Issue 8

Photos by Joe The Photo Guy Another humid mid-atlantic August means another Skull Fest in lovely steel city, Pittsburgh, PA. I know, I know, “another fest?” How many fests do we really need? I don’t really know, but for me at least, Skull Fest feels like the one that breaks the mold. Instead of being a weekend of punk and hardcore curated by one person’s taste, Skull Fest is a true collaborative effort. You get a mix of punk that is sure to hit all your sensibilities: punk, hardcore, hardcore p...

It's four things at once on my mind at 5am, dispatching, as we are, LIVE from the 3rd stage....

Some interview I read made them seem real self-conscious about their "More Hardcore" LP, but this release sounds a fair bit safer and codified than the slab I first slobbered over. All of these got rerecorded for their big Convulse debut, so we'll see how the finished product holds up, but I can't imagine revisiting these renditions ever again. Released by Kill Enemy Records, listen here: https://killenemyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/speed-plans-tape Speed Plans Tape, by Kill Enemy Records3 trac...

YMMV on the cover art and you'd be forgiven for guessin' the whole presentation'll getcha some post-hockey jock, pre-jarhead Triple B Records flower-era BS, but goddamn. The kick off is an absolute mind-worming ass-shaker, plucked straight from the back half of a BROWN SUGAR rekkid and pulled forward into the NOW, the remaining 6/7s is pure punk rock n roll a la RADIO BIRDMAN (which they dispute, but come the fuck on), PAGANS, or that time the REPOS covered DEAD BOYS. Released by Kill Enemy Rec...

Been a GUNN truther for a minute, and the half of this that sounds like BATTALION OF SAINTS, you know that sneered-up, black-leather-in-the-hot-sun type Cali shit, easily clears the mental-mythical madness I ascribe to the Shooters in question. Mixed up in all that is a bit too much post 7"-era CÜLO. Still, half is more than most may muster, and, paired with a sense of humor, moronic (complimentary) cover art, and well-curated samples, this is worth a spin or two. Released by Going Underground ...

Ur-crust perfection. The only time spent in the stadium is burning the fucker to the ground. Self released, listen here: https://earnthedirt.bandcamp.com/album/all-paths-lead-to-darkness All Paths Lead to Darkness, by Barren Soil3 track albumBarren Soil✶ sarubert...

Zillennial MASSHYSTERI, which was Xennial BURNING KITCHEN, (and the millennials skipped a gen toiling away in the mysterioid sex pest dungeon and/or KCMO glue dens), which is to say this is very good, very catchy. Repetitive (in a good way) vocal hooks, great melodic guitar work that occasionally makes way for SEEMS TWICE by way of CRASS Records no-punk diversions. Very Euro cover art, as bad as the HONDARTZAKO HONDAKINAK LP cover, both of which risk consigning an otherwise great release to barg...

A harsh judgment, perhaps, but knowing some of these players from well-played but firmly "not-for-me" pop punk outfits, I just didn't know they had this in them. Sounds like: Earth-2 ARTICLES OF FAITH's debut 7" "What We Want Is Blood." Feels like: a brick and a knife and a boot to the temple. Looks like: Chicago still likes hardcore. Self released, listen here: https://ritualcross.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-cross Ritual Cross, by Ritual Cross5 track albumRitual CrossN0VA...