Henry Fiat's Open Sore - Patmos or Bust 7"

"I fuckin' hate all that garage punk shite, but Henry Fiat's Open Sore are pretty good" says my mate Alex to me last week. The same dude that refuses to listen to anything that's not on Bridge Nine Records, or that you can ninja kick to. So I guess that's a good point. Either way, this band are really good (shame there's no insert with the 7" sfsfsjsfsfskkkklslslsjshsj!) really rock'n'rolly feel without sounding too much like The Kids. For some reason Sweden seems to kick out way more bands than the rest of Scandinavia, maybe it's something in the water...-Nick [Wrench]

Dean Dirg - Three Successive Blasts 10"

The artwork for this is really cool; some punk dude with half his head off, steaming like the mushroom effects of an atomic bomb explosion...and it's been pressed on black wax with some bluey spurts all over it; lovely. ANYWAY, Dean Dirg are probably my favourite Euro-band, not by far, but they probably hold the top spot, based on record and live. This 10" is a collection of THREE of their 7"'s (Chimpanzee, Henry Fiat Split, Bombenalarm Split) all recorded roughly within a year of each other. I don't know why they did this 10", 'cos all the records aren't out of press. But that's a question that probably won't be answered. Essential band. - Nick [Six Feet Under]

Fall of Efrafa - Elil LP

I was introduced to this band by a friend of mine who knows the Singer (Alex) of this band. I asked a little about them and he briefly explained that they were a "Melodic Crust" band, that the time it seemed quite the oxymoron to have a Crust band that plays melodically. Never the less this did not deter me and I typed their name into my trusty Google search engine and their name popped up. I clicked and read about the band discovering that they were somewhat of a concept band. This concept being Richard Adams' Watership Down novel (a tail about rabbits and their quest for a safer spot to set up a warren), I'm sure most of you have either read the book or remember being traumatised by the animated movie. The band see the book as the Animal Farm-esque tale of the evils of Fascism (the Efrafa Warren lead by the war mongering and vicious General Woundwort) and incorporate this metaphor into some of their songs about the mistreatment of animals and of the planet in general.
Anyway on their website they had stuck up a track from their first 12" Owsla called the The Fall of Efrafa and immediately I was hooked. I hunted down their original 12" (which took some doing, and eventually found one thanks to Nick), I then patiently awaited the second installment of The Warren of Snares (Owsla being part one).

Eventually it arrived (and after that long winded back story so does this review) with the title Elil, Elil being "Lapine" (rabbit talk) for the enemies of rabbits (principally, us, humans). Its pure bliss to listen to (I dont mean its tame by that). Its a brilliant record, Alex's gruff howling vocals sit perfectly within each track. The instrumentals are equally fantastic with almost harp like playing in the intro's and outro's of the songs before erupting into the thumping blasts that lovers of crust are familiar with. However the music is really delivered by the Chello which gracefully scythes its way through the grinding guitars and feels so brilliantly soothing. Ill admit, I had my eyes closed this entire LP in sheer relaxation because of the skillful playing of the Cello.
The songs are also introduced with a sound clip in this 12" case it is Richard Adams reading an extract from his book and their is also a lengthy piece (but still very interesting and brilliantly chosen) piece read by Richard Dawkins from one of his novels on athiesm (which I've not had the chance to read).

Althogether a brilliant 12" and I look forward to hearing the 3rd installment from this brilliant Brighton based band.

-J.W. [Sound Devastation + others]
(Sorry for lack of track details, I dont have the record with me right now).

Eyeball Chambers - Demo

Awesome punk rock band from the abaddon that is the Isle of Wight. Clearly been listening to shed loads of No Idea stuff, 'cos that's what it sounds like. If you like Jets vs Sharks or Shermer you'll dig this. Hopefully destined for good things 'cos this is seriousy good. - Nick [DIY]

Tortuga - Demo

This is really good. OBVIOUSLY going to draw similarities to now d-e-f-u-n-c-t November Coming Fire, and it is kinda similar going for the crushing hardcore vibe. Not as good as other bands like Throats or whatever, but still really good. I wish they wouldn't keep going on about how they signed to In At The Deep End, though. I mean yeah it's cool, but we don't need to be told fifty times a day. Good band nonetheless, probably going to be heading on to good things too. - Nick [DIY]

Jealous - Jealous S/T 7"

I love these guys. Ex Sworn In, with a super attitude. Heavy yet fast crushing hardcore, killer live too. Yeah some guys give them shit for what they do, but at least they're original and don't go around talking about how sxe they are. - Nick [Double Crossed]

Crash The Pose/Brain Dead 7"

I never really liked Brain Dead. I don't know why, I think it's 'cos of the vocals. But yeah, whatever. The Crash The Pose side is THE SHIT, super. Really chaotic hardcore punk, split up. I wanna get hold of all their other stuff, cos it's all OOP. So if you have some in distro/trades list send me an e-mail. - Nick [ What We Do/Ghost City/Keep Screaming]

Burning The Prospect - Fires in Your Cities 7"

SHAME this is one sided, but apparently it was meant to be a split with some other band who didn't pull through in time. But yeah, D-Beat from the Boston dudes, they do it better than most UK bands really, got some good stuff going on. Recently signed to FETO records, deserved it. - Nick [Right To Refuse]

Suicide File - Live on WERS 7"

One of my favourite bands, with some of their best songs recorded on WERS (essentially like BBC Sessions, but not as lame). It doesn't encapsulate the best stuff about live shows like the crowd; probably cos there is no crowd, and it's just them playing in a studio. Needles to say, good for fans. - Nick [Lifeline]

Skitkids - Valkomna Till Paradiset 7"

This is one of my favourite records in ages, I think I got it 'cos my friend Tom was going on about how amazing they were and the song he put on his Myspace page (which is track number one on this record) was some of the best Euro-punk I'd heard in ages. Really fast, kinda aiming for a crusty sound (probably just the vocals), and totally perfect. - Nick [540]

Shoot It Up - S/T 7"

This is so trashy it's insane, like it was recorded in a bin. This release was super hyped like most Fashionable Idiots stuff is, but it's really good. Like FJunkies, but way, way more to the core. And they don't have a bassist on this record so it's even more guitar orientated and doesn't have the bass added too it. Turn the bass down on your record player while you're at it, insane. - Nick [Fashionable Idiots]

Formaldehyde Junkies - Are A Total Wreck 7"

Yeah this is well old and the band are DEAD, but I'm reviewing it anyway. Super fast hardcore punk, you know the drill from the US bands. Serious Minor Threat ripping off is going on on this record, but who cares; THAT'S A GREAT THING. Formaldehyde Junkies are amazing anyway. - Nick [Firestarter]

Burning Times - 7"

Saw these guys once, shame they split up. Both the brothers from Abandon Ship team up with another guy from Brighton to make a kind of epic hardcore punk. Hard to describe, but there's definitely some Witch Hunt worship going on in there. Artwork's a bit strange, but get this. Ever since I heard the demo I was hooked, some good lyrics going on there. As I said, split up. But still something to get hold of. - Nick [Tadpole]

Self Destruct - Self Titled 7"

These guys are probably one of my favourite punk rock bands in the country right now, shame they don't do so many gigs, I've only seen them once, boo hoo. Anyway, back to basics punk rock, not fast, but not slow with some awesome guitar parts and solos. I'm not too sure on the lyrics, they're mostly good, but I don't know why the keep mentioning 'God' and 'Jesus' but whatever. It's a minor point. It's a kick ass 7" and a kick ass band. Probably out of press, get the mp3's anyway. - Nick [Dead and Gone]

Raise The White Flag/The Outpatients - Split 7"

The Outpatients are basically the band that never was. Super amazing, and they only got a handful of gigs under their belt, but needless to say; the awesome band that never was. Features members of Raise The White Flag, and it's really fast hardcore punk, with some almost power-violence parts, and some awesome lyrics. The Raise The White Flag side is also amazing, also now defunct, RTWF were probably one of the best UK hardcore punk bands, if anyone heard Calling All Cynics, you'd agree. Anyway, this is more of the same from these dudes. Both bands split up, this record is also OOP. I never saw either live, but I have this record. So if you're in neither camp: GUTTED. - Nick [Keep Screaming/Demo-Lition]

La Piovra - 'Risacca' 7"

This is awesome, super-fast Italian hardcore punk. These dudes kill it live too. This 7" contains probably my two favourite LP songs, even though their LP on Youth Attack slays. If you like Dean Dirg, or your EuroSuperFastPunk pick this up. - Nick [Punks Before Profits]

V/A - Public Safety LP

There is literally nothing to say about this is that it's done by MRR, therefore you know which bands will be on it -Career Suicide, LBAL- as well as all those zeitgeist bands that MRR tends to cover (not a band thing...). Anyway, good LP, and also an awesome track by Limp Wrist who really need to get out of the shadows and do a Euro tour or something. - Nick

Life Trap - Bleak Reality 7" EP

You know where you are with No Way releases; they're all good. This is no exception, fast, sketchy hardcore punk from Nashville. You get one of those 'shit! is this meant to be run at 45' moments when you put this on. But yeah, if you like Deranged stuff, Feral Ward stuff, you'll love this. - Nick [No Way]

Crocus - Kristallnacht Demo

Jaw-droppingly crushing noise from the deepest south of England. Crocus have a Converge-esque sound, and they're probably a good place to start if you're into them. Similar to other UK bands like Attack! Vipers! in their sheer ferocity as a live band. This one tracker is a nice taster, but their sound has moved on since the recording of this demo, which was done a while ago.

Whatever, this band is awesome, five tracker on We Heart Records soon...so keep an eager eye out for that one.- Nick [DIY]

Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs

This is probably Pinback's most accessible album to date, and a pretty strong record at that. There are no obvious 'weak' tracks - probably none- but this is definitely a slightly new direction for Pinback. The album artwork is off kilter, and not what they usually do (see Summer in Abaddon, Blue Screen Life etc), but it's definitely a good album, and definitely a grower. Not as sharp in some places as you'd wish, but it's a pretty textbook release. - Nick [Touch and Go]

The Plight - Black Summer

Second 'proper' release and getting much better. You know what you're getting with The Plight. Probably one of the best bands patrolling the UK right now. 'Clarendon' kicks the record into shape straight away, probably the strongest on record, excluding the two re-recorded 'Ball and Chain', and 'Lifestyle' -whose inclusion is fairly unneccesary 'cos I always think it's better to just write more songs instead of making old ones better. Either way, The Plight are awesome; awesome dudes, great fun. Watching them at a house show a few months back is probably one of my fondest memories of the whole year. So yeah, if you're into rock'n'roll with gritty vocals sans bullshit, go for The Plight. - Nick [Visible Noise]