Forward to Hell

The Boston Strangler dropped one of the best hardcore LP's of the past decade with "Primitive."  Since that record was so overwhelmingly good it would be an almost impossible feat to top it.  Here we are with their second LP "Fire."  To be honest on the first few spins of this record I was underwhelmed.  As I previously stated, they set the bar so high the first time around I should have known going into this one that it couldn't be topped.  This record has grown on me a bit more after subsequent spins, however it will never reach the greatness of their first LP.  All in all this is a really good hardcore record done in that early 80's style that's so popular nowadays.  Get it (if you can).

Little Bitch

Sharing at least one member with the last band posted (A2 of Integrity fame, among others) here is the latest long player from Clevo's Inmates.  I've always like the Inmates but admittedly I never really listened to them a lot.  This new LP is a killer though, and has definitely piqued my interest in the band/sound, so I'll be sure to go back through their earlier releases.  Obnoxious, sometimes maniacal, hardcore punk that only a city like Cleveland could produce.  The song Crustdust is a personal favorite track on here, claiming "if this is punk [in reference to crusties] then I'm not punk."  Painkiller Records.

Just Like The Rest

Cleveland, Ohio's Cider is a band that has existed for 20+ years, but has only released a small handful of records.  The band released their debut "Out to Get Me" on Non-Commercial Records in 1994 and then went silent for 10 years before dropping their next release.  Playing obnoxious hardcore punk, they helped to lay the groundwork for that classic Cleveland sound that would influence The Inmates, H100's, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, 9 Shocks Terror, and so on.  The original pressing of this 7" was limited to only 300 copies.  The version here is a recent reissue on My Mind's Eye Records, and includes all three of the different sleeve variations that were found on the original press.  This is a great reissue and I'm glad to have a copy in my collection.

High Wired

Chris Ulsh is a fairly busy dude, having spent time (whether the band is current or no longer active) in Power Trip, Mammoth Grinder, Hatred Surge, Vaaska, and the Impalers, just to name a few.  He's one of those guys that no matter what he plays on, the recorded output is going to be good.  The Impalers LP that dropped last year was really fucking good (I just never posted about it for some odd reason) and the follow up to that is also really fucking good.  Originally released as a tape, 540 Records pressed the "Psychedelic Snutskallar" EP to vinyl.  Sound-wise this is more of the same raging Motorhead inspired d-beat punk, however the A side contains only one 12+ minute track.  Don't let that deter you though, because all 12+ minutes are killer, and there is no filler.  The B side contains 5 songs in the more familiar Impalers style.  The record comes packaged in a cool DJ style sleeve.  I dig it.

The World Turns

Braddock, PA's Hounds of Hate released one of my favorite LP's of 2013.  To turn around and release another full length the following year is mostly unheard of in hardcore/punk.  With so little time between the two LP's one could think that their latest offering, "Hate Springs Eternal," may be a bit lacking in quality, but that's not at all the case.  The Hounds drop another LP's worth of killer early Sick Of It All/NYHC material here.  Self released by the band.

The Oppressed

Pure Disgust is another newish DC hardcore punk band.  While sharing some similarities (and members) with the subject of my last post, Pure Disgust have a much larger oi influence in their sound.  There are more than a few times where you can hear some 86 Mentality show through in Pure Disgust's sound, however PD is quite a bit faster most of the way through this EP than 86 was.  I believe this is the first vinyl release for DC's own Flophouse Records, and it's a killer.  There's even a Sex Pistols cover on the B side.  Pick this up.

Pseudo Science

DC's Public Suicide are another one-man straight edge band that plays early Boston influenced hardcore.  If that first sentence read as negative, it's not.  Following up a killer demo tape this is the debut self titled EP released on Caught Up Records.  Like the Protester 7" that I posted about a few weeks back, this is some solid straight edge harDCore.  The live variation of Public Suicide and Protester actually share members, so you can see how the two could be similar in sound.  Another good release in hardcore for the capitol city this year.

The Storm

Anything that needs to be said about "Bringin' It Down" already has been a million times.  Judge dropped a perfect hardcore LP with this one.  Although it's not green, I was still stoked to get a first press.  Probably the best Revelation Records LP too.

Only Warning

It's no secret that early 80's USHC with a mix of oi has been huge as of late.  It's pretty big in both the US and the UK right now, and has made its way to Germany (as well as the rest of Europe I'm sure).  Mind Trap from Berlin play this ever popular style of USHC with just a dose of oi at parts, and it's pretty great.  Following the band's demo this is the, "Life Among Liars and Thieves" 7" released on Refuse Records and SFR (which I believe may be the band's own label?)  Regardless, this is a good introduction to the band and is recommended for anyone who digs early 80's USHC.

Stick Tight

Belgium's Not Afraid dropped their debut LP, "Locked Out," a few months back.  Comprised of members of True Colors and Justice, this band sounds more like the latter than the former, taking big cues from late 80's NYHC - especially Warzone.  This was a split release on React Records in the US and Powered Records in Belgium.  I picked up the orange variant, which was exclusive to React, and Powered had an exclusive blue variant.

Exit Life

Ringworm has to be one of the most consistent bands in hardcore.  Although their first two LP's are their best material (and that is very unlikely to ever change) I can't think of another hardcore band that has consistently released solid LP after solid LP.  That's not to say that they've all been perfect records, but I can't think of one of them that flat out sucks.  The Cleveland band continues this tradition on their latest output, "Hammer of the Witch."  Released on Relapse Records (kind of a weird pairing, but I think it works) this record is a step up from, "Scars," which I found at times to be kind of boring.  I'd even put this one above, "The Venomous Grand Design," and on certain days, "Justice Replaced By Revenge."  This is just an overall good record, and one of the band's heaviest to date.

As per usual with Relapse releases they did 100 copies of this that weren't sold to the public.  I came across this one on Discogs a few weeks ago for a very reasonable price, so I had to snatch it.

Here To Stay

To say I was looking forward to the debut 7" from DC's Protester would be a bit of an understatement.  The (at the time, one man) band released a killer demo followed by a promo tape earlier this year featuring two of the tracks on this EP, and two Agnostic Front covers.  Fast forward to a few weeks ago and Trash King Productions put this bad boy up for sale.  I ordered this thing with the quickness (as evidenced in the picture below).  This EP does not disappoint in any way.  If you need a reference point for how this sounds think a mixture of early NYHC/BHC with some early youth crew for good measure.  Awesome stuff here, and well worth the wait.

Despotism

Most recent 2 song "Desecration" EP put out by DC death metal champs Genocide Pact.  Two more old school DM tracks that build on the sound of the demo, however this recording benefits from a fuller production.  I scored the green variant, which was limited to 50(?)  Bad Teeth Recordings delivers again.  Looking forward to the upcoming LP from these guys.

Sovereign

Seeing as how I have this blog labeled as a "hardcore/punk/METAL record collecting blog, I figured I'd post about a recent death metal release.  Here we have the debut LP from Finnish death metal band Corpsessed, "Abysmal Thresholds."  Split release between Dark Descent Records in the US and Me Saco Uno Ojo Records in the UK.  Corpsessed play a true to form style of death metal that pays homage to OG Finnish bands Convulse, Abhorrence, Demigod, etc.  Killer debut LP from these guys.

Smell the Bacon

The influence that Madball has had on NYHC (and hardcore in general) can't be understated.  Whether you love them or don't listen to them ever, you can't deny their importance.  As for me, I'm not a die-hard fan of any sort, but the first EP "Ball of Destruction" is among my favorite late 80's (almost 90's) NYHC recordings.  Featuring most of Agnostic Front at the time with Roger Miret's brother on vocals, it's basically an AF release.  It even features several AF songs.  So this is more of an AF release with a few member changes than anything, and it's great.