R.I.P. Jacques Wiltse

You gave me the best 14 and a half years I could have asked for.

"Are you ready", asked the Veterinarian as he steadied the syringe. "Yes", I responded tearfully.

You licked my face one last time and then it was over.

Cherish your time with you pets.

No man should have to kill his best friend.

BLACKLISTED "No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me" LP

I was never a real BLACKLISTED fan prior to this, I always thought that they were pretty mediocre considering how "successful" they were so here I am having to review a horrible record by a pedestrian hardcore band. Ugh, yeah it's as bad as you've heard. There is a heavy mid-90's Seattle influence here...including an acoustic jam, lots of attempts at singing, a couple of moody interludes to break up the songs and some really bad jazz-like guitar work (most evident on "Palisade" but it pops up a couple of other places too). I suppose this is post-hardcore? Perhaps for the more adventurous and accepting out there, they could find some value here but I like hardcore...plain and simple and hardcore this is not. So bad that it doesn't deserve a little quote in italics under the LP cover.

NAILS "Unsilent Death" LP

"Scum Will Rise"

Ever wonder what it would sound like if you mixed TALK IS POISON with DISMEMBER? I'm probably oversimplifying but there is definitely some great Scandinavian death metal guitar work filtered through one of those abrasive and caustic Prank Records type bands. Unsilent Death begins with "Conform" a 30 second blast that would do NASUM proud and is one of 5 tracks that don't break the one minute mark . NAILS combine grind, dirge, d-beat and thrash to near perfection. I love fast as much as Pushead did but its songs like "Depths" and the title track that are standouts for me and are true auditory evidence that NAILS can craft as well as blast. Now what if I told you that Todd Jones, ex-CARRY ON and TERROR member was the main man behind all this? I know, fucking weird right? Well, it matters not to me cause this record fucking peels paint. Highly recommended...

HAYMAKER "Demo" LP set

"Christians are just like diapers, so useless and full of shit"

I suppose the creation of this record is a somewhat worthwhile endeavor when you consider just how few original HAYMAKER demos exist and what little effort was put towards their circulation. This is in stark contrast to the DUMPTRUCK Demo 7" soon to be released. I mean, who doesn't have that fucking recording already? I've never been one for "creating collectibles", especially unnecessary ones by putting to vinyl a piece of music that 75% of the hardcore scene already has. But I digress, the sound here is raw and unpolished and HAYMAKER hadn't come close to hitting their stride yet but these songs serve as a history lesson of sorts for the metallic machine that would close clubs, dodge cops, throw fire extinguishers at the crowd and fight security guards without hesitation. While my favorite HAYMAKER material will always be the LP stuff, Chuck D said that if you don't know the past, you can't know the future. Pictured above is the regular press, the limited press out of 100 and a test press out of 20.

RSR Records (no address)

FUCKED UP "Daytrotter Sessions" Test Press

"Magic World" b/w "David Comes To Life" is pretty self explanatory as is the 6/8. Cool collectable from those pesky Chicago Anarchists.

THE RIVAL MOB "Hardcore 4 Hardcore" cassette

"Shiny new boys making some noise. Here's where we separate the men from the boys"

This is a teaser of sorts before their new 7" on Six Feet Under Records and contains a new track, a "remix" and two covers. "Hardcore For Hardcore" picks up exactly where Raw Life ended off and it's a true ripper. Taking equal cues from both 82' and 88', this is stripped down hardcore from arguably the best band going today. "Positive Scene" by CRIPPLED YOUTH may seem like an odd cover choice but it works quite well. "Mind Closed For Life 2010" receives the piano and horn treatment and suddenly it's the musical backdrop to a chase scene in Dragnet. PEARL JAM'S "Better Man" is taken from their WERS set and shows why Brendan is the most diverse vocalist in hardcore. One of the few bands truly worth giving a shit about...

Believe the hype? http://cgi.ebay.com/RIVAL-MOB-mix-tape-57-100-free-spirit-lockin-out_W0QQitemZ160411487406QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_Cassettes?hash=item2559450cae

INNUMERABLE FORMS "Dark Worship" 7"

"Goodness is swallowed, replaced with waste"

This punishing little platter is the work of one-man, super-human hardcore workhorse DFJ (Justin Detore to the uninitiated, current vocalist for MIND ERASER and ex-of MENTAL, WRONG SIDE, DEAD BLACK, DOWN BUT NOT OUT and about 20 more). With an attack not unlike bands like FUNEBRARUM (for which DFJ did a session drumming stint), CONVULSE and INCANTATION, INNUMERABLE FORMS blast through 3 songs of classic death metal. Thankfully the songs are kept relatively short (nothing over the 4:30 mark, although surprisingly it's the punishing "Contaminated", the longest offering here that works best for me), the production is top notch and a packaging is simplistic and effective. It's obvious that Justin knows his stuff because the songs are really well crafted. What passes for death metal nowadays can often sound like an exercise in jamming parts together (blast, dirge, thrash, dirge, blast, repeat, go over 6 min, make listener want to take own life) and that never rears its ugly head here. Played with a straight forwardness and sense of purpose that would make the late Chuck S proud, the next time you're at a show and you see a Hare Krishna guy wearing a GOD DETHRONED shirt, go say hello, the kid is real. First 100 mail order copies on green vinyl.

On Hell Massacre Records and available through: http://www.painkillerrecords.com/