[engl] It's hardcore, it's supposed to be fast! Going back to way things used to be, LAST AFFRONT presents us with 10 fiery tracks for their debut 7 inch. This brand new London hardcore band, has been taking the 80's hardcore approach of YDI and Poison Idea combined with more modern hardcore influences like Socialcide. Sharing members with UKHC powerhouses such as Vile Spirit, Koma, State Funeral, Lawful Killing, Imposter and Chubby and the Gang, they are prepared to take their brand of speed hardcore worldwide.

[engl] While one should hesitate to use the term "super group," it would be kinda hard to not consider utilizing some kind of label in that vein in regards to Portland, Oregon's FETISH. For starters if we're gonna talk about genre altering personnel within the ranks of this group, you'd have to note that this recording showcases the first time that Thee Slayer Hippy and Vegetable have come together to create ugly hardcore punk music since their stint together in the "War All The Time" era of the legendary Kings of Punk POISON IDEA three decades ago. It also doesn't hurt that 3/4 of PDX punk heroes LONG KNIFE (Colin Jarrell, Scott Goto, and Chris Reid respectively) are in the mix as well along with later era PI guitarist Brandon Bentley. Their debut track "TAKE THE KNIFE" showcases the sheer power of this group and is just a sign of what is to come with the band's full length record that will hopefully see the light of day later this year. On the flip side, a stirring rendition of LOVE's classic track "A House Is Not A Motel" closes this one out leaving us hungry for more. Each record comes in a glue pocket sleeve featuring cover art by the talented Joe B.

[engl] 150 x white copies The 2021 Dark Places ep from Final Dose gave us a little flavour of the dark menace that the band was capable of delivering in this here full length VOID INSIDE. The album name says it all - 10 songs of nasty blackened hardcore which will appeal to anyone who feels hopeless and a bit graveyard-minded but also likes a good headbang. There’s some serious origins of black metal influence happening throughout the record (blast beats and Dark Throne-inspired vocals are a beautiful combo) but also a tonne of stomping UK82 pace and riffage. Void Inside starts off with a Vangelis style instrumental - lonely and haunting, and then for the next 20 minutes nothing but fast, demonic music with actual Satan on vocals kicking your ass. Will you beg for mercy or will you enjoy the boot? Void Inside is significantly chunkier and punchier than the Dark Places ep and feels much more focussed - songs like Unchained, Like Rats, and World Prisoner are stone cold pit classics - that blast beat is pure gold. FD are pulling back black metal for the punks and showing the punks how to be gnarly without being meatheads OR wearing corpsepaint. Before succumbing to complete doom and nihilism of the human race give Void Inside a spin, it certainly cheered me up and I don’t really enjoy anything at all EVER.

[engl] "„What does this industry live on if not passion?“ Passion they have the three middle-aged gentlemen who, after a 15-year band break, strapped on their instruments again in 2018 to bring their melodic version of hardcore punk back to the stages of the Alpine Republic. After the split 7“ with „Hella Comet“ (2018) and the spit LP with the Viennese of „Dim Prospects“ in 2020, here come two new, usual political tracks from „Flowers in Concrete“ - again pressed on vinyl (and all digital platforms). Chorus vocals, melodic voice and scream vocals alternate just as groovy parts with genre-standard thrashing. „Alte Freundschaft wird zu Schmerz. Getrennte Wege anstatt Nähe.“ says the chorus of „Propaganda“. A sentence that probably applies to most of us in recent years. A situation that almost all of us have experienced. So - as always with „Flowers in Concrete“ - they work through current affairs, social criticism, but also personal issues. What is seen is packed into catchy slogans. Sing-along factor guaranteed."

[engl] FRIED EGG are back with a new EP for Beach Impediment Records following their debut 7" on Negative Jazz and a self-released flexi. For the uninitiated, FRIED EGG have been one of Central Virginia's most exciting and original hardcore punk acts to watch over the past couple of years. Their style has a very contemporary feel, yet manages to stand out based on consistently inventive songwriting that is matched with the finesse and power that belongs in the hardcore punk genre. "BACK AND FORTH" boasts four new cuts (tracked live including vocals for anyone keeping score) that truly stand out from the pack. From the precise and original guitar lines to the absolute wrecking crew of a rhythm section, FRIED EGG have produced an EP that commands your attention - a stark, original effort that obliterates any generic, poorly recorded garbage in its way. Need we say more? Each copy comes housed in a glue pocket sleeve adorned with artwork by Nathan Ward.

[engl] After four self-released cassettes, Montréal's premier art-punk/neo-proto-punk band Protruders makes its vinyl debut with a 25-minute 12-inch of very groovy sounds. The sound is a bit clearer and maybe a little beefier—some of the noise gives way to a more relaxed and expansive approach. The psych quotient is higher. But the heart of the band is still beating for the sort of raw open-minded non-generic punk that once came from the likes of Rocket From The Tombs, Swell Maps, Dead Moon, Dancing Cigarettes, etc. “Fruit Hang” has a perfect mid-70s style garage feel—like a Boston pre-punk band tearin’ it up at the Rat! This could be the hit, kidz! Skronky sax gives “Hydrophytol” a kinda Hawkwind/no-wave feel. And dig “No Stone”—a slower one, catchy as hell—I swear it could pass for an outtake from the Saints circa 1978. Solid—another hit! At five minutes, the title track stretches things out a bit. This one has a definite Ubu/Voidoids vibe—nasty angular spazz-punk with a little more sax blat added. Very nice guitar stuff happening here. We get some weirdo HC action on “Stabilizer” and more hot guitar squiggles. “Tax 101” is maybe a “typical” Protruders song—that means good! “Wrong Way Sign,” pushes things over the six-minute mark, with a strong psych-punk feel (Wipers?) and some totally swell rock-jam stuff at the end. Wow. This record is a significant step for the band and an impressive way to start their vinyl career as they gain the higher visibility they deserve. Most excellent! -Eddie Flowers (Vulcher Magazine/The Gizmos)

[engl] You ever wondered what it sounds like inside the heads of people when they're fist-fighting? The sharp thuds and painful cracks, the internalized grunts and high pitched squeal of a ringing ear that just won't go away. You ever been hit in the jaw with your mouth open? It's about as unpleasant as a feeling can be. FRISK's "Stalker" strikes us the same way. Hard and gnarly, an unrelenting misanthropic pummel of the highest order culling influence from equal parts Integrity, Brainbombs and Negative Approach. Leeds is the most dangerous city in West Yorkshire.

[engl] If music that feels like a massage with broken glass, then this is the rub for you! We know, we’ve withstood the pain for you but now it's finally time to share. Short, fast and raging hardcore from both of these UK bruisers. Meant to be a promo tape for Frisk’s "Stalker" LP, which as you know is already out, and meant to coincide with their jaunt around the Empire late last year but, of course, Iron Lung Records got it done just in time for the day after, haha. As chance would have it, Last Affront is coming over to the states to do a tour so now this tape is their tour promo thing. Life is a stab in the dark at best so turn the lights off and start waving your knives in the air.

[engl] “Lion City Hardcore. "This Segregation will end" a 9-song 12" EP created by FUSE from Singapore is 100% hardcore concentrate. I don't need to mention similar sounding bands, influences or FFO type shit. FUSE bring a contemporary stab at a classic style while injecting their own unique worldview. You've heard hardcore like this before, you like hardcore like this, self described as "punked up hardcore, hard but not like those tough guy hardcore bands", they produce 8 songs and an intro that are worth your time (personal favorite is "Poison"). Music aside, because hardcore is so much more than what you play, it's how you play, and more importantly it's the reasons why you play. The Extracurriculars - FUSE never miss an opportunity to shout out their local scene, they put energy into building up their hometown, and they support their peers. Bottom line, they fucking care about creating their own space for themselves and their friends and that's all I want in a hardcore band.” John Scharbach, Give & Shining Life Press

[engl] Nashville, Tennessee’s G.U.N. roars onto vinyl with their debut full-length for Sorry State. Hearkening back to the glory days of the early No Way, Grave Mistake, and Sorry State catalogs—the band features two members of No Way Records’ Life Trap—G.U.N. lives where the hardcore underground meets the criminal underworld. While G.U.N.’s music evokes Koro’s lightning-speed intricacy and the Adolescents’ surfy hooks, the lyrics describe a sick, sad world that takes Black Flag’s “No Values” as philosophical truth, imbuing G.U.N.’s sound with a palpable sense of desperation. Charismatic vocalist Nico Arambatzis can summon Damaged-era Henry’s primal howl one second, then in the next hit a magical note that transforms a song into an anthem, pushing standout tracks like “A Prisoner’s Tale,” “Sadist Faction,” and the epic closer “Sick Sad World” well beyond your standard bash-and-crash. Guitarist Connor Cummins (whom you might know from his other projects Snooper and Spodee Boy) is similarly dynamic, crafting whirlwind riffs and leads that are as powerful and as unpredictable as afternoon thunderstorms in the sticky southern summer. It all adds up to a classic-sounding hardcore punk record bursting with energy and dripping with hooks.

[engl] Your favorite mid-tempo manglers are back and you should hold on to your fucking shit because this noisy hardcore punk outfit will make you want to fight someone. GAG is from Olympia WA and bring deranged, distorted and noisy hardcore with strength and anger. This record is a continuous attack on your senses. And I mean that in the best possible way! Ferocious dissonant hardcore focused in intensity and all-out rage. Experimental hardcore, an album of feedback and reverb drenched punk. A storming sea full of noise, with delayed waves! Our friends at sorry state said: I've loved this band pretty much from the beginning, but "Locker Room" just blows away their previous records with heavy, spot-on production and a complete sense of recklessness that very, very few bands are capable of capturing on record. Much like Gay Kiss and Avon Ladies, Gag at their best have this way of combining the meathead brutality of Hoax with something more dissonant, uncomfortable and exciting. Basically, what that means is that the bass player is playing a total pit-clearing riff while the guitar player(s?) just wail out with sheets of noise over the top. A simple formula, perhaps, but one that is executed to perfection here. This is the type of band you expect to see people emerging from the pit bruised and bloody after watching them. Their earlier releases perhaps left a bit to be desired fidelity-wise, but this 12" hits with maximum impact. The sound is raw, fucked, and wild hardcore with a heavy delay on the vocals and weird changes throughout. If you like bands like GISM, Church Whip, or United Mutation not just for their aggression but also for their weirdness as well, you'll flip for GAG. You want any references? I don't have a clear one! Listen to this beast and judge for yourself! The only thing I can say, the flagship of the NEW WAVE OF INDUSTRIAL HARDCORE IS BACK! This is music for freaks! Play it loud, get weird and spread the noise with the upside down smile!

[engl] Your favorite mid-tempo manglers are back and you should hold on to your fucking shit because this noisy hardcore punk outfit will make you want to fight someone. GAG is from Olympia WA and bring deranged, distorted and noisy hardcore with strength and anger. This record is a continuous attack on your senses. And I mean that in the best possible way! Ferocious dissonant hardcore focused in intensity and all-out rage. Experimental hardcore, an album of feedback and reverb drenched punk. A storming sea full of noise, with delayed waves! Our friends at sorry state said: I've loved this band pretty much from the beginning, but "Locker Room" just blows away their previous records with heavy, spot-on production and a complete sense of recklessness that very, very few bands are capable of capturing on record. Much like Gay Kiss and Avon Ladies, Gag at their best have this way of combining the meathead brutality of Hoax with something more dissonant, uncomfortable and exciting. Basically, what that means is that the bass player is playing a total pit-clearing riff while the guitar player(s?) just wail out with sheets of noise over the top. A simple formula, perhaps, but one that is executed to perfection here. This is the type of band you expect to see people emerging from the pit bruised and bloody after watching them. Their earlier releases perhaps left a bit to be desired fidelity-wise, but this 12" hits with maximum impact. The sound is raw, fucked, and wild hardcore with a heavy delay on the vocals and weird changes throughout. If you like bands like GISM, Church Whip, or United Mutation not just for their aggression but also for their weirdness as well, you'll flip for GAG. You want any references? I don't have a clear one! Listen to this beast and judge for yourself! The only thing I can say, the flagship of the NEW WAVE OF INDUSTRIAL HARDCORE IS BACK! This is music for freaks! Play it loud, get weird and spread the noise with the upside down smile!

[engl] Have you longed, hoped...nay, prayed for the paradisical utopia where the availability of all GAG's yesteryear classics were at your beck and call? Well, long no longer... "Killing For Both Realities 3 '92", is the answer to your prayers! It's a collection of selections from the early EPs including hits like "Don't Like", "Intro", "No Cops", "Haunted Truck Bed", "Clown Farm", "I'm A Punk", "Locker Room", "Chains And Barbwire", "HAHAHA", "Steel Shank", "Chains And Barbed Wire", "Raw Meat", "Squeeze", "Meth Lab", "No Hope, No Change", "Warm Milk" and "Warm Milk", sure to delight every listener's leathery lobes into sheer bliss. 500 copies on black 150gr vinyl housed in a 24pt gatefold sleeve with spot high gloss UV finish with insert and download card included. Art by Shane Donaldson, Reuben Sawyer, Cain Cox, Adam Barnes and Scott Young. Recorded by Capt. Tripps. Mastered by John Golden.

[engl] Following up 2016's "America's Greatest Hits", GAG are back with 12 certified fresh bangers that will leave you breathless and sweaty. All the mid-tempo thump, crisp searing riffs and maniacal vocal pepper you've come to love are there in full steel but the crew has turned up a couple surprises for you here as well. I won't spoil it by writing more about it, you'll just have to check it out for yourself. Trust GAG, trust Iron Lung Records and, most importantly, go trust yourself. 150gr vinyl housed in a 24pt jacket with insert and download card included. Art by Jose Mora, Peter Maria and Adam Barnes. Recorded by Cameron Heck. Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk.

[engl] Game returns after their 2019 full-length No One Wins with the Legerdemain EP. Piercing the listener with nonstop aural carnage, the EP would be an apt soundtrack to the armageddon. Part Venom, part Death Side, all live and loud, Legerdemain offers no restful moments. An instrumental masterclass with blistering drumming from Jonah Falco, weird and wonderful guitar melodies conjured up by Cal Baird, and a rumbling and decapitating buzzsaw bass by Nicky Rat, the release's finishing move is an ever-changing vocal tone by Ola H. Legerdemain can be a rewarding, or punishing, aural journey depending on your perspective. The new release, which was recorded and mixed by Jonah and mastered by extreme music legend Arthur Rizk finds Game leaning heavily into their metal influences, with sounds of early 80s UK steel given extra ferocity through the lens of Japanese hardcore punk from the same era. Having toured multiple times in Europe and North America, Game, which features members of Fucked Up, Arms Race and Violent Reaction, is equally comfortable playing to punks, metalheads and everyone in between. ‘Legerdemain’ is a magician’s term meaning sleight of hand, a key skill of deception. The term is used as a metaphor for our current post-truth society where governments, technocracies, and financial institutions use smoke and mirrors to create a farcical and bewildering existence where one cannot know if something is real or not in order to cover up social injustice and mechanisms that drive inequality. As Legerdemain progresses, one is being continually dragged along towards an apocalyptic ending on "Release", which reflects on this current predicament as a nuclear explosion approaches with nothing left to do except give into the madness. There is a constant cycle of rising again, fighting against wrong doing, exhaustion, and endings. The lyrics in Polish, English and a sprinkle of French, represent the multinational members of the band, who feel culturally in a no man’s land, which in fact is everyone’s experience in 2021. Legerdemain tries to answer this anomie with urgent metal punk that is hauntingly relevant.

[engl] At long last, the follow up to 2017’s "Who Will Play?" flexi has materialised in the form of "No One Wins" on the LP format. With influences and membership that span the world of hardcore punk, both stylistically and geographically, this platter sports 10 tracks of pummelling hardcore punk that incorporates metallic elements drawn from the near and far reaches of mid 80s international hardcore and thrash to the simplicity of domestic HC pestilence. Blended with a great finesse that is both tasteful and potent - which seems to be a rare feat to attain this day and age - and buttressed by a top notch mastering job by the great Arthur Rizk (SHIT "What Do You Stand For," Impalers "Cellar Dweller”, Power Trip ‘Nightmare Logic’) which only feeds the fire that is the base of these already enormous tracks. GAME is the conduit. Relatively new but sending sickening sounds into the New Wave of British Hardcore collective, decimating any and all willing to be destroyed. Seek further advice on Game's sound via the precedent set by Gastunk, Celtic Frost, Sacrilege, Death Side, and the Execute. Members of Arms Race, Fucked Up, Career Suicide, Shrapnel, Violent Reaction and Subdued.

[engl] Grimy, depressive post-punk from the City of Flowers and Sunshine executed by the masterminds behind SMUT and SMIRK. "Killing Life" resonates with a monotonous yet melodic cruz through the bleak underworld of human nature and party fallout. A mouthful of bad LSD and worm dirt. Perfect for pandemic summer.