Welcome to 2013 compilation LP review

Welcome to 2013 compilation LP review

The packaging and the zine that comes with this record are excellent, as per normal with Not Normal.  Detailed, artistic, captivating, everything a compilation should be.

The two tracks Basque Country band Hondartzako Hondakinak offer are pure chaos, unfocused hardcore punk with a lacking sense of rhythm- I’m not complaining.  Cülo is as they always are- pure nihilistic snot without a bass or regard for common existence of man; it is mutant, through and through.  Adjustment to Society is one of my favorite PNW hardcore punk bands with some of the hardest-hitting, brutally honest lyrics I’ve read to date.  They’re no longer a band now, but I can’t say enough good things about them anyways.  I am at a loss for words on what to say about Big Crux’s track.  Ooze had me confused at first as well, but eventually I did realize that it’s a shell of weirdness with a thrashy punk center filling.  Haute Couture’s track is a straight-up Bad Brains-worship intro conjoined with some gnarly d-beat, quite good.  Inservibles has two tracks of noisy raw punk, adequate at what it is but just a little too unpolished for my taste.  Tenement… I really tried to get into this band, but honestly, I hate this track, through and through.  I’m sure it’s decent indie rock music, but I really fucking hate indie rock music.

Side two brought Negative Degree first- nervous fits of rage-filled 80s hardcore punk, 100% piss and vinegar.  Brown Sugar’s track is another minute-long blast of funky weirdness, but it has a drive to it.  Porkeria is a band that sound as though Los Crudos listened to a lot of classic 80s hardcore (even though they probably already did).  The Spanish-speaking nations seem to make some badass hardcore; not sure if there’s a correlation between the two, but it doesn’t matter, because no matter who made it, these tracks rip.  NASA Space Universe- a strange mix of noise punk and the drearier side of Chaos UK songs; I wasn’t into it.  Good Throb- whoa, what a band.  They are as if X-Ray Spex were angrier and funnier, and given how insightful Poly Styrene was (RIP), this is saying something.  Catchy, biting, driving- everything punk should ever be in two tracks.  Bored Straight has ripped for a while, but these two songs are a step above, yet still fit with the rough and weird mix of punk tracks on this compilation.  They are a modern Midwestern version of The Neos.  Broken Prayer is a halfway decent Chicago group, playing some post punk/industrial punk- unique, though this track is not a particularly standout one for this band.  Closing out this undoubtedly weird record is Thee Nodes, who blast some heavily-drenched-in-reverb noise punk, probably best experienced under the influence of hallucinogens.  Spacey as fuck, no doubt.

I can highly recommend half the bands on this, the rest are honestly too weird for me.  If you like super weird, you might dig it, but I thrive on rhythm and a mild resemblance of normality, so do with that what you will.

-Aunty Social

ARBCO Flexi #2 compilation 7” review

ARBCO Flexi #2 compilation 7” review

Lord Centipede’s “Blizzard of Cocaine” rips like a modernized Black Flag would- fast, driving, punishing, desperate, and at times repetitive (ignore Greg Ginn’s new Black Flag stuff, and imagine if Black Flag came out today with more modern influences, if that’s possible).  It has a downtuned and dark feel to the guitar element, which makes for a very interesting noisemaker.  Suicide By Cop’s “Why Try?” begins as experimental and jazzy before blasting into something that does sound downright like a First Four Years-era Black Flag outtake with the very definitive guitar tone, anxious and raspy singer, and reasonably fast-paced beat.  This is different than most of Suicide By Cop’s other material, not to mention better.  Scissor Now!’s “Sexual Kombucha” starts out with a funky bass line and horn (trombone, I think) line in the background, and then a weird chant by all three members that is eventually followed up by a slow chorus line and an absolutely strange coda, before breaking into a verse of bizarre chanting once again- it’s almost barbershop-quartet esque, but not as well-coordinated.  The explicit and implicit sexual tones of this song are interesting, and only add to the sheer level of weirdness, mindfuckery, and head-scratching curiosity that this song brings.  Two songs of Black Flag-influenced hardcore punk mixed with one song of something that is almost too weird for mankind to have concocted and organized.  Gotta love it- I do.

-Aunty Social

F.O.A.D.- Filthiest of Apocalyptic Detroit compilation LP review

F.O.A.D.- Filthiest of Apocalyptic Detroit compilation LP review

As a package, this is a great example of how to do a compilation on vinyl- four bands, two songs each, lyrics and band shots included, and layout ever so crisp, complete with a painting by Tim “Shagrat” Jenkins, who also appears in two bands on this compilation.  So, by appearance, I see a great level of potential.  Would the music live up to it (and the level of local popularity all the featured bands have)?

First song on the record is Reaper’s “Satanic Leather”, a tale of being metal dogs in Detroit, and detailing a series of unfortunate events that happened with the band, yet it never deterred them from continuing to make music.  The riffs are good, and the leads rip, but the vocals have a bit too much reverb, and they’re hard to hear.  A good song in its own right, though.  I’ll be the audiophile who likes the song, but not the mixing job.  “Satan Approves” is a title that, for some reason, reminds me of the Jesus figure in Dogma, but of a dark red, winged figure giving a cheery thumbs up instead.  Music-wise, I like the vocals better on this song, and the music is blitzing thrash metal in its lo-fi glory.  Very gnarly.  Next is Perversion, a more blackened thrash metal band who has been around for a few years, only recently playing bigger gigs and getting out of town more.  “Morbid Aggressor” has some tight playing and some leads that shred, but I couldn’t get into it- maybe it wasn’t fast enough, or the vocals were a bit rough for me, but I wasn’t banging my head much.  “Storm of Evil” picks up the pace and carries in some better riffs and vocals, ringing heavily of “Hell Awaits” and “Chemical Warfare”-era Slayer.  The song carries on for a bit too long, but otherwise is a solid metal jam.

Shitfucker kicks off the other side of the wax with “Bestial Ice”.  The lyrics leave me with more questions than answers- I’ll leave it at that.  The music is decent- the drums are tight, maybe mixed a bit too high, the bass and guitar are bit hard to hear and possibly mixed too low, but they can be heard distinctly if one listens closely enough.  The vocals are truly unique- extremely weird, but unique.  “Araknophobia” is an evenly mixed metal-punk song that seems to have an organ in the background- very cool, actually.  Same style of vocals here; the guitars and bass are both a little more audible, and it really helps them sound better.  I could circle pit to this song.  Lastly is Anguish, who have gone from a more straightforward crust punk sound to a rock and roll-leaning Motorhead style of music.  The vocals are nowhere near Lemmy’s trademark growl-y shout, and instead are clear and not too far off from Ian Gillan’s Deep Purple-era voice, and (dare I say it) is also comparable to Axe Ripper’s melodic-styled vocals, though it is distinctly different.  “The Onslaught Continues” is alright, but as a song, I’m not a big fan.  I was never that into mid-paced 70s-era heavy metal beyond the classics, and even those only somewhat so- in other words, not my style of music, to a large extent.  The bass sound is fucking sweet, though.  “A Blade in the Dark” has better riffs and better song formation- despite being a bit too long, it still rocks.  It may be the mix of the funky, cool bass sound with the speed metal guitar sound, but I dig this a bit.  Deserves a jam every so often.

Weirdly enough, the bands’ second song is better with all four bands, in my opinion.  Not a must have, but absolutely worth borrowing from a friend.

-Aunty Social