CRIMINAL DAMAGE - Call Of Death - lp - 2013

Though the innersleeve picture of the band hanging out on some nice park steps, as opposed to the more traditional "leaning against a shitty brick wall", could have been taking in the quiet East Sussex town known for it's high proportion of pensioners, this is not the same band who appeared on the 2nd A Country Fit For Heroes compilation. This is very much Portland Not Eastbourne. Though sharing the same name and many of the same influences, this Oregon-based band with the His Hero Is Gone/Tragedy connection have been a little bit more productive during their time as a band. On this, their third lp, they once again proudly display a very heavy debt to No Future era Blitz, packing it with the kind of top tier proper punk tunes which would have had their 80s namesakes drunkenly dance around to it in approval. Released by the mighty Feral Ward, always a mark of quality, this is definitely one you don't want to miss.
CRIMINAL DAMAGE

PERDITION - 7" - 2010

 

The old joke, popular in an embarrassingly high number of European countries, used to be that the average American had so little knowledge of the world beyond their nation's borders most thought "Denmark was the capital of Amsterdam". Ignoring the fact this assertion usually said as much about the superiority complex of many of our continent's inhabitans, most of whom who'd struggle to pinpoint even the biggest US cities on a map themselves, as it did about some of our friends across the ocean, I would wager NY based PERDITION would definitely be able to point out Sweden and Japan at least. In fact, I bet they would be able to even name, and have a good humored crack at the pronouncation of, a few of it's cities, then proceed to educate the locals on some of the 80s bands that hailed from there they themselves might have missed. This, Perdition's 2nd 7" pays musical homage to the spikey haired Swedish and Japanese punks that took the early 80s UK sounds of Discharge, Chaos UK and Disorder (who Perdition might just have heard of as well...) and perfected it into something much harsher, much rawer and much more aggressive. It's another total winner on the ever consistent Distort Reality label, with actual proper tunes as opposed to noise for the sake of it...and to top it off sporting what must be one of the best record covers in recent history.
PERDITION

PEROXIDE - Can You Hear The Sound Of Peace - 7" - 2012

Portland-based Distort Reality has consistently been releasing high quality punk since the early 00s. PEROXIDE's debut ep is no exception. The record cover will be enough for most to decide whether they're going to be into this or not and this 7" most definitely delivers on what it visually already promises on the metaphorical 'tin'; raw fuzzed out hardcore punk by folks who will surely own more than one Disorder or Atrocious Madness record between them. If you've been digging the re-awakening of the US scene to the distortion drenched punk sounds of Europe and Japan in recent years, via the like of Bloodkrow Butcher, Perdition and Nomand for instance, have a listen to this.

PEROXIDE

INFERNÖH/EFFLUXUS - split 7" - 2013

A raging slap of hardcore punk brutality, released by the fine RUST AND MACHINE RECORDS to coincide with their "Chaotic Western Front" US tour. INFERNÖH hail from Malmö, Sweden, though they have some UK blood in their käng infested veins by way of Pancho who used to play in WARCRIMES and the (much underrated) SKIPLICKERS. After their brilliant 2012 War Tjard lp on D-Takt & Råpunk, this is more raw Swedish hardcore of the old school by and for the punks.
EFFLUXUS provide the more modern distortion and reverb drenched US take on this template layed down by DISCHARGE and perfected in 80s Scandinavia and do so with equally devastating effect. The 7" remains the perfect punk format and both bands bring their (circled) a-game to this collaborative effort.
Total fucking mangel indeed.
INFERNÖH / EFFLUXUS