Negative Approach on WFMU

Negative Approach tearing it up on WFMU in May of 2008. John Brannon sounding more vicious than ever, and the NA hate gun firing off round after round of your favorites from their catalog and a couple of covers.

The set list:

Lost Cause

Can't Tell No One

Sick of Talk

Hypocrite

Dead Stop

Whatever I Do

Tied Down

Evacuate

Your Mistake

Why Be Something That You're Not

Pressure

Fair Warning

Nothing

Borstal Breakout (Sham 69)

Never Surrender (Blitz)

Solitary Confinement.

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666

Ever wonder what Vangelis did before he wrote that totally lame song from Chariots of Fire? Probably not, but he did have a satanic prog band of hairy Greek warlocks and pre-pubescent witches. Actually Aphrodite's Child started as a pretty run o' the mill hard psych band who released two sub-good albums. However, in 1972, after moving to Paris, Vangelis and his woolly coven recorded their meisterwerk. 666 is a massive conceptual double album based on The Book of Revelations, the bible's heaviest bit. Even though there is a strong occult vibe, and the subject matter is the Apocalypse, the material that makes up 666 is strangely upbeat and festive. Vangelis employed a myriad of instruments to meet the epic scope of his vision. 666 is easily one of the more satisfying ways to spend an hour, and I'm pretty sure the bible doesn't have any Hammond B3 or sitars in it.

εδώ

Ildra

Ildra are a band from the U.K. whose distant, pagan-themed Black Metal brings to mind the atmosphere and spirit of mid-period Graveland. To Elreordgum Landum is Ildra's second cassette. It was released in 2005 in a limited number of 300. It's quite good.

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To Valhalla Esa!

It is with a heavy heart I announce the passing of Esa, bassist of the legendary Swedish hardcore band Disarm. In honor of his memory I have decided to post their classic Dömd ep from 1986. Although I didn't know Esa, this record has given me much pleasure and comfort like a good friend. To Valhalla!

Goodbye

Cock!

The snot-nosed, machete-wielding, molotov cocktail-hurling noise beast known as The Hanatarashi was formed in 1984 by Yamatsuka Eye, who later gained more notoriety as the singer of The Boredoms. The "band" quickly became infamous for their completely destructive and over-the-top live performances. These early shows are the stuff of legend and myth. Did Eye really destroy a venue with a bulldozer at a Hanatarshi show? Did he really almost cut his own leg off with a circular saw? Well, I'd like to believe so.

Hanatarashi's first album is a harsh, toxic wind of pure power electronic nastiness, and oh so so much cock! Not their most interesting work by a long shot, but it was their first so it's a good place to start. Later the band shortened the name to The Hanatarash and released albums way into the '90s. The momentum picked up when The Hanatarash experimented more with noise collage and the manipulation of pre-existing sounds, many from early hardcore and grind albums. The Hanatarash seemed to have an extreme reverence for hardcore, be it the makeshift graphic aesthetic or just the chaotic, anti-everything ethos of the genre. Even their logo is reminiscent of Negative Approach. The Hanatarash lived to go too far. Violent beyond the senseless, The Hanatarash were about as real as it fucking gets. Fuck You.

Cock!

Predatür

Predatür's single from '82 is the holy grail for many collectors of NWOBHM vinyls, mainly because half the record's pressing was lost in a fire. Despite their tough name, and gratuitous use of an ümlaut, Predatür wasn't all that metal. This falls more along the lines of pub rock. "Take a Walk" is a corny blues-rock shuffle. "Seen You Here" is the better cut, an upbeat rocker that could be an Oi song if not for the vocals. Listening to this, you can understand why they were such a hit in the dingy taverns of their hometown of Woodley near Reading. Predatür is a band best listened to while drunk.

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The Wacky Hi-Jinks of....Fenris

Due to this awesome video of Fenris of Darkthrone drunkenly extolling the virtues of Adrenalin O.D. to a portly, ball-washing German journalist, I was reminded of how awesome this album is. Kinda weird that this raging slice of funny punk would be the American punk record that a figurehead of Norwegian Black Metal would go all gaga over... but I'm with him, it's a cool record.

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Post note: Once again Cosmic Hearse and Only In It For Whatever ride the same wavelength on the same day. Here's Slobo's post on Fenris' love for the punk rock. In this case it's Swedish punk rock boy band, Puke.

R.I.P. George Carlin

Sadly, we say goodbye to one of America's most brilliant comedic minds, George Carlin, THE only comedian who actually got funnier as he got older. Subversive, filthy, cynical, absurdist, and topical, Carlin did it all. This is truly sad, and though he wasn't a young guy, it is still quite devastating. Just about every American over the age of 30 has some Carlin bit they can quote, he was ubiquitous because he was so damn great. He will be missed, and I'm sure history will regard him as every bit as important an American Humorist as Mark Twain, Lenny Bruce, or Kurt Vonnegut, although I'm pretty certain Mark Twain never wrote any bits as funny as "Feminist Blowjob." I'm at a loss for words so I'll just give you what was perhaps his funniest album, Parental Advisory- Explicit Lyrics from 1990. Goodbye, George, we'll miss you.

Fuuuuuuck!!!

Les Legions Noire Part Five: Brenoritvrezorkre

Brenoritvrezorkre was Vorlok and Nifleim of Vlad Tepes. This project is interesting because it sort of bridges the gap between the black metal and ambient sides of Les Legions Noire. There were four demos released as Brenoritvrezorkre over the course of 1995 and 1996. All four are here.

The only Melvins related post I will ever do has all three solo EPs from 1990 in it. I really really hope you enjoy them, dude.

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Smaksinne Stålen

The best compilations are those almost fanatic, labor of love type, regional ones. Metal Knights:The Resurgence of Swedish Steel 1983-85 is the best example of this. Clearly, the good people at Stormbringer Records didn't just slap this thing together in order to turn a quick buck, this was painstakingly forged in the fires of passion for their nation's Heavy Metal. Each of the bands presented here never released anything on vinyl during their runs, so imagine what a bitch this was to get together. The vinyl comes with a well-researched booklet (somewhat reminiscent of those cool '80s D&D modules, if you were a nerd) with some amazing photos, well-written bios of the ten bands featured, and even a metal map of Sweden showing where the bands called hem. I had never heard any of these bands before picking up Metal Knights so this was a boon to my scandi-metal starved earholes.

The album kicks off with "Pilgrim" by Highlight, three brothers from Malmö who obviously were moved to action by the works of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Next up is the rather amateurish Crime with their track, "Battlefield." Crime suffers from a rather flat production and absolutely shitty (not in the good way) guitar sound.

Flanged out double bass drumming leads us into "Time For a Solution" by Exist, some pimply-faced high school students who absolutely bring the steel. This is a standout track, sadly Exist only eked out one demo before calling it a dag. If anyone out there has this demo pleeeeeeeease share it with me.

Rubycon were a peppy NWOBHM-tinged act from Eksjö that had the good sense to have the Y in their logo be a hand throwing the horns. Their cut, "Out Of The Night" is another favorite of mine on here.

Act seem to be the most slick of the ten bands. The song "Christian Crusaders" is okay but nothing really special. Act later changed their name to Verdict.

Killerhawk just fucking rules, okay? Maybe it's the female vocals imploring the listener to "Wish Me Well" as she departs to conquer some seemingly insurmountable evil that threatens her people, whatever, Killerhawk won me over.

"Enemies" by Neptune starts off with a menacing voice-over prophesizing the fate of the Norse man's enemies, though I can't really understand exactly what this narrator says. Neptune seemed to have been even bigger Maiden fans than Highlight. Neptune seemed to be a band of almosts, they almost signed to England's Heavy Metal Records, and their vocalist Reine Alexandersson almost sang for Yngwie's band. The dude does have some serious pipes.

Orion's Sword are up next, and their track "Atomic War" isn't bad but has very little going for it.

Another favorite track is "Voodoo Night" by Stormbringer. There's a sluggish quality to the song, a classic metal guitar tone and a reference to a black mass, totally awesome. Most interesting is that a couple of Stormbringer's members ended up in the band Mercy, who you may know as the pre-Candlemass outfit, Messiah Marcolin.

It would seem that Metal Knights:The Resurgence of Swedish Steel 1983-85 saves the best for last. The questionably named Shylock closes out the show with "The Chosen One." Did these guys have some kind of semitic theme to their metal? I don't know. I do know that while their brand of metal isn't the most original (the vocal refrain in the chorus is a bit close to Maiden's "The Trooper") it is made up of all the things that make metal good....Great solos, galloping rhythms, a falsetto scream that follows immediately after another ominous voiceover. Shylock enjoyed a bit of commercial success, but only after relocating to Los Angeles and morphing into a shitty glam coke-metal band called Shotgun Messiah. Bassist Tim Skold ended up in Marilyn Manson, replacing Twiggy Ramirez in 2002. Weird.

As if the great and rare tunes and excellent booklet weren't enough, the vinyl is blue and yellow swirled vinyl in homage to the Swedish flag. This truly is geared toward the obscure metal-obssessed record collecting dweeb. It's long out of print and probably not coming back anytime soon. Fortunately for you I'm in your corner. Now go forth my bror and syster of metall and taste the steel!

Här

Kuolema Is The Finnish Word For Death

Even though Kuolema hailed from Finland they had more in common with the furious noisecore bands coming out of Japan at the time. Noisy and chaotic drunken fuckery with little or no regard for production is what Kuolema served up. This cassette was released in 1983 in limited numbers and given to friends. In 1984 guitarist Walde fell off a balcony at a raging party and died. The band continued but never released anything quite as cool as this tape. Death punk, pure and simple.

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Reg Rock

I know it may seem that I am being stingy with the words, like I'd rather smoke weed and watch poor people sue each other on TV all day instead of trying to think of clever new ways to tell you how weird, and kick-ass, and totally obscure this album is, but really I just don't know shit about this, and I would rather get stoned and watch TV. However, I DO know Supernaut formed in 1973, and these cromagnon rockers called England home. Clearly they loved Sabbath, clearly they had no budget behind the recording of this album, and they definitely didn't spend a whole lot of time honing their chops before committing this to tape. I don't even know if this was properly released in the seventies, it was, however, released on cd in 1999. If you dug the homespun downer doom of The Wicked Lady you'll want to look into Supernaut as well. Not progressive rock, but regressive rock, call it "Reg Rock" for short.

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Jesus Was A Faggot Jew!

Grand Belial's Key are one of America's first and best Black Metal bands. Grand Belial's Key, like Nunslaughter and Profanatica, seem so obsessed with their hatred and inversion of Christianity that it borders on cartoonish. It's almost as if the members never grew out of the sort of crass blasphemy that was so exciting to them as adolescent boys in parochial school. With titles like "Satanicunt" and "The Shitagogue," you can almost hear the juvenile titters of complete self-satisfaction as GBK rail against all that is holy. Now here's the catch, Judeobeast Assassination rules! Every meat-headed, sacrilegious minute of it is brilliant. Like Nunslaughter, GBK are a purely American sounding entity, no twee, trebly norse-core here, just Christ-bating hate set to some of the best riffs this side o' the pond. Rather unlike Nunslaughter, or Profanatica, Grand Belial's Key are willing to take some chances with their songwriting, offering a bit more than the standard verse/chorus/verse drudgery. They are also unafraid of making provocative statements about jews, Jesus, and anything pertaining to judeochristian religion and its utter fucking gayness, if that type of shit gets your panties in a bunch then miss out on one best black metal albums of all time, I don't fucking care.

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やくざ 岩石

Around 1990 my friend Mari Kono went to Japan on some photography business. While over there she saw a band that thoroughly blew her mind, and knowing what an absolute music nerd and creepy Japanophile I am, she brought me back two CDs and a demo tape. The band was called Maria Kannon, and it was their odd xerox collage layouts that won me over before I heard even a note of their music. Oh, the music, it lives up to any and all expectations laid out by the artwork. Imagine, if you will, a more psychedelic Birthday Party, a sort of post-punk acid rock hybrid fronted by a very melodramatic and depressed yakuza dandy. Mari relayed how during the band's long instrumental passages, this enigmatic frontman would lay on a pile of pillows near the drum kit and weep. Fucking unreal!!! A strong emphasis on garish fashion and androgyny was evident in live photos Mari shot of the band. The pics showed them decked out in oversized fur coats and '60s mod feminine coifs. Fuuuuuuuck!

The band's name is interesting as well. “Maria Kannon” was the name of a certain kind of religious figurine venerated in Japan during the period of Christian persecution. The figurine was a way for Japanese Christians to practice their faith undetected. A statue of Mary hidden inside a statue of Kannon, the Buddhist embodiment of compassion meant Christians could worship as they saw fit without being executed. Today the Maria Kannon is a symbol for Zen practices that transcend traditional differences between both religions.

This rip was recently made from an 18 year old demo tape, so it's not the highest quality, but if there is any interest in this amazing band I would be more than happy to post their official Bloody Butterfly issued CDs at some point.

これで 友達

Happy Father's Day

No music today, leeches, just a big ass shout out to all my Punk Pops and Metal Thrashing Dads. Real men running shit and raising the next generation of muckrakers and ne'er do wells. This is for the masters of the daddyverse, the Yngwie Malmsteems of daddery. I'm talking about real motherfuckers like Mark Underground, Saul, Danny B, E. Bryers,El Sav Larry,Stevil, John Clancy, Robzub, Scott Kelly, Milos, Dave Clark, Scott Duncan, Jason Walton, Chewy, some newbs to the club like Dave "Lord D," Ron Nichols, and Slobodan Burgher, anyone I may have forgot, and all Dads who visit this site. Dads rule plain and simple. They bring the fun, the rough housing, the tough love and the not-so-tough love. Dads know neat little tricks like how to stop a nose bleed with a match book or how to make a hangman's noose. Dad's often know when to back the fuck off and let it go. Most importantly, Dads are wizards at just making shit up on the spot when faced with something they don't know about. Dad's may yell when they're at the end of their rope, and then turn around and laugh at a fart a second later. It's the enigma of fatherhood. This is your day, Daddio, lay about in your shit-stained tighty whites and bellow drunken incoherent epithets at the TV show of your choosing. I know I will.

Oh, and I am blowing off work to go see Angelcorpse, Ares Kingdom, and Gospel of The Horns tonight. So there!!!

¡Demoniaco!

Brujeria está un real banda de genuino Mexicano Narco trafficantes , NO un supergrupo comprendido de miembros de Miedo Fábrica y Fe No Más y otro menos interesante bandas. Aquí está su primero EP ¡Demoniaco! desde 1990.

¡Aquí Cabrone!

Die Kreuzen "Pink Flag"

I certainly hope you don't need me to tell you about how Die Kreuzen was one of the greatest hardcore bands ever, and how my pre-pubescent ballsack dropped upon hearing the Cows and Beer ep waaay back in '83, and so on and so forth. It should suffice to just give you this fairly rare 7" that has them doing a cover of Wire's "Pink Flag" and a cover of The Germ's "Land of Treason." 

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KulturKampf

This cassette is by far the weirdest bit of Third Reich fetishism ever to come out of the shadowy world of Nationalist Black Metal. Command are the concern of one lone hater from Brazil named "Herr Wolf." Beyond lo-fi, beyond ugly, Command play raw, RAC-inspired, basement black-punk, layered in greasy hiss, and more hateful than a pack of retarded hungry dogs in a S
ao Paulo ghetto. Occasionally the racket is broken up by soundbites from the glory days of Germany, when people were happily governed by well-dressed closet homos who won them over using a combination of stylish presentation and unfettered racial scapegoating. While Command loves the latter, their beauty lies in their total rejection of the former. Again I add the disclaimer that if you are squeamish and sensitive to the fact that the world is full of bad people that are full of irrational hatred and fear, I suggest you stay away from this one. Anybody else interested in primitive 4-track recordings about Nazis will find this to be a score.

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Invisible Scratch Pickles

I don't know a whole lot about the world of underground turntablism and DJ culture, but I do know that I am totally in awe of the Bay Area collective of DJs calling themselves The Invisible Scratch Pickles, especially DJ Q-Bert. The guy is like the Gene Hoglan of turntables. And how fucking enticing are the covers of these two rare Japanese import cds? An obvious nod to Discharge and reminiscent of the Japanese hardcore aesthetic. Be warned, this is serious scratching, with little variation in the breaks. These aren't some cutesy, ironic mash-up party jams, this is deep, these are some of the best turntable wizards in the field doing fucking battle, like Saruman and Gandalf at Isengard. Definitely not for the casual rubbernecking gawker. Respect!

Q-Bert Vs. A Trak

Q-Bert Vs. D-Styles

Endless Skies

I gotta thank Harry Cantwell of the band Slough Feg (the greatest active heavy metal band in America) for pointing me towards this obscure treasure. Ashbury's 1983 album, Endless Skies is a dusty relic of quality headband-wearing, custom-van rock that reminds me a bit of The Outlaws or Kansas. Lyrically you get a few wizards, prophets, riders on horseback and other such clichés, but I ain't complaining one bit. Definitely have that ceramic wizard bong close at hand for this one.

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D Beat War '83!!!

Here is a great cdr demo from Nuclear Frost. It really should be enough that it bears the words "Dis-Bomber Scand-Core" in a faux VoiVod script with an image of a super-spiky Nikki Sixx, but you also get the added bonus of their ultra-cranked scratchy noize attack. Not really all that Scandi or D-Beat, more like early grinding crasher crust, but fuck the labels, right? These filth-obssessed crusties from Brazil know what you like, loud, fast, chaotic. Oh, this came out in 2007 not 1983, but the sentiment is greatly appreciated. Obrigado!

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Thor!

Who can dispute the pure awesomeness that is Jon Mikl Thor? Motherfucker has been both Mr. Canada AND Mr. USA (is that even legal?), an actor who starred in the films Zombie Nightmare and Rock n Roll Nightmare, and of course the frontman of the band Thor. Here I present Thor's debut from 1977 Keep The Dogs Away. This album isn't at all like the standard power metal of his subsequent '80s releases, it's poppy glam ala Gary Glitter or Sweet's more sugary numbers. Thor also serves up some excellent lyrics about how thoroughly kick ass he is and how proud he is of himself, and why the fuck not? Can you bend steel in your teeth or blow up a hot water bottle with your sheer lung power? I didn't think so.

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Valkyrie

I don't know anything about this other than the band is called Valkyrie, they play melancholy acoustic neo-classical folk in the vein of Ulver's Kveldsanger album, and it was released on cassette in a limited run of 150 copies by Harsh Brutal Cold Productions. I ripped this from my own personal copy I recieved in a trade with the label. Anyone have any more info on this one?

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Oh, I am also going to use this opportunity to point out my ever expanding wishlist under the labels to the right. If you have any of these items in any format (unless specified) please hook me up.

You Have Been Warned

See these two menacing Darth Vader-in-Elvis-shades figures? They are Warning, an act that could only come from Germany. These guys sort of seem like they could have been the evil counterparts of Rockets. Imagine rather sinister doom/disco/krautrock with gruff, emotionless vocals. Almost a portent of the post-black metal electronica of Thorns, and Dodheimsgard or the pseudo-fascist industrial of Rammstein or Laibach. Really something entirely its own and a work of pure demented genius. You have been warned.

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Moustache Rides

Here's another hen's tooth of a NWOBHM ep from 1978. Anniversary from Lancaster's sole record, Give Me a Smile is a cool little shepherd's pie of downy-moustached, bloke-down-the-boozer, pub-rocking. It'll make you smile, unless you're a total dick.

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Ain't No Party Like a Violent Party

Violent Party was the in-house label of Japanese noisecore legends Gai. This compilation features the rough-shod talents of Gai, as well as Gedon, No Cut, Confuse, Craps, and Gess. It's a great primer in the noisier side of Japan's flourishing punk scene of the '80s. This party is a bit violent, especially in the kitchen where Confuse is hanging out , but for the most part it's a fun party, a really noisy and really fun party. You're invited.

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Orang-Utan

Goddamn that's a cool cover! Orang-Utan, yup, another overlooked hard rock unit that only managed to squeeze out one delicious album before calling it a day. I guess a good reference point is Zeppelin with some more funk elements. Oddly enough, these guys were from the UK, but the album was only released in the USA, making the original vinyl collector nerd gold. It has been reissued on CD.
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Satan, Metal, and Boobies!!!

Hoth know what is is best in life, and this occult band from Portugal has been laying down their brand of murky, arcane, blackened death since motherfuckin' 1988!!! Back then, keyboards and metal were like ammonia and bleach (save for the totally brilliant Nocturnus,) but a young banger from Lisbon named J.A. had different ideas, and Hoth was born. A demo, titled Odes To My Black Goddess was issued in 1995. Many of the demo songs were rerecorded in 2000 for the first official Hoth album Rites of the Black Goddess. I don't know how these versions may differ from the original demo versions, (I've never heard the demo) but I imagine they aren't very far from the originals. The recording has a very old school black metal feeling and atmosphere, not unlike the production on Immortal's first album Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism. The nine songs on Rites of the Black Goddess are deeply occult, monotonous hymns to the lord of the underworld. There is a simplistic beauty in the almost cartoonish orthodoxy of Hoth's Satanism. Oh, and get a look at the cover that folds out to reveal a pic of a nude, ample-bosomed woman adorned in gauntlets, bullets, and an inverted crucified Jesus holding a large fake skull just above her neatly manicured panty hamster. Awesome!

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Bogus Blimp

Bogus Blimp serve to inform us that not all that is Norwegian and sinister is Black Metal. In fact, it'd be hard to assign a genre to this amazing band. How about post-punk circus soundtrack surf rock goth? Now do I have your attention? Men-Mic is the band's debut, it's a grainy old polaroid of a record. It's obssessive and mysterious like a stalker you kinda think is hot. Enjoy.

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