Greatest Metal According to Gowi/LedZep/Repo/Rocky and I!

[Mercury]

[NoisyBeast]

How have I overlooked this thread for so many years!!??
Finding commentary on early HC Punk from Sweden and Finland is rare on BEA
I'll need to scroll back through these posts!

[Mercury]

[Mercury]

1983 - Exclusively Hardcore Punk for Group F!


Let’s start with 2 very significant New York Hardcore EPs released in ’83…

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Thou Shalt Not Kill by Antidote (US)
Thou Shalt Not Kill by Antidote/Released 1983

I’ll come right out and say I adore this. I have listened to this 10-minute blast of punk on repeat 15+ times these last few days. It’s one of those records that is so good that I find it hard to listen to anything else. As you’ll see I give this the rare 10/10 score and it feels right. As far as EPs go, it’s hard for me to imagine a better Hardcore EP.

Hardcore Punk is supposed to hit you on a physical level. Make you tighten up with barely suppressed raging energy. The best music of its ilk does that, for me anyway. And this does that better than any other I’ve heard outside of the debut Minor Threat EP – maybe others as well, but I can’t remember off the top of my head at this moment. Every aspect of the sound here is perfectly balanced for maximal effect – the vocals are unique and pissed and gruff and real. The solos are sick and simple yet biting – I love a hardcore record with some rock god solos thrown in. The drums are pounding and rough and the bass work gallops alongside the beats to create cascading avalanches of anger. The songs are full of just enough flair to keep them interesting and distinct.

Honestly, I find myself spouting similar things about this as I have about other albums lately. It’s beyond my talents with words to express the sound and intensity and quality of this EP. I can just say it’s great… It’s like Negative Approach but even more intense. It’s like early EPS of Terveet Kadet but more focused and less unhinged. It’s just really, REALLY great and what a way to kick off or help kick off the New York Hardcore recorded output. Some of the classic features of NYHC is here – some group vocals, some big, mosh-inducing riffs. It doesn’t lean heavily into the cliché of what NYHC sounds like. This is probably because they helped create some of the core distinguishing elements of the sound with this EP, and it was recorded and released before the usual trappings of the sound had been established.

Sadly, after this EP the band went on hiatus for years and came back to not much fanfare in the 1990s. I do want to listen to their later albums – but it’s wild how un-spoken-of all their post Thou Shalt Not Kill output is. I would have loved to hear more of their peak period stuff. But as far as what we are left with, I’m glad we got this masterclass out of their early work.

Ratings-wise, this is a 10. When I get to ranking this and other EPs alongside LPs, it will fall a little further down than the rating suggests. I’d rank Damaged ahead of this, and maybe even Discharge’s debut LP despite the fact I wouldn’t quite give ‘em 10s because they are longer. Simplistic reasoning, I know. But it makes sense to me.

And now I move on and somehow try to say something remotely interesting about 4 more records all with similar sounds in the hardcore genre. I am not going to lie, it’s become challenging trying to differentiate these albums the more I listen. I am enjoying them just as much as ever. But how am I to express what makes Terveet Kadet, Discharge, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Negative Approach, Antidote Jerry’s Kids etc special or great on their own terms? Fuck if I know.

10/10

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United Blood E.P. by Agnostic Front
United Blood E.P. by Agnostic Front/Released 1983

That Antidote record is a tough act to follow. But this is still pretty darn good. Downsides are it’s almost TOO married to it’s super short songs idea and none of the 30-55 second songs have any time to breathe nor do they feature any particularly excellent riffs. The sound is a bit stiff and doesn’t create a seething anger or a wild passion or energy in me as I listen.

The positives are: that guitar tone kicks ass! It’s like an engine running, and the riffs cut through nicely. Though the EP is only 6 songs and 10 minutes, if listened to as one blast or piece and not as individual songs, there is a pretty impressive momentum and force behind this EP.

I can hear much more clearly the "New York-ness" of this EP compared to that incredible Antidote EP. There is something about that in-your-face, antagonistic vocal style that screams NYC to me. This still isn't exactly what I think of when I think of this scene's typical sound (Cro-Mags circa 85-86 is perhaps that aesthetic to a T) but it's getting there.

Overall, yeah this is solid. 6 Minutes and 10 tracks and not much of a time consumer even if you hate it lol.

6.5/10

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Valley Of The Yakes by JFA
Valley Of The Yakes by JFA/Released 1983

Tha1ChiefRocka gave me this recommendation a few weeks ago and I am finally getting around to it. I am really happy I got the heads up on this band. This is a super solid Skate Punk/Hardcore Punk record.

This is an album that skates along the paths of Hardcore Punk with lots of splashes of Skate Punk exuberance and Surf punk style. The production is generally clear and crisp and works really well with this brand or mix of punk rock. The musicians across the board are tight and sound like they have a good familiarity with each other and the material.

This seems most obviously influenced by Circle Jerks. Everything from the bratty, anti-melodic vocals to the way the drums are accentuated with that ever active cymbal sound that I like so much. Even the subject matter and vibe of the record sounds like Group Sex-era Jerks. This is a good thing. The surf rock tracks are a nice change up and add some variety here. And damn some of those bass licks are super nifty and fast and awesome! Especially love the bass work on “Little Big Man” and “Walk Don’t Run”.

Overall this was a nice breathe of fresh air after the torrent of pissed off misanthropic punk I’ve been listening to lately. Not saying these blokes sound happy per se, just that their brand of anger is more in the teenage skater, dissatisfaction, boredom arena.

7.3/10

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Pick Your King E.P. by Poison Idea
Pick Your King E.P. by Poison Idea/Released 1983

Yeah, Poison Idea were always great. Even on this debut EP they are one of the most kickass bands at the time. This is furious hardcore. Some really excellent musicianship on display throughout – especially by the standards of hardcore punk. And man Jerry A. seems to have been born with those those gruff vocals, those annoyed, curmudgeonly, pissed off vocals.

The riffs are not ultra-heavy, they instead sort of splatter out of the guitar savagely and bitingly. The rhythm section are the ones making this thing heavy. The tempos are furious and fast and yet they ably switch the tempo and style up mid song in many cases on this EP.

Their next EP, Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes, saw this band perfect their early raw sound while expanding into a bit more expansive territory and other genres, even. But this is right there alongside that second EP in terms of raging power, and quality.

Before finally listening to this EP (and their second EP) for this project I was only very familiar with Poison Idea’s classic 1990 album, Feel The Darkness. I like that album a lot. The thing that seemed missing from that album, however, was the roughness and rawness. The sound on Feel The Darkness is still very pissed off but also quite clean in some ways with many metal influences. This debut EP, on the other hand, is a primal explosion of speedy hardcore energy with sick solos and drum outbursts and lots of venomous vocal work. It’s a great EP and recommended.

7.8/10

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Terveet Kädet by Terveet Kädet
Terveet Kädet by Terveet Kädet /Released 1983

This is solid. But… something was lost along the way from their damn-near perfect first 3 EPs to this first “L”P. The almost inhuman levels of scattershot energy and refreshing sense of chaos seems mostly gone here. Left are still some great sounding hardcore punk riffs and some still quite good and passionate vocals (minus all the rabid brilliance of the vocals on earlier EPs, yes, but still pretty good.)

The opening instrumental Halloween song is cool, and some of the other solid songs here such as “A.l.i.e.n.” and “Jeesus Perkele” are pretty sick. The whole sound and production is solid and yeah I don’t have much to say other than this is pretty good.

Is it a let down from earlier releases? Yes. But I think a lot of hardcore bands are at their best with EPs and lose some of the pure fire when they release their LPs. It’s a trend common enough to be of note with obvious exceptions. From my experience if you want the real good stuff, listen to the early 7”s first before searching out their albums. This is a prime example of that.

6.6/10

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Okay, that’s all for now. As I mentioned at the outset of this post, this was all hardcore punk. Looking ahead, it looks like slightly more variety is coming. Although it’s funny that what started as a RELATIVELY even split between punk and metal will probably be closer to 70/30 split by the time we get to Kill ‘Em All chronologically. Oh well.

Stay well, friends.
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Mercury]

I have a big post coming up on various albums. Y'know the usual. But bigger. blah blah blah.

Recently I went on a whole internal thought spiral about what I consider perfect albums. Such don't exist perhaps. But there is a certain brand of album that I feel is to me just essentially perfect. Some of my favorite albums ever and albums that are very high on my chart and will always be aren't giving me the "Perfect 10/10 How The Fuck Did this Miracle occur" vibes. Like, The White Album, The Wild Hunt by Tallest Man On Earth, To Bring You My Love may be albums I adore even more than some of the other albums but for each I get a different thought in my head when thinking of them.

That is to say, I started making a list and I got to 12 albums I adore but also feel like are perfect.

The album that got me thinking of this was weirdly World Downfall by Terrorizer. It's the quintessential grindcore deathgrind album. As I listened I couldn't imagine a better version of that album ever being made. It's just... awe-inspiring.

Looking at my list I came to the conclusion that minimalism or at the very least a clear-sighted and ultra-focused sound of a whole album - what some may say is monotonous or unvaried but I say is just a perfect representation of a style and sound and vision - helps make an album a true 10/10 for me.

Some albums almost made it, but I couldn't quite pull the trigger on 'em. They were Joni's Blue, Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch, I Feel A Darkness, London Calling and a few others.

The list got scrapped when I realized how silly the project was. But I remember the albums included were:

(note these are 10/10 perfect albums that I also happen to adore... obviously...)

Kind of Blue by Miles
Highway 61 Revisited by Dylan
Pink Moon by Nick Drake
Blood On The Tracks by Dylan
Pink Flag by Wire
Reign In Blood by Slayer
Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
World Downfall by Terrorizer
Through Silver In Blood by Neurosis
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
Songs by Adrianne Lenker

...and that was it... Then, again, I scrapped it because I was seeing some major inconsistencies. Like, I adore Close To The Edge, and it's ranked higher than some of these on my chart and that's not likely to change... so why isn't it here? I guess side 2 feels slightly tacked on and the fade outs annoy me slightly. But that seems so trivial! Or why isn't Blue by Joni on the list despite being higher ranked than some of these? Well, I guess 1 song is awkward and annoying at times. etc etc etc... it became clear that this is a stupid project so I dropped it.

BUT... I am curious what some albums are that other people feel are just on the VERY short list of, like I worded it earlier, "Perfect 10/10 How The Fuck Did this Miracle occur"? How long is this special list for you reading this? Does your mind even think this way? Are there albums that, despite being personal all time favorites and high on your favorites list, you may see as not on the same high level of perfect albums like other classics that you just don't enjoy quite as much? Masterpieces that you recognize as such but still you don't feel connect with you as much as the flawed old favorite so you place these masterpieces below your personal faves? I don't know... just curious.

Like I sid with that list of 11 albums I noticed most of these aren't very expansive or varied. Pink Moon and Songs are very stripped down to an acoustic and some folk songs. Reign In Blood and World Downfall are pure, adrenalized perfections of Thrash and Deathgrind respectively that come at you in 30 minute waves. I suppose there are some longer, more involved albums there like Daydream Nation and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Anyway, that's all.

Like I said, I have a listening list laid out in front of me for the next batch of 1983 albums and it's longer than the usual 5-album burst. Much longer. Mainly because I am just antsy and impatient to FINALLY be able to listen to and talk about some actual THRASH.... Thrash ALBUMS (not Demos or EPs that influenced it or whatever, but real honest to god album classics of the genre that initially spurred me on to do this diary project.)

Anyway, if you want, let me know what those perfect miracles of god level albums are for you.
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Repo]

Fun exercise, Merc!!! Here are a few of mine...

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Pornography by The Cure

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Slanted And Enchanted by Pavement

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The Kinks Are The Village Green Preserv... The Kinks

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Sad Wings Of Destiny by Judas Priest

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Damaged by Black Flag

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Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart...Magic Band

[Mercury]

Those are awesome choices.

It’s been so long since I gave a full listen to Slanted and Enchanted. But just yesterday morning on a whim on my way to work I pushed play on that album and I was reminded of it’s incredibleness.

And 2 others of those are on my chart(Damaged and Sad Wings of Destiny) and another one is on-again-off-again and I adore (Village Green…).

Pornography is actually a great example of an album that I feel is total masterpiece, just a towering achievement and represents a perfection of that sound, and yet I don’t personally yet love it. Divorced from personal taste and preferences (if that’s even possible) that album is clearly special.

As for Trout Mask Replica… no matter how many times I read Afterhours detailed reviews and other smart people and no matter how many times I think you myself “there is something truly profound here” and no matter how many times I push play and listen to (usually) the first 3-6 songs, etc - I still can’t do it. I’ve yet to have even remotely an “a ha!/Eureka!” Moment with that. It may be the most layered and complex and brilliant album of all time, but it’s like staring at an elemental beast or a an endless ocean of mathematical significance or something - I can’t decipher it for the life of me.

That said, will I continue the yearly tradition of playing Trout Mask Replica again soon to try to “get it”? You betcha!
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Repo]

[LedZep]

I don't think there's a single album I consider perfect. So when I say these are "perfect", it just means they've got a lot of highlights, as well as being special albums for me for one reason or another. And ofc, they are consistenly awesome all the way through. No "slightly weaker but still cool" moments, it's all bangers. It's more of a top 10 most consistent of all time list actually.

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Ashes Against The Grain by Agalloch

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Treći Svijet by Haustor

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The Smiths by The Smiths

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The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus

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Tales From The Thousand Lakes by Amorphis

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Come On Pilgrim by Pixies

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F# A# ∞ by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

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Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis

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After The Gold Rush by Neil Young

Black Sea by Fennesz
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Mercury]