there's so much great stuff pop out every a while that's impossible to track everything.. here are some records I listen on repeat lately in digital form online and probably I'll never get the opportunity to own some of them because some are sold out, others would be to expensive, especially the one from outside of Europe, etc.. and I want to spread the word and let you all know about them, if you didn't already cross your path with them in dark wastelands of the internet, and for some I can bet you already did..
so without further delaying: one, two, three, go!..
STINKER - Doomed Earth [2021] (tape)
I discover this awesome band when accidentally bumped to one of theirs
live video at youtube and hey what a pleasant surprise they were, pure crust core butchering force with multi vocals, I remember how I thought that there’s no way they sounds that brutal and energetic on studio recordings as well as on this live video so I hurried up to find their bandcamp page and was blown away once again immediately after pressing play button on this EP..
they are trio from LA, California heavily influenced with Disrupt (even they have their logo written with Disrupt’s styled font) but they do it with such power and ferocity that on moments they almost sounds even more convincing and better than Disrupt itself.. almost..
with absolutely perfect and insane dual styled vocals (which are actually coming from all 3 members and which complement each other perfect), hard pummeling drums, classic for the genre guitar (imagine State of Fear, Warcolapse, Disrupt, etc), and just perfectly loud bass, all wrapped in flawless production and sound, they will run you over with this short EP like a fast train and will not even look back.. it was self released by the band somewhere at the end of 2021 as a tape which is of course already sold out.. all together 5 songs, two are covers, one is from Discard and I will leave you to try to guess from whom is other, hehe..
they also have demo recordings from the beginning of the same year which is also incredibly angry and production wise similar to this EP, so do yourself a favor and while you are at their bandcamp treat your ears with this one too, you won’t regret..
anyhow, Stinker is one of the, if not the best new band I discovered lately and I’m looking forward to hear more from them, maybe some full length material on vinyl would be perfect.. also I wouldn't have anything against some future euro tour, hehe..
BANDCAMP
FRAGMENT - Serial Mass Destruction [2020] (7" EP)
Fragment are total “wall of noise” maniacs from the most fertile piece of land for good crust bands in the whole world, known as Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.. (I already wrote about this damn Halifax before so I won't this time too, but man....)
they have quite a few releases under their belt and here is their EP released as 7” vinyl on
Sewercide Records in 2020.. they have fresher release also, called “Mind Convulsion” but the vocals and the whole production on this album are somehow down tuned and too low, while this one has more loud and rawer production and I like and enjoy it way more.. also I consider this one as the best material of Fragment until the present days, so...
the whole thing lasts some 8 minutes, but boy what those 8 minutes will do to you, it will break your spine in thousand pieces with intense assault of distorted d-beat punk in crusher crust style heavily influenced by Japanese school of hardcore (read D-Clone, Disclose, Gloom…) yes, you may easily caught yourself in thinking, ahh another classic d-beat noise band, but don’t expect just the infamous wall of noise with countless amount of distortion and pedal effects, you’ll be surprised how there are profound song structures peeking out from all this noise and chaos they produce, it seems they knows what they are doing and they are doing it great.. I think this is still available from Sewercide records, and in digital form you can easily find it on youtube or bandcamp..
CELL DEATH - Demo [2023] (tape)
One more from Canada and from
Sewercide Records, new band and their first demo which is quite explosive and fast.. I don’t often listen to such bands lately but this one blew me away, they are perfect example of how you’re supposed to play your fast hardcore - six short and fast outbursts of energy which are from 30 sec to one minute long, they draw influences from 90s and early 00s diy hardcore/fastcore bands (members are mentioning Acid Reflux, Limp Wrist, Scholastic Death, Black Flag, etc), by the titles of the songs I can say lyrics are political, all that wrapped with clear but fast as hell and angry female vocals and you got the right formula..
even if I’m not expert in this genre, somehow I got the feeling that this demo and band will rise some serious dust in hardcore circles and there will be a lot of writings and everything other about this superb debut and about band itself in the nearest future..
This is released on tapes in limited run of 100 copies and is still available so hurry up to grab one.. and you can always check it out on bandcamp or youtube..
INNOCENT - Architects Of Despair [2022] (12" LP)
and now one of, or possibly the best album of last year, even this is originally recorded in 2018, just after their first two demos, it’s finally seeing the light of the day (or better, the darkness of night) just few months ago, by the end of 2022 when it’s released on
Side Two Records (which is the drummer's label, I think) in just 100 copies (if I get that part right!?) as LP on vinyl and surprisingly it’s still available..
Innocent are amazing band from Boston, MA poisoning our ears with noisy hardcore since 2017 and they do it with style.. perfect noisy d-beat hardcore punk, massive drums sound with one of the best d-beat drummers out there behind the kit, shredding guitars and Detestation/Lebenden Toten reverbed style of vocals which are perfect for my taste, and when you look this way music itself also can be described as a mix between those two.. all together 11 songs of which the most are minute and half long in average, make this album proper full length and perfect debut after two above mentioned demos.. and it has potential to become future classic, that’s for sure..
they share members with the same amazing Lifeless Dark, and even it’s about similar bands on the first, but while Lifeless Dark leans a little toward metal and stench side here you'll get just pure fast noisy hardcore punk bursts, and that’s even better..
WAGESLAVE - Nightmare Dreamer [2021] (tape)
Wageslave is crust band from Fukushima, Japan and before you start to roll out your eyes and think something like one more boring dis band I have to stop you this time because this isn’t case here.. they are more in 90s style “Hiatus meets Warcollapse” kind of crust and they don’t hide obvious Euro, UK and Scandinavian influences, they even proudly wears their logo written in recognizable Warcollapse style but still they are from Japan so they can’t entirely escape that fact and traditional Japanese crust which is probably in their DNK is also more than obvious and you can consider their noise like mix of all mentioned above and in all that mess they still manage to retain some of their originality..
"Nightmare Dreamer" is band’s 2nd offering after pretty decent demo from 2015, and was self released as a tape by the band in limited 100 pieces.. all together 7 songs, length varies from those which are minute long to few 3 mins long, in brutal crust core style with rough vocals and dirty production which fits this release just well.. tapes are probably sold out but last year they threw out CD with new full length album "Human Terror" which is released and still available at
Black Konflic Records or you can try to find it at your local crust dealers..
