VOIVOD.

Everyone who visits here has a favorite era of Voivod (I'm assuming, of course).

I myself was weaned on those first three records in their discography, and it is hard for me to say those aren't my favorite, but when it comes down to it, I pretty much celebrate their entire recorded output.

I have a bunch of muddy-sounding live tapes from The Eighties that will always be some of my favorite musical things to listen to, and while Angel Rat is a record I don't pull out often, the demos for that recording have been quite compelling to these ears as of late. Gone from this one is the icy-screech of bitter cold Canadian thrash; in its place we find a spaced-out & discordant Die Kreuzen-meets-King Crimson vibe.

To put it in layman's terms,it kinda feels like you're riding out an opium high while floating along in arctic waters on a slab of sheered-off glacial ice, per se'…



Voivod - Angel Rat (The Demos).

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FEAR.

It shouldn't take much for you to realize that Fear was arguably one of the greatest punk/hardcore bands that ever took the stage.

As players, they were highly underrated in the chops/skills department - these dudes could play - and their style was unique.
Excellent songwriting, with some serious acid-tongued socio-political / motherfucker lyrics to boot.

Lee Ving needs to write a book, or have someone write this man's life story, as he has (so far) lead a seriously charmed life.

No need for me to keep preaching to the choir, so go for it and grab this great-sounding recording of the boys tearing it up in Hollywood on Halloween Night way back in 1979 - were you even born yet?

(I was twelve, by the way)…



Fear - 10.31.1979 Hong Kong Cafe, Los Angeles, CA

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BATTALION OF SAINTS.

Well, it's about fuckin' time those fighting' boys from "America's Finest City" made an appearance here, isn't it?
These guys walked it like they talked it - the majority of the early members never made it out of The Eighties alive, sadly.

Guitarist Chris Smith had a unique approach as far as HC guitar-playing went back then - you either loved it or hated it. Either way, you took notice of what these guys were doing when they came on, and I'm pretty damn sure you got the fuck out of there way when they were doing it.

I would think most of you have this already, but if you don't, now is the time to appreciate this classic hardcore material from the halcyon days of S.D.H.C…



Battalion of Saints - Second Coming

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. : FOUR YEARS OF L-R V : .

So, the Fourth Anniversary of Lo-Res Viscera came and went last week.
I'd say it went by without a bang, except for the fact that I was in Reno, downing some brews in 94-degree temperatures. I was in the midst of a week-long family & friends sabbatical to the North Shore of Tahoe at the family house up there. A week away from The City makes it so that I love my home even more…

I've been switching up quite a few things in my life as of late - new job, more time w/ my old lady & kid, done a bit of traveling this summer, had some downtime, etc.
Along with those changes come some visual changes around the L-RV as well. Trying to clean up the clutter a bit, keep it clean, etc. The content will still be the same old bullshit you've come here for - I'm speaking to all four of you, ha ha - and hopefully, I will start crankin' the content a bit more than I do now.
It's been bugging me that I've been lagging beyond the usual "one-post-per-week" pace that I usually roll with, and while I'm still not interested in inundating the internets w/ 4 or 5 posts per week, I am still gonna keep flying my freak-flag high as far as the death/thrash/hc/powerviolence/grind goes.

My ear hasn't changed a whole lot over the years, but I am fortunate (I think) to be one of the few who never "outgrew" the loud/obnoxious/abrasive stuff - in fact - my thirst for the chaotic/unsettling stuff is what calms the savage within myself more and more these days. I hope you feel the same, bro.

So… Enough with my long winded-ness, but let me just extend a thank you to those of you whom I have had the pleasure of hearing your stories about the bands we both like - it makes it worthwhile and is a big reason why I still do this. There will be some dust around the edges here and there for a bit, but in the end the music will be there. Thanks for listening. New post coming soon. Promise.