Drop DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADD!!!!

 Not a post about the band of the same name. This is simply a reminder that anyone saying they are a fan of fast music needs to destroy their ears with this band. I'm not going to re-write the Wiki or what anyone else has ever said about their "discography" so just listen to this gold example of proto-everything fast music related. Short fiercely political songs played fucking super intense with tons of energy that spawned fastcore, grind, power-violence and all the fun stuff. The best bands ripped these guys off, namely Napalm Death and of course Drop Dead. I only say this because ND do fucking sick covers of these guys. Check out their "Leaders Not Followers" albums. Anyway, listen to this, get fucking stoked and stage dive.

All. Day.

Carved Out

  The best part of being back in the shitty part of Ohio that I was in is that I got to see some close friends of mine all the time. The dudes I would hang out with when I was a kid and still living in houses with a band and going to shows non-stop. I still listen to some of the bands those dudes are in (Ringworm, what's up) and it's awesome to see them still putting out music. Two of those friends started a new band called Carved Out that is heavy as fuck. They sort of play crusty tough guy hardcore with metal as fuck vocals. I'd say their biggest influences are Tragedy, cannabis, d-beat hardcore, Cleveland and NY style hardcore beatdown parts. I love that the songs are short, fast and still balls heavy. Absolutely worth checking out.

Who fucking cares?
Scenery

This One's for Fun. It's Called "Never Surrender!"

  I have posted about Negative Approach before, quickly reviewing their 10 song 7".  It really is a nearly flawless piece of music history tightly rolled up in a tiny package to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting. Negative Approach then put out some tracks on a couple of comps and finally an LP called "Tied Down". On this sweet ass DVD entitled "Reproach DVD Vol. 1" you see the band evolve from a very early show(their first?) with only songs from demos to a full on wrecking force destroying venues full of young hipsters and punks. There are three full sets present, including a bonus song I talk about below, each showing off the bands growing strength and expanding repertoire of songs including favourites of mine such as "Can't Tell No One", "Pressure", "Live Your Life", "Whatever I Do", "Lead Song" and "Lost Cause".

 Here's a link to them doing a fucking amazing cover of "Never Surrender" by Blitz. They do this three different times on the DVD, and to be honest I NEVER get tired of it. I have a deep seeded love of covers, and this one fucking rules. I have this link starting at the cover because the rest of the video is a mostly poor rip of the DVD. When I watch my copy it's not nearly as bright and the sound is much better. You need to see this either way.
 Never say why, never say die, it's always worth another try"!

Also the very last song on here is ANOTHER cover. This time it's the Misfits playing a show in MI and having John Brannon(with hair!?!) helping them vocals for a rendition of "Can't Tell No One". Brannon's voice overpowers everything else that has mics attached to it, although you can hear Danzig in the backround during vocal pauses yelling "Go!" in true Danzig fashion.

Ghetto D-Beat

  Peter Mangalore play straight up no frills straight edge power-violence with an awesome d-beat twist. Think Discharge meets Crossed Out with lots of feedback and punk as fuck riffs. The bass is turned way up in that style of 90's PV, a trademark of the genre I'm quite fond of. This 5" called "Decay of the Iron Man" has eight fucking awesome songs in under five minutes. My favourites being "Moonlight Over Ghetto Prague" for the repeated chorus over blasts,
"Eternal Life in Return for Obedience" for it's surfing Dick Dale style d-beat
Something unrelated that interesting is the very last song "Gerwalk" is the only song with that production. It's a little louder and more crisp. Regardless it rips.
 I don't have much else to say about this short burst of awesome. Get high and rock out. 


"Cigarettes, alcohol, prostitutes, POT!"

Never A Cognitive Waste, Not A Post About Municipal Waste

 I got an e-mail today(sent yesterday) from a dude named Corey telling me he likes this blog and the bands I talk about. This makes me super pumped because it's not often people writing blogs get random affirmation e-mails. Unless you're Cosmo Lee. He said he found link from the other site I write on and has been reading mine for a while. I just wanted to give this dude some props for making my day start off fucking legit.
 I noticed at the end of his e-mail a well placed link to his band's Bandcamp page, so I checked it out. He plays bass with a dude in a band called Mental Waste.They remind me of a more hardcore influenced Nails. Less blasts and heavy as fuck riffs but plenty of circle pits and anger. I dig Bryan's vocals and lyrics as well. Bleak observations about humanity. Something interesting is that all the drums are programmed, AnB and Enemy Soil style. Corey and Bryan have been a band since February but haven't been able to keep a drummer due to time constraints and location. Mental Waste is from Califronia, but they're from the central coast which doesn't have a strong DIY scene and is full of kids in metalcore bands so finding a full time drummer has been difficult for them. They don't even have regular practices right now, but that doesn't hinder songwriting. Both dudes have been around a while in various bands (Corey is also in a doom band called Cold Mourning) so recording is an easy process for them according to Corey, "We take about 5 minutes to write some songs, then Bryan works on lyrics, we add vocals and we take a couple months to finish the recordings and get them mixed how we like." They've recorded four other songs and are just waiting to add vocals and mix them, but sort of feel a lack of impetus. So if anyone wants to help them do a 7" or a tape (I'm looking at you To Live A Lie and Last Anthems) get in touch with them so they can record more!
Get into their three song demo below.

Saturday Song to Do Bong Rips To

  Nails is a punishing hardcore band from California made up of stalwart scene vets, such as Todd Jones from Carry On and Terror. While still totally original and unique sounding, they can easily be lumped into what bands like Trap Them do, though only douche bags. The bands influences come from all over the place utilizing blast beats, short songs lo fi bass and circle pits. The obvious ones(to me) are Holy Terror bands (Integrity, Gehenna), Napalm Death, C.o.C./Crowbar and of course being fucking angry. But they have this song near the end of the new album that just shreds and is perfect for loading up a fat bowl on a bong.
 This specific song was the first Nails song I heard. It was on a Deathwish Inc. comp and is by far the sickest song on it. It's fast as fuck hardcore until 1:08 when it gets sludgy and heavy as fuck , finding it's relentless groove for the last (almost) two and a half minutes of the song. The end head banging groove has it's own tone with changing chord progressions, chugging riffs on guitar and bass, the latter of which incites old school stomps until the instruments fades out into a wall of distorted feedback.


"It's just a fucking lie!"

No Cream, No Sugar! Bong Rips? Please!

I'm out of cannabis so my only drug right now is black coffee. It only seems appropriate right now to post this song by Black Flag and read. I've read a few excerpts from some Henry Rollins books and he makes mention more then one time about doing exactly what he says in the songs. A story that sticks out in my mind is him sitting in a hotel lobby enjoying the free breakfast at a crazy time of the morning in Austria I believe. His tour stories are quite good.
 This version is from their 1982 demo right after Hank joined the band. I actually downloaded this demo from the SST blog, which I've since lost the link for. There are a lot of songs on here that end up on recordings years later. "Modern Man", "Slip It In", "My War", "Beat My Head Against the Wall". Lots of good stuff in the early song writing stages. It's really cool to see what songs get made over on the final records. If enough people want the whole thing I can upload that to, but this is about drinking black coffee!
 This song is straight up five minutes long which is a good length for sucking in massive bong rips. By the halfway mark the cannabis will have set in, probably right in the verse. You will feel the seething Rollins puts out during this mid-paced dirge. Not that Dirge. It still has that 'Flag punk beat that you can HB Strut to, but is obviously more influenced by Sabbath and ZZ Top at this point and not as much punk. There's even a solo that's not raging shred. And for lots of cannabis users, this is exactly what they want. So load it, rip it and drink some coffee.

Drinking black coffee, black coffee, black coffee, staring at the wall

Violence Violence, Not A Post About Ceremony

A good dose of power-violence on this rainy day. Nothing to lift the spirits like grindingly fast power-violencecore. To be totally honest this is probably my favourite PV record or album ever(the Torture 7"). It kind of exemplifies my idea of how the music form is expressed. It's stupid fast hardcore punk with really heavy sludge parts. PV differs from grind and fastcore with the sludge this type of vocals or crazy high screams like in Magrudergrind and Fuck On the Beach. Up until "Unforgivable" these guys also didn't take themselves too seriously, which I appreciate. I feel like this type of music should be about fun, unless you're a political band. Then it's only serious. The song titles and lyrics are simple and straight forward. A lot of times tongue in cheek funny and the rest is fucking angry. The two tones interplay quite well and just pump you the fuck up. I'm either smiling and wanting to run in circles or I'm super vehement from the loathing want to stage dive into people's heads. When the lyrics get dark, they get violent dark. But doesn't everyone feel like ripping out entrails and cutting sternums sometimes? It's acceptable violence.
 Musically it's a sonic whirlwind of blast beats, angry as fuck vocals and lo-fi guitar and bass. Seriously lo-fi, sludged out bass that's angry as it is fast to match the punk as fuck sounding guitar, which unfortunately get sort of lost in the mix a lot of the time. There's some real fast circle pit hardcore parts but a lot of these seventeen songs are just raging fast and all you can do is sit there in awe going "Holy shit".
 Most people into aggressive music are well aware of this band now after being picked up by Relapse. That's super good for most people involved. I've heard the newest full length, "Worthless" a couple times now and production wise it's a good step up, for instance a new vocal mix which is unlike any Weekend Nachos mix I've heard. The music production kind of makes them sound a lot like the band Nails however and I don't think I like that. I hope it's not an actual stylistic change. Nails is a good band, for sure, but we don't need WN sounding like them. Unique music, not cookie cutter music.

"Revenge is sweet, now you're a mess on my floor, you scum sucking mother fucking road whore!"

This Song is Called, My Mom Hits Harder

American Nightmare is kind of one of those hardcore bands you either love to death or just feel indifferent about. Wes' lyrics aren't usually my favourites to read, but listening to them is rather fun. The singing along makes it too enjoyable to care and they wrote a few really fucking catchy songs.
Something that I appreciate about AN/AN/GutG is how original their sound was. An obviously contemporized (for the time) version of classic hardcore punk. Plenty of Black Flag, Minor Threat and Bad Brains influences to go around. This amalgam has become fast, energetic no frills hardcore that's full punk. Lots of punk. Tons and tons of gang vocals, circle pits and stage dives. The crucial stuff.
 Oh, and what about the fucking awesome Cro-Mags cover they do. By far one of the best Cro-Mags covers ever.
Another interesting point to bring up is how Wes has one arm! I'm not talking Rick Allen one arm, but he's missing like a quarter of his arm, mid forearm to hand is gone. Long gone. I have no idea why to be honest, but it didn't stop him from going completely nuts live. 

Full discog here
On a side note, Warwounds(Fuck America) is a fabulous blog with tons and tons of hardcore discographies. You're missing out on some history if you don't read that site.

Fuck Electrons, Protons Are Posi!

 I've already posted their split with The Waste, so here's Crucial Unit's first 7". 
"Premium Iced Tea" starts off with shrieking, wailed, frantic vocals over sick thrash-punk-core. Blast beats and circle pit inducing drums with funny and well written lyrics. Crucial Unit is sort of like crossover and sort of like thrash metal and sort of like fastcore. This style is very much a product of their geographical environment. The Bay Area, Oxnard, LA, Hunington Beach, etc. all have sounds very much regional depending on local culture, economy and the other stuff that makes punx angry. The first song presented is one with old school hardcore mentality, writing a song with the band name in the chorus. Most good hardcore bands end up doing this for some reason.The Unit also uses another hardcore staple that Spazz likes to point out, the use of  "GO!".
The band has all their material available on their website, which is fucking awesome, and DIY and punk and more cool then most bands that aren't Cellgraft. You see all kinds of bands with songs to stream on Myspace, Facebook, Bandcamp and all that cool shit but not many straight up give all their material away. This kind of promotion only gives me desire to actually purchase their albums. "Premium Iced Tea" has an awesome cover for example. Besides the metal text denoting the band name and the required speed to play the 7" it appears to be exactly what the record title tells you it is. Punks being clever? Never happens, certainly not now.

Baby. I don't wanna make out, I just wanna CIRCLE PIT!

Reproach Vol. 666

So if you're unfamiliar with this band, you need another serious lesson music history. This 7" came out way back before I was born, in 1982 and is a preamble to all the bands you love today. Dropdead (their biggest non-Siege influence), Knife Fight, Spazz, Haymaker, Chokehold, XBrainiax etc. Shit NA and the Misfits influenced each other immensely. These guys are one of those super proto bands that you don't even realize the number of bands they influenced. Brannon gave hardcore it's demeanor for Merlin's sake. Bald. ANGRY. Insightful. Powerful. Jamey Jasta ain't got shit on John Brannon. He even uses a lot of tough man talking instead of a yell or scream to get his point across in another fashion instead of just blitzkrieg.
Negative Approach is equal parts Blitz, Sham 69, Black Flag and Misfits. One could cite DC band also, but I hear it less than the Necros or Meatmen. Negative Approach fits the aesthetics(music and lyrics) of the aforementioned bands and not the latter. One could argue this, but why would they? Regional hardcore sounds different for a reason. Besides all the comparisons one uses these guys play fucking fast, pissed hardcore with usual one minute run times. There are some grinding examples("Pressure", "Chaos"(not on this 7")) and some bad examples("Nothing"). And in all honesty "Nothing" is the only song I never listen to as it's the last one on side A right before you flip it and crank up "Fair Warning". This rager starts ripping with the rambunctious jam "Can't Tell No One" which is a fucking anthem. Try to not pile on everyone in sight grabbing the mic. "CAN'T TELL NO ONE! WHAT TO DO! CAN'T TELL NO ONE. WHAT TO DOOOOOOO!!!!!" From the first riff you just want to fly off the hook and circle pit like a mother fucker if you're not singing along. Or do both! "Sick of Talk" has an americanized d-beat rhythm section. "Why Be Something That You're Not" is mostly sick mosh riffs. Try not to mosh if a band ever covers it. I dare you. "Lead Song" is another anthem full of gang vocals and sing alongs. Much more punk then hardcore on this song. "Negative Approach" and "Whatever I Do" are two more anthems with fucktons of singing along. The energy in the last two minutes of this record rivals most full-lengths.
Once again the lyrics here are great. They're simple, emotive, to the point and easily singable. I love the things they had to say. Even at 25 the words of a 19 year old ring more true to me then Dostoyevsky ever could. Sorry Andrew. Well, every song but "Nothing". But really, nine out of ten is perfect for a 7".

"I can't take this,
PRESSURE, PRESSURE, PRESSURE, PRESSURE!"
Too many things are too extreme
There's too much shit, too many schemes
It never makes sense, it's just a hype
Forget about it, live your own life

PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE
PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE!

March Thrash Madness!

 With lots of thrashing happening here, I might as well keep it up. I'm exclaiming this to be March Thrash Madness! I'll try to do only thrash and crossover all of March. I even had this INSANE inclination to wait until March Madness hits and taking the final (x) teams and posting bands from their corresponding states. We'll see how lazy I get and how many drugs I can do first. Haha. But onto the music!
 Here's a sweet split from Municipal Waste and Crucial Unit. Municipal Waste you should be quite familiar with since Dave Witte has played drums with them for a few years and Municipal Waste were fore bearers of that "modern thrash revival" we had. Thrash never died, it just went back underground. Regardless, they're a super D.R.I. influenced crossover style thrash band. That's a good pick up reference, but I hear a lot of hardcore influences on here. A couple of breakdowns even. Not slams, this isn't death metal.  Fast, sloppy drum fills. Fast talk/yelled lyrics. Fast punx guitar parts. These guys are the line between fastcore and crossover. A few more BPMs and they cross that line. The newer material is longer and much more thrash-tastic. I prefer the shorter crossover songs on their early material a la this split 7". I really love the samples they use as well. Some people aren't too keen on them, and they're missing out. Really adds to the atmosphere for this band.  "Born To Party" also appears on the "Art of Partying" LP in a varied form with lots and lots of gang vocals. I also want to note the sweet band Poser Disposer got their name from MW. Cheers.
 Crucial Unit play short, fast thrash. Straight up. Their singer should maybe be in a power violence band, but it's interesting over the thrash. One thing making them interesting is the Macabre influence. It's much more prevalent here then on the "Moshzilla" 7". I just don't hear enough Macabre in sweet bands. The other non-Macabre aspects of their music are fucking fast and chaotic hardcore punk thrash. Crucial Unit like Municipal Waste have fun lyrics but some of their tongue-in-cheekery is done with political motivations. I love this lyrical style because it doesn't get boring. It's like those lines you quote in movies over and over before your band samples them.


"It's circular. Round. Circular. Circle. With the music. The flow."

God Is Fake, Wrestling Is Real

Here's a fucking amazing hardcore band from Cleveland that ISN'T a Holy Terror band. It's mother fucking Gordon Solie Motherfuckers!. These guys are the much better version of the Ultimate Warriors. While UW play power violence with wrestling as their gimmick, GSMF just play awesome fast hardcore. They have ex-members of 9 Shocks Terror and Face Value among others. Tony Erba is obviously the famous guy here. Affiliated with Victory Records scandals, Integrity worship and even featured by other bands, like Charles Bronson. They're also infamous for ridiculously insane live shows known to feature many things that are not bodies flying through the air. I never got to see them live(even though they're doing a re-union show in Clevo soon, sad face) but it's legendary. They like the other great bands from the city of porn and rust they're banned from lots of clubs, have shut down shows and entire festivals and have been escorted by police multiple times.
But how do they sound?"Power Bomb Anthems Vol.1" is fast, shreddy, high energy hardcore with comedic edge and lots of gang vocals. All songs have prevalent bass riffing and popping snare rolls alongside the vocals and guitars. Mosh filled Lo-fi hardcore for the win.There's a Warzone spook on "Ghost Cry of Betray". You'll lol. There's also some OH lingo in "Parma Uber Alles" that most of you won't get, but I find it hilarious. There's a Johnny Moped cover on here too, "No One". But fucking Merlin damn it that song sucks. I hate the original and the cover. Why would they do that to us?
The lyrical matter is top notch of course, and about several subjects of interest. My obvious favourite lyrics being in "Tears of A Clone" and "Bought & Sold". Partially for ripping on Paint It Black and Jello Biafra. No one is safe from chair shots to the head! Erba spits his words sounding sort of like Mike Ski as a reference, but way more awesome. No offense Mike. Erba is just pissed while you're not.

Three chords in a cloud of dust, three chords in cloud of dust, three chords in a cloud of dust! In DIY I fucking trust!

My Love, My Way

The album "Witness" is one of the best hardcore(et al sub-genre associated) records of the 2000's. It's been incredibly acclaimed by everyone under the sun. Someone said it's the "greatest hardcore album of our generation". Think about that. This is my "Damaged" or "Out of Step" or "Dag Nasty" or "Petitioning the Empty Sky". Here's some other quotes from the Wiki of this album:
"Witness breaks boundaries and surpasses dreams hardcore has not even had yet. It is eloquent and beautiful in every way. You will get choked up the first time you hear it."
Reviewers for Punknews.org were the most blunt with their praise, simply stating that "if every album could be like Witness, then maybe music wouldn’t suck as bad is it does right now."
This album is that good. I don't give a fuck if you don't like hardcore, especially more mid-paced, dissonant, expressive and passionate hardcore. Everyone in the band plays incredibly well and once again lyrics reign supreme. Jeffrey Eaton blow Darby Crash out of the water when it comes to poetic lyrics. This guy knows what you're feeling deep down whether you know it or not. Every second I listen to this CD I feel like I'm fifteen at my first shit hole bar or basement show with a bunch of sweaty people screaming every word they can as loud as they can until they go hoarse. I can see the band playing, their singer amping the crowd, sharing the mic, diving. Kids everywhere are climbing on top of each other to get on the stage, stage diving, finger pointing. Tears start streaming down our faces because we all feel the same thing. We have collective empathy. The words pour out like they were our own and everyone lets go of everything inside.
Every time I hear this CD, that's how I feel. It all comes rushing back and gives me goosebumps.
All the albums I mentioned are starting points, I especially feel Dag Nasty is a big one. Jacob Bannon is a great lyricist to compare Jeffery Eaton to but the bands don't find much resemblance beyond that. They do however share another relationship, this record being put out on Deathwish Inc. and Jacob Bannon doing the artwork and layout. Kurt Ballou also recorded this at his Godcity Studio in surprise, Massachusetts. Figures. Even the best bands have to go through MA.
My favourite songs are "Martin Atchet", "D.E.AD. R.A.M.O.N.E.S", "Young Man On A Spree" and "Hair-Raising Accounts of Restless Ghosts (AKA Hell is for Heroes, Part 2)". It's so hard to pick a favourite of those. There really is none since their all such solid song. "D.E.A.D R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is a anthem that demands pile-ons and sing-alongs and finger pointing.

When you're 16 you don't know what forever means.
When you are 23 you couldn't be more sorry to say.
That after all this growing up together all the good has gone away.
Sometimes the boys that should be yours best friends become strangers with familiar faces.

Ello, my name's Bruce.

It's not summer yet but it's time for some kind of pick me up from the cold weather. Shark Attack will easily pump you up into circle pits to get the heat kicking.
These guys are from PA and keep up that area's tradition for raging hardcore. These guys are way more old school then a lot of popular bands from that area. Those other bands are way more metallic and less punk(Earth Crisis, xDisciplex A.D., Brother's Keeper, etc.) Shark Attack have a huge youth crew sound with slightly less positive lyrics. And their singer is fucking pissed. Big surprise there, right? But musically think Youth of Today, Antidote, Negative Approach, Chain of Strength, fast Cro-Mags, Bad Brains. Just good, fast hardcore. An older version of Ceremony is a good reference point. I mean, if Ceremony listened to less Black Flag and only played fast.
Includes a really awesome Antidote cover, though the lyrics are "questionable". I don't really agree with that statement as I don't find this song overtly xenophobic or racist. This is art and about freedom of expression. I don't support overt racism but I will support someone's right to say what they feel.

We're shark attack we're on the attack and we're in your fucking face. WE'RE IN YOU'RE FUCKING FACE!

Scared of Naked People, Not a Post About Weekend Nachos

Ceremony is from California, like a lot of good hardcore bands. Their hardcore is a little more structured and old school feeling on this EP however. This mama jama came out all the way back in 2003 and set them full steam ahead to record with Bridge 9.
There's an alternation in songs. Slow, building, brooding tracks with the strain and tension of Black Flag then a fast d-beat ripper tearing your face for a minute like Discharge. You get three of each, opening with the slow builder. You also get a Negative FX cover which makes sense. Ceremony sounds like the perfect blend of Black Flag, Negative FX and Motorhead and Discharge. One thing to note is how prominent the bass is in the production.
Ceremony has some newer material I haven't really heard any of. I did hear one or two songs off their second full-length and they rip. It's called "Still Nothing Moves You", great title by the way. They put out a LP called "Ronhert Park" last year as well, but I've heard nothing from it. It's apparently named after the city the band resides in.

"Maybe I'll feel like a man, when I do what they tell me to."

Almost Focused

Bones Brigade is a ripping fast hardcore band from Boston, Mass that plays songs about skateboarding, hanging with friends(and all that entails), skating, video games, quandries of life, skateboarding, the scene and what goes with it, skating and getting wasted. My favourite track from their S/T EP is opener "Never Meant Much". It's three minutes long, but still rips and shreds the whole time, much like the shorter songs following it on the EP. Bones Brigade plays fast skate influenced hardcore. The only thing I want to do during the EP is circle pit. Quite fast. It's all circle pitting drums, shredding guitars a la Black Flag and tons of sing alongs parts. This is all very conducive to stage diving and head walking. I would totally love to see these guys live because of all the ridiculous energy they'd put into the crowd for use. The amount of fun had would have to be illegal. I have to warn you there is some melody in the guitar, but it's forgivable for the rest of positives this band has going for them.
I also have their "Focused" 12" LP on Coalition Records(from 2004). It's gray marbled vinyl and contains fourteen more raging tunes from these dudes. Songs are much the same with a slightly longer average run time then the EP. This is one reason EPs, 5-10" and splits are such a good idea. A large portion of a band's fan base prefers less songs with most being of very high quality so they always come back wanting more. Is "World Extermination" a great listen front to back? Yes of course! Are all the individual 7"s comprising it more enjoyable listening experiences individually? Ninety eight percent of the time yes.
They also have at least two more CDs and another LP. One CD is a comp of 7" songs and demos, one is a repress of their 10" and they have a debut full length LP as well.




"There are few certainties in life. You see people losing their jobs, you see people losing their money, and you see very little stability. But, some things never change. Ninjas are awesome and hardcore played at light speed rules."-Bones Brigade

From Soft to Hard

It's getting super shitty outside right now in Lawrence, KS. The amount of snow falling and that's expected to fall is just like it was when I lived in OH, except back there it's like this much more frequently. It's only like the third time since the onset of winter it's snowed like this. It's also really shitty like this the further north you get, like Cleveland.
Shitty weather of course calls for specific types of music to cope with. Copious snow is best dealt with black metal(Krallice) or stupid fast, blasting hardcore. The XBrainiax "Disgrace to the Corpse of Eric Wood" 7" is perfect for this. The fastly yelled lyrics of vehemence at ignorant republicans, shit head scenesters,crusties and non-straight edge "substance abusers" thrown against sick power-violence/fastcore is more than enough to power one through inches of snow on foot. And you really can't help but to love the songs with silly lyrics and concepts. I mean their demo was called "Light Speed Demo" and the band have used a heavy Star Wars motif since the beginning. Their take on the skull around the band name is by far my favourite because it's fucking Chewbacca. You get thirty one songs in about ten minutes. 31 songs is a shit load for a seven inch, so it's totally worth it. Stand out tracks for me are "Jaded, Twisted, And Evil", "Trekkie Killer", "Actually, Freedom Is Free", "Mos Eisley", "Young Republicans Fuck Off", "My Way" and "Lenny Kravitz Is His Answer". There's even a No Comment cover(more like Slow Comment HAHA)that ends with some sweet groove XBrainiax uses in multiple songs.

"Cry me a river, emo Spock!"

Top Ten of 10'

So instead of pretending I know what the best albums of last year were I'm just listing the records I listened to the most at home and at work/in transit. The first list is a concise list of ten full length CDs, EPs and 7"s I listened to eternally on my iPod. Each one got well over four hundred plays. The second is a hand picked list of 12" LPs and 7"s I blasted at home when my ex-roommate wasn't around and when the neighbors baby wouldn't shut the fuck up. There are some trends to note, for instance things I have on both formats I still listen to excessively. I spent way too much time last year listening to Krallice. Hours and hours. I also sorted some bands with multiple albums together because choosing is for gays and this is my list.
324-3 Way Split, Across Black Wings
No surprise here, one of my favourite bands with two solid releases to keep grinding to. Get into it.
Hummingbird of Dead/-Chainsaw to the Face split 10", HoD side only
Six songs in eight minutes. Intro, shredding, blast beats, Koro cover. What more do you want?
Insect Warfare-Endless Execution 7"
Speaks for itself.
Le Scrawl-Eager to Please
Grindska? Skagrind? Jazzgrind? Grindjazz? I mean, what the fuck. It's catchy, makes me want to dance and is full of metal.
Weekend Nachos-Punish & Destroy EP
Stupid fucking power-violence from the grain belt of america. No wonder this shit rips.
Implosive Disgorgance-Chapters EP
Five songs of death influenced grind. Has sludge parts, has songs about cannabis, all songs are short and fast. What more do you want? Oh, these kids were 17 when they recorded this. Fuck. Later went on to Maruta. What?
Krallice-S/T LP
Amazing epic black metal. Sweeping, fast, kvlt. Long mohawks, shredding metal.
Black Sabbath-Vol.4/Masters of Reality
I don't need to explain this.
Wormrot-Abuse
Southeast Asian grind. It's fun. It's DIY. Fucking get into it. New LP this year.
Cellgraft-S/T
Even though this is digital only and they have a newer full-length I love this album. Assuck, Napalm Death, Insect Warfare worship. These guys do it right. Like Wormrot.


Negative Approach 7"
Old school hardcore. Influenced everything you listen to.
Weak Minds s/t 7"
Bass heavy power-violence from TX. Has touring bassist from Insect Warfare.
In Defence/Motherspeed split 7"
In Defence is from Chicago and plays tough guy style hardcore with less chug and shorter songs. Love the lyrics on this. Fave is "In80'sdancepartays". Motherspeed is a hyperactive hardcore band from California. Fuck the fourth song, it's a take on Rage Against the Machine. Faves are "Boy And His Blob" and especially "Dudeside Assistance". All songs have rad lyrics, and the cover and general layout all rule FYI.
Misfits Bullet 7"
The song "Bullet" is a great precursor to modern aggressive music, no way around it. These guys have tons of song like that, but it's the only record I own, and "Earth A.D." only half counts. Well not really, but I have it on tape, so you know.
International Fight/Blast Comp. 7", Side B only
Has songs from tons of awesome grind bands on this side. Yacopsae, In Disgust, Nashgul, Insect Warfare, Matka Thersea.
HoD Show Us the Meaning of Haste LP and split 10" with Chainsaw to the Face, HoD side only
See above.
Krallice s/t and Dimensional Bleedthrough
See above
Nashgul-El Dia Despues Al Fin De La Humanidad
Awesome grind from Spain. Influenced by Napalm Death, Repulsion, awesome 80's movies, Repulsion, punk rock and Repulsion. The LP has a Repulsion cover, no surprise. The album artwork is really sick and done by their bass player Ivan . The record is a sick transparent splatter blue. It's such a beautiful package. Comes with Metal-Punk Division poster.
Hatebreed-Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire
Yes it's on Victory Records, yes they rip off Slayer and yes they inspired hundreds of horrible bands. But this is still a fucking good hardcore record. Circle pits, mosh parts, sing alongs. Dig it or not, I don't fucking care.
Black Sabbath-"Masters of Reality"/"Vol. 4"
Once again no intro needed. Just ripping metal of high quality. The best actually.

I also realize this post is "late". But fuck it.

Crippler Crossover

So before me or anyone else talks about any of these bands anymore: Crucial Unit, Municipal Waste, Hummingbird of Death, Kill Your Idols, Slayer, Leeway, Suicidal Tendencies, North Side Kings, or Capitalist Casualties, we need to talk about D.R.I.
Ultra old school, ultra fast, ultra D.I.Y. hardcore from Texass. The Dirty Rotten Imbeciles are one of the few bands to write the rules for crossover, thrash, hardcore, and fastcore. And probably indirectly for grind and powerviolence too. On this LP (The Dirty Rotten LP) they blow through 27 in less than an equal amount of time. Almost always keeping it interesting mixing in slower parts ("I Want More", "Violent Pacification", "The Explorer") with just rad fast hardcore. The drums are fast circle pit beats side by side with loud talking vocals. Not much yelling or screaming, just loud fast talking and some regular fast talking and a little normal talking, all discussing lyrics of various subject matter. Serious, fun and overall important things are discussed. Their guitar player shows nods to his favorite bands with Discharge ("Dennis' Problem"), and the staple DC and OC bands ("Closet Punk", "Commuter Man" etc.). These influences are good to have though since it keeps the ideas new and flowing but only in the circular constraints of awesomeness. Sort of like a circle pit. Album highlights for me are "Money Stinks", "Couch Slouch (The Crucial Take)", "I Don't Need Society", and "Snap". I can't explain that last one, that's just how it is.

"Money stinks, money stinks. Yeah it stinks."