HALL OF SHAME

This one came from the YOUR MOTHER folks after their 1997 (or was it 1998?) tour of Israel. There are some videos floating around of HALL OF SHAME in a Haifa warehouse melting adolescent faces and...well, it rips. Kids just going for it; looks of wonderment from the audience and the band. I want to believe it was truly as pure and honest as it seems, as it sounds. Because if that were the case then humanity wouldn't be quite as shit as we all know humanity is.... so dream and thrash. Thrash and dream. 

 

PISS ON EARTH

WACKOUT

Yo, this is WACKOUT. Haifa-City Hardcore '97. Breaking it down to you one more time...GO!

That should be enough, right? Pre-DIR YASSIN, double kick heavy metallic hardcore with hints of melody. The internet had rendered this kind of "all-punks-in-a-blender" band obsolete, and at the same time the internet allows us to watch these artifacts in their natural environment. It's not the same, but it's something. 

FACING THE TRUTH

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL PRESENTS: "Punk From The Middle East And Asia"

Last year Maximum Rocknroll had a fundraiser of sorts for their record archive. It passed a "collection" many years ago, and has evolved into one of the most comprehensive archives of punk vinyl in the world, well over 50,000 records (and growing). The funds were raised to help create a database (that will include original reviews, and will be free and searchable) and curate the existing archive - it was (is) a shitload of work, and shitloads ain't free, you know? Various incentives were offered to encourage donations, including mix tapes....giver's choice. Some enterprising (and brilliant) fukkr asked for the following tape: "one side Asia (non-Japan), one side Middle East." Well played, punk rocker. Archive coordinator Shivaun crushed this mixtape, and I hope that you will be as thrilled as I was digging on the gems she uncovered from all over the damned place. Not surprisingly, Tian An Men 89 Records makes several contributions (I mean, come on - of course that's the first place you look, right?), but Pakistani grindcore? OK....I'm sold. Bands from: Syria, India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Singapore, Armenia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Algeria, Israel, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Sound Korea, Lebanon, Morocco and United Arab Emirates. 

PUNK FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

URBAN SKATE FANATICS

This demo is from Israel circa 1997, but the chaotic ramshackle thrash could easily have been recorded 15 years earlier in Italy. Intense and manic hardcore - 17 songs in as many minutes. No song titles, but I included a scan of the cover for the Hebrew proficient...seriously, this rules.

URBAN SKATE FANATICS

SUCKY ISRAHELLI HARDCORE

Maybe I should have teamed this one up with the PUBLIC DOMAIN//MEKHEI NAATZA split I posted last week, but maybe this will just serve as a reminder that you need to snag that one too. Killer Israeli hardcore, punk and post punk on a mix tape from the early '90s. The two aforementioned bands along with RAMPAGE (somewhere between 7 SECONDS and GRIMPLE), USELESS ID (probably the best known '90s band from Israel if only because they were able to tour extensively), NOT4SALE (the stinkers of the mix...I mean, it's a homemade regional sampler from the '90s so how is there not going to be a funk/ska band?), tough metallic HC from PREDATOR and a band called ETHOS who steal the whole fukkn show. What if a band took the same anarcho influences that ignited SUBMISSION HOLD but then took the whole thing in a driving proto-goth direction? I dare say that ETHOS will be the best band you hear for the first time today - even though there are only three tracks and the recording leaves more than a little to be desired. Get this because you are curious, and keep the ones you love...

SUCKY ISRAHELLI HARDCORE

PUBLIC DOMAIN // NEKHEI NAATZA

Primitive and chaotic punk from PUBLIC DOMAIN, only marginally in tune (at best) and cohesive (that's generous) and often as much of a struggle to listen to as it sounds like it was to play. NEKHEI NAATZA on the flip lean towards melodic (even a few awkward ska punk bits) but pull out a few burners that serve as foreshadowing for the records they would release later (their discography can be found here). Fiercely political, at their best they come off like mid-'80s German punk ("Forever More,""Entire Genocide"), while at other times the intensity definitely trumps the proficiency. This tape was released in 1993, and both bands are from Israel.

PUBLIC DOMAIN // NEKHEI NAATZA

PARVEROTTI

Anarcho punk, hardcore, crust and chaotic art punk are all represented on this 1994 compilation from Israel. The quality level is exceptional, especially considering the decade of release and the relatively remote  country of origin (at least in terms of geographical proximity to other countries producing punk music - touring Euro and North American bands didn't pass through Jerusalem all that often). Highlights include a ripper from NEKHEI NA'ATZA (probably the most well known band outside of the region, with a few releases on Western labels and a drummer who relocated to the states and played in Okaland's LANA DAGALES), A-SIGN BRIGADE (ridiculously low fidelity and utterly inept anacho punk), LIQUID SKY (raw and catchy punk not that far removed from '80s Spanish sounds), SARTAN HA'SHAD (almost goth sounding effect drenched weirdness, but nowhere near professional sounding enough to not be punk), BETRAYER (maybe they wanted to be a death metal band..but instead they play raw guttural punk), ETHOS (a legit mid tempo mosher, regardless of era, country of origin or intent), and of course the subtle mindfuck that is the DEAD REIGNS track that ends the release. 20 bands are represented, and virtually every one of them is worth your time.

PARVEROTTI: AN ISRA-HELLI PUNK/HARDCORE COMPILATION