If you're looking here for information on record collecting, veganism, body modification, safe sex or self help, you're shit outta luck. This zine is about punk and hardcore. Let me make something clear. The lust for high energy tunes and the violent anti-social impulse cannot be lulled into submission by anything from pop culture. Devoting space in these pages to "the scene" and it's hip discussion points has and will never be a big priority here: the music and the impulse behind it was there before Link Wray picked up a six string and will be there for a long time after this rag is rotting in a landfill with a bunch of household trash, dumped babies, yoghurt containers, used condoms and brokedown whitegoods. This issue features fun w/ Clockcleaner, Fucked Up, Poison Idea & Draft Dodger.

Copies not available. SOLD OUT.

REVIEWS:

Straight Arrows 's/t' 7" (Juvenile) Catholic Boys 'Dead Ball' 7" (Trickknee)
Straight Arrows: the Australian Black Lips Experience, in the best and worst ways that you can imagine. These are great tunes and the recording is perfect: that's the best ways. Live, they play very similar, though without the charisma or kicks of the Lips: that's the worst ways. Overall, we're talking about the first record of a new band, and it's a good one.
Catholic Boys play garage punk with high energy. Their cover of the Love song '7 & 7 Is' has a spastic, frenzied energy that I've wanted to see duplicated by some speed freak punks. This ain't the cover I've waited for, but it ain't too bad. Good record.

Eat Shit 'Leather, Bristles, Studs & 'Ackney' (CIA)
One sided 7". Two or three or maybe even sixteen songs on here played masterfully behind a dense wall of shrieking feedback, recorded live in a jug of cider. The idea here is the drummer attempted a D-Beat while the guitarist and bassist played each either a Chaos UK or a Discharge inspired riff – most importantly, the riffs they played were different to each other and barely keeping up with the beat. The singer gurgled and yelped over the top, and then the insulting of the audience, the fistfights, the hurling of pints of lager over eachother and showering with spit and vomit. If you like the Mormons 7", then you're halfway there. This is really making an effort to move on.

Severed Head Of State 'Power Hazard' 12" (Havoc)
Stupid artwork. Good tunes. Sound familiar? See World Burns To Death. However, unlike World Burns who are far too pretentious and glam, I won't regret writing about Severed Head, who have been belting out harsh punk hardcore for about a decade with an almost flawless record. I think I understand the purpose and idea behind the artwork and approach to both bands, and Severed Head Of State are a little more forgivable. This new record betrays a more motor-rock influenced, anthemic style of songwriting, and aside from a couple of clunkers is a good selection of tunes from a band who probably would have put out their next record with erect penises in the shape of a swastika if Pink Reason hadn't beat them to it. Pink Reason?

Carbonas 'Frothing At The Mouth' 7" (DoucheMaster) * Exploding Hearts 'Shattered' 12" (Dirtnap) * Dangerloves 'Lipsmart' 7" (Fashionable Idiots) First track on the Carbonas is the first cut from the raging Carbonas LP which will make you feel like a cunt if you have an affection for the Zero Boys OR the Dead Boys and you haven't heard it yet. Other side is another hot shit punk tune that will make you feel like a cunt because you probably are one. This band is everything that was great about the Exploding Hearts without the leopard print or pink scarves, which is another way of saying they are better. But, marginally. Exploding Hearts were fuckin' great. This record is a selection of singles with a whole lotta demos and outtakes from 'Guitar Romantic'. Talking about Exploding Hearts in this zine is like talking about Discharge. I'm happy to do it, but I'm kinda assuming that you've heard them and you're down. I'm not suggesting they're comparable in importance, but I am saying that they're definitive for their styles. Both these records are fuckin' great.
Dangerloves aren't great. They are almost good. Their tunes sound constructed by record collecting research. This is not always bad, but in this case there isn't enough power in their pop. It's very pretty music. If this record looked like a person, Vice Magazine would probably put them in an ad. I prefer bands like Carbonas because if their record looked like a person, they'd be arrested for indecent exposure. Ya know?

Brainbombs 's/t' CD (Polly Maggoo) *
Two CD reviews in one issue. I'm catching up with you. This is a collection of singles and live tracks from along the way of these Swedish perverts. Every song sounds like the Stooges 'Dirt', but with stupid lyrics about rape and murder sung in a monotonous Euro trash accent. For most people, there is one kind of music: good vibes. 'Good vibes' does not have to sound like Beach Boys or the B52's: it can sound like Tragedy or Discharge. The point of good vibes music for people is it acts as a kind of buffer against the world. It's rhythmic purpose is soporific: this is music to relax to, to be calm to, to feel safe and cared for to. This is good vibes tunes. I like good vibes music, of course. But I also like bad vibes music. Brainbombs are the ultimate bad vibes band. They are unsettling and uncomfortable and would not be suitable to party down to. Some people I know like to listen to Whitehouse and 'abrasive noise' to get the bad vibes flowing. Some people like to listen to racist or offensive rap bands like Niggaz Wit Attitude or Public Enemy. I don't like these projects because I have a narrow mind and can only appreciate music with the velocity and rhythmic energy of r'n'r. I imagine that if I had the kinda brain these people did, I wouldn't like Brainbombs the way that I do, and I'm sure these people would look at me and see a devolved version of themselves. I'm OK with this. Brainbombs is the kinda music that Ed Gein hums to himself before he gets the urge to masturbate.

Extortion 'Control' 7" (Deep Six)
Power violence. This band deserves all the accolades. They're one of the only bands in the world attempting the style and playing it right. Of course, they are Australian, because Australian's have a disciplined understanding of rock inspired musics that rivals only the US, and Americans are fucking it up as much as anyone else these days. In fact, I'd suggest upon it's conception in America, we intuitively perceive it's potential and manipulate it appropriately and usually in perfection. Hence, the Saints are better than the Ramones and Birdman are better than Sonic Rendezvous Band, and they are each fertilized from the same manure. This ain't always true of all forms – we have a litany of horrible nu-metal hardcore bands that attempt to appropriate rather than interpret American forms – but most of the time it is. Extortion are true of the best of Australian interpretations and expressions of rock formations. Modern US power violence is a parody for the most part, a poorly understood tribute. Extortion's roots run deep into the Perth desert earth and have been studying and expressing the forms of violent, fast music for quite some time. Their s/t 7" was a perfect expression of this, but I'm not going to argue with each subsequent record, which is a subtle reconfiguration of the previous with more and more velocity. All hail Perth power violence.

86 Mentality 'Final Exit' 7" (Deranged)
John Brannon, vocalist of the Laughing Hyenas, was once the skinhead in a band with a few regular guys, but fortunately he didn't spend too much effort writing lyrics about the old argy bargy, fruitgum in the meter, we're the boys out tonight kinda dross that this guy does. The lyrics stink on most of these records, but fortunately, we have the mettle to get past that b.s., and we can appreciate a good rough hardcore record that doesn't really raise the bar but kinda continues along with the same reckless fist pumping blood nose high times. Put this record with whatever Choke was trying to do, and whenever he got it right these guys took note. A solid dose of high protein r'n'r.

Dry Rot 'Subordinate' 7" (Painkiller)
This is downer music. People are suggesting these guys support the devotion to Jesus of Nazareth, which some of their lyrics would suggest is true. But, the fact is if these guys are Christian, then they believe in God and they also believe in Satan. And if they think they are gonna get closer to the throne of the lord by kicking out tunes inspired by downer vibes of junkies, whores and faggots, then what we are witnessing is the corruption of fragile minds by the power of evil downer vibes, and this is kinda fascinating. I think the Christian allegations are bullshit and these guys are putting it all on just to bum you out. It's a ruse.