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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
