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MUSIQUE
Chroniques
Prévenez-nous si vous voyez des liens morts, ou pour envoyer vos productions à chroniquer : Yann ; coinxxxcoin[at]yahoo.fr. Si vous cherchez à vous procurer certains de ces disques, écrivez-nous, nous pourrons peut-être vous aiguiller vers des distros qui les ont.
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SHING RECORDS promo sampler 2001 Cd (Shing)
Ok, it’s written 2001 but some of the songs are from releases that just came out. Shing records is a fairly big label from Poland that was mostly into old school Hc/ New york hardcore, but it seems they’re putting out more and more metal releases. I already dealt with them a couple times and they sounded like reliable people. Most of the heavy metal bands on this Cd I don’t care for, but out of the 25 tracks I enjoyed : COALITION (polish hc), SCHIZMA (Ny), RINGWORM (metal-core, Usa), BRAMBORAK (NyHc, Lithuania), 1125 (new track !), BIALA GORACZKA (ok-ish Hc, Poland). Decent sampler overall with lots of big well-produced bands. Tight music, but not much more. www.shingrecords.com (Y.B.)
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VORT’N’VIS FESTIVAL, 16, 17, 18 August 2002, Ieper, Belgium (show review)
I was pissed cos we arrived late once again. But this year, we had paid to hold our stalls. 30 euros for three days ! Fuck. And the programme was really bad for this 10th anniversary, with 90% heavy metal bands. After a couple of them, everyone including metal fans seemed to be bored. There were less people than usual too. Most of our French friends had warned us they wouldn’t go. We still managed to meet a couple good friends, hey, that’s what the Vortn’n’vis is all about, right ? We were definitely not here for the music. I only saw about 5 bands out of 30. A lot of people were disappointed, distros didn’t sell, actually most of them had "special sale" boxes, getting rid of Cds that only came out one or two years ago ! Hc, and METAL, definitely aren’t fashionable anymore. Some friends say it’s for the better ; only the best bands/labels will remain. Dunno. Either ways, it was still cool to be in a 100% drug free/ vegetarian environment. There were so many vegans that you could feel a minority if you were ONLY vegetarian, hahaha. Trends ? Oh yeah, this year, everyone had tattoos. I do mean everyone. And boy did people like to show them ! Sometimes it got a bit pathetic. Bands : unfortunately I missed the band from Iceland, I really wanted to see them. From the few notes I heard, they sounded ok, I would say well-played heavy metal. I also missed RISEN, featuring ex-members of BIRTHRIGHT, but as I said, after one or two metal bands, all the other ones started to sound the same. And the sound was so powerful this year, it was ridiculous. It was so loud you couldn’t even talk to other people. I kind of missed MAX REBO KIDS and ABSENCE. Both sounded average from afar. SMUT PEDDLERS were funny. Not the kind of band I would listen to at home, but live, and amongst all the metal shit, they sounded ok. The guys all looked like 40 year old punks with lots of tattoos and sunglasses. Punk-rock (’n’roll). PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES were one of the best bands of the festival. They sounded a lot like BIKINI KILL, a bit punk-rock, a bit emo, a bit noisy. The female singer had a great voice too. Here again, I would probably not like their studio recordings, but after hearing 10 heavy metal bands, I think I would have even enjoyed MICKAEL JACKSON. JR EWING were next, I’ve never been a big fan of this band, but they sure play powerful emo. NEWBORN are excellent musicians and play tight, varied heavy metal. CONGRESS played last, with a whole new line-up ; I think only Josh remains. They played all their old classics, I can’t say I liked them much. It’s just a death metal band nowadays, and they almost didn’t say anything interesting between the songs. Maybe they should have split up for good. DEAD STOP had the hard task to be the first band on saturday. They were great ! Fast and tight Boston style old school, with covers of NEGATIVE APPROACH and REAGAN YOUTH ! The audience was quite bad, but hey, that’s Belgium. How can you expect metalheads to dance on old school hardcore, huh ? BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN : French tight chaotic emo-Hc-metal. I was disappointed by DEGRADATION, a german old school Hc band. Average stuff, slightly tough-guy. Just trying. LENGTH OF TIME were one of the most metal acts of the fest. No comment. At least they don’t try to pass off as Hardcore. THE DEAL were good. Uptempo old school with quite a lot of aggressiveness. Ok stuff. I was disappointed by SUNRISE, not that I was expecting much, but I like some (real) death metal and I don’t think they do their thing too well. Then came STRIKE ANYWHERE, a band I had never heard before, and wow ! All of a sudden the atmosphere of past festivals came back, you had huge circle pits, singalong, smiling faces, everything. There’s definitely nothing better than an "old school" band to get everyone happy. And they had some cool positive messages too. HEAVEN SHALL BURN were super heavy and not too bad, but after STRIKE ANYWHERE… Last day, and still hot as fuck. POINTING FINGER were first. Poor guys. But the old school fans in the audience were here to support them. The sound quality was much better than in Paris, and the show was quite good. Some silly covers (CHAIN OF STRENGTH, MINOR THREAT and "Young till I die") but apart from that, good show. ABSONE are a French heavy metal/ death metal band. Pretty good at what they’re doing, but not my style at all. I remember hearing a BETWEEN THE LINES ep a long time ago and they sounded like SICK OF IT ALL. A few years later, and live, they still sounded a bit like that, lots of New York influences, more mosh-core than heavy metal thankfully ! I didn’t see much of SWORN IN (Uk, ex-IN THE CLEAR) but they sounded good, old school Hc with screaming vocals I think. DEFORMITY were the most metal act of the whole fest, total real death metal. Nothing more, nothing less. Decent. POINT OF NO RETURN’s show was not as good as two years ago, but it was still cool. Raging political death metal from Brazil, decent crowd reaction. Then a storm broke out and I honestly was wondering whether we were all gonna die under the big metallic tent. Or the bands would bring down the lightning because of the electricity. Man it was pouring rain, so I missed most of AMULET who sounded like an awesome melodic Hc band ! They’ve been around for years and I warmly hope I’ll be able to see them again. CIRCLE played decent rockin’ hardcore, and AS FRIENDS RUST, with a new singer, did an average show. We were happy to leave, but all in all we had an ok time.
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NO TIME TO LOSE + VALUE DRIVEN + POINTING FINGER + GOOD CLEAN FUN + SHELTER, 15/08/02, Paris, Le Gambetta (show review)
Man ! Three of my current favourite bands playing together, on my birthday moreover ! ! Wow. After an ok trip we managed to find Le gambetta, a pub where a few skinhead shows have already taken place. To our disappointment it was very small, the stage was small, the sound was quite bad, and there was no place for a good pit. But who cares, with 4 or 5 positive Hc bands, things could only go well, right ? We were in Paris, so it was no surprise to notice in front of the pub a couple dickheads that often start fights at shows. Thankfully, they only decided to get inside for the last band, as they often do. NO TIME TO LOSE played a great set and people, to my surprise, seemed to dig them. Good. VALUE DRIVEN came next and played tight old school SxE Hc. A bit cliché, but well done, and quite fast. POINTING FINGER were late and they didn’t have the time to do the soundcheck. I love their studio tracks, but live they lack charisma, the sound was average, they didn’t talk a lot between songs, and they didn’t play any of the songs I know. Urgh ! Still an ok set, my friends seemed to enjoy them. GOOD CLEAN FUN were next. It was the 5th time I saw them, and they’re still one of my favourite band ! They played a lot of old songs + a couple covers like "you’ve gotta fight" by the BEASTIE BOYS. I’ve been dreaming for a Hc band playing that cover for years, only G.C.F. could do it ! Excellent show, lots of singalong, mosh and stage diving. It was weird to see SHELTER, an MTV band, play in such a small pub for a Hc/ skinhead crowd ! I don’t like them as you can imagine, but when I saw them live 10 years ago they were excellent. What a disappointment ! Nowadays they play mediocre melodic grungy-Hc. Ray doesn’t say anything between songs (for the best ?). (Almost) all my friends left the room before the end, only to witness a couple drunk skins start a fight between themselves. Cool. And off we were to the Vortn’nvis.
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QUE VIVE LE ROCK LIBRE n°23, newsletter
Une bonne newsletter reguliere et bourree d’infos punk-rock (+ un peu de Oi, de ska, de hardcore). Des chroniques de disques assez detaillees, des news, des contacts et deux-trois opinions. Sympa. grandz@libertysurf.fr (Y.B.)
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UNLOGISTIC + FIST FUCK PRODUCTION, 27/06/02, Rennes, Mondo Bizarro (show review)
Geez, 5 shows in 7 days, I was starting to get sick… and it seems the local audience was tired too as only 20 or 30 people showed up. Too bad. FIST FUCK PRODUCTION is just two people playing home-made movies with silly stories and punk or rock music in the background. It’s pretty good ! Some of these short movies are really well done. UNLOGISTIC used to be a melodic Hc band, but these days they play fast old school Hc with a drum machine and two or three crazy singers jumping everywhere. Crazy. They probably lost 500 euros worth of equipment on this show alone. :) (Y.B.)
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TOTAL CHAOS + DISTILLERS, 25/06/02, Rennes, Mondo bizarre (show review)
I just wanted to have a laugh, it was like going to the circus for me, but I have to admit TOTAL CHAOS (and their following) were not that bad. The local punks & skins didn’t seem to dig them, but that’s probably because they’re more into Oi or Rock’n’roll. TOTAL CHAOS were indeed quite powerful, with metallic guitar riffs and awful solos. Kinda like DISCHARGE meets RANCID. They even did a cover of THE EXPLOITED’s "sex & violence", urgh ! I thought THE DISTILLERS would be very punk, but they were in fact a punk’n’roll band with raucous female vocals. Not bad, but not really my style either. I left before the end as the room was overcrowded and their were too many smokers. I was told the singer collapsed a few minutes later and the band only played 20 minutes. Ha ! (Y.B.)
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DEAD FISH "afasia" Cd (3e Mundo)
Nice brazilian melodic hardcore recorded in 2000. DEAD FISH remind me of ETERNA INOCENCIA, Italian melodic hardcore bands like FRAMMENTI, BOCCA CHIUSA, or even LIFETIME at times. Good sound, good musicians, nothing groundbreaking but it’s well done, and the lyric seem to be of a social nature (hell, they’re Brazilians, right ?). http://www.deadfish.com.br (Y.B.)
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LEFT OVER CRACK, 23/06/02, Rennes, @ Mondo bizarro (show review)
Didn’t know what to expect, but I was positively surprised overall. A lot of highschool kids turned up, probably because the band is on Hellcat (Epitaph). I was surprised they knew the songs and lyrics as I had never heard of the band myself, it made me feel a bit old. L.O.C. are a blatant OPERATION IVY rip-off, only a little bit more punk. The lyrics seem to be very cynical, with songs about smoking crack and killing cops at the same time. Hmmm… It was cool to see the place packed and people dancing everywhere, but it also made me sad to think all these people didn’t come to the show we had organized 3 days before.
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NO TIME TO LOSE "free edge hardcore" Cd (Lean on me)
Haaaa my current favourite French band. I’m a bit jealous I didn’t get to put this out. :) I loved the two tracks on the "french connection" compilation, they were great live, and this Cd does not disappoint, although I did prefer the production on the compilation. The sound on this Cd is good, but the production is slightly muffled. NO TIME TO LOSE play tight uptempo/ old school Hc with a positive edge and melodies. The lyrics are social but they also have a sense of humour. Check this out. www.notimetolose.fr.st (Y.B.)
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M.D.C. + MOLOTOV COCKTAIL, 22/06/02, Saint-Brieuc, Le Wagon (show review)
The M.D.C. date in Tours was cancelled 3 days before, so this show was arranged at the last minute, and unfortunately not many people showed up. What a shame for a great band that has been around for 20 years ! I guess only 80-100 people showed up. MOLOTOV COCKTAIL are an east-coast punk-rock band. They play tight and their singer has a lot of energy to share, but I’ve never really liked American punk-rock. It’s usually quite basic with raucous vocals and a snotty attitude. I’ve heard better punk-rock, but MOLOTOV COCKTAIL sure do their thing well. M.D.C. as usual played all their classics from their last, what, 10 albums ? Awesome raging Hc with punk roots, politics, and lots of fun. Their singer is completely crazy, it’s nice to see he’s so much into it at almost 50 ! I hope we’ll all be like that in 20 years… :) (Y.B.)
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TROU D’CID HARDCORE #9 newsletter
La feuille d’info de Gerald des Innocent blood/ Murder one/ Mad trashers s’etoffe de plus en plus avec des infos concerts sur le Bretagne, des chroniques Hc/ punk/ metal, des coups de gueule et des chroniques de concerts. Gratos bien sur : Gerald Alberola, 16 rue du port, 56000 Vannes. (Y.B.)
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SHORTCUT + CONTRA LEGEM + NO TIME TO LOSE, 20/06/02, Rennes, Mondo Bizarro (show review)
This was the first show I organized - ever ! I had always said I would never do any, but we didn’t like the shows organized in our city, so me and a couple friends decided to start our own organization and D.I.O. (do it ourselves). It was also one of the first old school Hc shows here, so we knew not too many people would show up. We still managed to gather 75 kids and did not lose any money. I didn’t get to see SHORTCUT but I saw a couple songs by CONTRA LEGEM, who will have their second Cd out soon on a fairly big local label. The play tight old school Hc with a few modern Hc/ NyHc influences. I liked them a lot. NO TIME TO LOSE were awesome too with their brand of uptempo old school with lotsa tempo changes and melodies that stick in your head. Too bad the audience remained a bit dull… (Y.B.)
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ZAMPANO Cd (Trauma social)
This is not bad at all, but I had a hard time getting into it, don’t ask me why. Maybe they’re too fast for a punk-rock band, and too slow for an ’82 type band ? I don’t like the vocals much. Apart from that, the lyrics and music are ok, ZAMPANO sound like all those classic French punk-rock bands ; LES RATS, LES CADAVRES, PARABELLUM, etc. http://www.zampano.propagande.org (Y.B.)
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PARIS VIOLENCE "l’age de glace" Cd (Trauma social)
I had heard so many good things about this that I was glad to finally get to hear it…. and I was disappointed ! PARIS VIOLENCE is a one-man band with just a drum machine and guitar, he plays punk-rock /Oï with dark, depressive lyrics about life in Paris + a few social comments here and there. Kinda like if you mixed RENAUD (a French pop singer), MOLODOÏ (ex-BERURIER NOIR) and GRAZHDANSKAYA OBORONA (- the Russian band). It’s not completely bad, but I think it’s just too much. The music is not that powerful (although I like some parts), and the lyrics are too poetic and intellectual. I’m sure the whole thing could be much better if he just tried to remain himself instead of trying to write verses and find all the synonyms existing in the world for : decay, rotten and desperate. traumasocial@yahoo.fr (Y.B.)
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STICK OUT demo 2001 Cd-R
See show review below. This is a new band from Brest (far-west of France), I was positively surprised by their live performance and I also enjoyed this demo quite a bit. They play post-hardcore with melodic Hc and a few noisy-pop/ emo influences, with sweet female vocals. This kind of band is always better live, but the recording is good and brings to mind the good old days of SOFA HEAD, DAN and ASHES. The lyrics are personal with hints at social matters. Good debut. ouatchai@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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GOUDE UR BANNA’CH … AN DISPAC’H ! newsletter (in French). Gratis
Faite par l’ancien chanteur de MELMOR, cette feuille d’info traite quasi-exclusivement de politique, avec la nette attention de toucher un public pas uniquement "punk". Ceci dit, ce numéro contenait pas mal de zique avec un compte-rendu d’un gros festival a Londres, et l’interview de INNER TERRESTRIALS. Les sujets abordes sont peu conventionnels (bouffe bio, syndicalisme, indépendantisme breton, etc), et c’est gratos alors pourquoi se priver ? La présentation pourrait être plus clean. kengred@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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SHORTCUT + LES (?) + STICK OUT + NEVROTIC EXPLOSION + PAKU PUAWAI 31/05/02, at the Maison de Quartier de Villejean, Rennes (show review)
This was a kind of benefit show for "alternative libertaire". I didn’t get to see the first band but I heard they were not that good. Reggae-dance or something. Next up were STICK OUT from Brest (western France), and they were a good surprise. They’re a new band and they’re not super tight yet, but for a French band they are quite original ; they remind me of early 90’s US post-Hc bands like ASHES, you know post-Hc/ noisy-pop with melodious female vocals. The faster parts also reminded me of SOFA HEAD. As long as these kind of bands keep their hardcore roots, I enjoy them, and right now they’re far too young to even think about major label deals, so... SHORTCUT who have lost one of their singers did an ok set, they play uptempo Hc with influences drawing from ’88 SxE to NyHc, crust or power violence. A bit basic but still enjoyable, especially since they never take themselves (too) seriously. PAKU PUAWAI (spelling ?) I just couldn’t get into. They play metal-fusion reminiscent of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE or LOFOFORA, you know that kind of NyHc/ metal/ rap/ funky thing. Not my style, sorry. NEVROTIC EXPLOSION, as usual, played a great set of tight rockin’ punk-rock with a lot of energy. Quite a lot of people turned up and the atmosphere was friendly. Good show. (Y.B.)
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INTOLERANCE "hada ha cambiado" Cd (Don’t belong)
"Nothing has changed". Well, my first thought when I heard this was "urgh. This is bad !". But you can’t close your eyes and think the good old days of INTOLERANCE, 24 IDEAS, MANLIFTINGBANNER and NATIONS ON FIRE will go away. The early nineties were some of the best days for the Hardcore movement, "good music and good friends" (and Ray forgot to mention "good lyrics" too). INTOLERANCE were a favourite and I recommend you to check out their discography. This reunion album is good spanish NyHc/ hatecore with a DIY attitude. The production is really powerful. But when you know the people involved in this band, you know they could have made it much better. The artwork is non-existent, the booklet is just a big lyric sheet, and the music is unoriginal, tight & powerful NyHc. Don’t rest on your laurels guys, get back to work ! www.telecable.es/personales/dontbelong (Y.B.)
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ARDATXO "por diox !" Cd (WC records)
There’s a bit of everything in here, ARDATXO play (quite) slow and (quite) melodic punk-rock with ska, garage, rocking, danceable parts, and influences from bands like POLLA RECORDS and KORTATU. The thing is, they’re not as good as these two bands, and I thought they lacked something ; maybe power, faster beats, more originality ? I don’t know. I liked the songs with the saxophone very much, they reminded me of an old French band called PSYCHOSQUAT. Judging by the photos, they seem to be fun live... www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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TIRO NA TESTA "tojo" Cd (WC records)
Now this one gets the award for the ugliest cover ever. Even my 5 year old cousin would be able to draw better graphics. Nice job guys, I think it’ll be hard to beat. Apart from that, the music is ok, typical, tight Spanish punk-rock with a few variations here and there (especially folk instruments). The lyrics are hard to read (shitty artwork, remember ?), but they seem to deal with social issues. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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CIZANA "algun dia" Cd (W.C. records)
I think this is their second album. The cover artwork is ok, but the rest of the booklet is really awful. Why do bands and labels put so little time into the design of their Cds ? CIZANA play very typical Spanish punk-rock. I’ve heard it a million times before, and to be honest I can’t say I enjoyed them much. It’s all the more sad as the lyrics sounded interesting. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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VASELINA MORGAN "sonidos podridos" Cd (W.C. records)
Bad cover artwork. Spanish punk-rock meets melodic Hardcore. Social lyrics, good sound. Can’t say I enjoyed them much. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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GUERILLA OI Cd (W.C. records)
It’s good to see a real Spanish Oï band with clear antifascist lyrics. At first I must admit I was disappointed by the slow music and the raucous vocals, but GUERILLA OI have grown on me, and in the end I’ll just say they’re an ok band, which you’ll probably enjoy if you like Oi music. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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ONE STEP AHEAD #4 fanzine
C’est bien de voir que ce zine ne s’est pas arrêté, surtout que les progrès sont visibles : présentation très clean, interviews assez fouillées… avec SICK OF IT ALL, GOOD CLEAN FUN et INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY (ça me fait rire de les voir "cracher" sur la scène Hc (SxE/ old school) alors que c’est quand même eux qui ont (re)-démarré cette mode en Europe dans les années 90). Un bon zine, dommage qu’il ne soit porté que sur des gros groupes qui n’ont peut-être pas autant besoin de publicité que tous ceux qui galèrent ailleurs que chez FAT WRECK et VICTORY. slamkookai@yahoo.fr (Y.B.)
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BATTERY "final fury 1990-97" Cd (Soulforce)
Ok, this is a good Cd by a good band, BUT was this really necessary ? BATTERY’s records have all been extremely well distributed (through big US labels after they got ripped off by another big euro label ; LOST’N’FOUND). This is not a discography, just a best-off that only lasts 54 minutes (how about 78 next time ?), with a small booklet and 5 video tracks. The videos are ok, but could have been better. I’m sure all this money could have been used to promote newer bands, but if you’re really not familiar with BATTERY, check this out, they used to play good old school straight-edge Hc (not too fast) with interesting lyrics (especially on the last Lp). www.soulforce-records.com (Y.B.)
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EMPINADA "a punto siempre de estallar" Cd (W.C. records)
Man, there are so many bands in Spain, it seems like every kid in spanish high schools have their own punk bands. Just as most W.C. records releases, EMPINADA play decent, typical punk-rock. I can’t say they really move me, although they’re not bad at all. The best thing about this cd is probably the funny cartoon that makes up for a booklet. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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RESAKA PERMANENTE "victima del tiempo" Cd (W.C. records)
Ok, first, the cover is quite awful, but they had the good idea to ask a designer to do the rest of their artwork, so the booklet looks nice (compared to other W.C. releases). RESAKA play tight and typical Spanish punk-rock. I could swear I’ve heard this band before, but they all sound the same. They also add some rock and melodic Hc influences and remind me a bit of LA POLLA RECORDS (but not as good). The lyrics seem to deal with social issues. Good sound quality. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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MENTES ENFERMAS "la feria de los monstruos" Cd (W.C. records)
When I heard the first song I thought to myself "urgh ! What the hell is this ? Bad thrash-metal ??". Fortunately the next songs are much better, typical Spanish punk like all the other bands on W.C. records. Not bad, but so predictable. The sound quality is good but I don’t like the production much. Awful cover artwork and layout, as always on this label. And my Spanish is really bad, but I think this is a concept album as most songs are about monsters. Maybe they heard too much Misfits ? www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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THE UNKNOWN "the real thing" mCd (Boss Tuneage)
US tight pop-core/ melodic hc. Nothing special. Uninteresting lyrics, uneventful music. One of the best bands in the genre though. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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NO TIME TO LOSE + SKUDS & PANIC PEOPLE + PHASE TERMINALE, Rennes, 26/04/02, MJC Villejean (show review)
Seeing all the political demonstrations in town this week, I thought there would have been far more people at this show, which was organized by the anarchist federation. The bands were not well-known, but I was expecting more than those 50-100 people. NO TIME TO LOSE are my favourite French band right now, they play raging & tight melodic posi-core with good social lyrics and a sense of humour god damnit ! SKUDS & PANIC PEOPLE are a local ska-punk band with antifascist lyrics. Just as INNER TERRESTRIALS (see below) I think they should play slower or faster, but not in between ! :) I love Oï and street punk, but PHASE TERMINALE didn’t really impress me. They play really basic music, they have a drum machine which doesn’t help, and their tunes sounded quite messy to me. (Y.B.)
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KID WITH MAN HEAD "fond memories of the halibut rodeo" (247 rds)
Epitaph-style melodic hc. Silly lyrics. Distributed by www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk
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DESPARRAME "un mundo de perros" Cd (W.C.)
Decent spanish punk-rock reminiscent of LA POLLA RECORDS. There’s nothing bad about it, but it lacks that little spark that’ll make it stand out. The faster songs or the ones that had a lot of dual vocals were the best. As for all W.C. releases, the cover artwork was absolutely terrible. www.nav.to/wcrecords (Y.B.)
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GAMENESS "no unusual reaction" mCd (only 1 crew)
For a first effort this is quite good, GAMENESS are a "modern hardcore" band from Paris who blend NyHc, emo, Hc and metal. The sound quality is good and so are the lyrics. I saw them live and they were ok as well, I just can’t say I dig the screaming vox. Only one crew, 14 ave. Roland Garros, 78140 Velizy, France. (Y.B.)
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UNFAIR "freedom" mCd (spiral)
Ok, first I thought the name of the band was Freedom as UNFAIR is not even written on the cover. This is the kind of band I dislike and enjoy at the same time. UNFAIR play early 80’s anarchopunk. Their music and lyrics are simplistic and minimalistic. I don’t like sloganistic lyrics, on the other hand I like the fact that they’re direct and to-the-point. I’d say this is an average record, and for the same cost they should have put more than 7 minutes of music ! www.mediattack.digitalbomb.com (Y.B.)
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PAVERS "beautiful" mCd (Boss tuneage)
The first track starts off as a rockin’ melodic Hc anthem, not unlike NEW BOMB TURKS, unfortunately the 5 other ones were much more generic. And the lyrics are really dumb too. One of the most powerful bands on : www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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BLOCKO "oimo" mCd (Boss Tuneage)
Tight melodic Uk Hc. Epitaph style. Decent stuff, not really interesting. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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NEVROTIC EXPLOSION + INNER TERRESTRIALS, Rennes, 24/05/02, Mondo bizarro, show review
NEVROTIC EXPLOSION are a good rockin’ punk-rock band drawing influences from melodic Hc. Their records are good but they lack the energy of their live performances. INNER TERRESTRIALS are a hippie-traveller band from the Uk with quite interesting lyrics, and featuring the drummer from CONFLICT. They play tight reggae-punk. I love reggae and I love punk, but for some reason I think they don’t play fast or slow enough. I would enjoy them better if they played more traditional reggae, or faster ska-punk. Actually, I believe the audience danced more on the pure reggae tunes and the uptempo ska ones. Anyways. Speaking of, the audience was ok, apart from a couple boring drunk skunx that could not even stand on their feet, and the room was far too hot and smoke-filled. Which, here again, is all the more revolting as the drummer suffers severe health problems and has a hard time breathing. But the idiots who were smoking in the room probably don’t give a damn, as long as the music rages. (Y.B.)
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LOST SIGHT "Time Flies so Fast" tape
15 old school songs with a bit "low" sound à la Ignite but fast, sometimes very fast, with some slower part. The most interesting thing is that they hail from Jakarta (Indonesia in case you didn’t know !) and they have a very good and powerful sound, very pro. Full-coloured layout and lyrics dealing with what you are used to : friendship, unity, understanding which are changing with time, etc... nothing very special but less dumb than many bands from their country. On Pinball rec a nice one. contact pinball_records@angelfire.com or hate_lostsight@hotmail.com (I also distribute copies of the tape for Europe : w.g.f@free.fr) (S.G.)
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BLIND TO SEE "Sadar" tape
Certainly the best old school band in Indonesia (and in the world !). The voice sounds like ray Cappo when he sung in Y.O.T. (not screaming). Very good production and the 14 songs are very well done, fast and killer. Sometimes they’re even sung in their native language which is better, and they even cover a Y.O.T. song. Many pictures and X’s on the layout as well ! Very long thanx list including thanx to Allah (indonesian style !) as usual. If you wanna know more (about Indonesia, why Allah, etc...) contact me. Ok they don’t really answer emails so you can try at P.O.Box 7724 BDSP / BANDUNG 40122 / Java Barat / INDONESIA or get it from me cos it maybe sold out (w.g.f. /8 crs gambetta / 69007 Lyon / France) (S.G.)
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THE CLOWN "Status Quo" tape
Ok imagine if the DEAD KENNEDY’S would have had street punk influence and a more angry song, then you would have got something like THE CLOWN. They really found great chords with the guitar. Really not boring music, 13 songs from this indonesian political band but unfortunately no lyric sheet in included. This tape is a bit old so try to get it from my distro. w.g.f@free.fr (S.G.)
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BLACK BOOTS "Keras Kepala" tape
Another band from Java island, this one is aggro like finnish bands in the 80’s or like present U.S.’ @punk bands with aggro voice and powerful sound. Many songs in indonesian language, often dealing with wars, police/army repression (they know what it is) and anti "chaos" punks. Yes it’s an interesting @punk band under palm trees ! One song sounds like CONFLICT with a girl reading/ singing a long text along the music. They did not answer my email and no address is included but you can still try at : blackboots_antimiliter@hotmail.com (S.G.)
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THE SNOT ROCKETS "liberty blues" Cd (Boss tuneage)
Tight, fast US melodic Hc with a rock’n’roll touch. Kinda like THE NEW BOMB TURKS meets EPITAPH bands. The front cover is quite good so it’s really sad no lyric sheet was included. It’s beyond my comprehension that so many bands pay so little attention to the layout of their Cds... Decent record. www.thesnotrockets.com (Y.B.)
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RHYTHM COLLISION "crunch time" Cd (Collision industries)
I think this was released as a cassette a long time ago (?), and now the band has dug it up to re-release it as a full length Cd. This excellent live show was recorded in france in 1996, the sound quality is really good and this is one of those live albums that actually adds something to the band’s studio recordings. Over one hour of fast melodic Californian hardcore + 3 covers as bonus tracks ! http://home.mindspring.com/~rhythmcol (Y.B.)
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RHYTHM COLLISION "all bombs away" Cd (Boss tuneage)
I thought they had split up long ago, but it seems this was recorded in 1999, and released in 2001. I’ve always enjoyed this band. They’ve been around since 1990 and have been playing the same brand of uptempo melodic Hc ever since. Contrary to most (boring) bands in the genre, there is a nice punky feel to it. The lyrics are ok. If you like your punk-rock with melodies and harmonies… http://home.mindspring.com/~rhythmcol (Y.B.)
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BRIGADA FLORES MAGON "anges gardiens" Cd (Machette rds)
It’s never good to have too high expectations, you always get disappointed. Their first cd was so awesome, anthemic (redskin) Oï with chanted choruses, incredible bass lines, raucous vocals and good street-punk/ libertarian lyrics. They went through some line-up changes and this one sounds like it was done in a haste ; the melodies that stick in the head and the reggae parts have gone, the production is not that good, the cover is bad, and the lyrics, above all, are really superficial. Ok, don’t get me wrong, it’s still good punk-rock, but compared to the first record… Don’t rest on your laurels guys ! Stop drinking and start writing good music again ! :) flores_magon@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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KID WITH MAN HEAD "cassius coleman" Cd (Boss tuneage)
For some reason I liked the band name and the artwork, but the music was a real disappointment. KWMH play typical 235th generation EPITAPH/ FAT WRECK melodic-Hc. How boring. The lyrics are so dumb, and the vocals are sooo poppy ! What can anyone who writes songs like this have in the head ? www.kidwithmanhead.com (Y.B.)
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DISCORDIA "discography" cd (Cryptas)
I got a cassette from them a long time ago and I liked it very much. DISCORDIA were Mexico’s answer to EXTREME NOISE TERROR or DOOM. This complete collection has 29 tracks recorded in the late 90’s. It’s really good, but according to me that kind of music gets boring after a while. If you’re a fan of the genre, don’t miss this ! cons_internacion@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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FIVE FOOT NOTHING "pretty nuclear" Cd (Boss tuneage)
SPLIT LIP, BURNING DEFEAT, LIFETIME or even SAMIAM kind of stuff. Cool cover artwork but silly lyrics about love. Nice melodic pop-core from Canada, recorded in 1990 ! Weird I had never heard of this band before… But was it really worth a re-issue ? I’ll let you judge for yourself. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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ANNALISE "versus everything" Cd (Boss tuneage)
Uk melodic Hardcore/ pop-punk. You like it or you hate it. I believe ANNALISE do their thing well, somewhere between HÜSKER DÜ and J-CHURCH. The lyrics are introspective, very long, and quite interesting. I won’t listen to this all the time, but once in a while it’s relaxing. www.annalise.co.uk (Y.B.)
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JETTISON "search for the gun girl" Cd (popkid rds)
Yawn. Tight & sweet melodic "pop-punk". GREEN DAY fans will like. Are there still people listening to that kind of music these days ? I mean, apart from my grandma ? www.popkid.com (Y.B.)
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