An adventure in split Ep's! I have no gun but I can split: ANTHRAX / BURNT CROSS "The Beg Society / Anathema" split Ep, 2014

As logical as it might seem, on the surface, to approach this Ep through the prism of the short but meaningful late 00's/early 10's revival of the vintage anarcho sound of bands like Surrender, Vivid Sekt or OK?, it would not be relevant. The latter was mostly an American phenomenon (1981 being a crucial exception) that must be seen in the broader context of a limited renewed interest in the British punk-rock sound, including so-called UK82 and oi, permeating a new generation of punks in North America. Arguably, the bands paying tribute to the "classic sound" at that point in time were referring to a set of specific bands that had been picked to stand for a typical, if not generic, sound. Not that this was bad in itself, on the contrary, I love typical bands like Alternative, Flux or indeed Anthrax and when you heard of a band that was said to be influenced by old-school anarchopunk you expected some a number of similar elements in terms of songwriting and tones. And visuals obviously. You've got to have at least 6 doves in order to be a proper anarcho band. 

I suppose the work of Lance Hahn (tragically his book Let the Tribes Increase never saw the light of day) and Ian Glasper meaningfully contributed to rekindle the interest in the old anarchopunk bands and bring attention to many obscure ones as well (who had really heard of Reality Control, The Sears or Lack of Knowledge outside of the old-timers?). I would venture that the creative drive of the previously mentioned bands (and of others later on) could be located at the metting point of these dynamics, between a sonic trend and exhaustive documentation of the scenes, not to mention the internet that allowed all of this to circulate easily. I will probably do a series about such bands at some point.

Anthrax were always an interesting case to me. They could not be said to belong in the "obscure bands" category (they did have an Ep on Crass Records) but they were not part of the "famous bands" category either (no one could really identify my Anthrax shirt when I first bought one in the mid-00's which made me feel special and even smugger than usual). In fact, I remember asking many an old local punk when I first heard of their existence and no one really knew who I was talking about (or at least they pretended not to, probably because I was very annoying and obstinate, or it may have had to do with the fact that we have a poor punk culture in France). I was finally able to get hold of a cheap cdr discography for a couple of quids and instantly loved them but still they had that mid-table feel, maybe because they did not have a chance to record a full album then (many did not). 

It was also around that time, in the early 10's, that many old anarcho bands started to reform - not always for the best I hate to admit. It is pretty obvious that the renewed interest prompted bands that thad been dead for decades to give it another go. I mean, if people suddenly started raving about my old shite bands I would probably consider getting the band back. This time around we might actually get petrol money at gigs. Anthrax undeniably stood as one of the best and most genuine bands in that category. I was enthralled when in 2007, out of nowhere as far as I could tell, a cd discography was released, with a much better sound than the crappy cdr I had (a vinyl version would appear in 2009), that made me think that few bands could claim to be able to sound as snotty and tuneful at the same time as Anthrax. I suppose the reissue was another step toward the proper reformation of the band that materialized with the One Last Drop Ep released in 2011 as a benefit for the mighty 1 in 12 Club in Bradford. The fact that the discography and the new record had the same title and cover (that looks ace and I love how it connects visually and topically with Capitalism is Cannibalism) was a bit confusing but it was a very strong come-back of old-school punk-rock with political lyrics. The band finally released their first album in 2012 entitled All For the Cause which was the first release of the new label Grow Your Own Records run by Gary from Anthrax that epitomises what autonomous DIY punk really means and has become quite prolific with records from anarcho-boomers as well as younger bands and overall a very positive and constructive energy. I don't like everything the label puts out but there are some genuine gems.

By the mid 10's we all understood that Anthrax were here to stay and the surprise of the reformation had somehow faded, allowing one to be more objective. I love the song "The beg society", a reference to Tory Cameron's concept of Big Society that already seems far away in 2024 given all the shits the UK went through in the past ten years. It has everything you want and expect from an anthemic punk song, one you'll be humming all day, whether in the bathroom, at work or, more worryingly, in your sleep. Many reformed bands try to get a clean, polished, well-produced sound for their new recordings because they never had the chance to in the first place whereas the "fans" who often discovered the bands through the internet precisely crave for the original cheaper sound as if the bands had been stored in a freezer for 30 years ready to be resurrected, untouched like mammoths although not as hairy. Anthrax find the perfect balance between their old punk sound and a more powerful production. As I said, the song is perfect: catchy singalong chorus, angry vocals that manage to carry tunes and emotions, a classic punk-rock riff enhanced with a moody, darker lead with the song guitar, lyrics anchored in their time. It's a great show of snotty punk with an angry melody and not everyone can pull it out that well. I am reminded of the moodier numbers of The System, Red Flag 77 or 90's Riot/Clone, this kind of well-written distinctly British old-school punk. A definite win.

On the other side you've got two songs from Burnt Cross, a band, or rather a studio project, done by two brothers that proved to be extremely prolific during their 10 year tenure, possibly too much for me as I have had trouble to catch up with all the records they released. The band seemingly crashed into the scene out of nowhere, taking anarchopunk devotees by storm. I remember listening to their Carcass of Humanity cd almost expecting it to be... well, a bit shit. It was described by a friend as "anarchopunk with a drum machine" and, let's face it, beside the amazing Cress, almost no band has been able to deliver properly with such a concept. We have a strong relationship with drum machines in punk bands in France (I would personally rather call it a trauma or a vile addiction) and, in fact, before all the oi revival (also known as The Fall) France was a place known for its drum machines. I have seen a lot of cheap drum machine punk bands in my youth and let me tell you that I'm still scarred so whenever I hear of a drum machine in a band, it triggers my defense mechanism immediately. I was not therefore expecting much from Burnt Cross. And of course, my narrow-mindedness and prejudices were quickly proven wrong and wept away upon listening to the thing, a minimalistic anarcho sound that blended Conflict and Cress but miraculously worked. On paper, it should not and some songs on the first recordings do walk on the thin edge between the boring and tedious category and the angry and catchy one, but there was always a hook, a tune, a chorus, something that made them great against all odds.

The band significantly improved with each release and recorded a number of incredible anarchopunk songs that were just so unique at the time (The Next World did use a drum machine but their creative intent was totally different) and still are to a large extent. No one, beside Cress, really did that specific style of simple but energetic punk with that furious half-spoken half-shouted vocal delivery conveying a sense of (out)rage and threat and cracking melodies to keep things memorable. In Burnt Cross' case, less was certainly more and the fact the songwriting was just a two person entreprise probably helped in making the whole coherent and very focused (there was no half-demented bass player begging to do a solo for instance). The two numbers on this one, "Anathema" and "The inner revolutionist" clearly belonged to the top shelf works of the band. The first one has guest vocals from Maureen which gives the song the delicious classic male/female vocals touch that defines anarchopunk. Here I am reminded of The Mad Are Sane or Conflict, of course, but 90's US anarcho bands like Mankind? or Resist and Exist are certainly not far away. The second song is a darker mid-paced one reminiscent of Icons of Filth or Exit-Stance with brilliant, almost postpunk, guitar leads demonstrating the band's seemingly effortless sense of tune. Angry songs and bitter words. Cracking stuff from a band that existed outside of trends and delivered referential anarchopunk music (all the elements that made the style distinct are present) that was genuine and not prompted by a trend.

This split can be said to be a minor anarchopunk classic and I cannot think of a superior split in this category in the last decade. It was co-released in 2014 by 15 (!) DIY labels and there were 1000 copies of the thing so you can probably find a copy if you bother to look.   

ANTHRAX / BURNT CROSS

   

An adventure in split Ep's! I have no gun but I can split: HELLKRUSHER / BULLET RIDDEN "Air Attack / Stricken From the Records" split Ep, 2012

Ten years ago, back when the blog was still vaguely respectable but did not make any money and I could not afford a butler, I reviewed Hellkrusher's "Dying for who" Ep from 1992 and reading it again today, I realized I was going to write pretty much the same thing about this seemingly immortal band even though they did not send me a free shirt after the first eloquent review. But I am not one to hold grudges, thankfully for me, and today's Ep was released exactly 20 years after Dying for Who which will probably make everyone involved feel old but is still a testament to the band's tenacity and inflexibility. Punk-rock trends - and there have been a lot of them since 1992 - have never seemed to affect Hellkrusher's sound or approach to punk in the least. In fact, I am sure that everyone could be playing skacore tomorrow and the band would still keep delivering their classic brand of d-beat thrash unperturbed and oblivious to the cool hardcore kids suddenly wearing porkpie hats and doing Madness covers but with mosh parts. But then that's something most of us would wish to be able to ignore.

I saw Hellkrusher live a couple of times, notably in 2012 supporting Antisect at the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, and they were always solid. We all know first times tend to be biased and prone to sentimentalism but my favourite memory of them was the first with their performance at the Scum Fest in London in 2007, which was actually their reformation gig (they had not played since 2001). It was a brilliant one I remember very fondly and everyone was up for it. Since then, Hellkrusher is the kind of band I buy all the records of without really thinking much about it. I am never overexcited about a new record of theirs but I'll always get it nonetheless. It is just something I do almost instinctively. The existence of such a long-running band is almost reassuring. I know what to expect from them and I would say they also know what people expect from them. "Just do you!" as the corniest beauty influencers would say to the band. Just do Hellkrusher. 

After such profound and thought-provoking words of wisdom, what's exactly on this record? With the Doomsday Hour Lp (arguably still the band's shining moment and an absolute classic 90's Discharge-inspired record that I played a lot), the Geordies created their own brand of metal-tinged d-beat thrash with gruff vocals that they have built upon since and has become instantly recognizable. The arrival of Scoot on second guitar certainly gave the band's a heavier, more metallic, darker sound but they never covered their "We <3 DISCHARGE" tattoos. Their songwriting reflects how orthodox British-style d-beat and raw metallic hardcore can blend harmoniously. The result is positively predictable because it has to be, it is the very essence of the genre, a constant barrage of discore, a nightmare that continues. I like the fact that the band always kept it raw and never went for a cleaner production so that you instantly know that you are dealing with a proper punk band and not American hardcore jocks or pompous Slayer fans who rate guitar solos on a scale from 1 to 666. 

Hellkrusher have that distinct dirty Northern hardcore/crust feel and you can tell that they emerged from the vibrant scene that gave birth to many classic UK bands. They are basically keeping it old-school in a world where everyone is trying to imitate the old-school sound. The two songs on this split Ep are classic Hellkrusher and would work well if you were to introduce the band to an ignoramus who does not know them. Expert Discharge-loving metallic hardcore inviting Anti-System and Nausea to their casual gritty Northern crust pub. Classic d-beat riffs, gruff aggressive vocals with that typical British scansion and a vintage reverb (just the right amount). Job done.

On the other side you have three songs of Bristol's Bulletridden, a band that unfortunately did not get much recognition outside of England. It is clearly a shame as I have personally always rated the band which, in the music world, is often considered as a very high honour and the punk equivalent of being complimented by Dwayne Johnson about being in great shape (not that it is likely to happen to me). As a staunch fan of the cruelly overlooked Gurkha, I closely followed the artistic career (well) of singer Martin and of his rather unique diction, style of growls and hoarse, almost strange vocal tone and caustic, dark lyrics. One of the few punk singers to growl narratively, so to speak, with words you can understand (to some extent). 

I remember being in the audience when The Reckoning played at Scum Fest although I don't actually remember The Reckoning, a short-lived project from which Warprayer and the present Bulletridden emerged, in 2010 for latter. Despite very blurry recollections, I knew deep down or pretended to myself that the gig had been brilliant and therefore closely followed the aforementioned bands' evolutions. I did see and liked them both live but I think Bulletridden were more convincing on record. They had that wicked, dirty and crunchy metallic - but inherently punk - guitar sound (courtesy of ex Bomb Blast Men Chris) that I am such a sucker for, with direct riffs. Apparently, the idea behind the band was to do something like "The Accused meets Coitus" and "heavy but not metal" (let's thank Ian Glasper's The Scene that Would Not Die for the wisdom). I can certainly can hear some of the dirty groove of Coitus' crusty metal-punk sound (both bands would eventually release a split Lp in 2018) but also Genital Deformities's oft forgotten 90's era where you can find that similar snotty, punky delivery and I would add some of the heavy aggression of stenchcore revival bands like Limb From Limb or Sanctum. Listening to these songs again, I realized I had forgotten a little how good the band was and the greater appeal it could have had because they brought something different (punkier maybe?) to the metal-crust banner behind which Orcs like to gather and trade pieces of advice about sewing techniques.

The band also made the wrong and almost naive choice to release cd's when the format ceased to be relevant in the eyes of "the scene" and was becoming about as sexy as a David Cameron mask at an orgy. Too bad. If the first album Songs Written Before Jumping out of an Eight Storey Window illustrated well what the band wanted to achieve, it was a little too long for a first attempt, the second one Upbeat Noise for Downtrodden People's enjoyed a better, heavier production. During their decent run of six years (they split up in 2016), the band was rather prolific and in a fair world you would see the few remaining crusties in your town wearing cider-stained Bulletridden shirts on Sundays. 

This split Ep is the perfect record if you want to both taste something familiar (Hellkrusher) and also be introduced to a lesser known band (Bulletridden). It was released in 2012 on Antisociety and is not too hard to find (it was a very ambitious pressing of 1000 copies).

Bulletkrusher     

   

An adventure in split Ep's! I have no gun but I can spit: CONSTANT STATE OF TERROR / DEPORTATION "Slave to wealth / S/t" split Ep, 2010

Life on Earth is full of mystery. It seems that some things just cannot be explained rationally. Without even looking at the not so distant past when ignorance ruled mightily and people believed that the plague was a punishment from a bearded wanker who lived among the clouds or that the world would collapse on January 1st, 2000 at midnight because of a bug, some stuff do remain inscrutable, deeply enigmatic and baffle even the most clever minds of our time like mine. Who took a piss on my mate Paul's car on New Year's Eve? Who stole my shark-shaped tea infuser at work (I suspect "mean Karen" from accounts)? Why aren't Constant State of Terror revered and whispered about with awe among us lovers of old-school metallic crust punk? Unexplainable mysteries indeed. It must have something to do with Reptilians.  

This is a delicious little split Ep that I bought for Constant State of Terror (who will be referred to as CSOT from now on because I can't be arsed), a band that I have always held in high esteem. They belong to that kind of bands that I have been following since their inception in the mid 00's. I remember seeing them in 2007 and being impressed with the performance and the music. I am not sure why they have never been more popular but I reckon the name might have played a role. It's certainly a mouthful (just imagine a Frenchman pronounce it) and somehow conjures up the idea of an uninspired lazy crust band although I do like the political idea behind the moniker. But what do I know, I play in a band called Turquoise so it's not like I can lecture anyone in terms of paronomasia. Another aspect could also be that their old-school UK style was not as popular when they were the most active in the late 00's/early 10's but nowadays quite a few bands have been toying with this vibe to some acclaim (like State Manufactured Terror from NYC for example, another one with a "let's shoot ourselves in the foot straight away" name). I reckon the band should just reform and pretend they are an upcoming band from a cool American city but they would probably have to do some Insta training first. A buzzing Insta account is half the work these days.

Brighton's CSOT are made up of people who were involved in bands like Substandard (one my favourite British bands from the 90's and another cruelly underrated one), MTA and PUS so they were already rather experienced when the band was born and from the start you could hear that they knew what they wanted to do. I cannot think of many bands capable of blending old-school crust with 90's anarchopunk so successfully. They managed to balance fast UK hardcore thrash with filthy metallic crust with ease and it must be said that the sound is crucial here: CSOT are raw. And I mean genuinely RAW and unpolished, not super tight actually, just like late 80's/early 90's bands were when energy, emergency and anger were what mattered the most. While so many modern bands strive to recreate that kind of vibe with gears, vintage shirts and fancy effects, CSOT just do it spontaneously as if it was just how they do things anyway. Unsurprisingly the two songs (the first of which, "Slaves to wealth" has exactly the same introduction as Death Side's opening number on their split with Chaos UK) were recorded in just one day and they are the perfect meeting point between the stench crust of Deviated Instinct and A//Solution and the 90's anarcho thrash of Sedition and Disaffect. Old-school punks delivering old-school punk. Bloody love it.

On the other side, you will find five songs by Deportation from the Netherlands (Amsterdam I believe). Now this is a far more obscure one as the band only recorded once, sometime in the late 00's. The thirteen songs from the session appeared on a cdr demo in 2009 but they were just too good not to be properly released on vinyl. Five of them landed on the present split with CSOT while six others were included on a split Ep with the solid Peace or Annihilation from Indonesia. I don't think the band toured much, from what I gather they were rather short-lived, and I could only find two live videos online, one of which was taken in Barcelona so I suppose it might have been more a local project. Despite all this, Deportation's humble recording is actually really good and therefore deserves to be rambled about online.

I am not too sure about the whole band's lineup, even though the fellows must have been involved in others. The guitar player did join Agathocles in 2012 and more recently started the band Raw Peace. Before Deportation singer Gośka used to sing in the good Sangre with people from Betecore, Olho de Gato and Boycot playing dynamic 00's-style anarchopunk with great dual male/female vocals (think a blind date between Bread and Water, Disaffect and To What End?) and she would eventually sing in Suicidade and Diesel Breath in the 10's. To a significant extent, Deportation is a different animal though. A more simple but extremely resilient and resourceful organism able to survive on just one food source: d-beat. The recipe is familiar and the band keeps it basic, effective and to the point. The songs are short and sweet (the five songs are about one minute long) and on that level I am reminded of Cracked Cop Skulls' primitive approach even though Deportation have a more rocking rounder sound. The straight-forwardness of 90's d-beat is a key but I would venture the band felt closer to Consume's galloping discore more than Dischange's strict obedience to the Scriptures. They are somewhere in the middle I guess. The fantastic two track female vocals confer a warm old-school metal punk feel and Gośka's tone can be compared to After the Bombs' here. Brilliant work. Two of the songs are about the cruel deportations of illegal immigrants from Europe and how it ruthlessly destroys lives. Tragically, things have only been getting worse in that respect since 2010. I suppose the band was never supposed to last very long and they did not record anything else. 

This was released in 2010 on RadicalHC Records, a label that also released the split Ep with Peace or Annihilation. As for CSOT they finally released a full album, Speak Truth to Power, in 2020 although it was recorded in 2014 (!). As expected it is a gruff angry slice of old-school British anarcho metal-punk done by proper punks who probably don't know what Tik Tok actually is. Lovely.  

Constant Deportation of Terror     

An adventure in split Ep's! I have no gun but I can split: SERVITUDE / EBOLA "S/t" split Ep, 1999

How grim can one get? Or rather, how grim, bleak and downright depressing can one look to others? 

I am not an especially grim person. After a few pints, like every normally constituted person, I enjoy a game of darts, cracking a few dad jokes and getting into a drunken fight because I am a sore loser but I still do get reinvited, sometimes. It would be far-fetched to claim I am the life of the party but my presence illuminates the room enough and probably inspires many a youth to not be like me. I know how to prove myself useful. But to have a split record between one band called Servitude and another called Ebola does convey a vibe of tragedy, horror and overall doom so that it might not be the best topic for a first Tinder date and conversations starters like "Do you enjoy Servitude?" or "I much prefer early Ebola" haven't proved to be particularly effective. It's still marginally better than "Have you heard of Genital Deformities?" or "The last Coitus full length was something of a disappointment" I suppose.

From a punk point of view, of course, there is nothing wrong with a split between these bands, it made sense given the styles they used to work on. When I bought this Ep, I already had the split between Misery and Extinction of Mankind so I was already a lost cause as far as my terminological tastes were concerned. The symbolism of lexical fields and of naming in the punk world is absolutely fascinating and the fact that we have had our own stable but ever-changing metalanguage for 45 years is a testament to the relevance of punk. The downside is our tendency to rely too much on our cultural jargon, just like teenagers have always done to make their parents feel old, except a lot of us are well into our forties and fifties and our parents have mostly given up on us a long time ago and, unlike us, most teens do grow up. I might do a piece on punk language one day.

Before the record selection for this series, I had not played neither Servitude nor Ebola for a long time so it was an interesting re-exploration. I have had records from both bands for a while so that the fact they survived the often heartbreaking annual purges throughout the years indicated that a part of my brain knows that I like them even though I didn't exactly remember why (the punk brain works in strange ways). Servitude were from Minneapolis and belonged to the prolific local 90's crust and extreme hardcore scene that gravitated around Profane Existence and there are unsurprisingly many familiar faces when looking at the members' resumes. It would be silly doing exhaustive genealogical "ex-members of" lists but suffice to say that the individuals involved in Servitude did time in bands like Destroy!, Segue, Dissension or Code 13 and would later serve in Scorned, Provoked or Frenzy. 

The band recorded a rough and ready demo tape in 1996 (I doubt it was really distributed) that hinted at what they were going for but things really took shape with the 1997 Ep Apparatus on Profane Existence and Skuld Releases. As tempting - if unwise - as it is to blame it on Alzheimer (it runs deep in the family, sadly, the only positive I can think of is that it might allow me to forget about ska-punk and shoegaze) I remembered Servitude as an all-out down-tuned savage crustcore attack with dual male and female vocals with that distinct 90's US sound but they are not really. The Ep actually has variety, tempo changes, even some emotional moments and while there is obviously a crustcore influence, it might make more sense to see them as an anarchopunk blend of progressive crusty bands like Jobbykrust or Unhinged, of Health Hazard's furiousness and of more dissonant heavy down-tuned hardcore bands like His Hero Is Gone with an urgent, direct sound. Like One By One infused with extreme hardcore or something or indeed, not unlike Ebola, the type of bands that Flat Earth would have released. A good Ep representative of a specific 90's sound.

The three songs that Servitude contributed to the split Ep are heavier and more down-tuned so that it takes a couple of (loud) listens to really to get into it, especially with just about four minutes of music. If the music's texture is different, it also feels like the next logical step and makes sense that the band would move toward such a production (it was after all in the air at that time). In terms of influence, Servitude never sounded as threateningly destructive, intense and angry as on this one. As mentioned above, it sounds like a bar fight between HHIG, Jobbykrust and One By One. I love how the vocals work together in that specific 90's anarcho way. Some find it dated, I find it endearing. My one reservation is that it is a little short for the style and a full Ep recording would have worked better especially since there are a lot of changes and some versatility involved. The three songs were recorded in early 1997 so, for all I know, Servitude may not even have been active by the time the Ep came out in 1999. The screenprinted cover on their side looks absolutely magnificent but I could not find who was the artist. Didn't they have Insta in 1999?

On the other side are Ebola from Newcastle. Yes, there have been a lot of Ebolas throughout the years (even a tongue-in-cheek French oi band), one of which was from Berlin and a contemporary of our one. The 00's delivered quite a few extra grindcore Ebolas which was to be expected since it is a pretty cool disease (from a safe European home of course) and wearing an Ebola shirt would probably shock your nan. The story of Ebola goes hand in hand with that of the 90's DIY hardcore punk scene of the North of England and the band changed a lot in their six years existence (between 1995 and 2000, I think). Alright, let me try entangle the thing.

The band started out with Karen and Micky (from the cruelly underrated One By One) teaming up with Andy (later on in Sawn Off and Shank), Chris and Jonathan (later in Sawn Off and Minute Manifesto). This lineup recorded the Incubation Lp in 1996 , released on Flat Earth Records (obviously), an album I have had for a very long time, that I like but is impossible to store properly because my version has a 13 inch record mailer envelope as a cover. It looks good but to this day, it is the only record that has never fit in any of my record shelves or boxes. Again, pretty endearing. This first effort was a pretty devastating one, just fast, punishing hardcore thrash with dual vocals and diverse tempo changes that sounded like a date between Health Hazard, Disaffect and American powerviolence during a conference about anarchism. Ebola were always very vocal politically, not to mention literally, and they were always careful to provide interesting things to read and booklets with their records (no longer a common practice nowadays but then I am under the impression that we are all so jaded that we no longer even care to read the lyrics).

The following Ep released the next year, Imprecation, with Nick (from Enslaved Records and later Boxed In replacing Jonathan) was even more savage, demented and unpredictable blasting hardcore, more focused and articulate too I suppose but less traditionally punk. An extreme record that would be exhausting as an album and can only work on an Ep. The 90's were not done with Ebola yet and the band recorded five more songs in September, 1998, for the present split with Servitude. The first striking thing is how raw the production is. While Incubation and Imprecation enjoyed a rather good sound highlighting the relentless aggression and the manic and destructive changes, their side of the split almost sounds like a live in the studio recording. If the songwriting is similar to the previous Ep, this shift in terms of sound confers a more primitive, primal vibe to the music, a low-fi nature that borders on DIY grindcore or squat-based hardcore powerviolence. Very intense and even less for the faint-hearted than before as the vocalists remind me of angry hyenas fighting for the last vegan sausage (let's just pretend that hyenas are into vegan sausages). Imprecation would be the better Ebola record as it sounds more accomplished, however this side of the split Ep probably displays more charm and even character as it demonstrated that Ebola could still deliver in terms of blasting intensity and aggression with a direct, raw, bass-driven sound, not unlike Dystopia at times. These five songs would be reissued with a new mastering on a one-sided Ep in 2000 on Enslaved.

As mentioned, Ebola were a political bunch. Each song is introduced with an audio sample which was customary in the fastcore/powerviolence trend in the 90's (even up to the mid 00's) and there is a proper booklet accompanying the Ep. The explanations to the songs are quite illuminating and describe what the motif, the feeling and the context were during the writing. I know some people hate the practice and consider that the songs should stand on their own without a notice but retrospectively the explanatory notes help understand the mood of the time and the songs against macho violence "Malevolence" definitely stands for a specific time period in DIY hardcore punk. The whole thing looks brilliant and emphasizes the honesty of the band and the motivations that point to the 90's anarchopunk tradition (veganism, anti-homophobia...) rather than what modern powerviolence (or however you want to call it) is all about today. 

On the whole, I think that this split Ep is a good record, much rawer and more punishing than I remembered, clearly a testament to what DIY political hardcore was about at that time, musically, lyrically and visually. This was released on Clean Plate Records, the label run by Will Killingsworth who played in Orchid at that point in time.  

The Ebola of Servitude

An adventure in split Ep's! I have no gun but I can split: HAYWIRE / THE ÖBLITERÄTED "S/t" split Ep, 1997

In life, some things never fail to disappoint. Like my mate Paul's notorious drunken antics - often compared to a unique local brand of natural disaster - that have had him banned from most bars North of the equator or like the world consistently going to shit and sinking into a cycle of blind violence and blood cult at an always steadier pace, whichever of the two is worse for humankind. Fortunately, there are also positive things on which one can safely rely on and a good old anarchopunk split Ep from the 90's is one of them for me. What can provide you with a sense of well-being and comfort varies a lot depending on your tastes. For some it could be yet another rerun of Derrick, for others it would be paying half your monthly wage on a dodgy wellness guru who dispenses online training for reconnecting with your inner child and accessing your life savings. Whatever works. Derrick is cheaper but not as good for your karma I suppose. 

But we do live in dark times. For all I know, every generation has had the feeling that theirs was doomed or sacrificed and that the times they happened to be forced to survive in were getting worse and worse. Still, the fact that large parts of the Earth will become uninhabitable by 2050 is indeed a novelty that Dante would have happily validated, without mentioning the international conflicts that, tragically, are literally like Discharge songs. Instead of burying my head in the sand - which hurts a lot according to my mate Paul - I just play records I try to think about in the process, some that I have had for a while and kept in a collection where spots are highly coveted and fought for. Just to keep my sanity.

Today we're dealing with a split record released in 1997 between Haywire from Southampton, UK, and The Öbliteräted from the much higher profile Portland. It's not the first time the Southerners appear on Terminal Sound Nuisance as I already wrote about their first demo tapes, 1988's Blood Money and 1990's Freedom?, in 2012, here, a time when Brexit still seemed like a very unlikely prospect, twat king Trump hadn't been elected yet and no one knew what Covid even was (beside your weird cousin who has always been way too much into conspiracy theories and thinks the postie, a lazy if friendly bastard, is a reptilian). And let's not mention that I used to have far more luxurious hair back then. Recording-wise Haywire have always been rather sporadic. They formed as early as 1984 in Weymouth and did not get their shit together until 1988 for the aforementioned first demo. I suppose the four intervening years were both spent arsing around in the studio and, realistically, being involved in various DIY activities. If anything Haywire were a very outspoken political band which is not something you see that often any longer. They moved to Southampton - for some reason - in 1993 and managed to release two records during the decade, this split Ep and another Ep, in the same vein, entitled Mad Cow Disease the following year. With bands these days releasing two vinyls a year, Haywire's production is thin but then a lot of bands never cared much for releasing records and focused on playing live and actually practicing what they preach rather than feeding objects to materialistic persons like myself. 

Still, this Ep is a fine slice of a style of anarchopunk that was prevalent in 90's Britain. In the 80's Haywire had a metallic influence that was gone by then. By the mid-90's, the music was simpler, more direct and punkier in a traditional 1-2-1-2 fashion. The production is basic which works with the songwriting and confers a certain old-school charm point to the previous decade - which makes sense given the longevity of the band. I think the two vocalists and how they work together give some variety and energy to the songs. There are hints of early Conflict and Symbol of Freedom but most of all the songs remind me of 90's bands that were influenced by 80's anarchopunk like Portland's Resist or Deprived and especially of forgotten Yorkshire-based Armed Relapse who certainly worked on similar basis. The last song "Civilised" about animal and human torture - the other two deal with squatting and the Criminal Justice bill and the rise of fascism - is my favourite with its Antisect-ish riffs and its fast snotty punk vibe. Very enjoyable. I got to see Haywire live in 2007 at the Scum Fest in London and I have fond recollections of their performance. In 2008 they released their only album entitled Carnival of Chaos so their set might have been made up of those more recent songs (?). It would be far-fetched to call Haywire a classic anarcho band but they undeniably put their money where their mouth was and were vehemently honest which was it's all about at the end of the day. Three of them now play in Armoured Flu Unit.

On the other side are The Öbliteräted, a moniker armed with two umlauts, a bloody pain to write properly, keeping in the tradition of punk names using an adjective as a collective substantive. This PDX group is the perfect example of a band that had a genuine potential but did not quite get to produce the record they were capable of (which is the exact opposite of my bands: little potential but still releasing stuff). How many people outside of the members remember The Öbliteräted is open to question as I have never heard anyone mention them. Before playing the record after some years when I did my research, I realized I did not remember properly how they sounded like. I guess I expected some decent-but-not-that-good Defiance-type spiky punk-rock but they are far more tuneful and deserve a much better description than that. From today's perspective, they had a cracking lineup with Ben (later in the oft overlooked Phalanx), Matt (then in Defiance and later in Dog Soldier) and Todd (Resist, Deprived and the awkwardly named The Unamused, the man certainly like adjectives used as substantives) which does look good on Discogs I suppose. What I also did not remember is that The Öbliteräted had a female singer which was a pleasant surprise and makes the band stand out from the legions of boys - though truth be told a lot of women were involved in the anarchopunk and the wider punk scene in the 90's. 

I don't hear much of an American punk influence here. Of course Mankind? would be a rather obvious comparison but they were very influenced by UK bands themselves. The first number, a mid-paced gem called "False conception", is my favourite with its delicious nods to classic 80's anarchopunk like The Sears, A-Heads or indeed 90's DIRT (who significantly toured the States a couple of years earlier). The guitar work displays at times a sense of tune and melody that is typical of late 80's/90's bands however and along with the strong female vocals and the band's inclination to play fast while keeping a crucial of tunefulness, a band like Dan could be the most relevant comparison or even Polish legends Post-Regiment who were very popular in the U$. The production is very dynamic and energetic, not too clean. As I mentioned it's a bit of a shame that they did not quite reach their true potential. The following Ep, Insanity, is something of a disappointment as the band got rid of most of their traditional anarchopunk influence with a more direct approach. Some might favour that one though. Judging from the many pictures included in the Ep one can infer that they had some fun doing the band and, well, punk is serious but it also has to be fun, otherwise you should just stick to writing pamphlets and not bother playing riffs with and to friends. On the other hand, political punk cannot only be just fun for the sake fun, otherwise you could just play neu metal or something.

A fine little split with two bands working on anarchopunk but with very different results. The two covers look brilliant too: an evil dragon-like businessman tearing a punk in half with symbolic capitalism in the background for Haywire and a two-headed zombified punk clearly on the boozer in a sort of dystopian vomit-oriented punk wasteland for The Öbliteräted. It was released on Consensus Reality the label run by Kelly (from Defiance and about 136 other bands) brother of Ben. Small world.  

Obliterated haywire

Still Believing in ANOK: Cress "Monuments" Lp, 1995

This is the final part of Still Believing in ANOK and I hope the reads were fun and at least a little informative. If you need to show off on social media or indeed shine on online dating website, some details included in the write-ups (or, shall I say, the columns) can be used effectively as pick-up lines. Questions like "Did you know that the singer of Avaricious was Greek?" or "How many Enola Gays do you know?" are bound to impress, win hearts and make you look suave, sophisticated and, let's get real, weak-in-the-knees level irresistible. Do not hesitate to use them on a first date. The first time I met my wife, we talked about Polish hardcore bands form the 80's Rejestracja and Insekty Na Jajach so anything's possible.

To wrap up the series about the legacy of the 80's anarchopunk sound, let's talk about a band whose name means: "any of various plants with small, green leaves, used especially in salads". Yes indeed. Cress. The hippiest anarchopunk band from the 90's (and the 2010's). Not only is the band named after a plant instead of a warplane or some other cool punk shit, but they have a keyboard and a drum machine, used strobes, weird lights, a smoke machine, looked like soap-dodging versions of Jesus leaving one unsure if they are going to spread peace, love and riffs or if they are going to ask for a fiver so they can buy herbs. I even remember them screening political films while they were playing somewhere in Scotland, as if punks could concentrate on pogoing to the music AND focusing on a film at the same time. And yet, they are absolutely brilliant. Ian Glasper suggests in Trapped in a Scene that "had it been released in the Eighties, it (the Monuments Lp) would doubtless be heralded an anarchopunk classic today" and I cannot disagree. Of all the records I have been reviewing in the series, Monuments is the one that can objectively be called a genuine 90's classic the most. Beside being a famous work (even people who have never actually heard it know about it or at least can safely pretend to and if you feel the need to lie about knowing a record, it is already saying something about its status), I have never really read bad reviews. The Lp is unique because Cress are unique and I cannot really think of anything similar before and even after.

"But when, Grand Führer of the Perfect Punk Taste, did you first bump into Cress?". Well, I downloaded one mp3 file from a British website (I can't remember the name, it was in the early 00's) that offered songs from many quite a few bands of the era. Because internet connections were slower than an avant-garde French movie, there was only one song per band (I am aware that it must sound like the Dark Ages for Gen Z's who think youtube is as old as electricity) and it took about an afternoon to download two minutes of music. I think songs from the likes of Chineapple Punks, Riot/Clone or Ex-Cathedra were available. The Cress song was "TV screen" and I must confess that I did not like the song as it reminded me of the Ramones for some reason and I have always disliked them. To this day, I feel weird listening to this particular number and I cannot help imaging the Ramones with Northern accents playing their songs on shrooms and cider with a man playing the didgeridoo in the background. Which does not sound so bad after all. Some time after this precious mp3, I had the chance to visit a great punk record store in Bochum, Germany, and they had the Cress discography which, I was told, was much better than the Recharge Lp I was also coveting. I ended up buying both (I mean there was a free patch in the Recharge Lp) and got heavily into Cress, not so much that I grew a beard, which I have never been able to anyway, what with looking like an eternal teenager, but I did stop showering for a couple of weeks. 

But what makes Monuments so special? Well, if you know a little about the history of alternative rock music in England, the cover depicting Stonehenge certainly indicates that the music and the band may have some sort of connections, literal or in inspiration, with the free festivals. Namely inventive psychedelic rock music, libertarian politics and the involvement of some anarchopunk bands in the 80's. Cress were not the first punk band to play with trippy psychedelic influences and atmospherics and 80's bands like Smartpils, Freak Electric, Hippie Slags and even The Mob claimed such influences. Later on in the late 80's/early 90's, Zygote, Bad Influence or Contropotere (and later on Iowaska), in their own specific way, also used psychedelic elements in the songwriting but none of these bands went as far as integrating a keyboard in the equation. A bold move that, interestingly, could also be found first in old-school crust bands like Amebix or Axegrinder, but also Χαοτικό Τέλος/Chaotic End or Counterblast, and although they used it differently the intent still had to do with creating a particular ambiance and atmosphere. Cress however went further as Monuments relied significantly on those long atmospheric passages providing narrative spaces and an epic ark for the story the album aimed to tell. It is beyond punk-rock and for all the apparent simplicity of the songs, and a lot of them are simple punk songs in the best Crass sense of the term, there are additional layers and textures and quieter trippier moments to widen the scope.

Monuments can thus appeal to different crowds. If you are fond of dynamic, tribal, anthemic anarcho punk-rock, or of Hawkwind-inspired rocking atmospheric punk music, or heavy crusty punk, Monuments has something to offer you, as long as you take acid beforehand. Often reduced to a Crass-like act (for the danceable directness of the riffs and some beats and the bloody name), Cress can also be defined as a heavy and dark band and I can hear Antisect influences in some of the mid-paced moments and of course in the vocal style and tone and anger of the two vocalists (In Darkness There is no Choice era) so that it is not surprising that they also appeal to crust lovers (the dreads and the scruffy look also help). This album works is versatile enough to work for all kinds of mood as well. It is Sunday morning, you are in a good mood because you only drank eleven pints the night before and you are looking for some UK punk-rock with tunes: Monuments. It is Monday night, it is pouring rain and work is killing you, you are looking for something heavy, snotty and angry: Monuments. You are on holiday and for the first time since April, you look up to the sky and, fuck me, these are stars, ain't they: Monuments. 

The lyrics on the album are solid and tackle a wide array of subjects, some classic anarchopunk rants about progress, ecology or the capitalist class, other are more original "Monuments" is about the free unrestricted access to Stonehenge (the monument in question) and our common heritage, "Fear" is about the omnipresent fears that we have in society, fear of being unloved, alone, ignored, irrelevant, it is a great topic, genuinely personal and political. And apparently Cress don't like the police either for some reason. The album was released on Flat Earth Records (one of my favourite labels from that period) and the band recorded a split with Doom and an Ep before taking a break. Cress came back in the late 00's and since then have released a split Ep with Burnt Cross, a benefit Ep for the hunt sabs and a very solid split Lp with fellow psychedelic anarcho punks Buff from Manchester.    

My copy was second-hand and there is some surface noise on a couple of songs so that you can enjoy the full - lesser - Terminal Sound Nuisance experience. Did I mention that one of the members was barefoot when I saw them in Paris in June. How many punk points does that make you lose?

Monuments to cress        

Still Believing in ANOK: Kismet HC / Αρνητική Στάση "Love is our strongest weapon" split Lp 1991

My mate Paul often says that doubt is the origin of wisdom, which is pretty sensible. But he also argues that reptilians once raided his weed stash so I suppose it is safe to examine his philosophical stance in context. Can Love is our Strongest Weapon, beside sounding like an R&B song recorded for a charity against world hunger, be considered as an anarchopunk release as far as the 80's legacy goes? In terms of politics and aesthetics, the split Lp is without a doubt a relevant anarchopunk record but, in a series that focuses on those 90's works that specifically built on the foundational sound of the original anarcho waves, does it belong? What would Paul do (or smoke)?

I realize such intellectual hair-splitting considerations may look very trivial but, in my quest to be viewed as sophisticated, they have become the basis, if not the raison d'être, of Terminal Sound Nuisance. Reflecting on records or bands few people give a fuck about (I could be wrong about this one but I very much doubt it) and on how they fit or don't fit with certain pre-defined categories, how they challenge them or on the contrary embrace them and how such processes are intentional or unintentional. But yeah I offer lossless files and clean scans for printing shirts for your Etsy shop as well. Of course, aforementioned questions are meaningful in retrospect when it comes to 90's bands, a time when bands did not try to replicate specific schools or bands quite as much (the then novelty d-beat wave being a crucial exception musically but not conceptually). You had bands influenced by Wretched, but not bands who thrived to sound just like Wretched. Throughout the series, we saw that bands like Counter-Attack or Wlochaty certainly loved Conflict to death and a large part of their sound relied on their musical and structural influence but they did not sound "just like" Conflict. The question remains: how influenced by the original anarchopunk wave were Kismet HC and Αρνητική Στάση/Arniki Stasi? Alright, you can think about it for a couple of days before reading what's next.

Kismet HC, from Stoke-on-Trent (yes, just like...), is a band that I have known for a very long time. For some reason I cannot quite remember how I was able to get hold of a copy of their very strong cd-only 2001 album Our Message is of Anger... Our Voices are of Pain (I may have ordered it from Active Distribution). I have to admit that I absolutely loved (and I still do as a matter of fact) the title of the album although I seem to remember reading that it was not the original choice of the band and that one of the labels basically decided for them. Some animosity was involved. Perhaps one of the labels was run by a reptilian, who knows? In any case, that album is brilliant (if you have not heard it, imagine top notch female-fronted unhinged anarcho hardcore thrash with plenty of energy and versatility, quite original) and I really got into them and was even able to see them live in Manchester in 2004 (I think). While KH are often associated with the frantic, powerful vocals of Zanne, she only joined the band afterwards. In 1991 the vocals were shared between Fluff and Dave (I think? So many unanswered questions, so many...), providing the music with a vintage classic dual vocal hardcore attack. Their side of the split indicated to an extent what they would eventually become, 10 years after (why such a break between records? Yet another question...), but you could almost argue that 1991's KH and 2001's KH were two different bands and today we are going to focus, with determination, dexterously, perilously even (I may fall off my chair and injure meself like that one time I dozed off during math class), on the early period of the band and see how close they were to the traditional anarchopunk sound.

Well, their side does open with a poem entitled "Piggy overdose" about animal exploitation and the production of meat so that definitely sets the tone in terms of politics and of course these are issues that are inherent to classic anarchopunk and have even almost become synonymous with it. After all, having an animal rights number for an anarcho band was pretty much compulsory up until the mid/late noughties. Failure to provide a specimen could result in the members having their anarchopunk membership cards cancelled and, worse, being exposed as posers in public. We don't have such problems nowadays, fortunately. Just post a picture of yourself with a vegan cupcake on Insta with the proper trendy # and you're good to go. Why even bother mentioning animal rights in a song anymore now that we have Beyond Meat and get vegan food at the supermarket? Vegan sausages were the ultimate goal, right? 

Like the poem and some spoken parts, there are other softer, tuneful moments in the music reminiscent of the 80's school, like the Omega Tribe-ish opening of the brilliant "Honour Mother Earth" but on the whole KH was very much a high energy post-anarcho hardcore thrash band. They kept the politics and the fierce DIY non-profit of anarchopunk but were first and foremost a hardcore band musically (such a comment applies to most of the early crust bands). I see the first era of KH in the same light as other late 80's British fast anarcho hardcore like Generic, Electro Hippies and Active Minds in terms of creative intent to which you could add a healthy slice of late Anti-System and filthy spoonfuls of Mortal Terror. Raw and direct snotty hardcore. I really like the energy and the drive and unsurprisingly, what with me being a sucker for early Britcrust and UK hardcore, I think the music is bloody brilliant and makes the heart beat. Undeniably, it is more relevant to think of 1991's KH as a powerful illustration of the classic mid/late 80's UK hardcore sound rather than a draft of what they would be doing 10 years later. Very good and rather unappreciated. 

The other side of Love is our Strongest Weapon comes from Athens, Greece, with the band Αρνητική Στάση/Arniki Stasi. If you have already read my glorious prose on the blog, you will have noticed, quite certainly, that I dearly enjoy the specific brand of dark punk-rock that Greece has produced since the 80's. I even made an introductory compilation if you are interested (and you should be, knowledge of the classic Greek punk sound could help you triumph over your opponents on trivia nights). Like most people outside of Greece - beside initial followers of KH I presume - I first heard of Αρνητική Στάση through their connection to Profane Existence with whom they worked on the release of the Spectators of Decadence Ep in 1993. I distinctly remember getting the 15-year anniversary issue of Profane Existence in 2004 that included a retrospective compilation that had ΑΣ among many other bands that I was not familiar with at the time like One By One or State of Fear. The Greeks did not really sound like the other bands on the compilation (they kinda stuck out, almost as much as Karma Sutra) but their song was anthemic, dynamic and had a cracking chorus. And well, they were from Greece, that was very unusual for me at the time and the peculiar tonalities and flow of the language were challenging but also memorable and enticing. Different but good, I craved for more, the polar opposite of the time I first heard ethereal shoegaze and I ended up vomiting in the paper bin because there was already someone in the toilets. That the ΑΣ Ep is nowhere to be found on its own on youtube is ridiculous. 

As I progressively grew into a maniacal Greek crust fan (one of my favourite sub-sub-subgenres), my focus shifted toward ΑΣ's classic 1993 album Άγγελοι Του Ψεύδους, a work that blended the heavy metallic Greek crust sound with the classic dark punk sound, not unlike an orgy between Ολέθριο Ρήγμα/Olethrio Rigma, Ναυτία/Naytia and Γενιά Του Χάους/Genia Toy Xaoys. It is a great inventive album that does not totally fit into preconceived categories and it comes highly recommended if you are into 90's hardcore punk. This split Lp is totally crust-free on AE's side and their progression between 1990 and 1993 is impressive. At the start of the decade, ΑΣ epitomised what Greek dark punk is all about: melancholy but energetic, desperate but bellicose, suicidal but fighting to live, deceptively simple, always on the verge of crashing, catchy and tuneful but not really melodic, it just has a specific feel. On this side, they excel at using all the songwriting tricks popularized by Γενιά Του Χάους, Ex-Humans or Γκούλαγκ/Gulag with a simple clear sound and production, almost minimal at times but the intensity and sincerity emanating from the songs themselves are enough. ΑΣ jump from psychedelic rock, to moody mid-paced anarcho-tinged punk, fast hardcore punk or depressed, trippy yet raging dark punk and yet it never sounds like a random aggregate of songs, they really work and flow together in a very natural fashion and the overall trippy atmosphere and sonorities help the songs coalesce and echo with each other. ΑΣ are hypnotic on this record. A full discography of the band was released last year so you know what to do.

In terms of lyrics, ΑΣ was a political animal with words about fighting back against the police, resisting oppression and even an animal rights number. So they were clearly an anarchist dark punk band but assessing the influence of the early UK anarcho wave on their songwriting (or on Greek punk in general) is trickier. In addition the obvious local culprits, without context, you could definitely find parallels with British bands like The Mob, Conflict even, Karma Sutra, Two Fingered Approach or Null & Void. It could just be out of a common mood and similar desires and ways to express things rather than a conscious decision to use such influences to create your language. It could be neither or, maybe more likely, it could be both. The Greek style is not identical to its British counterpart, there are other influences going on and meeting and merging with one another, it easily stands on its own two feet, but to my ears the connections in terms of mood and content and atmosphere are obvious. They are like cousins if you like. That Bluurg Records released Ex-Humans' demo tape in 1984 cannot have been a coincidence.         

Love is our Strongest Weapon is classic because KH and ΑΣ both exemplified a specific time, place and genre and original because such a pairing was unique and the combination of a British anarcho hardcore thrash band with an angry hypnotic Greek dark punk makes a lot of sense. It is meaningful and it offers a wide array of emotions and vibes while the two bands share essential common beliefs. The cover is unusual. I'm being diplomatic here as the first thing you notice is that there is a mulleted hippie with his cock out right in the middle. It is not badly executed as the psychedelic shroomy aesthetics are not irrelevant considering the bands and you still have the reassuring figures of a nazi police officer and a crazy vivisector to indicate that it is indeed an anarchopunk record. In fact, I quite like it. But still: cock out. The Lp also comes with a poster depicting an angry-looking crucified Jesus... with his cock out! And there are two other crucified cocks, fully erect, in the background. The artist responsible for the poster is one Mike Diana who was apparently the first artist to receive a criminal conviction for obscenity in the U$ of A. Thanks for that Wikipedia. 

A delightful minor classic.

Punk is our strongest weapon