The Counterforce - Issue 6

The Counterforce Issue 6

2025-05-25T20:44:44.000-04:00

The Counterforce Issue #6 is here, featuring all the content published since the last issue... See it all collected online here, and download an imposed PDF to print and distro yourself:
US Letter
A4

PDFs for past issues, and many more zines are available on our Zines page.

8/10 with DJ Buckingham Palace

2025-05-20T22:38:08.000-04:00

NINES? TENS? DON’T TALK CRAZY! HOW MANY REALLY EXIST OUT THERE? HOW ABOUT WE CELEBRATE THE BEST OF OUR USELESS TOIL AND LEAVE THE HYPERBOLE FOR PITCHFORK DOT COM. 8/10 IS NOT BAD! IT’S PRETTY MUCH THE BEST! BUT HEY, TAKE THIS AS PROOF THAT I’M NOT SOME BUTTER-UP PUNK TRYNA HAND OUT THE HIGH SCORE FOR A SNEAKY KEY AT THE BAD SMELLING GIG. I DIDN’T SAY TENS DON’T EXIST! - DJ BUCKINGHAM PALACE

LIFELINE - Endtime Groupthink

Back in February, I had the pleasure of watching LIFELINE play their first ever set at La Chaine’s ‘new band’ gig at LA Sotterenea. I think many would agree that a certain measure of looseness, a few glaring stumbles or maybe even a mid-song stop and restart are all fair-and-square expectations for a bill comprised entirely of brand new thumb-sucking punk bands, however, based on the bands cone-studded lineup alone which features members of LOBOTOMITE, CATEGORY 514, RECALL and countless others, I was pretty certain that LIFELINE would exceed expectations by a rifle shot, and they really, really did. It was a 15-or-so minute display of raw churning d-beat with a well-considered death metal inflection. There were lots of inventive riffs, a few tablespoons of melodic creativity, and vocals that oscillated between furious and mournful. Flash forward three and a half months later, and I’m exceedingly glad to report that the band has not sacrificed any of their scale or versatility on their way to completing this debut tape. It’s all in there! Just like I remember! Without a doubt Endtime Groupthink has got crasher crust at its glowing hot molten core, but Lifeline avoids a common mode of failure that other adjacent bands succumb to by reaching far beyond the parameters of their crusty rawpawnk foundation. Less inspired d-beat shakeweighters of the world should take note; make the style your springboard! Have a part that sounds like it would fit nicely on the album Heartwork! Why not? An easy 8/10.

Endtime Groupthink, by LIFELINE

5 track album

LIFELINEBandcamp New & Notable Mar 6, 2025

LIFELINE live, photo by Slim

EMPART - EXTREMENOISEHARDCORE

Is mysterious guy (insert subgenre title here) back? I have practically zero background information that I can add to this review beyond their bandcamp tags which are; “punk, dbeatrawpunk, Austin”. That’s Austin, Texas and not Austin, Quebec, right? We can’t say for true. Someone has got to know something! Anyway, who gives a fuck, I guess. I’ve been hangin’ on tight for a follow up from this project since 2023 and EMPART has finally delivered thee such reward with a seven track banger so unforgiving in its raw grit that by track seven you’ll feel as if you’ve really put your aural endurance to the test. If you have a hi-fi system at home, just be careful - this shit might actually delaminate every surface in your apartment and then you’ll lose out on that damage deposit :’( I mean, pick out one of these tracks blind and I guarantee that it would make a great playlist addition at any CIA black site prison. So yeah, I guess what I’m saying is that if you want to turn your tape player into a COBALT style no-touch torture device (the only time I’ve ever used a reference like that to describe something that I enjoy) you should buy this cassette… if you can. I don’t know if they made tapes or if they’re available or if EMPART has ever even played a show. All this scary CIA interrogation talk has got me a little suspicious of their mystery now. Better check if there’s a .gov address attached to the Bandcamp page. It’s an 8/10 even if they’re the feds.

EXTREMENOISEHARDCORE, by EMPART

7 track album

EMPARTBandcamp New & Notable Mar 6, 2025

SILO KIDS - DEMO

I’m enamored by their quickness, besotted by their wit,
Enraptured by their buoyant charm, by every snare drum hit,
I’ve been struck on Hub City’s SILO KIDS, and their warly wicked-sick riffs,
The demo’s out on Earth Girl Tapes, on this Bandcamp link, do click

https://earthgirltapes.bandcamp.com/album/demo-3

8/10

DOMINACIÓN - Punks Ganan EP

2025-05-20T23:01:11.000-04:00

What changed recently in Barcelona? A new breed of bands have appeared suddenly in the last three years creating an insane experiment of raw sounds. I will talk about the whole scene in the future, but one of the most extreme and interesting cases are DOMINACIÓN, a band created to satisfy the most intense feelings for the noisy music we all like. Blending members of another thousand bands (LUMPEN, IRREAL, ASPRE, SAYÓN... the list could be too long) their love for the Japanese bands like FRAMTID is more than evident here. The kind of band you can't play on your phone because the speakers are shitty so it sounds like white noise, but once you put on your headphones and close your eyes, a whole experience of direct action anarchist music explodes like an Orsini bomb in your brain.

This EP that features seven songs is called Punks Ganan, and to answer other reviewers, Barcelona punks are not going to win anything, this means that punks rule and it's impossible that anyone can disagree with this title. The fierce music that appears after this short title/statement is everything you can expect from such a minimum concept: an ode to the old d-beat but modernized with a 90s filter. Sometimes you will think they are going for a crust riff but it is still raw punk and pure energy in the form of a Barcelona punk band. In the first moment I thought Punks Ganan was sounding too digital, but I have to admit I'm playing this EP so much more than I though I would, even seeing them live every month, and probably the mix is one of the reasons.

The lyrics are honestly so good and harsh, the song "Israel" was supposed to ban them in Germany while they were on tour (the ones trying to ban them don't know what they are saying!! but anyways, fuck these pro zionist punks) so already accomplished the goal of confronting ideas. Another one that I like a lot is "Asesinados en las cárceles españolas" (Murdered in the Spanish prisons), that does not talk only about prisons but also CIEs (unofficial jails for migrants, where there have been tortures and attacks of all kinds to the people trapped there), police stations, reformatories... the power of the state that crushes innocent lives in reclusion. There's tons of cases of tortures, attacks and murders (and unknown suicides) in these spaces, but of course no one want to look at it. In this scenario that is not dystopic at all, it's our reality, what can we expect from our world? Well, they know the answer: "Resistencia y vida punk" (resistance and punk life). Fuck the penitentiary system, and listen to what DOMINACIÓN are saying!

Punks Ganan is a short introduction to the potential of this band that are already playing 20min of set in their last shows, so we can expect more music soon I guess, way more refined and still sounding extreme.

Listen here: https://discosenfermospunk.bandcamp.com/album/de-130-dominacion-punks-ganan-7

DE #130 DOMINACION “punks ganan” 7″, by Discos Enfermos

7 track album

Discos Enfermosplasticwoundrecs

TÀRREGA 91 - Ckaos Total

2025-05-20T22:51:03.000-04:00

I take punk album lyrics very seriously, and I enjoy reading an insert full of phrases that somehow make me think. In fact, with this obsession with lyrics, I tend to err on the side of writing overly convoluted lyrics. I'm always surprised when an album has lyrics that are just one line, and even more so when those lines aren't just boastful talk but also can be a direct and effective political shot. In Ckaos Total, the punks from TÀRREGA 91 have managed to synthesize concepts in their minimal expression. Between cries against war ("bombes que cauen, i no a casa teva" [bombs that fall, and they don’t fall over your house]]) and for the destruction of the capitalist world (ckaos total!), a d-beat machine blasts into your ears. It doesn't matter how fast they play, because it's always unstoppable. An excellent recording with a sober, old-school style, without special effects, trailing behind them the long shadow of DISCHARGE and MG-15. TÀRREGA 91 have consolidated the sound they released on their debut EP (Fill de la Merda, 2023, La Vida Es Un Mus). Take the opportunity to listen to one of the few Catalan-language punk bands, a gem from the interior of Catalonia.

Listen here: https://lavidaesunmus.bandcamp.com/album/ckaos-total
LP available from La Vida Es Un Mus

Ckaos Total, by Tàrrega 91

10 track album

LA VIDA ES UN MUS DISCOSBart

Victoria, BC Scene Report

2025-05-12T17:30:48.000-04:00

Ok, this isn't a full, true scene report – despite my name, I haven't lived on Vancouver Island for almost 20 years, but it's still a place I feel connected to and love. I have incredible friends here, some from when I lived here, and plenty are folks I have met in the 20 years since I left. I lived in Victoria for 10 years in the late 90's/early 2000's and since then, understandably, a lot of things have changed, but a lot has stayed the same. Here's a few things I tapped into while I was there recently.

How to find the gigs

The promoters here poster like the good ol days, but I can't tell you which telephone pole to check for the latest posters. Unfortunately the only good way to find out about shows here is Instagram. If you don't have Instagram, too bad for you! I'd say the best way is to hit up one of the shops at the end of this article and ask, bonus cause you'll make a local friend. Hopefully the Gigtoria folks will set up an alternative online calendar or something soon. Another option is Live Victoria, an independent website that has been going since I lived here. Back then it was mostly punk and underground stuff (and a forum we all argued on) but now it seems to list everything so check that out if you also want to know when the next DAVE MATTHEWS cover show is.

Bands

These are some of the bands I didn't catch live (all the bands I saw live are in the shows section). There are a ton of bands so sorry if I missed you! If I missed your band, you should write up a true scene report that isn't by some tourist who "used to live here."

LOVE LIFE is a pop punk band that has members of LOTS of other bands, the pedigree here is kinda close to unmatched. They were recording while I was here so hopefully that drops soon.

Demo, by Love Life

4 track album

Love LifeBandcamp New & Notable Sep 21, 2024

CORRODE is a metallic hardcore band in the best way. Great snare sound, political lyrics, 10/10. Not to be confused with CORRODE from Western Mass (who also rule, btw)

Demonstration, by Corrode

4 track album

CORRODEBandcamp New & Notable Dec 14, 2022

HEDONIST is death metal played by punks (yes!) I heard a rumour they are playing a particularly long-running Montreal punk fest this year, take this as a warning, but you didn't hear it from me.

Sepulchral Lacerations (Demo), by Hedonist

6 track album

Hedonist

SHOPLIFTER is on the shoegaze-y end of grunge, kinda gives me a lofi DINOSAUR JUNIOR vibe.

EP, by Shoplifter

5 track album

ShoplifterBandcamp New & Notable Feb 29, 2024

COUP D'ETAT is I guess screamo? Scramz? I'd call this post hardcore, but like the good 90's kind of post hardcore. They have a super pretty Bandcamp page.

SPLIT, by Coup D’état, Lakeside Amusement Park

4 track album

Coup D'étatBandcamp Album of the Day Mar 22, 2019

BODYROT is a crust grind band, for fans of crust grind (like me). I'd love to see this band play in a packed basement on a super hot summer day.

FLESHWORKS, by BODYROT

4 track album

BODYROTNerve Salad

I.O is a one piece drums only noise project. Fucking wild, I love it.

Injecting Logic - Volume II, by i.o

9 track album

i.oBandcamp New & Notable Mar 6, 2022

AK-47 is a fast super political hardcore band that started in 1997 and are still fully DIY, playing real punk shows and dropped an LP last year. They released an album in like 2000 called Free Palestine, you know they are legit.

Call Them Out, by AK-47

25 track album

AK-47Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 11, 2025

Shows

WHITE COLLAR & GLOBAL FAKE @ Wheelies – Victoria, BC, Canada

Show poster for WHITE COLLAR and GLOBAL FAKE at Wheelies in Victoria BC Canada. The main image is a skull wearing a mask with the WHITE COLLAR logo between the eyes

Wheelies is a motorcycle-themed cafe in an industrial area of Victoria. I've heard they do shows in the parking lot, which would be kind of a perfect outside spot for shows since it's closed on three sides. This show was on a rainy Victoria night so the show was half inside. The bands played outside in a kind of covered patio, and the crowd was inside. This could be a pretty cool setup, except the cafe is mostly immovable booths so all of that was in the way for everyone watching the bands. That's a bummer cause I was ready to mosh and WHITE COLLAR is a very moshable hardcore punk band. They ripped it even though the crowd literally couldn't move to show our appreciation.

GLOBAL FAKE started setting up and I could tell it was going to be an early night for me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt but they started and really were not hitting the spot. They say they are post hardcore but that means something completely different in 2025 Victoria than it did in 1996 Victoria. They were tight, just not my thing.

Demo 2, by White Collar

1 track album

White CollarRiot Radio

Remove the Ugly Visitors, by Global Fake

7 track album

Global FakeBandcamp New & Notable Oct 16, 2023

POOCHED LP release show with DISPOSAL, SUNDIVER, and CHERRY VENOM @ Little Fernwood – Victoria, BC, Canada

Show poster of a black letter board with white letters with the show details. POOCHED LP release show with DISPOSAL, SUNDIVER, and CHERRY VENOM Littel Fernwoos All Ages $5 youth $10 adult 7PM

Little Fernwood is a small community center in a central Victoria neighbourhood. It has been hosting shows on and off for over 30 years, and at times it was central to the Victoria punk and hardcore scene. I hadn't been there in probably 20 years so to say I was very excited would be an understatement. This show ticked so many boxes for me: all local celebration of a local band's release, all ages with a lower price for youth, early start, community center, plus there were free chips and pop at the door.

SUNDIVER opened things up, they are a slightly mixed bag of folky pop punk and hardcore but it worked. They covered DEAD KENNEDYS "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" so you know I loved that. I was very down. CHERRY VENOM played second, They were a fun pop punk kinda vibe, they had great stage presence and played a solid set. DISPOSAL played next, if heavy dirty riff-y hardcore is your thing, definitely check them out. They put on a great show. POOCHED headlined, as they should every show they play. Heartfelt pop punk the way only a three piece can do it. I love them, definitely check them out and pick up their new LP. The crowd was moving right from the start, and that's what you get from an all ages gig in Victoria. Huge bonus for the show was that the POOCHED LP has a dog on the front and the dog made an appearance at the gig (in between bands of course, no doggo ears were harmed in the making of this gig).

How to Live With Yourself - EP, by Sundiver

6 track album

SundiverBandcamp Album of the Day Apr 5, 2022

Dispösal

Hardcore punk band from Victoria, BC

Dispösal

self-titled, by pooched

12 track album

poochedemmatonkss

SLANT, DRAÜMAR, BOOT LICKER, SELF DEFENCE @ Moon Under Water – Victoria, BC, Canada

Show poster green and pink on a white background. Band logos for SLANT, DRAÜMAR, BOOTLICKER, and SELF DEFENSE and show info, Thursday April 17 2025

I was pumped for this show and it did not disappoint. The energy was buzzing right from the start, the show was sold out well before the sun was down or the bands started. This was SLANT's second show of tour and when I went to buy tapes I got the last one. SELF DEFENSE got things started off right despite some technical problems. Fast hardcore that constantly felt like it was about to go off the rails (and maybe did a couple times) which is exactly how I think hardcore punk should be. BOOTLICKER played next and I was impressed. I've never listened to this band before because I couldn't get over their name, but their live show won me over and now I'm a fan. I moshed. Fast, tight, energetic hardcore punk. Joke's on me for sleeping on them for years. DRAÜMAR from Oslo, Norway played next. They were a late addition to the show, their tour plans got scrapped when they decided not to tour the US due to possible immigration issues. Very cool that they still made a go of it by playing a bunch of shows in BC. They were rad and the crowd loved them, especially the oogles. How did oogles get into a sold out show? SLANT from Seoul, South Korea headlined (obviously) and they put on a set worthy of the slot. What a fucking great powerhouse of a hardcore band, they deserve all the hype they have. I moshed, everyone moshed, some oogle tripped me in the pit and I went face first into the floor. No regrets.

Self Defense, by Self Defense

from the album SELF DEFENSE - 12 Track E.P.

Slow Death RecordsBart

Bootlicker LP, by Bootlicker

14 track album

BootlickerBloke_Whistler

DRAÜMAR

DRAÜMAR. Oslo, Norway.

Record stores and adjacent stuff

Pogo Pope Printing

Screen printing shop with a bunch of records, bootleg shirts, and punk accessories. Owned and seemingly staffed exclusively by active punks, go here if you need to find the latest hype release or some cool old record at an affordable price. I think these folks also run or are a part of Slow Death Records. If you are in Victoria and you don't stop here, idek, that says something about your priorities. 3588 Quadra St., Victoria, BC V8X 1H2

Downsided Distro

Cool local grind and crust distro, the name says it all. Obviously run by a punk, you gotta catch 'em at gigs I think.

Cavity Curiosity Shop

This is a super cool spot that's basically someone's special interest turned into a store. There's lots of books, VHS, records, CDs, tapes, patches, trinkets, some toys probably. Owned and run by an active punk. 2514 Douglas St., Victoria, BC V8T 4M1

Supreme Echo

Tiny record shop with lots of niche records, CDs and tapes. Collector's gonna collect kinda vibe, bring lots of cash if you wanna buy something here, you will find something cool, but it's gonna cost ya. Owned and run by an old head. Fucking stoked someone is living their dream. 2504 Government St. #102, Victoria, BC V8T 4P7

Ditch Records

Cool long running record store, usually has lots of cool punk and hardcore stuff and always has. 784 Fort St., Victoria, BC V8W 1H2

Camas Books

Anarchist bookstore, has books, zines, random stuff, a crucial stop for any anarchists and anarcho-curious. 2620 Quadra St., Victoria, BC V8T 4E2

Full disclosure, I love Victoria

I don't get to come back to Victoria very often, every few years at most, and this trip was the longest I've spent here since I left. I'm really glad I got to catch up with the scene a bit and shed a little tear of happiness that punk is going strong and the scene is so fucking cool here. If you are a band on tour and Vancouver is on your list, book a show in Victoria. It's worth it for the ferry ride alone, maybe you'll see orcas, and for sure it'll be a fun gig.

Malas Artes 2025 Reportback

2025-05-13T18:42:28.000-04:00

Malas Artes is already a classic in Barcelona. After so many years of the festival (previously called MDA), each edition seems more impressive than the previous one, and the imagination and energy behind this huge event has opened new spaces to punk in this city. The fest is organized by a nonprofit association with three punks behind it and lots of people who collaborate in many different ways. This year, all the proceeds were donated to the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, who also were there (and even danced!) during the whole fest.

Thursday, May 8th

The first day of the fest started at Paral·lel 62, an old theater/club that is now run by a cooperative of different music venues. The space is downtown, a bit far away from home, and in an area where normally you wouldn’t find many punks nowadays. The venue is impressive – in past editions of Malas Artes, the show happened onstage, but this year the organization decided to do a floor show, allowing the crowd to nearly surround the bands.

This day started with the local band KIRE, who I missed, and the news that DOMINACIÓN were finally playing the next day. KIRE was followed by one of the acts that I was more excited for: GLAM. They were playing for first time in many years, after they split at some point in the previous decade, spawning several amazing projects (BARCELONA, UNA BÈSTIA INCONTROLABLE...). Their original mix of HELLHAMMER riffs, fast hardcore drums and dark, oppressive lyrics sounded exactly as I was expecting, and their explosion of energy fulfilled all my dreams of seeing them again.

After them, TENTÁCULO from Sevilla took the floor to show how punk has evolved lately in Andalucia – slower and melodic, but addictive, with great hooks and very well-crafted lyrics. They were followed by CŒUR À L’INDEX, who continued with the slower sounds but in a more power pop style, showing the potential of this Brussels band that already visited us last year. After this peaceful time in Paral·lel 62 the drums of war resonated with the first notes of S.H.I.T.

The venue was dark, with only a few lights directed at the band, and the crowd was so packed and wild that it looked like a scene from Fight Club. The energy delivered by this Toronto band is impossible to express with my broken English but it was amazing for those who like the raw energy of punk and the perfect midtempo parts that they have been polishing over the years.

The day finished with one of my favorite group of Mediterranean punks, the acclaimed CHAIN CULT from Athens, Greece – they demonstrated that their post-punk is alive and kicking, with more new rock flavors added to their formula. They are exceptional people and musicians! Sadly, I had to go back home very early and missed part of the set, because I had to wake up very early the next morning.

Friday, May 9th

The next two days of the festival happened in the great Ateneu Popular de 9 Barris, one of the first squatted places of Spain, before squatting was a word here. It was originally an asphalt factory that was built to create the new roads around Barcelona, but the neighbors decided to sabotage the machines and take the space. It is not squatted anymore but it’s one of the most important cultural public spaces of the city.

On Friday I arrived after work, very tired but decided to see the local band DOMINACIÓN, who opened the day and delivered the rawest sounds of the festival. Even playing a bit slower than usual, their wall of sound was unstoppable. After their set, I spent a lot of time at the door, just hanging out with lots of people, especially Italian friends that haven’t seen in ages. Lovely people. It seemed the craft beer in the venue had a weird sweet taste, and the punks went feral around the neighborhood looking for beers. We saw two supermarkets with no beers at all, and of course they didn't understand what was happening.

A couple hours later, the sound of some noise (the kind of noise we like) arrived to my already fucked up ears and I decided to enter the venue to see what was going on. BOMBARDEMENT were playing – one of the finest d-beat acts of Europe, proving that Bordeaux still has something in the water (maybe wine?) that makes their inhabitants create amazing hardcore punk bands. Sadly, the venue was too full and I only saw a bit from far away. Then I missed SEEIN RED, from Amsterdam, and honestly if you don’t know this band you should!! Everyone said they were so good, and now I think I should have gone inside for their set. Lesson learned, no more socializing for me. After them another very anticipated act came: E-150, already-classic local hardcore punk that were reunited for this special occasion. I loved to see them, but the stage of this show was too big and the sound in the back of the venue was not very consistent.

Finally THE MOB (UK) took the stage, and hundreds of people melted into one single entity of love, anarchy and punk. Smiles everywhere, funny dances, hugs, and sing-alongs were the summary of their show. They played a bit slower than in the albums, but it was still amazing. I felt like a child for a couple days, I never thought I was going to be able to see them! An Ulrike Meinhof quote in the back of the show, the Palestinian flag and the flag in support of Blokes Fantasma (a squat in risk of being evicted soon) made the whole scene an even more beautiful memory that I will keep with me forever.

Saturday, May 10th

The fest was ending but we still had a whole day of music and talks. I woke up a bit earlier than I wanted and went downtown with CHAIN CULT to have some tapas. It was super nice, but then we rushed back to the venue where a very special talk was happening: Penny Rimbaud from CRASS who explained the details of the Dial House, shared many thoughts and was so nice trying to answer every question. I wanted to ask him if he still thinks that, after how interesting his life sounds, they still owe him a living (I think they owe me a living for sure). Or if he really found that living a bit later than he was expecting. But I’m too shy. He probably would have answered that of course they owe him a living, and I would seem like an idiot. After a small pause another talk, very different but very interesting: Laura Macaya and A. explained the complex concept of transformative justice. It was very good, I wish there could be more talks around this idea since many things were left out because the shows were starting.

Again, I missed a bunch of bands: BRAGAS PONTE, BOLA DE CRISTAL, BORLA… there were too many people I hadn’t seen in years from all around the world! But I interrupted my socializing in time to see ASTIO, an amazing band from Trento, Italy. Their live set full of effects and energy took me on a trip to a different dimension, I felt like I was seeing a totally psychedelic post-punk show. Again, I missed some more music, but some time later I got to see a few tracks of PIÑÉN, the perfect hardcore duo from Berga (a city close to Barcelona) that destroyed the ears of those who offered them to their raw sounds. After them, TENUE from Galicia played some emo crust that sounded so heavy, but it’s not my kind of band.

There are different stages in Ateneu Popular de 9 Barris, and the big venue opened its doors with SHAKTI, a new local band who surprised me with some anarchopunk beats and sometimes mixing post-punk riffs with faster punk songs. I really liked the drums, and I’m curious to see how these already experienced musicians (BELGRADO, GOOD THROB, etc.) evolve this sound. The day was ending for me – I was too tired (yes, I am a weak punk), but I went to see the last show of the smaller stage: S.H.I.T. were playing again! That was fabulous. I saw all the younger punks dancing to these gritty hardcore songs and I just hope they start more hardcore bands after seeing such a good show. We need bands made by younger people! S.H.I.T. were probably the best band of the fest after GLAM for me.

The fest wasn’t ending but I went back home, I was very tired. I would have loved to see E.V.A and TATXERS if they would have played a bit earlier, but I’m sure we will have time to see them again soon.

ASK A PUNK: How to run your own online show calendar

2025-05-03T16:47:28.000-04:00

Intro

Few things in punk bother me more than when Facebook or Instagram are the only ways to find out about shows. For the past decade I've tried many different online and offline projects to provide alternative ways for Montreal punks to promote and find out about shows. I started with a flyer blog (I think), and for many years I did an e-mail list with monthly show listings. For a while there was a monthly print version too. I helped with a telephone hotline. And I've printed and handed out thousands of flyers, even for shows I'm not playing or booking.

Everyone who knows me knows I'm a big advocate of physical flyers and posters, but I also accept there is an online component to good show promotion. Especially in a city with a lot going on, you want people to be able to find out about and share upcoming shows easily, or at least without needing an Instagram account. I'm not pro-online, I just accept that it is a necessary part of our modern social life. So I'll always keep printing and handing out flyers and posters! But I am really against the only online place to find out about shows in a city being a login-walled corporate social media site. This is why I set up an online show calendar.

Montreal ASK A PUNK

In late 2022 I launched Montreal ASK A PUNK. It's an online show calendar, with all the features one might expect:

You can scroll through a chronological gallery of flyers for upcoming shows.
Each show has its own page with more details.
You can search for future or past shows by venue or hashtag.
You can select a date and see what shows are happening that day.
Shows are also grouped together in curated collections (by promoter, fests, etc).
Shows can be submitted anonymously by anyone, but they have to be approved by me or another admin.
Many local promoters and helpful punks also have an account so they can put up and edit their own shows without approval.
Submitting a show is as easy as creating a Facebook event. Choose a date, set the start and end time, enter the venue, upload a flyer, write a short description and maybe some hashtags.

Montreal ASK A PUNK homepage from Varning last year

Anyone can just go to https://montreal.askapunk.net and see the shows.
No account is needed to see the event. Every show has its own link, like https://montreal.askapunk.net/event/total-nada-fucking-lovers-invisible-cities-recall-psychic-armour, that is easy to share in a text message or on social media.
Events can be imported to other calendar software and tech-savvy users can even subscribe to an RSS feed.
Other websites can embed the whole calendar or just a part. For example, a venue or promoter can embed a list of all their shows, and it will stay up-to-date and link directly back to the ASK A PUNK event pages.

Montreal ASK A PUNK is also part of The Fediverse, which means anyone with an account on Mastodon or other similar apps can just follow the calendar and see new events in their feed. This is also how people can comment on or like an event, all they need is a Fediverse account on any server (like counterforce.social!) or app they choose.

What an ASK A PUNK show listing looks like in Mastodon

Gancio

Many people asked me if I built ASK A PUNK myself. NO! The calendar is powered by a piece of software called Gancio, developed by Italian anarchist hackers, originally to provide an event calendar for their hackerspace. Gancio is free open-source software. There's no Gancio service you can sign up for to get a calendar like ours. It's DIY, you have to set it up yourself— but anyone can install it on their own server to host their own calendar, and that's what I did!

How-to: the technical stuff

Hosting a Gancio calendar requires a little bit of tech knowledge. Beyond getting a server (which I talk about below), you need to be comfortable with the Linux command line, a bit of basic "system administration," and have some understanding of how general "internet stuff" works. I won't do a full step-by-step guide here, I just want this to give you an idea of what's involved. The general steps are:

Register a domain name (e.g. askapunk.net)
Get a server
Install Gancio on your server
Configure DNS to point your domain name at your server
Periodically do backups and keep Gancio up-to-date

That's a broad overview. You can install Gancio on Debian or nixOS, with Docker, or on YunoHost. You'll probably need to set up SSH keys and SSH in to your server (like hackers on TV), and you'll definitely need to do some DNS. If that all sounds like gibberish to you, that's OK. It sounds intimidating, but if you are already curious about doing autonomous computer/Linux things, Gancio is a pretty manageable way to get started. If you want to try learning it yourself, there are too many free resources online to list. I use the LandChad.net page as my reference a lot of the time because it is very simple and clear.

You also might be able to find someone local who can help you out. Any punk who runs Linux, hosts their own website, or has worked a computer job might be your Gancio sysadmin. I was not a professional computer-toucher when I started setting up websites and Gancio calendars, I just knew enough to get into trouble and I learned more as I went.

A server

To set up a Gancio calendar, you need a server: a computer connected to the Internet at all times so other people can access it.

In theory, you can run Gancio on a old computer in your closet at your punk house, but actually hosting stuff on the Internet this way has some downsides. It can run up your home internet bill, there are some security concerns, and furthermore you'll have all the punks in the city mad at you if your internet or power goes out and the calendar is down! But if you want to go that route anyways, YunoHost might be a solution. It's an operating system you can install on an old computer which lets you turn it into a server for many different applications you can install with "one-click," including Gancio.

The more stable and secure option is to rent a server in "the cloud." This is called a Virtual Private Server or VPS. A VPS needed to host a Gancio calendar can cost as little as $5 per month, sometimes even less. The one I have for Montreal ASK A PUNK costs $10-$15 CAD per month and hosts half a dozen busy calendars. It's a little bit of money every year, but it's easily fundraised from a benefit show or a few people chipping in regularly.

You might also have some local nerds who can donate some server space to you. Perhaps a local hackerspace, tech collective, university, or social center. Gancio doesn't require a lot of resources. Ask around! Again, you might find some local techie punks who want to help and donate their time and server space to set this up.

There's a lot more to running an online calendar besides the technical stuff.

Accounts

No one needs an account to view or submit events on a Gancio calendar, but there are accounts for the folks managing and curating the calendar. Gancio starts out with an Admin user who is responsible for managing everything. You set up this account when you first install Gancio. You want this to be someone trustworthy and reliable to keep the calendar running.

The Admin can invite other users, who get an e-mail to create their account. Other users can be "Users," "Editors," or additional Admins. Users can create and edit their own events, Editors can edit any event, and Admins can edit anything on the site and invite other users.

Montreal ASK A PUNK is set up like this:

Anonymous submissions are allowed, so anyone can submit a new event, but it has to be approved by an Admin.
Open registrations are closed: random people can't just sign up for accounts and create events without approval.
Local promoters who are regular and trustworthy get User accounts: they can create their own shows without approval, and edit any shows they've created. Montreal ASK A PUNK has a few dozen User accounts.
A few helpful punks have Editor accounts, to help curate the calendar, approve events and edit mistakes or updates. Montreal ASK A PUNK has a handful of Editor accounts.

The Settings!

This is a good system, because anyone can submit a show and there is a nice collective of Editors to help approve those submissions as they come in. About half of the shows are created anonymously and half are created by promoters using their User accounts.

Getting the word out

If you start a new online show calendar in your town, you have to get the word out. In some places, this is easy. People are generally thrilled to find out a resource like this available and will start using it and contributing right away. But sometimes it's a little harder and an online calendar works best if it's a community resource that many people contribute to. I set up Montreal ASK A PUNK a while ago, and I still have trouble with promoters who love that it exists but constantly forget to submit their shows there. Here's my advice:

Reach out to promoters, to set them up with a User account and walk them through how to submit shows (it's the same as Facebook, if not easier!). Remind them that they can still just submit a show anonymously if they forget their login info. Offer to have them just text you the flyers and you'll take care of the rest. Just keeping bugging them. Eventually they'll get it!
Get some friends to help get the calendar up to date. At first, you'll have to populate it yourself and make sure the show info is up to date and correct. Ask for help!
Make flyers promoting your new online calendar and hand them out at shows. People will be stoked!

Our flyer for Montreal ASK A PUNK

Ask promoters to shout out the calendar on their flyers. Your calendar is a central resources for the whole scene, and promoting it benefits everyone. You will find out who is a real DIY community builder, and who is just in it for their own Instagram follower count based on who follows through on this!
Curate a good calendar. Add a hashtag for each band playing an event. Clean up confusing show descriptions and broken links, correct mistakes (e.g. shows that start at 6am instead of 6pm), add more info like where bands are from or post links to their music on Bandcamp or Youtube so people can check them out.

ASK A PUNK network

Since launching the Montreal ASK A PUNK calendar, I've helped set up a few more:

There are also a few other online punk calendars that use Gancio that I had nothing to do with!

We try to keep a list of online hardcore punk show calendars (not using Gancio, just in general) in our Directory. There are lots more there, and if you know about one please let us know!

Why bother?

Besides fuck Instagram/Facebook/Meta/Tiktok/every sleazy corporate ticket/events listing website?

It makes it easy to see what's going on tonight, this weekend, next weekend. No digging through Instagram stories to find a disappearing flyer.
No accounts needed, no tracking, no ads, no capitalism.
A centralized community resource for your city: one place everyone can post, update, and check shows.
Decentralized: it breaks us free from all relying on a few massive corporate services to promote punk shows worldwide.
The calendar becomes an archive of past shows: if people properly add bands as hashtags for each event, you can search for a band and see flyers for all their shows since the calendar started.
There are many options to check and follow the calendar! Open it in your browser on a computer, check it on your phone (you can even save the site as an icon on your homescreen for easy access!), share links to events that anyone can view, subscribe to RSS, embed on other sites, follow from Mastodon/The Fediverse.

Alternatives

I like Gancio because it has a lot of the features I want, and doesn't have a bunch of features I don't want. It looks pretty good, it's easy for people to add and view events, and easy for me and others to manage and administrate. It's not perfect, but it's open source, so it's steadily improving and anyone can contribute suggestions or requests. Bugs get fixed and good ideas for new features are implemented.

Some people might prefer to set up a local message board as an alternative and less-corporate place to share shows. Message boards can be great for a local community like a punk scene, but a message board isn't meant to be a show calendar. You don't have to worry about moderating flame wars if your calendar is just a calendar. Gancio does one thing and does it well.

I'm skeptical of upstart centralized "alternatives" like global message boards or other central sites meant to provide a calendar of show events and discussions for the whole world. The Counterforce is about decentralized and autonomous resources. Investing in a big central message board or calendar site, used by people all over the world and run by strangers in a random far away place doesn't seem sustainable to me. I host a few ASK A PUNK calendars for friends in other cities, but this is just because I want to jumpstart the idea. I would much prefer to help people set up their own calendars in every city than just become Mr. ASK A PUNK and run the calendars for every city in the world. I care about DIY, and setting up your own online show calendar with Gancio is very DIY.

But if you are really into this idea, and just can't scrape together the technical know-how needed in your town, there are other solutions! Just make a website and keep it updated! You can set up a free website with Neocities, upload flyers and list upcoming shows, and create an e-mail address for people to submit shows. It's a bit more work, but it's still a great way to liberate show listings from the corporate ad-prisons of Instagram and Facebook.

And don't forget the offline alternatives! Keep printing and handing out flyers and putting up posters. A monthly printed show calendar can be a great compliment to an online calendar. Here in Montreal, the monthly zine newsletter La Chaîne includes show listings pulled from Montreal ASK A PUNK.

I hope this has introduced you to the idea of a Gancio-based online show calendar, or helped demystify the ASK A PUNK calendars if you'd already encountered them and their ilk. I hope you will be encouraged to help set one up in your town! It really is not that hard, and it can effect great change in your scene. If you want any help, or you do set up any kind of online calendar for your local hardcore punk scene please get in touch!

KALEIDOSCOPE – CITIES OF FEAR / DESTRUXION AMERIKA – GRITOS NOREÑO

2025-05-12T21:26:37.000-04:00

This is not a review of a split – it's a split review! Two records, one review! Contributed by D. Alexander Holmes

DESTRUXION AMERIKA is originally the brainchild of “Eskorbeto” the nom de plume for the vocalist of everyone’s favorite warp-speed Texas hardcore punk contemporary legends NOSFERATU. This release pairs them with the three core members of local NYC heroes TOWER 7 (everyone’s fav [sic] thrashy crust outfit from NYC’s post-pandemic years) and KALEIDOSCOPE (review imminently pending) ((yes D4MT, yes STRAW MAN ARMY, yes HUNGER, yes D4MT Labs who have recorded so many great albums)).

Primarily midtempo punk, (a sharp veer away from the project’s only other release aside from a live demo Tierra Hospitalaria, their split with PERROTIN DE PRENDA, which is more reminiscent of NOSFERATU’s brand of hc punk) some songs invoke TOWER 7’s demo Entrance To A Living Thing, while some are a little more moody, maybe more closely relatable to 80s Italo hardcore punk/postpunk sounds (atmospherically). The vocals possess the malaise one would expect from anyone awake in 2025, though I know most of this music has been around for the last four years and the sentiment expressed remains. Sometimes detached, and sometimes engaged/enraged, they add humanity to Joe’s (vox TOWER 7, bass KALEIDOSCOPE) catchy, scruffy guitar textures and Owen’s (drums/vox STRAW MAN ARMY, drums KALEIDOSCOPE, drums TOWER 7) punchy and forward bass backbone. Shiva (guitar TOWER 7, guitar/vox KALEIDOSCOPE) keeps everything on lock without being bombastic on the drums. Annotated band affiliations aside, the whole thing is truly very good, it has been growing on me with each listen.

KALEIDOSCOPE also comes through with another ambitious take on their particular nook of hardcore punk. I always appreciate music from a band that gets to work together on several projects over the period of a decade+. I am in fact an older head. With time comes taste I dare say! I appreciate especially those who have contributed so greatly to many subgenres of punk through the years.

After The Futures, their last LP was an underrated masterpiece in my opinion, so coming into this I had a very high set of expectations. And Cities Of Fear delivers. It’s dynamic, full of fantastic hooks, searing guitar textures, and surprise valleys and peaks of unforeseen changes paired with evocations of the beauty and pain of it all expressed sonically by instrumental segues and moments of harmonic bliss. Catchy yell-along moments expressing our angst in this moment, the fear, the anger, the defeat, the disdain for the illogical nature of it all, and the desperate hope for a better tomorrow. Tay’s (vox: TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS ZONE/TAZ) appearance on the song "Utopia" also made me smile and cry too. Whatever.

Both albums are A+ and very excited to keep hearing music from these punk behemoths!

Listen to Gritos Norteño here: https://d4mtlabsinc.bandcamp.com/album/gritos-norte-o
LP released on Unlawful Assembly

GRITOS NORTEÑO, by DESTRUXION AMERICA

14 track album

D4MT Labs inc.D4MT Labs inc.

Listen to Cities of Fear here: https://d4mtlabsinc.bandcamp.com/album/cities-of-fear
LP released on Sorry State and La Vida Es Un Mus

CITIES OF FEAR, by KALEIDOSCOPE

8 track album

D4MT Labs inc.D4MT Labs inc.

PHAGOCYTE - Don't Rain of My Parade or I'll fucking Kill You

2025-05-12T17:31:59.000-04:00

The fuck you attitude of Boston seeps out of every seam of these 7 new hardcore punk tracks from PHAGOCYTE. Lot's of tasteful big riffs, a venomous vocal delivery and enough tempo changes to keep you on the tips of your boots.

Standout tracks include "Manufactured Entropy," a frantic dive into the paranoia brought on by over stimulation caused by the relentless machine of the military industrial complex and a freshened up version of "Weaponized Incompetence" (originally released on the B.U.D.L.I.G.H.T. Demo) – pounding drums and a devious guitar slide crash into a side to side stomper that has no time for the thick heads of those who choose to look the other way in selfish preservation or wilful ignorance.

Recorded and mixed on a 16-track tape, this gem of a release proves that no fancy bells and whistles are needed to bludgeon you over the head with fuck you punk.

Give it a listen here: https://phagocyte-doesnt-like-u.bandcamp.com/album/dont-rain-on-my-parade-or-ill-fucking-kill-you

WAFAQ - Reconciliation Philanthropy

2025-05-12T16:25:05.000-04:00

"The world is being blinded. We are all forced to tune out the world's dramas.
Some, on the other hand, are fighting back with every ounce of energy they have, defending every inch of land with hunger and prolonged suffering. Of course, they persevere out of love."

The second release from the anonymous Indonesian raw punk band carries the torch of their first release, albeit with a much darker and sinister sound. Expect all the raw punk frantic energy, but with some black and death metal inspired riffs to boot. A few tracks even grind to a sludgy tempo, saturating the distorted riffs, massive drums and spaced out guttural vocals showcasing the bands desire for sonic exploration as a medium for their militant message. The 5th track opens with a sample of "The urgent call of Palestine" by ZEINAB SHAATH that roars into a midtempo stomper that riffs on the sampled folk guitar. Almost clocking in at 30 minutes, this LP is an emotionally charged cry at the atrocities taking place but also a celebration of those who have died and those who continue to fight for the liberation of their peoples, from Palestine to the Chiapas Highlands and the people of Papua.

Taken from the press release:
"Reconciliation Philanthropy, decades of continuous resistance with urban guerrilla and village combing, is not only about how many heads are cut off, but also about restoring love and love. No need for arguments or anything like that, on the basis of love the resistance is maintained.

Of course the millions of liters of blood spilled on their land is not the main desire, Simply put, they just want Flowers, Dates and Watermelons to grow with LOVE."

Included in the bandcamp description is a link to a google drive that has documents about the album, the artwork and the lyrics in Bahasa and English.

Check out the LP here: https://wafaqnotforwar.bandcamp.com/album/reconciliation-philanthropy

THE SUBHUMANS – Incorrect Thoughts

2025-05-11T18:37:49.000-04:00

I'm not the hugest fan of the THE SUBHUMANS' discography. Overall, they are bit too garage-y for me, the rock solos rub me the wrong way, and their style of satire doesn't grab my attention most of the time. People talk about the songwriting and favour one member's songs over the other, but aside from the real rippers none of them really grab me. The subject matter is great, but their sound just isn't my thing, this record in particular. So why am I writing a review of a classic that I don't really even like? It's because one of the songs on this record is called "Urban Guerillas," the chorus has the lines:

Guerrillas, urban guerrillas
Point the way for me and you

One of the band members lived up to that song. Near the end of the band, probably while this record was being written, the band's bassist Gerry Hannah was a member of a group called "Direct Action" which later became known as the "Squamish Five." They vandalized government offices, stole weapons and dynamite, bombed a generating station and a weapons manufacturer. Vancouver punks at this time were known for being politically active beyond their bands, even Jello Biafra noted it as an important distinction to the Vancouver scene at the time. The Squamish Five got caught and Gerry got a 10 year sentence, of which he served 5. He says he doesn't regret his actions.

I think the most well known THE SUBHUMANS song is "Fuck You," and it's not even on this record, but the point of this review is that punk isn't just saying "We don't care what you say, Fuck You!" Punk is so much more "So cause a commotion and love the reaction."

VORÁGINE - PANICO

2025-05-12T17:07:05.000-04:00

Peru's VORÁGINE are back with seven more tracks of gut busting, fuzzed out raw d-beat punk that'll have you begging for more. All the classics are here, we got delayed vocals, blistering guitar solos, blasting snare rolls, more d-beats than a DISCHARGE 7inch, and even a tasteful ATAQUE FRONTAL cover that breathes frantic new life into an already iconic crusty Peruvian classic punk song.

What else is there to say? If you like pogoing in the pit, pumping your fist to the eternal rhythm of the d-beat and throwing beer cans at your unsuspecting friends go put this album on right now !!!

Special shout out to the album artwork done by Al.Bareto, they've got one of the wildest styles right now and I'm stoked to see more of their work on the front of ripping punk albums.

take a sip: https://vorgine2.bandcamp.com/album/p-nico

SILO KIDS - DEMO

2025-05-11T17:01:50.000-04:00

FRANTIC SHIT!!! I've been a huge fan of the Earth Girl / Hattiesburg scene since BAGHEAD and BIG BLEACH flew up to Toronto for a freezing March fest a loooong time ago, absolutely blew the roof off the place. The label's never really stopped or slowed down even a little, building and expanding a catalog of hand-made tapes, and I highly recommend the Dog City live sessions they've been doing on the LICEHEAD Youtube channel. Everything they do is unified in celebration of quick 'n' dirty bands in 'uncool' towns and cities. I love it, and so do you!!!

The SILO KIDS demo is precisely that, a 6 songs in 5 minutes kinda affair, zero fat, just hardcore calisthenics in the pure form. I love the groovy little bass lines underpinning songs like 'Planet' and 'Ticks', the clean vocals sound great throughout, and the drums and guitar are in perfect sync, especially in the last track.

In an incredible touch, they also included inserts of the band as Magic: the Gathering cards, which also include the tabs for the songs. I got 'Patty, Anti Push-Pitter' (not a bad pull I'd say). Hattiesburg on top forever!

Listen here: https://earthgirltapes.bandcamp.com/album/demo-3

DEMO, by SILO KIDS

6 track album

Earth Girl Tapesemmatonkss

Touring Atlantic Canada: VERIFY Tour Reportback

2025-04-21T10:59:52.000-04:00

We recently took our powerviolence/hardcore band VERIFY on an 11 day tour of Atlantic Canada. What follows is both a traditional tour diary, but also a tour guide, hopefully something that will empower and encourage other bands to visit this frequently overlooked and underrated part of the world.

Atlantic Canada covers the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland/Labrador (one province including the island of Newfoundland and the mainland region of Labrador). If you've heard about "the Maritimes," that's everything in Atlantic Canada not including Newfoundland and Labrador.

We live in Montreal, so this region is at our doorstep. Punks from Atlantic Canada regularly visit Montreal to play or attend shows and fests, as it's their closest "big city," but it's rarer for Montreal punks to return the favour and travel east. It's rarer still for bands who are touring through Montreal and Toronto include Atlantic Canada on their route. Getting out there is a "long drive"—to Fredericton, it's an 8 hour drive from Montreal, or a 6.5 hour drive from Boston—but once that's done, everywhere else in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI is 2-4 hours apart. One long drive to get to a concentrated region of thriving punk scenes nestled among beautiful coastal landscapes shouldn't be a deterrent to any but the laziest punks.

Atlantic Canada punk has a long and storied history. Check out the still-active Atlantic Punk blogspot which digs into the history of the region with interviews and discographies. That history has built many strong punk scenes today, regularly repopulated with youth hungry for any new bands who come from away. These kids will go out of their way to support your band, buy your merch, make sure your gas, bridge tolls, and ferry tickets are paid for and just generally make you feel welcome. We've never heard of a decent hardcore/punk band having a bad time or losing money on an Atlantic Canada tour leg.

Fredericton, New Brunswick

New Brunswick is the gateway to the rest of Atlantic Canada. From Montreal you have to drive through 8 hours of Quebec/New Brunswick highway before you get to the first city of note (Fredericton).

There are several small cities in New Brunswick. Fredericton and Moncton are both along the Trans-Canada Highway and Saint John is off the highway down towards the Bay of Fundy. Don't confuse Saint John, New Brunswick with Saint John's, Newfoundland!

All these cities have a rock or show bar and you might have luck getting a bar show but probably only on a Friday/Saturday/maybe Sunday. All-ages shows in Atlantic Canada are much better and more fun than bar shows, but the difficulty is the same in getting a show booked on a weeknight. At present, Fredericton seems to have the most active scene in New Brunswick. Seger and Sienna from GAZM moved back there and settled in at the start of the pandemic, and we think a lot of the current scene's health is due to their influence.

Fredericton is the only place on this tour we had played previously and the large and enthusiastic all ages turnout at the Odell lodge mirrored our last gig there in 2023. Our version of the perfect show (three band show, over by 9PM) opened with a playful and interactive harsh noise set by MILKWEED, followed by a new death-metal-y band WAYWARD CORPSE, fronted by our friend Seger. Our set was a bit rough around the edges—it was the first show of tour, and also Taylor's first show playing guitar in VERIFY (a last minute line-up change due to our guitarist Jay having a family emergency). We got our only big technical hangup of tour out of the way early, the supportive crowd waiting patiently while Taylor hunted down the bad cable in her pedal chain and tucked it away for the rest of tour. Once we finally started, the energy was through the roof and people danced super hard. A really encouraging start to the tour!

WAYWARD CORPSE

Since it was still pretty early, we went to the house and got some good quality kitchen hangs with Seger and Sienna, plus a few acquaintances we remembered from our last trip to town. We talked about the local struggles kids are facing to start bands or book shows, and there seems to be a bit of a bottleneck around places for new bands to practice. Despite this, it was encouraging that Jackson, a local younger, long-haired shredder who had opened for us in 2023 with a solo project was now starting full bands and taking on booking shows. We hope the next time we play Fredericton there's a crop of new bands to share the stage with!

Charlottetown, PEI

PEI (Prince Edward Island) is a small island off the north coast of Nova Scotia. A lot of the world's potatoes come from this island, which is about the size of Delaware or Palestine. It used to be more isolated, but in the 90s they built a 13 km/8 mile bridge (the longest in Canada), making it much more accessible. There is a $50 toll to leave the island on the bridge, but we've never heard of a band not covering that easily with a show there.

Crossing that famous bridge onto island #1 of tour and taking in the martian-esque red dirt landscapes, we rolled into Charlottetown and immediately spotted posters for our show that night, always a great sign! Being a small island, the punk scene is concentrated in Charlottetown, the largest city. The drive from Fredericton was short, so we had time to avail ourselves of the island's offerings in the hours before load-in: first hitting up Splendid Essence, a veg buddhist spot and probably my favourite food of the whole trip, and then a quick drive to one of the island's famously nice sandy beaches, complete with dunes and a charming lighthouse.

The show itself was at the PEI Farm Centre, a building with a big multipurpose room and offices for a bunch of agricultural organizations.

What the Farm Centre looks like when not hosting a gig

Our friends and PEI veterans CELL DETH opened – they're one of the best current Canadian hardcore punk bands, it was a huge tour highlight to be able to share the stage with them. We were also excited to learn that they were recording the morning after we left, so keep an ear out for that! CELL DETH's drummer Brett is one half of Secret Beach with his partner Sophia, and they ran the show like fucking pros. They even had little name tags where people could write their name and what instruments they play, so attendees could mingle and find others to start new bands with.

Secret Beach start-a-band name tags!

The rest of the show was a classic mixed bill and we loved every second of it. Teenage rippers KRATOM were on second, followed by heavy hardcore band CUT DEEP and the wildcard GIRLS NIGHT who had a saxophone and synth basslines and almost-rapping vocals. Luckily we played pretty well, because videos from this show followed us around the rest of tour: "I saw clips from your show in PEI the other night, it looked insane!" greeted us everywhere we went afterward. We sense that the scene in PEI is on the upswing, and it's clear that the Secret Beach crew and others are really putting in a lot of work to make it happen. The show was packed, other bands were releasing their tapes or abuzz about upcoming recordings or future shows they were playing. It was Taylor's first visit and she was totally charmed by PEI and got just enough of a taste that she is already plotting a return—maybe even for Trash Beach Fest (August 23rd, 2025) which was announced via a banner that was unfurled during our show!

CELL DETH and the early crowd

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax is in Nova Scotia, and it's the biggest city in Atlantic Canada and has a pretty well-known punk scene with a long lineage of crusty punk, youth crew hardcore, folk punk, etc. Current bands likes MUTATED VOID, BLACK DOG (d-beat legends who we got to play with on this tour), and BOTFLY are keeping Halifax on the map right now. Ever heard of CONTAGIUM, LIFE CHAIN, FRAGMENT, WORD ON THE STREET, or xENVISIONx? Look them up.

It's common for bands to play both an all ages show and a bar show in Halifax, to maximize the turnout and help make the long trip worthwhile for touring bands. Gus's Pub is a common bar for punk shows, but for all ages shows Radstorm is the spot.

Radstorm

It's a legendary social centre, jamspace, zine library and all-ages show venue that has been digging in its claws to stay open amid Halifax's soaring rents and property values. We learned that they have successfully fundraised to buy their building through crowdfunding and a community financing initiative, so hopefully they will be around for a long time! Despite this, they are still facing constant harassment from the property developer neighbours. Halifax has had a pretty crushing wave of development since the start of the pandemic as many people across Canada who started working remotely moved there and bought property. Rents have shot up and everyone we spoke to had problems making their rent. In this context a space like Radstorm is crucial.

Anchor Zine Library

After landing in Halifax (again immediately greeted by posters for our show wheatpasted to a Canada Post box!) we hunted down the highly-recommended vegan donair, took a stroll around historic Point Pleasant Park, and then rolled up to Radstorm. Unfortunately, due to aforementioned neighbour tensions and code issues, the space is currently operating with a 50-person capacity limit, which we hit pretty much immediately upon doors opening. Some latecomers didn't get in, but the young punks who showed up promptly all did!

A brand new grindcore act SCATTERED TEETH opened the show, followed by VOMT, a scrappy punk trio who would become our mini-tour-mates. Despite the small cap, the show felt full and fun, although Halifax being a bigger city meant the crowd was a bit more self-conscious and didn't start really going off until almost the end of our set (our friend Renee getting on the mic for our INFEST cover helped!). It was definitely another night for a local sandwich, and d-beat warriors BLACK DOG were a treat as always—we would've almost driven to Halifax just to see them. Halfway through their set, nervous eyes began to dart around the room searching for the source of a familiar scent—whiffs of smoke were coming from the bass cab. The gear was quickly swapped out and BLACK DOG continued their assault of noisy dbeats, grunts, and earsplitting guitars. Fried gear aside, Lucas who booked the show dealt with a lot of chaos that night, on top of doing sound AND door/managing capacity AND dealing with the cops showing up during our set. Radstorm can't be stopped!

Bear River, Nova Scotia

There are many smaller towns around Atlantic Canada. Besides the bigger cities in New Brunswick (Fredericton, Moncton, St. John), we've heard about recent shows in Bathurst, Sackville and Miramichi. Summerside is the second largest town on PEI and it seems possible to play a show there. In Nova Scotia there's Truro an hour north of Halifax and then the whole rural section of western Nova Scotia where many punks, queers, anarchists and other weirdos live rurally.

To try and fill out our tour, we got a show in Bear River, located about two hours west of Halifax along the Bay of Fundy. The turnout was great as people from all over the area drove in to attend the first punk show ever in Bear River. We ended up in Bear River simply because we had a good friend/retired show promoter there who was willing to find a space (a soap workshop in a community arts building), source a PA, and put together the show. We can't recommend any specific rural or small town in Atlantic Canada, the place for you to play is anywhere you have a friend or fan willing to pull it off for you.

If you are talking to a promoter in one of the bigger towns, ask if they know any bands or punk kids in a smaller town or rural area nearby who might be really excited to bring a band to their specific town. Keep your expectations low—it might just be you and another band playing in a shed. But if you want to fill out the tour and have an extra show or two, as well some adventure, it will be absolutely worth it and you will likely be surprised.

After the short two-hour drive from Halifax, we were at our friend's place, eating lunch in the cute cabin they built themself and making friends with their sweet dog. Everything on the tour past Fredericton was new to Taylor, so we made sure to make another beach stop and see the legendary Bay of Fundy.

The Bay of Fundy

Stopping for a coffee in a small town on the way to Bear River to load in for the show, our car started acting weird. It wasn't totally dead, but we were about 30 minutes away from the venue and definitely didn't have time to troubleshoot it or risk getting stuck in a worse spot (at least we were in a town, with a few garages nearby). Our friends were able to procure an extra vehicle (#RuralLife) and we swapped our gear into a different car, abandoning ours as a tomorrow problem.

VOMT playing in Bear River

Luckily our new pals VOMT from Halifax were able to get off work and were super game to come play this weird gig with us on a Monday night in the middle of nowhere! Additionally, the promoters had put an announcement about the show in a local newspaper, and a local band had reached out asking if they could open—a group of skatepunk dads + one of their 14-year-old sons, playing mostly covers plus one original. So in the end it came together and we had a proper three-band show! The turnout was great, probably about 50-60 people, and we were grinning from ear-to-ear the whole time, despite some underlying dread about the car situation. It was super wholesome, and people seemed genuinely stoked and thankful that we had come out there to play—definitely one of the more special and unique shows of tour.

Newfoundland

Newfoundland is a large island (the size of New Brunswick or Maine) located 160 kms (100 miles) off the eastern coast of Canada. To get to St. John's, the main city, you drive four hours east from Halifax, then take an eight hour ferry, and then drive 10 more hours. At that point you are basically a stone's throw from Greenland, and are in a special half-hour-ahead time zone.

It sounds daunting, but it's a worthwhile place to go and play. St. John's has always had a punk scene (ever heard of DA SLYME?) and in recent years it's more common for bands to get flown out there to play a weekend. Still, whether driving or flying, it seems like only 2-3 punk bands per year will put in the effort to get there.

Previously it would be hard to get a show anywhere besides St. John's unless you were willing to try and book your own show at a bar and hope that the bar regulars like whatever kind of punk you play (fine if you play folk punk, not so great if you play powerviolence). But these days, Billy in Corner Brook (a city on the western coast of the island, closer to the ferry) is coordinating with Barely There/Liam (in St. John's) to ensure a string of shows for any band who comes through: if you time it right, you can play four shows on the island, with an all ages show and a bar show in both Corner Brook and St. John's, making the ferry cost and logistics well worth it. There also seem to be scenes brewing in other towns—we saw some promising graffiti in Grand Falls-Windsor, and at our St. John's shows we met punks who had traveled from different smaller towns to see us play.

Obviously there are no guarantees, but from our experience we had absolutely no problem covering costs—despite Newfoundland being quite an economically depressed place, the scenes there are incredibly supportive. Bands don't come that often, so it's a big deal when they do. Bring more merch than you think you'll need!

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

After getting our car towed to a trusted neighbour mechanic and re-loading our gear into a rental car, we headed toward the ferry terminal in North Sydney, crossing onto island #2 (Cape Breton Island, part of Nova Scotia) and arriving with plenty of time for our near-midnight departure on the overnight sailing to island #3, Newfoundland! In retrospect, it was good timing for the car to break down, as we were grateful to have a more reliable vehicle as we hurtled into the blackness of the North Atlantic towards "The Rock." We slept decently on the ferry, except the last hour or two where we were occasionally woken by heavy winds rocking the vessel, the island greeting us with a windstorm and 110km/h gusts. Welcome to Newfoundland!

Getting off the ferry

We really can't overstate how beautiful Newfoundland is—it's like Iceland, Ireland, and a bit of B.C. thrown in. If you time it right you can see icebergs and/or whales, and even if you don't time it right there are dramatic landscapes, beautiful cliffs crashing into the ocean, abandoned U.S. military ruins, thick fog and allegedly lots of moose (although we didn't see any). A women on the ferry home even informed us we'd just missed a herd of Caribou crossing the highway!

The show in Corner Brook was a blast. Another teenager band, BLOOM, played covers and originals, and were incredibly good sports about having to leave the bar immediately after their set because they were all under 19, RIP!! If we would have known that was gonna happen we probably would've played a few more songs during sound check, sorry guys! LIFE CRISIS, one the promoter Billy's bands, played next—math-y screamo-y metalcore, they totally ripped. The room felt a bit empty when BLOOM and their parents left, but the crowd started filling in during LIFE CRISIS' set and by the time we played there were plenty of people there and the energy in the room was great! We didn't book a second all ages gig in Corner Brook because it was Easter weekend, but next time we come through we'll definitely prioritize it, as from everything we heard the all ages scene there is thriving.

St John's, Newfoundland

Peter Easton was a cool pirate

After the long but stunning drive across the island and a proper night off, we rolled up to the Peter Easton Pub for St. John's gig #1. Everyone seemed to have a strong affection for the Peter E, a neighbourhood bar with a dedicated show room. While we're both not usually wild about bar shows, the place had a great vibe and was clearly a comfort zone for most of the bands and attendees. The five-band show moved along efficiently, with one of the promoter Liam's bands BIRCH BEER opening, replacing our friends DESPERTÁ, who unfortunately had to drop (luckily one of DESPERTÁ's singer Peppa's other bands MAGICK did play, plus the drummer/our friend and host Christeen joined us on the mic for the INFEST cover!). People were dancing during the whole show, but DISCIPLINARY ACTION really brought the energy up to the next level, they were a tough act to follow. But there was no reason to worry—this was hands-down the most passionate crowd we've ever played to. People were singing along, moshing at the right parts and going nuts, and thanked us profusely in kind words and sheer enthusiasm. The Friday show was closed out by the excellent LIFE JOLT, clearly a local favourite, with lots more moshing and singalongs.

LIFE JOLT, VERIFY, BIRCH BEER, DISCIPLINARY ACTION (Photos by Steve)

Red Cliff, near St John's

We spent the next day sightseeing around St. John's and had dinner at the second killer buddhist veg restaurant of the trip (shoutout Peaceful Loft!). Then it was time for our last show of the tour—the first all ages show at the Anna Templeton Centre, a labyrinthine former bank right downtown. There was some overlap in the crowd from the night before, but with the addition of lots of younger people, including the opening band TWIN RINKS who wore construction helmets/vests and seemed to be really stoked about making loud noises, hell yeah. FLOORWALKER and INVISIBLE HAND (another of Liam's bands) played and even though Taylor was tired, she moshed for both because they absolutely fucking ripped.

The Anna Templeton Centre

While we were setting up, we got a text message that our ferry crossing home had been postponed because of more extreme wind. This was pretty rough news—getting home was already gonna be a big trip, plus the logistical challenges of recovering our broken-down car. But we managed to compartmentalize the tomorrow-problems, and played a final awesome last set with another super enthusiastic crowd response. There were a lot of young aspiring photo/videographers at this show. At least three DLSR's, a camcorder, and even someone with a Nintendo DS documenting the whole show. Kids are just excited and trying to participate any way they can, but sometimes there can be too many people trying to take photos. For our last song, we made a polite request: everyone put away the cameras and mosh. It worked, and the room exploded as young and old went all-in to dance. It was a great way to end our last set of tour. Local metalcore band HANGYOURHEAD closed the show, absolutely check them out if you're on the metalcore revival train because they nailed it. Perfect end to a basically perfect tour.

TWIN RINKS, INVISIBLE HAND (photos by Steve)

St. John's didn't seem to suffer from the shortage of bands or lack of participation you might expect in a small or isolated place—even though there were one or two shared members, I was impressed that we had two shows with four different local bands each night. And the bills weren't even that mixed—almost all hardcore bands on the faster/heavier side of things, with a thread of powerviolence influence running through many of them (possibly Martin's old band VILE INTENT playing there in 2018 could be partially responsible for this...). There were a lot of people at the shows and playing in the bands who weren't dudes, which made me very stoked. There were also a ton of straightedge kids, some of whom we got a cute group photo with at the end of the all ages show, and several people participating in the scene in other ways by doing zines and putting out tapes (shoutout again to Liam who booked our shows and does Barely There distro, and also Steve of Open Veins distro/zine who kindly loaded us up with his wares, took some of the photos in this article AND moshed very hard both nights!).

Notes on getting to Newfoundland

Some bands will just fly in to St John's to play one or two shows, and this is great but if you do that you'll deprive yourself of the beautiful drive across the island, playing Corner Brook or any other towns, not to mention the rest of the Maritimes. Doing a more traditional tour to Newfoundland requires a bit of logistics and planning, but no less than visiting other faraway places. It's all relative.

Ferry

There are two ferry routes to Newfoundland. Both depart North Sydney, NS, but one goes to Port-aux-Basques on the west side of Newfoundland, and the other goes to Argentia which is a bit closer to St John's and only runs in the summer. Don't take the Argentia ferry, it's for tourists. It's a lot longer, and a lot more expensive: you have to book a cabin for everyone in addition to paying for your vehicle, and you still have to drive a few hours from Argentia to St John's. It's not cheaper than driving across the island so you don't save any money on gas. It's not even really faster. You just spend more time on the boat and less time driving.

Take the Port-aux-Basques ferry, and probably do the overnight ferry to give you more time for hanging out. You aren't allowed to stay in your vehicle for the crossing, but there are comfortable reclining chairs like you'd find on a train, so it's possible to sleep.

Weather

Avoid traveling there in winter, as the weather can make a lot of things unpredictable. Even touring in April we ran into ferry cancellations that thankfully didn't cause us to miss any shows. Planning to go anytime between May and October is probably best. Newfoundland only has true summer weather in August, but outside of August your reward is spectacular fog!

Conclusions

Overall, we were totally bowled over by this tour. There wasn't a bad show. Someone asked us which was our favourite show and we pretty much just ended up naming every show for one reason or another. We ran out of tapes and were low on shirts before we even got to Newfoundland. We brought hundreds of free/PWYC zines with us and got rid of almost all of them. Part of our good fortune was having old friends and good connections who hooked us up with killer shows and local support, but even people we didn't know were so incredibly generous, supportive and grateful that we came.

We had two more Montreal tours following behind us: our two-stepper friends ONE TRACK MIND (pairing with Halifax's BREAKNECK) came through the weekend after us, and TYPEFACE and LOBOTOMITE the weekend after that, though these bands just did a long weekend tour through the Maritimes rather than the full Atlantic Canada experience of traveling to Newfoundland. Everyone had a similar top-tier experience as us. Great shows, great crowds, and new friends made.

We would highly recommend touring Atlantic Canada if you want to go somewhere beautiful, slightly off the beaten path, and where your coming through will be super appreciated and contribute to helping build these awesome smaller scenes!

Our zine distro on the tour

Show review: UTOPIE (FR) and STEZK (CZ) in Prague

2025-04-21T17:29:02.000-04:00

Montrealer DLA contributed this show review from their recent travels abroad. A show review and brief scene report from Prague!

A punk show with hipster blazers and film photography? Let's go!!!

If in Prague and if in need of a concert, do yourself a favor and hit up Eternia Smichov. I found myself there on a cold Tuesday night in March after some deep diving into the depths of internet forums sent me to the Berlin lefty/punk aggregator page StressFaktor (https://stressfaktor.squat.net/termine), which in turn, after even more digging through bandcamp tour listings, led me to a French post-punk band who was currently on tour and playing a show in Prague.

Loosely translating their website, Eternia is located in the Smichov neighborhood of Prague and hosts a vegan restaurant, skate ramp, tattoo studio, rehearsal rooms, music equipment rentals, a pole dance studio and spaces for shows and events – in addition to hosting a bunch of different organizations, including Extinction Rebellion in Prague, and an archive of dissident Czechoslovak punk zines and other things from the Communist era.

The space for the actual show had a bar, comfy couches, a bookcase of zines, a community sale rack for clothes, shoes, CDs, and a skate ramp – as the crowd filtered in, we enjoyed our 30 crown beers while flipping through some Dutch and American zines, mostly from the era of Bush 2, including a really insane zine from a bunch of NYC people published soon after 9/11 – both about the NYC scene, and also about seeing the aftermath of the event and the increase in policing in the city.

STEZK (https://stezk.bandcamp.com/album/na-pokraji) were up first. Their bandcamp describes them well – a perfect combo of 90s emo and hc/crust, some dramatic/upbeat riffs, shrieks, and lyrics you can’t understand since they’re in Czech. Shoutout to the more spoken word sections of some of their songs, I think it adds some great atmosphere.

UTOPIE (https://utopielille.bandcamp.com/album/virage-lp) were also great. They play dancey, fun, and heavy post punk with a definitive cold wave influence, hitting us with a bunch of live vocal effects (love to check out everyone's pedal setups). You can't help but to dance to their shit. Lyrical content includes anxiety, probably also a bunch of stuff about capitalism and the oppression of everyday life (you can tell my French isn’t good enough to catch all of it). Talking with the band after, they said they were going to come for a festival this past summer, and it didn’t work out – so maybe they will come to Canada in the future! You can also follow UTOPIE here: https://utopunx.noblogs.org/

In addition to the great bands, what I deeply enjoyed about this show was seeing a different scene in a different city totally new to me. Of course, everything seems especially cool when it’s new to you, but it was fun being at a show with no more than 25 people for the first time in ages. I always love people watching at shows, and I’m still shocked at how toned down people look outside of North America (and probably the rest of the anglosphere but I’ve never been to the UK so don’t come at me about this), even when in a space like this. My limited take at this point is that I think it’s a little less of a principled rejection of a need to look a certain way to participate in a scene, and is more just a representation of the overall culture. A lot less tattoos, a lot fewer piercings. Two separate indie millennial looking guys with glasses and tweed blazers, one of whom was taking film photos of the show – and a normal collection of punk dudes, people wearing street clothes, and a strikingly gorgeous girl who looked very Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction in a floor length black coat.

The blazer guys specifically reminded me of a friend telling me about his read on the hipster scene in Saint Petersburg – it felt more organic to him, when not a little hipster passé, than scenes he’d experienced in New York. It’s as if the scene was able to create its own stylistic or aesthetic sensibilities that were truly original because of its distance (geographical, linguistic) from others. It’s maybe just a romantic idea, but I love a throwback and reaffirmation to the fact that small stylistic changes like dressing a little old fashioned (although still in dialogue with global trends) is “dressing punk.” To be fair, we see this in Montreal too. I was super impressed by a girl last Saturday at Bâtiment 7 wearing a kilt, a plaid hat, and a floor length red coat, showing up to see some bands play and some dudes strung up on flesh hooks. At the end of the day, this shit is all about doing you want and finding community in that – full stop, and it's always good to get a reminder of that.

The venue/organization/building -- whatever you call Eternia -- is also super impressive. We’re all frustrated by how expensive things are getting in Montreal, and the fact that the rent is too damn high for people to do the work they want to do, and create the art that’s important to them. There’s also not enough space -- industrial buildings and non residential leases want tons of money per month, evict and kick out bands and practice spaces, or have already been converted into condos. To me, spaces like this show us how fucked up our conception of “real estate” actually is in Canada. There’s absolutely enough determined people with the will to build spaces like this -- and we’re prevented by the continued commodification of the housing market.

All in all -- great show, super cool venue, I would highly recommend checking out their schedule if you ever find yourself in Prague. And as a bonus for shows and counterculture in Berlin: check out https://stressfaktor.squat.net/termine and https://knox.p-u-n-k.de/db/! Stressfakor has community events, free food, manifs, shows, and an encyclopedia of lefty/radical addresses, groups, and businesses to visit. I recommend viewing on a computer instead of your phone so you can translate the pages from German to English.

Interview with Dajjeh (Beirut)

2025-04-17T20:52:13.000-04:00

Ghas Attack: Tell us about Dajjeh. First off what does ضجة mean? What was the inspiration behind its conception?

Dajjeh is a collective of seven people putting on punk and hardcore shows in Beirut for a little over a year. ‘Dajjeh’ means loud noise, and usually carries a negative connotation of something disturbing. It started in February 2024 in response to a feeling that there weren’t spaces for us to come together, scream along to the music we love, and release our frustration together. If there aren’t punk shows around you, you gotta make your own, whether they’re good or bad and whether people come or not. So we took the plunge and, thankfully, they’ve been pretty good, too. We hope everyone reading this, in Lebanon, in the rest of the Arab world, and around the globe, starts organizing the shows they wanna see.

GA: Talk to us about the punk scene in Beirut / Lebanon and how it fits into the underground movements there.

A punk scene formed in Beirut in 2005, growing and peaking around 2012 or 2014 or so. The scene got quieter for a while as a result of economic crises, revolts, musicians going other directions, etc. Since we’ve been doing Dajjeh, some of the older bands are coming back and there’s a new crop of exciting bands of all ages. We always remember our debt to the pioneers who came before us, and play their music at our shows. Some people from the original scene are playing at Dajjeh and we hope more and more of them do.

In general, in terms of the underground scene as a whole in Lebanon, punk was always smaller than metal, rap, and noise, and that’s definitely still true. There’s some solidarity across the underground scenes, as all of them are pretty marginal compared to pop and Arabic music. And we love our friends in metal and noise; and are hoping to build more bridges with rap as time goes on.

GA:  What does the future hold for Dajjeh? Tell us more about what you have planned for 2025 and beyond.

As a collective, our hope for the future is to keep doing this, doing it better and better, and learning as we go. We also wanna see the punk scene grow in as many directions as it can. Dajjeh is not the punk scene, it’s just one event organized by one group of people. We wanna see everyone starting their own bands, writing their own songs, and playing them all the time, everywhere, with us and without us. That’s the dream, and it's happening.

If we ever got to a point where we could host touring acts from outside Lebanon, that would be incredible, as there are so many amazing punk bands that would find a great crowd here. A lot of them even sing in Arabic, which is a plus. But we’re keeping things non-commercial and airfare isn’t getting any cheaper so we’ll see.

GA:  What are some of the challenges you face as a collective and how do you plan on surpassing them?

Obviously, there was a massive war and that made us stop for several months. The war isn’t really over, but we’re putting on shows again. Other than that, the biggest problem in Lebanon, and not just for us, is that gear and space is expensive. You wouldn’t believe how much drum kits, bass amps, etc. cost here, whether in the brand new expensive import market, or in the really small second-hand market. Because most bands don’t have their own gear, we’re building a backline for our collective. It’s slow going, piece by piece, and we benefit enormously from the generosity and solidarity of people in our community, but it’s been a challenge. Next up is space—most folks can’t practice in their apartments and rehearsal spaces and venues are expensive. We’re working on finding alternative spaces where bands can practice without getting in trouble with the neighbors but Beirut’s a crowded city—there are few truly isolated spaces, and we don’t have a budget to rent them. But we’ve made it this far—we’re gonna keep going.

A list of bands booked by Dajjeh (so far):

AS_FELT
CHRONIC TENSION
GIDDEEE
JOWAN TOHANNI
KARAM SAAD
MOISTY BISCUITS AND THE BROKEN BISCUIT
OPEN ROAD
RED TERROR
SPLIT SUBJECT
TA2REEBAN
YABA JUICE

RATONERA HUMANA - 3 TEMAS CS

2025-04-14T17:24:54.000-04:00

Here's a quick one from the gut, 'cause I can't get this one outta my head. Three crunchy, nasty tracks from LA's RATONERA HUMANA, recalling the best of the old Silenzio Statico scene, plus that first unhinged outing by INSERVIBLES. I feel like this short demonstration could, would, and should have everyone from the spiked-out pogoers to the pasty faced goths united in agreement: it fucks!

Very much looking forward to more. Big thanks to dule.klc666 for bringing it to the "world's" attention. Cop it here: https://polzedelamort.bandcamp.com

Polze De La Mort

TAPE LABEL Since 2011

Polze De La Mort

SHARP PINS - RADIO DDR CS

2025-04-14T17:02:49.000-04:00

My intention is to get a review in for each of my "Best of 2024" picks before the passage of time renders them all irrelevant (this space not safe for Greg the Builder, but how boring a world it would be to let a calendar dictate yer tastes! Eye digress: destroy time!). I arranged that list all alphabetical-like as to avoid some sorta hierarchy, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't my #1.

Word on the street is SHARP PINS carries a heavy GUIDED BY VOICES influence, a claim supported by their GBV cover at Bric a Brac around Halloween last year, though one I could not personally confirm or deny at that juncture. After a few quick lessons, I'd say those chuckleheads aren't fit to add "Lorelai" to their repertoire, let alone stake a claim to some small chunk of the 'PINS DNA. It's possible, maybe, that I missed some shreds of genius amongst the pretense and the hard Fs and one too many half-baked ideas, or maybe I should be thankful SHARP PINS found something of substance in the crumbling foundations of whatever Ohioan hovel they oozed and festered out of before shaping that influence into something far more profound (hey, GERMS had a YES riff open up one of their best songs!), but what I am certain of is that beyond those maybes exists the cool hiss of Radio DDR.

It's easy, as Martin Force has frequently opined (see also: complained), to market yourself as absolutely anything these days. "Alternative bands are Hardcore!" "The library is punk!" "Buying stamps is praxis!"Oh, D. Boon!, I hope we first dance and drink and embrace on the fiery shores of Hell, but if we have any gripes to parse, it's the junkyards full of eviscerated dictionaries! It's certainly fun to play with boundaries, but in the first place there's gotta be some lines to color outside of, ya dig?

And with that said, this is a PUNK record: big and loud and pretty and screaming, a rose in the concrete, smart and smirking like the clouds parting on a warm summer day. No, these ears didn't pick up the GBV influence and maybe that's some moronic oversight, but I hear the Paisley Underground and their forebears, and a side of THE KINKS, plus a dash of THE MONKEES. I saw cravats and beetle boots and MDC shirts, I felt the guitars wail and the rhythm reverberate, and one day I'll take every one of you pinheads and sit you down just a few inches from their drumset so you could get a demonstration real proper-like as to just how fuckin' hard you should be hittin' each and every time, god help us all. Again, a punk record, as clear and cogent an argument for the dissolution of genre tropes as MINUTEMEN's Buzz or Howl..., TENEMENT's Predatory Headlights, BIG BOYS' Lullabies Help the Brain Grow, NEW BLOODS' the Secret Life, NO BABIES' Someone To Watch Over Me, et al., yet as urgent and powerful as any of the first 7 DISCHARGE releases, made to get flipped, end on end, as soon as the AM transmission cuts out...

Coming soon, with some extra cuts, to vinyl via K Records and Perennial, I was lucky to get a copy of the Hallo Gallo Tapes edition, a tape and zine label run by primary songwriter Kai Slater. Listen here: https://sharppins.bandcamp.com/album/radio-ddr

Radio DDR, by Sharp Pins

14 track album

Sharp PinsKrawger

ASKO - VIOLENT BY NATURE CS

2025-04-14T16:53:09.000-04:00

New demo from four young Chicago go-hards who dropped a music video before a demo, but if that makes yer vision go red, you should take up a hobby. Knitting, kayaking, get the blood pumping for chrissakes!

As for pumping blood, "violent by nature" is one of the more straightforward hardcore punk releases I've enjoyed in some time, but goddamn is it good. I snagged the tape at a somewhat ill-fated gig at the Orphanage back in January. Live, I felt like there was a little more d-beat influence that doesn't quite pop off on the recorded material (which I personally think is for the best). They played early, the crowd wasn't fully packed in yet, and the Orph boasts a stage that would make a lesser act crumble, yet they were the highlight of the show. I'm excited for a few months from now when ASKO gains a little more confidence and they play 8 songs straight with only one break in between.

As for the tape itself? The definition of a Midwest meal: meat and taters mashed fresh right there for yuz in the pit. The song writing and recording quality would feel just as comfy on one of Lengua Armada's old Histeria comps as it would amongst YA!'s output from the last decade, any time after McCoy finally discovered Denver, CO (although I think ASKO comes with a rougher edge that a lot of those bands have only ever pawed at).

The tape I have will likely sound different than the one you will eventually get your mitts on, as vocalist Andy has continued to futz with the mix to get it further in line with his vision (bud, I get the inclination, but the people need the tracks last month!), but I've been assured they'll be uploaded here very soon: https://asko.bandcamp.com/ Six tracks, photocopied j-card and insert, and, thank fuck, a lyrics sheet (literally all you have to do is xerox your ballpoint chickenscratch, you fuckin' poseurs).

In the meantime, check that aforementioned video for a quick fix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX2aE9OMz9A), and give their channel a follow in the RSS reader of your choosing, 'cause the Askocalypse and its heralds are imminent.

The Counterforce - Issue 6

The Counterforce Issue 6

8/10 with DJ Buckingham Palace

LIFELINE - Endtime Groupthink

EMPART - EXTREMENOISEHARDCORE

SILO KIDS - DEMO

DOMINACIÓN - Punks Ganan EP

TÀRREGA 91 - Ckaos Total

Victoria, BC Scene Report

How to find the gigs

Bands

Shows

WHITE COLLAR & GLOBAL FAKE @ Wheelies – Victoria, BC, Canada

POOCHED LP release show with DISPOSAL, SUNDIVER, and CHERRY VENOM @ Little Fernwood – Victoria, BC, Canada

SLANT, DRAÜMAR, BOOT LICKER, SELF DEFENCE @ Moon Under Water – Victoria, BC, Canada

Record stores and adjacent stuff

Pogo Pope Printing

Downsided Distro

Cavity Curiosity Shop

Supreme Echo

Ditch Records

Camas Books

Full disclosure, I love Victoria

Malas Artes 2025 Reportback

Thursday, May 8th

Friday, May 9th

Saturday, May 10th

ASK A PUNK: How to run your own online show calendar

Intro

Montreal ASK A PUNK

Gancio

How-to: the technical stuff

A server

How-to: the social stuff

Accounts

Getting the word out

ASK A PUNK network

Why bother?

Alternatives

KALEIDOSCOPE – CITIES OF FEAR / DESTRUXION AMERIKA – GRITOS NOREÑO

PHAGOCYTE - Don't Rain of My Parade or I'll fucking Kill You

WAFAQ - Reconciliation Philanthropy

THE SUBHUMANS – Incorrect Thoughts

VORÁGINE - PANICO

SILO KIDS - DEMO

Touring Atlantic Canada: VERIFY Tour Reportback

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Charlottetown, PEI

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Bear River, Nova Scotia

Newfoundland

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

St John's, Newfoundland

Notes on getting to Newfoundland

Ferry

Weather

Conclusions

Show review: UTOPIE (FR) and STEZK (CZ) in Prague

Interview with Dajjeh (Beirut)

RATONERA HUMANA - 3 TEMAS CS

SHARP PINS - RADIO DDR CS

ASKO - VIOLENT BY NATURE CS