Tokyo's Filthy Hate is the perfect example of a band I was late to the party for. I have no idea why no one sent me an invite, it's not like my address is hard to find or anything. Or perhaps there wasn't a party at all and Filthy Hate belong to the "obscure bands department", a strangely defined world that does not seem to have any fixed definition in fact, an object of respect and prestige in the hardcore punk realms, especially among the Higher Punk Council. Knowledge of "obscure bands" - real or faked - is what separates scholarly nerds with plebeian punks who are content to listen to properly recorded bands whose quality has been globally acknowledged instead of rough amateurish 4 track recordings like real punks do. The twats.
So yeah, no one bothered to mention that band to me and I had to just bump into it by myself, rather recently. Needless to say that I had to fire some employees in retaliation. Truth be told Filthy Hate are not exactly the most notorious act so that my magnanimous self only fired two of them, one whom I suspected to listen to shoegaze on his free time so he had it coming anyway. Alea iacta est. The band's League One status can be explained by a small quantity of vinyl releases, namely a flexi Ep in 2011 on their own label and a split Ep with Midway Still, a English indie punk band from the early 90's (you just cannot make that shit up). Definitely not what would get you in the punk charts. It would be a hyperbole to claim that Filthy Hate proved to be a life-changing experience but they are certainly good and relevant enough for me to be upset that I did not include them on my Japanese crust compilations. Oh well, it's not like anyone noticed I guess.
Filthy Hate started in 2010 and were formed by members of Isterismo, Tantrum, Deathtribe, so that you already know the music will be lying on the noisy side of life. This tape was released in 2018 on Black Konflik Records, a well-established and respected Malaysian label that I follow closely and specialises in the release of cd versions of raw hardcore and crust records (old and new) but sometimes also cassettes. This particular one is highly convenient since it includes Filthy Hate's first two tapes, 2012's Possessed To Satan on the first side and 2010's Hatred Stench Corpse on the other, the titles of both should give you serious clues as to what these Tokyoites are all about: old-school thrashing hardcore crust. And if you are still unconvinced songs like "Speak Italian or die" or "Dirty Rotten Flannel not Dirty Rotten Imbeciles" should hammer it home.
Because the production on the first side gives the impression that it was recorded under water, it does require some getting used to, but once you are ready it is pretty much a mid/late-80's fast and dirty UK hardcore feast with several singers and heavy references to Concrete Sox and Electro Hippies and even gruff stenchcore moments à la Deviated Instinct or Napalm Death (the rather odd melodic hardcore song stuck in the middle of it does not spoil the fun). I like it a lot but cannot help thinking how brilliant it would have been with a different sound production like Asocial Terror Fabrication's for instance. The second earlier recording benefits from a clearer production, with more of a traditional crossover vibe maybe, with Sox and Hippies still firmly at the helm and Cerebral Fix as the guest referee. There is also a different singer - a lady I believe - to support the gruff crusty one and on the whole it is another win, all-out 80's crusty metallic hardcore (with again one strange melodic song so I assume they must have lost a bet and are cursed to include at least a number like this on all their recordings). Very enjoyable and the band borrows an Antisect riff so it instantly raises the dopamine level in my brain because I'm an easy man to please.
This tape would easily deserve the vinyl treatment, with some remastering maybe, especially since that crossover thrash sound seems to be quite fashionable these days (or more than it was last decade anyway). If you love old-school crust, give Filthy Hate a chance, you will certainly find something befitting there.
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