HELLTRAIN

On the 2009 MALACHI European tour we rolled up to a frigid show in Stuttgart (it was January, every show was frigid) to find that we were the only band on the bill....and we were early. When you have time to kill and an empty room to use...things happen. Marek (INSUICIETY, MÖNSTER, many more) was on tour with us, and that fool hits the drums real good, so we started a band with him on drums, me on bass and John and Dathan playing guitar. No vocals...we figured that we would just figure that part out at the last minute. The "last minute" turned into drafting a stranger who wandered in from the bar as we were using our soundcheck time to create our new band. Dude ran through it once and then it was showtime. Four songs, probably not more than eight riffs total, and I bet at least three of them are just open E. We named the band HELVETE-something-or-other, that I remembered translating to "HELLTRAIN," but it was a long time ago and the beginning of the tape is tough to make out. Six minutes total, including in intermission that was apparently us just hanging out on the stage as if there was no one in the room. Interested labels get in touch.

Formerly Known As: BEWARE OF THE DOGS

John and I did the same thing with a different drummer/roadie at an ill-attended ARTIMUS PYLE gig in Cesena, Italy in 2003. Would love a copy of that set, because Jensen was a mean ass front man..

HINGE

Karoline and I just had a discussion about the HICKEY/FUCKFACE show she booked in Milwaukee in '96...I have always thought that HINGE was one of the locals on that show, she thinks that they had probably split up by then, but we both agree that we spent most of the show making out in the front seat of a double parked brown Ford on Oakland Avenue, so the memories are good ones either way. I have had a different HUNGE recording floating around since that era, but I snagged this one from Daniel when he was purging a couple of summers ago, and it's way better than the one I've been listening to. Four tracks of impassioned basement DIY with a heavy DC influence and killer swarms of guitars. I've said it countless times in these pages, but I miss bands having the freedom to write like this without instant access to every subgenre at their fingertips...I miss songs like "How The West Was Won" popping onto tapes and steering your listening in an entirely different direction. So whether I saw HINGE or not, I'm glad to have the sounds. And if, in fact, didn't see them? Well, it was a really good make out session, so no regrets.

HINGE

STRAIGHT FORWARD

For some people, I will just be able to say "emotional '90s hardcore from the Midwest," and they will know exactly what I'm talking about. How you explain SMASHING PUMPKINS and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE seeping into a DIY punk band's sound is a little tougher...I mean, that shit happened all the time. But tracks like "One Sided" are legit time capsules, and "Mushy Foundation" sounds so much like someone from that era that I can't put my finger on even after listening  to the song five times in a row and it's killing me. STRAIGHT FORWARD were from the suburbs of Milwaukee, and I can't give you any background at all....though clearly they made me think about my own.

STRAIGHT FORWARD

HERDS

The only thing I didn't like about seeing HERDS live was Jon's guitar sound. It was fukkd, tinny, piercing but with no definition...and of course, that guitar is what puts this band's demo over the edge. Ripping '00s US hardcore with a blown to smithereens buzzsaw ripped straight out of Japanese noise punk. "Antlers" is the banger, the dichotomy between that guitar and Dave's rumbling bass is more apparent here than just about anywhere else and it swings like a motherfukkr, while "Fading" is a perfect whirlwind of Y2K fastcore dished out by people who should know pretty well how to handle the genre (members of CHARLES BRONSON, KUNG FU RICK and THREATENER here, among countless others). There are a few vinyl slabs kicking around, but of course I deal in tapes...this one is from 2008.

HERDS

EXCAVACATIONS // BLACK EAGLE CHILD

Sometimes, the discount experimental section at your local record store can be your friend. Two separate doses of layered ambiance from Portland's EXCAVACATIONS and Milwaukee's BLACK EAGLE CHILD. Both acts compliment each other well....EXCAVACATIONS have an calm but eerie ambiance not dissimilar from some SIGUR RÓS stuff, while BLACK EAGLE CHILD offer a campfire comfort that I'm not ashamed to say I quite enjoyed. An excellent way to end the day, and $2 well spent.

EXCAVACATIONS // BLACK EAGLE CHILD

BORED STRAIGHT

BORED STRAIGHT started just before I left Milwaukee, and I only got to see them a couple of times in their infancy - they were good, but it's obvious listening to these final four bangers that I left town before they really hit their stride. Sure, they play hardcore influenced by the '00s bands they grew up on (and the '80s bands that those bands grew up on), but these kids absolutely bring something new to the table without trying to reinvent anything. It's a part of living just enough off the map to be allowed to go about things as you like - punks in Milwaukee aren't going to nitpick your sound. If you want to take start/stop fastcore with manic riffing and inject the misanthropic weirdness of JESUS LIZARD then the kids in the basement are still gonna get wasted and throw beer everywhere while you play...and the dozen or so people who are actually studying are going to quietly nod their approval. The only thing wrong with this tape is that there are only four songs, roughly six minutes that send the band off on the highest note possible. The aptly titled Final Session comes with a review written by a friend of the band, a review that pretty much nails the sound and serves as an epilogue at the same time: BORED STRAIGHT is an underdog, which is a concept that I think a lot of people understand, but never really gets talked about...they get to play with bands that are hyped or popular and are probably never the band that anyone goes to the show to see. Maybe if they had been from somewhere cool, more people would have paid attention. Then again, maybe if they had been from somewhere cool, they wouldn't have been this good.

FINAL SESSION

I GIVE UP

Early '90s sounding DIY hardcore straight out of early '00s Milwaukee. I GIVE UP perfectly capture the determined churn, the discordant guitars, the lurching tempos, the general cacophony and the vocals....three dudes just spewing their guts and you know they mean it. I like when you can just tell, when it sounds desperate, when it sounds like they are just about to....well, just about to give up. The samples and bits between tracks (mostly culled from banter off of rehearsal tapes) are a touch goofy at times, but they add a welcome touch of unpredictability to a demo that already sounds like nothing else. I only saw the band once, and I remember them sticking out and confusing people...I'm guessing that happened a lot.

THE NAME SAYS IT ALL

FAILED MUTATION

I saw a few bands this summer. If you told me to make a list of the best five, then Milwaukee's FAILED MUTATION would be on that list. If you told me to make a list of the best three, then FAILED MUTATION would be on that list too. I could tell you some of the other bands that these kids are (and have been) in, but do you really need me to do that? You shouldn't. I'm not gonna lie and say that the demo kick my ass as hard as seeing them live, but band should be better live than recorded...right? This is Midwestern US hardcore punk.

FAILED MUTATION

SHUT IN

SHUT IN is disgusting. And really really pissed. Bombastic hardcore/crust at the very end of its rope - the low end is crushing, but the vocals are simply terrifying. There are blasts, there are devastating breakdowns (sometimes the two fall into each other with jaw dropping results) and everything is filthy. This is what it sounds like when you have had enough.

FEAR/BLOOD

Members of PROTESTANT, ABADDON, MALACHI, PARTY BY THE SLICE, NO BRAINER, ARCHITECTS OF THE AFTERMATH and others, in case you are keeping track or need extra incentive...

BRET SCHNEIDER

Almost a full hour of mesmerizing (a polite way of saying "dizzying") sound manipulations. Taking found sounds and field recordings and reincarnating them is itself an art form, but on Model Of A Garden Scene..., Schneider has successfully digitally altered aural DNA to create an entirely new being. I find myself just staring at the speakers, not sure if I am more fascinated by what I've just heard or excited to hear what comes next. This defies categorization, but I would sooner file it amongst "art" than "noise," as these collages are every bit as enthralling as those put to canvas.

MODEL OF A GARDEN SCENE WITH WATERING CAN

Physical copies still available from Avant Archive

LIFES

More tapes from bands made up of people I have played in bands with. This two-piece from Milwaukee features the drummer from CONQUEST FOR DEATH (also PEOPLE AGAIN, THE LOVE MOVEMENT, PARTY BY THE SLICE and others) and the guitarist from HIGH ON CRIME (also SEVEN DAYS OF SAMSARA, PARTY BY THE SLICE, KUNG FU RICK, LUKE SKAWALKER and others) - and the result of their damage is every bit as monumental as you hope it will be. Uncompromising lyrically and musically, it should come as no surprise that two people responsible for such personal and poignant vitriol would also crank out breathless blown out blasts of hardcore. SWING KIDS and DEATHREAT covers along with the members' lineage will give you a pretty good idea of what you're in for here, but LIFES sound even angrier and more focused than you might expect from two happily married and relatively recent fathers...but that's how lifes goes I guess.

MMXIII