Not Japanese Hardcore

Noticing the disproportionate, bloated 'Japan' and 'Hardcore' tags on the left side of the page, I've decided to try to do a few posts which contain neither.

Not that I've got anything against Japanese hardcore, obviously, I started this blog to waste time when I should be working showcase Japanese music that's not particularly well known or easily gotten, and to translate information which might not in be available in English(note: I am too lazy to actually do this).

Anyhow, here are three different releases of more or less instrumental jams that I've been bopping to when not in the mood for growling/kicking things music.

Maserati:
You probably already know these guys: this is the stuff off the split w/ zombie and some remixes. I like them better as a dance outfit than as a post rock band, personally.

PASSAGES

Lasers From Atlantis:
British kids playing synth driven psych. 'No Roads' does the business.

S/T

Cave:
Krauty psychedelic jamz from some (all?) of the people as the excellent
Warhammer 48K, whose stuff I've also been liking of late and might as well post along with the Cave.

PSYCHIC SUMMER

(Warhammer 48K, kind of like Cave's paranoiac cousin)

AN ETHERAL ORACLE

Eye of the Thrash Guerrilla

This comp came out in '88 on Selfish and contains a good chunk of what was right with Japanese hardcore at the time. Death Side had awesome/utterly ridiculous hair (see below), SOB were not yet crappy, and while Crow hadn't quite evolved into the crusty smashing machine of later releases, they still played some good hardcore/punk as do all the bands on here.

1. DEATH SIDE "Black Lie"

2. DEATH SIDE "Mirror"

3. DEATH SIDE "Fool, Fool, Fool"

4. DEATH SIDE "Mass Media's Pets"

5. TETSU ARREY "No Machine Trouble"

6. TETSU ARREY "Dangers Latent"

7. TETSU ARREY "Sassy"

8. RAISE CAIN "Lost Child"

9. RAISE CAIN "Price of Trade"

10. RAISE CAIN "Nothing! Nothing!"

11. RAISE CAIN "S.D.I."

12. S.O.B. "(Just a) Nightmare"

13. S.O.B. "Mental Attitude"

14. S.O.B. "Humanity of Stupids"

15. NIGHTMARE "Positive Fact"

16. NIGHTMARE "お前"

17. NIGHTMARE "Keys to Mind"

18. NIGHTMARE "Give the Low to You"

19. CROW "Disgust"

20. CROW "Give Up All Hope-The Day of Annihilation"

21. CROW "I'm Looking Out Over"

22. CROW "Dance of Death"

23. CROW "Bloody Earth

EYE OF THE THRASH GUERILLA

Knucklehead

　

Furious grind-inflected Sapporian hardcore. This is the former band of ctr's lead singer, Ozawa, and while the slurred, barking, Sakevi-esque vocals are instantly recognizable, Knucklehead were a much heavier proposition than ctr.

They were fixtures on the Sapporo (often associated with SLANG) and Japanese hardcore scenes, active for more than ten years, and and favorites of, among others, 324's Masao. The guitarist went on to form grind band Motiveless.

This was a 2001 release and, like Knucklehead's other releases, ctr stuff and many other tasty treats, can be bought from HG Fact.  A lot of their stuff is also available from HC Holocaust (a great distro).

GOUON

In the precincts of battle

The bastard children of Steel Mammoth (who are in turn the get of Circle), these four bands contain more or less the same members as far as I can tell--they're credited by different pseudonyms on each release--and the sound is in line with Steel Mammoth's (if a bit heavier & more actually metal): loose, deconstructed, hypnotic; weird homages/satires that end up sounding more like each other than whatever genre they're taking off.

A classic 1983 example of the NWOFHM (but not really)

CD EP

Punkish, Motorhead influenced but with clean guitars & distorted vocals.

7"

Less hypno-rock, more METAL on this one.

7"

NWOFHM garage psych.

7"

All this NWOFHM stuff is very much to taste, and I can imagine some people hating it, but I find it generally charming, with some really interesting musical stuff hidden under the affections and silliness.

BUY

BLACK TEAM!