Friday, October 22, 2010

Vaccine - Human Hatred


Yes, this has already been posted in a handful of other blogs, but I purposely decided to hold off for a while since I figured this record would sell out pretty fast. Painkiller Records is down to their final copies, so without further ado, this is the most recent shot of edgeviolence from Massachusetts' Vaccine. Fold out cover art, slick transparent blood red vinyl, and a digital download card are all included.

Similar to their demo, Vaccine blasts through their songs like a buzzsaw through warm butter, emitting crushingly abrasive riffs in quick 20 to 30 second blasts. Ten songs in about four minutes goes by like a blur, as the group delivers punch after devastating punch of lightning fast powerviolence inspired tunes. Of the crop, only a couple of the songs including "Limited Edition" and "Enlistment" even attempt to slow down a bit, with "slow down" being a highly relative term here.

Despite the almost endless, and undoubtedly unwanted hype which surrounded this band for a while, they produce some seriously vicious music which delivers on each and every track. Completely unapologetic lyrics are delivered in a beastly roaring fashion as the band takes aim at a number of topics such as drug use, religion, self-loathing, and record flipping. "Rotting Away" might be my favorite of the group, which includes a particularly infectious riff towards the end which should have the room moving side to side with enough force to bring the building down.

Copies on black vinyl are still available from Painkiller Records, so if you don't already own this ripper, buy one soon before they're all gone. Vaccine has rips of their demo material on their blog as well, so check that out too if you haven't heard it before.

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Vaccine
Painkiller Records

Long Pigs - Tape



So it's been a little while since the last update, but I'm happy to serve up a tape from New York's Toxic State Records. This five piece unit of snotty hardcore punk, appropriately dubbed Long Pigs, presents their latest tape with seven doses of noisy, crashing tunes. White unlabeled tapes, fold out insert, and a lyric sheet are the presentation on this one.

First off, there isn't much information on this whatsoever (at least that I could track down). The tape was sent in by the label along with a few other items which should hopefully be on here soon as well. While the recording quality is clearly a little bit on the more scruffy, low-fi end of the spectrum, it pairs pretty well with the disdainful, negative outpouring of angst which flows like water from Long Pigs.

Fast paced with blaring distortion and relentlessly pounding percussion, Long Pigs stumble their way through their seven tracks in about nine minutes like a drunken brown out. A wall of sound fires out from the speakers, which is more caused by the searing feedback and ragged recording levels, rather than something created by a razor sharp powerviolence band played at max volume. However, this particular brand of near sloppiness coupled with unmitigated anger and roaring riffs seems to work pretty well. Besides, there are tons of other demos or tapes which have sounded worse, with far messier recording and playing.

Check out Toxic State for more NYC hardcore punk and support what these guys are doing, this is the real deal. All of the bands affiliated with the label are worth a spin or three, so hit them up on the blog link below if you're into the download.

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Toxic State Records

Monday, October 11, 2010

New Log Cabin Show - 10/15


For everyone's sweaty enjoyment we have another show lined up for The Log Cabin in Toms River, NJ. The last one this summer went unexpectedly well, so be sure to head out on Friday, 10/15 to support all the bands.

Doors @ 5 p.m. - $10 - show will be over by 10 p.m. (seriously.)
8th Ave and Morningside St in Toms River, NJ

Dead End Path (Wilkes-Barre, Triple B Records)
Born Low (Albany, Reaper Records)
Doubledealer (Delaware, Harvcore Records)
Line of Scrimmage (Brooklyn)
Rock Bottom (Doylestown, Harvcore Records)
Good Times (Cape May, NJ)


Please respect the venue, and stop sitting on the stupid fence outside because it's going to break and people will have to spend money they don't have to fix it. Thanks Ian!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Bad American - EP


Bethlehem, PA's Bad American serves up a split release between two budding record labels, Bad Recordings and Discontent Records. Gritty hardcore punk with scorching vocals and a venomous delivery, this four piece pumps out eight songs on their debut EP. Glued cardstock sleeves with sweet artwork, mixed vinyl, a sticker, and lyric insert are all part of the presentation.

Right off the bat, these dudes remind me of the first Outbreak EP mixed in with some more abrasive, older punk rock qualities. The heat pounding speed is right on point, as the raging guitar riffs work in complete cohesion with the rest of the group. On occasion, the vocals become slightly blown out, but everything pairs pretty nicely considering their non-stop, no frills approach. Forget the cutesy guitar diddlys and pseudo-indie vibe; Bad American is pumping out fast paced hardcore with a scintillating punk edge.

While their musical formula is pretty standard, there's still a few pretty memorable moments scattered throughout the record. The thumping bass 'n drum intro to "Rodent" is a perfect fire-starter, building in anticipation before exploding into an all out attack. "Snake Doctor" puts an insanely catchy riff to work, ripping into a 50 second barn burner as the record works its way to the final ear shredding scream in "Combat."

Give the download a spin or two (I listened to it about seven times), and snatch one of these up before everything's sold out. The limited covers (/100) and their demo (/50) are already sold out, but the band still has copies of the mixed lavenderish color in the picture above. Support the newer guys who are doing something positive. Thanks again to the band for sending this one in.

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Buy It
Bad American