Summer comps not summer camps (part 2): "Who? What? Why? When? Where?" compilation Lp, 1984

As one Steve Lake once put it, you can't cheat karma. 

Last week I received my copy of the Instinct of Survival/Asocial Terror Fabrication split Lp, a hot new record I had been dreaming about for months (so much so in fact that I was checking the website of Doomed to Extinction pretty much on a daily basis, just to be sure I would not miss it). My hands were shaking slightly with anticipation when I put the record on the turntable and pressed the button. I was expecting, or rather I was begging to be blown away by a healthy slice of proper old-school crust, I wanted this record to be a crunchy and solid work in and of itself as well as a prime example of smart referentiality, of crust reflexivity. And this record might very well do that but I would not know... The sad truth is that when I pressed the "on" button on my turntable, it did not turn at all. After thirty minutes of grumblings and mutterings (the national sport in France), I came to the realization that my faithful turntable was broken and momentarily useless. The irony that it ceased to work precisely when I was on the verge of playing a record I had been waiting for months did not escape me and I am still hopelessly wondering why the gods of punk would do that to such a reliable servant as myself. 

That my turntable is on its arse also impacts Terminal Sound Nuisance since I will not be able to complete this series of compilation in due time, and let's face it the joke does not work as well with "winter camps" (the images it conjures up are a bit grimmer...). Unfortunately, I did not think of ripping all the compilations before. However, the second part was ready so that is what you get for today. And summer is almost over anyway. Maybe I will work on some 90's tapes until I get the turntable repaired but only time will tell. It would be also be wise to sacrifice an unplayed Discharge record to appease the gods of punk and restore balance.

That I would one day eventually write about a Mortarhate compilation was, not unlike the apocalypse in every crust song, inevitable. People can gossip about Conflict and their doings all they like, the fact is that the band's labels, Mortarhate and Fight Back, released some crucial anarchopunk records between 1983 and 1986 at a time when the UK punk-rock scene as a whole was starting to recede. Of course, the popularity of Conflict at the time certainly helped the bands that Mortarhate also put out as much as it may have overshadowed them (some great bands like Icons of Filth or Exit-Stance remain to this day tagged as "Conflict's touring partners"). I first came across the Mortarhate roster through the Compilation of Deleted Dialogues double cd that included 14 of the early Ep's of the label. It was a great introduction and a mate of mine had an original copy of Who? What? Why? When? Where? which he bought for a fiver in the early 00's. He often played the Lp when we drank at his place so that it has become a bit of an iconic record for me. I guess that I feel two levels of appreciation for this Lp. One that is very naive and spontaneous and youthful, reminiscent of a time when we did not have many records or information about punk bands but the ones we did have, we knew by heart and listened to constantly, and when I casually listen to the comp now, I have recollections of these days and how we related to music. The other appreciation is much more analytical and argumentative and tied to how I listen to punk music now and how I look at bands, in this case bands I know very well and can easily contextualize. I sometimes miss the much more direct and instant approach I once had, but knowledge and habit curve and polish one's enthusiasm and turns it into meaningful passion. Right?

Who? What? Why? When? Where? was released in March, 1984 and I have no idea if the title was a nod toward The Weirdos from LA (it would be a stretch but why not after all) whose first album from 1979 bore the same name. It was Mortarhate's fourth vinyl record (only preceded by Conflict, Lost Cherrees and Hagar the Womb's) and first compilation, and along with the subsequent ones, We won't Be your Fucking Poor and We don't Want your Fucking War!, it rates as one of the best anarcho compilations ever released. This is a blunt statement but even a quick look at the lineup confirms it with a balanced mix of classic bands like Poison Girls, Conflict or Icons of Filth (although it must be pointed out that the latter as well as many other "classic bands" on the Lp were still in their infancy at the time and not yet canonized), lesser known gems like Vex or The Mad Are Sane and obscure bands that no one knows anything about like Know the Drill or Stigma. And that is exactly what I love about old compilations, that blend of established bands and anecdotal ones that made sense at that time, in that place. Who? What? Why? When? Where? is pretty much an "all killers, no fillers" and it is a rather diverse listen highlighting different paces, moods and intents and maybe the ideal introduction to someone who is clueless about anarchopunk. Of course, it is an 80's UK punk compilation with all that entails in terms of style and sound but it is also undeniably more varied than Riot City or No Future compilations. There are 18 bands on the Lp, some of them not really needing an introduction so let's get to it.

Conflict open the record with one of the most powerful song "Cruise". Someone once told me that when they formed, Conflict wanted to take Discharge ferocity and infuse it with the aggression of Crass (or the other way round, it also works). I suppose that this song can be summarized as such. Think what you like about Conflict, but in 1984 they sounded unstoppable and were penning one anthem after another. The way "Cruise" kicks in still sends shivers down my spine and the strong narrative quality of the songwriting is visible in just two minutes. Urgent, outraged and even emotional punk. What we gonna be doin now it's 1984? 

Next are Anthrax with "It'll be alright on the night". Now, I love Anthrax and their insane tempo changes, fast riffs and vocals that sound both tuneful and yet super snotty. But I remember disliking the introduction of the song when I first heard it, deeming it "too melodic". How wrong I was. One of their best songs for sure, like The Clash, 2 Minute War and Flux of Pink Indians on speed. 

Karma Sutra, from Luton, are a bit sloppier than the first two but their sense of a good tune does show and I challenge you not to sing along "It's our world too" after listening to their song. Starting out with a postpunk vibe, the song is a mid-paced punk song with the usual tribal beats. Top chorus, of course. Who would have thought that Karma Sutra would record one of the most interesting  and original anarcho Lp's three years after in the shape of the situationist inspired The Daydreams of a Production Line Worker?

Moet the Poet... What can I say? I used to hate that low-fi pop song because it sounded so cheesy. It still does, I guess but I kinda enjoy it now. I know nothing about Moet, do you?   

Sub Squad was another mysterious band that only released that one song... It starts off with a strong tribal beat and a good bass line before turning into a classic UK82 number with a snotty and catchy singalong chorus about London Town. 

Chaos didn't exactly pick the most original name for a punk band. In fact, they arguably picked the least original one possible. From London, Chaos actually existed from 1980 to 1986 which is quite honourable. I must admit that I was only aware of the rather good Mortarhate Ep Tribal Warfare and one demo before an unsuspected discography Lp of the band saw the light of day last year (to be honest, it is not all good and the band was versatile). "Hey you" is a great song though. Simplistic but strangely compelling aggressive punk song with direct vocals and an ace pogo beat. Very punky. 

Like Sub Squad, Stigma did not leave much of a trace on the anarcho scene at the time and their only other contribution was on another compilation, Fight Back's We don't Want your Fucking War (a sublabel of Mortarhate). However, they were quite heavy and potentially powerful and I wish they recorded more (is there a hidden demo somewhere?). Dark and hard-hitting, chaotic anarchopunk that reminds me of Exit-Stance, Stone the Crowz or Icons of Filth. Angry stuff about animal rights and a very neat skull logo to boot. 

Toxic Shock was probably the band I liked the least on Who? What? Why? When? Where? back when I first heard it. A jazzy and dissonant number with no drums and a four minute length! I was just not ready for it. But being older and wiser and more verse in the artier side of the anarchopunk scene, I now understand and even enjoy Toxic Shock, though I don't think I could listen to a double Lp from them. Influenced by Poison Girls, they were an anarcho feminist duo with former members of Sanction and Day Five with a lot of songs tackling sexism and militarism. They did not technically play punk-rock and were more into experimental, hypnotic avantgarde music with a saxophone (an instrument I cannot stomach for some reason). Great smart lyrics (and drawings) about the hypocrisy and casual machismo of male punks. Still relevant (sadly).

Vex are - especially from a retrospective point of view with the so-called postpunk revival of the past few years that saw all the punks trade their crust pants for peacoats and profess their love for Sisters of Mercy and The Cure - the hidden gem of the Lp. I'm not sure what we thought about that song 15 years ago. Probably that it sounded like goth music. Which is true I suppose. Dark and heavy moody punk music with morose vocals and potent tribal drums. A bit like early Amebix, Killing Joke with some Southern Death Cult and UK Decay. What I really love about Vex is that the emotionality that permeates their songwriting goes hand in hand with their punk intensity. Anarcho goth-punk? Whatever tag you want to impose on them, Vex crafted some of the most poignant dark punk songs of the early 80's and their Sanctuary 12'' comes highly recommended.

Exit-Stance opens fire on the second side of the Lp with the song "Operation successful" that was recorded before their first Ep. You can tell that the band was still young and the sound is not quite as heavy and punishing as it would eventually become but the basis are already there. Fierce, mid-paced punk with angry and threatening vocals and hard-hitting riffs and beats. Exit-Stance conveyed a sense of anger that is hard to describe and even harder to replicate. Punk foaming with rage, punk that can spit. 

The amazing Poison Girls follow and what is there to say? The band was in full pop mode by 1984 but the lyrics were as articulate and clever as ever. "The offending article" is about male sexual predation, domestication, exploitation and how feminism can be linked with the struggle for animal rights. I must confess that it took me a long time to really enjoy Poison Girls but I have become a real sucker for their early years. I don't engage as much with later material musically but the words are always a pleasure. 

Know the Drill were two things: a one-hit wonder and a bizarre name for a band. To my knowledge, this is the only song they recorded but I could be wrong. Apparently hailing from the Manchester area, Know the Drill were what you would call nowadays an "anarcho postpunk" band, with a dark, moody, catchy music and an anarchopunk perspective on things. They remind me of Political Asylum - without the prog rock influence -, Blood Robots and Vex. Great song with a beautiful riff that is simple and yet so morose. I cannot believe such a top band only recorded the one song so be a dear and enlighten me, will you? 

You won't find a more UK82-ish band than Death Zone, from Newcastle, on Who? What? Why? When? Where? and it fits perfectly after some grim dark punk. A bit of a curious bunch Death Zone since they recorded a full Lp in 1989, a long time after that kind of sound had faded. They had a few thoroughly enjoyable demos in the early 80's and the song "The youth are to blame" can be considered as their anthem (with a name like that, it'd better be). Typical UK82 sound in the noblest sense of the term with snotty vocals, a catchy chorus, basic drumming and a memorable riff. Amazingly simple and simply amazing. I love that song.

Next is probably my favourite Lost Cherrees song, "The wait", at the height of the band's inspiration. I have always been a goofy fan of the band's bittersweet but highly tuneful brand of anarchopunk and capacity for expressing a wide variety of emotions (from sadness to anger, melancholy or joy) while always maintaining that rather upbeat Lost Cherrees sound that transpires in the melodies and the polyphonic female vocals (at that time, the band had three female vocalists). The keyboards bits are just a bonus here and this is powerful, sincere punk-rock with cracking tunes and energy. C'mon, let's all sing "His love is our blood" merrily!

16 Guns from London follow, right there with Death Zone in terms of effective and direct UK82 punk-rock with a good tune. I don't know much about the band (but they apparently reformed recently) but their early demo was pretty good if you are into pogo inducing UK punk-rock (and who isn't these days?).   

The magnificent Icons of Filth are next with an early song, "Stupid", that reflects what the band did best in their early years: angry punk-rock with direct lyrics and ominous riffs. Stig's vocals were one of a kind and his singing style - half-shouted and half-spoken - remains totally unique to this day and contributes to the "in your face" effect of the songwriting. This is classic Icons of Filth, heavy with a thick punky sound and energetic changes of pace. A crucial band that, for their threatening grooviness, probably had a strong influence on the emerging UK hardcore scene at the time (more about them here).

The Mad Are Sane have already been covered at length on Terminal Sound Nuisance a few years ago (here) so I am not going to repeat myself like a senile punk. They recorded a fantastic demo from which the song "Animal crimes" is taken and played heavy anarchopunk with pummeling tribal drums and mean, hoarse male vocals and shouted female ones. Top shelf recording to be stored with Exit-Stance and Stone the Crowz.

Finally the wonderful Hagar the Womb conclude the compilation Lp. I had no idea what the name of the band meant the first time I heard them (I suck at biblical references) and, pronounced with a French accent, "Hagar the Womb" sounds very funny... Anyway, I love the band of course, tuneful anarchopunk with dual female vocals and healthy pop tunes. "For the ferryman" is a low-fi but lovable poppy punk song with a hypnotic, almost psychedelic quality but keeping the punk spontaneity (and musicianship), between Lost Cherrees and Androids of Mu. Super catchy and a lovely way to close the record. 

A strong compilation that acts as a relevant and meaningful snapshot of the anarchopunk scene of the early-mid 80's, especially the interconnected Conflict galaxy. I cannot think of many other compilations that offered such a wide spectrum of the different genres and moods present in the anarchopunk scene of the time. Even Moet the Poet sounds alright now. Well, almost. 

Summer's over

Summer comps not summer camps (part 1): "Daffodils to the Daffodils Here's the Daffodils" compilation LP, 1984

As you may know (depending on where you live), a sadistic heatwave with a grudge is currently hitting Paris and other parts of Europe pretty hard right now. Parisians are already prone to complain constantly about anything and everything, so you can easily imagine the endless angry mumblings and exasperated sighs on the streets at the time of writing (the fact that France won the world cup a few weeks ago hardly alleviates the irritation). And that's precisely the time I chose to get Terminal Sound Nuisance going again, like the mythical phoenix, with my bum sticking to the chair, soaked armpits and the distracting buzzing of flies... I'm still unsure if it is out of uncrushable dedication or a glorified sense of sacrifice. But who cares! 

Let's talk about 80's punk compilations today, in a casual but smart fashion that will - hopefully - make you dust off and re-explore some old records. If you are familiar with my useless ravings, you already know that I am a sucker for good compilations, first, because I feel they capture the vibe and essence of a specific time and place and second, because I fell in love with punk-rock through compilations (proper or homemade ones done by mates). So they are a good way to reconnect, have a good time and enjoy a few beers. They are the punk equivalent of doing a cleanse or taking some time off to travel in South East Asia in order to "find yourself", only they require much less efforts or money. 

Where you will learn more about the finances of the label as well as the owner's vision of and for the punk scene

The first album of the Summer comps not summer camps series (my love for silly puns is unfortunately not getting any weaker) is Daffodils to the Daffodils Here's the Daffodils, released on Pax Records in 1984. During its rather short run as an independent punk label, Marcus Featherby's Pax put out some pretty crucial records from bands like Mau Maus, Anti-System and even The Exploited (their third and rather good 1983 Lp Let's Start a War) but I think that, some 35 years later, the label is mostly remembered for its top compilations. The Wargasm Lp, from 1982, was probably the most famous and sold very well thanks to its solid diverse lineup (Poison Girls, Dead Kennedys, Angelic Upstarts...) and its relevant antiwar message and I guess that most punk old-timers will spontaneously say "Wargasm" if you ask them what Pax Records reminds them of (I actually had to abduct several older punks to conduct this experiment so I know what I'm talking about). In my case, Pax makes me think primarily of two things: Anti-System and the trilogy of great punk as fuck compilations Lp with goofy titles and mischievous punks on the cover. With names such as Punk Dead - Nah Mate the Smell is Jus Summink in Yer Underpants Innit and Bollox to the Gonads - Here's the Testicles and covers depicting punx having a laugh, they certainly captivated my youthful imagination and exposed me to some fantastic bands. Daffodils was the part of the trilogy (and actually the last proper release of Pax) and its rather strange name referred to the anti-Bushell title of the previous compilation (which triggered some controversy, some shops refusing to carry it because it was deemed impolite). Apparently, the idea of the daffodils title came from an ironical gentleman comment from John Peel who suggested to replace naughty words with flowers. Actually, the record was originally going to be called One Man's Wombat Piss is Another Man's Real Ale (is it disastrous, hilarious or both? It does make me giggle, I admit).

The strength of Pax compilations lied in their variety, at a time when the punk scene was becoming more and more divided, and in the inclusion of foreign punk bands (Bollox to the Gonads notably had Crude SS, Canal Terror, Savage Circle and Subversion), something that was certainly not to be taken for granted in the early 80's in the UK scene. Maybe because of the insular nature of Britain, mentalities seemed to have been quite close-minded to "foreign punk-rock" at that time in some quarters of the punk scene. As Featherby wrote it himself in the liner notes to Swedish band Noncens: "Whenever you think of "foreign" punk groups, the reaction is usually negative - but there are some bloody good ones about." That this even needed to be said in 1984 is revealing and even awkwardly funny in retrospect (the same thing can be said about Featherby urging locals to read MRR). The hardcore explosion of the following years thankfully changed a lot of things for the better but I sometimes wonder if this kind of chauvinistic attitude has completely vanished from "the scene" when I hear people claiming in all seriousness that "real hardcore is American". Oh well. 

But let's get to the actual record. Daffodils is my favourite compilation out of the three because it has the most diversity and versatility with nine bands and twenty songs displaying different shades of 80's punk music. And because it includes Onslaught. Some bands offered several tracks to the record but they were disseminated and not placed in a row so that it does not sound redundant (I guess) and makes for a more pleasant, less mechanical listen with a genuine comp feel.

The opening song is "Facts of war" from the mighty Mau Maus, which is taken from their strongest record, the Facts of War Ep, also released on Pax like the band's first two Ep's (the label and band were both from sunny Sheffield). I know some people love the music but dislike the vocals of Mau Maus, and although I can see why, I love them precisely for the very upfront, threatening, gritty, almost Oi-esque vocals that made them sound so intense. Mau Maus was one of the first UK bands to play fast and aggro-oriented thrashy hardcore punk with political lyrics, like a cross between Discharge, Riot Squad and US hardcore. A classic band that I never get tired of. 

Next are the mighty Onslaught, from Bristol, with their ultimate hit "Black horse of famine" and "Shadow of death" on the other side. I originally got a cdr version of Daffodils precisely because I wanted to listen to them since I had read in a fanzine somewhere that they sounded like a primitive, metallic Discharge. Though I quite enjoy Power From Hell, I much prefer the earlier recordings of Onslaught (as the old adage "the demos were better" is actually true here) when they sounded like a dischargy hardcore punk bands trying to play metal and had charged hair and studs. It is feral, dark, aggressive, clearly metal but super punky at the same time. Like the ideal first date between Discharge and Venom. The sound is perfect here (sadly the previous demos are rough) and I so wish they had recorded an Lp with that sound and songwriting. "Black horse of famine" is one of the finest and meanest examples of greatness-inducing simplicity. Ace.

You will also find two songs of the magnificent Destrucktions on Daffodils, taken from their hardcore masterpiece Vox Populi. Hailing from Ulvila, Finland, they had Peikko from Kaaos on the guitar and played typical Propaganda hardcore (you saw that coming, right?) with the typical youthful energy and aggressive snottiness inherent in the style. The threatening teenage vocals are by the book, the bass is thick, the riffs simple but great and the chaotic power genre-defining. Their mid-paced "Trade union" is the definitive winner and your best introduction to the do's and don't's of Finnish hardcore. The title of the songs are in English but they sing in Suomi, as you would expect if you are at all familiar with the genre. Their sole Lp (that has not been reissued yet and is therefore highly expensive) was released on Rock-O-Rama, great hardcore punk label turned RAC around 1984. How do you go from Riistetyt to Skrewdriver? It still beats me.

Unjust from the Bronx, New York City, contributed four songs of direct and fast punk music to the compilation that are reminiscent of the early days of US hardcore with its distinct prosodics. Very energetic and quite tuneful. Unjust would appear one year later on the Big City's One Big Crowd compilation Lp that a lot of tough American hardcore bands and even Sheer Terror (not my cuppa but you can picture where they were coming from).

With three tracks on Daffodils, Noncens from Helsingborg, Sweden, demonstrated how pervasive the influence of the second wave of British punk-rock with songs that would have fitted perfectly on Riot City or No Future. In fact, you could even argue that Noncens gave the cream of the crop of UK82 bands a serious run for their money. The three songs are stellar, "The battlefield" and "Black and white" being fast and well-crafted snotty punk numbers somewhere between Varukers, Picture Frame Seduction or Mayhem, absolute top-shelf UK82 punk. "Give us a future" is a mid-paced gem that starts with a super epic vibe before turning into a postpunk-flavoured snotty cold war anthem, like The Enemy jamming with UK Decay. Amazing song that contains everything that was good about early 80's punk. Noncens also had an Ep in 1983 with a much more straigh-forward, rawer punk sound and a more distinctive Swedish vibe (especially in the Asta Kask-like chorus). Really good band that I know little about. Swedish punk nerds, now is the time to school me.

A second band from NYC contributed songs to this Pax piece of wax: No Control. To say that Featherby was excited about the band would be an understatement as he literally raves about them. I don't know much about them and apparently they did not really achieve what was predicted. No Control played hard-hitting punk with upfront female vocals and an early hardcore feel (there are some textbook riffs). Pretty good indeed especially at their fastest. The band also included members of The Psychos and Sheer Terror.

What would an '84 compilation Lp be without some danceable goth-tinged postpunk? For that, Leitmotiv had two songs on Daffodils displaying not only rather mature songwriting abilities but musicianship superior to the other bands. Coming from Bradford, the band was originally called Science (which was kind of a shite name) and had ties with the punk scene. Leitmotiv were far from derivative or generic and played dark, but not sinister, and powerful postpunk with a trance-like quality, a strong drum section and hypnotically catchy synthwave moments. They are quite difficult to compare (for me anyway) but I can see them share the stage with fellow Bradfordians New Model Army or Southern Death Cult, or with Arch Criminals and UK Decay, although they don't sound like them. Old-school punky goth music with some Northern grit. The two songs "(Living in a) tin" and "Silent run" also appeared on an Ep.

The inclusion of Demob's "No room for you" can be seen as surprising. After all, the No Room for You Ep was released three years prior to Daffodils, in 1981. So why then? Well, simply because it was Featherby's favourite punk song! And let's face it, "No room for you" is indeed one of the best punk-rock numbers ever written. Seriously. It has everything. Teenage angst, tunes to die for, lyrics you can relate to easily, melancholy, frustration, a feeling of togetherness... It has been in my "Top 5 songs to sing in the shower" for years. If you've never given it a listen, I actually envy you. It still gives me the chills. Basically the best of what the '77 wave had to offer reworked in an '82 framework. What a song... 

Finally, Morbid Humour, from Bradford, offered two songs to this wonderful compilation (well technically three, but "Oh my God" is basically one song cut in half and it makes more sense to see it as a cohesive whole) and, along with Onslaught, they were the main reason why I originally wanted to listen to Daffodils so bad and why I finally bought a physical copy. I had read that MH was a short-lived anarchopunk band that had members from Anti-System (Nogsy, Phil and Varik), so of course I just had to check them out, knowing that there was a high possibility I was going to love them and, if not, I could still use the Anti-System connection as a piece of trivia in order to show off. It was a win-win situation. Still, I did not expect MH to be THAT good and I completely relate to the words "the intensity caused me to have shivers down my spine" from the liner notes. Nogsy was the first singer of Anti-System and I really appreciate his vocal tone, snotty but emotional and it fitted MH's sound maybe even better than it did A-S. Although the term has been so overused in recent years that it has almost lost its real substance, MH played dark and passionate mid-paced anarchopunk. Eerie and morose, intense and outraged, bellicose and melancholy, the band managed to conjure up all these emotions into their songs, despite having only recorded a demo. The two songs on the compilation are precious and I do not know why they did not garner more attention at the time (they did not play much apparently and were said to be mysterious... whatever that entails). The dual vocals certainly add more energy and depth to the songs and the complementarity is heartfelt. Their genuine achievement however lies in their balanced songwriting, somewhere between angry, tuneful punk-rock and darker, melancholy postpunk, a vehicle for raw emotions. Take the best of The System, Flux of Pink Indians and Reality Control and infuses it with Peni, Naked and Zounds and you'll be close. Moody anarchopunk doesn't get much better. Just listen to the transitional riff between the two parts of "Oh my God". Wonderful. 

Enjoy the compilation. Fuck the heat. I'm done.

Daffodils to the terminal sound here's the nuisance

           

Noize Not Music is a Fine Art: "No Hesitation to Resist" compilation 10'', 1998

This is the last stop of our leisurely journey through the untamed land of Japanese crust noise-making. We hope to see you soon on Terminal Sound Nuisance Cruise. Please, don't forget to collect all your belongings before going back to your crazy fucked up daily life. Ta!

And to wrap up our noizy ride, let's enjoy a longer record in the shape of a format that I love: a bloody compilation 10''. For fast, hard-hitting hardcore music, you could make a case that this is the ideal format, neither too short nor too long, a bit like a 45 rpm Lp but not as heavy to manipulate. For some reason, I have always been into 10'' records. The size appeals to me and their relative scarcity makes them look more stylish than regular records, not unlike flexis nowadays, except I loath flexis. In 2018, flexis are the format equivalent of a hipster with brand new old-school tats and an ironic metal shirt. In fact, I strictly buy new flexis in cases of emergency. 10'' records are more akin to your loyal mate who has always been a bit of an eccentric but has his heart in the right place (meaning he is genuinely into Discharge). Anyway...

No Hesitation to Resist is made up of twelve Japanese hardcore punk bands (in a broad sense) that can all be defined as noizy, meaning - in the frames of this study - that they make a point in playing punk music that sounds essentially raw by nature and by choice. Rawness becomes a creative choice and an artistic postulate, not just the reflection of teenage urgency, lack of means and dodgy musicianship. Not unlike a school of thoughts but without having to read any critical theory and with a lot of studs and gratuitous growls, because it's punk, innit? 

I find this 10'' highly enjoyable. I do not think I could listen to a full album of all the bands it includes, but I feel that, on a compilation, the lineup is excellent as it displays a crispy variety of punk (sub)genres that are all tied up together with their attraction toward and their focus on a raw and direct sound, so that you do not have that annoying patchwork feel some compilations unfortunately have. Although taken individually, the songs on No Hesitation to Resist may not all be amazing, the tone cohesion of the selection makes for a really solid record, as opposed to a compilation that would have superior individual tracks but without any strong sense of togetherness and fluidity of form and thus of content. Know what I mean? As for the previous records tackled in Noize Not Music is a Fine Art, this one can also be considered as an accurate illustration of the Japanese crusty scene in the late 90's with well-known familiar faces as well as smaller bands that did not leave much of a trace afterwards. Hindsight is cruel. 

Since there are twelve bands to talk about, I will try to be brief but, as you all know by now, I like too much the sound of my own voice for that to really happen (who said Terminal Self Importance?). So let's go forward into battle to the end of the Earth, shall we? The first band is Truth of Arize from Tokyo and they deliver the best song of No Hesitation. Honestly. As simple as that. In fact, you could get the record just for the song "Controlled freedom" and it would still be a good deal. 

I do not know much about ToA. They formed in 1996 and released three demos: a 1997 split demo tape with Ignorance from Yokohama entitled Abuse and Abusers..., a self-titled demo tape in 1998 and another tape, called System Crucified (no date for that one). Because life is deeply unfair, I am only familiar with the '98 demo from which "Controlled freedom" is actually taken. And it is an absolute scorcher, without the shadow of a doubt one of the best - if not the best - dual vocal crust band from Japan that I have been given the opportunity to hear. The songs are brutal, intense and very catchy, with that typically obnoxious, obliviously angry vibe that defines the finest cavecrust. Of course, I can hear classics like Extreme Noise Terror, Abraham Cross, Amen or Disrupt, but there is also a crushing, relentless Japanese scandicrust vibe in the songs that brings Framtid or Frigöra to mind. The over-the-top vocals work perfectly together and, combined with the insane energy of the recording, ToA sound pretty much unstoppable. Look me in the eye and tell me that the way the music speeds up after the mid-paced D-beat introduction of "Controlled freedom" is not devastating. Come and have a go if you think you're crust enough! This song as well as the three others off the '98 demo are essential and we should all pray for it to be reissued someday. 

ToA went on to release a full Lp in 1999, the delicate Genocide Massacre Holocaust, which was some sort of demented concept album combining noize and harsh noise. Basically, a blend of harsh ambient music with a lot of white noise and shit with some bouncy Doom-loving crust like Abraham Cross and Mindsuck. I personally like it a lot but it is not something I would play at 9am on a sunday morning (I would wait until at least 10). Try it if you dare. I love that band.

Next are one of Tokyo's most famous anarcho crust export and Terminal Sound Nuisance regulars, Battle of Disarm. I have already written about them several times (here and here) but they were invited on a lot of compilations in the 90's and early 00's so their presence is not surprising. BoD contribute a rerecording of one of their early 90's classic, "Our invasion", with a super crunchy eurocrust Hiatus-y sound, filthy metallic guitar and gruff vocals which makes this version more powerful than the original.

Disclose follow and what can be said about the metaphysicians of d-beat (maybe this)? They turned a band - Discharge - and their tentacular influence into an endless source of inspiration, into a proper structural worldview, into a validated genre. They can be defined as THE noizy band by design. If only one had to be picked, it would be Disclose, for Kawakami's dedication and unshakable faith in Discharge-loving hardcore punk. The Disclose song here is "In agony" and I am actually at a loss since I cannot state with my customary self-assurance the recording session to which this version of the song belongs. We are clearly in the Dis-Lickers era of the band (to rephrase it, Discharge by way of 80's raw Swedish hardcore) and the lineup is the same as on the split with Totalitär, however the version is slightly different to the one from that split. Both are very similar but there is more distortion on the guitar and the vocals are double-tracked, which gives this take of "In agony" a nice old-school Discharge feel (I know some dislike double-tracked D-beat vocals but I am generally in favour). Or perhaps I am going deaf and I am hearing (dis)voices. Whatever the truth is it is a brilliant Disclose song, with a strong Discard and Shitlickers influence. And Discharge? And Discharge.

The next band is Absent from Amagasaki (not too far from Osaka) and I am sadly not familiar with this lot. Discogs tells me that they also had a demo tape called Fixed Contamination....... (yes with seven suspension marks) and judging from the lyrics, the band was heavily into green politics but that's about it. They were also included on an antiwar compilation Ep along with Argue Damnation (who released it on their own FFT Label) and Victims of Greed (it's a small world since both bands are also on No Hesitation to Resist) so one might infer that they belonged to the same crew of political punks, but that can be far-fetched. Absent played energetic, hard-hitting and angry Japanese hardcore thrash with a d-beat feel and intense raspy vocals (not quite unlike Argue Damnation) and fit perfectly on this compilation. 

And my mentioning Osaka's Argue Damnation above was premonitory since they are the next in line. I have always liked AD and have much respect for their staunch DIY spirit and their genuine political lyrics and attitude. Since they had toured in Europe (in the late 90's I suppose?), I remember the band was regularly referred to positively by older, wiser (?) punks in the early 00's. And I find their manga-styled drawings of punks to be ace, but that's probably because I grew up watching Saint Seiya in the 80's. AD was formed by Aoishi after Iconoclast folded and played typically fast and intense 90's anarcho thrash punk, with that distinctive triumphant energy borrowed from traditional Japanese hardcore and some crusty punk for good measure (after all they played a lot in Osaka in the 90's so that was unavoidable). They were usually pretty fast and furious - especially at the time of No Hesitation - but their song "Anti the new Japan-US security" (about a military agreement between both superpowers) has a moderate pace. The sound is thick, the aggression raw, the bass thunderingly groovy, the guitar riff catchy and epic and the vocals have that snotty and pissed punky vibe that I crave. A bit like a Japanese take on Sedition? A great band that does not the recognition it deserves (probably because their records still go for cheap).

Victims of Greed are next. Hailing from Itami in the Hyogo Prefecture (like Absent), they can be seen as one of the forgotten heroes of crust in Japan. And I mean this quite literally since everyone seems to have forgotten about them. They were around in the mid/late 90's so you could argue that the crust throne was obviously a coveted position and that competition was bound to be harsh, but they deserve more than a mere footnote in the grand story of gratuitous growls and patched up pants. In terms of outputs, FFT released a split Ep between VoG and Scum Noise (from Brazil) which saw the band unleash fast polyphonic crusty hardcore and the label also included them on the aforementioned 反新安保 compilation Ep, to which VoG contributed two genuine gruff crust hits (probably from the same recording session as the song from No Hesitation to Resist) and reveal their true ugly face to the world. "Mouth head" sounds like a beefy cross (or a cider-induced brawl) between Battle of Disarm, 90's Doom, the mighty Hiatus and Condemned, one capable of outcrusting a lot of what the decade had to offer (which was an awful lot). Bear-like cavemen vocals, a raw but loud crunchy guitar sound with a lot of feedback, a heavy metallic bass sound. This is seriously heavy. The song starts off with a filthy mid-paced Discharge part before diving dreads first into extreme noise heaven. Fuck me, this is great. If their Authority --> Rotten demo is as anywhere solid, I think we have a real winner. Simple, direct and glorious cavemen crust. After the demise of Victims of Greed, Yosuke (guitar and vocals) joined the very good Reduction.  

It is now time to flip side and deal with Äpärät from Kanagawa, who open for side Protest (aka side B). If you ask your average geezer about a Japanese band with lyrics in Finnish, he would just stare at your blankly and think that you have just broken out of the local asylum. If you ask the same thing to a hardcore punk fan, he or she would merely lift an eyebrow and reply "Be more precise, are we talking about the Kobe or the Osaka school?". Japanese punks are well known for their devoted passion and reverence about Scandinavian hardcore and for their absolute sense of detail so it makes sense that some of them would form referential hardcore bands with lyrics in Swedish (Frigöra), Italian (Isterismo), Spanish (Desperdicio) or, of course, in Finnish (I am really looking forward to the day when they will try to sing in French in a Béruriers Noirs type band, great fun ahead). I think Äpärät may have been the first Japanese hardcore band to sing in Finnish and play typical 80's Finnish hardcore, a genre that  - not unlike Japanese noizy punk - owes a lot to Chaos UK and Disorder, so I guess it all makes sense in the end. Of course more bands like Laukaus, Poikkeus or Folkeiis would follow that path of Kaaos/Riistetyt/Tampere SS worship in their native tongue afterwards.

This said, in 1998, Kanagawa's Äpärät did not sing in Finnish yet, although the Kaaos influence is clear on the song "The staff of life" (especially in the raw aggressive sound of the bass and the fast and referential chaotic drumming). This song is pretty much Raw Punk 101 and beside Finnish hardcore, I can hear a UK82 influence with some early Discharge-loving hardcore thrown in as well (Death Sentence meet Diatribe in Sweden or something). I love the punky snotty binary break in the middle as it makes me feel like I'm 16 and hating high-school again. A great hardcore punk song that is as deceptively simple as it is effective. Previous to No Hesitation to Resist, Äpärät had contributed three songs of the same vibe to the first volume of Chaos or Destruction. After that, they recorded a rather rough demo tape in October, '98, and then went full on Finn punk (linguistically and stylistically) on their excellent split Ep with Effigy in 2001.

Next up are Instinct from Fukuoka and let me warn you, they are absolutely relentless. The band was set into motion in 1997 by two members of the respected grindcore band Voltifobia when the latter folded. However, Instinct did not play grindcore but opted instead for that brand of raging, brutal, heavy, pummeling Swedish hardcore that was the flavour of the day in the mid/late 90's. Furious shit that goes straight to the point and can be seen in the same light as early Skitsystem, 3-Way Cum or Driller Killer with whom they shared a split Ep, also in 1998, on which they sounded just like a 90's Swedish band (for real). Their contribution to No Hesitation to Resist, "Groundless pains", is my favourite material from them as it still retains a Japanese hardcore feel in the vocals and the typical chorus which makes it sound more exuberantly, fist-raisingly angry, and the drums just sound like the apocalypse is just around the cornaaarrrgh. They must have been a steamroller live.

Beyond Description follow and what can I say about them? Even in 1998, BD were old-timers (they formed in 1988) so the fact that they are still active now is fairly impressive. Mind you, they even released a full album last year (The Robotized World) which sounds exactly as it should: old-school crossover hardcore thrash. I must admit that the genre is not really my cup of tea and that I am mostly familiar with BD for the splits they did (with Excrement of War or Detestation for example), though I remember enjoying A Road to a Brilliant Future when it came out. The 1998 lineup of the band had Tomo from Äpärät on the bass and the song "Development" is a straight up fast and raw thrash punk song, not so far from traditional Japanese hardcore really, played with a lot of energy and determination. It fits perfectly with the rest of the compilation and I think selecting a metal-free song was wise. And of course, No Hesitation to Resist was released on the label of BD's singer Hideyuki, Forest Records, so it is only fair that they appeared on it (why would you have a label if you cannot include your own bands on cool comps? I mean, duh).

Mental Disease are next and I have already discussed them in the previous post (here) so I am not going to repeat myself too much. To be honest, I think the song "Mental sick" is a definite highlight of the compilation and MD sound much tighter and more focused than on Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making. The band is in full Extinction era Nausea-worship mode (the guitar riff, the solo, and the way the bass and the guitar work together are heavy nods toward New York) and the clever collaborative work between the male and female vocalists makes the already fast and furious song even more pissed and intense. I am also reminded of (Japanese) Iconoclast and SDS which is an excellent thing. Late 90's Mental Disease should be recognized as top drawer dual vocals crust and I still cannot get my head around their currently low profile. Should I start campaigning?

Another crust band is next, this time of a much higher profile: Effigy. Of course, the band has already been discussed in the past (here) which makes me realize that I may be going around in circles... Have I been caught in an endless crust loop? Anyway... In that review, I tackled their transitional status between the 90's and the 00's old-school crust schools. Effigy made the link nationwide between bands like SDS, Carnage or AGE and the new generation embodied in Zoe, Acrostix or Disturd, while worldwide, on the strength of their brilliant From Hell Ep and the split with Hellshock, they certainly had a big influence on the so-called stenchcore revival of the early/mid 00's. But let's be factual first.

They formed in 1998 in Takamastu, Kagawa Prefecture, and Masuda (on the bass) previously played in COSA (oddly meaning Cache Of Strategic Arms...), a metallic punk band with a thrash influence that had an Ep in 1992 and were included on such compilations as the Truth Lp and the What is crust? cd. Effigy's contribution to No Hesitation to Resist, "Destructive of the Earth", was actually the band's very first vinyl appearance, although you can hear quickly that, if the band was technically young, there was some solid punk experience behind it. I really enjoy this Effigy track, better than Evil Fragments actually. It is a moderately fast one (in a mid-paced d-beat way) with crunchy metallic riffs enhanced with a raw and heavy textured sound; low and gruff, hellish-sounding dual vocals that work particularly well here; and overall a rather simple structure that is adequately mood-oriented. There is nothing technically spectacular in the song per se but the stenchcore balance is just right and tasteful as Effigy wisely used simplicity and sound as assets to generate the proper crust vibe. It is a clear winner. I am not really reminded of other Japanese crust bands here (maybe AGE), but 90's metal crust classics like Misery, Coitus, Warcollapse or Greek bands like Σαρκασμός or Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία do come to mind. ACE!

The final song of No Hesitation to Resist is "Ideal" from a band called System Kills. Based in the Gifu Prefecture, they look quite obscure and I have not been able to find a lot of details about them. System Kills played hardcore with a NYHC influence (there is a massive metallic moshpart in the middle), some epic guitar leads typical of Burning Spirit hardcore, tough screaming vocals and the compulsory gang chorus. I would not listen to a full album from them but I guess they represent a style that was absent from the compilation so far and it gives a bit more hardcore variety to the whole. Still, I am pretty sure they wore bandanas.

This record is a lovely, unpretentious compilation and there is something for everyone here. Beside you have just got to love the pixelated cheesy drawing on the cover with a bunch of punks (meant to stand for the different schools in da scene I guess) being surrounded by a threatening bonehead, a demented businessman, a rabid soldier and a whole faceless squad of riot cops, without mentioning the nuclear explosion in the background. Such is the the power of metaphors. Seeing that you can find it for a reasonable price, you know what to do.  

No Hesitation to Noize

     

Noize Not Music is a Fine Art: "Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making" compilation Ep, 1996

Initially, I had not considered including this compilation Ep in the Noize Not Music is a Fine Art series. The main reason for this reluctancy lied simply in my lack of familiarity with the record. After all, I bought it only recently because it included the great Mindsuck, a band whose split with Unarmed was gloriously reviewed on Terminal Sound Nuisance (here) a few months ago, and because it was nowhere to be found for download on the internet. Thankfully for me, neither Mindsuck nor Order and Mental Disease seemed to be particularly sought after since I got it for pretty cheap (not that you should care about the state of my personal financial situation but I often buy records that I think would be interesting to write about on Terminal Sound Nuisance... how heroic of me, right? Please fund me). Is this Ep a crucially brilliant work of punk? No, it is not. Don't get me wrong, it still delivers the good, but it cannot be deemed a classic Ep. And it is completely fine with me. In our day and age of constant, but paradoxically very short-lived, acritical hyperboles, a bit of objectivity does not hurt (though I must admit that it is not my forte). Besides, posting this compilation also fits with what was one of Terminal Sound Nuisance's primary missions back when it all started: reviving and archiving unavailable recordings, regardless of their standing in the current canon.

First, let's talk a little about the record itself before getting to the music. I bloody love the name of it! Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making. With such a title, I guess I was bound to select the geezer anyway. Karma it is. It has an almost poetical quality and summarizes very well the central topic of the series with its focus on noisy music as a chosen path and on rawness as a being the real, "natural" state of punk. The cover looks great if you are into silly, punk as fuck drawings and the visual aesthetics of the Bristol school (you all know I am). Two different types of punk kids - crust punk and spiky punk - organically united in the puerile but essential purpose of making an aural racket through the distorted sound of a "chaotic noise" telly (it all makes a lot of sense, right?). I love the face of the mother entering the teenager's bedroom and witnessing a Gremlins-like disaster. Of course, there are visual referential clues pointing at the genres represented on the Ep with the presence of the logos of Doom and Chaotic Dischord on the door. However, I think that Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making was probably originally meant to be a split Ep between Order and Mindsuck, since the two cans from which the snotty punx emerge respectively indicate Mindsuck and Order but there is no trace, no mention of Mental Disease... Could they have been a late addition, after the cover was already done? Strange indeed.

Anyway, this Ep can also be seen as a local compilation of - then - young bands from the Aichi prefecture since Order were, I think, from Toyohachi, Mindsuck from Nagoya and Mental Disease from Kariya. But let's start with the first band, Order. Or should I say ORdER? That's a dilemma. Apparently, the band changed the capitalization of their moniker around the time of their first (mini)album from 1999, 秩序. But since the comp was released in February, 1996 (on the ever prolific MCR Records), a few years before they switched, I will stick with Order. I already feel better now that this crucial issue has been settled. 

Punx'n'doves unite and win!

I have long been familiar with Order - if rather vaguely at first - because Disorder covered an Order song ("Trap" from the aforementioned '99 album) on their 2002 Lp We're Still Here and I actually like this album (played the cd to death when it came out as a matter of fact). Back then, the idea of Disorder covering a Disorder-influenced band called Order sounded ridiculous, in a good way, and I registered that Order were closely tied to the Disorder style of punk-rock. The song "Natural" included on the compilation appears to be the band's first vinyl appearance and I would not be surprised if it were taken from a demo. As expected, Order plays what can be called noizy punk-rock. Since the so-called "noisepunk revival" that kicked in the late 00's, the term has progressively come to designate mostly super distorted, tight, fast hardcore with a binary beat and reverb drenched vocals (as they say), and I am not dissing bands sounding like that and I can really enjoy some of it but a lot of it sounds too generic and soulless to me. Order however focused more on the catchy, punky, snotty, UK82ish aspect of it. And that's what I really enjoy in their early period (the Ep Punk Navigation is a masterclass of noizy punk-rock), they have that fun and sloppy singalong quality usually associated with Japanese pogopunk bands (like Discocks or Tom & The Bootboys for instance), but they still build on early Disorder (they used the same font at the time), Chaos UK or Ad'Nauseam and on old-school noisy Japanese hardcore like Confuse and, obviously, The Swankys (they do also have that demented aspect). The sound here is genuinely raw and spontaneous, the band didn't feel the need to use a tons of effects and for their upbeat, cider-fuled, anthemic noizy punk-rock, it works perfectly. I wish more current bands had taken that side of noisepunk instead of pointlessly hiding their boring lack of catchiness behind walls of fuzz. I suppose bands like The Wankys, Skizophrenia and Sad Boys would be into early Order. A really good song that will make you feel like you're 16. Order went on to release many records up until the early 2010's but I unfortunately have to confess that I am not knowledgable enough about their later works to talk about them properly... Any takers? 

Next up are two songs from the gruff crust heroes Mindsuck, from Nagoya, that I have already covered quite extensively in the past. To sum it up, Mindsuck was a short-lived pre-Reality Crisis band active in the mid-90's and they were going for a sound that they defined as "Rags noise crust". The two tracks on Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making are "Blind and dominion" and "Hypocrite is piss!" and I think they were recorded before the songs the band contributed to the split Ep with Unarmed that was released later in 1996 (MCR-092 against MCR-104). But to be honest, the difference between both sessions is pretty slim (there is even a song in common!). There is more fuzz and generally more care given to the guitar texture on the split with the Swedes but that's about it. As you are entitled to expect, Mindsuck unleash two top quality, monomaniacal and delightfully repetitive, noizy cavemen crust songs heavily influenced by Doom, Macrofarge, Sore Throat and Abraham Cross with a thunderous bass sound, a pure Scandi beat and a highly distorted, fuzzy Collapse Society-ish guitar sound. The vocal work is amazing and qualifies as one of the best Jon Doom impersonations I have ever heard (the World Championship in that peculiar punk discipline alway takes place in Japan and attracts many foreign tourists each year). More please. 

The third and last band on the Ep is Mental Disease and, like Order and Mindsuck, it was their first appearance on a proper record, so the idea behind this Ep may have been to offer a medium for young noizy punk bands from the Aichi area. Despite a rather honourable discography (one Ep and three albums), the band can hardly be said to have left a deep mark on Japanese crust history. And I am not sure why that is. The Get the Knowledge. Free your Mind Ep is a very solid crust punk record and compares well with similar works from the 90's crust era. Maybe Mental Disease got lost in the abundance of quality bands or maybe they are still remembered fondly in Japan but went unnoticed elsewhere. But then, it is not particularly surprising, the history of punk is replete with such instances after all.

As I mentioned on numerous occasions, Japanese crusty bands have always had an acute sense of details and referentiality. Mental Disease were no exception. If Disclose cosmically worshiped Discharge and SDS cherished Antisect and Abraham Cross honeymooned with Doom, Mental Disease wholeheartedly married Nausea. From the use of the exact same hairy font, to the circled (F) and (E) in the logo, to the crunchy riffs, to the over-the-top Amy-like intonations of the female singer, the band's late 90's period was stamped with a Nausea branding iron. And you know what? I am a huge sucker for Nausea and I have often wondered why there weren't more crusty bands openly working on their amazing legacy (a similar statement could apply to Misery). The song "Human lost" is a raw metallic crust number that sounds like early 90's Nausea were invited to a garden party held at the SDS house, with Iconoclast handling the buffet and LIFE taking care of the drinks. Or something like that. To be honest, the sound is a bit thin and the drummer experiences some awkward moments but it does not impair the listening pleasure. The song kicks off with a crunchy, mid-paced Sacrilege-meets-Effigy metal riff, then bursts into orthodoxally fast, dark and epic crust punk with aggressive dual male/female vocals, then there is an eerie break with the return of the opening metal part, and finally the song closes with a groovy stenchcore bit and accentuated trade-off vocals. I'm into it. Regardless of the production, there is a healthy Nausea feel to the song but still completely sounds like the intense Japanese crust of the time. I also like the fact that MD were the (sole) national instance of a typical 90's punk speciality: heavy crust with dual male/female vocals. The aforementioned Ep, release on MCR in November, 1996, saw the band polish their Nausea crust style and can be said to be a minor classic in terms of crust-with-male-female-vox. MD also recorded a full Lp, Sometimes Like Flowers, for MCR in 1999 which contained the band's best, most powerful crust materials with some ace songwriting but also what can be diplomatically called "artistic mistakes" (there are some uncomfortable and unfortunate rap/fusion numbers on the Lp too...), which makes listening to the full album a rather ambivalent experience. The two following recordings of MD were released on Discrete Records during the first half of the noughties but I have sadly never heard them.

To wrap it up, Natural Crust and Punk Force Noise Making is an unpretentious but highly enjoyable compilation Ep with three bands who were being offered their first vinyl appearance to proclaim their love for Disorder, Doom and Nausea and who would go on to pen some solid records afterwards (in Mindsuck's case, they did it under the Reality Crisis name but it counts, right?). And let's face it, how could you not love a record that has a two-dove logo on its backcover?      

Natural Noise Making

Noize Not Music is a Fine Art: "Final Noise Attack" compilation Ep, 1994

To ignore Final Noise Attack in a series revolving around the canonisation of the notion of "noize" would be criminal. Or dumb. Or even worse, a proof that you are not familiar with the record. And this discrepancy could mechanically have you eliminated from the contest for the - much coveted - Noiz Cruster of the Year award, assuming you did survive the Crust Pants of Hell battle royal of course. It is a tough game. 

But really, doesn't the very phrase "final noise attack" basically point to the next logical step, the sensible continuation of "noize not music"? Once you have settled that noize (and not conventional music, whatever it entails) is your project, then it makes sense to push the statement further and emphasize the agency inherent in the concept. The purpose of this music is to be hostile and relentless, to attack in a radical fashion that relies on noisiness and crudity. After all, radicality and extremity have always been punk's main selling points and attractiveness so you could argue that the call for a "final noise attack" can also be read as a healthy return to the basics, to the genuine foundations of hardcore, raw and noisy by essence, like the noize to end all noise...or something. Strictly speaking, the bands included on the Final Noise Attack Ep are not even that spectacularly noisy, though it depends what meaning one gives to this term and what is expected from it. But they are not particularly deafening or strident (especially by Japanese standards). They cannot be described as a wall of blown-out distorted d-beat noise, which would be the implication if the phrase was used today, since "noise" has come to be equated - I blame our epoch's compulsive need to classify everything for it - with the Disclose-style sound. At least within our little quarter of the hardcore punk scene, since to other people, "noise" will designate grindy noisecore bands or grungy dissonant bands or harsh noise electronic band or ambient stuff and so on, while Joe Public will probably be thinking that this is all bollocks and give him Phil Collins any day. We are all someone else's noise I suppose.

But my point is that this compilation is not so much "noizy" in a literal, sonic way (although it is also that), but above all for its focus on referenced influences and their almost systematic aestheticization, and for its unshakable belief in the value and relevance of hardcore punk as a raw, unpolished, noisy music belonging to a particular tradition, as opposes to the overproduced brand of hardcore that was blooming in the early/mid 90's. Noize becomes a way of looking at and creating punk music. On that level, it very much echoes with the almost bitter message on the back of Gloom's Recomendation of Perdition from 1997, dismissing crusty bands they deemed too melodic (which brings us to the real £100 question here: did neocrust kill Gloom?). But then of course, it makes sense since Final Noise Attack was, by essence, an Osaka record since it was compiled by members of Gloom themselves. As mentioned in the introduction to the Japanese Crust vs the World series (here), Final Noise Attack was originally the name given to the gigs organized by the then young and enthusiastic Osaka crusties in the early 90's. Not unlike the Punk & Destroy gigs that took place in Nagoya, Final Noise Attack gigs were numerous and certainly helped foster a new generation of raw punk and crust fanatics on a local level and consolidated crust as a powerful genre on a national one (just look at the posters and you will see that basically every single Japanese bands going for the crusty, d-beat, scandicore sound played at those events). I am not sure how many Final Noise Attack gigs were organized throughout the years (but judging from what I saw on da internet, quite a lot of them during a relatively short period, which says a lot about the dynamics and the momentum of the 90's Osaka scene) or when (or why) they stopped using that name, so I would be grateful is someone could shed some light here. What is pretty clear however, looking at the posters on the Ep's backcover, is that the visual aesthetics promoted by the gigs (a blend of Discharged-loving imagery, Bristol-by-way-of-Kyushu drawings, Crass-y anarchopunk symbols and so on) adequately reflected the music style of the bands playing (and the fashion of the people attending). Subcultural in the noblest sense of the term. And that is why I love this Ep. Of course I like the music and the looks of it, they are replete with visual cultural clues, nods, precise references, and it validates what I already know, like and know I like. But it also acts as a wonderfully accurate cultural artifact of a specific time and place. It has true meaning and meaningfulness as it concentrates what it was all about, and despite the many references to the glorious decade of the 80's, it completely conveys the energy and conviction of the next decade so that it does not feel nostalgic. But let's get to it.

The main surprise here is the absence of everyone's favourite 90's Osaka band: Gloom. I have no idea why since members of Gloom were the instigators of the Final Noise Attack gigs and I am sure they had a hand in the making of this Ep but there you go. They released Speed Noise Hardcore Rags the same year, in 1994, so maybe they did not have any songs ready for the compilation but that is just a wild guess. But if Gloom were technically absent from Final Noise Attack, it did not mean that all its members were. Indeed, the first band of the Ep, Defiance (the name is unlucky enough in retrospect), actually had Habi and Jhonio from Gloom in its ranks while Kaco and Okamoto respectively played in Warcry and Asphyxia. Noizy bands to say the least. I have already talked about Defiance on Terminal Sound Nuisance (here) since they were included on the magnificent Meaningful Consolidation 1994 2xEp and to which they contributed the brilliant metallic punk scorcher "Future is darkness". I could be wrong but I believe that the two Defiance songs on Final Noise Attack could be from the same recording session. Although they are nowhere near as metal-oriented, the production is similar and the thick and groovy bass sound that is genuinely appropriate for some thunderous Dis-oriented heavy scandi hardcore - with a mandatory dash of crust - is the same. I can hear obvious hints of Anti-Cimex, especially on the rather rocking "Violation of human rights", early Doom, Private Jesus Detector, Discard (the riffs on "Never be deceived") and even Anti-System (especially on the guitar texture). The songs are heavy, relentless and have this high energy, explosive quality that characterizes Swedish hardcore. The almost organic thickness of the bass and guitar certainly confers an edge to the otherwise classic 90's Discharge-flavoured songwriting and I really enjoy them. Classically-trained but very effective in a "Swedish hardcore crusties" way. The vocals are shouted but neither yelled nor gruff. This recording is from February, 1994, and Defiance also had a demo tape from 1993, the three songs of which subsequently landed on 1995's Truth compilation Lp, and had two tracks (with added crustness due to a dual vocal attack) on the What is Crust? cd from 1998 (though I guess they were recorded much earlier). I wish there was more from them...

Next are Reason Why. And... that is unfortunately all I can tell you about them! I have not been able to find any detail about the band so far (no trace of them on the internet) and it looks like the song "Contradiction" was their only vinyl appearance. The only thing I know about Reason Why is how their singer looked since there is a picture of the band in the book Inferno Punx. I know, it is pretty slim. As for the song itself, it sounds a lot like early Gloom (the 91-94 period). In fact, I even wondered at some point if it was not a Gloom cover or Gloom in disguise. Seriously. Perhaps Reason Why was a young band trying to emulate what was the most exciting punk band in town at the time? It certainly would not be the first time in punk history (more like a rule of thumb really). Anyway, judging from that one song, RW played a direct style of proto crasher crust with a very raw sound, distorted guitar and screams. A bit like listening to Chaos UK, CDFL and Confuse having an argument over a dove logo in the basement. How very Osaka.

Condemned follow on the other side with two songs, "Remember" and "Depends on bloody human". Like for Reason Why, information about this band is scarce (someone should write a book methinks) but it was not their sole recording. Condemned had two demo tapes out before Final Noise Attack: Do you respective live? in 1993 and To all human error (possibly '94?), the latter being actually the very first Crust War release (catalogue number CW001 if you're wondering), and Jacky even played the guitar for Condemned toward the end of their existence (he formed Framtid after they split up). They were also included on Japankore's first omnibus tape compilation (that I have sadly never heard but also had Disclose, Battle of Disarm and the deliciously intriguing Ace of Shit) and contributed live recordings to the third volume of Bondage Maniac Record's tapes. If you are a devout Terminal Sound Nuisance believer, you will remember that I included the song "Depends on bloody human" on my cavemen crustmas compilation so that already gives you a hint at what Condemned were about. In Inferno Punx they are described as "PRIMITIVE BLAST CRUST CORE" which is pretty fucking accurate (I love the neological terminology used in the book). Condemned played fast, all-out primal crust with savage vocals reminiscent of early Disrupt, Embittered, Extreme Noise Terror (obviously) and the local Warcry (without the Sore Throat influence). There is a distinct early British feel to the band that is reinforced with the band's visuals being heavily "inspired" by the UK anarcho aesthetics (they use The Mob's dove and the logo of Dirge). The sound is raw and the songwriting direct and I so wish someone would reissue the band's demos on vinyl one day. Basic but glorious nonetheless.   

Finally, you have two songs from Despair, yet another rather obscure band that did not quite fulfill its potential. Despair had Gun from Asphyxia (he later on played in the tough guy hardcore act T.J. Maxx) on the bass but that is about all I know about their lineage. The band released three demo tapes in the early 90's, the last of which was called Victims of War, and were also included on the Outlast compilation tape (released around '95 or '96, I would say, and alongside a couple of brilliant Japanese hardcore bands like Toxic Noise, Scum Blast and GJPB) and the aforementioned Bondage Maniac tape (the Despair songs are taken from their third demo). In terms of sound, you will not be too astonished to learn that the band was into punishing the audience with fast and intense crusty hardcore with really gruff vocals. The production is pretty thin and is lacking in heaviness but the music is frantic, energetic and pissed enough to make up for this and I like the deep, hyperbolic crust vocals (they are forceful but not goofy-sounding and work well on a short format). Judging from the metallic opening of "The free world" and the crunchy guitar sound, Despair were clearly into early SDS, though I would describe the overall tone as a blend between early eurocrust and blazingly fast Japanese harcore (with a twist of Ripcord too). Two short sharp shocks that do not fuck about.

Final Noise Attack was released on MCR Records in June, 1994, and you could see this Ep as being part of the series of hardcore compilations focusing on specific Japanese towns that the label put out at the time. It should be pointed out that this Ep did not merely celebrate hardcore punk from Osaka but also the work and efforts from a bunch of young punks into raw punk and crust to create their own scene in their hometown through the Final Noise Attack gigs and bands. It highlights and validates specific dynamics. You could argue that this Ep (especially taking into consideration the reputation and distribution of MCR) pretty much put the Osaka crusty hardcore scene on the map, although the compilation itself, from a strictly musical point of view, with four quite short-lived local bands, is solid but not earth-shattering (and not as potent as Tokyo Crusties). Context might be more relevant than text here. At that time, all these Osaka bands (and by and large most of the growing second generation of Japanese crust) only had demo tapes so to be included on a proper Ep was probably a success for the whole Final Noise Attack scene. Also around that time, Crust War Records released the first Gloom Ep and the rest is crustory.

Osaka Noise Attack