Tag Archives: Punk

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6 Bands I’m Learning Black Magic For To Resurrect Them

Affecting free will, or even reanimating the dead is a near impossible task to accomplish, unless you have lots of money. Maybe not so much the dead part though, if the deceased can come back to life from slamming a suitcase full of money on their coffin or ashes, then Michael Jackson and Elvis would still be touring now. Then again, holograms. The point is, there are circumstances out of our control that affect what we love on a day-to-day basis and as much as it hurts, you want to do whatever you can to make it better again. In my instance, it’s bands that are inactive, deceased or simply no longer exist any more. So I’ve assembled a cast of five semi-unknown bands and one famous that I would willingly unearth from the great musical cemetary, in no particular order:

  1. Ulterior
Photo source: The Quietus/Unknown

Photo source: The Quietus/Unknown

Press who are in the know about this London synth-rock/neo-goth outfit adore them, but their current whereabouts right now are unknown. All social media traces of them have disappeared bar their website, but even that only features a full-screen YouTube video. I can only assume they’ve disbanded, which is a tragedy for fans of icy, vengeful synth-dominated rock, that poured attitude and an arousal into the heart of darker electronica. I already have written about this band on three occasions, my personal favourite here. They chose three words: icecold, staticvenom and speedhate to describe their music and it’s spot on. While politically charged and taking square aim at mass media, there’s a lingering Sisters of Mercy flavour in their palette, yet the flirting with pseudo-industrial and the unmistakeable 80’s synth sound, there’s an anger but an addictive personality to their cold-hearted yet incredible songwriting.

Five of their best:




Everything else is via Bandcamp.

      2. Schoolyard Heroes

Photo source: Pop Matters/Unknown

Photo source: Pop Matters/Unknown

My case for Schoolyard Heroes isn’t even funny as they reformed last year for a one-off show in the States, but have no intentions for continuing on their cult appeal since calling it quits in 2009. The Seattle-based fearsome foursome were one of a kind and the fever around them has grown noticeably since their split. What Schoolyard Heroes essentially did best was a punk rock horror cabaret, splicing the struggles of teenage life with B-Movies and the macabre, resulting in an all out assault that could be glamorous as it could visceral. Although with three albums to their name, all completed well within their youth, you can only feel disappointed that their infectious punk parade didn’t spread like the plague. There’s so much to enjoy from their utter delight in matters most morbid and the exact kind of fun and insanity that modern music is missing.

Five of their best:
Children Of The Night
The Plastic Surgery Hall Of Fame
They Live
Contra
Bury The Tooth Of The Hydra And A Skeleton Army Will Arise

Social media is scarce bar Facebook, but their music is readily available from most respectable music retailers.

3. Working For A Nuclear Free City

Photo source: Indie On Bunnies/Unknown

Photo source: Indie For Bunnies/Unknown

Previous to Gary McClure’s new found success in lo-fi indie rock darling American Wrestlers, he was one fourth of an incredible Mancunian troupe of musicians and producers known as Working For A Nuclear Free City. What the status of the band is currently unsure as not long ago they were on the lookout for a video editor, possibly signalling new incoming material that never arrived. Those on the insider’s circle and were aware of Working For A Nuclear Free City’s existence knew of the vast creative capacity that they housed, but they never received the full acclaim they rightfully deserved. Mining from an inexhaustible bank of inspiration and influences, they put together three (four including the now-elusive rarities) albums of some of the most eclectic music I’ve ever encountered. An under-appreciated and true original band, hopefully to return one day.

Five of their best:
Rocket
Asleep At The Wheel
Quiet Place
Alphaville
Brown Owl

Social media works for them, even though their posts are sporadic via Facebook. I had no idea this song existed until I searched out of curiosity, but go buy this via Bandcamp and for everything else, go get their music via most respectable music retailers. Also if you’re into that sort of thing, go read this interview of theirs, it’s hilarious.

4. Pitchblend

Photo source: Altwall.net/Unknown

Photo source: Altwall.net/Unknown

This is one of the saddest stories on this list for me. As a band from Reading in the UK, a seasoned music city from a national perspective, to perform for 10 years, and to have next to zero recognition for what is a seminal sound and phenomenal emotional and spirtual journey, should be punishable under the country’s justice system. This is by no means their fault however, whether victims of circumstance or the cruel realities of life, people just weren’t in tune with their explosive wave of stunning post-rock exhibitionism. How beats me. Rarely can you hear so much passion and belief agonisingly pour out of every single note and word without fail. There is never a wasted moment on the entire Lines Of Unreason album and the fact this has stayed buried in the musical graveyard is a travesty. Words do so little to give merit to how excellent this album truly is.

Five of their best:
Sirens
Celsius
Revelation
Searching For Satellites
Somewhere I Could Never Find

There is a Facebook page for the band, though it is very much inactive. Their music is however available via most respectable music retailers.

5. Pure Reason Revolution

Photo source: NME/Press

Photo source: NME/Press

Boy, where do I even begin with these guys… There’s been very quiet rumblings yet incredible demand for a possible reunion for years, but no actual drive to capitalise on it since their demise in 2011. Whatever their reasons, Pure Reason Revolution were a breed unlike any others in their class. Marrying intelligent progressive rock with luscious pop harmonies that later stretched into deep electronica territory that still maintained their killer songwriting principles, the London musicians behind this monumental project rightfully gained a rabid cult following. But press tried in all their might to elevate the band to the height they deserved and shockingly, it was never reached. One day, one day, there’s a hope that they will return and their astonishing progressive masterpieces will conquer a new generation of fans.

Five of their best:
Bullitts Dominae
The Twyncyn/Trembling Willows
Deus Ex Machina
Black Mourning
Over The Top

Oddly, their Facebook updates occasionally, but not with Pure Reason Revolution news. Go show support if you enjoy them anyway. Their music is available at most respectable music retailers, buy all the copies.

and last but no means least…

    6. Type O Negative

Photo source: NY Rock/Unknown

Photo source: NY Rock/Unknown

While there is a remote hope for every band on this list to reform, chances here are far beyond impossible. Why? If you’re not familiar with the name Type O Negative, then you won’t be aware that vocalist, bassist and literal giant personality Peter Steele has been dead for five years, tragically passing away from the effects of an aortic aneurysm aged just 48. The music of Type O Negative has always had an air of severe gloom attached to it, oft with self-depreciating humour and self-loathing running through every fibre of their being, becoming synonymous with the band (they were nicknamed the ‘Drab Four,’ playing on the Beatles moniker). There’s an entire conversation for another time here which may arrive at a later date, but the long story short is, the irreplaceable black but beautiful expanding harmonies and inexplicable doom of one of goth rock’s best and beloved bands will seldom be replicated.

Five of their best:
Wolf Moon
Love You To Death
We Hate Everyone
I Don’t Wanna Be Me
Dead Again

Their Facebook updates are rare but relevant should you wish to get them, but worth showing support too. Their music as expected is also available via all respectable music retailers and the vast majority of merchandise can be obtained through their website.

Until I figure out a way to raise the dead, may all these bands rest in peace…

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Netherlands

This band gave me an idea recently, although that could potentially go the wrong way depending on political correctness. A game you could play is, given a country, you have to establish what music that country would sound like. Some are easy, Brazil, India and Mexico for instance have sounds they live and breath because they are originators of that style. Some countries, perhaps not quite on the map you would struggle with. San Marino may just be the sound of shrugging shoulders or clapping politely. A country very much established however that could be perceived as difficult to identify could be the Netherlands, but thankfully Timo Ellis and his two partners in crime hailing from New York City may put that debate to an end. Dragging around a longsword sharpened by staggering amounts of fuzz, moods are constantly intense, much like a serial killer in the dark of night, either on the prowl or attacking depending on the pace. Whilst you can assume there is a unchanging danger in their music, how exactly to describe it is somewhat misleading. They are pseudo-sludge in guitar tone that sometimes reaches noise rock levels of distortion, but sing with a classical rock band showmanship, with pacing that can reach punk speeds. Tabitha from 2013’s Silicon Vapor being an example of those speeds, comparable to weaponised destruction derby and you’re behind the wheel, whilst what could be deciphered as free-form poetry or phrases pulled from a hat are yelled from atop a mountain. The thing that strikes me about vocalist Timo Ellis is how soulful his delivery can be at times, which edges them out against so many other heavy pretenders. So, that debate hasn’t actually been resolved as Netherlands are every much a square peg in a round hole, which just about fits if you jam it hard enough. Or maybe that is the point. Brimming with styles and sensibilities that keep them a very much original experience, Netherlands are an odd breed to classify, but they produce a sound that is equal parts threatening as it is to endearing and exciting. In the context of the musical country game, that answer is good enough for me.

Silicon Vapor and 2012’s Fantasmatic can be purchased from their Bandcamp page for a small fee. or from Netherlands’ website in CD, vinyl or digital format, along with several t-shirts and the such too.

https://www.facebook.com/netherlandsband?fref=ts

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You Win Again Gravity

I’m an aficionado for a good quote or reference to popular culture, especially when said reference or quote reaches a level of obscurity that only somebody like me, stubbornly restricting myself to limited yet expansive sources, will understand. Conversations will start, and within five minutes, I likely have to explain what I have just said and where it comes from, because I can confuse anyone that quickly. But, to my absolute delight upon witnessing this Windsor post-hardcore mob’s name, I could revel in that I understood where it came from and that others also knew. Lifted from Futurama’s failed philanderer Zapp Brannigan, You Win Again Gravity are a hybrid, fused from a multitude of heavy and progressive forces into a unified juggernaut of monumental stopping power. These five gentlemen are such a well-oiled machine that the complexity of their music at times seems like second nature, and that alone is impressive enough to give them your attention. Skyline, from their late 2014 EP Let Go Lightly, ushers in a quiet series of triplets, before building into a Dillinger Escape Plan style barrage of off-kilter instrumentation into the main body of a strongly textured melodic hardcore anthem. The interchange between screams and singing compliments the progression that the music undertakes wonderfully, and is the crowning jewel in a treasure trove of unbelievably talented musicians. In line with the show their name comes from, this is thinking man’s hardcore, built to punch holes in mountains, but layered with an immense emotional depth and an impressive technical ability that even the most savage of mosh pits will take heed of. May gravity never slow them down.

The three EPs, Let Go Lightly, early 2014’s Brightly Coloured Landscapes and 2012’s Reflect The Change are all available from the band’s Bandcamp page for a respectable fee.

https://www.facebook.com/YouWinAgainGravity?fref=ts

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Track of The Week: Autopsy Boys – Song For Deberra

Following my original article on Leeds electropunk outfit Autopsy Boys and my over excitement to share my words with them, they got in contact and they were impressed with my musings and tipped me off about the first preview of their forthcoming new album Return Of The Acid Casualty Auto Humans. So as you might expect, I was poised waiting, and a little over 24 hours later, here I am writing about that new song. Titled Song for Debbera, in tribute to B-movie legend and now music video curator, Debbie Rochon, is the beginning of a five-part narrative depicting a day of urban anarchy, in the style of the 80’s horror flicks they so cherish. The scene and the stage are set strongly, both the Queen of Scream introducing her illustrious career and the tale about to unfold, and the band start at pace with a subtly catchy guitar hook, whilst synth throbs like the Blob below. It’s really from this point onwards, you can really marvel at the lyricism at work, billowing with 80’s references that flow off the tongue like water bursting from a dam. There’s also not so much of a chorus of sorts,  but one particular moment that a well-informed crowd could harmonise with beautifully. Moments that recall a certain Mr. Gary Numan in his prime, then again, Tubeway Army were a punk band, just not in the strictest sense of the definition. As you expect, amplitude starts to ramp up and vocals cease to focus on instruments building tension, coinciding nicely with the on-screen imagery of a party dispersing from some sort of humanoid attack, as well as insane scientist back story in the process. Furious chords play out as synths turn haywire and drums keep that panic and hysteria constantly moving, culminating in the first person camera being thrown into the boot of a car. As an introduction to the work of Autopsy Boys, this could be no more perfect. As a fan, I can no doubt imagine that they already hunger for the next instalment, as well as more new music in tandem. On the basis of this first track alone, this Leeds four piece look set to continue and build upon the already stellar synthpunk slasher sound, and with visuals in tow, only confirm their status as one of the country’s most exciting under-the-radar bands around.

Song For Debbera is out now via all good music retailers, taken from their forthcoming new album expected sometime this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwLGUaMers0

https://www.facebook.com/autopsyboys?fref=ts

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Gaytheist

I mentioned a little while back that hardcore tends to be a very serious business, and a band’s prowess tends to be measured against the instigation of violence and how savagely you can play your instrument. All that raw, frenetic carnage is highly enjoyable at the best of times, but every now and again, the overbearing lust for bloodshed becomes too much. There’s very little laughter in between the roundhouse kicks and flailing fists. So I’ll reiterate again that when bands that tick most of the boxes for hardcore principles, but keep their tongues firmly in cheek, it makes the genre a little less like the display of machismo it’s pretty much portrayed as. After all, if you’re from Portland, Oregon and you name your band Gaytheist, you can’t expect to not raise eyebrows. Although they don’t so much as keep tongue in cheek, as swallow it trying. Let’s be honest here, when you pen rip-roaring stompers with such memorable titles like Elderly Assassin, I’m Procrastinate And I Vote and Poocano, it’s hard not to assume what you’re getting yourself in for. But what exactly are you getting yourself in for? A fiery punk buzzsaw built for speed, parts venomous, parts deranged, but everything defiant in the face of decency. Hold Me… But Not So Tight, their long player from 2013, speaks volumes for this sentiment, having an image of a pair of embracing lizards and one is suggestively licking the other. Anyway, to Manhattan, opening with a grinding bassline, that lurks underneath the build-up of pounding drums at pace, blazing guitar bathed in distortion and a mildly humorous yet mildly concerning social commentary on New York’s most densely populated district. Although, blink and you’ll miss it. You may argue that it just gets going, but they pack quality into those two minutes, that several visitations are required to soak in thoroughly. See, laughter is one of the keys to life, and if Gaytheist aren’t entertaining, then they are at least giving the stone-faced hardcore genre a permanent marker moustache whilst it’s unconscious.

Hold Me…, 2012 album Stealth Beats, a live album and some singles can be purchased from their Bandcamp page, from very reasonable prices. They also have some split EPs with a few other bands that are worth checking out, and I believe are somewhere in Bandcamp too.

https://www.facebook.com/GaytheistPDX

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DC Fallout

For some in the world, the prospect of a nuclear war was one of the most terrifying things imaginable. If you understand the science behind it and realise that the quickly destabilising political climate we find ourselves in, could still herald the near annihilation of the human race today, it is still very much a frightening time to be alive. So obviously you are going to have voices in the face of opposition, and history has found that a lot of those voices express their disgust and dissatisfaction through the brutally honest medium that is punk rock. While hailing from Los Angeles, DC Fallout suggests the aftermath of political suicide from the nation’s capital, and they voice their frustrations through breakneck bursts of seething melodic punk anthems. America is experiencing an existental crisis of sorts, and these four gentlemen know it, running barbed truth after truth on all aspects of social commentary through gung-ho guitar shredding that dives into some meaty breakdowns, consitently excellent rapid-fire delivery and an unmistakable voice of reason and righteousness you cannot ignore. Some of their songs have a decidedly more upbeat delivery, but Dominoes is one of their more serious calls for revolution, touching on a more melancholy beginning, before drums count in the full-speed force of mighty guitars and a message to inspire a generation. Punk in its purest form is protest, and DC Fallout are gifted in their ability to convey their opinions so poetically and with such speed, skill and impact, it seems criminal that they resonate with so many, yet so few not know of them.

Objector from 2013, the Serf’s Up EP from 2011 and Retreat! from 2010 are all available in physical and digital format from DC Fallout’s Bandcamp page, for a respectable asking price.

https://www.facebook.com/dcfallout?fref=ts

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Since By Man

Music is one of the greatest forms of escapism, and often we experience that escapism in many different ways. Some as losing yourself in an otherworldly soundscape, some as forming an emotional connection with music and/or lyrics and some as motivation towards a goal or dream. If I was a betting man, I’d say the music of Since By Man more than likely falls into the latter category. That goal being the systematic destruction of your surroundings and anyone around you. This is not music for the nervous or for the faint of heart.  This is pure catharsis. Since By Man take their inspiration from the melodic post-hardcore antics of Glassjaw and At The Drive-In, known for their endless energy, intensely passionate performances and near-faultless musicianship, and run their own frenzied madness out from their footsteps. All through Since By Man’s life cycle, especially evident in their choice of band name (from the 46th movement of Handel’s Messiah: Since By Man Came Death) there seems to be a complete disregard for human life that erupts from the beginning of 2002’s We Sing The Body Electric to their timely demise in 2008. No other statement makes that clearer than Push The Panic, the first song of We Sing The Body Electric. From the very beginning, the weak are weeded out by a tirade of vitriolic screaming, acerbic guitar work designed to eviscerate and a technical but extreme drum mauling. If you survive that, you are treated to some lavish melodies still in the punk vein, but don’t have to fear for your life for a brief moment. But nothing, absolutely nothing hits harder than the scathing sociopathic statement at the song’s climax. There are songwriters at Since By Man’s core, honest, but they chose to invoke their escapism through enchanting melodies, sandwiched between nihilistic bombshells of hardcore.

We Sing The Body Electric, 2004’s A Love Hate Relationship EP and 2005’s Pictures From The Hotel Apocalypse can all be purchased at most respectable music retailers, at an affordable price.

https://www.facebook.com/sincebyman?fref=ts

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The Deaf

There’s very much a sense of irony if you include the word ‘deaf’ in your band name. However, two of history’s most successful rock bands spawned from laughing at that irony, namely being Def Leppard, and Deftones, who are most certainly not deaf, judging by millions of record sales across the world. There are a couple of other bands who have a measurable amount of success from featuring the word ‘deaf’ too such as Deaf Havana and Deafheaven, but having not been in the game for as long as the other two yet, critical acclaim will have to do the talking for now. It then seems fitting for a band that have seemingly disbanded to be called The Deaf, on a play on words term, and as a focal point for how loud their music can get. This Minneapolis trio play a scuzzy, lo-fi noise rock landslide, loud enough to be thunder but relaxing enough to feel the sea at your feet. Across the 14 songs that This Bunny Bites bestows, it’s rapid-fire, it’s jammed to bursting with riffs and booming grooves and charged with enough energy to take out power grids. Album highlight Beatdown does exactly what it says on the tin; a two-minute incantation to incite an all-out slug-fest wrapped into a scorching hot guitar performance and drums battered to an inch of their lives, that can still space a listener out in absolute bliss. That to me is rare, that a band can roughhouse and relax in equal stead, with such little effort. Hopefully this band aren’t done, because there is a gift here that needs to be uncovered and shared with the wider world.

The Deaf’s 2007 album This Bunny Bites can be found on Learning Curve Record’s Bandcamp page for a small fee, or at most respectable music retailers too.

https://myspace.com/thedeaf

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Autopsy Boys

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MUSIC VIDEO MAY NOT ENTIRELY BE SAFE FOR WORK. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

http://youtu.be/d1JIGsfMqeM

Let me ask you a question. If given the choice to live on a diet of popular culture in the 1980’s, could you be persuaded? Bearing in mind this is the same decade that popularised video games, cartoons, comic books and slasher flicks. Doctors advise that living on such a diet may cause frequent outbursts of electronic-infused punk rock, with an explosive tendency to cleverly inject this experience into lyrics at every given moment, pen choruses with melodies that writhe like parasites in your grey matter and an obsession with snuff film themed music videos. If you answered yes, you’re either in, or will most likely enjoy the work of, Leeds’ Autopsy Boys. Already a sensation from their chaotic live performances across the country and superb horror homages, these gentlemen are deservedly garnering acclaim for putting literal blood and sweat back into punk. No Ambition, a guaranteed contender for one of my songs of the year (despite being out for at least a year or so already), is the culmination of a super-violent fight sequence and a fiery, no-prisoners-taken hardcore clinic, oozing with delicious synth undertones that urges replay after replay. I implore you to seep deeper into their self-proclaimed suburban nightmare of a world, Autopsy Boys may come across as psychopathic in nature, but their heart is truly in the right place. On the floor. In front of you.

Everything Autopsy Boys can be found on their website, or singles can be found at most respectable music retailers, all for a reasonable fee.

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Fucking Werewolf Asso

If somebody said to you the words Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf, what would your immediate reaction to these words be? In the eyes of one Dennis Wedin, half of the brains behind ultraviolent romp Hotline Miami, you get it tattooed on your arm, then you make a music video for it. Of course this is three years or so late to this party, but Dennis Wedin, as well as co-creator of video game Hotline Miami, is also the voice of Fucking Werewolf Asso, the Swedish group that his music video belongs to. Where to start? Imagine an acid trip filled with your favourite 8-bit Nintendo characters at a music festival, and watch them get murdered and disembowelled by demented punk rockers with axes. It happens in the blink of an eye, but if you can bare it, it becomes an entertaining horror show. There is a musicality for writing catchy pop tunes underneath all the bleeps, boops, abrasion and screaming, it just so happens to be so frantic and hell bent on shock factor that it occassionally gets lost in translation. They still go strong to this day, having released a new album this year, but they remain a Marmite experience. I happen to find them deliriously entertaining, others may call it electronic noise torture. Your call.

The tune in question, known as Keep Your Adresse To Yourself ‘Cause We Need Secrets, can be found on 2011’s album Nittiotremo, but is available as a free download on their Bandcamp. All their other recorded material including this year’s Why Do You Love Me Satan? can be found in the same place. And for your enjoyment, the music video is also an interactive game which you can download from here, or you can watch here. It’s a bit special.

https://www.facebook.com/nittiotremo?fref=ts