[engl] This is the soundtrack to flipping through the filing cabinet at the mortuary in Return of the Living Dead. You are running out of time before ending up on the slab yourself at the end of a bad day at work. Wash away the blues with a pint and 12 tracks clocking in at just under 14 minutes whilst Stiff Meds take you on a journey to see the many faces of death. Starting in 2019, Stiff Meds arose from the grand tradition of fast as fuck music that has always been at the centre of UKHC from Napalm Death to Voorhees. Taking that history, along with some more US influences such as No Comment and Infest, vocalist Seth marries that with tales of the macabre as metaphors for daily life. Each song contains more riffs than most brains can compute in real time and is a testament to the skill level of the band. Not surprisingly they have grown a reputation as a ferocious live machine that blasts through 20+ songs with ease and without stops with wild crowd reactions to match. If you don’t believe us, then check out the Live at the Mersey Shore Set as an exclusive special feature of the physical vinyl release of Tales from the Slab. Don’t delay, it’s time to pick up your prescription.

[engl] The debut LP from New York and Montreal’s Stigmatism (Featuring current and past members of Omegas, Lethal, S.H.I.T, Justice and Mati) is finally upon us! Stigmatism plays a style of music that pays tribute to the Rat Cage Records era of New York City punk and hardcore without sounding like an old and stale tribute band. With their debut Ignorance In Power, Stigmatism gives fans of the genre exactly what they want, 13 intense blasts filled with hooks, heavy breakdowns, and lyrics that call attention to the consistent unending rise of anti semitism, fascism, and police corruption currently plaguing New York City. 350 copies on black vinyl with a fold out A2 poster with amazing artwork from Tavi Gibson.

[engl] Ya know that Big City Records compilation "Montreal New York Connection 85 Live" with all the wild looking cartoon punks on it? STIGMATISM is the sonic equivalent of that big fella on the cover with the mohawk rocking boots and braces whilst letting off and undoubtedly blood curdling howl doing key bumps of meth with that flag toting skinhead from the back of the "United Blood" EP in a real seedy alleyway at like, 3:41 AM on a Tuesday. STIGMATISM is an infatuation with and/or an astute observation of the more, dare I say, "early man" aspects of that first wave of NYHC. Featuring an ex OMEGA and a native New Yorker united in their love of this particular style of hardcore punk, this demo recording has been slapped onto some slabs of plastic that can be played loud on a phonograph or utilized as a level plane for those aforementioned servings of meth. Each record comes in a glue pocket sleeve adorned with a design by the illustrious Spoiler.

[engl] Chaos and punishment battle for supremacy in the battlefields of Albion once again as the unyielding carnage of STINGRAY overloads your stereo and stains your brain. Putrefacting punk gnashing between metal stained flourishes of hateful competence and a touch of total rhythmic lobotomy. Tin Savage’s fantastic growled vocals trample his unmistakable London drawl across the five muscular and sickening tracks, the result of which is the musical child of ASID, ENT, SHOK, BGK, and a musical representation of two skeletons strutting through an alleyway on an early 80s CHUY-designed AGNOSTIC FRONT flyer. Boasting an A-Team of London punk minds, a real lust for metallic punk a la GBH and enough panache to make an ear piercing racket sound stylish: Stingray are simply on fucking fire.

[engl] Crashing dirty carnage somewhere between Neuroot, Ripcord, and Sacrilege lands in your lap with Stingray’s debut LP. Tin Savage barks his brutish textural east London drawl on top of unrefined metal-tinged hardcore punk veering between scandi wallop, jacked up amphetamine hardcore and jaw snapping mosh lusciously and confidently. Recorded by Jonah Falco at Fuzzbrain Studios, mixed and mastered by Chris Corry in the Paincave, Fortress Britain is a ruthless and unrelenting blunt instrument.

[engl] Forming in 2004, Straightjacket Nation (featuring members of other important Australian bands such as Pisschrist, Total Control and The UV Race) have long been considered by many to be among the best that modern hardcore has to offer. Whether rearing their ugliness live or remaining underground and birthing releases sporadically, Straightjacket Nation absolutely DESTROY - undeniably deserving the cult following they've earned over the years, and the cult is alive. 2017 sees the release of the second Straightjacket Nation LP. Intimidating and foul, ridden with feedback, lurching and slamming, screeching and boiling over. There's no hint of youthfulness here, instead lurks a fearful incarnation of hardcore punk at it's darkest and most foul. One moment disciplined, the next a sprawling chaos. Straightjacket Nation stands alone, a horrible entity carved out in stone. Mean. Strict. Remorseless. Vengeful. Harsh. SJN.

[engl] Preorder releases April 15, 2022 New York’s Straw Man Army return with ‘SOS’, the follow-up to their 2020 debut LP, ‘Age of Exile’. Emerging from the D4MT Labs group that also includes Kaleidoscope and Tower 7, Straw Man Army’s delicate musical touch, embrace of melody, and rapid-fire, clearly articulated vocals separate them from the louder and noisier end of New York’s fertile punk scene. While ‘Age of Exile’ examined the legacy of colonialism through the musical milieu of melodic anarcho-punk, ‘SOS’ turns its attention to the increasingly bleak prospects for the human race and planet earth. While Straw Man Army’s lyrical approach remains dense and thought provoking on ‘SOS’, their musical scope grows wider, encompassing ‘Age of Exile’s’ melodic take on anarcho, bleak and brooding post-punk, psychedelic instrumental excursions, and even the wistful pop of album highlight ‘Beware’. ‘SOS’ is everything Straw Man Army’s fans could have hoped for in a follow-up and so much more, cementing the band’s status as one of the most original, exciting, and important groups in the contemporary punk underground (Daniel Lupton)

[engl] The material on "Requiem For The Aftermath" can be easily be compared to 'Chantdown Babylon’ but it is more intense and hard hitting with eleven songs to boot. Strike First quickly established a reputation of being one of the hardest-working and most aggressive hardcore bands in the dutch scene. This no-doubt did pay off, clearly evident on this LP.

[engl] Dublin's STRONG BOYS return with their first release in six years with the 'Homo' EP. With about as much subtlety as a pub fight spilling onto the street, these four tracks vent against the church, dated attitudes, predatory creeps with wandering hands and more. This is still defiantly gay hardcore with no meat on the bone for admirers of 86 Mentality and Negative Approach. The record comes housed in a fold out sleeve showcasing new artwork from legendary gay manga artist Gengoroh Tagame and lettering from Nicky Rat.

[engl] Storming debut by satanist, leatherist, body build-ist, Rat-ist, Subdued. Described aptly by a casual passerby as “North Shields War Metal” this London band brings us six tracks of powerful hardcore punk indebted to Amebix and the cold mud and unforgiving wind of the empty British landscape. Slyly tuneful guitar leads in the indentured service of plodding metallic riffing accompanied by dismembered bass, pummelling drums and a hateful full throated roar. All these aspects bringing to mind some imagined thin line walked by Icons of Filth inching toward early Venom. Noise contributions by Canadian upstart Liam McCarthy (Jockstrap, Mud,…), and original artwork by drummer Nicky Rat and vocalist Jack Sabbat.

[engl] “In The Light Of Defeat, I Cease To Exist" came to life as a humble, even shy idea. Could you trace back the initiating moments of this album, you would probably find an intimate, honest conversation between friends much rather than a musical scenery. Publishing the songs that were written in erratic, explorative songwriting sessions wasn't given much thought – at least in the beginning of the process. Now, ten years after releasing their last studio album "Seizures Of The World", a new understanding of the same musical vision that they shared all along brought the band Sundowning back together. The Band that is now living scattered in Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr-Area was founded in May 2009 by lead vocalist and guitarist Christoph Wietzorek and has existed as the same outfit ever since 2010. Starting out young in the hardcore scene of the Ruhr-Area, Sundowning soon evolved into a solid institution within the European Doom-Metal scene. After several tours and releases, the members focused on other personal projects and the band entered hiatus in 2014. While Sunn O))), Cult Of Luna and Amenra are still very recognizable influences, "In The Light Of Defeat, I Cease To Exist" is a much more independent and less constricted work than the earlier releases of the band. The soundscape is more consciously chosen and benefits from the individually acquired musical skills of each member. Wind instruments now support heavy, pressing guitar riffs. String sections underline choral, perpetuating vocals. Samples and electronic sounds provide the necessary contrast. All while the thematic subject is more centered and visible: the album continues the narrative of "Seizures Of The World" and tells us about moments of failure, our own weaknesses und unfulfilled longing and hope. Mercilessly, the conflict of living in a steady discrepancy of intention and feasibility is discussed and the adaption to these circumstances is disputed. The blunt honesty of the lyrics is the product of a matured and naturally grown intimacy within the band, that always infused the process that is Sundowning. The album could not have been made in any other constellation. "In The Light Of Defeat, I Cease To Exist" is the second album of the band Sundowning and will be released into the world on the XXth of 2022 via the band’s own label, Isolation Records. The Album was written and composed by the Band Sundowning, consisting of Christoph Wietzorek, Pascal Thönnißen, Markus Uhle and Sebastian Busch. It was recorded and mixed by Nikita Kamprad (Der Weg Einer Freiheit) inside the studios of Ghost City Recordings in the summer of 2021. The record was mastered by acclaimed audio engineer Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets, known for his work with Lingua Ignota, The Body and Full Of Hell among many others. Full Of Hell also provided actual content to the record with singer Dylan Walker immensely contributing to the song “Imminent Ache”. The album artwork as well as the video to the first single “Imminent Ache” was directed by Sven Harambasic (Lingua Ignota, Soft Moon, Duma).

[engl] Rutto (T.H.E. Rutto) was a pioneering Finnish hardcore band that existed from 1981 to 1984 and released two highly sought-after 7"s EPs released by Ikbal Records in 1983 and 1984 respectively. One of the few Finnish hardcore bands to have a female singer, Rutto managed to record only 11 songs in their brief existence. Final Doomsday records are extremely proud to present official reissues of both Rutto 7"s complete with rare compilation only tracks, unreleased photos, Finnish zine interviews from the early 80s, and for the first time ever, printed labels. The records have been made in close cooperation with the band as well as Finnish punk and hardcore veterans Vote Vasko and Läjä Äijälä. Each 7" is limited to 500 copies worldwide and comes in a tri-fold sleeve with the original record artwork and unreleased photos.

[engl] Rutto (T.H.E. Rutto) was a pioneering Finnish hardcore band that existed from 1981 to 1984 and released two highly sought-after 7"s EPs released by Ikbal Records in 1983 and 1984 respectively. One of the few Finnish hardcore bands to have a female singer, Rutto managed to record only 11 songs in their brief existence. Final Doomsday records are extremely proud to present official reissues of both Rutto 7"s complete with rare compilation only tracks, unreleased photos, Finnish zine interviews from the early 80s, and for the first time ever, printed labels. The records have been made in close cooperation with the band as well as Finnish punk and hardcore veterans Vote Vasko and Läjä Äijälä.

[engl] Ripping hardcore with Burning Sprits passion, rock and roll licks, and punk as fuck energy. From members of Burial, Bombenalarm, The Now-Denial and Doomtown. Side A of Taifun’s demo features four thrashing hardcore/punk tracks that include a dash of classic japanese Hardcore. Side A is all scrappy and snarling fun. But side B of Taifun’s demo features a single 10-minute noisescape that’ll rattle your fillings and your nerves.

[engl] February 21st saw the digital release of TAQBIR’s first outing. Released via bandcamp and YouTube this enigmatic recording turned many heads and got many people speculating about this absolute rager of Moroccan origin. Four months later the physical version of this recording sees the light. Simply put, it was just too good to be a digital only endeavour. The four tracks of “Victory Belongs To Those Who Fight For A Right Cause” are four short vomits of anti-religious sentiment made music. Sang in Moroccan Arabic TAQBIR’s lyrics are irreverent, careless outburst of anger towards an extremely patriarchal oppressive place. Musically TAQBIR walks a thin line joining some of my favourite qualities in punk music. The aggression of fuckwave originators DISKOLOKOST, the nastiness of THE COMES vocalist’ Chitose and the raw reverb-drenched heavily-distorted non-production of THE SEXUAL or DESTINO FINAL. An amazing example of primative world Musik and hopefully part of a new wave of Taqwacore bands. The record comes with a double side A4 poster with lyrics and band’s graphic.

[engl] Infectious punk tunes to get everyone moving composed by the freaks from CULO. This band has been slaying at their gigs and winning everyone over with their hooks and amazing song writing. Six tracks total produced by GEZA X. I’m sure you know by now that Tarantula features a number of former Cülo members among their ranks and pretty much pick up right where Cülo left off, but honestly I think that this EP is better than anything Cülo produced, and I’m a pretty big Cülo fan! It’s funny, I mentioned to Jeff that for a band that didn’t even have a bass player in their previous iteration, the basslines on this EP are absolutely killer, and without a doubt one of the bright spots in the songs. The other reason I prefer this somewhat to Cülo is because they’ve slowed the tempos down just a hair. While this is still pretty much full-bore punk rock, playing at just a tad less manic tempo really makes the catchiness of these tracks jump out at you. I feel like I hear a lot of the classic punk sensibility of bands like the Dickies or even prime-era Naked Raygun in these tracks, though without sounding like a rehash or an homage at all. The lyrics are even really strong and well worth a read. Here’s hoping that we get a spate of Tarantula releases much like the deluge of Cülo vinyl that we saw in 2010 and 2011 and that they’re all as killer as this one.