[engl] "Right-wing governments. Riots following sickening, racist police brutality. The general feeling that these are end times and the human race we know it is hurtling towards a doom of its own foolish making. Yessir, you can draw a lot of parallels between 2020 and the 1980s, although obviously as soon as anyone says it’s worth suffering all this because ‘the tunes will be better’, you are obliged to call them a fucking moron, set their hair on fire and give them a wedgie for good measure. Still, just as good tunes are undoubtedly a good thing, so too are absolutely blazing, ear-shredding, soul-soaring, fist-raising punk rock songs. Especially ones that race by at 150mph, while implicitly daring you to scream along with every line and probably dismantle all your furniture by bouncing all over it. Just ask Chain Whip; they know all about it. Hailing from the Canadian city of Vancouver and comprising members of Fashionism, Corner Boys and more, Chain Whip don’t so much sound ‘in thrall’ to the sounds of 1980s hardcore punk as ‘completely inhabited by the spirit’ of it, in the best way possible. They snarl, they holler, they roar and by gosh every single cut on debut album ‘14 Lashes’ is a thrill ride and a half. Originally released in 2019 on their own Chain Whip Records (makes sense), it gathers together 14 (also makes sense) blasts of irresistible fury in under 20 minutes, with subjects ranging from half-baked cultural commentators to not wanting to live in a fucked-up world (say it three times: this makes sense). This is hardcore as in ‘the snottiest rock’n’roll imaginable’; no shitty metal involved. They’re at their best when exploding in under 60 seconds, like on the very cross ‘Spectator’, but two-minute epic ‘Turner Street Ghost Motel’ reveals something dangerously close to Dead Kennedys-style melody that could make Chain Whip ones to stick with for the long haul. Well, that’s assuming they’re even in it for the long haul; maybe this is the last we’ll see of ‘em and this blizzard of brilliance that sounds like DOA, the Germs and Career Suicide punching holes in the side of a mountain is all we’ll have to remember ‘em by. If that’s how this is all gonna play out, I implore you to buy this record -. you owe it to yourself to hear it before we and they meet our grisly fate."

[engl] At some point it becomes clear to all of us that trying to navigate life on The Darkest Timeline is pretty heavy going. Politics, economics, human rights… all that grown-up stuff you have to worry about as an adult. Turns out they’ve all been surrendered to ideological grifting and cynical culture wars, which should be enough to make you pretty fkn furious. And you know what? We’re gonna need a soundtrack to this that sounds equally pissed off; something loud, fast and ‘orrible that gives you the impetus to finally drive that bulldozer through the cop shop. In case you hadn’t guessed where this was going, please welcome the grand, timely and thoroughly welcome return of Chain Whip. Straight out of the gate, their second full-length ‘Call Of The Knife’ is absolutely raging. The opening title track might have you squinting at the turntable for a couple of seconds to check that someone hasn’t reanimated the young Circle Jerks, but as soon as frontman Josh Nickel’s voice kicks in, hardcore cognoscenti will be under no illusions that they could possibly be listening to anyone else. His voice is a righteous, gravelly roar that cuts straight through the noise with the very loose subtext ‘I’m having a bad day and it’s imperative that you know about it’. There’s a vitality to it that helps make these Vancouver boys one of the best bands in punk today, and it helps that he’s backed up by a rattling, rolling collective who remind us all that good old-fashioned hardcore (like the ‘80s used to make) remains one of the best ideas anyone’s ever had. Suck on that idea for a moment, poindexter! You know what you’re getting with song titles like ‘Class Decay’ and ‘Hatewave’, but there’s something about the band’s garage-slanted take on the genre that makes ‘em a cut above. Panache? Chutzpah? Just the simple matter of really fkn good songs? Impossible to say, so let’s just settle by agreeing that this album does it all: you can skate to it, you can slam to it, you can paint your bedroom black to it. You can even listen to it while kicking over the statues and kickstarting that violent and bloody revolution we’ve been promised. Look, this is serious stuff that also happens to be oodles of fun. ‘Something’s gotta give,’ they sing, and maybe it’s your resistance. On this sort of delicious form, no one can touch Chain Whip right now. Form a cult and get obsessed immediately.

[engl] Pre-Order! Strong limited! CHAIN WHIP from Vancouver, Canada released this demo recordings in July 2020 via Bandcamp as well as on a limited tape run. These recordings weren´t originally intended to be released on vinyl as some of the songs have been re-recorded to be released on CHAIN WHIP's upcoming LP "Two Step To Hell". Now, No Spirit is doing a one-time pressing of the "Demo 2020" on vinyl with a limited run of 500 pieces.

[engl] 6 tracks of Vancouver, BC hardcore. Chain Whip formed in 2018 with the sole intention of playing their favorite blend of hardcore punk. Part KBD, part California beach, part grimy Vancouver. This 12" E.P. finds the band in a faster, more furious mode with five original tracks written and recorded in the height of the 2020 Pandemic. 3 tracks are re-recorded and polished versions from their 2020 Demo (being pressed on LP RIGHT NOW by No Spirit in Germany) while the others are brand new Chain Whip recordings. The final track, Death Was Too Kind was written by Brian Goble and recorded by the Subhumans.