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Whenever I match up bands for HC Knockouts, I pick em from the same country, and I do my best to pick bands that were active at the same time or at least within a few years. I felt bad when A.O.A. and ANTI-SYSTEM faced-off some time ago cos A.O.A. was Scottish while ANTI-SYSTEM was English. I guess they were both a part of the United Kingdom? But still, I’m sure the countries and especially the cultures differ a lot. This is the case again with this week’s Knockout between OI POLLOI (Scotland) and CHUMBAWAMBA (England). I’m sure a lot of people don’t know why I think this Knockout is particularly great, but a devoted OI POLLOI fan would likely understand. I heard OI POLLOI in my late teens. When I heard ‘em initially, I had no idea they were a band that began in the ‘80s. Their sound changed a lot over the decades. They’ve had dozens and dozens of members, with the vocalist being the only constant member. They started out with an anarcho sound, moved into hardcore, toughened up a bit in way too after that, and somewhere in there they incorporated much, much more of an Oi! sound. If I remember right, they intentionally leaned hard into this style to pull over all the fence walking skinheads in their area and at the gigs. I don’t listen to OI POLLOI much anymore, but when I first heard em when I picked up their “Total Resistance To The Fucking System” compilation 12". The photo above is from a page in the booklet that came with the record. This comp featured two EPs and some extra tracks. One of those EPs is Carson? which originally came out in 2003. I still like this EP a lot actually so I wanted to link it. Alright, those extra tracks… if I remember right they are all cover songs. At the time I don’t think I knew THE SPECIALS, so I’m not sure if I understood ‘Concrete Jungle’ was a cover, a really cheesy cover... But they also cover RUDIMENTARY PENI’s ‘Rotten To The Core’ but under a new name, ‘Shhh…It.’ At this age I loved “Death Church” through and through so I lost my mind at this haha. I definitely did not know CHUMBAWAMBA was initially an anarcho-punk band. I probably never even heard their name aside from that hit single from the ‘90s. I’ve listened to a lot more of their releases since and I don’t really like their shit very much, but there was a rip of a tape I heard that I obsessed over for a long time. I’m not sure anything about it but I found this link on YouTube of the same songs. Anyway, I guess I haven’t explained any of the beef OI POLLOI has with CHUMBAWAMBA, so I’ll just leave you with the rest of that page from the booklet cos I don’t wanna write anymore about this pretty much meaningless Staff Pick. I hope every one is doing well, take care. - Usman

I thought 2021 was a great year for releases, the best year in a while in my opinion. Or maybe I am just paying more attention... 2020 had a lot of solid releases, but 2021 was like a relentless onslaught of hardcore. But maybe we just got pummeled with releases cos everything was held up in vinyl production in 2020. I mean it’s not like that situation has changed at all... everyone I know is waiting insane amounts of time for record pressing. My label with Jeff is waiting on two records whose test presses we approved in October, and there’s still no sign of the actual press date... Anyway, I think 2022 is off to a great start, and is already competing with 2021 in the name of excellent releases. Not to mention, the dank reissues are coming outta the woodwork too!!!

Anyway, AXE RASH. This name I’ve heard before… makes sense since it appears their first release was in 2015. And of course, they played K-Town festival this past year. But foolishly, the music I have never heard until this past week. Daniel was lucky to land an advance copy of this hot ass slab (!!!) from the label. So sick. I was working at the warehouse and heard this ripping shit from afar like last week. I immediately approached the turntable and inquired about who the fuck we were listening to. It ripped. What a nice pleasant surprise. NFTW Records is unleashing yet another hot ass slab onto our insatiable ears. While the last beast they put out was not necessarily “my bag” (but still sooOOOoOoo ripping), this AXE RASH 7" is right up my fucking alley. This EP is like the turkey of the alley, striking out every pathetic pin that thinks they can hang. This band has fucking riffs. It reminds me (very) slightly of SKITKIDS, but less “rocked” out. A more recent contemporary for comparison I think would be ARSLE or LARMA, but honestly LARMA is so good... too good. I don’t think any bands can really compare. Seriously. If you missed that one somehow, check it out immediately and buy yer ass a copy now! If you missed it, ARSLE was another great one on Adult Crash from some time ago, featuring members of other raging Swedish HC bands you probably already know and love.

You know it’s kind of funny. I am working my way into AXE RASH’s discography now, and the previous 2017 EP is not really like this most recent EP. I think the song writing is good, but it doesn’t catch my ear like ‘Contemporary Ass’ does. I think it compares to bands like Glue and maybe Strutter a bit more than how I compared them to those mängelin’ bands I mentioned above. But moving onto the 12" that came out 2019, I hear much, much more similarity to their latest EP. To me their style evolved a lot from the first EP to LP, in a good way. And then, from the LP to the new EP, they perfected this sound into one hot ass fucking slab. Very stoked this EP has a pressing in the States, so we can all get on our hands on a copy, and fast. I don’t have much else to say right now, but I would suggest you check this EP fosho and grab a copy if you enjoy it. I think deserves a place in every collection. Before I part, I’d like to leave you with this link. And I’d also like to let you know that the latest LETHAL MEANS 12" is back in print on clear vinyl! Thanks for reading, cheers!

Hello, and thank you for reading.

I had no idea what to write about this week. There have been plenty of good releases lately, but I don’t think I have taken anything in enough to give it “justice” in a Staff Pick. Instead of writing about nothing, I am writing about ANGER BURNING, a band who has been on endless repeat since I first heard them. I’m sure most people have heard of this band, cos they are not new by any means. But if you don’t know them and don’t care for Discharge worship bands, I would just stop reading now. Of course you will miss out…

I picked up a copy if their Warcharge E.P. when it was released on LVEUM, just cos the cover looked sick. I had no idea what it would sound like. I don’t think I knew anything about LVEUM at this point, and it was probably their first release I picked up. When I got home, I put it on immediately and got my wig split. Got damn, this shit is raw as fuck, pummeling Discharge attack!!! It never, ever gets old to me. And they do that shit where the toms are loud as fuck and blown out… fuck. It’s straight forward, just plain evil Discharge type hardcore. All their records sound pretty different actually, while the song writing style remains the same. They released a split the same year as this debut EP. Man it’s insanely raw, even more so than the Warcharge E.P. Listener beware, haha. Sometimes I think it might be my favorite of their records, but it’s always easy to say the release with the fewest songs is best from a band cos there is little room to get bored or be disappointed. They went Kawakami style on this one for real, though. It is so nasty with leads layered on leads, sounding like nuclear rain just like Kawakami’s guitar solos.

They have two other splits later but I am not as familiar with them. The sound is really different on them. Not saying I don’t enjoy them, they just aren’t my go-to. My go-to is their When 12”. This record is perfection. Maybe it’s too on the nose with their track ‘When’ and ‘When (Reprise)’ but holy shit, it is fucking excellent. Seriously, it doesn’t matter how much cheese is on it. The production is excellent. It’s not blown out at all; it is pretty “raw” in the actual meaning. You can hear every instrument clearly… the sheer brutality.

Well, that is all I am writing today. You probably already heard this band, but maybe this is nice reminder to keep ‘em on your playlist. Or maybe yer getting to hear a new band of interest now that you missed at first. All their records are regular punk prices, heads up. And if you do like the links I dropped, don’t forget to check out their tracks on this split as well, the power in the recording is fucking insane. Thanks for reading. Peace.

Hello, and welcome to my Top 10 of 2021. This year was insanely good for records. There was so many more great releases than I could include in my ten picks; it was hard to narrow it down. Well kind of; some of them were 100% no-brainers. I decided not to include cassettes to make it easier on myself. I thought about doing an “Honorable Mentions” thing too but who the fuck cares what I think... Getting on with it, in no particular order.

Warchild: A Question For Today...Not Tomorrow (D-Takt & Råpunk Records) I hadn’t heard this band until this release. Jocke was so kind and sent me a copy so I could get the complete limited-edition bundle of DTAKT releases. This recording is excellent, right up my alley with a raging nonstop D-beat attack. I hear lots of shit that’s similar to this style come out every year, but rarely does it actually catch my ears. Even though I am d-beat fiend at heart, I still think it’s hard to please me.

Svaveldioxid: Första Dagen Efter Sista Bomben (Phobia Records) Sticking with another Swedish band’s release, this one really struck my fancy. I think I have all of Svaveldixod’s records, but something about this record stands out from the previous release to me. It’s the same nonstop D-beat attack as Warchild, but with a totally different vibe. It’s heavy, it’s mean. It is total käng.

Golpe: La Colpa È Solo Tua (Sorry State Records) Hell yeah I chose a Sorry State release. This fucking record is amazing, honestly probably one of the best 12"s that came out this year. Well duh, it’s on my list.. I jammed this so many times I can’t even explain. Tadzio sent me the master ages ago, cos he actually asked if BPDT would have interest in releasing it. Of course he dropped our asses the second Daniel replied and said SSR would do it, haha fucker. Much love to Tadzio, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Nervous SS / Rat Cage: Skopje Vs. Sheffield (La Vida Es Un Mus) This is an excellent split. When is the last time I even got a split where both bands ruled? Most people probably bought this cos of Rat Cage. While I enjoy Rat Cage, Nervous SS is my fucking shit. Blagoj is the fucking man. This dude can rip every instrument, seriously. Cannot wait to hear what he does next... maybe I already have ;)

Quarantine: Agony (Damage United) Do I need to write anything here? If you read my Staff Picks you already know that I was obsessed with this band, to the point of making a fanzine. If you missed a physical copy, you can download it here.

Tower 7: ...Peace On Earth? (Roachleg Records) I just wrote about this last week. Probably in the Top 25 records of the past 10 years. So fucking good. Worth all the hype you see.

Electric Chair: Social Capital (Iron Lung Records) Speaking of hype... I contemplated putting this up there, but the fact is that it is a fucking excellent EP. This band is sick as fuck, they aren’t “re-inventing the wheel” but they figured out how the wheel works at it’s the most optimal, peak performance.

Fairytale: Self-titled (Desolate Records) When I saw this band, they only had their flexi out. I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think I even knew Joe B was in the band. When I saw them live, my wig got split. Everything clicked. This band is top-notch. Raw, ruthless hardcore that gives no mercy to the listener. This was another no-brainer for my Top 10. I hope they do something new soon so I can get my wig split yet again.

Kohti Tuhoa: Väkivaltaa (La Vida Es Un Mus) I was super late to the game on this band. I remember hearing the EP from last year, Elä Totuudesta, right at the end of the year. I only did a bullshit Top 3 last year, but Kohti Tuhoa should’ve been on that list as well. Each release they do is killer, from the first one to the latest one. The sound has changed, but it’s all excellent. Not better or worse, just different.

Yleiset Syyt: Umpikujamekanismi (Open Up And Bleed Recordings) This is my favorite EP of this year. Easily. Somebody PLEASE sell me their first EP and LP. Please.

Next year I will make a “Worst of 2022” list. I hope Turnstile makes a new album. Happy New Year, send your hate mail to in.decay@yahoo.com