Amebix - Arise!

So hey since I mentioned Ligeti's "Requiem" why shouldn't I post Amebix, who sampled it in of the most powerful intros in all music, "The Moor?" I don't think I have to say anything about the definining album of crust so I'll just say that this is a reissue containing the two full-on Motorhead classics "Right To Ride" and "Beyond The Sun" and a second cd with a 1985 live gig. Granted, Amebix weren't really that good live performers but hey. Originally released in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles this is the 2 X CD 2014 reissue on Amebix Records.

PS: Yes, it was a big disappointment to learn that The Baron associates himself with neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers. Fuck him.

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Reign Of Bombs / Bombstrike Split LP

 

Reign Of Bombs: classic gnarly Swedish d-beat ala Totalitar and Skitkids. Bombstrike: Swedish rabid d-beat but heavier and more technical, with members of honorable bands of the Scandinavian filth underground such as Massgrav, Scurvy, Repugnant, General Surgery and a guy who also played in the (godawful in my opinion) Ghost. 2005 LP on Cage Match Federation, Wasted Sounds, and Yellow Dog Records.

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Allee Der Kosmonauten ‎– Sphärenharmonien [Demo tape]

And this is their first demo release, which is a mix of jammy sludgy noise rock and dark, heavy hardcore/crust. Good stuff. 2001 self-released tape.

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Allee Der Kosmonauten / Crude B.E. split 10"

It's been quite some time since my last post, but things are very busy: I'm spending more time with my child, I'm in-between changing posts, I'm pretending to be studying for my PHD plus we had gone on vacation. I think that this will be the frequency of writing for some more time.

Anyway, here's a superb split between Allee Der Kosmonauten, whose only 8-minute song here I saw live years ago and it completely floored me, it's an amazing rocking punk tune turned into melodic-epic d-beat crust, and Crude B.E. on the other side, who play heavy powerviolence/grindcore with rocking and stoner moments, good fun. 2001 10" on Thought Crime Records.

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Allee Der Kosmonauten ‎– Allee Der Kosmonauten LP

A now defunct band from Germany that fuses sludgy tones with noise rock and epic crust/punk influences with tortured female vocals. I saw them live years ago in Greece and they were the business on stage. 2007 LP jointly released by Institut Für Mentale Hygiene, Unsociable, Behind The Scenes, Bedbeforebreakfast, and Trująca Fala.

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Vae Victis / Ahriman split 7"

Two strangely groovy and technical hardcore tracks akin to Rune and Stalingrad from Ahriman, and two screaming and raging anthems of crust/screamoviolence/black metal madness by the great Vae Victis. 1998 7" on Satan's Pimp and 702 Records.

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Vae Victis - Ugly Reflection LP

Just when you thought that spring was finally here and that there wouldn't be any more rain and gloomy skies, there's yet another week of storms and greyness. What better weather for some bleak metallic hardcore by Vae Victis, a band from Reno featuring the beast of Jensen Ward (Iron Lung, Artimus Pyle). Short, desperate pieces of crust-via-black metal-via noise rock dissonance, up to par with His Hero Is Gone and Gehenna. Classic but underrated album. 2001 LP on Back The Draft and Moral Atrophy.

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Mönster ‎– Arms cd

On their second lp Mönster eased up a little bit their more hardcore edges for a punkier and more rocking approach and a kind of lighter/less dirty production. If real DIY punk was played in big arenas, Mönster would have been headliners. 2006 cd on Sabotage.

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Mönster ‎– Death Before Disorder LP

 Mönster were a German-Canadian-Polish hardcore powerhouse with members of Highscore, Costa's Cake House, Insuiciety, The Black Hand and legendary Born Dead Icons. They played a raging mix of dbeat punk with Motorheadesque rock 'n' roll. After they released this lp I saw them live at a squat in my hometown and I even grabbed the mic to sing one verse from the anthemic "Failed." Guaranteed room destruction music. 2005 LP on Sabotage.

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Katastrophobia ‎– Age Of Aquarius LP

Had Nausea released another album after Extinction, this is what it would have probably sounded like. Dark, agonizing metallic d-beat crust punk with technical prowess; the highlight is the slow arpeggiated guitar parts that are close both to Nausea, Profane Existence-styled crust bands and black metal. The two last tracks, "Last Rites" and "Absolute Christ," are the best example of this. Unfortunately, after this amazing lp Katastrophobia broke up. That's what happens with all good punk bands anyway. 2001 lp on Nabate, Active Distribution, and Morning Star.

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Katastrophobia ‎– Homo Morticinus 7"

Even faster, even more technical, even more vicious and bent on destroying everything, this is the second 7" of Belgian crust punk masters Katastrophobia. All four tracks will kick your ass up to the mouth of Scheldt. Great artwork, too, but I'm too bored to scan it. 2000 7" on Morning Star.

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Katastrophobia ‎– Katastrophobia 7"

Great crust punk/thrash from Belgium, featuring a member of Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat. I can hear influences from Nausea, along with fellow Belgians Hiatus, but with great technical proficiency, lots of breaks and changes and a rabid playing style. 1998 7" on Nabate.

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Erimos - Koilada Tis Monaksias

If you liked the side of Epithanatios Ronghos from the previous post, this is also gonna appeal to you. Erimos was the band some of their members had before Epithanatios while they still lived in provincial Greece. Their style is almost identical: epic wintry black metal-tinged crust punk based on seventh chords, gruff vocals and relentless pounding on the drums, close to Greek crust legends Himeria Narki, dark melodic crust like Ambulance or Ekkaia, as well as the early - and good - Greek bm material like Rotting Christ (pre-Triarchy of the Lost Lovers), Varathron and Septic Flesh. 2004 DIY release.

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Epithanatios Roghos & Poreia Sto Perithorio Split LP

Two great punk bands from Thessaloniki, Greece, whom I was lucky enough to catch in the act during their run. Epithanatios Ronghos (Death Rattle) played superb black metal-influenced crust punk with lots of wintry melodic riffs, gruff vocals and an epic sense of despair. Unfortunately they broke up after their guitarist's death from a drug overdose, but at least one member continues to the now running band Kataxnia who play kinda similar punk. Poreia Sto Perithorio played pogo-inducing mid-to-fast-paced rock n roll punk that makes me want to jump from my desk to the couch. 2006 self-released lp.

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Blacken The Skies - Blacken The Skies cd

An anarcho-punk band from North Carolina featuring Stef of Catharsis. They play intricate and melodic neo-crust punk with influences from Ashes Rise and mainly The Dagda, along with some more experimental screamo influences. 2003 cd on CrimethInc.

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Büfo ‎– Moderni Ja Maailman Tuho 2x7"

 

I remember being blown away by this Finnish hardcore punk when I saw them live in 2006 in the Obscene Extreme festival of that year, where they played (if my memory serves well) a crusty/grind hybrid. In this double 7" they are slightly different as they mix anthemic crusty hardcore with Japanese-styled grindpunk, some Integrity-influenced guitar solos and even some jazz fusion moments! I like it a lot, it's great fun and they growl in that trademark Finnish accent that makes Suomi punk bands so special. Oh and there's a Terveet Kadet cover, so there you go. 2008 2X7" on Addiction To War.

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Komatoz / Counterblast ‎– Live In Berlin in KOPI 15.05.2011 tape

So the guy who made this bootleg tape had to separate one of the Counterblast tracks in both sides of the tape because of the length. Like it must have been very hard to release the whole Counterblast performance on a standalone tape. And as he says in the liner note, the full CB performance can be downloaded online, but the link for his site doesn't exist anymore. Pure idiocy. So, here we have a live Counterblast performance from a 2011 gig in the legendary 28-year-old Berlin squat Køpi, just a few days after the release of their most recent album Nothingness. All tracks are from said album (unfortunately nothing from Balance of Pain or Impassivity), along with "The Bitter End" from the 2010 Faceless 10". The sound quality sucks and worsens as the tape goes on, and for maybe half the duration there's only one speaker functioning. Great job man, couldn't have done better. But hey, still it's fucking Counterblast, one of the best bands in the crust/sludge world, and this rugged quality kinda fits the depression and anger so deeply entrenched in their music, and the keyboards sound especially menacing and oppressive, and the band plays brutally and with an emotional abandon, so we ok. Let's hope that listeners will be able to bear with the sound. On the other side, there's Komatoz, a Russian crust/thrash metal band, that sounds more on the metal than the punk side for my taste. 2011 tape on Kickasstapes.

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Noituus / Praia De Vomito / Melanocetus Murrayi - split cdr

Noituus were from Finland and played lo-fi d-beat crust with...well a very Finnish vibe, that is with heavy distorted bass and loud vocals. Praia De Vomito played basement noisecore with deep growls/ harsh screams, almost inaudible guitar and fun sloppy drumming. The half-hour Melanocetus Murrayi track is a harsh noise madness raised on Masonna. 2008 cdr on Prai De Vomit.

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Dödsdömd ‎– De Sju Dödssynderna 7"

Dödsdömd's second work, this 7" three years after their first cd, is a masterpiece of Swedish käng, with amazing riffs (the chorus of fourth track "Lattja" is just anthemic), mad vocals and a sinister, black-metal-like atmosphere, which is also evident in the lyrics dealing with the seven sins, and in the band pic, where we can see them sporting corpse-paint. Must have. 2006 7" on Havoc Records.

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Dödsdömd ‎– Samhällets Fiender Nummer Ett cd

Dödsdömd were a Swedish käng band, käng being the particularly Swedish form of savage d-beat/crust punk with multiple vocalists and crazy riffs/solos. They made a run of four years, during which they released one full-length cd and three 7"s. This is their debut full-length cd, filled with fast drums, punk/metal riffs and three vocalists shouting stuff in Swedish. 2003 cd on Putrid Filth Conspiracy.

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