DRONGOS FOR EUROPE - Cage The Rage 2010

Well, yesterday's match wasn't really high class, but dramatic and exciting, and with a happy ending for Italy. Let's see what the two teams show today, both have the quality and deserve the final (small advantage, the Wembley Stadium). Further qualifiers from the island are Drongos For Europe, Birmingham based punx founded in 1979 and playing early gigs with mated G.B.H (with whom they're still touring today), Dead Wretched and the Varukers. Before I reveal a little more, I recommend to get their two previous singles which I post years ago and to find under Death's Eternity Career. In January 2010, to mark the 30th year celebrations, DFE Records released their second album Cage The Rage, which has been well received both at home and abroad. The band have been through many hard times, losing some good friends on the way, R.I.P Trogg, and Ivan, having their own personal losses and close encounters with death, but the Drongos are a gang, who together will always find a way and it will be no surprise that '77 Punk can be expected at the speed of '81 hardcore. No wonder that the guys are pretty pissed off and with most of the seventeen songs they process their many downfalls since the last album, but one thing is for sure: Drongos For Europe are what they always have been: a Punkrock band "Play Loud - Die Hard!". Fazit: Uplifting songs which gets blasted out amongst a whole bunch of other equally joyous tunes which make you feel good and definitely not for do-gooders. And now I wish us a spectacular match! 

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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DANGEROUS RHYTHM - s/t LP 1981

Today and tomorrow the semi-finals and I can hardly wait until it starts. Four teams, each of which I think has the quality & power for the title, but only two make it to the final, we'll see who achieves it. In any case, my tip is clear if you have paid attention. But let's change the continent for a moment and take a detour to Central America and visit Mexico City and meet Dangerous Rhythm and you heard right, Mexico isn't much known for numerous punk bands, but they exist there too. D.R. was formed in Mexico, August 1978 by Cuban singer Porfirio "Piro" Pendas, Marcelo (guitar), Johnny (bass) & Rip Sick (drums), and can claim to be one of the first punk bands in the country. Piro, the band's vocalist, immersed himself in the whole Los Angeles scene, and was in contact with the Chicano side of the city through Tito Larriva from The Plugz and other bands from the area like Circle Jerks, Fear, and Black Flag. The impact of punk classics like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, or the Ramones obviously had a big influence on their sound. Dangerous Rhythm never forgot their family tree, absorbing large doses of unconventional rock like the New York Dolls, The Stooges, and Lou Reed. All these elements helped the band forge their own style and so they starting with songs sung mostly in English and vibrant, direct melodies and in 1979 the time had come and the band released their first EP No No No via Orfeon with three fantastic killers. After laying the foundations of the non-existent punk scene and recording their first eponymous debut album in 1981. It was released by Hip 70, a label run by Armando Blanco, who owned the club of the same name, which was the focal point of the Mexican scene in the '80s. The end result was mind-blowing and shows a band with nerve that played new wave with a punk rhythm. Their debut was reissued by a Spanish label called Beat Generation on 180-gram vinyl and features replica cover art and inserts plus a liner notes written by Piro in an edition of 500 copies. Solid Stuff!

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V/A - Rondelet Records (Punk Singles Collection) 1995

With the emerging punk movement and the numerous new bands, of course, labels had to be founded that brought their music to the people. In England for example, some well-known labels get established and published a few singles, mostly in small editions and nowadays very sought by collectors, and made it possible for some bands to expand their radius and the opportunity to play gigs in other regions, partly over to the mainland. Anagram Records had the idea of creating a series called The Punk Collectors Series in the mid-90s and pressed the singles from these small labels onto CD and brought thus the old classics back to life with these chirping compilations. Today a small selection from Rondelet Records with bands which made more than one single in their lifespan and many of you probably know & partly waiting in the blog.

1.No Government - ANTI-PASTI

2.Two Years Too Late - ANTI-PASTI

3.Another Dead Soldier - ANTI-PASTI

4.Six Guns - ANTI-PASTI

5.Burial - THE FITS

6.Violent Society - SPECIAL DUTIES

7.Colchester Council - SPECIAL DUTIES

8.Bomb Scare - DEAD MAN'S SHADOW

9.Another Hiroshima - DEAD MAN'S SHADOW

10.East To The West - ANTI-PASTI

11.Muscles - THE MEMBRANES

12.Police State - SPECIAL DUTIES

13.Go To Hell - THREATS

14.Fuck The Tories - RIOT SQUAD

15.We Are The Riot Squad - RIOT SQUAD

16.Bullshit Crass - SPECIAL DUTIES

17.Riot In The City - RIOT SQUAD

18.Caution In The Wind - ANTI-PASTI

19.Flower In The Gun - DEAD MAN'S SHADOW

20.High Street Yanks - THE MEMBRANES

21.Politicians & Ministers - THREATS

22.Last Laugh - THE FITS

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C.O.P. - Ever Alone 1986

Rabid fast pogo rhythms request entry into your house, by this five piece from somewhere in the remotest Walachei. C.O.P. (Call Of The Prisoner) was a short lived combo and consisted of Töpper (vocals), Spencer & Totti (guitars), Jörg (drums) and Dirk (bass). Ever Alone was released on Erazerhead Records, a Rock-O-Rama sub-label, and has the typical Egoldt sound and, as always, produced in such a way that you can't understand one fucking word and that is really a shame, because this minimalist seldom added a lyric-sheet, as economical as ever. They have really good songs in the baggage; fast, loud crackers mixed with melodic mid-tempo numbers give the whole thing an additional charm and provide their album an entertaining listening pleasure. Apparently other birds saw it the same way too, because in 1999 the slab was pressed again, as a bootleg of course, partly in multicolour splattered vinyl. Fazit: bombastic sonication, authentic, refreshing, PunkRock!

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LES CALAMITÉS - Toutes Les Nuits 7'' 1984

What are three bored teenage girls doing in a provincial town in the early 1980s? They're starting a rock band: Les Calamités was a French combo that was active in the 1980s and formed in Beaune, they consisted of the guitarists and singers Odile Repolt & Isabelle Petit, Caroline (bass) and Mike (drums). Many Saturday nights later their first vinyl appearance was 1983 with 'Je Suis Une Calamité' on the Snapshot(s) compilation and shortly afterwards they recorded their debut album (A Bride Abattue) at the end of the year, which was then released on the Paris label New Rose Records in the spring. This was followed by the singles 'Toutes Les Nuits' (from the album) and the 'Pas La Peine', which was recorded in the Oncle Sam Studio in Paris. After Caroline moved to London, Les Calamités continued as a duo and recorded 1987 the song 'Vélomoteur' in the ICP Studios/Brussels and released it as third & last single on Polydor, promptly it entered the French charts and survived a full sixteen weeks with the 13th place as the top position. As a result, the group broke up, but it didn't hurt their heads to step back from the limelight to resume their beloved studies. Two tuneful poppower tunes!

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NEWS - Dirty Secrets EP 1978

Today are the first two quarter-finals and I'm already excited about the games and I hope they promise as much tension and drama as the round of 16. And all on a Friday, perfect! But first a killer record by the News from Melbourne and this is their ultra rare second one and it's a limted edition with a newspaper clippings on band. Bringing some healthy publicity for the reformed News, there was new vinyl imminent. Gavin had assisted Bruce Milne with 'The History of News', a double 7Inch pack. One is (at last!) the Pulp Flexi, the other a regular reissue of 'Dowannalove' and 'Hate' from the Babeez EP. Gavin's work was on the cover, which included dozens of press clippings on the band. Don't miss the Dirty Lies 7'' and feel the enthusiasm sound of this extraordinary combo.

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DIRTY ACTIONS - Rosa Shocking 7'' 1980

The DFB team is out and rightly so, if you don't score goals you deserve to leave and that counts in football, well an era comes to an end and a new one begins. Nonetheless, the EM remains exciting and I'm looking forward to the next games. - Welcome July and and a ride south: Dirty Actions is a combo of the first Italian punk wave. Founded 1979 in Genova by Johnny & Mario (vocals), Dado & Ugo (guitars), Roberto (bass), Guido (keyboard), Matteo (drums) and were active until 1982. Their sound, characterized from the beginning by New wave hues, over time turned more and more towards this genre. After performing some local gigs the small independant label Cramps Records became aware of the boys and put them on the nice Rock '80 compilation which has been reissued several times over the years. In the same year their only 7Inch appeared and a long tour followed, during which they shared the stage with the Damned, among others. In 1981 the group changes staff and in 1982 their last lifesign, shortly before the dissolution, a song on the Gathered compilation which was published by Electric Eye. Posthumously in 1996, Reverendo Moon Records released the bands first album entitled Apocrifo with demos & live material.

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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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