SHITTING BRICKS

THE SNAILS formed in 1980, and released one demo before this one, titled Don't Panic. The liner of this demo refers to the first one as being "remarkably bad," so it should go without saying that I would fucking LOVE to get (or at least listen to) that one. The playing here is pretty decent, but the vocals are almost always way off time, and the guitar achieves a level of shit tone that bands today spend hours and days trying to replicate. Mystery pawn shop pedals are used seemingly at random, and the result is beautiful. Insistent and mandatory anarcho punk, these tracks are among my favorite that I've posted...marvel at the magic.

Shitting Bricks

STATE OF CONFUSION

The 80s were a simpler time, weren't they? If you wanted to start a label, all you really needed was a copier machine and a handful of C-60 tapes, and then you're halfway there! Loads of the tape compilations I have from the early 80s seem to be the result of someone making a neat cover for a mix tape they put together featuring their fave current acts. Every so often you come across one that just smokes start to finish, and this is one of those. The only thing I don't love on State Of Confusion is the LOST CHEREES tracks, but only because they are the same tracks that have been spread around every tape comp, CD retrospective and vinyl reissue for 20+ years now. "Freedom" and "Sexism's Sick" are classic UK punk tracks, to be sure, but do I really need to hear another live version? Well, apparently I thought that you did, so perhaps I should keep a lid on it. One solid hour of joy is about to be yours...pay special attention to the AMAZING tracks by SOLVENT ABUSE, of course the KRONSTADT UPRISING songs are great, and "Fuck Conscription" by COMMITED (their incorrect spelling, not mine) is a 100% classic UK punk scorcher. This tape has been rocked a few times, and the sound quality is certainly not the best...but if you turn it up loud enough, it don't matter. Settle in and get down!

STATE OF CONFUSION Side A

STATE OF CONFUSION Side B

SUBTERFUGE

These gents featured the vocalist from PROBLEM CHILDREN on guitar (and vocals), and recorded this demo in 1984, perhaps during a PROBLEM CHILDREN hiatus. More raw and thrashy than most PC stuff, and the guitar reminds me of a modern day US band that attracts loads of undesirables to their shows....I don't wanna say who because then you might not check out this killer demo. The lyrics to "Fight" are so fucking PUNK: "I don't like your rules/so stick 'em up your ass!" I mean....come one dude, that is perfect! These were released as the What's It All About demo, though that song was so fucking warped and fukked up that I couldn't post it or the second track, "Outburst." Sue me.

What's It All About

RHETORIC

If I say "late 80s UK crossover," then you pretty much know what to expect, right? And that is pretty much what RHETORIC deliver. If these were lost recordings from an early Earache band, it would make perfect sense. Some folks were discussing them last week, and I thought it might be good to dig out the demo again...turns out its pretty good rudimentary crossover thrash shits. Really off time bass drum (actually, most of the drums are pretty erratic) and the songs are a little too long for my taste, but the dual vocal crust assault is infectious, and these tracks smoke. Obviously they didn't take themselves too seriously, opening the demo with the Hawaii Five-0 theme and wrapping things up with "The Burp Song," but they make up for it with "War Crimes" and other political rants. Drink up!

Straight Edge

UPDATE: there were problems with the file, I just re-ripped the tape and re-zipped the mp3s, so we should be all sorted now. Cheers.

P.M.T.

This one is another complete and total mystery. One might think with the band name that they would at least have a female singer, but if PRE MENSTRUAL TENSION features any women, then they are keeping it quiet. The cover to this demo is glued to the inside of the tape case, and there is no track listing, band info, not even a "no thanks to these miserable bastards" list. Fuck...I can't even say for sure if the songs here are even performed by PMT, as the cassette itself was completely free of any distinguishing marks. Aren't you glad I'm around...you know, to keep you informed?

These songs are fucking ace though, perfect flanger on the one guitar, and another one strumming cleanly along. The songwriting is brilliant...a better quality recording and this would be a fucking classic. As always (and especially for PMT), any additional information on this band would be greatly appreciated.

Now It All Makes Sense

UPDATE: The demo has been re-zipped with the tracks properly named, cheers to all who chimed in with the background on this band, and especially to System//Sabotage//Chaos blog for the second PRE-MENSTRUAL TENSION demo, linked below:

Thanks Curious Guy

PROBLEM CHILDREN

I figure this band is probably kinda famous in Canada, but I don't live in Canada, so no one near me gives a shit about PROBLEM CHILDREN, FORGOTTEN REBELS, not even RANDOM KILLING or SHITLOADS OF FUCKALL. I used to like DOUGHBOYS in high school, I thought they sounded like SoCal punk rock. PROBLEM CHILDREN were from Toronto, and were rather prolific. Listening to this demo kinda makes me pissed that I got rid of their LP a few years back, because now that makes just one more thing that I will "need" to re-acquire in the future. Listen to these tracks from 1983, and then tell me: "is SNFU really all that good?"

DON'T GIVE UP

LOUD ASS MOTHER FUCKERS

Spastic out of tune guitars that never really play a rhythm, 1-2-1-2 drums that never play anything besides a straight beat, overly simple verse/chorus/verse/chorus songwriting, one song about churches, one about civil war, and three borderline cringe worthy tracks about girls.

Double Barrel Survival

ANOREXIA

I think it's safe to assume that this is not the UK ANOREXIA that gave us the Rapist In The Park single from 1980, though I hope that it is. Just imagine....a bunch of pimply faced glue sniffing leather jacket wearing sods release an EP, and then spend the next six years growing, maturing, and becoming politically aware, culminating with the release of this 10 song demo tape that addresses animal rights in more ways than a PeTA brochure printed on recycled paper with cruelty free inks. This pre-dates AUS ROTTEN by a few years, but that's what I think of here...the singer's vocals are rough and a little spotty, but the music is thick and tasty mid tempo hardcore. Get into it.

RADICAL RIOT

DEADLY INTENTIONS

Wow. I wasn't sure if I should even bother with this one, but it made me laugh (a lot), so it seemed logical to try to achieve the same end with someone in the internet. DEADLY INTENTIONS seemed to have been going for a late 80s glam thing, and they would have been in good company in England at the time, but man do they ever fail. "Ugly" is among the lamest songs ever.

ENJOY

FAMILY, MAN?

AVOID were from Derby, and if this (or the elusive Aftermath demo) had ever made it to wax, then I contend that you'd be reading their name on the back of leather jackets around the world. Just ultra killer UK82 punk rock. And as for the title, it came years before the Black Flag record of the same name. And it's better.

FAMILY MAN

BRAINLESS

SALAD FROM ATLANTIS are among my favorite tapes that I've posted here at Terminal Escape, and while it is tempting to hold on to their other tapes, keeping them under wraps, they are just too damn good. I feel compelled to share them. Everyone needs to love them.

You might remember "Brainless" from The Squat Sessions tape that was one of my first posts, and the other two tunes here are well worthy of even more praise. "What's My Future?" is not quite as fukked sounding, but it's still clear that these gents were functioning on a different plane.

What's My Future?

DISTURBING FACTS

This is seriously one of the worst things I have ever heard, fucking brilliant!! I only hear guitar and vocals, and these five songs cover such titillating subjects as (in order): government officials on drugs, drugs, employing the services of a prostitute you thought was a woman, government lies, and government ineffectiveness. That about takes care of everything, doesn't it? If horribly executed inept two chord punk is your jam...

Disturbing Facts

C.K.N.

Fuck me if this isn't some of the best dutch hardcore I've ever heard. 19 songs in 25 minutes, from 198something. The drum intro to "Dixan" would make the whole tape worthwhile even if everything else sucked, but instead, it just makes for one of many highlights. Others include: "Sex Met Een Pop," and everything the drummer does. If I were a greater man, I could tell you the whole history of this killer band; what other bands they went on to play in, great legendary shows they played, I would have links to photos and flyers, to other bloggers who posted other demos and rare, impossible to find singles and rehearsal tapes. But, I am not a greater man, I am a dude with tapes. About half of these tracks appeared on Volume 2 of the Holland Hardcore double LPs, but whoever graced us with those records is apparently even a lesser man than I, because he could barely be bothered to include the track list, and even that was so poorly reproduced that it is almost illegible. So here's the whole demo (minus the song "CIA_BVD" because it's not on my copy, even though it's on the track listing...stupid punks), and the cover that goes with it. As a side note, I think I might want to be a "Muurpunk," so if anyone knows what that is, please te me.

CKN Side A

CKN Side B

GENTLE IHOR'S DEVOTION

Kinda rock, kinda goth...the first song reminds me of POP WILL EAT ITSELF, and I fully realize that just knowing that costs me loads and loads of punk points, probably more than I have managed to accumulate in my miserable life. I see this band's name mentioned in the same circles with SISTERS OF MERCY, which I don't really get, and "I've Fallen In Love With A Picture Again" is easily one of the wimpiest songs I have ever heard. Check out "Sex Junkie" live on the street sometime in the 90s here. This reminds me of high school.

Ihor, not Igor

SENSA YUMA

The information I can find on SENSA YUMA is more than a little confusing. Started in 1980, stopped in 88, reformed in 1998 and still "going strong" today. The band is currently fronted by a chap named Stu-Pid, who has done time in ENGLISH DOGS, POLICE BASTARD and loads of others, but does not appear to have been an original member of SENSA YUMA, nor is he on this 1986 demo. The band website implies that he was in the band at the start, but then gives the band's starting line up and he ain't in it, it says he joined in 1982 and was in the band until the split in 1988, but then why ain't he on this tape? See why I'm confused? SENSA YUMA doesn't appear to have graced us with any vinyl until after their reformation.

All this is neither here nor there, because these four tunes recorded in January 1986 are sweet as shit. enjoy!

Cop A Load Of This

I WANNA WANNA SHOCK TREATMENT

Bristol's SHOCK TREATMENT really packed in the value on their third demo. Two studio sessions (from 88 & 89) and sloppy drunken selections from a 1989 live show and rehearsals. These tracks are from the "Scrumpy Jack" session in 1989, and are raw bare bones UK punk, just like I like it. "Number 10" is a classic anti-Thatcher rant, and the whole demo is snotty and fucking pissed, great shits.

and on a side note:

Scrumpy sounds like something 80s Bristol punx would have loved, and these days you can buy it by name in inviting green plastic all over New Zealand: "an instant party starter and a favourite amongst our students!" Of course it is...

SCRUMPY JACK

GIMME GIMME SHOCK TREATMENT

This is half of side 2 of the third SHOCK TREATMENT demo. I've left off the completely unnecessary bits, like "Blitzkreig Bop," or the "Pretty Vacant" cover you can hear them rambling drunkenly about at the start of the first track. Good studio stuff, but I'm totally confused by the super mellow shoegazer sound of "Stone's Throw Away" and "Civilisation," these are songs you might expect at the end of the band's career, but SHOCK TREATMENT was still delivering pretty raw Bristol style damage three years after these recordings. I suppose everyone has a sensitive side, right? I also spared you the almost 10 minute alcohol drenched live version of "Wild Thing." Fave tracks: "Droid," "Glue," and "Gorge & Vomit."

SHOCK TREATMENT

LOTUS FUCKER

Maryland noise punk, circa 2008. The demo rules, and word on the street is that they are a total assault live. Ahhhh, the east coast.

LOTUS FUCKER

GOOBER PATROL

GOOBER PATROL have been around for over 20 years now, and been members of the Fat Wreck roster for ages. These are their first two recordings, made right after they started. As a 4 piece, they play solid fast hardcore, but when their singer left after that session in spring '88 and drummer Stu (the only dude still in the band) took over vocal duties, they got rawer, faster, sloopier, and our pal Stu got WAY looser on the drums...the drum intro to "Make Your Own Way" sounds like one of those "everything is falling apart" drum chaos over guitar noise intros, but then you realize: "That's the fucking drum part!" The result is punk as shit, even though you can tell they were trying to get more melodic (the backing vocals totally give away the direction the band would eventually take).

Goober Patrol May 1988

Goober Patrol October 1988

GROPE

here's the tape cover:

and on the tape:

Sense Of Outrage

a different kind of cassette

And now you know everything I know: nothing. No song titles, no recording info, nothing. The studio tracks fucking SMOKE! The flanged guitar on the second tune is unbeatable, actually the guitar throughout sounds absolutely stellar, and I am especially fond of the overall sound on the final studio tune when the tape starts to get all fucked and the whole track sounds as if it is slowly sinking. Your guess is as good as mine as to the live tracks, but I figure if a DOORS cover can confuse me that much, then why not put the whole lot of 'em on there, right?

GROPE demo

RECTIFY

Wales. Not the ones with the "h," that swim in the sea, but the ones that are a part of the southwest England country area. And yes, I fully realize that there was a somehow incorrect use of singular and plural in that sentence, but I: a) can't really figure out how to fix it, and b) don't care because I am a punk. Folks belittle the 90s constantly for its contribution to punk....the music went mainstream in the form of grunge (which was really just 70s rock, wasn't it? don't get me wrong, I think MUDHONEY fukken rules, I'm just sayin' that maybe they are a rock band) and people seem to think that punk died? No way man, and I don't say that simply because I was a punk in the 90s, I say that because volumes of killer punk came out in that oh so docile and Clintonian decade. RECTIFY hail from Wales (which is almost a rhyme if you say it out loud, but I wouldn't, cause people would stare and think you were odd), and Ebullition is their first demo. Their sound would have fit perfectly alongside US bands from the same era (ECONOCHRIST, ANTISCHISM, DEAD SILENCE) and there are even the less melodic moments that remind me of Pain Of Mind era NEUROSIS. If you like this, I suggest their EP available here, and if you are interested even more beyond that, two of these dudes are now serving time in THIS SYSTEM KILLS, but honestly, I think this demo blows all that shit away. Typical, isn't it? "I only like the demo" and blah blah blah.

RECTIFY

ASSASSINS OF HOPE

Four unreleased gems from these anarcho punks. Everything I know comes from what I gathered here, but I should warn you that I got lost there for a good 45 minutes, and I fully expect that the same will happen to you. They've got another full length tape that was recorded a year before these tracks, which were meant to be an EP, and came to me on a tape with a KRONSTADT UPRISING single on the flipside. The guitars are so totally awkward on the first two songs, and Jozie's voice is just textbook female UK anarchopunk. I was gonna put up a LETHEAN demo, which I love, but LETHEAN is so horribly inept that I kinda want to save it for later. It's one of the worst recordings I have ever heard, and one needs to savor that shit...so instead you must deal with awesome music instead...your loss!

Assassins Of Hope demo 1983

MALICE

It's amazing how time can start slipping by...a few busy days and all of a sudden I haven't posted new music in almost a week...I'm sure that all four of you, who I probably talk to regularly anyway, are totally crushed. Since the FARCE demo went up, I learned that putting explosives in half full jars of vegan mayonnaise is not really a good idea (though it is indeed quite fun), and I was introduced to a brilliant band from Tennessee called AK 77. Their guitarist passed away far too young, but the split EP that was posthumously released in his honor made me fucking cry with hysterical laughter. We should all be so lucky to make people laugh their asses off after we are dead. Snag the AK 77/DEATH STATISTIC split if you can, too fucking bad it's not a tape, or I would post it here immediately, but a guy's gotta have standards, you know?

MALICE were from the UK, and according to our pal Hubs, who knows more than most of us do, this demo was released in 1982. I was 10 years old. These songs fucking KILL. It's all super solid UK punk, and the two live tracks give a taste of what we might have missed by not being older and...well, more English, but the highlight of the demo for me is "Faceless," which is as near a perfect punk song as I can imagine. It's as if these early 80s nobodys were channelling some lost DESCENDENTS song that was due to be released three years in the future on I Don't Want To Grow Up. I would get a tattoo of this song...is that possible? As always, if anyone has a clue what became of these dudes, or copies of any other recording....drop a line!

Enjoy...

MALICE

FARCE

Unknown shits from England once again. They were nice enough to include lyrics ("lots of juicy red meat/that makes you feel sick/and the hypocrites eat it still/they say they object to murder -- how thick!"), but not even a contact address so yours truly cannot even tell what part of the Isle they hail from. No matter, cause these are rulin' tunes, from the rumbling bass at the start of "Just Another Animal" to the out of tune guitars and awkward reggae middle of "Take Your Life," or even just the killer driving rhythm of "She" (my favorite song on the demo). This gem is from 1984, and if anyone else has more from FARCE, please drop a line.

FARCE

4 THOUSAND MILLION

My first post from Australia is a total ripper! 4 THOUSAND MILLION take UK styled peace punk (especially on "We Are Not Lemmings" and "Advance Australia!! Where??" which perhaps not coincidentally are the only two studio recordings on the tape, so maybe they would have moved further in this direction had they stuck with it?) and mix it with killer rapid fire US hardcore and noisy Bristol style damage. Several of the songs are all manic and disjointed, and the quality of the live recording (recorded at the "Rage Against Roxby" benefit in 1984...whatever the fuck the Roxby was) and the age of the tape only accentuate this, with several songs winding up mostly bass and off time vocals frustratedly wailing about politics and the system (to be fair, the lyrics are quite well thought out and rather intelligent). There is a scorching cover of DISORDER's "Kenmore Song" closing things up, but the whole half hour is fucking brilliant. As usual, I got next to no information on these fellows; they hailed from the capital city of Canberra and it seems that this was their lone release. Tim Yo gave it a stellar review in MRR #20, but that's the beginning and the end of the results from my exhaustive research. I wasn't sure if it was OK to post this one until I read their disclaimer:

"Feel free to reproduce any of the material herein, unless for profit, the promotion of nationalism, militarism, apathy, ideological control (political or religious), the maintenance of oppressive social/personal power relationships (eg; boss/worker, rich/poor, leader/follower, sexism, racism, etc.), and if fact anything else that denies freedom and the ability to think for yourself."

Thankfully, I stopped trying to control people ideologically through the dissemination of 80s punk and hardcore demos a few years ago, so we should be all clear!

A Small Dose Of Anticipatory Retaliation

MIDNIGHT

A little more current this time, moving back into this decade anyway. This is not the MIDNIGHT currently playing thrash metal in Ohio, it's the MIDNIGHT from Portland who were around just about long enough in 2002 to get a bunch of people on the west coast super stoked, then they stopped playing. Them's the breaks, kids. High quality fast heavy hardcore with the kind of killer guitar work that a certain section of the PDX punk scene is a little bit well known for. I guess this was a super group of sorts, with folks from LEBENDEN TOTEN, HELLSHOCK, FROM ASHES RISE, LIMP WRIST and a host of others. enjoy...

MIDNIGHT

WAR TOYS

It has certainly occurred to me that perhaps this demo ain't even punk...but even if they are indeed a goth or new wave band, I challenge you to not dig the shit out of these WAR TOYS tracks. They hailed from North Devon, in the southwest corner of England and released this demo, as well as a practice session tape a few months earlier. The earlier versions of "Pandean Pipe Dream" and ""Inperspective" are certainly rougher and I might like them even better, you can decide for yourself when I post that demo. Sorry for the glitches at the beginning of "Mr. Cracked" and "Inperspective," I tried to clean it up a bit, but the shit is 25 years old, and it wasn't exactly treated with love. It was rocked, the way tapes should be!

War Toys - April 1984 demo

ACME

Japan fucking rules for hardcore punk, anyone who has bothered searching out under appreciated punk must know this, yes? I was lucky enough to play several shows with SHIKABANE in 2001, and they were every bit as nice to hang out with as they were totally crushing on stage. As we were leaving, the bassist, Arai, gave me a copy of his other band's demo and a comp CD, and this was the first and last that I ever heard from ACME. The A-side of the demo is fist in the air Japanese hardcore, but the B-side is a much slower, almost emotional track with HUGE guitars (guitars that nod, perhaps accidentally, to the German ACME) and powerful pained vocals. Shit rules, and I wish they had kept going...or maybe they did?

No song titles, cause it's all in Japanese, and mine is pretty rusty, but here's three songs from ACME. The first track seems to cut off prematurely, but the band intended it that way. I've also included the song "Over The All," from the aforementioned Show Your True Colors compilation CD, also released in 2001.

ACME - 2001 demo

HEROES, HERO'S, and HEROS

This is perfect anarcho punk from 1983. DOMINANT PATRI had one song on the Overground Records anarcho CD series ("Death Of Thomas," from this demo was on Anti-Capitalism, which I believe was Volume 4), but other than that I had never heard anything from them until I came across this gem. The title track (which is spelled three different ways on the demo) is so fucking good I can hardly stand it...a brutally slow and deliberate pace with just a few notes dragging the song along, it almost sounds as if vocalist Kate is having a hard time singing slow enough to keep in time. And then a childishly simple guitar lead comes in, bringing Joy Division to mind (wait, these are peace punks, so I suppose it should bring Lack Of Knowledge to mind). "Experiment," by contrast, is a pure punk rager, classic anti war lyrics. "Death Of Thomas" could be the anthem for tortured youth in any generation, and I can easily see why that was the song that made it onto the Overground disc. As is usually the case, I don't have any information to share about Dominant Patri, except that this three song demo is not nearly enough!

Dominant Patri - 3 songs