DEAD MOON.

There's nothing to hide behind here, and it's not like Fred Cole needs to - motherfucker lays his whiskey-soaked soul out there on the regular - his wife Toody by his side, each of them slinging & swinging their rock-axes through the depths of murky vulnerability.

In the end, they always come through, and if there's one dude in rock 'n' roll who is on the same level that Lemmy is, legend-wise (it certainly ain't Ozzy any more, son), it's Mr. Fred Cole. Dude has been slugging it out on the stage for 48 years now, and the plan is that THERE IS NO PLAN (other than to keep laying it down on the daily until the day he dies).

With soul power like this, there's no need to worry about the immediate future from what I can tell.

Dead Moon - Hard Wired in Ljubljana

Link in comments.

HELLSHOCK.

More than just another "denim-cut covered-in-spikes band", Portland's Hellshock surpass the masses of D-beat / Crustcore clone bands by bringing this thing called "HEAVY" to the plate.

No "one-trick pony" here, folks - these guys lay it down fast & furious, yet are also fully capable of bludgeoning you with the doom-laden breakdown & a tight solo if need be.

PDX - for some odd reason - has always been a hotbed for killer crust bands, but these guys easily wear the crown for "superior rock power" in their neck of the Pacific Northwest.



They Wait for You

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POISON IDEA.

Quite possibly Poison Idea's most angry record, "War All the Time" was a ground-breaker for many a future new-school hardcore band.

Sadly, very few could pull this off.

You have to LIVE this kind of filth - day in & day out - you can't just turn it off and go back to your suburban roots after "band practice".

The (physical) price these guys paid day after day for years on end was testament to their sound, and the years of self-abuse finally took its toll on guitar-god Tom "Pig Champion" Roberts in early 2006.

While everyone has a favorite Poison Idea record, I seemingly go back to this more often than most; the lineup on this record was such a mish-mash of scumbag hardcores & thrash metal types and it just fucking worked...



Poison Idea - War All the Time

Link in comments.

* Re-Upped: 08.24.2010*

M.D.C.

No introduction needed here, just a decent sounding live recording from way-back-in-the-fucking-day, courtesy of one of Hardcore's greatest bands ever!

Their first LP actually scared THE FUCK out of my 14 year-old ears when I first heard it, and it still remains to this day in my collection as one of the most aggressive & intimidating releases I have ever had the pleasure of having my "inner angst" woke-the-fuck-up to...



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M.D.C. - 11.17.1982 Warehouse, Liverpool, U.K.




Now playing: Repulsion - Festering Boils
via FoxyTunes

POISON IDEA.

(Here's a nice live recording I found on Soulseek a while back; took me a while to clean it up a bit and figure out the set list).

This is from their first (and only?) national U.S. tour in 1990, the "Feel The Darkness" tour.

I saw them in Ann Arbor, MI on this tour, and ended up hanging out w/ Jerry A. before the show.
He asked to go to a liquor store to get some "dinosaur fuel" and so we ended up going to three different ones. He pulled out a crisp $100 bill and told me to "get whatever I want".
I think I got a sixer of Harp, while he bought a case of Olde English 40's (for Pig) and a case of Guiness & a fifth of Ouzo for himself.

Once back at the club, we hung out in the alley behind it, and in the adjoining parking garage, talking shit, etc. Pig took up the whole middle bench seat in the van, quietly pounding his malt liquor.

They were all pretty fucked up come set time, but they sure as hell did not disappoint! The floor of the club was "flexing" left and right, and the small plywood stage looked like it was gonna go as well. The metal folding chair supplied for Pig Champion didn't last for long before it got maxed out and bent flat.

He then proceeded mash-out a milk crate as well...

Jerry was pretty fucked up, but didn't miss a lyric.
Halfway through the set he dropped some acid, and proceeded to cut himself up pretty badly about the face, all the while pounding pitchers like they were 12 oz. cups of water on a hot summer day! He blew some fire, and the kids fucking went wild, of course.

After the show, I hung out with them in said alley once again until their 70-year-old uncle/tour manager/driver told the boys to get in the van (at around 6am).
They dropped me off at my house on their way out of town, and Jerry grabbed a T-shirt from the merch box, wiped his still bleeding forehead with it, and handed it to me.

I still have it in my garage.

One of the best shows I ever did saw, and goddamn if I don't miss the power of the Sausage Fingers himself, Pig Champion...



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Poison Idea - 05.09.1990 Pyramid Club, NYC



Now playing: Gather - Who Belongs

POISON IDEA.

I can easily call these guys one of my all-time favorite bands.
There's a few young bands that slightly conjure up what these guys could do in their heyday(s), but their can only be one King(s) of Punk...

LINKS -

D/L Poison Idea - Feel The Darkness right here.




Now playing:
Hellchild - Wings Of Hope
via FoxyTunes