mary christ demo (2012)

this is (to my knowledge) a new-ish band from from DC...this is my first exposure to them and i wasn't dissapointed.  really good female vocalled low-fi noisy punk with an understated sense of melody...3 songs on this demo, just enough to whet my appetite for more.......hopefully they will come up here this year (or come back if they've already been to michigan) great great stuff!

mary christ demo

shoppers/royl space/xtra vomit/population/compromised position show @ the DAAC (REVIEW)

last night was one of the best nights of my life........im all seriousness it was! got to see amazing bands and reunite with amazing people (two in particular) the evening started  off with compromised position, a dude from buffalo doing confrontational anarchist power electronics...................he asked the crowd "who here is killing the planet?" and then proceeded to hand out black sheets with a pro environmental stance on one side and lyrics on the other....though it was a little discomforting to see him shaking people and screaming in their faces, it was really good overall though........then royl space set up next.........they are now a quartet instead of the trio they were the first time i saw them........they seemed to be tighter and more focused the first time i saw them, but the flipside is now they have more and better songs...their sound falls somewhere between chisel and meneguar.....they are fast becoming a band i can really dig.....after then came the main reason why i came........the shoppers set up and tore through a 10 minute set of pure adrenaline and melody buried in a hurricane force coating of noise and feedback.......meredith is one of my best freinds and spending a couple hours after the show talking to her was the pinnacle of my trip.....keri and josh were amazing as well...this band means so much to me, more than they or  anyone will ever know, i get so much joy out of listening to them play and talking to them after the show.....hands down, the best band playing music right now.......anyone living in reasonable driving distance of one of their shows needs to see them.....a cant miss live act............after the emotional high of the shoppers, population took the floor and played some new wave-ish post punk stuff.......i guess interpol would be a good starting point for a similar sounding band.....they were proficient and very awesome people, but their style isnt currently my cup of tea...(the only post punk band i currently listen to is the opposition) xtra vomit closed out the night with some amazing dischordant grind/hardcore...sock (their guitarist/mostly singer) made some very meaningful comments between songs that really connected with me......i love that dude and hope to see/talk to him again........overall this was a great show, easily one of the best in years and i will be counting the days/weeks/months until i can see all of these people including my dear freinds, again........i love all of you guys from the bottom of my heart....keep playing music that inspires and connects us..........im already having post-show depression........it will take me a few weeks to completely get over depressing fact that it might be a while before i get to see meredith or even sock again...but eventually it will work its way out of my system and ill be ready for the next good time...

compromised position

royl space

<3shoppers<3

population

xtra vomit

so....

ill be gone tommorow and probably most of sunday..........going downstate for the kickoff of the shoppers/population tour.......will have a trove of video/photos (not to mention shirts/records) when i get back.

6 hour drive, but im looking forward to it. ill never miss shoppers playing a show in my state. this band means so much to me, and i cant wait to see/talk to/hug each one of them again.  so fucking psyched for this!

an update (reaction to megaupload being shut down)

i used megaupload links for a few records ive posted over the past 3 years.....im pretty sure i used megaupload to host the groundstate and sevengone records i posted.........there are a few others, but its been so longs, ive forgotten which ones...........if you click on a dead link, tell me and ill try to reupload it somewhere else......



oh and fuck the RIAA and the big money music business in general.....

curmudgeon - human ouroboros (2011)

im back with a great record from last year that i wasn't aware of at the time it came out..........curmudgeon are a boston band  that plays heavy dirty hardcore that sits in the intersection of powerviolence and  the noisier spectrum of hardcore originating in the 90s (think bands like facade burned black, unanswered,  inept)  haven't heard too many bands  currently doing stuff like this and the clear shouted female vocals  set them apart a little further still.............for me, this is another one of those awesome sounds ive unearthed lately..........its like being 10 again and walking in the woods and rolling over an old log only to find a nest of big striped tiger salamanders  scurrying around underneath..........awesome! i understand that these dudes/dudette will be playing some shows with cloud rat in march on the east coast.......if you live on the east coast you should definatly check those shows out cause both bands rip shit apart! they also have a new ep comming out this month!  hopefully crumudgeon sees fit to grace all of us in the midwest with their presence sometime in the near future........till then ill be jamming this and waiting..............

human ouroboros

programm c "karen" lp (2001?)

today i thought id trot out an old band from austria to terrorize your ears.....programm c were from vienna and existed during the late 90s/early 2000s........they played short sharp bursts of destructive thrash laced with heavy mosh parts and occasional blastbeats...........kinda/sorta powerviolence-ish, especially with the kinda tinny sounding recording job this lp got......anyways they tear through each song and then get the fuck out quick.....a little too quick for me sometimes, but their basic formula is on point and the songs are generally very good. an lp worth tracking down if you can find it.........i suppose some probably pop up on ebay once in a while.....but for those of you who are a bit lazy, ive got you covered..........this was their only LP ...besides this, they recorded a "7 and a split "7 with a band called kobyashi (who played frantic bang on the walls and go nuts hardcore that the locust used to be known for before they decided fashion was more important than substance) check it out.




karen lp

psychic blood demo (2011)

not too long ago i reviewed this band's ep and  it was one of the best things i reviewed/heard last year....well its a little late (my fault) but heres the demo.......possibly even better than the EP.......4 songs of noisy dischordant, melodic edged punk drenched in feedback .......the somewhat sloppy recording job only makes the sound here more endearing..........this band can do no wrong by me (so far)  and of course i highly recommend this.........

psychic blood demo

PROCESSION "Grand Ledge" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

great band, great video

hunted down demo (2011)

this came out last year and im kinda late to the party as far as this demo goes.........better late than never though...........this band is from syracuse, the town that seems to be the epicenter of  a lot of cool shit/amazing bands happening lately.......these guys live up to that reputation witha debut of 5 tracks of blistering charging hardcore that for me, bears  more than a passing resemblance to the old denver grind outfit catherer......just the raging straightforward pace of the music and especially the similarity of the vocals makes me draw that comparison.........in any case this shit is really good, a great start for a new(?) band that ill be looking out for new records from in the future......by all means check this out.

hunted down demo

Girls Against Boys - Disco 666 8-11-1996 live

pinfield is still lolz.

Girls Against Boys - Superfire

I <3 GVSB!!!!

segue "7 (1998)

another old record dug out from among the debris...........segue were from minneapolis and were to my knowledge, another band involved in the prolific minneapolis crust scene of the 90s........that is until i actually listened to this record......its blazing emotive hardcore with muffled screaming vocals.....musically much closer to something like makara or UOA than  say, code 13 or masskontrol...........this was their first "7 and im not sure they could have made a better impression on me.......great music, great lyrics. everything is on point.......they also had a "10 and a split with inflicted (the split isnt as good as this "7 IMO) im pretty sure they broke up sometime in the early 2000s......in any case this is another one of those obscure gems that are hard to find, but are infinitely rewarding musically when you do.......huge thumbs up.

segue "7

doctorshoppers "degenerate utopia" (2012)

this is the first new release of the year that i'm reviewing and boy, is it a good one...........hailing from the smoggy streets of L.A. doctorshoppers  crush all before them with their noxious mix of grind, noise, sludge and black metal..........it sorta reminds me of knelt rote, but not as crushing or intense (but then again, who is?)  this is a great introduction to a band id never heard of before i got this record......my first pleasant surprise of 2012 and its the first new record i review!  i'm hoping they tour this year, cause id love to see them do what they do live..........thumbs up on this one kids, dont miss it!

degenerate utopia

bullyrag aka fucking thunder "hearts spark arson" (2001)

now for the first real post of the year.........bullyrag were a band from arizona who played grooving, energetic hardcore in the shotmaker vein, but perhaps a tad noisier.....highly politically charged lyrics and song explanations......this came out on code of ethics in 2001.......a band/record that,  like alot of things in that time period, got lost in the shuffle.............excellent stuff......

hearts spark arson

East Lansing needs to be leveled and paved over............a city that is a true embarrassment to the state.

fuck that city and everything that comes out of it.