Groinoids - Radiobeat Sessions 7"

Artist: Groinoids
Album: Radiobeat Sessions 7"
Release: 2008

Label: Fatalist, I Deal

Tracklist:

1. Angel
2. Empty Skull

3. Burn

4. Doy Doy Doy

5. 4.6 Billion Vampires

Recently, I finally procured a copy of the seminal This Is Boston, Not L.A. comp for a good price from my roommate and found myself re-discovering all that's amazing (and, occasionally, annoying) about it. I think I might even like the Jerry's Kids material on this more than the LP. Maybe not, though.

Anyway, I know that there's a lot of contention as to which featured bands are great and which are shit. From discussions with friends, as well as internet research, has led me to believe that most people just don't like the Groinoids. I don't get it! Their song on the comp, "Angel," is one of my favorites on there, and "Empty Skull," released on the counterpart 7" comp Unsafe At Any Speed, is also excellent!

Fortunately, someone at Fatalist and I Deal records clearly agrees with this notion and put out a 7" featuring all the material recorded during the famous sessions at Radiobeat for the This Is Boston. The two best songs on here are those that were actually released, but the remaining three culled from the sessions are still great punk songs. Lyrical content ranges from nihilistic to goofy to "controversial," but is consistent in that it's always angry. Hardcore!

So, if you're a fan of Boston punk history, or just scummy hardcore punk in general, then check this out.

Download Here

-Adam

Secret Tombs - The True Story Of... CS

Artist: Secret Tombs

Album: The True Story Of... CS

Release: 2010

Label: Self-Released

Tracklist:

1. The True Story Of...

Prepare yourself weakling readers, for this post is not for the faint of heart! Enclosed you will find tales of witches, crypts, evil curses, and even hot 'n' horny drunken teenagers, so if you find any of that disagreeable, then be sure to check out this insane K-Pop video my roommate just turned me onto.

Behind the lore, Secret Tombs is really just a male-fronted and male-backed three-piece from Braddock and Pittsburgh, PA playing a hybrid of various sounds that resembles Dead Moon meets AC/DC meets the theme song to King Of The Hill meets "Hard To Handle" by the Black Crowes. Seriously. There are seven untitled songs here that are meant to be taken as one, cohesive piece that follows a narrative about some crazy curse. I don't know if I understand it, entirely, but I do know that curses have never been this rockin'! This demo is one of the catchiest things I've heard in awhile, so if you're not a hater of all things "rock" (i.e. a moron, like Colman, for example), then be sure to take the plunge into the, uh, secret tomb of, uh, Secret Tombs.

THE CURSE IS NOW UPON YOU. *hiss hiss* *hiss hiss*

Download Here

To Buy, email vegthesystem@gmail.com

-Adam

Inmates - Government Crimes 7"

Artist: Inmates
Album: Government Crimes 7"
Release: 1995
Label: Bloodclot, Brainwashed

Tracklist:

1. Riot

2. Government Crimes

3. I'm So Scummy

4. Burning (Kuso)

5. Downdrunk

6. I Wreck

7. Pipebomb

8. Victimized (Chaos U.K.)

The debut 7" from Inmates is probably my favorite material from these Cleveland heavyweights. The band has/had the key "musical" members of Integrity, but the band plays faster and more conventional hardcore than the aforementioned band's metallic take on the genre. On top of this, the vocalist has the coolest fake British accent. It makes no sense and is actually kind of odd, but it's very effective. The songs from Government Crimes appear on their classic LP Assholes Unanimous Presents..., but I prefer the sound quality of these recordings. This 7" is chock full of hits like "Riot," "I'm So Scummy," and "Pipebomb," all of which will help you demolish whatever venue or bedroom you happen to be in. It's what the band would want.

Download Here

-Adam

New Hard New England: Demo Cassettes, Pt. 2

New Hard New England: Part Two

Artist: Hoax
Album: Demo
Release: 2010
Label: Self-Released

Tracklist:

1. Stuck

2. Dead Weight

3. Suicide Pact

4. Imposter

5. Living On The Brink Of Suicide

Hoax are a new band from Western Massachusetts; they are typically dark for this part of the Bay State but atypically slow, heavy and dirge like. This demo is five tracks of frighteningly self-loathing and aggressive hardcore that is as insecure as it is hateful. Hardcore punk's appeal for me has always been the way it illuminates often ignored and discouraged parts of the brain but this demo reaches new depths. Several if not most of these songs are about teetering on the edge of self-destruction.

Musically speaking the Hoax sound departs from current trends. We have heavy, slower hardcore with crunchy, processed sounding distortion that invokes Cleveland bands like Inmates. Track one, "Stuck," and track five, "Living on the Brink of Suicide" are by far the best songs on the demo, not just because they trademark Hoax's drudging rhythm section but because they are good, smoothly flowing mid-tempo songs. Hoax brings a welcome change to the modern hardcore style. The remaining three songs here are similarly hard and deranged, combining fast parts and breakdowns that chaotically mash together for a seriously headache-y affect.

It only remains to be said that the age 20-something members of this band STILL MOSH. So if you don't know, now you know

Download Here (Files come directly from the band. No tape rip here)
Contact them at thebrinkofsuicide@gmail.com

-Colman

Libyans - A Common Place

Artist: Libyans

Album: A Common Place

Release: 2010
Label: Sorry State

Tracklist:

1. Blood And Rust

2. A Common Place

3. Blind And Useless

4. Life Less Trying

5. Lifeline

6. Every Single Thing

7. Paralyzed

8. The Plague

9. Watching The Grass Grow

10. Breathing In
11. Can't Face It
12. Empire

13. Homesick

Libyans have relatively quietly become one of the more prolific Boston bands, in terms of quantity and quality, particularly in relation to how few shows they play in their hometown. They write a ton and remain tight as ever, yet aside from the one-sided 7" teaser to this album, A Common Place is their first proper release since their Crash Course single, which came out almost two years ago at this point. I have no real perception as to what people think about Libyans, either in Boston (I always felt that they were/are underappreciated by the Boston punk brotherhood) or throughout the country, but for me, this album was long-awaited. And it did not disappoint.

Libyans keep things concise, with the longest track clocking in at 2:15, and this whole 13-song LP coming in around the 16-minute mark. Each track is packed with Dangerhouse riffage, and vocals that Liz holds in until the last minute before spitting them out. The same was true of the most recent single, but I don't know when she became so damn snotty. I remember when their first 12" came out a couple years ago, Liz told me that whoever recorded it wanted it to sound some like the Descendents. I think I get some of that vibe here too (plus they covered "Suburban Home" when they played at Stolen Sleeves recently). The lyrics are mostly personal, expanding on similar topics to previous Libyans releases (not as much urban planning going on with this one). My one complaint is that there aren't any more punchy tracks, like "Cough It Up" or "I'm Done." While A Common Place certainly is an album (in terms of remaining strong throughout and cohesiveness), a few songs sound out for me: the title track, "Paralyzed," and "Breathing In." "Paralyzed" has become one of my favorite songs of the year, the build up only accentuating "Just shut her up/Then shut her down." Both this and "Breathing In" venture into solo territory, but are never overdone. Libyans continue to be catchy and tight at fuck.

Download Here
Buy Here

-Catherine

New Hard New England: Demo Cassettes

New Hard New England: Part One

If there was ever any doubt, hardcore in the North East was back on the map in 2010. I was happy to enjoy some amazing regional delicacies this year, live and recorded. Ringing out this last year of the first decade of the 21st Century were two new demo tapes that have made me very excited for the Future of Hardcore. My next two posts will feature two, new New England bands with remarkably similar names that have shown a light onto the murky darkness of modern aggressive music. These bands play in different veins, but both offer dark and psychological meditations that reach out to the closed off hearts of small, angry people every where. Bless them for their service.

Artist: Host

Album: Demo CS

Release: 2010

Label: Self-Released

Tracklist:

1. 83 And 94

2. The Bridge

3. What We Already Know

4. -

5. This Trap

Host are a band that has been in the works for some time and have played live in various incarnations but were born completely only in the last half of this year. This demo is the genius brain-child of one New Hampshire Live Free or Die custodial worker. After months of uncertainty this recording finally came to fruition in the rear room of a boarding house in a small New Hampshire Live Free or Die city. The simplicity of this recording belies the incredible, mosh-inducing song-writing of this band.

The Host demo is five songs of intricate, slightly-metallic hardcore that conjures His Hero Is Gone but also Integrity in a revamp on what is now a familiar sound. Do not be fooled; Host is not a watery "T-beat" or Myspace crust band. This is brilliant, angry, scathing hardcore with all the rawness and intensity that could only be culled from frigid and dark nights spent in your mother's New Hampshire Live Free or Die home.

The guitar work here stands out as some of the best in modern aggressive music. Parts change on a dime and shift from blazing fast punk to ignorant heaviness. It has been some time since I have heard song-crafting this good. The vocals are distinct and powerful.

Track five, "This Trap," will make you want to cut yourself open on the altar of your own misery. Notable is the New Hampshire Live Free or Die-themed cassette art featuring various New Hampshire Live Free or Die state symbols.

Download Here (Link fixed! mp3s are up, not aif)

To Buy, email astrocreepingdeath@hotmail.com

-Colman