Damaging Noise

Ok here is something that is supposed to be in the next issue of Goatkore, but since I have no idea when it is going to come out I decided to share it with you. Thanks to Seanocide for contributing this (love ya man!). Go and ask him about the cdrs he is selling. Some of those stuff are fucking awesome.

"Old Japcore", the proverbial stuff of legend...anti-melody that so early on achieved it's nexus that many of today's rabid obscure world-hXc followers breathlessly exalt it's PINNACLE of fucking untouchability. I'm one who tends to agree (some of the time), because even when one of their EIGHTIES bands "lames out" (too much wank, or Japanglish blatantly more horrible than usual), the energy and playing ability is so tight that even THOSE "crap" bands are still elevated to merely "average" instead of blowing light dollops of steamy Tootsie Roll resemblin' dog shit (UGH, grossed myself out on my own hideous metaphor!). Now, my interest in Japcore has predominantly been with their oi-beat/braindrill-guitar "chaos-punk" bands, being an extension of my love for the genre's progenitors CHAOS U.K. and DISORDER. It's a style that's virtually died out (it has SEVERE limitations), with the few newer bands who practiced it WELL all coming from Nippon (of COURSE!)...SO GUESS WHAT! That's ALL we're gonna fuckin' talk about...RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT FIRST (*laughs maniacally...GOTCHA!), before one can understand ye Olde Chaos-Japcore, one has to understand exactly what DISORDER and CHAOS U.K. were all about. Both "typically British working class" bands (literally) drunkenly formed in '79 and 80. The resultant catastrophe of "thrash" (SERIOUSLY! Both referenced the word to their sounds!) was brought about from a combination of the cliche "ultratalent" (noisecore's definition of "lack of talent", it's core tenement), and deliberately trying to put into bouncy notation and 1-2 beat an emulation of the collective angered consciousness of their caste during the violent "Poll Tax" riots of the era. How much either band were influenced by Oi I can't tell (It seems both band's songs are even MORE stripped to the point as is humanly possible of keeping recognizable structure, abusing minimalism to reach a "statement" sooner). Guitars were always shrill and atonal. No reference has ever been made to why they were so distorted other than it was to be more "metallic" (Disorder's proclamation, I'm personally assuming for the grating crunch, not riff-style) or to "piss people off" (Chaos U.K.). Regardless, it's a bare-bones and rather ugly approach to steamrollering peeps into uncontrollable head-nods and fishtail-flappin' pogos. Picture bands that structure songs entirely around a single chord and two-riffs (and mountains of vomitous distortion and reverb), the attempt is for the musical equivalent of bouncy lawlessness as opposed to crust's version in gloomier-themed note choices. Even Jim Whitely/Ripcord/Napalm Death told me once that when both bands dropped on the scene back in the day, the resultant (and instant) polarization of the audience was as shocking and EXPLOSIVE as when fucking GRINDCORE bowed a few years later. To back THAT up, Lee Dorrian very publicly directly considered either noise-circus the U.K.'s first "true" hardcore bands. OKAY! So as intense as I've described how fucking LEGENDARY Chaos U.K. and Disorder are...the Japanese equivalents are EVEN FUCKING BETTER!!! Quicker, tighter, bouncier, and NOISIER. Chaos U.K./Disorder started as grating (I liked it!), but the Jap bands brought the distortion to ATOMIC levels that I GUARANTEE will give you REAL FUCKING HEARING DAMAGE (*holds horn to ear: and I STILL like it!). They even directly call this specific type of chaos-punk NOISECORE.

Secondly, there really aren't "just" two Japanese equivalents, one band in particular (GAI) seemed to take direct influence for a longer period (also throwing in CHAOTIC DISCHORD's retardation), but they all essentially filtered in and died/transformed at the same time ('81-'84). Some were more proto crasher crust (CONFUSE) than others, but essentially even with the flux of mid-90s (STILL Japanese!!!) homage bands (who were EQUALLY as SERIOUS) the fundamentals of the style remained unchanged. That's NOT to say they all "sound alike" as there's subtle nuances or obvious levels of recording quality (even their boombox stuff is sharp) that gives each band it's own character. So FINALLY...LET'S KICK IT WITH THE FRIGHTENING JAPCORE DISAS-TERROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONE MORE THING (*HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!): Since everybody bitches "the snobs always brag about this stuff, but WHERE do they find this shit!!!", I'll tell you...DON'T BE LAZY. Do a few internet searches (half the time the Japanese shops WILL sell to you and AREN'T necessarily super expensive, and YES some of this "ULTRA CULT" stuff does NOT take that long to hunt...sometimes), check ebay, go on SOULSEEK (you'd be SHOCKED how much of this shit is on there IN PERFECT QUALITY!), network in general with tape traders (believe it or not, Japunks DO want to trade with you regardless of a language barrier! 90% of the shit I'm gonna talk about I either got the actual record/demo/cd or an AWESOME sounding copy straight from a Japunk's courteous and giving hands...but ya GOTTA make it worth their TIME!!!). YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAD A NOISE-FREE LIFE YO!!!

Bands (I promise now): GAI has become the better known band since a small re-release of their "Extermination" flexi (on CD) and demos (onto LP and CD) in '97, and quite a few bootlegs of varying combinations of their material. They had 2 known full demos (one with a variant cover) on their in-house tape label VIOLENT PARTY, which many tracks didn't make it to the LP/CD presses in '97. Top it off with another in-house compilation LP appearance and (BAM!!!) the band turns into the MUCH less political SWANKYS. This is where it gets confusing, I've had a couple Japanese sources tell me one band or the other (and to further live the chaos, there's a THIRD band incestuously involved called SIEG HEIL) started before the other back in '81, but I dunno if this was like a name crisis or like different members rotated through or WHAT (SWANKYS retained a bit of GAI's sound at first and didn't seem to have a striking change in members...and SIEG HEIL, well christ they sounded EXACTLY like GAI but with longer, almost discore-ish songs!!!!!! They only had 2 demos, both A-W-E-S-O-M-E). But chronologically GAI seems to have been properly documented first. Okay, their sound: Even on the "superior recording" (LOLOLOLOL!!!) of the flexi they were blown out as fuck. Songs seethe with an abnormal hatred of the conventional (even for punk!). Singer Watch/Swanky Boy (ANOTHER THING, these dudes were always changing their stage names, so nailing down exact members is almost impossible) approached his vocals from a charismatic perspective, even doing pre-grind pukes (but a majority of the time keeping them rabid and screechy) or totally tarding out like a person with VIOLENT Down Syndrome high on HELIUM!!! Shit's just fucking insane yo...ESPECIALLY the parts with SWANKYS where he tries to "sing", but fails HORRIBLY...and doesn't give a shit cuz it's ALL punk fuckin' RAWK!!!

By the time they turned into SWANKYS (carrying over a couple of GAI songs, some re-recorded) the band had cleaned up production dramatically (TRUST me, it'll still blow yer head open) and changed lyrical focus to partying all night, getting layed, etc etc. Easily 75% of this older material is anthemic and musically structured amazingly (still chaos-punk, but seemed to have a severely minimalized SEX PISTOLS arrogance creeping in). The band only kept the chaos approach for a 7" ("This Is My Lifestyle" '85) and LP ("Very Best Of Hero" also '85) before changing AGAIN into a much more technically precise garage punk band. They DID hint at that direction with a few poppier songs (still simple) on the early releases, and there was an additional flexi and another 7" that were ENTIRELY those hints (the flexi, called "Rock N Roll History Fuck Off" has gotta be one of the snottiest things I've ever heard). The COMPLETE change of sound though...is shocking, I won't lie...but it doesn't suck, is catchy (hey, I sing along yo) and the shit is a lot more u/g than fucking GREEN DAY. What gets me is Watch didn't really change his vokes much! Yeah there's more "singing"...but it's so fucking glaringly awful-beautiful still! For the chaos years though, everything that could EVER be summed up about the band can be found in just 3 of their songs, "Lifestyle", "Fundamental Human Light", and "Damaging Noise" (*wink)...in a word, EXQUISITE. All GAI/SWANKYS is easy to find on CD (sometimes still new!) in Japan. So far from what I could afford (I caved in to paying horror prices, but what can I say they were my fave ever band just about) the vinyl has been a little tougher, but not impossible to track. There's been tons of reissues of other lost demos (all eras of either band)/live shows/videos with a really recent awesome live show from '85 coming out just last year called "Period The Noise Tour".

Oh, scope out 2 OTHER bands (and who knows if they are member-linked to GAI/SWANKYS too, because as with SIEG HEIL they have a HELL of a lot of GAI's characteristics) that were supported by VIOLENT PARTY TAPES, these were GESS and NO CUT. Essentially GAI's sound/vocals but songs were arranged as a more Pabst-swilling straight punk vibe.

GASMASK/COWARD are the 2nd set of bands to be linked, and a hell of a lot easier for newbies to figure out the discography. CRUST WAR RECORDS released a discography LP of both bands a few years ago that fetches HORROR PRICES on Yankee ebay (I'm a junkie, I shelled out the horror prices again yo, but it WAS mint! Japanese ebay it only goes for like 30), but damn when shit's THIS high quality it won't be money missed (there's a great sounding tape bootleg of the LP out there at WWW.OVERHEADDISTRO.COM so DON'T STRESS!!!). Anyhoo, COWARD started first and are extremely evenly-tempoed CHAOS U.K. style. Shit COULD be mistaken for Oi (it's not as noisy), but it's mega simplistic and the smoky (clear, but ancient sounding) production on their only '85 ep is inviting. Catchy as all hell, vocals are gruff and almost entirely (if not entirely) sung in the native tongue. I DARE you not to bounce to the track "Seironnobougen"! I want a shirt SO fucking bad of the classically cheesy cover art (a skull impaled through the mouth ON A CROSS) you just have no fucking idea. COWARD's '87 3 song flexi follow up (Gasmask's bassist) is another winner in cheesy Japunk art department...and yeah I guess the songs are cool...IF YOU LIKE SIEGE AND OLD S.O.B.!!! Yes dawgs, "way"...has that basic chaos-punk structure but the SHEER FASTCORE THRASH EDGE is overwhelming (I'd also add structurally the riffs are contrived in a kind of cinematic fashion, it's uplifting but DEAD SERIOUS as fuck!)! Guitars are out of control, not only is it pure jet-engine/eardrum-exploding, it's enveloping too.The discography LP is dotted with bonus live, unreleased, and even REFORMED material from either band, but it's all just gravy after the EXPERIENCE of their main output!

OUTO can make you pogo as all fuck (starting in '84...think they lasted till early 90s???) noisenheimers! Their debut 7"s (they had 3 total and an LP) braindrill guitars are seering like COWARD's, but due to the ultra-reverb production very demoralizing and claustrophobic like yer getting napalm rained on ya (this is a GOOD thing). Drums and bass sound extra thick and gnarly in the mix. Band is surgically tight and pretty fast for 1-2-1-2-tumpa-tumpa-tumpa-tumpa. They got MAD ROCK over a fairly long period of time (it was like 2 years between every release)...but it was even more hXc than SWANKYS transformation and still retained the unadulterated chaos of their debut. They had a few comp tracks and videos though that I've ignored so that tells ya how much I think the first ep ("Many Question, Poison Answer") reigns supreme. They had phenomenal cartoony artwork/layouts half the time and in color too! There's a legit truncated discography cd from a few years ago that has the songs either out of order or missing a few tracks, but it's transfer is great and THAT ART is there again yo!

CONFUSE is probably best known to the world now (is there ANYTHING more classic looking than the "3 Punks" cover pic?), and out of all the bands here THE most ferociously alien (or ahead of their time...I don't even think ATROCIOUS MADNESS got very close and that's NOT being mean duders!). Band mistakenly gets compared to DISORDER a little too much (most likely due to Brian/DROPDEAD pushing that in an article in MRR from over 10 years ago), when everything from the vocals to drums are straight up fucking discore-thrash (or what's now called "Crasher Crust" made popular by GLOOM). They had one song in particular ("Hanger") that is pure DISORDER, but outside of upping the noise-factor to NUCLEAR levels (man it's borderline POWER-ELECTRONICS yo!!!) they were their own unique deal. The drums have always stood out the most for me. There's just tons and tons of fucked up fills (sometimes the toms are reversed in order! likes it's rolling "up") or breaks into odd time signatures. Listening to the snare alone on their '84 flexi's version of PEOPLE ARE NUCLEAR POISONING will make your head spin! Oh and the guitarist was like a noisecore virtuoso wringing SCREAMING notes and FUCKED UP psych effects from multiple pedals hooked up at once. So yeah, they had a great raw demo in '83, an equally intense flexi, an ep that sounded like lame outtakes from the demo ("Spending Loud Night"...it really sucks yo regardless of a GREAT uber drugged-out psych/space rock song), a few comp trax, something I'm forgetting (I'm not perfect), and a "metal" (I consider it "experimental") 12" called "Stupid LIfe" (it's a catchy album, the reverb is deep enough to drown in! reaaalll MEGA dark psyche!!!). There's been a really well recorded live show from '85 (where they were strict thrash, but they fuck with the songs slightly and the guitarist has a field day with effects!) floating around on SOULSEEK so SNAP THAT SHIT UP NIGGAZ!

I got the heavy players in this exact style out of the way (except STATE CHILDREN, whose lone flexi is BORING. Noisy and pre-crusty, yes...entertaining, NO. Or SHA LONDON, who I have yet to ever hear)...SO...ya wanna hear about "newer" chaos-punk bands??? LET'S FUCKIN' GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COLLAPSE SOCIETY more than likely kicked this wave off with their '93 demo, though the pre-CHAOS CHANNEL band DONKEYS might have existed at the same time (I know GLOOM started around this time too, but I think they're overrated). But yeah, COLLAPSE SOCIETY kind of started with a HEAVY crusty dirge but copped the old guard's distortion INHUMANLY (even on the bass, which is REPULSIONized yo!). It's the bizarre, almost plodding tempo of the demo that works alongside the noise...The combination grinds along until there's nothing left of your SANITY, let alone hearing! Trax want to be standard-paced crustcore, but seem oddly slowed to a point of nearly falling apart (but the band's NOT sloppy!!!???). Their follow up ep is a lot tighter and faster (many demo songs made the cut), probably becomes standard discore...but it still has tons of apocalyptic energy and smarm (the lyrics REALLY get into it with their "Emperor" caste system!) so it gets my honest vote for a classic of it's/our time. Had a few comp appearances (I've noticed writing this entire article that RARELY do any of these new band's comp trax want to impress me!).

DONKEYS/CHAOS CHANNEL: NOBODY has any decent info on DONKEYS yo except for the CHAOS C.H. connection (and a NOISY demo!). This demo is fuckin' TITS gang! Perfect combo of SWANKYS/DISORDER chaos-thrash (and sometimes "punk"!) meets dis-dis-dis ATTACK! Many memorable songs that SHOULD be anthems of our times ("FUCK'N ALL WORLD!" LOLOLOLOLOL)...if it weren't for the HORRENDOUSLY LAME PRODUCTION. This shit's BEYOND boombox duders...it's fucking MUD. BUT, if you have a properly trained ear (and crank the volume) the trax ARE definable. Long ass demo (lotsa trax)! Total value for money! As CHAOS CHANNEL they were on the scene with an ep (and split demo with ADDICTION) about '95, "cleaned" things up slightly, went more discore (there's the old chaos-punk "rolling" feel on a couple trax), and forged a braindrill distortion that could blow open the very gates of HELL! A comp track or two then BOOM they go ULTRA SWANKYS (garage rock years, in fact the fake "live" audience during this 2nd ep is a direct nod to SWANKYS own fake "live" double CD) and rock the audience the fuck out with mega clean production. It's a good ep though. A decent sounding farewell live tape (playing trax throughout their career) with singer "Chatter" drunkenly fucking up incessantly ended things grandly.

DUST NOISE ('98) I hold way close to my heart...and apparently STAY the only one. I've been trying to break this band for YEARS and have met like 6 people worldwide who know the band...even in Japan (!). They have 3 demos (numbered weirdly, like their only live demo says "4th" on it, but I was assured by the band's friend they only have 3), 2 eps (200-300 pressed each), and supposedly some unreleased songs (I can attest to everything except this last rumor here). PURE fucking GAI/DISORDER (both of whom they cover!)...a little wooden/rough sounding, but DAMN those hate-filled songs and SQUIRTING weird-ass hollow production (it changes NOTICEABLY per release, but keeps that basic feel). I like the bass a lot...isn't distorted to shit or rumbly, but tinnily timples along (it's kinda cute, like a PUG!) with the drums. Vokills are PURE PISSED OFF POPEYE!!! I LOVE the layouts on all their shit...SWANKYS' stylized bullshit made-up fonts, DISORDER's crude drawings, and burnt-out pics of spiky crasher crusties (not too punk to ALSO LOVE LARM) making snide faces.

DISLIKE ('97) BLOW MY GOURD RIGHT OPEN YO!!! I am SO fucking in LOVE with this band! Their '97 ep is PHENOMENALLY chaotic!!! FAST (like OUTO's speed/debut ep's style) hyper oi-beat/DISORDER-tone guitar/spastic vocals. They slow it down like once and get you to 3rd-eye trance from the cosmically-contemplative "spacy" notes and EXCITING drum surprises (there's this little thingy they do that sounds like fucking woodpeckers???). Production's ace, band is surgically tight, every song RULES! They did a just as minimalist longer demo-ep in '99 that got slightly dissier, but kept it mostly chaotic and inventive (it's one of my fave demos by any band). The vocals changed here to a fucking head-exploding shriek that makes my OWN head hurt just listening to it! Production was good even on the demo and could have been released as a 12". Songs seem more gloomy or jaded in tone. Awesome, AWESOME band. EVERYBODY needs to hear this band (ALL these bands!!!).

SCREAMING NOISE is NOT related to DUST NOISE, but are even MORE DISORDERIFFIC. Had a slightly muddy and SUPER BASIC debut ep in '95-'96 (fashioned once again, as most of the bands have to varying degrees of success, as a fusion of GAI/DISORDER's graphics). Very catchy, but the songs will blow you away in how simple the notation/mono-beat is. Very first track "Born To Media" is a memorable as hell pub-punk delight. Things speed up just a hair throughout the rest of the songs. By 1997 a 2nd ep was released on CONFUSE's in-house label ANARCHY CENTRE and features a really sharp (nearly perfect) production. The band sounds even more comfortable/tight/faster within their sound and takes a few extra chances (that work well) to cop as much of DISORDER's snotty persona as possible. Braindrill is sharper, vocals screechier (lots of stolen Disorder-AAAAAAAAHs), it's a brilliant ep! They had 3 equally as intense comp trax but I only have those taped. Band broke up when singer had a kid (you can scope him in the INFERNO PUNX book).

DEFUSE: I don't mean to be a smartass and leave a short description, but as DEFUSE is the all-girl answer to CONFUSE note-for-note, crazy drum beat-for-beat...what more can be said of perfection? They had 2 consistent demos ('98-'99) and weren't afraid to stray into even faster tempos (like as fast as DOOM on "Circles"), or to a plodding AMEBIX swirl...but mostly it was a total CONFUSE fest and amazing as fuck. Many trax from the 2nd demo became a split 7" with P.Y.S.V. from Colombia. Transformed into the much less noisy, more melodic (it's simple CATCHY pub-punk melody, not BLINK yo) BACCHUS (all songs about getting loaded!!!) who so far have done just a demo (it's a good demo).

RABID's single '98 demo should be the stuff of modern legend noisenheimers. Distinctly more "thrash" oriented hardcore than chaotic...but there's a lot of heart and adventure here (and the band is tight as fuck...with NOISE also to take on any other band in this article!).

WOO!!! I had a LOT to say this time out didn't I gang? So yeah, there's obviously billions of other bands from either timeline, but I'm pretty sure I picked the ones that adhered the most precisely to the chaos-punk realm (that didn't suck...REFUSE and DECEIVING SOCIETY suck!!!). If I'm wrong...well it never hurts to be a little wrong. But I TRY to research yo! MAD PROPS to MERCILESS GAME and LEBENDEN TOTEN (both in the states) for being the ONLY bands outside of Japan to get the style done RIGHT! My own (dead) band CTHUWULF, who knows how badly we fucked it all up. Sayonnarra for now noisenheimers (I'm BEAT!)...see ya in the next dimension!!! --Sean (NOIZEPUG73@AOL.COM)

PARTIAL DISCOGRAPHY FOR ALL THE BANDS COVERED HERE:

Chaos Channel -
"Serve You Right!" 7" 1995, "Just Say No!" 7" 1995, Addiction Split demo 1993, "Noise Hero" farewell live (color cover) 1995

Collapse Society –
1993 demo, 7" 1995

Confuse –
“Indignation” cd (official 1983 demo cd) 1997, “Old Master” cd 1989, cd (nightmare bootleg) 1997, Live 12/28/85, Live 2/24/84, Live At Doushisha University 1985

Defuse –
1998 demo Jap, 1999 demo ("What's Right, Don't Conform"), P.Y.S.V. Split 7" 1999

Dislike -
"Shock" 7" 1997 Jap, "Noise" demo '99

Donkeys –
“Serve You Right!” (pre Chaos Channel...same title as C.CH. 7”)

Gai -
"Damaging Noise" 7" bootleg 2002, "Damaging Noise" LP (demos) 1997, "Damnation" cd (demos) 1997, "Total Control" cd (demos) 1997, 1981-1985 demo, "Extermination" flexi 1984

Gasmask/Coward -
split LP 2003

Gess –
“Suffer Damage” 1983 demo

No Cut –
“Tragic Present” 1983 demo

Outo -
"Many Question, Poison Answer" 7" 1984, "Half Wit Life" 7" 1986, "No Way Out" 7" 1989.

Rabid -
"Total Chaos Attack" demo 1998

Refuse -
"Control Noise" demo, "Punk Save The World" EP 2001

Screaming Noise -
"Not Very Nice" 7" 1995, "Noise And Masturbation" 7" 1997, Trax from "Chaos Of Destruction" compilation.

Sieg Heil -
1st demo ("Nazism", maybe '83), untitled 2nd demo ('83?)

Swankys -
"The Very Best of Hero" LP 1985, "Best Of Lifestyle" 12", “Never Can Eat Swank Dinner” CD 1987, "Rock 'N' Roll History Fuck Off" flexi 1984, "We Are The Refined White Cats" "pro" cdr-bootleg 2001, "Tokyo" CD, “More Fuck” (A.K.A.: "Original Swankys") demo 1985, “This Is My Lifestyle” 7” 1985, “Very Best Of 2” 7” 1985, "Period The Noise Tour" Live 1985 CD, "New York Live Fuck U.S.A." 2xCD 1989.

NOIZEPUG73@AOL.COM

Enslaved Chaos

This is long overdue.

Here is Enslaved Chaos out of print self titled EP for your listening pleasure. I am sorry about the quality but the mp3s is ripped from a dub tape (I traded the original copies with some friends waaaaay back in the days). Thanks to my bro for ripping it.

I am hosting it on the hxcmp3 page since savefile are totally useless these days. Let me know if you have any problem with it. To those who wants to share anything about Enslaved Chaos, just drop me a line. I know shit about these guys.

Here is the link. Would someone reissue this?

Volendam Disease

It is always great to come cross new bands that have nothing but one or two demo under their belt. Thanks to Myspace and slsk the chance to find those kinds of bands are much easier. I am not one of those scenesters who are into scene points when they talk about bands that other people have no idea about. I just like to check out bands that I never heard before and shared it with people who might be interested to check them out as well.

Here’s one of those bands, and they are from Japan. “Japan?!” Yeah Japan. Please don’t crap your pants ok. Anyway I was totally blown away when I heard the rough mixes for their upcoming demo. It is not something that is totally new and ground breaking but it is well played and that is some guarantee you are going to get when you checked out any bands from Japan regardless of how long they have been together. These guys played some high energy rocking hardcore. Think of a slower version FASTS or THE JELLYROLL ROCKHEADS. They are still fast mind you but not as fast as the two aforementioned bands. I was thinking about uploading some of those songs from their upcoming demo so you can download it but I got lazy and will only give you the link to their Myspace page (What?!).

Go here.

While you are at it why don’t you check out GORDON IVY AND THE JAYBIRDS as well (these guys invent MOD-CORE man, you are crazy if you don’t check them out)? Awesome pissed-off hardcore that will guarantee you moshing alone in your bedroom. If you hate moshing you can always check out SUNN and slash your throat. There is nothing more grimm than self mutilation while listening to SUNN.

If You Don't Already Know....

Hey check out these two awesome mp3 blog. You will dig it if you are into hardcore punk.

Strange Reaction
7 Inch Punk

Thank me later for ok.

Mass Separation Indonesian Tour

Mass Separation will be heading to Indonesia in a couple weeks time for a short tour. That is awesome. Check out this website for more info on them. Go and download some mp3s as well (there is only one unreleased song instead of two like stated on the website… damn, I feel like the biggest Mass Separation fanboy).

Oh yea, you can also find an interview I did with them when Yeap was still in the band(read it here). It is probably five years old but I am not too sure about that. The thing that I remember very well is that it took Yeap like forever to answer the interview questions and he answered it after I mentioned that it is going to be featured in Toinen Vaihtoehto zine from Finland (the interview came out in TV issue 133).

Good luck to Mass for the upcoming tour and I hope everything will go out as plan. Have fun guys (and you to Niesa!)…

Regulations

Regulations rock! I have been listening to their LP and EPs on a constant basis for quite a while now. It is ok if you’re too cool for this band. Check out Havoc Records website for some live Regulations MP3s. Keep your finger cross, I might post some other Regulations live MP3s that I have.

Attention Blah Blah Blah pt. 2

Welcome to Goatkore!

Nothing new, I just decided to make some changes to my existing blog (the truth is I am too lazy to create another blog). How many changes will it have? Well, not much I must say. I will still write about things that I am interested in and most of the time it will be about the international DIY hardcore punk community. Most people will think that it is kinda lame for a 25 year old to still be interested with that sort of thing but I just can’t help myself. There is something about the DIY community that I don’ think I can easily explain to other peoples around me. I maybe not the most active participant right now (dude I have a job and a girlfriend) but I still give a shit about it regardless of anything.
So what’s up with the name changes? Hmmm… despite being a stupid name it is way easier to remember this new name than the old one beside it is the name of my existing print-zine, and to those who are looking forward for the new issue, check this blog regularly for some updates.

Tapes are fun!

I was cleaning my room the other day when I realized that I have like tons of cool tapes lying around and I am not talking about the tapes that I have for sale from my small tape label. I just realized how much I love tapes more than CDs or mp3s. Yes I have an iPod but the feelings I got from a tape played through my Walkman are way different from the feelings I got from listening to songs from my iPod. Again, it is something unexplainable… maybe I am just someone that love to be stuck in the past and reminiscent how good it was back then… or maybe I am just old and should just find another hobby… anyway, I think I am going to start over my tape collection and get my hands on some cool tapes from all over the world. Oh yea, maybe I should buy a tape player as well so I don’t have to be stuck with that old Walkman. Can anyone help me finding a tape player with tape-to-tape dubbing function? I remember going to some electronic shop but couldn’t find those that are similar to the one that I have back in the days.
If you’re in a band and have a demo-tape out, let me know. I would love to get my hands on those. I don’t hate CDrs but it’s not something that I am used to when I started to get involved with the DIY community. If you can help me getting some tapes of bands like Poison Idea, Black Flag, His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy, let me know about it as well because I love those bands. Tapes rule and yes I am dork for it.

My current playlist:

Poison Idea – Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes Tape
His Hero Is Gone – Monuments To Thieves Tape
Tragedy – Vengeance

Revenge Is Sweet

Another cool band that I came across when I last went to Singapore. This band sounded way too similar to Strife, but for me that is a good thing since I kinda like Strife (they even do a Strife cover). Maybe it is just me, but beside from Recover, who is also from Singapore, there is hardly any other local hardcore band that reminds me of Strife. From what I gather Subtle Revenge is one of those up and coming new bands from Singapore and they are shit hot over there. I hope someone will bring them over to play some shows round here because they deserve to be enjoyed by many especially those who are still stuck with those Victory Style (the old ones, not the one where the are a lot of turds in it, on second thought…) records.

Oh yeah, I got the demo like months ago before I got to see them but due to my stupidity (and the fact that the demo cover is a huge turn-off) I never even bother to listen to it. Shit, I should have shoot myself for doing that. Check out their Myspace page and download a couple of songs from their demo. By the way they are heading to Indonesia this weekend for a couple of shows with fellow LCHC band Under Attack. Those dudes should have lots of fun over there. Safe journey fellas! By the way I think Epidemic records will release a split tape for this tour. Check it out now before it is too late (yup there’s ebay but don’t be a dumbass ok.)

Check them out!

Night of the Ultimate Mosh

Another mad blast of punk rock madness in Serdang! I am really looking forward for this mini show organized by those fuckers in SxMxGx. Hell this one is much better than the Vitamin X shows this coming Saturday… come to think about it, I might skip the Vitamin X show so I can fulfill my other obligations (or play the Football Manager 2006 like nobody’s business). No lost for not going to that show since I am not a huge Vitamin X fan.

Anyway back to the Night of the Ultimate Mosh… I hardly know most of the bands so that is definitely a good reason why I should be there and check out those bands, beside this is happening not far from my house so there is no reason for me to skip it. I surely enjoy shows like this more than any other show. Yeah, it is held in small places that can hardly fit 50 persons with shitty equipment, but that what makes it all more wonderful. A good punk rock show (or any rock show for that matter) is where you can feel whatever mood the band is channeling through their performances and songs and the best way to enjoy this is from punk rock shows like this.

Attention Blah Blah Blah

I have decided not to make this blog as a Mp3 Blog like what I intended a couple months back. I don't think I have all the time in the world for the hassles of uploading some mp3s on some servers. That doesn't mean I will not post any mp3s from bands that I think worthy of others attention, it just that it won't be my main objective anymore. From now on, you will have to endure some of my ramblings and whinnings about anything that I think fit to be on this blog.

Have a nice day.

despise....

Hari Raya is just around the corner.

The only good thing about Hari Raya is my Mom's rendang daging...

God, I can't even remember when is the last time I actually bought Baju Melayu for Hari Raya...

Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all...

Vitamin X Live In Malaysia

Yup you read that right, Vitamin X will be in Kuala Lumpur in a few weeks time for their SEA stop over. This will be awesome... well at least to those who have waited for it. Me? Well let just say that I am still crossing my fingers for the Infest reunion above anything else. So... anyway, there is an interesting discussion over ricecooker (click here) for the past couple of weeks regarding this. Yeah, shit talking behind the computer screen is fun but at least do it with dignity (is there such thing?).

But that's punk rock for you. It won't be punk rock without the spineless shit talking on the internet.

YouthCore!

I went to Singapore a couple weeks back with the guys in SelfMadeGod and Mass Separation. Saw two awesome shows and was blown away by a handful of Singaporean bands. It was definitely one of the best weeks of my life. Anyway here’s one of those handful bands that blown me away who called themselves Under Attack.

The first time I heard about them was a few months back when one of the band member passed me their demo CDr. It was surely one of the best demos I’ve heard this year. Hell it even end up on my playlist for weeks. I love listening to the kind of hardcore these guys are doing. It is short, fast and loud and although it is all textbook stuff, they are doing it with a passion that I don’t seem to find in some of the bands that have similar style with them. Shit these guys are fairly new but they sure kick the hell out of some other (Malaysian & Singaporean) bands that have been doing this for a while.

Anyway, I was lucky enough to catch one of their shows on my most recent trip to Singapore and boy do they know how to rip it up. It is fun, energetic and crazy at the same time. These guys know what the real deal man. No pretentious fastcore bullshit!

So here are a few mp3s from their demo and their upcoming release that I heard will be 4-way split with a few more SEA hardcore punk bands. I must say that I can’t wait when that one comes out.

From the demo

Hardcore by the Book
Kebebasan
Old School Hardcore Ain’t Cool Anymore?

From the upcoming 4-Way split

Youthcore!
Punk As Fuck, Fucked As You
Shoot and Kill

Hey check out their Myspace!

Note: the mp3 links have been removed!

a note....

Been a while since I last updated this blog. Got so much shit to cover. Check out in a week or two.

Bleeding in the Snow

For fans of Neurosis, Isis, Mare, Cult of Luna etc. Check out Snowblood from Scotland. I came across this awesome band after checking out the Collective Zine’s message board. This is definitely something that I can enjoy for days. The have posted two songs from their upcoming album and you can check it here on their website. Heavily crushing and sinister this will surely go down well with most who love this kind of music.

Pelican - Interview

I don’t think there is anything more I can say about Pelican. Thanks to Trevor for answering it. And if you haven’t got the new album, buy it here.

1. Hey man, how are you doing? How is the weather over there?

I'm doing real well, thank you. Just got home from a few shows with the band and now I am trying to do some hardcore relaxing before our next stint starts this weekend. I'm in North Carolina right now, and
the heat is sweltering, so my girlfriend and I have been hiding in a darkened room trying to keep cool.

2. What's up with the band? Are you preparing for the upcoming shows in Japan? Will this be the first time you guys going to play shows in Japan? Do you expect anything or looking forward for it?

Just got back last week, actually. It was our first time over there. The label which releases our albums in Japan, Daymare, invited us over to do four shows. They were all big successes, so hopefully it won't be long before we're asked to come back over. In addition to the opportunity to see and tour Japan, which we had dreamed of for a long time, we got to play with many of our favorite Japanese bands - Mono, Boris, Greenmachine, Church of Misery, etc. and got to catch a Corrupted show on our day off. It was a great trip.

3. So there will be a US tour this coming August, how long will this be and is Pelican touring with another band? Is this upcoming tour to support the new album?

Yes, this Sunday we are hitting the road for five weeks in support of the new record. The majority of the tour will be with our labelmates Big Business. We'll also be joined by Breather Resist, the Panthers, and Red Sparrowes for different legs of the tour.

4. So you guys are going on tour with your own money or…?

Yes, Japan was the first tour that wasn't paid for with our own money. Luckily we do alright on the road so the tours have started to pay for themselves rather than us having to slave at our jobs back home just to pay to play for people. The idea is that the better the tours go, the more we'll be able to do them, so we're hoping this tour is a success.

5. Tell me something about the new album. Is it the progression from the previous recorded materials? Are you guys happy with the output? What can the listener expect from this new album?

The album is much more diverse from our previous efforts. Whereas "Australasia" was heavily repetitive and distorted practically the whole way through, the new album makes use of a lot more changes throughout the songs, including many quiet passages. I guess the easiest way of describing the change is that the album is more song oriented than riff oriented, as our older material tended to be.

6. From the track list of the new album, I'd noticed that there is a track call March To The Sea, does this track have any relation to the March Into The Sea songs off the March Into The Sea EP?

Yes, it's a new recording of the song from the EP, with some changes made in the structure of the song. The most notable difference is that we excised the acoustic outro, since it seemed to eat into the continuity of the album quite a bit.

7. I have to say that the song March Into The Sea is probably on of the best songs I've heard from Pelican. Is it intended to be 20 minutes long because it really sounds like a combination of one or more songs in it? Can we expect more 20+ minutes songs from Pelican in the future?

We'd talked a little about dividing the song into movements, like a classical piece, but that ultimately seemed a little pretentious and uneccessary, so, yeah it's one twenty minute long song. I guess I can
understand the feeling that it seems like a lot of songs happen in its midst since we cover so much different territory within its boundaries, but I think the song itself is sort of indicative of all the different tones and ideas that we want to explore as musicians. It's a tidy bundle of chaos, really.

8. I found out that your new album had been leaked on the Internet for a while now. How does the band see about this? What do you think about kids downloading the whole album from the Internet instead of buying
the real album?

If I thought that no one was going to buy the album because they could just as easily download it, I guess I might get pretty bummed. It's a lot of hard work and very costly to make an album, so the ultimate goal of any independent release is to at least break even; and I am always gripped with terror when we are releasing something that the whole thing is gonna sink the ship, so to speak. But while the downloading phenomenon has definitely affected peoples' propensity to peel open their pocketbook to buy a new record, I don't think it's
necessarily a negative change. I think people that download music still spend money on music, downloading just gives them a chance to check out more stuff and broaden their musical palette. Technology has always forced change in the music scene/industry, and we are undergoing a time of dramatic change - downloading is here to stay and artists will have to find different ways to make their art come to fruition is they want to survive.

9. How was the SXSW show the band did a couple of months ago?

Shows with large bills always tend to have quite a number of duds on them, so it was amazing and an honor to participate in what I think might have been the best large assortment of bands I have ever seenplay on one stage in one night. The highlight was probably Oxbow; as music and performance the band drops my jaw every time I see them.

10. It seems that there are a lot of bands who are musically similar with Pelican and are gaining a lot of popularity within the 'extreme music' scene (i.e. Cult of Luna, Mare, Jesu etc), is it safe to say that this kind of music is going to be the next trend? Do you think MTV will catch up and starts hyping this kind of music?

The rarity with which music that is sincere and uncompromised "catches on" tends to suggest to me that MTV will not take an interest in bands affiliated with our scene or our label. I think that that's fine - business interests and corporate affiliations only bring negative effects with them. Those types' interest in music is predicated on the belief that there are material rewards to reap from it, which shifts the attention from sincerity to sales. Artists don't need that shit fucking up their work.

11. There was a Justin Broadrick remix on the March into the Sea EP. How does that come about? Is there any plan to do a remix album like what Isis did? Are you guys planning to do collaborations with other
like-minded musicians?

We toured the UK with Justin's band Jesu, and we got to talking about potential remixes and stuff while we were on the road with him. There's a remix of the same song, "Angel Tears", by another friend James Plotkin that'll show up on a split 12" EP with Mono later this year. We don't have any plans for a remix record, but we may comission remixes for future releases since the results we've had so far from these experiments have been very good. As far as collaborations, I guess we haven't really sought anything out to this point, but we try to never rule out artistic posibilities.

12. Is there any plan to do an acoustic album in the near future?

Laurent, Bryan, and I do all the initial songwriting on acoustic guitars, so a project of that sort would not be too surprising, but there's no plans for such a release at this time.

13. Anything else you want to add?

We apologize for the actions of our destructive government and culture. There are peace loving people in the United States and hopefully someday shit will change. Thank you very much for the interview.

Peace,
trevor

municipal waste - hazardous mutation

The new Municipal Waste is awesome! I stumbled upon it on slsk earlier today and have been listening to non-stop. Thanks to whomever that leaked it on the internet! From what I gathered it have been leaked for weeks now… haha for me for knowing this so much later.

I thought signing with Earache will make these guys lame and shitty (as with most Earache bands with the exception of Cult of Luna)… but I was wrong. The new album really kick ass and it is a good continuation of their first long player. I think it will go down well with those who dig em before they sign to Earache and this definitely will expose them to those who never heard of them before. I don’t want to debate about the whole sell-out thing since it is none of my business. If you don’t like a band for signing to an “evil” records label… just shut up and stop listening to them.

Since I am not interested to piss anyone from Earache, I will not post any songs that I acquire from slsk, instead I will list a couple of links that people can use to check it out.

Go here and here (yeah it is troublesome but you won't regret it) for some hard-hitting crossover thrash. Oh yea, check out the Earache page as well for some hard-hitting news about the Waste.

bandung thrash

I have decided to feature another Indonesian band after the Domestik Doktrin post last week. Another band from Bandung, Indonesia (Domestik Doktrin is from Bandung too you know) that plays it fast and couldn’t give a fuck about slowing it down for the non-ADD crowds. Anjing Tanah is probably the first Indonesian fast hardcore bands that I’ve heard a couple of years back. I never thought that Indonesia got any fast hardcore bands before discovering Anjing Tanah but I was wrong. There are tons of them over there in Indonesia!

Often compared to Charles Bronson, the band’s version of snotty fast hardcore really put them above their ilk in Indonesia and as far as I am concerned, I’ve had never listened to any good Indonesian fast hardcore bands that can be compared to Anjing Tanah. But then again do we need that? I definitely don’t need another Infest… and can live with the fact that there are no bands that want to be the next Infest. Just let the dis-bands do all the worshiping ok.

I don’t think they are still around. Well that is what kids in Bandung have been telling me. As far as I know, they only managed to record a demo and a full-length (correct me if I am wrong about this) entitled “Thrash is The Path to The Dorkside.” Here you can find all the tracks from the Diminuendocorruption demo. It is not a good representative of their later works, but this should do for now. Keep an eye in the future, who knows, maybe I won’t be too lazy to rip some of their later stuff.

01 - Budaya Timur Harus Mati
02 - Hanya Ada Satu Kata Buat Bintang Rock- Ngetot
03 - Detik-Detik Terakhir Di Dalem Kehidupan Kurt Kobain
04 - Revolusionaris Kon-Tol-Porer
05 - Bakterimukaantiagnesmonika
06 - Band Hardcore Majalah Hai
07 - 24 Jam Diberakin Iklan
08 - Negara Itu Semacam Lobang Pantat, Semua Orang Punya Satu Dan Pasti Bau Tai
09 - Pemberontakan Cuma Bikin Tebel Kantong Para Banjingan
10 - Berak Di Depan Jendela Fucktory Outlet Yang Ke-1000 Sekian Kota Bandung
11 - Rocker Yang Telah Mati Semua Membusuk Di Neraka Jahanam
12 - Seluruh Dunia Boleh Dinuklir!!!
13 - Invasi Pasukan Puser Di Layar Televisi Anda
14 - Strategi Koporat Kapitalis Progresif

Mp3s linked removed. Check me out on slsk. User ID: hatta

sepakat untuk tidak sepakat

Domestik Doktrin from Indonesia was here in Malaysia recently. For those who have no idea who Domestik Doktrin is, just take note that they have 7” on 625 Records. If you know about 625 Records you probably have a rough idea how Domestik Doktrin sounds like. If you want to know about 625 Records, click here. Check this out for more info about Domestik Doktrin.

I managed to catch 2 of their shows (they probably played like 5 shows in total). Both were awesome and fun. The first show was at a jam studio (practice space) that could probably fit 70 peoples in it. It was fucking wild and it was a total miracle that the place was still intact and in one piece after the show. Watching Domestik Doktrin reminds me why I love DIY hardcore punk in the first place.

Here are a couple of mp3s from Domestik Doktrin’s latest release Phundamentalphun. Those who are familiar with Domestik Doktrin will find this to be a little bit different from the 7” that 625 Records released not too long ago. It seems that they are also caught with the whole “Tragedy-Epic-Crust” craze that is popular these days. I haven’t listened enough of it to give out my opinion about their new release but I will definitely say that, as of now, I prefer to listen to their first 7” than this new release and a lot of people that I know would definitely say the same thing too. Some even describe Domestik Doktrin new material as a very bad metalcore… Drop a line to propamedia@gmail.com if you want more information about the CD. It is limited to 300 copies and serves as a discography CD since it has all the songs that they have recorded up to this point.

Domestik Doktrin - Beauty is in The Eye of The Stock Holder
Domestik Doktrin - Gossip vis-a-vis Casusbeli

Note: Links removed. It have been weeks for fucks sake!

extreme aggression

Kreator live in Malaysia? Fuck yeah!

I hope they won't cancel it. Fingers cross...

I Grind, Pt 1: Damage Digital

I was lucky enough to catch a Damage Digital show right here in Kuala Lumpur way back in 1997. It was probably their second visit to Malaysia. I don’t remember how I managed to miss them the first time they were here but I definitely didn’t want to miss them again, especially after hearing a lot of good things from people who managed to catch their first show. If I can remember well, Damage Digital was also the first Japanese band that I saw live. And it was really an experience.

Maybe I ‘m exaggerating things, but few can deny the quality of the bands coming from Japan. They might not be the most original but they made it up with other things, most notably are their live performance. From my very limited experience there are hardly any bad memories from watching a Japanese band… well maybe with an exception for Fuck on the Beach. But then again, they were horrible in the first place.

Although often time compared to Discordance Axis, Damage Digital (DxDx) is not a straight up carbon copy of Discordance Axis. Yes there are definitely similarities between them, and as far as I know, Discordance Axis was probably in Damage Digital’s long list of influence but they are definitely not a Discordance Axis rip off.

Damage Digital will definitely be on my top ten all time favorite grindcore bands alongside Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Brutal Truth and Discordance Axis. I can hardly find any new band that can match the sheer ferocity and OTT intensity that were produced by DxDx, be it on recorded material or live performance. Sure there are lots of new grindcore bands out there but quite frankly none of them interest me at all. But hey, I’m open for recommendations as long as the band is not affiliated with Relapse.

I think recently someone in the US was kind enough to release a DxDx LP. As far as I know Crimes Against Humanity is carrying ‘em in their distro. Check DxDx own website for details. Here a few mp3s from their previous releases.

00 void

A couple of months ago I wouldn’t believe that I will be enjoying Sunn. I was even skeptical of people saying that they are really into whatever this band is doing. I doubt I can enjoy this band without being high… I was wrong.

I don’t really know how to explain but I was kinda bored with what I’ve been listening to lately. The last gig I went to were really a so-so affair and I was pretty burned out with the whole “loud-fast-rules!” stuff that I’ve been listening for a while. It was boredom that made me decided to check out some off the stuff that I don’t usually listen to. So I went to check out some off the cds and cdrs that I have and found a cdr of Sunn’s Flight of the Behemoth album. I don’t know how long I have it with me but one thing for sure; I hardly listen to it ever since I got it. It is weird. While I can definitely enjoy Burning Witch, Khanate (two out of many Sunn’s Steve O' Malley bands and projects) and Corrupted, I can’t really get into Sunn. It is too monotonous for my likings and “un-heavy” unlike those aforementioned bands.

I uploaded those songs to my iPod and decided to listen to it the next morning while going to work. I should add that my morning playlist are usually stuff ranging from metal to grindcore; it is definitely a perfect way to start off my day – anything by Slayer (up to the Undisputed Attittude album) usually do the job.

What happened the next morning was really amazing. Amazing because I was listening to something that I never thought I would listen and enjoying every minutes of it. It was the perfect soundtrack for my little journey to the workplace. My mind was really empty. I felt like I was numb. I could care less about the whole world and what would await me at the workplace on that particular day. I have found my new favorite band and I don’t need any drugs to get into it. Escaping the mundane of everyday monotony is beautiful and I have found the perfect soundtrack for it.

Here are a couple of Sunn mp3s. Enjoy yourself but make sure to keep all the sharp objects away.

Sunn's BOW 1
Sunn's Richard

when forever comes crashing

I don't really have much to write about. One thing is certain, I am not happy with myself. My zine project has been lagging for a while and I haven't submitted anything for my friend's webzine for a very long time. This is not something I am proud off.

On a positive note. I got a good fat bonus from my employer. Nothing to shout about but it sure makes me a happy person for a couple of days. Oh, have I told anyone that I got a raise along with that big fat bonus?

I was in Singapore last two weeks ago. I went there as a roadie/shitworkers for my friend’s band that played a gig there (as a part of a mini tour with a German band). The last time I was in Singapore in when I was still in the band. There’s nothing much to write about Singapore. We didn’t do any of that tourist thingy, all we did was sleep on someone’s floor, played/watched a kick ass show, hang out with the Singapore kids, sleep on someone’s floor and…. Well that’s basically it. It’s rock and roll (without the excessive sex, drugs and alcohol part) and there are no other ways to enjoy it.

... and here I am, updating this while listening to Converge’s When Forever Comes Crashing… I am not a very happy person... but at least my life isn't miserable.

hunting dead bodies

It is definite. SHIKARI is no more.
Everybody, thanks for the support. It has been 5 amazing years!

...thanks for the truly amazing and inspirational music.

my own blog...

... who would've thought