Publication:
MaximumRockNRoll

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

MRR #200
This is the "gloves off" issue where we are allowed to talk shit about other columnists. Sorry to say, that since Nick Fitt left I don't really have a dis list of MRR columnists. Canning Nick Fitt was the best thing this magazine did in years. Despite the fact that each issue of MRR is thicker than the Duluth phone book, my interest is only held by a few columnists, a few ads and a few record reviews. Maybe once or twice a year there is an article or interview that I will read from start to finish. I guess I'm like most MRR readers in that I only actively consume the five or ten percent of the magazine that matches my musical tastes. I really miss Profane Existence of which about 90% matched my musical and political tastes but those days are over. It gets worse with Heart Attack where I have no idea who any of the bands are or who the columnists are or what the fuck is going on. As for MRR columnists I think Brian GTA's column is the most useful as far as real world advice for bands and labels. I like Lefty Hooligan but I think he is sometimes too based in Marxist academic thought and has spent too much time inside the "movement" which can be pretty divorced from the streets and the real world. As a record collector I really like Ryan's columns about records, but Max and Rob are the only other writers whose musical tastes really overlap mine significantly. Sorry to disappoint anyone who was expecting a four page tirade against George Tabb or something. As for Nick Fitt hopefully he's past his punk phase and got a job at Punk Planet or some other college rock journal where people will continue to consume his infantile twaddle.

Calling Australia! Code 13 is planning a tour of the Pacific for spring of 2000. We have contacts in Japan and SE Asia but are still looking for a band or individuals to help us tour in Australia and maybe New Zealand, please contact me at Havoc Records if you can help.

Don't count Straight Edge out yet. I wrote a scathing criticism of contemporary SEHC in Heart Attack a few years ago. Some great SEHC bands have arisen in the last few years to challenge the ridiculous jock core and commercialism rampant in mainstream SE today. A lot of lip service has been paid to the "spirit of 88" lately but few of the current crop of "88 revival" bands capture the energy and spirit of the times, and most importantly they have misjudged SE Hardcore's roots in punk. Those of you who wrote off SE as neanderthal jock metal a few years ago should check out some of the following bands. Rain on the Parade from Philadelphia play excellent straight ahead, fast HC with witty, yet to the point lyrics. Trial from Seattle put out some great material, both musically and lyrically although I was disappointed by the recent Equal Vision (?) lp. Underestimated records from Chicago has put out some really good SEHC lately like Minnesota's Real Enemy and Reinforce. My current favorite is Vitamin X from Holland. Vitamin X play great catchy, sing-a-long punk HC with lyrics that are poignant without being dogmatic or preachy. I don't know if 97A are really an SE band but they seem to fit in better with the SE scene than any other type of HC. This band plays some of the fastest, tightest HC outside of the crusty thrash scene and totally shreds on all their releases. The lyrics come across as bearing a naive faith in the American political system, but at least they are sincere and making a point. Sweden, always out ahead in hardcore, has produced some great SE bands lately. So I say to the punk community at large, Straight Edge hardcore isn't all about dumb jocks, bad metal and sportswear. There are some great bands playing solid fast hardcore with relevant and sincere lyrics that aren't getting their due outside of the SE scene because the spirit of unity is on the wane.

In my column about the golden age of Grindcore one band I totally neglected to mention was L.A's Phobia. Phobia has been going since the dawn of Grindcore and still delivers the goods, totally pummeling holocaust in your head grind eruption. They have a number of records and split releases and a new 10" on Pessimiser that will tunnel a hole into your cranium. So put your head up against the speaker and blow your brains out.

625 recently released a comp flexi called Bandanna Thrash. What the fuck is Bandanna Thrash you ask? Allow me to venture briefly into hardcore history for an explanation. Around 1980 punk gave way to hardcore in America and it was the USA that led the way in Hardcore for the next few years. Since hardcore was of course the greatest form of music in human history it quickly spread to the corners of the earth just as punk had a few years earlier. In the mid 80's several bands in Europe pushed HC forward by building on the American HC of the previous few years. Taking their cue from the speed and energy of bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SSD, Necros, DRI, Seven Seconds and so on these bands added an additional level of speed and intensity, improving on a proven formula. Another important factor was that while a lot of bands around 1985 were going dangerously into metal territory these euro bands were 100% straight ahead hardcore. In terms of style there was an active attempt to copy American hardcore style represented in flannel shirts, baseball hats with flipped up brims, and yes bandannas! To my mind the four best bands from this mileu were Larm from Holland, Negazione from Italy and England's Heresy and Ripchord.

Negazione started about 83-84 and their earlier stuff is more raw and aggressive like CCM, Wretched or early Indigesti. The first Negazione 7" Tutti Pazzi came out on Subvert Productions in 1984, it's raw and abrasive but there is a hint of the tight and complex fast core to come. Next came a split cassette Mucchio Selavaggio with Declino. This was later released on vinyl as an LP by COR records of England. From the liner notes of this LP Negazione explains some of the thinking behind the Wild Bunch Crew "Wild Bunch is vital energy to fight against apathy that everyday pincers us; our will to explode is the only weapon we got against who's always trying to control us, to direct us into already planned life/sceme. As bands we decided to stay out of each kind of commercial businesss, far from the eager control "managers" and "promoters" we choose self management and self production, with a complete autonomy from the big record companies, keeping and direct control of our music." So as you can see this music was committed to bringing the anger and energy to the forefront and keeping control of the scene for the kids and their music not commercial interests. The Declino split is fast, aggressive HC that absolutely rages. Negazione along with Indigesti also were doing some pretty wild stuff with fast tempo changes, crazy guitar noises and such that bring to mind bands like Articles of Faith and the Bad Brains. Next up for Negazione in 85 was the Condannati A Morte Nel Vostro Quietro Vivere 7" ep, no label info is given on the sleeve so I assume it was released by the band and their friends. The ep is dedicated to the famous EMMA squat in Amsterdam which hosted a lot of punk and HC gigs at the time. Once again this ep is straight ahead HC but with more structure than a lot of bands had at the time, yet still raw and chaotic. Negazione's crowning achievement though was their 1986 LP Lo Spirito Continua, on get this Mordam Records of San Francisco (those were the days). This LP is one of the all time HC/Punk classics of Italy. Really great speedy HC with chaotic but complex guitar and a singer who sounded like he was on fire. Negazione did another good ep Nightmare which as far as I can tell was recorded in '85 but not released until '87 on New Beginning records in the US. Sorry to say that like many of the great bands of the 80's Negazione decided it was time to "progress" musically and put out some shit records like "100%" and "Little Dreamer" which were pretty much alternative rock. This band sported bandannas and flannels on every release.

Larm from Holland was one of the great mid 80's HC bands out of Europe that didn't fade into obscurity in later years. Since members of Larm are still active in the HC scene in Seein Red, there is still good Larm material being brought to light and re-issued for today's fans. Now I got taken to task last time I tried to write about Dutch HC so hopefully this time I will keep my facts straight. Larm played incredibly fast for their day. When I first heard Larm back in the day I tried and tried to play my bass along with the record at the same speed for so long I wondered if they had sped up the tape in the studio. They called their assault on music as we know it the "Campaign for Musical Destruction" and "Extreme Noise Terror" from which the UK band took their name. Larm's first release was a split LP with Stanx. They crammed an amazing 28 songs on one side of an LP. The music was relatively simple thrash, not unlike DRI, Siege or Deep Wound but it was played super fast. No label info on this release so I assume it was put out by the bands. I'd have to say that although it was their first material this stuff is my favorite. The next release for Larm was the No One Can Be That Dumb ep, released in 1986, no label info given so once again probably self released. Fifteen tracks fast and furious HC with political, animal rights, straight edge lyrics and a song about love in the pit. Lots of flannel and bandannas on this ep. Next up from Larm was the Straight On View LP on One Step Ahead Records out of San Francisco. This LP had some tracks from the No One Can be That Dumb ep. Thirty Seven songs! The best lyrics have to be Metal Attitude Sucks, which like most HC lyrics from 15 years ago still rings true in these ears today. Larm's next ep was Nothing is hard in this world if you dare to scale the heights on Definite Choice Records, 1987? I would have to say that on this ep Larm starts sounding a lot like Heresy in terms of playing tighter and the vocal style. Or maybe Heresy was trying to sound more like Larm. Regardless the two bands sound very similar about this time period. OK sometime after this Larm ends and Seein Red begins. But Larm material has continued to come to light. Wicked Witch released a 7" called Destroy Sexism which was recorded live at practice sessions and according to Henk's liner notes featured 8 unreleased tracks. There is also a live 7" called Extreme Noise Terrorism featuring a gig from 1985. Earlier this year Wicked Witch put out a double LP discography of Larm material which I once had ten copies of but now have none<sum> so I can't tell you much about it until I find another copy. I'm pretty sure there are one or two CD discographies for Larm around, but I never paid much attention to CD's.

Just as important as these two bands were Heresy and Ripchord from the UK, but to place those bands in context I'm going to write a whole 'nother column on the UK Hardcore of the late 80's. I'm going to Finland next week so expect a column or two about Finnish HC before I pick up on 80's thrash again. Good luck hunting down the Negazione and Larm records. Hardcore Rules!

Publication Date:
January 1, 1988

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