Hey folks, right at the moment which means at the third of August 2013 I started working on what is planned to be the package post of Record Reviews in and for August. Maybe the part one of all in all two or even more to come up posts of this kind this month after a pretty big load of records is up to be reviewed this month, but maybe also the solely Record Reviews post for this very month, we will see how I decide to handle it in the end. (After this post comes up at the last day of August you may have already came by yourself to the conclusion that I decided to put all record reviews in just one post which means this one here so don't think a second record reviews post of/for August 2013 will come up following this one today/tonight.) I've settled a few records together, again and of course, covering a wide distance of music from Oi! and Streetpunk (this time pretty present again, in contrast to the last time) over Punkrock to Hardcore and then onwards on to Crustcore and ending with totally apocalyptic and sinister Grindcore, from physical releases to MP3-Download/Online-Releases. And this time all the records are pretty new ones with basically all of them being from 2013 and some of them being released just very recently or are even so far unreleased and anyhow you will find a lot of stuff finally again here in the dephts of this very post. We will see if more records of which and what kind ever will add up to the list of and for this package post so far, and if maybe some Metal or something else totally different or totally obscure will be added up to it (and no, it wasn't added up), we will see. I can't tell it right now, but what I can surely tell is that after this post I will start to lay the final cuts on the posts of the first theme days finally to come up here first, before I will do anything else up here on and with this very blog again. Okay, anyway, I think for this time it is enough of the introducing small talk and so before we finally start with the record reviews I just wanted to say a very, very big "THANK YOU GUYS, YOU ARE GREAT!!!" to all the great people out there of bands and labels who send me their stuff in for reviewing it, and with this post I deliver what you asked me for, the reviews on your records, and maybe you can even also relate to and agree on what I think and write here and now about and to your releases (after the fact that only sending me something don't guarantees a good rating), but anyhow again THX to you guys!!! Okay, and now that's it, so here we go, let the games begin which means let the record reviews start:
ABRASIVE WHEELS - "SKUM"("REBEL SOUND RECORDS" & "BLACKHOLE RECORDS"; LP)
(Buy it for example right over @ http://blackholerecs.com/)
(THANX very much to the "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" guys for suprisingly sending me this album in its complete promo MP3 version, very cool move by you, so THANX really a lot for it.):
Old Punk veterans ABRASIVE WHEELS finally make their return in 2013 with their more or less ''new'' and "SKUM" titled album, being released via "REBEL SOUND RECORDS" and "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" on LP. This album is their comeback album after something like 25 years of nothing and was released via "CRASHED OUT RECORDS" originally already in 2009 but just on CD and now in 2013 it is released on LP and this for the forst time ever on vinyl. It was released in July in this in different various colours coming vinyl edition, and if I understood it right and correct then also brandnew material by ABRASIVE WHEELS is something any fan can expect to come... and this means surely sooner than in 25 years... ;-) Okay, honestly ABRASIVE WHEELS had been pretty unknown to me before. I can remember that I once got an album of them from a good friend of mine and I used to listen to it back then for sure, but, hm, it was a different time back then, something like over an decade away now, to say it so, and I simply drank by far too many back then, haha, so I can't really recall any memory to my mind, haha... ;-) So let us say this is pretty much my first real time with them, with ABRASIVE WHEELS, so let us start it again: First of all, here we have a really great artwork. Then we get really good music. Punkrock, sometimes of the harder kind, sometimes enriched with big loads of glamy Rock & Roll and Hard Rock with some slightly Heavy Metal-esque flirtings in it, and also pretty often with good healthy doses of Oi! Oi! Oi! music in it all. Sounds like a pretty good mixture, right? It does. Right! It's all done very hymnal composed, especially the mid paced rockin' and rollin' Hard Rock inspired songs like for example the mighty "SOLDIERS PRAYER" shows it perfectly, with big and catchy refrains that cheerfully invite you to sing a long to and with them being the centre point of the songs in most cases, with very melodic yet still pretty powerful sung catchy styled charismatic lead vocals, very strong and really cool guitar work lines, and especially the leads and solos really shine out in most of the cases, and with a very precise and tight to the point played strong and hard rocking rhythm section consisting out of bass and drums, not to foget the full throttle back up chantings, and very cool suprises we get also pretty often like for example the Offbeat SKA licks and Oi! chants in the heavy cracking straight and fast forward Oi!/Streetpunk slasher "JONNY LAW". It's all done in a well-versed and skilled way, the arrangements of the songs are mostly fresh but at least always good and better, the pace of the songs is changed clever, from song to song as well as in the single running songs, the songwriting is strong and done pretty grapping. Skilled musicians and songwriters are surely here at work, and that's always good. It's all done very catchy and melodic as well as pretty strong rocking and rolling in the most cases of the here given songs, so if that's how you like your Punkrock than you will surely celebrate this album heavily, and this then also surely for good reasons. I would like it even more if they would have added more heavyness and a stronger pissed off attitude here and there, but that's just a matter of my personal taste and don't takes away anything of the quality of "SKUM" in whole. It reminds me somehow of the "PUNK JUNKIES" album of G.B.H., but more ''softer'' (not meant negative here and now) and by far more catchy and melodic and sing a long orientated than this very album, but maybe you can say that you can find ABARSIVE WHEELS somewhere between G.B.H. (especially to or in that "PUNK JUNKIES" era) and OXYMORON, maybe, but that's not working out really because they surely do their very own thing here, but take it just as a loose starting point in case you don't know them already by now. We get at all twelve songs in around fortythree minutes, and strong lyrics, a great production sound and the already mentioned totally thumbs up artwork. All in all I can only recommend this to any Punkrocker and Punkrock fan outta there. So go and test it, or better: Go and get it, period. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!
(8 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/abrasivewheelsofficial?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Abrasive-wheels/92224010051?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/blackholerecs)
HATEBREED - "THE DIVINITY OF PURPOSE"("NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS"; CD)
(Released in 2013, my copy is a copy of the limited version that features one bonus track and comes in a damn great designed digi artwork package.)
(Go and shop it for example right and direct here: http://www.nuclearblast.de/de/, just click yourself through to the mailorder/catalouge section of the site, but you should be able to buy it more or less anywhere.):
Fuck it, yesss, finally I have it, the new HATEBREED album titled "THE DIVINITY OF PURPOSE" and released via "NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS", and it seems that this very label sneeks more and more out of the strictly to Metal limited and also into the more and more open for Hardcore department with signing great acts like AGNOSTIC FRONT and now also HATEBREED, just to name this two pretty much most prominent ones. And don't forget that SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and also PRO-PAIN once were signed to the band roster of "NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS". Anyhow, back to the topic, the new HATEBREED album "THE DIVINITY OF PURPOSE". Okay, HATEBREED and me, myself, and I... that wasn't a love right from the start. Their first releases had been okay stuff but nothing I could really celebrate enthusiastically, their early stuff had been from my point of view a nice but anything but good or necessary EARTH CRISIS rip off (I'm talking about their "SATISFACTION IS THE DEATH OF DESIRE" album, for example) and when then the big and bigger and still bigger becoming hype used to set in and start I simply couldn't understand it by any means (I'm talking about their "PERSERVERANCE" album), and it took all the years untill finally "THE RISE OF BRUTALITY" was released when they started to conquer also me. And now today in 2013 with many years down the road they release with "THE DIVINITY OF PURPOSE" their in my book so far clearly damn fucking best album to date and conquer me in a totally overwhelming and supreme way and also they release with it one of the very, very best albums for 2013 for sure as well, so expect this to be found way up high in my this years top ten album list by the end of this year up here on this very blog. This is totally hymnal and anthemic to the core everything down crushing metallic and brutal forward milling and squalling bulldozer Hardcore filled with truck loads of ultra heavy and devastating brutal guitar riffs and great anthemic melodic guitar leads as well as embossing solos, backed up by bulky and beefy massive bass and cracking drum work, enriched by loud and broad and fat gang shouts, and crowned by one of the most charismatic lead singing voices in todays and yesterdays and probabaly as well as hopefully also tomorrows Hardcore and Metal scenery. Greatly skilled musicians that are even better songwriters deliver the songs in a shining way full of intensity and energy and dynamics, filled with grapping arrangements, full throttle moshing and down beating grooves, great diverse pace and rhythm work, and all done heavily sing a long compatible and incredible hymnal and anthemic with the larger than life refrains being clearly a big center point of the songs what gives them their incredible hymnal character. We get also amazing upbuilding and personal lyrics, a truly shining great artwork, and one of the most heavy and harsh bombing production sounds heard so far this year. My personal favorites are without a doubt "HONOR NEVER DIES", "BEFORE THE FIGHT ENDS YOU", "INDIVISIBLE", "DEAD MAN BREATHING", "THE DIVINITY OF PURPOSE" and "BOUNDLESS (TIME TO MUDER IT)", but don't expect the other not mentioned songs to be anything but awesome. Nothing left to say but GET IT and thanks for this album to the HATEBREED guys. Outstanding!!! HARDCORE!!! FIST!!!
(10 of 10 points)
(PS: After HATEBREED pretty much cultivated a style of their very own over all the years and became with this certain style a big role model for legions of countless other bands today outta there I will spare me any words about comparing them with this and with that band(s), because this would just be a stupid and ridiculous farce without any sensemaking weight.)
(https://www.facebook.com/hatebreed?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/nuclearblasteurope?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/nuclearblastusa?fref=ts)
HEAVY EYES - "CHAINS OF LOVE"("D.I.Y."; MP3-Download-/Online-Release)
(Download it over for a name your price deal @ http://heavyeyeshc.bandcamp.com/):
Here's a to me totally new Hardcore band from Hungary straight out from the cold hard concrete of the streets of Budapest. A band that I got aware of one more time due to the great work of the cool guys behind the amazing "HARDBOILED WEBZINE" site (http://www.hardboiledzine.com/ - you can also find a for free download link of this demo on the site, just click here to go there: http://www.hardboiledzine.com/2013/06/demo-daze-heavy-eyes-iron-chains.html, I don't know but I pretty much think that this is a somehow by the band authorized DL link, but don't know it anyhow for sure, I'm just guessing here and now...), thanx one more time again folks for all the bands that I have discovered due to you and your inspirational work. HEAVY EYES are pretty much one of the if not even the first ever Hardcore bands from Hungary that I ever got aware of. And what shall I say, it's a good release, this for all what I know D.I.Y. way done demo release titled "CHAINS OF LOVE", released for all what I know as a MP3-Download release online but I am pretty sure that it should be also released in a physical format, which one ever this may be. The "CHAINS OF LOVE" demo gives us four songs in about twelve minutes. And this four songs in twelve minutes are pretty heavy and very groovy Hardcore with some especially rhythmic Rap/Hip Hop influences thrown into the mix, and a lot of stunning and crushing, grooving and cracking guitar riffing, a tight in time and to the point played rhythm section, some fat crew back ups, and... yes, and really terrible lead vocals. Not only that English isn't really the favorite language of the lead singer, so it seems, but also simply the quality of the lead singing really needs to be improved a lot, from power to style to delivery of the singing/the vocals. I hope they fix this in the future, because the lead singing really spoils some also bigger portions of this release. Okay, anyhow, we also get nice grooves and cool somehow pretty much old schoolish mosh parts and fast raging up tempo assaults as well, some nice suprises like the LIFE OF AGONY inspired refrain of the title track "CHAINS OF LOVE" are also content of the mix that HEAVY EYES deliver. To the lyrics I can't say really anything with worth and so I better spare me every word more about it, but the production sound is really heavy and hard, thumbs up, and the (cover-) artwork totally rules. So, okay, please do everything that your lead singer takes care of improving his skills and delivery, and beside this just work on focussed on what you do and already did, then the next time it will get even better and maybe turn out to be a real bombing hitter. So we have here a good record that I would say every fan of bands like ONESTA and stuff like this should check out promptly. HARDCORE!!! FIST!!!
(7 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/heavyeyeshc)
MADDOG SURRENDER - "MADDOG SURRENDER"("SKINFLINT MUSIC" & "MFS PRODUCTIONS"; CD/LP)
(Buy it for example straight over @ http://shop.skinflintmusic.com/)
(Many "THANX!!!" to "SKINFLINT MUSIC" for sending me the complete promo MP3-Version of this by me long awaited new masterpiece by the (al-) mighty MADDOG SURRENDER, fucking great of you, so again: "THANX!!!" a lot.):
Fuck it, hell yeahrrr, MADDOG SURRENDER are finally really back for more and this they underline with the release of a new full length album that will be put out in a cooperation way between "SKINFLINT MUSIC" and "MFS PRODUCTIONS" and I think this pretty soon from now on by the end of August or the beginning of September, if I now recall it right and correct. I don't know for sure which release format will be choosen, CD and LP or both are well possible. So keep your eyes open and check for example the link above to go direct to the shop of "SKINFLINT MUSIC" and buy it direct there from the original source. So okay, after this straight into that record we're talking about - the new self-titled MADDOG SURRENDER album -respectively the review on it by me. After something like five years of waiting for a new sign of live by/of MADDOG SURRENDER they give us ten brandnew own songs in around twenty-nine minutes total running time. And you can expect them to stay true to their style, sound, and attitude, but that they have also developed and enriched their style and sound with new and fresh ideas. They play a mostly mid paced and always heavy and brutal stomping American Oi! with some nice clear British Oi! influences in it and they got rid of basically all the Streetpunk flirtings of the past (but that had been anyhow only very few ones and also ones of the good and not of the bad and sucking kind and way), and they became even more heavier and harder than before... and also even better than before. Hard hitting and harsh delivered heavy and brutal, yet nicely catchy and melodic guitar work, great shining and nicely diverse brutal and intense lead vocals, good portions of loud shouted gang back ups, a heavy crunshing and rumbling sawing bass playing and forceful and tight stomping drums are the ingredients that surely make the music of MADDOG SURRENDER, boncracking heavy mostly mid paced songs that anyhow still offer enough variations and even more intensity lead the way, and a lot of great hymnal sing a long and anthemic guitar leads with here and there some swedish marks as well as overall high quality arrangements really let it all shine bright in a rusty and dirty street raised way. The guys behind MADDOG SURRENDER are around in this band for many years since 1999 now (even surely there had been changes of some of the bandmembers here and there anyway and also even surely they improved definitely over all the years) and so they know how to play their instruments and to write songs and both in a very skilled way. So if you love (American/U.S.) Oi! music somewhere between THE WRETCHED ONES and THE 86'ED on the one side and THE 4 SKINS and CONDEMNED 84 on the other side and then take this imagination and add some few Sverige Oi! impressions to it and one hell of a truckload of an very own identity and character, yes, and if you then like the imagination and the impressions that you get from out of this then you should surely wait for this album and buy it like basically every Oi! fan outta there should do because otherwise you would miss one of the best shots of 2013 for sure, period. This album will pretty sure make it into my top ten list for 2013, point and fact. Ah, and on top of it we also get nicely diverse rough lyrics, a dirty and earthy yet pretty heavy and just great production sound, and a great (cover-) artwork (yes, I love English Bulldogs), so you see, this is the complete package. Highly recommended and so just get it as soon as it will be released, and this is a damn fucking order, no discussions. Cheers & Oi!Oi! Oi!
(10 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/maddogsurrender?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/SkinflintMusic?fref=ts)
PATRIOT - "THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION"("RANDALE RECORDS"; CD)
(Released already last year in 2012, the long awaited comeback of this roughnecked American Oi! veterans; released also on LP as well as on CD.)
(Buy it for example over @ http://www.randale-records.de/news/news.php; just go to the shop area of the site.):
Hell yeahrrr, they are really back, the almighty PATRIOT, damn it, finally, they are really and truly back, great!!! I waited for this for a long, long while. Honestly, for many years I would have never expected this album, a new PATRIOT album, to ever come to the light of day, and then it was finally announced some years ago... and then bad luck striked and music and all this stuff became very unimportant (to say it with this maybe not all so perfect fitting word) for Eddie Bastard, singer and frontman and (if I am now not going into the totally wrong direction) last founding member of PATRIOT, and so again some years came and passed (by) without anything ever happen. But then, in 2012, finally PATRIOT did it and released their new album titled "THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION" via the german record label "RANDALE RECORDS", damn it, finally, yessssss!!! I got aware of it at the very end of 2012 and was all about: "I need to have this!!!" But then due to many reasons, mostly monetary ones, it took again a half year and finally my beloved girfriend made it to a present from her to me at my birthday this June, hell yeahrrr, and since then it is on heavy rotation without end. Oh, how I love it that PATRIOT are really finally back!!! One of my all time absolute favorite bands ever!!! (And I am talking not only about Oi! or Punkrock music, point and fact.) I was totally curious about and because of this album, and not at least because of the very long time of a decade or so between the precusror album "WE, THE PEOPLE" and this very new one "THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION". I was also thinking a little bit something like: "Did they keep the standard of them?!?" and stuff'n'things like this, and I was also curious how they would develop their style this time again, like they did developed their style from album to album on and on always a little bit also in the past, developed and pretty much improved and advanced. And you know what, both questions I can easily and calmly answer with "Yes, they did!" and this for all in all at least all the new thirteen song reasons we get here delivered from them. And so, like you all my already have guessed, we get thirteen songs, twelve brandnew and one back in 2010 new recorded version of their all time classic "AMERICAN CREW" (this time titled "AMERICAN CREW 2010" as its the 2010 version of this song), at all and this in around thirtyseven minutes at all, and this album was released on LP as well as on CD, and I have and review the CD version. And like I already wrote, they developed again quite a bit, and also they advanced and improved their sound and style, all with keeping their way up far high standard of the quality of their music. First of all it's clear to say that they raised up the pace of the songs and that they moved quite a bit away from their old mid paced American Oi! style, and also they became quite a bit more aggro and serious than before, so that hard partying sing a long drinking songs aren't really to be found in that form here on "THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION". But PATRIOT, even Eddie Bastard is the only remaining original and founding member, are too clever to create a just monolithic angry and pissed off album, and so they change quite well between different paces, rhythm arrangements, and also moods of the songs, so that they keep it all really damn fresh and grapping and with some cool suprises like for example the SKA Offbeat guitar licking and rhythm arrangement during the verses of "HATE CITY (A BABYLON MY OWN)" or the great bass lead line you can find in "LOCKDOWN" they keep it not only fresh and make it also not only grapping, but create also damn interesting songs and with this a damn interesting album that demands for many good reasons your attention and time to be gladly discovered in its whole beauty and quality. The songwriting is, like you may can think already by yourself, damn great and even more than this, and the musicians are all very skilled and that Eddie Bastard owns one of the most charismatic voices in Oi!/Streetpunk/Punkrock/etc. pp. as a lead singer should be known anyhow. The album is beside Eddie Bastards voice dominated by the great diverse and tight, precise and to the point played guitars, that offer great forceful and pushing riffs and great rhythms, as well as totally high class and thumbs up leads, melody lines and solos, as well as it is dominated by the great and very present, really shining bass playing. Full throttle back up chants, and also powerful and fast and always totally precise drumming then round it all up and make this album complete; and this means also that they make it to the complete package. Ah, and by the way, ''at least'' damn great changing between pissed off fast paced raging up tempo tracks, angry mid paced heavy stompers, and great melodic and catchy sing a long Oi! anthems and hymns we get non stopp here on this very one from PATRIOT. My personal favorites are the totally sing a long hymn "SEE YOU IN HELL", the great arranged "HATE CITY (A BABYLON MY OWN)", the great nicely by the shining bass dominated "LOCKDOWN", the smasher "TEARS OF THE DAMNED", the angry and pissed off title track "THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION", the melodic and just hymnal "A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH" and it's also the most happy partying song to dance hard and happy to on here, the heavy mid paced cracking stomper "EVIL EYE", and also their new recorded old classic "AMERICAN CREW 2010", but also the not mentioned songs really shine and are pure platinum and purest gold songs. To this all we get very strong lyrics, covering a wide disatnce of topics from songs and lyrics dealing with personal issues to critical and then openly political songs, and also some way of life words are to be heard on this one. And all on that typical high standard that the lyrics of Eddie Bastard and PATRIOT had more or less always been. Also a very cool artwork we get (beside the cover art, but maybe it's just me not liking it...), and a great dirty, yet heavy production sound. This album is a must have and so just go and get it as soon as possible in case that you still don't have it. Finest Oi! Oi! Oi! music from the U.S.A. that will make you go nuts in your boots. If I would have it got already in 2012 it would have surely climbed way up high in my top ten album list cracking at least into the top five for sure. Great to have you back PATRIOT and hopefully more will come in the future. Awesome!!! Get it!!! Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!
(PS: That PATRIOT play a style of their own should be clear, so sorry for the fact that no band names to compare them were given by me, this is just greatest and finest American Oi!, hell yeahrrr!!!)
(10 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/patriotoi?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/RandaleshopRandale-Records/213545295368031?fref=ts)
PLAN OF ATTACK - "BRISBANE Oi!"("LONGSHOT MUSIC", "REBEL SOUND", "PUG MUSIC", "PIRATES PRESS" & "BLACKHOLE RECORDS"; 7'')
(Buy it for example over @ http://blackholerecs.com/)
(THANX very, very much you cool guys @ "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" for sending me this album via E-Mail as the complete promotional MP3-Release, yes, that's really great of you, so once again just THX very much for doing this.):
Australia Oi! is fucking back!!! Not only are R*U*S*T back and this even better than before, but also the mighty PLAN OF ATTACK are finally back with a new little album and this is this very one here, the "BRISBANE Oi!" titled new 7'' vinyl single of the boys, released as a corporation affair between the above mentioned labels. ("BLACKHOLE RECORDS" aren't listed on the backcover, but after they send me this little album I would say that they have also acted their part in releasing this one, because why they should send it to me if not, I mean... you see where I'm going.) So, okay, what to expect from the new PLAN OF ATTACK vinyl single 7'' album: Three songs, titled "STICK TO YOUR GUNS" on side a and "USED TO BE WANNA BE" and "ALL THE LESSONS" on side b, in around seven minutes of harsh and brutal Australia Brickwall Oi! of the heaviest and damn forceful kind. They play it rough and tough and pissed off as fuck, damn heavy and powerful smashing into your face, honest and authentic brutal crushing and forceful stomping, all packed into nice grapping songwriting with tons of power, force, energy, and 100% honest and real attitude as well as nice fresh ideas (like the somehow Country-esque slide guitar styled guitar lead of "ALL THE LESSONS"), all done incredible massive and bulky, heavy and beefy by skilled musicians that deliver it in a on all levels just great and if not even more than this way. The "BRISBANE Oi!" by or of PLAN OF ATTACK is build with grumpy heavy and hard throaty sung powerful lead vocals that are backed up by massive loud and proud crew shout back ups, and incredible tight and heavy, dry and dirty, rough and tough as nails and fresh kept guitar work, and a stunning and shredding precise to the point played rhythm section. It's all garnished with a nice natural groove work and the sing a long potential is incredible high, the refrains are larger than life and the whole arrangements of the songs are pure gold, and the charismatic delivery of the lead singer really shines out bright. Ah, and don't make no mistakes, this is no Streetpunk and no Streetrock Oi! Rock thing like many of their australian short cropped mates have going on (like THE CORPS, THUG, and R*U*S*T for example), this is also in no way anyhow some Hardcore thing, no, this is thru and thru pure Oi! Oi! Oi! music and this of the best kind. Comparable to their australian mates of BULLDOG SPIRIT but without the Hardcore in it, and all in all and even more PLAN OF ATTACK have all what it takes to be the australian answer to the mighty RAZORBLADE, and you know what, they are at least as mighty as they are and they do it all their very own style and way, and for this up with the thumbs and this very high in the air. We get also cool battle scarred way of life lyrics, a great production sound, and a cool first class artwork (yes, I simply love brass knuckle art, yeahrrr), so this is really the complete package. Any Oi! fans outta there should really grab one of this babies because if not than they surely could easily miss one of the best releases of 2013, point and fact. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!
(10 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plan-of-attack-Brisbane-Oi/219741224717207)
(https://www.facebook.com/blackholerecs)
R*U*S*T- "ROUGH, READY & RAZORED"("LONGSHOT MUSIC", "REBEL SOUND", "PUG MUSIC", "PIRATES PRESS" & "BLACKHOLE RECORDS"; 7'')
(Buy it for example over @ http://blackholerecs.com/)
(THANX very much all you guys in "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" for sending this album as an MP3-Release to me, fucking cool and even more great of you, so THX very much again):
After I've taken notice again of the Australian Oi! machine of the name of R*U*S*T after listened to the "MESS WITH THE BEST... DIE LIKE THE REST" four way split (the review on it is part of this very post here as well, so just read on) I have to say that it's just great that I also received their new 7'' via E-Mail by "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" (the label isn't listed for what reasons ever on the backcover but after they send me this album I would say that they have also participated in releasing it) because I am really gotten damn hungry for more of that R*U*S*T stuff to come, hell yeahr, and here it already is, next new R*U*S*T material, oh hell yeahrrr, that's just great. If all in life would work out like this... ;-) So, okay, R*U*S*T seem to be definitely back with two brandnew releases, the mentioned four way split and this single, both on vinyl, and what we get here underlines it even more that they are definitely back on the attack again. Four brandnew songs R*U*S*T give us on this vinyl disc, namely "THE CURSE OF ROCK & ROLL" and "A SHADOW ON THE PIER" on side a as well as "SHE'S GOT SOMETHING TO SELL" and "BOOTS & BUCKLES" on side b, and all four songs are true killers. Their by dirty Hard Rock and noizy heavy Rock & Roll influenced Oi! Streetrock they surely play also today on this one, but how they do it, just fucking damn great, period. Today on this album they play it even more tight and heavy than before, and even more Rock & Roll and Hard Rock and, of course, (Heavy) Metal than before, just listen to the heavy bombers also filled with double pedal drumming of the titles "THE CURSE OF ROCK & ROLL" and "SHE'S GOT SOMETHING TO SELL" and you will know what I mean. Combine MOTÖRHEAD, ROSE TATTOO, AC/DC, and a little bit of AIRBOURNE on the one side, and THE BROADSIDERS, THUG, THE BRIDGEBURNERS, and maybe some THE TRADITIONALS and THE ANTI-HEROS on the other side, mix it all through, and then add especially heavy doses of THE CORPS and also of MURDERER'S ROW to it, don't forget to add a srong own characteristic identity, yes, and then you should have a pretty good idea of what R*U*S*T are giving to us here. And they deliver it in a damn great way, intense and grapping, amazing songwriting and highly skilled musicians that know what they have to do and what they do and how they have to do it, and they do it great, if not even more than this, and the delivery is done by heavy and strong rocking nicely diverse and pretty brutal guitar work, snotty yet heavy and pissed off grumpy Rock & Roll styled lead vocals, rumbling pounding drums and a stunning bass work. And, like already said, it all they do damn great skilled, thumbs up. On top of it we get a bunch of cool streetcharmed Rock & Roll lyrics, a dirty yet heavy perfect to the music fitting production sound, and a first class and very cool artwork. I don't know what to say more, maybe just that especially fans of bands like THE CORPS, THUG, THE BROADSIDERS, THE BRIDGEBURNERS, and MUDERER'S ROW really have to test R*U*S*T out promptly, as well as fans of MOTÖRHEAD and ROSE TATTOO that are at least only a very little bit open minded will surely find something to rock the fuck out to here with R*U*S*T and their new little vinyl baby, ah, and of course I can also say that I can only highly and calmly recommend this great little album to you out there. Great stuff!!! If they keep this high quality up over the distance of a complete long player we can and should prepare ourselves for one hell of an outstanding album to come for us, definitely, period. I would just love to see and especially hear them going even more into that Hard Rock/Heavy Metal department the way they do it already, because they do it fucking great and it suits them perfectly and from my point of view it would be even more consequent and even better, but that's just my personal perception and nothing that important anyhow. Now just get this single and fucking enjoy it, because it definitely is a damn fucking great release. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!
(9 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/rustpunk)
(https://www.facebook.com/blackholerecs)
SHADE OF MANKIND - "NO MORE HEROES" & "NATURA HUMANA ABRAXAS (FIRST MOVEMENT)"("D.I.Y."; MP3-Donwload-Online-Releases)
Download "NO MORE HEROES" over @ http://shadeofmankind.bandcamp.com/album/no-more-heroes-mobs-cover and download "NATURA HUMANA ABRAXAS (FIRST MOVEMENT)" over @ http://shadeofmankind.bandcamp.com/track/natura-humana-abraxas-first-movement):
SHADE OF MANKIND from Brazil are back again. While they are still in the recording process of their full length debut album "VVE ARE THE PLAGUE" they give us two new songs as free downloads with the aim to heaten us up even more for their full length debut album to be finally released (as if this up-heating would be necessary in any way...), and hopefully this will be still in 2013 and if I could wish it for me then better sooner than later. This here are two single songs, the MOBS cover "NO MORE HEROES" which is so far unrelased and their own new one "NATURA HUMANA ABRAXAS (FIRST MOVEMENT)" that was so far released on a to me totally unknown and obscure underground compilation with the title "UNDERGROUND AS PAMPAS VOL. II", and so there are also two single download codes, each one to each song. The only thing that confuses me is the fact that the two tracks, that had been released already in May and in April 2013 (but I just got aware of them recently), had been recorded and all done by Roderick Hellion respectively Roderick Deimos (how he calls himself today) himself in a solo way, but I always thought that SHADE OF MANKIND had become a proper band these days with playing live shows and all this stuff... who knows... at least not me... So, okay, back to what I know: First comes now "NO MORE HEROES", the MOBS cover, done in the way of SHADE OF MANKIND. The original one is unknown to me, band and song, but if I got it right then it's some Japanese Hardcore that is now transformed into Brazilian Audio Violence (that's how SHADE OF MANKIND name their very style by themselves these days and this for good reasons so that it is surely a very good description of what they are delivering and doing). Straight forward pushing and storming incredible hard and heavy programmed drums are the backbone of this up tempo paced fast and straight forward devastating mercyless Hardcore slasher, the bass is rumbling in a evil mood in the back while the crushing brutal sawing and shredding guitars drive it all forward without taking any prisoners. The vocals are heavily distorted throaty and guttural grunts and screamed shoutings done in or with a pretty spoken word styled approach to it, a little bit weird and at first you have to become familiar with it, definitely, but then it totally sticks to your head and surely convinces you. This is straight and fast forward up tempo mercyless and no prisoners taking heavy and brutal Hardcore done by SHADE OF MANKIND and I really like what I can hear here. I can't compare it to/with the original of this very song, but what I hear here I really like. To the lyrics I can't say anything, but the recording sound conquers and the little cover that comes in the download with the song totally rocks. I can only recommend it to you, if you are into extreme musick, so go and get it.
(8 of 10 points)
Then here and now comes the second new song that they have released on their Bandcamp site, "NATURA HUMANA ABRAXAS (FIRST MOVEMENT)", brought to us after a short intense intro speech taken from an japanese election speech (on Bandcamp they give us a translation into english) and then it crushes forward. This is easily and surely one of the best songs of or by SHADE OF MANKIND so far, at least in my book. Heavy and especially brutal and aggressive noisy and dirty Hardcore with some slight and few Crust and Grind impressions in it and a Holy Terror backbone delivered by great charismatic brutal screamed shouted lead vocals, totally crushing and crispy guitars, pissed off roaring bass, and high energy heavy hitting powerful drumming or drum programming. This song is pure force and sheer intensity. Don't know what I should now write more after the song runs in shortly under two minutes, but any fan of brutal and no prisoners taking dark and sinister Hardcore with a apocalyptic Holy Terror backbground and some (very) few Crust and Grind influences really needs to know this one and will surely enjoy it as much as I do, definitely. So this is highly recommended and I can only say get it and go rampage on it. Very good lyrics in a anarchistic spirit (no, I don't mean that bullshit stale Anarchy ideology of certain circles out there, I mean the idea of an enlighted and self-contained life in freedom behind it all, not that stale and dumb perversion that the named ideology made out of it once), a great crushing recording sound, and a very cool coverart to it we get as well. Nothing left to say, this is a damn great song you really should have to know if you are into the described musick, period.(9 of 10 points)
(http://shadeofmankind.bandcamp.com/ - check it for more releases of the band)
(https://www.facebook.com/shadeofmankind - get in contact with Roderick Deimos and SHADE OF MANKIND)
TERROR - "LIVE BY THE CODE"("CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS"; CD)
(Released in 2013, this is the brandnew album by this living Hardcore legends from Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.)
(Buy it just for example over @ http://www.centurymedia.com/; just visit the store section of the site, but you should get it anyhow pretty much anywhere.):
This is an amazing album, the new TERROR album titled "LIVE BY THE CODE". I loved (and still love) this band since I first listened to their "LOWEST OF THE LOW" debut release many years now ago and my love of or for or to them never ever faded away over the years, instead of this it used to grow on and on and on over the years, due to the incredible high quality of the releases of the band. And now it pretty much reached a sort of its climax for so long, with the new album "LIVE BY THE CODE". Heard of its very release date and with a happy go lucky handicapped smile on my lips I went totally precise in date and time to the record dealer of my trust and bought it promptly. Jumped in my car to drive back home, put the disc in my carstereo, pumped up the volume, and full throttle and pumped up to the max I drove back home. And right from this moment on which means right from the start TERROR conquered me in a totalitarian way with their new born child of the name "LIVE BY THE CODE". I loved TERROR right from the start when they took Old School Hardcore (from my point of view always clearly influenced from NYHC and Boston HC in the case of TERROR) and simply muscled and tightened it up and added something like a hard to describe X-Factor of their very own to it and made it fresh and so turned it into their very own New Old School Hardcore L.A. Style. When back then they also started to add fresh made and then fresh kept good old Bay Area Thrash Metal influences to it to make it all even more shine I enthusiastically cheered up to this, and so I did too when they added great and strong more present melody lines to their music, sound and style, and so from "LOWEST OF THE LOW" and "ONE WITH THE UNDERDOGS" over "ALWAYS THE HARD WAY" to "THE DAMNED, THE SHAMED" and from their on over "KEEPERS OF THE FAITH" to now "LIVE BY THE CODE" they always knew to come up with fresh and grapping new material, and today maybe even more than ever before. This is just amazing Hardcore of the finest and highest quality, full of intensity and energy non stopp, filled with grapping and clever songwriting, fresh rhythm arrangements, and just great and you with them taking changes of the pace and rhythmic arrangements, no matter if you look at each song as a single one or if you take a look on the album as a whole ''concept''. We get again a advanced and improved album by them, don't ask my how they did get it done, with adding fresh stuff in healthy portions to their formula, and this means this time a more hymnal approach than they did before as well as it means that they stick to their style and keep it true and that they also keep up the damn high quality and even improve it. This is Hardcore by any means and pretty sure a phenomenal definition and an impressive statement of what Hardcore can be today in 2013. Metallic, rough, brutal, aggressive, devastating, moshing, and tough as nails, as well as hymnal and anthemic and with this catchy and pretty melodic in its very own way at the same time, filled with blasting all out attack going diverse, intense, and skilled guitar work, a clearly every opposition atomizing perfect and tight brutal and heavy rhythm section, loud and fat broad crew back up gang shouts, and above all and it all crowning this totally harsh and charismatic lead vokillz, and all wrapped up together by great songwriting. My total personal favorites are without a single doubt "I'M ONLY STRONGER" (total killer anthem), "INVASION", "LIVE BY THE CODE", "THE MOST HIGH", "COLD TRUTH", "HARD LESSONS", and "THE GOOD DIE YOUNG". Total killer tracks. But make here no mistake, because the not mentioned tracks are also total smashers, definitely. To compare TERROR with any other bands would be total non sense, because they should be known today pretty well and also because they became a role model for countless other bands out there today, and so I spare me every word about any other bands to compare them with. We get also totally great lyrics, a sheer brilliant artwork with a clear positive message carried on its pages, and also a bombing fat production sound. So, what shall I say here and now more, this album is clearly one of the very best albums of and for 2013 and so by any means just get your hands on a copy of it. Amazing!!! HARDCORE!!! FIST!!!
(10 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/terrorhardcore?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/centurymedia?fref=ts)
TRIBÜNAL - "F.T.W."("D.I.Y."; MP3-Download/Onlinerelease & 3'' CD-R)
(Download it for free and/or buy it in its 3'' CD-R physical format over @ http://tribunal-dtakt.bandcamp.com/album/ftw)
(THANX very much to TRIBÜNAL for sending it me via E-Mail for free and to catch with this my attention, a nice and cool move by you, so again: THANX very much for it.):
Now comes something sinister and brutal, something damn heavy and incredible doomy, "F.T.W." styled devastating dark D-Beat Crustcore by TRIBÜNAL, a for all what I understood (I hope it's a correct understanding) a one man band that started finally back then in April 2013 after several times of thinking about doing so. And it's good that it finally came to happen. TRIBÜNAL is meat free, god free, and drug free, so let us say it's vegan, straight edge, and atheistic, and it's also self proclaimed primitive and raw. All good and fine, if you ask me, but just add brutal and heavy, hard and aggressive, sinister and devastating, rough and tough to it, yes, and the picture will get even more clear, precise and better. And you shouldn't forget about the very high level of intensity that TRIBÜNAL do offer to us the listeners with this very one here. Heavy distorted harsh sawing and brutal shredding sinister guitar work, raw and noisy, aggressive and dirty, backed up by massive and stunning raging rhythm section going without mercy and without regrets to work, and brutal and pissed off yet somewhat suffering sounding pretty charismatic throaty shouted lead vocals, and all songs done in a mostly uncompromising pretty fast paced way of a heavy raging D-Beat Crust assault. And from my point of view there's also a slight Old School Death Metal influence to be noticed, but with the Crustcore and D-Beat taking clearly the lead. This is a raw and primitive, heavy and dark, brutal and noisy bastard out of DISGUST, EXTREME NOISE TERROR, and HELLHAMMER and POSSESSED and it will really please your gusto if you are into that kind of raw, evil, and heavy stuff. TRIBÜNAL are already a really damn good band with a nice pretty strong own character already, and a no prisoners taking approach as well as an straight and direct attitude of that kind. To the lyrics I can't say anything, but they seem to be very pissed off and straight to the point/face outspoken. The raw and thundering recording sound of this "F.T.W." titled demo is pure gold, and the (cover-) artwork is just a cool shot. I can only recommend this release to any fan of dark, heavy, apocalyptic, and brutal music, and I am really looking forward for more of TRIBÜNAL to come and this hopefully pretty soon.
(8 of 10 points)
(http://tribunal-dtakt.bandcamp.com/)
V.A. - R*U*S*T, THE GUV'NORS, REVILERS, CRACKS & SCARS - "MESS WITH THE BEST... DIE LIKE THE REST" 4 - WAY SPLIT RELEASE("BLACKHOLE RECORDS" & "PUG MUSIC" & "AGGROBEAT"; Double 7'')
(Buy it for example over @ http://blackholerecs.com/)
(A extra big "THANX!!!" goes out the cool guys in and of "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" who used to send me this album here as a complete promotional MP3 album, really great of you, so again "THANX!!!" hell a lot for doing so guys.):
Oi! Oi! Oi! Streetrock & Roll is the order of the fucking day right now right here!!! Oi! from Australia, from Denmark, the U.S.A. and fucking Germoney of course. This is an all out Oi! attack and to say and get this straight right from the start I fucking love this little gem of an album, point and fact. It will make it maybe or propably into my this year's top ten list because it runs and runs on heavy rotation through my speakers since I received it quite some time ago. It's a 4 way split release featuring the australian Oi! Streetrock & Roll roughnecks in R*U*S*T, the danish dynamite Oi! Punk'n'Rockers of THE GUV'NORS, the amazing U.S. American Oi! silverbacks in the REVILERS, and the silverbacked german Oi! newcomers of CRACKS & SCARS. This will be released or is already released as a double 7'' vinyl release (surely in a limited way and in various different forms, but don't ask me more about it here and now). It all is kicked off by Australia's finest of R*U*S*T. I did a review of their earlier release back then in 2011 and it is the last release of them that I know of. (Here you can find the mentioned review of mine on their "LEAN MEAN STREET MACHINE" album: http://manslaughterthuglife.blogspot.de/2011/02/oi-oi-aussie-rock-roll.html. And for sure to this four way split double 7'' release they released these days also a new 7'' of their own and my review on it is also part of this review pacakge and you may have already read it.) And they surely convinced me back then and so they do it also today. And also a bit more than they already did so back then. Hard forward driven strong rockin' and rollin' australian Oi! PunkRock heavily dominated by the really damn tight and strong, dustdry and boneshaking heavy, earthy and dirty, harsh and forceful guitar work that shows some cool portions of diversity and leads the path of the great fresh kept rhythm arrangements and the energetic and dynamic pace work, really great. Imagine a mixture out of AC/DC and ROSE TATTOO with a MOTÖRHEAD impact and it all hardly on Oi! in the way of heavy pushing mid paced American Oi! maybe like the awesome THE BROADSIDERS and the also brilliant THE BRIDGEBURNERS and the damn cool MUDERER'S ROW, and then you may get an pretty good idea of what R*U*S*T are all about, and fans of the almighty THE CORPS will also find what they are looking for. Beside the great guitar work we also get charismatic snotty lead vocals, nice backing ups, and a very beefy and straight and save to the point played powerful rhythm section. The two new songs of R*U*S*T on this one here, "EX GIRLFRIENDS" and "SUICIDE SUNDAYS" really rule and rock even more. Great, period. Lyricwise we get some funny and cool snotty streetcharmed wisdom about relations and how to spend your weekends right... Also the two songs come in a great, dirty and earthy yet very heavy and harsh production sound. Perfect match. R*U*S*T do take 9 out of 10 points home with them. After R*U*S*T we turn our heads to good old mother europe because it's time for some danish dynamite, because THE GUV'NORS are up next. Strong rockin' street raised Oi! Punk Rock & Roll is now the order of the day. (I've done back then a review on what's for my knowledge their so far last full length album and the review you can find here: http://manslaughterthuglife.blogspot.de/2010/08/red-white-danish-dynamite.html.) What shall I say, Sleaze Rock and Oi! Punk mixed with good old Punkrock noize really fit together if it's all done by the right guys, like in the case of THE GUV'NORS. Mix COCK SPARRER and THE BUSINESS with GUNS'N'ROSES and NASHVILLE PUSSY, add some THE HELLACOPTERS and the BACKYARD BABIES to it, and make it all round and tasteful with the some very few portions of THE RAMONES and THE DICTATORS, and you know where to start your journey with THE GUV'NORS. Great diverse and heavy yet catchy and melodic as fuck guitar work, damn charismatic great sung fresh and snotty lead vocals, nice back up chants, and a great precise and tight forceful rhythm section at work, all mixed together by fresh and cool songwriting and done by skilled musicians, and don't forget the harmonica a.k.a. mouthorgan. Great stuff and very unique anyhow, just great!!! Also cool lyrics and a great production sound on top of this two songs. Thumbs up!!! And also THE GUV'NORS take 9 out of 10 points back home with them. And this more than well deserved. Then the second 7'' comes into play, al least I do think so, after I have it as an MP3-Album, like above mentioned. But anyhow up next is American Oi! from the United States of America from out of the Boston, MA area (at least I think so), and up next are the amazing the REVILERS. This band had always been somehow under my radar so far, always knew about them, somewhere here a old demo or so of them is lying around (a demo that I liked very much) and I think last year or maybe already two years ago they released a full length that should be pretty good and better and I was always heavily interested in them but somehow a real proper contact with their mentioned album never ever came to happen, why ever. Anyhow, now that I know their two songs on this one here, titled "DON'T TELL ME" and "8 SECOND SOCIETY", I think even more that it's about time to change this finally. They give us great strongly by heavy rockin' and pretty heavy played, yet catchy melodic lead lines offering guitars dominated American Oi! with a good dosed 1977 Punkrock impact including a nice "CHISWICK"/very early SKREWDRIVER feeling when it's about the forceful forward pushing guitars (but far improved than the mentioned band back then), and they give us all this on a damn fucking high level of quality and with a very own note on top of it. Great guitars, very heavy forceful sung lead vocals, loud crew back ups, and a great powerful rhythm section, all thrown into the mix with great songwriting, energy and dynamic non stopp, delivered by skilled musicians with the right real attitude in a very smpathic way. Mix THE TEMPLARS with some ADOLF AND THE PISS ARTISTS and THE ANTI-HEROS, add some very early SKREWDRIVER to it, here and there some STARS & STRIPES portions and round it all up with a very high quality and an very own characteristic, not at least due to the perfect guitar work and the amazing lead singer. Great the stiff middle finger showing authentic rebellious lyrics and a perfect matching clear yet very powerful and nicely warm and earthy production sound comes to it all on top of it. Amazing stuff!!! I really need more of/by/from this band, point and fact!!! The REVILERS do take 10 from 10 possible points with them, and this by far more than only well deserved, period. After the REVILERS the final band and probably or better surely also the final side of this four way split program comes, and this time we go to Germany with CRACKS & SCARS coming now for all of us. I was really curious to finally listen to this band after I've heard that former members of the amazing GUTS & GLORY would be playing now under the banner of CRACKS & SCARS. And after GUTS & GLORY had been from my point of view definitely the best (and by far way too shortlived) Oi! band to come from Germany in the last decade my expectations had been very high. I know maybe this is unfair because who the fuck am I to expect something like this and who said that they would still play in that department... but that's just how it is/was, so that's it. Did they dissapoint me? No. Period. They give us also two songs, titled "GOIN' NOWHERE" and "LIGHT AND DARKNESS", and they play a style and sound comparable to what they have done under the banner of GUTS & GLORY. So expect great and better than this Old School yet fresh kept real Oi! without any retro bullshit but with a lot of own and fresh and new ideas what gives them their own identity. Mix COCK SPARRER and COCKNEY REJECTS with BONECRUSHER and OXYMORON and you should have a pretty good idea of what CRACKS & SCARS are all about. Powerful and very catchy great guitar work, a incredible strong lead singer with a very own style of singing somewhere between Roger Miret and Raybo with some Sucker portions in it as well and all done in his very own way with a great own charisma, a rumbling cool bass at work, and very precise and tight yet also nice diverse drumming. Skilled musicians are this more or less veteran ones anyhow and they even know more to write fantastic songs. While "GOIN' NOWHERE" is a little bit too hectic here and there "LIGHT AND DARKNESS" is a true and pure anthem and shines even more, a perfect done Oi! Oi! Oi! sing a long hymn. Cool and good, authentic and sympathic underdog lyrics and a strong production sound they offer us also as well. Maybe they just didn't need to change their bandname, but that's something they surely will know better and that's also anything but anyhow only slightly important. All in all they take 9 out of 10 points with them. So all in all we get four bands and each offers us two songs what makes eight songs at all that run for about twenty minutes, to give you also some cold hard facts here and now. I think I've written all what there was to write, and so I think I can calmly now finally close this very review with this words here now. Just two last things: The artwork is fantastic; and if you are into Oi! and Streetpunk and Streetrock & Roll and Punkrock music in general you simply have to call this double 7'' release here your very own, so don't wait just get it, point and fact. Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi! - Ah, and the final outcome then is now...
(9,5 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/blackholerecs)
VIOLENT ARREST - "DISTORTED VIEW"("D.I.Y."; MP3-Download-/Onlinerelease)
(Download it for a price of seven british pounds over @ http://violentarrest.bandcamp.com/album/distorted-view)
(If all the announcements are true then it will be released by "BOSS TUNEAGE" in the- near- future of this very year of 2013, but don't ask me if on vinyl or on CD or maybe even via both physical formats.):
Here's a new release by a legendary or at least semilegendary Hardcore band from out of the underground dephts of the U.K. and that was pretty which means in this case totally unknown to me before and that is around for quite some years now with releases out via labels like "GRAVE MISTAKE" and "DERANGED RECORDS" for example and that consists out of members that before VIOLENT ARREST had been active in bands like RIPCORD, SPITE and the amazing HERSEY and this very one here is already their sixth release as VIOLENT ARREST, so you can easily and clearly talk about U.K. Hardcore silverbacks and veterans. And maybe you have now already also a very good idea of what you get here, if not maybe I can help ya out: Old School Hardcore with Oi! and Punk influences and filled with tons of hate and rage and a through and through antisocial and anti-establishment rebellious attitude. This is heavy and brutal and harsh Hardcore for fans of bands like NEGATIVE APPROACH to bands like BLITZ as well, and so expect tons of harsh guitar shreddings, brutal vocals and broad shoutings all yet somewhat hymnal and sing a long friendly arranged, and a stunning and boneshaking rhythm section consequent at work. It's all done pretty fresh and with a very huge dose of energy and dynamics, and the aggression is also very high and it all makes this a entertaining ride through a rough and tough pissed of stormy heavy raging Hardcore sea. Eight songs in about eleven minutes, short cutted and to the point played Old School Hardcore Punk songs. Nothing new, for sure, but incredible exploding fresh, of course, and really fucking heavy and harsh delivered in a brutal and aggressive as well as rough and tough as nails way. Good stuff, damn sure, even I would have loved some longer lasting assaults and some more new approaches to it all, because here and there it's pretty stale, okay, but that's just a matter of my personal taste. Rebellious lyrics, nice artwork, and a fat and loud blasting production sound. Anyhow, check it out, get the download or wait for the physical release or get them both if you are into above described music and/or above named bands, and this should be interesting for Hardcore roughnecks, Oi! hard knocks (no matter if Skinheads or Hooligans or what ever), and Punkrockers with a faible for a more heavy style as well. Test it, or just get it anyhow anyway promptly. HARDCORE!!! FIST!!!
(7 of 10 points)
(http://www.myspace.com/vapunk - Yes, they still have a MySpace site, if that's today not also already Old School then I don't know it, haha ;-) ...)
WHITE FLAG DOWN - "NEVER SURRENDER / OUTLAW"("SKINFLINT MUSIC"; 12'' LP)
(Buy it for example directly over @ http://shop.skinflintmusic.com/)
(THANX very much for the great guys who run "SKINFLINT MUSIC" for sending this album totally for free to me, great of you and THANX very much once again.):
This album was sent to me by the great guys in/of "SKINFLINT MUSIC", it is about to be released repectively if and when you read this it was released by the very end of July 2013, if I am now not totally wrong with this, and it will be or is out in various strictly limited black and white vinyl versions. So far I have it "just" as the official promotional MP3-Download-Version, as it was nicely sent to me in this form. Okay, WHITE FLAG DOWN are a L.A. Punkrock or maybe better L.A. Streetpunk band with a, so my impression, clear "CLOCKWORK ORANGE" theme and attitude, hm, so let us talk of L.A. Clockwork Streetpunk. The band was totally unknown to/for me before this very one here, and it's a good thing that this finally changed. About the past and history of this band I simply know nothing, but okay, not that important to me right here and now, it's by far more important that I know this album, their newest one. It's titled "NEVER SURRENDER / OUTLAW" and seems to me to be some sort of a compilation of two previous shorter running EP albums of them with two new exclusive bonus tracks added to this album. Anyhow, and after WHITE FLAG DOWN had been unknown to me before all the stuff featured on this one here is new and fresh for me. WHITE FLAG DOWN play pretty tough rockin' Streetpunk with strong guitar runs as the perhaps most marking element, guitar runs that consist out of nice riffing attacks, great rocking organic naturally grooves that also show some "CHISWICK"/early SKREWDRIVER influences (just listen, as an example, to "ROCK & ROLL"), fresh leads and some cool solos as well as some nice suprises and fresh outcomes are shown here and there (listen for example just to the amazing "MALCONTENT KILLING MACHINE" and its strong metallic bulldozer middle section and you'll know very good what I mean). Add to this snotty "I don't give a fuck!" styled lead vocals, and a damn tight and heavy rockin' and cool rollin' rhythm section, yes, and your fresh and good tasting Streetpunk cocktail is finished and waiting to be rocking out of your speakers loud'n'proud. Nice varying rhythms and nice varying paced songs, all not too heavily so that there are no holes in the flowing songs and the also very well flowing album as a whole, if you got what I want to say with that... if not: It's meant in a positive way. Take U.S. Oi!/Streetpunk maybe somewhere between the BRASSKNUCKLE BOYS and FIRST OFFENSE, CL1 and DIRTY WATER, add to this a big dose of good old Rock & Roll and some early SKREWDRIVER impressions, keep in mind the own character of WHITE FLAG DOWN and that they copy'n'paste no one and then you should have a pretty good idea where to start with of what this L.A. Clockwork Streetpunk roughnecks hold in store for you and me and us. They aren't inventing anything new but who cares for that, because what they do they do damn fucking good. I just would wish that they would deliver it all maybe a little bit harder and the refrains could be here and there still a little bit more anthemic, but this are anything but major problems. And so I can calmly recommend it to all the Oi!, Streetpunk and Punkrock lovers outta there. So go and get it!!! Cheers & Oi! Oi! Oi!
(8 of 10 points)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/whiteflagdown?fref=ts)
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/SkinflintMusic?fref=ts)
Okay, that had been all the reviews on records/releases for this one so far. Currently I can't tell you when the next record reviews will come up, maybe at the end of September (but surely and definitely not earlier than this) but maybe just some day in October or even just at the end of October, I don't know it by now and so I can't tell anything about it. This is mostly because I will finally first get the first theme days done and up here, FINALLY, and just then when this is done I will start working on new record reviews. And after such a big and long post consisting out of several more or less detailed reviews on quite many records like this very post here really takes its time to get it done I really can't tell you when I will or better when I will be able to bring the next record reviews post up here. That's the main reason. A second reason is simply the fact that currently I don't have that much records in the pipeline waiting to be reviewed. The reasons for this are easily named:(01.) I don't have that much time and mind for music right at the moment with a lot of trouble and even more and also really big changes going on (once again) in my life so that really a lot is in the making on various fronts so that music and dealing with it currently is, sadly enough, not that important on my to do - lists and my take care of - lists these days.
(02.) At the moment right now I also can't spare that much money to go and shop music, what's pretty sad and sucks but it's just how I announced it some months back in one of the retrospection on 2012 posts and so even it sucks drastically (because there are a lot of releases out and a lot of new 2013 releases are released or will be released because of which I am truly strongly curious) I won't cry and bitch around because of it, because that's just how it is, yes, and then that's it, so simple is it.
So currently there are three records that will be definitely featured in the next record reviews post, the fucking strong new 7'' of THE ENEMY titled "LIE TO ME" (strong Oi!/Streetpunk tunes; THANX very much to "BLACKHOLE RECORDS" for sending it me), as well as the "DEMO 2013" by UNDER THE CHURCH (young Sverige Death Metal lunatics firing their hard hitting and hot old school cannons) and the "MALESTORM" titled album by the Stoner/Doom/Sludge hellhounds of IRON & STONE (a really strong and charismatic band and album a friend of mine has pointed me to). I am pretty sure that some more releases will add to this short list over the next one or two months, just wait and see. Now that's all for now, THANX very much for your time and interest. We will read us again, your dear Manslaughter Andy.
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