Antisect and Nausea live upgrades

- Antisect / Sacrilege - live at the Mermaid, Birmingham, 5.4.1986 (here)

- Jesus Chrust / The Apostates / Nausea - live at Gilman Street, Berkeley, 1990 (here)

And more upgrades!

 Top notch FLAC or WAV versions of the following can now be downloaded:

- The Next World "Branded" Ep 1988 (here)
- Arrogance demo 1987 (here)
- Life Cycle "The weight of tradition" 12" 1989 (here)
- Dreadful demo 1988 (here)
- Zealot demo (here)
- "No frontiers" compilation Ep 1989 (here)
- "Hiatus: the Peaceville sampler" compilation Lp 1988 (here)
- Axegrinder "Still grinding enemies" cd + "The squat tape" demo 1988 (here)
- Atavistic "From within" demo 1986 (here)
- Concrete Sox "Lunched out" Ep 1990 (here)
- Heavy Discipline "Liberation of economics" Ep 1987 (here)
- Haywire "Blood money" demo 1988 + "Freedom?" demo 1990 (here)
- Civilised Society? / Deviated Instinct live in Bradford, 6.3.87 + Rhetoric live in Yarmouth, 11.2.88 (here)

More upgrades!

FLAC or WAV versions of the following recordings are now available and have replaced the old mp3's. Since they are heavier formats, I have sometimes divided the files into two (for instance, the Debauchery Lp has one file for each side).

- Debauchery "The ice" Lp 1989 (here)
- Slander "Politicians cause it" demo 1992 (here)
- Decontrol "Thunk!" demo 1991 (here)
- Chaotic Subversion / The Disturbed split tape (here)
- Agonie "S/t" demo 2006 (here)
- Domination Factor "Dominated til' death" demo 1987 + live at the Mermaid, 1987 (here)

Sacrifice "S/t" demo 2000's

Brace yourself, here is a demo from an obscure Japanese band. Now, if it doesn't get me hundreds of downloads by the end of the day, I don't know what will.

I have had a troubled relationship with Japanese punk for a few years now. On the one hand, I find there are many worthy bands there and indeed I have a genuine fondness for some Japanese bands (SDS and Zoe for instance). On the other hand, I have also noticed a lot of bands are hyped to death, highly revered and sought after, not on their merits but because they hail from Japan. Don't get me wrong. I highly doubt most  of these bands even realize they are being idolized. Such behaviour has more to with the geeky fanboy mentality so prevalent in some circles than with the actual quality of the music. Nonetheless, there is still this propensity to acclaim Japanese punk records (it is sadly often more about records than music at the end of the day) on the face of it. Thank fuck there is no such thing as Japanese punk cosplay.

But back to this demo. I tried to find some background information about Sacrifice but to no avail. Apparently, the demo was recorded at Otoya studio but that's pretty much it. No date either. It has to be said that most of the words in the insert are in Japanese so a lot of it is unfortunately lost on me. I initially bought this demo because the name of the band, Sacrifice, and the aesthetics of the cover drove me to think that it could be a Sacrilege-inspired band, which it isn't in the least. You always learn, don't you?

Sacrifice has this distinct Japanese punk sound that so many of us are suckers for. It is fast, energetic, the drums pummel, the guitar distorts and the bass buzzes. There are these typical rolls pioneered on that side of the world by Confuse but the pace mostly beats the D in a fast and furious fashion. It is not quite as distorsion-drenched as bands like Defector or Framtid and the vocals are not as yelled. While Sacrifice still has one foot firmly in the crasher-crust camp, a more 90's Japanese hardcore is also present, especially in the singer's flow and the overall punch of the recording. The sound is great for a demo and the lyrics are in Japanese (apart from the songs' titles, oddly enough) which is something that I appreciate in spite of the lack of translations. Judging from the artwork (there is a drawing of Bush with, hopefully, some Japanese insults over him), all the fuss is about disarmament, the disrespect of human life and the filthy power of money.

For all I know, Sacrifice could have been some sort of all-star band or on the contrary some very local band whose members vanish into punk obscurity afterwards. Any complementary information is welcome!

Sacrifice!

     

Senile Decay and Jesusexercise upgraded

As promised, I have started to upgrade the files to FLAC or WAV for a better listening experience. The first two old posts to get the treatment are the Senile Decay/Canol Caled split Ep (here) and the Jesusexercise Ep (here).

Crust or what?

Icons of Filth "Show us you care" Ep 1999

2012 has confirmed that a certain brand of 80's UK anarchopunk was back in style. Suddenly, bands like Rubella Ballet, Lost Cherrees or Internal Autonomy got to be appealing again. While I love these bands to death, I can't help thinking that it is just another trend and the renewed interest in them is both amusing and a bit shallow. Considerations such as this one notwithstanding, will 2013 bring us a revival of the harder-hitting fringe of the anarcho movement? Will the learned punks from Portland or Barcelona be starting bands that sound like Conflict, AOA or Anti-System? Or, indeed, like Icons of Filth?

A few years ago, I remember having a conversation with an older punk, the kind that saw the Subhumans in 1984. He told me that at the time, he didn't rate Flux of Pink Indians and Icons of Filth that much. To him, Flux sounded too much like Crass and the Icons were just Conflict wannabees. Harsh probably, but I can see where he was coming from. After all, Conflict and Icons of Filth were close and they played with each other very often (without mentioning the fact that Mortarhate released no less than five Icons records). There are, however, significant differences between both bands. First, Stig's distinctive vocals made the band's sound very special. Not really spoken but not totally shouted either, his voice shaped the Icons' identity and you can actually understand what he is talking about despite the aggression of the music. Second, Icons of Filth were, mostly, heavier, faster and darker than Conflict. Finally, the artwork that they used was more twisted, intricate and gloomier than the outward revolutionary imagery that Conflict adopted. In fact, it could be argued  Icons of Filth are remembered for their striking aesthetics (courtesy of Squeal and even Blinko) as much as the are for their actual sound.

 

The "Show us you care" Ep was released in 1999, a few years before Icons of Filth reformed. It was a joint release between BBP records and Yellow Fever. As we learn from a small card placed inside the record sleeve, Yellow Fever was started by a member of BBP and this Ep was its first release. The label went on to release two subsequent records (the Diaspora Lp and the Bug Central Ep). BBP, on the other hand, began in the 80's and released 94 tapes (the Nausea / Jesus Chrust / Apostates tape was a BBP release), 8 "proper" records and distributed hundreds of great punk tapes. Sadly, the founder of BBP died last month but his distro and label are testimonies to the undying spirit of DIY punk-rock.

As you may have guessed, "Show us you care" is a live Ep, recorded in March, 1984 and re-mastered by none other than Sned from Flat Earth records. The artwork was made by Squeal who drew most of the Icons' artwork back in the days, so although this Ep was released 14 years after "The filth and the fury" (1985), you still have the feeling that it is a proper Icons of Filth record, an actual follow-up. What I mean to say is: it looks great! Even the two ads from the labels were printed on nice, thick paper and displayed some beautiful artwork. The large drawing of the skull was later used for the cover of "Nostradamnedus", albeit in a coloured version. The Ep cover has the famous Icons of Filth anarcho logo drawn as either a church stained-glass window or as some ancient mosaics. Could it be a comment about the stagnation of a punk scene so prone to idolize and almost deify old bands? Or on the contrary, could it be a tribute to a band that belonged in the past (they still did in 1999!), thus making the mosaics/stained-glass a reflection of the band's reflexivity?

But enough blabbering already. There are six songs on this record: "Virus" and "Asking too much" that appear on the "Used abused unamused" Ep, while the other four ("Power for power", "Self-styled superiority", "Mentally murdered" and "Show us you care") are from the "Onward Christian soldiers" Lp which was the band's latest release at the time (the "Brain death" Ep was recorded in October of the same year). You have the full Icons of Filth experience here, with both fast and mid-paced songs. The sound quality is good considering the recording conditions and you can tell that the band's performance must have been intense indeed. If you are unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with Icons of Filth, imagine a cross between the anger of "Increase the pressure"-era Conflict, the heaviness and despair of "All systems go"-era One Way System and the extraordinary of Discharge (pre-hair metal period, that goes without saying).

Lyrically, Icons of Filth were at least as remarkable as they were visually and sonically. They were a direct band, not messing around with metaphors. They were pissed and threatening and although some of their lyrics reflect a sense of hopelessness before the system's power, they always remain defiant and combative. "Mentally murdered" and "Virus" are about the social conditioning, the alienation imposed on people so that they fit in, as "slaves to other people's expectations": soldiers, workers, parents, decent church-going and law-abiding citizens. "Asking too much?" tackles the same issue but from the different perspective of a kid who has to put up with the madness of his parents, his teacher, the heads of state and sees the world going mental and heading toward its imminent self-inflicted destruction. "Self-styled superiority" is about the arrogance of Man, obsessed with the domination of others. "Power for power" is a song against nuclear power and has the brilliant line "you're better active today than radioactive tomorrow". Finally, "Show us you care" is an anti-vivisection song written from the point of view of an animal that has been experimented on and calls for help.

Fantastic songs from one of the most crucial anarchopunk bands ever.    

Show us you care!             

Task Force "Fresh air" Ep 2011

Task Force were a little-known band from Stanley, County Durham, a mining town in the North of England. They formed in 1982, split up in 1984, recorded three demos and had the one track on an obscure local benefit compilation Ep called "Rock and dole". Hardly the high-profile band. However, the band penned a couple of absolutely cracking tunes during their short existence and it is a shame they didn't get to record a proper Ep of their own.

If we are to believe the biography of the band that appears on the backcover, the scene in the Durham area at the time was far more chaotic, violent and disorganized than it would be a couple of years later and one may even venture that the band's environment didn't exactly help them. Although the lyrics are not included (this always baffles me, but a lot of current reissues don't have lyrics as if labels didn't deem them important enough, but I digress...), the band seemed to sing about political issues such as the Falklands war (the name "Task Force" actually refers to this war), the army, living in a society that doesn't give a damn about working-class youth or the Cold War. The band also illustrates how the boundary between the anarchopunk scene and the "Burning Britain" one (the second wave basically) was very thin sometimes, as the Task Force lads met at a CND rally and did send their demo to Crass in order to be included on Bullshit Detector (it never materialized though) but also played with bands such as Uproar.

Originally, Task Force were called "Crack in the Brickwork" (you can find a rehearsal demo of the band under this moniker on the always excellent Terminal Escape) and they played a brand of punk that had more to do with the first wave than the second. Task Force had this unmistakable 1977 tunefulness and I am sometimes even reminded of the Ulster bands of that era, albeit with a slightly darker edge to it. The voice is very clear and melodic, the chorus are glorious and there are some excellent catchy guitar leads which makes Task Force's songs some of the best old-school punk-rock tunes from the second wave that I have heard. Think Chron Gen, Naked, Emergency, Toxik Ephex or No Choice.

Unfortunately, the sound is not so good at times. The Ep includes two tracks from the first demo and three from the second and you can hear that the master tape has had a rough life. Don't let this mere incident distract you from the classic slices of punk-rock tunes that you will find on this record however. It was released on Rave up records, a prolific Italian label that I know nothing about but I am guessing they mostly released local old-school punk-rock.

Fresh air

Some changes to the files

Hallo there.
After an informative chat about file formats on a message board, I have decided to upgrade the music files of Terminal Sound Nuisance. I will shift from average mp3's to fancier (though heavier) files. Not only will all the next recordings be in a better file format (flac possibly), but I will also try to do the same with those that have already been posted. Unfortunately, I haven't kept all the audacity files (I encoded the tapes years ago) so it is bound to be a time-consuming, but worthwhile, process which accounts for me not posting anything for the past ten days. Hopefully, I will have the time to re-encode everything before the end of the month.