November 13, 2011 distro update

Hello to anyone reading this,
Hope everyone is doing well. First off, i have changed my email address to ewrecksn@gmail.com from my Hotmail address. I was informed by multiple people that i was not receiving their emails. If you have tried to contact me in the past and not received a reply, i sincerely apologize, and i hope that you will try me again at this new email address. The old one is still valid, but if i'm on your email list, please update it to this one. Thanks.

It's been a brutal year, and, as we enter the home stretch of 2011, i can't help but genuinely fear what the future might bring. This isn't about nuclear annihilation (though that's as present a threat as ever) or unfounded government conspiracies, but instead something much more deep rooted. The last few years have seen deep cuts in civil liberties, worker's rights, environmental protection, and the general stability of life. These aren't policies that can be changed or undone simply by the public's will over night. The saying goes that if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. Personally, i feel more like if you're not absolutely terrified, you're not paying attention.

As the threat looms of a double dip recession here in the US, the majority of American citizens swing further and further to the right. NPR recently reported this is the farthest to the right public opinion has been since the early 1920s. People are too scared and confused to be angry about billionaires in the top 2% that have caused this while scapegoating everyone beneath them. Instead, public outrage from the middle and working classes is aimed at those even poorer than themselves. This is because the middle class feels what little they are making to survive is being unfairly taken from them to support those on social welfare and federal assistance programs. The truth is that these programs actually take up a fraction of government spending when compared to the cost of fighting two wars and extending deep tax cuts to the ultra rich. But when you're working 50 hours a week and trying to support a family on $40,000 a year, it's easy to become angry at the people making $20,000 a year that receive child services, subsidized health insurance, and benefits from food assistance programs. The middle class wants to see taxes cut back because they have already had to endure wage freezes or pay decreases, layoffs, and egregious financial hardship. Unfortunately, middle class support for cutting taxes only benefits the elite and business class and only marginally helps the middle class at best. Many middle class workers are just hoping to hold onto what they have and raising taxes or increasing government spending - whether it's to create job growth through New Deal style construction projects or anything else - is unfathomable and seems out of place to the middle class right now. The business class supports this obviously as it benefits Wall Street and the financial sector.

The right wing constituency, conservative pundits, and elite have taken the economic and political climate as the perfect time to attack all of the institutions now that have given the middle class and working class the lifestyle that they have grown accustomed to. They operate through fear tactics and the generation of hysteria. Their agenda is to privatize Social Security, outlaw unionization, and deregulate or do away with fair labor practices, environmental protection acts, and economic policies put in place to restrict corporations from becoming more powerful than they already are. If you think that deregulation of the pharmaceutical industry is going to lead to more testing to make sure their medications are safe, better cures, and lower costs of the medications for the public, i think that you should reevaluate your stance. Instead of creating jobs through Green technology - which is largely considered the wave of the future - those in power in the US are attempting to create jobs by having an oil pipeline go through the middle of the country coming out of Canada. All this while we see an American owned corporation in General Motors team up with China to invest in technology to create a new and better electric car, therefore creating jobs in China while bolstering and stabilizing China's economy as they prepare to take over from the US as the world's number one Super Power within the next five years.

It's easy to escape from reality by playing hours of Halo, fantasy football, and watching Jersey Shore so that you don't have to dwell on the situation. Maybe you've just come out of college and are now working at Target after earning a four year bachelors degree because you can't find work in your field and you don't want to think about the economic or political climate more than you have to. I don't blame anyone for this. It's naive and far too idealistic to think you can change the world or even have that much of an impact, but it's crucial to stay informed i think. It's going to take a lot for things to get better, and it will be years before there is any positive change. I just wonder how much worse it will get before things actually do begin to improve.

The releases i'd most like to point out this time around are the Faith and Void LPs on Dischord. The Faith LP compiles both the Faith demo recorded in 1981 as well as the entire "Subject To Change" 12" EP from 1983. The Faith of course are best known for their seminal split LP with Void, but they were a highly influential band for the time that spawned all sorts of groups including Embrace, Rites of Spring, Skewbald, Ignition, One Last Wish, and others. Dischord Records has been pumping out a bunch of great releases on vinyl both by repressing their back catalog and also digging into their archives to release lots of rare, long out of print, or previously unreleased classic era DC hardcore. This release is no different, and is highly recommended. Includes liner notes written by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat/Dischord Records.

The Void LP is equally crucial (a term i honestly fucking hate but is applicable here), and it covers Void material recorded between the years 1981-1983. Like the Faith, Void was equally influential in their own way. Despite however many Void may have inspired, there is definitely only one Void in the world, and no one has ever been able to replicate what Void did to any degree of success. They were one of the first to fuse heavy metal with punk, but i wouldn't call their sound crossover or anywhere near metal. They are an iconic hardcore band, and this release is just fantastic. This LP also includes some well written liner notes that will appeal to fans of the band. Also, the first few people who order the Void LP can have the promotional poster that is for the release. Just let me know if you want it included with your order.

Regarding the "Grind Madness" CD set on Earache, i had an internal debate over whether or not to carry this release. The history of Earache Records has been well publicized. Digby Pearson at Earache started off as a promoter of shows, a fanatical tape trader, and the mastermind behind the Genocide Association "Sonic Lobotomy" demo. Digby then began Earache with Kalv from Heresy to release the then new crop of extreme punk, hardcore, and grind bands coming from England. Dig quickly took over the operation on his own and has since had many claims levied against him of ripping off bands by not paying royalties. Many older UK folks feel Dig used the DIY scene to get where his label is now, and i don't feel comfortable carrying Earache releases because i think it tacitly supports Earache's lack of values and ethics and exploitation of the DIY scene. While I have no ambition to start carrying further Earache Records releases (though i do have Napalm Death and Carcass tapes at clearence prices in this month), i didn't think bands such as Heresy which were very strongly committed to Do-It-Yourself ethics and left wing political beliefs, as well as having members still actively involved in the scene by playing in bands such as Geriatric Unit and Endless Grinning Skulls, should be boycotted simply because a large corporate metal label could afford to license their BBC owned recordings.

With all of that said, this is a surprisingly well put together and fantastic release. There are some who argue that these are the best recordings ever by Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror due to the equipment made available to them to use on these recordings, and i think that the argument could be made. Besides that though, there is a fantastic interview with Mick Harris of Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, and Unseen Terror in which he recounts just how imporant and influential John Peel was to him, what it meant to him to play on Peel's show, and some great anecdotes about the times he went down to record for it. There's a youthful enthusiasm, innocence, and sincerity that comes across in Mick's words as he recounts the whole experience, and i found it to be really great and honest read. I don't think that Earache Records is worthy of support by the DIY scene, and i hate the fact that this release came out on a label that shares little in the way of what i consider to be intrinsic punk values, but i have to admit it's a very well done release that compiles some great music played by some sincere people and is a great document to a specific era of UK hardcore and punk.

Lastly, if there are any locals interested in browsing through the distro in person, feel free to contact me about stopping in. This way you can listen to any of the records in the distro that i kept a personal copy of, so you get to hear it ahead of time. Plus, you can pillage my fucking M&M jar like Brian from BKB always god damn does. Just email me ahead of time if you want to stop by, and i can let you know when i'll be around. Not that anyone wants to make the drive out, but whatevs.

Full distro list and website can be viewed at http://www.socialnapalm.com/ . Past email updates can be viewed at http://penetration82.blogspot.com/ .

If you'd like to be removed from this list, just reply saying so. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Please remember that PRICES ARE *NOT* POSTAGE PAID.

All parcels are sent Media Mail within the US unless you request otherwise. If you're willing to pay for it, I can send First Class, Priority, etc. with any number of services such as Delivery Confirmation, Insurance, Registered Mail, or others. Please email me how you'd like it shipped, and i can get you a total.

International customers please get in touch for rates. All international orders are sent via airmail. Get in touch for other potential shipping methods and services.

Payment: I can accept Paypal (i do have to charge for their fees though), well concealed cash, or *postal* (that you get from the post office) money orders made out to "Erik" (NOT Social Napalm). Address is at the end of this email. Thanks.

Here's what's in stock now:

7"s:

Active Minds - "Bury The Past: Build The Future" 7" on Loony Tunes Records $6.00
"Brand new recordings - 13 songs of political hardcore." -Loony Tunes Records
It's been 25 years now that Active Minds have been going for, and they continue to crank out relevant and high quality releases that remain firmly critical of the current wrongs in the world. This 2011 release sees Active Minds screaming out against the cost of nuclear weapons in Britain, macho men promoting sexism, porno grind (it's about time someone finally really took this on -- what a stupid genre), and people obsessed with name brands and fashion, and powerviolence (also something that needed to be called out in my opinion). A very solid release that will definitely appease fans of the band.

Active Minds - Restocks of pretty much all their in print and available releases. Please check the site for a complete list: http://www.socialnapalm.com/store/ . The restock includes 7"s, splits, the flexi, and copies of their second and third LPs.

Bastard - "Controlled In The Frame" 7" on 540 Records $5.00
Official reissue of this tastey Japanese platter.

Bloodkrow Butcher - s/t 7" on Bloodkrow Records $4.00
"Raw, tuneful GBG influenced hardcore punk from Lowell, MA. Taking notes from early Swedish/UK hardcore in the sense that the songs are abrasive and catchy without any sort of modern frills. Split release between Total Fucker Records/Bloodkrow Records." -Brian/Bloodkrow Butcher

Chronic Sick - s/t 7" (AKA "Reagan Bands" 7") on No Way Records $4.00
"Finally reissued legitimately/band authorized after 27 years. Great NJHC from 1983. The original of the hc/kbd classic on Mutha Records goes for up to 500.00 on eBay so jump on this now to get it at a reasonable price. 3 songs of catchy, snotty Reagan era hardcore the way it was meant to be. Short, fast, and loud. The front cover art to this record is a dead give away- you need this! Restored and Remastered by Dave Eck at Lucky Lacquers, and what a great job he did on this. We tried hard to keep the look and sound as close to the original as we could." -Brandon/No Way Records

Contrast Attitude/See You In Hell split 7" on Insane Society Records $6.50
"Brand-new split of two bands from two opposite parts of the world! Contrast Attitude from Japan delivers the punch straight to the point with two blasts of loud apocalyptic d-beat raw punk. The legacy of British metal punx of late 80s like Broken Bones and (later period) Discharge, Scandinavian käng of Shitlickers or Anti-Cimex and Japanese distorted wall of noise of bands like Disclose and Confuse is definitely right here in the music of these maniacs from Mie-city active already since 1998! After split EPs with Crow and Systematic Death is this split already the third split EP of See You In Hell from Brno-city/Czech Republic with Japanese band. Two songs of energetic and ass-kicking hardcore/punk with gravely vocals and gang choruses. Like usually with killer sound from South-Bohemian Hellsound Studio and mastering job by Jack Control (Enormous Door Studio). Record cover artwork by talented artist Murilo Pommer from Brazil in pretty dark and bleak mood like always from this master of pen!" -Insane Society Records

Doom - "Police Bastard" 7" on Profane Existence Records $4.00
"Five songs recorded in 1989, during the same session in which they recorded their brilliant split LP with No Security. Considered by many to be their best early material, this classic EP contains the songs "Means to an End," "Relief, Pt. 2," and of course, "Police Bastard." This was the second release ever by Profane Existence Records and is considered a masterpiece of "crust." There are at least five different versions of the cover, but all of the Profane Existence vinyl were made using plates copied from the original masters." -Profane Existence

Força Macabra - "A Vivo No Japão - 2001" 7" on No Fashion HC Records $7.00
Stock copies of this early 2000s release. I thought this was long out of print, but i got a lucky and found a place that still had some. Recorded live at F.A.D. in Yokohama, Japan on March 16, 2001. Força Macabra is a long running Finnish band that celebrates both the well known and the obscure Brazilian hardcore, thrash, and early metal bands. If you're looking for a band that's heavily into drugs and partying but can go toe to toe with anyone on their knowledge of South American hardcore (or Japanese HC for that matter), then Força Macabra is for you.
Visit the official Força Macabra website here: http://www.forcamacabra.com/

Freaks Union/Wat Tyler - "Waste Of Space?"/"Vicar And I" split 7" on Peter Bower Records $4.50
Yes, Wat Tyler, the band that features Sean Forbes, the man responsible for infinite hilarity who was/is a member of the UK82 band 4 Minute Warning, Hard Skin, and ran Rugger Bugger Discs. Wat Tyler who did many splits (including with Leatherface, Thatcher On Acid, J Church), singles, and LPs continues to play an interesting blend of punk rock/hardcore here. Freaks Union is also from the UK playing punk rock.

Fy Fan - "Ingen Framtid For Alltid" 7" on No Way Records $4.00
"Sweden's Fy Fan Return with a brand new 6 track ep that clocks in just around 7 minutes. That should give you an idea of the content here. Short, fast, raw swedish hardcore punk. This time around, Fy Fan have decided to bring the world their most abrasive, raw, abusive output to date! It's like a swift slap in the face! Their previous recordings are great, but this one definitely stands out and brings to mind old classics like "Raped Ass" by Anti Cimex, and "Cracked Cop Skulls" by Shitlickers. They've really hit the nail on the head here, folks. Gold foil stamp logo on cover, postcard insert. Buy Or Die!" -Brandon/No Way Records

Godorrhoea - "Zeitgeist" 7" on Loony Tunes Records $6.00
"Late '80s band from the UK who were the closest thing to early Rudimentary Peni that I've ever heard. 17 songs taken from studio, live and rehearsal sessions - every song that they ever did." -Loony Tunes Records

Indian Dream - second EP 7" on Xingu Records $6.00
Interesting release here coming from the ashes (or the last hurrah depending on one's point of view) of the UK anarcho/DIY scene. This is melodic peace punk in the late '80s/early '90s tradition rather than than your typical Crass or Flux sounding bands from the 1981 era. Indian Dream features a female vocalist and got compared to Political Asylum in the description that i saw for them, and i think that's pretty accurate. This release is from 1992, and it's got that pop/melodic punk sound to it that the bands that bands of the era were incorporating. I guess comparisons that come to mind for me are Dan/Sofa Head, Thatcher On Acid, later Instigators, Academy 23, Internal Autonomy, and the like. Anyway, lyrically it's more of the introspective emotional political style that became popularized in the '90s rather than the outspoken rage of the early protest anarchist punk scene. There's some songs on Youtube you can listen to if anyone wants to check them out. Indian Dream also released an LP called "Orca" on the same label in 1989. This is a neat-o stock copy release. I'd build an entire distro off just shit like this if i could find more of it.

Lackey Die - s/t 7" on Feel It Records $4.00
"Lackey Die was the first hardcore band from the small city of Charlottesville, Virginia. Starting out in 1982, they played furious, no-bullshit hardcore. During this time they recorded two studio sessions, one at Floodzone Studios (White Cross, Unseen Force) and another at the now-famous Inner Ear Studios (Minor Threat, Bad Brains, etc.) The band broke up in late 1985, leaving behind only some local fans and a couple mentions in MRR scene reports. 25 years later, the master tapes have been re-discovered and remastered for vinyl. You'll see why Lackey Die would fit in perfectly on an old Southern hardcore mixtape alongside bands like C.O.C., early Honor Role, Beef People, Landlords, Neon Christ, etc. This release is fully authorized and is limited to 500 copies w/ hand-screened sleeves." -Sam/Feel It Records
Lackey Die - "No Choice" mp3: http://soundcloud.com/feelitrecords/lackey-die-no-choice

Minor Threat - "First Demo Tape" 7" on Dischord Records $5.00
"These are previously unreleased demo versions of songs which have been previously released. 8 songs" -Dischord Records
"It's amazing what one finds when looking for something else. While going through tape after tape putting together the 20 Years of Dischord box set, Ian MacKaye and company found these tapes that comprise the first recording session of the now legendary hardcore band Minor Threat. Granted, there are no new tracks here and no new revelations musically, but it is interesting to hear the playing progression from these demos to the tracks that actually made release (which can be found on the Complete Discography CD). A very cool view into the embryonic days and some rather hilarious pictures of the D.C. kids make this a very desirable item for fans of the band." -Chris True, All Music Guide

Nemesis - [Japanese title] (Dou-Koku) 7" on Solar Funeral Records $4.50
Great release by a great label and great person. Dennis over at Solar Funeral does a great job with his releases and putting time and effort into what he feels strongly enough about to support. This release is no different.
"Hailing from Fukuoka, Japan, Nemesis is a young band taking cues from UK hardcore punk but played with the speed and intensity of early Warhead / Nightmare, with an underlying Kyushu twist that brings homemates Kuro to mind. Aggressive vocals, gang choruses, powerful guitars and intense drumming: unmistakably Japanese, this band carries on in the tradition of the Selfish / Blood Sucker / Discrete Records roster. 4 tracks that go for the throat. Raw and pure energy. Split release with Flower Of Carnage (Japan) and Ratbone (France)." -Dennis/Solar Funeral
MP3 sample: http://solar-funeral.tripod.com/noise/nemesis/doukoku/seizonsha.mp3

Night Fever - "Transparent" 7" on No Way Records $4.00
"Copenhagen, Denmark's "K Town Hardcore" creeps are back with a vengeance! 3 New tracks of snotty ferocious hardcore punk, Night Fever Style. If you like their "New Blood" LP, you'll definitely be into this. They haven't changed a bit, and that's a good thing! Combining elements of classic Hardcore like RKL and Poison Idea w/ some metallic elements ala Motorhead & Metallica with a bit of Danzig-ish vocals here and there.
3 songs here, the A side "Transparent" is a mid tempo crusher that will absolutely stomp you into the ground, then on the flipside bringing you back to life with 2 ripping hardcore tunes! Over before you know you know it, leaving you wanting to listen over and over, and over. One time pressing of 1000 copies." -Brandon/No Way Records

Raw Noise - "Scum Will Rise To The Top" 7" on MCR Co. $3.50
A new Japanese import at a 1990s bargain price. I'm selling these barely above cost because i have a bunch of them.
"In the late 80's and early 90's when the first wave of Crust was really raging, Raw Noise released a 10" that to my mind is a classic of the genre along with Extreme Noise Terror, Doom and the like. The story I heard was that one of the band members went to jail for ten years. When he got out the band picked up where they left off, playing rampaging full throttle crust in the late 80's style. So here you have some really powerful crust core in the Extreme Noise Terror tradition from some total lifers. Four hard hitting songs, on MCR Records of Japan." -Felix Havoc/Havoc Records

Scumbrigade/ENS split 7" on Död & Uppsvälld $5.00
Stock copies of this long out of print tastey platter from Sweden released back in 1998. Scumbrigade were quite popular in the late '90s along the time of Tolshock, Diskonto, Greed, and 3-Way Cum. They have kind of a crust meets thrash sound that was fairly typical of the era, but i think it holds up. Many people will note Scumbrigade contains members that went onto play in Skitkids. A good band. ENS also came from Sweden and also played crust influenced hardcore punk.

Selfish - "The Joy Of The Industrial Society" 7" on Genet Records $6.00
Very excited to have these in stock!!! Stock copies of this great Selfish 7" released in 1998 by Genet Records out of Belgium. I think many people are familiar with Selfish after having done numerous releases and tours. Forming in the early 1990s in Finland, Selfish started off as a fairly standard crusty hardcore band before turning their love for Burning Spirits styled Japanese hardcore into the style they began to play. There's four songs on here, including a cover of Death Side's "Mirror", and all of them rage. This 7" was later compiled with other Selfish singles on the "Cry For Love, Cry For Death" LP on Dead Alive Records in 2003. I'm really happy to have this release in stock.
Also interesting about this release is that it was released by Genet Records. Genet was a prolific European DIY crust/hardcore/thrash label during the 1990s along with similar labels like Flat Earth, ElderBerry, Ecocentric, Nabate, SOA, and Skuld. They released some great records by bands such as Negative Stance, Uutuus, Corpus Christi, Força Macabra, Bad Influence, and others. Somewhere along the way their scope of coverage changed to releasing what i would describe as 'professional hardcore' for lack of a better term. But the early catalog has some definite hits, and this record is without doubt one of them.

Skizophrenia - s/t 7" on Hardcore Survives $10.00
"The future is in our hands! Here comes 2nd ep of Japanese great treasure Skizophrenia from Tsuyama punk city. It's put out for 1st ep in 3 years and half. They've affected to all over Japanese punk scene and tour bands from overseas by their various ideas, energy, culture, food and drink. It's like the eye of punk typhoon in here. You will know what a great bands/place in such a country side. It's meaningless to mention the band names for their sound, if it has to say dawn of hardcore punk early 80's intense raw punk, eat and puke these UK82'/Finland/Sweden bands. Bristles, Kohu-63, Nukketeatteri, Appendix etc… This is just name of Raw Punk E.A.T.E.R.! Catchy guitar riff, roaring bass line, raw drumming as hell that sound like 80's "cardboard drumming". Melodious screaming shouts for our future that nowhere to go. Full of 4parts originality will attack to your heart and light up for tomorrow!" -So/Hardcore Survives


Tapes:

Truncheons - demo tape $4.00
Very nicely done demo by this new Dis beat band coming out of Montreal, Canada. This one features 7 songs not too dissimilar (ha!) to Disclose and similar bands. But i think there's enough originality here that this band stands out from the pack. This is fairly raw, but not to the point where it's a hindrance on the music. The packaging is good - it's a pro tape and comes with a lyric sheet. Truncheons features ex-members of After the Bombs, Kontempt and H.O.P.E., but i think the music here stands out on it's own, and Truncheons shouldn't be considered just another "ex-members of..." band. Preview two of the demo songs at: http://truncheonspunk.blogspot.com/

*I was able to pick up some old tapes at a fairly cheap price recently. All tapes are brand new and still sealed and professionally duplicated (no home dubbed tapes). Nothing crazy, but i think anyone still blaring ghetto blasters during skate sessions or driving around in pre-1997 manufactured cars (which is half the punk scene) might dig these.

Carcass - "Swansong" on Earache Records $3.50
Fuck what all the die hard fans have to say. "Reek of Putrefaction" is not a classic grindcore album. I don't want to hear some grindcore kid with emo glasses and skinny black jeans schooling me about the importance of that muddy piece of shit. The Carcass album before this, "Heartwork", is my favorite album by them. I've never heard "Swansong", but if it's half as good as "Heartwork", it's still better than the "classic" Carcass material.

Napalm Death - "Scum" on Earache Records $3.50
A 1995 reissue of the first Napalm Death album. This tape comes with a yellow cover. I don't think there's any difference between this 1995 edition and a copy one would have bought in 1987 from Earache, but who knows. The quality of the music on here goes without saying.

SS Decontrol - "Power" on Taang! Records $3.50
This is a shitty compilation of SS Decontrol songs that is like combining the entire SSD catalog on to a single release and then hitting random on the shuffle button. The entire "Get It Away" album is on here as well as all of "The Kids Will Have Their Say". It's got most songs from their other albums as well, plus some pretty cool live stuff (including songs with Minor Threat and GBH), and some demo material.


Cheap CDs:

Yeah, yeah, i know CDs suck and all that, but whatever. These are alright because 1. they compile a bunch of releases on one disc saving you time flipping and changing records; and 2. they're fucking cheap. Win-win situation.

Chaotic Dischord - "Fuck Religion, Fuck Politics, Fuck The Lot Of You!" CD on Dead Ringer $4.00
This CD compiles virtually all of Chaotic Dischord's early output including the "Fuck The World" 7" (1982), "Never Trust A Friend" 7" (1983), "Don't Throw It All Away" 12" EP (1983), and "Fuck Religion, Fuck Politics, Fuck The Lot Of You!" LP (1983), and their track from the "Riotous Assembly" compilation LP (1982). It features an exhaustive 31 songs total and serves as a great early years discography CD.
The members of Vice Squad and their entourage were regularly making side projects (the others being Dead Katss and Sex Aids), and Chaotic Dischord was the most prolific and longest running of those projects, actually exceeding the lifespan of Vice Squad itself. Chaotic Dischord hated a lot of things, but they had a special hatred for Chaos UK and Disorder, two of the bands they were inspired by in an effort to mock. 'Dischord's main point of contention with Chaos UK and Disorder was that they thought those bands played a style of music that was tuneless, devoid of any musical quality, effortless, and ultimately talentless. This album features some of the earliest and best Chaotic Dischord material, and i hope some people might enjoy this CD.

Chaotic Dischord - "Now! That's What I Call A Fuckin' Racket" CD $5.00
For those unfamiliar with the story behind Chaotic Dischord, they were formed as a joke band. Members of Vice Squad had started Riot City Records along with Heartbeat Records head honcho Simon Edwards. After Vice Squad signed to a major label after their second single on Riot City, they let Simon completely take over the operation of the label and to make all the decisions for himself. He went on to release records by Chaos UK and Disorder (on a side label for Disorder). However, the members of Vice Squad HATED both bands and thought they were both tuneless noise (arguably true), so they concocted an idea to make a joke band called Chaotik Dischord that made songs up on the spot in the same style as Chaos UK and Disorder. They recorded a demo tape and sent it to Simon as a joke to see if he'd fall for it. He did and in turn included them on the "Riotous Assembly" comp LP, mislabeling their name as Chaotic Dischord. Chaotic Dischord went on to be the most prolific band on Riot City Records as well as one of the best selling writing many songs making fun of bands like Chaos UK and even a song called "Fuck Off Ripcord" in the mid '80s.
This CD actually combines two really good Chaotic Dischord albums onto one album. The first is the "Now! That's What I Call A Fuckin' Racket (Vol. 1)" LP from 1985 released on Riot City Records side label Not Very Nice Records (which according to Simon Edwards was released on "Not Very Nice Records because it wasn't really a very nice record"). The other LP on here is the "Live In New York" which was released by Riot City Records in 1984. In typical Chaotic Dischord style, the album wasn't live at all and they never played in New York or the United States. It was recorded live in the studio with audience sounds added in to make it sound like they were playing a massively large stadium to thousands of people. Of course the reality was Chaotic Dischord only played a few shows ever.
This album turned out to be quite controversial as Punkcore Records ended up getting sued by EMI because the cover of this was a rip off of the "Now!" music series that EMI had been releasing of complete and total pop crap. Subsequently, Punkcore was ordered to stop producing the CDs, so only a limited amount made it out into circulation. These are the remaining stock copies purchased directly from Punkcore Records.

Disorder - "Total Disorder" CD on Dead Ringer $4.00
Nifty singles collection CD combining all the early stuff on a handy little collection. Most people know the deal with Disorder, so there's no need to go into much detail about them. Along with Chaos UK, they represented the Bristol, England noise sound that was highly influential in Europe and Japan in the 1980s. This compiles all of the early singles onto one disc. If you're into noise, argh, fuzz, distort, and feedback, there's a good chance you're into Disorder.

Vice Squad - "Riot City Years" CD on Dead Ringer (also includes the Sex Aids 7" on Riot City Records) $4.00
After appearing on his Heartbeat Records compilation "Avon Calling" (1979), Simon Edwards of Heartbeat Records wanted to release an EP for upstart punks Vice Squad of their own. He approached Iain McKnay of Cherry Red Records who was handling the distribution for Heartbeat Records about releasing a Vice Squad EP. Iain McKnay resolutely opposed the idea and promptly turned down the proposition. Not to be deterred, Simon decided to form a new label with the members of Vice Squad as co-owners under the name of Riot City Records. The label debuted in 1980 with the first Vice Squad EP, "Last Rockers" and was a smashing success, selling over 20,000 copies of the 7" single. This CD compiles Vice Squad's Riot City Records era output including their "Last Rockers" 7" (1980), "Resurrection" 7" (1981), and the song "Coward" from the "Riotous Assembly" compilation LP (1982), which is a personal favorite. Vice Squad went on to sign to the major label EMI after these releases which brought about a great deal of controversy due to EMI's involvement in the arms trade and manufacture of weapons. Vice Squad then continued to use the Riot City Records logo on their releases leading to more confusion as many came to think that Riot City Records was owned by EMI (which would have meant that releases by anti-militarization bands on Riot City including Chaos UK, The Varukers, and The Underdogs among others would have been owned by EMI). Of course none of that was true, and it was just a shared logo before everything in the world was copyrighted. Vice Squad seems to get overlooked today often times, but they were a top tier UK82 band and one of the elites of the time, and this CD is a handy compilation of their best and earliest material. This CD also includes the Vice Squad side project Sex Aids 7" that was released by Riot City Records.


LPs/12"s/10"s/Compact Discs:

Brainbombs - "Genius and Brutality... Taste and Power" 12" on Skrammel Records $14.00
"Reissue of Brainbombs second fullength album. 500 copies made. 9 tracks." -Skrammel Records

Discharge - "Apocalypse Now" LP on Vile Records $17.00 (wicked fucking expensive -- fuck the exchange rate)
This album was recorded on May 24, 1981.
"This release is the live recording of the band at the Lyceum London in 81 if you are expecting a clean spit and polish release, forget it this captures the raw power of the Discharge sound warts and all, this gig was the catalyst of what became the legendary Apocalypse Now tour that went around the UK in early 80s a tour that also included Exploited, Anti Pasti and Chron Gen. Apocalypse Now. end of the world - enough said" -Vile Records (owned by Rat from the Varukers/Discharge)

Doom - "Rush Hour Of The Gods" LP on Flat Earth Records $14.00
"Re-issue of 1996 LP - classic British crust hardcore" -Loony Tunes Records
"Doom were a pretty popular band and I appreciate their faith in me. I think we helped to prove that DIY doesn't have to be crap!" -Sned/Flat Earth Records

Extreme Noise Terror - "Phonophobia" LP on Farewell Records $13.00
"Official repress, remastered and with 2 unreleased trax!!!! A band whose name truly encapsulates their sound, Extreme Noise Terror formed in January 1985 and were signed by Manic Ears Records after their first ever gig. Their debut release was a split album with Chaos U.K., and although there were musical similarities, ENT, along with Napalm Death, were already in the process of twisting traditional punk influences into altogether different shapes. All the conventions of crust are played out on this release: simple, punky riffs, fast d-beat drumming, and shout/screeching vocals. The songs are short, the songs are simple, the songs are just fast, more distorted punk music when you get down to it." -Farewell Records

Faith - "Subject to Change plus First Demo" LP+MP3 on Dischord Records $12.50
"The fall of 1981 found the Washington, DC punk scene in a fallow periods when a number of active bands broke up at the same time. SOA, Minor Threat, Red C and The Untouchables had all split up, and this resulted in a number of the musicians reorganizing. Mike and Ivor from SOA , Alec of The Untouchables and Chris Bald formed Faith and played their first show at H.B. Woodlawn High School in November '81. At the end of 1982, Eddie (also a former member of The Untouchables) joined Faith as a second guitarist and six months later they recorded the Subject to Change 12" EP. Though clocking in at less than 14 minutes, this record was hugely important not only to the people here in D.C but all around the world. On Subject to Change Faith introduced a layered melodic approach that would blossom fully in later Faith-related bands like Rites of Spring and Embrace. For this reissued edition of Subject to Change we have expanded the release from its original EP format into a full-length with the addition of 11-tracks from the band's first demo recorded in 1981 at Inner Ear Studios. Most of these songs were later re-recorded and included on the band's 1982 split LP with Void." -Dischord Records

Força Macabra/Armagedom split LP on Six Weeks Records $10.00
"The legendary Brazil HC band Armagedom made its initial return with the release of this material from 1989. Mastered off a 10-year-old cassette tape this is some crude, manic crossover death-core in the vein of Slayer. Força Macabra from Finland contribute 9 brutal studio tracks that blow all their previous (and current) output away, still singing in Portuguese and still out of control!!!" -Six Weeks Records

GRB - "Maqueta + Estoy Tan Contento" LP on BCore Disc $16.50
"Born in 1984, they quickly showed their differences with other bands of their generation, as they improved the complexity of music and the philosophical-literary value of their lyrics, far from the typical political slogans of the other punk bands, but far more introspective and humanistic. This LP contains, for the first time in vinyl, their debut tape "GRB" (Drama del Horror, 1985) and their vinyl EP "¡Estoy tan contento!" (self-released, 1986)." -BCore Disc

HHH - "Sin Identidad/Inelectual Punks" LP on BCore Disc $16.50
"HHH was one of the most popular and influential spanish bands ever, and we've found for this LP such interesting things like their very first demotape ever, "Sin identidad", their single "Intelectual punks" and finally the outtakes from those recording sessions that were never released. All this on a special limited vinyl LP." -BCore Disc

Isterismo - "Tokyo Crusties" LP on 540 Records $12.00
Discography of releases so far from this awesome Japanese band. I'll admit, i wasn't sold on this band at first and passed on them for a while. But there's some solid riffs underneath all the noise and distortion here that helps to separate Isterismo from the pack. They claim to take influences from old Italian HC bands like Wretched. I can see how it's inspired by it, but i'd stop short of calling it in the vein of those bands. This is a cool release though for anyone who wants all their songs on one handy record or who doesn't want to pay horror prices for their now out of print releases.

Kangrena - "Estoc De Pus" LP on BCore Disc $16.50
"Vinyl LP release of the first cassette "Estoc de pus" (1984) by Kangrena, one of the most remarkable bands of Barcelona's punk scene in the early eighties, remastered from the original 1/4-inch tapes by Santi and Victor Garcia at Ultramarinos Costa Brava Studios, Sant Feliu de Guíxols. For lovers of Crass, Sex Pistols, Discharge, Damned or early Exploited, rageful and dirty punk at its best." -BCore Disc

Kulturkampf - "Caught In An Evil Web Of Violence" LP on Loony Tunes Records $15.00
Kulturkampf were an anarcho punk band from England that released two demos in the early '80s. This LP compiles both of those demos ("The Corpse Of Democracy" and "The Struggle" demo from 1983). Kulturkampf's track "Please Help" was also featured on the Motorhate Records compilation "We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor" in 1985. Musically, this sounds very much like fairly typical anarcho-punk of the era with catchy music, shouted lyrics, and lots of political lyrics. For more info, go to http://kulturkampfuk.blogspot.com/

Makabert Fynd - s/t 12" on Skrammel Records $13.00
"These Swedes (who have never been shy about mentioning that they include former members of Totalitär) bust out with a new full-length, and it is easily the best thing they have done yet (yes, even better than the record they released on Sorry State, haha!). Their previous releases had a very straight forward Swedish hardcore sound, but this time around they add just a touch of rock into the mix, making the riffs much more catchy and memorable. The result reminds me more than a little bit of Totalitär's "Sin Egen Motstandare" LP, though with better, more powerful production. Damn!" -Sorry State Records

Panikos - "Awakening From Lethargy" LP on SPHC $10.00
"Panikos was one of the classic crust bands from the 90's that made "Greek crust" something notable to collectors. Their previous records are to be filed with Chaotic End, Forgotten Prophecy, Naytia, Anasa Staxti, Negative Stance, etc etc. The Greeks took the classic English and American crust sounds and transformed them into their own unique ideas and expressions.
So imagine my delight to be able to release the first new Panikos recordings in over 10 years. And it was worth the wait, they're better than ever. This record uses Amebix and Neurosis as a starting point and then takes those ideas in a distinctly more rocking direction. Clean and heavy sound that feels natural and organic rather than overproduced and sterile." -Dan/SPHC

Rouse - "Deep Wound" LP on BCore Disc $16.50
A more melodic hardcore direction taken by the members of HHH.

Void - "Sessions 1981-1983" LP on Dischord Records $12.50
"Thirty miles north of DC, there is a town called Columbia - one of the first planned communities in the US, and in retrospect, the perfect birthplace for a band as completely chaotic as Void. Void played from 1980-'83, and although they are often credited for creating the template for alternative metal, their only official releases were the tracks on Flex Your Head and their split LP with The Faith. While organizing the Dischord archive, we came across the 4-track recordings of Void's first session at Hit and Run from 1981. Sessions: 1981- 83 features this never-released recording along with the first Inner Ear demo (which includes the Flex Your Head cuts and the songs that ended up on the Condensed Flesh 7 inch), two out-takes from their second Inner Ear session, and a couple of live recordings - including one that may be the last song they ever played." -Dischord Records
Awesome live photo: http://assets.dischord.com/images.d/artist/image/214/void-live-1.jpg

V/A - "Grind Madness At The BBC" (The Earache Peel Sessions) 3 CD box set on Earache Records $13.00
Hard laugh out loud at this nauseating self congratulatory Earache press release. It was so dumb that i had to include it.
"This massive value compilation will surely go down in history as one of the finest and complete ever! Over it's 3 CDs 'Grind Madness At The BBC' manages to compile the legendary BBC Peel Sessions from none other than Napalm Death, Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Extreme Noise Terror, Godflesh, Heresy, Unseen Terror and Intense Degree and in doing so covers the genesis of grindcore in UK if not the world! All 8 of these bands still remain highly revered today with Napalm Death, Carcass and Bolt Thrower arguably still sitting at the top of the extreme metal tree!
Besides the awe inspiring 118 tracks spread over 17 complete sessions the album also comes with exclusive linear notes from Mick Harris, ex drummer of Napalm Death, Unseen Terror & Extreme Noise Terror, as well as the inventor of the term 'grindcore'!
To those of you unfamiliar with the legendary UK radio DJ John Peel, he was responsible for inviting a succession of then unknown, highly extreme hardcore/punk/metal bands to lay down tracks to air on his national UK radio show. Causing intense debate at the time as members of the public were aurally assaulted by the most extreme music they had ever heard, John Peel continued his hands on support to the fledgling scene for the next four years, while he continued his con!
This compilation is so much more than that it is an important document that gives an insight into the earliest recorded music of the bands who later came to define the global grindcore scene.
With a running time of over 3 and a half hours, this must offer the best value per track of any CD ever!" -Earache Records

V/A - "Nacido Para Estorbar" LP on BCore Disc $16.50
"Compilation of unreleased recordings and hard-to-find material of some of the most influential punk-hardcore bands of the early eighties' Barcelona scene: Frenopaticss, Attak, Kangrena, Sentido Común and Código Neurótico. Features the original artwork made in 1989, as this vinyl LP was planned to be released 20 years ago by La Isla de la Tortuga label." -BCore Disc

V/A - "Welcome To 1984" LP on Maximum RockNRoll $10.50
"Maximum Rocknroll is proud to announce the re-release of the seminal Welcome to 1984 compilation LP on the 25th anniversary of its original release. Welcome to 1984 was one of the very first - and perhaps best - compilations to document the first wave of international hardcore. This LP features legendary bands from all over the globe including Terveet Kädet (Finland), BGK (Netherlands), The Stalin (Japan), Olho Seco (Brazil), Raw Power (Italy), Rattus (Finland), RIP (Spain), and many more. 23 bands in all, from 17 different countries!" -MRR
". this LP covers the scene more as it 'should be' - more political with a spirit of independence and resistance in every cut." -Al Flipside, from Flipside #43, 1984


Zines:

None...?


Other shit:

Three underrated street punk records.

It the best of times, it was the worst of times..." But really, they were mostly just the worst of times.

You could make a serious case that the worst of all the various subgenres that punk has spawned over the years could be "street punk". It represented many of the most useless and least endearing elements of punk: chaos, apathy, smashing shit for no reason, acting like a douchebag, glorified alcoholism, and, possibly worst of all, baggy jeans with Dead Kennedys patches safety pinned to them. Street punk dominated the 1990s and into the early 2000s (until "D-beat" ridiculousness took over) complete with fake British accents and incorrectly played Exploited covers. And why shouldn't it have dominated when the only alternatives were awful Victory Records thug-core, bland West Coast powerviolence and it's imitators, and whiny spoiled brats playing in "emotional hardcore" bands. Ugh. The '90s: what a bad, bad time for punk music. So it's no wonder street punk reached such popularity. The sad truth about street punk was that despite the fact that there were probably 10,000 bands playing this style from 1994-2004, there really were only a handful at most that were any good, most notably the Casualties and Defiance (who really don't fit the street punk tag). Even most of the other big names in the genre such as the Unseen, Oxymoron, Blanks 77, Antidote, Funeral Dress, Clit 45, and The Virus each only had a couple of worthwhile tracks (and that might be a generous estimate). Needless to say, this would have been much easier to write if it had called "Overrated Street Punk Releases" instead of underrated ones. With that said, here's three street punk releases i feel never got their due.

Krays - "A Battle For The Truth" CD (Temperance Records, 1999)
After a fantastic debut LP on Tribal War Records, The Krays were one of the more popular bands in the street punk scene. Being from New York City where everything was happening gave them a ton of exposure. The Krays "Inside Warfare" LP from '97/'98 stands the test of time and is one of the strongest LPs of the movement i think. With so much going for them, you'd think they would have been poised to really make their mark on the scene. But instead of delivering a follow up that should have kept them in the forefront of things, they released a CD only album on the NYC HC label, Temperance Records which had previously done releases by Absolution, GG Allin, H20, and a bunch of other tougher bands that had virtually nothing to do with the street punk scene. And without a vinyl pressing of the album and poor distribution within the street punk scene, i think a lot of people never even knew it came out, much less knew where to get it from. But the follow up is really what it should have been. This is a CD that i still play regularly. It's got 12 tracks on it, and the first 8 are non stop fist pumpers. Excellent charging punk that covers some familiar themes such as daily life, but in a much more intelligent and better written way than a lot of their contemporaries. It just comes across as a very honest album instead of all the other bands that were trying too hard to be some UK82 band that they had little in common with. The fifth track on the album is a cover of "I'm Civilized" by Menace, and even though i don't normally like covers on albums, this one is great and fits perfectly. Fuck, i wish this album had been pressed to vinyl. Where the fuck was Charged Records or Punkcore to prevent this masterpiece from languishing in the land of hardcore irrelevance forever? After this album, the Krays went on to release another LP called "A Time For Action" on TKO Records in 2002, but by that time the early signs of the death of street punk were already starting to show. Members of the Krays also did time in the Casualties, Devotchkas, NYC Rel-X, and Model Citizen. I've recently read that the Krays have a new album entitled "Sangre" planned for release on Dead City Records out of New York sometime in 2011.

The Epidemic - s/t 12" (Welfare Records, 2003)
What an unexpected release this was at the time. Boston had always been one of the country's hot beds street punk having produced bands like the Unseen, A Global Threat (Maine transplants), The Trouble, and plenty more, but this record was done by guys at the time who were fresh blood and kind of came out of nowhere. People like to talk up the Unseen's "Lower Class Crucifixion" album to death, but i've always thought that was vastly overrated. I wish fans interested in politically charged UK influenced hardcore would check out on this album instead. Heavy on the Conflict and Icons Of Filth influence, the Epidemic also had their own sound. While much lesser bands such as the Action were gaining popularity for being influenced by political UK bands, the Epidemic were doing the same thing except doing it well. Excellent vocals, excellent guitar riffs, and excellent songs can all be found on this release which doesn't just help set it apart from other street punk material, but also for all other punk material that was being released at the time. Sadly, poor distribution, lack of touring, rotating band members and line up changes, and an overall lack of ambition and push for the band made it so that they never got the chance they deserved. Today, they are not officially broken up, but who knows if they'll ever play a show again. There's an unreleased three song 7" that is awesome in my opinion that i pray will get released some day hopefully. This band is a shame and a prime example of a ton of wasted potential. Christian from the Epidemic went on to form and sing for Social Circkle a year after this 12" was released.

The Bloodclots - "Chaos Day Is Almost Here" 7" (Outcast Records, 1995)
Out of the ashes of the cult Jesters of Chaos (who released one 7"), the Bloodclots, from the state of Washington, released one of the very, very few records of the era that actually looks good aesthetically in terms of the layout. The cover is high contrast black and white and shows a British copper getting smashed in the face with the bands logo written in Old English font ripped out with the record title on the bottom done in black on white hand written cut out letters. Excellent. The band was also one of the few groups of the era that had the look fucking nailed down. Fully studded jackets, pants that weren't fucking baggy, and an all around punk as fuck look. In a genre that put so much emphasis on fashion, the Bloodclots are probably the only '90s band not from New York City or Portland that actually looked good. The great thing about the Bloodclots is their music sounds as good as they look. Hardcore punk with a heavy dose of UK82 influence. It reminds me of the Exploited's "Rival Leaders" EP (Pax Records, 1983) or the song "No Return" by One Way System (!!!!). Six songs are on this debut, and all of them are equally excellent. This is a can't miss EP that you can probably find for $2.00 in any used bin of rotting '90s street punk. I'm not sure how many total were pressed, but i know that there are some on white vinyl and some on black. The Bloodclots released an LP called "Clot You To Rot" as a follow up on Helen Of Oi! Records in 2000. I'm fairly certain that they are still going today, but i have not heard any of their newer material. I'm honestly not sure how these guys were not as popular as the Casualties or Unseen.


Address:

Erik SN
P.O. Box 4073
S. Chelmsford, MA
01824-0773
U.S.A.
http://www.socialnapalm.com/