VA – Terminal Decay LP / Artcore Fanzine #29
AKA ‘Artcore Vinyl Fanzine Volume Five’. Punk rock fixture ‘n’ fitting Welly is back with yet another broadside in his war against mediocrity in the zine scene. And he’s a veteran in every sense – this is issue #29 of the exceptional ‘Artcore‘, an organ that he’s been thrusting into the hands of grateful punks since 1986. But with the printed word becoming harder to sell to the internet masses, Welly’s risen to the challenge and occasionally produces a vinyl fanzine to bring something a bit different to the table. Like this one.
The mag is as jam-packed as ever and, with Welly’s experienced eye, beautifully laid out. All of the bands on the album are covered within, some with full interviews and the rest with smaller info panels, there are a few dozen quick reviews (I wish I had the ability to be both that brief and informative), a couple of Wellian polemics (the one on ‘knowing your place’ is outstanding), a bit of ranting banter from a few mates, some history lessons (MDC and more German punk), interviews with a range of deviant types (the highlight for me has to be the one with Rob ‘The Baron’ Miller of Amebix), and all tail-ended by some lovely ’50s horror comic style artwork courtesy of Dirty Donny, who also gets to say a few words.
Crammed on to the large round thing that accompanies the mag (AKA ‘Terminal Decay’) are twenty tracks that showcase a load of new(ish) bands from across the punk spectrum who are taking punk forwards on their own terms (whilst respecting the traditions that preceded them). Like any comp, there will almost certainly be a track or two that don’t quite gel with your ears. It’s music, it’s a personal response, that’s what happens. But, to these ears, this one hits the spot far more often than not, and even the ‘worst’ of the tunes is alright.
Other great things about the comp are that the bands represent 12 countries between them, thirteen of the tracks are previously unreleased while, for two more, it’s their first vinyl outing. That’s proper old-school, when comp albums would be made up almost exclusively of new songs and / or unknown bands from all over the place.
Welly wants to keep this deal as analogue as possible, but has kindly agreed to let me upload the title track (as used in the above video). If you want to hear the rest of it (and you’d be bonkers not to), you’ll have to grab this quick.
OP’s opinion: 
Download ‘Terminal Decay‘ (FLAC) by Burning Sensation (on hiatus)
Visit Welly’s website
Buy from Iron Column Records
This is the first vinyl release from the rapidly-expanding 
Back with a bang after too many years, heavy crusters Misery return to show the young pups how it’s done.
It’s all wrapped up in a heavy card sleeve sporting a suitably combative red ‘n’ black (with a bit of white) graphic on the front, a lyric sheet inside, and a label that’s one of the smartest I’ve seen in quite a while.
I was kindly sent this 4-track introduction to Copasetics by the band, and I’m glad they thought of me. For a group that’s only been around for a year or so, it’s a great first release that holds promise of more good things to come.
These young but well-established veterans of the Canadian punk scene have pulled off a neat trick with their latest release, managing to capture the passion at the heart of our culture and condense it into 12 tracks and 30-something minutes of life-enhancing music. Packed with more energy than a vegan’s farts, the band blast their way through the walls of oppression with their sounds of inspiration. There’s some pretty clever verbal dissection of the multitude of problems that face people around the world but this only serves to reinforce the common ground – we’re all victims of the colonialist mindset of the ruling elites, whether it’s done by invading armies or imposed by our own home-grown governments and their all-seeing eyes. The Rebel Spell do a damned fine job of shining a light into the dark shadows of the fortresses of the power-crazed, exposing them for the cockroaches they really are. Their ability to lay bare the fetid corpse of capitalism is only matched by their desire to get us all to connect the dots and stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the common enemy. The inclusion of radical folk singer Leon Rosselson’s ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ at the very end of the disc is a fitting climax to all that precedes it, the band infusing it with their own unique passion. I’d go as far as to say it’s destined to become many people’s favourite version of this well-loved tune.
