, a full energy production sound, a great artwork, and energy and dynamic and also attitude non stop we get as well. Great Streetpunk, very sympathic and authentic, highly recommended for anyone who still likes a good healthy strong dose of great fresh Streetpunk. Get it!!! Also live on stage this band is a pure bomb so make sure to check them out if you have the chance to see them live on stage, and if you know that the AFA/ARA SHARP/RASH ''OiRE SZENE'' and Co. guys label them as a band somehow linked and open to the far right wing and that this LAZY BASTARDS simply don't give a damn about this defaming lies and witchhunting bullshit and also make this clear in their song "KICK THEM OUT" you should know that this guys are also some of the good guys out there. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi! (9 of 10 points)

(https://www.facebook.com/LazyBastardsPunkrock)

DISCIPLINE are fucking back!!!

Just a short ''News'' post at this very morning, and like you can read in the headline of this posting: Yes, they are back, it's true, DISCIPLINE are back on track again!!! That's just: Great!!! After the giant tragedy two years ago (I guess) that we all know about with their old singer murdering his wife and then tried to hide it as an accident and to also end his own life with this actions and if it's true what was to hear/read then heavy drug addiction played a major role, but however, after this tragedy DISCIPLINE as a band had as well been dead, but now they are back, the rumours are true. With a new singer, Merijn of (ex) BANNER OF THUGS and SPARROW FALLS, they are on the road again as a full proper band, they've also played their first gigs (and after all what was to read they all went great) and so hopefully the long announced new DISCIPLINE album will now see the light of day one hopefully sooner than later day. And anyhow: Welcome back guys, it's great that you are finally back again. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!

(https://www.facebook.com/DisciplineOfficial)

 

 

 

VISION - "WATCHING THE WORLD BURN" (Dutch Streetpunk from 2000... a overlokked gem, still stands its ground even after twelve years passed)

VISION - "WATCHING THE WORLD BURN"
("Epitaph Europe Records"; CD):

Okay, here's a pretty old record, a album that was released twelve years ago, the "WATCHING THE WORLD BURN" titled full length album by the dutch Streetpunk band VISION. I've stumbled upon this CD only some few months ago when I was trying to kill some time in my hometown and sneaked through the halls of the local movie shop and there I saw and found this album in the collection of second hand CD's they have there waiting to be finally sold again one day. They sold this disc for something around 3,00 Euros or so and after I remembered that over a decade ago "EPITAPH RECORDS" used to release some good stuff and after I also remembered that I know and like the band VISION from some compilation discs (think the second part of the "THE WORLDWIDE TRIBUTE TO THE REAL Oi!" series and the "STILL GOING STRONG" comp disc) I became pretty curious about it, and also the band pictures left some good impressions there was no holding me back and I bought it promptly. If I'm now not going totally wrong then VISION were a dutch band, not active anymore. And I am also anything but familiar with VISION, so don't ask me any questions about their discography, history, or what the hell else ever. Just have this album of them, and this also for not so long, bought in August or September, and then that's it. It's currently even not so easy to follow and get my hands on all the new releases I want if not need to have due to some not so rich and big financial ressources at this current time, and still some I don't have yet, so I have also not that much to spend on older and old releases and the search for them, but some day in the future this will finally change (again) and this is not about bitching and crying around, instead of this, this is about a review on a old album finally again up here, sorry if you got a different and with this a wrong impression. This album and band , this stuff brings me back to a great time, not a better time, surely not, but a time much more easier and uncomplicated than today, and also to a time when the music called and named Streetpunk still had really something and this means a lot to offer and was fresh and grapping and far away from this candy coated boring crap for some dumb drunken kids and/or stpid fake ass wanna be tough guys and/or some bullshit dickheaded nutjobbed ''subcultural hipster'' scum, or guys that proclaim to listen to Oi! but without having only a small single clou about it all at all. This is just how great Streetpunk once was and maybe still could be. And especially across the border in the Netherlands they always had a hand for this stuff. And so did VISION. Okay, surely, keep the twelve years of age in mind that this album today now already carries on its back, so this is maybe nothing new today anymore, or however you may would like to say it, but this is still anyhow something incredible damn great, and this still after all those years. Fast and sharp hitting, hard played yet melodic arranged guitars, powerful and perfectly in time played fast rhythm work by drums and bass, fat crew shout back ups, cool sing a long parts, and a truly and really sharp spitted sung lead vocals voice. It's all there. All done tight and precise, commanding musicians at work, without a doubt. Also the songwriting works perfect, and so while even the very most songs are played fast and faster with also a undeniable Old School (/Melodic) Hardcore influence in it, a influence that makes this album also surely and calmly worth a listen for fans of a band like for example IGNITE, and it's all done very catchy and anthemic, it never gets boring or something like this and a lot of suprises you can find, like Reggae impressions and a powerful forward driven Oi! influence, so, yes, it's all there. Also lyrically you find here a lot of and with value and worth, the production sound is a true tough bomb and the artwork is just a cool as well as great one. So, if you still are in great Streetpunk, especially the one from the Netherlands in the tradition of bands like TECH 9, then make sure to buy this album if you see it somewhere and don't call it already your one. Great Streetpunk, not more, not less, just Streetpunk, just great!!! Cheers & Oi! (9 of 10 points)

(Sorry, found no homepage or what ever of them.)

WOLFBRIGADE - "DAMNED" (Sverige Crustcore heavyweight champions back in 2012; CD-Release via "SOUTHERN LORD")

WOLFBRIGADE - "DAMNED"
("Southern Lord"; CD):

"THE SOUND OF THUNDER", so goes the intro shouting to this album, and it couldn't had been chosen any better, period. But one after another. They are back, the amazing silverbacks of metallic sinister brutal Crustcore, roaring down to us from the heights of Sverige. I discovered this band fifteen or more or something like this years ago, some time around 1996 or so, when they were known and around as WOLFPACK and released their brilliant masterpiece full length debut album "A NEW DAWN FADES". And with their great combination out of brutal and aggressive, yet very melancholic-depressive and very melodic and atmospheric Crustcore mixed with tight, heavy, harsh, yet catchy, melodic and overall damn intense Old School Sunlight Sverige Death Metal they got me promptly. It was exactly what I was looking for, or something like this you can surely say it. All done with some sort of a very few music-wise connections to what the almighty THE EXPLOITED used to do back then when they released their absolute masterpiece album "BEAT THE BASTARDS", which means a cultivated blending of Punk, Hardcore and Metal, but WOLFPACK took it much further and had always been a Crust not a Punk or a Metal band and also by far more atmospheric, and they were also always and right from the start one hell of a unique band. Never heard such stuff before and it directly hit me like a sledgehammer straight in my face. Really a statement of an album, still today if not even more than yesterday respectively back in the days. From then on I was hooked up, and when the almighty "LYCANTHRO PUNK" was released I found something like my holy grail. Even more intense and brutal, sinister and aggressive, yet atmospheric, meldoic and catchy and one hell of an outstanding groundbreaking album. A real larger than life album, period!!! The next one of them for me was their classic "ALLDAY HELL", more brutal and by far more Crust than ever before, also with a back then new singer on the microphone. Back then in the booklet of this album they also announced that they would be from then on being playing under a new name, the one of WOLFBRIGADE. So, like you all can see, I love this band and loved this guys right directly from the start for me with them. But despise their greatness and what they always meant to me WOLFPACK (today WOLFBRIGADE) had anyhow always been a band that I only managed to follow loosely back in the days. And when they were renamed to WOLFBRIGADE I somehow lost them totally out of sight, don't ask me why. Maybe it was not at least caused or at least benefitted strongly by the long decade that past in or over or during which I nearly listened to no (new) Crustcore at all (why ever), or what ever, I don't know it, I can't say it, I just know and I just can say that this is the very first WOLFBRIGADE album I've ever listened to and that I call my own. This turned out to be a terrible mistake, that I lost them so drastically out of sight. Hm, but as if I didn't know it already anyway before... So, yes, saw it, remembered them and what they meant to me, decided, grabbed it, bought it... was totally blewn away from it right from the start, awesome, period!!! After my only and last experiences had been with them in their WOLFPACK days with their three albums "A NEW DAWN FADES", "LYCANTHRO PUNK", and "ALLDAY HELL", I have to admit that I can only draw lines back to this masterpiece groundbreakers of albums. But be sure that I will try everything to make clear that this album stands by and for its very one, totally, and that I will try my best to make this clear and work this out as good as anyhow possible. With drawing lines back to the mentioned albums then I can say that this very new one blends perfectly "A NEW DAWN FADES" with the "ALLDAY HELL" and cultivates it all with some intense atmosphere and sheer intensity like on "LYCANTHRO PUNK". That means that it melts together perfectly intense and furious raging brutal Crustcore with great aggressive yet pretty melodic Sverige Death Metal and cultivates it all with a tight morbid, melancholic, sinister, yet forceful atmosphere, and all done for at least one hundred percent unique and totally stand alone, like the shining and true original they simply are. Ah, and just for the record, clearly that the Crustcore takes the lead, not the Death Metal. But don't get it wrong, because "DAMNED" is everything but a ripp off of the mentioned old albums, no, it's just that you can take the description based on a comparision as well as a connection between or combination of the three old masterpieces of them as a loose coordination system in which you can find "DAMNED", but the new one is totally fresh, new, alive-lively, and in a not trendy but all self-contained meant sense totally up to date. The songwriting is just great, totally intense and grapping and mercyless heavy forward pushing, interesting and just outstanding shining great, the songs are full of great suprises and amazing little big twists and turns that you wouldn't have expected in this intense inferno of sheer metallic Crustcore brutality, and while the pace of the songs is mostly a surely pure high speed raging one, it's yet also in the right places and at the right time a heavy groovin' more down paced mid tempo smashing bloody hammer aimed directly at your face to break it completly through. The music is marked to perfection and to the very peak of it by the amazing stand alone guitar work, that covers from brutal slashing riff assaults, no matter if in furious high speed or in brickwall style smashing groove style a total blast, to atmospheric tight intense sinister, dark, desperate and sharp guitar leads, totally a fucking shining and intense affair, and with great solos ending, really sticking to and in your head stuff, the guitar playing covers everything and this outstanding great, totally amazing, and is really in a fantastic way marking the songs heavily and strongly, and totally intense it is like fuck. Then there are the pretty guttural and throaty, deep and rough and tough and pretty pissed off and raw shouted, damn charismatic lead vocals, they really stick to your head and they drive the lyrics in their like a skrew, and this without mercy and without regrets. Next is the sawing and shredding and heavy buzzing and hard rumbling bass playing, really great. And all is backed up by the thundering forceful heavy brutal D-Beat styled yet pretty nicely varying drum work, it gives it all the tight and heavy, brutal and bulky, very beefy, yes, the stoic but yet also pretty diverse and by all means damn necessary backbone. Thumbs up through the roof for this all. The musicians are incredible total in command of their instruments and of what they are doing, and, like already mentioned above, their songwriting skills are even better. Better than this it won't be, point and fact. The lyrics are also great, cover a wide distance, from battle themed anthems to tributes to Charly Manson, the artwork is simple and pretty ''smal'' but still really great (and much darker than the scanned cover picture above may tells to you the way my scanner did it), and the powerful production sound makes it all damn round. Their new label seemed at first sight a little bit strange in the sense of untypical for their style of music, but who cares, "SOUTHERN LORD" is a great label and they did here a great job and so why should I care about my own wrong exceptions. This one is highly recommended by me to you, one of the very best albums of 2012 and it's so damn great that they are back and even more that WOLFBRIGADE are back on my radar finally, and I lazy bastards won't let them go out there again. Brilliant and amazing!!! And yes, this is really "THE SOUND OF THUNDER" and nothing less. Get it!!! (10 of 10 points)
(http://www.facebook.com/lycanthropunks)
(I think that also a LP version of this should be released, so keep your eyes open for it if you want your dose on vinyl.)