Antisect and Nausea live upgrades

- Antisect / Sacrilege - live at the Mermaid, Birmingham, 5.4.1986 (here)

- Jesus Chrust / The Apostates / Nausea - live at Gilman Street, Berkeley, 1990 (here)

And more upgrades!

 Top notch FLAC or WAV versions of the following can now be downloaded:

- The Next World "Branded" Ep 1988 (here)
- Arrogance demo 1987 (here)
- Life Cycle "The weight of tradition" 12" 1989 (here)
- Dreadful demo 1988 (here)
- Zealot demo (here)
- "No frontiers" compilation Ep 1989 (here)
- "Hiatus: the Peaceville sampler" compilation Lp 1988 (here)
- Axegrinder "Still grinding enemies" cd + "The squat tape" demo 1988 (here)
- Atavistic "From within" demo 1986 (here)
- Concrete Sox "Lunched out" Ep 1990 (here)
- Heavy Discipline "Liberation of economics" Ep 1987 (here)
- Haywire "Blood money" demo 1988 + "Freedom?" demo 1990 (here)
- Civilised Society? / Deviated Instinct live in Bradford, 6.3.87 + Rhetoric live in Yarmouth, 11.2.88 (here)

More upgrades!

FLAC or WAV versions of the following recordings are now available and have replaced the old mp3's. Since they are heavier formats, I have sometimes divided the files into two (for instance, the Debauchery Lp has one file for each side).

- Debauchery "The ice" Lp 1989 (here)
- Slander "Politicians cause it" demo 1992 (here)
- Decontrol "Thunk!" demo 1991 (here)
- Chaotic Subversion / The Disturbed split tape (here)
- Agonie "S/t" demo 2006 (here)
- Domination Factor "Dominated til' death" demo 1987 + live at the Mermaid, 1987 (here)

Sacrifice "S/t" demo 2000's

Brace yourself, here is a demo from an obscure Japanese band. Now, if it doesn't get me hundreds of downloads by the end of the day, I don't know what will.

I have had a troubled relationship with Japanese punk for a few years now. On the one hand, I find there are many worthy bands there and indeed I have a genuine fondness for some Japanese bands (SDS and Zoe for instance). On the other hand, I have also noticed a lot of bands are hyped to death, highly revered and sought after, not on their merits but because they hail from Japan. Don't get me wrong. I highly doubt most  of these bands even realize they are being idolized. Such behaviour has more to with the geeky fanboy mentality so prevalent in some circles than with the actual quality of the music. Nonetheless, there is still this propensity to acclaim Japanese punk records (it is sadly often more about records than music at the end of the day) on the face of it. Thank fuck there is no such thing as Japanese punk cosplay.

But back to this demo. I tried to find some background information about Sacrifice but to no avail. Apparently, the demo was recorded at Otoya studio but that's pretty much it. No date either. It has to be said that most of the words in the insert are in Japanese so a lot of it is unfortunately lost on me. I initially bought this demo because the name of the band, Sacrifice, and the aesthetics of the cover drove me to think that it could be a Sacrilege-inspired band, which it isn't in the least. You always learn, don't you?

Sacrifice has this distinct Japanese punk sound that so many of us are suckers for. It is fast, energetic, the drums pummel, the guitar distorts and the bass buzzes. There are these typical rolls pioneered on that side of the world by Confuse but the pace mostly beats the D in a fast and furious fashion. It is not quite as distorsion-drenched as bands like Defector or Framtid and the vocals are not as yelled. While Sacrifice still has one foot firmly in the crasher-crust camp, a more 90's Japanese hardcore is also present, especially in the singer's flow and the overall punch of the recording. The sound is great for a demo and the lyrics are in Japanese (apart from the songs' titles, oddly enough) which is something that I appreciate in spite of the lack of translations. Judging from the artwork (there is a drawing of Bush with, hopefully, some Japanese insults over him), all the fuss is about disarmament, the disrespect of human life and the filthy power of money.

For all I know, Sacrifice could have been some sort of all-star band or on the contrary some very local band whose members vanish into punk obscurity afterwards. Any complementary information is welcome!

Sacrifice!

     

Senile Decay and Jesusexercise upgraded

As promised, I have started to upgrade the files to FLAC or WAV for a better listening experience. The first two old posts to get the treatment are the Senile Decay/Canol Caled split Ep (here) and the Jesusexercise Ep (here).

Crust or what?

Icons of Filth "Show us you care" Ep 1999

2012 has confirmed that a certain brand of 80's UK anarchopunk was back in style. Suddenly, bands like Rubella Ballet, Lost Cherrees or Internal Autonomy got to be appealing again. While I love these bands to death, I can't help thinking that it is just another trend and the renewed interest in them is both amusing and a bit shallow. Considerations such as this one notwithstanding, will 2013 bring us a revival of the harder-hitting fringe of the anarcho movement? Will the learned punks from Portland or Barcelona be starting bands that sound like Conflict, AOA or Anti-System? Or, indeed, like Icons of Filth?

A few years ago, I remember having a conversation with an older punk, the kind that saw the Subhumans in 1984. He told me that at the time, he didn't rate Flux of Pink Indians and Icons of Filth that much. To him, Flux sounded too much like Crass and the Icons were just Conflict wannabees. Harsh probably, but I can see where he was coming from. After all, Conflict and Icons of Filth were close and they played with each other very often (without mentioning the fact that Mortarhate released no less than five Icons records). There are, however, significant differences between both bands. First, Stig's distinctive vocals made the band's sound very special. Not really spoken but not totally shouted either, his voice shaped the Icons' identity and you can actually understand what he is talking about despite the aggression of the music. Second, Icons of Filth were, mostly, heavier, faster and darker than Conflict. Finally, the artwork that they used was more twisted, intricate and gloomier than the outward revolutionary imagery that Conflict adopted. In fact, it could be argued  Icons of Filth are remembered for their striking aesthetics (courtesy of Squeal and even Blinko) as much as the are for their actual sound.

 

The "Show us you care" Ep was released in 1999, a few years before Icons of Filth reformed. It was a joint release between BBP records and Yellow Fever. As we learn from a small card placed inside the record sleeve, Yellow Fever was started by a member of BBP and this Ep was its first release. The label went on to release two subsequent records (the Diaspora Lp and the Bug Central Ep). BBP, on the other hand, began in the 80's and released 94 tapes (the Nausea / Jesus Chrust / Apostates tape was a BBP release), 8 "proper" records and distributed hundreds of great punk tapes. Sadly, the founder of BBP died last month but his distro and label are testimonies to the undying spirit of DIY punk-rock.

As you may have guessed, "Show us you care" is a live Ep, recorded in March, 1984 and re-mastered by none other than Sned from Flat Earth records. The artwork was made by Squeal who drew most of the Icons' artwork back in the days, so although this Ep was released 14 years after "The filth and the fury" (1985), you still have the feeling that it is a proper Icons of Filth record, an actual follow-up. What I mean to say is: it looks great! Even the two ads from the labels were printed on nice, thick paper and displayed some beautiful artwork. The large drawing of the skull was later used for the cover of "Nostradamnedus", albeit in a coloured version. The Ep cover has the famous Icons of Filth anarcho logo drawn as either a church stained-glass window or as some ancient mosaics. Could it be a comment about the stagnation of a punk scene so prone to idolize and almost deify old bands? Or on the contrary, could it be a tribute to a band that belonged in the past (they still did in 1999!), thus making the mosaics/stained-glass a reflection of the band's reflexivity?

But enough blabbering already. There are six songs on this record: "Virus" and "Asking too much" that appear on the "Used abused unamused" Ep, while the other four ("Power for power", "Self-styled superiority", "Mentally murdered" and "Show us you care") are from the "Onward Christian soldiers" Lp which was the band's latest release at the time (the "Brain death" Ep was recorded in October of the same year). You have the full Icons of Filth experience here, with both fast and mid-paced songs. The sound quality is good considering the recording conditions and you can tell that the band's performance must have been intense indeed. If you are unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with Icons of Filth, imagine a cross between the anger of "Increase the pressure"-era Conflict, the heaviness and despair of "All systems go"-era One Way System and the extraordinary of Discharge (pre-hair metal period, that goes without saying).

Lyrically, Icons of Filth were at least as remarkable as they were visually and sonically. They were a direct band, not messing around with metaphors. They were pissed and threatening and although some of their lyrics reflect a sense of hopelessness before the system's power, they always remain defiant and combative. "Mentally murdered" and "Virus" are about the social conditioning, the alienation imposed on people so that they fit in, as "slaves to other people's expectations": soldiers, workers, parents, decent church-going and law-abiding citizens. "Asking too much?" tackles the same issue but from the different perspective of a kid who has to put up with the madness of his parents, his teacher, the heads of state and sees the world going mental and heading toward its imminent self-inflicted destruction. "Self-styled superiority" is about the arrogance of Man, obsessed with the domination of others. "Power for power" is a song against nuclear power and has the brilliant line "you're better active today than radioactive tomorrow". Finally, "Show us you care" is an anti-vivisection song written from the point of view of an animal that has been experimented on and calls for help.

Fantastic songs from one of the most crucial anarchopunk bands ever.    

Show us you care!             

Task Force "Fresh air" Ep 2011

Task Force were a little-known band from Stanley, County Durham, a mining town in the North of England. They formed in 1982, split up in 1984, recorded three demos and had the one track on an obscure local benefit compilation Ep called "Rock and dole". Hardly the high-profile band. However, the band penned a couple of absolutely cracking tunes during their short existence and it is a shame they didn't get to record a proper Ep of their own.

If we are to believe the biography of the band that appears on the backcover, the scene in the Durham area at the time was far more chaotic, violent and disorganized than it would be a couple of years later and one may even venture that the band's environment didn't exactly help them. Although the lyrics are not included (this always baffles me, but a lot of current reissues don't have lyrics as if labels didn't deem them important enough, but I digress...), the band seemed to sing about political issues such as the Falklands war (the name "Task Force" actually refers to this war), the army, living in a society that doesn't give a damn about working-class youth or the Cold War. The band also illustrates how the boundary between the anarchopunk scene and the "Burning Britain" one (the second wave basically) was very thin sometimes, as the Task Force lads met at a CND rally and did send their demo to Crass in order to be included on Bullshit Detector (it never materialized though) but also played with bands such as Uproar.

Originally, Task Force were called "Crack in the Brickwork" (you can find a rehearsal demo of the band under this moniker on the always excellent Terminal Escape) and they played a brand of punk that had more to do with the first wave than the second. Task Force had this unmistakable 1977 tunefulness and I am sometimes even reminded of the Ulster bands of that era, albeit with a slightly darker edge to it. The voice is very clear and melodic, the chorus are glorious and there are some excellent catchy guitar leads which makes Task Force's songs some of the best old-school punk-rock tunes from the second wave that I have heard. Think Chron Gen, Naked, Emergency, Toxik Ephex or No Choice.

Unfortunately, the sound is not so good at times. The Ep includes two tracks from the first demo and three from the second and you can hear that the master tape has had a rough life. Don't let this mere incident distract you from the classic slices of punk-rock tunes that you will find on this record however. It was released on Rave up records, a prolific Italian label that I know nothing about but I am guessing they mostly released local old-school punk-rock.

Fresh air

Some changes to the files

Hallo there.
After an informative chat about file formats on a message board, I have decided to upgrade the music files of Terminal Sound Nuisance. I will shift from average mp3's to fancier (though heavier) files. Not only will all the next recordings be in a better file format (flac possibly), but I will also try to do the same with those that have already been posted. Unfortunately, I haven't kept all the audacity files (I encoded the tapes years ago) so it is bound to be a time-consuming, but worthwhile, process which accounts for me not posting anything for the past ten days. Hopefully, I will have the time to re-encode everything before the end of the month.

"A Vile Peace" compilation Lp 1987

However hard it is to believe now, Peaceville used to be a DIY punk label anchored in anarchopunk politics. "A Vile Peace" is refered to as "Vile 1" on the jacket although it is not the first Peaceville record since the "Will evil win?" compilation flexi, the Deviated Instinct Ep and the first Atavistic Ep were all released prior to it albeit during the same year of 1987. The name of the compilation has a political meaning and reflects the record's antiwar theme. On the backcover, in addition to a gruesome picture of a dead hero, there is an almost exhaustive list of all the major military conflicts and interventions that took place between 1945 and 1987. At that time, Europe was celebrating a supposedly forty year peace, which was extremely cynical to say the least when one considers the number of wars European powers engaged in during that time period. Interestingly enough this myth is still very much alive today (the EU did get the Peace Prize for that...), as if the wars being fought outside Europe didn't count as real wars with real people dying in it. "Peace is at hand. A Vile Peace. Peaceville."

That Peaceville started out as an anarcho label (it was originally a DIY tape label that Hammy used to make tapes of the band he played in during the early 80's, namely the Instigators) can also be seen in the bands' selection on the compilation. Apart from Dark Crusade who were an all-out metal band, all the bands were essentially punk bands and had something to say. It might just be an impression but I feel sometimes the connection between anarchopunk and crust is downplayed or even ignored. Let's not forget that members of Axegrinder used to play in Stone the Crowz, that Deviated Instinct's first demo was an ambitious, if a little cheesy, anarchopunk recording or that Scruff from Hellbastard played at some point in the Apostles. This link between these two moments in British punk history is epitomized by the presence of a poppy Chumbawamba song on this comp. But let's talk about the music, shall we?

The first song is the famous Axegrinder's "Slayer song": "Where evil dwells". I have already written that I don't think it sounds like Slayer but I have to admit that they could have done without that fast part in the middle that just comes out messy and anticlimactic. The band explains in "Trapped in a scene" that they had rushed through the recording of the song at the time in order to be included on this record which accounts for the song's flaws. This said, I really love the song and it stands for a transitional period in Axegrinder's life. It is a heavy, raw, dark, mid-paced number with a great riff, smart drumming and a perfect gloomy intro. Classic crust indeed. To be noted that Effigy had a song with the same name on their split with Hellshock, but then they were no strangers to borrowing ideas, riffs or even songs (Bathory and Antisect anyone?). "Where evil dwells" is anti-religion song that uses gory and macabre images to stress the manipulative, blackmailing, evil nature of the Church. There is a short and sharp explanation from the band that poetically ends with "Fuck your religion". Axegrinder were not deprived of a sense of humour either as they claim the song was "recorded in London, mixed in New York, produced in Sweden, practiced in Leyton and sent to Hammy in Yorkshire". Who said globalization didn't work?

Next is Decadence Within and their brand of hardcore crossover. I never really got into their later stuff. Too American-sounding for me I guess. However, DW always had good and genuine lyrics and this one is no exception as "Crushing of the intellect" is about alienation and how we are content to live as unquestioning sheep.

Feed Your Head's "ABC" is the next song and while I always thought of Feed Your Head as a band primarily influenced by US hardcore, this song made me dig deeper and I really like what I found. In fact, "ABC" reminds me a little of Paranoid Visions or Terminus with its folk influence and its dark tunefulness and is bound to please any old anarchopunk lover. The lyrics are pretty smart as well and deal with social conditioning at school and the lies of a perfectly ordered world that we are told whereas dystopia is what we are getting.

Three songs of the Hippies are next on the menu. This was the more hardcore period of Electro Hippies, before the massive "The only good punk" Lp. Three (very) fast and loud numbers about madness and vivisection. I imagine the metal artwork complete with a sloppily drawn devil was meant to be a joke (let's be optimistic).

The next band is Bedlam and I must confess that I know next to nothing about them. Apparently, this was their sole vinyl appearance and I have never heard of a Bedlam demo either. The name "Bedlam" was originally used to refer to an old London hospital specialized in "treating" mentally ill patients in the 15th century. By way of association, it became synonym with madness and chaos and thus a word fit for punk-rock (Pleasant Valley Children and Antisect had songs entitled "Bedlam"). Sonically, Bedlam owes as much to the UK as to the US. I can hear a late Anti-System influence, as well as some Anihilated and Concrete Sox, but the vocals and some breaks are definitely of the American hardcore persuasion. The sound is quite raw indeed and it is sufficiently angry and energetic to keep me interested. Cool lyrics about a global uprising against world oppressors. I will drink to that!

Chumbawamba are next and they hardly need an introduction. They were one of the most formidable anarchopunk band before selling their souls to the enemy, aka EMI. As much as I find this move saddening, still early Chumba is not only original, but smart punk-rock (well, let's stick with a generic term like "music") that will make you question and subvert things. This song is a sarcastic take on armchair revolutionaries who dictate what shoud be done, where, when and how while they sit on their arses in the comfort of their home. This is NOT a punk-rock song in the musical sense of the term, more like a pop song really which could be seen as heralding a radical change in Chumba's creative production. In the context of "A vile peace", it is a breath of fresh air in the midst of all this stench.

Civilised Society? are next in line, a band Hammy was singing for at the time. I have already declared my love for CS? so there is no need to write another ode. Here we have a dub version of "Treedoom", a song about ecology that appears on CS?'s second Lp, "Violence sucks!". This is a great song and while I cannot really say that the dub treatment enhances its qualities, neither does it spoil them. More drums and bass, but less guitar. It loses its earthy feel but the rhythm section benefits from it. I guess if Antisect and Chumba had conceived a baby while high on drugs it could have resulted in a song like this one.

The last song of the first side of "A Vile Peace" is an epic stormer by Rest In Pain who didn't hesitate to borrow a couple of riffs from Hellhammer. Unfortunately, I know nothing about Rest In Pain apart from their location - they were from Bath, near Bristol - and their obsession with Tom G. Warrior. "How the mighty have fallen" is the longest song on the compilation and it is perfect choice to end the A side. One could venture that Rest In Pain were far ahead of their time when one considers the vast numbers of bands who have been openly ripping off Frost or Hellhammer for the past five years. The song has a distinct early crust sound and production which brings to mind the rocking power of Amebix or late Antisect. To me, this song is a winner and it has a great drawing from Jeff Gaither depicting a seriously zombified priest that goes well with the apocalyptic lyrics.

The B side doesn't start as well as the A one had finished. In fact, it starts with two songs of Dark Crusade and, well, I love early crust and the bands influenced by that wave, but that's just cheap thrash metal. Sorry lads.

After that much metal, I am pleased to announce that Visions of Change are next. Energetic, powerful and positive, melodic hardcore punk. Their song, "More than now", is anthemic, has infectious chrorus for added value and the singer can actually sing. Visions of Change were really Depraved under another name and I see them in the same light as I do Leatherface or Snuff, bands that take the American tunefulness and song-writing and give it the British treatment. Great Native American inspired artwork on this one as well.

Atavistic takes over with one of their best songs: "Maelstrom". This number is the perfect bridge between their fast as fuck hardcore early period and their heavier one. It starts with a classic, synth-driven, atmospheric crust intro that gives Sacrilege, Amebix and Axegrinder a run for their money with its heavy riff and drumming. Then, we have thrashy punk in vintage Atavistic style and after a short, faster transition, all hell breaks loose, lightning fast grinding hardcore hits you in the face. Quite a ride indeed. As usual with Atavistic - who were England's own "intellectual punks" (HHH reference, wink wink) - the lyrics are very good, though more obscure and metaphysical than their earlier stuff. Man's relation to nature and time is the subject of Atavistic's meditation, as well as the ephemeral vision of total freedom of the mind. Did I mention the song is fast?

Next are Insurrection from Guernsey with a track that was taken from their first 1986 demo. While their Lp could be described as the bastard child of Chaos UK and Extreme Noise Terror, their early sound was more akin to the second wave of British punk-rock. If you add a sprinkle of hardcore on the Actives or early Revulsion, you would a similar-tasting cake. But enough comparisons already, this is snotty, fast, straight-up punk-rock with anarcho leanings as the lyrics about multinational corporations and the artwork suggest. Odd that in a time when so many bands seem to worship at the altar of Chaos UK and Disorder, bands like Dirge, Ad'Nauseam or indeed Insurrection are seldom quoted as influences...

"Relief" and "Slave to convention" by the almighty Doom follow. This was Doom in its earliest and sloppiest incarnation. If you listen closely to the distorsion and the drumming, it is actually closer to a gruffier Chaos UK than Discharge (or Discard, the main influence behind it all). The two songs have this unmistakably youthful punk spontaneity that we all love so much.

Next is "Rock'n'roll conformity" by Deviated Instinct in a version that is much superior to the Lp's. It was recorded in 1987 and was part of the third demo, many tracks of which ended up on subsequent compilations. I think it is my favourite 80's DI recording. The sound is thick, chunky, groovy and it has a filthy  and snotty vibe, something the Lp greatly missed. This song is about the capitalistic cock-rock circus, about the rockstar system, and how it can deprive one of the ability to think critically. After all, in these big rock shows, we are only expected to applaude sheepishly, get our lighters out and "rock hard". Great artwork as usual depicting a zombie, dressed like Bon Jovi in his prime, pulling the rock'n'roll strings.

Sore Throat is a bit of a Marmite band: you either love them or hate them. I, for one, am definitely in the first category. For this compilation, Sore Throat gave almost three minutes of noisy bollocks entitled "Only the dead know the end of the war". It oscillates between cavemen grindcore, neanderthal crust or just noise for the sake of it. There is a strange background noise that could be a grunt repeated endlessly but I am not quite sure. Amazing artwork here, maybe my favourite of the bunch, with a WW1 soldier waking up from the dead and skull-shaped nuclear explosion.

Next are Revulsion, a criminally underrated band from Norwich. Their song "Another bloody war" must have been recorded during the same session as their two songs from the "Consolidation" Ep. It has awesome, tuneful and epic guitar leads that give the Revulsion sound another dimension. In addition to vintage Conflict (think "Increase the pressure") and other 80's snotty anarcho bands like Symbol of Freedom or early Anti-System, I am reminded a bit of 90's anarcho band like A//Political and Counter-Attack with a healthy spoonful of Partisans and early Varukers. And yet Revulsion are totally unique as I can spot them in a heartbeat. Top band.

Dawn of Liberty is the only non-British (gasp) band included on "A Vile Peace" as they were actually from Belgium. They were an anarchopunk band active in the late 80's and beside a very good Ep, they also appeared on such great compilations as "Attack is now suicide" (alongside Asocial, Extrem or Deviated Instinct) and "Exclusion" (a feminist comp including Active Minds, Atavistic and The Ex among others). Though not locals, Dawn of Liberty lied sonically on the British side of thing. They played fast and angry hardcore punk with quieter mid-paced moments that bring to mind early Bad Influence, AOA or Legion of Parasites. The present song "Autonomia" is nothing less than a call for direct action.

Last but certainly not least are Hellbastard. I haven't posted anything from them so far so here is a good opportunity to do so. I am sure most of you have already heard about these crust pioneers who actually coined the term "crust". The song we are dealing with here is "Civilised?", taken from the band's second demo "Hate militia" recorded in 1987. The recording is raw indeed and it is everything you can expect from an old Hellbastard song: chunky riffs, heavy guitar, pummelling drums and gruffy vocals. I really like the HB's songs that have the spoken words done by Wendy and "Civilised?" is one of them. Lyrically, the song is about colonization and the theft of land and resources that Native people have had to endure.    

A Vile Peace

Debris "Attrition" Ep 1999

Newly-formed bands and the labels promoting them often rely on the "ex-members of" presentation in order to attract attention. While it is always nice to see that punk inspiration doesn't end when a band splits and that people keep playing music, it is also a bit ridiculous when bands get all the attention because they happen to have elite level "ex-members of" among their ranks. Sometimes, having a couple of "ex-members of" is enough to ensure you a tour, one or two albums that will be bought by the cream of the crop and fancy shirts. It would be pointless and childish to point my vengeful finger at anyone, but let's just say that a mediocre d-beat band remains mediocre even when hardcore heroes play in it or release it.

Fortunately for you and I, Debris is not one of these bands. Despite the fact they had ex-members of Disaffect, Scatha, Ebola and Quarantine, you can find all their records for half the price of just one Disclose Ep. Ain't life great?

Debris was a Scottish band active in the late 90's and early 2000's which emerged from the same scene that cradled the Disaffect/Sedition/Scatha pagan trinity. [Let's have a really geeky moment. I can't decide which one of the three I like the most. I have actually given some thought about it but can't come to a conclusion. Do you care? I guess not.] After Debris' demise, Neil, the singer, and the band's two guitar players, Andy and Brian, formed Ruin along with Stick from Doom.

This Ep was released in 1999 on Maximum Voice Production, a German label specialized in heavy hardcore music indeed since they also put out records for Dystopia, Sharpeville, Disaffect and Jobbykrust. After that Ep, Debris did one Lp on Panoptic Vision (Neil's own record label that also released the Disaffect discography, the last Tolshock Ep and the Scatha/Dagda split Ep. The man has great tastes) and recorded some other tracks that appeared on compilations after the band split up.

Musically, it is not irrelevant to see Debris as a meaningful continuation of what the Disaffect/Sedition/Scatha crew started. It is not a cheap copy at all, but you can definitely hear that the guitar player was also in Scatha (and that's definitely a compliment). It has this similarly dark, intricate and intense vibe, but it is also punkier (well, less metallic and crusty shall we say). The pace is mostly mid-tempo and I can't help thinking that if Scatha had covered Icons of Filth, or even One Way System, songs, it wouldn't have sounded too far from Debris. The vocals are absolutely outstanding, Neil's voice is deep and sounds adequately angry and desperate, a bit like Ste's from Extinction of Mankind or the bloke who sang in the short-lived Bomb Heaven. The addition of a second vocalist on some parts brings us some great Quarantine moments as well and overall, the four songs don't sound alike and have enough hooks and tunes, while remaining heavy and raw, to be really memorable.

Lyrically, Debris is far above the average. I don't mean to be too harsh on the numerous authors of haikus about nuclear wars, but whoever wrote these lyrics clearly spent more time thinking about the system of alienation we are all entangled in than choosing a name in "dis" that hasn't been already taken. "See the reality" is a song about how we create our own slavery with the creation of profit from our own labour. This profit is created according to envy and greed and not according to need. The song emphasizes the self-control, self-policing that is encouraged to keep us chained to consumerism and the production of goods and makes a parallel between the panopticon and our current political and economic system. "Enlightened age" tackled the difficult subject of child abuse and instead of calling for lynching mobs, focuses on the contradictory feelings that the survivors will be faced with. "My friend" is about friendship and betrayal, pain and suffering. Finally, "Debris" is an original animal-rights song (is that an oxymoron?) that puts an emphasis on the disembodiment of animals and humans alike, a litteral absence of flesh that signifies the growing riches of cannibalistic doctors.

In addition to the lyrics, a long text which could be seen as the lyrics' explanation is included. It deals with the panopticon, the perfect surveillance system, the perfect prison and the constant gaze, the constant supervision and control that such a concept entails. The text is fairly long but it is extremely interesting and sound as it ties several apparently disconnected subjects together such as the social reproduction of class injustices, child abuse, animal exploitation and the internalization of social codes and how we are even conned into strengthening the grip that the powers that be already have upon us. Really top notch anarchopunk we are dealing with here, like a more mature re-writing of old Icons of Filth songs. The Lp is just as good, a bit more polished in terms of sound, but just as smart and angry in terms of content.                

Debris