STALAG 17 & TOXIC WASTE - Truth Will Be Heard 12'' 1985

Not really new in Blogland but I must post this 12'' by both of the best Anarcho Punk bands from Belfast of the Eighties with amazing lyrics and catchy tunes and this beauty was released via Warzone/Mortarhate Records in an edition of 1300 copies. Review: A split 12'' by two great Irish bands. Stalag 17 puts forth two harsh, loud songs very much in the Conflict vein. Speed plus the changeover between male and female vocals makes the three songs by Toxic Waste interesting, too. Both bands have serious, hard-hitting lyrics which center on political unrest in Northern Ireland. Recommended. (Martin Sprouse, MRR #30 • Nov. 1985) - Stalag 17 were formed by members of three other Punk combos: The Stillborns, Maimed & Paranoid, and consisted of Petesy (vocals), Gasky (guitars), Joe 1000 (bass), Mickey (drums) and they began writing their own material and covering contemporary Punk bands such as The Mekons. After several gigs in and around Belfast the band recorded their first demo and began playing in the Belfast Anarchy Centre, supporting other Anarcho Punks the Poison Girls and Crass. They havent't much vinyl outputs besides this 12'' there is only one split LP from 1986, also with Toxic Waste, called We Will Be Free on Warzone Records. Toxic Waste were formed in 1982 in Newtownards after being inspired by the Crass gig at the Anarchy Centre in Belfast. Featuring Patsy (vocals), Phil (bass), Colin on drums to then be replaced by Grub and Marty on guitar they wanted to take the D.I.Y. and Anti-Establishment ethos of Punk one step further. They played their first gig at the West Winds Roadhouse in 1982, and regularly played around Bangor/Belfast and the Ards area for the next two years, in the same scene as the Belfast band Stalag 17. In 1984 they moved to Belfast and were joined by second vocalist Roy Wallace. They gigged with Conflict in the Manhattan Club which resulted in them doing a number of recordings for Conflict's label Mortarhate. Members of the band were involved with the Belfast-based Warzone Collective, which included a vegetarian cafe called Giros, practice space for bands, and screen-printing studio. They toured Europe twice before they eventually split in 1986. Roy Wallace released Belfast in 1987, performing with Deno and Gary from DIRT to re-record old Toxic Waste tracks (as well as previously unreleased tracks). Marty and Roy used their experience from their time in Toxic Waste to form Bleeding Rectum. The band was revived briefly in 1991 for a benefit tour, with Deno from DIRT on vocals. Fazit: a magnificent, powerful record that forgives nothing.

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