Episode 220: Confessions & Declarations
Episode 220: Confessions & Declarations
What’s up everyone? This week’s pod was packed. Check it out here, here, or here. Check the playlist here or here.
I declare that Side A of the first Never Ending Game LP is the best hardcore release of the last ten years. Listeners of the pod know that I’m a fan of the Hard Style and here is a four song run of perfection. Side B is nice too, but this run…goddamn!
Chris sang the praises of the G.L.O.S.S. demo claiming it’s the best NWHC demo possibly ever. Dan complained that he feels every pound of human flesh that lands on his head these days at shows. At least he’s up front. Where are you?
These two albums are out now. We didn’t have a chance to talk them before we recorded but you should check them and order them. Both are killer.
The UK’s Last Wishes returned with a digi-single banger and more sick artwork from the man Simon Erl. Stoked to see a band that can handle the OG beatdown style without being a lame metal band whose songs are just bad mosh part stacked on bad mosh part.
You could tell that Bulldoze listened to real hardcore, not just 90’s Roadrunner metal like Machine Head & Fear Factory, or whatever the fuck 2000’s nu-metal bands people pluck riffs from these days. Last Wishes continue in the BD tradition and are 100% real hardcore.
Street Justice return to bring the heat with two bangers and a pretty bad cover. The two originals smoke. Batting .666 is other-worldly and Glen Benton is stoked.
Cold Kiss put out their Promo 2023 and both songs bring it. Ill Blood meets Mitts-era Madball maybe? I dig it.
San Diego’s Hereditary put out a new digital EP which is a level up from their previous stuff, both in recording quality and song writing. Well done Lockin’ Out meets modern mosh. They joined us for a quick chat about the EP and the band in general.
We do the hard things over here so you don’t have to. This time, it was doing a One’s Gotta Go on the first five Discharge 7”s. My personal take:
Realities of War: Their first 7”. The fuzzy guitar tone on this is so sick. 4 songs all 1:15 or less. They come right out the gate with the title track, a D-Beat ripper that showcased a style they’d be known for and which would kick off an entire sub-genre of hardcore punk. They Declare It is a radical mid-tempo banger and the lead on Society’s Victim rules. What a debut.
Decontrol: They’re back again the same year with 3 more tracks. Decontrol is another mid-tempo banger and their first song that breaks the 2 minute barrier. Cal’s voice in the final sequence is so manic and awesome. Tomorrow Belongs to Us is THE track where I think they finally found that perfect in-the-pocket D-Beat sweet spot. It’s so dialed in and muscular. Realities of War and It’s No TV Sketch are both the same style, but this one is just a notch above.
Fight Back: Their 3rd 7” in 1980 and their best overall in my opinion. The buzzsaw guitar sound is there. The songs are all under 1:40 and there is no weak link in the chain. 5 songs of hardcore punk perfection. Lyrics like “fight the system - fight back” and “smash to fuck the fucking system” are the blueprint for anyone who has rocked an ass-flap. Religion Instigates is a mid-tempo banger to end all mid-tempo bangers and it gives us this grim gem:
A stray bullet hits an innocent child
Nothing’s gained and nothing’s solved
Fuck.
Never Again: They return after the Why 12” with this 7”. The guitars are a little thinner and Never Again and Death Dealers sound almost more UK 82 style than songs in the signature Discharge style. Of course, it’s only 1981 - the year of the first GBH and Exploited 12”s. That sound was just in the air and Discharge do it great as well. Two Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles rounds out the album in their signature sound.
State Violence State Control: The 2nd 7” sandwiched between the two classic 12”s. The title track is an all-time mid-tempo banger that holds up against the others in their catalog: A Look at Tomorrow, Protest and Survive, Ain’t No Feeble Bastard, & Religion Instigates. The production quality is way up without losing the power. There is so much confidence in every piece of that song and it just oozes through the recording. This is the ultimate aperitif before the feast of Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing.
Losing one of these is brutal.
In 1982, the Better Youth Organization put on two tours following the Someone Got Their Head Kicked In compilation. The first one was Youth Brigade/Social Distortion and it was covered on the classic documentary Another State of Mind. The second tour was Oxnard, CA’s Agression touring with San Diego, CA’s Battalion of Saints.
Get in the 185 Miles South archive and listen to the Larry White, Big Bob, and Shawn Stern interviews for takes on this tour. For this episode, the Battalion of Saints roadie, Dick, joined me to chat about the tour. His memory is pretty pristine and he painted a real clean picture of the routing and what went down on that tour. The Oklahoma town where they broke down might be a future 185 trivia question.
Ten Yard Fight put out one of the best hardcore 7”s of the 1990s. In 1997 they attempted a daunting task - writing a full length roots hardcore LP. We cut this good LP down to make a great 7”. Want to hear a passionate Daniel Sant? He rides for a track on here harder than I ride for the District 9 7”.
Hardcore rules!
- Zack