Featured Releases: February 10, 2025

Apocalypse: S/T 12” (Prank Records) Prank Records gives us a meticulously crafted US pressing of this enigmatic record that first surfaced in a tiny edition in 2021 on the Japanese label Mangrove. The record documents two different bands, both fronted by Crow (vocalist for the legendary Japanese hardcore band Crow), and at least one of which was called Apocalypse. Confused yet? The recording is dated 1987-1989 and “all lyrics and music” are credited to Crow, but beyond that, concrete details are scarce. I am a huge fan of Mr. Crow’s music. I love Crow’s early, heavily Discharge-inspired records, I love their later, Sabbath-infused records (perhaps even more), and I ride for Crow’s other projects like Grave New World, Death Comes Along, and Kaiboushitsu. Crow, as a musician, is artistically restless and always pushing limits, and this Apocalypse record contains some of his most challenging work. Indeed, the first track, “Apocalypse I,” may be the most challenging piece of music Crow has ever released. It’s a ten-minute long deconstruction of the Discharge style, and its first eighty seconds seem to ask, “what if you took the Discharge template and stripped away the riffs, the drums, the guitars, bass, and even the lyrics… what would you be left with?” The minute and twenty seconds of multi-tracked, abstract vocalizations that answer the question are not an easy listen, but perhaps “Why (Reprise)” is too easy a listen given what that music aims to express. (For a different frame of reference, imagine an a cappella rendition of Integrity’s “Vocal Test.”) Once the music kicks in, “Apocalypse I” sounds a lot more like Discharge, but instead of extracting almost all the elements, it removes just one—any sense of musical development or resolution—subjecting Discharge’s style to Krautrock’s hypnotic repetition. But rather than Can’s meditative quality, “Apocalypse I” sounds agitated, enticing you toward insanity with the riff’s relentless, uncompromising repetition. If you’re able to make it past that first track, the rest of the record is less difficult, but still soaked in Crow’s instantly identifiable aesthetic. “Apocalypse II” and “Inferno” lean toward the spooky, mid-paced 80s Japanese style of Crow’s Kaiboushitsu project, while “Dream” fiddles with the template of later Discharge songs like “The Price of Silence.” “Apocalypse III” is closer to free jazz than hardcore punk, while the album-closing “The End” (reprised on Crow’s 1995 The Crow EP) is more conventional musically, but lets Crow run wild with his talent for making strange sounds with his voice and finding uniquely eerie melodies. While there are probably only a handful of people on earth who are steeped enough in both Discharge-derived hardcore and avant-garde music to truly appreciate this record, those who do will be happy to make some shelf space for a record that is peerless in the singularity of its vision.

Zyklome A: Uitgesproken (1980–1985) 2x12” (Ultra Eczema) Lately there has been some conversation in the hardcore underground about reissue culture, specifically the tendency for labels to pad out reissues of classic records with (what many see as) unnecessary extra tracks and packaging bells and whistles like posters, booklets, box sets, etc. I’m all for getting the music out there as cheap as possible for the punx, and I also agree that, more often than not, this bonus content only dilutes a record’s original impact while making it needlessly more expensive. But, on the other hand, a well-done reissue can also deepen one’s enjoyment of an original punk artifact. Case in point, this reissue from the 80s Belgian band Zyklome A. I think even the most committed hardcore maniac would concede that Zyklome A’s 1984 LP, Made in Beglium is a good-but-not-great album. Zyklome A can play fast and hard, the production is strong, and the packaging is cool and punk, but the record is kind of samey-sounding, growing repetitive by the end of its 16 tracks. Just a couple of months ago, we had an original copy in the shop and I listened to it several times, trying to figure out if I liked it enough and would listen to it often enough to justify the expense of an original pressing. Ultimately, I let the record go (Usman bought it, LOL), and now we have this double-LP reissue in stock. I’ve been loving this reissue, but I don’t regret my decision to pass on the original because I think this collection does a better job of representing Zyklome A than Made in Belgium did. The first disc of Uitgesproken is a straight reissue of Made in Belgium, and while I don’t have an original copy to compare, I swear this reissue sounds better than the original. The mastering on Uitgesproken is clear, loud, and bright, and when I played disc 1, it hit me in a way Made in Belgium never has. Maybe I was just in the right mood or in the right environment, but without a doubt this collection (both discs) sounds great. Then you get to the second disc, which collects all the split EP and compilation tracks Zyklome A recorded along with a live set. Despite the disparate source material, disc 2 sounds just as good as disc 1 (even the live stuff, which must be straight from the soundboard as there’s no audience noise whatsoever). Maybe it’s because these songs are from different sessions, but disc 2 avoids the samey quality that plagued Made in Belgium, with the band shaking up the tempos and grooves just a hair while remaining very, very punk. And then there’s the booklet, a super thick, full-color tome that tells you everything you could ever possibly want to know about Zyklome A. It’s bursting with pictures, flyers, and ephemera, all of it beautifully photographed and reproduced. Flipping through this booklet while listening to the music, I’m transported to mid-80s Belgium, immersed in Zyklome A’s world. Of course some bands like the Misfits or the Stooges can build a world and invite you in like this on a studio LP… Zyklome A need a little more than that, but visiting that world is just as exciting, and Uitgesproken takes me there more effectively than Made in Belgium ever did. Certainly Uitgesproken is a treat for any 80s international hardcore fanatic (especially at the attractive price we’re selling it at), and while I don’t think we should suspend our skepticism of reissue culture, for me this is proof that a deluxe reissue can be done right.

Peter And The Test Tube Babies: Banned From The Pubs 7" (Bad Habit Records) Australia’s Bad Habit Records gives us a no-frills reissue of Peter & the Test Tube Babies’ first single. Originally released on No Future Records in 1982, “Banned from the Pubs” stands out as one of the strongest releases in a label catalog packed with all-time classics. This single flips the typical UK82 single script, putting the two rippers on the a-side and relegating the mid-paced, more tuneful “Peacehaven Wild Kids” to the b-side. But how are you not gonna put “Banned from the Pubs” as the lead track? It takes the big riffing and catchy choruses of Sham 69 and rips through them at a tempo that keeps pace with the emerging US hardcore scene. The other a-side track, “Moped Lads,” is similarly brisk and has a great chorus hook, and while “Peacehaven Wild Kids” is a solid song, Peter & the Test Tube babies would really perfect mid-paced melodic punk on their excellent 1983 album The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs. This single is great ammo for your punk DJ night or an evening spent home alone with a stack of classic 45s, and if you don’t have an original, this repro fills the gap just fine.

The Brood: For The Dark 12” (Armageddon Label) Ten years after their first 7” and eight years after their previous release, we finally have the debut album from long-running Philadelphia hardcore band the Brood. Featuring members of Caustic Christ, the Pist, and Witch Hunt among many others, the Brood sounds like the veteran hardcore band they are, their diverse but coherent sound reflecting many years in the hardcore punk trenches. The core of the Brood’s style is heavy hardcore punk, reminding me most of American bands from the 2000s who incorporated the heaviness of Japanese hardcore into a straightforward, Poison Idea-influenced aesthetic. Other influences poke their heads in around corners: “Burning with the Sands of Time” and “Enemy” have street punk-ish rhythms, while “Shallow Graves” and “The Best Parts of You Died” have some Motorhead touches, and “Long Gone” goes for the throat with a straight Discharge-influenced attack. A two-guitar dynamic and Janine’s charismatic backing vocals lend additional depth and texture to each song, and (as you might have noticed from the song titles), there’s a vintage horror theme running through the lyrics, eloquently echoed in the cover illustration by Max from Invertebrates. With twelve songs in 22 minutes, the Brood offers an efficient, no-frills pummel that’ll leave you eager for the next spin.

Castigo: Escape 7” (Archaic Records) Archaic Records brings us this very limited (150 copies!) 7” from Mexican punks Castigo. Castigo reminds me a lot of Nightfeeder, with fast-but-not-crazy-fast tempos, riffing that’s inventive without being flashy, and playing that’s heavy on groove while keeping all the energy, rawness, and aggression you want from d-beat hardcore. You get the impression from moments like the tight punches in the intro to “Narcoestado” that the band could do something more technical, but they devote their energy to playing their hooky riffs with maximum power and style. I really like the vocals too, which are gruff and soaked in phlegm, but still perfectly comprehensible, which I think is important when you take on political topics like Castigo does. With four originals and a Disrupt cover, there’s no time for fucking around, and Castigo keeps things short and to the point. This might be hard to find given the small press run, but it’s worth the hunt if this is your style.

Dominación: Punks Ganan 7” (Discos Enfermos) Discos Enfermos brings us the debut by this band from Barcelona. They mention there are familiar faces in the band, and while I’m not sure what projects Dominación shares members with, it’s clear from the sound of this record that they know their way around a hardcore punk tune. Punks Ganan stays within the parameters of Japanese-style crasher crust—you could reference an older band like Gloom just as easily as a contemporary one like Physique—but Dominación finds plenty of room to make the sound their own. “Hora Final” is a straightforward rager with almost no bells or whistles, while the opening track “Inocentes” is a maze of dramatic stops, starts, and breaks that keep the listener on their toes. Dominación maintains that push and pull between straightforward rippage and more complexity across these seven tracks, with the last song, “Asesinados En Las Carceles Españolas,” climaxing with a show-stopping, inhumanly long scream. So sick.