Alone & Forsaken XVIII: Razors in the Night

Yes, kiddies, I'm alive, narcotorpors and booze binges aside. I'm in the process of moving (back) to the Old Country so posts will continue to be intermittent for the next two weeks or so, but then I'll get back to the ever-present pile of shit (er, new releases) clogging the innards of my Gshit account.

In the meantime, have a gander with some classics of the "loud, young, dumb and violent" variety. Some of these tunes appeared on previous installments of the A&F series, but they're classics and zippyshare deleted those long ago anyways.

SHOW YOU NO MERCY AT ALL!

1. 86 Mentality-Intro/LifeTrap
2. Blitz-Razors in the Night
3. X-Nausea
4. the Germs-Communist Eyes
5. Social Unrest-Making Room for Youth
6. Youth Brigade (LA)-Violence
7. Ultimo Resorte-Cementerio Caliente
8. The Mau-Maus-Society's Rejects
9. Uproar-Rebel Youth
10. Negative Approach-Ready to Fight
11. The Fix-'Cause the Elite
12. SSD-Boiling Point
13. Born/Dead-No One (Necros cover)
14. Cro-Mags-Show You No Mercy (demo version)
15. Government Issue-Self-Destruct
16. Iron Cross-Wolfpack
17. Criminal Damage-No Solution

Cruelster-demo CS (2012)

There's not much to say about this cassette, but it's all positive. The songs are laughably crude, and as so often with punk, that's a good thing. This sounds like 3 or 4 teenagers in a basement in the middle of nowhere playing what they think punk is supposed to sound like, with more enthusiasm than skill, and it's great. What it doesn't sound like is a bunch of nerds precisely combining different elements of [insert big-time punk band here] in order to get on the Chaos in Tejas bill.

Of course, I know nothing about Cruelster, but that's the image I'm goin' with. The guitar parts sound like they were cut and pasted together with the singer shout-singing over the bludgeoning rhythm section. It's the first punk tape I've heard in awhile that makes me wanna throw beer bottles at passing strangers and pick fights with my room mates. Especially with "Crisis in local government," which could very well be the best piss-take on UK Oi! I've heard in years.

So go get fucked to the mellifluous sound of Cruelster!

Whipstriker-Midnight Crust EP (2012)

A few weeks ago I was hanging on a Portland street corner with a good friend, who made an important distinction between punks and Punks: the former listen to punk but dress like civilians, whereas Punks look like these guys.
Although I haven't spiked my hair or worn a bullet belt since I was 16, there's an enduring soft spot in my heart for Punks and the music they listen to. In an era where every asshole around, from my clueless fratboy students to the jackasses in the band you just saw wear tight pants, Buddy Holly-by-way-of-Rivers Cuomo-glasses, and "ironic" thrift store clothing, Punks is keepin' it real: if you see a dude walking down the street in a Discharge shirt, tight black jeans, combat boots, a bullet belt, and charged hair with studded bracelets, you know EXACTLY what that dude's into and what's on his turntable. Billy Bao might've said "fuck separation," but I sez, sometimes subcultural ghetto walls should be maintained.

Rant aside, Brazil's Whipstriker makes it very clear where they stand in the culture wars: no ironic art-punk or "whitty" social commentary here, just crushing Motorhead-inspired riffs and raw, growled vocals condemning warfare, Christianity, etc. "Bombhead" could very well be the Discharge song "And Children": the vocal phrasing is exactly the same. The musicianship is top notch: these fellas certainly spent a lot of time playing along to Discharge and Motorhead records, and the solos aren't boring or inept, just heavy as a bombload.

You'll dig this demo if, like me, you feel that subcultures are tribal for very good reasons or if you just like gettin' drunk and bobbing yer head along to "Realities of War."

Check it out here. You can also read an interview with Victor, the singer of Whipstriker, here.