THE DIAMOND DEAD: No Revolution

This four-piece band from Napier, New Zealand used to be called Diamond Doll and have changed their name to The Diamond Dead now. The band consists of Tom, Liv, Tyley, and Kane, and this song is a preview of their forthcoming EP Becoming.

With a song that is “about the internal struggle of being part of an apathetic generation, of realizing what’s going on in the world but being too preoccupied with yourself to care,” as the band says, you can see that they are a bit more cerebral than a lot of other bands out there. The band plays tight, fierce and with so much energy and emotion that you are drawn into the song right from the start. The vocals are amazing, going from a smoother, yet tough sound to the shouted, almost Wendy O. Williams style of singing. This is such a treat since so many female vocals are wimpy or don’t have any power to them at all.

If this is just a single from the forthcoming EP, I can’t wait to hear the whole thing. Also, please keep on making fantastic music, and more frequently if, at all possible, the time between releases kills me.

https://www.facebook.com/thediamonddead/

https://thediamonddead.bandcamp.com/

https://www.thediamonddead.com/

BPM: ​Oh Fuck, Axl Rose

This secret member band from Texas has done it again, on Halloween 2018, they released another masterpiece of mayhem on the masses. Seven more short, to the point brutal songs for the punters.

With a mix of shouted/crazed vocals and throatier moments, the band rips through their new collection of songs with all the energy of a nuclear bomb. One kick in the balls after another coming at you with no rest between…awesome! I can never pick one song that stands out since they are all great, no fluff at all, just powerful tunes. The band is still playing a bit sloppy, but it works so well and you know that this will sound just as good live…if they would ever play live that is.

This is real deal punk/hardcore, the kind of stuff that I never get tired of hearing. I’m glad that they sent me the info so I could listen to this devasting collection of songs.

https://www.facebook.com/blastphlegme/

https://blastphlegme.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WiseassRecords

BPM: ​Now You’re A Cop

Here we go…this secret member band from Texas has seven super short songs that come at you like a psycho chasing you down the street.

This kick in the nuts album has some George Carlin samples on the first song “Shangry Torando’s Win Again!!!” “Now You’re A Cop” is even better than the first with the Ice-T sample and the great chorus. This is so in your face and sloppy, but damn…I just love that they keep the punk rock going and going. For those sick of over-produced punk, this reminds me of the good old days when you could find cool stuff on tapes. The shouted, sometimes growled vocals, the crazed drumming, the guitar that seems to be playing its own song different from the rest of the band and the bass keeping up, make for such a fun listen, plus the lyrics are cool as well.

Definitely worth checking out and supporting these guys because they do this for the love of the music, not for corporate crap-fests. Download this and scare the animals in your neighborhood.

https://blastphlegme.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/blastphlegme/

https://www.facebook.com/WiseassRecords

THE FLESH EATERS: I Used to Be Pretty

 

The Flesh Eaters, LA’s unconventional “supergroup”, reunites classic 1981 lineup of founding vocalist and songwriter Chris Desjardins — better known as Chris D, Dave Alvin (guitar) and Bill Bateman (drums) of the Blasters; John Doe (bass) and D.J. Bonebrake (marimba and percussion) of X; and Steve Berlin (saxophones) of the Plugz (and later the Blasters and Los Lobos) for I Used to Be Pretty.  On five of the album’s 11 tracks, Julie Christensen, Desjardins’ vocal partner in The Flesh Eaters’ successor band Divine Horsemen, latter-day editions of the original group, and in married life joins in. The Flesh Eaters were among the groundbreaking bands that emerged from the original Hollywood punk club the Masque in 1977, and after using different musicians on early recordings, this is the lineup that holds the most love from fans.

“Black Temptation” is one of two new tracks on here and starts things off with a slow burn that builds to a crescendo and the band is totally on point with a great rocking track to start things off. The other new song is the last one, “Ghost Cave Lament” and what a doozy it is coming in at over 13 minutes long. The track is just amazing with the sax, marimba and the tortured vocals making this a modern-day version of the Doors “The End.” The two new songs show that these guys are every bit as talented as they were on their older album and gives hope for more in the future. Six tracks on I Used to Be Pretty offer forceful reinterpretations of previously released Flesh Eaters songs. “Pony Dress” from the compilation Tooth and Nail (1979), “My Life to Live” and “The Wedding Dice” appeared on Forever Came Today (1982); “Youngest Profession” on Dragstrip Riot (1991); “House Amid the Thickets” on Ashes of Time (1999); and “Miss Muerte” was the title track of the most recent Flesh Eaters album. All of these songs have been updated, but not drastically changed, just given a new sheen from these great musicians, kind of fine-tuning them if you will. They also have three covers on this album; Fleetwood Mac’s “The Green Manalishi,” The Sonics “Cinderella” and The Gun Club’s “She’s Like Heroin To Me.” The covers have the power and guts that this album has given us in spades. The band sounds as though they had never stopped playing together all these years and the dual vocals added so much to the songs.

Tough playing, vocals that are gruff when needed, and having saxophone on an album again just, made me so happy and filled my ears with joy. For a band that hasn’t been on the public’s radar for a long time, I hope that this album changes that. This is a mandatory release for those who want some old/new, punky/swampy music that will get into your soul and lift you up and put a smile on your face.

https://www.flesheaters.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theFlesheaters/

http://www.yeproc.com/

http://www.facebook.com/yeproc

ALIEN SEX FIEND: Possessed

Alien Sex Fiend have been playing their goth-industrial mix since forming in London, England in 1982, and have just released their brand-new studio album, Possessed. This is the first new album since 2010’s hugely successful Death Trip album.

So here is a new album by Mr. and Mrs. Fiend, could you believe that when the Batcave started, that this band would still be around, let alone be this interesting still? I am glad that I’m not a betting man and also glad that they are still putting out fantastic albums like this. With a cool intro, we jump into the album and “Shit’s Coming Down” which has a trancey feel to the titled being sung over and over and the beat just flowing over the song. “It’s In My Blood” has distorted vocals, a throbbing beat and has a mellow, but edge to it that sends shivers up my spine. “Carcass” has the feel of a trance song mixed with a freak out going on at the same time…awesome! “Ghost In The Machine” is kind of a twisted spaghetti western mixed with ambient that makes for a strange, but a cool mix. As before, this is a machine that you can’t ignore. “Amnesia” is kind of minimalist and really stood out as an interesting song that had interesting effects and vibe. “Spine-tingler” is a short song with twisted vocals, then “Gotta Get Back” is a mellow track with quiet vocals that eventually gets a bit more full as more sounds start to enter and is a cool track that sounded great as the thunderstorm hit my area. “Invisible (The Beyond Mix)” reminds me of some of their older songs, but there’s nothing wrong with that at all! The interesting sounds mixed with the insane vocal from Nik just make for a song that made me hot repeat a few times. “Neutron” is an instrumental track that has a bit of twangy guitar and swelling synths that just reach for the stars and it almost has a hint of Pink Floyd in it. “Bloody Reprisal” is a version of “It’s In My Blood” that adds to the original track by being spacey and cool. Last track is “Shit’s Coming Down (Monster Mix)” that adds more effects, a thicker dance beat and more insanity that ends the album off perfectly.

The recording of this album had a very troubled bunch of circumstances that made what was supposed to be a quick follow-up to the previous LP Death Trip a very long journey. The death of guitarist Simon “Doc” Milton in 2012, as well as Nik Fiend being involved in a nasty car accident and Mrs. Fiend’s mother passing away, all took their toll on this album getting done in a timely manner. All I can say is that despite all of the hardships, this was worth the wait and is a fitting memorial to Doc and the Fiends commitment to great music. A band that is and has always been an original and just keeps putting out music that thrills.

https://www.facebook.com/AlienSexFiendOfficial/

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/CherryRedRecords/

THE BUSINESS: 1980-88

The Business was an English Oi! band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London. The band lasted for four decades until their frontman Micky Fitz died from cancer in December 2016. The band was formed by school friends Steven (‘Steve’) Kent (guitar), Michael Fitzsimons (‘Micky Fitz’) (vocals), Nicholas (‘Nick’) Cunningham (drums) and Martin Smith (bass). The band has had numerous line-up changes in their career until in late 2015, Micky Fitz was diagnosed with cancer on the lymph gland and underwent radiotherapy. On 1 December 2016, it was announced that Fitz had died. This 96 track, 5 CD, six-album clamshell box features all that Oi! legends The Business recorded between 1980-88. The 20 page booklet contains detailed liner notes, lots of previously unseen pictures and clippings from the band’s archives plus scans of all relevant record sleeves.

Disc 1 features 14 tracks by the band’s original incarnation including the Indie Chart hit single “Harry May” and Oi! favourites “Product,” “Suburban Rebels,” and a cover of Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas.” The songs are mostly demos from the original band and not as punk/Oi! sounding as they later did, but it is a great start to this collection and a chance to hear the very beginnings of this great band. The second disc is the band’s debut album Suburban Rebels, an acknowledged Oi! classic now bolstered by four bonus tracks including the Indie Chart No.3 hit “Smash The Discos.” This is where I first heard the Business, and owned this album, playing it quite a bit. “Harry May,” and “Drinking And Driving” are still great songs that were played by me when I used to DJ, and still get turned up loud when they come on. You can hear the improved playing and writing that this album had over the first recordings. Disc 3 has two albums on one CD. The original “stolen” recordings meant as their first LP plus the in concert Loud Proud And Punk-Live LP which hit No.2 in the Indie Chart and was actually recorded in a studio, with crowd noise dubbed in later. The master tapes for the first album went missing after disagreements between the band’s label and the studio, forcing them to re-record the album, so this is a great opportunity to hear what the band was going for before they had to come up with another album quickly. They included a cover of Crass’ “Do They Owe Us A Living” on the CD, which is pretty good, and the “live” album with their Sex Pistols cover of “Pretty Vacant,” is a great way to hear what the band sounded like live, or at least all playing together in the studio but without the cleaning up of their sound. The fourth disc features 1985’s Saturdays Heroes LP which now has the addition of the rare Get Out Of My House 12” EP. The album proved that the band were still vital and could keep getting better and better, with great production and a bunch of blistering songs, including the fantastic title track. As a bonus, we get the remade “Drinking And Driving,” “Outlaw” and “Coventry,” plus their versions of Sham 69’s “Hurry Up Harry” and Hustler’s “Get Out Of My House.” Now that’s a killer CD! The fifth disc is 1988’s Welcome To The Real World album which saw the band expand to a five-piece with the return of original guitarist Steve Kent. The song, “Do A Runner” has always been a classic and I loved it as soon as I heard it for the first time. A great song that still gets me singing long after all these years. This album is just as strong and tight as you would hope from them and will definitely get you shouting from the terraces. The bonuses are two songs from the Main Event gig, “Saturday’s Heroes” and “Harry May,” plus “Coventry,” “No Emotions,” the EP version of “Welcome To The Real World,” and two album out-takes, “Tina Turner” and “Get Yer Tits Out.”

Possibly one of the better collections out there since this is the classic stuff that they are so well-known for and even though they kept putting out newer albums, this is what I’ll always remember them by. If you are a crazed fan, you might have everything here, but for those that want to jump in, go for it…you won’t regret this at all, just great song after great song and the booklet is a great read too.

https://www.facebook.com/OiTheBusiness/

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/CherryRedRecords/

DEAD FRIENDS 46: Hardcore

The band was formed back in 2015 by hardcore/punk rock lifers Don Mazza (vocals) and Jason Dovalina (rhythm guitar), who quickly recruited close friends Andy Spraker (drums), Sean McGuire (bass), and Shaun Andri (lead guitar). True stories from members’ lives and salutations to fallen friends drive the writing and influence of the album. Each band member has overcome their own significant obstacles, including incarceration and addiction, and it shows in their lyrics, activism and commitment to doing everything they can to educate, but not preach.

Originally self-released on CD format by the band as Athletes to the Front which sold out immediately, Hardcore contains two additional tracks (“Mass Hysteria” and “Blood Clot”). The album also features a cover of Peter and the Test Tube Babies’ “Banned From The Pubs” and Social Distortion’s 1982 classic “Mass Hysteria.” The album is a punch in the gut and a kick in the ears that will make you shout…not in pain, but in complete joy, because someone gets it! Hardcore without the metal wanking and bullshit lyrics that too many bands seem to have nowadays. These guys are taking the old school sound, before metal crept into hardcore and taking a step back, but pushing the format ahead at the same time. Since this is not metal, it’s like a blast from the past, but maybe others can get their shit together and join in what they are doing and start more bands that are pure hardcore…maybe the start of a new trend…of doing it right. Gruff vocals, buzz-saw guitar playing, thick bass, and drums pounded within an inch of their life, plus awesome lyrics make for an album that is pure gold for these old ears. Short, to the point songs with no filler, and yes…all killer…sorry. The last song is truly powerful, listing their departed friends at the end of the song, a hardcore version of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died” in a way.

The album is a definite blazing collection of songs that will get you up and slamming along to, but take a listen to the lyrics too, feel the pain and emotion that the band puts forth. Having some people close to me die from drugs and bad decisions, this album not only was a punk rock fest for me, but it also meant something to me. Thank you for this great album guys.

Also posted at: http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2018/12/dead-friends-46-hardcore.html

https://www.ranknfilerecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DEADFRIENDS46/

https://deadfriends46.bandcamp.com/