HALF-COCKED / RADIATION DOUBLE DVD (Rumur) This double DVD disc set includes quite a few goodies. First we have a bit of an indie classic, which was shot in the Kentucky / Tennessee area in the early 90s. Half-Cocked is a tale of bunch of bored and jilted self-loathers who steal a van full of equipment, and tour, so they can get away from their hometown. Though the acting is piss poor, the movie highly succeeds on many other levels, especially with music from Unwound, Slant 6, Smog, Helium and other alt-rock wonders of the time. All of this makes for as much of a document as a movie. Next up is my pick of the two, Radiation. This little Sundance gem is about a Spaniard who sets up a Euro tour for Boston's Come, only to have thing fall apart. Director Galinsky really knows how to document the music scene and all its pitfalls. The road will turn many a band into a memory. The second disc holds a Spaceheads music video, Lost In Spain (a 'making of' Radiation), musical outakes from Half-Cocked, two unpublished books (as read by the authors with background music by Drop Ceiling and Red House Blues), and a photo gallery of over 400 pics. The second disc is good news, but the first disc alone is great news for those hunting the original video cassettes on Amazon and not wanting to pay $200 or more.

THE HANGOVERS - s/t CD-R DEMO (The Hangovers) From the ashes of local poppy, gutter punks Splat! come a much better outfit - in style, attitude and musically. Much angrier, yet the songs are still fun and their shows go off. Seven (originals) of sing-a-long street punk played with a bit more rock-n-roll, but sounding almost like hardcore thrash. They have harmonies and melodies, but the drums are so fast and the guitars crunch. It's in the vein of bands like The Business, yet also bring to mind Ramones, Misfits and older NY punk. All much faster, heavier and surprisingly sometimes catchier - like Grimple. Punk points for that. The titles aren't anything new from this style though ("Ready Set", "My Own Way", "Punk Rock Soundz"; damn it a "z" instead of an "s" - minus a few punk points for that one). Axl's voice is much better with this band, as well as his lyrics - though nothing MENSA. More points for the Cock Sparrer cover. The packaging of this demo is pretty interesting. It's a ziplock bag with a folded cover insert (with lyrics on the inside, similar to a 7") with a pin and sticker enclosed. Oh, the spray painted CD face - very cool. Big punk points on that. Recorded and mixed by Rock-n-Roach, and really well as everything is heard evenly, yet each instrument powerfully. He's a name to look out for on many future Florida releases. This demo is well worth the few bucks, and the hunt - so start now.

THE HARDCORE COLLECTION - The Films of Richard Kern DVD (Music Video Distributors) This is a gem in my eyes. Let me tell you my first Richard Kern experience. It was 1986, the Wet Paint Cafe on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and Henry Rollins is doing his spoken word thing. Just a young loser punk, I have no one to go with, so I get dropped off. They bring in a few kegs of beer and no one asks my age, so I'm getting my buzz on. There's so much going on in this place , poetry readings, a memorial, screening of underground films, and free beer! A poet goes on, female, I enjoy myself. Then they played Kern's 'You Killed Me First' which just won me over. Then another poet. A memorial film for D. Boon (of the Minutemen) who died not long before this event. Another poet... but I was getting tired of poets so I went to the back for some beer, and there's Henry Rollins talking to a group of people. I stroll up like I've been there the whole time - I realized Rollins was shorter than me, I was about 5' 9", and found this funny(my "larger than life" image of my idols came crashing at an early age) and still had hair past his shoulders. He was going on about filming something and some chick telling him to "get into it more..." She then proceedes to bite him hard, so he punches her in the nose. I soon heard it was Lydia Lunch, and Rollins became a new hero. Then they screened the same film they were just talking about and Richard Kern had me hooked. I searched for these titles, but after years of searching I only came up with The Hardcore Collection on video a few years back, but now this double-sided DVD has all the films, some extras and a Richard Kern photo gallery... which is so worth it for any fan of this New York filmaker!

HARKONEN - Dancing CD EP (Initial) From Kentucky's Initial Records comes the second EP from this arty, hard rock trio. This time around there are still just as many heavy riffs and thick distortions as there are melodic hooks and indie-rock sensibilities. A big blend of The Jesus Lizard, Isis, and Mammoth Volume. Don't have the 'underground know-whats'? Okay, imagine The Pixies and Melvins playing a show as one band at a 60s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Yes, of course King Buzzo would sing. "In Tow" was a screaming nightmare placed to choppy power chords. "The Yolk" used Helmet-ish repetition with gang chants for a storm of a song. The third track "Cannibal" is a Scratch Acid cover, and man, I haven't heard a Scratch Acid song since the late 80s (the Rabid Cat and Touch & Go stuff - wow. Anyone remember Squirrel Bait?) Nice choice of cover song, and a good evocation of nostalgia, too. "I'm Taking the Hydroplane to Bellingham" had a great build up, and the closing track ("But, It's My Noise") had an almost Neurosis sound. Math rock? Oh, this adds up to so much more. So? Whose gonna give these guys another whole album?

HATED - GG Allin and the Murder Junkies DVD (Music Video Distributors) Now, GG Allin is no one to be looked up to or even liked, but he deserves two points; he set out to destroy every established taboo for a stage preformer... and I think he executed that one for sure. Second, he's fucking hilarious. Whether you're laughing at the fucked up situations that come about from his live shows or that he sometimes makes total sense, it's all reletive. It is very interesting to witness first hand the extremes the human animal can condition their body to handle. Drinking piss, microphones to the face, playing with feces, fist fights, self inflicted razor wounds - you know, the fun stuff. When I saw HATED in theatrical release - (old buddies) Carlos, Sylvia and I all walked out of the theater feeling better about our lives. The DVD is a plus for the fact that you get extra footage; from his funeral - which I felt was a little exploitive, but I'm sure GG would not have given a shit about it - to the last show (as well as a mini riot) and hours of his life. Playing one violent show and then running around NYC trying to avoid the cops and score drugs. I would have respected his character a tad if he'd made it to his Halloween on-stage suicide pact. Point of interest: Durring the live footage at the garage theres a dude in an all white jumpsuit which gets into an arguement with GG. They exchange words and GG spits on him. The show continues and soon the violence spills outdoors. Now this same guy is behind GG asking him to settle down and if a finger up his ass would calm him. He proceeds to insert finger in anus and the two have their fun, until GG grows tired and runs around screaming and cursing - the whole time with this dude running behind him, finger inserted and all. They separte almost a minute later - long time to have a finger in your ass I'm sure. The show continues, yet Finger Man returns in mid-song for some more anal action. After a few seconds he's violently separted but seems to hover around GG trying to get his finger some lovin' for quite some time through the remainder of this fiasco. They should do a documentary about this guy. It would be just as weird as HATED, and possibly twice as funny. This 'docudrama' was considered one of Film Threat Magazine's Top 25 underground classics in some 1993 issue, and I'd have to agree. My girlfriend hates GG Allin and she found this movie very interesting. She agrees with me about the Finger Man documentary, too.

HATEWORK - Thrash 'N' Roll CD (Beer City) With the heavy metal cover artwork and an album titled Thrash 'n' Roll, I thought I would hear pure cheese emitting from my speakers. Oh, was I wrong. Around since 1996 (and I had never heard of them until now), due to bad luck, it took them four years to produce their first public material. But since 2000 they've been playing their brand of thrash-injected rock and roll for fans worldwide. This CD reminds me of some great skatecore... late 80's style. Music like Gang Green (the track "Heaven's on Fire" brought that to mind, or is it just Max's vocals?), Verbal Abuse (especially with tracks like "XXX"), Fang and Broken Bones (listen to Hatework's tune "I Don't Care"). It seems that today to really get the sound and energy of early punk and hardcore you have to go overseas, as Hatework hails from Italy. I'm not sure if I can get away with saying this in this day and age, but the States are getting a little dull. Man, it is strange to hear such good guitar solos in thrash and crossover music. Some of the songs slow down to a midpaced beat ("Devil Eye" and "Radio Madness"), but stay pretty rockin' throughout. I just knocked some dweeby hiphop kid off his skateboard and I'm calling all the punk and hardcore kids out, 'Skate or die motherfuckers!'

HÄVOK ÜNIT / AND OCEANS / THE SIN:DECAY - Synæsthesia -- The Requiem Reveries CD (Vendlus) This three-way split release is a bit more than just a simple ménage-a-trios, as it puts to rest old names and brings to light new bands. Plus, while there are the three bands listed, this disc also contains remixes from other artists as well. Hävok Ünit (which is basically andOceans under a new moniker) starts things off with an original track blasting a Skinny Puppy meets Mastodon vibe. Repetitious riffs with overlaid samples and distorted vocals - pretty unique and done very well. Their next track, "Regime Equinox", is a remix from Finnish artist No Xivic, and while bringing Aphex Twin to mind, it was a bit more evil sounding (Is that possible?). The last HÜ track is another remix, this time by ATYD, another Finnish artist which gives the track an industrial meets Metalheadz drum-n-bass workover. Next up on the roster is the legendary andOceans with one original and two remixes. The original, "Yerushalayim Érez haQodes", is the last song to be released under andOceans' name, and it does the decade-long existence of that outfit much justice. The following track is "Tophet" and is remixed by another artist from Finland, Niko Skorpio, who runs the label SomePlaceElse, and also played in Thergothon and This Empty Flow. The remix is a coldwave, ambient soundscape not unlike Archon Satani or The Grey Wolves. The last andOceans track is a funky remix of "ha-Shoah" from Finn ATYD . The last three ditties are from The Sin:Decay, a four-piece outfit from Finland that features a member of AndOceans / Hävok Ünit. Their three tracks brought to my mind images of Deathstars or Rammstein - sort of industrial metal with poppy keyboards. In addition to the music, this CD contains two music videos, one by HÜ and one by andOceans (for the original tracks listed) so as to please the eyes and the ears. One release with a triple threat of musical mayhem. Oh, the three remix artists... make that a sextet threat. Oh, the music videos... a freakin' octet threat.

HAVE HEART - The Things We Carry CD (Bridge Nine) From track one ("Life Is Hard Enough") to the very last track (track ten, "Watch Me Rise"), this twenty-six minutes will repeat, over and over again, for weeks around my house. Pissed-as-all early hardcore in the spirit of 1987. Imagine if Ray of Today was a thousand times more angry at the bullshit we're going through every day, then got together with Judge, Wide Awake and No For An Answer, while all of them deciding to beef up the stomp and crunch. Some of Have Heart comes off like a less metal, very early Integrity (Those Who Fear Tomorrow). This ten song monster far surpasses their six song EP What Counts (on Think Fast Records). Another highlight is that lyricist and vocalist Patrick Flynn is rather extended in his verse and is quite wordy (though admittedly borrowing from Neil Young for a moment), which I sometimes champion over brevity. If you like your hardcore punky, pissed and late 80s, then grab The Things We Carry, sing along and remember what it's like to stage dive.

HEADACHE - Discography CD (Life Is Abuse) I'm almost convinced Headache were The Homosexuals on weekend crystal meth binges. The Blood Brothers probably stole much of their act from this European thrash masterpiece. Herky-jerky time signatures as if Minutemen beefed up in sound and in scream, with post-punk grooves and a Dischord-esque indie playfulness all about. California's Life Is Abuse graces those that missed out before, a chance to psych-out and slam dance at the same time, by putting out their entire discography. Thirty four tracks from their demo tapes, to 7" and LP recordings, plus comp tacks, adding up to over seventy minutes of off-kilter thrash madness. The packaging of this release is just as much to write about, as it's a jewel case-shaped book, with fifty pages of art, lyrics and commentary. I find that alone is a bit of an art piece unto itself. A fitting tribute that should find its way to fans, as well as make some new ones all about.

HEARSE - Armageddon, Mon Amour CD (Candlelight) From Arch Enemy vocalist Johan Liiva, as well as old friends Mattias Ljung and Max Thornell, comes a mix of heavy musical styles all blended within a Nordic death metal sound. I must play dumb and admit I had never heard these Swede's 2002 7" nor their first LP from 2003, Dominion Reptilian, so I didn't know what to expect. Now, while the opening track ("Mountain of the Solar Eclipse") is 5 minutes of heavy ass NWBHM, track two ("Turncoat") is where I really begin to love this record. Seriously, I could probably play that one song all day and not be tired of it. The almost constant, and very well done guitar solos help start this off as much more than a death metal record. "Crops of Waste" had a more stoner rock sound, but is still much faster - and heavier - than most stoner numbers. "Ticket to Devastation" was a two minute instrumental that also used stoner and doom elements, which gave way to "Tools" which sounded like straight-up rock-n-roll, just downtuned, sped up and peppered with metal solos. They do a Kim Wilde cover... remember"Kids in America"? Hearse does her "Cambodia", and very well too. The album's title track closes the disc off well and somewhat Neurosis-like, but I actually would have preferred "Determination" to have ended it all with it's dark, gothic rock sound.

THE HELLACOPTERS - Goodnight Cleveland DVD (Music Video Distributors / 8th Grade Films) This is a great release unto itself, but also because it's packed with choice extras of Hellacopters covers and classics. I'm getting ahead of myself. I thought this was a concert DVD - you know, a bunch of songs recorded in Cleveland. I was happy to get this, even happier to have been wrong. It's a close to 50 minute documentary film. Director Jim Heneghan follows the Hellacopters on one of their American tours and brings you the highs and good crowds to the night's pitfalls and monotony of tour. Sometimes you get a whole song, while others are chopped in bits and pieces or spliced with interview or chatter segments. And just like every tour, it starts a bit slow and humdrum until opening night's first song - then it's a fun ride from there. Packed clubs, half-empty halls, a guest appearance - and a song or two - by the Gaza Strippers, great fans, silly fans, rock and roll, women and booze. Now when it was over, I thought, 'Great, but I wish there were more songs.' Not to be let down, the extras include live Stooges covers (with members of The Hives, Robot and Backyard Babies), plus home video of The Hellacopters 2nd show (damn they look young) and the song "Didn't Stop Us" (which is the only time they have ever played it live). And I haven't even gotten to the crazy alternate audio soundtrack and the audio commentary by The Hellacopters themselves. This thing is loaded! Yet, it's somewhat sad to watch them play to 10,000 people in Sweden, and only 100 or so people in Chicago. America better get to know what it's missing before it's too late.

HELLOWEEN - Gambling With the Devil CD (SPV) Helloween is a power metal powerhouse who formed in 1983 in Hamburg, Germany, from the ashes of Iron Fist and Powerfool. They produced their first EP, Walls of Jericho, two years later, and a year after that they gave the world their most popular albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys and Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt II (all on Noise Records). In 1995 original lead vocalist, Kai Hansen, left to form Gammaray, but the addition of new vocalist, Andi Deris, didn't slow down this metal machine. Helloween's Gambling With the Devil is their twelfth album. Yep - number 12! While albums like Rabbit Don't Come Easy saw them chill a bit, and Metal Jukebox had them covering some odd pop choices, their newest LP picks up back on the tracks their biggest fans would have loved to have put them on again. Heavy, though still progressive. Technical, yet fast and in-your-face. These metal gods have aged, but oh so gracefully.

HEMLOCK - Bleed the Dream CD (Candlelight) It seems that just when you want to cash in your chips on the musical scope of the land of roulette wheels and dice tables, a band comes around to change your mind. Hemlock is based out of Las Vegas, NV, and like four angry pit-bosses, they'll toss your ass right out of the action if you're not careful. They originally formed in 1993, and released two previous records, Pigeonholed and Shut Down. Their newest work, Bleed The Dream, is their third album and is actually a re-release of their self-released LP, but with the drum tracks redone by original drummer, Brian Smith. It's also been remixed and remastered, not to mention it has two bonus tracks ("To the Nines" and "Crooked Smile"). The music is metalcore in the vein of Hatebreed, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall or Max-era Sepultura. The music is beatdown material for wallop-packing while you mosh. The vocals really stand out, and are a trade off between a deep barking growl and a higher pitched scream. This is a good gamble if you're looking for music that could knock you on your rear.

HE WHO CORRUPTS - The Smell of Money CD EP (Eugenics) What can you say about a five song grindcore EP? Well, except give HWC eight minutes and they will rip you apart. Mind you, they also aren't your average grindcore act churning out beats like a monkey organ grinder. They meddle with all styles and genres of heavy proportions. So yes, the tracks are like 600 beats per minute, but interspliced with metallic breakdowns, some sludge and chaoticore. Standout track has got to be the final track, "Grinding for Jesus", for it's awesome guitar work, as well as lyrical wit. Grindcats beware, Chicago's He Who Corrupts is out to corrupt you. Hey Eugenics, I love the layout, and the scratch-n-sniff... mmmm, freshly laundered money.

HENCEFORTH - Lush CD EP (GoodCore) This Orange County, Cali six piece play an amalgam of contemporary emotional metalcore and screamo, but thrash it all together with grace enough to pass it off as a style all their own. Oh, and there's a shitload of pop sensibilities that filter in throughout, which may help establish Henceforth as 'not your average' metalcore outfit. Peppered about the crushing metal guitar duels are sugary keyboard spats, or Cure-like atmospherics as background. At times coming off as A Life Once Lost meets Reggie and the Full Effect... seriously. Much of it is straight up powerful emocore, that may get the band dismissed as a Thursday impostor, but there are moments when the pop battles the metal in such a sonic dichotomy, that it works to keep it fresh. The do-it-yourself philosophy is strong in Goodcore, as they keep their EP prices to $6. Feast of Hate and Fear: giving you sonic, as well as economic reasons to check out new music since 1990!

THE HIDDEN HAND - The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote CD (Southern Lord) In case you don't know what's what, The Hidden Hand is the most current vehicle for ex-Saint Vitus and Spirit Caravan guitar rocker Scott 'Wino' Weinrich and bassist Bruce Falkinburg (who as a recording engineer, and owner of Phase Studios recorded this LP). This is the Potomac, Maryland trio's third album, and second for the Southern Lord stable (previously releasing 2003's Divine Propaganda [on Meteor City Records] and 2004's Mother, Teacher, Destroyer, also on Southern Lord), and it's probably their best work. The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote, sidesteps their usual politically-charged lyrics in its tales of early American conflicts of seminal governments, native populations and slavery. Though straying slightly from the standard stoner / doom sound and working more in the fields of tumultuous progressive rock, much of the music will still bring to mind earlier Wino works like Spirit Caravan and Place of Skulls, but also more intricately psychedelic acts such as Mammoth Volume, Spiritual Beggars, or even straighter rock-n-roll powerhouses like Fu Manchu, Lowrider and Monster Magnet. The disc's opener "Purple Neon Dream" was probably the quietest track here, but it picks up powerfully. I loved the structure, driving beat, as well as the harmonica on "Lightning Hill". "Slow Rain" closed the album with catchy, hook-filled riffs and a whirlwind of guitar work. Good to see Southern Lord get back into the fields of stoner rock, as all the black metal and doom lately are great, but so is diversity.

HIGH COUNCIL - Motion Denied CD EP (High Council) This is a good second outing for this band. High Council is a quartet from Philadelphia that play power metal, with a touch of Tool. They formed in 2004 after the breakup of drummer / keyboardist and guitarist / vocalist's first project. High Council self-released their debut (the All Rise EP) in 2005, and have done the same with their follow-up EP, Motion Denied. The songs have a operatic power metal vibe along the lines of Edguy and Blind Guardian (they even play flute throughout), with some NWBHM (new wave of British heavy metal) elements ala Iron Maiden (especially on track three, "Dystopia"). The Tool comparisons come around when the band goes heavy - then guitars crunch and the vocals become more powerful, giving vocalist Saunders a Maynard-esque quality (most notably on the opening track, "Samsül's Blizzard"). The highlights of High Council are the vocals, plus the guitar solos (major thumbs up on "Too Late Shall It Be Known Unto You"), though the song structures themselves are nothing to sneeze at. I mean, they're not highly technical or extremely complicated, but are very well written and quite powerful. Also, while these numbers are recorded well, if HC had label backing, not to mention a big bucks producer, the sound would improve a hundred-fold and probably be pretty bombastic. High Council remind of a lot of the newer material on Candlelight Records, and it's a shame they're not from Finland or Norway, as they might get a bit more notice. It seems that while power metal is big in the states, no band from the U.S. playing this style gets any credit. Almost as if you had to come from northern lands of ice and mountains to be taken seriously for playing such tunes. Well, it sounds like the streets of Philly are a good place to start looking into it.

HOLDING ON - Question What You Live For CD (Bridge Nine ) This Midwest troupe is on their 3rd album and it's the closest thing to cloning a Cro-Mags/Sick Of It All crossbreed. Fifteen tracks (make that 16 with the hidden Man Afraid cover) of relentless and unforgiving passion. They just keep speeding things up from record to record, and getting a little more pissed off as each release goes by. You can't have a good hardcore follow-up unless you hold as much effect as your previous efforts. Right? Well, it seems Holding On know this, so you get a no-frills, no-bullshit attitude that wastes no time getting to the pit-intensifying verses and finger-pointing choruses. Each song is under 2 minutes and the song structures are simple, but that in no way takes from the intensity of these tracks. "Fate Comes", "All or Nothing"... wait, I shouldn't even list the songs, because there isn't one that beats out another. Yep, all fifteen tracks are that powerful. It all takes me back to a time when I wore X's on my hands and listened to Turning Point and Wide Awake. Recorded at Atomic Studios by Dean Baltulonis (of The Hope Conspiracy) with the production being better than Dean's earlier works for Bridge Nine. Holding On is what Kill Your Idols want to sound like, but afraid of the furor and acerbity they might wield.

HOLLOW GROUND - Cold Reality CD EP (Organized Crime) Six tracks from Canadian metalcore outfit that do not let up in rage... and dance floor good times. Made up of exmembers of Stand Strong, First Strike and Volition, they recorded a five song, then later a three song demo which got the ear of Chicago's Organized Crime. This is a must for fans of Terror. The title track is a short blast of metal chugs and mosh riffs, with guest vocals by Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid. "Final Words" has some excellent guitar work, and "Left Blind" is the most metal thing on here, but still pummels. Sadly, it's all over in fifteen minutes. So cross your fingers and start to look out for an LP. By the way - vinyl freaks - yes, there is a 7" version.

HOPEWOOD - s/t CD EP (GoodCore) I wish this wasn't an EP. It's that good. Yes, if it wasn't for a certain thing on this disc, you wouldn't know it from the new Explosions in the Sky album. So, what is this one thing? Vocals. Well done vocals too. A bit in the emo vein, but they fit. Three epic songs (all over five minutes) of lushly textured space-y indie-rock meeting Mogwai-esque psychedelic emocore. Like the other Euro super groups I previously mentioned, the UK's Hopewood has a roster near ten members, who play everything from the standard guitar and drums to violin, keyboards and horns. Good move on the acquirement GoodCore, now this band needs a full LP -- and fast.

HOW IT ENDS - So Shall It Be CD (Thorp) How It Ends are four guys from Philly, who on only a three song demo got Thorp to see a good thing coming. Featuring ex-members of Dysphoria, HIE is anger musically personified. It's almost as if Max never left Sepultura, and got them much more into NY hardcore. Or as if Prong chilled on the time changes and focused on mosh breakdowns. Chugga-chugga! You know exactly what that means... heavy, down-tuned riffs. To make it that much heavier, there is an almost constant mid-paced double bass going on that will make you chase new jacks in the pit. A mention of doom is made in their bio, and there is a bit of it peppered throughout the disc. Actually none until track six ("Dying Eyes"), after which they lay it on pretty thick, and pretty well. "Hardest Lesson" starts off a little like your average hardcore song, but after the verse it gets into some Slayer-like speed picking. The sludge comes back again just to bleed into the next track ("Pain Killer"), which is a pummeling ride between nodding heads and picking-up-change. I'm talking about the dances, fool. "Still Bleeding" closes out the eleven tracks of hardcore inspired, metal crunch - with a little of it all. Some hardcore, some sludge metal, and even a slight punk flavor. The layout is slick, yet simple, but well enough to show HIE are up-and-comers on the Thorp roster.

HOODS - Pray for Death CD (Victory) You ever feel like a fool for thinking a band is from one area, simply due to their sound, but later you actually read the liner notes and realize for years you've been misinforming yourself? Shame on me for assuming. The Hoods have an intense NY hardcore metal sound, but play it all too well from northern California. Growled vocals, shaved heads, pissed gangsta attitudes, down picking, lots of double bass. I can see the kids all piling on top of each other just to get the the mic, banging their heads with the 'sign of the horns' in the air. Asi es! Much of Hoods' sound is a mid-paced crunch, down-tuned for sure, but they'll flip to some punk-inspirred 300-bpm shit real quick on you. And they are not afraid of the word 'metal', as it all fits in so well with the pace. Who's Mario ("I Hate You")? I hate one too though, so it's all well with me. "El Pugne Limpio" and "5455" really takes it back to the old school. "I Own You", "Bastard", "On the Way to San Francisco" and "Another Suicide" are my favorite tracks here, but every song is about as equally catchy, heavy and anthemic. Guest vocals by members of Sworn Vengence, Beyond Sorrow, Oath In Blood, Stabbed In the Throat, Life Long Tragedy and many more appear throughout. The insert photo with the (un)funny teeth has to be removed though - everybody does that on Blind Date.

ICECAKE - ...An Ambient Experience CD EP (Supple) Vocal-less, except for a few samples, and quite beat-less. Not far off (musically) from a mixture of 5ive and Death In June ("Vertical Pines" + "Pour Vous" show this to be the most true). Apocalyptic folk meets Brian Eno-like, near-ambient soundscapes. "That Train Is So Spacy" starts this EP, and from here on you should know what to expect - a short, but pleasant trip. One man - Robert J. Kaminek Jr. - conducts a debut release of guitar driven and quiet, almost 'chill-out-room'-esque songs. Tunes to relax to on a Sunday afternoon, after last night's black metal show - or when taking that long drive. You'll just pop this this in and it won't come out till you reach your destination. "Pour Vous" begins with layered textures of sound, later blending into soft, yet angry guitar chords, feedback and static hums. "On Soft Ground I Sleep" had plenty of momentem, and I think it ended too early. Actually many of the songs seem to end early, but that's a good call. Always leave them wanting more, instead of going on too long. You could have told me "The Astral Body" was a track off an early Aphex Twin album, and I wouldn't have doubted you. Though it's not, and like the other six tracks, an original. I can't wait to hear what a bigger budget and allowing Robert more time in a studio will produce.

ICONS OF FILTH - Nostradamnedus CD (Go Kart) In all honesty I thought Icons of Filth had died out years ago. I do, or at least try to, keep up with news in particular music scenes, but alas for this encyclopedic brain of mine is missing a page or two every so often. Still sounding as powerful as ever, Icons of Filth serve up 13 tracks of UK hardcore-punk. The music by all accounts is pure unadulterated hardcore and punk, untainted by metal or emocore. The guitar sound is amazing. Its super distorted and holds as much crunch as bones breaking. The lyrics are as intelligent as ever - as some are very long streams of consciousness dealing with anarcho-leftist policies. How singers remember this many lyrics for a single song is still beyond me as "Treadmill" has 350+ words, which never repeat a single line. Impressive. I'm a little surprised at the lyrical content for the song "Henry Ford". Most would just bring up his Hitler worship and anti-Semitism, but instead IoF sing about how untrust-worthy the automobile itself really is, not to mention their manufacturers. The disc closes out with "Airwaves" which sounds like their heaviest track yet. My biggest gripe is that Stiv doesn't hold the vocal department as well as he did on the Onward Christian Soldiers LP or the Braindeath 7". Go Kart is getting better and better at designing CD cover layouts though, as Squealer once again churns out a sweet black-n-gray for the cover. Nice to see some older U.K. gents come back to kick some young U.S. ass.

I FARM - I Farm Is Lying to Be Popular CD (Go Kart) Shameful as it may be, every band needs a tag. Something to let someone who hasn't heard a specific band in on what their sound is like. Now I Farm does not defy description, but attempting to describe the sound would be a highly-hyphenated word. Imagine older Descendents, when they envied Black Flag more than Bad Religion and add odder time structures. All of it heavier and faster - yet making the fast parts faster, the heavy parts heavier and the pop parts... well, even poppier. Post-pop-punk screamo? Emotional metal-punk thrash? Got me but I like it. One of the highlights is that they are skilled and know how to play. So while you get a touch of the three-chord punk playbook, there is much more to this than hooks and anthems. It's energetic as fire, and they burn through 15 songs in under half an hour. The lyrics are sharp and intelligent like "Shut Up and Read", "My Robot Daughter", and others are witty in a Trivial Pursuit™ kind-of way. Like "Bill Shatner Speaks Esperanto, Do You?" - of which some of the song is sung in Esperanto (a language created for all the world to communicate in one tongue). Ending it with the gem off Go Kart vs. the Corporate Giant (3) comp, "If You Don't Watch Your Fingers You Can Type Much Faster". I really think that these guy's live show must be maddeningly fun.

I. K. U. - DVD (Eclectic) Iku, what some Japanese call out when they are cuming, and translated means 'going' or 'I'll be there'. This is a chance meeting in some Tokyo back alley between The Sci-fi Channel and Playboy's softcore pornography. I've been keeping up with the film scene, reading up on Japan's 'pink cinema', but this goes far beyond most of what I'm familiar with. The plot is mildly complex (cyborgs are sent out to collect sexual data, by a company who is developing the I.K.U. system, which can make humans cum without the use of friction - ie, no masturbation or partner needed), but simple enough to get a lot of pants off in a hurry. It's no secret that many of my friends are in the 'adult' business, so I'd have to say that the sex scenes are rather tame, yet strangely seductive - similar to a Michael Nin porn with more digital effects, but less hardcore action. There are a ton of straight sex scenes, threesomes, masturbation, some homosexuality, S & M, toys and a few fetishes here and there - so no one is sexually left out, except for those into gang-bangs. Director (and writer) Shu Lea Cheang's choice of camera angles just before the sex scenes were exotic (many 'up-the-skirt' shots) and helped produce a more voyeuristic feeling, than just simply watching another flick. The 'money shots' are computer produced, with scenes of coitus from the view inside of the vagina. There are two alternate endings to this feature, both leaving me how I've come to expect from Japanese sci-fi... puzzled, as the plot was easy to understand, but most of the story-line is hard to follow. Still, it made for interesting watching. I also found out that this is actually the first ever porno to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and I can see why, with it's extreme blend of arts. Some added features are deleted scenes, a quick documentary into the making of I. K. U. and the original Japanese theatrical trailers.

IMPALED - Mondo Medicale CD (Death Vomit) One of the coolest things about this record is that each of the guitraists (Andrew LaBarre and Sean McGrath) name their guitar solos. Next was the pamphlet that the label sent along, a total take off on the 50s horror flicks of William Castle - promising to pay funeral expenxses if you die of fright while listening to Impaled. And lastly, the insanity - not to metion medical dictionary - it took to write these lyrics. That aside, the music is a mix of the death metal back-and-forth - as in an exchange of growling vocals against a higher pitched vocalist and the dueling harmonics, and some straight forward hardcore metal. In all honesty, nothing musically stuck out on this release. Though unfamiliar with any of their other 2 releases, their third album boasts the addition of the aforemention Labarre - in where I can state that the guitar playing and solos are top quality. But mostly, you have the faster-than-fast thrash blasts evened out every once in a while with a boot stomping, beatdown chorus ala NY hardcore. The CD layout was interesting, where you get a rather tame cover, which is actually there to conceal much more vicious graphics underneath - there awaits the intentional cover - so as not to offend most stores, and receive wider distribution I would take it. I thought the whole mindset behind this genre was, "fuck 'em all"?

IMPLOSIVE DISGORGENCE - s/t CD-R DEMO (Implosive Disgorgence) Weeeeeeeee. What a fun trip that was. Two songs in under three minutes. The second is by far the best track. If Spazz went more towards black metal rather than power-violence. The deeper vocals sound like a slaughtered pig (that's actually cool as fuck), the higher pitched vocals are throat tearing. This ditty is poorly recorded, but still powerful. The drummer shreds through blast beats like silk. Slap-A-Ham Records would love these guys. No titles, no lyrics, no info or band bio. Nothing but a web address, though nowadays I guess that's all you need. What can I say, except I want to hear more of this stuff.

IMPULSE MANSLAUGHTER - Live at WFMU CD (Beer City) I like this CD a lot, but I have to be honest about something... it sure isn't for any of the live tracks. Impulse Manslaughter started in Chicago round about 1984 and they churned out some decent thrash and D-Beat inspired punkcore. They later broke up, but reformed as Deadlock, and later to Gutterhead. Impulse Manslaughter was no more, and never shall be according to the old band members. So, why the release of this live LP? Who cares, because after the live tracks (which are sound fine for a live set recorded in a cramped NJ radio station) you get a few samplings from the Impulse Manslaughter discography. All the songs off their No War split EP from 1993 with Provocation, the entire '91 EP Sometimes, a few tracks off of their Logical End 12" LP (1989) and He Who Laughs Last... 12" LP (1987), a few compilation tracks, a Discharge cover (gee, who would have guessed) and even an unreleased tune. For those unaware, picture if Ohio's Integrity started playing almost ten years earlier. Half of this stuff is near impossible to get, so I'd start the hunt looking for this if you're a crusty fuck. All others beware, it just may be to punk fucking rock for all of you. Start at track 15 and then if you want more - hit the live songs.

INCANTATION - Blasphemy CD (Necropolis) A strange feeling has overtaken me. I've been here before, but everything is much better. Standards are higher. I'm still doing music reviews for a Feast of Hate and Fear related project, but not on some ancient typewriter. I'm happily living in Miami, but no longer in a cramped run down apartment. I'm listening to some fucking crazy death metal from the early 90s - or at least that's when I first heard Incantation. With today's Incantation - a 'new' line-up, as original drummer Kyle Severn has now returned - the dreakdowns are thicker, with lower down-tunded chord progressions and some Black Sabbath inspired doom, but overall still has a largely death metal sound. My old buddy Carlos would so love this, as he was the biggest metal head I knew back then, living in the ghettos of downtown Miami. By the cover design, band name, song titles, and almost everything else - one might mistake this Pennsylvania outfit for many a Tampa, Florida band, remenicent to Obituary, Atheist, or the puedo-satanic-to-an-almost-hilarious-extent idiots, Deicide. You begin to notice the small flights away from the standard fare of death metal by the second track, and more so as the third track, "Once Holy Throne" closes out to a heavy, almost-gothic affair. Once I saw the title, somthing told me I would mention the track, "The Sacrilegious Apocalypse of Righteousness and Agonizing Dementia (The Final Defilement of Your Lord)", as I admit the breakdowns are intense. If you're a fan of the "old school" of death metal, but need to stray from those old records - you're in for a much needed break.

INSIDE THE SMITHS DVD (Music Video Distributors) Before I go into much, I just have to say that this DVD is a must for any fan of The Smiths. Actually, any self-respecting fan of The Smiths would not only already know about this, but probably already have this. Still, The Smiths are a British... Wait, who am I kidding? Forget their history, if you don't know who they are, you either don't care or are undeserving of the info. This disc is first and foremost a documentary from the perspective of 'the two other guys". Yes, there is Morrissey and Johnny Marr, but there was also bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. While there are interesting contributions from New Order's Peter Hook, Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Matt Osman of Suede, and quite a few others, the tales from Rourke and Joyce are the highlights. There are stories of auditioning for the band (Joyce tells a tale of seeing a bottle rocket fly around his legs while at the drumset tripping on mushrooms), early practices, recording and touring, plus they dish the dirt on Morrissey and Marr. The extras on Inside the Smiths are just as good as the documentary itself. There are out-takes about the lawsuit (where the judge described Morrissey as 'devious, truculent and unreliable'), an interview with Aztec Camera's Craig Gannon (the 5th member of Smiths in 1986), and best of all, a scene where Joyce pulls out a box containing tapes that have a near 60 unreleased Smiths tracks (oh, how I want to get my hands on them!!!). Lastly, the disc comes with a nice booklet too. It's all good for the eyes in more ways than one. By the way, and if you are waiting for The Smiths to reunite, when Morrissey turns down five million for one reunion show, and says that he would 'rather eat my own testicles than re-form The Smiths,' you know it's time to give up that dream. Well, at least we have stuff like this to keep us busy.

INSOMNIUM - Since the Day It All Came Down CD (Candlelight) Way up there at the top of Europe is an icy landscape called Finland that breed some of the hottest metal with ice in its veins. A little over five years old, these Finns now carve up a huge slice of the (old) New Wave of British Heavy Metal into their Scandinavian metal. In the Hallways of Awaiting was a decent death record, but it didn't leave me with any lasting impressions. Maturing quite a bit in the two years since that record's release, Since the Day It All Came Down is much more versatile and progressive. Most of "Daughter of the Moon" (track three) isn't necessarily "heavy", but still comes off as some killer heavy metal - acoustic parts and all. Actually, much of what's on this album wouldn't be classified as heavy or brutal, but beautiful and almost quiescent. And that is taking no shots, believe me. At times fast and punishing ("The Day It All Came Down", "Death Walked the Earth"), but mostly and overall emotional and even uplifting ("Bereavement", "Song of the Forlorn Son"). Yeah, this sounds like a weird review for a death metal record, so that means you'll just have to hear it for yourself. Right? That's when the new Insomnium will give you the hook. Then, or in your sleep... they're coming to get you.

INTEGRITY - To Die For CD EP (Deathwish Inc.) Fuck yes! Since I first heard Integrity and their amazing Those Who Fear Tomorrow LP, I've been a huge fan... until Closure that was. This new release saves them from being a band only old schoolers would remember. Chubbie Fresh (from the 1st record) is back, but does it really make a difference? Integrity's drum playing was always very good on every release. Blaze, one time a member of In Cold Blood and One Life Crew, takes over where a Melnick once stood. Dwid's voice is as raw and powerful as ever. He's aged well. Everything they're known for can be found on this CD; eerie acoustic instrumentals ("Dreams Bleed On"), fast parts ("To Die For"), slow parts, heavy, and crunching guitars, thick ass bass, thundering double bass drums, whispers ("Heaven's Final War"), screams and yells. Some of the lyrics are in that Integrity vein (horror, hell and pain), while there are some new views to scope (scene politics). This will please all old fans, while making them tons of new ones. The artwork is one of the best Deathwish & J. Bannon has done yet. From the use of color to the actual artwork. Included is a PC video of "In Contrast of Sin" which takes old band and live footage mixed with images of war, freaks, 15th century artwork and hippie gurus (guess which). A killer addition to this CD. Although nine songs would usually convey an Integrity album, this is 22 minutes - so I think it's an EP. What do I say about every good EP? Answer: I'm dying for a full LP (well, at least something over a half hour). This time around, I think Integrity will deliver another classic LP.

IN THE FACE OF WAR - We Make Our Own Luck CD (Detournement) Someone's gonna get hurt in this half-hour. Seeing that this is a record, I'm looking at you, punk. Listener beware: you may not want to, but will be forced to, dance! Your body will be thrown from corner to corner of the room all by feet you cannot control. You'll grab your own shirt and attempt to tear it off while screaming along to the lyrics. I'm still stunned by the simple fact that In The Face Of War has been around six whole years and I'd never even heard a whisper about them. These six hardcore stalwarts from the Midwest play an amazingly powerful, hook-laden, old school-influenced hardcore with brief moments metal chug and heartfelt melody. Songs seem structured with the fury of Bane and groove of early Evergreen Terrace, the urgent hardcore of Blacklisted with the metallic crunch of Shai Halud. With such a large back catalog, I'm even more stunned at how their sound escaped me. In 2002 they began releasing material with the album Self-Reliance Is Self-Destruction (on Together Records), next was a split with The Bowles of Judas, then came their Live Forever Or Die Trying (on Init Records) and followed up by a 7" piece of wax (also on Init). Since I'm not familiar with their older material, I can't tell if the newest songs show that they got better with time, or kept an impressively steady pace throughout their career. With the expressiveness of these eleven tracks I couldn't care as my feet throw me from corner to corner, and my hands attempt to rip my shirt off as I scream along with the lyrics.

INTO THE MOAT - Means By Which The End Is Justified CD EP (Love Lost) Intense local band! An unrelenting and vicious assault debuted in a 6 song EP. This Ft. Lauderdale act is fucking raw. The screaming never ends, and I like that! They're not monotone, but both high pitched and guttural. The guitar riff and time changes are amazing. From to hardcore stomp to grind and death metal fiascoes. Sometimes heavy, sometimes jazzy. The pace - and a little of the style - is similar to Dillinger Escape Plan, but also bring to mind As the Sun Sets and #12 Looks Like You. They got the guitars mixed well, where you can hear the crunch of the rhythm and the bass equally to the opposing guitar. It's produced by local boy-gone-good Jeremy Staska (Poison The Well, 32forty). I hear an LP is in the works look out for that, but until then this should hold you off until then - if not pummel you altogether.

INTRONAUT - Null CD EP (Goodfellow) This Los Angeles quartet was originally only a side project between members of Anubis Rising and Uphill Battle. When del Muerte of Impaled and Exhumed took up residency, the band solidified, even more so when adding a bassist schooled in jazz and funk. This four song EP is a re-release of their self released 2005 disc, and is a good introduction to their brand of metalcore. Much of it is straightforward metalcore not that far off the likes of Martyr AD or Darkest Hour (especially the vocals), but infused with moments of jam band finesse and world music flavor (Brazilian, Indian, etc). Goodfellow's repressing of this disc is also an excellent introduction to the upcoming full length they'll be releasing together later this year.

IRA - The Body and the Soil CD (Go Kart) I'm a little shocked this came out on Go-Kart, but at the same time, 'Why the hell not?' For those of you who aren't in the know, ira was originally German grindcore stalwarts Blindspot a.d. (2003), who later decided much like their inspiration did during their Alternative Tentacles career: that there was beautiful music to make. Music that could be just as crushingly powerful as grind, yet sonically textured and explosive in its atmosphere. This is going to be big with the ethereal hardcore crowd (fans of Isis and Neurosis). Songs from four minutes to ten minutes of booming doom-ladened psychedelic hardcore in the style of the previously mentioned bands. What ira do a little differently is that they incorporate into their songs a mix of emocore in the style of Samiam or the early DC sound, as well as moments of lush glitter, usually done so well by European guitar-god ensembles like Mogwai or Godspeed, You Black Emperor. The Body and the Soil is a listen through heavy hardcore tunneling through depressing doom, laced with dreamy atmospherics and an indie-rock touch.

IREPRESS - Samus Octology CD (Translation Loss) Pronounced 'i-r-press', over 'e-re-press', and after listening you can probably see where this may stem from. I say that because I hear a touch of Bad Brains and Into Another here. I may be wrong, but the reggae vibe is there to everyone I play this for (who also try to snatch my only copy). A touch in the guitars, but also in the drum playing. Either way, Irepress hails from Boston, MA and this five piece's CD was originally release in 2005 by All Indians, No Chiefs Records. It didn't get the attention it rightfully deserved, so Translation Loss Records is making sure of it this time around with better media coverage and distro for this Massachusetts quintet. Irepress play instrumental numbers that many will compare to Explosions In The Sky and Isis, and while those comparisons are apt, they push the sound a little further (especially with the aforementioned reggae). Most often they play a lush and somewhat dreamy rock in the vein of shoegazer bands similar to Cocteau Twins and The Church, but every so often it explodes into a barrage of ethereal hardcore the likes of Tool or Neurosis. Another thing that brought Bad Brains to mind is the guitar sound, which for the heavier moments has an I Against I / Quickness sound that cuts the riffs clean, though well distorted and heavy as all. Complex and extremely well laid down epic structures that aren't all that far off from the math rock camps, yet not so punky. Still, they're putting forth a new amalgam of styles, and bless them for something fresh.

IRON MAIDEN AND THE NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL DVD (Sexy Intellectual / MVD) I love documentaries, and being a self-confessed music nerd, I love music and band docs more so. When I was about thirteen, just before getting into punk rock around fifteen, I was a huge fan of Iron Maiden, so this release was right up my alley. Though focusing on the band that pretty much started it all - Maiden - it goes heavily into the genre known as New Wave of British Heavy Metal, also known as NWOBHM (pronounced 'new-ob-hum'). The story is mostly told by a narrator, but also by many of those that lived it themselves, featuring IM's Paul DiAnno, Diamond Head's Brian Tatler, Tino and Chris Troy of Praying Mantis, and many more, including other musicians, DJs, promoters and music journalists. This document goes deep into all the issues, so much so that it clocks in at two hours and forty minutes! And, I wasn't bored for a second. DVD extras include a mini-documentary on the practice of 'air guitar', an interview with Tony Wilson covering his years at BBC Radio One's Friday Night Rock Show, over fifteen biographies, and an interactive quiz (even after watching this - twice - I failed!). If you once banged your head to killer guitar licks, this disc is one for you. If you didn't... then please fuck off.

JAPANISCHE KAMPFHÖRSPIELE - Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt CD (Bastardized) When I got the Fertigmensch EP I wasn't impressed at all. I don't know what it was, but I shrugged the band off. Didn't even review it. Now, a few months later, their full album - Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt, meaning 'hardcore to end the first world' - is dropped at my doorstep and... What do you know? I'm hooked. This grindpunk thing took me a listen or two, but in time it slugged me good. This is very metal, but yes, very punk too. "Abflussbestattung" is a crazy, start / stop mix of D-beat and metallic grindcore, as next comes "Es Lernt Sich von Selbst" which is almost as much old-school death metal, than anything else. "Wir Werden Gott" had a Slayer-ish quality, but they never did blast beats and speed picking like that - all in under two minutes. "Koscher" starts with a doomy intro, suddenly punching you in the face at 300 beats-a-minute, later morphing into a wall of static and noise. "Im Schlafanzug Zu Plus" is only sixteen seconds long, and still kicks asses and takes names. The CD closes off with "Was Meinst Du?" - two and a half minutes of vocal loops, circus music and ten seconds of pure grindcore fury. The vocals are very similar to much power-violence stuff, one being a high pitched screecher, the other a low growler. Glad to see you guys hooked me this time around - even with all the bruises.

JAY SULIVAN - Landscape (Blurred) with Fences CD-R (RRR) For my birthday a friend made me Hoisin Vegetables (1 red carrot, 1 red onion, 1 yellow bell pepper, 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 4 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp snipped chives, one cup of cooked brown rice, 2.5 cups snow peas, 2 cups beansprouts). It all sounds good, and it was, and not to be a cliché, but I was hungry an hour later. Unfulfilled, and feeling somewhat guilty, as she had slaved and worked hard. I enjoyed what I experienced for that moment, but soon after I forgot it over a slice of pizza and some cheesecake. That's how this release made me feel. I enjoyed it while I heard it, but it lacks anything special (or lingering flavor) that will make me come back for a second listening (or helping). "Cohere" is the sound of rain (probably captured outside Sullivan's apartment), and while according to Chaos Mathematics that makes this track unique, it does not make it original. Neither were the non-tracks, "Now", "Non" and "Not" (ten seconds of silence). Most other tracks sound like open-room recordings of feedback, static and hums off of speakers - sometimes with bass and a beat-like background noise, sometimes alone. While I like it, it's really anti-climactic. I'm unfulfilled. It's over and I slap on another disc, because I'm still hungry. Wait, am I still talking about this release or food?

JENA BERLIN - Quo Vadimus CD (Jump Start) Huh? I was totally thrown off upon first listen. I put this in, and with the band name, the title, and the look of the release, I expected this to be a girl and her acoustic guitar. Instead I was pleasantly shocked to hear an almost post-hardcore D.C. / Gainesville sound. Jena Berlin isn't a she, they're a they - a quintet to be exact. The name stems from where Karl Marx went to college: the German cities of Jena and Berlin. Forming in Philadelphia around 2003, they developed a sound similar to Fugazi, Small Brown Bike and Hot Water Music. They released their debut album in 2005 (Passion Waits as the Program Keeps Going on Watch the City Burn Records) and Quo Vadimus is their sophomore. This newest record is full of heavy grooves, passionate emocore, dueling guitars, call-and-response vocals, and singalong hooks that will leave crowds jumping in unison and people falling over themselves to get to the mic and share the choruses. I can imagine the fun folks have during some of these numbers ("Chelsea", "Motion Sickness", "Sand") in their live set. At the same time, they also play a few emotional numbers that can tug at the heart ("I Swear We're Leaving", "Island Living", "And Another Thing..."), where I'm sure people sway arm in arm and whisper along to the lyrics.

THE JESUS LIZARD - Live DVD (Music Video Distributors) Do any of you miss the good ol' days of Touch & Go and Amphetamine Reptile? Earsplitting riffs, funky noise rock, and furiously art-damaged indie - man those were good times. After one of my favorite bands from my youth (Scratch Acid) broke up in 1987, singer David Yow went on to Chicago and formed The Jesus Lizard. Eleven albums into it, and a few years into a little major label success, they decided to call it quits. Bands from the likes of Nirvana, Helmet, Every Time I Die, and Liars have claimed them as an influence. This DVD release is great for any of you that missed out on their brand of guitar-driven pseudo-industrial, or like me, just missed out on a live Jesus Lizard show (south Florida can sometimes suck, as bands hate to travel that far down south). Two shows here, on one disc. First is the main show, filmed on multi-cameras in Boston's Venus de Milo Club. Captured in 1994, the set is a little over an hour long and holds fifteen tracks, featuring all original members, the house is packed, and the band goes wild. Yow barks at the audience between song, jumps into the crowd constantly, and threatens everyone - including himself. After one of his rants over earplugs being for pusses, the crowd begins hurling dozens back and forth. The second show is a five song set from 1992 filmed at the now-gone, yet still infamous CBGB. This is the first ever home video release from The Jesus Lizard, so those of you that have been waiting... well, get on up and get on over to your local distributor. Or, just stay in place and order it directly from MVD.

JETT BRANDO - Jagged Junktion CD EP (Go Kart) Go Kart is going to be rich! If Manda and the Marbles don't do it for them, Jett Brando may single handedly do it. Well, if this disc falls into the right hands... and radio stations. Who would have known I would enjoy this record as much as I have. Take the best... I'm getting ahead of myself. From the ashes of All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors, Jett Brando (Jeremy Winter) teams up with hip-hop artist and producer Dälek to release an EP of some of the best indie-rock I have heard in some time. Mixing college radio-friendly guitars and song structures, placing them to looped and distorted break-beats. From the opener "Heavy Rotation" which has the catchiest drum samples and quirky garage-guitars that leads to an almost sludge-inspired weirdness. I can't stop singing the chorus to the second track, "Be So Kind"... "Can't get away from you now. Can't get away from what I thought that you said." Take a bass track you would definitely find on some Cypress Hill record and give it to Jett, and he'll give you back "Until You Fall" a multi-layered, dreamy textured song for lazy afternoons. "Sass" closes the disc off by showing you what a little illbient can add to organic music. This song shows Dälek's production and influence more than any of the other tracks. Six songs that are intense, hook-filled, and intelligent. Step aside Beck.

JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - Dead or Alive DVD (Cherry Red) Dead or Alive is the only feature-length release in which you can see (the late) Johnny Thunders in concert. Playing with the Heartbreakers (r.i.p. Jerry Nolan) and filmed entirely at The Lyceum (London) in 1984 with interceeding footage filmed at The Speakeasy in 1977, The Marquee in 1984 as well as in the studio durring 1984, also including clips of the Heartbreakers "Anarchy' tour of 1976 (taken from Don Letts Punk Rock Movie) and Thunders appearring in the French movie Mona et Moi. For the most part Dead or Alive is simply a few originals as well as a few of covers (Ramones, Dylan, etc.) played live. This release is part of a gift pack which includes Johnny Thunders biography, In Cold Blood by Nina Antonia (which was not included in the promo pack - so I cannot review it, but I am sure it is interesting none-the-less). From pre-punk hero to murder statistic... tell me you don't want to be in his shoes - well, except for the being murdered part.

JON ZAREMBA - Vigilante Romance CD (Exceliza) While I like this, I don't think I do in the way JZ intended me to. The onesheet sent along with the disc describes the music being influenced by Manowar, Aphex Twin and Alec Empire, and wants to be aligned with metal over techno (the last track is a cover of Italian power metal outfit Holy Knights). I don't think this falls into either camp, as I league it in with the chiptune genre or liken it to Nintendocore, sounding like FirestARTer, c64 Messiah and ComputeHer. Cheesy 8-bit sounds, MIDI keyboards and old-school beatbox drum machines make this less of true techno, and pushed into the school of micromusic or bitpop on labels like 8bitpeoples Records or Bleepstreet Records. The only techno reference I can equate Jon's sound to are the Speed Limit: 140 BPM+ compilations, and those are a bit outdated even for that style of music (1992 - 1995). A lot of this comes off sounding like J-pop and picopop with closest references I can make are to bands like Plus Tech Squeeze Box, Cubismo Grafico or Mac Donald Duck Eclair, while other parts come off as straight gamewave or bitpop like Mr. Pacman, Nintendude or Press Play on Tape. Vigilante Romance has a running theme of 70's cop shows, Italian vigilante movies and B-grade revenge flicks, which are some of my favorite types of viewing, and the samples peppered throughout enhance the trip this disc will take you on. I do wonder how genuine Zaremba is, as another influence he admits to is Operation ReInformation, and because their rotation on WFMU you have to ask, 'Is this all serious?' I guess it doesn't matter, cuz I had one hell of a time.

JOY DIVISION - Under Review DVD (Music Video Distributors) No matter how much black metal, power electronics and hardcore flies across my desk and into my ears, the status of my favorite band is a toss up between The Police and Joy Division. The Under Review series are documentaries focusing on a specific band's music material - often breaking down songs to examine them from lyrics, to structure and rhythm. With past volumes about AC/DC and Rolling Stones, I was really floored when I saw they were doing a Joy Division one. I'm not let down either, as they used live footage I hadn't seen, plus rare interviews with the band. Authors of Joy Division books, as well as personal friends tell the story of the band's beginnings as Warsaw to their demise (due to Curtis' suicide) and transformation into New Order. The extras include an Ian Curtis interview, as well as what they call 'The Hardest Joy Division Quiz Ever'... okay, I agree on that. This is a real must for any fan of the band. Not much video material out there on Joy Division, so this makes up for a bit of that.

JUDO RODRIGUEZ - cd/lp CD (Paranormal) This is some Alternative Tentacles shit, right here. A punk rock answer to math rock equation. Who are Judo Rodriguez? They're hard to pin down. They're a four piece from California's Golden Gate area that's for sure. Musically? Take equal parts No Means No, Bl'ast, Minutemen and some early Descendents, and lets thrown in a touch of the early 90's screamo sound (UOoA, Heroin, Antioch Arrow, etc). JD's automatically winning points with me for opening the set with a song about elephants - drunk elephants, no less. "Picture Me Toothless" was a great catchy track, with lyrics that had me holding my sides (entire song lyrics: 'I will bust you in your grill. Motherfucker! What you say say to me shithead.') and all in a little over one minute. "Authentic American" (track seven) is a frantic, chaotic hardcore, also containing very brief - yet much more powerful, as well as philosophical - lyrics. Another track whose lyrics match the intensity of the music itself is "Buddy" - a pounding stompfest pointing out what paycheck whore most of us are, and how little those that rape us care about whether they're going in dry. "Violently Again" brought to mind hardcore from band's like Citizens Arrest and Born Against. "DDT" is an exercise is dissonance. "10% Retarded" (track fourteen - love that title) was back to clearer cut hardcore, yet still keeping a wild edge about it. They end things on "Cat Food Aspic" which had a big punk element about it, invoking thoughts of Flipper. Trippy hardcore, brothers! These guys must have the wildest live shows. I hope to find that out personally.

JUHYO - Mesothesis CD-R (Housepig) Here's a newer noise project to look out for, and though named after the Japanese word for 'snow-covered trees which resemble monsters', they are quite American. Limited to only one hundred copies (so hurry), this disc is a collaboration between two Minnesota noise-makers. Harsh-master Brian Kopish of Surrounded and drone-ambienture Bill Henson of the Oblong Box team up to blast unsuspecting ears, and minds, wide open. Three tracks that go from quiet to loud and back, with everything encountered in the world of noise music - ambient, power electronics, soundscapes, distortion and feedback - all clocking in at just under a hour. I wrote that this is limited to 100 copies, correct? Then why the hell are you just sitting there? Go check with Housepig... or eBay.

JUNTA - s/t CD EP (Junta) When I get demos or self-released CDs from bands themselves, I'm usually afraid to listen to 'em and I get stressed. I hate to hurt people's feelings (though sometimes, I'm all for that) who look to you for good press or honorable mentions. I hate to tear apart things people work hard at and on. New York's Junta is the one of the few band that make me thrilled to get shit from unknowns. At a glance it may be grindcore meets emotional metal with a raw sound, but there is more to it. "Enter Shadow" is a challenging, seven minute amalgam of grind, black metal and melodic metalcore. The guitars are simply insane on "Parasitic Suicide". "This World Deception" is a mix of gothic singing over Swedish speed picking, into sandpaper vocals over metal breakdowns. Throughout the disc (except on the interesting Spanish-sounding, acoustic instrumentals "Meridian" and the disc's closer "Remembering Tomorrow") the drums are at an almost constant double bass, though blast beats are to be found everywhere. Hurray to that! Catharsis meets Converge meets Carcass... sounds like definite Willowtip material. The lyrics are also worthy of mention, as they're well written, lengthy (how do some singers remember it all is sometimes beyond me?) ranging from personal issues to societal ills. When they're huge and on their 2nd LP, I still won't sell this on eBay.

KALIBAS - Enthusiastic Corruption of the Common Good CD EP (Willowtip) Kalibas - grindcore, straight up. Right? Not anymore. Still packing a punch with speeds over 400 bpm. Sometimes slightly mad and off-time. Dueling guitar dissonance. It can also get pretty technical at times. Much of Enthusiastic Corruption... can't help bring to mind some of Converge's crazier moments - only even faster and peppered with more death metal. "Isolate the Paranoia" starts fast, but holds notes for moments. "Murder of High Ranking Extropians" (Extropianism is a transhumanist philosophy) is schizophrenic, as you think it ends, but kicks back in sounding like a completely different 30 second song. The lyrics for "Trilateral Preternatural Domination Through World Bank Control" were 'classified'... cute. The song title says enough anyway. This EP is a furious fifteen minutes that ends in a babbling phone message, which sums up the whole disc: good, crazy, rambling insanity. But it's so short. Why do you tease me so.

KAMELOT - Ghost Opera CD (SPK) Kamelot was formed in Tampa, Florida in 1992 by guitarist Thomas Youngblood. In no time they were picked up by Noise Records and released their freshman effort, Eternity. It wasn't until 1996 that they released their sophomore Dominator, which was then quickly followed by Siége Perilous, and later by The Fourth Legacy (and the live album, The Expedition), all released on Noise Records. In 2000 they made the switch to Sanctuary Records and produced for them 2001's Karma, but went back to Noise for the Epica LP (2003). In 2005 they were signed onto the SPV / Steamhammer roster for the release of The Black Halo, and the DVD / CD release of One Cold Winter's Night (2006). Their newest release, Ghost Opera, still finds them on SPV and seemingly pretty thrilled, as the music is as explosive and epic as ever. With the newest addition of keyboardist Oliver Palotai (of Doro and Blaze), Kamelot find themselves putting out just as much synth, as guitar play. Ghost Opera is equal parts gothic metal, power metal and progressive metal, as their newest album forges a path on some new ground, yet Kamelot continue to put forth a sound that has made them a forerunner in power metal circles. This is a good band to pick up for those that have recently found Dream Theater or Symphony X, and want to find something new and along those lines that's as powerful. There's also a limited edition digipack that includes an extended booklet, a bonus cut ("The Pendulous Fall"), as well as a bonus DVD containing a music video for the LP's title track, plus a behind the scenes making of the video.

KANE HODDER - The Pleasure to Remain So Heartless CD (Cowboy Versus Sailor / Suburban Home) I'm familiar with Kane Hodder's hometown of Bremerton from my travels in '91 to Seattle when I lived in a wooden shack in Olga (a small town on an island in the Strait of Georgia near Canada), not to mention the only MxPx song I can stand. Eleven years after I had left that rainy heartbreak, KH self-released their first EP A Frank Exploration of Voyeurism and Violence. They received tons of press in Washington, but word hadn't really reached the streets nationally, well... at least not Miami. A sort of emocore, math rock at times, heard best on the opening track, "Too Much Eddie Kendricks, Not Enough David Ruffin" and "You Sign Your Crimes with A Silver Bullet". Some of my favorite tracks are the ones which take indie rock and power pop elements and blend them with arena and glam rock. One of the best examples of this would be "Jason Dead was A Teen Liberator" and "Attack on Tir Asleen", with its mixes of Fugazi, or even early Thursday meeting New York Dolls (for new-schoolers, maybe The Darkness or Jet). Another interesting CD swiped by a girlfriend for permanent placement in her car stereo.

KHOLD - Mørke Gravers Kammer CD (Candlelight) Oslo, Norway's Khold - ex-mebers of Tulus - release their third LP in four years (Masterpiss of Pain in 2001 and 2002's Phantom both on Moonfog). Like many in the Candlelight stable, 2004 was the year of transformation. Sticking to much of their older sounds, while letting in many new and varying influences. Yes, Khold are still black metal and still do blast beats, but it's riffs like the one on "Død" that catch my attention. Mørke Gravers Kammer (meaning 'the gravedigger's dark chamber') is a lyrically conceptual album about a mythical place where souls have one last stop before they are collected. I couldn't understand a word, and I still thrashed like a motherfucker. "Hevnerske" was part rock-n-roll nightmare - catchy riffs on into dissonant and choppy chords suddenly bursting into blast beats and speed picking. "Opera Seria" is an almost by-the-numbers black metal song, but with a hardcore breakdown for its chorus. "Vardøger" is pretty doomy, and "Kamp" ends the record in a mostly mid-paced metalcore crunch that brought to mind old Converge. Gard's vocals are also different than the norm from this school of music. Very throaty, not far off from Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy (a huge favorite of mine), especially on the title track (track six). Khold's vocals give off a creepier vibe than regular black metal screeches. As an extra bonus the CD comes with a video of "Død", that holds the creepy (and very blue) look of the cover.

KIDS IN THE HALL - Same Guys, New Dresses DVD (Eclectic) As morbid as I can be, there is a huge part of me that loves to laugh - or needs to. People are very surprised when I say I really enjoy the Kids in the Hall show - once even being called a 'self-deceived fag' because of it. But face it, men in dresses are funny. Now, this is not a Kids in the Hall skit tape, or even a live performance, but a documentary about the original 5 members and what went on behind their 2000 tour - of which I missed the local stop due to a mix of being sold-out the first day the tickets went on sale, and not wanting to pay scalper prices. I tried the press route, but did you know I'm not, as they said, an "official publication"? Oh I know that, but it doesn't stop me from pulling that act, and getting away with bigger and better results, but I digress. So, I missed it and I'm feeling mighty low, as I watch this and notice they performed many new skits, of which they show a few, while giving only snippets of others. We get to watch Scott Thompson - yes, you probably know him as the "gay one" - and his troubles with a Japanese robot dog. It doesn't sound funny or interesting, but it is. The Kids eat, and argue and talk about their "futures", play a new city, joke around, then argue and talk about their futures. I wish I got to hear more from Bruce McCulloch. I think Dave Foley - one of better known KitH, and director of this feature - may have overlooked him, or, well, Bruce is known to be "arty" and maybe he didn't want a big part, I'm unsure. The feature is just under an hour and a half, but the DVD extras make it much longer, as you get to see a day in the life, and sort-of interview with, Paul Bellini - fans will know who I'm talking about… the guy always in nothing but a white towel, and 5 minutes of Kevin McDonald eating soup, of which I watch it entirely, and laughed. Also, there's some phone interviews, a very brief, and weird skit with Bruce McCulloch and a "fan". Oh, and, not to mention, Dave Foley's eye surgery - ouch! Included is the feature with added commentary by Dave Foley, as well as that Austin Powers guy, Matt and Trey of Southpark, Andy Richter and more. I better not miss the next tour!

THE KILLER - Better Judged By Twelve Than Carried By Six CD (Organized Crime) Ex-members of All is Lost and Up in Arms are ready to pounce with a new band, and by the sound you might think these fellas are from the New England area, or maybe even down here (Miami fool!), though these boys are from Chi Town (Chicago fool!). The vocals (sorry, not a single name listed on the entire CD insert) are hard, throaty yelled growls, if you could picture that - coming close to Dwid of Integrity. Sonically? Well, remember early Hatebreed? This is similar. How about that late 90's Century Media sound of thick guitars and nothing but breakdowns? This has a lot of that. It's hardcore, but the metal runs mad here. "The True Failure" threw in some melodic choruses, as well as some rock-n-roll hooks. "I Know What I Am" was all old-school NYHC flavor. "The Confession of An Escape Artists" combines both previous song elements into one pummeling track. Love the song "Vatican", almost as much for the music, as for it's Catholic Church / anti-pedophillic sentiments. "The King Is Dead" ends the moshfest with it's Slayer-ish riffs and vicious breakdown. The layout - stock paper, featuring a mixed media of black and white photography with gold print - adds a great look to a great listen. Another highlight... there's a vinyl version! Good move O-Crime.

KILL YOUR IDOLS - Something Started Here CD (Lifeline) As many of you hardcore-heads know, last year Kill Your Idols announced that they would break up, and did so this past May. This is a perfect time to release this, and it's a definite for anyone that may miss them too. If you're unfamiliar with the KYI history, they started in 1995 in New York City and carried the torch for hardcore bands from that city, not to mention an era gone by (Youth of Today, Cro-Mags, Gorilla Biscuits, etc). In their ten years together they released a handful of albums and a slew of EPs and split releases of their fast and catchy punky hardcore. Something Started Here is a collection of compilation tracks, cover songs, 7"es and songs off EPs - mostly taken from rare and out-of-print material. The cover songs include their versions of two from Negative Approach, Henry Rollins', I mean, Garfield's S.O.A., Slapshot, Scandal (yes, the 80s band), Voorhees, two from Sheer Terror, the poppy Jawbreaker, the Exploited and NY's Breakdown. The booklet is fat and holds all the lyrics (except to the cover songs), as well as a few anecdotes, and a little history for some of you that need to catch up. I wasn't a huge fan, but it does suck to see a good band go the way of the dodo

KING DIAMOND - The Puppet Master (Metal Blade) Woah. Almost 20 years since the end of Merciful Fate, and King Diamond - 10 albums into his solo carreer - shows no signs of slowing down, or getting any weaker as time goes by. What else should you expect from a Reverend of the Church of Satan? A philosophy that champions strength - and has a goal of reaching the Übermench - should always put their best foot forward. It's either that or Diamond just gets better with age. This album has a yet another concept, which I think many can guess by the title. A guy (Unfortunate Man) runs across a chick (Victoria), they fall in love at a puppet show. She later disappears and this leads him to the Puppet Master. An epic story told in his usual way - sung to killer heavy metal! Listen, if I have to explain to you what King Diamond sounds like, then you're really not into this kind of stuff and should just go ahead with your reading and on to the next review. So, what do you really need to know about The Puppet Master? Heavy fucking metal! It's quality King Diamond and in all truth, it is by far my favorite King Diamond release. The CD also contains DVD footage of the good Reverend personally re-telling this tale. I was going to write a 'string pulling' joke, but decided to just say... 'Hail Satan!'

KING OF PUNK: THE DOCUMENTARY DVD (Music Video Distributors) This is almost like two documentaries blended into one. First, it's a chat with some of the biggest names in punk history (from 1976 - 1983). There's Keith 'Monkey' Warren of The Addicts, Cheetah Chrome (of Dead Boys), Jayne (once Wayne) County, Jack Rabid, Joey 'Shithead' Keithley (of D.O.A.), Marky Ramone, M.D.C.'s Dave Dictor, Robert 'El Vez' Lopez, as well as members of UK Subs, Stiff Little Fingers, Sham 69, Avengers, Exploited and more. They cover what punk was, and is, to them, how they think it started, and why it has been so important to them and so many others for so long. Secondly, it's a band documentary. The doc follows a Fayetteville, North Carolina all-girl punk band OBGYN (where were they the long six months I was up there?). From shows, to recording, to new members (their first male addition), and then breaking up. You watch as the ladies grow up on screen, form new bands, drift in and out of love affairs and one even has a baby. They tell tales of being banned from a show because their name is 'satanic', and another because it was 'too lewd'. Why they chose to follow this one band in particular is a good question, since they're pretty much an unknown act, but in the end it worked out well for the story - some acts make it, many don't. The documentary title refers to no one person in particular, and is used to reference how there are no idols in punk music - everyone is the king of punk. So hail me, silly reader, I'm your King of Punk. And hail you, my kingly reader, as you are mine.

THE KINISON - s/t CD EP (Fearless) Very poppy, yet very Gravity Records-ish. Very punk, but also very metal. They got their own interpretation of screamo down tight. A little of the Bay Area pop sound creeps in, but it's thick with heavy guitars, sandpaper screaming and odd time changes. Kind of like Refused fighting At the Drive-In, or if the Blood Brothers meddled with Quicksand. "Hey Hey Hey" was almost too poppy, but still catchy. "The Way I Used to Be" has a guitar lick too similar to another heavy metal, alterno-crap song. "Sorry, I'm A Pusher" brought to mind a more hardcore-punk Thursday. The last track, "The Kinison's Area 53" was recorded separately (earlier than the other four), and while you can tell in the sound, it doesn't upset the flow. It's also the best track on here, simply due to the power and ferocity of the vocals. I really wish there where lyrics though. Now let's see what they can do with a full-length.

THE KISS OF DEATH s/t CD EP (Tribunal) From ex-Turmoil members (Jon Gula and Jeff Hydro), and members of Sever the Fallen comes The Kiss of Death, sounding nothing like either. Well, not much really - except that there is 'heaviness' involved. They released a demo in early 2002 and was released as a CD EP by an independent label later that year. Now on Tribunal, The Kiss of Death crawl through five tracks in twenty-five minutes of some sludgy hardcore tracks in the vein of Sleep, Eyehategod or Church of Misery (without the heavy blues influence). Imagine Crobar, Eyehategod and Grief and add just a touch of the southern rock (especially on "Novocain"), and viola - The Kiss of Death. The vocals slide in and out of the songs, reminding me of Sleep's Jerusalem. What's up with these bands afraid of publishing their lyrics? Silly content or paranoid stoners? And yes, they sometimes fall into that 'stoner rock' problem where you swear you heard that part of a song, or riff, many times over. But they are catchy, hooky bastards aren't they? An EP was fine in this case, as I think an hour of this would have only served as background music for while I came up with new adjectives in this review. Low downtuned, heavy and probably looking for some whiskey and a fist fight. Look out punks.

THE KITE-EATING TREE - Method: Fail, Repeat... CD (Suburban Home / Cowboy Versus Sailor) Now, where the hell did I get the impression this was a screamo band? Well, on then. This is a great record! Method: Fail, Repeat... is forty minutes of some well crafted indie-rock, emphasis on the rock. "Hope Is A Passenger" is a fucking rock and roll song if I ever heard one - Stooges meet AC/DC with DC emocore vocals. "Through the Width of the Straw" had hooky, Helmet-like repetitious riffs, all with punk attitude. So yeah Drive Like Jehu does come to mind, but TKET also take it in a slower direction. "Sighs of the Curator" and "Save Your Stares for Strays" brought to my mind some of Samiam's slower - and major label - work. Not to mention they almost made me cry like a girl, but that's a sign of good music - when it can move you. The sound is also somewhat reminiscent of Texas' Slowride, a little faster on the time signatures and a little less on the alt-country. The lyrics range from the indie standard of personal issues (though not the standard, 'my girl broke my heart' drool) to political thought and social commentaries. The digipack packaging and booklet layout is top notch, as interestingly enough this is a split release between Suburban Home and the band itself. Label / band sharing overhead / profits? Could this be a wave of the future?

KONSTANTINOV - Beyond the Black Ocean CD (Black Noise) Konstantinov is a project by solo musician K. E. Lunsford (of Witchhouse Records), and is named after a Russian space vessel by the same name, which was itself named after philosopher Konstantin Konstantinov (1817 - 1871). It's one track clocking in at over an half hour, which brought to mind astronauts... make that cosmonauts, and the furthest reaches of deep space. It's dark and quiet ambient that utilizes actual room and open field ambiance to create soundscapes. This CD is presented by Ryan Cox (the mastermind behind Black Noise Records) in a DVD case, and though not numbered, I'm certain is pretty limited.

KORPERSCHWACHE - A Mountain of Skulls for the Clueless Cowboy 3" CD-R (Public Guilt) Korperschwache (which means 'organic decay' in German) is a duo from Austin, Texas - one on guitars and vocals, and another on drums. They started out as a side project of Austin drone outfit, Autodidact in 1995. Korperschwache have been releasing material for over a decade now (nearly twenty LPs and EPs to their credit), but this is the first I've ever heard of this noisy twosome. Very much like Japanoise soloists Merzbow and Masonna, plus the Brits known as Whitehouse, Korperschache drown the listener in waves of droning noise, pools of static hums and an ocean of feedback. Unlike the previously mentioned acts, they keep a steady beat. It brings to mind acts like Skullflower, or if everything in Godflesh went to hell, but their beatbox. I get a huge free-form jazz vibe, but with a lot more insanity going on. This newest release is a single 20 minute track, which was recorded on the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Start the hunt as this release is limited to 110 copies, with only ten going to press dorks like myself (yeah, sometimes I luck out doing this website). If Baltimore label Public Guilt has done run dry, as usual, you noise-mongers should be scouring eBay.

KORPERSCHWACHE - The Joy of Seppuku CD-R (Dead Sea Liner) When many joke about suicide (though I often hear one shouldn't) they'll use the term hara-kiri, and I'll retort with the term seppuku. I usually get a befudeled look. It's the same thing, ritual suicide through self-disembowelment. Um... anyhow, while I totally find Korperschwache's sound to be enjoyable, I can see many committing seppuku to this. The Joy of Seppuku can drive anyone not into noise music straight to suicide. Usually a duo, Korperschwache (which means 'organic decay' in German) is, this time around, the work of just one. Similar in vein to current Skullflower, this act out of Austin, Texas washes the listener in feedback - sometimes lush and dreamy, sometimes chaotic, noisy and menacing. Korperschwache is good stuff to drown out the ramblings of a pissed off lover, or the soundtrack to getting one going (rambling and pissed off, I mean). The packaging by Dead Sea Liner is a nice touch as well. Two sheets of thick and shiny paper that fit together like a puzzle, with deep black screened ink. I'm sure this is limited, so hurry your ears on over.

KRISTER BERGMAN - s/t CD-R (Black Noise) This is a far cry from what I expected out of the Black Noise camp, though it's still a great listen. Pretty fresh, and a little different too from what usually comes across my desk. Krister Bergman is a solo artist who was once behind the Swedish project Demons That Drove. His self-titled EP is four tracks that are a space-y mix of neo-folk and shoegazer - using almost nothing other than acoustic guitars and vocals. It's dreamy, it's evocative, it's depressing as hell, but I love every minute of it. The work of Krister Bergman brings to mind Earth Covers Earth-era Current 93, or the gaining-in-popularity Factoria out of NYC. The disc is limited to only fifty, but I'm sure these went awfully quick. Ask nicely and the folks at Black Noise may help you out, but don't expect the wonderful handmade covers that come with the original pressing.