Kontaminat are one of the best bands out now, and their demo proves it. Hailing straight out of Chicago, the group is composed of past members of Chronic Seizure, Los Crudos, Sin Orden, and Rat Bastards. Kontaminat play in the vein of fast, paced hardcore, mixing their previous resumes and creating an entire new take on hardcore. "Team player" opens up the demo with a surf-inspired guitar riff that goes into their own brand of Midwestern hardcore. I'm also seriously digging the track "Timeless", from it's hypnotic mind bending guitar chords, the harsh menacing vocals, and a bass line that just screams trouble from far away. "Costume" is another favorite of mine; encompassing the blitzkrieg attack that would definitely bring Chronic Seizure to mind. A must have for those really into this type of hardcore.
Below is the band's bandcamp where you can download the album in it's entirety. For physical copies, contact anyone from the band or via their facebook.
Damn, what a night! From recalling this particular event two weeks later, I can't believe I almost missed out on what's been hailed as the best show of the year, by far. I've been to some pretty killer shows this year, as the Omegas show back in May, but this is another contender that's impossible to leave out.
The show took place at an unnamed venue on W Huron street, what I'm assuming is to be a new place, just an assumption so no hassling on my end. Anyway, once I stepped in and observed around, the venue had a sick appeal to it; small and compact, but big enough to still provide room for those getting physical, in length and width. After waiting around for a good 45 minutes or so, the first band was up.
Other Women is one band I hadn't come across before, but I was pretty impressed with their overall set. Composed of members of local Chicago band Regrets, Other Women played a great set of hard-hitting hardcore, as the crowd grew a bit excited from hearing their songs. Haven't seen a vocalist that pissed on stage in quite some time, so he definitely had that energy going off that night. I anticipate hearing more from this band in the next year, and wouldn't be surprised if they got attention nationwide.
Skrapyard played right after Other Women and had the crowd moving, no joke. For those unaware, Skrapyard is another local hardcore band mixed in with meshes of oi, much like 86 Mentality or Urban Blight. Like I said earlier about the venue being compact and small, it was hard not to be affected i.e, moved to the other side within a few seconds and heavily cramped but it didn't ruin seeing Skrapyard's set. The crowd kept chanting to every single song played, and the moshing/crowd surfing didn't cease a bit during their breaks. Hell, I was even in on the chanting during "9 to 5". Prior to their set, I wasn't really sure of what to think of their next release on Youth Attack, or their set, but was convinced they're another band to keep an eye for, so maybe it gets better from here.
Culo was one of main reasons why I headed out, aside from Crazy Spirit. I haven't seen them at their worst, but that's coming from a huge fan of theirs. Much like Skrapyard, the chanting and moshing grew pretty intense, compared than before. Culo nailed out hit after hit, from "Wasted on Wine" to "Military Trend". I was even in on the action, joining the rest of the mutants that night for some chaos. Jokingly, the band took their time, going on with their long breaks and making fun of the audience, especially those whining about not playing. Even more humorous, the guys in charge of sound even played "Culo" from Pitbull and drew a bad response from the vocalist, comically of course. The band ended up closing with a classic in the making "Toxic Vision". Overall, Culo didn't disappoint. Not too sure of any upcoming releases of new material, but for those that missed out on past releases, Derranged is putting a compilation of early Culo material. A must have for anyone wanting to take a gander at true american hardcore.
After about another thirty minutes, Hoax came up afterwards. If they were planing to leave a mark that night, they truly succeeded with their mission. From opening with "Fagget", the crowd were instantly on the prowl, beginning to ensure madness from all directions. With stage dives coming from in front and the sides (one dude climbed up this locker on the side of the room, and jumped off despite being crammed from the little area in between the locker and ceiling), everyone seemed to be in awe of Hoax. The band didn't seem to lose their edge at all, especially the vocalist, whom was throwing punches and beating himself with the microphone. I dig how the band played "Stuck", a growing favorite of mine from the group. Everyone ape up their set, even those unaware of the group. They definitely killed it. For those that are huge Hoax fans, a new EP should be out sometime soon on Youth Attack.
Crazy Spirit was last to play, and they made it worthwhile. They culled just about every song one would expect them to play and some surprise songs too ( A lot more songs from their demo, than their new EP that really surprised me). Once they played "Cool Death", I honestly said to myself "I can finally die with peace of mind". Just from the intro, the crowd fit in line with the groove, putting more force once the song got more quicker. They were instances where the mic went off and you couldn't really hear the words, but it made little difference to me and probably those present during their set. The band closed with "I'm dead", probably the one song played that night from their I'm dead EP released earlier this year. I would have loved for the band to play "This world is not my own", but even then, they still put on one hell of a show.
Like I said earlier, this show definitely ranks at the top. I'm not alone, but that's just the opinions of others. If still unimpressed, they're some videos of this show on YouTube. I'm posting videos of Culo and Crazy Spirit's sets, which are down below. I can't help but still laugh at the stage banter from that night. Till then, I'll probably put up another post of my top tens of this year. Cheers!
Wow, what a wait. I've been inactive mostly due to outside factors getting the way (school, work, laziness, etc). However, I still kept an eye out for releases that came out along the way. Among them was Brown Sugar's Get Fuckin' Mugged EP, which is fucking brilliant.
Never has hardcore sounded so much sweeter to my ears, displaying a vast arrays of influence found in 80's hardcore scene. Brown Sugar are currently becoming a favorite of mine, mainly impressed how the band changes between tempos, usually playing at high speeds before slowing down then only to go again at high speeds (Mind Funk is a prime example). The hand screened artwork is pretty rad as well, matching with the chaotic madness found on this record. I personally recommend this to any fans of the 80's hardcore scene (Jerry's Kids come http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifto mind, if they were heavily on acid) as well as current hardcore favorites such as Culo.
They're still some copies available at the feeble mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifinds webstore. With that said, Brown Sugar are plotting a 4 week US tour to coincide with the release of their upcoming Brown Sugar sings of birds and racism LP. I wish I could attend their Chicago date due to prior obligations but so it goes. If they manage to stop by in your town, drop by and be totally warped by Brown Sugar.
Compared to my previous reviews, this will be quite show, considering I fucked up by not heading down right on time. Still though, my buddy and I managed to capture the chaos ensued at the Strangelight. Those there will probably agree that was one hell of a show, so I guess it wouldn't be wrong to say it was.
As I said, I messed up with the start time, considering the last two shows I've been too at the Strangelight usually begin an hour later and I didn't really feel like waiting around for an hour so I headed down and arrived at 8. In doing so, I missed out on seeing Noose and Get Rad. I guess I'll have to wait it out for another Noose show, sadly but I managed to snag me a copy of their 7 inch so it sort of makes up for it. Get Rad also falls into that category, minus any merch snagging. Walking into the Strangelight felt almost similar to entering the first gates of hell; a massive wave of heat was felt throughout the venue, mixed in with an aroma of man sweat. Considering that Noose and Get Rad played, it didn't bring much surprise but damn, they sure left a mark that night.
With Noose and Get Rad out of the picture, the first band we witnessed was 10,000 leagues, a quartet of Los Angeles natives. The band was pretty chaotic, no joke. Playing in the realm of Power Violence, 10,000 Leagues shredded through their set with no problems or hassle. They culled through their recent release and discography, before playing what I considered to be a highlight (a Spitboy cover). 10,000 Leagues are definitely a band to keep an eye on if you're interested in Power violence. Even more so, I was impressed how the band even trekked on during their set, considering how ridiculously fast they were the entire time. We saw each member afterwards literally drenched in sweat, as they paced around outside. Jesus Christ.
Loma Prieta was up afterwards, which by this time my buddy and I were near the back of the venue. I hadn't heard much of this band, so my curiosity was at a high level once they came on. The San Francisco band features members of Punch, Sailboats, Beau Navire, among others that give a better picture of what they might sound like. The band still played a pretty tight set with a good portion of the audience digging their tunes.
Last but certainly not least, Punch came on right after Loma Prieta and got the crowd started early. This was first time playing in Chicago, although they tried to make a show here happen (the ceremony tour from last year in particular, but dropped due to injury sustained by the vocalist), None the less, from the few ten seconds just starting into their set list, we were pushed immediately toward the front, catching a good sight of their vocalist just screaming her guts out into the mic. There was hardly a moment of the audience stopping the madness, even engaging in crowd surfing despite the limited amount of space and wide array of pipes coming off the basement ceiling. Still, Punch blazed through incorporating their own brand of hardcore, mixed in with power violence influences that would bring shivers down your spine. I was struck by how crazy the place got, even drenching myself with sweat in the process. Punch even pulled a new song in the mix, released on their recent EP, that got a great reception of the crowd, myself included. They certainly made an impression and I instantly felt glad I finally caught their live act. Fantastic!
Though I managed to miss the opening bands, the show didn't bring any disappointment what so ever. Much thanks to Joe of Lifeline Records for making this all possible. Posted below is the link to Deathwish Records, in case you wanted to purchase the new EP from Punch. I'll probably post up a review from The Men show at Waterworks last week so keep an eye out for that, along with future LP reviews from Razorxfade, Night Birds, and much more. Looks like one fantastic year in the world of punk, Cheers!
It's been a long while since I posted something, mainly due to laziness and outside factors. I did manage to catch some cool shit and find newer bands along the way, so it wasn't much of a big deal for me to really complain. Any who, much of my anticipation was directed more to this release, being impressed with their demo just last year.
Pukeoid's new EP Rabid manages to live up to it's name and hype, relinquishing their own brand of Midwest hardcore. What sets Pukeoid apart from most bands generally in the Midwest is that they display that vibe found from listening to earlier hardcore bands (To my ears, the Fix is the first to come to mind) yet able to recreate a sound all their own. From hearing the first track "Intro/Puke", one can instantly tell it's going to be a rager, bringing the Fix to mind once more from the pacing drum beat, straight forward aggressive guitar chords, and the rabid barking vocals. "Sex Wound" is a standout in my eyes, which has the band playing at a moderate pace, yet still delivering blows to the listener from it's driven bass lines and intense build up accompanied by a hypnotic guitar intro. Even during the chorus, Pukeoid is able to create more intensity with a rabid guitar onslaught of chugs that goes hand in hand with chants of Sex wound. "When I'm alone" is another favorite, where the band blitz through in less than a minute, probably less than that. In my opinion, it brings back that sound found more commonly from Formaldehyde Junkies. Overall, the Rabid EP shows Pukeoid's potential that will only grow more till their next release. These fellas will surely refresh your memory on how hardcore should really sound.
Their new 7 inch is still up for grabs via Not Normal and through the band's blogspot, provided below as well as various distros scattered all over the internet. If still not convinced, head over to Harry's Rex for a link. It's one of my more favorable blogs still around, so kudos out to him. Do yourself some justice and buy the actual record if impressed. It would all be worth it.
1. Your End 2. Valium Cocoon 3. Collisious End 4. All Things will Come Undone 5. Heads will Roll 6. Low End Highs
It's been a long while since I posted something, due to school and other shit going on so I figured I'd make it worthwhile. Considering that last I've been able to head too was the Ropes show at Waterworks, it only made sense to only spread awareness about their now sold out release. I was lucky enough to obtain myself a copy at the show and not going to the ordeals of spending a shitload of cash just so I can hear it but so it goes.
Never heard of the Ropes? It's basically Chicago Hardcore legends the Repos but with newer material, picking up where they left off on their last original LP Hearts and Heads Explode. Raw, aggressive, menacing, blitzkrieg hardcore containing probably the best barking, rabid vocals found from vocalist Aaron Aspinwall. Short, fast and to the point, The Ropes bulldoze through each song on this release."Your End" opens up side A in the best way possible, building up slowly before engaging in attack mode. "Heads will Roll" will be punk staple in later years, just exemplifying their strengths, with a devastating guitar onslaught that's just grab you by the throat.
Considering it's sold out from both the group and Video Disease, I'd probably contact some of the distros available from the band's blogspot, provided below. In the mean time, Narrow Mind managed to upload the 7 inch for all to hear, rejoice, and/or complain. Credit goes to those fellas. I'm stoked on seeing these guys live again, along with School Jerks and Culo in two weeks. Till next time, Cheers!
May 30th, 2001 Treasure Town 2016 South Kedzie Chicago 7pm, $7 Omegas School Jerks The Ropes Culo Bald Pig Risk
