Crash Kills Five “What do you do at night?” ep

This is a re-issue plus kind of release by the guys who would go onto write the surf instrumentals for Kids in the Hall. The plus is in the liner notes that come with the single. In the same way that Don provides the background stories in Trouble in the Camera Club he recounts how CRASH KILLS FIVE came together, their association with the DEMICS, their various recordings and how they broke up. CRASH KILLS FIVE start with a letter that Freddie Pompeii gives to Don Pyle from some kids in Calgary. Don goes to Calgary and meet these guys who have a band called BUICK McKANE.

 

These guys would relocate to Toronto to start CRASH KILLS NINE. A line up change, a name change, a bunch of serendipity and the band records a single in an actual garage that was converted into a studio. Don’s vocals sound like Joey Ramone. The music is more mid-paced like the DIODES except the drum structures borrow more from the CLASH, which is apparent in the song “It’s always there”. “Special school” is one of my favourites with the building BUZZCOCKS riffing.




This is one of the rare snapshots of a band perfectly in the scene in its origin and makes particular sense if you have ever heard Don talk about his love for record collecting. And speaking of snapshots, the cover is of the TD Towers at night. It is a stark shot of the financial district which was a common view in the era before the condos took over the city’s waterfront.



Working with the title, the cover does an iconic reinterpretation of the financial district similar to what the POLES did with “CN Tower”. It’s clever. (Ugly Pop Vinyl - http://uglypop.bigcartel.com/)

The Dream Dates "Surfer Joe" 45

Here’s the third single by this little known Hamilton band that existed in 1979. Just when you thought the well ran dry, Ugly Pop offers up two new covers of unreleased material by the DREAM DATES.

The A-side is a cover of the band that brought you “Wipe Out”. “Surfer Joe” was a single by the SURFARIS in which “Wipe Out” was the B-Side. How crazy is that? The B-Side is a cover of the 50’s rocker Freddy Cannon who was inspired by Chuck Berry. “Tallahassee Lassie” was his first single and it suits Deemer’s guitar sound which channels Chuck Berry and Gord Lewis simultaneously.



 

The inner sleeve has a new photo of the DREAM DATES that I have never seen yet and exhibits the rockabilly meets glam punk that was influencing the scene at the time. This is a great addition to the DREAM DATES canon. (Ugly Pop Vinyl - http://uglypop.bigcartel.com/)

Violent Future demo

VIOLENT FUTURE are a new band formed out of former members of BAD CHOICE. But the band is more than that with the singer from URBAN BLIGHT playing guitar and the main city’s promoter, Greg “Stuck in the City” Benedetto, on drums. So there is a classic east coast vibe to the band because that’s the music that the members grew up listening to. Think of that primal sound hardcore sound that east coast bands produced while trying to reproduce the bands coming out of the early UK HC scene. It’s the link that makes sense out of seeing that guy with the leather jacket with the ANGELIC UPSTARTS logo on the back who was at the NEGATIVE APPROACH segment for “Why be something that you’re not” video. There certainly is the NEGATIVE FX or DYS sound, but there is also a CRIMINAL DAMAGE vibe in the songs where you can hear this creeping oi sound to the material. And the comparisons don’t stop there. Christian writes bleak lyrics that capture the dire times of the mid 80’s in the Thatcher/Reagan era. Songs like “Fatal Reality” sum up just how dire things have gotten. Or “Goon Life” becomes a metaphor with how bully culture has become all pervasive in society. This is an inspired back to basics release by today’s scene veterans. And you can download the file at http://www.mediafire.com/?g54q2v8ljqkggmj.

Unlearn LP

Vancouver's Unlearn gets a review of their recent full length in the recent issue of MRR (#344). This is the band's fourth release this year (the demo, the ep, the split, and this).

Dark Circles demo

Dark Circles are a band from Montreal made up of members from Naughty Girls and ex Black Ships. They follow in the tradition of Born Dead Icons with a heavy moody crusging sound. The songs on here are found on the lyric sheet below.

The Class Assassins "Treason" ep

Side A, “Treason” has this underlying reggae beat to the song that reminds me of VERBAL ASSAULT’s “Tiny Giants” partially for the same reggae back beat, but partially because the sound is beefy. Beefy rock reggae from punks. Makes sense coming from punks who are anti-racists. Reaches back to the roots rebel army origins of the band’s appreciation for bands like the RUTS and SLF. The B Side, “Start Again” is more like what I am used to hearing from the CLASS ASSASSINS. Having just recorded a version of this song for our radio show I appreciate the heavy vocal interplay that comes together as gang chants in this song that live somewhere between SHAM 69 and RANCID. The music is more along the lines of the SKIDS with the not so subtle celtic riffing that made BIG COUNTRY a phenomenon. “Start Again” is my favourite of the two numbers and should have been the A-Side, but both songs are great. And it kind of baffles me how this band doesn’t have more people talking about them especially given that the singer was in an early rendition of CHRONIC SUBMISSION and the bassist was in DIRECT ACTION. Thos are two heavyweights as far as Toronto hardcore is concerned and should take nothing away from the others who played in PROBLEM CHILDREN, HOCKEY TEETH, and BOMB SHELTER. All of these bands were great in their own right. And although bringing together that much talent can be risky as is the case with Brazil’s football team, the egos are in check with the CLASS ASSASSINS. In fact I would say that the egos are no existent. These guys just play stripped down back to basics punk with loads of melody and is an example where bringing together this much talent can blow you away. There are a few examples of this like LIMP WRIST and the SWARM and now streetpunk has a role model. (Rebel Time Records – 2-558 Upper Gage Avenue, Suite 162 / Hamilton, ON / L8V 4J6 / Canada / www.rebeltimerecords.com)

Ilegal “Error de Orden” ep

This is a band from Montreal released at least a year ago. It sounds unlike anything I have heard come from this scene in recent times. It is raw, fuzzed out and playing as fast as they can. There are bands like INEPSY drawing in some traditional influences like DISCHARGE and MOTORHEAD. But ILEGAL go for more obscure sounds that tap into the essence of hardcore sound that I first heard from regions in South America through the “Welcome to 1984” comp. It doesn’t hurt that the band is singing in Spanish. (Lengua Armada – 1355 Grove Street, Apt. B / San Francisco, CA / 94117 / USA) 

Kremlin “Unscrewed” demo

Six new tracks by these Finnish impersonators. It was only a couple of months ago that the first demo was released. The vocals are a little more upfront in the mix, but they still live in the back of the recording ...in a minimalist DISCHARGE sort of way. Haikus are the way to go when the world is collapsing inwards on you. “Russia Bombs Finland” remains the guiding inspiration for the sound of this band. And while the first four tracks are barn burners the fifth one is an experimental number followed by the title track which is slow and plodding and has a “How Much Art” SSD feeling to it. (29 Somerset Avenue / Toronto, ON / M6H 2R3 / Canada / e-mail: kremlinpunk@gmail.com). Here are the lyrics and song titles:

Fuck the Facts / Mesrine split ep

Unlearn LP

Isn’t this always the way. As soon as a band gets an LP out they are broken up. That is the case for UNLEARN. I was just reading on the UNLEARN blog that they played their last show in September. That’s a shame because these guys rage. Do you remember at the beginning of hardcore just after the first DISCHARGE record had come out and many bands were trying to sound like them but very unsuccessfully and that was alright because they were creating all these amazing styles of hardcore in the process. Like the FARTZ who tried to be like DISCHARGE or RATTUS from Finland or WARSYSTEM from Denmark. That is what it is like listening to UNLEARN. The DISCHARGE influence is there but I would never say they play d-beat. And in an interview found in September’s, the bassist credits DISCHARGE as being an influence. But UNLEARN credit early Finnish hardcore and even more artistic noise bands like G.I.S.M. as playing a part into how fucked up they sound. Think DISORDER and DISCHARGE having it out in Helsinki in the early 80’s. (Deranged Records – P.O. Box 21534 / Vancouver, BC / V5L 5G2 / Canada / http://www.derangedrecords.com/)

Legion DCLXVI “The Final Days” LP

This was rumoured to be LEGION’s last record and with a song title like “Final Days” one would think that is in the offing, but I have been reassured that these are just rumours. This makes me wonder if album title is refering to the apocalyptic Christian groups which dominate the fear parade in today’s society or the satanic pose found around this band. The clues lie in the lyrics for the title track, which uses religious writing to write about Armageddon. It could be a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization. Who knows? The song was originally written for a side project that Blas was involved in called MEGIDDO and the singer Oskar does some vocals and guitar work on the song so MEGIDDO get more input than a routine cover would offer. The song is clever, just like the re-make LEGION do of the 4 SKINS song “Evil”. And when you stand back to give it some thought LEGION utilize the dark side of metal in their sound and look. They call themselves misanthropic blackened hardcore. The choruses of the 4 SKINS classic is perfect for a reinterpretation to LEGION. This is where a cover is more than just a crowd pleaser, although the band did perform it when they opened for OI POLLOI. Overall the songs are slower than on previous records. It allows the band to get heavier sounding. It has been four years since “Black Goat Armageddon”. Part of the time delay was in getting the artwork, which didn’t actually make it on the cover but did make it into the lyric sheet. The band is already at writing new material more in the EXTREME NOISE TERROR vein so expect a new curve ball for their next release. Until then we have “The Final Days” to chew on. The songs on this release are:



1. Mass Hysteria
2. It Just Gets Worse
3. The Final Days
4. Delusions
5. Inherenet Laws
6. Paranoid Landscapes
7. The End
8. Evil (4-Skins cover)

(Schizophrenic Records - www.schizophrenicrex.com)

Unlearn / Kruel split ep

This is like listening to a double A side of a raw noise punk record. Either side challenges for the right to be heard first. To be honest both bands are evenly matched. On one side you have these transplanted Calgarians called UNLEARN who crank out some noisey as fuck punk. This is the kind of stuff that would make KAOSS and DISORDER proud. KRUEL are a Spanish speaking hardcore band from L.A. There is lots of reverb on the vocals which invokes thoughts of G.I.S.M. and TERVEET KADET. There is some heavy ANTI-CIMEX / SHITLICKERS worship going on here. At the beginning of “No Hay Cruces, Ni Craciones” there is this wailing guitar scream reminiscent of DISCHARGE. The music is raw punk in sound with a barreling bass sound and a galloping drum beat. As far as splits go this was a thoughtful pairing. (Crucifacados Pelo sistema – http://www.crucificados.de/)

Overpower “Hogtown Skins” CD

OVERPOWER are a local oi skinhead band featuring members of HOLD A GRUDGE, RAMMER, the PROWLERS, and KOPS FOR CHRIST. Pat Laso, the bassist from BLUNDERMEN, is singing in this band and his vocals are low growls. This is a heavier oi than what I am used to. Sort of an oi crossed with tough guy hardcore. But Laso is part of the anti racist movement here in Toronto and the heaviness is a sign of his commitment. And these themes of loyalty play themselves out in songs like “The Wrong Side”, “The Crew”, and “Good Fight”. I know Laso is a big Toronto FC supporter as well and these themes run throughout



whether they be the photo on the back cover taken from the bunker at BMO field or the offside analogies that make the lyrics in “The Wrong Side”. These subtleties are not lost on me. One of the highlights off this is the cover of the OPPRESSED’s “Work Together”. It’s a great song and a local anti-fascist label, Insurgence Records, re-issued the OPRESED material a year or tow ago and so Toronto folks have been re-living the OPPRESSED anthems recently. OVERPOWER plays on this synergy by picking the OPPRESSED best known song to cover. I dare you to try and not sing along. Insurgence is making this release available as a digital download with proceeds being raised for A.F.A.


groups in Russia. (Insurgence Records - http://www.insurgence.net/)

Vacant State “Fill the Void” LP

This is Vancouver’s answer to SSD and S.I.E.G.E. in a tug-o-war contest. And this is a full length of the Boston inspired hardcore that these guys crank out. The eps were teasers but this is the real McCoy. You can think LAST RITES or NEGATIVE APPROACH or other early burly hardcore bands, and if you are a fan of that sound VACANT STATE breathes new life into this back to basics sound which is part oi and part early American hardcore split right down the middle. The album cover artwork is Raymond Pettibon-esque. This is a record I could listen to over and over again. Even the INFEST like droner at the end. (Deranged Records – P.O. Box 21534 / Vancouver, BC / V5L 5G2 / Canada / http://www.derangedrecords.com/)

Total War demo

West coast crust assault being played by guys who have played in FEAR OF TOMORROW, LIMB FROM LIMB, MASS GRAVE, and UNLEARN. This is probably the latest bastard child to result from Vancouver’s great Distort fest. Once the opening track wakes up the songs take on a charging pace with a constant low end rumble to echo our impending doom. Each song rins into the next creating momentum throughout the entire recording which reminds me of bands like DISKELMA. The guitar sound on songs like “They Lead, We Follow” there is a hum that reminds me of bands like LEGION666 or BOMBSTRIKE. Foat’s vocals straddle harsh and throaty in a WOLRD BURNS TO DEATH manner. And songs like “Nuclear Meltdown Hysteria” are relevant given the recent events in Fukushima. Download the demo at www.mediafire.com%2F%3Fbugihd38z9u7h6h&h=VAQDdwVVN.

Swindled "It's only peace that you want, it's only war that you get" CD

This just came out. The Swindled are a hardcore band from 1981 that reformed for the second time this year. They recorded a set on the station and have released it here. They have also tacked on the hard to find ep, some live songs and a demo. This band has a lot of great things to say. The CD can be gotten through at Amazon.

Kremlin demo

KREMLIN are a new band from Toronto. They are a three piece featuring ex-members of MOLESTED YOUTH and the drummer from the SCHOOL JERKS. The band plays mean sounding repetitive riffage a la BLACK FLAG meets the ADOLESCENTS. The emphasis is on scrappy in terms of keeping it together but this wreckless factor gives a little of the early California hardcore sound a la CIRCLE JERKS. The distinguishing factor about this band is the distant and echo sounding vocals, which bring a TERVEET KADET flavour to the mix. It is haunting and gives the band an x-factor with regards to their punk beat. This is my favourite band to come out of the city since the REPROBATES. For copies of the demo go to their bandcamp page. The songs on here are:

1. Inhuman
2. Duped
3. No Work
4. Kremlin

Deaf Mutations ep

Static Shock, the same label that did the recent Urban Blight ep, has put out the Deaf Mutations demo as a single. Originally this was a cassette only release recorded back in 2008. This is a side project with Dave Brown from Capital Death / Career Suicide fame doing the drums and vocals. Jonah Falco of Career Suicide / Fucked Up / Mad Men fame does the guitar work.  It was a one off project, but it sounds like classic early American hardcore. There is a great review up at the Static Shock blog written by Terminal Boredom.

Unruled "Time is Running Out" ep

I never got to hear this when it first came out. UNRULED were one of the greats from the Montreal hardcore scene and the U2/SKIDS intro to “Time is Running Out” throws one, but after the intro the band kicks it into GENETIC CONTROL raging tempo and it never lets up for the duration of this record. So what did GENETIC CONTROL sound like? “Clear the Pigs Out” is a good example. Part DISCHARGE, part NEGATIVE APPROACH is how I would boil it down. It is a lot more complicated than that but if I were to simplify it for the uninitiated. And that is no coincidence as the drummer on this recording went on to play for GENETIC CONTROL.

The sound quality on this re-issue sounds better than the drop the needle job that got tacked onto “Butchers of Warfare”. This is a precious lost gem that Schizophrenic has dusted off and fits right in with the other re-issues that the label has done for the YOUNG LIONS and SONS OF ISHMAEL. And they included a previously unreleased song recorded at the same session called “Clear the Pigs Out” so the re-issue has an extra song. (Schizophrenic Records – www.schizophrenicrex.com)

Madmen ep

MAD MEN is a side project that Jonah Falco does by himself where he explores his inner Italian side. There is no ode to the ad exec show or Jersey Shore, although most time meshed shirts are involved. But there is a nod to early Italian hardcore and other things Italian. Like the intro “Suspiria” which is the soundtrack to a Dario Argento film. This leads into a song about the Italian flag. The intro to this song starts off like a tough guy intro, which I believe is some of the original idea of this project. So musically Jonah fuses tough guy New York hardcore with the Furious Years of Italian hardcore and I think it is to some great effect. So when this is not sounding like quirky soundtrack music or SICK OF IT ALL it is sounding like a INDIGESTI meets PEGGIO PUNX. So although this is a little slow out of the blocks the build up is worth the crazy way both “The Italian Flag” and “The Myth” end.  (Slasher Records – 109 Perth Avenue / Toronto, ON / M6P 3N2 / Canada)