RKL - Keep Laughing 1985

One year after their first EP, which caused a lot of attention and is now an absolutely sought-after item, RKL soon recorded and released their first full-length album, Keep Laughing on Mystic Records in 1985 with Dan Sites once again providing artwork. This release included classic RKL tracks "Think Positive" (often played live as "Drink Positive"), "Ded Teds", and "Pothead" and has been named as one of the best SkatePunk records of all time. I'm not much a Skatepunk expert, but the few bands I know come all from the States and all do a great job for me, so I can safely confirm that this piece of vinyl with its eleven smashers is definitely up at the top with its speedy, striking, buzzing, sharp, dynamic and powerful Hardcore sound.

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ARYAN DISGRACE - Faggot In The Family 7'' 1983

The next interesting slab on this Tuesday evening brought us Mystic Records and is far and away the most collectable release on the label. Aryan Disgrace was a short-lived Los Angeles combo with six members and they made a splash with their only 7Inch. The most disgraceful aspect of this record is indeed its lyrics which are very provocative. The song is about a guy who keeps his homosexuality a secret from his family and thus gets into trouble, while the flip is about extraordinary S&M enjoyment. Musically two decent short tracks and in 1983 a censored version came afterwards with different lyrics, and of course it's debatable whether there's any point in singing about such topics. But there are no taboos in Punkrock I guess, and I wouldn't call the band homophobic or worse and take them not too seriously, it's a rare record and very much sought after by collectors these days and on relevant Compilations as well.

- Great Thx to Nolti -

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HEY TAXI! - I Hate Dogs EP 1980

Your special attention again deserves this fantastic rare three song EP by Hey Taxi!, a three piece from the East Side which was released 1980 on Mystic Records (1000 copies) and was emailed to me yesterday. Amazingly, there is detailed information on the www that I can only recommend to anyone interested, click me, and I would like to quote a small excerpt from it, here we go: Hey Taxi! is another exciting group on the East Side scene, one that you should experience for yourself. The group does nothing unusual in way of clothing or hairstyles, but Hey Taxi! is visually stunning- intense in nature, fast paced, but somehow not monotonous or tiring. The presentation is often ironic and overtly sexual, but on a higher level than the crotch-rock of so many bands. The music of Hey Taxi! has thought, emotion and a very definite twisted view of life expressed in the poetic lyrics of lead singer Michael Ely. The frantic textural sounds of guitarist Spider Taylor are brought together by raw, aggressive musicians John Taglavia on bass, drummer Louie Dufau and Marc O on synth. These guys not only play well together, they interact with the audience and are fascinating to watch. The (hard)core of Hey Taxi! has been around for a long time, and their repertoire is diverse. This is a cutting edge group, a not-so-straight-ahead punk assault, with influences from Bowie to Baroque. (TYPARTY.COM) Also represented on a few compilations, most of them unofficial. TOP!!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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ARTS & DECAY - Trail Of Tears 1988

Well, yesterday I wanted to do another post but couldn't find the time and threw away the band I was talking about because it is really lame and sucks in every way. Instead a rather unknown band in terms of punk, but a record which is audible. Arts & Decay are a Gothic combo from Kaiserslautern and were founded in 1988 by Roger (vocals), Voodoo & Halbi (guitars), M.W. (bass), E.L.Hesky (synth). They released four albums until they dissolved in the mid 90s. In the early years their music moved between punk and darkwave using a drum machine. They first got a lot of attention with the song 'Mescal' when it was released on the German Mystic Sound Sampler - Volume II and with their concept album Shadowjesus they caused quite a stir in the black scene. The debut Trail Of Tears was released via Dreamhouse Records and has seven decent dark goodies in the pocket and I can't remember when & where I bought this record but there was a short phase in my life, that was in the mid 90s, I liked to move around this scene and go to the discos, but only for a short time because I'm not the type who paint himself and mop up, NO! But some bands got stuck and are still interesting. But I've talked enough shit again, check out this stuff & enjoy your freedom.

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SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - s/t LP 1983

Now a debut record by a fucking great combo that I've been carrying around with me for almost forty years, and was one of the first I buy during my active metal days. Hardcore was already an outlet for me back then and a welcome niche. To be clearer, we're talking about Suicidal Tendencies and I think, the first US band (at least for me) which is associated with the new term SkatePunk, or at least influenced/shaped this new style. The band was formed 1980 in Venice/California by vocalist Mike Muir, who is the only remaining original member of the band and after the recording of their first demo they grew in notoriety and were featured on the Slamulation compilation on Mystic Records. But the band had a rough start including being voted "Worst Band/Biggest Assholes" in Flipside in 1982 but the following year were voted "Best New Band". They signed with the independent label Frontier Records and 1983 their brilliant debut came out and involved were Mike (vocals), Grant (guitars), Louiche (bass) and Amery (drums). A milestone in my opinion with twelve classics, including "I Shot The Devil", "Memories Of Tomorrow", "Possessed", "I Saw Your Mommy" and "Fascist Pig", "I Want More".... filled with emotion, simple but deep, brash but honest and plenty of high-speed thrash onslaughts, replete with dirt simple atonal riffing, and all of this is thrown right in your face. Excellent and as exciting as the last game of the German team against Hungary.

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V/A - Let's Die 1985

Einen habe ich noch für Euch heute und diese compilation wurde vom legendären California based label Mystic Records released and we have sixteen times cool Deathrock at its finest. A really excellent selection of songs come from largely unknown bands, some of which only made it onto this slab. On the one hand, that may be due to the time, in the mid-80s this genre was rather new (don't think about the Misfits) and merged later into what we call gothic rock today, that's how I think. And everybody who has been to a black night disco will agree with me. On the other hand, I suspect little money for further studio sessions, negative label replys or different conflicts within the bands. Egal, was sich hier tummelt ist exzellent und für Mitte der 80ziger sehr anständig. Vorab würde ich Dance With Me von T.S.O.L. empfehlen, you will be in good hands.

1.Inside - FALSE CONFESSION

2.The Noose - SUBTERFUGE

3.Hellhouse - A.W.O.L.

4.Let's Die - PATRICK MATA

5.Slaughter Hotel - THIEVES CROSS

6.Darkest Dream - PARTY DOLL

7.When Bobby Comes Back From The Grave - WHITE PIGS

8.Innocent Me - THE MESS

9.In The Night - ILL REPUTE

10.Kill The Dead - SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5

11.Hives - BURNING IMAGE

12.Bad Brains - THE DRAB

13.Suicide - SILVER CHALICE

14.The Edge - SAMSONS ARMY

15.Day Of The Jackal - THE STAIN

16.Necrology - FLOWER LEPERDS

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THE G.R.I.M. - Getting Revenge In 'Merica 1984

 

Tempo from the sunny American west coast, breeding ground for numerous good band and the Grim is one of them. Formed 1982 in Southern California, more precisely in Los Angeles, by Tim (vocals), Bob (guitars), Shaun (bass), Jordan (drums) and this is their debut mini-album on Mystic Records with eight fast catchy tunes. They made two more albums, the last one coming out in 2018 and they appeared on numerous compilations. This album is also known as the "orange album". Enjoy the weekend!

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DEPROGRAMMER - s/t LP 1982

After two great 7Inches on At Last Records Deprogrammer, Richard (vocals), Philip (guitars), Paul (bass), Philipp (drums), from Texas released 1982 via Mystic Records their only full length. Very intoxicating mid-tempo punk that shines on the A-side with two minute crackers while the B side contains more than three minutes songs; reminds me of the sixties 7Inches, which were mostly equipped in this format. Anyway, on compilations rarely represented, just why? - It's time to pack my bag and do some important things.

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ILL REPUTE - Oxnard-Land Of No Toilets EP 1983

Ill Repute is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California, formed in 1981. They are noted for popularizing the "Nardcore" sound in the mid-1980s hardcore punk scene, and recorded for Mystic Records. The band wails, the guitar screams, the vocals are really snotty and impassioned, and the production has an edge that further accentuates all of these advantages. A wicked release that'll motivate you to try stage diving off of your kitchen table. Their record What Happens Next? (What Happened Then? on CD) holds high status in hardcore circles. It is notable for its cover of the 1970s pop music hit "Cherokee Nation". The band broke up in July 2004 after a short tour of Hawaii with the Oahu band 8mm Overdose. Ill Repute briefly reformed again (minus founding guitarist Tony Cortez) to tour Hawaii in 2006 again with 8mm Overdose. The lead guitarist, Tony Cortez (original band member) is considered the "Mayor Of Nardcore." Ill Repute has reformed with original members, (except Carl Valdez replaced by Chuck Shultz) they played one show in Ventura, CA on December 16 which they claimed was to be their last show, but have since reformed. Here two reviews about this record:  "This thrash band is from CA if you don't know where Oxnard is. Good songs, nice and heavy sound. Plays on 33 and has eight songs - all total thrash." - Javi Savage (from Big City #4, July/August 1983) / "Jeff was blasting this from his room the other day while I was trying to sleep. Next day I asked him WHAT that was, cause it sounded great, even though I should have been pissed. He felt it was pretty generic, so I went back and listened to it. Generic or not, this fucking wails! Guess he needed the sleep!" - Tim Yohannan (from Maximum Rocknroll #8, September 1983) - Here we go, another release from the never-ending collection of Mystic hardcore.

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V/A - The Sound Of Hollywood [Girls] 1982

This LP was the first installment in the underground label Mystic Records “The Sound Of Hollywood” series which documented underground bands in L.A. and this edition focused on female-fronted groups, dominated by punk acts shows this pretty record cool female bands from the west coast. "As the title indicates, this album consists of bands from greater LA with a prominent female component. Musically, it's a mixed bag of styles ranging from punk (SIN 34, DE DE TROIT) to garage (I.U.D.) to various forms of pop (the L.A. GIRLS, TOXIC FUMES, the SKIRTS, HOT FOOD TO GO) to warpo country (the SCREAMIN' SIRENS) to awful hard rock and heavy metal (BUTCH, HELLION, BITCH are awesome, SOLOMAN KANE). No one will like it all; the question is whether you'll like enough of it to make it worth buying." - Jeff Bale (from Maximum Rocknroll #10, December 1983)

1.Sure - L.A. GIRLS

2.Twilight Zone - SOLOMAN KANE

3.S&M Blvd Boy - THE SKIRTS

4.Ugly & Slouchy - SCREAMIN' SIRENS

5.Tractor Trailer Tragedy - BUTCH

6.He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) - DE DE TROIT

7.Nightmares - HELLION

8.I'm In Love - BITCH

9.Runaway/Not No Fun - SIN 34

10.Baby Junky - I.U.D.

11.On The Prowl - HOT FOOD TO GO

12.Easy Money - TOXIC FUMES

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V/A - It Came From Slimey Valley 1984

Much of the early promotion of Nardcore came from Mystic Records, in Hollywood/California, its founder Doug Moody and Mystic Promotion Director Mark Wilkins. Mystic not only launched many bands onto vinyl, but also promoted the Nardcore scene as a whole. Another monumental compilation from the States and this one has quite a few cuts by bands making their vinyl debut. Cleanly produced from the Mystic/Ghetto Way and, like the COPulation LP, it contains a well-balanced mixture of thrash, punk, metal, and their permutations. Overall it provides a good introduction to current developments in the Southland. Marc Rude's grotesque cover art provides an additional bonus. - Jeff Bale (from Maximum Rocknroll #16, August 1984)

1.Boy's Life - DR.KNOW

2.Army Of The Dead - CRANKSHAFT

3.In The Trenches - RIGOR MORTIS

4.Preacher's Confession - FLOWER LEPERDS

5.Old Towne Mall - THE GRIM

6.Vicious Cycle - MOX NIX

7.Born Prejudice - AMERICA'S HARDCORE

8.Strike Back - ILL REPUTE

9.Death Of Two Lovers - FLOWER LEPERDS

10.Prophesy - FALSE CONFESSION

11.2nd Generation - SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5

12.In That House - DR.KNOW

13.Violent Children - REIGN OF TERROR

14.There's Someone In The Cellar - CRANKSHAFT

15.Going Against The Grain - CIRCLE ONE

16.Undercity Kings - UNDERCITY KINGS

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