The Empire Crusts Back (part 3): Confrontation "1989" Ep, 1992

Growing old sometimes sucks. Well, I am not technically quite old enough - though Tik Tok would definitely disagree - to utter such pompous and peremptory statements and therefore may lack the necessary legitimacy and worrying back pains. But still, one observes, one witnesses and one is not a fool. As punks grow older, their record collection gets more and more important, threatening to make the living room's floor - and oftentime their marriage as well - crumble and collapse under its weight of vinyl, potentially crushing a charming gran living downstairs or, better, a twattish busybody who could not stop complaining whenever you play Chaos UK supposedly too loud. We've all heard horror stories of honest, ebay-abiding record collectors being squashed under a landslide of single-sided Japanese flexis, of granduncles being knocked out cold during a family reunion by a box of demo tapes that you had promised to take care of or of innocent pets being flattened by the limited edition of the Noise Not Music Discharge box (there are far worse deaths than this one actually). The exponential activity of collecting records can be hazardous physically but also mentally. 

 

Indeed, as records keep piling in their living room, old punks can become quite pedantic about some aspects of hardcore music (it is almost always about hardcore music), especially about the correct terminology of subgenres and about the inclusion or exclusion of specific bands in specific genres. Just ask on a message board roaming with officially recognized record nerds who the first real powerviolence band was and enjoy the ensuing verbal brawl and below-the-belt name-calling. Occasionally, physical violence can ensue - although it is quite rare as record collectors usually only resort to fighting to get first to merch tables - and combatants end up solving their personal issues in the octagon to assert their supremacy. As much as I would love to tell you that I am above such rivalries and epistemological disagreements, I must confess that I have already engaged in heated arguments about the archaeological position of Los Saicos in punk culture or the value of post-"New age" Blitz and while I haven't headbutted anyone because of my proverbial lack of basic bravery, also called being a wimp, there was a lot of finger-waving, scornful looks and offending accusations about being a middle-class poser and only getting into Blitz after I did. Oh well. I still think genres do matter and should be discussed and that precise descriptive names can be useful in order to reflect on histories, eras and areas. But instead of being bones of contention, arguments about genres should improve our appreciation and not limit it. Peace and love my friends. Which takes me to today's record: the 1989 Ep from Confrontation.

 

 

 

I have seen Confrontation being qualified as grindcore, as powerviolence, as crust - and even as modern hardcore but it was an honest mistake and the person was actually talking about the late 90's German band on that one so that the virtual tar and feather might not have been totally warranted and I probably should have refrained from sending anonymous threats to his house but I prefer to see this incident as a life lesson for the both of us. In actual fact, you would not be wrong indeed to qualify the band as grindcore, powerviolence or crust as each appellation makes sense for different reasons. Because of its dirty metallic groove and its blast beats the grindcore tag would fit Confrontation; but then 1989 having been originally released on Infest's label Draw Blank and because of the band's typical hardcore breaks and riffs you could say that powerviolence is not far off the picture either; and of course, because of the band's close connections to Glycine Max, Apocalypse or Mindrot - in a word the OC crust galaxy - and its raw and filthy punk production and emphatic cavemen vocals, claiming Confrontation were an old-school crust act is not irrelevant, and since we are on Terminal Sound Nuisance here, the Ep will be approached and tackled through a distinctively crust perspective, without discarding the other influences, because I am, after all, known, among other things, as The Magnanimous One. However, not being particularly well schooled in old-school grindcore - though I can hold my own to some extent - and being absolutely clueless about powerviolence - it always sounded too American to my delicate ears and I never really got the appeal, I will ask you to bear with potential inconsistencies. Now that the issue of terminology and nomenclature has been settled, we may proceed to the crux of the matter: my own record coll... I mean the band.

 

Confrontation was actually the first OC crust band I came across although at that time I had absolutely no idea that there had been a fabulous crust source over there and, apart from Resist and Exist, I don't think I was aware of other anarcho/crust bands from that area or aware that this area had its fair share of extreme bands. I was, as you might say, still green. Because finances were low and grim while enthusiasm was high and unquenchable, I was able to lay my hands on a second-hand copy of the Confrontation's discography cd after hearing the In Crust We Trust compilation that a gentle soul had found for me on soulseek, back when it took two days and a half to download an album. I did not enjoy In Crust We Trust as much as I thought I would to be fair. At that time, I was still in the process of discovery of crust and the title, which I now find cheesy as fuck, announced something spectacular and developmental. There were some good bands on that compilation, don't get me wrong, it had Disfear, No Security, Concrete Sox and Heresy, but if you look closely, there was not much proper crust and it was bit misleading really. In retrospect, I understand that it was just a sample of Lost & Found's catalogue and that the misleading title did not illustrate the content, much like The Best Crust Compilation in the World Ever! compilation whose hyperbolic irony was lost on me when I bought it, especially since, without really disappointing, there was, again, not much crust in it. But I did like the Confrontation songs - they are some of their best numbers - and seeing that Lost & Found also released a full cd of the band and that it was cheap, I did not fuck around and bought the copy online. I learnt later on that the not-so-virtuous label released this cd because they claimed that the band had received an advance payment for the recording of a full album which they never did since they broke up and the cd was a way to get some money back. Not really the classiest act on the part of a label that was famous for this kind of dodgy moves and it is no coincidence that the cd is listed as "unofficial" on Discogs. Just bad punk ethics.

 

 

 

I couldn't find many details about Confrontation's noisy career and I really wish some heroic old-timers from that time and place will one day write a book about the Californian 80's peacepunk/crust scene like Ian Glasper did for the British waves. A boy can dream. The band formed in Huntington Beach probably in late 1988 - the Ep was recorded in May, 1989, so that sounds plausible enough. I have seen a mention of that record being a demo Ep and it might have originally been some sort of demo tape that they decided to reissue as a proper Ep. Still it does not seem very likely as this practice was not widespread at the time, whereas releasing a demo again on a vinyl has become very commonplace these days. What's the point of engaging in an activity bound to saturate the already fragile punk records market especially since demos are readily available online and, well, they are demos, I hear you ask from afar? I ain't got clue guv. To get back to Confrontation, the band was from Huntington Beach and had Matt Fisher from Mindrot on vocals and future Dystopia bass player Todd on the bass. As my jaundiced speech indicated earlier, the band remained mostly associated with the mean and manically fast hardcore bands - the early powerviolence wave - and they shared some common ground with the groovy grindcore freaks that roamed this very part of California at the time. Just consider that powerviolence legends Infest were from Valencia, Crossed Out from Encinitas, No Comment from North Hollywood and the unique Man Is The Bastard from Claremont. All those hardcore acts lived in a 50 kilometers radius and therefore it is little surprising that the area, in punk's more or less unreliable collective memory, has often been closely connected with powerviolence. Similarly, just consider that grindcore legends Terrorizer - the grindcore equivalent of the 1992-era Ultimate Warrior - were from Huntington Park and Nausea from Los Angeles. The Infest connection is clearly the most relevant since 1989 was initially released on Infest's own label Draw Blanks Records - it was only DB's second release - although Confrontation sounded nothing like them so that's the grand network of friends in action for you. The version we are dealing however is not the original but the remastered one from 1992 that Misanthropic Records - the first output of Todd's label - took care of. 

 

There are eight songs on this Ep and let me tell you that Confrontation had little time to waste. The opening song "Deathtrap", my favourite number on the record, is a grinding crust masterpiece that reminds me of the early rawer Napalm Death, Electro Hippies and crust maniacs Mortal Terror. The first riff epitomized what old-school crust has always been supposed to sound like and Instinct of Survival on their split Ep with Guided Cradle had no reservation about borrowing it - to great effect I must say. After that groovy metallic crust introduction, Confrontation unleash their brand of fast and abrasive crusty hardcore with harsh cavecrust vocals. The rest of 1989 keeps maintains this high level of quality, navigating between snotty UK hardcore classics like the above-mentioned powerhouses, local OC crust heroes like A//Solution and Apocalypse and that contemporary brand of punishingly fast and violent US hardcore (some of the breaks undoubtedly fall in that category). In terms of production, and in spite of a second mastering work, the Ep sounds like raw and urgent early stenchgrind - the band included a five-second burst of referential noise called "Scum..." to wrap up the Ep, just to make sure the listeners understood where they were coming from - and can be said to be a typical and solid example of the sound of the area at that time. I love the cut'n'paste DIY look of the foldout bringing to mind the traditional early crust aesthetics and the band's logo depicting a roughly-drawn picture of a rather melancholy-looking crusty punk's shrunken head is wonderful and gets an A+ for me. The cover is undeniably more enigmatic as it is a picture of a prisoner-of-war or concentration or refugee camp with a dozen of miserable-looking men behind barbed wire. Pretty shocking and grim really. True realities of war. I do not know when this was taken or if it holds any relation to the year 1989 but judging from the prisoners' clothing I doubt it. I suppose the band's choice was meant to reflect the constant war mongering and disdain for basic human rights that defined the twentieth century and while I agree with the sentiment and the content, the visual form can be considered as awkward, or even, in 2021, as "problematic". From a very prosaic standpoint, it makes their shirt particularly hard to wear and I only sport if at grindcore gigs where I am confident the majority of the audience will be wearing far more shocking and distasteful shirts. Clever me.

 

The following Ep was released in 1991 - before 1989's remastered version - on Tribal War Records back when it was still located in New York City. Entitled Dead Against the War, it was the label's very first release (or was it actually the Warning Ep?). Confrontation pretty much kept on the same old-school grinding crusty hardcore tracks with new singer Ben, although they started to include heavy and suffocating doomy sludge part in the songwriting, adding a suffocating sense of atmospherics that will characterized what Dystopia would be known for a few years later. In fact, you could say Dead Against the War and the 1991 split Ep with Cantankerous (a band that had Matt from Mindrot on guitar) pretty sounded like a raw, unfiltered blend between between early Deformed Conscience, Concrete Sox and Embittered. Although I like 1989 better for its superior bollocking power and filthier blasting bum crust sound, the later material is also solid and thoroughly enjoyable and an interesting pre-Dystopia endeavour. After the demise of Confrontation and Cantankerous, Todd and Matt formed Dystopia along with Dino from Carcinogen (he actually provided some artwork and drew the liner notes on Dead Against the War) and Dan from Mindrot, a band that went on to write some of the most potent, original and influential punk music of the 90's. 

 

This write-up is dedicated to Matt, who sadly passed a year ago.        

 

 

 

Confront!       

Ace Compilations for Less Than a Fiver on Bloody Discogs (part 5): "Why Must We Die for Your Palate?" compilation Ep, 1999

This is the last cheap compilation Ep of the series and I do hope you all took notes. Whether you are looking for a last minute present for that annoyingly ungrateful nephew of yours, trying to reconstruct some sort of decent collection after you had to sell all your records for food and booze after the Covid pandemic or just intending to save some money for the upcoming baby but still have some punk credibility to show your 13 followers on social media, these five Ep's will work miracles. Tested and approved by the Guardians of Punk! Humanitarian mission! If you are a cheese-paring yet sharp busybody, you might be able to bargain your way into an even better deal and negotiate the five records for just £20, assuming you hassle the unwary merch person at a gig enough. Who knows, if you prove to be enough of a stingy bellend, he or she might let you leave with the whole record bin for free just to get rid of you. As young and inspiring successful business owners often say, there are no small victories and if it takes wearing down the poor fool stuck behind the table and thus unable to flee, then so be it. At least, it will be this less records to load back in the van for the band and they had been gathering dust in the distro since Clinton's second term anyway.

The last decade saw, from my eagle-like perspective anyway, a sharp decrease in compilations in general and physical compilation Ep's in particular. Many bands are not so keen on being part of a comp or a split record since it has become technically much easier, not to mention more rewarding, to have your own proper record. I personally greatly enjoy such compilations as they display acts of collaboration between bands and labels, of curation and of both intentional and unintentional representation of a certain time, place, friendship or common purpose. They are fascinating pieces of punk history and, for all the inevita

ble fillers, shit recordings and plain incongruous and yet still strangely relevant songs, they remain significant artifacts of our collective history and wonderful storytellers.

 

The last compilation will be Why Must We Die for Your Palate? released in 1999 on Dire/Action records. As you probably understand - unless you only stumbled on Terminal Sound Nuisance by chance, attracted by the smell of cheap, easily obtainable (sub)cultural products - and as the cover stressed openly, the purpose of this Ep was to expose the truth about animal exploitation and promote animal rights and welfare and encourage people to boycott the industry and go vegan. By 1999, this was certainly not something new. British anarchopunk bands had been fighting for animal liberation and meat-free lifestyle, supporting hunt sabbing and demonstrating and taking part in actions against animal experimentation since the early 80's with bands like Conflict, Exit-Stance, Active Minds or Riot/Clone being particularly vehement on the subject. The pro-animal stand quickly spread throughout the world and, under the influence of anarchopunk, the political hardcore scene in the U$A quickly developed a similar stance and commitment on those issues with numerous bands flying the animal rights banner, notably in the Californian peacepunk scene with bands like Resist and Exist, Atrocity or Iconoclast while in New York Nausea and Jesus Chrust were also spreading the gospel and let's not forget the highly influential Antischism. It feels a little redundant to point it out but vegan, animal rights-oriented punk bands have existed from the 90's on pretty much in every places where there is a punk who owns a Conflict patch (that's always the clue). 

 

Following the idealism of anarchopunk in the 80's especially about this topic, some bands took a contradictory stance and claimed that animal rights and songs about them were just a fashion to follow, a box to check, a part of preconstructed template in order to be seen as a righteous anarcho band instead of "free thinkers". Although such criticism often derived from rather reactionary perspectives - the same argument was often made about feminism or pacifism - it is difficult to pretend that having a song about animals did not feel like a compulsory button to push, not unlike some sort of Commandment to abide by or a Herculean labour to perform, only with Moses and Hercules wearing charged hair or the infamous dreadlock mullet, a haircut that was as common for punks as it was for 90's wrestlers. For all the tiresome, redundant clichés that many songs about animal rights carried, I feel that the subject mattered and still does, a lot, and I will take naive idealism and outrage over jaded stale cynicism any day. At least they cared or tried to. Oddly and sadly, although animal rights have entered the mainstream and become a legitimate burning issue in many countries, the subject does not seem to be as popular today as it used to be which, on the surface, would seem to confirm to some extent that the 80's and 90's vegan/vegetarian punk propaganda obeyed to a passing trend and fashion rather than analysis, reason and a love for animals. Still this discrepancy is difficult to explain since punks have been at the forefront of the struggle for a long time and ecological collapse is quite literally and not just dischargily just around the corner. Maybe it is just the usual reaction to the mainstream and that, now that Insta twats have glamourized and depoliticized veganism, it feels useless and not as edgy to rehash the old message of To a Nation of Animal Lovers, though it still stands as a valid and urgent one. It would not be punks' first contradictions.

 

As a credible vegan punk - I own a dozen of Antisect shirts - I have always loved animal rights songs, even the sloppy cheesy ones, because I identify with the message and, love it or not, they have belonged to punk history and tradition for 40 years. I have to confess that I don't even like animals. The neighbour's cat is an alright fellow and watching him being a useless bastard is inspiring indeed, however I have no trust whatsoever in sheep, cows and goats, while horses and ponies are dangerous feral beasts and geese are evil entities. Why Must we Die for Your Palate? belonged to the category of serious, documented and educational animal rights record. It was meant to make you think, convince you and eventually recruit you into the preachy tofu-eating army. Join the fight comrade! There is a comprehensive booklet highlighting the validity and benefits of plant based diets and the necessity of ending animal abuse and industrial farming for the sake of ethics and the environment. If you are already familiar with the issues, it will not be anything new but the firm sense of political purpose and dedication conveying by the Ep is meaningful and typical - in a good way - of the anarcho and crusty 90's scene that disliked soap, even vegan ones, as much as they loved a vegan stew and dumpster diving, which became an important discipline of the Crust Olympics around that time.

 

The compilation Ep includes four American bands: Detestation, End Result, Depressor and Idi Amin. I realize I have directly written about Detestation only once, when I reviewed the Punk Riot compilation Lp (that was in 2012... fuck me), a gap that might strike the punk on the street as a bit odd. Detestation were a pillar of the U$ d-beat/anarcho/crust 90's scene, a parallel dimension that I have touched upon on more than one occasion. Though the band did not play for that long - between 1995 and 1998 - they left a lasting impression on the punk world, maybe not unlike another crucial female-fronted hardcore band, Health Hazard. Detestation is one of these bands that everybody has heard and judging from the high concentration of Detestation appurtenances at festivals, they have remained something of a classic throughout the years. Reasons for this enduring popularity was that the members had already played in quite a few bands before so that they knew what they were doing creatively and had all the right networks, that the band was very prolific indeed but more critically Saira's vocals were one of the most recognizable of the 90's - and arguably beyond - so that they gained an iconic glow that is here to stay. I already wrote about the PDX DIY hardcore punk scene of the 90's and how it grew to be an early example of a nerdier trend of referential punk and it was no coincidence that the name "Detestation" came from GISM's first album and "Masskontroll" from a No Security song for instance. The song "Not fucking funny" was recorded in 1996 and dealt with hypocrisy, pretense and dodgy behaviours in the punk scene. Ty and Adam from Starved and Delirious - and Resist for Ty - appeared on that recording although the lineup at the time of release, or rather at the time they contributed their bit of artwork, had Bryan from S&D and Dominic, beside Kelly from Resist and Defiance and of course Saira. As for the music, well you've heard it all before, yeah? Fast and thrashing scandicore with political lyrics and mean, compelling, insane-sounding and pissed high-pitched female vocals that sound like you're being yelled at after being caught smoking at the window for the first time by your mom. But that might memory talking. Imagine a fight on speed between Crude SS, Pink Turds In Space, Riistetyt and Potential Threat. Class and classic.

 

Next up are the much less famous End Result from Lexington. I guess the name comes from the Crass song but I cannot be sure. This lot were by no means the first to come up with the End Result moniker, as there were, at least, three other bands who had the same linguistical idea: an early 80's punk-rock band made up of English 12 year-old, a Chicago based 80's now-wave band and an excellent mid-80's old-school anarchopunk from Australia. But then, Discogs was not around in the 90's so no harm done really. I don't know much about this End Result to be honest. The song "Control", about the objectification of women's bodies and the sexual politics of meat, is your typical 90's blasting fastcore number with a raw sound (it was recorded in a garage) and two vocalists. Not bad and I like the lyrics but not really my cuppa.

 

On the other side, hostilities resume with Idi Amin, another band I am not really familiar with. That's what I have always enjoyed with such compilations, you always got to discover bands you had never heard about - sometimes for good reasons, let's get real - thus increasing your punk knowledge. I doubt conversations about Idi Amin abound in 2021 but it might come handy one day. Contrary to the obscure End Result, this Roanoke bunch released four Ep's between 1996 and 2001, one of which was with Unholy Grave which helps one locate where Idi Amin stood on the spectrum of punk. With that mind, "Confutation..." (that's a word I did not know so thanks for that Idi Amin) unsuprisingly sounds like a blast fast U$ hardcore thrash with two singers and a powerviolence influence. Again the sound is raw and rough and the band was not the kind to arse around as the song lasts 54 seconds. The lyrics deal with animal experimentaton and there is a nasty picture of a tortured rabbit on their sheet, a common, if not traditional, visual meant to shock that bands have often used when addressing the topic.

 

Finally, you are presented with a song from the mighty and totally unique Depressor, which I have already raved about here at a time when I was still a bit shy and not the egregious braggart I have become. Oh well. Depressor was a San Fransisco musical project started by Chris in 1992, a strange beast that mutated throughout the years, evolving from indus crust to occult hardcore, with inhuman anguish as the binding threat. A bit of an unclassable and cruelly underrated band really. "Filth" was recorded in 1995, a period when Depressor was at the apex of its heavy and hammering industrial old-school metal crust power, and originally appeared on the Burn the Illusion demo tape, recorded on four tracks which accounts for the raw primitive cavecore sound and the smouldering mechanical inhuman urgency of the music. One of the band's crucial early numbers. Imagine Sonic Violence, Godflesh, Saw Throat and Axegrinder working and plotting the revolution on the same alienating assembly line. "Filth" deals with male ego and insecurity and how it relates to animal abuse and the rape culture. A lovely song that would enjoy a boisterously enthusiastic response at your cousin Lee's wedding reception. If you love being crushed by oppressive indus crust, the label Fuck Yoga from Macedonia recently released two Lp's, 1995 and Filth/Grace, that contain Depressor's early material. Essential and compulsory listens for the crust students yearning for crushing enlightenment.

 

Why Must We Die for Your Palate? was released on Dire/Action, a label based in Lexington, so I am guessing that it had some connection with End Result, that also put out the Charger Ep, a band involving Chris from Depressor, as well as a second animal rights compilation Ep, Why Must We Die for Your Science that had a strong lineup made up of Resist and Exist, React, Act of Heresy and A//Political. As one can expect, revolting - but somehow banal even if stemming from a well-meaning intention to induce a reaction - pictures of animal abuse adorn the foldout. This Ep looks like a typical DIY record from this era, simple and realized with little means but a big heart.

 

So why must they die for your palate then? 

                       

   

"Iron Columns" 2xLp, 1999

Contrary to "Whispers", which was a record that deeply informed my conception of punk when I bought it in the early 00's, I actually got "Iron Columns" relatively recently although it is a more recent work. Truth be told, I have pretty much ignored this record for a long time. I wish I had a good excuse but I don't. I even remembered seeing copies of "Iron Columns" floating on distros 10-15 years ago and getting average "neocrust" Lp's instead that I promptly sold when the trend died. What a lack of insight... The sad thing is that I cannot have been the only one to dismiss this wonderful compilation as copies go nowadays for a mere tenner on discogs, which only confirms that there is no correlation between quality and monetary worth in our growingly trendifying punk economy. Our attention span is just becoming shorter and we are lazily being subjected to the appeal of novelty.

"Iron Columns" is both similar and very different to "Whispers". While the Skuld record can be seen as the definite snapshot of early 90's European anarchocrust, "Iron Columns" embodies the second part of that decade. The focus is proudly international as well but from an American perspective this time (quick thinkers would say it means "more hardcore, less crust" although it is not as simple). IC is a stunning compilation on all levels that epitomizes the level of dedication and faith in punk as being more than music that often characterized the 90's. In terms of genre, the scope of the compilation is impressive: from crust, to scandicore, old-school and modern anarchopunk, fastcore, D-Beat and even streetpunk. I am an obsessive bastard, I'll be the first to admit that I tend to focus too much on punk niches, and I am sometimes suspicious when I am being told that a compilation is very diverse. It is not so much variety I am wary of, but the lack of cohesiveness and direction. Few records are as painful to listen to as compilations without a clear focus and purpose that include bands from all over the punk spectrum that have nothing in common but their name on the backcover. And to be perfectly honest, I can get this patchwork feeling even with bands belonging to the same subgenre actually. The  very essence of a punk compilation is to offer, literally and figuratively, a meaningful example of punk collaboration driven by the same passion even when they sound very different. If it is merely a collection of new songs, then it is just a label sampler, there is nothing necessarily wrong with it, but don't expect me to listen to it more than once (especially in 2016).

But back to IC. The object itself is breathtaking. It looks fantastic and, like for "Whispers", I can only imagine the amount of time and work that it necessitated. IC is a gatefold with a thick, 12'' size, glossy booklet with lyrics and art from the bands as well as political texts. This is one of the indisputable strengths of IC: its political dimension. In "Whispers", the politics appeared in the bands' lyrics and in the untold DIY implications in the realization of such a project. With IC, you also have explicit, detailed and creative anarchist writing as well that reminds me strongly of the political and personal zines that abounded in the 90's and early 00's (before it all got too inward focused or sloganeering). What I particularly enjoy is that the texts, content notwithstanding, also look nice and, well, punk, and that is an idea that informs the whole of "Iron Columns". Feminism, sexism and gender roles are central themes here and are tackled in different ways. You can find at the beginning and the end a montage of short pieces of articles about women revolutionaries, lore and history among other things, very different pieces of information aiming at giving a meaningful and cohesive picture of an alternative "herstory". You also have a personal text about the pervasive sexism in the punk scene written by Charlene from Mind Control. Prison struggle is the other main theme of IC and there are two letters from anarchist prisoners at the end of the booklet as well as an introductory text by Raze the Walls, a prisoner support group. The record is unashamedly anarchist and the label wrote a text stressing the political motivation behind such a project and why the phrase "iron columns" is meaningful metaphorically to describe our oppressive social relations and historically as well (the famous "columna de hierro" of the Spanish civil war).

"Iron Columns" was released in 1999 on Mind Control, an Austin-based label run by Jack Control (from Enormous Door studio, Severed Head of State and WB2D) that put out a couple of very good records between 1991 and 2003 from Antischism, Masskontroll or Warcollapse to name but a few. And as the label logo unambiguously states: "Mind Control is agit-prop for social revolution". Ambitious, naive perhaps, but I'd rather have that than the fake cynicism that is so prevalent today. There are 39 songs for 28 bands on IC. Let's 'ave it.

- Antiproduct: along with Aus-Rotten, the band that exemplified 90's US anarchopunk and that really spoke to me. I have always loved them to death, whatever they did, they did well. Intense, energetic, clever and passionate fast anarchopunk with dual male/female vocals that sound angry but also determined to do something. This song was recorded in 1997 and the production is just perfect, aptly bass-driven and super dynamic (that was before the genre was coopted and overproduced into meaninglessness by streetpunk bands), two years before the more intricate Lp that saw Antiproduct toying with emocore influences to great effect, not unlike Unhinged.

- Defiance: a band that is commonly associated to the streetpunk scene but was really an anarchopunk band to begin with (well, if people had kept in mind that anarchopunk is not an actual genre but rather a set of values and a way of doing things, things like that wouldn't have happened...). I like Defiance and their updated version of UK82 punk, although I sometimes feel they tend to overdo it at times, thus lacking the sloppy snottiness of the original bands. This is a drinking song and a cover of The Sex Aids, a Vice Squad side-project.

- Obnoxious: a Parisian band on such a compilation is surprising but there you go... Fast and sloppy direct 90's hardcore punk with a typical British feel, not unlike Truth Decay or In The Shit maybe. It does the job.

- Hall Keft: I know next to nothing about this Swedish lot but this song absolutely smokes. This is an intense and pissed cover of Missbrukarna played with a raw hardcore power reminiscent of Shitlickers and early Anti-Cimex. I want more.

- Cress: two songs from the superb Cress. I know that the drum machine is usually a deterrent in punk-rock (and being French, I know what I am talking about as "drum-machine punk-rock" is our sadly our national specialty) but this lot always knew how to pull it. Cress is a potent punky blend of many things: I can hear two schools of 80's UK anarchopunk, the more melancholy and dirgy sound of bands like The Mob or Vex along with the protocrust crunchy mid-paced anthems of Antisect and Anti-System, a Killing Joke element as well, a psychedelic, incantatory component too, not so far from Smartpils or Bad Influence and a cold, synth-driven element reminiscent of European cold-wave. Unique band with great-looking visuals and top lyrics.

- La Aferra: I wish I were more familiar with La Aferra because this song is one of the absolute highlights of "Iron Columns". Heavy, mid-tempo, dark punk-rock with a posthardcore, almost progressive, feel, a synth and dual male/female vocals. The songwriting is solid and distinctively Polish in terms of witty and tuneful arrangements. La Aferra was a prolific band apparently but I have only listened to a few other recordings from them. Brilliant music.

- Extinction of Mankind: I am not going to lie here, I pretty much bought "Iron Columns" in order to have these two EOM songs. I suspect these were recorded during the same session as the "Scars of mankind" Ep and are therefore the last with Mass on guitar. I already mentioned that I am a huge sucker for his guitar sound when I review the aforementioned Ep: it is heavy and yet eerie, dark and yet groovy with a thick and slimy texture, probably the closest to Lippy's playing in Antisect circa 1987. "Remnants of war" and "Won't be broken" rate as two of the best EOM songs ever, the only letdown being the drums that would have deserved a heavier sound. My personal winners.

- Black Kronstadt: I never could get into Iskra, not for a lack of trying. Black Kronstadt are mostly remembered as a pre-Iskra band and I, for one, am much more comfortable with them. Epic, apocalyptic blackmetal-infused crusty anarchopunk with male/female vocals and radical anarchist politics. Exactly what I expect from this lot in the 90's. I like it.

- Fucking Mass Destruction: two songs from this Memphis band that I know nothing about. We are not far from powerviolence here, with a distinct American sound. Is it good PV? I think it works well on this compilation because the songs are intense and punk enough. They make sense basically.

- DDI: awesome Italian hardcore from Pavia with catchy hooks and dynamic male/female vocals. It is exactly what you want from Italian hardcore: intense, furious and anthemic. They remind me of Infezione, Contrazione (for the mid-paced moments) and even Franti (especially on some the eeriest parts) with a 90's feel. The third song is not that good (sounds like a horrible fiesta punk band) but the first two are brilliant. DDI had Milan from Agipunk in its ranks.

- Ebola: the Northern England take on 90's powerviolence I guess? I like Ebola probably more for their message and their aesthetics than for their music that corresponds to a genre I am not really familiar with (though I really enjoy the first Lp... to be honest because it is punkier). This is heavy and dark anarcho hardcore with harsh male/female vocals and manic tempo changes but there are some good tunes in the guitar to remind you that it was a post-One By One band. The song "Half human" is great here and fits perfectly with the spirit of "Iron Columns".

- Terminal Disgust: another band I know little about. I like the song though. Reminds me of Armed Relapse and The Pist: direct, beefy and fast anarchopunk with angry vocals you can understand.

- Força Macabra: one of the most beloved oddities of the punk world. A Finnish band singing in Portuguese and emulating 80's Brazilian thrashy hardcore. I love the idea, I relate to the passion totally. Expect raw but accurate and energetic metallic hardore punk along the lines of Armagedom and Lobotomia.

- Krigshot: I am not sure if I actually like Krigshot or find them ridiculous. I honestly don't. There are days when their songs sound insanely good for their outrageously fast take on classic Swedish hardcore and others when I feel they paradoxically lack the necessary aggression of Swedish hardcore because everything is diluted in manic speed. Early Krigshot was still very impressive and the first time I listened to "Orebro-mangel" I was flabbergasted (and I still am to some extent). Members of Nasum and Meanwhile playing 3 songs in 90 seconds of Mob 47 at the wrong speed (and yes, they cover "Krigshot" by Mob 47 here).

- Counterblast: a regular guest at Terminal Sound Nuisance offering a very interesting song, recorded in 1996 just after "Balance of pain". This is demented, angry, dark, anguished, inventive, progressive crust music at its very best, like Neurosis meeting Axegrinder and Zygote in the dark Swedish woods. It doesn't get much better than this song, "Activate", in the genre.

- Liberate: a band whose name I have seen countless times but that I don't really know that well. This is classic Japanese hardcore in the Burning Spirit vein: high-energy, tight, anthemic and triumphant hardcore punk with epic guitar solos and fist-raising singalong chorus. I am hardly the expert in that subgenre but I can tell it is good.

Boycot: pretty standard mid-90's anarchopunk from the Netherlands with snotty vocals and cool lyrics. I guess Boycot always sounded a little too generic for me to really get into their music but the three songs here feel fresh and genuine. And you gotta love the "Only stupid bastards help Epitaph" slogan. Sooooooooooooo 90's, right?

- Armistice: I love Armistice as they proudly carried, along with Resist and Exist, the banner of that mid-late 80's SoCal anarcho/OC crust sound that I enjoy so much. Metallic, angry anarcho hardcore-punk reminiscent of Final Conflict, Bitter End and Glycine Max. The guitar sound is particularly good here and owes a lot to Jeff Harp. And I love the Winnie the Poo logo as well. Cheesy crust.

- Scum of Society: this lot already did a stint at Terminal Sound Nuisance a few years ago. Coming from Italy, SOS played raw crusty punk with a great anarcho squat feel. Sloppy but utterly lovable and genuine.

- The Unseen: yes, The Unseen, that iconic streetpunk band from the late 90's. And why not? After all, there were some great songs on "Lower-class crucifixion" and some good political lyrics too. The development of separated punk sub-scenes has largely made such crossovers unlikely today (unless the compilation is local) but I like the idea. The song is alright as well, quite raw and relatively catchy, it fits. Validated.

- Los Crudos: yes, Los Crudos, that highly influential hardcore band that took the 90's by storm. One minute of unadulterated intensity and anger. I don't often listen to Los Crudos but whenever I do, I am always impressed with the level of passion they put in their music. Inspirational hardcore to be sure.

- Dezerter: yes, Dezerter, that legendary 80's Polish band. I am not sure when these two songs were recorded but my bet is 1996. Classic Polish punk-rock, dark and tuneful with catchy chorus, that you can't possibly mistake with any other style. I dare anyone not to sing along to the re-recording of their anthem "XXI wiek". Yes, it is THAT catchy.

- Scatha: my favourite band from the Disaffect/Sedition/Scatha trinity, not a light statement since the three bands are among my favourite 90's bands ever. Not unlike Counterblast or Panikos, Scatha took crust to another place, another dimension, reworked it in order to shape a soundscape and an identity of their own. A difficult band to describe Scatha. Fantastic tribal drum section that sounds inventive but is meaning-driven and echoes with the band's essence as a whole instead of being merely a show of skills; a heavy, world-creating, textured sound with innovative guitar riffing and a groovy bass; a songwriting that organically conveys a whole set of different moods; and vocals that are harsh, desperate but also outraged and beautiful. Scatha aimed at transcribing traditional Celtic culture into heavy punk music and its aesthetics, an incredibly difficult task with the risk of falling into lame, clichéd folklore, but they pulled it superbly. "Necrophobia" is a song about the modern and perverse vision of death and how it differs from the old Celtic notion of rebirth. Unique stuff.

- Disclose: total D-beat raw noise punk attack! This was Disclose in their early Sweden-loving stage with Kawakami using double-track vocals. Ultimate Discharge love.

- Brother Inferior: classic US anarchopunk with that typical 90's sound that never really got the credit they deserved, but maybe coming from Tulsa did not help. Angry and intense punk music with smart lyrics and tuneful guitar leads that set them a little ahead of their time. Do I have a soft spot for Brother Inferior? Yes, I do.

- Sbitch: a band I know virtually nothing about. Sbitch were from Austin and played fast and thrashy anarchopunk with raspy female vocals, not unlike Antischism or Disaffect maybe. I like the imagery and listening closely to their song makes me want to dig more into their solid and intense angry 90's anarcho sound.

- Sharpeville: one of the highlights of "Iron Columns" and a band that no one seems to remember. Sharpeville were from Finland and played heavy, dark and crusty hardcore with a gloomy and demented feel that was incredible. The multilayered vocals confer their music a real sense of raging insanity and creepiness that I rarely heard in other bands. This fast song is quite thinly recorded but their 2000 Lp is an unsung classic that got unfairly dumped in the HHIG bandwagon. "War is stupid and unfair" is actually a clever song (Sharpeville could really write) about the everyday class war. A rather unique band that will eventually come back to Terminal Sound Nuisance.

- Mâkhi: the most obscure band on the compilation and for good reason as these are the only two songs they ever recorded. Mâkhi were from Austin and I suppose that, unless you were around in the late 90's, they will not ring a bell. Well, let's take a look at the line-up: Kelly Halliburton, Chris Pfeffer, Jack Control and Todd Burdette. Sounds familiar, right? Mâkhi were basically Severed Head of State under another name. I guess you could say that the two songs are rough versions of what SHOS did better later on: heavy and pummeling music blending American and Japanese hardcore.

As I mentioned, "Iron Columns" goes nowadays for a tenner. So instead of buying a "raw punk" Lp that no one will care about in two years, do yourself a favour and give this genuine and varied anarchopunk compilation a chance, if only for its cultural worth as a testimony of another time in punk history.  

Iron Columns