Sunday, December 30, 2007

Choose Yr. Poison

I like cover versions. I mean, I like them because it let me see more of the band, who they like, what sort of music they actually listen to other than their own genre. It gives me an insight of what’s going on within the band. Case in point: Celtic Frost’s doing Mexican Radio. Who would have thought that those guys listen to Wall of Voodoo, let alone cover one of their songs. Don’t get me wrong, I love Celtic Frost, but the thought of covering Mexican Radio is totally mind blowing/boggling. I personally don’t like Mexican Radio, even the Celtic Frost’s cover. But the thing is, with that cover, I caught a glimpse of the other side of Celtic Frost. I though these guys are the heaviest, meanest dudes in town, and with that cover, I saw the other part, the not so dark part.

Another stunner was Carcass’ version of A Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill. In this case, I like both bands. But the thing is, it surprised me to know that Carcass listens to Husker Du, being the lords of grind and all. (Unfortunately, they went death and eventually dead).

While going to the other side of the fence, they contend that if a band covers a song, they should make it a spectacular or make it their own, not just a true-blue cover.

Well, I kind of agree to that. But, if you’re just gonna do a ska version of an 80’s song, forget it. That’s where I draw the line. I fucking HATE ska versions, I’d rather listen to a true-blue cover. At least, they are actually paying homage to the originals. And to tell you honestly, true-blue covers are not that bad. I read in the liner notes of Anthrax’s Attack of the Killer B’s that they wanted, for a long time to have their own version of Protest and Survive. And so they did it. It’s not best cover but at least they let the whole world know that they liked the Discharge. And introduced Discharge to the rest of the world (I knew guys who didn’t know the Discharge prior to that cover)

Which brings me to why my ranting ‘bout cover versions. I’ve prepared a compilation of cover songs and their original versions for my 50th post. It contains, among others, one of my favorite cover songs of all time – Extreme Noise Terror’s cover of I’m a Bloody Fool! The original song was already awesome but ENT added their signature dual vocals attack to it. I can still remember when I first got my ENT’s Peel Sessions CD, it ruled my player for weeks.

I had fun doing it, I hope have fun listening to it.

Have a Peaceful New Year!!!


Choose Yr. Poison Tracklist:

RATTUS SOTAHULLAT EXTREME NOISE TERROR
MOB47 STOP THE SLAUGHTER DOOM
DIE KREUZEN I'M TIRED NAPALM DEATH
HUSKER DU A GIRL WHO LIVES ON HEAVEN HILL CARCASS
POISON IDEA ALAN'S ON FIRE MACHINEHEAD
DOOM EXPLOITATION NAILBOMB
DYS CITY TO CITY EARTH CRISIS
BAD RELIGION WE'RE ONLY GONNA DIE BIOHAZARD
FLUX OF PINK INDIANS TUBE DISASTERS AUS-ROTTEN
DISCHARGE STATE VIOLENCE STATE CONTROL CLUSTER BOMB UNIT
SIEGE COLD WAR DISRUPT
BGK ARMS RACE MOB47
NEGATIVE APPROACH NOTHING PROPAIN
COCKNEY REJECTS I'M A BLOODY FOOL EXTREME NOISE TERROR
ANTICIMEX CRIMINAL TRAP SELFISH

Choose Yr. Poison Disc 1

Choose Yr. Poison Disc 2

* Disc 1 contains the originals while disc 2 contains the covers

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Third World Chaos

And for my tenth and final post for the day, the first ever Pinoi punk record, the classic New Move for Error by Third World Chaos. One of the members of Chaos (as we call them) was the owner of TRC label, Tommy Tanchangco. Their music is more of a 77 punk than hardcore. This is piece of history here.
Today's post, all ten of them!, are all Filipino bands. I hope you will learn more about our humble country, the Philippines, and our kick ass scene here. These posts is just one way of saying Merry Christmas to all of you!!! Enjoy!



Third World Chaos - New Move for Error

Fatal Response

This is the second release from TRC, a compilation called Fatal Response. The first release was Rescue Ladders and Human Barricades which I posted at Slobo's Only In It for the Music ages ago, but I'm sure that the link was dead. But fortunately, my good friend at My Fate to Hate posted it recently. So if you're interested in the Rescue Ladders click here.


There are lots of killer songs here from GI & the Idiots and the WUDS.





Fatal Response

RDA - Brave United in Trust

RDA, in my opinion, is the most dangerous band in the land. That's literally speaking. Their vocalist, Ollie, is a very violatile man. Lot's of people stir clear away from this guy when he's performing or whenever he's there because you won't know what would happen. Musically, their sound is a rather chaotic hardcore, very akin with their vocalist. Lol. Anyways, I love this band and this record. So download it now and enjoy!



RDA - Brave United in Trust

Live at Katrina's

As the name implies, this is the live recording from the legendary punk club here in Manila named Katrina's. This club actually allowed slam dancing as long as there's a "referee. "

This is an absolute classic. It includes performances from Betrayed, the WUDS, GI & the Idiots and the Rockabilly band Private Stock.



Katrin'a Live "Tamana Away!"

3rd Bombardment

This is a one of the best compilations from TRC. This comp includes, Betrayed, IOV, Philippine Violators and RDA. This comp includes my all time favorite Pinoi song - Never Again!

3rd Bombardment

WUDS - ARMSTALK

The Wuds were among the first -- and most influential -- punk rock bands in the Philippines. In the early '80s, punk bands began to form in the Philippines as economic woes and political unrest started to fuel a burgeoning underground scene. The Wuds, along with Third World Chaos, the Philippine Violators, the Betrayed, and the Dead Ends, roared their amps in a country once dominated by easy listening artists. Not surprisingly, there was little mainstream acceptance. Radio airplay was limited to Howlin' Dave's punk rock show on Manila radio station DZRJ. However, the Wuds and their peers found loyal support from the small independent label Twisted Red Cross and exposure through the Brave New World concerts. Given that rock audiences in the Philippines were divided between hippies and punks, violence was not uncommon; nevertheless, the Wuds were actually devout Krishna's, quite different from the public stereotyping of punk rockers as immoral troublemakers. Throughout the '80s, the Wuds remained outside of mass acceptance. In the early '90s, though, Manila underwent an alternative rock revolution and the Wuds were lauded as pioneers, especially by the popular punk group the Youth. The Wuds -- featuring Bobby Balingit (vocals, lead guitar), Alfred Guevara (vocals, rhythm guitar), and Allen Calixto (drums) -- released a long-waited debut album, At Nakalimutan Ang Diyos (And God Was Forgotten), in 1994. Raw and uncompromising, At Nakalimutan Ang Diyos solidified the Wuds' status as one of the Philippines' true punk rock bands. Two years later, the group recorded Gera (War), an intense record with powerful social and political commentary à la the Clash. The anti-war track "Ang Umibig Sa 'Yo" ("One Who Loved You") became a hit on Philippine alternative radio stations. In 1997, the Wuds released Nakaupo Sa Puso (Sitting on the Heart). By refusing to soften or polish their sound to appeal to a larger market, the Wuds continued their reign as the Philippines' most respected veteran rock outfit. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide

WUDS - ARMSTALK

10 of Another Kind

Here's another Pinoi compilation from the 80's. This is the all new wave/post punk bands which includes Dean's December, Under Blue Skies, Ethnic Faces, Introvoys and my personal favorite - Violent playground. Each band contributed two songs for this comp. Must have.

10 of Another Kind

Dean's December "Chemical Wedding"

This next post is one of my favorite Pinoi bands. Eventhough it's not punk, this band realy knows how to rock. It's just sad that the cover of their cassette only release was already in bad shape that I wasn't able to scan it. Here's some info of the band from All Music Guide.

Dean's December only recorded one album, but their significance to Filipino rock & roll music transcends the quantity of their work. Formed in Manila, Philippines, on Nov. 5, 1985, Dean's December quickly established themselves within Manila's burgeoning underground music scene. Leader Binky Lampano (vocals) was a DJ at Manila's defunct, legendary new wave radio station DWXB, calling himself "Ikabod" and defiantly working without a play list. Not coincidentally, Dean's December resembled some of the artists Lampano played, namely the moody psychedelia of the Church and the atmospheric guitars and sullen keyboards of the Cure. Dean's December's only album, Chemical Wedding, was released independently in 1986. The anthemic "It Doesn't Snow in Manila" became a cult hit, but Dean's December struggled to land gigs. Nevertheless, the band helped to pioneer alternative rock in the Philippines as they absorbed European influences while retaining their Filipino roots. At a time when many mainstream Filipino artists performed torch songs on TV, Dean's December were among the groups that pioneered intelligent, cutting-edge rock & roll in the Philippines. Dean's December contributed a track to the 10 of Another Kind compilation in the early '90s, but lack of commercial success made the band grind to a halt. In 1992, Lampano rediscovered his passion for blues, forming the blues outfit the Newly Industrialized Combo. The N.I.C. was placed on hiatus when Lampano moved to the U.S. Lampano rejoined the N.I.C. when he returned to the Philippines in the mid-'90s; the group changed its name to Lampano Alley, backing Lampano on his blues album I Heard the News. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide


Dean's December - Chemical Wedding

Never Forget the Cause

The second post for the day is another compilation. It's alerady 90's compilation of mainly hardcore and some crossovers. Anyways, I don't any information or cover for this release, all I know is that it's a kick ass compilation. Grab it now!

Never Forget the Cause

Philippines: Where Do We Go From Here?

This is, I think, the last release of the legendary Philippine label - TRC (Twisted Red Cross). Aside from hardcore, it also featured crossover/thrash bands like Discant X and Infernal Wrath and and Oi! band Distorted Minds.

Philippines: Where Do We Go From Here?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Insect Warfare / Carcass Grinder Split

At last, the final post for the day. What a way to end it than with an Insect Warfare post. This one's the split with Carcass Grinder. Actually, I snagged this one from somewhere, but I totally forgot what site it was. This is a totally awesome record! Insect Warfare doing what they do best and Carcass Grinder from Japan..., well, this one's actually refreshing. With hardcore influences very evident from their songs. This band reminds me of Flattbush.
Well, it's been a long day for me. Posting hardcore (Battalion of Saints, Crucifix & Justice League), crossover (Crumbsuckers), Crust/Stenchcore (Deviated Instinct) and Grindcore (Insect Warfare & Carcasss Grinder). From this point on, I will try to make my posts as varied as this one. (Insect Warfare's cover reminds me of a Pestilence cover)

Enjoy!

Insect Warfare/Carcass Grinder SPLIT


Justice League

It's so hard to find a history of Justice League (there's another band called "The Justice League" from Massachusetts). This one's from Pomona, California. Good thing I chanced upon Punk Vault's archive and found this. This one's straight from the horse's mouth, Marc M. himself.

Justice League was a Pomona, CA based band that existed from 1983-1988. We released a 7″ EP, a 12″ LP, a 12″ EP, as well as a few compilation tracks. We played over a hundred shows, both locally and nationwide, with such bands as Social Distortion, Youth of Today, 7 Seconds, Uniform Choice, The Vandals, MDC, Crippled Youth, Gang Green, Dr. Know, NOFX, and more.

The Shattered Dreams era:
Around the beginning of ‘86 Jon Roa (Think or Sink vocalist) quit the band. I don’t think any of us were too upset by his decision. He was replaced by our friend from Orange County, Casey Jones. While only playing 2 shows (Reno, with The Brigade & Long Beach with Scared Straight, Dr. Know, and Blast) with the band, Casey managed to do the vocals on our only full-length LP, Shattered Dreams. We rewrote most of Jon’s lyrics for the album (mainly because we didn’t know them). My first two attempts at lyrics appear here, “Disarray” and “Down Again”. This was also where I discovered that I could sing OK when I did backing vocals on “Falling Apart”.

We did the album at Radio Tokyo in Venice, CA with Ethan James engineering. Skip had seen an “ad” for the studio on a Minutemen album. The LP features a pretty wide mix of styles, as we were starting to outgrow our Minor Threat/Stalag 13/DYS influences and were listening to bands like Husker Du, Squirrelbait, Rites of Spring, and even bands like Bauhaus & The Smiths. (Note: Ryan blatantly stole Bauhaus lyrics for “In The Cold”, but none of us noticed until years later!)

When we finished recording the album the next logical step was a summer tour. Skip, Fred and I had just finished our first year of college, and Ryan & Casey had just graduated from high school so it was time to hit the road again. With a little help from Bob Durkee, I booked a six week trek across the U.S. A few weeks before the tour, Casey decided he didn’t want to go. Even he admits his reasons (not wanting to leave his girlfriend or his job) were dumb. So that was it for Casey.

Our first post-Casey show was one of the best parties we ever played. It was in Mark Duran’s backyard. He had a huge skate ramp that he built and people were skating it in the afternoon,
and then we turned it into a stage for that night. POW played before us and then we fumbled our way through a set, not knowing most of the lyrics and trying to sing ourselves for the first time. Bill Tuck (Pillsbury Hardcore) jumped up and sang Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” with us. The cops eventually showed after a while, but I’m sure we were out of songs we could sing by that time anyway.

We toyed briefly with the idea of asking Jon to do the tour but decided against it. We divided up the songs and decided to sing them ourselves. We pooled our money and bought a cheap van and hit the road with a couple boxes of 7″s and some shirts that Bob fronted us. When we got home Skip was replaced by Chris Bratton on drums, and in February of ‘87 the Shattered Dreams LP was finally released.

Here's Justice League's complete discography. Enjoy!


Justice League - 1983 - 1988

Deviated Instinct

Deviated Instinct's second full length release Guttural Breath has a very different feel from their previous releases like Welcome to the Orgy or Rock n Roll Conformity. I don't know exactly what to say about it, it's not a bad record but there's something about it I just can't pinpoint what. But one thing's for sure, it lived up to its title. Download it and tell me how you feel about it.


Deviated Instinct - Guttural Breath

A Double Shot of Crumbsuckers

This is my third post for the day and I'm feeling lazy already. Without further blah blah, here's the crossover band fromNYC, the Crumbsuckers! Posted here are their first two records, Life of Dreams and Beast on My Back respectively.

Crumbsuckers - Life of Dreams


Crumbsucker - Beast on My Back

Crucifix

Crucifix were a hardcore punk band in the 1980s from Berkeley, California. They were among the most popular acts in the prolific San Francisco Hardcore scene of the early 80's.

Crucifix was preceded by the short-lived band Subsidize Mess, featuring Sothira on bass, Matt Borusso on guitar, and Christopher Douglas on vocals.

Crucifix was founded in 1980 and fronted by Cambodian-born singer Sothira Pheng, whose family had fled the country when the brutal Khmer Rouge seized power. The band's self titled EP debuted on Universal Records of Berkeley in '81 and was followed by the "1984" single distributed on Freak Records in '82. The band's second full length "Dehumanization" on Corpus Christi Records (an offshoot of Crass Records) which showcased their extremely fast and overdriven sound, reminiscent of early Discharge, is widely considered to be their definitive work. Around this time guitarist Drew Bernstein (founder of Lip Service Clothing) formally of America's Hardcore joined the band. The band split up after a lengthy tour of US/Canada/Europe on July 13 1984. A posthumous compilation album of singles and live tracks entitled "Exhibit A" was released on Kustomized Records in 1997.

Matt Borruso and Christopher Douglas later reemerged in Loudspeaker, a New York-based noise rock group. The band included guitarist Kurt Wolf (of Pussy Galore) and bassist Jens Jürgensen (of Boss Hog). They released several recordings between 1990 and 1996.

Sothira Pheng (bass and vocals) and Jimmy Crucifix (guitar) now play with Proudflesh, a San Francisco-based "Hard Punk Rock 'n' Roll" band with drummer Erik Lannon (Mordred/The Bay City Rollers). Proudflesh released their first album in March 2006 on Wired Gnome Records and toured Japan in March 2007. Proudflesh are set to tour Germany, Austria, and Holland with new drummer Luke Bowman (Ruffians) in November 2007. See their MySpace page for more.

Samples from the opening track of Dehumanization, "Annihilation" was used by Orbital on the song "Choice" and was recently recorded in 2004 by A Perfect Circle for the Emotive album. Sepultura covered it as well as a bonus track on the album Nation (2001). (Courtesy of Wikipedia)


Crucifix - S/T

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Battalion of Saints

Here's the 1996 release from the Battalion of Saints called Cuts. With Tezz Bones, of Discharge and Broken Bones fame, on guitars. His contribution here is superb, adding a Broken Bones feel to the Bats' sound, which is not bad at all.Below is the history of Battalion of Saints.

In 1978, George Anthony (vocals) and Chris Smith (guitar) started the band up under the name the Nutrons.
After a year or so, they had quickly gone through many bass players, and settled with Barry Farwell.
They also had finally found someone that was willing to drum for them. Don Diaz then joined them as a second guitarist.
Shortly after, Chris kicked Barry out because Barry stole Chris' girlfriend. They were nearly ready to start touring,
so then they recruited friend James Cooper to play bass with them.
That lineup didn't last for long either, and they found some new members to play with them who were in a band that had
just broken up called the Standbys. Ted Olsen was one of the members, and drummed for them until near the end of their career.
By now, George and Chris were really developing their sound, and started doing lots of shows with bands like the Dead Kennedys
and others. They were looking for a change, and along with the development of their sound, they decided to change their name to the
Battalion of Saints. The name seemed fitting because a battalion is a hell of a lot of people - seeing how many members they went through already,
and the fact that they were far from being saints fit in great.
So far, the band hadn't really released anything except for some demo tracks recorded at Hit Single. Shortly after that in late 1981,
the band went back to Hit Single Studios and recorded for the "Fighting Boys" 4-song 12"ep. They released this in '82 on Nutrons Records,
their own label. It was distributed through Mystic. The record was an instant classic, and is quite a collector's item now. The music was good,
fast, political west coast hardcore punk. By now, they were pretty well established and had a reputation and quite a following all over the west coast.
They played with many well known hardcore punk bands of the day including the Exploited, Broken Bones, The Misfits, 7 Seconds,
Dead Kennedys, Iron Fist, Angry Samoans, The Freeze, etc.
Shortly after their first EP was out, they were asked to contribute a few tracks to the BYO Records compilation
"Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In" - a compilation challenging youth to stand up for what they believe in -
especially to take a stand against police brutality. The band went to Mystic Sound Studios and recorded. Three of the tracks were used,
including the vicious attack on police brutality, "Cops Are Out." Some other bands to appear on the comp were Youth Brigade, Adolescents,
Social Distortion, and Bad Religion. They also appeared on Version Sound's "Meathouse 1" compliation, and the "Our Blow Out!" compilation
(local San Diego band comp.). Tracks from the Hit Single sessions were used for these comps.
After recording at Mystic Sound, Doug Moody of Mystic Records, who kept the masters, released the Second Coming 7" EP on his label,
with really raw & screamy early versions of 3 tracks. He also used an otherwise unreleased track, "Sweaty Little Girls," to be included on the
Destroy L.A. Fanzine on vinyl. After the release of the 'zine/record, Mystic used 2 of the Destroy L.A. tracks and released a split 7" with the
Battalion of Saints track on one side, S.V.D.B.'s track "Chain Reaction" on the other. Unfortunately, none of these Mystic releases were ever
authorized by the band, and the band got no money from Mystic. The singles sold several thousand copies - more than any other band had done
for Mystic at the time. They were legitimate releases on a somewhat legitimate label, but as usual, Mystic got in the habit of ripping off bands who
worked with them. A few years after they had disbanded for the first time, Doug Moody of Mystic put out the Sweaty Little Girls ep with the track
from Destroy LA, and on the B side 2 live tracks. At the same time, Moody also got in touch with Randy Fuele from Hit Single and got some
of the tapes from the band's two recording sessions there. Using these demos, the Fighting Boys session, and again the Destroy L.A. track,
along with more live recordings, Mystic put out a bootleg Best of... lp of the Bats titled "Rock In Peace."
In 1984, the band signed a contract with Enigma Records and recorded for a new album, Second Coming. Here's what Op Magazine had to say
about it: "A fiery record - slick, polished, and tight - which members of G.B.H. and Dischargeshould be required to listen to at least 10 times a
day between now and the next time they go into the studio to record... this is definitely a fine effort that easily puts to shame many of their
English counterparts doing the same kind of thing." Overall, it was a very well done record that blows away the typical hardcore sound of their days
Earlier versions of a few of these tracks can be found on the BYO compilation and Mystic's Second Coming EP.
After they had gone through two more bass players (Travis Davidson and Dennis Frame), they finally got their friend Capt.Scarlet
to fill the spot. Scarlet, who was from England, had been kicked out of the Exploited a year or two earlier, and had played guitar
for the U.K. Subs for a short time. Right before they were to go on tour, Ted Olsen, their drummer for the 4 previous years,
quit the band. Then they got Joey Maya to join the band and toured. Unfortunately, after they toured, more problems came their way.
Chris Smith (guitar) decided that he wanted to move to New Jersey and marry his girlfriend. He got ready to move, but his plans backfired.
He then stole George's girlfriend. Then moved to New York for some other girl. At this time, he joined the band Kraut and recorded some
material with them. George decided to go to New York and talk Chris back into coming back to San Diego. Once he got there, he found out that
Chris had just died! The story was that he slipped in the bathtub and cracked his head open, proceeding to drown.
They actually had found him lying dead in the bathtub with syringes laying all over the place from shooting up heroin and speed.
This was about all the band could take after so many members quitting or dying, and so Scarlet and George moved to
England deciding not to go on without Chris.
After nearly a decade, George and his longtime friend Terry "Tezz" Bones decided to reform the band. Both had grown tired of the
hardcore punk that was out there nowadays, and wanted to play again and do it their way. Since most of the original mainstay members
had quit or died, they began searching for a bass palyer and a drummer. At the same time, Curtis from Taang! Records was working
on re-releasing their original material. He spent two years searching for their original studio tapes and ex-band members.
He was finally able to contact George Anthony through a classified ad that George and Terry had put in a San Diego newspaper looking for
musicians whose influences were the Battalion of Saints. They worked on gathering all of the out of print and unreleased stuff they could find,
to remix and remaster it, and have it all on one CD, which is what became the Death -R- Us CD.
On Dec. 22, 1994, on an off night during a U.K. Subs tour, nearly a decade after the formation of the original band,
the second incarnation of the band recorded two songs in a few hours when the other members were in San Diego
(they were in the UK Subs and on tour). This time, they added the suffix 'A.D.' to their name. Accompanying George (vocals)
and Tezz (guitar) were friends Matthew McCoy (drums) and Gregor Kramer (bass), who were both UK Subs members.
Two new songs were recorded that night, which were released on a limited 7" on Taang! Records. The band had built up a lot
of hype by this time, and the 7" was sold out even before it was pressed! Those songs now appear as the first two tracks of 'Death -R- Us.'
After playing some shows together, Gregor and Matthew decided that being in two bands was too much of a strain,
so they both left concentrate on the UK Subs. A new bass player (Ken Ortman) and drummer replaced those two. George and Tezz
had written a lot of new material now, and the band went out on tour with Total Chaos. Their new drummer left the band in the middle of their tour,
so Gearbox, the drummer of Total Chaos, was enlisted to serve double duty as the drummer for both headlining bands.
After the tour, they recruited Slayer Hippie (of Poison Idea) to play drums, but unfortunalely he couldn't leave Portland due to his probation,
so they then found an amazing drummer, Mark Bender, and went on with business. Since then they proceeded to tour with as many old school punk
bands as they could after that, including Anti Nowhere League, Stiff Little Fingers, Meatmen, The Business, GBH, Rancid, Fear, etc.
In '96, they recorded all of their new songs and and released the full length CD Cuts on Taang Records. The intensity and sound of the new line up
was in the same general vein as the original lineup, but with an even more blistering tone, with a heavy Broken Bones influence to it with
the addition of Tezz's guitar work. '97 rolled around, and the band stopped touring for a little while (other than a few West Coast shows now
and then) to work on new material. The first product to come out of this was their Muscle of Love 7" on Taang!, which has a really strong
original called I Don't Know along with a cover of Alice Cooper's song Muscle of Love. The sound on this is a bit matured from the sound on Cuts,
with a more blistering, straight forward thrash sound to it that gives it more appeal.
The band started working on more new material, and planned to record in the fall of '98, and go on tour after the release of the album.
Unfortunately more problems came their way, which led to the break up of the band... One unreleased track came out of this,
the rest remained unrecorded. George began working with Rick Agnew of Adolescents fame, and Terry "Tezz" Bones started playing bass with Billyclub. .
2004 George recruited new members and returned to the name Battalion Of Saints and they are now currently playing shows again. (Courtesy of Taang! Records)

Battalion of Saints - Cuts

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Records I'm Recently Abusing

Well, these are the records I'm recently abusing. Some people call it Heavy Rotation (hey, I should add a Heavy Rotation section here!). Anyways, here's Conflict's Employing All Means Necessary and Attitude Adjustment's 1996 7" True to the Trade. These bands don't need no introduction, so you're not getting any. If you don't know these bands, go back to your cave... or your penthouse. Enjoy!






Conflict - Employing All Means Necessary



Attitude Adjustment - True to the Trade

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Balthasar Gerards Kommando

Well, it's been a while since the last post since I've been having a shitty connection at home. So here I am, posting this via an internet shop!


Anyways, I read about this band in MRR way back in my college days. I think, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers were in that issue too. After several years, I finally got a hold Jonestown Aloha and I was completely blown away by it. The production is kinda raw, but that's the way I like it. I totally dig this. Grab this one, it's a classic.


Here's some info on BGK courtesy of Kill from the Heart:


Named after a Dutch historical figure who assassinated the king of the Netherlands in 1584, Balthasar Gerards Kommando was formed in the early '80s by members of Amsterdam punk band the Nitwitz. Rejecting the then-popular trend to emulate British Oi bands, BGK took their musical cues from American hardcore bands such as MDC, and soon developed an ultrafast style of their own. The band was also committed to following through with its leftist political stance, both in terms of the punk scene (the band set up DIY shows with low door prices, and put out affordable records on their own label) and in a wider political spectrum (they often played benefits for various causes, and helped run the Emma squat in Holland).BGK released all their records on a label they started in their Nitwitz days, Vögelspin, and collaborated with U.S. labels R Radical and Alternative Tentacles. They helped touring bands playing in the Netherlands, and themselves toured Europe and the U.S. several times, finally calling it quits in 1987.After BGK's demise, bassist Tony formed rock'n'roll band Loveslug. In 1996, the Nitwitz reunited (partially due to interest from Epitaph records), and may or may not still be around to this day. Alternative Tentacles has recently reissued BGK's entire catalog, both on vinyl and CD.
Ok. Here's their first album, Jonestown Aloha. Enjoy!



BGK - Jonestown Aloha!