Trenchfoot- s/t 7" review

Trenchfoot- s/t 7” review

Holy shit, powerviolence and fastcore got heavy.  Spazz, Infest, D.R.I., Deathrats…  they were all fast, but the guitars and bass were a little light, and for million-beats-a-minute music like most powerviolence is, it never affected the quality (because who needs dark and heavy when the speed more than makes up for it?).  But THIS… this is a new-ish style of powerviolence.  I haven’t heard much as of yet; this is darker, heavier, tuned down, like Amebix or Axegrinder started doing speed (and quit heroin).  The speed has always been what does it for hardcore (at least to me), but this heaviness gives an extra emotional edge, making the world seem just a little more hopeless, and holy shit, it rules.  Trenchfoot’s self-titled 7” piece of wax is a piece of a new movement in hardcore/ powerviolence where darker and louder is better; this band, Mob Rules, Lack of Interest, and Weekend Nachos are the proliferators of this new movement, and despite the heavy, hopeless, pummeling beats that this awesome record has to offer, it is over before one knows it.  Turn it over, and spin it again; it’s worth more than just one trial listen.

-Aunty Social

Triple Crossed- Trapped Like Rats review

Triple Crossed- Trapped Like Rats review

This record cuts right to the chase, so I will do the same- this is that gap between youth crew and 80s hardcore, and it fucking rules, especially here because it has so much that sets it above the rest (note, not apart, above).  It has this incredibly punch-y bass that sounds a lot like the bass in Choking Victim songs, twangs and punches alike.  It’s odd that such a thing would be the primary distinction in an 80s hardcore record, but such is indeed the case.  Back to what makes youth crew and 80s hardcore awesome… it’s high energy, stop-and-go, done-in-a-minute hardcore, i.e. the kind of hardcore that existed prior to windmilling, Henry Rollins-wannabe macho jocks and their subsequent takeover of the pit.  This is some real punch-and-crunch hardcore (punch in the bass, crunch in the guitar), and along with In Defence, this is one of the best Twin Cities punk bands active as of late.  Fucking stellar.

-Aunty Social

The Terrordactyls- Unknown Terror 7" review

The Terrordactyls- Unknown Terror 7” review

Being a kid from the digital age, I find it tremendously odd when a metal album comes out on vinyl at all (metal-heads are usually a bit less idealistic than the punks, not that there’s anything wrong with that), and to see it on a 7” record is even weirder, given the average length of metal songs.  Regardless, as soon as I heard this band had members of In Defence and played straight-up thrash, I knew that it didn’t matter one bit what format the record came out on.  It was set to be pretty good.  Did it live up to the hype that I had preconceptually given it?  After a spin or two, I would have my answer.

The first song “Straight Edge Kids at the Liquor Store” takes up a whole side of the EP, and it’s well worth an entire side of a record.  The song is one of the best, most refined, most captivating I have heard come from a metal band in a very long time.  I’m talking levels of attention-grabbing near “Painkiller”, “Iron Maiden”, and “Angel of Death”.  That’s how good this song is.  It’s got the thrashing speed, both on drums and the guitars, and the vocals are straight youth crew style singing, and surprisingly, it works here, better than it would any other thrash band.  However, add in the gang vocals for the chorus, and you can see the members are very influenced by these youth crew bands.  Shit, sounds good to me!  Next was “Dude-geoisie, Oppressors of the Bro-letariat”, and while this one was shorter, it still packed the same punch-y vibe the previous song brought; though this song wasn’t quite as good as the first, it’s still pretty fucking good- I prefer to think of it as the epilogue to the last song, at least a bit.  Concluding this metallic EP was “Chemical Toilet”, which, while fast, seemed a bit more mid-tempo than the other two gems.  Too, it accompanied more gang vocals this time around, though I could not complain.  It was still a gnarly song, but I wasn’t as wowed as I was with the first two.  Regardless, this one still trumps “Between the Hammer and the Anvil”.  That’s something!

Thrash-tards, crossover cretins, and putrid punks alike ought to love this EP.  Speed, hilarity, gang vocals, low cost… what the fuck else do you want!?  It’s all here- buy or die.

-Aunty Social

Vivisect- Anarko Not Peace Punk demo tape review

Vivisect- Anarko Not Peace Punk demo tape review

I actually thought these dudes were from Britain when I first heard ‘em, prior to seeing them at the CAID in Detroit in August 2011.  The singer sounds British, the layout is classic kickass anarcho punk, and it’s on a cassette… it’s all there, so my judgment was not an ill-informed one.  In the end, I discovered that they were from Houston, Texas, and not England.  I was elated at this discovery, because that meant they might (and did!) play in Detroit.  Regardless, they spoke discernible English, and had everything a good anarcho (not peace) punk band has that succeeded.

With no doubts evoked, the band put out a hell of a “demo” (more like a full-length!); the sound quality is very good, not too rough.  Imagine Conflict, if they got even more pissed, tightened up their instruments (tuning them down a step or so, too), and were instead a three piece.  Even though band-to-band comparisons get tiring, it’s fitting here; despite not being the most original group, they put out a hell of a record, which is more than most groups can say.  In short, who gives a shit how innovative your group is, if the music flat out sucks?  Conversely, who gives a shit how generic your group is, if it’s fucking good?  Also, these guys are much more realistic about the usual left-wing political spectrum, instead approaching topics with a pragmatic view and the self-preservative perspective that non-violence doesn’t always work.  This in and of itself is enough to make them different.  It’s a crusty contradiction (fuck you, Starburst).  Without getting in-depth, suffice it to say I agree far more with the Vivisects and the Malcolm X’s of the world than the Mob’s and Martin Luther King’s of the world, and that made this already tight demo even better.  The tape begins with their mission statement/ slogan song “This ain’t peace punk, we mean war”, and jumps into six more original, blunt songs that stand up and shout, so to speak (thanks, Dio!), and concludes with the Axegrinder cover “Grind the Enemy”, and they put a far better spin on it than Axegrinder ever did.

If you’re a fan of any anarcho punk, get this demo ASAP- this is one of the better tapes/ demos of 2011.  If you’re a crusty and you’re not repping this band, you’re fucking up.  I’m just a plain, un-subdivided punk rocker, and I happily rep this band.

-Aunty Social

Question- Insanity 7" review

Question- Insanity 7” review

An excellent vocalist in punk and hardcore spits like it’s… well, spit.  The distinct sounds of a gruff bark or a shrill scream are manifested in both the jarring lyrics and the spit (perceived or actual) emanating from the singer, and are indicative of an impassioned misanthrope at the helm of a punk rock boat.  Sometimes, male vocalist can pull this off, but the deepness of male voices lowers the percentage of males who can pull off this venomous sound; oddly enough, the women tough enough to withstand the culture of punk rock are often singers, and the majority of that population are also really fucking good at what they do.  Kaelen from Agatha, Amy from Nausea, Stephanie of Vivisuk, Poly Styrene, Ami from Nu-kle-er Blast Suntan, Sarah from Appalachian Terror Unit, Madison from Cloud Rat, Wendy O. Williams, Kathleen Hanna, the singers from Boneblack, Anti-Product, Deathrats, DIRT, Witch Hunt… I could go on.  They have the passion, energy, intelligence, and the motherfucking presence to command an army (punks or soldiers, you decide).  One of the best among these wickedly wonderful women is the former singer of D-beat crust band Detestation, Saira Huff.  Now she has a newer band, and it’s even better…

The feel of this whole record is independent and DIY; the record cover is had-crafted and much more palpable than most other sleeves.  The songs are intensely personal, furiously ferverous sonic assaults of straight raw 80s hardcore, shouted with a gravelly female voice filled with venom.  This album is perfect in what it is, both in production and attitude.  It is a well-mixed, appropriately gritty, gender-neutral misanthropic slab of wax.  This record is the exemplary release of one of my most favorite bands, and this record is exactly why they are as such.  If you’ve ever listened to 80s hardcore, you’ll dig the shit out of this.  If you like good music, you’ll dig the shit out of this.

-Aunty Social