What's new?

STRAW MAN ARMY's first release was extremely hyped in my circles, probably due to some second-order social proximity between myself and the duo behind this recording-only project. The 2021 cassette Her Majesty's Ship OST was released on Stucco alongside egg-punk sounding bands with names like FROGMAN'S STICK OPERA and PILGRIM SCREW. It's—I don't know—a soundtrack for an apparently non-existent movie, complete with a backstory about the movie's production hell and fake reviews from a film magazin...

We have a problem in Montreal Hardcore: too many tough guy beatdown bands. WILL TO SPEAK was the solitary standout for awhile, bringing more of a posi/youth-crew influenced sound to the scene. So I'm happy they finally have a record coming out. The production is excellent and the riffs are great. Ample dive-bombs! WILL TO SPEAK's lineup is basically local shoe-gaze band SPITE HOUSE + Big Karl on vocals and XVX Dany on bass. It's kind of funny that the single biggest meathead-looking dude in Mont...

Do you like MIND ERASER? Do you like MIND ERASER's high-concept 2008 final LP Conscious/Unconscious? If you've never heard it I would say go give it a listen before continuing. Conscious/Unconscious was the point at which MIND ERASER fully embraced their broader metal influences, in line with the trend of late 2000s powerviolence/hardcore bands breaking up so the members could start metal bands (see LIFELESS DARK who just dropped their long-awaited metalpunk thrash LP this week). This debut LP...

So you want to print some zines (like the ones in The Counterforce digital distro) to distribute at a punk show or other event, or to just give out to your friends. Sick! If you are new to printing or copying zines or just need a refresher, and want to avoid frustration and wasted paper, this guide is for you. This guide will mostly cover standard, Letter-sized-paper-folded-in-half-and-stapled style zines aka "saddle stitch" (like the Counterforce zines pictured in the header image). This is th...

Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow (GR) is infamously really long and difficult to read, but also highly regarded (for some reason). There is a good chance that if you have already heard about this book, it's because you got punished by some dude about it. I love Thomas Pynchon's books; Pynchon is an author that a lot of punks and anarchists love, and Gravity's Rainbow is widely considered his best book. There's good reasons people in our worlds like his books: he writes about anarch...

Some new additions to The Counterforce directory: Zines: Karton (France), DIY Zine (California) Sites: chpunk.org (Show listings from France/Belgium) Radio: Lazos Punks If you know of other punk projects online (websites, zines, radio shows/podcasts) please submit them!...

STREET GLOVES is back with another demo that gets right to the point. Punishing electronic d-beats, an oscillating siren(?), ripping power cords that punch the opening track "THE NEXT GENOCIDE" into full gear. A call to arms as the increasingly claustrophobic reality that the wars in Palestine, Sudan, Ethiopia and around the world are on display for us all to see, and will be on our doorstep if we don't act soon. "GOSPEL" keeps up the momentum and addresses the devastating and dehumanizing use o...

Behold the new dawn of stench... It's not often a band that places itself so firmly in a well established subgenre of punk outshines it's predecessors. But the monolithic weight of the 3 tracks from PORTAL TOMB's first release might just be the best stenchcore this side of the pond has ever seen. Crusty, rumbling bass tones, sweeping guitar riffs and pummelling drums all accompanied by the guttural war cries of guitarist/vocalist Aíne. Opening track "SELF" is a rallying cry against individualis...

We have a new zine submitted from Holistic Industries added to the digital zine distro: THINK! edition nil. Several reviews and a few musings about punk. Download, print and distribute alongside our other zines!...

The 3rd print version of The Counterforce is out, covering everything up to mid-october 2024. Download and print the PDF version and distro it yourself! This issue has a lot of photos, so we prepared a color version in addition to a B&W version in case you have access to a color copy scam ;) Find both, and more zines to print and distro on the Zines page....

Contributed by Greg The Builder There's something weird about walking down a side street in Manhattan and seeing a gallery window filled with a one of your favorite logos of all time. It feels both out of place and exciting at the same time. Truthfully, I am always conflicted when art and academic institutions and "authorities" try to legitimize punk and the art made within it. As if we need their approval to know that what has come from our subculture has meaning and worth. These shows often f...

Brought to you by CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19 – CY FEST KICK OFF SHOW We rolled into LA like the Beverly Hillbillies: our whole life upon the wagon: sustenance, wardrobe, equipment, furniture, and even another vehicle for local transport—not to mention not one, but TWO recently stitched buttflaps. On the way up we discovered THE TOASTERS’ “Weekend In LA” track, which became our anthem for the trip. “How will you check me later if you don’t dig me now?” We slept at...