Assück - The Audio Death Collection 1989-1998 (revised 8/08/10)

Grindcore perfection from St. Petersburg, Florida. This is as good as it gets. Assück created an effortless blending of hardcore punk and grindcore/death metal, in a way i'd never heard before or since. The band's first full length LP, Anticapital, is my favorite recording in the genre, only after the early Napalm Death Peel Sessions.

This is a collection of 7"s, compilation tracks, demos and live tracks, most of which are not on the band's 2 CD releases. Excellent sound throughout. Enjoy.

Assück: The Audio Death Collection

1996 line-up:
Steve Heritage - guitar / vocals
Rob Proctor - drums
Steve Kosiba - bass

The song "Alabaster" is the last song the band released. It was featured on the 403 Chaos Comp: Florida Fucking Hardcore CD in 1998 on Schematics Records (Steve Heritage's label). The comp was a collection of hardcore/punk bands that have played at 403 Chaos in Tampa, FL. The CD was packaged as a ten-inch, filled with lyrics, fliers, and contributions from the zines In Abandon and Haili. Tracks (mostly exclusive) by Reversal of Man, Tomorrow, Assuck, Strikeforce Diablo, Hot Water Music, Combat Wounded Veteran, Cavity, Omega Man, Nineteen Hundred and Twelve, Early Grace, Discount, Dragbody, Twelve Hour Turn, Cease, Hankshaw, Bird of Ill Omen, I Hate Myself, Scrotum Grinder, and Jud Jud. "Alabaster" was also on the Can't Stop This Train comp CD in 1999 on Join The Team Player Records. The song was recorded sometime after the Misery Index sessions at Morrisound Studios. The Misery Index LP was released in 1997 on Sound Pollution Records. Jason Crittenden replaced Steve on bass after the LP was recorded, and did a couple of tours with the band.

The song "Corners" was featured on the Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric comp CD, released in 1995 on No Idea Records. The CD (mastered by Steve Heritage) was included with No Idea Fanzine issue 11. 10,000 were pressed. Paul Pavlovich is on the vocals for this version of the song, and Steve Kosiba played bass. "Corners" was re-recorded for the Misery Index LP a year later.

Big Pants Waste Precious Fabric was an excellent compilation, and a great document of all the different sounds that were going on in the punk scene during the early-mid '90s. From Assfactor 4 to Rain Like The Sound Of Trains, from Drop Dead to J Church. And everything in between.

1992 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums
Pete Jay - bass

The Bloodless Unreality comp 7" was released in 1992 on Forfeit Records (Forfeit 01). Artwork by Paul Pavlovich and layouts by Steve Heritage. Mastered at Fullersound. The sleeve came as an 8 page booklet with lyrics and info on the featured bands. All great tracks by Destroy, Hellnation, Confrontation and Assück. "Procession", from the Anticapital LP, was remixed for this comp with a bass track added in. "Blindspot" was on the Blindspot 7", originally released on Open Records in 1992, and re-released by Schematics Records that same year, and by Sound Pollution in 1993 as a limited European tour edition. The Blindspot 7" was the band's first record with a bass player (Pete Jay). It was recorded in June/July of '92 at Morrisound Studios in Tampa. FL, and mastered at Fullersound. Great artwork again by Paul Pavlovich. Produced and engineered by Scott Burns. An incredible 7" with a sound that perfectly bridges the gap between Anticapital and Misery Index.

The Apocalyptic Convulsions comp 10" was released in 1992 on Ax/ction Records. Limited to 1500 copies (500 came with bonus 7"), the comp included a poster insert with liner notes contributed by each of the bands. Amazing cover art by Morbid Mark. The 2 Assück tracks from this comp, "Anticapital" and "Spiritual Manipulation" were both previously on the Anticapital LP. I'm not sure if these 2 tracks were re-recorded, or if Pete Jay just added bass tracks to the original LP recordings. Check out the Infest post for further info on this (mostly) great comp.

1989-1991 line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - vocals
Steve Heritage - guitar
Rob Proctor - drums

The State To State 7" was released in 1992 on SOA Records. With the exception of a spoken-word piece called "A Nation's Tear" (spoken by Dawn Wilson, and early roadie for the band), all tracks had previously been released on the Anticapital LP. These songs were recorded September 16-19, 1991 at Morrisound, Tampa, FL. Released in 1991 on Sound Pollution Records on blue and black vinyl. Engineered by Scott Burns and produced by Rob Proctor and Steve Heritage. Anticapital was re-released by Sound Pollution in 1994 on CD, along with the tracks from the Blindspot 7", the 2 tracks from the split 7" with O.L.D. (1991 No System Records), and the track from Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (1991 Slap A Ham).

Even though these tracks are on the Anticapital LP/CD, i decided to include them here for 2 reasons. First, the sound is much fuller than on the album. It's ripped from the Old Days Nostalgia 3xCD (SOA Records). And second, these 4 tracks just flow perfectly together, it's the perfect ep.

The Necro Salvation 7" was recorded in 1989 at Morrisound, and released in 1990 on Rigid Records. Engineered by Scott Burns, produced byAssück. Original pressing was black and white sleeve with green vinyl. Later repressed on No System Records with different cover art. Some versions came in a 10" sleeve, not sure which label or pressing though. I've come to love this ep over the years. Less political than the later records, this one is lyrically more sex and Satan. Juvenile, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek, with a few moments of greatness, and little hints as to what was to come. This is a really nice sounding rip. Best i've heard yet.

Next up is the band recorded live on January 10, 1990 at a sports bar called Body Talk in N. Pinellas Park in Florida opening for a band called Meatwagon. Roughly 25 songs, really good quality. Sounded like a fun show.

Ending out the collection is a nice treat. The hard to find, entire 17-song "Born Backwards" 1989 demo. This is a nice, loud and clean sounding rip (320). Best you'll hear. I didn't remove any of the tape hiss as i didn't want to mess with the sound, but aside from a few tracks (like the first one), it's hardly even noticeable. The wall of noise music actually covers up 90% of the hiss.

It's mind-blowing how much this band progressed both musically and lyrically in one year.

From the Discog site:Final line-up:
Rob Proctor - Drums (Crucible, Anthem Eighty Eight, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Nasty Savage, Cease, Discordance Axis)
Jason Crittenden - Bass (ex-Reversal of Man, Early Grace, Anthem Eighty Eight, Frogg Pound)
Steve Heritage - Guitar, Vocals (ex- Jud-Jud, Bombs of Death, Anthem Eighty Eight, People's Court)

Past line-up:
Paul Pavlovich - Vocals (currently in Track the Curse)
Dave "Spinach" Malinski - Vocals/Roadie
Austin Farrell - Roadie/Tour Manager
Daryl Kahan - Vocals "1993/1994 European tour" (ex-Citizens Arrest, Abazagorath, Funebrarum, Forced Expression, Taste of Fear)
Pete Jay - Bass (ex-Meatwagon, No Fraud, Manic Dose, Peepole, Black Queen, currently in Oakhelm)
Steve Kosiba - Bass (ex-Inhumanity, Scrotum Grinder)