SWARRRM.

Halloween is upon us again, and while this record ain't spooky by general standards, it is one that brings cold shivers to the spine, thoughts of anguish, (slight) feelings of peace, & then more chaos gets dumped upon you like a 1-ton bag of candy corn.

Swarrrm never lets you down, and they do the grind-thing like no one else.
One of Kobe's best exports, and I hope this mysterious band never quits.

I'd chop your left nut off to see these guys…

Swarrrm - Against Again.

Link in comments.

ERODED.

I've been sitting on this one for a while now; it's so fucking good that I have had a hard time trying to figure out just how to describe this…

Japan has been home to some of the most brutal (and beautiful) bands on the planet - this band is a precursor to 324 - one of my favorite grind bands of any era.

While the grind rears it's underappreciated head in small doses on this here release, what you get most of the time is some solid thrashy/heavy/death-infused metal - all with a crazed, Japanese neanderthal screaming some beautiful guttural-speak over the top. It goes from heavy one minute, to stony as fuck the next. A great fucking record that to these ears would seem to be an inspiration to other Japanese bands like Swarrrm, 324, Taiho, Greenmachine, etc.

Fits great next to those expensive & out-of-print Hellchild records neither you or I own…



Eroded - In

Link in comments.

RAGING FURY.

Not a lot I can tell you about these guys other than the fact that they've been around since 1982, and play an aggressive rockin' version of Thrash.
This may sound weird, but their singer totally reminds me of a whisky-and-Marlboros-hoarsed-out Matt Pike at times - yes, I realized these guys precede High On Fire by like, um 15 years or something - but maybe 'Ol Frost Hammer is a fan of these guys? Who knows?

What I do know is that this is a hard-as-fuck CD to find, and these guys fly way under the radar.
If you love Japanese metal / HC, you should be diggin' this little gem as well.
More unique flavor from the Far East, bro.



Raging Fury - Raging Fury

Link in comments.

HELLCHILD.

One of my all-time favorite bands, this should not come as a surprise to many of you - it's most likely one of your favorites as well, no?

Hellchild bridged the gap between hardcore & thrash/death/grind with a sense of intelligence - even their burliest/heaviest/grindy-est moments came off with a painstakingly-heartfelt precision.
There was a lot of soul running deep in the work they put out there, and Harakawa is the fucking BEST when it comes to gutturals in my opinion.
His pipes bellow the most beautiful of all pain, desolation, madness, sadness & anguish I have ever known.

If you didn't already, you certainly won't now - this is for the rest of US.



Hellchild - Circulating Contradiction

Link in comments.

JUDAS PRIEST.

Live albums can tend to be kind of one-dimensional and unexciting, but this one is none of those things mentioned above - it is also under scrutiny as to wether it actually is live or not.

The band claims there were guitar touch-ups, and that some of the vocals were redone due to Rob having the flu on those nights back in February of 1979 in Tokyo, but honestly I could give a shit less as this is a kick-ass record that grabbed me right by my teenage testicles back in the day. The tone K.K. Downing got back then was razor sharp & white-hot; one of my favorite Flying-V players to this day...

Enjoy this (timeless) blast-from-the-past.



Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East

Link in comments.

FROM HELL.

More top-shelf musical insanity from these ex-HELLCHILD members.
This stuff runs the gamut from ambient sludge to stony riffage to technical death - all with some of the best vocal stylings around. They existed for only a few years, but disbanded after the death of their bass player.

Excellent stuff, now you can throw away all your shitty post-rock "instrumetal" garbage - here's the real deal as only the Japanese can pull it...



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From Hell - From Hell





Now playing: Premature Baby's - Michigan America
via FoxyTunes

FORCE.

A classic in the annals of Japanese grind/metal, Force fucking kicked much ass.
(It doesn't hurt when when you have Hellchild on your "rock resume" either).

Did the Howling Bull label ever put out any bad records?
(The correct answer is NO).

I miss the Howling Bull store that was here in S.F. on Valencia St. for a few years.
Fuck, I spent sooo much $$$ on this kind of shit, as well as Japanese comix, wrestling crap, toys, etc. Alas, the "gentrification" of The Mission District came into being, effectively killing off "the scene".
Nowadays, all you see is a bunch of PUSSIES on their fucking ghey-ass fixed gear technicolor 2-wheeled fashion accessories, sporting some ironic little puberty 'stache, & hanging out on "fixie field" in Dolores Park w/ their pudgy sloppily-dressed girlfriends w/ those awful giant white sunglasses. Bitches!

I'll shut the fuck up about "the good 'ol days" now, but I'm tellin' you - it used to punk as fuck here, bro...

Somebody hook me up with some MULTIPLEX, already, damn!



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Force - Force




Now playing: Iskra - Massacre Of The Innocent
via FoxyTunes

HELLCHILD.

I think most of us agree that the Japanese create some of the best bands of the metal and hardcore genres. Well, Hellchild was one of the best at melding hardcore and brutal metal together creating something you can't label death metal or metalcore.
Masters for sure, and I miss the fuck out of this band - you do too, right?



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Hellchild - Where the Conflict Reaches




Now playing: D.V.C. - Licentious Abandon

MUGA.

I wish I could tell you more about this thrashy/metallic darkened-hardcore crew from Japan, but web presence is nearly non-existent.
I will tell you that they fucking kick ass with their solid (and fresh) approach to hardcore without all the usual cliches that come with the genre.

If anyone has any more info, or better cover art, or images, or just more music in general from these guys (and a girl) please share, willya?




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Muga - Muga




Now playing: Mörser - The Aim and the Method

324.

Tokyo motherfuckin' grindrebel K-I-N-G-S, bitch.

These guys are hard to beat.

Enjoy this shit as it may be a bit slow around here over the weekend.
We have house guests from the ATL that i don't really dig on - their friends of the lil lady - but hey it's cool. Except they are staying in my office so I probably won't have much time to work on the L-R V.

*Oh yeah - I got prescription glasses today. Kinda weird...



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324 - Rebelgrind




Now playing: Imperial Crystalline Entombment - RÂvaskeith's Revenge

CORRUPTED.

When it comes to the Japanese masters of doom/sludge, it's hard to pick a favorite as these guys consistently put out a ton of weighty material - all of it being superior to most of the genre.

Here's an excellent recording from a 2005 live performance you don't see posted much.
I wish I could give you more info about "Live at Fandango 2005", but like many things Corrupted, it is a mystery...




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Corrupted - Live at Fandango, Kyoto Japan 09.24.2005



*** UPDATE 07.06.2008 -
Proper info courtesy of reader Ben A. lurking around the 'webernet and tracking it down at the amazing Condensed Fresh blog added.
Made a new cover w/ the correct date as well. Update your ID3 tags in your iTunes, bitches.

Now playing: Meanwhile - Wipe Out

COFFINS.

Been seein' this one around a bit lately, but I'm posting it as well cuz it's so damn good!
Gurgled-out sludgy doom from Tokyo that lies somewhere between Venom, Corrupted, 16, Motörhead & Discharge?
Yep...



Coffins - Buried Death




Now playing: Code Of Honor - Death To You

EFFIGY.

Posted up that split these Japanese dark thrash-crust underlords did with Hellshock a while back; here is their first release from back in 1999.
Raw, heavy, cold and they even get a bit psychedelic at times!

(Only the Japanese can get away with that kind of shit).

D/L Effigy - Evil Fragments right here.




Now playing: Monster X - Nailed To The X

EFFIGY / HELLSHOCK.

Perfect for a rainy winter day in San Francisco, here's a killer spilt featuring Hellshock - there's Tragedy guys in this one, duh - but for my money the band to beat here is Effigy from Japan who play some bitchin' metallic crust kind of thing.
I need to get more from them for sure...

D/L Hellshock / Effigy - Split right here.

BATHTUB SHITTER.

Don't let the name fool you.
These guys have been laying down some serious grind for quite a few years now. They are a blast live, funny as hell dudes who can really punish with their shit-jam stylings.

WTF!?!

D/L Bathtub Shitter - Dance Hall Grind right here.




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Now playing: Mörser - Sonic Doors
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Roky Erickson - True Love Ways

SWARRRM.

Japanese grind/crust/core that kicks mucho ass.
These guys have been around for awhile now, and seem to be coming into their own as of late being quite prolific in their output (three releases this year so far).
Once again, the Japanese improve on the genre...

LINKS -
Official Website.

D/L Swarrm - Black Bong right here.




Now playing:

Rotten Sound - Reek Of Putrefaction
via FoxyTunes

YELLOW MACHINEGUN.

Three slight-in-staure-but-heavy-in-chops ladies from Osaka, Japan who served up a sizeable chink of thrashy metal.
Wish I could post a link or two to send you elsewhere for more info, but I think they may be history now. They haven't logged in to their DoucheSpace page in a year, and their website is no longer up either.

D/L Yellow Machinegun - Build and Destroy right here.