Reviews

Kink

.Gram. / …Is Dodelijk Ballern EP

The first recording since 2015 by Germany’s …IS DODELIJK! (“…Is Deadly”) features four new tracks of grimy hardcore that wallow in the proto-HC primitivism of simplistic fast punk songs with brutal shouted vocals. Sung in German and English, thoughtful lyrics decry the rise of racism, musing on the unyielding influence of time and challenge of life, and dehumanization of refugees and the homeless. Slowing slightly from previous recordings, these tracks have more control and direct impact, loose a with a stripped-down feel reminiscent of a less codified era of hardcore, as well as the current wave of blunt, Oi!-inspired anthems. On the flip, Munich’s .GRAM.’s four tracks have a considerably more 1990s feel, in a classic mix of plunging sludge bookending throttling, blast beat and tempo-driven thrash with a few mechanically searing guitar parts. Also sung in German, the lyrics fixate on personal frustration via scathing throaty screams. With their delivery sharpened from previous releases, these four songs are concise enough not wear out their welcome in reliance on snare and shout for impact. Good split EP!

Fatal Brutal Kontaktschuld EP

Debut vinyl release from this German band. Showcasing a cutting guitar tone, the intro to “Kintaktschuld” cops the riff from SEX VID’s “Footsteps” before kicking into an urgent and pummeling HC assault. Six short tracks that make their point and don’t overstay their welcome. Every element comes together nicely here: songwriting, recording quality, even the cover art (dino skeletons?) has an off-the-wall appeal. My inner sleeve here is numbered 255 so this one might be limited. Good stuff.

Grey Walls Honest Self-Deception EP

Gloomy, trudging hardcore from Germany with vocal akin to DYSTOPIA and DISRUPT. Proto-hardcore riffs summon a couple horseman of the apocalypse with an appreciation for MORSER and RORSHACH. Low-tuned strings buzz underneath abysmal tracks that end sporadically. Side two is an aquatic carnival of SWING KIDS-type punk, reminding me of the gothic side of INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL which is quickly torn apart by power-crust screams of torment. An avant-garde artistic approach to an easily categorized, abrasive, misanthropic corner of hardcore. I can’t ignore the intrigue. The skeletal artwork is beautiful: black-and-white pencil-and-wash drawings similar to KÄTHE KOLLWITZ, with handwritten lyrics in German and English. You’re not giving me a lot a space here, but I appreciate you, GREY WALLS.

Leper Frail Life 12″

This UmeÁ¥ group has arrived unannounced with a nine-track hardcore punk rip fest. While LEPER is more vocally burly and more adventurous with composition, they leave a TALK IS POISON-like impact on me. Most tracks remain around or under the minute-and-a-half mark, save for a couple like “ICBM” and “P&D” that take a little extra time to establish a mid-paced hook among what are otherwise mostly fast songs. Sung in English, with plenty of air-punching “oofs” and “aaaaghs,” plus top-notch gritty hardcore production and typewriter/high-contrast photo-style layout. Any longer and they’d be overstaying their welcome, but this is just the right dose. Surely they’ll be doing the Euro-fest circuit immediately.

Leper Ögat//The Eye EP

Right from the evil opener “Suckling Pigs,” LEPER’s second release on Germany’s Kink label spills out fresh-sounding, fast, and nasty hardcore. Crisp production gives a biting edge to the fury of explosive tracks like “Turn To Dust,” and there are some surprising little nuances to the band’s sharp and pounding sound, like a subtle ZERO BOYS influence, perhaps? Either way, this thing rips pretty good and rocks a little, too.

Motorsav Respiratordrømme LP

MOTORSAV of Copenhagen plays upbeat goth punk, immediately recalling the popular swing and moody grooves of MURDER CITY DEVILS. As the play progresses, though, the tones wallow darker, where vocals recede deep into the shadowplay. Synths and post-punk riffs take the lead with anthemic choruses beneath the fog. This is all a lot faster than your average goth punk band, but vibing with HORROR VACUI or BELGRADO…I like the strained lunacy of the vocals without sounding trope-ishly morose. It is rawer that way, and warmer, amongst a vast array of bands like this that strive to sound cold and gloomy. The track “Din Krop” has some really awesome, deep monk-chant-like moments. This LP is bleak while being upbeat. If Hardcore-era DEVO and the MUMMIES sounded more like the FUZZTONES covered in a warm syrup tomb of ROSETTA STONE. Screams of agony, gnashing teeth, CEMETARY walks, SHE PAST AWAY synth overload, and plenty of distortion. The last track “Spøgelsesbyen” reaches octaves that remind me of ZOUNDS’ Subvert—a fantastic harmonizing outro to a great album. It moves really quickly for a genre that can lose me sometimes. This is goth punk on the attack with feelings of optimism and a carefree nature.

Neurotic Existence At War With the World LP

NEUROTIC EXISTENCE of Bremen reminds me of MUSHROOM ATTACK meets CHAOS UK and CALLOUSED and DREAD MESSIAH. There are dual vocals at distinctly different ranges: the more leading vocal is gritty and tinged with lunacy, sometimes reminding me of SCATHA in the slower deliveries. The complimentary vocals strike at a various degree of octaves anywhere between FLEAS AND LICE and the MUFFS. This recording is not very dingy, and everything is produced quite clean, but the bass is really accentuated like ZMIV. I’m really digging this drawn-out epic track “(Sorry Mom) Never Homesick.” Although I feel this is supposed to be a classic ’90s-style Euro crust record, the warmth in the singing is inspired and the long bridge-style songs kind of take me away, and the diminutive chords (thinking BASTARD’s “Cause of Civilization”) hit me in the feels, not gonna hard-stance about this one. Ending on “Animal Freedom,” you can’t go wrong with what NEUROTIC EXISTENCE is about.

Nexø False Flag LP

Copenhagen’s NEXØ plays an obnoxious arrangement of post-punk skate rock with interludes of twisted cold/no wave, similar to if DEPECHE MODE collaborated with PROPAGANDHI and added even more thrash elements. The trudging riffs of SKITKIDZ and the optimistic speed of NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS. Overall, this is quite unique, and I give it great acclaim for that. Super well-produced and masterfully played punk rock. The minimal vocals are excellent—when they are on, they are intense. NEXØ makes a racket that is perfect to zone out in for measures longer than usually edited for this style of music. So NEXØ brings forth the unexpected and they do it well. There is a lunacy to their music, but it is very precisely rehearsed. I don’t know where to categorize this outside of art-core proto-punk. There are some elements of industrial and carnival madness. The LP listen only gets faster, like a ride you can’t get off, interspersed with melodic soundscapes throughout. Sheer escapist punk with a lot of heart.

Pershing Boys Versteckt EP

It is always very tricky to review a band like PERSHING BOYS. I assume that because of their longevity and because they formed in 1985, they must have an aura locally that cannot quite be grasped from the outside, and therefore the perspective that someone familiar with their status holds is necessarily different to mine. I had never heard of the band and was never much of a Deutschpunk expert, so here we go. They are from Konstanz, South Germany, and this is their new EP, with four songs of beefy hardcore punk with lyrics in German. The production is probably too polished and clean for its own good and is lacking in aggression, especially in the band’s faster moments. However, the clever songwriting highlights the band’s energy, reminiscent of the classic German punk bands that combined melodies with direct angry punk. PERSHING BOYS manage to remain quite catchy, whether through dark choruses or epic guitar leads (there are quite a few of them, be prepared), and the songs are never dull—overall, the mood is quite dark and the EP works. I love the introduction to the last song “Fortschritt” that sounds incredibly epic and triumphant and could have been lifted from a legendary Japanese hardcore record. I suspect fans of Deutschpunk, those who have a genuine connection with the genre, will enjoy this, because it is objectively a fine EP.

Pestigor Baptized in Pus LP

Described as “bubonic hardcore,” this filth from Denmark is reminiscent of SACRILEGE or TEMPTER, with some power metal falsetto vocalizations like HIRAX. But almost more importantly, I’m feeling a strong relationship to the PLASMATICS, as well as the chosen theme of this band, Warhammer 40,000. PESTIGOR plays a ravishing mix of D-beat and thrash metal in their malevolent Realm of Chaos and space marines. They sound fun and furious. The last two tracks are my favorite—this is the kind of album where I wasn’t sure how impactful it would be at first, but once it warmed up and the cosmic war theme sponged through my soft Warhammer-able skull, I was all in. Wild cover art in the BOLT THROWER fashion: content of Realms, in the hand of In Battle…PESTIGOR shares members with the very good gothy post-punk but similarly D-beat (and peace punk as well) band MOTORSAV, and that kind of proficiency in different styles is additionally cool.

Rotura Al Otro Lado LP

The Oi! label is predisposed to a certain musical monotony, despite being formed against the status quo, which infects this LP. While melodic and political, each song on Al Otro Lado is punctuated by nothing, it all sounds the same. Listen to “Al Otro Lado,” followed by “Nadie Escucha” to understand my point. Spain-based ROTURA is idyllic in theory, with fast-paced instrumental pop energy and a powerful vocalist, Silvia, yet they fall flat in practice. The frenetic drums were enjoyable on most tracks, but it’s hard to appreciate them between the guitar’s almost-buzzing quality and the one-note vocals. I applaud the album’s production and creativity and perhaps others will enjoy it, but Al Otro Lado, translating “to the other side,” may just have to stay on that side.

The Lost Jobs Good Boy EP

German garage punk that comes out swinging with instant riffs, drum fills, dueling surf lines, and gruff vocals. Sounds like the HELLACOPTERS with a mix of German and English lyrics and frequent fretboard gymnastics. This EP would have been at home on Kozik’s Man’s Ruin label back in the day. Nothing Earth-shattering here, but it is solid, straight-up rock’n’roll if you are into double denim and motorcycles.

Vidro Allt Brinner 12″

This is the last piece of wax that I will review for the last regular print issue of MRR, and it is pure fukkn fire. Biting and fierce Swedish hardcore punk with terrifying female lead vocals, and an affected flanged guitar that borders on destruction for the entire recording—especially the leads. VIDRO are just pure ferocity: urgent, desperate hardcore punk that doesn’t really sound like anything except themselves, and there is an approach to the (de)construction and presentation of their songs that is enviable. To take a formula that is known and manipulate and manage it until it becomes your own is in itself an art form, but if you also create a total motherfukkr of a record in the process, then you have my respect. So I finish my last review just wanting more, as it should be.

Vidro Glöd LP

Attitude is one of the most, if not the most, important qualities that make up a punk band. Otherwise, it’s just rock’n’roll! VIDRO is all about the angst: the fury that pours through the way the songs play out, and the way the singer spills aggression with every scream. Members from all around the world and a drummer that played in HUVUDTVÄTT, a classic Scandi punk band. Glöd is a great modern banger, a fresh-sounding “fuck you” and then some. This might be your new favourite band, so don’t sleep on it!