Goth Punk Classics

Just a quick update before i get started with the post. The INFEST 2xCD has been revised for better sound quality. This has a much better sounding rip of the Mankind 7", as well as various comp tracks. The only real flaw that i can hear is a slight skip in the song Plastic, but other than that i'm finally happy with it. I'd say it's worth the upgrade, especially if you're an INFEST fanatic like me. You can grab it here. Also, all links are now direct downlaods. No Sendspace links.
 
Since i tend to spin a lot of dark music during the month of October, i figured i'd share some of my favorites here. I've decided to stick to dark post-punk. All rips are from the CD versions (in many cases here, they're actually harder to find than the vinyl), and most have loads of great bonus tracks. All of it is mandatory listening. Hope you dig it, and if any of it's new to you, hopefully you'll be as blown away as i was when i first heard this stuff.
 
I've always been drawn to dark music. Shit, since age 5 i've been infatuated with Black Sabbath, and can remember playing Hand of Doom over and over thinking it was the greatest thing ever. During art school at the end of the '80s, i was turned onto stuff like Rudimentary Peni, 45 Grave, Septic Death, Undead etc. It was like discovering a new world. After that came Bauhaus, X-Mal, Christian Death (i'll never forget how floored i was when i heard Only Theatre of Pain for the first time), Sisters of Mercy, The Sound, Kommunity FK and loads more. Now, 30 years later, there seems to be a pretty big revival of this sound. Newer bands like Funeral Parade, Bellicose Minds, Lost Tribe, Cemetery, Shards, Ciril, Blue Cross, Arctic Flowers, Moral Hex, Spectres, Christ vs. Warhol and Cross Stitched Eyes come to mind. All influenced by a huge range of music, from Bowie, to Peni, to Sisters to The Wipers. For starters, check out the newest Ciril album "Sick Surreal". My pick for best album of 2012.
 
OK, let's get to the music.

First off is Peilitalossa, the amazing first album by Musta Paraati from Finland. Recorded in 1983 and originally released on Johanna Records. This rip is from the 2001 re-issue CD and contains all the tracks from the band's other 7"s, three tracks from the band's second full length, Käärmeet (1984), as well as one demo track and one live track. Ripped at 320. Peilitalossa is a goth punk classic. The band broke up after the second LP, which is also excellent by the way.

Musta Paraati - Peilitalossa

Peilitalossa lineup (1983):
Jore Vastelin - vocals
Saku Paasiniemi - guitar
Panda Nikander - bass
Ykä Knuutila - drums
Jari Kääriäinen - synthesizer

Käärmeet lineup (1984):
Epe Kronholm - vocals
Saku Paasiniemi - guitar
Panda Nikander - bass
Sande Vettenranta - drums
Jesu Hämäläinen - synthesizer

The band went through several lineup changes between 1982-1984, with different members playing on different 7"s. The only constant members were Saku and Panda.

Next up is the great overlooked German band Serene Fall. This band has such a unique sound. Kinda like Joy Division fused with the pop sensibilities of a band like Screeching Weasel, with vocals in the Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) and Andrew Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy) vein. It works somehow. I mean REALLY works. I've listened to this stuff countless times and it never fails to amaze me.

Serene Fall collection

Serene Fall was founded in 1989, then called My Eden Dies, featuring guitarist Maul from the classic German punk band EA80. This is a collection of the band's work spanning roughly ten years. The first LP, Oh My Prophet Oh My Liar was recorded from June '91 to May '92 in Manchester, and released on Beri Beri Records in 1993. Also included is the band's demo. This may have been recorded in 1995, but i'm not totally sure of that, and i'm not even sure this is the full demo. After that is the title track from the Audry Rose (remember that movie?) 7" released in 2001 on Major Label Records. This is a fantastic track with a huge Mourning Noise (or Misfits to a lesser extent) vibe. Pretty different from their other stuff. Ending it all is a batch of tracks from various German compilations. Serene Fall also released an album in 1999 called The Long March (that one didn't do much for me unfortunately), and an album in 2010 called Burn Out The Light which I haven't heard yet.

1991 lineup:
Hqöuxä - vocals
Oesd - guitar Aural Activator - bass
Nico - drums

45 Grave was the first "goth punk" band i ever heard and it made a hell of an impact. The Autopsy LP (more of a collection of early material than a proper album) was released on Restless Records in 1987, but recorded in 1981. Much faster and more abrasive than the Sleep In Safety LP from 1983 (which i love). This may actually be my favorite record to come out of the whole early '80s LA punk scene. This is ripped from the extremely rare CD version, which was released the same time as the LP, but never repressed for whatever reason. As bonus tracks i included the two tracks from the Hell Comes To Your House compilation from 1981.

45 Grave - Autopsy

1981 lineup:
Dinah Cancer - vocals
Paul Cutler - guitar
Rob Graves - bass
Don Bolles - drums

Members of 45 Grave were also in Germs, Vox Pop, The Consumers (early versions of some of these songs appear on the Consumers LP),  The Bags, Alice Bag Band and more.

Bassist Rob Graves died in 1991.

I'm guessing the great Dutch post-punk band Coitus Int. remains pretty obscure, This is one of those bands i would have easily overlooked if it weren't for music blogs. Their self-titled, self-released LP from 1981 has reached classic status in my book. The music is doomy and bleak, minimalist punk. Bass-heavy (with some amazing bass lines, check out The Connection Is Obvious), with a jagged guitar sound that just kind of creeps in over the bass lines from time to time. The vocalist has a powerful voice but keeps it subdued for the most part. The Joy Division influence is obvious, but there's much more to this than just some clone band. At times it sounds like late '70s anarcho punk played at half speed. Whatever it is it begs to be heard. Over and over. The band's first 7", Dead Excitement (released in 1980 on Rock Against Records), is faster and a bit more straight forward, but with goth/wave leanings already showing. A great debut, and a legit ripper for the time. Also included here is the split tape with Local Negatives, recorded in 1982. Three tracks that follow in the footsteps of the self titled LP. As a bonus i tacked on my favorite tracks from the band's second full length, Sex For The Wealthy, self-released in 1985. While not as instantly satisfying, it's a grower for sure, and the song The Habit Stayed is up there with the best of any '80s post-punk i've heard. If you dig any of this stuff, and i know you will, you may still be able to get some of the band's catalogue on Infrastition Records. There was a also a reissue of the Dead Excitement 7" on Bunkerpop Records a while back.

Coitus Int. Anthology 1980-1985

Jos de Groot - vocals
Marcel Uffing - guitar
Heino L'Ortye - bass
Rob van Asperen - drums

All songs recorded at Rosegarden studio, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Ex-Humans were a punk band from Athens, Greece. They formed in 1982 (originally called Soldiers Of Anarchy) and released one album in 1984 entitled Anofeli Epiviosi (Futile Survival) on Enigma Records. They also contributed two tracks for the  compilation Diataraxi Koinis Isyhias (Disruption Of Public Peace). Considered one of the greatest Greek punk bands, the music is an aggressive sounding mix of hardcore punk and post-punk. Some tracks have a heavy Rudimentary Peni / Mob vibe, with a killer bass sound that stands out in the mix. It doesn't get much better than this. This is ripped from the CD version, although i wish it was at a higher bit-rate. If anyone has the CD that they can rip at 256 or higher i would really appreciate it. Or if anyone has a copy for sale, or knows where i can get one, please get in touch.

Ex-Humans

The band went through many different members throughout their short existence.

Line-up for the Anfoneli Epiviosi LP (1984):
Giorgos "Havoc" Aleuras - vocals / guitar
Giannis Trobetas - bass
Fibos Pergaliotis - drums

Line-up for the compilation tracks (1984):
Giorgos "Havoc" Aleuras - vocals / guitar
Giannis Trobetas - bass
Giorgos Glinelis - guitar
Giorgos Damelos - drums

I'm not sure how accurate the spelling is on both the band members names, and the record titles. I've seen them spelled at least three different ways on various websites over the years.

Fibos Pergaliotis was also in an '80s goth band called South Of No North. Giorgos Aleuras and Giannis Trobetas also played in the band Velocity (not sure if they are still active).

Ex-Humans also released a demo in 1983 on Bluurg Records. Five songs. Written on the inside of the demo cover is "All lyrics in Greek! But the ideas are universal. So read the lyric sheet and hear the music.

I worship Fliehende Stürme. There's no other way to put it. They started way back in 1980 as the classic German hardcore band Choas Z, who were active up to 1984, and then reformed in 1995. By the end of 1983 the band's sound changed from Discharge influenced hardcore to a more darkwave sound, mostly influenced by Killing Joke. Soon after they changed their name to Fliehende Stürme (Fleeing Storms) and released at least a dozen albums and several eps between 1988 and present day.

This is my favorite Fliehende Stürme material, the band's first album An Den Ufern (On The Banks), recorded in April of 1988 and released on Storm Records. I guess this would kinda be the band's crossover album, mixing their early Discharge fueled punk and their icy darkwave sound. The results here are goth-punk perfection. This is a 320 rip of the 1998 reissue CD on Snake Records, which includes three extra tracks, two of which were recorded as Choas Z for the Keine Experimente Vol.2 comp, released on Weird System Records in 1984. The two tracks are In Gefahr (my favorite song on the CD), and Ein Tropfen im Feuer.

Fleeing Storms

1988 lineup:
Andreas Löhr - vocals / guitar
Thomas Löhr- bass / backing vocals
Michael Ortner - drums

If you want to explore this band further, i'd recommend their 1991 album  Priesthill. You should also check out the Choas Z "Dunkle Strassen" double LP (or CD) 1981-1995 discography on Weird System Records.

It wouldn't be a proper Halloween post without the mighty Bauhaus. Here's the legendary debut full length In The Flat Field from 1980. Simply one of the greatest recordings of all time, any genre. This is a 320 rip of the 1998 remaster on 4AD Records. As a bonus i loaded this up with my favorite ep tracks, radio sessions and alternate mixes. The incredible Dark Entries is my fave, maybe because it was the first Bauhaus song i ever heard (on the Gothic Rock comp on Jungle Records in 1992). Also here are my favorite versions of Telegram Sam and St. Vitus Dance, and can't forget the BBC-only sinister track Party Of The First Part. All this stuff is essential. Listening to Bauhaus always has me daydreaming of standing in some smoke filled cave-like goth bar in 1980, with Peter Murphy on stage belting out In The Flat Field, while a group of sweaty people all dressed in black look on in a hypnotic state. Dream away:

Bauhaus

In The Flat Field 1980 lineup:
Peter Murphy - vocals / guitar
Daniel Ash - guitar / saxophone
David J - bass
Kevin Haskins - drums

In The Flat Field was recorded in Southern Studios in London in June-July of 1980. The album was self-produced, as the band had a clear vision of what it should sound like. They used the BBC version of Double Dare on the LP, as they could never seem to record a version that matched the intensity of the version they recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio programme. A very similar situation happened with the song Third Uncle used on the band's 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out (my second favorite Bauhause LP). They recorded a batch of albums after Flat Field, but never quite captured that same spirit that made that album so amazing. Or maybe it's just me.

Siekiera formed in 1982 in Poland, originally named Trafo. They changed their name to Siekiera (Axe)  in the Autumn of 1983, and released a 17 song demo (basically a band practice) a year later in the Autumn of 1984. Much like Fliehende Stürme, the band started out playing fast hardcore (the demo rips) and a couple years later became heavily influenced by (mostly) Killing Joke. The demo tracks were released in 2008 on an LP called 1984 put out by W Moich Oczach Records.

The Nowa Aleksandria LP was recorded in 1985 and released in 1986 on Tonpress Records.  It is regarded as one of the greatest Polish albums ever. This is a 320 rip of the remastered CD put out by Tonpress in 2004. It includes the two tracks from the band's 1986 7", and a track that was released on the compilation 22 Polish Punk Classics put out by Sonic Records in 1991.

Siekiera

1984 Demo lineup:
Tomasz Budzyński - vocals

Tomasz Adamski - guitar / music / lyrics
Dariusz Malinowski - bass
Krzysztof Grela - drums

1986 LP lineup:
Tomasz Adamski - guitar / vocals / music / lyrics

Dariusz Malinowski - bass / vocals
Paweł Młynarczyk - keyboards
Zbigniew Musiński - drums

Siekiera also released an album called Ballady Na Koniec Świata in December of 2011. I haven't heard it, but from what i've read about it, there doesn't seem to be too many original members left. Also there's like four flute players and two trombone players? It's labeled as Folk, World and Country. I think i'll pass on this one.

There was also an amazing looking enhanced collection CD put out in 2008 called Na Wszystkich Frontach Świata. Thirty tracks of remastered demos and live sets, plus a video, all recorded in 1984. This may be my next purchase if it's still available. I found out about this damn thing way too late!

I was looking through some little hole in the wall record store on 2nd Ave. in the East Village, NYC sometime in the '90s. I forget the name. It was mostly rockabilly and surf type stuff. But they had a small section of hardcore vinyl in the back so i did my usual weekly hunting. I remember picking up a Feederz LP that day, the one with the sandpaper on the front. Then i noticed a Spanish punk section which was pretty extensive. I came across a record by a band called Paralisis Permanente. The cover got my attention. A blurry photo of a lady on a crucifix, with the bands logo in a medieval type gothic font. I knew it would be right up my alley, so i skimmed through the rest of the records and came across an LP by the band. I bought both records, the Feederz LP, and headed for the next record store. Later that night i was spinning all the stuff i picked up that day, probably a lot of powerviolence type stuff from Generation Records at first. When i got to the Paralisis Permanente records i couldn't believe what i was hearing. How could i have not heard of this band? This stuff was right up there with early Christian Death as far as i was concerned. I must have played both records at least three times that night, and the very next day i took the ride back into NYC from Jersey. I went through the Spanish section again looking for anything else by this amazing band, or maybe something that looked like it would sound similar. All i found was a split 7" between Paralisis Permanente and a band called Gabinete Caligari. Only two tracks, but that was fine by me. For a while the band became an infatuation. Some years later i was able to get a copy of the band's discography CD though some Spanish mailorder. This was all the stuff i had, plus another 7' and some alternate LP versions, all remastered, in seriously the nicest looking CD packaging i own. A 40 page book housed between hardcovers, with all new artwork, loads of info (in Spanish though), and tons of pictures and lyrics. It's called Grabaciones Completas 1981-1983, and was put out by 3 Cipreses Records in 2001. This is a 320 rip of the discography CD. Enjoy!

Paralisis Permanente 1981-1983

Madrid's finest punk band, Paralisis Permanente formed in 1981 and were done by '83, producing roughly 30 songs. The two founding members, Eduardo Benavente and Nacho Canutwere were also playing in the popular Spanish wave band Alaska Y Los Pegamoides. The Pegamoides were great (they're actually my 7 year old daughter's favorite band). Their self-titled LP released in 1983, which is a compilation of early material, is their best stuff. It's all you need really. Certain songs like El Jardin, Vertigo and Reacciones were already veering into the dark punk/wave territory that Paralisis Permanente would record on their six song demo in 1981. Those tracks wound up on the Singles Y Primeras Grabaciones collection CD, but were not on the discography CD unfortunately. When Nacho left the band to focus more on The Pegamoides, Ana Curra left the Pegamoides and joined Paralisis Permanente to play on the El Acto LP in 1983.

The band's first release was the split 7" with Gabinete Caligari released in 1981 on Tic Tac Records. This record has the band's most straight forward punk song (and also the first song they ever wrote), Autosuficiencia. The other song, Tengo Un Pasajero (re-recorded in 1983 for the El Acto LP), was heavily influenced by Killing Joke. It was a good debut, but their greatness was yet to be heard.

1981 "split ep" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals
Ignacio (Nacho) Canut - bass
Jaime Urrutia - guitar
Johnny Canut - drums

The band's next release was the Quiero Ser Santa 7" released in 1982 on DRO Records. They really found their sound on this one. Four of their strongest songs effortlessly merging punk and new wave. Un Dia En Texas (inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) that closes the ep is their fastest, most hardcore sounding song.

1982 "Quiero Ser Santa" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals
Ignacio (Nacho) Canut - bass
Jamie Caligari - guitar
Johnny Canut - drums

The El Acto (The Act) LP was released in 1982 on 3 Cipreses Records. Although subtle, i hear so many influences on this LP, but it all comes together as their own sound. I definitely hear some Bowie in there (they even cover Heroes), early Christian Death, Chameleons, XMal Deutschland, The Cure, Killing Joke of course... the list goes on. Also there's a huge heaping of late '70s / early '80s new wave here (check out the song Vamos A Jugar), similar to some of the stuff Alaska Y Los Pegamoides were doing early on. They do a great cover of the Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog, with a guitar sound that brings to mind Rudimentary Peni. And the last song, Esa Extrana Sonrisa is a slow, creepy classic that has the dark feel of something like Bauhaus meets Joy Division. From fast punk songs to doomy melancholic songs and everything in between, this album is up there with the best of the deathrock genre.

1982 "El Acto" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals / percussion
Rafa Balmaseda - bass / backing vocals
Ana "Pegamoide" Curra - keyboards / backing vocals
Johnny Canut - drums

The band's final 7" was released in 1983 on 3 Cipreses. Recorded March 3rd and 4th of '83 at Doublewtronics Studio. Two tracks of the band's most sombre, gothic sounding material. Much less punk than anything they recorded prior. It's a great record though, and i can only imagine the haunting music the band would have recorded after this ep had they not disbanded.

1983 "Nacidos Para Dominar" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals / percussion
Rafa Balmaseda - bass / backing vocals
Fernando - guitar
Ana "Pegamoide" Curra - keyboards / backing vocals
Toti Arbolés - drums

In 1983, shortly after the release of the last 7", Eduardo, Ana and Toti got into a major car accident, and Eduardo Benavente died instantly. That's when the band ended.

All of the band's records were re-released on Munster Records in 2002.

DRO Records also released the Singles Y Primeras Grabaciones/El Acto 2xCD in 2006. This seems to be the most complete collection so far, compiling the eps, the LP and the demo tracks. I'd say it's worth your money if you can find it.

EA80 is one of the oldest punk rock bands, still making music now for over 30 years. The group formed in Mönchengladbach, Germany in 1979 as Panzerfaust and changed their name to EA80 in 1980. This is a 320 rip of their first full length album, Vorsicht Schreie, another one of my all-time favorite albums. Goth punk of the highest quality. Enjoy!

Vorsicht Schreie

Vorsicht Schreie was recorded in September of 1983 at Joswig Studio in 3 days and self-released by the band that year. EA80 has a pretty big catalogue at this point, but this album is by far my favorite. The band's first 7", Der Mord Fällt Au, released in '82, was pretty much straight up Joy Division worship. It was OK, but Vorsicht Schreie was a huge leap forward, and set the bar pretty high for German punk in the eraly '80s. The first track is sang in English, and the rest of the album in German. Every song is a classic. The album was re-released in 1992 on a glow in the dark picture disc, with the Der Mord Fällt Au 7" as bonus tracks. It was also re-recorded in 2004 (21 years after the fact) and contains a Yacoepsae cover. Weird. I've never heard the re-recorded version, and don't think i want to.

1983 lineup:
Junge - vocals / guitar
Hals Maul (Thomas Hütten) - guitar
Nick - bass
Nico - drums

Takte Später

The band's second album, 2 Takte Später, released in 1985 is excellent as well. After the second LP the band started to lose their dark edge and put out more straight forward punk albums.

This is a collection i made a while back of my favorite Christian Death songs, all with Rozz Williams. I figured i'd share it here as it fits this post. While a lot of people tend to think the first album, Only Theatre Of Pain was the band's best work, i think their best stuff came with the following two albums. Everything they did up to 1985 is pretty much flawless in my opinion.

Burnt Offerings

This is a 320 rip of selected tracks from the Deathwish 7" (1981), Only Theatre Of Pain LP (1982), Catastrophe Ballet LP (1984), Ashes LP (1985), Skeleton Kiss (1992), plus tracks from the band's 1981 and 1985 demos, and various live tracks. The live cover of Gary Numan's "Down In The Park" is a standout. As is the live version of Theatre Of Pain which is completely different than the LP version. Lullaby is a live version of an unreleased song.

Lineup:
Rozz Williams - vocals
guitar, bass, drums - too many to name
That's it. Hopefully this post exposes some people to some great music.
Have a fun Halloween!

Here's some other great dark punk albums to check out:

Mine, Ether Command (pre-Serene Fall) "The Land Of Roses" tape (1989)
Kommunity FK "The Vision And The Voice" LP (1983)
Villa 21 "The Ghost On The Move" LP (1983)
The Sound "From The Lion's Mouth" LP (1981) / "Jeopardy" LP (1980)
Xmal Deutschland "Fetisch" LP (1983) / "Tocsin" LP (1984)
Leitmotiv "1981-1988" CD
UK Decay "For Madmen Only" (1981)
Pyhät Nuket (post-Riistetyt) "Kuoleman Sotatanssi" (1984)
Coma "In A Coma" EP (1985)
Hexenhaus "1986 Demos"
Rudimentary Peni - everything from 1981 up to 1989
Human Sexual Response "In A Roman Mood" LP (1981)
Modern English "Sex & Lace" LP (1981)
Quel Domage "Bright Lights" 7" (1984)
English Subtitles "Original Dialogue" LP (1982)

Plus of course all Joy Division and Sisters Of Mercy!