REVIEWS
ANGRIUS -
DEMO TAPE
This band is a sort of metal / hardcore mix with some
rather rough production. The songs are good though, which makes
up for the production shortcomings. Some very interesting riffs
on here and I played this tape several times. Don't get me wrong,
this is not a very polished demo by any means. If you like
hardcore the way it is being played in Legion halls across the
nation, then Angrius is your cup of
tea. Real hardcore, not mass marketed stuff. Rough and raw and no
thrills. The tape is $5 PPD to:
ANGRIUS - 6222 N. BROADWAY - GLADSTONE - MO 64118
THE AQUABATS - THE
RETURN OF THE AQUABATS
Return from where? The Planet of Strange Ska Bands?
These guys are dressed in some pretty funky costumes on the cover
here. With their wet suits and face masks, they look like gay
jock superheroes getting ready for a night of S&M. I think
they look better wearing the Fez and Shriner's suits, as pictured
in the inside cover. Do I sense a Devo influence here?
The music is kind of fun, goofy ska. You know, songs about how
much fun it was being a little kid and Martian girls and stuff
like that. The horns and guitars sound really good. I like the
music and to tell you the truth, the goofy image is kind of
appealing too. The ska is more along the lines of the Specials
or Bad Manners, than of any kind of old Jamaican
stuff. I like this; cool to put on when you are in an upbeat,
goofy kind of mood. This would make good party music. Worth the
cash.
FEARLESS - 13772 GOLDENWEST ST #545 - WESTMINSTER - CA
92683
BLANKS 77 - TANKED AND
POGOED
Now this is some good stuff from this punk band. First
of all, this is what punk is supposed to sound like. No wimpy
sing song back up vocals here! This just pounding drums, snotty
vocals, thrashing guitars and a whole mess of energy thrown on a
disc for your amusement. No one of the songs stands out above the
others for me, since all of the songs on here are good. The music
is influenced more by rock and roll and Oi kind of punk than by
any kind of metallic stuff. Well in closing, I'll just say that
this CD made me want to pogo around my room and really got my
blood pumping. A very good CD.
RADICAL RECORDS
THE BOUNCING SOULS -
S/T
The Bouncing Souls are a good band and in this self
titled release, they prove it. Like the Blanks 77, The
Bouncing Souls play authentic punk rock. The Bouncing Souls are a
little more influenced by hardcore though, with some parts that
remind me of 7 Seconds type HC. My favorite song on here
is East Side Mags. It has a cool Oi influenced feel to
it, that really got me hyped up. The music on this disc is very
cutting, with production as sharp as a knife; a definite plus.
Lot's of energy, lots of fun, this CD would be a good addition to
your collection. There is a lot of NYC type imagery on here, I
always thought these guys were from the Wasteland too.
Did they relocate or something?
EPITAPH
V/A - CINEMA BEER NUTS
"THE ORIGINAL PUNK ROCK TASTE"
This is a sampler from Hopeless Records and man
does it kick some ass! The Vandals song It's A Fact,
is probably my favorite. All of the songs on here are good in
their own ways though, with a full spectrum of punk rock music
from several different labels represented here. There is the
hardcore sounds of Ignite and Strife, the punk
/ ska of Less Than Jake and Voodoo Glow Skulls
and a bunch of other good stuff too. A good buy and a fun listen.
This one is sure to please and comes in a cool Beer Nut package.
HOPELESS
ENDLESS - S/T
Lot's of samples, lot's of metallic riffing, lot's of
ebonics and "motherfuckers." Get the point? This band
is not necessarily bad, but this stuff has been done before and
been done better. The inside cover features a picture of the
singer lighting a blunt with a burning food stamp. What's that
all about? Welfare Core? Damn, and I thought Joe Downlow was
joking when he talks about seeing hardcore bands on the welfare
line! I never heard of Endless before getting their
promo pack. The musical style differs from the other PAHC
bands I have herad. That heavy, heavy death like sound that makes
PAHC so enjoyable is just lacking here. This is more towards
metal or Biohazzard type stuff. The production is good
though. Anyway, if you are into groove metal, check this out. If
not; don't.
DA' CORE RECORDS - 347 GROVE ST - MCKEES ROCKS - PA 15136
FLAMBOOKEY - S/T
This is a rap / metal band in the vein of Shootzy
Groove. I can actually get into this, since the beats and
the rhymes fit together well with the funk metal music. The
vocals are pretty cool too. Some catchy riffs on here too. I nave
never really heard of this band before receiving this disc. I
will have to check out more of their stuff in the future. if you
are into the funky, rap, metal thing, this is one you will want
to pick up.
F.A.D. RECORDS
HECKLE - THE COMPLICATED FUTILITY OF
IGNORANCE
Before I put this on I expected some more punk rock kind
of stuff, since that is mostly what I have come to expect from Hopeless
records. I was surprised to find an old school hardcore band, and
a damn good one at that. A lot of this stuff reminds me of old
school Agnostic Front type hardcore, only updated and a
little more upbeat. The vocals are more in the West Coast
vein, but they fit the music like a glove. As a matter of fact
the song Along For The Ride, is one of the coolest
hardcore songs I have heard in a while. If you enjoy the old
school, then you will like Heckle’s music. A very
good CD. Not to mention this band is born and bred in the
Wasteland!
HOPELESS
INK AND DAGGER - DRIVE
THIS 7" STAKE...
What the hell is this stuff? Vampire rock? Guess so,
with all the vampire imagery, the CD cover looks more like the
cover to an Anne Rice book! The music is not bad at all,
but not really what I am into. Sort like a 45 Grave type
of band mixed in with a good dose of altrna-metal. The vocalist
actually tries to sing, which works at some times and not at
others, depending on the song. The first song The Road To
Hell and the fourth song Full Circle are the best
ones on the CD. Some interesting stuff on here, but the disc is a
bit uneven, with some songs being very good and others just kind
of filling space. The art on the inside of the CD is very cool
and the lyrics are cool in that whacked out occult kind of way.
If you' re curious about vampire rock and have a few extra bucks,
check this out.
INITIAL RECORDS - PO BOX 17131 - LOUISVILLE - KY 40217
INTEGRITY - SEASONS IN THE SIZE OF DAYS
Can you say Celtic Frost? Yes, this harkens
back to the days when Tom Warrior was singing about the Procreation
Of The Wicked and all of that. Even the CD cover is sort of
a cross between a recent Slayer cover and a low budget Giger
painting. The music is sort of a cross between Celtic Frost and
Biohazard. I mean, it is not really bad, but it just
strikes me as kind of pretentious and dumb. I mean, let's face
it, this kind of thing was done back in the early and mid
eighties and to greater effect. If evil cheesy hardcore is what
you desire, herein it lies.
VICTORY
JON COUGAR
CONCENTRATION CAMP - 'TIL NIAGARA FALLS...
Hurts so good, come on baby make it... Oh
sorry, I am thinking of another John Cougar. Well shit,
that guy sucked so bad, he should have been put in a
concentration camp for lame rockers. Or they could have tormented
camp prisoners by playing his tunes. Anyway, this band plays some
good punk rock music! They have that old school punk sound;
pounding drums and lot's of energy. They have more of the feel of
a East Coast punk band, then of a West coast band, which is cool,
because I really can't stand all that "melodic" punk
garbage. The vocals sort of remind me of Social Distortion.
The music is alternately bouncy and fast with downright dirty
guitar work. I like this band and have been listening to this
quite a bit. My favorite song is the opening track, C'Mon
Baby C'Mon. A punk rock pounder! Good stuff, not overly
melodic, and with good song structures. If you like stuff like
the Blanks 77 and The Bouncing Souls, you would like this too.
BYO RECORDS - PO BOX 67A64 - LOS ANGLES - CA 90067
MEGADETH - CRYPTIC WRITINGS
This is a definite improvement over their last CD. The
last one was just too mellow. This one has more of the old style
Megadeth, as well as some very mature and modern sounding
metal. I sense a Judas Priest influence on here also,
with some tunes like Mastermind really reminding me of
that classic Priest sound. My favorite song though is The
Disintegrators, a hard hitting and fast song of
Mega-proportions. It is also very catchy and tends to stick in
your head. The lyrics are cool too, covering areas from mistakes
made in relationships to wild shit like the Disintegrators. this
one is really good.
CAPITOL
NECROPOLIS RISING - THE
EVERLASTING (DEMO TAPE)
Sorry guys, I know you are trying hard, but this demo is
just not up to the task. Real bad death metal that is basically
unlistenable. Noisy, out of tune and just in general; bad music.
Then again that is why they call it a demo. You make a demo to
see what people think of your stuff and make changes accordingly,
or go on with what you are doing if it seems to go over well. I
wish these guys luck in the future. Better luck next time fellas!
NECROPOLIS RISING - 1128 GLEASON CIRCLE - EAST ROCHESTER
- NY 14445
NOBODYS - THE SMELL OF
VICTORY
Pretty standard punk rock CD. Snotty, gurgley vocals,
dyed hair, rocky guitars and the band featured on the cover as a
bunch of sperms. The music is competent but somewhat
formulamatic. The energy on here seems kind of forced too.
Definitely listenable, I especially liked the song 30 Days.
A good example of a bouncy, generic punk song. This is not bad,
just not original enough for me.
HOPELESS
NOSVAMPYRM - HYMNS OF
DAMNATION (DEMO TAPE)
More vampire / black metal type stuff, this time from a
death metal influenced band from Florida. Is Florida the home of
the American death metal scene or what? Seems that many bands
have arisen from the swamps of Fl. This demo tape is well
produced and has an Erie sound, with soaring keyboards
accompanying the fast and driving death metal music. The vocals
are a high pitched screechy kind of thing. You know, this band
really is not too bad. The vocals could use some work, but
besides that, Nosvampyrm has their shit together. The
letter they wrote states that they are into the whole theatrical
thing (make up, candles, fire and smoke!!!!); interesting. If you
are into the black metal; drop a line to the Nosvampyrm crypt.
NOSVAMPYRM - 4201 S.E. 46TH ST. - OCALA - FL 34480
PEZZ - ONE LAST LOOK,
BASH ON REGARDLESS
I first heard about Pezz when I received a
spilt CD with them and One Line Filler. I thought they
were good then and they continue that trend on this disc. The
vocals kind of remind me of early Descendants stuff. The
music is harder to describe, seemingly there are many influences
involved here. Mostly it leans towards a Bad Religion
type of slow hardcore, but at times to a more post hardcore
sound. The guitar sound is heavy and the bass is clear and crisp,
definitely some good production here. Good stuff here, but I have
to be in the right kind of mood to listen to it. Track #9 Gracias
is a very good song, with one hell of a cool intro. riff. Anyway,
if you have some extra cash and the urge to check out a new band,
pick this up.
BYO RECORDS
PHOENIX THUNDERSTONE -
STAINED GLASS TRASH
This is a good "alternative" sounding band
which is equal parts Cramps and Pixies.
An appealing mix! This group is pretty cool, kind of on the
mellow side of things, but has that jangley, trashy kind of sound
which is very captivating. The mix of female and male vocals adds
a bit of sexual tension to the music also. if you would like to
hear something a little different, then Phoenix Thunderstone
might be a band you should check into.
SCRATCHIE / MERCURY RECORDS
PRO-PAIN - CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE
I was not overly fond of the last two Pro-Pain
releases. The first one had a sucky guitar sound and the
second one was just too uneven as far as song quality goes. This
one just kicks ass though. My favorite song on here is Gunya
Down. What a cool song that is! Basically all of the songs
are good though. They could have done without the corny rap
parts, but Pro-Pain manages to pull it off. They are from the Wasteland
too, so that always gets you a couple extra points. No,
seriously; if you like metal mixed with a little rap and
hardcore, with production that will rip your wimpy face off, you
will want to get Contents Under Pressure.
ENERGY RECORDS
VARIOUS ARTISTS -
SAMPLE THIS
A sampler from BYO records. This has songs from bands
such as 7 Seconds, The Bouncing Souls, John
Cougar Concentration Camp and Pinhead Circus, among
many others. Gives the listener a wide spectrum of what to expect
from the bands on BYO. Good for background music, kind of like
putting your CD player on random selection, juts without the
effort.
BYO RECORDS - PO BOX 67A64 - LOS ANGLES - CA 90067
SCALPLOCK - BROKEN HISTORY
Now these guys have some pretty
whacked political views, but their music more than makes up for
it. Especially the song Scalplock, which really blew me
away. This is powerful music in the vein of early Napalm Death.
The guitar sounds really fat, and really bashes you over the
head. The lyrics are all about saving indigenous peoples from us
evil white guys, so I can’t say I liked them too much.
Overall though, this band rocks too much to just blow them off
because of their politics. This is some heavy stuff, you should
check it out.
EASTVIEW - BRIDGE ST - WITTLE - CHELMSFORD - ESSEX CM1
3EX - ENGLAND
SOCIETY GONE MAD - SAVE ROOM FOR
DESSERT
Wow, this is some very good and fast, thrashing hardcoref rom
this band. Their older stuff was more in a punk vein, but this
one is just like a hardcore P-51
straffing your ass with .50 caliber doses of angry spastic music.
I was really impressed by this. Thai is old school the way it is
supposed to be. 13 new tracks and four tracks off a previous
7". A good deal, get it before it gets you!
VIABLE UTTERANCE RECORDS - PO BOX 7435 - BURBANK - CA 91510
V/A - STEEL CITY AGRESSION
A compilation of Pittsburg area metal bands. Some decent
stuff on here, but nothing outstanding. Covers the full spectrum
of metal, from noise to quasi hardcore, to Testament type
metal and everything in between. Might be cool to get this if you
live in the Pittsburg area, so you can get an idea of what is
going on around there as far as meetal goes.
DA' CORE RECORDS
THE STEM PROJECT - S/T DEMO TAPE
Who are these people and where in the hell did they get
my address? This is some wierd metal stuff, with a funky DIY tape
cover that is sort of strange too. Lot's of strage lyrics too. Is
this some sort of Druidic metal or something? The music is a mix
of thrash and death metal, with some melodic parts and lot's of
guitar solos and double bass drumming. Not bad as far as that
genre goes. If you are into underground metal, give these guys a
listen. Let me ask my coworker what he thinks.... Uhhhh, hey
Beevis, What the hell is this? Huh,huh,huh,huh...
THE STEM PROJECT - 416 NE 16TH PL - SUITE 3 - CAPE CORRAL
- FL 33909
TODAY IS THE DAY -
TEMPLE OF THE MORNING STAR
Where is Solomon Kane when you need him to kick
some Satanic ass? "Back ye demons of suckiness!" This
band exemplifies the worst that death metal has to offer. Who in
their right mind would sign this band? The music is just so weak,
the production sounds like a cheesy demo. Tell you what guys, you
better re-negotiate that deal you made with the Horned God,
because he's giving you the shaft. Metal fans save your money,
this bites.
RELAPSE
TURMOIL -ANCHOR
A mixture of some very new stuff and some old stuff from EPs. The
first four songs are new and are well worth picking this CD up.
The production on these songs is just out of this world and gives
this band the edge they have lacked on previous recordings. Staring
Back is the opening track and it just kicks ass from the get
go. Besides the four new songs, the remainder of the CD is lack
luster. Like I said, just pick up this CD and crank up the first
four songs. It will be like opening up a can of whoop ass on your
ears! I hope Turmoil bust out material of this caliber on their
next full length.
CENTURY MEDIA
VITAMIN F - NOBODY
CARES
This is some decent heavy metal for your ear. I am not
very fond of the vocals or the mix, but the music is heavy and
performed by talented musicians. The main problem here is that
the drums are so overpowering in the mix, that it takes away from
enjoyment of the song. Along with the drums the vocals also over
power the guitar. A shame, because the guitar playing is the best
part of this CD. Damn, you know, I am listening to this for like
the fifth time as I write this and these vocals are just really
bad! Stop trying to sing my man, and just scream!!!!! Eh, this is
not too good. The songs are also entirely too long and vocalized.
The last song on the CD is the best one, very heavy
music, but those pukey voclas ruin it for me!
TYE DIE ENTERTAINMENT
UNLEASHED - WARRIOR
In contrast to the suckiness of Today Is The Day,
Unleashed kicks some serious black metal buttocks. The
music is more mid paced and grinding than fast and blast. The
production is not the greatest, but the quality of the songs more
than makes up for this fact. Lot's of double bass, gruff vocals
and songs about war and the elder gods. As previously stated, the
music is sort of slow, but subtle variations in tempo keep it
interesting and there are even a couple of faster tracks. If you
are into death / black metal, you will be sure to get into
Unleashed. Onward to Ragnarok!!!!
CENTURY MEDIA
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