Ball Is Life.

Holy fucking shit... has it been almost a year? I'm not surprised with my absolute disdain of almost everything musical that's come out since 2015 but occasionally there is a diamond in the rough that keeps me from completely deleting this blog out of its induced-coma existence. Introducing the long-defunct Ari... a hardcore four-piece straight outta Louisville, KY (random shoutout to Kinghorse is appropriate here) and one of the few of the zillion things I've found on bandcamp that actually made me pause and listen for more than 15 seconds. Out of the solid 25 minutes of punchy, aggro hardcore, the opener "Womb" and "Dimwit" are easily my faves. "Womb" has got an insanely addictive flowing groove to it while the latter has a cool power-chord-up-the-neck outro with some awesome screaming fucking nonsense that makes me survive my daily morning commutes. Sadly the band hung up their instruments in 2015 but there is still some archival internet presence here and here. Check the rest of their shit out, you probably won't be disappointed.

Your father fucked up...

That's not noise. That's just my mind blowing off in different directions...

Probably my least favorite release from the ol' Geeg, and that's saying a lot when compared to dreck like the Live Fast Die Fast 7" and the umpteen posthumous live LPs. But it's still essential just, y'know... because. If it was some post mortem cash-grab it would be a lot easier to write off but the fact that there's quite a few interviews out there in which GG freaking extols this record (listen here) demands another listen. M. Physema was the multi-talented lead vocalist/programmer of Pittsburgh, PA lo-fi industrial unit Shrinkwrap (already with a half-dozen indie releases under their belt) who contacted the incarcerated Allin; over mail and phone the two conspired to create the 45-minute opus War In My Head/I'm Your Enemy. So what's it all like? As far as Shrinkwrap goes, listening to their non-GG recordings is a lot like listening to some of Ministry's Wax Trax outtake stuff. Pretty aggressive guitar-heavy industrial, not bad at all, just somewhat redundant at times. With that being said, WIMH/IYE can be a long listen. With most spoken material lifted from the GG/ANTiSEEN Murder Junkies album dubbed over looped music from throughout the scumfuc's career, it just feels too much like you've heard it all before. A trip into GG's mind? Yeah, kind of, I guess, but nothing too shocking for the seasoned fan. War In My Head/I'm Your Enemy would probably have the greatest impact on someone who had no idea what GG was all about - it almost works best as a sampler to the chaotic sociopathy (and discography) of the guy. Highlight is the last 5 or so minutes with an unreleased (by 1993 standards, anyway) spoken word over a bleak-ass noisy maelstrom. I think if anything, because GG and his bands changed sounds and styles so much over the decades it's a little tough to digest WIMH/IYE as a coherent piece. Still a worthy effort though, especially back in a day when it was obvious GG was mid-life crisising what musical direction even he wanted to go in. Ironically, something like this could be pasted together in GarageBand by any amateur mixer with enough time on his hands... a real example of how much technology has changed in the near-quarter century Allin's been dead. For those who are interested, M. Physema resurrected his Toilet Rock Production label in 2006 and re-released over thirty rare and long-lost GG demos, cassettes, live shows, etc on CDr. It's a pretty amazing selection, potential copyright infringements and all. Check it out here.

Highest Power

Mozcore

Yep - my first reaction when this 1996 compilation was recommended to me was a nonplused "are you fucking kidding?" Interestingly, after I looked at the bands on the roster I belched out another "are you fucking kidding?" Having never knowingly heard a Smiths or Morrissey song in my life I wasn't sure what to expect from a punk/hardcore homage to the Manchester woe-is-me rock kings. In short though, I dug it. Probably the absolute antithesis to the original vibe of the songs, each cover are if a fast rocker, some a little more poppy then I'd like (a bunch of songs really sound like the Bouncing Souls) but I can't help but crack a smile at the idea of each vocalist taking a bit of a piss out of Morrissey's whiny style. Christ, even Anal Cunt (circa the 40 More Reasons To Hate Us-era) make an appearance - and their song is damn straight! Dare To Defy's "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" is a fantastic opener - if I didn't know better I would think I was listening to some old Snapcase song. Sub Zero has their Sick Of It All groove going, even the Meatmen rock their anthem with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I think the only song I could skip is Lament's restrained closer, "Back To The Old House" which is a little too close to the irritating original. Smiths fans prepare to be disappointed, all others, enjoy.

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

The MTV star that never was...

Over the last couple days I spliced together a video for one of my favorite GG Allin songs. "Cornhole Lust" off of the ever-so-lovely Suicide Sessions. Check it out here.

Update 11/18/21: YouTube deleted my original video because I spliced in a few seconds of 80's porno clips, so I re-edited to include some classic gore segments and the video is probably more brutal now than it was originally. Yeah censorship!!

Doorway To Freedom

Scored this 7" as a bonus from the very nice folks at Not Very Nice Records, a wicked old-school throwback to the crossover days of the late 80's. The record opens like a fucking Spinal Tap song - imagine "Stonehenge" or something equally as epic. After a few minutes though the songs devolve into some absolutely killer moshage of which I haven't heard since the last M.O.D. show at L'Amour in '88. Of course this a ton more palatable since it only lasts a total of 13 minutes but I love hearing old school proto-Metallica/C.O.C.-esque speed metal that reminds me of the good times slumming local NJ clubs listening to one nameless thrash band after another. I cannot imagine you will be disappointed with that state of mind. Enjoy.

自由の扉

Straight Outta Drummondville

Wow, give it up to fucking Québec people. The best French screamo nonsense from Canada since Despised Icon decided they wanted to quit and "raise families". Good for them. Back here on planet Earth I was happy to stumble upon the first LP from fellow countrymen Politess. Way less harmonic-heavy deathcore and much more screaming hardcore this record reminds me a lot more of what Eighteen Visions was trying to do back in the day. It drags at times but it's still the best heavy shit I've heard this week. Gotta love the saxophone overdubs as well - shades of Siege. Check 'em on bandcamp and enjoy.

Never Going Back To Wawa

You're A Fucking Pussy

Man, I coulda sworn I had posted this snotty lil' EP ages ago but I'll just go ahead and blame the sixteen thousand Miller Lite's I've drank since its 2010 release for my lapse in memory. Sounding more akin to thrashy metalcore than straightforward hardcore, this Goshen, IN quartet blasts through six wonderfully anti-PC tracks in 12 frantic minutes. Rounding the token offensive bases from the requisite "Commit Suicide" to "Vegan Faggot" (my favorite) and "Beat Women" you can't help but smirk at the chorus to "Never Sober"... "Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink you faggot!" It doesn't seem like the band has done a whole lot since releasing this minor masterpiece but they still have a facebook page that gets updated once in a while. Enjoy.

Thrash Til Death

UKrust

Solid British mid-90's lo-fi crust from an era where hardcore was having a much-welcome resurgence after too many years of grunge, death metal and godawful hair bands. Never released or repackaged on CD, this a shitty mp3 rip straight from the 2nd pressing vinyl. What I dig the most about Incubation is the genre-crossing - one second they are playing powerviolence (there are some definite Man Is The Bastard influences) before crushing into some fucking awesome Dystopia-esque breakdowns. Awesome shit. If you dig the band, check out the blog written by the bassist - some fucking cool reminiscing of his old HxCx days as well as a link or two...

Let It Die

Dedicated to the late Brian Jones...

Yowzah! Another early 80's GG Allin single! Recorded at the almost-legendary Massachusetts-based Destiny Records with his brother and a couple of Jabbers (I only learned the other day that the "X"-ish symbol in the upper left corner are two knives "jabbing" each other - get it?? - thanks to Terminal Boredom yet again), GG turned up the glam and amped the party vibe for his second solo record. "1980's Rock 'N' Roll" is easily the more sophomoric of the two songs while "Cheri Love Affair" remains a guilty favorite of mine to this day. Both cuts are mixed differently from what would eventually end up on Always Was, Is, And Always Shall Be - the backup vocals are weirdly loud (as is the awful synthetic piano in "1980's") but it's all terribly charming in its quasi-serious amateurness and makes the LP versions sound like gold. 

Watch Me Girls

Long Live The Cock

It's tough to top your debut album, especially when that auspicious release is Fresh White Reeboks Kickin Your Ass but San Fran supergroup Nigel Pepper Cock did exactly that with The New Way. Released just a year after their inaugural EP, their one and only full-length is chock full of old-school nods (Black Sabbath and Crass) as well as simple fucking sludgepunk slam. My favorite song is the metalcore-ish metal "Respect" - it seems so wonderfully unrehearsed and screams for a bloody mosh pit. The rest of it is a psychotically manic joyride of noise - I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised by this one.

Jailbait Not Allowed

Feces And Blood

Quietly released among a glut of posthumous GG Allin releases, it's surprising how Violent Beatings stayed under the radar considering it's got the most legitimately unreleased material since the ol' scumfuc OD'd twenty years ago. And for once it's not repackaged C&W acoustic nonsense, it's a bunch of recordings featuring guitarist Mark Sheehan (of Troubled Troubador and Illegitimate Kids (in)famy). Up first is a completely remastered version of GG's Murder Junkies 7" - the music is culled straight from the 1991 session master and is significantly rawer than what you heard on the You Give Love A Bad Name re-release. While not my favorite GG recording, I really dig "Bacteria Of The Soul" - a cool-ass rambling dirge which makes it all worthwhile. Additionally, the CD features some fantastic demo stuff recorded in the late 80's. Hitting rock bottom, GG took up Sheehan's offer to record in Lowell, MA during the hot summer of '88; the sessions were later partially released as Suicide Sessions. If you enjoyed the bleak rawness of Sessions then you will absolutely love this. While it's not everything they recorded, most of the faves are there... "Drug Whore", "Cornhole Lust", etc, etc. Absolutely fucking crazy. For completists out there (if my hazy memory serves me right), Ax/ction Records did packaged the entire Suicide Sessions demo as a DIY cassette-only release deceptively titled Scumfucs Live '84. If anyone has a copy out there please get in touch!

Kiss Me In The Gutter

Allin Autobiography

How else to start off the year right then with some essential literature penned by punk rock's preeminent Public Animal #1? Introducing the closest thing to a memoir about the infamous scumfuc, GG's autobiographical "America's Favorite Son." Written much like a schizophrenic diary (Allin has the annoying habit of casually traversing from the first to third person) it is somewhat difficult to read at times - the single-spaced typewritten pages are murder on the eyes (as is GG's antipathy for punctuation). Regardless, it is still a fascinating book, a must-have for any serious fan. Spanning from early childhood to his 1989 arrest in Ann Arbor, the stories are both hilarious and sobering. GG names names and doesn't censor the details for anyone's benefit, even his own. The Jabbers stuff is fantastic - the stories of the band struggling to stay together once GG decided to do his own thing are a real treat. My only complaint with "America's Favorite Son" is the lack of detail once GG began to devolve in the late 80's. Of course this is easily explained by the increase in his boozing and blackouts during that time but I wish more than a couple pages were dedicated to the recording of Freaks, Faggots Drunks & Junkies (heck, Suicide Sessions is mentioned only in passing). GG must've eventually sold his typewriter as the last 30 or so pages are handwritten (and I was complaining about the typewriter?) - I am happy to report that someone with a lot of patience has actually transcribed the entire book into a much more legible PDF format. And what a cover photo to boot. I included in the download file a few bonus PDFs. One is of a 1991 xeroxed press book distributed by Allin while he was floating around the country skirting parole. I got it via G-O-D from the excellent Media Christ blog who actually got his signed copy from Allin himself. A lot of the material we've seen before but it's still a cool compilation to peruse through. For completists out there, I also included a PDF of Evan Cohen's "I Was A Murder Junkie" to cover the last 5 months of GG's all-to-short life. So kick your feet up by the fire, grab yourself a steaming mug of Jim Beam and drift off into literary bliss.

Manchester Memoirs

Baltimore Brutality

Saw this Baltimore-based hardcore band last weekend and I really fucking dug 'em. Crazy-ass NYHC influenced five-piece that tore up the front of the place and almost eclipsed the headliner in sheer insanity. Here's their 2013 EP for your listening pleasure, a somewhat cheesy rapcore-esque title aside the record has some great grooves, breakdowns and a general "Fuck You" attitude. Looking forward to their upcoming (within weeks as of this writing) full-length Nonstop Feeling - they played some songs off of it which absolutely killed (especially "Gravity" - fucking awesome). Keep up with the guys here and here.

Break It Down

Old skruel

Aw c'mon it's not as bad as everyone says it is... I find it funny that half the websites offering this album up for sale or review has a CYA disclaimer warning consumers that it's a low quality recording. Are you kidding? This is GG-fucking-Allin we're talking about here, not Muse. Which of his recordings weren't low quality? While this particular compilation may be a few notches down from Murder Junkies or Carnival Of Excess, there is nothing on The Bloody Years that isn't as lo-fi as anything on Eat My Fuc or Suicide Sessions (i.e. recorded on a cassette deck). I've ranted previously about Bloody F. Mess getting the raw end of the punk rock baseball bat over the years - I actually find it cool to hear the old recordings made by an über fan of his actual idol. Absolute labors of love. People have bitched that Bloody capitalized on GG's death with the release of this material and so what? I'm sure he managed to make that extra car payment on his '88 Honda Civic with the proceeds earned from this one. Bloody was GG's pal, touring buddy and inglorious promoter through a time where GG was hardly known outside of the shitty NH suburbs. Hell, some say that it was Bloody who convinced GG to actually start shitting on stage - at his first Peoria, IL gig in 1985. GG's infamous 1986 show at "Pete's Basement" (literally, a basement in some teenager's house) is absolutely primo early Geeg and is presented here in its amazing 16-minute entirety (I'm assuming that it's "Pete" who whines through the gig that the mic GG is smashing into his face is his). I think GG was backed up by a cassette deck if I'm not mistaken - the version of "Eat My Diahreah" is one of my favorite GG tracks ever. Some of the other material is hit or miss, GG's tracks with the 1989 version of Bloody & The Skabs are OK but it's the live stuff that really kills. Wrapping it all up are some phone messages and conversations between Mssrs. Mess and Allin - I actually converted the mono files to stereo making them much easier to listen to. Funny chats between two friends - Bloody can at times be a bit overly adoring but hey, I forgive him, I woulda been too. Enjoy the history lesson.

Sew The Mouths Of Others

Ever Rat

Solid cassette-only release from the sadly defunct Ever Rat Records based out of the Seattle, WA area. A cool snapshot of 1989-era GG Allin (unintentionally humorous botched song titles aside), the side A recording with the Disappointments is the real treat on the album - GG drunkenly slurring his way through a 6-minute rendition of "Jesus And Mothers Cunt" absolutely kills. Side B showcases the one and only gig by GG and his "Expose Yourself To Kids" back-up band the AIDS Brigade (featuring future Murder Junkie Merle Allin/Pearl Murder). Years later this show would actually make it onto DVD (it's the one where the band is playing in drag) but this version actually sounds a little better then the shitty VHS sourced for the DVD. Knowing now that the band was in drag explains why GG intentionally changed the song lyrics ("Cock On The Loose" becomes "Cunt On The Loose," etc. etc.) which always escaped me back in the day. The "I Hate My Audience Interview" isn't quite that - it's a recording lifted from GG's infamous appearance on Chicago's WLUP radio morning show. The sound guy dropped some choice snippets of GG over a loop of AC/DC's "T.N.T." to create an outro jingle for the show. You can hear the full version (and whole interview) somewhere on here.

Outlaw Scumbag

Flea Market Blues

Oh man, the days I spent at the flea market off of Route 22 in Watchung during my lazy drunken high school days. Cheap, sticky back issues of Swank, a couple illegal butterfly knives and bootleg live tapes fucking galore. Amazingly, there were actual levels of bootleg legitimacy within the cardboard crates of dusty yellowed cassettes. You could find some semi-legit ones - especially if you were considering a well-known musician like Jimi Hendrix - such glossy, pro-printed boots as From This Day On and The Last Experience are familiar to even casual collectors of the guitar legend. Then there was the next level, adequate cassette copies of bootleg LPs - a cheapo xeroxed copy of The Who's Who Dunit? comes to mind but there were fucking thousands of them. Usually first generation copies on unlabeled TDK60s complete with all the pops and cracks of a shitty record player. Then there were the boxes and boxes of bootleg live shows. Utterly disorganized, barely labeled and akin to looking for a peanut in a pile of shit, these wretched excuses for music usually didn't cost more then $2 and were hardly worth the price. Case in point: a hand-scrawled copy of Suicidal Tendencies' 1984 show at the Rollerworks in Chatsworth, CA dubbed over tape #3 of some Learn French In 30 Days cassette series. The audio equivalent of trying to watch scrambled 80's cable porn, this is probably the lowest quality piece of media I've ever heard and that's saying something. Sounding like it originally was recorded with a Walkman buried in someone's pocket, this worthless tenth-generation dupe ups the ante by appearing to be dubbed by two boomboxes set across the room from one another. In short, the show is barely listenable which is a shame because it is actually a really good show and it would be something else to hear it for real. Under 20+ decibels of tape hiss the band cuts through most of its Frontier Records debut - guitarist Grant Estes and drummer Amery Smith really show off their skills, casually diverging from the traditional arrangements off the album with aplomb. Mike Muir runs around yelling like an idiot but hey, he was barely 21 at the time so easily forgiven. I ripped the download that stands before you off of that cassette and tried as much as I could to clean it up but it still sounds fucking terrible and is for ST completists only. Interestingly, the guy who originally(?) taped it tacked on the demo version of "I Saw Your Mommy" (from the 1984 Mystic Records Mystic Sampler #1 LP) at the end and its the only good-sounding thing on this. Try to enjoy a strange snapshot of L.A. skater hardcore circa '84 and don't let the hiss get ya down.

Suicidal Failure

White Crosses & Coffee

Solid crossover thrash from these Michigan punkers - reminds me a bit of the Crumbsuckers. I picked up Gerry Louis Sucks My Ass! from Vomitose vocalist Skeeter many a year ago when I was buying up pretty much anything that had GG Allin to do with it. For whatever reason, the incarcerated scumfuc agreed to scribble new front cover artwork for the record's repress as well as pose for a few in-prison pics with the group. While it may have moved a few more copies off the shelf (mine included), the music is where it's at - a real surprise. They have another 7" floating out there somewhere that I would love to check out. Little help?

Grand Rapids

What's In A Name?

No, this isn't a long-lost demo from your favorite Iowan nü metallers, it's instead the sole effort by a long-forgotten Connecticut hardcore trio. Bridging the crossover gap with shades of proto-grunge (the opener "Condemned" sounds a lot like what Kurt was doing at the time with Nirvana while "No. 9" reminds me of Excel) there's a lot to like about the six songs contained herein. The grooves and breakdowns are solid as fuck - I especially dig the vocalist Stiemy, he's got that ideal scream/yell/growl voice I wish I had. It's a pretty angry, overly political twelve minutes - in other words a perfect snapshot of late-80's hardcore thrash. Enjoy.

Hate In Blue

Die Fucker

Jesus fucking Christ try googling this band and getting any goddamned info (or not get on some NSA watch list). Straight outta Kalamazoo, MI comes the unfortunately monikered Jihad which probably sounded like a fucking great name way back in 1995 while the band was tearing up the hardcore scene around WMU. The band was able to release a bunch of splits and singles throughout the mid-90's - their surprisingly original brand of 'core being kind of a weird mishmash between Boston snot and the crossover sound fronted by Biohazard and their ilk. Totally paving the way for the screamo scene led by bands like Eighteen Visions (or Throwdown, whom they oddly remind me of) a few years later, Old Testament is an amazing compilation covering the band's sadly short career. My favorite material is from the split with Inourselves although all of it is enjoyably hard and blisteringly fucking fast. Great breakdowns, great screams, lotsa bitterness and... well you get the idea. Enjoy.

Struggle

Garlic And Oil

For guys who were pushing 30 at the time there's a lot to respect about releasing a snotty hardcore EP right when the world was hoping for another Ill Communication. With a 11-minute running time the songs are in the NYHC style of "Heart Attack Man from the aforementioned Communication - it's too hard to dislike any of 'em since they're all so fucking fast. What I really dig about this album are the fucking solid breakdowns at the end of a couple of the tracks - "Brand New," "Deal With It" and especially "I Can't Stand It" - that song alone is worth the download. In case anyone cares I included "Soba Violence" from the Japanese release and "Light My Fire" (absolutely awful - for completists only) from a poorly-ripped Australian 2x7" vinyl. Enjoy.

Sabrosa