SCUMRAID

 

What if I told you that the most powerful Japanese crasher crust band of the 2010s was from Korea? You might say I was wrong (and then we would have a spirited discussion about bands that we both love), but you would not be able to deny SCUMRAID's unhinged rage. We played with them in 2015 in Seoul and they blew the roof of the joint, but their set in Oakland for Manic Relapse was a thing of absolute legend - one of the most intense live experiences of my puny decade. No real introductions needed for this trio by now - if you know then you know, and if you don't then I suggest that you learn.

RIP-UP

THIS IS THE SAME RECORDING AS THE IRON LUNG EP WITH THE SAME TITLE, DUH.

 

FIND THE SPOT

A few bands have put the Seoul hardcore scene on North American radar over the last few years, but if you think it's just SCUM RAID and SLANT then you're simply doing yourself a disservice. DEAD GHAKKAS, KITSCHES, JORDAN RIVER (I only know the tracks no the Seoul Compilation Tape, but oooooof!!), ARRYAM...the list is long and it gets longer. FIND THE SPOT creeped into my vision (well, exploded into my vision is more like it) a few years ago because of their association with homies like CRUCIAL SECTION, FLIPOUT A.A and COMMUNICATES, and those connections are a pretty good starting point for a sonic comparison. Short, fast hardcore bursts with a damaged guitar tone and energy oozing out of everything. When they drop hooks, as in "엠창," they grab you and simply don't let go, perhaps because the majority of their attack is focused on the short, fast, loud end of the spectrum. Not one, but two NEGATIVE APPROACH covers, which is a weird move...but I kinda like it. 

사상검증 

CERKKYU

Blown out DBeat madness from Seoul. More or less a product of the usual suspects here (members from ARRYAM, SCUMRAID, SLANT, CRAWLER, others) - but I'm fine with overlap if the new bands continue to be this damn good (see Halifax as an example). Five deadly tracks offered by the venerable MYDY label. 

CERKKYU

Listen closely to the drums on "안빈낙도" and know that thins is how hardcore should be played. OK, there are a lot of ways, but this is definitely one of them.  

SLANT

Anyone else want to move to Seoul? It's not just that more bands keep cropping up from that megalopolis...it's that they all seem to be insanely fukkn good. Enter: SLANT.  Meaty hardcore that makes me want to break...well, break everything. Check the extra snare taps in "How Did It Feel?" and the ever present buzzsaw of guitars that fill every crevice of the recording and the brilliantly erratic, mosh defying construction of "Culprit" and the damn vocals that are even more vicious than everything else put together. And check it all loudly. Get this band to the USA, now. Preferably to the West Coast. Or someone offer Karoline and me a year long sublet in Seoul? Either option is fine. Please and thank you. 

SLANT

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

ARRYAM

Well, here you go, Noise Mongers. And in advance, I say "You're Welcome." The start/stop mania of "80" and those mental sounding drum rolls...that's where I really felt hooked, but you might get sucked in even sooner. Seoul's ARRYAM harness all of the face melting power of blown out noise punk and present it with the fury of early '00s fastcore, trading DBeats for blast beats and making two subgenres seem fresh and exciting in the process. Dongwoo (SCUMRAID) must have shredded his throat laying down these vocals, and JP (MY MAN MIKE) has genuinely reinvented relentless with his drums....this thing is just a fukkn beast. A dozen creamers in less than 13 minutes, but I dare say that most listeners wouldn't be able to handle any more than that. 

DANCE VIOLENCE

SCUMRAID

Remember a few years ago when all you mutants wanted on Mondays was some blown out, distortion laden noise? I miss those days. For a while you just wanted goth rehash nonsense, and maybe you still do, or maybe I just don't know what you want anymore, but I'll be fukkd if a blast of face melting distortion doesn't start my week off right. So as this year's Manic Relapse fest approaches, here's a blast from the best band that graced the Bay Area at last year's fest, South Korea's SCUMRAID. If you have the internet (and, let's be frank here: you do), then you must already know about this trio so introductions and descriptions are probably wasted on you. But here you go - 6 1/2 minutes of blistering and relentless noise punk. And for the (foolish) few who think this subgenre passé, listen to the guitar at the 0:12 mark of "Generation," and then pay close attention until the 0:34 mark....and now fukkn tell me these freaks aren't geniuses. Go ahead. You can tell me, but you'll be wrong. The starts/stops in "Controlled Society"? Brilliant. From complete insanity to total stop and then back again before you even know what the fukk happened. So yeah...it's Monday. 

SCUMRAID: WEST COAST 2016 

GESÆDERI

Filthy Korean DBeat/crust/grind from the late '00s - three separate recording sessions on a tape that clocks in at a whopping 8 minutes, brutal lurches and dual vocal crust crash headfirst into a brick wall built on a foundation of guttural grind and uncompromising raw crust. The band called it "D-Bakja Nal Punk," and I am in no mood to argue. I got this in the same envelope as the killer I.C.B.M. demo....that was a sweet package.

JEJU ÜBER ALLES

DEAD GAKKAHS

I was in Korea recently and got to share a stage with these creamers, but I snagged the demo a few days before we left on tour thanks to Ormolycka and my neighborhood weirdos at Aquarius Records. An inventive, but most notably blistering, hardcore trio from Seoul, DEAD GAKKAHS don't hit the seven minute mark on this seven song banger, but still manage to cram more awesome things than should ever be asked of a tape this short. Tracks like "First Lady" touch all the bases and it's hard to believe it's only 72 seconds long...the sound is huge and the vocals have an edge that makes you wince. Fukk man, I miss when hardcore like this was "cool."

DEAD GAKKAHS

I.C.B.M.

I got this ripper in the mail during The Escape's infancy and it somehow fell through the cracks (well, I know how, I just don't like to admit that I have too much shit and am rather disorganised). Brutal and noisy metallic crust from Korea - guitars that would make D-CLONE weep, a midpaced attack that packs relentless power, vocals with over the top intensity...and they write a mean ass riff. "Overthrown Future" is so indescribably simple, but it grabs you by the throat from the opening chugs and manages to maintain for all six minutes of the track - and that guitar lead creeps ever so slightly into melodic crust territory which only serves to make that white noise attack even more addictive. There are no frills here, just distortion done right. 

TOTAL HORRORIFICATION

SCUMRAID

Bombastic and chaotic madness of the highest caliber. Vocals are practically thrown out of the singer's mouth as if the words themselves are a horrible entity from which he is trying to free himself, while the low end is a constant and terrifying death knell. South Korea's SCUMRAID capture a primitive intensity missing from a lot of Noise Not Music bands, you get the impression that this isn't an act, that the distortion of sound and thought is an actual manifestation of the world as seen through these six eyes. 

SCUMRAID

They appear to be every bit as powerful live as this demo suggests. The tape is sold out, but find the band here.

78s FROM THE MOON & TEXAS // CHOO-JA KIM

More relics from the era I delved into yesterday. I toured with LOST GOAT twice in 1999, one of my favorite stints on the road with three fantastic people. Tina brought this tape with us, and it was absolutely perfect for late night drives and quiet lulls while everyone was napping. The side titled 78s From The Moon & TX sounds like exactly that, 8 tracks of crackling sound from times and places far removed from our reality. Through the power of technology I was able to identify XAVIER COUGAT, TEX RITTER and LOS CHURUMBELES de ESPAÑA (the power involved holding my phone up to the computer and asking Mr. Shazam who the fukk I was listening to, in case you were wondering), but the other five artists are a mystery, which doesn't make them any less wonderful to the ears.

On the flip, Korean '70s garage/psych star CHOO JA KIM. Six tracks taken from one of her (many) greatest hits releases, laid back and far the fukk out, with a voice suggesting a beauty every bit as real as the woman behind it. Picture NANCY SINATRA with JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and present it through the acid filter of the early 1970s and you'll be in the ballpark - listen in the dark and you'll be in love.

78s FROM THE MOON & TX // CHOO JA KIM

BONEHOLE

Biting electronic drones. Disconcerting swells and crashes, dark and all encompassing with brief respites in the form of ambient angst. One solid hour of brilliantly crafted and wholly engaging noise from a British dude living in South Korea. Released in a criminally limited run of 40 copies by Czech label Rauha Turva.

PURE 4th