Forward - Fucked Up!!

Artist: Forward
Title: Fucked Up!!
Release: 2002
Label: H.G.Fact

1. Simple True
2. I Save Me
3. Never Lost Your Self
4. What?
5. Freedom?
6. Fucked Up!!
7. Failure
8. Change

Fucked up public opinion!

Download: Forward - Fucked Up!! (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

New Brutalism - Turbo Record!

Artist: New Brutalism
Title: Turbo Record!
Release: 2002
Label: ABC Group Documentation

Track List:
1. 056.00
2. 056.25
3. 056.50
4. 056.75

Hooray for the bargain bin! I'm not normally one for "noise rock" or whatever the kids these days call it, but this short record by Knoxville's New Brutalism isn't bad at all. I'll be honest though, I had to google them to find out what genre one might call them because when I was listening to this record I couldn't quite peg it myself. I bet some folk consider that a good thing. Apparently all of their instruments are hand made out of aluminum.

Download: New Brutalism - Turbo Record! (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: New Brutalism - Turbo Record! (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Skitsystem - Allt E Skit

Artist: Skitsystem
Title: Allt E Skit
Release: 2002
Label: Barbarian Records

Track List:
1. Profithysteri
2. Maktens Murar Rasar
3. Revolt (Asocial)
4. Human Waste
5. Alla Jävlar Ljuger
6. När Skall Ni Fatta?
7. Jag Vägrar
8. Ondskans Ansikte
9. Profit Overshadows Need
10. Ett Liv I Frihet
11. System Collapse
12. Dödsmaskin
13. Krossa Mig
14. Allt E Skit
15. Välfärd
16. Pigs
17. Levande Lik
18. Slaves to Misery
19. Civiliserad?

Tracks 1-6 from "Profithysteri" 7" (1995, Distortion Records)
Tracks 7-16 from "Ondskans Ansikte" 10" (1996, Distortion Records)
Tracks 17-19 from split 7" with Wolfpack (1998, Distortion Records)

Same story as the previous post.

Like some other posts I've made this one is in a 7-Zip archive. You can download 7-Zip for free from here. I highly recommend it.

Download: Skitsystem - Allt E Skit (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Skitsystem - Allt E Skit (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

R'N'R/The Suicide File - split

Artist: R'N'R/The Suicide File
Title: split
Release: 2002
Label: This Blessing This Curse Recordings

Track List:
1. R'N'R - Poser
2. R'N'R - All Murder, All Guts, All Fun! (Samhain)
3. The Suicide File - Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For
4. The Suicide File - Achtung! Landmind!

This one requested on a certain message board. Obviously I wouldn't go to the trouble of ripping something this awesome and not post it here as well. R'N'R and The Suicide File both play a sort of Boston hardcore with strong rock and roll undertones.

The R'N'R side is kinda quiet so you may have to turn up the volume. As usual I recorded it as loudly as I could without distorting the sound.

Download: R'N'R/The Suicide File - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: R'N'R/The Suicide File - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Tetsu Arrey - Rocket / Core

Artist: Tetsu Arrey
Title: Rocket / Core
Release: 2002
Label: H.G.Fact

Track List:
1. Rocket
2. Core

I was lucky enough to pick this up at the same time as Tetsu Arrey's "Force" 7". To be honest this 7" isn't quite as good as "Force" but it's still full of energy and fun.

I forgot to mention in my last post that 鉄アレイ means "iron dumbbell". Personally I think it should be romanized as Tetsu Arei but I guess at some point enough people started using Arrey. I suppose it's pronounced the same either way so it doesn't really matter.

Download: Tetsu Arrey - Rocket / Core (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Tetsu Arrey - Rocket / Core (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Fudge/Totsugeki Sensya - split

Artist: Fudge/Totsugeki Sensya
Title: split
Release: 2002
Label: 625 Thrashcore

Track List:
1. Fudge - No Racism, No War
2. Fudge - Selfish Rock
3. Fudge - 生存 (Seizon, Existence)
4. Totsugeki Sensya - Reality
5. Totsugeki Sensya - Search for the Sun

Sometimes I like to go on eBay and search for records without anything in particular in mind. I'll often just go to the records section and filter out all the bullshit like easy listening and world music as well as everything that is over a few dollars (if I didn't know I wanted it before I started looking then it really isn't something I want to spend much on) and sort by ending soonest. Every once in a while I'll find a gem amongst a seemingly endless number of Sex Pistols represses and Jefferson Airplane records misclassified as punk. This split by Gunma bands Fudge and 突撃戦車 (Totsugeki Sensya, which transliterates to "assault tank" but I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess it means "tank assault") is one of those gems. The best part about this record, for me anyways, is that I won the auction with a winning bid of $0.01. How's that for some luck?

Here's what 625 has to say about this record...

Gunma City hardcore fighters! My friend Mamada from SHIKABANE is always telling me about these bands from a small town outside of Tokyo called GUNMA CITY. By chance I got into contact with a member of TOTSUGEKI SENSYA and got their demo and it fucking floored me. I couldn't believe that they had been around for a few years without some kind of output. Mamada then told me about FUDGE and we started playing around with the idea of doing a GUNMA CITY comp of some type. This is the product. While FUDGE play a more traditional style of Japanese metallic hardcore (guitar solos, shouted choruses, etc), TOTSUGEKI SENSYA play a mix between CONFUSE and BASTARD. Putting Gunma on the map! (1000 pressed, all on black)

Speaking of Shikabane, expect a few awesome and related posts in the next few weeks.

Since I'm a bit of a dork and am always curious about places I've never heard of before I looked up Gunma City but couldn't find anything. It turns out, according to Wikipedia that "On January 23, 2006 Gunma, along with the towns of Kurabuchi and Misato, all from Gunma District, and the town of Shin, from Tano District, was merged into the expanded city of Takasaki.". So there was a Gunma-machi (town) in Gunma-gun (district) in Gunma-ken (prefecture) at the time this record was pressed but it has since been absorbed by Takasaki which is considerably larger.

The only pictures I could find that were definitely of Gunma-machi were of an old (probably neolithic) burial mound...





this western pasta restaurant...



and a snow covered field...



Not exactly someplace I can imagine as a breeding ground for great hardcore, but don't let the quaintness fool you, the bands on this 7" rip.

Download: Fudge/Totsugeki Sensya - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Fudge/Totsugeki Sensya - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Cluster Bomb Unit/Raagg - split

Artist: Cluster Bomb Unit/Raagg
Title: split
Release: 2002
Label: Rabid Dog Records and Crimes Against Humanity Records

Track List:
1. Cluster Bomb Unit - Parties in Villas
2. Cluster Bomb Unit - Wie Lange Noch
3. Cluster Bomb Unit - Das Große Spiel
4. Raagg - Death of Last Species
5. Raagg - Sick Society Suicide Systems
6. Raagg - Extinction

This was one of the first records I ever bought. Probably not long after it came out. I dunno how I found Crimes Against Humanity Records, but I remember the first time I went to their website I was floored by how cheap everything was. Seriously, if you like hardcore, grindcore, or metal take a look at their selection. Odds are you'll find at least a few things you want, and for prices that are still so low I can't help but wonder if they actually make a profit on what they sell.

Anyways, enough plugging someone else's business. Cluster Bomb Unit is rad crusty hardcore from Germany. They've put out a number of records over the years, some of which have been collected into partial discography CDs. I think this 7" isn't on any of them. I will likely post those discography CDs in the near future. The artwork for their side of the split is punk as fuck. I'll admit it's the reason I ordered it in the first place. I figured it had to be good. I was right.

Raagg is noisy hardcore from Japan. I know absolutely nothing about them. As far as I (read "Google") can tell this split is their only recorded output. Their side has some minor static noise in it that I wasn't able to remove. I think it might actually just be the original recording was done on shitty equipment and not due to the vinyl playback. Given the kind of bands we're dealing with here that's extremely likely.

At least Cluster Bomb Unit has a website.

I had to change one of the filenames to make it work with the .zip format. If you're curious as to why that's sometimes necessary read this.

Download: Cluster Bomb Unit/Raagg - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Cluster Bomb Unit/Raagg - split (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

Anger Management Session 1

Artist: Various
Title: Anger Management Session 1
Release: 2002
Label: Martyr Records

Track List:
1. Kill Your Idols - All Those Wasted Calling Cards...
2. Holding On - Turn the Screw
3. Close Call - Left in the Dark
4. My Luck - Just Friends
5. Diehard Youth - Scene Vampire Killers
6. What Feeds the Fire - Without the Weapon

I somehow ended up with two copies of this 7". I don't remember where I got the first one. Either way Kill Your Idols and My Luck are both really awesome. The rest of the bands on this compilation are pretty generic 2000 to 2009 American hardcore. In 2002 I might have been excited about every band on this compilation, but in 2010 I can't help but roll my eyes at most of them.

That being said this is really worth it for the Kill Your Idols and My Luck songs. I've posted My Luck here before, so you might have already heard them. If not think Carry On or later Champion.

600 DPI scans of the artwork included.

Download: Anger Management Session 1 (LAME 3.98r V0) Multiupload

Download: Anger Management Session 1 (LAME 3.98r V0) Mediafire

City of Caterpillar - Demo + Live Recording

Artist: City of Caterpillar
Title: Demo + Live Recording
Release: 2002
Label: Level Plane Records

Track List:
1. A Heart Filled Reaction to Dissatisfaction (Demo)
2. Shadows of Ghosts Passing on City Streets (Demo)
3. Demo Track 3
4. Demo Track 4
5. Demo Track 5
6. When Was the Last Time We Painted over the Blood on the Walls? (Live)
7. An Innocent Face (Live)
8. Shadows of Ghosts Passing on City Streets (Live)
9. A Little Change Could Go a Long Ways (Live)

While no means what I would consider a "hardcore" band City of Caterpillar nevertheless deserves some attention here. Active back in the days when screamo was for the most part not yet a dirty word City of Caterpillar played what I think is best described as a fusion between their contemporaries and Post-Rock. At times they lean so heavily towards the sort of beautiful and eerie sounds typically associated with bands like Mogwai that it can be pretty jarring when they suddenly shift into the harsh noise and screaming.

Somewhere around 7 years ago I left their self-titled album in my car's CD player when my mom asked to borrow it. Later that day when she returned it to me she made the comment that whatever was in my CD player sounded really pretty until it started to get really ugly. That's a pretty accurate description I'd say.

This particular recording is a little more on the ugly (in a good way!) side of things than their self-titled release but it's just as great of a listen. Rather than type out my own description, from the insert:

Songs 1-5 were recorded at Signal to Noise Studios by Duncan & Jay in the April of 2000 in Richmond, VA. These songs were originally released on demo tapes & CDRs. Song 3 also appeared on a split 7" with System 2600 which was released by the Sea of Dead Pirates record label.

Lineup... Brandon, Ryan, Adam, Jeff.

Songs 6-9 were recorded live on WNYU by Steve Roche in Manhattan, NY in the December of 2000. Songs 6 & 8 were released on a one sided tour edition 7" which was pressed by the Level Plane record label.

Lineup... Brandon, Ryan, Kevin, Jeff.

This release is intended to make these songs available at a reasonable price. There should be no need to pay ridiculous prices for these recordings on out of print records.

...Endless thanks go to...
Planes Mistaken for Stars, System 2600, Level Plane, pg 99, Lilac Sky, Adagio 830, Fil "Mako", our friends & families, and everyone who has supported us.

It's kind of funny now since this record can go for a good amount of money on eBay. I was fortunate enough to get my first copy on black vinyl for normal retail price. I won't say how much I paid for my second copy on clear vinyl, but it was as Brandon said, ridiculous.

I'm kind of in the process of organizing my mp3 library right now. Since I don't actually own a CD copy of this record I was curious to see if it is even available for sale anymore and sadly it appears it isn't. The only downloads I could find through Google find were low bit rate and probably done poorly. Fortunately, even though I don't have the actual CD I do have a FLAC rip with an EAC log that says it's damn near perfect. So for your convenience here it is in V0 mp3.

Download: City of Caterpillar - Demo + Live Recording (LAME 3.98r V0)

Bastard - No Hope In Here

Artist: Bastard
Title: No Hope In Here
Release 2002
Label: Bastard Records

Track List:
1. Misery
2. Flash Out
3. Never Change
4. Wind of Pain
5. To the Stumped Underdogs
6. Dear Cops
7. The Way To Survive
8. Truth
9. Tragic Insane
10. Spend Your Life
11. Defective Chain
12. Moment of Death
13. Cause of Civilization
14. Slick Plot
15. Lasting Power
16. 屍 (Shikabane, Corpse)

This is a CD re-issue of the legendary Bastard's "No Hope In Here". It compiles all of their releases in one disc.

Tracks 1-8 from "Wind of Pain" (1990, Bloodsucker Records/Bastard Records)
Tracks 9-14 from "Controlled in the Frame" (1989, Bastard Records)
Track 15 previously unreleased
Track 16 from "Triple Cross Counter" compilation (1989, Kagai Mousou)

Download: Bastard - No Hope In Here (LAME 3.97 V0)