Musick

I first heard Exit-13 on the amazing Ax/ction Records Apocalyptic Convulsions compilation 10" (of which I've previously ranted on and on about); their tune "Only Protest Gives A Hope Of Life!" was a weird yet cool lo-fi grindcore mishmash which took a lot of listens to decipher. The neat breakdown at the end instantly had me hooked - seeing the involvement of S.O.D. fave Dan Lilker on bass was a clinch as well. I added their second full-length as a "alternative" on a random Relapse Records order and whaddya know - Ethos Musick showed up on my doorstep a few weeks later. Man, I can't remember what I originally ordered but who cares, Ethos is a fucking amazing album. Kinda like what Brutal Truth was beginning to do, Exit-13 brought a whole level of technicality, intelligence and maturity to grindcore. It wasn't simple speed, screaming and blastbeats (a la Napalm Death) anymore. Adding strange tinges of jazz, dissonant time signatures and enough vocal effects to keep a pornogrind band going for a decade; Exit-13 really raised respect for the genre. The song themes focus on protest-heavy topics: pro-animal, pro-vegetarian, pro-environment, pro-marijuana, anti-establishment; it reads like a college sophomore's hippie mantra. They've released bunch of other singles and such but none touch this one on either production value or entertainment. A final note: skip the last track on the album, per the CD cover:

   Track #13 was digitally mastered with continuous overlevel indication (OL) at the request of the artist/Producer, this CD is not in accordance with Sony-Phillips Red Book Specification, nor is this practice advisable in the process of CD manufacturing.
   Relapse Records, their affiliates and/or associated manufacturing facility will hold no responsibility for power supply component, recording, processing, loudspeaker or other, transducer, malfunction/failure and/or destruction of referenced audio playback system. Please exercise extreme caution when utilizing this Compact Disc on consumer grade high fidelity playback equipment.

You've been warned...

Facilitate The Emancipation Of Your Music Collection

Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh!

WARNING!

While listening to this record, do not

attempt to operate heavy machinery,

use firearms, eat glass, drink Mop N

Glo, tell Ian MacKaye that you think

Poison Idea is "hella funny", consume

brandied fruitcake, taunt a yak, become

obsessed with Buddy Ebsen, get any

sort of tattoo depicting livestock, or get

some idiotic idea about putting together

a 7-inch compilation with 41 bands!

If you are tempted to pursue any of the

aforementioned activities, please

consider an alternative, such as

sending money to this cute guy so he

can put on some clothes (or take them

off if the price is right).

41 Bands! 64 Songs!

Dayz Of Wayback

No this isn't a post about N.W.A.'s most disappointing album ever - it's a throwback to the compilation that really got me into the world of 7-inches, Maximum Rock And Roll classifieds, well-concealed cash through the mail and weird looks from my girlfriend (is it wrong to get all excited when Regurgitate's demo cassette arrives via international delivery after 2 months of waiting???). Already somewhat into the Boston hardcore scene and a burgeoning fan of A.C. and Exit-13, I jumped on this release: 20 or so bands mashed a 10" and bonus 7". How cool is that??? Looking back, Apocalyptic Convulsions was my introduction to so many great bands, sounds and styles that to this day molded my musical tastes.... From mincecore to snotty hardcore, this had it all, it makes a good first post and I'm only too happy to share it witcha.

Blllleeeeaaaauuuurrrrgggghhhh!