Friday, December 19, 2008
Zoinks! - "Panorama"
Staying with the theme of great 90’s bands, another stellar pop punk band was Zoinks! out of Nevada. They released three Green Day inspired albums on Dr. Strange Records but we’ll save those for another time. This little gem, Panorama, was a painfully short five song EP released in between a couple of those albums. Two of the songs are re-recorded versions off an earlier album so there are really only three originals here but one of them happens to be “Snowshine”, a classic pop punk song in every sense of the word. From the literal repeating lead guitar hook to the higher register vocals of their alternate vocalist (who would later takeover on their last album when Zac bailed for Screeching Weasel) to the Bad Religionesque oozinahs, this is a true stuck-in-your-head pop punk masterpiece. “Chest Pain” ain’t bad either with it’s stomping intro and sing along vocals."Snowshine"
"Chest Pain"
Buy @ Amazon - Panorama EP
- Buy @ iTunes
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tiltwheel - "Hair Brained Scheme Addicts"
The Invalids got me thinking about all the great punk bands that put out CDs in the late 90's that are finally seeing daylight again. One of my absolute favorites was this Tiltwheel record. Honestly, their first record is an overlooked classic in and of itself, full of razor sharp melodic punk riffs that were heads and tails above their peers. They sounded sort of a west coast melodic hardcore version of Leatherface on that record. Here we find them slowing it down a bit, beefing up their guitar sound and adding just a tinge of dissonant emo style breakdowns, very reminiscent of a faster, harder version of Jawbreaker. Like their first record, the songwriting is the star here. Just listen to the absolutely epic scope of "Rinse" which I think exceeds anything in the Jawbreaker catalog in terms of guitar driven grandeur. And "Texas 10" with its literal call out to the gods over a soaring bass line still sends shivers down my spine every time. And last but not least, the song I always sing to myself when I found myself staring throw a liquor store door window after they've just closed. It's been almost ten years since this record came out and I've still never heard anything close to it in terms of songwriting ability and pure, heartfelt emotion."Texas 10"
"Rinse"
"2:07 am"
Buy @ Amazon - Hairbrained Scheme Addicts
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Invalids - "Out Of My Head"
When this band came out in the mid 90's, I thought they were the next Screeching Weasel. Totally exaggerated snotty vocals singing sophomoric lyrics over sped up Ramones songs. Of course the songs were simple and the lyrics were cheesy at best but, just like Screeching Weasel, they had a certain knack for taking the simplest form of pop punk and making songs you couldn’t get out of your head (boy, that's a bad pun). This album is basically a hook fest from start to finish, ranging from fast cuts to Ramones like power ballads. Things really heat up towards the end with "The Message" which I still think to this day is one of the better songs ever written in this style of punk. The lyrics are more along the lines of a Dillinger Four song than the typical pop punk fluff found on the rest of the record. Of course these guys broke up after this album so this is their only legacy to the pop punk world but what a great one. (P.S. I was trying to find a cover shot of their album as mine's in storage but I couldn't. What I did find was that it’s finally been re-issued with different cover art (above) and their two seven inches added on! Nice.)"The Message"
"Brandt's Retarded"
"I Wanna Be Free"
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Dornenreich - "Bitter Ist's Dem Tod Zu Dienen"
This record is about as out there as any I own. They're a German band playing symphonic, keyboard driven black metal somewhat like Cradle Of Filth but much more rooted in the second wave Norwegian style of black metal. It sounds somewhat straightforward on paper until you throw in some folk/pagan influences, mix in myriad tempo changes and push every song past the ten minute mark ala Opeth. Oh yeah, and then sing everything in German. Like Opeth, their songs alternate between heavy and light, clean/raspy vocals constantly, metamorphosing many times over within the same song so the genre bending is a bit off-putting the first few listens. But most of the songs have a solid traditional black metal backbone, rooted in speedy double bass drumming and tremolo picking but juxtaposed with cellos, violins and pianos and a healthy dose of folk/pagan inspired acoustic passages interspersed throughout each song. These guys are definitely not for BM purists but they're a nice change pace of from traditional black metal, much like Opeth is from pure death metal."Nächtlich Liebend"
"Reime Faucht Der Märchensarg"
Buy @ Amazon - Bitter Ists, Dem Tod Zu Dienen
- Buy @ iTunes
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Doc Hopper - "Aloha"
The early 90’s were basically the heyday of what I think were the best crop of pop punk bands of my lifetime. There were a ton of different flavors, from the Ramones clones to the slightly indie tinged, the hardcore inspired etc. Some of my favorite stuff was the rougher edged pop punk that a label called Ringing Ear Records seemed to have a monopoly on at the time. With bands like Sinkhole, New Sweet Breath and yes, Doc Hopper, they captured a certain time and place in the punk scene that I’m still quite fond of. One of my favorite songs ever from back then was "Geiger" by Doc Hopper. I first got it on a compilation called "Flex Your Specs" and couldn't get it out of my head. From the jumpy intro to the catchy main riff to the pounding drums of the bridge, this song had all the energy of a truly great punk rock song but was more biting, more complex than your typical pop punk stuff. Later I figured out it was the first song on their "Aloha" album and quickly snapped it up. Of course nothing was quite on par with "Geiger" but the album is full of good stuff, mostly a mix of catchy guitar riffs which were a lot more hard rock oriented than your typical pop punk band combined with speedy, almost hardcore percussion. They went on to make a couple more really good records before disbanding but still nothing quite as good as the first song on their first record."Geiger"
"Moxie"
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Thumbs - "Make America Strong"
The Thumbs started as a rough around the edges melodic punk band in the mid nineties and steadily progressed into more hardcore territory towards the turn of the century. After a great debut album and a couple stellar seven inches, they dropped this masterpiece which is arguably one of the best punk rock records of the late nineties in terms of passion, honesty and originality. Straddling a middle period between their melodic punk beginnings and the more DC style hardcore of their native area they would shell out in later work, this release finds them at the peak of their songwriting craft. It's got the great dual vocals, fast, dirt-under-the-fingernails melodic punk rock played with bristling intensity and catchy riffs galore. Why this album isn't well known is beyond me as it certainly wasn't for lack of effort. I saw these guys several times in various dive bars during my time in San Francisco and they were an East Coast band! They were a bit sloppy live and the songs lacked the nuance of the recorded material, especially one the times they were a three piece (as opposed to a four piece when they recorded this) but they more than made up for it in pure energy. This release is still fairly easy to get your hands on (unlike their great debut) so check out the tunes below and hear what you missed the first time around."Chrissy Snow"
"My Rods And Cones"
"Fall At Your Feet"
Buy @ Amazon - Make America Strong
- Buy @ iTunes
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Tankard - "Zombie Attack"
Tankard never achieved the level of notoriety their German thrash metal brethren Kreator, Destruction and Sodom had in their heyday, but Tankard came from a different place. While Kreator and Sodom started as proto-death metal bands heavily influenced by Venom, Tankard was a true crossover band with a heavy hardcore punk influence to their lightning fast assault. Of course this went away in later releases as they became more of a traditional thrash band, just like their German peers, but their classic debut, Zombie Attack, remains one of the great crossover records. There's nary a gallop, groove or any other distinguishing thrash songwriting technique employed here beyond the outright speed. It's just a fast as fuck, Motorhead style romp that's even more punk influenced than D.RI.'s seminal "Crossover" album. Of course it wouldn't be a Tankard album without some hilarious beer fueled lyrics so I posted the classic "(Empty) Tankard"."Zombie Attack"
"(Empty) Tankard"
Buy @ Amazon - Zombie Attack//Chemical Invasion
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sacred Reich - "Ignorance"
I recently read that Sacred Reich is finally reissuing all their records but only in Europe. I guess there's still a hassle with the US label regarding their earliest records so for right now it's going to be an import and therefore expensive. That sucks for them as their not able to really ride the recent resurgence of all things thrash. It also sucks for newbie thrash fans as Ignorance is, along with Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell", probably the best debut record by any thrash band from back in the day. They basically erupted onto the scene with a fully realized formula that was aggressive, well written and well played. There's just a ton of monster grooves, fast double bass and tasty solos. Basically everything that makes a perfect thrash record. Personally I think they never topped this record as they started to slow things down more and this may be why they never really got mentioned in the same breath with all the thrash greats, each of who had a number of fantastic records. Still, "Ignorance" is definitely a genre classic and deserves to be heard by younger fans so let's hope they settle their differences and get this thing back in print!"Death Squad"
"Ignorance"
Buy @ Amazon - Ignorance
Saturday, June 9, 2007
(Young) Pioneers - "Free The (Young) Pioneers Now!"
(Young) Pioneers were, at least in my opinion, one of the original folk/country punk hybrids, pre-dating current stars Against Me! and Lucero by many years. Their style was definitely more abrasive than either of those two bands, especially on their earlier material. I'm not as big of a fan of the early stuff as it's a little too sludgy, a little less folk and doesn’t have quite the energy of the work they would do later. Which brings us to "Free The (Young) Pioneers Now!", their final and best album. On this record they finally managed to synthesize their two competing styles into a very compelling whole, mainly through far more use of traditional folk instruments like the harmonica and acoustic guitars along with a lot of twang to the electric guitars. They also kept the distorted vocals but bumped them up in the mix and made them sound a bit less processed. So there you have it. One of the first and still best folk punk records around."Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition!"
"Talkin' Johnny Law Blues"
Buy @ Amazon - Free the (Young) Pioneers Now!
- Buy @ iTunes
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Carnal Forge - "Testify For My Victims"
Picked up the new Carnal Forge and it's a pretty good record. It’s no where near as fast as their typical stuff but that was getting a bit long in the tooth anyway. What I really like is the generous helping of solos on many of the tracks. It adds a lot more depth to their somewhat one-dimensional attack. Of course the lack of overt speed and super thrash style riffing will have some people claiming they've sold out with this record but it's got enough of their old vibe to keep it real while exploring some new, promising areas. Still, there are a couple slower songs I could do without but hey, not everyone's perfect."Burning Eden"
"Questions Pertaining the Ownership of My Mind"
Buy @ Amazon - Testify for My Victims
- Buy @ iTunes
Monday, April 30, 2007
Texas Is The Reason - "S/T"
I don't own a whole lot of EPs as they always seem to be rip-offs, too few songs for too much money. However, occasionally there's a gathering of songs that just can't be ignored. The painfully short, 3 song predecessor to their only full length, this EP has two of not only the best Texas Is The Reason songs, but two of the better emo songs ever made. Unlike their later work, this EP did not forget to bring the rock to the party. The bright guitars present a powerful back drop to the emotionally charged vocal delivery, also something missing from their full length, but their real power was in delivering subtle yet gripping hooks through jangly, melodic chord progressions. It's bittersweet though as these three songs fly by far too quickly. Although I do like the full length for other reasons, it's too bad they didn't make an entire record of songs like these."If It's Here When We Get Back, It's Ours"
"Antique"
Buy @ Amazon - Texas Is the Reason
- Buy @ iTunes
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Honor System - "Rise And Run"
When The Broadways broke up I was super bummed. Of course the bassist went on to punk rock stardom with The Lawrence Arms, which seems like a more poppy, non-political version of The Broadways, but the guitarist started, in my eyes, a band just as good, The Honor System, that because of their more obtuse style, not directly related to its predecessor, seemed to miss out on the fanfare showered on his old bandmates. The Honor System wrote music that was angular, jangly, non power chord driven and dissonant, like a more indie rock version of Fugazi. Sometimes this can come across as a bit boring but this particularly album was a bit more direct and faster paced than previous work which I think was the missing ingredient in really making this style shine. It gives it a more rock vibe while retaining the quirky songwriting. So if you're a big Fugazi fan or just wondered what happened to the other guy in The Broadways I'd certainly check this out."Eyebrow Of The Cobra"
"Cadence"
Buy @ Amazon - Rise and Run
- Buy @ iTunes
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Crush - "Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers"
Here's an overlooked classic from a few years back. At the time it seemed like The Crush were destined for Green Day like stardom. They were even signed to Billie Joe’s label and played some shows with them but for some reason never really took off. I'm not sure why as the songs on this album and their debut are some of the most heartfelt emo tinged pop punk gems I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. From the huge, bright guitar sound to the jangly indie rock accents to the powerful yet semi-effeminate vocals, these guys had everything stacked in their corner to be the next big MTV band but instead they’ve faded into obscurity. I think it was the fact they stood at the bridge between a couple opposing genres. Although the vocals were there, they sounded too hard/straight forward to appeal to straight emo types but, with more complex pacing and guitar riffs, didn't sound like the Ramones enough for pure pop punkers. That could be oversimplifying things but it's just hard to think of other reasons of why these guys didn't blow up. So go ahead and hear what you've been missing or if you're already a fan, remind yourself how great these guys were."Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers (Summer Song)"
"The Shaking Sensation"
Buy @ Amazon - Here Is Where I Cross My Fingers
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
About The Fire - "Rites Of Passage"
This came out a couple years ago but the new Samiam disc made me think of this record. Obviously the two sound similar, no doubt helped by a dead ringer for a more baritone version of Jason from Samiam on vocals, but musically they are pretty similar as well. About The Fire's sound is a lot more muscular, with pretty heavily distorted guitars more reminiscent of Pegboy, but the songwriting resemblance to Samiam is uncanny, right down to the little guitar noodles they used to do circa "Billy" and "Soar". Of course these guys play it a bit harder, especially in comparison to Samiam's later work, but any fan of Samiam will eat this record up, just like I did. It also doesn't hurt that this sucker is great from start to finish. So if you can look past a tad bit of derivativeness then give these guys a shot."Rats In The Sun"
"Not To Be A Dick, But..."
Buy @ Amazon - Rites of Passage
- Buy @ iTunes
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Decapitated - "Organic Hallucinosis"
Although America really paved the way for death metal as a distinct genre, you have to give Poland its due. Longtime favorites Vader have been destroying it for years but young upstarts Decapitated look poised to take over the empire. While they've always been more technically oriented in their songwriting, this is the first record to combine that quality with a more holistic approach to the arrangements. That means breathtaking complexity and ferocious blast beats interspersed with killer old school death metal grooves for a perfect melding of old and new. Of course I love all the old school death metal bands but listening to this latest from Decapitated is simply mind blowing. And to think these guys are barely college age means we can expect much more where this came from."A Poem About An Old Prison Man"
"Day 69"
Buy @ Amazon - Organic Hallucinosis
- Buy @ iTunes
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Sword - "Age Of Winters"
I haven't heard a lot new stoner rock bands to get excited about in recent years but The Sword is certainly one of them. They play a more hard charging form of the style, very similar to Orange Goblin's more recent work but with even more of a metallic lean. The songwriting is fairly typical for the genre: big, burly Sabbath style grooves overlaid with Ozzy-ish fantasy lyrics/vocals but it's played with such crushing force and precision it's hard not to be impressed as they stomp through a succession of heavy as hell songs, one after the other. Plus they spice it with just enough anomalies, like the speed metalesque "Iron Swan" and the pseudo blast beats on "March Of The Lor", that it gives the band a more distinct personality than many of their peers. If you like your stoner rock pure but on the heavier, less doom side, you're going to dig the debut from The Sword."Freya"
"Iron Swan"
Buy @ Amazon - Age of Winters
- Buy @ iTunes
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Broken Hearts Are Blue - "Truth About Love"
I figured that if I wrote about some old death metal, I might as well write about some old emo right? Broken Hearts Are Blue were a true one hit wonder…one album and one truly good song but for some reason I've listened to "Because I Am" more times than probably any emo song in my collection. There's something about the raspy, indecipherable vocals and simple, driving chord progression that gets me every time. Add the little Jawbreaker-esque breakdown at the end and it's got everything a great emo song needs. Sadly, the rest of the album, with the exception of "And Then", is full of more ballad type songs, falling a bit too far into the shoegazer realm for my tastes. Still, it's worth it for just "Because I Am" but I can't help but think about if they made an entire album of songs like that. Would it be the best emo record of all time? I think it would have been."Because I Am"
"And Then"
Buy @ Amazon - Truth About Love
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Cancer - "Death Shall Rise"
Chuck Schuldiner is the undisputed god of death metal but his songwriting style always had some quirky, progressive elements to it that sometimes took away from the sheer brutality of the compositions. James Murphy, on the other hand, is a true meat and potatoes riff master, penning some of the simplest yet most memorable riffs of the genre. During his heyday he helped write still classic albums for Death and Obituary but some people might have overlooked this little gem. Cancer was a decent death metal band from England before James joined in the early nineties but he made them great, if just for one album (I guess the commute was a bitch!). "Death Shall Rise" is a stellar example of James' style of simple yet brutal riffing, a time capsule into my favorite period of death metal, before blast beats and cookie monster burps. It's basically a death metal riff fest from start to finish that's arguably on par with Death albums like "Leprosy" and "Spiritual Healing", sounding very similar to those albums but with a bit of the slow creep of Obituary thrown in for good measure. Sadly James bailed after this and the rest of their material is questionable but "Death Shall Rise" is one of my favorite death metal records of all time so at least we got one classic."Tasteless Incest"
"Hung, Drawn And Quartered"
Buy @ Amazon - Death Shall Rise
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Fear - "More Beer"
I went to see Fear this last weekend at the Galaxy and it reminded me of a couple things. One, Fear didn't come on until midnight and after being forced to watch three shitty opening bands and endure horrifically long buzz killing lines for beer, I remembered why I stopped going to as many shows as I used to. Two, while Fear has some classic songs they sure do have a lot of shitty ones, especially the weird tempo/solos all over the place ones that aren't the best to play live. Not to mention Lee Ving's voice is even more gravelly now which is hard to imagine given what he started with. So in honor of the especially long drink lines here's a couple classics I had to constantly sing to myself to keep my spirits up while I waited to get a drink."Have A Beer With Fear"
"More Beer"
Buy @ Amazon - More Beer
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Lock And Key - "Pull Up The Floorboards"
This one isn't brand new but I feel like it got looked over when it was originally released and, considering how much I still listen to this record, I thought I'd let you know more about it. I'm pretty much a sucker for any band that sounds like Hot Water Music so when I first heard Lock And Key needless to say I was amazed these guys had flown under my radar. They play a sort of cleaned up, more straight forward version of the jangly, aching post hardcore Planes Mistaken For Stars are known for but further pretty it up with the dynamic songwriting prowess and melodic sensibilities of Hot Water Music, especially their tendency for driving chord progressions layered with melodic accents. Doesn't hurt that the singer sounds like he's in the latter band (or should I say The Draft now) so you get the idea of the vocals: gruff, throaty and ragged but with plenty of force behind it. Personally I thought their earlier EP "No Fate" had a bit more energy and edge to it but this debut full length is still solid. These guys are not quite as varied and expressive as some of Hot Water Music's best work but with the demise of that band and the somewhat different direction of their new project, I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys fill the gap on their next effort."303"
"Winston Churchill"
Buy @ Amazon - Pull Up the Floorboards
- Buy @ iTunes
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Municipal Waste - "Hazardous Mutation"
Seeing as I named this blog after their second album I might as well start it off with the mighty Municipal Waste. For old school eighties thrashers like me, fruitlessly wandering the musical desert for years in search of any new quality thrash, this is like stumbling across a huge oasis of never ending circle pits, bottomless beers and non-stop headbanging. Playing an updated form of crossover (when metal and hardcore started to rejoin again), this album is full of speedy hardcore accented with tons of tooth chippin' thrash gallops and lightning speed tempo changes, just like the bands used to play it back in the day. Think of a mix of early Tankard, Corrosion Of Conformity, D.R.I. and Cryptic Slaughter but far more technically adept in terms of songwriting and pure riffage and you start to get the picture of how good these guys are. Another thing that really drew me to this band, besides their faithfully retro yet non-patronizing take on crossover, is the stellar vocals. He sounds like a lower pitched version of John Connelly from thrash greats Nuclear Assault, which is definitely one of the more distinct voices in the genre. Put this all together and it's hard to think of another band playing this style this well since the days it started. So break out your jean jacket and beer and prepare for a nasty "Bangover"."Unleash The Bastards"
"The Thrashin' Of Christ"
Buy @ Amazon - Hazardous Mutation
- Buy @ iTunes
About Hazardous Mutation
-
This is basically a complete rip off of Aversionline.com except I publish a lot less.
If the MP3 streams don't work, try it in Internet Explorer or on the archives pages. For some reason they don't seem to work well in Firefox.
Contact
-
Send porn/comments to:
mutant[at]hazardousmutation[dot]com
Click above to add me on MySpace so all my friends aren't fake porn chicks.
Other Music Blogs I Like
Archives
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- November 2007
- September 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
© 2007-2010 Hazardous Mutation
All Rights Reserved.
www.hazardousmutation.com
All Rights Reserved.
www.hazardousmutation.com
