Sarcasm "Brave new world" Ep 1998

In my opinion, Sarcasm was one of the finest and noisiest English band of the 90's. Their music was brutal, distorted and about as subtle as the mating call of a moose. "Brave new world" was their last offering to the world and although I must admit I prefer "The lowest form of wit", this Ep still epitomizes how fuzzy crust punk should sound like.

As "Trapped in a scene" informs us, there were two Sarcasm incarnations. The first one existed during the mid 80's and never recorded anything but from what I can gather, it was all about the noisiest brand of European (Mob 47, Total Kaoz, Confuse, Wretched...) and Bristolian harcore (Chaos UK and Disorder), as well as Dirge and the gloriously inept Skum Dribblurzzz (unfortunately I have never heard anything of the first Sarcasm era so I can only guess what they must have sounded like). Their second time around saw a crustier sound develop with 3 ep's and 2 split ep's. "Brave new world" was recorded in 1995 but released three years later on a Parisian label called "Chaos Extraordinaire". It includes seven songs of raw, distorted, blistering, fuzzy crusty punk with aggressive and snarly vocals that sound just brilliant and are the closest to what a zombie would sound like if it tried to bark. The pace is mostly really fast and chaotic but there a couple of groovier, dischargy-paced songs as well. On the whole I suppose it could be compared to early ENT, Warfear, Sore Throat, Private Jesus Detector for the bear-like heavy gruffiness as well as some Japanese bands like Confuse, Gai or Kuro for the added fuzziness in the guitar sound. It is pretty obvious Sarcasm were into the Japanese sound as the record center on the A side depicts a spoof version of the Gauze logo.

This said, Sarcasm clearly lies on the anarcho side of things when it comes to the lyrics and there are even some spoken parts that only confirm this tendency. The first song, entitled "Brave new world", is an articulate rant about social control and how the authorities keep us all in line with alienating means like television and enforce their vision of life and domestic conformity on us. The hopeless and angry tone of the vocals really help get the point across on this one. "When I look" is about alienation and contradictory feelings of hunger and self-hatred; "Winter" is the obscure one as I am not really sure what it is about, it has some poetic value, almost like a haiku. On the B side, "Nationalism" is the other winner of the record with a diatribe against nationalism (you don't say!) and the glorious line "Nationalistic fool, shove your flag up your dirty fuckin' ringhole" (sometimes simplicity is really the best); "Watching" is about the orwelian nightmare that England was starting to become in the 90's; "Ghouls" tackles our own apathy towards the destruction of the planet and "Halt" is a call to stop and think before we self-destruct with booze and drugs (the lyrics do wisely remind that Sarcasm were not "conceited naive straight-edge prick[s]" though I am not sure many people doubted that).

I know that everyone is being bombarded with bands who supposedly play "distorted, noisy, raw punk" or whatever, but believe me, Sarcasm are the real deal and to my ears they sit perfectly between Extreme Noise Terror and distorsion-fuelled Japanese punk while really having something worthwhile to say. A discography called "Noise bastards volume one" has been released recently on a Peruvian label and I really recommend it as the three ep's are excellent. Otherwise, Sarcasm is hardly a hyped band anyway so their records can still be found for pretty cheap.

Sarcasm "Brave new world"          

Screaming Holocaust "Cancer up your bum" Ep 1989

I'll be honest here: a cover depicting a fat arse shitting a pig's head usually gets my attention. In fact, Screaming Holocaust, in spite of their small discography (two Ep's), managed to have rather striking covers. Their "War" Ep had a gruesome picture of decapitated kids in what must be a massgrave as a cover. Frankly, I'll take the pig-shitting bum over the gory stuff any day. As striking as SH's covers may be, the band remains somewhat obscure and that's a real shame because although they are not ground-breaking, they do play solid crusty punk-rock and had something to say.

SH hailed from Ipswich and were around in the late 80's. In fact, I am not even sure when this Ep was recorded as there is no date indicated. The first one, "War", was recorded in 1989 so it is a safe bet "Cancer up your bum" would have been done not long after, especially since the band was rather short-lived. So I'd say 1989 or 1990. But anyway, SH were part of that first wave of crust punk, though it probably already was losing momentum by 1989. Ipswich was also the hometown of Extreme Noise Terror and it is no coincidence that the thanklist on the backcover of this Ep contains the full ENT line-up. Actually, one could even venture that ENT might have given SH a few tips music-wise. This said, if "War" was effective but rather basic ENT-influenced full-on crust punk with two singers, this Ep brings some other dishes on the table. They kept the multivocal attack but slowed the tempo a little. The opening song, the poetic "Cancer up your bum", is a well-structured mid-paced track blending fast punk-rock, slimy reggae and dirty metal-tinged riffs in a fashion reminiscent of Domination Factor. It works very well because it manages to keep a threatening and snotty sound. The two songs on the flipside are more classic early crust: "Fanta babies" is a fast relentless song not dissimilar to ENT, Mortal Terror or Embittered (the great guitar riff may have been lifted by Health Hazard later on) with a girld doing a spoken word in the middle for added anarcho value and "Dying planet" is a heavy and pummelling mid-tempo crust number that would have fit just fine on a Hiatus record. All very enjoyable stuff, right?

Lyrically, SH were into vegetarianism as "Cancer up your bum" illustrates. The song claims that eating Big Macs will get a cancer spreading up your arse. I am not sure if it is true but it certainly brings a smile to my face. "Fanta babies" has the best lyrics on the record as it tackles how big brands like Fanta gave their unhealthy products to mothers in Zambia so that they fed their already malnourished babies, thus creating even more malnourishment. Those poor children were called "Fanta babies" and it reminds me of how Nestle, backed by unscrupulous doctors, did the very same thing with powder milk when they convinced poor third-world women to stop breast-feeding and use Nestle powder-milk instead. The results were similar with babies being even more unhealthy and big corporations being even richer. "Dying planet" is about the pollution of our environment of how the government pretends to believe in ecology when they are the ones allowing and even helping the pollution in the first place.

Cancer Up Yer Bum!

         

Namland "The shame" Ep 1992

A few years ago, a friend of mine came up with term "crust des bois". It means "wood crust" and it helped make a distinction between those crust bands playing stinky cavemen crust-punk with grizzli bear and giant boar singing with no melody and those modern crust bands who wanted to be Tragedy and Ekkaia so bad that they were embarassing to watch (ont the other hand these bands were called "crust de salon", "lounge crust"). If you need an example, Visions of War and Massgrave = wood crust while Fall of Efrafa and Down to Agony = lounge crust. Well this Namland Ep is crust from the deepest, shittiest, most primal woods.

Now enough with metaphors and private jokes, Namland (it is also the name of a movie about the Vietnam war) came from Illinois and they were a side-project band including people from Impulse Manslaughter, Resist and Eyegouger, the latter being a German band. Though Namland were not a proper band, rest assured that this recording deserves a spot in the canon of inept-yet-glorious crust-punk. It says on the sleeve that it was recorded on two tracks at the band's first practice (I bet that it can't have lasted much more than two hours either). Basically, it's all over the place and you can hear that the drummer doesn't quite know when to stop at times but it really doesn't matter for Namland exemplifies what awesome, no frills, direct crustcore music should be all about. It was recorded in 1990 (but the record came out in 1992) so you have a perfect illustration of a band influenced solely by the first wave of crust music, a time when the very term "crust" was not wide-spread. "Holocaust in your head" era Extreme Noise Terror and early Disrupt (the band was still in its infancy then as they had only done their 1988 demo) are obvious influences especially with the ridiculously over-the-top vocals. As classic crust requires, you have two singers, one in charge of the gruffy bear-like growls and the other doing the higher-pitched gnarly yelling. To be fair, I have seldom heard crustier vocals than on this record. They are not the most extreme vocals ever (though the Sore Throat-like bear vocals come really close) but they sound so pissed off, direct and spontaneous that you can tell that not only did Namland have great fun playing together but they also really knew what sound they wanted to emulate (and after all it was still quite new at the time I guess). Other early bands like Doom, Sore Throat, Mortal Terror and Hiatus definitely come to mind as well.

The sound is adequate for the genre as the guitar is very raw but in an unintentional fashion, but then recording on a two track often does that. The drumming is pummelling and very dynamic and there are two bass guitars for extra grooviness. In fact, you could say this Ep is a little wonder given the circumstances and maybe the fact that it was their first practice gives the record its urgency and spontaneity. The first song is a stellar example of what I expect from bands toying with this genre: a short, heavy and rough mid-paced introduction interrupted by a distorted simple guitar riff then followed by a barrage of drums which herald the coming animal fight. The first two songs on the B side are short bursts of early grinding madness and there are a couple of other mid-tempo parts too so it is not all about frantic "d-beat" either (I hate the term but you get the meaning), not unlike Hiatus' second demo and very first Ep really. Unfortunately there are no lyrics but I am not even sure they wrote them down anyway. This Ep was released by Urban Alert records, a Parisian-based label that also put out records from Hiatus (small world), Private Jesus Detector and Seein Red.

Namland's drummer, who also played in Resist, did another rather similar side-project (along with a fellow Resist member a couple of years after Namland) called Amnesty. It has been posted on 7 Inch Crust and although slightly less savage, it also qualifies as perfectly executed old-school Hiatus/Doom/ENT-type crust punk.      

"The shame" Ep 

Metal Duck "Quackcore" demo tape 1987

Metal bands are usually dead serious, what with their cheesy poses, epic perms and monster-themed artwork. Well, I suppose quite a few punk bands could fit the above definition too. So what's not to like about a spoof metal band with songs about ducks?

Metal Duck are probably to early thrash-metal what Hard Skin are to oi music. Formed in 1985 in Cheshire, MD are notorious for their split Lp with the equally silly Lawnmower Deth, but I think their crowning glory - so to speak - is that first demo entitled "Quackcore", recorded in 1987. As we all know, the mid to late 80's saw many punk bands toying more or less successfully with metal. The blend could go very well (Antisect, Concrete Sox, mid-80's English Dogs) or sink in metallic cheesiness, lengthy solos and ridiculous lyrics (late 80's English Dogs, late Onslaught, late Anihilated as those three bands definitely lost it at some point). Despite the lack of information about Metal Duck, I am pretty sure they were punx who enjoyed metal but found the lyrics and the attitude ridiculous and thus decided to have a laugh.  The result is actually highly enjoyable as this demo can attest. It is much more metal-punk than straight-up thrash to be honest, reminiscent of the good metallic punk period of English Dogs, The Fiend, Anihilated, Broken Bones or Onslaught (bar the terrible devil-worshipping obviously), some early crust music (think Apocalypse or Sacrilege) and real metal bands like Metallica or Sodom. There is even a grinding song on the tape with "NDQC". The riffs are effective  and the guitar sound has this dirty yet heavy, vibrating sound that is so loveable. The drumming is simple and the vocals are shouted and sound very punk, actually, as anarchonistic a comment this might be, MD's singer sounds just like Ausgebombt's.

As you can guess from the artwork (a demonic rendering of Daffy Duck) and the songs' titles, the lyrics are pretty silly with songs called "Bomb bay duck" or "The march of Metal Duck to the ponds of hell" but apart from some ridiculous and funny intro, the music on the whole doesn't sound like a joke, not unlike Hard Skin's music doesn't give away the parodic element. If you like proper metal-punk that doesn't take itself seriously, you are bound to love Metal Duck.    

Metal Duck "Quackcore" demo 1987

Life Cycle & Shrapnel - live in Leeds 1988

After Naked's brilliant live tape - and despite the rather unexpected consequence my posting it has had - I guess it is time for yet another cracking and unjustly forgotten band to be included on Terminal Sound Nuisance: Shrapnel.

Actually the tape contains two live sets, one from Life Cycle and one from Shrapnel as both Welsh bands played in Leeds in 1988. I posted Life Cycle's Lp a few months ago so TSN's loyal fans wouldn't need an introduction but for the unlucky ones who aren't familiar with Life Cycle, they were a metal-punk band with male and female vocals and they had quite a unique sound. Neither from the Broken Bones/English Dogs/Concrete Sox school nor from the Amebix/Axegrinder/Hellbastard one, Life Cycle played heavy and groovy, mid-tempo metallic punk somewhere between Celtic Frost, late Deviated Instinct or some 90's bands like Ironside and even some early sludge stuff like 13 or Eyehategod. What set them apart from the rest was their distinctive sense of groove while keeping an anarcho feel (especially in the vocals not so dissimilar to Sacrilege or Civilised Society?'s) and content. I wish they had been included in "Trapped in a scene" and I understand they were supposed to be in it. Oh well. Anyway, Life Cycle are a bit crustier sounding live than in the studio so you have dirtier versions of the songs and more aggression. The sound quality is not amazing but remains decent (and it will have to do since I haven't seen any other Life Cycle live recordings). Unfortunately the setlist on the tape doesn't correspond to the songs that are actually played, so I did my best to put the right names on the right songs (there are songs from both "Myth and ritual" and "The weight of tradition" as well as a few others that never made it to a studio) but there might a few mistakes as, contrary to popular belief, I am not perfect.

On the other side you have a live set of Shrapnel in their later period. I know I am saying this an awful lot but Shrapnel really knew how to write good, catchy songs. While their early material is rather straight-up punk-rock with a magnificent sense of urgency and some tunes, by the late 80's the band had recorded two split Ep's with Symbol of Freedom and Toxik Ephex and had added some other influences in their punk-rock (Ivor from Capital Gain/Life Cycle and Steve from Symbol of Freedom joining Shrapnel in 1986 certainly contributed to the change of direction). If it undeniably stays in punk territory, there are some reggae-dub, pop-rock and even some really funky bass-lines thrown in the mix and believe or not it works perfectly. Shrapnel are a bit hard to describe as the band had a lot of personality but if I had to try I would say that they would have felt alright sharing the bill with Systematic Annex, Instigators in the 80's and with PAIN and the Blaggers in the 90's. Or something. My point is they wrote genuinely tuneful songs that you could remember and sing to, going from exhilirating to rather moody but always sounding sincere and committed. The set includes the song "Autumn" twice, which is fine by me since it is definitely one of Shrapnel's most solid, as well as the other song on the Toxik Ephex split, namely "Trival pursuit" both of which saw Shrapnel at the apex of their musical creativity and capacities. You also have one song from the Symbol of Freedom split, "Fact or fiction" but none of the other songs that the band played that night have been recorded in a studio to my knowledge. The sound is fine and on both bands' sets you can very clearly hear people chatting between songs which is always funny.

The beautiful artwork of the tape was taken from the split Ep with Symbol of Freedom so you have the lyrics to "Fact or fiction", a song questioning the reliability of the press and its manipulative nature. Good shit all around.

Life shrapnel     

Naked "Go for what?" live at the Feltham Football Club 29.7.1983

Before everyone overdoses on 90's punk, here is a choice live tape recorded in 1983 from one of the most underestimated British anarchopunk band, Naked. Granted, they picked a rather shitty name for their band, but apart from this tiny mistake (after all Chumbawamba made it, didn't they?), Naked probably penned some of the best punk-rock tunes I have ever heard. While I love the noisier and thrashier end of the punk spectrum (be it UK82 or anarcho), I also have a soft spot for cracking melody and cacthy, poppier tunes in my punk-rock. Now when I say poppy, I don't mean the utter crap that is called pop-punk and mostly comes from the other side of the pond since this is to be avoided like the fucking plague. I mean harmonious, almost delicate sounding tunes that are still anthemic enough to make a good punk song. The line is thin between unbearable cheesiness and Buzzcocks genius and few bands can pull it, but Naked is definitely one of them along with other favourites like Toxik Ephex, Lost Cherrees, Passion Killers and No Choice.

Actually, Naked only did the one record, an Ep on Bluurg Records (Dick Subhumans' label) called "One step forward towards reality". This is clearly a jewel in the anarcho world and I recommend reading the enthusiastic chapter dedicated to Naked in Glasper's "The day the country died". If the early anarchopunk scene was musically pretty varied, I guess the second wave of British punk was on the whole keener on playing faster and noisier songs and that explains why Naked stands out from the crowd. Far from GBH, Chaos UK or even Crass, Naked sounded more like an angst-ridden, intense first wave punk band than an early 80's one. For clarity's sake, let's say they were probably more into the Buzzcocks, the Newtown Neurotics, Charge and Eater than Flux of Pink Indians, Discharge and Vice Squad. But they only borrowed the Buzzcocks' tunefulness and song-writing skills as Naked's lyrics are definitely rooted in the anarchopunk world with songs about war, the rise of the right (the absolutely glorious "Mid 1930's pre-war Germany"), children abuse and social alienation.

As brilliant and effective in terms of sheer melody as the riffs are, as precise, diverse and always adequate as the drumming sound, it is the singer's voice that clearly sets Naked apart. I mean, he could actually sing in tunes, which was something quite unusual I suppose. His voice is very vibrant, deep, full of anger, frustration and melancholy but it doesn't sound depressive either, it is just a beautifully angry voice. I know that just sounds cheesy but you'll know what I mean when you give it a listen.

This live set was recorded in 1983 so it is pretty much Naked at the peek of their game and was released on tape by aforementioned Bluurg Records (Bluurg 32 to be accurate and a nerd) so you know the sound is good. Apart from the second and the third song that sound like shit (I am not sure if it is my tape and if the geezer holding the tape recorder somehow passed out during these two songs before someone else took over), the sound is fairly clear, meaning that you can hear everything, and Naked were apparently as intense, tuneful and, dare I say it, musical live as in the studio. The tape has songs from the early period of the band and even actually includes some songs that don't appear on the mandatory Naked retrospective cd "One step backward" that Overground Records released in 2007 (by the way, as much as I love what the label is doing, it would be even better if the lyrics, or at least some of them, were included, but anyway, I digress...), namely "Rabid feeling", "1984", "Suicidal state", "Pressure", "Can't win" and "Good old boy" (thinking about it, it is a shame these were never given the studio treatment). The song "Policeman" is actually a sped up version of the song "Brief encounter" from the first 1979 demo and the tape ends with Naked covering the Ramones' "Do you wanna dance?".

Top notch.

Go for what?

   

Urko / Chineapple Punx split Ep 1997

I like split Ep's. I think they are a great format, especially when the two bands don't sound alike but share a common punk spirit. This record is fine example of what a good split should be about. This was Inflammable Material's fifth release and in fact I don't think this label has ever put out one bad record. Although none of the two bands included here, Urko and Chineapple Punx, marked the history of punk-rock on a global scale, they certainly illustrate the variety of the 90's British punk scene and show that musical differences don't really matter. In the end, it's all good punk-rock.

Urko were from Boston (UK not US) a city that has had a couple of great bands and zines throughout the years. They actually did a couple of other very good records and morphed into a ragingly fast and angry hardcore outfit in their later years (powerviolence anyone?). This was their first record and possibly their crustier-sounding offering too. In "Armed with anger" the band says that they were originally influenced by Deathside, Swedish crust (think Tolshock, Scumbrigade, Skitsystem) and mid-90's Doom, so you are probably already getting an idea. To my ears however, the four tracks on this Ep are more reminiscent of Disrupt and Deformed Conscience as it has that 90's US crust sound. Ian Glasper suggests Septic Death as another point of comparison and I see what he means too. Anyway, this is fast, very pissed off, crusty hardcore-punk with two singers. The songs are short and quite hectic, not quite as heavy as full-on caveman crust but still heavier than the fast hardcore bands. The sound is pretty raw which gives the songs a real punk taste, something that the nasty, angry and confrontational lyrics but confirm. "Seven ways to die" (my fave) describes seven different methods of death penalties and it adequately reflects not only how horrible death penalty but also how vicious and cruel the people who administer it are. "Fuck your shit" is about prejudices against people who look "different". "Deadstock" is an attack against the new Woodstock festival and how it is just a bloody rip-off and "Consuming apathetics" points out the consumerism and materialism of modern society and how we "seem to occupy our days thinking of the goods that we can't afford to pay . Thinking of the lifestyle that we'll never ever need. Craving new commodities our balance cannot feed". Clever stuff and I can't agree more with that. Urko is the name of a general ape in "Planet of the apes" and a lot of the band's artwork toys with, well, mean-looking apes taking over human society. It must have had something to do with Boston as a brilliant zine of the town, Gadgie, was also obsessed with our hairy enemies.

Chineapple Punx were a much more old-school punk-rock affair who combined fun, good politics and vintage bouncy punk music. The Punx seemed to have that cheeky sense of humour typical of many British punk bands. They weren't quite ass silly as the Toy Dolls, as crazy as Doctor and the Crippens or as obnoxious as Peter and the Test Tube Babies, but the drawing of the Queen litterally shitting boneheads in her palace might give you a clue as where the laughs lie. Anyway, the band offers two songs. The first one, "Braindead" is of a mid-tempo nature, almost oi influenced really, somewhere between the Test Tubes, Uk Subs and Zero Tolerance. The second one is faster and has a Subhumans feel to it. I have to say the songs are rather lo-fi as the guitar is low in the mix but they still work thanks to added snot and tunes in the vocals that I really enjoy. The cover on Chineapple's side reflects the topics of these two songs: boneheads and aristocrats. "Braindead" is depicts how stupid and thick nazi skinheads are and I confess the line "I don't know which is uglier, your dog's arse or your face" had me laugh. "Parasite" is a priceless song encouraging to burn down the royal family's homes, also known as the parasites' nest, the Punx posing here as Rentokill employees.

Good shit indeed.

Urko / Chineapple Punx split Ep

Lardarse "Armchair apathy" Ep 1997

This record is probably one of the best crust Ep to come out of Britain in the 90's. As emphatic as this statement might read, this is actually true. Unfortunately, I have little information about Lardarse (terrible name by the way...). They were from Nottingham at a time when there were quite a few good punk bands, labels and gigs. This Ep was released by Weird Records, a label usually keener on putting out snotty punk-rock (Dogshit Sandwich, Pissed Mouthy Trollops, Red Flag 77, MDM...) than heavy crust-punk. I have no idea who Lardarse were. Was it just a young juvenile band that only did the one record and vanished? Or was it a side-project of some old-timers of the anarcho scene? Although the latter seems more likely, it doesn't really matter in the end, since either way this "Armchair apathy" Ep is just fantastic.

Musically, the band is the ultimate blend of early Doom (up until "The greatest invention") and Dirt. It is not as straight up as Doom since the songs are longer and have more complex structures (relatively speaking of course), but it is much heavier and harder-hitting than Dirt. So why the comparison then? Well, Lardarse's male singer sounds just like Jon Doom and the female singer could have won a Deno Dirt imitation contest. And it works perfectly. It has the impact and raw anger of Doom coupled with the snottiness and aggression of Dirt. And it is not all out fast all the time either as the faster parts blends with crushing mid-tempo moments that are not unlike Saw Throat. On the whole, the production is quite close to early (good) Doom recordings too, the bass and guitar sound are heavy, but in a dirty and yet flowing way, so that everything really shapes a groovy and cohesive whole. Imagine a more 80's inspired Jobbykrust with gruffier male vocals, some Sarcasm and Hiatus influences and this kind of 90's European crust energy. Or don't imagine anything and just give it a listen. It might be more practical.

Lyrically and aesthetically, Lardarse was definitely a political animal. On the backcover, a long quote from Proudhon about being governed sets the stage. The songs themselves are not really articulate rants, but instead they use very direct words, slang words even, to reflect the daily frustration and anger at the system. They are followed by more sophisticated explanations providing some socio-political context and Lardarse clearly gave some actual thought about their lyrics. The first one, "Slave", is also my favourite and as it is, yes you guessed it, an anti-work song. Not only does the song call the wage labour system by its real name - modern slavery - but it also calls for sabotage, solidarity and class actions in the workplace against "directors and unions (who) don't give a toss, it's your head on the line when they make a loss". "Blank" is about alcohol consumption and how us punks use it to forget the drudgery of life. It is one thing to have some fun but quite an other being a mess all the time and therefore as harmless and confused as the sytem wants us to be. "PR 24" is about a law that gives more power to the pigs with better weaponry, technology and overall more funds to them. Finally "Doomed youth" is a war song (well it is crust punk after all) that focuses on how capitalism fuels wars and how its wars are horrendous, horrendously horrendous even.

I really enjoy Lardarse's lyrics because they are straight-forward but smart. And the band wasn't without a sense of humour either as there is also a disclaimer included that says that the members of Lardarse all "hold down prosperous and secure jobs in the city" and "when Lardarse next come to your town, don't expect a nite of anarcho mayhem, just some sound honest financial advice". On a more serious tone, the band provided an address list of worthy organizations to support like the ABC, the IWW, Reclaim the Streets or the AFA.

Seriously, what's not to love with this record?      

Lardarse "Armchair apathy" Ep 1997

Coitus / The Losers split Ep 1993

Like the Substandard/Nerves record I reviewed a couple of days ago, this split is a good example of  the early 90's English scene, with a heavier band on one side, Coitus from London, and a more old-school punk-rock affair on the other with the Losers from Nottingham. And like the Substandard/Nerves split record, this geezer offers two oft overlooked but very enjoyable bands. This record was released by Fluffy Bunny Records, a label that also put out the excellent Decadent Few Ep in 1992, and it has one song from Coitus and two from the Losers.

Undeniably, Antisect is considered as a band that has had a big influence on many punk bands throughout the years. However, there aren't actually that many bands with a similar sound to them, especially their later metal period. Obvious answers could include early Extinction of Mankind and Nausea. Of course, SDS fit the category too but as much as I like them, I have always thought that they tried too hard and in the end failed to recreate the Antisect intensity. But Coitus made it, not through mimic (because it never really works that way), but by taking the Antisect sound in order to try it and reshape it. I like to think that if Antisect had kept playing in the 90's, they would have sounded something like Coitus and it is no coincidence that Antisect guitarist Lippy was involved with the recording of several Coitus songs. The song we have here is called "Unknown" and beside the Antisect influence, there is some heavy Celtic Frost worship as well along with a hint of early Hellbastard and Sodom. Coitus were a fantastic band that succeeded in making rocking heavy music (in a Motorhead sense)    while keeping it genuinely dirty, dark, threatening and angry, something that pretty much none of the  "Motorcrust/Motorcharged" bands can pull. Coitus epitomize what great metallic punk should be, which is punx playing filthy metal with guts and snot without being concerned with musical intertextuality, meaning it is pretty useless to try to fit references to "cool bands" into your songs.

Coitus also have a lot of personality in terms of aesthetics and lyrics. In fact, it is hard to guess what they are going to sound like if you only judge by the cover. They have a couple of cowboys/pirates-themed songs and they use the "desperados" imagery on a lot of their records. Lyrically, the songs dealt with daily life and how hard it is to cope with it, alienation, violence, and always with a touch of madness in the words. The meaning of "Unknown" is rather unclear but I think it is about the serial killer Ed Gein, who was into necrophilia, and how the media use these shock stories to excite people's baser instincts and make profit out of them. It is also about lust, this unknown, uncontrollabe drive to commit cruel acts. Not your usual antiwar rants, isn't it?

On the flip side, we have two songs from the Losers whose drummer was a German bloke who went on to play in Recharge. This is actually the only Losers' record, which is quite a shame because they did have an ear for catchy punk-rock. Far from the dark and deranged Coitus sound, the Losers play straight-up punk-rock with a heavy rhythm section and singalong chorus, not too dissimilar to what the Nerves or Sick on the Bus are doing actually. The two songs have great chorus that you are bound to remember and sing along to in no time, especially the song "Loser" which deals with, well, being a loser in everything, everywhere, all the time. The second song, "I don't wanna live", can be seen as a possible consequence of being a loser: killing yourself. Yet someone else who can't stand the pressure, the pressure of life, he's just had enough and he's sorry! Perfect tunes to wake up to or play on a friday night if you ask me.

Both bands have cd discography available. Epistrophy released the Losers discography quite a while ago but it can be found for cheap and it includes these two tracks as well as demos and lives. A double-cd discography of Coitus was released two years ago by Irish label Underground Movement. It should still be available and it is a proper mandatory record.

Losers' Coitus

Substandard / Nerves split Ep 1994

I got this record for a mere 2 euros a couple of years ago. It seems the distro had had it for years and basically wanted to get rid of it. Now, record collectors are an odd bunch. They can spend insane amounts of money on any trendy Japanese or Scandinavian band that have nothing of interest to say and purposely play derivative and referential music, and yet they can completely ignore and discard a cracking record like this one. Oh well, that's more good punk-rock for me I suppose.

This split is just furious and, for lack of a more civilised term, punk as fuck. Be warned though: it's not the "punk as fuck" from fancy "raw punk" or "noisepunk" I am talking about, with all their cheesy bullet belts, studs, flatly overdone distorsions and corny references to Chaos UK/Confuse/Disorder/whatever band MRR is suddenly into now. Here we have six songs of genuinely pissed off punk-rock, Substandard being fast and whirlwind-like, while Nerves relie more on tunefulness and catchy, but still beefy, punk-rock riffs. This Ep was released on Inflammable Material, a label created by Substandard's singer, Jules and Mike from Decadent Few (another overlooked band if there is one) that would go on to offer the world other great records of Coitus, Urko, Kuru, and in later years Constant State of Terror and Permaculture.

Despite many worthy competitors, Substandard could very well be the most underrated British hardcore-punk band ever. In fact, I have just seen that the excellent German distro and label Ruin Nation, that had issued the Substandard discography in the first place, is offering aforementioned Lp for 5 euros. Anyway, enough bitterness already. Substandard were an anarchopunk band from Nottingham who were active throughout the 90's. This is actually both bands' first vinyl appearance and it is an impressive first time indeed. Substandard played fast and powerful harcore-punk influenced by Antisect, Anti-System, AOA, some Conflict and One Way System as well. The band had two different singers, just like Antisect and Anti-System (actually the arrangement of the vocals is not dissimilar to the first side of "Peace is better than a place in history" and Dirge or Insurrection), one with a lower voice, the other snottier and higher-pitched and they perfectly complement each other, especially with the inclusion of spoken parts. The fury unleashed in Substandard's three songs is just unbelievable, the pace is frantic and pummelling, there are some great guitar leads, the sound is raw but powerful and the whole band sound like they are on the edge of rioting. And more importantly, there is a definite Substandard sound, in the sense that you can't possibly confuse them with another band. Even though you can identify the bands they love, they manage to create a sound of their own. Lyrically, this is as angry as you can get. The first song "Rostock" was actually written by Bjorn from Recharge and the Losers (more on the latter in the next post) and deal with the series of criminal fires that targeted immigrants' homes in Germany, notably in Rostock (French band Heyoka also had a song about those tragic events); then "Discount" is about shopping at Aldi and eating shitty food because you can't afford any better (the title is actually a pisstake out of some of the most unoriginal d-beat bands like Disgust); finally, "Two nations - Panic stations" is a spit at the face of the Criminal Justice Bill that was aimed at political activists and implemented heavier prison sentences and overall repression. Three songs and five minutes of unadulterated rage.

On the flipside, you have Nerves from Leicester, a town that also gave birth to the excellent Sarcasm and Wankys. From what I read in "Armed with anger" (both bands are interviewed in it), Nerves are supposed to sound like the New Bomb Turks and to be fair, I don't really know the NBT so I cannot really comment on the comparison. To my ears, Nerves played punchy and catchy punk-rock with great chorus. The rythmic section is mostly in the "fast" position, the sound is rather clear but keeps a raw edge that enhances the intensity of the songs. I really like the vocal delivery as well, angry-sounding but with some tunes you can sing along to. Though, Nerves are nothing really special in terms of originality and musicianship, they effortlessly achieve to pen three simple, powerful and anthemic punk-songs (they actually remind me a little of early Broken for that). Take some vintage UK bands like the English Dogs, Picture Frame Seduction or Abrasive Wheels, add some Poison Idea for the extra heaviness and some Slum Gang for the great tunes and you'll get an idea. Nevres did another Ep but unfortunately, it wasn't as effective as this one. Oh well, beginners' luck maybe? On the lyrical front, Nerves sing about not being able to handle the pressure of life (alcohol anyone?), people with oppressive egos and fake punks.

So if you happen to see this record in a two euro bin, please, do the right thing.

Substandard vs Nerves