Live by the Crust, Die by the Crust: Deviated Instinct / Summon the Crows "S/t" split Ep, 2012

Earlier this month, Deviated Instinct's Terminal Filth Stenchcore demo was reissued on vinyl. 35 years after its original tape release, back when no one had a bad back in the band yet and receding hairlines were but a distant if dreadful prospect associated with adulthood and mortgages, this absolute classic, genre-defining recording of raw and gruff metallic anarcho hardcore punk is available once again. This formidable event can be said to be the crust equivalent of the Queen's jubilee if you need a scale of importance. The vinyl was renamed Terminal Filth Stench-Core for the occasion, a hyphenated discrepancy that I feel the need to underline metaphorically and literally. I haven't been able to consult my usual crust oracles about this one (they have been busy evaluating the potential crustness of Hellshock's coming record for weeks now) so I cannot state with certitude that this change in spelling will change our perspective on the whole crust movement but it might. Still, don't hold your guttural breath.

Needless to say I have been one merry lad since I learnt about the materialisation of this reissue (a rather long process actually) released on Terminal Filth (the band's own label, that's DIY for you) and Italy's Agipunk who, after reissuing Hellbastard's Ripper Crust 2009, made another crucial signing on the crust mercato. In order to win the crust Grand Slam, they just need to deal with Axegrinder's Grind the Enemy by 2035.

As you must know, the band reformed in 2007 for a couple of gigs only but ended up putting out three new records, this split Ep with Olso's Summon the Crows and Liberty Crawls... to the Sanctuary of Slaves in 2012 and Husk in 2018 and are still very much going. I remember, fondly, rushing to see them at their second, and advertised as the last one ever I believe, gig in 2008 at the 1in12 Club in Bradford because I did not want to miss the unique opportunity to see one of my favourite bands live. In the end I saw the band several times afterwards but am still waiting for the full refund of my 2008 trip to Bradford because of the fake advertising (and the shite weather). I also rushed to buy this split Ep when it came out and I remember that genuine excitement and the usual circumspection were the two major feelings among the "punk community". On the one hand, so many reformed 80's punk bands had put out, objectively and subjectively, horrendous and disappointing records that it was quite reasonable to be at least a little suspicious. But on the other hand our collective conservativeness sometimes prevents us from enjoying a band's progression and desire to try something new or just understanding the fact that, 20 years after, they don't want to sound just like it's still the mid-80's and haven't changed, listened to anything new or even bathed since their legendary 1984 demo tape. I remember people being disappointed that the members of DI did not look the exact same. But who still wore wellies in 2012?

I don't want to name anyone because I am the ultimate positive punk, and I cannot afford to have yet another punk band sue me, but it is undeniable that some old reformed bands often have offered embarrassing new works. But DI do not belong to the category of disappointing-and-tragically-disconnected-old-farts-trying-to-relive-their-youth. They were brilliant live when I saw them and their newer records are all solid and make sense. They sound like DI but also offer a logical evolution. Something different and familiar if you will. It does not mean that one has to love the new material as much as the old one as we all are sentimental with such things and if you lost your virginity to Welcome to the Orgy it is perfectly understandable that no record will be able to top that one. I think that DI's return was successful because they were not a parody of their old selves and some members had still been active in the extreme music world long after the original demise of the band so that when they played their old material it sounded like a very natural and fluid reworking (arguably some of the old songs have never sounded better), rather than a painful re-enactment or a crust cosplay. 

"End times" definitely sounds like a DI song - like, well, dark heavy crust - or rather like a relevant update of the classic DI sound. Some transitions are reminiscent of more modern metallic sludgecore (I am reminded of bands like Damad or 13 actually) but the backbone is still gruff Frost-influenced groovy cavemen old-school crust with that classic slimy metallic guitar sound, maybe not unlike 90's Genital Deformities or a grimmer, bleaker version of Coitus, or even some Stormcrow which shows that they kept in touch with their own stenchcrow legacy. Leggo's hoarse vocals are absolutely ferocious and threatening, like what he did with Filthkick, and they are undeniably one of the band's strongest points. Finally, and this might be the band's wisest choice, they did not go for too clean a production. Often, reformed bands tend to be overproduced mistakenly thinking that an updated version of their material is synonymous with a clean, modern production, while what people really liked in their old songs is precisely the raw and aggressive sound. Therefore the choice to record those 6 songs in 2012 at the 1in12 Club with Bri Doom at the wheel was the best possible one for a returning DI as it couldn't alienate the anticipating anxious fans soundwise. 

And one can understand that a band craves for an elaborate production that they, maybe frustratingly, could not afford in the 80's back when they had a £30 recording budget with a sound engineer who was into prog-rock. So there is often a discrepancy of expectation here and this often results in reformed bands sounding like modern overproduced hardcore bands and often lose the intensity and urgency in the process. DI kept that heavy organic dirty production that fits their songs so well although it has to be said that they clearly sound like they are more comfortable and knowledgeable in the studio both in terms of playing and overall balance. I think that the very same song with a clean modern production would not have worked as well. "End times" was recorded in 2012 during the same sessions as Liberty Crawls... DI took their time afterwards since Husk was only release in late 2018.

On the other side are two songs from Oslo's Summon the Crows. I have been raving a lot about DI, as usual I guess, but the presence of STC on the Ep was a further sign that it may well become a classic. STC is a band I followed from the start when I bought their first eponymous Ep in 2004 just because I thought the cover looked brilliant. Ironically, I had no idea that the artist behind the artwork was Mid from Deviated Instinct but if I were superstitious or in any way spiritual I would say it was a premonition from Destiny knocking at my door. But seeing that I am not in the least let's just say I have impeccable tastes. STC is one of those bands that I know I mostly enjoy but do not play often enough probably because their second album, 2011's One More to the Gallows, was something of a let-down. Their earlier endeavours however were solid works of crusty dark hardcore thrash, not deprived of some of 00's crust's major flaws like the epic melodic guitar leads, but the songwriting was versatile and brutal enough, with distinct nods towards black-metal and thrash, to make STC sound quite original and genuinely anguished in a sea of often derivative neocrust. They are clearly metallic and crusty but cannot be described as a stenchcore revival band, although stenchcore fans are probably into STC and their music would not have been out of place on a 4-way split with Sanctum, Cancer Spreading and Warcollapse. 

When One More to the Gallows came out, I was surprised since the band had not released anything since 2006 and I basically thought they had split up. While the aforementioned Lp did not really win me over the two songs included on this split Ep - the last release of the band - were much better and more akin to what STC had achieved with their first records, an interesting blend of käng hardcore and old-school extreme metal. I read reviews describing STC as blackened crust and while it is not wrong from a literal perspective, I don't think it is relevant to associate their particular sound to what the term "blackened crust" has come to qualify. What makes STC stand out, beside their punishing black/thrash crust sound, is the unpredictability of the guitar riffs and the originality of the song structures. And in a subgenre that is more than crowded with average bands, and even though it would be far-fetched to claim they are reinventing hardcore or metal or whatever, to stand out even a little is not nothing. STC reminds me of bands like The Black Hand, Legion 666 or Order of the Vulture  - and early Martyrdöd of course, the most obvious name in that category - not because those bands sound alike - they share similarities but are not similar - but because they all, quite successfully so, blended hard-hitting raw hardcore punk with primitive extreme metal of the black, proto-death or thrash varieties. I guess that if you soak Warcollapse, Martyrdöd, early Sepultura and Sodom in a bathtub filled with 00's crust, you'd get something close to those two STC songs. Contrary to the previous clean-sounding Lp, the production on those works well, it sounds aggressive and powerful but keeps a certain rawness. 

This split Ep can be said to be a solid relevant pairing, not spectacular enough to be a crust classic but still something very much worth having in your collection, especially if you don't want to be suspected of being a poser. The artwork on the Ep was done by Mid, not exactly a surprise, with a gloomy drawing depicting crows - there had to be crows because of the Norwegians I guess - defending human skulls agains two tiny shagging flies nailed together and a massive one who appears to be sleeping. Of course I like it but would my mum hang it on her bedroom wall? Yes, exactly. On the backcover, there are more flies and bits of skulls with Mid's usual visual virtuosity. This split Ep was released on the Oslo-based label Nakkeskudd Platter, mostly active in the 00's. Kjetil from STC would later form the great Akrasia (who've already been included on this series) while Stig got to play in Knuste Ruter and Razorbats.    

     

Summon the stormcrows              

Live by the Crust, Die by the Crust (2012-2021): Akrasia "Observe the darkness" Ep, 2019

Here we go, let's crust again. As I pointed out earlier Live by the Crust, Die by the Crust is a series that will probably be carried out throughout the year and will focus on new contemporary crust music, works released between 2012 and 2021. After years of - mostly - tackling older bands, I felt the urge to promote modern recordings, not because I have grown tired of writing about old records - I could read myself all day, as you know - but because we are caught between two seemingly contradictory trends that have more to do with global cultural consumptional dynamics than solely with punk music, an ultimately small, if brightly coloured, fish. On the one hand, we have become obsessed with a glorified past as the constant flux of reissues suggests while on the other we engage in an endless race for novelty and the newest hot bands that are consumed impulsively and emphatically before their inevitably quick discardment. There is much room for complaining for a chap like myself. As a result, in order to save punk-rock once again, not unlike Lorenzo "Renegade" Lamas but with less hair and my uncle's moped, I will try to depict the vitality of crust in the past decade with the mighty force of my well-known - and indeed feared - wits so that you will get an excellent idea, the best possible idea in fact since the selection is mine, about what this beloved hardcore punk subgenre has been up to since 2012. And Terminal Sound Nuisance celebrates its tenth anniversary this year so it made sense on that level as well.

So what about Akrasia then? Despite duly watching out for new crust bands to assess, Akrasia completely slipped under my radar at first, which is extremely odd and even a little offensive and I did have to let my apparently inept scandicrust informant go as a consequence. What makes this mishap even weirder is that I have been following the label, Ruin Nation Records, and always keep an eye on the latest release (well, clearly not in the case of Akrasia but if a lesson should be learnt it is that no one is wholly perfect). On the bright side, since I did not see the band coming and was late to the party, I had no real expectations and was taken by surprise by the existence of an old-school crust band that already had two (!) records out, something of a blissful ignorance which, in 2022 sadly does not happen too often because of my advanced and omniscient crust detector (it is cider-fueled if you must know). In any case, it felt great to meet a relatively established band with all the refreshing candour I could muster.     

Akrasia are from Oslo, Norway, and must have formed in the mid-10's. While they are technically a young band, some - if not all - of the participants in this crust-making enterprise cannot be said to be exactly innocent inexperienced newcomers and I am not saying this just out of discourtesy. For instance, my confidential sources (well, Discogs really...) tells me that the singer, aka Offender, a common name in Norway, also growled for the metal band Throat Violence and grindcore machine Whip in Oslo in the 00's, as well as two other extreme acts in Italy (I smartly assume he moved to Italy at some point) more recently, Morbo and Sangue, four bands I have never heard and therefore will not make a fool of myself by commenting. Guitar player "Kraka" however is a much more familiar punk face since he used to play, among others, in Hevn, a strong anarchopunk band from the 00's and the magnificent Summon the Crows, undeniably Norway's best crust band. 

Akrasia play, and I quote, "cataclysmic space crust", a brilliant name for a subgenre of a subgenre of a subgenre. In general, the specialists of such terminological inventiveness are Japanese punks ("d-beat raw punk" is the most famous example but the presupposition that any Japanese d-beat and crust band have coined their own lexical style almost always proves to be true) but I salute this bold and daring move from this wild Scandinavian lot and I personally like the concept of cataclysmic space crust a lot. Observe the Darkness includes two long songs, almost twelve minutes in total, of heavy metallic old-school crust with some psychedelic space rock moments. The length of the songs really allows the band to tell and developed a full story (with an introduction, the setting of a specific atmosphere, a pause, changes in mood, a climax and so on) with each number which places Akrasia in the great crust traditions of epic crust of Amebix, Misery and the likes, a narrative aspect reinforced by the use of a psychedelia-inducing synth which I am a huge sucker for. 

The vocals also distinguish the band, they are quite theatricalised and reminiscent of an angrier Tom G. Warrior, which is something of a double-edge sword, but at least can be considered as a welcome change from all the grizzli growls that crust is usually and rightly associated with. While I did not feel the vocals always worked on the First Demons - Birth of the Void Lp from 2017, they perfectly fit here. And actually I cannot find any real flaw to the Ep, it is a brilliant crust record. The space rock influence is present but acts more as an atmospheric tool than a structural songwriting one. I am reminded of progressive crust bands like Morne or the mighty Counterblast, with the potent metal groove of Celtic Frost and late Amebix, a dash of classic Misery and early AGE and a spoonful of Iowaska and Bad Influence trance crust. It reads like name-dropping nonsense but just trust the crust, Observe the Darkness is nothing less than one of the best records of the genre of the past decade. and above all they do not sound like any other bands while still comfortably relying on the classic canonical crust tropes. Both fresh and yet familiar.

This wonderful Ep was released in 2019 on the ever-reliable and hard-working label Ruin Nation Records that has been going since 1993. It is still available so I strongly suggest you treat yourself and support the label and the band at the same time and actually take a fiver from your wallet and get the thing. Space anarchy propagation indeed. There is a link just below to RN's website comrades.

                                                                                Get it

                                                                    Cataclysmic space crust  

                          

"Whispers" compilation 2xLp + Ep, 1996

After a much-needed break mostly spent thinking about life (who would have thought that my journey into Discharge mania would prove to be so exhausting?), the time has come to start a new series for the mighty Terminal Sound Nuisance dedicated to double Lp compilations. Yes, double Lp compilations, these gigantic, colossal beasts that can be quite unpalatable when not to one's taste or very poorly compiled, but can also prove to be utterly glorious when done properly. Of course, I selected compilations that are not only solid and meaningful musically, but also relevant representations of a particular time and scene, works that tell us something on a contextual level.

Compilations can be tricky to review because there will always be songs that retrospectively sound like fillers or haven't aged particularly well, from bands that may have sunk fast into obscurity, and the stakes are even higher with a double Lp compilation of punk music since you usually end up with at least 40 songs from as many bands. On the other hand, such massive compilations can display connections between bands and labels (often based on political affinity, friendship or a belief in the importance of supporting DIY punk whatever subgenres you are into) that you may not have thought of, unless you were around then and there. Ever since that fateful day when I got into punk-rock, I have loved compilations. They were not merely a cheap and adequate means to discover new bands, they also gave the idea of a punk scene where bands worked with each other. They stood for the collective force of punk-rock to me, a romantic ideal of togetherness and unity ("Disorder quote"... check) and although I don't regard them as sentimentally as I used to, I am still a sucker for great, meaning-driven compilations. The double Lp compilation I am going to rave about today is the epitome of the spirit of European DIY anarchopunk from the 90's.

It is perfectly clear that compilations have largely fallen out of fashion nowadays. Few are being released and when they are, they usually don't garner much enthusiasm (there are exceptions of course). In fact, I sometimes have the impression that, to most, the idea of a "classic compilation" died with the 80's, as if any comp released after 1989 was doomed to mediocrity. I have already written about our collective obsessional fantasy of the 80's and how it is connected with the much broader mainstream "retro" fad. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the 80's myself. I learnt how to walk, speak and write and I got to wear atrocious clothes with impunity during that decade. Good days. Do we believe so much in the absolute prevalence of priority embodied in the 80's that we discard its immediate legacy, the 90's, as being unauthentic and irrelevant? Sometimes, we do, as we live in cultures that value and glorify originators often at the expense of contextualization. I am personally as excited with "Whispers" as with "A vile peace" or BCT and Mortarhate compilations and I would even argue that, in terms of quality music, "Whispers" is probably one of the best punk compilations ever.

"Whispers" was released in 1996 by Skuld Releases and Profane Existence at the apex of the collaboration between these two iconic labels. It took five years to Kleister from Skuld to complete this dantean project, which accounts for some recordings being quite a bit older than the release date. In fact, no less than 24 bands included on "Whispers" were no longer active when it hit the distros, so while I am guessing that the original intent was to provide an overview of great current punk bands, "Whispers" ended up looking a little like an obituary. On the other hand, I can only imagine how much work and energy it required and I definitely understand when he writes "I never gonna do something like this again!!!!!!!"

I already mentioned before that Skuld Releases, more than any other labels, embodied quality to me when I started to get heavily into crust and anarcho music. Although I didn't necessarily relate to, or even really understand, everything Skuld released in terms of music, I loved the international nature of the label's roster and I felt that all the bands were relevant, good at what they did, had something to offer, and the records themselves always looked ace. The label's collaboration with Profane Existence gave birth to genuine classics like "Balance of pain" and "Who's the fool", records that are among my all-time favourites, but it was perhaps "Whispers" that impressed me the most at the time. Two Lp's AND one Ep with two massive booklets and 38 bands, most of whom I had only heard of but was dying to listen to. "Whispers" definitely widened my musical perspectives, its variety of smart and heavy punk music opened a world of possibilities. Besides, contrary to 80's compilations, some of the bands were still active on "Whispers" so, in a sense, they belonged to my generation just as much. It was an enthralling feeling.

"Whispers" is not a compilation that is often discussed and when it is, lazy descriptions such as "eurocrust" abound. Don't get me wrong, there are indeed 90's eurocrust bands included on the compilation, but "Whispers", while heavily rooted in the DIY political hardcore side of the punk spectrum, is a diverse work that epitomizes this particular conception of punk that characterizes the 90's: more than music, not only in a political sense, but also as the idea that subgenres are not what matter the most. Of course, like at any other time in history, the 90's produced a large number of generic bands and there were dynamics that shaped the 90's punk sound. However, despite its incredible scope, "Whispers" never sounds tedious or redundant, as its undeniable 90's feel is precisely located as much in the musical elements that defined the decade as in the idea, common to all the bands, of playing honest, genuine punk music that doesn't need to be derivative or too referential (and one can notice that there are no D-Beat bands on "Whispers"). If anything, "Whispers" is a celebration of everything that was good about 90's crust/anarchopunk/hardcore/whatever. Not all the songs are great but together they form a cohesive whole, they make sense and echo with each other, despite the different tones and languages. They literally sound better and more meaningful next to each other, a cheesy statement perhaps but one that never leaves whenever I listen to the compilation.

I have already written about a lot of the bands included on "Whispers" so I will try to be concise and brief, especially since there are 42 songs here.

Hellkrusher: what's not to like about HK? They are as reliable as a childhood's mate, you may not see him every week but when you do, you always have a cracking time. Intense and raw Discharge-loving metallic hardcore punk from Northern England, here with clear vocals.

Naftia: one of the absolute highlights of "Whispers" from this classic Greek band that didn't sound like anyone else and yet exemplified the best of the 90's anarchocrust wave. Heavy, epic, majestic, metallic, progressive at times, crusty anarchopunk with male/female vocals that managed to be angry, intense and passionate. A "one of a kind" band that will be dealt with at length at some point on Terminal Sound Nuisance.

Luzifers Mob: a band from Karlsruhe I am not very familiar with. Three short songs. Manic, fast and aggressive hardcore with a modern feel.

Angst: even with your eyes closed you can tell instantly that Angst were from Norway. I am not a Norwegian hardcore nerd but sometimes it works so well: intense, inventive, energetic and tuneful Scandinavian hardcore punk with cracking guitar leads and vocals that sound both desperate and beautiful. Fantastic song.

Anarcrust: what a great name this Dutch band had. I have always loved the lyrics and the aesthetics of Anarcrust although I must admit that I can't really listen to their Lp's. Fast crusty crossover hardcore with a lot of tempo breaks and epileptic guitar riffs verging on the experimental.

One By One: one the smartest anarchopunk bands of the 90's to be sure that penned some clever, radical, catchy punk songs. I love One By One but they are not so easy to describe. They started as a melodic hardcore-punk band borrowing from both the UK anarchopunk sound and the US hardcore one but progressively played heavier music while keeping a strong sense of solid songwriting. This is one of their late song, a heavy, crusty metallic number that reminds me of a 90's flavoured, slightly dissonant Life Cycle or Civilised Society? Brilliant stuff.

Fleas And Lice: they don't really need much introduction, do they? Crusty squat punk music from Groningen with snotty male/female vocals. "Parasites" is an early song, quite punky and sloppy, but utterly lovable.

Hiatus: eurocrust heroes. Best band ever.

Sedition: though usually remembered for "Earthbeat" (and for good reasons, this Lp is a jewel), Sedition used to be this over-the-top European hardcore band that sounded almost too intense: "TV sickness" is as furious as Italian hardcore, as relentless as Finnish hardcore and as snotty as UK punk.

Brawl: melodic mid-tempo hardcore from Belfast with almost spoken vocals and a great singalong chorus. This is their anthem.

Graue Zellen: modern metallic and melodic hardcore from Germany with some cool guitar tunes. Not really my cuppa though.

Disaffect: one of the bands that got me seriously into faster punk music. I bought their discography because some cool older punk I knew had their name painted at the back of his jacket (he could be trusted as he was the one who made me tape copies of Antisect thus introducing me to them). Fast and energetic anarchopunk with male/female vocals that would become almost a blueprint later on. What made Disaffect stand out was the intensity of the playing, the cracking guitar leads and the raucous and yet tuneful voice of Lynne who actually sang as much as she shouted. Top band.

Misery: the band that has kept the old-school crust sound alive and well. The bass sound always makes me shiver, it sounds almost like a moving, living thing. Two songs, "Total destruction" and "Blindead", one of their very best. There are very few bands like Misery who can actually claim to have made crust a legitimate, relevant punk genre.

Health Hazard: fast and furious hardcore punk from Newcastle with punishing female vocals that we all love. Short and to the point.

Hellbastard: probably the most surprising band on "Whispers" and the only song that was recorded in the 80's (1988). Genre-defining music from a band that epitomizes the idea of groovy crust to me. "They brought death", a 7-minute crust epics, is possibly one of their best songs as well with a super crunchy production and that brilliant amebixy interlude in the middle. Classic among classics.

ABC Diabolo: more modern intense German hardcore with harsh vocals and manic tempo changes. Not necessarily what I would usually listen to but this is very well done actually.

Corpus Vile: heavy and raw old-school crust with gruff male/female vocals from Bristol. This is typically my kind of bands. Groovy riffs with a thundering bass and an apocalyptic mood. To be stored between Mortal Terror and Genital Deformities. CRUST

World Chaos: old-school fast punk from Germany. No thrills, 80's flavoured hardcore-punk that does the job perfectly. They have a second song on the additional Ep.

Zygote: a brilliant band that is often overlooked with members from Amebix and Smartpils. Heavy, grungy, dark psychedelic punk music that escapes easy categorization. "Man in the crowd" was actually a reworking of Amebix' "Ride to right" with weirder undertones that conferred a demented vibe to the song. Unique band that should return soon to Terminal Sound Nuisance.

Dystopia: with a Rudimentary Peni cover. If a raw death-metal band were locked in a mental asylum for a year, they would probably play like this. I love it.

Accion Mutante: awesome eurocrust from Germany with the vintage crust dual vocal attack and a crunchy metal feel. 90's crust as fuck.

Just Kidding: that's a strange one. Very heavy, doomy, dark, slow and dissonant metallic hardcore with harsh female vocals from Germany. They really should have called themselves "Not kidding". I am not familiar with the band or with the genre although I understand there were quite a few bands having a go at this depressive, heavy sound at the time. I enjoy it actually, especially the eerier parts. Very well done.

Viktors Hofnarren: all-out fast and crusty anarchopunk with dual male/female vocals (in German and French) from Biel. I can definitely picture this lot playing in anarcho squats at the time.

Bad Influence: it is pretty clear that I love Bad Influence, one of the most interesting anarcho bands ever. This is a live version of "We lose to win" and the sound is very crispy and intense. Tight band. If you have never heard Bad Influence, try to picture psychedelic, progressive heavy anarchopunk music played with anger, outrage and beauty.

Unhinged: another great band that no one seems to listen to anymore. Unhinged were a post-Hiatus band that pretty much built on the last Hiatus Lp. The pummeling crust element is still present but there is also a discordant screamo feel to the music that is emphasized by the high-pitched, desperate vocals of Manu. The perfect example of emotional yet angry political punk music.

Neuthrone: also from Belgium, Neuthrone played dissonant and Frostian sludge music. Heavy, very heavy.

Jobbykrust: I have already raved about JK at length so you know what to expect. Crusty anarchopunk with demented vocals and a progressive element. Genuinely intense and angry punk music from Belfast.

Doom: with Tom Croft on vocals, recorded during their Totalitär-worship period. Do I need to say more?

Slimy Venereal Diseases: another band that visited TSN a few years ago, crunchy and grinding crust with dual vocals and a crossover bottom from Germany. This song is definitely one of their best. Good shit.

Bleeding Rectum: ignore the terrible name, BR were a great political hardcore band from Belfast that usually wrote fast, angry, snotty punk songs. However "Sectarian life" is a moody mid-paced number reminiscent of emotional melodic hardcore with rather melancholy leads. Uncommon from this bunch but still quality.

Acid Rain Dance: yet another band that was tackled here, Acid Rain Dance were a great crusty crossover hardcore band from Germany with fantastic thrash riffs. This is music to headbang to.

Dread Messiah: a superb band from the London squatters scene, close to Coitus and Suicidal Supermarket Trolleys. This is exactly how I love my crust: unpretentious, with intense crunchy metal riffs and the raw energy of snotty punk. I so wish DM had recorded more...

DIRT: possibly one of the first UK anarchopunk bands to have reformed, although in a very different context. I always thought that DIRT's 90's outputs were really good as they never tried to replicate what they used to do but instead chose to update their music by building on their great "Just an error" Lp. This is certainly more tuneful, especially in the guitar leads, and it does feel like a 90's band, not like a reformed 80's band. Anthemic female-fronted UK punk-rock at its very best.

Extinction of Mankind: again one of my all-time favourites that was bound to be included on "Whispers". "Slow death" is actually a very old EOM song that originally appeared on their "Without remorse" demo that the band re-recorded for the compilation. This was EOM in their early days when they blended "In darkness"-era with "Out from the void"-era Antisect. Superb song with great guitar work though the drums would have probably needed a bit more punch.

Guts Pie Earshot: the weirdest song of the compilation. Experimental postpunk music with female vocals in German and a violin that challenges the conventions of your average punk music. I never could handle a full Lp of GPE but this song is actually really solid with an incantatory gloomy quality. Time to give it another chance.

Masskontroll: Punk as fuck Crude SS-worship from Portland with a brilliant guitar sound. What's not to love?

Warcollapse: like Misery and Extinction of Mankind, I always saw Warcollapse as reliable purveyors of genuinely good and tasteful crust music. These bands are a bit like family if you will. "It's time to..." is one of Warcollapse's mid-paced old-school crust songs that also appeared on "Crust as fuck existence". And what a great song it is: simple heavy but effective riffs, crunchy and groovy songwriting with an apocalyptic vibe, gruff vocals... It is a deceptively simple song that work so well and achieves everything proper crust music requires. Atmosphere-creating music. (And sorry for the few scratches, I may have overplayed that song...)

Counterblast: and finally, the amazing Counterblast with one of their absolute hits "The European empire of capitalism". This version is different to the one found on "Balance of pain". It is more synth-driven, thinner perhaps, not quite as heavy and refined but maybe even gloomier and anguished. What a monumental song to end the compilation with...

As I mentioned, there are two thick booklets along with the compilation and each band provided some artwork with the lyrics. A lot of care was given to "Whispers" and it is a adequate testimony to a certain time and place.  

Whispers