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Chroniques
Prévenez-nous si vous voyez des liens morts, ou pour envoyer vos productions à chroniquer : Yann ; coinxxxcoin[at]yahoo.fr. Si vous cherchez à vous procurer certains de ces disques, écrivez-nous, nous pourrons peut-être vous aiguiller vers des distros qui les ont.
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ASEXUALS "greater than later" Cd (Boss tuneage)
People say wine gets better with age. This obviously does not work for Hardcore bands. I thought ASEXUALS were an old melodic American punk band. The very first tracks on this Cd are raw, Hardcore songs in the DISCHORD/ BETTER YOUTH ORGANISATION vein ! Then ASEXUALS turned to good melodic Hardcore, then to bad melodic hardcore, then to terrible folk-pop-rock ! Sad story… I hope it’s not my destiny, otherwise please kill me when I’m 35. This Cd is a compilation of songs taken from various albums between 1983 and 1996. And I think they actually originated from Canada. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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J-CHURCH "you think you’re cool" Cd (Sniffing industries ?)
They should have stated this was just a "best-off" compilation, and not a real album. These songs are all taken from various Ep’s and most of them have already appeared on other Cds, so I don’t see the use. J-CHURCH have billions of real records out, try and grab one instead ! (especially the 3 first Cd’s). (Y.B.)
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PERFECT DAZE "five year scratch" Cd (Boss tuneage)
PERFECT DAZE were a Uk pop-core band who started around 1985, at the same time bands like SENSELESS THINGS, MEGA CITY FOUR and SNUFF were getting popular. They put out a bunch of vinyls, toured Europe (funny that I had never heard of them although it seems they did play in France in the 80’s), and even had a couple ex-members of THE STUPIDS and EXTREME NOISE TERROR - can you believe that ? This is a compilation of rare tracks and out-takes which is really quite ok if you enjoy this style. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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VEHICLE DEREK Cd (Boss tuneage)
I’ve always liked this label, because the guy behind it is super nice, honest, reliable, and has been putting out the same kind of music for over a decade now. This said, I usually don’t like most bands he puts out because they are very poppy and melodic, not to say commercial… But a couple of them are ok, like VEHICLE DEREK. Oh, they don’t break any new ground, they just play decent melodic Hc with a punky punch, like H.D.Q. or early SAMIAM for instance. No lyrics sheet unfortunately. www.bosst.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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CONTRE CULTURE #1 fanzine (en français)
Dommage qu’il ait fallu attendre un peu avant qu’il sorte, mais les articles n’ont pas trop perdu de leur actualité. C’est donc un zine collectif réalisé par quelques punks politisés du coin, tous déjà actifs dans divers asso. Au programme des colonnes, des chroniques, des articles sur les luttes sociales internationales et des interviews avec ACTIVE MINDS, DROPDEAD et ITSUKA OVER DISNEYLAND. Le point fort du zine c’est bien sûr son ouverture sur l’extérieur avec de copieux reportages sur l’Asie. J’ai été un chouilla agacé par les références politiciennes passéistes et le vocabulaire qui va avec (hein camarade Seb ?). maloka.distro@free.fr ou maloka.distro@online.fr (Y.B.)
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AUSTRA #1 fanzine (2001-in Latvian)
I don’t even know the name of the language over there. Why can’t they speak French like everybody else ? It’s all the more sad as this zine looks fantastic ! Its thick and huge, it has a whole bunch of international articles and columns, long reviews, and long interviews with worldwide hardcore scenesters : B’67 (Russia), BRAMBORAK (Lithuania), REFUSE rds (Poland), + several fanzines. Don’t hesitate to send them your stuff for review ! Janis_r@mail.lv or birke100@yahoo.com (Y.B.)
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HHH "making changes" Cd (positive outlook)
Good first effort. Isn’t it funny that an English band took the same name as an old Spanish outfit (probably without being aware of it) ? The English HHH play fast positive and melodic Hc. They have a weird sound, and it gives them a quite original flavour. The lyrics are mostly introspective, but some of them criticize the Hc scene in an intelligent way. Not bad. www.positiveoutlook.freeserve.co.uk (Y.B.)
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SQUALBALKUS demo 2001 (ciderspiller)
Weird band-name, eh ? This is a new English band that plays super fast grind with metallic, thrashcore and of course power-violence influences. They remind me a lot of ASSÜCK and AVULSION. This a decent quality demo, but with a big production they could easily get signed to EARACHE or RELAPSE ! The lyrics are ok, they’re mostly hateful, some are a bit social but they always remain quite obscure. ciderspiller@antisocial.com (Y.B.)
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FRENCH CONNECTION Cd-r (middle class productions)
France is one of the most un-hardcore countries in the world. I honestly don’t know if there has ever been one real hardcore band around here. So believe me, getting together 11 bands playing fast hardcore is quite an achievement ! Most bands are good, some more interesting than others, but the one thing for their credit is that they all bring some fresh air in our rock’n’roll / metal dominated scene ! Fave ones were PAPY BOARDING, NO TIME TO LOSE, ACTIONS FALL SHORT… www.notimetolose.fr.st (Y.B.)
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THE FIENDS "Skate or Die" (Demo-Tape)
"Fast angry and proud". This says it all. Fast Trashcore What Happens Next ?’ style. The lyrics are really simple and direct straight in your face and the sound is raw and fast. This one has members of TIME X. This demo will be out as a 7" soon but I don’t know on which label. If you’re into fast, political Old school trashcore you’ll love this one. It has some cover songs in the end as bonus. 6 songs. sotokai@clix.pt (D.R.)
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INERDZIA "tu puoi" Cd (Hat Pin rds)
Hey I like this. INERDZIA is an Italian "Oi" band with female vocals. They play uptempo punk-rock that’s fast enough to hold my attention. They remind me quite a bit of NAKED AGGRESSION. I couldn’t understand the lyrics as they’re in Italian, but they seem to be in the "street" vein. This Lp was recorded in 1999 and they just put out a new split cd. http://www.inerdzia.com/ (Y.B.)
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MISCONDUCT + SPERMICIDE 31/03/02, Mondo Bizarro, Rennes. Show review.
I guess SPERMICIDE got on the bill because they were friends with the organizers ? This punk-rock band from Paris have a strong rock’n’roll attitude, the singer stands bare-chested, wears plastered-down hair and sings love songs. MISCONDUCT play fast and tight old school Hc without forgetting all the usual clichés of the genre, like songs about lost friendships and "standing strong" and "staying true" (to what ?). Oh well. At least they do their thing well. The atmosphere could have been pretty good (hell, this was an old school Hc show, right ?) but there are no old school fans in Rennes, so people were kinda slow to react. And the only ones who seemed to appreciate the show were a drunk-punk and two Rash-skins who probably mixed up the "Mondo bizarro" club with the boxing ring next door or the soccer match downtown. So we kept most of the time watching after them (and trying not to get punched) instead of watching the band. Oh well. Rennes will never be a hardcore town anyway... (Y.B.)
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TANG "promo Cd" (demo) (DIY)
I didn’t want to like this. It’s poppy & artistic emo. The artwork is printed on a brown envelope, remember that from the early 90’s emo bands ? The sound is good, the music is slow and melancholic, it has acoustic parts that turn into noisy-pop ones. I have to admit that they do their thing well. I like the sadness that oozes from the songs. If it’s your thing… http://www.tang.fr.st (Y.B.)
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THROUGH THESE EYES "The Cliché Songs" (Demo-tape)
This is the first effort from this new Portuguese band. They come from Torres Vedras and play Fast youth crew style sXe hardcore in the vein of early REACHING FORWARD, with typical mosh and sing-a-long parts. I honestly think this was recorded a bit too early and if they worked some more on the songs the final result would be better. As we can guess from the title of the demo they lyrics are typical youth crew about straightXedge pride, being drug free…. They do a good cover of "the truth" by WIDE AWAKE. The sound quality is average but ok for a demo. Total : 5 songs+1 cover. xtintimx@portugalmail.pt (D.R.)
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DREAMING ALOUD "Arrested Dream" (Demo-tape)
When I first saw them live I fell in love with this band. They come from Torres Vedras, Portugal and play melodic softcore with a very political and sharp message. They have 2 girls (singer and drummer) in the line-up wich unfortunately isn’t that common in the scene. The beautiful voice of Margarida fits really well with the melodic sound of the band. This is their 1st release and the only problem here is that they only recorded the first song in a studio and the others were recorded at home, so the sound quality and performance isn’t the best, which makes some great songs like "Arrested Dream" sound not that good. The lyrics are all very political and deal with a lot of subjects sometimes neglected within our scene like child labour. If they got the chance to re-record some of the songs this could be a killer release. But it’s a fresh surprise in our scene. I really enjoy this although I prefer to see them live. Another thing, this was released by a new label called IN LOVE WITH LIFE Records. Total : 7 Songs. dreaming-aloud@mail.com (D.R.)
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DAY OFF THE DEAD "Masterful Murderous Plot of Massive Psychology" (Demo-Tape)
This is the 1st demo-tape of this new Portuguese band. Musically they can be compared to a mix of Bane with Ensign. The vocals are screamt and the second guitar is sometimes melodic as we can see in bands like BANE or BY THE GRACE OF GOD. They combine some fast paced verse parts with really cool sing-a-long more slowed down chorus. The lyrics are all very well written and are political about being a slave to society, violence at shows, "history written upon the blood of the dead" and self esteem. This could be the release of the year !!! 6 songs. dayofthedead@mail.pt (D.R.)
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TIME X "Love it or Leave it" 7"(Cane records)
This is the 7" edition of their 2nd Demo-tape. Way better than the first demo, this one has good lyrics and better songs. If you don’t know them by now they play Fast Youth Crew with a strong Political edge. Musically the songs are bigger and stronger. The lyrics are more politically focused and are really good. If you didn’t get the demo try and grab this one, there’s also some limited editions. 8 Songs. headxon@hotmail.com (D.R.)
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ENDLESS ROAD "Chance for a new life" (Demo-tape)
This is a new band and they rock. They manage to mix together some more metal riff with some cool melodic parts and melodies on the vocals, which makes them more original and not at all boring as most metal bands to me. They could be compared to POISON THE WELL but way less metal. I really like it when they put 2 vocals in the songs combining screamt vocals with cool melodic ones. It works out great. My favourite songs are Day by Day, Second Chance and Close. The only flaw here is that they didn’t include the lyrics on the 1st pressing of the demo. They used to have a Pointing Finger member which makes this even better hehehe !! 11 Songs. david.rosado@clix.pt (D.R.)
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ONE TRUE OLD SCHOOL STORY Cd compilation (Fields of hope)
If you’re looking for a good old school compilation you got one right here. This is a really cool compilation covering almost all the best European bands playing now. It also includes BURDEN from Canada and HIGH HOPES from the USA. Many songs here are unreleased which is always a cool thing. So let’s see, from Germany we have CLOSELINE, DRIFTNET, MAX REBO KIDS, FREE LIVING INSANITY (awesome surprise), INDICATION and FORCE OF CHANGE. From Portugal we have TIME X, POINTING FINGER, GROWING STRAIGHT and SEIZE THE DAY, from Holland VITAMIN X and REACHING FORWARD, from Italy STRENGTH APPROACH and IN THE CLEAR from the UK. This was supposed to come out a while back and the recordings are all from 2000 but it’s still an awesome release and I recommend this to everyone into fast honest, finger pointing, sing-a-long Old School. 16 Songs. (D.R.)
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GOOD CLEAN FUN "straight outta hardcore" Cassette (Refuse rds)
Haaa Robert is gonna make a lot of bucks again with this new licence ! Ok you all know these old school SxE heroes, basically this is a pro-quality cassette version of the Cd that came out on REFLECTION/ PHYTE. BUT the cool thing is it also includes their rare 7" picture disc with a Prince cover and a different version of "Victory records suck". Coool ! And the lyrics are all translated into polish, which is funny if you wanna sing-a-long to G.C.F. in polish, at a party after a couple bottles of vodka… :) refusexresist@go2.pl (Y.B.)
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GENOCIDE "blood spilled" Cd (Cryptas)
I don’t know when this was recorded, but I believe it is a new record. GENOCIDE play powerful grind core with political lyrics. They sing in Spanish and they’re not too metal, which is good. Fans of the genre should not overlook them. Cons_internacion@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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REFUSE distro catalogue
Man, this has gotten so huge over the years. Robert will probably end up living off his label if he doesn’t cool down soon. If you’re looking for cheap hardcore, and in particular raging hardcore from eastern Europe, get in touch with him at : refusexresist@go2.pl (Y.B.)
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HYDROPHOBIA / MIGRA VIOLENTA split Cd (Exabrupto)
38 tracks in 47 minutes. MIGRA VIOLENTA hail from Argentina and play basic punk-Hc. There has some ok parts, but the screaming voice is sometimes a bit unbearable. With a little more maturity they could become a good band. Same goes for HYDROPHOBIA actually ; their brand of crust with grindcore parts is a bit too basic. It’s all the more sad as the layout on this cd is really nice, and the music would have fit better on a demo. Exabrupto80@hotmail.com (Y.B.)
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TROPIEZO "desenmascarando…" Cd (Gente de Oi rds)
Another fine example of typical raging Hc (punk) from latin america. I really like the fact that there is no "real" cover for this Cd (buy it and you’ll see what I mean). I wish the lyrics were printed and translated, too. Apart from that, this is 20 minutes of anger and frustration, with a very decent sound. TROPIEZO still lack the little spark that will make them stand out, but they’re already damn good. http://pagina.de/tropiezo (Y.B.)
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20 MINUTES DE CHAOS + ATAXIA 02/04/2002, squat de l’Ekluserie, Rennes. Show review
Not too many people turned up which is a shame considering there are so few political gigs in Rennes. ATAXIA are a new band from Dijon who play mid-tempo old school Hardcore, with a few New York Hardcore hints here and there. They’re young and the music still lacks "something", but I enjoyed their set. I was surprised by 20" DE CHAOS who now have two female vocalists. The band plays tight and intense anarchopunk/ crust / metal which I liked very much. The lyrics are quite naïve ("innocent people die in the wars", "nasty bankers want to evict squatters" kind of stuff), but the singers sounded really sincere, and these people actually are involved in various social struggles, so at least they practice what they preach, right ? The sound quality was ok, the atmosphere was good, it was a good show but it would have been even better if I had not been annoyed by the overall attitude of the organizers/ crowd/ bands. They all brag about how they wanna build a better society and they wanna smash intolerance and be respected and blah blah blah, but they of course can’t even respect others. The neighbours came to complain about the noise (someone started rehearsing at around 7 or 8 PM, then the two bands played which means the neighbours had to bear over 3 hours of horrible noise). So some guy came and ask for the show to end at 11:15, but the band and the audience decided to "play another song" and then another, and then more. As far as I am concerned, I work 6 days out of 7, and I really would not appreciate it if some wanker started playing loud techno music downstairs. I’d be the first to complain. But of course, it is always more easy to ask for respect, than to practice it... (Y.B.)
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IMBALANCE mCd (Hermit rds)
Same as above. I really like the sincere and heartfelt lyrics. And I wish they had played faster. Oh well… mail@hermitrecords.idps.co.uk (Y.B.)
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IMBALANCE "spouting rhetoric" Cd (Household name rds)
It’s cool to buy a Cd and get 50 minutes of music. IMBALANCE are an interesting melodic band from England, following the path of other famous "positive Hardcore" bands like Gorilla biscuits, Ignite, etc. I like them, but there’s something that annoys me and I cannot put my finger on it. It’s either the vocals, or the production, or both. The lyrics are definitely the best part here, they’re introspective but deal with social issues in a non-sloganistic way. I’d love to see them live.[Urgh ! I’ve just learnt they split up ! And so did one of their labels ARMED WITH ANGER] http://www.imbalance-punk.com/ (Y.B.)
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