Demo Review – BAD TRANSFER

HARD FOUL • demo tape 2020

HARD FOUL demo tape 2020

So cool to see Dan from Spazz, Funeral Shock, etc., still doing HC and being productive after years and years. Other band members also come from Plutocracy, Agents Of Satan, and Funeral Shock. Eight raging tunes that seem to be heavily themed on NBA basketball. I love this shit, and wish there was a lyric sheet so I could get the full scope. The tape starts off sounding very East Coast HC… then by song 2 and forward the true powerviolence starts to kick in. Loud bass riffage, Dan’s killer guitar riffs and fast blasts and bursts keep it fun. I’m sure Dan prolly hates the term PV by now and cringes when it’s used to describe his projects… but you can tell by his playing that it’s just stuck there in his blood forever. The other side of the tape is a really well done live set from a radio show. Oh, and the demo side is recorded at none other than Bart Thurber at the legendary House Of Faith. Cool stuff. Support. (NW)

Hit me up on Instagram if you want to send me your release for review at: nate_gloom

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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA Heath Row: HR

ASTRAL BUTCHER Jan 2020 cassette

ASTRAL BUTCHER

Demo Cassette Tape Jan 2020

A Great Bad Transfer

I got this tape in the mail on Friday and it made for a great start to the weekend. I had zero knowledge of who these guys were and had never heard them before so I had fun digging around “the google”, while listening to this metal rawness. The tape was packaged like it came straight out of the 1980’s and a hesher handled it from start to finish and dropped it off to the post office on his way to the mall (to score weed).

Upon the first listen I could hear some demo styled Possessed from like 1984 or something. Straight up noisy and raw blackened metal that sounded kind of like Chuck from Death had come back from the grave to help them record it in a ’85 sorta way (you know… on a boom box).

Upon the second listen I could hear black metal in the bands sound, but that comes straight from the vox. Not much can be determined about songs, and the titles etc… this is done pretty mysteriously. I love the solos that basically hover over the entire recording, and after some digging I found out it was Shaun from Annihilation Time, Gordon Solie, Wetbrain, Midnight, etc. was partially to blame for this nastiness. The rest of these guys are lifers from Life’s Halt, Annihilation Time, Holier Than Thou?, California Love, Letcherous Gaze, Yarrow etc. Again, after scouring the inter web I found the bands bandcamp, and can honestly say the band sound totally different than on the cassette tape I got in the mail. First off, the vox are way to loud for my tastes on their bandcamp and everything sounds cleaner there. The tape is/was done 100% how it should be done. It sounds so old, real, and raw that it seriously leaves me wondering how they accomplished this feat. I was tape trading in the early 80s and this tape could have fooled me. Do yourself a favor and figure out how to score the actual tape… don’t listen to the digital until after you listen to the tape mix. Email addy on the tape is Denimyeti83@yahoo.com. Otherwise try to contact them on their bandcamp. (NW)

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

LOW FORM • demo tape (2019)

LOW FORM • Joyride demo tape (2019)

This is done by Western Mass punk hardcore guys who are playing more of an alternative style that gets me thinking of the late 80s or early 90s college rock scene (for lack of a better word). Its really good especially for a three piece. I’d say it has parts that sometimes remind me of the Cult, or even Danzig (just without the heavy). The recording is stellar with the song Purgatory really being the stand out to me, but the songs are all catchy as hell. It’ll be interesting to see if these guys are able to move into getting into the vinyl game or finding a label to help them spread their word. (NW)

Hit me up on Instagram if you want to send me your release for review at: nate_gloom

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

UNDER ATTACK

UNDER ATTACK – Demo

Tape (and Bandcamp)

Available through Vinyl Conflict and Autoreverse (see Bandcamp site for e-mail address)

As much as I love to hear new bands who sound like old bands, I find I prefer to hear a band that isn’t looking backward and chooses to be firmly grounded in the present. That said, there is something about Under Attack that reminds me of the very few straight up no frills hardcore punk bands from the 1990s. Maybe it’s their heaviness, relentless riffs, and dirty sound. No real clue, and I’m not terribly interested in getting bogged down in figuring it out. Too busy living in the moment.

Under Attack is an all-star band with a pedigree that will make the most jaded sit up and take notice: Hail Mary, Limp Wrist (the first album and EP – the good records), Discordance Axis, Human Remains, Suppression, Eucharist, and some other bands I’m momentarily forgetting.

underattack demo — Under Attack demo is known to send apes on a violent rampage. Photo by Nate Wilson

Five songs that clock in just a little over 6 minutes total, Under Attack crank out a heavy and semi dark sound that goes all out from the opening of “Drained” to “The Comforting End” (the longest of all five, at 1:35). Alex Copeland has a strangled vocal sound that works in tandem with Mark Telfian’s guitar mercilessly raking across your ears, while Witte bashes the hell out of his drums, and through it all, as much as these songs are nasty sounding, they are also catchy (don’t come in to this expecting a grindcore Discordance Axis 2.0).

“Through the Blade” is my favorite cut here, with a opening riff that brings to mind the Battalion of Saints, and then Jason Hodges and Witte come in the with low end to give it any more punch. The vocals also sound stronger here as well, bellowing out “I just want a reasonnnnn!!” and then going into the rest with urgency.

A new band to be excited about, and particularly if you’re part of the burgeoning AARPcore scene. Very much looking forward to hearing what they have next (and hoping they find themselves out west in the not too distant future). (MA)

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Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA