TODAY IS THE DAY – Hydra Head 7″

 

 

  EDIT: I’d forgotten how much Steve Austin changed band lineups. The Mastodon guys were on ‘In the Eyes of God’ not this one. Unless you are a hardcore fan it’s doubtful you can really tell the two apart… although ‘In the Eyes’ is fair bit faster/tech metal orientated. If I have one regret it was not getting down to London in 1998 to see the TITD, VoiVod, Neurosis billing. I can only begin to imagine how good that would have been. Anyhow, this 7″ was released on Hydra head in 1997 and features an alternate version of  ’The Man who loved to hurt himself’ backed with a sound collage B-side ‘Satan is alive and well’. The A-side is in my opinion a much better version than would appear on ‘Temple of the Morning Star’, there’s less layering & production and the song is played a bit more violently (I’m guessing it’s a demo version). Well that’s just my opinion, see what you think:

 

COP SHOOT COP – Suck City E.P.

 

 

  So, it is my birthday tomorrow and that got me thinking about when I was younger & how this was always an opportunity for a record haul. Pretty much 80% of any money I had during my teenage years was blown on records. I still spend a good portion of my cash on music but the internet allowed focus on the things I was really set on. Making a dud purchase in my early days was quite distressing, it always meant a trade in for far less than you’d paid for it a week earlier. I can’t say much other than it taught me a good few lessons in times when buying into the unknown was a risk that could be handsomely rewarded. How times have changed, but that’s just life… who could know that people would end up experiencing music completely via Ipods?

 On to COP SHOOT COP;  ’Suck City’ was a purchase made on my 13th birthday in 1992, I remember the day distinctly because I also bought ‘Songs About Fucking’… ahh fond memories. I’m pretty certain I’d bought ‘Consumer Revolt’ prior to this (an ‘unknown’ purchase) simply because they had two bass players and a good name. They defined what ‘industrial’ was to me at the time along with Godflesh and early Therapy? it was a much harsher avenue than RevCo, NIN, or Sheep on Drugs (hah!). But that was a long time ago, this EP still hold s up and defininitely portrays the abrasive sound of New York back then.. Unsane, Barkmarket, Helmet. They employed the ‘banging on metal shit’ sound which Skeleton Key used later on. There is more info of that period of C$C on this blog page. This was just a short bout of nostalgia which I’m not normally prone to.

 

DRUNK TANK – Missing EP

 

 I was just about to post the first two DRUNK TANK 7″s when SGM put the excellent  ‘Radial’ CD up which has those tracks as a bonus. There’s not much information about on this band other than they moved from Chicago to New Jersey? and that most people have heard of them from the godhead Mesomorph Enduros comp. Drunk Tank were Julian Mills (vocals, bass); Alex Barker (guitar); Steven Cerio (drums) and this, their final EP, was released in 1995. The three tracks here still have the splintering bass & general aggro sound with maybe more of a ‘jazzy’ quality… that’s Dazzling Killmen jazz though.

SEASON TO RISK – Misc. tracks 1992-2006

 

 

 It must be said I do find myself getting a bit miffed these days when people start shooting off about the great noise rock of the 90’s and fail to mention Season to Risk (S2R). For my money their output was as important and valid as any of the bigger AmRep, Dischord or Touch & Go bands yet they go totally overlooked even with their stint on a major label over the first half of the 90’s. Maybe we put this injustice down to bad timing because this band are if nothing else vastly capable of delivering a unique variant of this sound. They avoided being a clone like many bands signed to majors as part of the Grunge explosion. From their inception S2R had a strong identity and were flagbearers for the ‘Kansas City sound’. Trademarks of this being the complex, yet very forceful drumwork, pummeling low end, abstract poetic lyrics, and guitar lines wavering from dissonance to melody…  S2R were definitely pioneers of a harsher, rhythmically skewed brand of ‘math rock’. Below is some footage I found from 1997 of the band flipping their tour van, I’m guessing that this and more will be on the planned  S2R DVD.

 

 

 My personal S2R highlight would be the ‘Men are monkeys, Robots win’ CD, an album that I considered quite hard to fathom when I first heard it. I really liked their first album but about a year ago this third record became my life’s soundtrack for about a month. In that time I let the abrasive layers of confusion, paranoia, nihilism, loathing etc. wash over me. I tapped in and felt greatly rewarded after these multiple listens. It’s coming from such an obscure place that I cannot understand where. S2R have the rare quality of a group mind, there is a singular vision and that is the result of the sum, never the parts.

 The below download is a compiliation I’d collected of all their B-sides, split 7″s & comp tracks. I’m pretty certain everything is included. The collection starts with ‘Oil’ a 7″ B-side from 1992. ‘The End All’  from the Kansas City Misery compilation. ‘Undone’ was the track they played in the Strange Days movie & featured as a very limited split 7″ with Glazed Baby. ‘Beestings and Poison Eggs’ from the split 7″ with Starkweather. This is probably my favourite S2R track & I think it is a perfect representation of the band. They effortlessly contrast the harsh & rhythmic with flow & melody. ‘This Town’ was from a Go-go’s tribute compilation. ‘Ace of Space’ appeared on the split 7″ with Molly McGuire. It sounds like a demo version for ‘The Shattering’ album, it’s a bit slower and not as well rounded but still great. ‘Melt’ is from the Die Kreuzen tribute album and ‘Cotton Bolls’ from the Killdozer tribute album. If you like this stuff then you can buy the first three albums cheaply HERE, or for further information consult the band’s DISCOGRAPHY. I cannot recommend Season to Risk highly enough.

 

LEFT INSANE – Toolbox

 

 Expanding upon the SST sound, LEFT INSANE released their only full length ‘Toolbox’ in 1990 on Nemesis records. Produced by Bill Stevenson & Stephen Egerton this band have all the necessary hallmarks to have released records on SST… or at least Cruz. It’s a wonder why Ginn released such turgid solo or Gone recordings when Left Insane do a way better job with far more flair and insight. Here is the recipe for this bands sound: Take the jazzier ‘Weeding Out’ era Black Flag, add some of Blind Idiot God’s avant metal, a touch of Saccharine Trust’s agitation and some Decendents hooks as to keep things focussed. It all sounds heartily appealing to me and maybe you will feel the same… if so don’t pass up, you won’t be disappointed: