LETHAL YELLOW - Declaration Of Retardation EP 1984

Yeah, little Switzerland kicked the big arrogant French world champion out of the tournament; fought with lots of blood and sweat, in the end 100% earned, I'm very satisfied. So far, the EM 2020 is a lot of fun for me and truly a festival for all soccer-obsessed... keep it up, you damn millionaires! Before the Wembley Stadium burns in about five hours, we dedicate ourselves to a short-lived four piece from Miami, Florida, a rather unknown combo and named after a phytoplasma disease that attacks many species of palms, and the bacterie is called Lethal Yellow and the band consisted of Paul (vocals), Ivan (guitars), Syd (bass), Mike 383 (drums) and five test pressings were made before the band decided to release this record themselves on their own protective agent Stench Records. Six sloppy mid-tempo contaminations gave us the four and would entertain me vehemently in a elevator or supermarket, and that means something, you know. The four don't really stand out on compilations, at most a few invitations and the most important for sure is the wet and biting Killed By Florida disease. Any Dementis?

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SUBTRACTIONS - It's Exposed EP 2015

Another uncovered whopper, a massive missing link of first wave West Coast punk. Four incredible songs that never saw a release during their tenure until now, boiling over w/punk brilliance, pulse-pounding and antagonistic anthems that immediately command your attention. From the recently-unearthed 1980 studio recordings, HoZac Records presents Punk pioneers from Fresno/California: The Subtractions.

"When one thinks of Fresno, CA punk bands certainly aren't the first thing to come to mind. This sleepy city located inland and about the halfway point between Los Angeles and San Francisco became a hot spot for 60s rock bands to stop through which carried over into the 1970s, when the wave of hard rock washed over the town, resulting in numerous bootleg LPs from AC/DC, Van Halen and more. Fast forward to the appearances of "punk" across American pop culture (DEVO on SNL, Sex Pistols US tour, Ramones planting seeds everywhere) and you've got bands springing up around every corner, Fresno included. And even on the first Maximum Rocknroll compilation, Not So Quiet On the Western Front, three Fresno bands made their debut appearances, Maniax, Nazi Bitch & the Jews and the Frigidettes, but little was known about the bands that predated those, until now.

The Subtractions were the brightest-sounding pure punk band of the bunch, and although stacked with a lively gig schedule, complete with a sold out support slot for the Dead Kennedys, they sadly never left their recorded mark on the world in their original inception, but luckily they DID have the good notion to make a recording before they went their separate ways, and finally seeing the light of day in October 2015 is the "lost" debut EP called It's Exposed on HoZac Records in edition of 500 copies." (Todd Killings) - Here they have four tracks rescued from the vault, listen!”

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V/A - Asfalttidisco 1980

In Finland, at the end of the seventies/beginning of the eighties, amazingly good compilations were released, and most of you are probably familiar with the two legendary labels Poko and Propaganda Records, Asfalltdisco (fantastic album title) came via Kräk!, a rather unkonwn label for me but should also be considered, and this compilation, available as tape either, is not a bad one because we listen to thirteen varied melodies; NewWave, PowerPop, Punk or simple Rock: All In! The scope of this record is another solid demonstration of the musical diversity of interesting, sometimes short-lived bands and illustrates the innovative wide passion of the Nordic composers. Fazit: A sunny, entertaining mix and not only suitable for dinner parties. Now it goes on with the second day of the round of sixteen. ⚽

1.Tahdon Olla Vapaa - SOS

2.TV:n Uhri - KORROOSIO

3.Ulkona - NAUTA

4.Kuljen Ja Kuljen - LOUIE

5.Naapurin Poika - AARNEN VALINTA

6.Sun Täytyi Mennä - TURTA LEEVI

7.Idiootit Vauhdissa - SOS

8.Vanhat Jarrut - TEURASTAMO 5

9.Kuka Myi Kapinan - KORROOSIO

10.Elämäni Lotto - AARNEN VALINTA

11.Hienot Ihmiset - NAUTA

12.Oravanpyörä - LOUIE

13.Eläviä Ruumiita - TEURASTAMO 5

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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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UPRIGHT CITIZENS - Kiss Me Now 1986

💥 Extraordinary, fantastic music which always turns me on is the sound of the Upright Citizens from Bottrop (in the north-west of the Ruhr area), founded 1979, but it wasn't until 1982 that they started to attract attention - and they differed from many other German bands of those years through their (almost entirely) English lyrics and their clear orientation towards American hardcore. This was evident with their debut Make The Future Mine & Yours, which was released in 1983 and also made the band known internationally (Jello Biafra had noticed the band early on). Two songs securing them a spot on the legendary Keine Experimente! compilation on Weird System (1983), in 1984 they were featured on the We Don't Want Your Fucking Law slab on Mortarhate and on the hugely influential Peace/War double album on R-Radical Records, the label of Dave Dictor of MDC. So it happened, very unusual for a German band, that their second album Open Eyes, Open Ears, Brains To Think & A Mouth To Speak has been published in the USA via B.Y.O., the label operated by the Stern Brothers (Youth Brigade). With the Kiss Me Now (1986) and Farewell EP (1988) followed two more records of the "classic" side of the band, which had a few other releases until the mid-nineties and also played live - but the air was out, and in 2003 the band played their last concert, and a reunion, so the clear announcement, is ruled out. Well, this mini-album sounds a bit different from the previous records and is sometimes a bit too metallic for my taste, but I still like it and after hearing it several times, it penetrates well; they have long since earned this bonus from me. A fit short review: "Despite the uninspiring cover art and the Led Zeppelin-like intro to the title song, this new release has all the bands trademarks: tight, imaginative instrumental arrangements, plaintive lead vocals, memorable hooks, and generally on-target lyrics." (Jeff Bale, MMR #44, January 1987) - Always a pleasure the four, and I love Fridays 💥

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FREIWILLIGE SELBSTKONTROLLE - Stürmer 1982

Interesting electro/synth-pop/minimal/new wave/punk combo and essential part of the German underground scene of the early eighties and since the mid 1990s more in techno and house active, numerous records were released to date; we're talking about Freiwiliige Selbstkontrolle which were formed 1980 in Munich by Wilfred (vocals, guitar, trombone), Thomas (guitar, vocals, concertina), Justin (electric piano, guitar, xylophone & vocals) and Michaela (vocals, bass + melodica). The band name is a reference to the German motion picture rating organisation F.S.K. (German self censorship institution), which uses the same acronym. Their early records (all on ZickZack Records) gave the band the reputation of being West Germany’s most intelligent art school combo and the debut Stürmer received international attention because it was able to place in the independent charts in San Francisco. Due to the "original musical approach of F.S.K - that is, to electronically underline the dialectic of German song tradition - the people of Munich classify themselves as an 'intellectual ensemble' that makes music for the German intelligentsia". In the beginning the musical influence of punk was still clearly recognizable, because the sound sounded rough and the vocals very harsh. Living in a very americanized country meant to them that they soon, in means of love and hate, started to work out structures of Euro-American heritage in their music. Not only did they so bring back the Texan Blue Yodel to its Bavarian source, they also started to add the occasional cover version of American standards and non-standards to their German repertoire. From 1985 the band was championed by British disc jockey John Peel, recording six sessions for his BBC radio show, and were themselves strongly influenced by the independent British music scene of the time.... Enjoy!

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ANIMAL FARM - Model Soldier 7'' 1984

Three piece from London and the band consisted of Zarb (vocals/bass), P.Nut (guitars), Jik (drums) and they signed to Rot Records, home to many of the UK's gnarliest (and worst) punk bands, the single from Animal Farm sounds like it could have been recorded anywhere between 1977 and 1979. Model Soldier, their sole release, is melodic, mid-paced, cleanly (almost slickly) produced, with easily decipherable vocals (P Nut has a touch of Colin Newman's campy/sarcastic delivery) and none-too-brilliant but certainly acceptable lyrics. Somehow, in spite of its ordinariness, it's a great record. Animal Farm also issued a demo tape in 1983, including such fine material as 'Social Degeneration' and 'Lies', and big things were expected from them, but after the single and tracks on a handful of Rot compilations, they vanished. A review: "for some reason, ANIMAL FARM sound like a punkish band from the '79 era (e.g., the SHAPES). They have a certain quirky melodic quality, a clever wit, and a cleaner guitar sound than one normally finds today. "Model Soldier" is a sarcastic look at enlistees; the flip seems to be a continuation of the Jilted John/Julie story." (Jeff Bale, MMR #14, June 1984) The farmers can also be found on numerous interesting compilations, good luck.

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WILD YOUTH - Afrika 1979-1982 [2019]

There are bands whose music immediately infects me and Wild Youth is exactly such one. Arguably the first punk combo in South Africa and founded out of boredom in March 1978 by Michael (vocals/guitars), Skid (bass), Mark (drums) and they grew up in the culturally spiritually devoid and morally corrupt wasteland of Apartheid South Africa. Mark was replaced by Rubin and a single, Radio Youth, was released by their own in 1979 in an edition of 300 copies. It was to be their only slab of their short-lived history (they broke up 1980). But fortunately the three recorded more songs which are available posthumously as singles or compilations, and that was a wise decision. This fuckin' great nugget of eleven blasts came out via Patron Of The Arts in a limited edition of 188 copies, two of them in clear vinyl. Their music is raw, wild, short, dynamic and catchy. This sound is what I call punkrock, and I have to think immediately of the divine Scavengers, whose music thrills me as well and is irreplaceable for my existance. I tell you, these songs let tufts grow out of your ears and you press the repeat knob more than once and I guarantee: if you feel down, choose Wild Youth and you give a shit about the fucking gray world!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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PERZONAL WAR - The Inside 1998

Mon Dieu, washing and chopping the berries is exhausting and arduous, but the shake is yummy. But enough of the toil. Now a little trip to the Metalzone and I got to know about this band through a friend; "check this out, interesting band from Germany, they sound like a famous US metal combo which everyone knows, you will gonna like it." Said and done. And he was right! A bit info about the band: PowerThrash Metal band from Troisdorf and founded 1996 under the name Personal War by Matthias (vocals/guitar) and Martin (drums). Together they recorded a first demo. A short time later, Martin's brother Frank (bass) and Sascha (guitars) joined them and after a second demo the band appeared on Rock Hard's compilation Unerhört. As a result, the group reached a contract with Gernhart Records in 1997. They then recorded their debut and released it in early 1998 as The Inside. Over the next two years the band changed their label and signed a contract with B.Mind Records and released their 2nd album Newtimechaos in May 2000. For legal reasons the band had to change their name to Perzonal War in early 2002. More records and countless shows followed (including Chicago Powerfest USA, Sziget Festival Hungary, Summerbreeze Open Air, Rhein-Kultur Festival) and the youngsters never get tired and still wanna know and underline their independence, uncompromising songwriting, brute riffs, filigree guitar work, pushing drums and self-confident, aggressive vocals, which never lack the necessary portion of melody, have always been the hallmarks of the band. These attributes - combined with their twenty years of stage and studio experience - ensure that Perzonal War kick asses live and give the scene new impulses. Perzonal War stay at the forefront of the German underground metal scene and that's a good thing. And now on to a long EM day... enjoy!

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The Early Picker Harvests Fresh Kilos!

And as you can see, that's a good five kilos of fresh strawberries. I almost inclined to say the paradise is on the doorstep, this farm is about a kilometer from my girlfriend's domicile and it is always a highlight in July every year, but picking is extremely sweaty in the blazing sun and therefore best at an early hour. But it is worth the effort and afterwards I enjoy one or two delicious fresh strawberry shakes. But now a cold Weizenbier first. 😊

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