UNITY - Blood Days (Reissue 2014-Remastered)

Location: Orange County, US

Release: Kidnap Music/Good Life, 2014

One last post before 2014 folds!

This came out of the blue for me: reissue of this legendary album, remastered! I gotta say I was a little bummed with the insert, poor selection of photos in a 2-page-booklet (nothing close to those reissues by Southern Lord) but the vinyl itself is awesome (300x turquoise green / 700x black) and sounds sweeter as never before (remasters by Nicolas Declève). Pat Dubar freakin' rules!!!!

Here are Joe D. Foster's (No For An Answer, Killing Flame, Ignite, Speak 714) forewords for this release:

If you never heard of UNITY or the dudes involved you flunked this year's (old) school of H.C. graduation. Also, take note that as a request from the band part of the proceeds of the LP's sales will be donated to Sea Shepherd!

PURCHASE USA / GERMANY / FRANCE
DOWNLOAD 320kbps / FLAC

Think positive PMA!

Live positive PMA!

Act positive PMA!

PLANET 5: A Golden Bros Summertape

It's official, summertime has began in this part of the planet! The self-proclaimed gang GOLDEN BROS. has selected 5 ballads each as a celebration of the upcoming 5th anniversary of this damn blog and our trip to the shores: bikini state of mind.

Not the usual old school soundtrack here. It consists of 15+1 tunes to simmer down, stretch the legs and shotgun a can on your favorite chillzone™. That extra song goes as a tribute to the thuggiest of all thugs, the ladie's man dancer.

-----mene-----

1. THE SUPERVILLAINS - Careless Whisper

2. THE ZIGGENS - Paddle Out

3. STATE RADIO - Black Cab Motorcade

4. HOLLIE COOK - Postman

5. DR. RING-DING - My Sound Remix (feat. G-Clef Da Mad Komposa)

-----gonz-----

6. SHWAYZE - Buzzin'

7. SATANIC SURFERS - Nun

8. TEENAGE FANCLUB - Sometimes I Don't Need to Believe in Anything

9. SOULCHEF - Eyes Like Blue Skies (feat. Need Not Worry)

10. RATATAT - Loud Pipes

----big phil----

11. PENNYWISE - It's What You Do With It

12. WAVVES - King of the Beach

13. VIOLENT SOHO - Neighbour Neighbour

14. 311 - Amber (Live)

15. CIV - Haven't Been Myself in a While

bonus *BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY - Tha Crossroads*

DOWNLOAD

Credits: background image "space beach" by Bradius.net, '5' logo by Mr. TT, Sharivan appears courtesy of Toei Company, Ltd.

.

remember, it's always summer somewhere
.

INSANITY ALERT - S/T

Location: Innsbruck, Austria

Release: Empire Records, 2014

Artwork: Andrei Bouzikov

My kind of thrash right here. Debut full-length by INSANITY ALERT, follow-up to their EP 'Second Opinion'. Lyrics shout about mental illness, harmful toys, munchies, marijuana cigarettes, horror movies and weapons of destruction... similar to the works of Gama Bomb, Municipal Waste and Cross Examination.

Vocalist Kevin Stout seems to be pretty busy this year between this crossover thrash project and his long run homeland band The Apers, classy bubblegum punk rock that just release a new album as well. 

Pressing for the LP goes as:

101 on electric blue
199 on piss yellow
200 on black vinyl

PURCHASE RECORDS & MERCH

DOWNLOAD

PROFILE: ERIC OZENNE

Eric Ozenne (aka Sheric D.) was the voice in 3 seminal Cali hardcore punk groups: Unit Pride (1986-1989), Redemption 87 (1995-1998) and The Nerve Agents (1998-2002) each one with its own characteristics. Later in 2007 he also sang in a new project named Said Radio.

I was first introduced to his work in The Nerve Agents – S/T, released in 1998 by Revelation Records, to most old schoolers, Nerve’s best record. Then, not much after, I found out about the other two bands.

('89 tour w/ UP FRONT)

UNIT PRIDE is full of classic tunes and represented the Bay Area Youth Crew in the late 80’s, fronted by young Eric and co-founded by guitarist Tim Monroe, playing side to side with such acts as Up Front, Wide Awake, No For An Answer, Insted and Bold.

They recorded 1 demo and 1 EP, those were unofficially reproduced in the 90’s by everyone’s favorite European label - Lost & Found Records. In 2002, Mankind Records reissued their discography into a LP. Pressing is red/309 and black/715. Got myself a red copy not much time after its release through RevHq and as I remember, it wasn’t such a big deal at the time, actually don’t know if Unit Pride records are coveted nowadays, for me it’s a must have!

In the mid 90’s Eric started REDEMPTION 87, the band that people either love it or don’t give a rats ass. They were comprised of Jade AFI, Jimmy Token Entry, Ian Skankin’ Pickle and local punk drummer Gary.

His iconic vocals and positive lyrics are present once again and helps R87 withstand the test of time. They recorded one EP and two full-lengths and while active they were known for playing straight forward old school hardcore in a time when the trend was none but chug-chug metalcore.

After the release of their first album in '96, R87 managed to built some hype around them that soon faded as the follow-up record took too long to be released (Spidey Sessions and All Guns Poolside, both in '98) due to Label and recording issues.   

(At shows R87 used to do covers by Youth Of Today and Antidote)

Curse the day that I decided to pursue a colored copy of their S/T LP, released in 1996 by New Age Records. It turns out it’s a sought after record, both clear and purple versions. The pressing info is a REAL mystery on this one (as stated in these expert sites 1/2/3), the common sense goes by the marbled purple vinyl being the rarest, followed by coke bottle clear and then regular black.

It took me a great deal of time to snag one in a good price, but finally got my hands on a purple copy a few months ago on ebay, in a single bid low priced auction, due to its lack of appealing listing title (no rival mobs, lockin out or stray rats attached to it) and the seller was focused on listing laser disc movies. Notice: even the black copies are hard to come by these days.

Then, in 1998, rose THE NERVE AGENTS, the most well known amongst the 4 bands. Their debut on Revelation got people’s attention almost instantly as the artwork didn’t fit the labels usual catalogue, it seemed more suitable as an Earache/ Relapse Records release. After the first (wrong) impression you face some pretty cool fast and acid hardcore punk.

By the second album they emerged in an (energized) Misfits worship which pulled some audience off and attracted a bunch of new ones. For me it has one of Eric’s most remarkable output, the opening song is fixed in my mind like words carved in stone: “fall of the all-American, fa-fa- fa- faaaaaaaaaaall”. Went it comes to live performances, they threw one of the wildest gigs with hospitalized attendees from time to time.

(Eric in Nerve Agents sporting a custom NO JUSTICE shirt)

As of today I only have their first record in vinyl, pressing of 222 on clear green/ 409 on grey (there are also unknown quantities in regular black). Days Of The White Owl got a second pressing recently at Revelation.

After several attempts to form a new band, Eric reunites in 2007 with Dante Sigone (from Nerve Agents) to come up with SAID RADIO, surf induced gritty punk rock, TSOL style. They also count with the help from Tim Unit Pride, Gary R87 and Anthony Ceremony, how cool is that? They made a 9-song album, one East Coast Tour and broke up right after that very year.

Here is Eric Ozenne's discography:

1988 – UNIT PRIDE “Holding On Strong” Demo (come as a B-Side on the 2002 reissue by Mankind Records)

1988 – UNIT PRIDE “Then and Now” (1st press by StepForward Records/ 2nd press in 1990 by Point Blank Records/ Reissued in 2002 by Mankind Records)

1996 – REDEMPTION 87 “Self-Titled LP” (New Age Records)

1998 – REDEMPTION 87 “Spidey Sessions 1995” (Breakout Records)

1998 – REDEMPTION 87 “All Guns Poolside!” (Blackout! Records)

1998 – THE NERVE AGENTS “Self-Titled 12'' EP” (Revelation Records)

2000 – THE NERVE AGENTS / KILL YOUR IDOLS “Split” (Mankind Records)

2000 – THE NERVE AGENTS “Days Of The White Owl” (Revelation Records)

2001 – THE NERVE AGENTS “The Butterfly Collection” (Hell-cat Records)

2007 – SAID RADIO “Tidal Waves And Teeth “ (Mankind Records)

PURCHASE:
THE NERVE AGENTS RECORDS & MERCH
UNIT PRIDE CD & T-SHIRT
(official reprint of the Unit Pride "Holding On Strong" design Tee)

DOWNLOAD:
Part I (Unit Pride + Redemption 87)
Part II (The Nerve Agents + Said Radio)
[High quality audio files + imprints scanned by me and WhoisWho/ItFollows blog] 

Photo Credits: Dayton Paiva, Carl Gunhouse, Trent Nelson. Vinyl photos by myself (Cesar).

Acknowledgment: The Poisoning, Ad Rates, Unit Pride (FB), The Nerve Agents (FB), Mankind Records, Who Is Who? blog,  and Kyle Whitlow's highly comprehensive hardcore database.

STAND UNITED - 此処に立つ理由

Location: Tokyo, 日本

Release: Six Feet Under Records, 2014
Artwork: YOYO Tome

They are BACK! Dave SFU always keep an eye on Japan for the coolest bands. STAND UNITED debut EP will be the label's #097 release, and before that he already put out records by Inside and As We Let Go.

This debut EP 7" entitled "Koko Ni Tatsu Riyū" shows improved production over their Demo (2013) which was already pretty good! The vocals stands out, powerful and sang 100% in japanese. Their local peers consist of one of today's best bands in Japan: Soul Vice, Doggy Hood$, Elephant Stone... For more fine Tokyo Hardcore check out the compilation THIS IS TOKYO!

Last saturday (december 6th) Stand United participated in TRIPLE B's Fest with a great set! Glorious time for Japanese and worldwide hardcore.

DOWNLOAD [new link!]
PRE-ORDERS HERE

REVISION - Demo 2014

Location: California, US

Release: D2C Limited, 2014
Artwork: Matt Cantrell

Hardcore music made by ex-Internal Affairs members, one of my fav bands in mid 00's, so you can expect that fast shredding guitars full of rage type of hardcore.

Revision is playing this weekend (December 13th) together with an I.A. reunion and tons of others, including HARDSTANCE.

DOWNLOAD [320kbps + lyrics]

First batch of hard copies was done by D2C and limited to 10 tapes (!) in a special cover, I believe more will be made with regular artwork.

Credits to: Gonz, Big Phil and the Garcia brothers.

HISTORICAL WEEKEND - Part 2

You can feel the electricity in the air, a weekend not to be forgotten: JUDGE, CIV, GORILLA BISCUITS and.... PROJECT X.

This was only possible thanks to the relentless effort from 78Life Recordings, Rafael Madeira (Pointing Finger/Critical Point) and the willing of the band members, the New York Crew. All artwork featured here was done by Alexandre "Bill" Kool (except the chart above).

Videos will be posted as soon as they show up:

put on your dancing shoes São Paulo

WORLD VIEW - The Blast Furnace Sessions

Location: Adelaide, AUS

Release: DIY, 2014

Subsequent release to their Demo. Its a raw recording of 2 new songs that might end up on a future EP sometime in 2015. These songs have that early 00's Youngblood Records feel and shows that WORLD VIEW mean business!

DOWNLOAD

hoods up!

BRAINWRECK - Evil Ways

Location: Buffalo, US

Release: Life To Live Records, 2013 (unreleased)
Artwork: Ed Repka

In the urge for more crossover? Scheduled to be released in early 2013 through Life2Live, BRAINWRECK's debut 5-song EP 'Evil Ways' never saw the light of the day! Before entering on a sudden hiatus and accomplishing the pressing of the 7" the band uploaded the songs on the web and vanished.

It seems they nearly lasted for 2 years, starting in 2011 with a powerful Demo and then recording the songs for their debut throughout 2012 along with a few live performances. They even picked master Ed Repka for the artwork, to ensure the whole 'seal of quality thrash album' package. Hence it never became an official release, some bands stole parts of this Repka's art in a crappy'n'crafty montage. 

DOWNLOAD [EP+Demo]

thanx to pingua metalhead

ICEBREAKER - Breaching The Surface

Location: Stockholm, Sverige

Release: DIY, 2014

New project from the GUILTY fellas, together with others from Anchor and Gust they bring us ICEBREAKER in a 4-song demo of thrash-induced hardcore. It has even more metal influences than Guilty, track 4 features Martijin from No Turning Back. HEAVY!  

DOWNLOAD

thanx to pingua metalhead

THESE STREETS - Clockwise

Location: California, US

Release: DIY, 2014

2014 must have beaten the new record for the amount of new cool releases and reissues of long out of print classic albums, heres another case. I remember listening to THESE STREETS' first EP "Life From The Gutter" earlier this year and it gets you going, all pumped up and mentally vexed. Now they are back with 9 new tracks, more tight and fierce.

They throw in a good measure of beatdown and groovy NYHC (aka Biohazard's formula), it also features different vocals (timbres and styles) filled with gang singalongs which definitely adds up a notch and makes Clockwise even more enjoyable to listen through. The quality of the recording is something that doesn't go unnoticed, done at the Mayhemeness Studio (Bob Swanson), which makes you wonder why theres no label backing this up at the moment.

Fav track is the one with Wang from Bad Times Crew, great team up. They really took Warhound's place with this new record.

DOWNLOAD [320kbps]

APPRAISE - Deeper Than That

Location: Barcelona, España

Release: Refuse / Can't Keep Us Down, 2014

First full-length and best material to date by these straight edgers in APPRAISE, fronted by Gabi (Cycle Records, Fire & Ice Fest) who puts a lot of effort into their local scene and counts with ex-members from Cinder and Power.

They did a South American tour in Jan/Feb last year and I had the chance to see them live that occasion, great energy! A few months later during the Clearview Eurotour, some of the boys stayed at Miguel's apartment during our visit in Barcelona, he handles the bass in Appraise. After all this, It feels pretty great they pulled off this LP and what a ripping record it is, demonstrating the strength of not only the Youth Crew but the hardcore punk in the Iberian peninsula. 

PURCHASE HERE (Germany) / HERE (Spain)

DOWNLOAD [320kbps]

facebook.com/appraisebcn

SORRY EXCUSE - Kansas City Straight Edge

Location: Kansas City, US

Release: ThirdxParty/ Lifeline, 2008- 2011 
Artwork: RAM

Abrasive fast hardcore with a fed up straight edge attitude by Midwest wolfpack's SORRY EXCUSE. Formed in late summer of 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri, they record 1 demo and 2 EPs and disbanded by mid 2013.
   
Griding vocals were provided by Antonio Marquez, his faster-than-human-comprehension shouts concerned topics such as substance abuse, backstabbin and other fucked up life situations. Others in the band were comprised of ex and current members from We're Fucked, Resolve and Kicked In. Sometime in 2011, Antonio started SPINE with dudes from Weekend Nachos/Harms Way.

2008 - Demo XXX Tape (Listen Up! Records)

2009 - Listen with Prejudice 7" (Third Party Records)

2011 - S/T 7" (Lifeline Records)

PURCHASE Listen with Prejudice 7"
PURCHASE Self Titled EP 7"

DOWNLOAD Discography

'08 - '13

VERBAL RAZORS - S/T LP

Location: Tours, France

Release: Dirty Guys Rock/ Derrick Hunter/ Flipped Up/ Subwix/ Dingleberry Records, 2014
Artwork: Freak City

Named after an Exodus song, french VERBAL RAZORS return in a long overdue debut full-length. Another crushing 2014 crossover release. Turbocharged riffs, deranged vocals and powerful breakdowns. This is one of those cases where I don't recommend listening behind the wheels, for me it feels like Carmageddon, it charges you up like caffeinated amphetamine!

Several labels joined forces to release it, the whole LP package came out pretty awesome. Pressing of 600 yellow vinyl. The bad thing here (considering the amount of people involved) is that this LP can be hard to find to buy online. I suggest contacting the labels/band directly or try these french webstores:

PURCHASE HERE OR HERE

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a.c.a.b. = all cops are beautiful

LEGIONS - Apparition Songs

Location: Sydney, AUS

Release: Broken Hive Records, 2014

Out since August, LEGIONS return with their anticipated debut 4-song EP on the aussie label Broken Hive.

It took a while to come out, it seems they had some line up changes and it reflects on their music. Still a cut above metallic hardcore, it's less thrashy than Gravestone Path demo but they kept things heavy and entertaining. Lyrically it remained tormented and dark which gives you an interesting perspective in matters of religion/faith.

Fingers crossed for more songs for the heretic breed in 2015 ;)

150x Green-Orange Swirl / 150x Half Black-Half Blue

PURCHASE RECORD / APPAREL

DOWNLOAD

facebook.com/legionshc

PANTAH - Not For me

Location: Leeuwarden, Nederland

Release: The Limit / Cause & Effect Records, 2014

I've just bit my tongue on this one, said earlier this year that dutch label THE LIMIT were dormant for 2 years (and maybe out of business).. they just signed with PANTAH to release their 6-song debut EP in 7"format, tape version is up for sale since July through UK-based label Cause & Effect.

Back to PANTAH, the new EP RIPS!! Assembled in 2012, they did a cool Demo in 2013 and present now in Not For Me one of the best surprises coming out of Holland in 2014. Straight up old school hardcore with groovey NYHC parts, the vocals resembles me of Tony Foresta's style (No Friends, Iron Reagan,..) and counts with guest vocals in 2 songs (maybe someone else from the band?) which all works very good.

Their side project Bad Attitude is playing in NEW MORALITY's last show later this month!

PURCHASE 7"/ TAPE

DOWNLOAD EP [320kbps]
DOWNLOAD Demo

AGENT ATTITUDE - Deranged Realities

Location: Uppsala, Sverige

Release: Monument / Adult Crash, 2014

Artwork: Gustav Oscarsson

2nd full-length by these swedish punk rockers. They keep it true and firmly rooted in 80's original hardcore punk formula, frantic and snotty. As I mentioned before, saw them live in Czech Rep. last year and they are the real deal.

3 records in 2 years? The right attitude and aptitude is definetly there. Deranged Realities gathers 12 new tracks still with that B'last/Germs intense skate punk feel which I can't get tired of. Both labels, Monument and Adult Crash did a great job with the whole package. Couldn't get an exact number of the pressing but it runs around: 30x opaque yellow / 400x solid black.

PURCHASE LP (opaque yellow still available!)

DOWNLOAD [320kbps]

facebook.com/agentattitude

CHAIN REACTION - Örebro Straight Edge

Location: Örebro, Sverige

Release: Monument Records, 2011-2012

Singer Vini is paying us a visit next month then it crossed my mind that I never uploaded his latest band here (but I did mentioned). CHAIN REACTION was a short-lived swedish youth crew comprised of veteran edgers. The only downside is that they merely produced 10 songs in 2 albums, a full-length would be very appreciated.

They were featured in the YOUTH CREW 2012 with a song from their debut EP 7", then after the split release with another Örebro band Hårda Bud and playing a few shows they called it quits at the end of 2012.

2012 - Chain Reaction 7" (Monument/ Distinguish/ Akashic Records)

2012 - Split w/ Hårda Bud 12" (Monument/ Simpa Records) 

PURCHASE (records and merch)
DOWNLOAD Discography

xxx