Birthday Blog 2010

This year I turn the big 3-0. I was dreading turning 30 for the longest time, and a few month ago I finally accepted it. So back in like 2004, I got the idea to get an XXX tattoo for my 30th birthday. For those not in the know, XXX is roman numerals for 30. A man of my word, 6 years later and here it is! I think the best component to this story is that the tattoo was a gift from my awesome girlfriend, who is also straight edge. I am also getting another tattoo (as a present to myself), which is a Wolfpack themed design.

I've been pretty busy w/ my art lately. My website is still down, due to my own laziness, but I've been doing a lot of art shows and design work. Over the past year or so, I've done numerous art shows with the Autumn Society, with many more to come this year. I'm most excited to be doing a show at Gallery 1988 in California later this year. I was also fortunate enough to have custom painted toys in the Yoka show, It Came From Skullbrain II, SDCC, and a few more. I also collaborated with Sandtastic Toys on a few limited hand-casted toys, where I designed the header cards. There's some plans for other toys this year, but more on that when the time comes. As a graphic designer, you don't get to do much art that doesn't have to be approved by a client. It's nice to break away from the computer sometimes...
Work-wise, I've been fortunate enough to be working for a new company called WeVeel, which is a new arts and crafts company. I get to work from home, which at first was kinda weird, but I've grown to really like it. The job is a lot more creative than my last job, which is great. I get to work in packaging, which I always enjoyed, and it doesn't look like work will be slowing down any time soon. I also got to go to Toy Fair in NYC this year w/ the company. As pathetic as it sounds, it had always been a childhood dream to go to that one day. It was what I expected- a gigantic corporate event with toys. I had fun, and was being paid to be there.
Last year when I was unemployed, I was looking into other options career-wise, and came up w/ Cake Decorator. I enrolled in the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Middlesex County College. I took Baking Fundamentals last semester, and am taking Cake Decorating currently. I already learned a lot, but I'm not sure if I will continue to pursue the certificate. I do enjoy the classes, and am always up for learning new skills.

I'm still playing bass in Wormeaters, and we will be releasing our third EP on Sorry State Records next month. This will be the first record w/ PJ on vocals, and I may be so bold to say it's our best yet. The plates are at the plant now, but I still need to work on cover art. It's getting there, don't worry. We still don't play often, but hopefully we can get some weekend tours in once the new record drops. Last year I started up a new band called Bloodtype, where I sing and write all of the music. It's pretty much the closest thing I'll come to a solo project (haha). We recorded a demo over the summer and played 2 shows, then took a hiatus for other band members' bands tours. We started practicing again, and have new songs that we'll be recording some time soon for 7" and split 7" w/ FL's Injustice System. Hopefully both records will be out in the summer, and we can also do some weekend tours. I've also been playing w/ some people in a new band, but more on that another time... It will be loud and fast, I haven't gone soft in my old age.

So here it is, I'm 30. I have a stable job that I like, an awesome girlfriend, my art is getting some recognition, I have money saved for new tattoos and to finally move out of my parents' house, learning how to bake, playing in good hardcore punk bands, etc...

Trick Art Treat show pieces

This is a piece I did for the Trick Art Treat art show. I find dogs in Halloween costumes hilarious, so I montaged a photo of a dog in a devil costume with a photo of my girlfriend's Boston terrier, Lelo. As with all of my other pieces, it was drawn out in Illustrator, then cut into stencils and spraypainted on a canvas. The piece is entitled "Devil Dog (aka: S.T.D.)," as I've affectionately nicknamed her "Shitty the Dog."
I cut out a stencil of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein for the b/w flyer for the show, so I figured I would make it into a simple stencil piece for the show as well. The piece is entitled "Frankie Says Relax."

Misfits Tubby, Couch Slouch Qee & Kaiju Gwin

I've been working on a bunch of toys lately, and haven't had a chance to post them, here's what I've been working on for the past month or so,,,
This was originally a vinyl toy of Tubby from the Little Lulu comic. I got a few of these and decided to paint it up in a style of Bounty Hunter, hence the logo on the back. It was mainly influenced by the Misfits fashion sense.
This started out as a blank Pigee Qee, and I turned it into a lazy balding dudes who I call "Couch Slouch" (after the DRI song). He's so depressed he just sits around the house watching TV in his underwear and flippy floppies. Poor guy... I painted it pink first, then gave it some light sprays of ivory to lighten him up in spots.
This was a Gwin that I made as an experiment to try painting the inside of a clear toy. I left him blank, but decided I should finish him off w/ some simple details. I was influenced by the minimalistic kaiju style paint jobs from Japan.
This Gwin was mine for the Custom Gwin Trade on the October Toys forum. The concept was that the Gorilla had a banana peel on his head, which made use of the penguin shape's flaps. My trade partner got this Gwin along w/ a custom painted Zombie and header card. I had gotten the Zombie free in an order and was just playing around w/ paint markers one night. The arms are from a Dunny and are drilled in so they still move. My trade partner was very happy with it and I eagerly await his custom to come in the mail.

BLObPUS custom contest

Here are some pictures of my Blobpus custom for the contest via Lulubell Toys. I poured red acrylic craft paint on the inside, then did some sprays in black and silver w/ spray paint, then added the details w/ paint markers. This was my first kaiju style paint job, and I'm pretty happy w/ it.




For reference purposes, here's what it looked like originally, you can see the vinyl was clear.

8-Bit and Beyond show pieces

Megaman & the Robot Masters
MOONWALKER RIP
Metroidz
The Autumn Society's tribute to video games "8 Bit & Beyond" opens on Friday (8/7) @ Brave New Worlds Comics in Philly, PA. This is going to be a great show, and I encourage anyone in the area to check it out! All of my pieces were drawn in Illustrator, then printed and cut into stencils, then spray painted on canvas. I also did an interview over at Gamervision.com about my Metroid piece.

Mallows @ SDCC

I was recently asked to do some customs on this new platform toy by Shocker Toys called Mallows. These 2 designs will be on display at the Shocker Toys booth (#3849) @ San Diego Comic Con, and at an after party hosted by Shocker. The figure is made from plastic, not vinyl, but has 10 points of articulation. It's pretty cool, hope to see some good things coming from it. The zombie looking one is called "Hipster Holocaust," and was mainly done in spray paint, with some detail drown in w/ markers. The tattooed one is named "Just Say No," and all the details were drawn in w/ markers. I wanted to texture on him to resemble old flash sheets at a tattoo shop.
I also designed/illustrated this logo to be used on a custom toy set for October Toys only available at SDCC. This will be on the chase figure, and the button set. You can pick up your Evil Gwin @ the October Toys booth (#4838).

interview on Vinyl-Toys.com

I recently did an interview about my custom toys for Vinyl-Toys.com, which you can check out by clicking the link. I was quite honored since I've only been customizing toys for a short period of time, massive thanks for the encouragement.

Golden Age art show pieces

A little behind on this but, here's my submissions for the Golden Age show. I was actually working on another piece, and had an idea to do a quick Felix piece. It turned out WAY better than the piece I was working much longer on. With Joe's encouragement, I did another piece in the same style for Chilly Willy. They're on 8"x10" canvas boards, and have custom painted frames.
The opening part was a success, and we have another show coming at the same place on Aug 7 entitled "8-Bit & Beyond" (a video game themed show).

BLOODTYPE: NJ Straight Edge Hardcore/punk

My new band recently recorded a demo in my garage with the help of Metal Pete from Stressed Out. The new band is called Bloodtype, and it's my first time being the singer in a band. It's more of a side project with other people from other local bands. The idea had been kicking around to do the band for a while now. I remember talking w/ the drummer about that Repos LP where they covered Youth of Today, and talking about doing a straight edge band that raged like that. Some time went by without anything happening due to not finding a guitar player. During that down time however I had been writing music and ideas for lyrics. By the time we had our first practice I had a bunch of songs written, which made things come together a lot quicker than most bands I had been in. We had about 3 or 4 practices before our first show, where we played 4 songs and a Cro-Mags cover.

Being a singer in a hardcore band is very different from being a bass player. As a bass player, I have to bring all my equipment, get my sounds right and play the songs. The singer has to write lyrics, and remember said lyrics, as well as being somewhat engaging as a front man. It's way more physically demanding for sure, but I do like not having to carry heavy amps down basement stairs though.

we have demo tapes available for order:
PAYPAL $3.50 ppd in the USofA to bleedingXedges[at]gmail.com
(int'l orders get in touch, and we'll work something out)
...or you can just download it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?tnmetnyoo1l

Chewbacck Obama and some Munnys

Here's a bunch of stuff I've done over the past few weeks:This was a dumb idea I had, more so just the name Chewbacck Obama, popped in my head for some reason. In order to get it out of my brain I drew this up and stenciled it on a 8"x10" canvas board.

Here's a Munny I made as a gift to my tattoo artist who's been hooking me up w/ some sweet free tattoos over the past few months. I wanted it to look like an old timey strong man w/a sweet mustache (made of craft foam). I gave him traditional styled tattoos which I drew on with Sharpies. Here's what he looks like from all angles.

This is a Mini Munny body which I attached a TV accessory from a regular sized Munny. The basic concept is "TV rots your brain." The Munny body was pink, and I masked out a brain pattern and then sprayed the whole thing red. The TV screen I painted w/ a textured gray to look like static.

This is a flyer for a show my new band BLOODTYPE is playing. If anybody's gonna be in the area and wants to see me sing in a band, this would be your chance.

Ernest Ripper for ASOP 80's show

Here's my piece for the Autumn Society of Philadelphia's 80's pop culture themed show. It was a tough choice on what to do since so many awesome things came from the 80's. I ultimately decided to do an homage to Ernest P. Worrell in the style of the classic 80's Powell Peralta "Bones Ripper." All the color layers were cut out as stencils and spray painted on canvas. I did the background separately, then did the rest over it. The actual piece is a lot bigger and the colors are a lot brighter, I did the best I could w/ a photo of it.
The show will open on June 5th at Brave New World Comics in philadelphia, PA; and run until the end of the month. RIP Jim Varney
Here are all the stencil layers (if you click on it, you can see it better). The background was just sprayed blue, then the Ernest pattern repeated over it many times. Thanks!

Darth Vader and Bax Bear

This will be the first of an ongoing thing where I mirror post my art from the Autumn Society blog.
This is my Darth Vader piece for the 100 Ways to the Dark Side book project, it's based on a Virgin Mary of Guadalupe tattoo design. I tried some different techniques to get it a softer tattoo look to it.Here is my piece for the Bax Bear custom show @ the Artist's Eye in Smithville, NJ. It's supposed to be a Mexican luchador character of a bear that was shaved to wrestle against humans with some sweet tattoos. The snake on his back is the same snake I have tattooed on my arm, and referenced my old band, Snakebite. The gallery is also letting each artist display a work of art pertaining to your bear, so I drew up this using their template character.As a bonus to my blog readers, you get to see my rejected piece for the Vader project. It was based on the idea that Darth Vader looks like a giant black penis anyway...
EDIT- my Bax Bear just got 3rd place in the Delicious Drips custom contest

A New Direction

So I haven't made any posts in almost a month. I'd like to say I've been too busy, but more just unmotivated. My portfolio website is still a large undertaking, and isn't really as far along as I'd like. I've been trying to not spend as much time in front of a computer all day. Either way, I was thinking of expanding the coverage of my blog to other things I'm interested in such as art and toys ("urban" designer vinyl more specifically). So to kick things off here's art / toys / hardcore stuff that relates to me.

I currently have a painting hanging at Brave New World Comics in Philadelphia as part of the "Joker's Wild" show that the Autumn Society put together. The Autumn Society of Philadelphia is a collective and blog site (click to view my posts), and this was our first show. I'm working on a piece for our next show entitled "Heart/Earth," which will open next month at Mugshots Coffee. I've been doing a lot of custom toys lately as well. There is a show of Bax Bear customs coming up at The Artist's Eye in Smithville, NJ next month which I will be submitting my piece. I'm also working on a custom Gwin for the October Toys forum's Gwin trade. Here's a quick custom I did recently. It started out as a Koolby & Friends panda character, which I made much cooler by turning him into Jason Voorhees:


As for my bands, Wormeaters have a 7" that came out a few months ago. We have the next one written, and will be recording soon. It will be on Inkblot Records and will have PJ singing, who if you've seen us live over the past year has been singing for us. We'll be doing a weekend tour w/ Devour in May. SPG have a 7" that should be out literally any day now. I did the design and layout of that record, which will be available from American Waste Records. I also recently did the design/layout on the I Hate This 7" re-press entitled "Trimming the Fat," though I am no longer playing bass for them. I also started a new band recently w/ some friends in which I sing. Tentatively called Bloodtype, but all the members are straight edge and it kinda sounds like early New York Hardcore: Abused, Antidote, Urban Waste mixed w/ the early Rev type stuff. The Poison Planet 7" and comp tracks that I played on are out as well. I went out to Chicago last month for the record release show, which was honestly one of the most fun shows I've been at in a while.

For those that just check here to see record reviews, don't worry that will still be done, but as I'm on somewhat of a budget, they won't be as frequent. I've got a sizable stack building, and I'll be doing one soon.

You can also follow me on Twitter, though for the life of me I wouldn't know why.

Zines Suck!

Not Really, but it really caught your attention I'm betting. I made these flyers to have on tour. My regular website is still not online, but the blog has been thriving lately, so I figured people might care about its content. The photo is a photo I took of Government Warning at Pointless Fest, and I did the rest in Photoshop (not cut and pasted).
I think zines in the past have been a viable part of hardcore punk, but there's been fewer and fewer good zines. A lot of the zine scene has been overrun with dumb poetry and diary writing zines. If I'm grabbing a zine I want photos, reviews, interviews that just talk about HARDCORE. A lot of people are flying the cut and paste only flag, and I mean it's all well and good, but when you're typing everything up on a computer anyway you may as well just design it on one. What my site lacks in punk look, I feel it makes up for in content. I haven't had any interviews yet, but that's only because I hate social interaction. I think a lot of fly by night zines just start because people try to get free records out of labels. 99% of the stuff I review I bought because it's what I like. Some may say it accounts for the lack of diversity... oh well.
In short, zines still rule, there just aren't enough good ones. The internet rules because it's easily accessible, and nowadays anyone can share their opinions for free. And hey, if you don't like it, there's an X at the top of your screen to make it go away.

*I should note that I have had a subscription to MRR for a while... what else am I gonna read on the toilet?

Post X-Mas show

Friday, December 26th

DRAIZE- http://www.myspace.com/draizeband
from Boston, Sorta like a crusty version of Left For Dead

RIPSHIT- http://www.myspace.com/ripshitct
from CT, Female fronted political thrash

I HATE THIS- http://www.myspace.com/wehatethis
Members of SPG, Female fronted/Man backed herbal thrash

SPG- http://www.myspace.com/spgspecialpatrolgroup
members of I Hate This, raging hardcore- new song from E.P. online

@ the Bread Box
New Brunswick, NJ

7pm (show will end by 10) / $5-$6
e-mail- bleedingXedges@gmail.com for more info

don't show up late/ bring money/ support the touring band/ respect the house
you know the drill...

IHT and SPG will be splitting a set, since we share members anyway...

Wormeaters record release show

Tuesday, December 9th

BLACK KITES- http://www.myspace.com/weareblackkites
Metallicly heavy but not heavily metallic

WORMEATERS- http://www.myspace.com/wormeaters
"100% absolutely rough and ready northeastern USA hardcore!"-BR
record release show for the "Cattle Cannot Choose" E.P.

GOD FODDER- http://www.myspace.com/fodgodder
on tour from St. Louis, MO- early Dischord style hardcore punk

PLAGUE BEARERS- http://www.myspace.com/plaguebearers
Filth inspired fascist steamrollers
first show, ex-Crippler Crossface

@ the Bread Box
New Brunswick, NJ

7pm (show will end by 10) / $5-$6
e-mail- bleedingXedges@gmail.com for more info

don't show up late/ bring money/ support the touring band/ respect the house
you know the drill...

I'm a published writer!

I sent in a letter to MRR about Minneapolis band In Defence and their anti-pizza stance a few months ago, and it was actually published in issue #307.

Ball's in your court now Ben Defence!


Ain't I a stinker...

epic RECORD REVIEWS post

Damn, between a large trip to Celebrated Summer Records, No Way Fest and going on tour I've accumulated a TON of new records over the past few months. Some killer shit this time around as well. Remember in the last post I said it'd be hard to top the Inmates 7"? Well the Reprobates have unleashed a top contender recently with their debut E.P. Again, I only review somewhat current releases, so about half of my huge stack is being reviewed.
Also, I should mention that my band Wormeaters' In God We Thrust EP is currently out, and we just recorded for another 7". Let's get this party started!!!

7"s:

Reprobates- Stress
Well if you didn't like the Reprobates' demo, you're an idiot. This 7" picks up right where it left off, with the same recording sound quality. It starts off with a slower song, which fires like a shotgun into a full bore hardcore attack. The title track, "Stress" is probably one of the best hardcore songs of the past few years. I'll stick with my comparison from the demo review and say it's like Jerry's Kids meets Genetic Control, but the recording style is really raw. This is probably the best thing No Way has put out in a while, definitely pick this up!


Life Trap- Solitary Confinement
A much anticipated follow up to last year's "Bleak Reality" EP, and damnit does it deliver. Where I think a lot of bands who released good records last year have failed to match their previous efforts, I think Life Trap ups the ante on this bad boy. There's a lot more guitar shredding, and even some backup vocals. Another top contender for best of 08.


Citizens Patrol- Dead Children
Another record by these guys in a relatively short time to coincide with their recent US tour. I liked their first 7", and naturally this sounds pretty similar, so I'm into it. Some of the lyrics are a little weird ("Hamburger Man"?), but English isn't their native language, so maybe cut em a little slack.


Warkrime- Tighten Up
Love em or hate em, this is the last release from Warkrime. Their LP had some weird effects on the vocals, but this one is a lot more like their first 7". More of the same raw snotty Verbal Abuse sounding hardcore punk. R.I.P. or good riddance- you choose.


Dark Ages- s/t
These guys came out of nowhere (well, Kansas City, MO), and dropped off a killer demo which was repressed on vinyl. I had the pleasure of seeing them twice on their tour, and they were killer both times. I really like that the 4 songs are repeated on the B side, so that they're not broken up, and flow like the demo. I'm really looking forward to the next thing these guys do.


Sacred Shock- s/t
Well I was kicking myself for not getting the demo earlier when i got their demo 7", but I made sure to jump on this new record. As you would assume, this new record is fucking KILLER! I really really like this band. The music is similar to fellow Texans Repercussions, but the vocals are a lot less raw and border on the melodic side. This record is fucking great, and it'll be worth your effort to track it down.


Ripping Headache- s/t
Well, RIPPING is a pretty good start to describing this record. I had heard that this was put out by a new label from one of the guys who did Kick N Punch, and that label was always solid so I picked it up. Glad I did, because this definitely has that real raw early 80's feel that a lot of the KnP releases did. They kinda remind me of Cut The Shit, but more raw and chaotic. Solid debut for the band and the label.


Anti You- Johnny Baghdad
They're back again with their 3rd record within a year. This was supposed to come out for their US tour, but no dice. This definitely carries the torch from where their "Pig City Life" EP left off; fast 80's style hardcore with choruses that will drill into your brain. Good stuff, keep it up boys!


Logic Problem- s/t
After a pretty good demo, NC's Logic Problem drop their debut E.P. It's a lot faster than their demo, and I get a heavy Necros vibe here. With a former member of Cross Laws, they follow suit in their early 80's mid-west hardcore influences. Solid 4 song debut EP.


Smart Cops- s/t
Members of La Poivra make up this new band, and I would say they carry the torch well. Smart Cops continues with the rock and roll influenced thrash core style, but I think lacks in some of the guitar work. The lyrics are in Italian, so I don't know what they're saying, though I do like the layout.


Instangd- Mitt Svar Pa Ingenting
A new band from Sweden with members of Regulations/ the Vicious/ ETA/ etc... This band sounds like if Mob 47 was doing a set of The Kids covers. All the lyrics are in Swedish, so I don't know what they're talking about, but the music is good. I was kinda expecting something a little faster like the early ETA stuff, but this is good shit here.


Nightstick Justice- Mindless Violence
I loved their demo 7", and thought their newest 7" was real good too. Apparently this was recorded at the same time as their demo, and damnit if this isn't just as killer. I might be so bold as to say that this is their best record (though I haven't heard their LP yet). Nightstick Justice does it up right with raw recordings, and fast no BS hardcore.


Amoba- En Doende Varld
WOAH! This record is fucking awesome. Sounds like the bastard son of Mob 47 mixed with some Totalitar style rage. Perfect raw recording, and fast Euro-style hardcore. A ripper from start to finish.


Belching Penguin- Demos 1985/1988
Burrito Records continue to hold up their reputation of re-releasing quality obscure bands' material. Belching penguin on the A side (1985 demo) remind me of early DRI; real fast and raw. The B side however is a lot more metal influenced, maybe something like COC or later DRI, and fits in with some early crossover bands. Great band, and I'm glad it's available to the masses. Take a chance on this one.


Volendam Disease- s/t
Fuck, look at the cover-ridiculous. All I knew about this band is that they're from Japan before buying this. Sounds like classic European style hardcore, but played tight as hell, like only the Japanese can do. Don't let that weird cover art turn you off, this is great.


State- Sanctimony
A lot of reviews I've seen of this seem to suggest it's just as good as their classic "No Illusions" Ep from the 80's. Granted I have respect that the State got back together and plays DIY shows, and is releasing new material. However, this is fucking terrible, and is nowhere near as good as their No Illusions EP. Their LP at least had a few good songs, but this is way too slow and boring. I even put it on 45rpm to see if the speed would make a difference and it totally did.


Violent Minds- s/t
Man did I ever blow it by not getting into this band earlier, luckily Deranged Records was nice enough to re-press their first record for me. Thanks! The music is similar to Shark Attack (who they have members of) and Fit For Abuse. Mean angry raw fast simple stripped-down hardcore punk rock.


Threatener- ...And the Bending of Throats
A post-mordam release for these Michigan fastcore masters. I was lucky enough to catch Threatener on their tour back in 2003, and they blew me away (and I think annoyed everyone else). They play a ridiculously fast brand of hardcore much like Hellnation. The recording on here is a lot more blown out sounding than their previous releases, but I think it just adds to the chaos this band created. There's a CD discography out there now that I suggest picking up since the rest of their stuff is out of print.


Sinks- s/t
Members of the Retainers and Formaldehyde Junkies playing even more stripped down a raw garage rock. It boasts to being recorded on a 2 track, but damn it works for them. The music reminds me of Teengenerate, which is obviously a really good thing.


Homostupids- Cat Music
Another record by Ohio's own Homostupids. By now you know what you're getting, real raw messy sounding recordings, rock and roll guitar and probably something that will annoy your co-workers when you blast this on lunch break. Yea, pretty much all those things happen on this record, plus pictures of cats.


the Timebombs- Nuke Everything
I was pleasantly surprised by these guys at No Way Fest, and picked up their new 7". These young kids play some fast old style hardcore punk similar to Socialcide. Occasionally the speed even touches on bands like Koro. I don't know if it's just the pressing I have, but they've made the lyrics impossible to read, which is more annoying than anything.


Bad Antics- The Wave
I liked their first 7", which was California style skate thrash punk. Their new record is in that same style, but a lot faster. There's some cool guitar parts which are almost nardcore-esque, and I think overall they sound similar to Government Warning. If you like a lot of the other Flat Black Records bands, you'll be into this for sure.


Rational Animals- Perception Becomes Reality
I saw these guys a few months ago on their recent tour, and thought they were real good, but probably would like them more live than recorded. I was right, but this still rules. They really remind me of later era Black Flag, except unlike a lot of shitty bands that try to do that, they stick more to Loose Nut era Flag. It also helps that all the members are real good at their instruments. If you're like me and secretly spin Loose Nut and know all the words, this would be a good guilty pleasure.


Retard Strength/ Concrete Facelift
Retard Strength is one of my favorite local bands, and this is their vinyl debut. Unfortunately I think the recording quality is a bit rough, and may turn off some people. RS play a sloppy/raw style of KBD hardcore punk, so it works for them anyway. Concreter Facelift is party of the party thrash scene, which I normally try to stay away from. They do offer up a song about Gator and a cool Faction cover. Overall a solid split, though the cover art may be lacking.


XBrainiaX/ Dead Radical
This one's for the fastcore fans. I have been following XbrainiaX since their beginning since I was a fan of the members' previous bands (I Accuse, Threatener, Knee Deep In Shit). They deliver fast hardcore that sounds similar to bands like No Comment or L'arm. Dead Radical however I was not familiar with before this record, and I would say it's a fairly matched split. DR cram 17 songs on one side, so you can imagine short and fast songs a plenty. There's also some cool start/stop parts to keep in interesting. I love evenly matched splits.

12"s:

Gauze -Binbou Yusuri No Rizumu Ni Notte
Gauze have a new record out... GET IT! I should end the review there, but seriously fucking Gauze. They've never released a bad record, and this is no different. The only thing I don't like is that there's no translations inside the record. I mean this is the US pressing, and I can't read Japanese. Great, Great record nonetheless.


Systematic Death- Systemania Vol. 2
Picking up Where Systemania Vol. 1 left off, this is their later material. It's all killer, so just get both volumes already.


Chronic Seizure- Ancient World
I was a fan of their previous 7"s, but I think this LP really takes it to another level. The production is a lot more solid, similar to the Repos records (whom they shared a member). The lyrics are overall real negative, which is a good thing. If you weren't really enamored with the 7"s, I seriously think this LP takes them to another level. It's really that good.


Bad Reaction- Symptoms of Youth
I was lucky enough the see/ play with these guys like 4 times on their recent tour. Their sound is like if Uniform Choice grew up in Oxnard. Pretty clean sounding recording, but played fast with a lot of sing alongs. I could see this crossing over to youth crew types and hardcores. This record's kinda old, and the new stuff sounds a little faster.


Violent Arrest- s/t
Been sleeping on this for a while, but decided to take a chance since I found it used and had store credit. Glad I did because this is much better than I thought it'd be. Boasting ex-members of Heresy and Ripcord, they have some big shoes to fill. Well, I'm really glad to say that you get what you hoped you would get! I wish all bands who boast impressive resumes lived up to expectations like this one did.


Gulag- Nadia Cambia
I had found this on a blog and didn't think I'd ever find it on vinyl since it came out in Spain, and there were less than 500 pressed. Luckily the Extreme Noise used bin came though! Raw and heavy fast hardcore similar to bands like Repercussions and Deathreat played by ex-members of E150 (who sounded a lot like Los Crudos). Raw and powerful stuff here. If you are lucky enough to find it, do yourself a favor and pick it up. All the lyrics are in Spanish, but my years of Spanish classes is finally coming in handy, and I can actually understand most of it.


Dissystema- The Silent Earth
This record finally comes out! Philly's Motor-Charge delivers their newest and I'd say best record. All the elements of a great D-Beat/Crust record are all here. Fist pumping gang vocals, distorted bass, lots of cymbals, solos to do spirit fingers to and the obligatory songs about war. The vocals alternate between 3 singers, which adds a lot of variety. Oh and I should mention in "Lust For War" they take the line from the movie 300, "Tonight We Dine in Hell" and make it punk. Fuck You Hollywood!

Demos
Male Nurses(cassette)
Male Nurses is a brand new band from MA who play a raw early 80's style of hardcore punk. They were probably one of the better bands we played with on tour. The recording a really raw, but they make it work. Similar to modern bands like the No Way crew (especially Life Trap). There's even a cover of "Dear Sirs" by Koro, though it's hard to top Deathreat's version of that song. Cassette demos always get high marks in my book.

Shit Fit(cdr)
Probably my favorite new bands from New Brunswick, NJ (where I'm from). There's some good alternating vocals between a more straightforward sounding singer and more horse strained singer. The music is pretty no frills thrash similar to Charles Bronson and Limp Wrist, but with some heavier parts like SSD. I look forward to seeing these guys more.

Stressed Out(cdr)
Another new local band, which is always nice to see. The music is pretty thrashy, but more in an Anthrax kinda way. It's not really metal at all, but there's definitely some crossover parts. The vocals are remind me of Life's Halt though, but the lyrics are a little on the goofy side.

BA Pariah(cdr)
Yet another new local band's demo to review. Woo Hoo! These guys play punk that sounds basically like the Minutemen on crack. Reminds me a lot of fellow NJ punks, the Bloodreds. Pretty good, and definitely different from most of the stuff around here.