Introduction:
Giacomo. Milano, Italy. Kobra, Generic Record Reviews And Weekly Ramblings, Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni. Used to be part of the Occult Punk Gang. All around fun guy. Here's five of the many records I equally enjoyed in 2020 in alphabetical order. APSURD - Derealizacija / Svemu Će Doći Kraj Label: Doomtown Records Location: Belgrade, Serbia My favorite tape from 2018 repressed on vinyl with 6 new songs on the other side? Sweet! The songs across the two EPs are so consistent they could very well belong to the same album. Come for the throwback classic Yugo-punk 4-track sound, stay for the deeply personal songwriting and raw energy that emanates from these songs. Dark, deep, layered tunes. Favorite song: "Svemu Će Doći Kraj" FRIED E/M - Modern World Label: La Vida Es Un Mus / Lumpy Records Location: St. Louis, MO, USA This takes the cake for funnest LP of 2020. It may not be reinventing the wheel but there's no overstating the impact a blazing hardcore one-minute banger can have, especially if it's coupled with lyrics that exhibit a sneering, provocative and smart sense of humor. Fried e/M will have you pacing, laughing and wagging your fists the whole time. I was audibly yelping from joy like a puppy the first time I listened to this. Favorite song: "Die Laughing" STRAW MAN ARMY - Age Of Exile Label: D4MT Labs Inc Neurosonic Research Location: ? Political punk is often the prerogative of meatheads who spout empty slogans just because they read them on a wall, which is fine—but what if you could write lyrics that were well researched, informative and, dare I say, poetic? Straw Man Army did it. Also, the songwriting is top notch, marrying intricate structures with a sharp early American punk punch, hitting the perfect balance of thoughtfulness and fist-pumping excitement. Favorite song: "Silver Bridge". SWEEPING PROMISES - Hunger For A Way Out Label: Feel It Records Location: Boston, MA, USA During a year this shitty, one needs to find a little joy—and I don't mean the cynical, self-destructing pleasure of drinking yourself through your 7" collection (even though, I mean, it's great). The shimmering post-punk pop of this record, coupled with its down-to-earth, authentic, lo-fi feel, is guaranteed to make you smile and dance. It does go by fast and easy, maybe too much so, but still the hooks are the best in the DIY world right now, and will stay with you for a long time. Favorite song: "Out Again". TRIPLE NEGATIVE - God Bless The Death Drive Label: Penultimate Press Location: London, UK I know we said punk albums but I had to throw this one in. And what is punk anyway? Just kidding, fuck that question. Triple Negative accumulated layer upon layer of free-form recordings on tape for 15 years and then dumped them all on the grooves of this record. In a fog of tape hiss, things creak and squeal, shards of songs gleam. It plays like a Russian novella or a very old movie. Fans of This Heat will be intrigued. Favorite song: "Fine Cargo Lacquer".
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Intro:
Hi my name is Julie, I live in Vienna and I am doing vocals in a hardcore band called Dregs. Other than that I take analogue & digital pictures. Mostly i love doing portraits and catching amazing moments at live shows. I am listening to music like 24/7, so i am more than happy to share my top 5 of 2020 releases. Venom Prison – Primeval Label: Prosthetic Records Location: Cardiff, Cardiff, UK I think that is definitely my top 1 of 2020. It's blastering death metal with fierce guttural vocals. I know Larissa from her previous band, back then i already admired her vocal skills, but now with Venom Prison it is just mindblowing. She is a huge inspiration to me! My favourite song is "Slayer of Holofernes" - I love the catchy melodic part and the sick drums. Guitars are heavy and sharp. Unfortunately i haven't seen them live, but i will for sure catch them at their upcoming tour with Creeping Death & Leeched. Kommand – Terrorscape Label: Maggot Stomp Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA If you liked the band Hoax you should definitely check this band. Not because it is the same genre, no. Pure heavy death metal with evil vocals by their former vocalist Jesse Sanes. I discovered them, as they got reviewed by Cvlt Nation and it got me immediately. Guitars and Drums are dope as hell. All wrapped up in dystopian vibes. Favourite song is "Gulag Orphanage" starts with solid double bass and ends with intense guitar shredding. All you ask for! Venator - Paradiser Split with Angel Blade Label: Dying Victims Productions Location: Linz, Austria 80's heavy metal straight from steel city Linz/Austria. I love this record, and just listened to it on repeat. It is danceable, catchy and gives me a good mood. Dedication at its best. All songs are killer! Haven't seen them yet, but will do once corona is over! Gravesend - Preparations for Human Disposal Label: Stygian Black Hand Location: New York, NY, USA Another death metal release, harsh and intense! Mostly, if I love the artwork I love the sound behind, so I didn't get let down with this one. A wild mix of grindcore & black metal with synth&noise parts in between songs. Ratty bass and distorted guitar - a rough sound as it should be. Can't decide which song i like the most. Horror Vacui - Living for Nothing Label: Agipunk Location: Bologna, Italy I love Horror Vacui, I saw them already 2 times, and I was just more than happy with their perfomance. It's 80's death rock with typical anarchist mindset. Very danceable and smooth. All their records are solid and atmospheric. 10/10 well done. Favourite song "Consolation Prize"
Introduction:
Vanessa. Vocals at Disgusting News, Bielefeld, Part of the diy label Schädelbruch Platten. This year was frustrating. Even worse because we, Disgusting News, had very big plans and big shows. Everyone is cancelled. Our plans have to wait. So, I was very demotivated in terms of music. But I found some releases that were important to me: Idles - Ultra Mono Label: Partisan Records Location: Bristol, UK Love at first sight? No. This is a grower. This LP first disappointed me. After the releases of the singles, I expected this LP as an explosion of good mood, dancy riffs and a lot of angry and heavy lyrics. But I did not hear this at first. After listening to it almost 20 times I finally found every reason why I love idles. Best song: No touch pais moi. THIS IS MY DAMN SPACE
SPICE - SPICE
Label: Dais Records Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA The voice and drums of ceremony. Almost a promise for good stuff. The sound of SPICE is an atmosphere. Every song carries you right to the situation the lyrics are about. Best song: I don't wanna die in New York. Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am Label: Interscope Records / Darkroom Records Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA No LP or EP. Just a single. But I had to mention Billie Eilish. She is the artist I wish I had in my teenage years. A badass young feminist fighting against sexism, bodyshaming and racism in the USA. She is the role model the teenagers of today need. In the USA but also everywhere. ill! - Split with Turtle Rage Label: Righteousfuck Records / Incredible Noise Records / Holy Goat Records Location: Münster, Germany ill never gets boring even if I can't tell what is making me loving this release so much. Always angry always fast. I can't wait to see them live again. Best song: Zucker No Trend - Too Many Humans/Teen Love Label: Drag City Location: Washington, D.C., USA Usually, I am not that into noise. But this rough and simple songs are just amazing. And so much punk. Best song: Reality Breakdown
Intro:
Will. Vocalist/Guitarist of L.M.I.. Lansdale, PA, USA
Gulch — Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
Label: Closed Casket Activities Location: San Jose, CA, USA For me, this was the album I was playing pretty much nonstop over the summer. I had gotten into them last year with the “Burning Desire to Draw Last Breath” EP. I think they really stepped it up for this album. Solid hardcore that isn’t cheesy. Not a bad song on this record. Favorite track: Fucking Towards Salvation Napalm Death - Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism Label: Century Media Location: Meriden, West Midlands, UK This is actually the first Napalm Death album I really got into. I tried getting into them years ago and dug some stuff but it never really clicked for me until this album. Shane Embury is the man and the riffs on this album are perfect. Crazy to see how long these guys have been going and they are still so innovative. Favorite track: Contagion The Bilinda Butchers - Night and Blur Label: Zoom Lens Location: San Francisco, CA, USA I’ve been a fan of The Bilinda Butchers for a little while now and I was pleasantly surprised with this album. Wasn’t the biggest fan of their last few singles but I think they really developed an interesting sound with this album. Still has the familiar things I’ve always enjoyed from them with some more dancey beats. Hands down the sexiest album of the year IMO haha. Favorite track: Do It Rite Best Coast - Always Tomorrow Label: Concord Records Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Best Coast is one of my favorite bands and I really like the direction they went with this album. Beth and Bobb make the perfect combo with Beth’s vocal harmony’s and Bobb’s leads. They blend together as good as they always have while still furthering their sound. The later songs on this record in particular are some of my favorites. Favorite track: Seeing Red LiFE - Ossification of Coral Label: Desolate Records / Acclaim Collective / Not Enough Records / Distro Rakkos / Punk Bastard Records Location: Tokyo, Japan I was so pumped for this album when it was announced. To the point where I would check the label’s website everyday till the pre-order was up haha. LiFE is one of my favorite crust bands and this album doesn’t disappoint. Definitely makes the wait from their last album worth it. Killer live band as well. A truly badass band that has been doing their thing and staying true to themselves for almost 30 years. Nothing but respect for these guys. Favorite track: Leaning Balance Introduction: We’re punk collective based in Hamburg and Berlin. Last year we organized this action, where we asked “some” people from around the world, what did they listen during the year and asked them to send us their TOP 10 releases of 2019. This year we gonna do this again, but this time on a new platform (sinkxdie.medium.com) and it’s gonna be TOP 5 releases with small reviews on them. Want to contribute on this year’s lists? Send us an email! [email protected] If you’re interested how it was last time, here’re the links: P.S. there’re too many links in the post below, so, it takes a while till the pages are fully loaded.
PART 1 : Hamburg — Berlin — Moscow PART 2: Bucharest — Hamburg — Philadelphia, PA — Saint Petersburg — Cologne — Toulouse PART 3: Antwerp/Ghent — Bielefeld — New York, NY — Moscow — Hamburg PART 4: Saint Petersburg — Seattle, WA — Helsinki — Lyon — Nottingham — Hamburg — Berlin PART 5: Berlin — Philadelphia, PA — Hamburg — Parma — Kiel — Moscow PART 6: Oakland, CA — Novi Sad — Berlin — Boston, MA — Moscow — Kharkiv — Eisenach — Palma de Mallorca — Hamburg — Leipzig
RELEASE: LEPER - Frail Life
RECORD LABEL: Kink Records RELEASE DATE: 25 Jan 2020 BAND ORIGIN: Umeå, Sweden STYLE: Hardcore Punk / Raw Punk REVIEWER: Coffee Punx
Straight outta Umeå, Sweden, the city with one of the coolest punk scenes in Sweden (there're lots more of course), and, may be one of the coolest ones in the world. From members of such projects as Fukushima, U.X. VILEHEADS, Amöba, to be honest, i didn't know any of these bands, but they're more than worth to check them out, thanks to discogs. Frail Life is the second official release, according to bandcamp, the first 4-song Demo tape came out in 2017, all 4 songs appeared on new LP. Since then, sound hasn't changed a lot, may be become even a little bit more raw, which i found great!
The cover is pretty easy made, but it gets your attention immediately, at least this what happened to me when I first saw it. LP has 9 songs on it and each song is not more than 2 minutes long (ok, ICBM is 2:05 but it's sounds better to say like i did haha). I really like the parts in ICBM and Faster, with repeating of the word "you" in the first case and "sick" in the second one. Luckily, you can check out the lyrics without having a record in your hands, I have an LP, by the way. So, lyrics, as i've said, are really nice, I really like text in "Faster", it's suits to the times right now perfect, "Living in the endtimes is such a fucking bore, Just waiting for the chaos to erupt and end it all" and repeating this sick part in the end is sick:) Leper plays quite usual hardcore punk music, which you can hear by many bands nowadays, but it still really intense and with lots of really cool parts, I enjoyed guitar and bass a lot, but yeah, everything played really well, and, yeah, it's catchy. I decided to check out some live videos to get some more impression about the band, and, I should say, I would really to get to their show, hope it will be possible soon. Check this one out: Leper live i Stockholm (23/2-2019). I guess i'm a fan:) My personal tops are: Good Boy, ICBM, Faster, Search Light, Frail Life. IT'S 7.5/10. |
AuthorPunk collective based in Hamburg and Berlin. Archives
January 2021
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