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Well i’ve talked about Warzone’s Don’t Forget the Struggle, Don’t Forget the Streets before, but some dude is selling multiple copies sealed for $100. Of course you have to pay an extra $25 for insurance outside of the USA, but they do have the original hand written lettering on the back. Unfortunately the dude doesn’t have any pictures in the auction, so instead I’ll just put up this one (we’re playing Chunks):

Chopping Block’s - Grizzley Fetishis one that almost slipped through the cracks. I didn’t know about it til a few years ago when a couple of superior Toronto collectors started telling me about this band that sounded just like Infest that had a self released 7″ w/ TX Chainsaw art on the cover. Sounded far too good to be true, but after some work I managed to track a copy down, and I was stunned by just how much it did sound like the classic Infest sound. The main difference was the more technical double bass drumming, and the more metallic guitar tone and rather showy solos. Still this was undeniable power core with meaty riffs and faux-Joe Denunzio vocals, overall better than Lack Of Interest attempting to do the same. I enjoyed it and even wrote about it on a former blog, in search of a copy on red vinyl.

 Then things got kind of weird. I started poking around the net trying to find info on band members and somehow came upon Dave Keck, the main man behind Chopping Block. According to him, he’d grown up with the Infest guys, attending the same schools and parties and had maybe had some involvement in one of those mysterious pre-Infest bands (Death-Dose maybe?). Somewhere in the early days of Infest he was a member, but soon found himself ousted, and while he remained friends with Domino and co. he went on to form his own version of the band, Chopping Block. Now I may be misquoting the facts. Due to my poor correspondence abilities I lost touch with Mr. Keck, but it was some weird shit to hear. Not like Infest ever had a rep for being particularly trustworthy (undelivered mail-orders, sketchy ltd editions).

All I know is Grizzley Fetish is hot top to bottom and the record looks cool. My only complaint aside from the aforementioned guitar solos is the absurd amount of samples. I think there’s one before EVERY song. 90’s style.

Every time one of these gets sold it goes a little higher. I think in a few more years people will really be onto it, so even if Infest is guilty of the crimes they’re accused, eventually Chopping Block will get their due.

For sale by Nate Wilson of True Punk Metal blog, is a personal favorite later 80’s SXE style 7″ - Headfirst “Back In Control”. This thing is seriously a 10/10 in my book, not even a rap intro can ruin it. I have a certain love for Dan O’s Workshed label, and this is definitely my favorite release on it. Heavy production, catchy as hell riffs, and a good singer make it the whole package. The first track is a standard HC jam for ‘89 in the USA. A little bit of Judge (lp) and NFAA (lp)  influence but they have their own sound that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it will come to me later. Maybe some Quicksand or Burn too because when it gets to the breakdown things start to groove a bit, but not too much (this is only 1990 folks). Track 2 is kind of an anti Straight Edge song, but I can let that slide because it has a great intro. I used to riff on this one a lot at practice in my slightly younger days.  The main part of the song holds it down pretty well too with a catchy metallic breakdown.

On the flipside things start off rocky (not rockin) with the aforementioned rappy part. Despite it being there this isn’t an early wigger-core release, which is emphasized by the terrible and rigid delivery in this part. Once the guitars come in it’s not quite as bad, but this is definitely my least favorite of the four songs. The title track closes things out, with a slow almost stoner rock riff. You can tell this one’s supposed to be the big show stopper, and the thickly saturated guitar tone actually helps that along quite a bit. I wish Headfirst had kept up making slowburning hardcore crushers like the best moments on this 7″, but sadly they veered into post-hc territory on their next release, an lp that I want nothing to do with, and while their preceding demo is alright, it doesn’t really have the balls out power of this 7″.

This 7″ does break my rule of Raw/Simple is the best kind of sxe-core, but I can’t help but play air guitar whenever I hear it.

This is a clear copy of the record which seems to be the rarest. There’s also purple vinyl which I see a little more often, and black which is the most common. Honestly, if you’re into late 80’s sxe style HC and you don’t know this one, get on it.

Cathedral - Forest Of Equilibrium lp

Lee Dorrian is one of my top favorite cult musicians. Firstly for his stint in Napalm Death (Scum side B - Mentally Murdered), but then for his wonderfully hammed up Cathedral. I mean this music is ridiculous but kind of awesome too. Take some Trouble, some Celtic Frost, some Candlemass… for some reason I feel like it should have been in the scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies that take place in Rohan. Not like totally evil Mordorian black metal (Gorgoroth, Burzum, other Tolkien bands), but like a more sinister man-evil. I believe Scott Carlson of Repulsion was doing time in the band just after this point too which kind of makes it the ultimate grindcore dream band that never was. Instead you get like 40 minutes of Gothic Sludge that got them a contract with Sony or Columbia (???) for a hot minute. Obviously there was no way this could have been turned into commercially viable music, but it was the early 90s, and everyone was doing stupid shit. I’m sure the people at the label thought they were gonna get another Soundgarden or I dunno… maybe Type O Negative, but really they just got pure doomy crunch.

The original vinyl of this comes in a sweet gatefold sleeve, unfortunately it’s got the stock Cathedral artwork which I hate. It looks like some weird stained glass window, but seriously, you’re gonna want the tasty riffs on here.

Happy Metal Columbus Day folks.

Well, few sub-genres have started with as much promise and more quickly devolved into tepid worthlessness than “power violence”, but to this day, the records that originated the style still have an impressive sound and delivery, as well as a magnetic mystique. Just last week I heard that Bastard Noise is planning to incorporate drums and guitars for the first time ever in their live set, essentially reconstituting as maybe the first true PV nostalgia act, unless you want to count Low Threat Profile. I’m just being real here.

You can’t take away that Neanderthal’s Fighting Music e.p. is still a one of a kind twisted brain crusher. Totally apart from anything else happening in 1990, though it does make some sense they did a split release with Rorschach, who are maybe the closest thing to their madness. And still no collection of their tiny output has been released. How long would it take to make those 8 songs available again?

No Comment’s Downsided ought to see a repressing too. I think at this point their discography is out of print, and frankly someone ought to do a straight re-release of this classic with the giant poster sleeve, and perfect 11 song running order. For hardcore very few things come close to this one.

Both of these are “bonzer status” rarities. 300 Neanderthals on purple, only about 15 No Comments on pink. Both I expect to go for a high price. Seller is none other than the man that released them, Chris Dodge. He will certainly ”take this to the fucking bank”.

Welllll every day is another cult classic on ebay, and today please take note of the Deep Wound 7″, which is undoubtedly fitting of such a classification. If you’re not privy to the knowledge, Deep Wound was the semi-infamous hardcore band that featured future Dinosaur members J Mascis & Lou Barlow. Barlow also made a name with Sebadoh and Folk Implosion in the 90’s. Bassist Scott Helland, though never the indie sensation that his band mates were, also logged time in the severely under-rated Outpatients, and later Darkside NYC (so weird). Everything I’ve heard about vocalist Charlie Nakajima from other Western Massers, points to him just being a weird dude you see around town sometimes.

The E.P. starts with the song I Saw it which is kind of inconspicuous in that it’s a mid-paced punk song, and Deep Wound are remembered mostly for their speed. In fact Charlie Nakajima’s vocals rush ahead of the song more than once, like he’s not used to playing at anything less than a blur. Sisters is the next song and it follows the Deep Wound template a little better approaching grindcore type speeds though still maintaining the bratty teenage vocals of the first track. J Mascis’ drumming is of course violent and primal, and the guitars and bass are an elastic blur. For most of the rest of the E.P. the songs go so fast that the vocals and instruments waver in and out of time with each other, everyone is pushed to their limits. Video Prick which opens the B-side reverts to the pacing of I Saw It, with a basic rock riff, and Mascis stepping up on guest guitar leads that betray his classic rock roots. For a song about a kid touching video clerk, it sure is a toe-tapper, maybe my favorite song on the record. After that things get back to the all-speed formula, at least until the closer Dead Babies which I’ve never really understood. It has a clean guitar and a sombre delivery that doesn’t fit in at all. I always assumed it was a joke, but I really have no idea. Could totally do without it, but 8 out of 9 is still high marks in my book.

There’s been a couple boots of this, but most are on colored vinyl and have different labels, so they ought to be pretty easy to tell. I believe the original pressing was done at Master Disk, which should be pressed into the run off groove. According to Cooch the original pressing is the only one that plays at 45 rpm as well.

So you’ve memorized every United Mutation riff? You’ve exhausted the early works of No Trend? You hear live Void sets in your sleep? Malefice is old news? Nuclear Crayons lp has exhausted its appeal? Have I got something for YOU then, URUKU’s “Exhumed Lunch” e.p.Another slice of DC born “psycho-core”, on the DSI label. This one treads a few different styles. A bit of psychedelic sounding, later United Mutation style stuff, and also some totally out of tune skronking like Nuclear Crayons or No Trend. It’s like a bunch of jerks that kind of just started a band to annoy you. The only constants are that it’s abrasive and unpleasant. I can’t really recommend this to a lot of people, but true creeps will appreciate the feeling I’m sure.

A lot of copies come with the logo colored in on the cover (like other DSI releases). There are 2 pressings, both mixed differently but the only way to tell is by listening or by comparing the matrix: first press is 508065x-B, second press is 508065x-B4. It comes in a glued sleeve, the most of the first pressing have a picture of a pile of zombies on the back, the second pressing and some of the first pressing have a photo of some monolith and an added scrapplebath logo. The second pressing also includes a lyric sheet.

SLAPSHOT - Back On The Map
The city of Boston is well known in the Hardcore lexicon as having raised a certain Hardcore aesthetic in its early days. The original “Boston Crew”, principally composed of SS Decontrol, DYS (that’s Department Of Youth Services), and Negative FX, took up the Straight Edge mantle originated in DC with the kind of machismo and general townie bravado that helps to make the state of Massachusetts all that it is. Dudes who wore sleeveless black t-shirts, enjoyed red meat, weight lifting, brawling, and their Camaros (that’s pronounced “CAHHH” in Beantown), were at the center of this clique, and while they got along reasonably well with the other upstart bands of the day (Jerry’s Kids, FU’s, Gang Green), there’s always been something that set these three apart in some way. They dismantled the UK82 sounds bands like GBH, Blitz, Discharge, and injected their own ineptitude and unabashed Americaness into the reconfiguration creating the template for the Boston sound. They played the most violent shows. When they went to NY they were known to incite bloodbaths of violence on the dance-floor. But then everything went wrong (as you probably know). The townie in the members of the crew triumphed, and DYS and SSD made terrible rock albums that don’t even come close to the local legacies they sought to join (Aerosmith, etc.). Negative Fx for their part shattered relatively quickly, with only a few shows and demo recordings logged on the books, eventually having one of their demos released as an LP on Taang records.

By ‘84 Boston’s luster had faded somewhat, though there were still plenty of good bands. Jack “Choke” Kelly, of Negative Fx, attempted to start a new band, Last Rights, but all they could manage was one powerhouse single and a notorious show. Undeterred though Kelly put together another band, Slapshot, and for all the shit they did after the 80’s, their first few records are gloriously reactionary, hooligan oriented, muscle-core. If anything it’s more confrontational, more macho, and more violent than SS Decontrol. The songs are heavier, with a mid-paced Oi feel, but still very American too.

Back On The Map was the first Slapshot record, a 7 song mini-lp and features a one time contribution of DYS 4-stringer, John Anastas. Though he may not have realized it at the time, you can kind of view Back On The Map as a better interpretation of what DYS and SSD tried to become, that is, hardcore bands that ‘rock(ed)’. The riffs and songs are simple and repetitive. Drummer Mark Mckaye (no relation to Ian) plays with the kind of efficiency and spareness that AC/DC’s Phil Rudd is known for, and other than the rudimentary solos, guitarist Steve Risteen uses a similar approach in his guitar playing. Only what’s needed, nothing flashy, just lean and HARD. Choke’s barking vocals are probably what make Slapshot most recognizable to the ears of others, moving up and down the scale and mixing the style of British Oi bands with the out of control insanity of SSD’s Springa. This dude was just born to yell over recordings of abrasive guitar and drums arrangements. As for the band’s output after the year 1990 - let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.

Only the first run of this thing actually comes with an inner sleeve and it’s quite hard to find. Looks like the Taang mailorder list of the day is in there too, and on the whole this copy looks quite clean.

Maybe you know of Mortiis? Early bass player in Emperor. Dude who dresses up as an evil Troll/Elf/Thing for his Depeche Mode-ish dark wave rock. Person credited with introducing traditional European folk as well as goth influences into the nascent early 90’s Norwegien  black metal scene… and now: EBAY STORE OWNER.

What’s he got? Whatchu need man? Mortiis has got it all. Looking for that ESP Junior bass that got used for the Wrath Of The Tyrant session?

Maybe you need a crumbley Darkthrone/Satyricon ticket stub from ‘96?

 Some snapshots of very young looking Emperor members hanging out in the woods?

 A D.R.I. record that belongs to Mortiis?

An old sampler?

The sky is the limit on MORTIISBAY.

in case you been under a rock. back on monday. last night they had some shirts for sale with photos from the book too.