STRYCHNINE - Je Veux 1981

Second album by Strychnine on Disc'Az. Coming from the Punk wave of 1977, the group made up of five friends from the François Magendie high school in Bordeaux and took part in the Mont-de-Marsan Festival. A year later they recorded the first album Jeux Cruels in 1980 and one more fucking year later this piece of wax and broke up nine months later and reactivated in 2008 and the third album, Tous Les Cris followed in 2010 and earned mostly positive feedback. They're also featured on lots of nasty Compilations which want to be found. Twelve songs that are a bit more wave oriented than the debut and for my taste it lacks a bit of power, but still some highlights and my short review: nice and acceptable.

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DIESTINCT - Se Men Inte Röra 1981

Three young piece from Sundsvall and Diestinct consisted of Jan (vocals/guitars), Mikael (bass), Jörgen (drums) and was a magnificent live band, a hard-hitting trio that delivered pop-punk at a level no other band could at the time. Hundreds of gigs, two albums and four singles were released before disbanded in 1985. This is their first full-length on Mistlur with ten PowerPop/Punk nuggets, some of them have more than four minutes, which I find a bit long among others, but overall the three make it mostly acceptable and therefore not uninteresting. Also rewarded on numerous Compilations, which you check out for yourself. Good record.

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SCHLIESSMUSKEL - Sehet, Welch Ein Mensch! 1989

Two years after their great debut, the second album followed on We Bite Records with thirteen cool goodies with again sharp & nippy lyrics plus fast music. Schliessmuskel is, I think, a splendid band name, but transported the four immediately into the Fun-Punk category, which they always rejected for good reason. "Their songs are mostly between one and two minutes long and present the band from their funny and crazy side nad the songs gives you a peculiar, sick mood, which is reinforced by the rarely life-affirming lyrics. Humor is an integral part of the four. Although their understandable words regularly speak of self-doubt and fears - or gloomy, grotesque stories are told, her simple rhymes almost never lack a portion of irony or comedy." I recommend the CD Compilation 1986-89 which contains their first EP plus both albums, a brutal explosion of blood, sweat and Punkrock. Weekend rings!

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CEREBRAL BALLZY - Jaded & Faded 2014

Formed 2008 in Brooklyn by Honor Titus (vocals), Jason & Mason (guitars), Melvin (bass), Crazy Abe (drums), Cerebral Ballzy released their debut 2011 and shot immediately through the roof. Their love for energetic Eighties Punk is unmistakable and the third and final album Jaded & Faded (released via Cult Records) features thirteen tracks in just under twenty-six minutes and demonstrates this in an impressive way. Distorted fuzz sound meets fast solid tempo, that's exactly what a decent Punk record needs, no one sleeps or dawdles here, the five wash the dust out of your brain and kick ass hard and the level is constantly tense, plus sounding melodic and aggressive characterizes the band. I'm telling you, if you've had a shitty day at work and need the boost back, put this music in your player and you feel yourself alive again, guaranteed. Info at the end: following their release of Jaded & Faded, Cerebral Ballzy parted ways with guitar player Mason. They performed with Mason on Last Call with Carson Daly on 6 May 2014. It is alleged that Mason left the band shortly after while they were on tour with OFF! in 2014 and the band eventually broke up in 2015. What remains? A few singles and three very good albums from an extraordinary combo. Superb!!!

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DISTORSIÓN - Esto Es Para Kitar El Stress 1991

Second album by Distorsión from Barakaldo (Basque Country) on Discos Suicidas with thirteen solid numbers and line-up were Josu (vocals/guitar), Karlos (guitar), Tito (bass), Gan (drums) and in principle it has everything a good Punk record needs: melodies, very good vocals, drive and positive vibes and a reasonable playing time. I would have liked a little more hardness but life is not a request concert. They are invited to numerous Compilations and some of them are not uninteresting. It's worth keeping an eye out for those. So let’s find out what they can do for you! 

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V/A - Συνταγή Αντί Θανάτου 1986

Interesting Greek new wave Compilation on FM Records and I hope the translation of the songs is somewhat accurate. The Anti-Death Recipe features eight bands that gained a little notoriety in Hellas in the Eighties and some released a single or even an album. Was sent to me by a stranger a long time ago and I found the slab on the hard drive and listened to it, didn't even know what kind of stuff was on it, but here it is now. Musically, we listen to solid melodic catchy New Wave sound with nice electro vibes plus guitar power, although not every title meets my taste, but all is audible. 2013 re-released via B-Otherside in partially limited colored vinyl. Discover!

1.Orchestra Rehearsal - CLOWN

2.Against - ALTERNATING

3.Symbols And... - BUTTONHOLES S.A.

4.Rusty Solitude - SCORIA

5.Calypso - MESS

6.No Chance - ARNAKIA

7.All Are Ghosts - ARNAKIA

8.Stop Talking About Death - ANTI...

9.A Secret At Last - THE NIGHTINGALES

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V/A - Alles Aus Hagen 1982

For a relatively small town, Hagen had a number of good bands and a versatile underground scene, some of which are still well known today and anyone who comes from this city can certainly confirm what's going on there in the early Eighties. Tonträger 58 Hagen collected some of these illustrious personalities and encouraged them to send their musical outpourings to the label. The result is an interesting Compilation that impressively reflects the Hagen spirit in a variety of sound elements, Punk, New Wave, Minimal, Experimental & Rock. The record comes with a 32-page "fanzine"-style A5 booklet which, for unknown reasons, is unfortunately not included here. But that shouldn't do any harm, because the record is still available, not cheap, and if you want more music from Hagen, a second volume was released in the same year. You see, there was something going on in this town! One post for now, maybe a second later.

1.Zugverkehr - HIMMELSWILLEN

2.Donald & Die Bullenschweine - KEIN MENSCH!

3..Volmestrand - KLEINKRIEG

4.Bänke Für Den Park - MICHAEL MUNDER

5.Alleestraße - H.W.WIEGAND & KANTHAKEN QUELLFISCH

6.Grün & Grau - RADIOPASSIV

7.Einkaufsvision - NO NAMES

8.Ich Steh Auf Hagen - WOLFGANG LUTHE & THE WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER

9.Keine Eile - VRONTAL

10.Hagener Wellenreiter - EROC

11.Komm Nach Hagen - MARIANNE ROSENBÄR & EXTRABREIT

12.Hagen Und Überhaupt - DIN-A-4

13.B 54 - BETAMAX

14.Hagen Information - X-QUADRAT

15.'22' - JÄGERSCHNITZEL

16.Hagen Ist Tot - FROHNATUR

17.Für Rudi - SPERMÜLL

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THE DAMNED - Final Damnation 1989

My top ten live albums include the following great The Damned record! Released via Essential! Records and this beauty was recorded at London Town & Country Club 13.June 1988. All their well-known classics performed at the highest level with power and energy, an absolutely rip-roaring audio document of an unique Gig. Wiki info: "The set begins with the original line-up and morphs through the various line-ups of the band, each playing on the tracks which that lineup recorded in the studio. It was recorded at a time when the band were in a chaotic state, without a record contract, after being dropped by their only major label." Seventeen smasher in one hour and you can start the whole thing again and again, because the sound is so brilliant and infectious. For me an intense kick into the weekend, Cheers!

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KINA - Se Ho Vinto Se Ho Perso 1989

Third album by Kina from Aosta on Blu Bus and we listen to fifteen pretty towards melodic songs which haven't much in common with the Italian Hardcore league, check out their first album Irreale Realtà in comparison, but it's still Kina, they don't be afraid of a musical change and have combined very varied songs here, fast as well as slower pieces are included, plus short intermediate passages that I almost always find superfluous, but the three implemented this creatively for my taste. Let me quote a review from the re-release: "Refreshingly, I don’t know a damn thing about this Italian Hardcore band that started in the mid-’80s. This was their third LP, and it’s an interesting example of the time period. Kina’s sound sources its inspiration from Washington DC’s world-famous Post-Hardcore scene. The band can still rock pretty hard, but they tend towards melodic guitar lines that complement the earnest vocals and is not afraid of acoustic guitar and other “un-punk” elements. A track like “Cosa Farete” is closer to morose college rock than, say, Indigesti, but you can imagine them playing a show together at some thatched-roof squat on an abandoned farm outside of Turin. Interestingly, Kina’s mix of these influences prefigures a band that would become massive on an underground level less than a decade later: AVAIL. There’s a similar anthemic quality that is pretty damn hard to pull off convincingly, but Kina manages." (Erick Bradshaw, MRR #461 • October 2021) An interesting piece of music in every respect, which requires just under thirty-five minutes of your time.

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LIFE SENTENCE - s/t 12'' 1986

Another fine Hardcore classic from the States is the debut of the following four piece and we are talking about: "Life Sentence was a hardcore punk band formed in the suburbs of Chicago by guitarist Eric Brockman, formerly of the Anti-Bodies. After jamming with different people, the band formed what many considered it's original line-up, consisting of Brockman, vocalist Ray Morris, bassist Joe Losurdo, and drummer Tom O'Connor. In 1986, the band released their first record on Walkthrufyre, a self-titled 12" which was produced by members of Zoetrope. Morris was fired before the recording was complete, allegedly kicked out of the band's van in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas while the band was on tour, so the recording was completed with Brockman and Losurdo handling the singing. The record received positive reviews and the band's popularity was spurred on by endorsements from famous friends in bands like Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and Corrosion Of Conformity. Unfortunately, all was not well in the band and the group split into two camps, one featuring Brockman and the other featuring Losurdo and O'Connor, with both groups picking up new members and playing around Chicago as Life Sentence. The matter eventually went to court and Brockman emerged with the rights to the name. He continued with the band, issuing a second LP (No Experience Necessary) in 1989 and an EP (More Punks For Profit) in 1991. Although 1991 saw the last recorded material released, Brockman continued to use the name for a number of years, backed by an ever-changing rhythm section, until substance abuse got the best of him and he disappeared from the music scene, leading to years of speculation as to Eric's fate. In 2008, Brockman reemerged, announcing that he was putting together a new version of Life Sentence. The band played a few shows around Chicago in 2009 before vanishing again. Brockman passed away in March 2016. In 2023 followed another five track EP with Demos via Alona's Dream Records." (source: discogs) Ten songs in fifteen minutes, any questions?

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