Worshipping japanese hardcore since the day before yesterday!
Crow released their 7″ “Kontonshin” (God of Chaos) in 1998. It’s a far cry from the earlier material of theirs I have already posted. It is still dark, a lot tighter, more brutal and less simple d-beat – now they even play intros and stuff! You can hear a black metal influence in the harmonies of the title track, which was later rerecorded for their album “Bloody Tear”.
Wow, what a “creative” name for a japanese hardcore compilation! All sarcasm aside, the bands on this bootleg compilation are all top notch: Side A starts off with the only release by Brain Death, their “Personal Affair” 7″ from 1987. Raging blast beats with a high pitched singer who could be male, female or fuck off! Next is the Chicken Bowels’ classic 7″ “Keep Our Fire Burning” with angry, ultra-fast and somewhat melodic US-influenced hardcore anthems. Side B features the rawest stuff on this LP, Googol Plex’ only 7″ titled “Nail A Lie To The Counter” from 1987. Just as wild and blasting as Brain Death, but with a barking shouter and a noisier production. Last are The Clay, whose primitive and stomping 7″ Middle East Combat Area can also be found here. In addition to the tracks of the 7″ this bootleg also features their songs from the Great Punk Hits Compilation.
I guess this one’s mostly for total fanatics and those interested in punkrock history! This bootleg’s got two early live sets by everyone’s favourite psychos from 1982 and 1983. Even though both are extremely raw and noisy, there’s been a noticable “evolution” between the two shows. The first one contains mostly unnamed songs which never made it on later official releases, while the second one’s already got a number of classic GISM tunes in it. I didn’t really bother cutting the shows into single songs, since they all blend into one huge roaring orgy of noise, feedback and Sakevi’s growls anyway!
Resurrection from 1985 is The Mobs’ only full-length release. By this time they had transformed their lo-fi hardcore punk to a mix of hardcore and death rock. All of a sudden the sound is tight, the band no longer look like they might snatch old ladies’ purses, and just look at those full stacks and the hardrock drum kit on the cover! How did they get the money for all that gear? Snatching old ladies’ purses?
Here’s a killer gothic/death rock 7″ from Sex Android, a band with members of the great Phaidia. The weirdly named title track “Sexaroid Capsule Schneider” is slow, dark and ominous, while the b-side “Glamorous Lady” is faster, punkier and more melodic, it also has some great guitar-/synth-hooks. The true masterpiece about this 7″ must be the cover: a downplayed HR Giger meets Bob Vido’s trashy pulp science-fiction artwork.
The second of three money saving compilations, and what a monster: it starts out with the untoppable of all releases: Zouo’s “The Final Agony” 7″, which I’ve already worshipped here. Next are Tranquilizer, who recorded their tracks with the aid of an out of tune guitar and a vacuum cleaner. With the exception of the intro style “Never go to war” they all start and sound virtually identical and surely made Kuro ashamed of their tame niceness and clean sound! Manbiki Chocolate (Shoplifted Chocolate, what a great name!) are the closest thing to real music on this compilation. They have some melodies and actual structures in their songs, but are otherwise as fast and hardcore as the rest. Last are G-Spot who sound like that one night when you invited all your leather-jacketed, spiked and studded friends to your practice place, got wasted and then recorded the ideas from last week’s party on a boombox!
Except for their tracks on the Hold Up Omnibus 8″ and the Great Punk Hits Compilation, The Clay only released this 7″ in the time when they were active. The tracks are cool, primitive hardcore stompers with some metallic palm muting and rock solos thrown in. Sometimes the playing is a little bit wobbly, but who gives a fuck? “It’s good enough for punk rock!” Judging from the picture on the backcover, it seems The Clay’s politics were sadly exactly as one dimensionally anti-imperialist as many of their contemporaries’…
狂気の日本 