Tuesday, March 7, 2017

American Powerviolence: From The West To The Rest

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Powerviolence is one of those genres that i find myself coming back to time and time again, both to spin the time-tested classics, and to check out newer bands. It seems there are more PV bands than ever now, and every once in a while i'll find something that hits the spot. Of course, like any genre, nothing comes close to that crucial first wave of bands (roughly between 1989 and the mid '90s). Unlike the majority of today's PV bands who try and emulate Infest and Crossed Out, back in 1990 there was no blueprint, no formula, and all the pioneer bands sounded so different from each other it's almost hard to believe they all fell under the same banner. It was all about bands having their own unique sound and take on the genre. Those original bands were so great because they were influenced by '80s hardcore/punk (as well as some outside influences in many cases) and taking the intensity and speed of classics like Siege, YDI, Youth Korps, DRI and Deep Wound to a new level. These are the bands that will, and have, stood the test of time. Many of today's PV bands are only influenced by other powerviolence bands. Any genre influenced solely by the same genre rarely produces interesting results. But as i said before, there are still great bands out there keeping it all alive. Quite a few in fact.

I won't get into the evolution of powerviolence, and how the dopey moniker came to be. If you're reading this blog then chances are you know as much as i do on the subject.

For me it all starts with Infest.

Clear as day i remember hearing Infest for the first time. Sitting in my dorm room in art school (in Dover NJ) and hearing "Mindless" come on during Pat Duncan's show on WFMU. This must have been around '89 or so. Pat followed up with "Which Side?" and "VYO". After hearing those three songs, i knew that hardcore music was about to change in a big way. Infest was my new favorite band right then and there. A friend in school dubbed the Slave LP for me, and for a long while that's all i played. I couldn't be bothered with anything else. Even 30 years later it sounds killer, and lays waste to pretty much anything considered powerviolence recorded since. Amazing for an album that predates the term by a few years.

It took a while for anything to hit me in quite the same way. Then i heard Neanderthal's "Brain Tourniquet" (once again on WFMU). That song floored me like no other. I still think it's the greatest powerviolence song ever recorded, even though, like Infest, it predates the genre. Soon after i was able to get my hands on the issue of Dear Jesus that came with the Neanderthal / Rorschach split 7". I can't think of a more brutal 2 minutes of audio than the Neanderthal side of that split. And the Rorschach side kills as well, that should go without saying.

I started seriously collecting records around 1990. Every weekend i'd travel to Generation Records in NYC and spend a nice chunk of my paycheck on (mostly) 7" records. This was a great time for underground music. Besides the beginning of powerviolence, the ABC No Rio wave of New Breed bands were in it's origins, as well as all the great emo/indie bands that seemed to spring up overnight. The punk scene was so diverse that it would be common to come home from the record store with records by Man Is The Bastard, Born Against, The World/Inferno Friendship Society and Screeching Weasel. Even though there's been a resurgence of great HC since, i consider 1990-1996 to be the last "golden age". Many of my favorite hardcore and indie records were released during those years. Records that remain favorites today.

One one such trip to NYC i picked up the Man Is The Bastard / Aunt Mary split 7". Like Infest and Neanderthal, that one was a game-changer. The MITB side of that split is still my favorite MITB material ever. They never sounded like that again. In fact, nothing has ever sounded like that record. If they had recorded a full length in that style it would have been my dream record. The AM side rules as well, and i listen to the AM discog quite often. Great stuff, and easily my favorite noise project (not that i know much about the genre). Another great record i bought during that time was the MITB / Crossed Out split. Fuck did that blow me away. It's one of my favorite top-10 HC records of the '90s.

And so it went on... for 6 or 7 years, until (like anything else) it just kind of faded away. By the end of the '90s i had crates upon crates of LPs, 7"s, 10"s, 5"s and even a couple of 6"s. Many i've sold off over the years, the rest i plan on selling soon. I have everything i could ever need on CD or CDR at this point, and i'm too old to not take advantage of the convenience of digital.

OK, enough ranting. In this post i've made available many of my favorite PV recordings. Many of the discographies and anthologies i've posted do not exist as official releases, and i'm starting to think they never will. A lot of these collections were compiled and enhanced by yours truly. In some cases i even made custom covers, something i love doing. I'm really happy with the way most of this stuff came out. Hopefully you feel the same. This is not in any real chronological order, although i started off with the earlier, classic stuff, kinda moved from wave to wave, and ended with a bunch of newer bands. From the West to the rest basically. Hopefully you will find some rare stuff you've either been searching for, or overlooked the first time, and also discover some new bands that just might knock you on your ass. As much as i wanted to include discographies by some greats like Capitalist Casualties, Enemy Soil etc..., i didn't want to step on anyone's bandcamp or Amazon toes.

I tried to keep this post to US powerviolence bands, although i added a few international heavy-hitters at the end. I also tried to include as many out of print recordings as possible, but there may be some stuff posted here that is still available. If any bands out there want anything removed, please contact me and i'll delete it immediately. And, oh yeah, i kept the writing about the music to a minimum, as i didn't want this post to get too out of hand. Enjoy!

30 Easter Eggs this time, mostly related to this post. Good luck.


AMERICAN POWERVIOLENCE


Neanderthal - West Coast Power Violence

I couldn't help but start here. There are so many rips of this monster online, all of them shit. Finally, a nice, clean copy to destroy your ears with. No surface noise or pops. Only the opening track "Crawl" has a bit of a warble sound in the beginning (during the bass intro), but when it kicks in it kicks ass. Play loud, play often. It does NOT get better.

Slap A Ham - Ham Culture

This is just a comp of my favorite Slap A Ham releases. The Capitalist Casualties "Raised Ignorant" 7" which is my favorite CC material, just a flawless record. The Crossed Out / MITB split 7" containing my fave Crossed Out stuff and my third fave MITB stuff after the AM split and the "Abundance of Guns" EP. The Crossed Out side may be the single most influential batch of songs on the powerviolence genre. More riffs have been lifted from these songs than you can count. Am i right? Next is the No Comment "Downsided" 7", considered by many to be the best Slap A Ham release. Such an amazing slab, although it's more in the realm of D.R.I. style fast HC than the more traditional PV assault. Still, they're mentioned in "HSMP", so they're not only powerviolence, but maybe one of the only five that actually are. Ripper from start to finish. Last is the Despise You / Suppression split 7". Gods Despise You blast through 8 tracks like they're out for murder, and i love their cover of the Circle Jerks song "In Your Eyes". All the Despise You EPs rule. As if that's not enough, on the flip is some of my favorite Suppression material. Just noisy, vicious stuff. The split LP with Cripple Bastards is also a banger. As a bonus, i also included nearly 40 tracks from various Slap A Ham releases. All in all, 86 tracks and not one stinker. Gotta love Slap A Ham!

Man Is The Bastard - Sum Of The Rarities

This is a collection of tracks not on any of the CD collection releases. The first 10 tracks are taken from various compilations, and one split, the last 14 tracks are live tracks taken from a KXLU radio set and the "Fiesta Comes Alive" comp on Slap A Ham. Excellent sound throughout. "Funeral For Cargo" is one of my favorite MITB tracks. Sucks it never made it on to the DIYCD. Anyway, it's Man Is The Bastard. Mandatory listening!



Lack Of Interest - Anthology of EPs, Splits and Comp Tracks: 1993-1998

Pulverizing Infest influenced hardcore. 25 tracks taken from 10 releases. My fave is the "Double Whammy" split with Spazz. They really nailed their sound on that one. It's all great though. This collection spans 1993 to 1998, but they continued on for another 15 years.



Crom - The Anvil of Crom: 1993-1997 Recordings

I've always loved the early Crom stuff. Total caveman shit. This is basically everything pre-first LP. Faves are "Rise of The Euphrates" and "Mako". Nobody sounds like Crom, that's for sure. I would have loved to see them live. From what i've read, some of their early shows consisted of 5 minutes of music before devolving into a band wrestling match. Although the early stuff is my fave, the "Cocaine Wars" LP is great. A bizarre mix of metal, powerviolence and samples galore, with a bit of a Despise You feel at times. By the second LP they got a bit too much into their metal parody.



Stapled Shut - Discography: 1993-1997

Early discography of this THC drenched crusty PV band. Heavy, dirty shit. Many of these tracks were also on the "LA Times Demo" from 1996. They had another demo called "Resin Heaven" from 1993.



Short Hate Temper - Discography: 1994-1999

This was a long time in the making. Years. Thanks to my good friend Gen for helping with this. Short Hate Temper was one of the most underrated HC bands of the '90s. I'm pretty sure this is everything they recorded, compiled here in reverse chronological order. Hopefully one day an official SHT discography will see the light of day. Until then...



Hellnation - A Sound Like Shit

This collection contains the first LP "Colonized", two 7"s, a comp track and an unreleased track. My favorite is the s/t 7" from 1991 (included here). The tracks on here are fast and powerful, and songs like "Banana Farm" show how they could incorporate melody into their mayhem. The second LP "Control" rules as well. I could never really get into the later albums where it was like 50 short songs of fast riffs and screaming. I like that stuff in small doses. Maybe i'm just getting old.



Chopping Block - Grizzly Fetish

More madness from the West Coast circa 1991. Infest style vocals, manic music, samples and solos. To my ears there's always been just a little something off-kilter about this EP. Of course that only makes me love it that much more. Grizzly as fuck.



Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh - The CD +

The triple granddaddy of all PV comps! Every band you could think of and many you couldn't. This is one of those rare achievements where 3 comps crammed with hundreds of songs is far from being just one big blur. This is no novelty  bullshit. These discs are loaded with memorable tracks. Assuck, Infest, Born Against, Capitalist Casualties, Neanderthal, Citizens Arrest, Gasp, MITB and tons more turn in absolute classics. Personal faves are the 3 Can't Deny tracks (been searching like crazy for more from this band), and the AM session which is just insane, and the Buka track which sounds like total mayhem... I could go on and on about these records. Hell, where else are you gonna hear Mouthfart? Even the covers are excellent. Included in the file posted is the CD version on Goatsucker Records, as well as each individual record with separated tracks. Those tracks i found online in a folder called The Unholy Trinity, which sounds really good.



Trevor Fairbanks - Vocal Violence: 1997-1999

I've always loved this guy's vocals, so years back i compiled a collection of all his projects. My fave is the Scalp-Lock 7", which I picked up at a Spazz show at CBGB way back when, on the recommendation of someone (Max) at the show. To me it's a masterpiece of raw, striped down caveman core. Lots of samples from the Jim Jarmusch movie Dead Man. Then there's the more grindy Peter Mangalore 5", and the infamous unreleased Lack of Interest album with Trevor on vocals. I know i'm in the minority on this one, but i prefer the Trevor version than the first released album.


Benumb - Anthology: 1994-2003

Pissed-off West Coast hardcore. Pure audio anger. As you can see by this collection, they were the kings of compilation tracks. Everything they did up to the first LP is great, and this collects pretty much everything aside from the split 7" with Short Hate Temper and the 2 tracks from "The Monster In My Head" comp 7". If anyone has any of those tracks, please get in touch.   



Gasp  - Drome Triler Of Puzzle Zoo People

Gasp were the outsiders of the PV scene. Experimental, sometimes psychedelic PV that sounds like no other band. In the three years they existed they put out a load of great music, including being on at least a dozen comps. This album, released on Slap A Ham in 1998 is my fave.



Gasp - An Earwig's Guide To Traveling

This CD collects all the EPs, splits, comp tracks and unreleased material recorded between 1996 and 1999. The cover remind me some Nurse With Wound artwork, and i wouldn't be surprised if Gasp was a fan. I created the back cover myself as i couldn't find the proper one online. I dig it.



Despise You - Complete Discography So Far

This is a compilation of the "West Side Horizon" CD, the "Possessed To Skate" tracks (my fave), the AnB split, and a few other tracks. All on one disc for your convenience. Some of the most vicious music ever recorded. Gods.



Suppression - Amputated Brain Stem

Discography of everything the mighty Suppression recorded between 1993-2000, taken from over 20 releases. It's all here, from their grindcore roots, to feedback drenched, jazzy hardcore, to straight noise. Such a unique band. My favorite material would be the split LP with Cripple Bastards and split 7" with Despise You. The comp tracks are rippers too. This was put out on Chaotic Noise Productions in 2009 and sounds much better than the discography put out in 2001.



Spazz - La Revancha

I knew i had to represent Spazz in here. I would rather have posted one of the "Sweatin'" comps, but those are available on Amazon, so i went with "La Revancha" which destroys. I've loved Spazz ever since the first 7" came out, and they just kept getting better and better. Plus they have the best retro TV samples.



Infest -Days Turn Black (w/ bonus track)

It wouldn't be a powerviolence post without Infest. This is the EP that came out on Draw Blank in 2013 of leftover tracks from "No Man's Slave", including a Negative Approach cover. The first track is the real banger here. This is a great sounding rip, not one flaw. As a bonus track, i've included the demo track "Peace Test", also from the "No Man's Slave" sessions. The track was re-recorded, cleaned up and even had the title changed for the LP version (i forget what it was called on the album). Anyway, this raw version (taken from the "Dangerously Unstable - Suburban Voice" comp CD) destroys the released version. In fact, as much as i love "No Man's Slave", if the whole album was produced like this track, it would have given "Slave" a run for it's money. Or maybe not, i dunno. "Slave" is like my Bible.


No Less - Lessons

I realize that this is already in the Stinkweed Tribute post, but i wanted to keep all the PV stuff together. One of the most original PV bands of all time, and just one of the most original  hardcore bands period. Groovy Sabbath riffs, innovative grindcore, hip-hop, psychedelia, samples galore... Just amazing. This collection contains 4 extra songs not on the "Lessons" CD.


Tomorrow Will Be Worse

Let's get into some comps for a bit. This is a kick ass comp of West Coast and Japanese PV bands. Originally released as a 4x7" box set that came with a 20 page booklet sleeve containing all the EP covers and the lyrics for each record. Beautiful marbled vinyl to boot, different colors for each record. One of the nicest box sets i own. Every band delivers top notch tunes. The Spazz material (sharing a split with Fuck on the Beach here) was originally recorded for an aborted split 7" with Man Is The Bastard. Each track is about a member of MITB. The cover (both front and back) is a great MITB parody. This would have been a hell of a split. As would the aborted MITB / Despise You split LP.



Audio Terrorism

"The Soundtrack For Weirdness And Blind Hostility". 99 tacks of chaotic noise, put out by Chaotic Noise Productions, along with Satan's Pimp and Heartplug, with the average track clocking in at around 30 seconds. From the well known to the most obscure. A crazy mix of powerviolence, noise, grindcore and power electronics. I colored in the cover, just because it was fun.


Possessed To Skate

This comp reminds me of those great '80s comps like "This Is Boston Not LA", where all the key bands contributed grade A material, even their all time best material in some cases. All the bands are great, but Despise You steal the show here with ten tracks of their most crushing stuff ever. Charles Bronson also deliver some of their best stuff. One of the key comps of the '90s.





Cry Now, Cry Later Vols. 1-2
Cry Now, Cry Later Vols. 3-4

Pessimiser Records outdid themselves with these discs. Originally released as double 7"s starting in 1993 and compiled onto 2 CDS in 1998 with bonus tracks. Some faves would be the alternate version of "Methamphetamine" by Eyehategod which lays waste to the LP version, the early (and sloppy) Despise You tracks, Man Is The Bastards's crushing "Faces of The Man" (they closed with that song when i saw them at CBGB many years ago), and Soilent Green's "Build Fear" just to name a few. You probably already know this, but Factoria De Miedo is actually Fear Factor.



Menus With Manpower

Comp of PV, noise, grind and assorted weirdness. Worth the price of admission for the No Le$$ track "Mammoth", which is not on the band's discography CD, and as far as i know, exclusive to this comp. It's a great, although kinda offbeat track. Three minutes of plodding grove, with lots of samples, record scratching and horns that seem to come out of everywhere. Done as only No Le$$ can do it. Many of the tracks on the comp are taken from other releases, but there are some rare gems as well. Any comp with Black Mayonnaise is OK by me.

We'll get back to more comps later. For now let's move past the West Coast and dig into some of the bands in other areas of the US that the West Coast inspired.



Apartment 213 - '93-'97

Power Tool Violence or Serial Killer Core. Whatever moniker you give it, this heavy PV band from Cleveland, Ohio deliver the Infest influenced goods every time. I interviewed vocalist Chris for my old zine "Off Cycle" in the late '90s, and for someone who screams about murderers, he's the nicest guy ever. The "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" 7" is my personal fave. They put out music until 2010, even releasing a full length in 2006.



Hail of Rage - Discography

This is basically the "All Hail" CD assembled into release order. Most of this stuff was recorded between 1994-1995. The first 7" "Fucking Pissed" is an overlooked classic of the '90s. If ever a record was aptly titled, this is it. Full-on pissed off, barbaric hardcore from Connecticut.



Slave State - 1992-1993

Sick, raw powerviolence from Buffalo, NY. They were supposed to do a split LP with Crossed Out back i the early '90s, but it fell though due to the band breaking up. Apparently these are the only 26 completed songs that exist, According to one of the band members, the master tapes for this stuff no longer exist, so everything was sourced from vinyl. Sounds pretty good though.This has the splits with Rupture and Lack Of Interest, plus demo and comp tracks.



Jenny Piccolo - Discography

More '90s madness from CA. Fifty two tracks in just over a half hour. Love the Chain of Strength cover.



Tomsk-7 - Discography

I snagged this from the R'lyeh Liberation Front blog. The person who runs that blog compiled this discography from his own vinyl, and it sounds excellent. He also made the covers. Of course, me being me, i made my own front cover. If you want to check out the original, and maybe discover some other great music, i recommend you check out the blog. Tomsk-7 were a female-fronted, relatively obscure '90s band who had split records with Boris (love the cover on that record) and Idi Amin, as well as a few comp tracks. Recommended.





Reality Part #2
Reality Part #3

Back to some mandatory comps. There were actually 5 Reality comps. The first being a 6-song 7", which i don't have a good rip of. Since i wanted to stay with the '90s theme for the time being, i didn't include #4, which is my least favorite of the bunch aside from a few great tracks by Ruido, Low Threat Profile, Lack Of Interest and SU19B. Reality #2 and #3 are a different story. All the great PV bands are here in full force. Fuck, even Infest has a track! Released in 1997 and 1999 by Deep Six.



Nothing's Quiet On The Eastern Front

Great East Coast compilation of mostly brutal hardcore bands, with some PV stuff scattered throughout. The Suppression song kills. And the Disassociate tracks sound like some stoned out, weird lo-fi MITB rehearsal. It sounds absolutely nothing like anything else they've ever recorded. My fave is the Devoid Of Faith track with the Superfly sample intro. Killer comp. And although it really doesn't fit this thread 100%, i really wanted the East Coast represented more.



Fiesta Comes Alive

The Best of Slap A Ham Records Fiesta Grande #1-5. Great sound and great performances. The Frampton parody cover is gold.



Autopsy Mayhem Hard Sound: A Trainwreck Compilation

Great comp with the ugliest cover ever. All songs recorded at Trainwreck Studio in Oakland, CA. The CD comes with a nice booklet (on thick stock paper), with pictures of all the bands, but unfortunately no lyrics or info. Best track is the Agents Of Satan / No Less collab "Agents/No Less" with the killer Shedwellaz intro. The full list of bands, for some reason not listed on the pic above, is: Gob, Bros. Jibb, Jenny Piccolo, Utter Bastard, Noothgrush, Deadbodieseverywhere, Benumb, Shedwellaz, Agents Of Satan, Billy Clyde and Makara.



Seized - Complete Discography

Man Is The Bastard style heavy two bass assault. This band is a fucking steamroller. This is everything the band recorded between 1995-1998. Eight originals and a cover of the greatest Sabbath song ever, "Hand of Doom".



Ruido - 1997-2000

Amazing hardcore band from Southern CA. They seemed to transition from short, Despise You influenced rippers to more straight-forward hardcore with a bit of a Crudos vibe. It's all essential. My fave stuff is the demo, which is split up between the first 7" and the Tezacrifico split. Most all tracks in Spanish. On a side note, vocalist Gen is a great guy and helps me out a lot with this blog.  



Charles Bronson - Complete Discocrappy

Two discs and over a hundred songs, from the early fast punk days to the Spazz worship they became known for. This one's ripped at 192 unfortunately. I colored the cover obviously.



Pre Human Blaspheme

Pre Human Blaspheme is probably one of the more obscure bands in this post, and also one of the more original and insane sounding. They had elements of West Coast bands like Plutocracy and No Less as well as metallic HC bands like Rorschach. There's even hints of death metal in there, and a little Sabbath for good measure. They're at their best when they lock into a discordant groove. Oh, and the drummer is a mad man. I don't know why i thought these guys were from Germany. Anyway, Gen Ruido filled me in some info. They were from Corona in SoCal i.e. Riverside County. Their guitarist Lamin & bassist Isaiah later joined Ruido after PHB disbanded around late 1999. Both were on the Fuck On The Beach split, Live At KXLU 7", Split 5" with Nailed Down. etc.



Thug - Thug Music

Thug were a hardcore band from Madison, Wisconsin. They only released ten songs between 1993 and 1997 (nine of which are included here), most of it on Bovine Records. Thug played an ugly, feedback drenched brand of hardcore, with touches of Black Sabbath and Black Flag. I'm not sure they would be considered powerviolence, but they were certainly part of that whole scene at the time.



Hatred Surge - Collection: 2004-2012

When the '90s ended, the powerviolence genre continued on. One of the best of the new breed was Hatred Surge from Austin, Texas. Members of Hatred Surge were in numerous other bands, most notably Insect Warfare. Super pissed PV hardcore that sounds like a massive fusion of Despise You (complete with male/female vocals) and early Napalm Death. The split LP with The Endless Blockade is best in my opinion. I'm pretty sure they're still active.



Knuckle Scraper - Gulf Coast Power Violence

A short-lived PV band from Houston, Texas. Members of Hatred Surge, Insect Warfare, Machine Gun Romantics, PLF and more playing Spazz worship, with elements of other classic bands like Infest and Crossed Out. The demo rules. The "K.S. Theme Song" cracks me up every time.



Lie Still - 2011 Demo

One of the best powerviolence recordings to come out in maybe a dozen years. Eleven songs in seven minutes, capturing the spirit of the early '90s bands when everything was fresh and unpredictable. Pete from Benumb on vocals.



The Endless Blockade - Turn Illness Into A Weapon

This 2005 release was the first in a long line of great records that continued until 2011. Maybe the most straight-forward in it's approach, with elements of MITB and fast hardcore. Mothra is a monster track. Pun intended.



Cave State - Discography

A killer California band playing straight PV influenced by the originators. They pull it off perfectly. The "Manferior" 7" is my fave, but all of it kills. I'm not sure if they're still active. They only released material between 2013-2015. I had fun working on the covers since i'm a huge Harryhausen fan.



Magnum Force - Collected Crimes

PV HC from Phoenix. One of the most impressive newer bands i've heard in years, in any genre. Fast yet memorable hardcore that hits super speeds that have to be heard to be believed. The drummer is an absolute psycho. The "Self-Loathing" 7" is the classic here, and will probably be referred to as such 20 years from now.



Iron Lung - Cold Storage Anthology: 2001-2007

This anthology collects both the "Cold Storage" comps available for free on the band's bandcamp. All i did was put the tracks in release-order and tag everything to fit on one disc. And oh yeah, Iron Lung rules.



 Bookburner - s/t EP

The Bookburner EP just seemed to come out of nowhere and tear the heads off anyone who's heard it. A dozen tracks of off-the-charts intensity and anger. It was recorded in 2006 and released 2 years later. And that was that. They just disappeared as fast as they arrived. The vocalist was also in a band called Society Nurse with members of Iron Lung and Walls/Cold Sweat. In 2014 the vocalist and guitar player started a band called Exit Bag, and recorded 12 songs of blackened HC punk in the vein of Ildjarn and Rudimentary Peni. You can check that out here.



Eyesore - Collected Rage

Powerviolence from Detroit. One of my favorite new bands. They have a great knack for writing songs between 3 and 15 seconds long and still keep it interesting. When they do happen to bang out a 30 second track it feels like an epic. This has been on constant rotation lately, and i'm jonesing for more.



Low Threat Profile

Matt from Infest & Neanderthal, Bob from Lack of Interest and Andy from No Comment. What else do you need to know? Some of the riffs sound like they could be on "No Man's Slave". Product #1 is perfection.



Spine - Anthology: 2012-2015

Forty tracks of fast hardcore. A nice mix of Infest style HC, youth crew and a touch of NYHC. Sounds like Youth Of Today on steroids at times. Memorable stuff.



To The Point - An Anthology of Fast Music: 2012-2015

Really well written songs featuring members of Spazz and Lack of Interest. Using interesting arrangements and great guitar work while keeping the songs memorable. Some of the best newer PV you'll hear. Showing the kids how it's done.



Drug Problem

Real vile, dirty hardcore, with elements of sludge and black metal. Great samples. Not really powerviolence i guess... not sure what genre it would fall into actually. It fits this post though. If you like ugly, manic hardcore, you'll eat this shit up.



Thick Skin - Discography

From Washington, DC, Thick Skin play a nice mix of West Coast PV and '80s US hardcore. They kick enough ass to stand out from the hundreds of similar bands flooding the scene. These tracks were originally released on a single-sided cassette put out by Empty Mind Records.



Vaccine - Discography: 2009-2013

Another re-post. PV from Massachusetts. They stick with what works for them. This is straight-up Crossed Out style, and they do it better than most.



XbrainiaX - Hail Fastcore

Mid West Coast Power Violence. 99 tracks recorded within 2 years. These guys were busy. Then again, the average track is 20 seconds.



To Live A Lie Vol. II

PV comp released in 2014. Twenty-nine tracks, all of them insane. These aren't just throw-away tracks. Every band delivers. Check this one out, you're guaranteed to discover some killer shit.


Trapped In A Scene

Lots of current heavies on one comp. Multiple tracks from each band. Released in 2007 on 625 Thrashcore / Give Praise Records.



Mindless Mutant

Great band made up of veterans of the PV scene, most notably Max Ward (Spazz, Capitalist Casualties, Plutocracy etc.). This is total first-wave worship. Killer stuff from 2006 put out by 625. I only wish they would have released more material.



Hurt Your Feelings

This comp was put out by Six Weeks in 2001. Bands from all over the globe. Mostly older stuff. All of it good.



Burn Your Bridges

Chris Dodge on vocals/guitar and Bob from Lack Of Interest on drums (damn those guys stay busy). This comp has the LP put out on Deep Six in 2003, and the 2002 demo that i snagged from Chris Dodge's blog here. Straight-forward '80s sounding hardcore that seems to alternate from sounding like Black Flag one minute and Infest the next. It really doesn't fit in with the PV theme of this post, but fuck it. It's refreshing stuff in an endless sea of bands trying to out-brutal each other.



Mind Eraser - Conscious / Unconscious

This 2-song LP was released in 2008 and is my favorite Mind Eraser record. Two epic crushers clocking in at roughly ten minutes each. Powerful stuff. As you can see, i couldn't find a scan of the actual back cover.



Put To Death - Separatist

Yet another band made up of PV vets. These OG's rip through six tracks bringing back the good old days of Infest, Crossed Out and Neanderthal. And like many of these bands, it's a one-record affair.



Exit Unit

I just discovered this EP and had to post it. It's Joe Denunzio (vocals) and Matt Domino (guitar) from Infest, and Bob (drums) from Lack Of Interest. This could pass for a follow up to the "Mankind" 7". Best hardcore EP of 2017 so far. And i doubt that will change from now until December. On Deep Six / Draw Blank Records.



Burnout

Here's a late addition. I downloaded at least a dozen newer HC records yesterday from a great blog called Cut and Paste. Of all the stuff i checked out, this band called Burnout really got my attention. Just really well done old school style PV. Sounds like some long lost Slap A Ham release from 1993.



Chest Pain - First Pains 2009-2014

One more late addition. I've been jamming this band a lot after hearing their track on the "To Live A Lie II" comp (best track on the comp). Great blend of noise rock and fast hardcore with a vocalist who doesn't sound like a Denunzio clone. Really memorable songs for this genre. A new fave. This is everything up to 2014, and there was a "Discography So Far" tape that was very similar, and was available for free download a while back. Not sure what happened to that. But no matter, now you have this. Better sound too. Chest Pain are still making music, and the "The Primate's Advantage" EP from 2016 is excellent.


Well, that's about it for my favorite American powerviolence bands. Of course there are plenty more faves not represented here. I really wanted to do a Forced Expression discography. I actually started working on one a while back, but got sidetracked. Hopefully i'll get back to that. Aside from what's posted here, i really like Enemy Soil, Black Army Jacket, Taste Of Fear, Manpig, They Live, Gob, Evolved To Obliteration, Utter Bastard and Dropdead if they count. As far as newer bands go, Gas Chamber rules. Dead Language. Plus i dig just about everything on the "To Live A Lie" sampler compilations.

As a bonus, i've decided to add some of my favorite International PV bands to end this thread.


INTERNATIONAL POWERVIOLENCE




Harsh - Reality

Powerviolence band from Finland. Mikko Aspa from Clandestine Blaze, Deathspell Omega, Stabat Mater, Noise Waste and a dozen other bands is involved with this project, although i'm not sure what his role is. Harsh plays bass-heavy fast hardcore with lots of tempo changes. Besides being influenced by Infest and Crossed Out, there's an early Napalm Death vibe. In fact, the drummer plays so much like Mick Harris it's scary. He's the only drummer i've ever heard who has the same intensity. The speed, and even the rolls sound identical to the drumming on the first 2 Napalm Death LPs and Peel Sessions. Especially on the self-titled 7" from 1996. This comp collects the "Reality" CD and close to 40 bonus tracks from various releases, including the amazing first EP. Mikko also played in another PV band called Control Mechanism, who actually have a split 7" with Harsh.



Luzifer's Mob - Complete 50 Song Discography

German fast hardcore at it's best. To me, the first 7" and split LP with Golgatha are classics. The split LP came with an anti-religious poster (which was supposed to be the cover and was rejected) that i had hanging on my wall back in the mid-'90s, until one of my roommates became offended and ripped it down. We had a violent fight over it, which was OK because we fought pretty much every day. Don't live with drunks.



Corrosive - Black Forest Power Violence

I first heard this band on some insane  compilation VHS tape called "Revenge Of The Disabled 2". Corrosive had these great cheap self-made videos for three of their songs. They were like a primitive German version of Infest. I was sold immediately, and on my next trip to NYC i picked up their first 7" and split with Bohrholm. Those 2 records are still my fave stuff from this band. This collection has material spanning 1995 to 2013, although the band formed in 1984. I've never heard the early stuff, but i would imagine it sounds a hell of a lot different considering they hadn't discovered Infest yet.



Tumult - Discography

More German hardcore. Tumult is a '90s favorite of mine, and i was pretty infatuated with them at the time. They had their own unique sound and just nailed it perfectly. Fast as hell songs with massive breakdowns and vocals slightly more sinister (for lack of a better way to put it) than other bands of the genre. The song "Bremen Style" floors me every time. Hopefully an official discography sees the light of day.



Systral - Anthology: 1994-1998

Let's keep the German hardcore going. Systral were a heavy, and very unique band with members of Acme and Morser. They're a hard band to describe. The "Maximun Entertainment" 7" is just fucking crazy. Seriously one of the most intense 7" records to come out of Germany, or anywhere else. All the comp tracks are excellent as well, but the LP, in my opinion, was a step down. It's heavy as all hell, but much less interesting than their previous stuff.



ABC Diabolo - Last Intoxication Of The Senses

Another powerful classic from Germany. Maybe the best German HC full length? Could be. The breakdown in "In Handling Animals" is worth the price of admission alone. Along with the 1993 album, i've included the 7" from '92, the demo version of the song "Last Intoxication" from the "I Kill What I Eat" comp on Eccocentric, and 2 Germs covers from a Germs covers comp CD. The second LP "Give Rise To Doubts" is great as well.



Yacosae - Einstweilige Vernichtung

Yet more German madness. The "Einstweilige Vernichtung" LP/CD was released on Slap A Ham in 2001. Thirty-seven short tracks of grinding fastcore that can stop on a dime like no other band on the planet. From 1992 to 2015 Yacopsae released a shit load of EPs and comp tracks, most of which were compiled on 3 separate discography CDs.



Fuck On The Beach - Slap A Ham Twin Best

We'll stick with Japan for while. This CD collects the "Power Violence Forever" LP, the "Endless Summer" LP and the "Betrayed Again" EP. Fuck On The Beach are the best! With song titles like "Where Do You Work?", "Never No Skin Fuck" and "Throat Or Die", how can you not love this stuff.




SU19B - Discography: 1997-2001

Massive Japanese powerviolence. Taking the Crossed Out formula of heavy grooves with quick bursts of speed to the extreme by slowing down the slow parts to Corrupted levels and speeding up the fast parts. This collects everything the band recorded up to 2001, and the 4 bonus tracks are from the splits with Jenny Piccolo and Deadeye. SU19B are still active.

Well, that's it for now. Time to go watch some '70s movie. Maybe i'll watch Network again. That one rules. 

Oh, and don't forget to drop by the Blogged and Quartered Record Store. It's right here. And don't forget about the 30 extra hidden downloads throughout the post. All great stuff.

And yet even one more thing. Some really nice guy from Germany emailed me and sent me rips of the Tumult demo, and an unreleased Systral 10", both of which I didn't even know existed. Thanks Chris! Here's the Tumult demo and here's the Systral 10". And check out Chris' grindy HC band Poostew here.

Til next time...

96 comments:

  1. Wow!!!!!!! Insane work you put in, thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks.

    I updated the Benumb anthology, as it had a few glitches that i fixed. So if anyone has downloaded that file, i'd recommend DL'ing it again.
    Vin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome megapost!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is awesome! How about the MK-ULTRA discography on this!?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fucking beautiful, saved this post in my favorites, looking forward to browse through all these downloads tomorrow! Thanks a whole lot!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you so much. What a great collection; all of it very well organized. One can definitely see the effort put into it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks everyone.
    Heads up - i just added the Exit Unit EP to the post. Members of Infest and LOI.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is the best post on the internet. Bravo.

    The Disassociate lofi, stoned out sounding rehearsal-like tracks on Nothings Quiet on the Eastern Front were recorded at our rehearsal space on Stanton St when we were very high lol you got that shit correct

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hatred Surge is defunct. Cave State and Lack Of Interest are still active

    ReplyDelete
  10. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Thank you!! The time and effort you must put into these posts is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. No P.H.C.? (Pissed Happy Children, Pillsbury Hardcore)
    Proto-violence from the mid to late 80's
    And the three EP's of Third World Planet are PV must haves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love PHC. I even own the Graveltruck 7" and the demo to the first LP. I'd just consider them a HC band though, and a juvenile one at that. Aside from the song Vigilante foreshadowing what was to come with MITB, they really don't fit this thread in my opinion. It would be like mentioning Stikky or Open Your Mind. Guilty by association.

      I'll have to check out those Third World Planet EPs. Thanks.
      Vin

      Delete
    2. Ok i get your point about PHC and you are right.
      Third World Planet are PV all the way.
      I can send you what i have if you want?
      Not that easy to find on the intraweb.
      Oh and this PV post you have made is beyond awesome, i hope you do a similar one with fastcore someday in the future.

      Delete
    3. Hey man do you have any info about the band "Open your mind". Can't find it anywhere

      Delete
  12. Thanks. Awesome post. Thank You Bro!

    Your friend Rusłan Bułajew
    PDW. Pozdro 600

    ReplyDelete
  13. really need a post with this shit, with all classics staff bands, but i think a great, not, amazing australian band are not here: RUPTURE.
    love you blog bro,
    cheers and weeds
    K.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Krustie, I love Rupture and plan on posting their stuff on my blog at some point. This probably wouldn't have been the best post to do it in though.

      Thanks for the comment and glad you dig the blog.
      Vin

      Delete
    2. hey men i'm ever site on your blog, i'm postead on my Facebook count this post, why?, why are amazing

      Delete
    3. here discography by Rupture pal
      https://mega.nz/#!P9YClbwY!Ehtmaf2NpqFqoOZCJwp_lP9hO8wRmhnhPP2pNybgmpw

      Delete
    4. Anyone have Bathtub Shitter discography?

      Delete
    5. Bathtub Shitter blows.

      Delete
  14. Holy cow, this is pure glory, truly an astounding post. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  15. *stands up*

    *wipes tear from eye*

    *applauds wildly*

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stormy, I know this has nothing to do with this particular post, and I don't even know if you'd be interested, but have you ever thought about taking a shot at cleaning up the Earth Crisis Firestorm Demo?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Superb post! Many thanks for your hard work :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I do have the Monster In My Head comp withn the Benumb trax you're talking about wanting....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Any way to get me a rip of those tracks? I got the SHT split and wanted do a complete pre-LP discog.
      Vin

      Delete
  19. did u ask the bands if they mind you posting their shit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used this disclaimer at the beginning of the post:
      "If any bands out there want anything removed, please contact me and i'll delete it immediately."

      Delete
  20. Stormy,

    First off, your post is the best thing that's happened on the internet this year.

    Second, I've had a question about one of these comps since it originally dropped, and you're probably the best person on the planet to ask: There's a track on Fiesta Comes Alive by a band called Bludgeon, that for me, blows everything else on that comp out of the water. I've always been fascinated by it even more because there is absolutely nothing else out there (that I can find) from or about this band. I have a hunch that it's Matt from Capitalist Casualties on drums, because I don't know anyone else who sounds quite like that, but I can only speculate. Do you know anything about them/if they ever released anything? Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never heard anything else by Bludgeon, but according to Discogs they had 2 tapes in the early '90s. The other stuff listed i'm not sure is even the same band.

      https://www.discogs.com/artist/578321-Bludgeon

      Delete
    2. Bludgeon is Matt Martin from Capitalist Casualties (possibly Mike as well) and a member or two of a local band called the Insanity Puppets. They never released anything, although I have an instrumental practice tape in a box somewhere. That Discogs link is for a different Bludgeon; the one on Fiesta Comes Alive is from the Bay Area.

      Delete
    3. Bludgeon was Matt Martin cap cas on drums, Spider Mike cap cas on bass, Chris Coburn insanity puppets on guitar and Kevin insanity puppets on vox. We had a recording date to do a 7" but we got too high and forgot about it. We played a handful of shows in the bay area and started getting a following then just kind of fell apart

      Delete
  21. Thank you for this it is so detailed and so incredible.

    My favorite part being the Short Hate Tempe discography. Can't wait to finally be able to jam them other than on the turntable.

    They Live deserves your anthology treatment at some point, haha!

    Thanks so much for all of this. A great history lesson...

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is an incredible post, thanks so much! Gonna go submerge myself

    ReplyDelete
  23. Also I believe this was the same Bludgeon from the southwest that released a 7" on the dude from Gehennas label, Area 51.

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/1452904-Bludgeon-2

    ReplyDelete
  24. brilliant work, thank you very much for the post.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Fucking rad. I grew up in the Bay Area of California, and Fiesta Grande changed my whole outlook on music. Thanks for posting all these albums.

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is so top-notch!! Thanks for sharing so many great sounds in such an epic post!

    (the Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh - The CD archive keeps giving me error messages when I try to extract it, but maybe it's just my PC tapping out! :P )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just fixed the Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh link.
      Vin

      Delete
    2. Thanks very much...

      Delete
  27. Stormy does it again! Those easter eggs, you rock!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Amazing, long game-style archival project bearing fruit here.

    This post really took me back to how I got into these bands. It was around the early 2000s for me. I come from a pretty small place and I somehow found my way onto the long-dead austricken [sp?] discography site. That site was such an important gateway in that era. After discovering it by chance, I came away with a huge range of PV/grind/thrashcore/crust bands from all over the world to follow up on. It was certainly how I learned about Despise You, Stapled Shut, Lack of Interest, Capitalist Casualties, and so many more.

    But, back then, the challenge after learning some info about the bands/releases was finding the music itself. A lot of the releases were out of print or extremely rare (and certainly not available in the town i lived in) and I remember trying to piece together releases track by track through some of the early filesharing applications... all while using a primordial internet connection. There were always songs and releases missing... I was always dealing with an incomplete puzzle.

    A post like this was out of the question back then. Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that it exists now.

    Thanks a lot, Stormy.

    -K

    ReplyDelete
  29. There's also a Seized radio recording CD. I think it has two songs not released elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, i haven't heard that yet. There's a rip on this blog:
      http://soundinterest.blogspot.com/
      It's 192kbps but it's the only thing i could find online. The Autopsy cover should be interesting.
      Vin

      Delete
  30. Thanks. You reminded me of some bands that I haven't listened to for a while like Thug. I like that you highlighted some great, but underrated bands like Suppression and Short Hate Temper. Thanks for all the hard work

    ReplyDelete
  31. hello.
    could you please re upload the Suppression discography. there are some skips in it.
    thank you so much for these collections!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I know they are more fastcore than pv,but does anyone know where to find a Sin Orden mp3 discography?

    ReplyDelete
  33. the song "Red Dead" on the Jenny Piccolo collection is corrupt. It has a horrible glitchy, skipping noise on it.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I re-upped the Suppression discog. Hopefully it's OK now. As far as the Jenny Piccolo CD, i grabbed that one online somewhere, so any glitches there are from whoever originally ripped it.
    Vin

    ReplyDelete
  35. I love you man, thanx for this post.

    Do you like that band SM-70 from Germany?

    They were not powerviolence, but it was fast and brutal as fuck.

    https://www.discogs.com/artist/722191-SM-70


    I have a rip of their discography cd if you want.


    cheers !

    ReplyDelete
  36. Mat, i've never heard SM-70, but i would love to get a rip of that CD.
    Vin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hey man, i was out of internet these days, sorry....

      here it is, let me know if the link doesn't work (never uploaded on mega before)

      it's not my rip, i got it from some other blog, so credit goes to the original uploader

      https://mega.nz/#!2YBiHQKD!lbJO2WRxjzLOP6AP_-H7qacOCF5CPzCNEt85a4TUo-0



      hope you like it

      Delete
  37. Thanks for this post! I live on the West Coast about 80 miles east of Berkeley Ca. home of 924 Gilman St. where I have witnessed the CRUSHING of the majority of the bands listed in this post. From the early 90's and on. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  38. You put an amazing amount of work into this mammoth post... thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks. You reminded me of some bands that I haven't listened to for a while like Thug.
    thank you for your sharing!

    goldenslot casino
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    ReplyDelete
  40. I love Benumb, thank you very, very much!!
    But one thing about the tracks from the ANb split, maybe you can clear this up:
    You obviously ripped the tracks off the "Soul of the Martyr" CD-release, and they say in the booklet that these 4 tracks are from this split with ANb. But the actual songtitles differ... see discogs:

    https://www.discogs.com/de/Ben%C3%BCmb-Soul-Of-The-Martyr/release/473863

    https://www.discogs.com/de/Agoraphobic-Nosebleed-Ben%C3%BCmb-Sspspsplit/master/9999

    I once found the 3 Tracks online, and they were totally different songs.
    Also, the release of the Split with ANb was 2001, the CD-release of "Soul of the Martyr" was 1998.

    So I think maybe these 4 tracks are the songs from the split with Short Hate Temper...?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Didn't know that, thanks. Those tracks are definitely not the SHT split though, i have that record.
      Vin

      Delete
  41. Thanks for all your efforts that you have put in this.
    It's very interesting Blog...
    Thank you for posting this....!
    จีคลับ
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    ReplyDelete
  42. Thug! never even heard the name before this post but they blew me away! thanks

    ReplyDelete
  43. thanks a lot for this post!
    it's incredible the amount of information that you shared here. I really think PV deserves a book or documentary bringing up its origins and peak.
    from all these bands, here in Brazil I see people talking mostly about Infest, Charles Bronson and Spazz. Sometimes some japanese bands that were brought to light by one of our greatest hardcore bands, Mukeka di Rato.
    it's curious to see how this clearly reflects in the PV we make. I never saw any influence from bands like MITB, Lack of Interest or Apartment 213 here, for example. I only discovered these bands because I am really passionated for PV and, like you, I am always coming back to discover new stuff.

    again, thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Do you have Fractured - Dilapidated 7" that came out on Deep Six? One of Bob from Lack of Interest/To The Point etc many bands

    ReplyDelete
  45. Incredible Post. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  46. This is awesome!! Please check out my band at some point https://barcsac.bandcamp.com/album/pisstake

    ReplyDelete
  47. Great post, but the gas chamber anthology is a dead-link. Any way that could be fixed or if I can be pointed in the direction of a good download?

    GC were great, but good bands don't always last. . . . . especially in Hardcore and PV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll fix that link by tonight. Thanks for the heads up.
      Vin

      Delete
  48. Thanks for this!! It's great to see a lot of old vinyl here that I had 20 years ago and it's nice to give some of it a listen again.

    ReplyDelete
  49. SEA OF SHIT from Chicago is easily the best PV band of the modern era. Check them out if you havn't yet.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Have you ever heard of the Belgian PV band called 'Belgian Asociality'. In their own country they are always put aside as a comedy act due to the comical titles in the Dutch language, but to me they're just a straightforward PV band. Their first LP already came out in 1989. I'll just leave this song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mi9VhT7JW8

    ReplyDelete
  51. SHANK discography download?

    ReplyDelete
  52. Any way you can upload the California Love records?

    ReplyDelete
  53. can you add Satan's Pimp Records Compilation Volume 4 - Accidental Double Homicide please

    ReplyDelete
  54. does anyone have a rip of this comp? It's got a Lack Of Interest song that was posted on here and I've never heard it before. https://www.discogs.com/Various-Homeless-Benefit-EP/master/150586

    ReplyDelete
  55. i'm going to do the TUMULT discography on vinyl soonish (on my PER KORO label) none of the members have the original tapes - i own the original CDR for the full-length.
    i would like to know if you have an even better quality of the rip? we would like to use it for the LP. my CD should then be the reference for the rest of the recordings.
    could you PLEASE get back to me asap - markus @ perkoro.com
    THANKS

    ReplyDelete
  56. Man, can you please reupload the links at least the benum and hail of rage ones, please? i will be very thankful

    ReplyDelete
  57. Reupload please! All links are dead.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Dooooood. Epic can you pls reup blaaaaaaaagggghh and lack of interest please.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Stormy can you please reup lack of interest demos pls
    Love this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Thank you for all the amazing posts over the years! Can you re upload the trevor fairbanks stuff please?

    ReplyDelete
  61. If you need something from the blog, please drop requests in the comments section of my latest post. Thanks
    Vin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had most of them on my ex's computer. now its been years since we broke up , was hoping to get all this music again . can't find half of the music anywhere

      Delete