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     

Ace Compilations for Less than a Fiver on Bloody Discogs (part 2): "Walk Across America - for Mother Earth" compilation Ep, 1992

Walk across America for Mother Earth. 

Walk across America for Mother Earth?

Walk across America for Mother Earth...

Almost 30 years after its release, the title of this compilation Ep - Walk Across America - for Mother Earth in case you are a bit slow - remains one of the hippiest of the whole punk history. Despite its unquestionably good intentions, if the Ep is unbeknown to the punk on the street, the title will conjure up horrifying images, visions that few men and women can claim to have survived without going insane. Many could never get over the blinding nightmarishness of the patchoulied worldview. Some became like possessed, converted, swallowed whole into the hippie ideology, never to return. Fucking sandals. Fucking magic crystals. Fucking white middle-class people reconnecting to "Nature" through dancing, playing fucking bongos and doing loads of drugs. Dodgy, fake fucking shamans blagging their way into a cult leadership, leaving you bollock-naked in a field making out with a bong. Ten-minute long fucking solos, Doors' cover and Manu Chao cosplay. I could go on. Abominations that are generally admitted to be the curse of the human race. These are the kind of thoughts that the title of the Ep would evoke out of context. A quick look at the cover of the Ep may also send shivers down the barmy army's spine. Some misdirected souls claimed that on full moons, one could sometimes hear cheesy folk music coming out of the record and that if it did happen, it was strongly recommend to immediately store the Ep next to Sore Throat or Gloom records, reputable talismans against the hippie eye. Of course, the quick-witted punk would not fall so quickly into the abyss, ignore the flying feather and actually read what accompanies the Walk Across America - for Mother Earth title: a well class lineup made up of Hiatus, Political Asylum, Mushroom Attack, Indian Dream, Silent Water and the rather enigmatic Teenage Kicks. And I personally have nothing against hippies, I mean I had a hippie friend back in the day and my cousin even dated one. I am not prejudiced.   

Before dealing with the cracking lineup of this compilation, let me reiterate that the idea behind it was very honourable indeed since, all joking and hippie-basing aside and in spite of confirmed sightings of crystal-worship during the walk, For Mother Earth was an organization responsible for the Walk Across America 1992 initiative in solidarity with the struggles of Native American people across the Americas. All the profits went to the organization and although they cannot have been incredible - it's a DIY punk compilation, not a U2 benefit gig - it is always encouraging to see punks actually giving a fuck. There were a lot of protest, notably from Indian activist groups in 1992 because many American states celebrated the 500th anniversary of the "discovery" of the continent by Columbus. Celebrating the start of an ongoing genocide against Native populations is about the most outrageously insulting they could have thought of, even for soulless politicians. The genocidal policies against Native Americans certainly kept going throughout the twentieth century and still do. A basic summary of the many facets of the oppression and genocide faced by Natives is included on the back of the foldout cover. It is, because of issues of space and clarity, short but it was meant to lead people to get interested and involved in the struggles and dig deeper into those issues. The same year, Profane Existence released the In Spirit of Total Resistance double Ep compilation coinciding with 500th anniversary and the Mohawk uprising in Oka. There were of course more compilations and cooperations between bands to protest against the disgusting, shamelessly revolting celebration, notably from Latino punx. Let's mention the Medellin Contra el Quinto Centenario 1991 tape (with Imagen and GP among others) and the Rock Subterraneo Contra el V° Centenario international tape (with Los Violadores, IRA or Atoxxxico). More recently, in 2005, the 512 Años Despues el Saqueo Continua digital compilation is equally worth investigating with a solid lineup including Doña Maldad, Dios Hastio, Apatia-No or Los Dolares. 

After a whole paragraph of talking about serious stuff, let's solemnly shift focus on the six bands invited to support the worthy cause. First are the mighty Hiatus from Liège. I once professed with authority that Hiatus were probably the best band to have ever walked the Earth and that was not an empty, alcohol-induced claim. There are days when I have the conviction that Hiatus were the missing link between the Neanderthals and modern human beings. Think about it. The Belgian heroes have been regularly included on Terminal Sound Nuisance so this one will be a sitter. The song "Confusion inside my head" was recorded in August, 1990, during the same recording session as the first Ep I don't Scare Easily But... and the split Ep with Reach a Mental Road. At that time Hiatus still had Raf on vocals while Wills was playing the bass (he famously went on to crust things up behind the mike after Raf's departure). This was Hiatus at their most primitive before they became the hugely influential eurocrust powerhouse they are known for. In 1990, Hiatus were rawer, simpler and not quite as impactful as they would become from 1992 on though they still packed a serious punch. Still, the band can be said to have been, maybe not the first - Extreme Noise Error were actually first with their 1988 demo - but certainly the most significant late 80's Doom/ENT/Sore Throat filthy cavemen crust worshipers on the continent so that we should be eternally grateful for that. Absolutely classic crust.

Next up are another former Terminal Sound Nuisance candidate with Indian Dream, whose first 1987 Ep Well Are you Happy Now? was reviewed here almost four years ago (gasp). Again, I am not going to throw myself into an elaborate speech about the merits of Indian Dream and rather, for laziness is also a virtue, encourage you to take a look at the aforementioned older review. With a name like Indian Dream, the inclusion of the late 80's Scarborough lot on benefit compilation in solidarity with Native Americans feels almost too obvious. It is widely known that British anarchopunks in the 80's were fascinated with American Indian cultures and the harmonious lifestyle they stood for in the psyche of young, idealist, pacifist punks. It does sound quite cheesy from the all-knowing arrogance of our 2020's selves and you would probably have punks accusing Indian Dream of naive cultural appropriation, and I suppose it is not an unintelligible argument, but at least the band gave an actual shit about the oppression of Native people and their lyrics reflected their outrage and their support to the struggle. I am not sure when "Discarded" was recorded, possibly during the same session as the second Ep, but it is probably my favourite song from them. Melancholy, moody but uplifting anarchopunk with superb poignant female vocals, this song has everything, from the disarming catchiness of classic anarchopunk to the charmingly cheesy 80's-inspired "tribal" chants that could be awkward but kinda work well with the pagan atmosphere, lyrics and imagery of the band (I may not be impartial here, truth be told). If you enjoy Lost Cherrees, Rubella Ballet or A-Heads, Indian Dream might become your favourite band soon. The two Ep's are brilliant examples of third wave UK anarchopunk and the Orca Lp is a genuine classic with a cover that is the visual equivalent of Oi Polloi's "Whale song". You were warned.

Next up are not Teenage Kicks at all but Pink Turds In Space covering "Teenage kicks" from The Undertones, one of the most famous punk songs ever written and certainly the catchiest chorus of rock'n'roll history - right next to The Exploited's "Alternative" and Doom's "Police bastard" - which the band took a manifest pleasure destroying. This cover actually already appeared on the Wild and Crazy Noise Merchants double Lp compilation (reviewed here) so I will not stun you with endless ravings this time round. PTIS were one of the best bands of the late 80's/early 90's Belfast scene with their fast, mean, magnetic thrashing hardcore punk with some of the raspiest female vocals I have ever heard. Everything they did was top but the split Lp with Sedition was particularly ferocious. Antisociety reissued the full discography of the band on vinyl so don't be a poser and support the scene.

On the B side, guests are welcome with the Scottish anarcho-progpunk champions Political Asylum which, once again, already made a memorable appearance on the blog with their Winter Ep. "Symptom" was taken from their Someday Lp from 1987 and at that point the band was becoming more and more proficient musically, more technical, with more rock and less punk, so to speak, but still deep into anarchism. I like the album and its energy and the tuneful distinctive vocals, almost folkish here, work well but I somehow miss the brooding melancholy of the 1985 Ep and the demos a little - but then "I prefer the early demo to their late material" as the famous ancient punk saying goes. This said, "Symptom" is a solid tuneful song with neat arrangements and a prime example of Political Asylum at the peak of their prowess. Still to be consumed with some moderation because of the unreasonable amount of solos. One is never too careful when punks actually learn how to play their instruments.

The next stop sees us stepping into a much dirtier territory, a dangerous place where toxic armpits rule and toothbrushes are banned: Mushroom Attack's squatters kingdom. This Groningen classic band briefly popped up on the blog through the benefit compilation Ep They ain't Seen Nothing Yet (here) that included a song of theirs. MA are often considered as a pre-Fleas & Lice band and the comparison is not irrelevant although they had no inclination toward crust music. Expect fast and raw anarcho-thrash with dual male/female vocals. I did not remember them to be that fast but the song "Squat and live" certainly delivers with a sound that epitomizes the essence of the typical sound of many European DIY political hardcore punk bands. Dynamic early 90's squat punk at its best that I often to associate with cities like Groningen or Liège that still cradle that sort of noise unit to this day. Early Disaffect definitely comes to mind (not by design but because the musical context led to the formation of bands with a sound like theirs) and other Flat Earth Records bands like Sedition, One By One or Health Hazard and even Jesus Chrust and (German) Enola Gay. You know the deal. "Squat or die" is a song about squatting and fighting gentrification, a battle that was sadly but logically lost. The two classic split Lp's with Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία and Disorder (the brilliantly named Masters of the Glueniverse) have a better, more powerful sound and also comes highly recommended if you are into raw dual vocal hardcore punk with honest political lyrics and into records worth a fiver since their 2001 cd discography pretty much goes for that little. Not the most crucial band of the decade but still thoroughly enjoyable for old-school types. 

The last song is "Your shark" by Silent Water, a band I did not know at all before grabbing the Ep. They were from Belgium, were active from the late 80's to the early 90's and released two tapes and a full album in 1991 with the rather depressing title A Joyride on Waves of Solitude. Hand me the fucking rope. Judging from the titles of the songs, Silent Water had strong anarchist leanings and them participating in compilations alongside Jesus Chrust and Earth Citizens beside the spiky lineup making up Walk Across America. I have no idea what the band sounded like in general - it is actually a one-man man so I probably should have used "he" instead of "they" - but "Your shark" is an acoustic folk song. Not bad at all and it reminds me of Chumbawamba but that is certainly due to the fact that I don't listen to folk music at all, unless I am forced to like that time I had to witness an Against Me gig. Long story. The one SW song I could find had a punky noise-rock touch but I am clueless if it is representative of the style either.

The compilation Ep was released on Be Yourself Records and Bonds of Friendship, the latter being run by the bloke responsible for Conspiracy Records. The Ep has some noticeable surface noise but since we are all half-deaf punks here, I doubt you will be too bothered. Let's call it additional vintageness. I paid about €5 for my copy and if you negotiate cleverly, beg pathetically or blackmail wickedly, you should able to too. 

               

Walk Across America - for Mother Earth 

"Iron Columns" 2xLp, 1999

Contrary to "Whispers", which was a record that deeply informed my conception of punk when I bought it in the early 00's, I actually got "Iron Columns" relatively recently although it is a more recent work. Truth be told, I have pretty much ignored this record for a long time. I wish I had a good excuse but I don't. I even remembered seeing copies of "Iron Columns" floating on distros 10-15 years ago and getting average "neocrust" Lp's instead that I promptly sold when the trend died. What a lack of insight... The sad thing is that I cannot have been the only one to dismiss this wonderful compilation as copies go nowadays for a mere tenner on discogs, which only confirms that there is no correlation between quality and monetary worth in our growingly trendifying punk economy. Our attention span is just becoming shorter and we are lazily being subjected to the appeal of novelty.

"Iron Columns" is both similar and very different to "Whispers". While the Skuld record can be seen as the definite snapshot of early 90's European anarchocrust, "Iron Columns" embodies the second part of that decade. The focus is proudly international as well but from an American perspective this time (quick thinkers would say it means "more hardcore, less crust" although it is not as simple). IC is a stunning compilation on all levels that epitomizes the level of dedication and faith in punk as being more than music that often characterized the 90's. In terms of genre, the scope of the compilation is impressive: from crust, to scandicore, old-school and modern anarchopunk, fastcore, D-Beat and even streetpunk. I am an obsessive bastard, I'll be the first to admit that I tend to focus too much on punk niches, and I am sometimes suspicious when I am being told that a compilation is very diverse. It is not so much variety I am wary of, but the lack of cohesiveness and direction. Few records are as painful to listen to as compilations without a clear focus and purpose that include bands from all over the punk spectrum that have nothing in common but their name on the backcover. And to be perfectly honest, I can get this patchwork feeling even with bands belonging to the same subgenre actually. The  very essence of a punk compilation is to offer, literally and figuratively, a meaningful example of punk collaboration driven by the same passion even when they sound very different. If it is merely a collection of new songs, then it is just a label sampler, there is nothing necessarily wrong with it, but don't expect me to listen to it more than once (especially in 2016).

But back to IC. The object itself is breathtaking. It looks fantastic and, like for "Whispers", I can only imagine the amount of time and work that it necessitated. IC is a gatefold with a thick, 12'' size, glossy booklet with lyrics and art from the bands as well as political texts. This is one of the indisputable strengths of IC: its political dimension. In "Whispers", the politics appeared in the bands' lyrics and in the untold DIY implications in the realization of such a project. With IC, you also have explicit, detailed and creative anarchist writing as well that reminds me strongly of the political and personal zines that abounded in the 90's and early 00's (before it all got too inward focused or sloganeering). What I particularly enjoy is that the texts, content notwithstanding, also look nice and, well, punk, and that is an idea that informs the whole of "Iron Columns". Feminism, sexism and gender roles are central themes here and are tackled in different ways. You can find at the beginning and the end a montage of short pieces of articles about women revolutionaries, lore and history among other things, very different pieces of information aiming at giving a meaningful and cohesive picture of an alternative "herstory". You also have a personal text about the pervasive sexism in the punk scene written by Charlene from Mind Control. Prison struggle is the other main theme of IC and there are two letters from anarchist prisoners at the end of the booklet as well as an introductory text by Raze the Walls, a prisoner support group. The record is unashamedly anarchist and the label wrote a text stressing the political motivation behind such a project and why the phrase "iron columns" is meaningful metaphorically to describe our oppressive social relations and historically as well (the famous "columna de hierro" of the Spanish civil war).

"Iron Columns" was released in 1999 on Mind Control, an Austin-based label run by Jack Control (from Enormous Door studio, Severed Head of State and WB2D) that put out a couple of very good records between 1991 and 2003 from Antischism, Masskontroll or Warcollapse to name but a few. And as the label logo unambiguously states: "Mind Control is agit-prop for social revolution". Ambitious, naive perhaps, but I'd rather have that than the fake cynicism that is so prevalent today. There are 39 songs for 28 bands on IC. Let's 'ave it.

- Antiproduct: along with Aus-Rotten, the band that exemplified 90's US anarchopunk and that really spoke to me. I have always loved them to death, whatever they did, they did well. Intense, energetic, clever and passionate fast anarchopunk with dual male/female vocals that sound angry but also determined to do something. This song was recorded in 1997 and the production is just perfect, aptly bass-driven and super dynamic (that was before the genre was coopted and overproduced into meaninglessness by streetpunk bands), two years before the more intricate Lp that saw Antiproduct toying with emocore influences to great effect, not unlike Unhinged.

- Defiance: a band that is commonly associated to the streetpunk scene but was really an anarchopunk band to begin with (well, if people had kept in mind that anarchopunk is not an actual genre but rather a set of values and a way of doing things, things like that wouldn't have happened...). I like Defiance and their updated version of UK82 punk, although I sometimes feel they tend to overdo it at times, thus lacking the sloppy snottiness of the original bands. This is a drinking song and a cover of The Sex Aids, a Vice Squad side-project.

- Obnoxious: a Parisian band on such a compilation is surprising but there you go... Fast and sloppy direct 90's hardcore punk with a typical British feel, not unlike Truth Decay or In The Shit maybe. It does the job.

- Hall Keft: I know next to nothing about this Swedish lot but this song absolutely smokes. This is an intense and pissed cover of Missbrukarna played with a raw hardcore power reminiscent of Shitlickers and early Anti-Cimex. I want more.

- Cress: two songs from the superb Cress. I know that the drum machine is usually a deterrent in punk-rock (and being French, I know what I am talking about as "drum-machine punk-rock" is our sadly our national specialty) but this lot always knew how to pull it. Cress is a potent punky blend of many things: I can hear two schools of 80's UK anarchopunk, the more melancholy and dirgy sound of bands like The Mob or Vex along with the protocrust crunchy mid-paced anthems of Antisect and Anti-System, a Killing Joke element as well, a psychedelic, incantatory component too, not so far from Smartpils or Bad Influence and a cold, synth-driven element reminiscent of European cold-wave. Unique band with great-looking visuals and top lyrics.

- La Aferra: I wish I were more familiar with La Aferra because this song is one of the absolute highlights of "Iron Columns". Heavy, mid-tempo, dark punk-rock with a posthardcore, almost progressive, feel, a synth and dual male/female vocals. The songwriting is solid and distinctively Polish in terms of witty and tuneful arrangements. La Aferra was a prolific band apparently but I have only listened to a few other recordings from them. Brilliant music.

- Extinction of Mankind: I am not going to lie here, I pretty much bought "Iron Columns" in order to have these two EOM songs. I suspect these were recorded during the same session as the "Scars of mankind" Ep and are therefore the last with Mass on guitar. I already mentioned that I am a huge sucker for his guitar sound when I review the aforementioned Ep: it is heavy and yet eerie, dark and yet groovy with a thick and slimy texture, probably the closest to Lippy's playing in Antisect circa 1987. "Remnants of war" and "Won't be broken" rate as two of the best EOM songs ever, the only letdown being the drums that would have deserved a heavier sound. My personal winners.

- Black Kronstadt: I never could get into Iskra, not for a lack of trying. Black Kronstadt are mostly remembered as a pre-Iskra band and I, for one, am much more comfortable with them. Epic, apocalyptic blackmetal-infused crusty anarchopunk with male/female vocals and radical anarchist politics. Exactly what I expect from this lot in the 90's. I like it.

- Fucking Mass Destruction: two songs from this Memphis band that I know nothing about. We are not far from powerviolence here, with a distinct American sound. Is it good PV? I think it works well on this compilation because the songs are intense and punk enough. They make sense basically.

- DDI: awesome Italian hardcore from Pavia with catchy hooks and dynamic male/female vocals. It is exactly what you want from Italian hardcore: intense, furious and anthemic. They remind me of Infezione, Contrazione (for the mid-paced moments) and even Franti (especially on some the eeriest parts) with a 90's feel. The third song is not that good (sounds like a horrible fiesta punk band) but the first two are brilliant. DDI had Milan from Agipunk in its ranks.

- Ebola: the Northern England take on 90's powerviolence I guess? I like Ebola probably more for their message and their aesthetics than for their music that corresponds to a genre I am not really familiar with (though I really enjoy the first Lp... to be honest because it is punkier). This is heavy and dark anarcho hardcore with harsh male/female vocals and manic tempo changes but there are some good tunes in the guitar to remind you that it was a post-One By One band. The song "Half human" is great here and fits perfectly with the spirit of "Iron Columns".

- Terminal Disgust: another band I know little about. I like the song though. Reminds me of Armed Relapse and The Pist: direct, beefy and fast anarchopunk with angry vocals you can understand.

- Força Macabra: one of the most beloved oddities of the punk world. A Finnish band singing in Portuguese and emulating 80's Brazilian thrashy hardcore. I love the idea, I relate to the passion totally. Expect raw but accurate and energetic metallic hardore punk along the lines of Armagedom and Lobotomia.

- Krigshot: I am not sure if I actually like Krigshot or find them ridiculous. I honestly don't. There are days when their songs sound insanely good for their outrageously fast take on classic Swedish hardcore and others when I feel they paradoxically lack the necessary aggression of Swedish hardcore because everything is diluted in manic speed. Early Krigshot was still very impressive and the first time I listened to "Orebro-mangel" I was flabbergasted (and I still am to some extent). Members of Nasum and Meanwhile playing 3 songs in 90 seconds of Mob 47 at the wrong speed (and yes, they cover "Krigshot" by Mob 47 here).

- Counterblast: a regular guest at Terminal Sound Nuisance offering a very interesting song, recorded in 1996 just after "Balance of pain". This is demented, angry, dark, anguished, inventive, progressive crust music at its very best, like Neurosis meeting Axegrinder and Zygote in the dark Swedish woods. It doesn't get much better than this song, "Activate", in the genre.

- Liberate: a band whose name I have seen countless times but that I don't really know that well. This is classic Japanese hardcore in the Burning Spirit vein: high-energy, tight, anthemic and triumphant hardcore punk with epic guitar solos and fist-raising singalong chorus. I am hardly the expert in that subgenre but I can tell it is good.

Boycot: pretty standard mid-90's anarchopunk from the Netherlands with snotty vocals and cool lyrics. I guess Boycot always sounded a little too generic for me to really get into their music but the three songs here feel fresh and genuine. And you gotta love the "Only stupid bastards help Epitaph" slogan. Sooooooooooooo 90's, right?

- Armistice: I love Armistice as they proudly carried, along with Resist and Exist, the banner of that mid-late 80's SoCal anarcho/OC crust sound that I enjoy so much. Metallic, angry anarcho hardcore-punk reminiscent of Final Conflict, Bitter End and Glycine Max. The guitar sound is particularly good here and owes a lot to Jeff Harp. And I love the Winnie the Poo logo as well. Cheesy crust.

- Scum of Society: this lot already did a stint at Terminal Sound Nuisance a few years ago. Coming from Italy, SOS played raw crusty punk with a great anarcho squat feel. Sloppy but utterly lovable and genuine.

- The Unseen: yes, The Unseen, that iconic streetpunk band from the late 90's. And why not? After all, there were some great songs on "Lower-class crucifixion" and some good political lyrics too. The development of separated punk sub-scenes has largely made such crossovers unlikely today (unless the compilation is local) but I like the idea. The song is alright as well, quite raw and relatively catchy, it fits. Validated.

- Los Crudos: yes, Los Crudos, that highly influential hardcore band that took the 90's by storm. One minute of unadulterated intensity and anger. I don't often listen to Los Crudos but whenever I do, I am always impressed with the level of passion they put in their music. Inspirational hardcore to be sure.

- Dezerter: yes, Dezerter, that legendary 80's Polish band. I am not sure when these two songs were recorded but my bet is 1996. Classic Polish punk-rock, dark and tuneful with catchy chorus, that you can't possibly mistake with any other style. I dare anyone not to sing along to the re-recording of their anthem "XXI wiek". Yes, it is THAT catchy.

- Scatha: my favourite band from the Disaffect/Sedition/Scatha trinity, not a light statement since the three bands are among my favourite 90's bands ever. Not unlike Counterblast or Panikos, Scatha took crust to another place, another dimension, reworked it in order to shape a soundscape and an identity of their own. A difficult band to describe Scatha. Fantastic tribal drum section that sounds inventive but is meaning-driven and echoes with the band's essence as a whole instead of being merely a show of skills; a heavy, world-creating, textured sound with innovative guitar riffing and a groovy bass; a songwriting that organically conveys a whole set of different moods; and vocals that are harsh, desperate but also outraged and beautiful. Scatha aimed at transcribing traditional Celtic culture into heavy punk music and its aesthetics, an incredibly difficult task with the risk of falling into lame, clichéd folklore, but they pulled it superbly. "Necrophobia" is a song about the modern and perverse vision of death and how it differs from the old Celtic notion of rebirth. Unique stuff.

- Disclose: total D-beat raw noise punk attack! This was Disclose in their early Sweden-loving stage with Kawakami using double-track vocals. Ultimate Discharge love.

- Brother Inferior: classic US anarchopunk with that typical 90's sound that never really got the credit they deserved, but maybe coming from Tulsa did not help. Angry and intense punk music with smart lyrics and tuneful guitar leads that set them a little ahead of their time. Do I have a soft spot for Brother Inferior? Yes, I do.

- Sbitch: a band I know virtually nothing about. Sbitch were from Austin and played fast and thrashy anarchopunk with raspy female vocals, not unlike Antischism or Disaffect maybe. I like the imagery and listening closely to their song makes me want to dig more into their solid and intense angry 90's anarcho sound.

- Sharpeville: one of the highlights of "Iron Columns" and a band that no one seems to remember. Sharpeville were from Finland and played heavy, dark and crusty hardcore with a gloomy and demented feel that was incredible. The multilayered vocals confer their music a real sense of raging insanity and creepiness that I rarely heard in other bands. This fast song is quite thinly recorded but their 2000 Lp is an unsung classic that got unfairly dumped in the HHIG bandwagon. "War is stupid and unfair" is actually a clever song (Sharpeville could really write) about the everyday class war. A rather unique band that will eventually come back to Terminal Sound Nuisance.

- Mâkhi: the most obscure band on the compilation and for good reason as these are the only two songs they ever recorded. Mâkhi were from Austin and I suppose that, unless you were around in the late 90's, they will not ring a bell. Well, let's take a look at the line-up: Kelly Halliburton, Chris Pfeffer, Jack Control and Todd Burdette. Sounds familiar, right? Mâkhi were basically Severed Head of State under another name. I guess you could say that the two songs are rough versions of what SHOS did better later on: heavy and pummeling music blending American and Japanese hardcore.

As I mentioned, "Iron Columns" goes nowadays for a tenner. So instead of buying a "raw punk" Lp that no one will care about in two years, do yourself a favour and give this genuine and varied anarchopunk compilation a chance, if only for its cultural worth as a testimony of another time in punk history.  

Iron Columns