Record Reviews (late summer/ early fall 2010)

Hello loyal reader (I mean that in a singular tense, since I assume only one person tops reads this blog), I did another massive reviews post of some of the end of summer records I got. I generally don't get free records to review, but this time around I'm psyched that I got a bunch of cool free records from Mad World, Black America, Chainsaw To The Face/Backslider and Half The Battle. If you like my short 3-4 sentence profanity laced reviews, get in touch and I'll review your crummy band.
7":

The Rival Mob- Hardcore For Hardcore
A much anticipated follow up to their "Raw Life" LP, which was awesome. This record is a little different, maybe a little more HC and less punk. Lots of divebombs into breakdowns, which there's absolutely nothing wrong with. Best lyrics of this release are "Nobody loves you, you've got the HIV, I don't care." Fuck. The cover art is a ridiculous painting of tigers attacking dudes on horses. The Rival Mob lives up to their current hype, god bless em. Includes a digital download.


Antidote- Thou Shall Not Kill
This here's a no-brainer. "Thou Shall not Kill" is easily one of the top 5 hardcore 7"s of all time. For those un-educated, Antidode was a NY HC band in a time before tough guy HC was considered the NY sound. Bands like Antidote, Urban Waste and the Abused were playing HC similar to the DC bands, but faster and angrier. Antidote's 7" always had a real clear recording quality, and the vocals are more screamed than grunted. Fuck, I already owned 2 bootlegs of this, but I said if B9 reissues this on green, I'm buyin' it! They did. Seriously, not a single lame song. "Foreign Job Lot" seriously has my favorite breakdown of all time, plus PC assholes find it offensive. "Something Must be Done," fuck, if a band covers this you're moshing. The sound quality is excellent as well compared to the shitty bootlegs or mp3 rips. The layout is an exact reproduction, and there's even a little background story by the guitarist. Essential hardcore for sure! Includes a digital download.


Knife Fight- Isolated
Knife Fight returns from the dead with a new record. I thought their last LP, "Crisis" was kind of a let down, so I was a bit apprehensive about this. It's definitely way better, and faster. Sound wise fits between their 2nd 7" and the faster LP songs. The lyrics are definitely a lot more dark. The cover art becomes a crazy 6 panel full color poster, which is cool, but too bright to fit the music and the bleak lyrics. Not bad, but I still prefer their early 7"s.Includes a digital download.


Knife Fight- Demo 2002
This was a limited re-press of Knife Fight's old demo, which I LOVED. These sold out pretty fast since there was under 200 of these bad boys for sale with "Islolated." I remember when this was originally released, and was real psyched on this band. Sorry to taunt you by talking about how good this record is, and you'll never get a copy. Go download it or something, because this was a killer demo of Negative Approach/FX sounding HC.


Vaccine- Human Hatred
Fuck "Human hatred is right, the hate just oozes through the grooves of this record. It's fast as hell, and over before you get a chance to catch your breath. Musically it is similar to fast as hell bands like Crossed Out, but with pissed off angry straight edge lyrics. I'm into it, and you should definitely be into it. Highly recommended!
Includes a digital download.


Cülo- Nuke Abuse
All I know about Culo is that they're from Chicago, and that "culo" is Spanish for butt. If this record sucked, I could easily say it "sounds like culo." Luckily for the sake of comedy it doesn't. On the contrary, it's quite good good fast thrashy 80's sounding hardcore. The music and art remind me of Direct Control, which is obviously a-ok in my book. I was definitely pleasantly surprised by this record, definitely give it a spin. Their next 7" will be on Deranged if that's a selling point for you.


Night Birds- s/t
Night Birds are from my home state of NJ, who features members of the Ergs, For Science and Hunchback (also 1/2 of SNAKEBiTE). Somewhat of a NJ pop-punk super group, though playing music more akin to Agent Orange, Angry Samoans, Adolescents, etc... The first song, "Prognosis: Negative" starts off w/ a real surfy guitar, and has a pretty good hook (also an obscure Seinfeld reference). The guitar and bass really know how to shred, which keeps things interesting throughout. The B-side has a pretty boring song and an instrumental. It kinda ends on a bad note, but I think the A side hits at some potential for this band. Overall, it comes off as a badass Dirtnap release, but a tame Grave Mistake release. Includes a digital download.


Bad American- s/t
Bad American is a new band from PA, with members of Carpenter Ant and Rancor. I was pretty psyched to check this out, since PA hasn't been cranking out too many quality bands lately. Their sound is somewhere between Wasted Time and the Rival Mob. It straddles the heavy punk with some mosh parts thrown in for good measure. One of the songs seems very close to a Verbal Abuse song, but hey- that's a good band to steal a riff from (ask Acid Reflux). This record is probably the best record to come out of PA in quite some time; I'd like to see them live some time soon.


Libyans- Paralyzed
This was a teaser release before their LP came out. It has my favorite song from the LP, "Paralyzed" and "Keep Waiting" which is exclusive to this release. The cover is a see through envelope, and the lyrics are etched on the B-side. Overall a cool looking record as well as a good sounding one. Now that the LP is out, these may be harder to come by, but if you do, check it out.


Mad World- s/t
I got this record without knowing much about the band, but this is awesome. My first thought based on the name Mad World is that they probably really like Corrosion of Conformity. While I get a slight COC vibe, it's not Animosity, but more an Eye For An Eye sound. It's fast when it needs to be fast, and slow when it needs to be slow. With a name like Mad World, you'd hope it's super pissed off sounding too, which they also deliver on. Kangaroo Records has a good reputation for putting out quality records, and this is no exception. Hope to be hearing more from these guys for sure.


Chainsaw To The Face- s/t
CTTF have been a band for a while, and somehow this is their first (and last?) solo release (aside from demos). CTTF play a crazy mix of powerviolence/grind that stays away from metallic sounding crap. The artwork/ layout is very dark, which fits the music/lyrics. This record I would say is the best possible end for the band, if you have any of their other records then this won't disappoint.


Government Flu- Demo 2008
Government Flu is another band I know nothing about, but I traded the label for a copy and it rules. For a demo 7", the quality is really good. Musically they remind me of Anti You, in that it's kinda an early 80's punk sounding, mixed with early 2000's thrash bands. Real good cover art as well, definitely gonna track done some more records by this band.


Sorry Excuse- Listen With Prejudice
The latest midwest HC sXe band to release some vinyl. On a side note, the midwest seems to be a hot bed of some raging HC and is definitely an area to keep an eye on. Sorry Excuse are no slouch for sure, they play fast angry sXe. Their singer has a real awesome brutal voice, where he could easily sing for an Integrity worship band, but this shit's much better. I have the tour press, but already they win the award for most X's on a record cover.


Boilerman- s/t
After a demo earlier this year, Boilerman made the jump to wax before their summer tour. Continues with their brand of pop-punk that's got a real No idea Records sound to it. It's got that borderline folky vibe, but stays pretty punk in a Dillenger Four kind of way. I could easily see this band playing the Fest in Gainsville. Great band to keep an eye on for sure.


HRT- Confrontation
I was familiar with HRT from the South Will Rise Again comp on Cowabunga Records. The song was real good, but I never heard anything else from the band. I guess the track was from this 7" session, which went un-released for a few years. Then a label in France, of all places, decided to release it as a 1 sided 7". Musically it fits with the vibrant VA scene of a few years ago, mostly Socialcide. A pretty cool record, don't know if the band is still together though.


Lackey Die- s/t
This is a pretty cool reissue of a band from VA's 2 demos from the early 80's. The A side is simialr to other VA bands from the area like Graven Image, God's Will or Honor Role. The B side reminds me of the NJ band Detention, in that it's a bit more quirky. The cover art is screen printed, and compliments the music well. This one's for the HC historians, and a cool document of a long forgotten band.


Chainsaw to the Face/ Backslider
This is possibly the fastest record I've gotten recently. Chainsaw to the Face in my book is the most underrated band in NJ. Their new stuff is faster than ever, bordering on possibly too fast (if that's possible). They're definitely more on the grid side than the power violence influenced side of things. It's really good, and I'm glad they have a bass player now. Backslider has improved by leaps and bounds since their demo. Their playing has gotten a lot tighter, and Logan must have finally hit puberty because the vocals are a lot more deep. Much like CTTF, Backslider plays fast HC somewhere between grind and power violence. Each band crams 10 songs on their side, so you're really getting your fastcore money's worth here.

LP:

Double Negative- Daydreamnation
After recording the damn record 3 times, DN's sophomore LP finally is out. Expectations were certainly high on this one for sure. I had seen them a few times, so I kinda knew what the new stuff was going to sound like. They've definitely gone into a more weird direction, than some of the straight HC of their first LP. Mainly the guitar is all over the place, which leaves the bass and drums to hold things together. The vocals are a little low in the mix, but it still sounds good. I think fans of bands like Pollution and some of the "mysterious guy HC" bands will be way into this. It's good, but I think I preferred their first LP a bit more. The overall package is awesome though, with the pink mirrored embossed cover. Includes a digital download.


Libyans- A Common Place
Libyans's second 12" takes a turn for the more poppy side that they hinted at in the past. Compared to their demo, this is a big departure, but the band had been slowly building into this direction. There's a definite power pop sound, while still staying on the hc/punk side of the spectrum. Some of these songs will definitely get stuck in your head, but I do miss the fast stuff. Includes a digital download.


C.I.A.- God, Guts, Guns, & More
CIA was a band from CT in the 80's. Some of these guys went on to later form 76% Uncertain, but I like CIA a lot better. This LP combines their 7", comp tracks and demo on an LP. I always liked this band from the old mp3s I had, but never heard the non-7" tracks. I will say the 7" is the best, but the other stuff rounds out the discography well. Awesome that this band got the re-press treatment, as I always thought they were underrated. Check it our for sure.


Raw Nerve- s/t
I really liked Raw Nerve's demo and 7", but was a bit skeptical with the band doing a release on Youth Attack. I generally hate the whole YA mystique of black artsy layout, and overpriced records. Unfortunately this is no exception to that, and the record cost me $16 and really doesn't seem like anything more special than any other record. It comes w/ a poster, which is just a photograph that doesn't even say the band name on it. Musically, the A side is pretty damn good fast HC, but with a lot of reverb, but overall sounds a bit muddy. The B-side however is a lot of noise and jibberish, and honestly doesn't even warrant a second listening. If this record was a 7", I think it'd make a lot more sense. I feel like this band would be good live, but they need to cut the artsy BS and just release a regular fucking HC record.
*EDIT: it was brought to my attention that the noise track is the "C Side." I guess there's some sort of double side on the back. Either way, fuck them for doing that too.*


Insubordinates- s/t
Holy crap, if this isn't the best LP of 2010 I'll be shocked. The Insubordinates have a sound that's similar to Agent Orange, the Adolescents and other KBD bands from the early 80's. They released a really cool 2 song single last year. The LP starts off with an instrumental, which I think makes a lot of sense on an LP (as opposed to an EP). The songs w/ vocals are a lot better, and vary in pace from mid to fast, to slow. The songs have some real hooks, and is complimented by the fact that all of the members really can play. There's some great guitar leads/solos as well as complex bass lines. Some of the songs even feature saxophone parts. The record ends with "Rockin' Rochester USA," which is more or less a Jerry Lee Lewis- style rock and roll song. For a band who lives nowhere near a shore, they really pull off the surf influenced punk sound well. It's just as much a hc/punk record as it is a straight old style rock n roll record, right down to the simplistic layout.


Half the Battle- What We Have
HTB is a band from the Philippines, who has a sort of modern youth crew sound. I know nothing about the scene there, so I'm not sure if this style is typical or not for that area. I can probably guarantee that this is the only band from the Philippines in my collection. The band actually features an American singer, so the songs are in English with good grammar (as opposed to many foreign bands that sing in English). It kind of reminds me of early Bane or Champion, and there's even a Rancor cover (yea, really). Overall the playing could be a bit tighter, but it's pretty cool. The art features a bunch of anime kids beating up a robot. Maybe the robot was a drug dealer, either way robots are cool.


Cobra- Hits, Rarities and More
Cobra is an Oi band from Japan, with some heavy british punk influence. Some of the other stuff I'd heard was almost bordering on new wave, but stayed in the Oi genre. This collection however must be from their later period, because it's way more new wave sounding. I'm not really into it. Someone needs to reissue/bootleg "Oi Oi Oi," because that LP rules.


The Comes- No Outsider
This is a bootleg of their classic "No Side" LP along with their songs from the Outsider comp. The Comes were a Japanese hardcore band that played blisteringly fast with a female vocalist. None of the songs are in English, but it doesn't matter because the riffage was top notch. They seriously had some great music here. I would compare more to a mix of the Stalin and Gauze. If you're down with the Japanese stuff, and haven't heard this, you owe it to yourself to get it. If you've already listened to the mp3s of this a million times, the LP is an extremely good quality, and worth actually owning.

CD:

Black America- The Process of Bitching Out
I got this CDr from the band, and was really surprised at how good it was. They said it was basically a free download/ free CDr give away release. The quality though is good enough to be put to wax, and it's not their demo. Musically it kind of reminds me of Warkrime in it's offensive nature, but being able to back it up w/ good music. They have a sort of RKL vibe. Apparently they're doing a new 7" soon, hopefully that gets the proper treatment. Go to the band's Myspace page and download it for yourself.

Demo/Tape:
Rations- Anger and Disgust (pro-tape)
Rations is a new 5-piece (not 4 like the cover says) DC sXe band with members of Coke Bust, Sick Fix, Time to Escape, among others. This band however is not as fast as those bands, and has a heavy quality. Not heavy like Trapped Under Ice, more heavy like Feel The Darkness-era Poison Idea. Really good demo here, I just wish it came with some lyrics.

Night Prowler- Crime Wave (tape)
I bought this on a whim after it was described as a mix between 86 Mentality and Wasted Time. I hear that, but there's a heavy early 80's Boston sound to it, and some songs remind me of Last Rights and Negative Approach. If you're gonna bite riffs from any band, those are good ones to do it from. I listened to this demo a lot, and really want to see more from this band. The layout is nice and clean, and made to look like old cassettes w/ the LP artwork.

Noose (tape)
Noose is the newest sXe band from Chicago with ex-members of Poison Planet and Boiling Over (current members of Duress and Boilerman). Musically it leans more towards Poison Planet, which makes sense since Kyle wrote all the music on the demo and 7". It also has a somewhat harder edge like Judge or Confront, but still on the punk side. They lyrics are angry and hate-filled, just like I like it. I don't know what's in the water in Chicago, but their scene's been consistently churning out awesome bands.

Last Laugh (CD-R)
So when I got this CDr it wouldn't play in my CD player. Tried it in a few different ones, and nope wouldn't work. So I went against my own policy and found the mp3s, so I' reviewing them basically. The artwork looks dark, and the music is like Tear It Up ran through some crusty kinda filter. I think the band features some members of Criminal Intent from Nova Scotia as well. This demo is damn good, but you guys owe me $2 for that blank CD you sold me.

Record Reviews (late spring/early summer 2010)

This reviews post was another one months in the waiting. Busy with some art shows, as you can see from my blog. I also started a label, and have subsequently started a distro. That means large amounts of records coming to my doorstep. Like delivering drugs to an addict I say... Also, I apologize for the large amount of Extortion and Pollution reviews. Both bands rule, fuck you.
There's also a large chunk of Rochester, NY bands reviewed here. My band, Wormeaters, recently went up there for a weekend tour, and that places rules. It's like someone transported the early 80's California scene to upstate NY in 2010. Lots of young kids circle pitting, and some real good bands.

7":

Extortion- s/t
I had heard good things about Extortion for a while, but hadn't checked em out until now. Now I feel stupid, because this rules. This is a re-press of their first record, and what you get is traditional power violence hardcore. Their sound is like No Comment meets Lack of Interest, and doesn't fall into the grindcore or metal trappings that most bands playing this revival fall into. I literally went to Deep Six's webstore and ordered everything I could by this band recently, it's that good.


INJ/SYS [Injustice System]- Spoken Word
I loved Injustice System's demo, and this 7" picks up right where it left off. Their music is heavily influenced by the early 80's NYHC bands, they even cover Antidote and The Abused on this. The song are fast and to the point, with a cool screen printed cover with Pettibon inspired artwork. Great debut 7"! Look for a split 7" w/ my band Bloodtype to be out very soon.


Born Bad- Tie One On
Born Bad is one of those bands I thought was good, but kind of fell short on their recordings. This record is the vinyl pressing of their demo, and it's killer. I think the raw recording really highlights their sound. I like this way more than their other 2 7"s, so hopefully their new material is recorded like this.


Low Threat Profile- s/t
The word supergroup doesn't get thrown around in hardcore a lot, but what else would you call a band comprised of members of Infest, No Comment and Lack of Interest? It's really the best sum of all parts, just fast fucking hardcore. This was recorded before 9/11, and for reason went unreleased for almost 10 years. I honestly couldn't recommend this high enough, if this had come out on time it'd already be a classic.


Devour- Insect Circuitry
I've been a big fan of Devour from the first second I heard their LP, and after going on tour w/ them I'm an even bigger fan now. Devour play a somewhat D-beat/ crust/ Japanese-influenced hardcore, but don't tread into the crappy stereotypes that genre produces. These new songs I feel like have a sort of Swedish/UK crust influence, or some early 80's metal influenced HC. Either way it fucking rules. The A side has 2 kinda slower tracks, where Side B is a full scale HC assault. "Laugh Track" is such a good song, that I usually listen to the B side first.


Manipulation- s/t
Their demo was a killer, so buying this 7" was a no brainer. The sound is even more raw and distorted on this, which I was pleasantly surprised. Their sound has a Japanese quality to its delivery, but the songs give me an early Dicharge vibe. They re-record "secrets" and "choking man" from the demo, but with more ferocity. It even looks cool, with a white ink on black paper silkscreen. Don't be stupid, get this!


Talk is Poison- Rage to Infinity
Talk is Poison is one of my favorite late 90's hardcore bands, and I heard they played some shows recently. It wasn't until after Chaos in Tejas Fest that I found out that they recorded and released a new 7", so i scrambled to find a copy. The music unfortunately doesn't live up to the high standard that TIP set for themselves. I think it's maybe not fast enough. It's still good, but doesn't really live up to the name. Maybe I'm being unfair, but if this was some new band I'd probably be into it, it just doesn't sound like the same old Talk Is Poison. The overall package is cool with a silk screened cover on a brown board.


Pollution- n.s. Drugs
Pollution return with a new 7", which picks up where their LP left off. The sound quality is very similar, and these songs are just as good. It's really hard for me to describe this band, it's got elements of hardcore, metal, alternative and god knows what else. The result is this heavy loud wall of sound. I would recommend this if you're new to the band, as an LP may be a bit much on first listen, and this will give you an idea of what you're in for. There's a cover of "Downer" by Lush if that means anything to you, I've never heard of em...


Insubordinates- 1968 b/w Rendezvous
The Insubordinates is a never band from Rochester, who play very Adolescents influenced punk. "1968" is real good, as is "Rendezvous" which is an instrumental. I don't know if it's a good idea to have your first release be a 2 song 7" w/ 1 of those songs being instrumental, but what do I know. Very cool vintage 45 single looking layout too. They have an LP that should be out any day now that's killer, definitely check that out as well as this.


Bad Taste- I Was a Teenage Jack the Ripper
I saw Bad Taste almost 2 years ago, and they were a scrappy young early 80's influenced HC/Punk band. They've since matured a bit, and are a little less raw, but still real good. Treading into a weird place, it's got a KBD HC sound. They also cover the old song "Summertime Blues," which is actually pretty cool. I saw them recently, and their new material is more like early Pissed Jeans. Make of that what you like.


Rational Animals- Distorted Temptation
Rational Animals play a style of HC similar to a lot of bands who worship later era Black Flag. If this was on Youth Attack, people would be going crazy for it, but it's way better than most of those bands. They really have their own sound, which is really cool. Just as good as their first 7", if not better. Awesome silkscreened covers with some great art by Scott Bentz.


Cannomen- Science Studies the Black Hole
This band features 3/4 ex-Life Trap members, but sounds nothing like that band. These guys are more melodic/ garagey punk. Similar in style to bands like Deep Sleep, it borders on pop-punk, but stays in a more 80's California sound. Not bad, cool layout- I like the triangle insert.


UX Vileheads- Catch 22
This is a new band with members of a lot of the cooler recent Swedish bands, but I'd say stand son its own. It's probably way faster than those other bands that the Umea scene is known for too. There's a melody hidden under some fast raw hardcore punk music, and some of these songs will get caught in your head. The guitar tone is also spot on, with a few well placed leads. Definitely worth checking out.


Extortion/ Septic Surge
My recent obsession w/ Extortion brought me to this split. The Extortion side opens up like a punch in the face. The first song is so ridiculously good, it barely even has a chorus and rages like hell for under a minute. Usually split bands use for throw away songs, this is certainly not the case. A side note, I threw this on at 33rpm at first, and it sounded hard as hell, like good era Integrity. Septic Surge sounds like Man Is The Bastard/ Bastard Noise, which isn't really my thing. Great artwork on both sides.


Capitalist Casualties/ Lack Of Interest
What year is it? Seriously, who'd have thought in 2010 we'd get new songs by both of these bands. Capitalist Casualties have always been a band I liked and owned many records of, but really kinda never stood out for some reason. These songs are good, but I was more interested in the LOI side. Lack Of Interest is kind of inconsistent, due to having different singers on their releases. This vocalist sounds like the same from their last LP, which is ok but not my favorite. The stuff on here is real good, but not "Trapped Inside" good. Both bands really do sound good, and for $8ppd you get this split 7" and Short Fast and Loud zine. Most 7"s with shipping will cost you close to $8 anyway, might as well get a cool zine with it.

LP:

Anti You- Two-Bit Schemes and Cold War Dreams
I liked Anti-You's previous releases, and even did a show for them on their US tour. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Anti You was from America, as their sound is heavily influences by early 80's US HC. This LP I like more than their last 7", and they really stepped it up a notch on this. They play super fast, but there's a hint of melody like early Circle Jerks. The LP art is done by the same artist who did their previous records, and I like the overall look of their records.


No Friends- Traditional Failures
This is No Friends' second record, but my first of theirs. If you don't know, they feature Tony of Municipal Waste on vocals. If you're a devout Waste fan, you'd probably not be into this though... unless you like pop-punk. No Friends play a style of melodic hardcore, very similar to Kid Dynamite. I could see this band going over big with the Gainesville Fest crowd, but feels kind of thin to me. Pretty solid for a side project though, and the layout is real cool.


Extortion- Loose Screws
This is Extortion's most recent release, which is obviously great. The recording quality is not as raw as their previous record, but somehow they make up for it by playing faster and tighter. They make the start and stop song structure seem easy, I don't know how they pull it off. This is basically an LP, it just happens to be a 10".


Pollution- ® SMUT
Pollution come back with a vengeance on this new LP. Their other 2 records were recorded a while back, and were originally just cassette tapes. It may seem like Pollution has been cranking out records lately, but it's just because people are starting to realize how good they are. This LP really showcases where the band's at now. Still fast, still raw, still noisy as hell. I get a slight Sonic Youth vibe in its overall noisiness, but mixed with a heavy dose of later era Black Flag still in the mix. You should probably get this too...

CD:

Hummingbird of Death- Show Us The Meaning OF Haste
The only other HOD record I had was their split w/ I Accuse, which I think may have been their first release. They've definitely come a long way since then, because this LP is really good. A lot of bands that play fastcore can't pull off a good LP, because their songs are so short. Hummingbird of Death proves me wrong with a mix of short blasts, and longer mid-paced dirges. Who would have thought this kind of music would come from Idaho? Cool tattoo flash looking cover art, but the rest of the layout is fairly standard.


HookHands- The Dead Hate The Living
Hookhands sent me this CD a while back, but I jsut got to it now (sorry dudes). The cover art looks like a kind of nu-metal band, but actually the music is a lot more like good 80's crossover thrash. You like Slayer and Exodus? Of course you do, then you should check this out. There's a lot of bands that play this style and make it a joke, but their lyrics are pretty cool. A lot of horror/gore influenced lyrics, which I'll take over pizza party BS any day. Some of the solos could be tighter on the metal side, but there's also a definite HC influence (as shown by the CroMags cover). I was definitely surprised by this.


Extortion- Degenerate
I never buy CDs, I like Extortion so much that I bought this. This was their first LP, and has a more raw quality. I like this a lot, and sounds very similar to approach on their first record. Have I mentioned how I love the art on all of their albums, it's violent and dark. There's bonus tracks on here, one being a song called "Forced Down Your Throat," which I was extremely bummed to find wasn't an SSD cover.

DEMO/TAPES:
The Rival Mob- Hardcore For Hardcore (tape)
This is basically a teaser for their new 7" "Hardcore For Hardcore," since both of their records are out of print. The title track is really good, typical RM style, which raises my hopes for their new 7". Next is a cover of "Positive Scene" by Crippled Youth. I've seen them do this live, and it's killer and way faster than the original. Next is kinda weird, a remix of "Mind Closed For Life" from the demo. It's the same recording, but with piano and horns overlayed in the mix. Cool, but strange. Finally a live cover of "Better Man" by Pearl Jam. What the fuck right? They nail it like any bar band would, playing it faithful to the original... go figure. There's also some funny samples between songs, which kinda showcases the band's sense of humor (if you've ever seen them live, you know what I mean).

Mob Mentality (pro-tape)
The cover has a skinhead looking dude stomping through a city with an American flag shirt, I'm sold already. Mob Mentality is from the DC area and plays a style of HC which is similar to early AF/WarZone, but with a bit of Side By Side. An overall good demo, though could be a little bit better. I heard they got a new singer and second guitarist recently, so maybe that will give it that extra punch.

Narcs (CDr)
The Narcs are another new Rochester band, who have an 80's punk influenced sound. Definitely have a snotty skate punk sound to them, but with more of an obscure Killed By Death band sound. The vocals are very distorted, but there's definitely some cool guitar and bass playing here. A record by these guys will no doubt be real good.

Pollution- 120608 (pro-tape)
The first side of this tape is from a live set in Brooklyn, which is a sampling of songs from their 1st LP and 7". The other side has a covers of Black Flag and Honor Role, both good. The live set is a decent recording, though a bit drum and bass heavy. Pollution super fans need this. The overall look of the tape is cool. It's a photocopied cover on this crazy shiny gold paper.

Omegas- Joyboymix (tape)
I ordered this from the band recently. It's got a few Omegas outtakes and a live set, and some other bands they're friends with or used to be in. There's 2 of their former bands' songs that later became Omegas songs, which is really cool. Another highlight are the songs by "Boner Hogan," which are songs that were used in porno movies apparently. Pretty ridiculous is an understatement. The inclusion of the "Hoagieman" song is even more ridiculous, and I'm sure anyone not from the PA/NJ area will have no clue what's going on. There's some cool songs on here, and some throwaways. The live set is real good- it opens up w/ an Offspring cover (seriously), and ends with an SSD cover and "Gimme Oblivion." I like that this tape is actually long, and while some songs I'd wanna skip it's overall real cool.

How the mighty have fallen...

Growing up, Guns N Roses and Metallica were huge around the time I was first really getting into music. Here it is about 20 years later, and both bands recently released new albums. I rented both from the library after avoiding hearing any new songs until now. Rather than just download them, I wanted to get the full experience. I wrote about each song while listening to them, so you're getting my first impressions track by track.


Guns N Roses- Chinese Democracy
We all know this album took around 10 years to finish, so here it is... The opening track "Chinese Democracy" sounds like AXL's doing a duet w/ himself. There's both screachy AXL and singing AXL, and there's a bunch of guitar solos, none of which very interesting. The next track, "Shackler's Revenge" has a pretty terrible Nine Inch Nails vibe. The chorus at least seems to have a hook to it, so I could imagine this being on the radio. Luckily I don't listen to the radio. "Better" is almost similar to later era GNR, but ultimately falls flat. "Streets on Dreams" is a piano heavy mid paced song, but it sure as hell is no "November Rain," which I think is what they were going for. The next track "If the World" has a funk meets industrial meets Spanish guitar thing going on... Pretty bad, yea! "There was a Time" is the longest track on the CD, and one of the most boring. "Catcher in the Rye" is another mid paced piano/synthesizer rocker. A little more interesting, but still not holding my interest. "Riad N' The Bedouins" is an attempt/failure at a straight forward rock song. "Sorry" is AXL once again attacking his critics, but I mean honestly, can you blame them. "IRS" is only a little bit more interesting, but maybe just because it was shorter than the previous songs. It seems like they were trying to make "Madagascar" the epic of the album. It's mid paced, and has samples of speeches and movie quotes. They even have the same sample they used before "Civil War" on "Use Your Illusion II." The fake violin sounds aren't helping either. "This I Love" is definitely the slow ballad of the album, but falls massively short of a "power ballad" or even a "monster ballad. "Prostitute" ends the album pretty much the same as the rest of the songs, nothing too interesting here. Overall, the only really listenable tracks are "Chinese Democracy, Skackler's Revenge and Madagascar;" but I probably wouldn't listen to even those again.
The cover art is pretty boring, but the inside layout is way more interesting. Basically live shots w/ halftoned images in the background behind the lyrics. They should have gotten the designer who did the inside to do the outside. The credits and thank yous in the back take up 5 pages, but I guess that makes sense when you start recording an album 10 years ago. If this album came out when it logically should have, I may have not been as critical. Overall however, it lacks the punch and attitude that made me like GNR in the first place though. This is pretty disgraceful, and I'd listen to Velvet Revolver any day over this... Make another "Appetite for Destruction," not "Use Your Illusion" III!


Metallica- Death Magnetic
When I popped this into my computer, the song lengths in iTunes got me hopeful. Seems Metallica has abandoned making radio-length crappy songs. "That Was Just Your Life" kicks off pretty good, but loses some momentum when the vocals come in. The drumming is pretty boring, but at least has better tone than on the last album. "The End Of The Line" has some shadows of more "Black Album"-era Metallica. So far, this is better than I was expecting. "Broken, Beat & Scarred" is kinda heavy, but again falls flat in the vocal department. "The Day That Never Comes" reminds me of some of the slower ballads on the Black Album, but the lead guitar tone just seems off for some reason. It does speed up towards the end, but the lyrics are pretty crappy. "All Nightmare Long" starts off real good with a 2 minute instrumental part, but again gets boring when the vocals kick in. "Cyanide" is a little more aggressive than the previous tracks. The next song is called "The Unforgiven III" as if "The Unforgiven" and "The Unforgiven II" weren't enough. Obviously my expectations were pretty low for this one, and they were met. "The Judas Kiss" actually isn't too bad, and kinda has an "Enter Sandman" vibe. The intro to "Suicide & Redemption" is pretty cool w/ the bass playing, but is ultimately ruined by some pretty bad guitar. I do like the idea of an instrumental track, but this needs to be a lot faster to hold my interest. It seems weird that "My Apocalypse" ends the album, since it's the shortest track, but one of the better songs. It's cool that they tried to tap in their old style of song writing for this, but I think it's still too tame sounding. The song lengths pretty much guarantee that nothing will be played on the radio, but the songs lack the fury of their older days.
The layout of the cover is pretty interesting. the whole book has a die-cut in the middle of a coffin, so visually it looks like you're going deeper into the ground with each page. Occasionally the die-cut hole is used in each page's layout, but most times not. The holes do however cut into the lyrics, which I would think would be more important than the imagery. Overall I'd say this is probably the best record they've done since the Black Album, but I still would rather hear them recapture the magic of "Master of Puppets" and "Ride the Lightning."

OK, after wasting a little over an hour of my precious time (that was sarcasm), I'd say that both albums suck. I would take the Metallica album over the Guns N Roses album by far, but Metallica has more good albums than GNR do anyway. Metallica have made an improvement on what they'd been doing recently by far, which maybe you can credit it to (professional turd polisher) Rick Rubin. Guns N Roses took over 10 years to write, record and release a terrible album. This is why most old bands that still tour just stick to a greatest hits set list.