RAW BREED • Collected 7″ EP

RAW BREED • Collected 7” EP

Trip Machine Laboratories

Man from the minute I put the needle down on the wax I knew I was in for a delicious treat.  The intro song on this slab is totally boss and makes me think a little about the CRO-MAGS…hard and heavy (but with raw as hell production).  The rest of the EP might not have you thinking of the Mags so much, because the vox are so goddamned harsh…I love it!  Also the music can be pretty blazing.   

A couple of their tunes have some of the catchiest mosh parts I’ve heard in a while. You can catch the influence of some old Boston in those parts. 

These guys are from Denver, Colorado which seems to have a thriving HC scene these days.  At any rate, this totally reminds me of some of the cool stuff that was happening in the 90s (that tended to be more on crustier side of things) meets LIFE’S BLOOD, but with a hesher screaming for them instead of O’Toole. Hearing this was refreshing for this old fuck. (NW)

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Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

HOLY SHIT! • Not My Tempo 7″ EP

HOLY SHIT! • Not My Tempo 7”

A split release with Snuffy Smile ‎& Vinyl Smash ‎

These guys have been around forever with out any real recognition.  I think I first heard their What the Fuck 7”EP in 2005-06, and loved it for its speed, quirkiness, and nerdism.  Its crazy too me that they’ve put out another ten or so 7” EP releases since then.  By now somebody should help to do a proper LP release with these Milwaukee, Wisconsin quacks.  

One of my favorite things about this record is that I don’t think any of the eight songs on this ripper even hit 1 minute in length (er…well maybe the last song does).  You get the picture.  Musically this stuff is super jazzy and intricate while mostly played at ferocious speeds.  Goofy as fuck lyrics have you giggling along to this thrashy punk rock.  I do think these guys owe a little something to STIKKY.  I’m glad shit like this exists in 2019.  (NW)

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Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

AVENGEMENT (2019)

AVENGEMENT (2019)

Starring: Scott Adkins, Thomas Turgoose (This Is England), Craig Fairbrass

Director: Jesse V. Johnson

Viewed on Netflix -Great Transfer

This movie was a fun as hell watch.  If you are a fan of old ridiculous fight films a la Vigilante, Code Of Silence, A Better Tomorrow, Bloodsport, The Octagon, The Challenge, 10 to Midnight,  Billy Jack flicks, etc., I think you’ll dig this one.  There is a big difference in what they can do now a days with the fight scenes and choreography that make the modern action fight pictures fantastically insane.  I’ve come to love Scott Adkins who stars in this one.  Half of his films are complete garbage but the other half are top tier action flicks that leave you wanting more of his stuff (same goes for the director).  There is absolutely no reason why this guy couldn’t become say the next Jason Statham or something.  He is great at action, and with the right budget and director behind Adkins I think he could be a really big star.

At any rate this is a story about two brothers, one who is an evil mobster in London, and the other who is a decent human being trying to lead a good life, but who has been set up and thrown into prison for years by his brother and some crooked cops.  When the “good” brother finally gets out, he is not so good anymore.  Prison and all the wrongs that have been done to him over the years have turned him into a revenge seeking madman.  An animal.  Some of the gore in this film is pretty gnarly.  I feel like I saw some scenes in this movie that are things I’ve never seen on the screen before.  Cool stuff. (NW)

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Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA

THE PSYCHOS • One Voice LP

THE PSYCHOS • One Voice LP

Radio Raheem

This band was legendary to most of us who missed them in the early days.  I recall my buddy Telf had a cassette of the demo with zero info… no song titles, nothing… just the cassette tape. He’d play it for us all (a small group of hardcore buddies in upstate NY), but he would never allow any of us to copy it. He held it closely like it was the only copy.  That just sort of added to the legacy and mystery of this early New York Hardcore band.  All I really knew about them was that both Billy Milano and Roger from AF played in the band at different times.  That along with holding onto and trying on the classic T-shirt my buddy Jim MacNaughton’s wife owns were what I knew.  

Cooch and company over at Radio Raheem did a great job cleaning this shit up… I can only imagine what they had to work with as far as tapes, graphics etc. go. 

In my opinion, this is an absolute must for anyone who deep dives into New York Hardcore.  Musically, this is very sloppy but also super catchy with a ton of heart and sometimes out of tune classic NYC hardcore.  It has everything a fiend might be scouring for… Good mosh parts, Don Fury recordings, a couple tracks with Tommy Rat on vox,, and some very cool images many of us have never seen of the band before now.   The booklet that comes with this vinyl is pretty incredibly put together. It looks cherry.  

The one take I took out of this record was that It seems that the only two constants in this band over the years were the drummer and guitar player.  Singers and bassists seemed to be a rotating cast of characters.  

Don’t sleep on this.  (NW)

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Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

BUFFET • All American LP

BUFFET • All American LP

Knw-Yr-Own, All You Can Eat, Resurrection

When I first looked at the cover to this record I thought it was going to be some crummy pop punk band, or “folk punk.” Well, dear reader, the Buffet cover is very misleading. Instead of vapid pop punk, or “folk punk,” what these guys are cranking out reminds me of 7 Seconds (the vocals and some of the speedy parts), Clit Boys (strictly in the vocal delivery at times), and mid to late 1980s hardcore when bands started to experiment with structure changes and slowing tempos down to accentuate the faster parts. I hear traces of the later 80s Dischord sound in this too. Lyrically, they tend to be goofy with songs about pizza, shopping, material items, and things of that nature. But scratch just below the surface and these songs are observations on pressing issues of today, it’s just that they’re not bashing you over the head with the message. Clever tactic.

This is pretty good for a debut, and I wonder if there will be more to come. (MA)

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Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

HAPPY HUNTING (2017)

HAPPY HUNTING (2017)

Director(s): Joe Dietsch, Louie Gibson

Starring: Martin Dingle Wall, Ken Lally, Gary Sturm, C.J. Baker

This is by no means a must see… but its bloody and mostly action packed and very strange, and well.. sort of creative.  It was directed and written by Mel Gibson’s son Louie Gibson.  In my opinion there are some issues with the pacing of the film, I think due to the main character fighting his alcoholism through out it (which is not all necessary, and sort of slows things down at times).  But this is a survival film about a desert town who every year hunt a few “bad behaved” humans in the desert where they live. The kill scenes are cool.   I think the desert scenes add a lot to this because there literally isn’t anywhere to hide, so it makes things feel truly desolate and hopeless. 
I’m not so sure Louie Gibson will go on to be as creative as his dad, but this was a fun Saturday Midnight film that I have no regrets in watching.  I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to watch shit like this with me.  (NW)

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Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA