Foundation Vinyl Newsletter

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  I popped along to the Moor Beer Vaults in Bermondsey last night to catch the Stress Positions and Blind Girls double-header.

I still vividly remember the whirlwind velocity of C.H.E.W., the predecessor band for three quarters of Stress Positions, when they played New River Studios back in 2019.  That intensity has, if anything, only been further ramped up in their current guise.  The band have added a subtly psychedelic, almost jazz-infused edge to their breakneck barrage and it works savagely well live.  A new album, Human Zoo, is imminent.

Blind Girls are rather newer to me, having discovered them through last year’s latest full-length, An Exit Exists.  Screamo has generally become ever more sonically expansive.  Blind Girls are, however, something of a throwback to the more chaotic origins of the genre, unleashing short, sharp eruptions of harshly discordant, squalling hardcore.  Their set brought the night to a suitably ferocious finale.

So what do we have lined up this week? We have five featured new arrivals to get stuck into.  First up, the cracking debut album from Ultimate Disaster, For Progress…, on Kick Rock and Grave Mistake.  Next, we have two new releases on Discos Enfermos – the swaggering belligerence of Oust on Rather Be A Fuck Up, and then the utterly unhinged Al Fin! El Demo! courtesy of Bondage.

To round things off, we have the rapid-fire full-length, Den Typ Som Överlever, from Proteststorm on Fight For Your Mind, and the latest haunting 7-inch from E.V.A, II, on Andalucia Űber Alles.

As always, we also have an updated London gig listing.  May is absolutely jam packed with fine shows, including Muro, Indikator B, Public Acid, and Shove.  Thanks are due to Distort Sheffield who are co-ordinating these four particular tours off the back of their very own, absolutely stacked Noise Annoys weekender at The Lughole in their home city next month (23rd-25th May, details below).

We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the coming weeks, including new releases from Feel It, La Vida Es Un Mus, Not For The Weak, Static Shock, Toxic State, and Unlawful Assembly among others!

It’s touch and go whether there will be a newsletter next week.  The shipment that I was expecting at the start of this week seems to be stuck in the seventh circle of logistics hell.  So, more than likely, I’ll see you the week after next!

Featured New Arrivals

For Progress… by Ultimate Disaster / Rather Be A Fuck Up by Oust/ Al Fin! El Demo! by Bondage / Den Typ Som Överlever by Proteststorm / II by E.V.A (clockwise)

‘Preying on hate, exploiting their fear…Stoking blind anger, thriving on tragedy…Manufacture hate, to satisfy your greed’ (Mass Produced Hatred)

The band name and cover art give you a pretty good handle on what to expect as you drop the needle for the first time on For Progress….  What does immediately sharpen your attention, however, is just how venomously well executed it is.

Yes, this is Discharge-inspired d-beat, but with an unyielding focus on distilling these influences to their basest form.  Yes, this is raw punk, but force fed through a rigorously disciplined lens.  Even the solos are defined by a fierce precision.  So, while those initial instincts will have been pretty much spot on, the Richmond, Virginia trio hit home with an impressively fresh velocity.

The rhythm section locks in with methodical precision allowing the waves of relentless riffage to build an unstoppable momentum.  And, despite the intrinsic rawness, there is a surprising sense of space and clarity to the fusillade.  Meanwhile, the throaty, guttural vocals explore the forces and motives that cultivate the seemingly endless cycle of modern warfare and militarised oppression.  Stand out tracks include the groove fuelled What Right?, the searing title track, and the rhythmic fury of the closer, Hymn For A Burning World.

‘Each new variant, of innovation, Data driven pestilence, our ruination’ (Death To The Valley)

Oust return in fervently belligerent form on this their debut full-length, Rather Be A Fuck Up.  The band, whose members hail from The Netherlands and Italy, began life as a pretty straight-up d-beat band, but their sound began to evolve in a more distinctive direction on their 2021 EP, Never Trust A Politician.  It is a trend that is satisfyingly continued here.  This is not to suggest experimentalism, as this is hardcore distilled to its core essentials, but rather a willingness to draw upon influences from across the hardcore punk spectrum and to sharpen them into something savagely singular.

Each element of the band is intrinsic to this evolution.  The rhythm section delivers a bedrock of swaggering intensity, while the guitar unleashes wave upon wave of fiercely taut riffage.  The barrage is completed by utterly rabid, rasping vocals that drip with contempt for the distorted priorities of society as they tackle the rise of the far right (Rather Be A Fuck Up Than A Fascist), surveillance capitalism (Death To The Valley), worker exploitation (Die For The Economy), and the insidious myths of the ‘wellness’ industry (Körperkultur).

The feral ferocity comes to a visceral crescendo on the closer Our Anger Is Appropriate.  A reworking of a song by the Bahamian musician and artist Exuma (Tony McKay) that called for spiritual vengeance on the those who enslaved his ancestors, it brings proceedings to an uncompromising climax.

‘Podemos ser todo, Podemos ser nada, Sólo quiero vivir a mi manera, Ya no quiero morir mañana, Sabiendo que puedo ser libre’ / ‘We can be everything, We can be nothing, I just want to live my way, I don’t want to die tomorrow, Knowing I can be free’ (X-Gender)

Al Fin! El Demo! (Finally! The Demo!) is Bondage’s first vinyl release and arrives just as the Santiago band have announced that they are calling it a day.  But as sign offs go, it is an utterly bonkers one, in all the right ways.  The band take the raw fury of Latin America punk, add a generous dollop of off-kilter Japanese noise punk, and then fashion it into something that is very much their own.

The swinging bass and primitive drums are front and centre, while the rhythm guitar lays down a barrage of unrelenting white noise.   The raucously unhinged vocals are absolutely inspired as they explore themes of personal liberty – the freedom of personal expression, escaping the clutches of our technocratic society, and freeing ourselves from the constraints of our own personal histories.

The EP includes a hidden track plus, for the more creative among you, a cut-out insert of one of the band members.

‘Utan riktning, utan mål, Utan rimlig vett och sans, De lurar oss, de sviker oss, De leder oss till ingenstans’ (De Levanda Döda) / ‘Without direction, without goal, Without reasonable sense and common sense, They deceive us, they betray us, They lead us nowhere’ (The Living Dead)

Den Typ Som Överlever (The Type That Survives) is the debut album from Proteststorm, following on from two EPs.  The Swedish duo have a deep background in both grind and hardcore, having played in a myriad of bands, including Axis Of Despair, Livet Som Insats, Krighsot, and Nasum.  They draw on this rich experience to hone a ferociously stripped back fastcore onslaught.

Urgent Swedish vocals, lacerating guitars, and blast beat fuelled drumming form the basis as the band rip through twenty tracks in just a shade over twenty minutes.  The key as ever, with such an uncompromising emphasis on speed, are the subtle shifts – ephemeral melodic flourishes, briefly flaring solos, fleeting eruptions of groove – that lend the all-important texture.  The relatively clean guitar ensures that this detailing is vividly clear.

The tensely agitated battery is matched by the lyrical dissection of the fractured, distorted, anxiety-inducing priorities of contemporary society.  De Levanda Döda and Oskyldig (Innocent) perfectly capture the band’s blistering essence.

E.V.AII

7 Inch

‘No, ya no encuentras consuelo en el tiempo, Es demasiado tarde para cambiar, No, ya no encuentras consuelo en el Viento, Y te quieres ir’ (La Muerte) / ‘No, you no longer find solace in time, It’s too late to change, No, you no longer find solace in the wind, And you want to leave’ (Death)

E.V.A’s members span Granada and Bristol and return with a follow-up to their self-titled 2020 debut EP.  On this new four track release, the band continue to hone a post-punk sound that is shrouded in equal measure with both bleakly gothic impulses and a rich pop sensibility.

Brightly shimmering guitars are underpinned by throbbingly resonant bass lines and crisply precise percussion.  The driving force though is the fiercely melodic Spanish vocals as they entice us into the hazy hinterland between the real and the mythical.

The darkly catchy EL Oro (Gold) gets us underway.  Then, the haunting chants that define El Fuego (The Wind) and La Lune (The Moon) transport us to that precipice where desolate beauty and danger interlace – the wind howls, the waves crash, and the swirling mist shrouds the cliff face.  Before, the powerfully compelling La Muerte brings proceedings to a rousing, if fittingly ambiguous, finale.

Shows And Tours

Noise Annoys Weekender, The Lughole, Sheffield (23rd-25th May)

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

April

24th  Great Falls, Glassing, Helpless (The Black Heart / UK Tour)

25th  Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)

May

3rd  Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)

6th  Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace / UK Tour)

7th  Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld / UK Tour)

14th  Muro, Second  Death, Secrecy (New River Studios / UK tour)

17th  Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)

19th  Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

20th  Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

21st  Indikator B, Koridor, Es, Hellscape (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)

30th  Lawful Killing, Imposter, Frisk, Last Orders, Scab (New River Studios)

31st  Shove plus support (The Old Blue Last / UK Tour)

31st  Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)

June

3rd  Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

9th  Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)

14th  P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)

16th   Alien Nosejob, Middleman, Fatberg (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

17th   Contention, Long Goodbye, Hour Of Reprisal (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

18th   Iron Lung, Bad Breeding, Frisk, Total Con, Casing (New River Studios / Sold Out)

18th   Terror, Jivebomb, No Relief  (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

19th   Cicada, Necron 9, Total Nada plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

22nd   Fuckin’ Lovers, Hez plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

July

3rd  Quiet Fear, Wreathe , Death Of Youth (Paper Dress Vintage)

3rd  Destiny Bond, Big Laugh, Flesh Creep, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

4th  Fentanyl, Kute, Do One, Unreal Cruelty (New Cross Inn)

5th  All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)

7th  Stick To Your Guns, Love Letter plus more (Downstairs At The Dome / UK Tour)

7th  Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)

7th /8th The Messthetics & Brandon Lewis (Cafe Oto)

8th  Terminal Sleep, Spaced, Still In Love (New Cross Inn)

October

30th  Godflesh plus support (Scala)

November 

3rd  City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

Coming Soon

Nisemono by Nisemono lands in May

May

Artificial Go ‘Hopscotch Fever’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Axon ‘Axon’ 7-inch (Not For The Weak)

Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Fugitive Bubble ‘What Happens If We Stop’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Grand Scheme ‘Grand Scheme’ 7-inch (11PM)

Headsplitter ‘Curse Of Life’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Heaven’s Gate ‘Tales From A Blistering Paradise’ 12-inch (Beach Impediment)

Hubert Selby Jr Infants ‘Bingo’ 12-inch (Super Fi)

Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Iron Lung ‘Adapting // Crawling’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Kaleidoscope ‘Cities Of Fear’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)

Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Nisemono ‘Nisemono’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Paranoid ‘MMXXII’ 12-inch (Beach Impediment)

Plasma ‘Mua Et Voi Omistaa’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Shatter ‘Deny The Future’ 7-inch (Desolate)

Stress Positions ‘Human Zoo’ 12-inch (Three One G)

Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Sweeping Promises ‘Hunger For A Way Out’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Tàrega 91 ‘Ckaos Total’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Xiao ‘Control’ 12-inch (Twelve Gauge)

June

Artificial Go ‘Musical Chairs’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Kilynn Lunsford ‘Promiscuous Genes’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Lung ‘The Swankeeper’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Foundation Vinyl Newsletter

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  We have four cracking new arrivals to get stuck into this week.  First up, the triumphant return of Tijuana’s Habak with their third full-length, Mil Orquídeas En Medio Del Desierto, on Alerta Antifascista and Persistent Vision.  We then have Tramadol from Leeds with their sledgehammer self-titled second EP on Donor Records.

To round things off in style, we have two d-beat fuelled albums on D-Takt & Råpunk – the lacerating Tills Du Dör from Stockholm’s Mob 47 (a co-release with Beach Impediment) and the barrelling Shove Their System Up Their Ass courtesy of Edmonton’s Languid (a co-release with Desolate Records).

Next, Antique Weathervanes And An Ecstatic Hydra takes a look back at two excellent, but very contrasting, gigs earlier in the week, featuring Franz Nicolay and pageninetynine respectively.

As always, we also have an updated London gig listing, which includes the imminent Sunday School weekender this bank holiday (19/04-20/04) and next week’s Blind Girls / Stress Positions show (23/04), plus just announced shows from Quiet Fear / Wreathe (03/07) and The Messthetics (07/07-08/07).  We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the coming weeks, including new releases from Discos Enfermos, Feel It, La Vida Es Un Mus, Not For The Weak, Static Shock, Toxic State, and Unlawful Assembly among others!

Finally, just a quick heads up that next week’s newsletter will again come out on Thursday, and then I’ll begin to work back to our usual Tuesday slot from there.

Featured New Arrivals

Mil Orquídeas En Medio Del Desierto by Habak / Shove Their System Up Their Ass by Languid / Tramadol by Tramadol / Tills Du Dör by Mob 47 (clockwise)

‘Mis sueños quedaron atrapados, En los engranajes del capital, Apenas logro recordarlos, Y aunque toda máquina tiene su punto de fricción, Creo que colapsare primero’ (Dejemos Hablar Al Viento) / ‘My dreams were trapped, In the gears of capital, I can barely remember them, And although every machine has its friction point, I think I’ll collapse first’ (Let’s Let The Wind Speak)

Tijuana’s Habak return with their searing third full-length, Mil Orquídeas En Medio Del Desierto (A Thousand Orchids In The Middle Of The Desert).  The band continue to forge fiercely melodic crust, with hauntingly captivating passages of dark folk leaning instrumentation and shimmering post-metal crescendos braided amid the vividly cathartic blackened hardcore eruptions.  A finely executed balancing act in harnessing the delicate and the discordant in tensile harmony.

From the sombrely strummed introduction to the title track opener, Habak are in confidently expansive form.  Songs are allowed the breathing room to fully unfurl, without compromising the seething intensity that has always defined their music.  The band weave together harrowing vocals, spoken word, and sampled interludes to mesmerising effect.  Their sweeping force is, perhaps, best captured as the instrumental opener to side two, En La Tempstad (In The Tempest), clears the mind after the roiling ferocity of Alienación Y Delirio (Alienation And Delirium).  It then feeds into the uplifting Notas Sobre El Ovido (Notes On Oblivion), with its flares of beautifully whispered clean singing, which in turn seeps into the melancholic fury of Hacia El Abismo (Into The Abyss).

Lyrically, the band return to the spectral imagery of an ever-expanding desert, first evoked on their 2023 split with Làgrimas, to capture the all-pervasive impact of neoliberal economics on society.  Dessaraigo (Uprooted) explores how this rationality has come to saturate society’s mode of thinking (‘Not only people die, words and ideas also perish’).  Meanwhile, Alienación Y Delirio tackles the relentless commodification of existence (‘We steal our own lives’) and Hacia El Abismo examines how a sense of perpetual crisis is fermented to reinforce the feeling that there is no alternative and to justify an ever more pronounced authoritarian turn (‘A collapse that seems to have no end’).

Notas Sobre El Ovido sees the band draw on the thinking of the Chilean writer, Roberto Bolaño, to examine how to create the space to cultivate fulfilling communities and to live for the moment rather than waiting for a utopia that may never arrive. As the closing track, Dejemos Hablar Al Viento, makes clear, this is not to accept to defeat, but to suggest that such resistance serves to both keep us human as well as to corrode the very strictures that bind us.

‘Another four year sentence, Soaked up and neutralised, Purged of all hope, Snared for the sacrifice’ (Crucifixion)

Tramadol return with a new four-track 7-inch and follow up to 2021’s Demo.  Every aspect of this EP sounds simply massive and is delivered with a sledgehammer intensity.  The fierce waves of metallic-edged riffage and a ferocious rhythm section coalesce to unleash an unrelenting onslaught.  Meanwhile, the urgent, burly vocals explore our hollowed-out democracy, the self-serving myth of the rules-based order, and our struggle to escape an economic system that feeds off division and the scapegoating of the already marginalised.

The Leeds band kick off proceedings with the rampaging Crucifixion that bleeds into the swaggering bass line and shrieking feedback that herald the arrival of the bruising Easy Targets.  The surging flip side opener, Calculated Slaughter, is bookended with brightly squalling solos, before the galloping vehemence of Lucid Dream brings matters to a suitably crushing climax. All of which is rounded off with some absolutely stunning artwork courtesy of vocalist, Thomas Wade.

‘Vandrande lik, Ett land i psykos, Religion och politik, I perfect symbios’ (Masspsykos) / ‘Walking Corpse, A country in psychosis, Religion and politics, In perfect symbiosis’ (Mass Psychosis)

The story of Stockholm’s Mob 47 is an intriguing one.  The band released their debut 7-inch, Kärnvapen Attack (Nuclear Attack), in 1984, and it soon became one of the touchstone releases of Swedish mangel, fusing blistering d-beat with thrashier hardcore inspirations.  The band’s second EP, Dom Ljuger Igen (They’re Lying Again), didn’t appear until 2008, shortly the band had played their first overseas dates in England the year prior.  Things then went rather quiet again, until now, as the band release their debut album, Tills Du Dör (Until You Die).

Now it would be easy for a band to collapse under the expectations of a legacy that has evolved in their absence.  But, if they did feel any additional pressure, it doesn’t show.  The fundamentals of their sound – lacerating speed, thrashing fury – remain wholly untamed as witnessed by 16 tracks in just 20 minutes.  It is, however, now unleashed with the benefit of a lifetime’s musicianship, which ensures that these attributes hit home with a power that serves to amplify, rather than dilute, the band’s intrinsic rawness.  A velocity embodied by the likes of På Ditt Sät (Your Way), Den Enes Bröd (The One Bread), and Grisar I Kostym (Pigs In Costume).

The band’s political convictions remain similarly front and centre.  Their fierce tirades against entrenched economic inequality (Den Enes Bröd), environmental catastrophe (Moder Jord / Mother Earth), and organised religion (Religös Farsot / Religious Plague) fuel the bristling intensity.  There are also clear nods to life’s changing circumstances, arising from the often stark realisations of growing older (Ut Med Det Gamla / Out With The Old) and the bleak realities of living on Putin’s doorstep (Pest Eller Kolera / Plague Or Cholera).

‘Stamping the boot and twisting the knives, making decisions that subdue our lives, their presence of death, is the essence of life’ (Essence Of Life)

Hailing from Edmonton, Languid return with their fourth full-length and a follow-up to 2021’s A Paranoid Wretch In Society’s Games.  They continue to hone a sound deeply rooted in the traditions of Swedish d-beat.  This is not music propelled by dramatic shifts in tempo, but rather a relentless groove, one that is unerringly just the faster side of mid-paced.  The emphasis is very much on giving the riffs the opportunity to build their unforgiving momentum, the bass lines to strut their swagger, and the solos to spiral with reckless abandon.

Meanwhile, the gruffly growled vocals lock into an uncompromising partnership with the charging d-beat of the drums as they denounce a system rigged to mercilessly exploit the many for the few, while driving the planet to the verge of extinction in the process.  This riff fuelled blend is particularly compelling on the ferociously fluid Death Comes Knocking and the remorseless Doomed, before the raucous climax of the title track.

Antique Weathervanes And An Ecstatic Hydra

To Us, The Beautiful by Franz Nicolay and Document #8 by pageninetynine

Great shows can, of course, take many forms.  And this was driven home with striking clarity this week, when I had the good fortune of catching Franz Nicolay and pageninetynine on consecutive evenings.  The former an acoustic solo artist, the other a nine-member collective that is literally a byword for chaotic sonic violence.

It was on Monday night that I popped along to catch the folk-punk of Franz Nicolay at Signature Brew in Haggerston.  Having had to miss his last London show a couple of years back, it was great to have the chance to see him again so soon.  With no new album in tow, we were treated to a wide-ranging show, including a couple of thoroughly enticing new tracks.  With just an acoustic guitar or accordion to call upon, all of the songs took on a sharper character than the lusher instrumentation of his albums, with a stirring reprise of Frankie Stubbs’ Tears from 2012’s Do The Struggle a particular highlight.

I have nothing but admiration for anyone who is willing to get on a stage, and to do it as a solo artist takes a particularly masochistic streak.  This is something that Franz explores in his highly recommended tour memoir, The Humourless Ladies Of Border Control.  Yet despite the fear that must be coursing through his veins, he is a warmly engaging stage presence throughout, with tales of antique weathervane thievery and the manifold pitfalls of guitar hire in Dublin.  All of which ensures that smiles are rarely far from everyone’s lips  But, perhaps, my biggest takeaway from the evening was just how difficult the accordion must be to master – the equivalent of playing three different instruments simultaneously, while grappling with a large tortoise.  As I say, not easy at all.

Franz Nicolay at Signature Brew on Monday 14th April

Things took on a rather gnarlier dynamic the following evening, with pageninetynine at the Scala.  Shows of this scale rarely appeal these days – the security, the eye-watering beer prices, the heresy of crowd barriers – leave me more than a touch cold.  But I’m glad that the strength of the line-up overcame my initial reluctance.

I had only ever ventured to the Scala a couple of times over a decade ago, but little has changed.  A hugely imposing building that looms near Kings Cross station, it feels oddly proportioned once your inside – all height, little depth.  I’ve had the pleasure of catching the swaggering brutality of openers Moloch a few times over the years, but it was my first time seeing Thou, who delivered a fiercely groove-laden battery, propelled by an absolute beast of a drumming display.  Though I must admit that I have rarely encountered a band as comfortable with a contemplative in-between song silence – no crashing immediately into the next song nor idle chatter entertained here.

pageninetynine then arrived with a full complement of nine members: twin vocalists – one all wild-eyed, sinewy hyperactivity, the other roaring bearded avuncularity – four guitarists, two bassists, and drummer.  The convulsing bodies on stage conjured images of an ecstatic hydra lost in a particularly fevered feeding frenzy and were mirrored by a frenetically seething pit throughout.  That they unleashed such convulsing chaos was to be expected, but when the band locked in together, there were passages that took on an unexpectedly hypnotic, euphorically charged edge.  A searing, utterly mesmerising rendition of The Hollowed Out Chest Of A Dead Horse embodied this perfectly.

After such a visceral performance, brimming with a wonderfully unbridled positivity, it was hugely unfortunate to see it end on a sour note.  As they returned to the stage for a final song, a genuinely harrowing scream filled the auditorium, and it emerged that a female member of the audience had been assaulted.  To their credit, the band swiftly responded and ensured that she received the support that she needed, before rightly calling proceedings to a close.  A rather depressing end to an otherwise great evening.

So, two very different, yet equally rewarding shows.  And both reminded us of the basic humanity and decency at the heart of hardcore punk, even in the face of the most cowardly malicousness.

pageninetynine at the Scala on Tuesday 15th April

Shows And Tours

Public Acid play New River Studios on Sunday 25th May

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

April

18th  Cowboy Hunters, Eelmen, Zeropolis (New River Studios)

18th  Shelter, Dynamite, No Relief (The Underworld)

19th  Disaffect, Haavat, Leashed, Catastrophe (New Cross Inn)

19th  Sunday School Weekender featuring, Belgrado, Sanctuary Of Praise, Traidora, Lash (New River Studios)

20th  Sunday School Weekender Operant, Beau Wanzer, The Shits, Urin, Brood x Cycles, Hellish Torment, Skintern, and Spine Portal (New River Studios)

20th  Comeback Kid, Shooting Daggers, Last Wishes (The Dome)

21st  Chat Pile plus support (Heaven / UK Tour)

23rd  Blind Girls, Stress Positions, As Living Arrows, I’m Sorry Emil (Moor Beer Vaults / UK Tour)

24th  Great Falls, Glassing, Helpless (The Black Heart)

25th  Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)

May

3rd  Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)

6th  Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace)

7th  Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld)

14th  Muro, Second  Death, Secrecy(New River Studios / UK tour)

17th  Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)

19th  Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

20th  Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn)

21st  Indikator B, Koridor, Es, Hellscape (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)

30th  Lawful Killing, Imposter, Frisk, Last Orders, Scab (New River Studios)

31st  Shove plus support (The Old Blue Last / UK Tour)

31st  Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)

June

3rd  Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn)

9th  Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)

14th  P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)

16th   Alien Nosejob, Middleman, Fatberg (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

17th   Contention, Long Goodbye, Hour Of Reprisal (New Cross Inn)

18th   Iron Lung, Bad Breeding, Frisk, Total Con, Casing (New River Studios)

18th   Terror, Jivebomb, No Relief  (New Cross Inn)

19th   Cicada, Necron 9, Total Nada plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

22nd   Fuckin’ Lovers, Hez plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

July

3rd  Quiet Fear, Wreathe , Death Of Youth (Paper Dress Vintage)

3rd  Destiny Bond, Big Laugh, Flesh Creep, Closed Hands (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

4th  Fentanyl, Kute, Do One, Unreal Cruelty (New Cross Inn)

5th  All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)

7th  Stick To Your Guns, Love Letter plus more (Downstairs At The Dome / UK Tour)

7th  Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)

7th /8th The Messthetics & Brandon Lewis (Cafe Oto)

8th  Terminal Sleep, Spaced, Still In Love (New Cross Inn)

October

30th  Godflesh plus support (Scala)

November 

3rd  City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

Coming Soon

For Progress… by Ultimate Disaster

24th April

Bondage ‘El Fin! El Demo’ 7-inch (Discos Enfermos)

EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Andalucia Űber Alles)

Oust ‘Rather Be A Fuck Up’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Proteststorm ‘Den Typ Som Överlever’ 12-inch (Fight For Your Mind)

Ultimate Disaster ‘From Progress…’ 12-inch (Kick Rock)

30th April

Artificial Go ‘Hopscotch Fever’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Sweeping Promises ‘Hunger For A Way Out’ 12-inch (Feel It)

May

Axon ‘Axon’ 7-inch (Not For The weak)

Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Fugitive Bubble ‘What Happens If We Stop’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Grand Scheme ‘Grand Scheme’ 7-inch (11PM)

Headsplitter ‘Curse Of Life’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Iron Lung ‘Adapting // Crawling’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Kaleidoscope ‘Cities Of Fear’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)

Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Nisemono ‘Nisemono’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Plasma ‘Mua Et Voi Omistaa’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Shatter ‘Deny The Future’ 7-inch (Desolate)

Stress Positions ‘Human Zoo’ 12-inch (Three One G)

Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Tàrega 91 ‘Ckaos Total’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Xiao ‘Control’ 12-inch (Twelve Gauge)

Foundation Vinyl Newsletter

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  We have a stacked line-up this week with four cracking new arrivals to get our teeth into.  To kick things off, on Side Two Records we have the much anticipated debut album from Boston’s Lifeless Dark, Forces Of Nature’s Transformation.  It has been well worth the wait!

Then, on Symphony Of Destruction, we have a trio of great new releases. First up, the d-beat fuelled return of Bordeaux’s Bombardement with their third full-length, Dans La Fournaise.  Then, the darkly atmospheric post-punk of Melbourne’s Promaja on their debut album, Bravo Brava.  Before, Lille’s Utopie round things off in style with their latest offering, Virage.

As always, we also have an updated London gig listing, which includes just announced shows from Iron Lung / Bad Breeding (18/06) and Cicada / Necron 9 (19/06).  We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the coming weeks, including new releases from Alerta Antifascista, D-Takt & Råpunk, Feel It, La Vida Es Un Mus, Not For The Weak, Static Shock, Toxic State, and Unlawful Assembly among others!

Finally, just a quick heads up that next week’s newsletter will most likely hit your inbox on Thursday rather than our usual Tuesday slot.

Featured New Arrivals

Forces Of Nature’s Transformation by Lifeless Dark / Virage by Utopie / Dans La Fournaise by Bombardement / Bravo Brava by Promaja (clockwise)

‘Night is falling, The crawl down from their towers, To come for their prey in the shadows, Those bestowed power by church and state, Coming for their prey’ (Monsters Of Man’s Invention)

Shards of haunting melody, flares of squalling feedback, solemn spoken word.  Then layered with a harshly chanted mantra, before Monsters Of Man’s Invention is overwhelmed by the menacing arrival of The Forgotten.  It is a thoroughly arresting opening and one that is not wasted.

Lifeless Dark made quite a stir with their demo back in 2018 and, with the six years in between, it is fair to say that expectations could have been in danger of over-reaching themselves.  Forces Of Nature’s Transformation is merciless in vanquishing any such fears.  The band draw members from an array of Boston bands ranging from Mind Eraser to Innocent by way of Exit Order.  Their sound though is forged in a ferocious union of metallic hardcore and 1980s’ UK crust punk, braided through a bleakly desolate sense of impending doom.

The band’s original demo, Who Will Be The Victims?, was notable in its nods towards its Sacrilege inspirations and these remain a cornerstone of the band’s sound.  But it is just a starting point.  The venomous riff that defines Cryptic Remains vividly resurrected the frisson of the first time that I dropped the needle on Bolt Thrower’s Realm Of Chaos.  And this is an album that positively brims with absolutely savage riffage – the sombrely seething opening to Medusa and Fear No Evil’s mid-song breakdown are not far behind – and howling yet nuanced solos, while partnered throughout by a truly thunderous rhythm section.

The vocals are delivered with a harsh, raspingly rhythmic vehemence.  Bleakly apocalyptic lyrics explore the economic exploitation (The Forgotten) and the disregard for the common good (Depth Of Cold) that are shaping our lives, while recognising that our own complicity (Broken Mirrors) is playing its part in fuelling our disconnection from nature and the headlong charge towards catastrophe (Feeding The Light).

With a run time of just over 40 minutes, some occasional sags in momentum might be anticipated.  That there isn’t even a hint, speaks to the impressive song craft deployed and the wonderful detailing that colours each track, such as the chanted climax to Radiation Sickness, as well as the band’s ability to sweep from higher tempos to slab-like fury without any loss of velocity. Turn up the dial and prepare for the end of times.

‘Le silence impossible à entendre…Se subir, être son propre bourreau… Tourmenté, lassé, le reflet est gris…’/ ‘The silence impossible to hear… To endure oneself, to be one’s own executioner… Tormented, weary, the reflection is gray…’ (Solitude)

Hailing from Bordeaux, and featuring members of Deletär and Faucheuse, Bombardement return with their third full-length, Dans La Fournaise (In The Furnace), and follow-up to 2022’s Le Future Est Là (The Future Is Here).  The band continue to hone their classic, Discharge-inspired d-beat battery.  But, as ever, they do so in a way that refashions these influences, leaning with vigour into aspects that others, perhaps, neglect.

The rhythm guitars are as lacerating as you would anticipate and build into a relentless, densely layered groove.  Meanwhile the solos are so insanely exuberant that they can’t help but bring a smile to the face.  The urgently staccato vocals are delivered with a rabid velocity as they explore the emotional solitude and slow violence of modern life.

And just when you think you have a handle on them, the band drop a shoulder and take you somewhere rather unexpected.  The chunky thrash metal riffage of Survie (Survival) is a particular pleasure as are the layered vocals of the boisterous, and surprisingly expansive, closer Bombardement, with its haunting cry of ‘Perdues’ (‘Lost’).

‘What do you know about common sense, what do you know about consequences, don’t try and tell me about satisfaction, when you’re talking, talking, talking, without any action’ (Never Reaching Heaven)

Bravo Brava is the debut release from Melbourne’s Promaja (a Balkan superstition that cold draughts carry evil spirits), featuring Jasmine Dunn of Pleasure Symbols and Bloodletter.  The album deftly mines the rich seam where the surging melancholy of post-punk intertwines with the more euphoric instincts of new wave.  Brightly crystalline guitar and swells of pulsing electronics evoke a deep sense of mournful uncertainty, one underpinned by resonantly coiling bass lines and crisply precise, cymbal awash drums.

A sultry, brooding atmosphere is evoked, one that swirlingly coalesces around Dunn’s strident, powerfully drawled vocals.  They inject a striking sense of drama, one equally steeped in gothic theatre and a keen pop sensibility, as they explore themes of isolation and anxiety.  From the bleakly infectious Diaspora to the emotionally charged Treading Water and Never Reaching Heaven, by way of Modern Silence’s stirring whispered build of ‘Do you ever think about it?’, Promaja subtly work in their claws and conjure a sense of foreboding that only the bite of an icy wind can bring.

UtopieVirage

12 Inch

‘Jusqu’au bout j’aurai, Toujours le vent de face, Suis-je le seul à voir la difference, Entre ce que vous croyez, Et ce qui vraiment se passe?’ (Neige) ‘Until the end, I’ll always have the wind in my face, Am I the only one who sees the difference, Between what you believe, And what’s really happening?’ (Snow)

Utopie self-describe their music as ‘cold punk’.  And there is admittedly a compelling logic to this description.  The Lille band strikingly infuse their dark punk roots with a taut post-punk angularity.  Yet this should not be confused in any sense with an emotional detachment – theirs is a sound that simultaneously brims with a driving, boisterous energy.

Virage (Bend) is the band’s second full-length and follow-up to 2022’s Seconde Figure.  The album opens with the sorrowfully shimmering instrumental title track that primes the album perfectly.  From then on, the band unfurl their distinctive blend of impassioned vocals, sinuous riffs, and muscular shout-along choruses.  Personal highlights are the bass propelled Sève (Sap), the dramatic melodicism of L’Appel Du Vide (The Call Of The Void), and the smouldering escalation of Neige (Snow).

The darkly poetic lyrics are self-reflective in tone and draw on the seasonal cycles of nature to explore the challenges of holding true to our own convictions in a world rooted in such alienating values.  So, cold punk certainly, but just as assuredly, punk with a fiercely beating heart.

Shows And Tours

Indikator B and Koridor play New River Studios on 21st May

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

April

14th  Franz Nicolay, Forever Unclean, Chloe Hawes (Signature Brew Haggerston / UK Tour)

15th  Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala / UK Tour)

18th  Cowboy Hunters, Eelmen, Zeropolis (New River Studios)

18th  Shelter, Dynamite, No Relief (The Underworld)

19th  Disaffect, Haavat, Leashed, Catastrophe (New Cross Inn)

19th  Sunday School Weekender featuring, Belgrado, Sanctuary Of Praise, Traidora, Lash (New River Studios)

20th  Sunday School Weekender Operant, Beau Wanzer, The Shits, Urin, Brood x Cycles, Hellish Torment, Skintern, and Spine Portal (New River Studios)

20th  Comeback Kid, Shooting Daggers, Last Wishes (The Dome)

21st  Chat Pile plus support (Heaven / UK Tour)

23rd  Blind Girls, Stress Positions, As Living Arrows, I’m Sorry Emil (Moor Beer Vaults / UK Tour)

24th  Great Falls, Glassing, Helpless (The Black Heart)

25th  Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)

May

3rd  Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)

6th  Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace)

7th  Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld)

14th  Muro plus support (New River Studios / UK tour)

17th  Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)

19th  Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

20th  Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn)

21st  Indikator B, Koridor, Es, Hellscape (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)

30th  Lawful Killing, Imposter, Frisk, Last Orders, Scab (New River Studios)

31st  Shove plus support (Prince of Wales / UK Tour)

31st  Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)

June

3rd  Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn)

9th  Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)

14th  P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)

16th   Alien Nosejob plus support (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

17th   Contention, Long Goodbye, Hour Of Reprisal (New Cross Inn)

18th   Iron Lung, Bad Breeding, Frisk, Total Con, Casing (New River Studios)

19th   Cicada, Necron 9 plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

22nd   Fuckin’ Lovers, Hez plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)

July

3rd  Destiny Bond, Big Laugh plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

4th  Fentanyl, Kute, Don One, Unreal Cruelty (New Cross Inn)

5th  All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)

7th  Stick To Your Guns, Love Letter plus more (Downstairs At The Dome / UK Tour)

7th  Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)

8th  Terminal Sleep, Spaced, Still In Love (New Cross Inn)

October

30th  Godflesh plus support (Scala)

November 

3rd  City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

Coming Soon

Tramadol’s second self-titled EP lands soon

April

Artificial Go ‘Hopscotch Fever’ 12-inch (Feel It / Restock)

Bondage ‘El Fin! El Demo’ 7-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Andalucia Űber Alles)

Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Habak ‘Mil Orquideas En Medio Del Desierto’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista)

Habak Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista / Restock)

Languid ‘Shove Their System Up Their Ass’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Mob 47 ‘Tills Du Dör’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)

Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Oust ‘Rather Be A Fuck Up’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Proteststorm ‘Den Typ Som Överlever’ 12-inch (Fight For Your Mind)

Sweeping Promises ‘Hunger For A Way Out’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Tramadol ‘Tramadol’ 7-inch (Donor Records)

Ultimate Disaster ‘From Progress…’ 12-inch (Kick Rock)

May

Axon ‘Axon’ 7-inch (Not For The weak)

Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Fugitive Bubble ‘What Happens If We Stop’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Grand Scheme ‘Grand Scheme’ 7-inch (11PM)

Headsplitter ‘Curse Of Life’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Iron Lung ‘Adapting // Crawling’ 12-inch (Iron Lung)

Kaleidoscope ‘Cities Of Fear’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Nisemono ‘Nisemono’ 12-inch (Toxic State)

Plasma ‘Mua Et Voi Omistaa’ 12-inch (Sorry State)

Shatter ‘Deny The Future’ 7-inch (Desolate)

Stress Positions ‘Human Zoo’ 12-inch (Three One G)

Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Tàrega 91 ‘Ckaos Total’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Foundation Vinyl Newsletter

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  There were good times on Thursday night as Bad Breeding laid waste to The Lexington.  Things kicked off as they were to continue, with a fierce set of metallic anarcho-punk from Catastrophe.  Then followed Scab, who caught everyone off guard by starting with a crushing Winter-esque, sludge-mired opener, before unleashing their uncompromising waves of power violence fury. Amid the blast beat barrage, they are a band who boast some absolutely filthy riffs in the vein of early Napalm Death.

Then it was to Bad Breeding.  One of the joys of being able to see a band at regular intervals, is how different facets come to the fore at each show.  And Thursday was a night when it was hard to draw your eyes from vocalist, Chris Dodd.  The band locked-in with a fierce, focused precision throughout, while Dodd was utterly possessed.  He had become the physical embodiment of the calculated discordance that defines their music.  Sweeping from stage to floor, bristling with rage at our country’s unerring ability to betray those on whose backs it is built.  The room simply felt too small to contain him.  A truly savage show even by their own exacting standards.

And so, what do we have lined-up this week?  We have four cracking new arrivals to get stuck into.  On Discos Enfermos, we have the raw, darkly melodic punk of Bogota’s Infra on their debut album, Vida Violenta.  Then, a new pressing of the hugely influential 2012 self-titled album from Barcelona’s Sect.

Next, on Phobia Records, we have the return of Birmingham’s Deathfiend with their second album, Dark Rising, a bracing call back to the fundamentals of death metal.  And to round things off in style, we head to Sweden for the d-beat fuelled melodic crust of the debut self-titled album from Dishumanitär.

And the d-beat driven mayhem does not stop there as we have also picked up a slew of other great new releases from Phobia.  Two split albums from Socialstyrelsen / Brute Force Trauma and DSM-5 / Varoitus (Östergötland Jawbreaker) respectively, the return of Hellknife on Flames Of Damnation, and the second pressing of The Rat Race from Verdict.

As always, we also have an updated London gig listing, which includes just announced shows from Indikator B / Koridor (21/05) and Alien Nosejob (16/06).  We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the coming weeks, which next week will include new releases from Bombardment, EVA, Oust, Promaja, and Utopie!

Featured New Arrivals

Dishumanitär by Dishumanitär / Vida Violenta by Infra / Dark Rising by Deathfiend / Sect by Sect (clockwise)

‘Your heart ripped from its interior, your empathy a disguise, Replay the format, day after day, Instinct distorted, we grow weak from the smell of decay’ (Relive The Torment)

Deathfiend’s 2023 debut album, Beyond Life, was a bracing call back to the fundamentals that defined the first coming of death metal at the threshold of the 1990s.  The emphasis returned to song writing dynamics rooted in hardcore punk rather than more technical metal expressions, and a lyrical focus on the here and now as opposed to fantastical hells elsewhere.  And Deathfiend’s follow-up, Dark Rising, marshals these same elements to even more compelling heights.

The opener, Plague Race, sets the tone to perfection as ‘We are the humans, The plague race’ is roared above an ominously spartan riff.  What follows is a tightly orchestrated partnership of fierce buzzsaw riffage and a rhythm section that is thunderously resonant yet also fluidly detailed in its execution.  Doom-laden breakdowns, darkly melodic leads, and rolling acoustic flourishes are all deftly interwoven into this menacing mid-paced battery, as is a venomous guest vocal appearance from Barney Greenway of Napalm Death on Relive The Torment.

Meanwhile, the powerfully growled vocals conjure a bleakly allegorical tapestry of our plight spanning the relentless savaging of the environment, and the fermenting of an emerging authoritarian age born of unceasing economic exploitation.  From the groove fuelled title track with its utterly explosive opening to the bruising defiance of Watch Them Crawl, by way of the swaggering breakdown of Age Of Mistrust, Deathfiend conjure an atmosphere of unyielding darkness

‘Insiktslös samtid, Det var inte jag mentalitet, Utsiktslös framtid, En döende värld, Vi sår bara sår, inte grödor, Vi skördar bara våra bördor’ (Mörk Jord) / ‘In sightless times, It wasn’t me mentality, Hopeless future, A dying world, We only sow wounds, not crops, We only reap our burdens’ (Dark Earth)

Dishumanitär hail from Sweden and feature members of both Socialstyrelsen and DSM-5.  And while the furious d-beat fuelled eruptions that are riven through the band’s debut album speak to these other projects, Dishumanitär fuse them to powerful effect with slabs of desolate riffage and the soaring emotion of melodic crust.

The harrowing, blackened vocals, alternating between Swedish and English, brim with a sense of hopelessness at humanity’s disrespect for both itself and the planet.  The darkly melancholic melodies that shroud the album vividly capture this desperation, the galloping onslaughts evoking the powerless rage at our seemingly inexorable descent towards catastrophe.

The ten-track album builds relentlessly from the searing opener, Mörk Jord, to the mournfully contagious title track.  The haunting, tormented escalation of Alleviation (Relief) is a thrilling mid-point, before Condemnation Of Humanity, which includes an impassioned guest vocal appearance from Alex CF (Wreathe, Morrow), brings proceedings to a crushing climax.  Alex also provides the highly evocative album artwork.

‘No! A la cruz que condena al pobre! No! Al discurso mediocre de la dictadura progre!’ (Mediocres) / ‘No! To the cross that condemns the poor! No! To the mediocre discourse of the progressive dictatorship!’ (Mediocre)

Following two self-released demos, Bogota punks Infra (which translates roughly as inferior) make their full-length debut with Vida Violenta (Violent Life).  The band continue to infuse their UK82 influences with the raw energy of Latin American punk to striking effect.  Rasping, urgent vocals are underpinned by flaring, darkly melodic guitar leads, furiously freewheeling bass lines, and thumpingly precise drums.

The album’s lyrics are fuelled by a decidedly nihilistic outrage at the inequality and violence entrenched in their home city.  It is an anger that is aimed with almost equal vigour at the inadequate solutions of supposed reformers, as it is at the endemic greed and corruption that are reducing the future to ashes.

Stand out moments come thick and fast.  My personal highlights are Esperando El Final (Waiting For The End), which infectiously fuses martial drums, soaring melody, and densely rhythmic vocals, and Prisón Mental (Mental Prison) revelling as it does in its serpentine leads and absolutely killer bass solo.  The album ends rather aptly with a raucous cover of the early 1980s’ Stoke punks, The Skeptix.

SectSect

12 Inch

‘We can’t question their authority, Our rights are nothing, but words on paper, Forcing their wishes against our will, The law and punishment are made for us’ (Masters And Slaves)

Sect were a post-punk band from Barcelona, who were active in the early 2010s, with members going on to play in later stalwarts of the Catalan punk community, Belgrado and Lux.  The band released their sole self-titled album in 2012, and despite the band’s relative brevity, it remains a hugely influential release.  This is the album’s fourth pressing.

The band’s sound blends a range of inspirations from UK anarcho-punk to East European melodic punk, by way of early 1980s’ new wave, and refashions them through the lens of a more contemporary post-punk sensibility.  Lyrically, the album mirrors these influences being grounded in anarchist framing of anti-statism and community self-reliance.

The dual vocals, one all furious, yelping energy, the other a gruffer semi-shout, work in call-and-repeat tandem and in synchronicity with the crisply punchy drums and throbbingly resonant bass lines.  Meanwhile, the tautly melodic guitar weaves its contagiously writhing path, perhaps, most notably on Master And Slaves and Scream.

From the pulsing opener, Dreaming, the album sweeps forward with a bleakly irresistible energy, equal parts vibrant exuberance and an almost sorrowful defiance. These dynamics are perfectly captured by Warborn, with its rousing vocal interplay, and Here We Stand, with its raucous opening and stirring call-to-arms climax.  And I struggle to believe that there has ever been a catchier version of a song titled Police Repression.

Phobia Records Update

Split by Socialstyrelsen and Brute Force Trauma / Östergötland Jawbreaker by DSM-5 and Variotus / The Rat Race by Verdict / Flames Of Damnation by Hellknife (clockwise).

As mentioned above, we have also stocked up on a raft of other great new releases from Phobia Records.

Two Swedish split albums get us underway. The first is a split between Socialsyrelsen and Brute Force Trauma.  The former weave bleakly melodic crust and rabidly demonic vocals around a spine of surging d-beat rhythms, while the latter favour a rather burlier interpretation.

The second features the intriguingly contrasting  DSM-5 and Varoitus on Östergötland Jawbreaker.  Varoitus continue to fiercely fuse metallic riffage with blues fuelled solos, blast beat eruptions, and bruising breakdowns.  DSM-5 share the same passion for a howling solo, but their sound is one rooted in a raucous, more rock’n’roll inclined battery

We follow up with the melodically dramatic, blackened crust of Mannheim’s Hellknife on their second full-length Flames Of Damnation.  And to round things off, we have picked up the second pressing of The Rat Race from Verdict, a venomous lesson in the art of Swedish käng.

Click through the band name links for the full write-ups.

Shows And Tours

Belgrado In The UK Later This Month

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

April

2nd  Life Force, Moral Law, Escalate, Apothecary (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

14th  Franz Nicolay, Forever Unclean, Chloe Hawes (Signature Brew Haggerston / UK Tour)

15th  Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala / UK Tour)

18th  Cowboy Hunters, Eelmen, Zeropolis (New River Studios)

18th  Shelter, Dynamite, No Relief (The Underworld)

19th  Disaffect, Haavat, Leashed, Catastrophe (New Cross Inn)

19th  Sunday School Weekender featuring, Belgrado, Sanctuary Of Praise, Traidora, Lash (New River Studios)

20th  Sunday School Weekender Operant, Beau Wanzer, The Shits, Urin, Brood x Cycles, Hellish Torment, Skintern, and Spine Portal (New River Studios)

20th  Comeback Kid, Shooting Daggers, Last Wishes (The Dome)

21st  Chat Pile plus support (Heaven / UK Tour)

23rd  Blind Girls, Stress Positions, As Living Arrows, I’m Sorry Emil (Moor Beer Vaults / UK Tour)

24th  Great Falls, Glassing, Helpless (The Black Heart)

25th  Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)

May

3rd  Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)

6th  Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace)

7th  Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld)

14th  Muro plus support (New River Studios / UK tour)

17th  Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)

19th  Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

20th  Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn)

21st  Indikator B, Koridor, Es, Hellscape (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)

30th  Lawful Killing, Imposter, Frisk, Last Orders, Scab (New River Studios)

31st  Shove plus support (Prince of Wales / UK Tour)

31st  Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)

June

3rd  Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn)

9th  Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)

14th  P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)

16th   Alien Nosejob plus support (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

17th   Contention, Long Goodbye, Hour Of Reprisal (New Cross Inn)

22nd   Hez plus support (tbc / UK Tour)

July

3rd  Destiny Bond, Big Laugh plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

4th  Fentanyl, Kute plus more  (New Cross Inn)

5th  All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)

7th  Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)

8th  Terminal Sleep, Spaced, Still In Love (New Cross Inn)

October

30th  Godflesh plus support (Scala)

November 

3rd  City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

Coming Soon

Virage by Utopie

April 8th

Bombardement ‘Dans La Fournaise’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Bondage ‘El Fin! El Demo’ 7-inch (Discos Enfermos)

EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Andalucia Űber Alles)

Oust ‘Rather Be A Fuck Up’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Promaja ‘Bravo Brava’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Utopie ‘Virage’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

April 15th

Languid ‘Shove Their System Up Their Ass’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Lifeless Dark ‘Forces Of Nature’s Transformation’ 12-inch (Side Two)

Mob 47 ‘Tills Du Dör’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Tramadol ‘Tramadol’ 7-inch (Donor Records)

Later In April

Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Habak ‘Mil Orquideas En Medio Del Desierto’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista)

Habak Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista / Restock)

Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)

Proteststorm ‘Den Typ Som Överlever’ 12-inch (Fight For Your Mind)

May

Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Kaleidoscope ‘Cities Of Fear’ 12-inch (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Stress Positions ‘Human Zoo’ 12-inch (Three One G)

Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Foundation Vinyl Newsletter

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the latest Foundation Vinyl newsletter!  We’ve plenty to get stuck into this week, starting with four featured new arrivals.

First up, we have two new releases on Refuse Records – the aggressively energetic, no-nonsense US hardcore of Maine’s Corrective Measure on their debut LP, Not For You, Not For Anyone.  And then the return of Sao Paulo’s Point Of No Return after a near 20-year hiatus, with the menacing metallic hardcore of The Language Of Refusal.

Next, we have two fresh arrivals from La Vida Es Un Mus Discos.  New York’s Exo marry the exquisite and the primitive to contagious effect on their self-titled debut, before Mallorca’s Puñal take things in an altogether rather burlier direction on the pounding Buscando La Muerte.

We also have a short piece, Demands From The Past, exploring the parallels between two 1990s’ reissues that have just been repressed by the same two labels – Discografía Completa from Chicago’s Los Crudos on La Vida Es Un Mus, and the 1992 self-titled debut of Warsaw’s Post Regiment on Refuse.

As always, we also have an updated London gig listing, which includes shows this week from Bad Breeding (27/03) and Cœur À L’Index (30/03).  We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the near future.  Next week, we are getting all dark and crusty with a Phobia Records special, featuring Deathfiend, Dishumanitär, Hellknife, Socialstyrelsen / Brute Force Trauma, Varoitus / DSM-5, and Verdict!

Featured New Arrivals

Buscando La Muerte by Puñal / Exo by Exo / The Language Of Refusal by Point Of No Return / Not For You, Not For Anyone by Corrective Measure (clockwise)

‘There’s people sleeping in the street, But you won’t lend a hand, Them begging for a bite to eat, Plays right into your plan, Keep praying that society, Keeps preying on itself’ (Two Sides, Same Coin)

It may be just shy of a decade since Corrective Measure released their self-titled debut 7-inch, but they return as if it was just yesterday.  The Maine band fashion aggressively energetic, no nonsense mid-1980s’ US hardcore interwoven with a striking youth crew rhythmic sensibility.  The emphasis is very much on high-octane delivery, with little appetite for unnecessary extravagance or adornment.  But the band do deftly deploy flourishes of melody and well-judged groove-laden breakdowns, such as on the title track and Big Shoes To Fill, to powerful effect.

Both musically and lyrically, the album builds to a compellingly impassioned finale with the closing track, Two Sides, Same Coin.  A consistent thread throughout is our own willingness to turn a blind eye to the causes of social inequality and our readiness to blame, rather than support, those who have fallen on tough times.  Unfortunately, a rather apt message as our own UK government unveils brutal welfare cuts aimed at the most vulnerable, without even a glimmer of self-awareness that it is their own hostile socio-economic policies that are the root cause of the growing inequity.

ExoExo

12 Inch

‘Under a leaf, our shadows fight, Come close to me, I’ll bend your mind, Blades of grass, hide my scythe, I eat the night’ (Mantis)

Now this is an intriguing treat, and one that marries the exquisite and the primitive in assured style.  New York’s Exo, who feature members of Dame, Exit Order, and Nandas, are here with their debut album and it is something of rare, spectral beauty.  The album poetically evokes the brief yet remarkable lives of insects, from the Ladybug to the Fig Wasp, to speak to the fragility of our own time on earth.

The first side comprises six tracks, each entrancingly infusing driving melodic punk with this otherworldly aura of brittle wonder.  Meanwhile, side two comprises an expansive, largely instrumental track, Mermaid Legend, that conjures an evocatively spellbinding soundscape.

The album is propelled by a limber rhythm section that ensures that the album pulses with propulsive energy.  Meanwhile, swells of warm synth, cascades of tinkling keys, and taut guitar joust with one another, at times conjuring moments of sparse melodicism and, at others, eruptions of surging velocity.

The key though, perhaps, lies in the deft interplay of the vocals – melodically infectious punk vocals, ethereal whispers, and layered harmonies are all interlaced to create a truly beguiling atmosphere.  One that is draped in a sense of delicacy and vulnerability, as if we ourselves are emerging from a cocoon for the first time.

‘They employ symbols of hate and debunked conspiracies, All to concoct a poisonous doctrine, Reactionary in social mores, neoliberal in the economy, Bible in hand, embracing greed and bigotry’ (A Song Of Incubating Despotism)

Point Of No Return are a hardcore band from Sao Paolo.  Initially active between 1996 and 2006, they released a self-titled EP in 1998 and two full-lengths, 2000’s Centelha (Spark) and 2002’s Imposed Freedom…Conquered Freedom.  The band reunited last year, and the result is their latest album, The Language Of Refusal.

The core tenets of the band’s sound remain firmly in place.  Darkly metallic riffage laced with flares of ominous melody, and underpinned by a powerfully precise rhythm section.  The band’s three vocalists unleash a densely layered rhythmic barrage.  They alternate between English and Portuguese, and between urgently impassioned vocals rooted in hardcore and interventions that call on more death metal orientated influences.  Solemn spoken word passages readily bring Trial’s Greg Bennick to mind, adding further texture to the tightly honed battery, perhaps, best captured by the savagely spiralling Guile and the bruising Corroding Cartopia.

And just as the sonic onslaught has lost none of its potency, nor has the band’s uncompromising dissection of our political malaise.  The album teases out a tightly drawn map of causation to highlight the ravaging impact of late-stage capitalism.  A Fronteria (The Frontier), De Segunda Classe Para O Abiano (A Second-Class Ticket To The Abyss), and Árbitrária Discriminação (Arbitrary Discrimination) explore the consequences of varying forms of environmental extraction and abuse, while Informal Arcaico (Informal Backwardness) and Corroded Cartopia examine how the same warped economic logic drives worker exploitation and distorts the fabric of our cities in favour of the privileged.  How this relentless disenfranchisement fuels the rise of right-wing authoritarianism is then tackled on Guile and A Song Of Incubating Despotism.

‘Odio ala gente, que no sabe odiar, todo el mundo te gusta, y tienes que caer bien a todos, todoes es falso’ (Odio) ‘I hate people who don’t know how to hate, you like everyone, have to be liked by everyone, everything is fake’ (Hate)

Buscando La Muerte (Seeking Death) is the debut full-length from Mallorca’s Puñal (Dagger).  The band are emerging from the shadow of the death of their drummer, Martí (also of Orden Mundial) in 2019, and to whom the album is dedicated.  This had resulted in the band being on hiatus since the release of their demo, Hoya De Nosotros (Run Away From Us).

The band’s burly riffage is rooted in UK82 influences braided through with flares of Southern California melody.  Meanwhile, the rhythm section injects an impressively spry bounce to proceedings that calls to mind the raw vigour of the first waves of Latin American hardcore punk.  The pounding Cicatrices (Scars) and the melodically fired Amor (Love) perfectly capture the dynamic.

Lyrically, the album brims with an intense nihilistic fervour.  The gruff vocals express frustration at the sterility of modern life, frustration at the self-destructive responses that it provokes, and frustration at the co-option of any activity or space that might actually offer respite.  But, perhaps, above all, frustration at those blinded to reality by their misplaced, unseeing optimism.

Demands From The Past

Discografía Completa by Los Crudos and Post Regiment by Post Regiment

Nostalgia can be a dangerous indulgence.  We can take refuge in valorising the past over dealing with the realities of the present.  Yet, if harnessed positively, it can also be a hugely valuable exercise to draw on the lessons and achievements of the past to better animate our hopes for the future.

This is certainly true of music, where we can be become obsessed with what went before, and fail to appreciate what is happening right now.  But by deepening our understanding of the history of hardcore punk, we can ensure a continuity of understanding that helps anchor its evolution, both musically and politically.

And this week, we have two reissues that have just been repressed that perfectly illustrate this dynamic. Firstly, the career spanning discography of Los Crudos, Discografía Completa, on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos, and then the self-titled 1992 debut album from Post Regiment on Refuse Records.

Discografia Completa by Los Crudos

Los Crudos (The Hungover in Spanish slang, which alluded to the raw exhaustion of life) were a hardcore band from Chicago.  They were renowned for both their politically charged music and resolutely DIY ethics and were active from 1991 to 1998.  At the time of the band’s emergence, the Chicago hardcore scene primarily resided in the city’s largely white, middle-class suburbs.  In contrast, Los Crudos were a product of the inner-city neighbourhood of Pilsen that was predominantly working-class and Mexican heritage in character.

‘Rompen nuestros sindicatos, colectivos, y moviementos, para la prosperidad de su capitalism, su farsa de democracia, sus planes de austeridad, nos deja todos mas pobre, mas rotos’ (Déjanos En Paz) / ‘Destroying our unions, collectives and movements, so that capitalism may prosper, your fake democracy and austerity measures, leave us poorer and helpless’ (Leave Us In Peace)

Sonically, Los Crudos delivered laceratingly fast classic hardcore – short, sharp, aggressive, and bristling with conviction. Lyrically, the band’s concerns were rooted in addressing the issues that confronted their own local community – worker exploitation, rentier greed, day-to-day racism, police violence – and placed them in the context of the wider political environment, particularly centred around themes of anti-immigration politics, violence against women, and state sanctioned terror.

‘Quieren que nos dividamos, entra nacionalidad, color de piel, entre las clases y también el sexo, que alguien se piense major que el resto del mundo’ (Unidad Prohibida) / ‘They want us to be divided, by nationality and skin colour, by class as well as gender, same old stupidity where someone thinks, they are superior to all’ (Forbidden Unity)

The band’s outspoken promotion of these issues at their shows produced a defensive reaction in some quarters, one that Los Crudos refused to bow to.  It did, however, provoke the band to write their only English language song – ‘That’s Right, We’re That Spic Band’ – that confronted the bigotry involved head-on.  It serves to remind us that no matter how welcoming we like to think that the hardcore community is, it often remains the case that bands who bring new perspectives and experiences must often wrestle for acceptance, while being accused of being overly aggressive in claiming their right to be heard.

Post Regiment by Post Regiment

‘Prawda jest nienawisicią, fabryka klamstw, Czy wierzysz w ich światio, kiedy jeden z nich, Wmawia ci, źe milość to strach, To twoje światio’ (Religia) / ‘Truth is hate, a factory of lies, Do you believe their light when one of them, tells you that love is fear, That is your light’ (Religion)

Of course, in the 1990s, the US at least gave the impression of being comfortable with a contestation of ideas.  For those living under the totalitarian shroud of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, to be a punk carried with it an even more visceral political component.  We often think of Poland as, perhaps, having escaped the worst excesses of the police state.  Yet it is estimated that over 20,000 people were either murdered or disappeared by the state between 1947 and 1989, and the threat of further Soviet intervention always implicitly lurked.

‘Kolejny pusty dzień z kolejką pustych ośob, W ich obcych oczach dokladnie widzę się’ (Slowa O…) / ‘Another empty day with a queue of empty people, In their unfamiliar eyes I see myself precisely’ (Words About…)

It was in this environment that Warsaw’s Post Regiment first formed in 1986.  It was not until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 that the band was able to record their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1992.  It brims with intensely melodic hardcore punk, upbeat in tempo, yet melancholic in temperament, fuelled by vibrantly virtuosic Polish vocals.

In contrast to the straight-up combativeness of Los Crudos, Post Regiment’s lyrics are more poetically allegorical.  They seek to grapple with the relief of Poland emerging from Soviet control to the uncertainty of the country being plunged into the wild west capitalism that was unleashed across the post-Communist states, and that benefitted no one but the oligarchal class and Western financiers.  The band released three further albums and were active until 2001.  Throughout, they remained passionately committed to the DIY ethics that shaped the formative Polish hardcore punk scene.

So, two bands who both powerfully demonstrated the political impact that DIY hardcore punk can achieve.  And, equally, these reissues remind us of the power of great music to stand the test of time.

The Los Crudos discography was first released in 2015, and this represents its fourth pressing.  It includes the band’s entire recorded output, spanning some 66 tracks, across four full-lengths, five EPs, and a myriad of compilation releases.  It includes a gatefold cover and a forty-page booklet with lyrics and flyers.  The band have made occasional live forays since they called it a day, and members of the band have gone on to play in Canal Irreal, Charles Bronson, and Limp Wrist.

This is the second press of the remastered self-titled debut album from Post Regiment, which was originally reissued in 2024.  It includes a gatefold cover and a 20-page 30cmx30cm colour booklet, which includes lyrics, live photos, and flyers.  Members went on to play in Morus and Ye.stem.

Shows And Tours

Cœur À L’Index play The Waiting Room on Sunday, 30th March

This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing!  It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in.  I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.

March

27th  Bad Breeding, Scab, Middleman, Catastrophe (The Lexington / UK Tour)

30th  Cœur À L’Index, Middleman, Secrecy (The Waiting Room)

April

2nd  Life Force, Moral Law, Escalate plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

14th  Franz Nicolay, Forever Unclean, Chloe Hawes (Signature Brew Haggerston / UK Tour)

15th  Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala / UK Tour)

17th  Death By Stereo, Counterpunch plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

18th  Cowboy Hunters, Eelmen, Zeropolis (New River Studios)

18th  Shelter, Dynamite, No Relief (The Underworld)

19th  Disaffect, Haavat, Leashed, Catastrophe (New Cross Inn)

19th  Sunday School Weekender featuring, Belgrado, Sanctuary Of Praise, Traidora, Lash (New River Studios)

20th  Sunday School Weekender Operant, Beau Wanzer, The Shits, Urin, Brood x Cycles, Hellish Torment, Skintern, and Spine Portal (New River Studios)

20th  Comeback Kid, Shooting Daggers, Last Wishes (The Dome)

21st  Chat Pile plus support (Heaven / UK Tour)

23rd  Blind Girls, Stress Positions , As Living Arrows, I’m Sorry Emil (Moor Beer Vaults / UK Tour)

24th  Great Falls, Glassing plus more (The Black Heart)

25th  Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)

May

3rd  Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)

6th  Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace)

7th  Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld)

14th  Muro plus support (New River Studios / UK tour)

17th  Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)

19th  Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

20th  Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn)

25th  Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)

25th  Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)

31st  Shove plus support (Prince of Wales / UK Tour)

31st  Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)

June

3rd  Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn)

9th  Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)

14th  P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)

July

3rd  Destiny Bond, Big Laugh plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

4th  Fentanyl, Kute plus more  (New Cross Inn)

5th  All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)

7th  Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)

October

30th  Godflesh plus support (Scala)

November 

3rd  City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)

Coming Soon

Dark Rising by Deathfiend lands next week

April 1st

Deathfiend ‘Dark Rising’ 12-inch (Phobia)

Dishumanitär ‘Dishumanitär’ 12-inch (Phobia)

Hellknife ‘Flames Of Damnation’ 12-inch (Phobia)

Socialstyrelsen / Brute Force Trauma ‘Split’ 12-inch (Phobia)

Varoitus / DSM-5 ‘Split’ 12-inch (Phobia)

Verdict ‘The Rat Race’ 12-inch (Phobia)

April 8th

Bondage ‘El Fin! El Demo’ 7-inch (Discos Enfermos)

EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Andalucia Űber Alles)

Infra ‘Vida Violenta’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Oust ‘Rather Be A Fuck Up’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Sect ‘Sect’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)

Later In April

Bombardement ‘Dans La Fournaise’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)

Habak ‘Mil Orquideas En Medio Del Desierto’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista)

Habak Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista / Restock)

Languid ‘Shove Their System Up Their Ass’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Mob 47 ‘Tills Du Dör’ 12-inch (D-Takt)

Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)

Promaja ‘Bravo Brava’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

Proteststorm ‘Den Typ Som Överlever’ 12-inch (Fight For Your Mind)

Utopie ‘Virage’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)

May

Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)

Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)

Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)

Pagination

Subscribe

If you would like to receive our weekly newsletter, with all the latest release news, please sign up below.