Showing posts with label 1986. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1986. Show all posts

Monday, March 2, 2015

V/A - Belgrade X · 0 · 19 Tape


Awesome compilation of punk and hardcore from Belgrade circa 1986. 10 bands, 26 tracks. A few of these bands never officially released anything and only appeared on other compilations. Others only are featured here on this tape, as far as I can tell. Rather than typing out a detailed account of all the bands, just download and set aside an hour to get down with some rare, crude ex-Yugo punk excellence. Bands are: FORWARD TO THE PAST (NAPRED U PROSLOST), THRASHAGAIN, CODEX O.D., TOTAL DESTRUCTION, CRIST, K.Z.V., LESSON, N.B.G., WHITE RABBIT BAND, D.L.H.





Saturday, January 10, 2015

Random Shelf Pull - ARTICLES OF FAITH "In This Life" LP



I was inspired to do this by my friend Greg, who also does these great blogs - remoteouposts.blogspot.com and remoteoutposts.tumblr.com - as well as drumming in SILENT ERA with me. He started playing every 7" on his shelf, beginning from the end of the alphabet, as an exercise to weed some stuff out, but is taking the time to write a little about each record along the way. It's a really cool project and I recommend you check it out here

Sometimes being an avid record collector/enthusiast makes it hard to choose what to listen to. I'm one of those freaks who requires music to be playing about 95% of the time I'm at home, and the wall of records sort of blurs my ability to choose what to play, so I often just select something at random and throw it on. This trick has produced an array of results, from rediscovering a long-forgotten classic, to a first time discovery of a brilliant record that got filed too early, to a record that I actually just don't like that much and is occupying precious space in our living room. OR, sometimes I simply throw the record on and walk off to go cook, clean, make the bed (which I'm pretty bad at remembering to do), and forget to pay attention to the sounds. What a waste, right? Waste of awesome sounds, I mean. So I'm borrowing Greg's idea of writing a little something about each random pull to engage more with my collection. That's what the vinyl record is all about right? 

First pull is the fucking brilliant second album from 1986 by the legendary Chicago-based ARTICLES OF FAITH. It's quite a bit more melodic and has a "softer" feel that their earlier works, but retains an extremely high level of intensity. I was 3 years old when In This Life was made, but I've done a lot of "research" over the years and it seems to me that this record is an incredible anomaly of its time. The arrangement and pulse of "Doesn't Have To Be That Way" is challenging and curious, but still manages to hook you in and make you believe it's totally natural. I hear pure honesty and intuition, which creates a sound that was a result of a special evolution and can't be copied. Few voices in punk can match Vic Bondi's. This is also one of the key punk LPs that reminds me how important melody is to me, and consistently pulls me away from the atonal and nihilistic end of the spectrum of punk/hardcore. I'd never let this one go!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

CAS PRAWDE - Last Hour Of Warning EP


Here's one I don't really know much about. There doesn't seem to be much talk about this record out there on the internet, and I find it to be pretty cool, so here it is! Decent upbeat punk from Holland circa '86, with their heart and intentions in the right place. Think other Dutch contemporaries like FRITES MODERN, FUNERAL ORATION, or GEPOPEL, but less HC and more UK punk influenced.


Thursday, April 17, 2014


Here's a Slovenian punk treat! The five songs here are were recorded in 1986 and are a very unique blend of gloomy but fast punk with some experimentation with non-traditional rock instruments (notably an organ and some weird percussive stuff). CZD formed in 1984 and have existed in may capacities to this day, also in written word, video, political activism, etc. This 7" is particularly cool because it is accompanied by a sort of thesis/cultural analysis by a fellow named Rajko Muršič (professor at the Faculty Of Arts) called Punks In The Village. This was actually published as a book in 1995, and it appears that the whole text is included here, but I'm not positive. Anyhow, it's a very academic but fascinating look into punk and subcultures forming in small villages in Slovenia, and the effects it had regionally. I've included a portion of the text at the bottom.





Something must be stressed: rock subcultures have a lot in common with the way of functioning of tribal communities - rock concerts are a kind of a surrogate deep feeling (and identification) with the collective. The main theme in rock movements are diversities - not to be the equal to the surroundings is the currency of rock subcultures. Punk was a radicalisation of the rock subcultures: it was provocative, the behaviour or punks was always in opposition to their surroundings, their world was a kind of upside-down "normal" world. The punk pose was a pose of disobedience, their aesthetic and ethical values were a negation of the dominant rules, although punks were never really violent, dirty or asocial. Their whole pose (acting) and their lifestyle was itself a provocation. In Slovenia, the first punks appeared in the 1978 (the band Pankrti), and in the beginning they caused no reactions in the public. The only reactions came form the "older" rockers, who claimed that punk wasn't music at all. When punk became more and more popular, people slowly noticed the new phenomenon, but the individual reactions weren't too aggressive. Everything changed when the politicians and the R.S.A.'s forced a trial against a group of the so called Nazi-punks. In fact, all of the accused were later acquitted. The mass media (under government control) caused a kind of hysteria against the punks and repression became apparent (closing of the pubs and clubs, police oppression, even arrests...). By that time punk came to the villages near the border, too. The elements of pressure in the village Trate, a group of youngsters formed the Club, soon after they organised themselves in the village youth organisation (ZSMS - The Association of the Socialist Youth of Slovenia). The former was necessary, because to be organized politically was then the only possible way to legitimate other common youth activities... Once again, the whole punk pose was provocative: clothes, hair-dressing, speaking, music, dance, art... And, of course, in time it lost its sense. Punks grew up, society was democratised. Although some of them have families now, they are still pretty free-minded. Some of them play in one of the most interesting underground rock band, called CZD. Legitimisation through the success CZD's music is very innovative. It do[es] not come out form the local tradition, in fact, it transcends it. The group plays music, suitable for all the rock places in the world. It is still modern (no more punk) and attractive. But we can trace enough elements of the local characteristics in the activities of the band. The members of the band are as stubborn as the local population is, they are as rude as their surroundings are, and they work as hard as their parents do. Naturally, their career is absolutely different. Their music is part of a planetary popular culture."

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Αδιέξοδο - .38 LP


I haven't posted anything Greek in a long time, which is a shame because it's one of my favorite regions for old punk! ADIEXODO translates to "Dead End," and they were one of the forerunners of anti-authoritarian dark punk in Greece. Shrouded in obscurity for years any mostly only known by avid collectors, this "dirty diamond" has finally been reissued on vinyl by B-Other Side and Scarecrow Records in Greece. Unique punk with rolling bass lines, scratchy guitars, throaty-booming vocals, covered in a layer of filth and grit, but with an undeniably pleasurable and dance-able result.  



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

ZERO BOYS / TOXIC REASONS split 7"


Here's a not-so-rare 7" featuring 2 of the greatest punk/hardcore bands to emerge from the Midwest. I know I cheated just a little bit with this one it when it comes to including it in the Z seies, but when I flipped past it I realized I hadn't played it in such a long time and decided it makes the cut. Both ZERO BOYS tracks were recorded in '82, presumably during the same session as their flawless Vicious Circle LP. The TOXIC REASONS tracks are different versions of previously released tracks "No Pity" and "White Noise," recorded "somewhere in England September 1986." Sounds like a really good radio session to me. Not the best material by either band, but definitely great and essential for fans of the stuff. 


Monday, December 2, 2013

ZYNTHSLAKT - Hit Med Stålarna EP


Let's see how many posts I can do in a row that start with "Z." ZYNTHSLAKT was a Swedish punk band and this EP compiles material from 2 different split 7"s in 1983 with  N.O.S. and THE PAST. Side A is mid- paced and dirty with some lovely magical drunken gruff vocals. Turn up the tempo a bit on side B for 3 more tracks of catchy Swedish punk rock. More on the HUVUDTVATT side of Swedish punk than the ANTI CIMEX side. As is the case with most of the things I post, a criminally overlooked band!

Monday, November 18, 2013

REJESTRACJA MRR Interview 1986

I just got back from a week-long trip to Portland, and am feeling a little unprepared and unmotivated to do a normal post. So to piggyback on the REJESTRACJA post from earlier this week, I'm sharing this cool one-page interview with them scanned from MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL issue # 39, Aug. 1986! I'll be back to normal posting asap, promise!




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

REJESTRACJA - Live Kwiecień 1986


This is some kind of old tape-trader copy of a great live set from this classic Polish punk band. Interesting song arrangements, commanding vocal chants, and an all-consuming reverbed guitar sound. This band never did a "proper" studio recording, but this material stands pretty strong on it's own. A shame though, because REJESTRACJA were incredible and unique sounding, and are considered one of the most monumental Polish punk bands. 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

KAFKA PROSESS - Live 1986


A special post of rare stuff today from the almighty KAFKA PROSESS, live at the legendary Danish squat, gifted to me by the same friend who gave me the live SVART FRAMTID stuff I shared before. I shouldn't need to hype this up much more or explain what will happen when you downloadi it. A few notable things - the instrumental intro rules and builds up the energy for the set perfectly, only to have a technical difficulty with a guitar interrupt it all. AND  "Ingen Vits a Grate" is not on their Skuld discography LP, and I never heard it anywhere before I got this CD-R. Sound quality is pretty great throughout this whole recording. 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

BARN AV REGNBUEN - Det E'kje Nåkka Artig Længer ep


This seemed like an appropriate EP to follow up the last few posts with. BARN AV REGNBUEN (Children of the Rainbow) released this amazing EP in 1986 on one of the best Euro punk labels ever, X-Port Plater, as well as an excellent flexi a year or two later. Similarities exist between them and other Norwegian stalwarts of the 80's, but BAR definitely had the coolest basslines and most unconventional guitar parts, creating almost their own category of ferocious but tuneful hardcore. Really unexpected, awkward gruff-sung vocals just make it all the weirder and more special. There's also a discography LP out there including more unreleased tracks, seemingly from the same sessions. This EP gets overshadowed by heavy hitters like SVART FRAMTID and BANNLYST, but I assure you, if you've never checked it out, it stands up right beside them as a classic!






Monday, August 26, 2013

JUGGERNAUT - S/T LP


Well I'm back from hiatus today with an interesting old Italian punk record. You can hear JUGGERNAUT playing aggressive and full-throttle hc punk on the Senza Tregua compilation - originally on BCT Tapes, later reissued on vinyl by a few labels (essential Italian punk!). But this LP shows other influences sneaking into JUGGERNAUT's frenetic and flanged out brand of punk. There are more straightforward moments on here bringing to mind melodic bands like ARTICLES OF FAITH or HUSKER DU, but tempered with a fair amount of psych and other rock influences. A bit too "jammy" on the 3+ minute tracks for my everyday musical digesting, but overal a cool record and an exhilarating must-hear for Italian punk diehards. 

Saturday, June 8, 2013

V/A - PUNK TERRITORY VOL. 4: Italian Hardcore 1981-87

For you to obsess over throughout the course of your weekend: 33 tracks of full throttle hardcore from Italy! I love this CD because it offers some of the less celebrated names of the era, mostly from rare cassettes, and it still delivers the goods as much as a comp with WRETCHED, NEGAZIONE, CCM, and PEGGIO PUNX would. Here's the run down:

5 tracks by THE WOPS - USHC style reminding me of something like THE FIX // four tracks by WRONG BOYS - the first song is a dead rip-off of TSOL's "Superficial Love" in riffs and arrangement, while the other 3 are fast and punchy hc tunes // BLAXFEMA shreds through 3 thrashier hc tracks // 3 fast SoCal punk sounding tunes from CRAPPING DOGS, channeling DEAD KENNEDYS at times // One melodic upbeat oi/punk track from THE SKULLS // 6 catchy punk tracks by TRAUMATIC, taken from the Senza Tregua comp on BCT // 2 raw and hook-filled punk songs from WARHEAD // 3 punk tracks with a wild and expressive vocalist from DICTATRISTA // 2 rambunctious tracks from STAZIONE SUICIDA // finally, 5 more melodic and post-hardcore sounding songs from U.N.S - sort of a cross between HDQ and HEIMAT-LOS...or something...definitely the odd one of the bunch. 



Thursday, June 6, 2013

INDIREKT - Nacht Und Nebel EP


Today we have the killer second EP from a classic female-fronted Dutch punk band. Highlighted by urgent tempos and creative melodic vocals, INDIREKT was among the top tier of political punk and hardcore bands from Holland in the 1980's. This EP, along with their subsequent split 2xLP with VERNON WALTERS, is just a tad bit more matured in sound than their previous EP and LP. But all of their records are mandatory classics! 

Friday, April 19, 2013

FLITOX - N° 1 EP


I admit I don't know much about this French punk band, but this is a great EP. Apparently they had folks from SHERWOOD, and this record features more than a touch of the more interesting side of the French Oi sound, but executed at a speedier pace. Memorable melodies, catchy choruses, and plenty of fist pumping vocal hooks. This is a total killer! Their following LP from 1987 carries some of the same elements, but enters more into the hardcore/thrash realm. 




Sunday, March 3, 2013

HARD-CORE LJUBLJANA LP (with bonus tracks)


I've been listening to a fair amount of punk and hardcore from what was once Yugoslavia lately, so I figured this would be an appropriate collection to share. HARD-CORE LJUBLJANA presents some of the finest hardcore bands from the mid-80's in the biggest city in what is now Slovenia, and is a quintessential compilation of Ex-Yugo hc/punk (alongside the stellar Noč Nad Jugoslavijom tape). 


The comp was originally released in 1986 and features racket from: 

UBR - probably the best known on here, and maybe even the best known Yugo hc band throughout the international hc scene // ODPADKI CIVILIZACIJE - blazing, raw, straightforward hc with memorable songs // TOZIBABE - Three-piece, all women, very dark punk band. Their once elusive Dezuje EP has been reissued and is now relatively easy to find, and is one of the most unique and brilliant punk records worldwide! (I cannot resist sharing this must-see TOZIBABE Youtube video) Their tracks on this comp are more on the rudimentary side, but are still invigorating in that "inept + genuine expression" kind of way // EPIDEMIJA - More raging fast and raw hardcore - like a rawer and harsher version of early DC stuff, such as SOA // III. KATEGORIJA - Last but definitely not least, perhaps the strongest material on the comp! Similarly to the previous bands - raw, fast, pounding hardcore with convincing gruff vocals, and moments of attempted melody that never fail to explode into a full-blown hc assault! 



This is ripped from the reissue from the early '00s, which contains a slew of bonus tracks, not included on the original issue (2 from UBR, 2 from ODPADKI CIVILIZACIJE, and 5 from III. KATEGORIJA). This is a total no-brainer for international hardcore fiends!

Friday, March 1, 2013

SCHLIESSMUSKEL - Komm, Setz Dich Zu Uns EP


I noticed I hadn't posted any German punk yet, which is ridiculous! Too much focus on the obscure places I suppose (if there can be too much?). I'm correcting this with the debut EP from SCHLIESSMUSKEL today. The great Wild Devil Rules blog posted a couple LP's by them a while back, and said that they were considered to be a "fun punk" band. Not a term I'm familiar with, but I can hear it a bit on here in the music and see it on the band photos. I really like the mix of melody and speed on this one. A few of the tracks are blistering fast, with that snare right up front in the mix just cracking away at my skull, while remaining tuneful and catchy...and, well, fun, yeah!! This was the fourth release from the classic We Bite label, and the year was 1986. Fun punk - tear up your bedroom/cubicle/mom's house/library/skate rink/barber shop/bus stop/or wherever you're jamming your downloaded tunes!





Thursday, February 14, 2013

V/A - Jeszcze Młodsza Generacja LP


Happy Valentine's Day blog trolls. May Cupid pierce you with a love arrow and doom you to a life of the often uncontrollably agonizing roller coaster that is "being in love"
...anyway...
Somewhere along my journey of trying to obtain everything Polish-punk related, I acquired this cool post punk/new wave comp released by the Polish state-owned label Tonpress, from 1986. This thing's got good dance-ability - various dark postpunk/wave sounds on here by bands that maybe didn't release much else - the most well known being KULT, T. LOVE, and AYA R.L. But the NOWA MOWA track alone is worth tracking this comp down for to impress your friends/potential lovers on mix tapes - it's the punkest and catchiest, and could stand up next to early CURE or POLICE at their most upbeat moments. AYA R.L.'s track is also a really strong, comparable to THE CHAMELEONS - a cold, dreamy song driven by a marching snare beat and colored with tempered guitar and dramatic percussion hits. A must for cold/darkwave and postpunk fiends. 



And sorry, I know, my LP photos always look like crap. Computer graphics (or computers in general) are not my forte, and I think that's okay. 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

V/A - SMELLING JUST ANOTHER BAD BREATH LP


Today I present you with a pretty scarce but excellent 80's hardcore/punk compilation that I finally got to cross off of my want list last month, thanks to a friend who had an extra copy. Double A Records outta Germany did this one in 1986, and it features mostly European bands and a couple from North America. A few classic no-brainers, and a few more obscure names make this LP a fun listen, and essential for 80's euro-hc fanatics (like myself). 

Here's the run down:
2 tracks by PSYKISK TERROR from Norway, who only seem to have ever released stuff on comps. These are the best that I've heard from them - POISON IDEA mixed with classic Norwegian hardcore, considering that they had the incredible guitarist Børre Løvik (rip) of BANNLYST, SO MUCH HATE, and STENGTE DORER // California's DETONATORS offer up a couple great hardcore tracks with such great, wet sounding distorted guitars // MOSKWA with two rippers of their excellent, thrashy Polish hardcore // INSTIGATORS with their signature anarcho-meets-aggressive melodic punk from England (I always disliked their second singer though) // One ANGOR WAT track, Norway's very own unique and tense anarcho punk band // Vancouver's BLUE MARBELLAS do one raw and lazy punk tune with a catchy chorus // ZSD from W. Germany doing one tolerable reggae track and one much better rockin' punk jam - BILLY & THE WILLIES also from Germany, do a strange creepy hc song // then more German punk by SONS OF SADISM, more in the classic Deutschpunk traditon // A crossover thrash offering by masters of the style, CONCRETE SOX, from Nottingham // An energetic USHC flavored track by Germany's SKEEZICKS // And then there's a track credited to "EXXX" that I can only conclude is EA80 by their instantly recognizable sound. Beats me why they remained elusive on here. My copy doesn't have an insert, maybe the answer is in there?



Fyi - the last track, "Hvit Natt" by PSYKISK TERROR, slows down toward the end on the actual record, not sure why - AND this song is played by BANNLYST on their awesome live LP released by my pal Flo from Norwegian Leather.