BABYLON BREAKDOWN - A Decade Of All Things Old School Compilation

Age of Quarantine, day # 285 - Originally this was going to be out in march this year, marking the blog's 10th anniversary but honestly I didn't feel it was appropriate to celebrate anything, specially with the very sad and disturbing Floyd episode that followed... yet it seems we're gonna keep livin' with the virus for a while, for better or for worse.

We have here a non-profit digital compilation of worldwide Hardcore Punk bands playing original Reggae/Dub songs, no covers! Either they are full reggae tunes from start to finish, or they mutate during the course of the song(*). I've been collecting these since 2017 and with the help of a few collaborators the result exceeded my expection in quantity but not in quality, for that reason I made 2 compilations so-to-speak:

I - The one on SPOTIFY has nearly all the songs that matched that criteria(*) but I felt some of those are more messing around rather than paying tribute or simply because it may sound out of context if heard outside the album, for example the Warzone and Minor Threat's tracks (asshole dub? com'on).

II - For DOWNLOAD we have what I believe are the best ones, some bands doing really cool "outro" Dub songs others incorporating partially the Jamaican rhythm in their compositions, during breakdowns or intros. Note: some of these are not available on spotify.

Tracklist:

A Side "Rasta-Core"

1. BAD BRAINS - Coming In Numbers

2. UNDERDOG - No Matter What

3. VIGILANTE - Society Dub

4. CHANGE - Beyond

5. REAL REGGAE - Real Jamaique

6. REAL REGGAE - Slam Rastaman

7. DON'T SLEEP - The Wreckage

8. HOGAN'S HEROES - Dread or Alive

9. COLD WORLD - Whagwan (feat Warrior Queen)

10. FIREBURN - Jah Jah Children

11. NAUSEA - Sacrifice

12. CATHARSIS - Deserts Without Mirages

13. ACID REFLUX - Not Another Day

14. CHUCK TREECE & MCRAD - Roar Pon Dem (feat M. Mills, Kam Houff & Darryl Jenifer)

B Side "Skunkin' Mosh"

15. AGATHOCLES - God Save The Real Green

16. AGRESSIVO PAU PODI - Eu Sei Que Você Vai Querer

17. OUTFACE - Petals

18. PLAID RETINA - One Step Back

19. MON DRAGON - Benedicte Douglas

20. MURPHY'S LAW - Blazing Chalice

21. ROGER MIRET & DISASTERS - We're Gonna Find a Way (Dub Remix)

22. BAD REACTION - Murder In Jamaica

23. SOUL DISCHARGE - Karma/Failure Is Steppin' Stone

24. SUBHUMANS - Fade Away

25. FALSE JUSTICE - Fight The Fight

26. SECRET HATE - The Ballad Of Johnny Butt

27. SUBLIME with H.R. - Shame In Dem Game (Live)

28. LAWNMOWER DETH - Seventh Church of the Apocalyptic Lawnmower (Skank Mix)

Bonus Jam: BAD BRAINS - What Remains (Darryl Jenifer Dub Mix)

  I made this purely out of fun, trying to show that with an open mind we can enjoy other cultures and beliefs focusing on what they have the best to offer, of course there is the cultural appropriation to consider (like it was mentioned in this great NO ECHO article) but in any mean I was trying to show disrespect to the rastafarian devotees by making this compilation, quite the opposite.

DOWNLOAD

(excert from White Riot: Punk Rock and The Politics Of Race)

Like it was said earlier not every single Hardcore/Punk "influenced reggae" song is here, not to mention all Bad Brains skunky jams. For a more comprehensive list visit this page. A big shout out to TwinPowerForce (discogs user) and Soul Discharge for sending their track for this!! Don't see your favorite punk reggae tune here? Drop me a line and I will add it on that playlist, peace!

FORCED NEGLECT - Double EP Tape

Location: Alabama, USA

Release: Self-Released, 2020

Age of Quarantine, day # 281 - Narrowing down to the last posts of the year. For now we have FORCED NEGLECT and their double feature cassete tape comprised of two excellent EPs The Poison Of The Fang, released earlier this year and the 2019's Need To Feed. Expect merciless crossover metallic hardcore, back to back.

The cassette was very limited and put out for a good cause but this sure could get a vinyl treatment.

DOWNLOAD

EXPOSURE - Atonement

Location: Mannheim, Deutschland

Release: Street Survival Records, 2020

Age Of Quarantine, day # 272 - A highly antecipated record here at the AllThingsOldSchool's HQ, German EXPOSURE finally presents their debut full-length, exceeding all expectations I must say.

Is it thrash metal tinged stenchcore or the other way around? Sodom meets Discharge and Clevo HC? Truth being said they got a bunch of ugly influences and created a gnarly monster hungry for mosh that is the Atonement LP with a production quality not unlike of those found on Earache Records or Relapse releases. Better than that they kept it legit and chose Street Survival as the label to go, real recognize real!

PRE-ORDER 12"

DOWNLOAD

GET A GRIP - United Fight

Location: Arizona, US

Release: Criminal Records, 2020

Artwork: Gera Vega

Age of Quarantine, day # 259  - In fucked up times like this one, mankind reveals their raw nature, their best and their worst. GET A GRIP use all of that to spit venom and call-to-action in their new EP UNITED FIGHT!

Their inciting formula of thrashy skatepunk has reached its finest moment here, fierce music to match provoking lyrics! A few months prior to this they also put out a Promo Tape with 3 new exclusive songs that were left out of the 12".

DOWNLOAD [EP + Promo]

DEAD ENEMY - Knowing The Enemy

Location: Fortaleza, Brazil

Release: Self-Released, 2020

Age Of Quarantine, day # 250 - From the always shine city of Fortaleza comes DEAD ENEMY and their first album Knowing The Enemy, paying tribute (so to speak) to our nasty far-right government leader.

The band members' background are encrusted in the counter culture movement for quite some time, with a fair amount of projects under their belts, all focused on speed! Bands like BECO TUBARÃO and BLIGHT demonstrate that well, but most notably DAMN YOUTH and their sonic thrashcore that have been waving the Ceará scene flag for the rest of the country and beyond now counting with the hand of DEAD ENEMY to tear down some fascists walls and stagedive for diversity.

DOWNLOAD

STAND HARD RECORDS - Discography

Age of Quarantine, day # 243 - Another early 00's (or so) US full label discography or in this case, semi-full. The situation here is that STANDHARD RECORDS was as DIY as you could get, from extremely limited 7" EPs to handmade cassette releases, it became pretty hard to track down everything they put out. STAND HARD served more as an outlet to promote their friend's bands as opposed to a more traditional label with webstore, street team, merch and whatnot.

It all started in 1996 with Jesse Standhard and Neal St. Clair, both playing in the Connecticut sxe band TENFOLD and their EP Vengeance Will Be Ours... which was the label's first release (or second, lol). The fun aspect about STAND HARD is that their history is entangled with other more estabilished hardcore labels since day one. From there TENFOLD went to BRIDGE 9 RECORDS to become their first ever release, two years later the same happened to RIGHT BRIGADE, the band Jesse was the frontman.

They also put stuff out by FOLLOW THROUGH another Connecticut mainstay Jesse took part playing bass after they did the 1996's Not This Time EP and shortly before that a demo cassette version was also released.

To close up the label's first chapter, still in the late 90's, they got to work with FASTBREAK and IN MY EYES, both ending up on Relevation Records. The Fastbreak release was a weird one, comprised of soon-to-be compilation tracks, since I couldn't find the audio files for it I put together those comp tracks. The In My Eyes demo cassette was a game-changer as we all know by now, one hell of a demo!

In the new millenium STAND HARD remained as a launch base for a few more but crucial early 00's US hardcore acts, working with bands that later closed deals with labels such as LOCKIN' OUT, TRIPLE-B and PAINKILLER RECORDS. Two infamous bootleg tapes came out from that era, the LOUD AND CLEAR USA (aka Step Foward) Promo Cassette and the FREE SPIRIT / NO TOLERANCE Split Demo. The first one I didn't even found an image for it what to say about audio rips.

After that we sail in uncharted waters, the complete continuity of the STAND HARD RECORDS releases can't be found anywhere, not until the mid 2010's when Jesse started to run Boston's EDGE DAY FEST. From there a bunch of promo tapes started to pop up, issued by bands performing in those fests, DIY style.

DOWNLOAD I contains:

1996 - FASTBREAK - Where It Lies 7"

1996 - TENFOLD - Vengeance Will Be Ours... 7"

1996 - FOLLOW THROUGH - Not This Time 7"

1997 - IN MY EYES - Cassette Demo

1998 - RIGHT BRIGADE - Demo

1999 - RIGHT BRIGADE - Clevo Sucks 7"

1999 - THE EXPLOSION - Demo EP

2001 - INVASION - Face Up To It!

2001 - STOP AND THINK - Boston Straightedge

DOWNLOAD II contains:

2008 - FREE SPIRIT / NO TOLERANCE - Split Demo

2014 - BURST OF RAGE - Edge Day Sampler

2014 -THROUGH THESE EYES - Promo Tape

2014 - TODD'S WAR - Your Mistake Demo

2015 - NEW VISION - Promo

2015 - SPIRIT OF YOUTH - Edge Day Demo

2016 - LABELED - Demo

U.Y.U.S. - United Youth of United States + Use Your Unedited Sense

Location: Houston, USA

Release: UYUS Records, 1989-1990

Age Of Quarantine, day # 233 - No, AllThingsOldschool is not done yet! Roughly 3 decades ago the Reagan era was ending. Hardcore, punk and metal bands had a lot to say back then as it does today.

To represent this day I picked U.Y.U.S. from Texas, they self-released 2 LPs filled with government criticism and political stands for equal rights. Although the cover may indicate Oi! related music this is pure late-80's styled thrashy hardcore not unlike Cryptic Slaughter.

Apparently there's just one audio rip available of their stuff and it was most likely made available by the Pay No More Than blog, which has its links dead for a long time. The issue is that the first LP's rip sounds way too weak! Other than that this is an amazing add to any old school punk collector. Vinyl photos by danielnatterdal.

DOWNLOAD

UNITED YOUTH OF THE UNITED STATES

IT'S OUR TURN TO STATE THE WAYS

WE'VE FOUGHT EACH FOR TOO LONG

YOU PEOPLE LEARN TO LIVE HERE

OR WE'LL ALL BE GONE

WE'LL ALL BE GONE, IT MUST BE DONE

SOME PEOPLE ARE PREJUICE, I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND

HOW THE COLOR SKIN CAN EXPLOIT A MAN

SO CLOSED MINDED, SO IGNORANT

YOU PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO LIVE HERE OR GET THE FUCK OUT

RACISM, WHO'S TO BLAME

YOURSELF, YOU MUST CHANGE

PREJUDICE, EXTINGUISHED

YOU MUST JOIN THE U.Y.U.S.

PUT AN END TO THIS RACIAL CIVIL WAR

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS, THEY'LL BE NO MORE

OPEN MINDS TEND TO DISCOVER

YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

LEARN TO LIVE HERE, OR WE'LL ALL BE GONE

LEARN TO LIVE HERE, OR GET THE FUCK OUT!

PILLARS OF IVORY - Genesis/Exodus Demo

Location: New York Metropolitan Area

Release: DAZE, 2020

Age of Quarantine, day # 189 - The folks at The Essence couldn't have said it better "BABYLON IS BURNING AND THIS IS THE SOUNDTRACK"!

A side project from dudes behind Mindforce, Death Threat and Age Of Apocalypse which can quite possibly become their main thing.

Their first demo GENESIS dropped in August and it's comprised of one long track divided in 8 parts (I. Key To Success / II. D.R.E.A.M. / III. Strawberry Mac 10/ IV. Salute / V. Gotti Du$t Bluntz / VI. T.W.C.T. POI / VII. Tearz Fall / VIII. Puffin' At Tha Lantern). The same goes for the EXODUS demo which came out last week but with a different tracklist of course.

RESTOCK FOR ROLLING PAPERS

DOWNLOAD

PEST CONTROL - Demo 2020

Location: Leeds, UK

Release: DIY, 2020

Artwork: Meirion Jones

Age of Quarantine, day # 185 - Dood... quarantine is taking its toe, I think I'm going crazy (but not insane). Well at least in Leeds they can't and won't stop delivering the goods, specially in crazy times like these.

Enters PEST CONTROL with members from Implement and Cheap Surgery bringing the very best from both Thrash and Punk worlds, music to chase fascists out of this earth.

FFO: Primal Rite, LawGiver, Vio-lence

 

DOWNLOAD

MFP (Main Force Patrol) - Discography

Location: Boston, USA

Release: Painkiller Records, 2011-2014

Age Of Quarantine, day # 171 - MFP, the apocalyptic law enforcement depicted in the movie Mad Max or, in this case, a Bostonian Hardcore unit comprised by the same folks behind Painkiller and R'n'R Disgrace (among other bands)! It comes as no surprise how hard this one rips, pure jock hardcore.

A total of 1 EP and 2 demos were issued (european versions by Stomp Records included), more than a dozen tracks were layed, as their contribution track to the We Breed Ugly compilation, but more were expected. Their last output, the 2014 Demo, was part of a lengthier work but they dropped it there.

FFO: Wrestling, Charles Bronson (actor), Negative FX

DOWNLOAD

 

可燃引火 – Discography

Location: 仙台市, 日本

Release: Final Letter, 2010

Age of Quarantine, day # 167 - 可燃引火 (reads Kanen-Inka) dates back to 1997 and it blew a lot of minds in Japan when they dropped their EP entitled 靴と僕, playing a style that reflected straight Youth Crew songs in japanese lyrics based on vegetarianism and Krishna consciousness.

Just the idea of finding about a Krishnacore band hailing from Japan (first one and probably last!) can be mindblowing but the fact that they do deliver great catchy tunes is even better. Nailing those key ingredients for a powerful positive hardcore outfit made them a staple of Nippon old school hardcore, exerting influence on countless local bands that came after them.

In 2010 they put out their final album Self-Titled with tracks taken from demos, compilations and live performances released on CD-only by the label FinalxLetter.  

DOWNLOAD

FACTION-S - Paris Negative Oi!

Location: Paris, France

Release: Primator Crew, 2020

Age of Quarantine, day # 162 - France has been providing quality Oi! music for a while now and it seems there's a new batch of up-and-coming bands, most notably, FACTION-S.

Their debut EP released last year has already drawn some attention with a direct influence from the likes of RIXE (including ex-members) and Syndrome 81, showing off a more mid-paced and burly Oi!/Punk style, then, a couple of months back things have changed considerably when they dropped Noyau Dur, containing 3 new fully charged Hardcore songs that makes even the wimpiest lad ready to brawl!

Some of the band members can also be found playing in other fresh and dope french Oi! groups: Squelette and Tchernobyl.

DOWNLOAD [combo]

So far, in 2020, there are very few other groups besides FACTION-S and maybe COMBAT FORCE that generated that much buzz in the Oi! underworld but, hailing from the rising Basques scene, enters the black metal skinheads CUERO and their sophomore album Cabezabota! A true delight for bootheadz across the globe.

BLIND AUTHORITY - South England Hardcore

Location: London, UK

Release: Self Acceptance Records, 2013-2019

Age Of Quarantine, day # 157 - Heavy tunes ahead! London based BLIND AUTHORITY played a key role to help put British Hardcore back on the map, a soundwave that resonates to these days.

Since their inception in 2013 they have thicken the avalanche of hard hitting old school inspired bands that never ceased to expand in UK. Also, as I see it, their last 2 albums marked a symbolic transition by Carry The Weight Records, from being one the most prominent hardcore-related british labels from the past decade, to Quality Control HQ as the new main reference in the country in which, boosted by their association with Painkiller Records, has cemented a pathway for local bands to enter the "often close minded to foreign productions" US market.

2015 was the year when all eyes and ears turned to the booming UKHC or NWOBHC, as they dropped not only the VIOLENT REACTION debut LP on Revelation Records but also THE FLEX debut EP on Lockin' Out and BLIND AUTHORITY's Succumb To Violence LP! The rest is history.

As the years passed BLIND AUTHORITY added elements of 90's metalcore to their killer riffage arsenal which can be heard on their farewell release Death Dreams EP, at the beginning things were more frantic, INFEST meets SSD.

DOWNLOAD discography:

2013 - Demo (Self Acceptance / Fight Em All)

2014 - No Future Live Promo (Self Acceptance)

2014 - No Future EP (Self Acceptance / Until The End)

2015 - Succumb To Violence LP (Carry The Weight)

2019 - Death Dreams EP (Quality Control HQ)

76% UNCERTAIN - Are You Uncertain?

Location: Bridgeport, USA

Release: Flex! Records, 1994

Age Of Quaratine, day # 152 - Classic yet somewhat underrated group from the first wave of US hardcore. 76% UNCERTAIN began in 1983 and was on the epicenter of the whole movement in Connecticut, with members coming from other 2 groups that were amongst the very first CTxHC bands: C.I.A. and Reflex From Pain (Ray Cappo debut as a singer)!

Their sound is quite of their own, not leaning too much to the melodic side nor heavy which perfectly suits that transition of the first wave of hardcore to the next, possibly around 1984, right when they put out the pure gold Estimated Monkey Time LP. Then aggressive alternative rock was taking shape and begun to be largely accepted headed by groups like Descendents, Hüsker Dü and so on, not to mention crossover and thrash metal but that does not apply here. The next year they put out a more fitting album to that undergoing second wave, notably more melodic but with no damage to their style, the Nothing But Love Songs LP.

This first LP from 76% UNCERTAIN was on my wantlist for ages, since it was never re-released on vinyl it always fetched high prices (for me at least) or they were found in a bad shape, I ended never getting a copy. In 1994, the german label Flex! Records issued both their LPs on a single CD (the famous 2for1 90's savers) with a few outtakes included entitled Are You Uncertain?, leaving outside their last album Hunka Hunka released by none other than Wishingwell Records in 1989.

During the mid to late 80's they played with the greatest names in the game and helped spread the CTxHC scene nationwide. In 1990 Ray Cappo re-assembled the Reflex From Pain line-up together with Tom Capone and Porcell to record under a new band name, SHELTER.

DOWNLOAD [320kbps]

SAVAGE - Set In Stone

Location: Leipzig, Deutschland

Release: Use Your Head Records, 2020

Age of Quarantine, day # 147 - SAVAGE is here with their sequel, 6 more tracks of pummeling raw hardcore. Like countrymates in THE FOG, they stepped up the game and came out with a way better production in Set In Stone EP with 2 re-recorded songs from the DEMO.

I'm guessing Dasha from BIG BOSS/Chronic Abuse is behind the mic on this one, but I may be wrong. Other mystery here is the label backing the cassette version of this EP, is it the same from the Pitboss 2k albums? I know for sure it's the one behind Ashkenazi and VOWELS (ex-Vitamin X, Tangled Lines) releases but no links were found, can't get more underground than that!

DOWNLOAD

SEARCH - Within 7" (Flatline Records)

Location: Salt Lake City, USA

Release: Flatline Records, 1991

Age Of Quarantine, day # 142 - In my perception, most of USA's harcore productions in the early 90's were deeply influenced by bands that helped define the post-hardcore sound, blending elements of melodic punk, indie rock and hardcore (a style that later culminated on the "creation" of Emo). Such bands were Verbal Assault, Fugazi, Supertouch and Quicksand.

So this was the musical environment in which Utah's SEARCH and many others groups developed their sound in the first half of 1990. Although it was very short-lived this band was the starting point for other 2 more known bands that eventually became Revelation Records alumni, ICEBURN and State Of The Nation. Speaking of Revelation this has nothing to do with the New Jersey unit, just a bad name choice lol (terrible to look up online)!

Since it's indeed quite impossible to find stuff under this band name I only found out about this 3-song EP Within, the first track being the best one, and that's probably everything they did, it would be interesting to hear a full-length by these dudes tho.

A continous look on the FLATLINE RECORDS catalog reveals other cool stuff from that era and more about what was happening in the Salt Lake City scene, home of INSIGHT. With a very similar sound to SEARCH, both BRAINSTORM and WATERFRONT also put out just one record out each, the same goes for REALITY but they played a more "regular" hardcore.

For last we have THE STENCH, a group that have a certain following with even a documentary out. The singer (Terrance D.H.) later went to front another underground cult band called BAD YODELERS which is one of the weirdest bands you will ever hear under the spectrum of Hardcore Punk that is NOT wack, as their music range from Scott Reynold's (Pavers, ALL, Goodbye Harry) melodic punk style to shredding crossover/thrash metal and back to mellow post-punk.

DOWNLOAD I contains:

SEARCH - Whitin 7" (Flatline Records, 1991)

BRAINSTORM - Let Me Forget EP (Flatline Records, 1991)

REALITY- Something Hurts EP (Flatline Records, 1992)

WATERFRONT - Confusing The Truth EP (Flatline Records, 1992)

DOWNLOAD II contains:

THE STENCH - Crazy Moon CD (Flatline Records, 1989 - REISSUE 1996)

THE STENCH - Four Before EP (Flatline Records, 1991)

BAD YODELERS - 1984-1986 EP (Self-released, 1990)

BAD YODELERS - I Wonder... LP (Running Records, 1990)

Posters by Hardcore Show Flyers