REMAINDER

This demo grabbed me the second it started....when people use the dreaded term "melodic hardcore," this is what I always want it to mean. It rarely does, but when it does.......damn. Heartfelt and high energy hardcore is hard to pull off without coming off corny, but Las Vegas punks REMAINDER are tough as nails through the strained anthemic vocals and the guitar leads (I mean the solos and those GORILLA BISCUITS harmonies), and there's not a hint of insincerity as this criminally short demo sinks into your skin. 

REMAINDER

MOON BLOOD

Yesssssss punk. Get ready. Tighten your shoe(boot)laces, because you are about to go fukkn wild. Straight for the throat feminist pogo hardcore mania from Las Vegas with vocals that'll make you rip your heart out and die for punk. This is what the shit is about, motherfukkrs, I want more and more and more. Fast, raw, serious fukkn punk. 

CRAMP

SPITTING IMAGE

All the bands who want to draw from '90s grunge and college rock need to listen to this. And all the bands who want to play dreary and boring goth punk but can't seem to remember how to make bleak music sound punk need to listen to this. And the people who just generally want an example of how to positively use effects pedals for guitars are welcome to give this a spin as well. Reno, you're doing a good job right now.

ICON ALIVE

RAD TIMES

Not exactly sure why this one strikes a chord with my ears, because this kind of raspy and casually melodic punk typically doesn't float my boat. It might be the manic venom from the vocals, or perhaps a certain je ne sais quoi that reminds me of '90s Mission punk created and captured on 4-track cassette recorders in the wee hours of the morning? Either way, Reno's RAD TIMES sound exactly like their name, and tracks like "You'll See" and "Don't Care" are shameless ass shakers. This is sweaty basement in the middle of summer, an afternoon at the lake with your friends, it's revolutionary in its wholesome honesty...RAD TIMES indeed.

RAD TIMES

7 SECONDS

I make no secret of my affinity for this band, and I'm not even remotely ashamed to say that I can still sing along to most of Soulforce Revolution (though revisiting that record after a decade or so has made me stop asserting that it is a great record - it does hold a special place for me but it's really not that good). Based on notes hand scrawled by an unknown punk from the past, these tracks are demos that predate 1986's New Wind, but I ain't gonna lie and say I'm some expert - these are stripped down (punker?) versions of some killer tunes. I put this period of 7 SECONDS more in line with '90s "personal is political" hardcore than with testosterone fueled '80s USHC, and perhaps that's why this the band resonates with me, even the "bad" records. And for what it's worth, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? blatantly lifted the first riff of the title track (fifth tune on this demo), though I still contend that it was an accident and we didn't realize until it was too late.

7 SECONDS

THE HORDE OF TORMENT

Absolutely killer thrash metal circa '89. These tracks were recorded around the same time the band moved to San Francisco to dive into the then thriving scene packed with bands like VIO-LENCE, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN and the like. THE HORDE OF TORMENT changed their name from PESTILENCE after one of several other PESTILENCEs got a record deal, and cranked out a few more demos almost as good as this one before they fizzled along with the Bay Area thrash scene. This demo was put to wax a few years later (on a 12"  backed with three more bangers that are almost as good as these and one certified scorcher called "Liquidation"), and one dude later joined MACHINE HEAD, for whatever that's worth.

PRODUCT OF A SICK MIND

Interview with two of the dudes here, conducted by a total thrashaholic who clearly has zero patience for aging metal dudes dismissing their speed metal past in favor of broadening their artistic horizons. His commentary at the end of the interview is superb. 

7 SECONDS

If 7 SECONDS had toured the US as relentlessly as BLACK FLAG, then the face of punk and hardcore in this country would be much more attractive. Please discuss.

3 CHORD POLITICS DEMO (1982)

THE INDOORS

Two demos today, both from Reno's THE INDOORS. Old//Older is an excellent foray into dark and serious punk packed with reverb and intrigue - all presented with a raw intensity. But that's just a teaser for 2012's self titled four song banger, absolutely brilliant moody songs shrouded in mystery. These tapes were sent in by F.O.T.E. a few months back and sadly I didn't get around to listening to them for weeks...my personal over extension in this case sadly results in you lovely people having to get through life for a few extra weeks without these songs in your life. Somehow you made it, but after hearing "People Aren't Strange" for the first time you will honestly wonder how you pulled it off.

THE INDOORS

VARIOUS STUFF 87

I've put this one aside several times in the past, not because it is somehow lacking, but it's more a collection of various recordings than a mix tape or a comp. But Saturday night at the LIGHT BRIGADE show I was talking to Mike about my one of my favorite punk songs (I named the band, he immediately recited the lyrics, justifying our friendship even further) and that song is sitting right at the front end of this tape in raw demo form, so I figured it was some kind of a sign. And so here we have two tracks from EMBRACE, a few jams from HELLBASTARD's Ripper Crust demo, that horrible cover tune that OFFENDERS never should have released, plus tracks from ASEXUALS sophomore release Be What You Want (1: While the first record is fukkn flawless, I purged this one long ago but these tracks are stellar...a change in taste or was I just not paying attention? 2: "Contra Rebels" is a pro-US military intervention track, an oddity in 1980s punk even if they were from Canada). Australia's VICIOUS CIRCLE from the 1985 split with PERDITION dish out a few rippers, and the tape closes with a poignant and irreverent 1986 live recording from DANBERT NOBACON of CHUMBAWAMBA (singing about Rupert Murdoch 25 years ago, no less). There are demo tracks that pre-date 7 SECONDS' 1986 LP New Wind (the one that most people say is when they started to suck, but I still contend that they were crucial up to and including the release of Soulforce Revolution, an unpopular opinion to say the least...but don't even get me started on how I think they are better than BLACK FLAG), and the tape starts with six demo tracks from the band that got me to upload the whole damn thing, GRAY MATTER. If this was someone's version of a punk primer kit, then they did a stellar job.

VARIOUS STUFF '87

killing confusion by killing options // burning our bridges to stay warm

CAUSTIC UPROAR PART II

Abrasive and relentless garage hardcore. I cannot think of a tape I have heard that is less concerned with being cool, which makes it infinitely cooler than all of the cool tapes you'll never hear because they were pressed in quantities that barely hit double digits so they can remain mysterious and seem desirable. Twelve songs here, and the tape still just manages to scratch the 10 minute mark - great fukkn songs delivered honestly.

CAUSTIC UPROAR PART II

IRON LUNG

The IRON LUNG Comedy Hour was recorded in late 2001 at Burnt Ramen Studios in Richmond, California. It was one of the funniest live shows I have ever seen, and most everyone who was in attendance would surely agree. Between bursts of their now trademark brand of powerviolence, Jensen and Jon were on fukkn fire, ripping into the crowd and themselves with surgical precision. They were awesome, and it seemed like a logical and brilliant idea when Enterruption decided to release the recording on cassette. Even in their infancy, IRON LUNG were one of the most devastating live bands going (a legacy that they have solidified over the last decade), and The Iron Lung Comedy Hour Live features several tunes that haven't appeared in their live sets for years. Of course, a lot of the comedy has a certain "you had to be there quality" to it, but the "Water - the building block of life" bit holds up nicely to last year's "Vote Black!" from the Supersonic live LP. 

For the purposes of your entertainment, I have separated the tracks so you can either hear the entire set, or just listen to the wit and wisdom of these two modern day wordsmiths. It's not ego that drives them...it's confidence.

IRON LUNG Comedy Hour 

(actually only 19 minutes long)

IRON LUNG Comedy Hour

(music free, pure comedy version)

(the tape comes with stickers...you just get pictures of stickers)