THE ICEMEN.

Classic NYHC that flew way under the radar.
Mackie played drums in this band, and if you don't know who that dude is well then - what are you doing HERE?

A true original - often imitated / never duplicated...




(Link will open in new window)

The Icemen - Rest In Peace E.P.




Now playing: Doppelganger - Keeping The Pigeons In Check

THE BLACK HAND.

Raging crusty/thrashy/metallic hardcore from the Great White North.
A dude from Voivod did the cover art.
It's good, check it out.



The Black Hand - War Monger

OUTPATIENTS.

Unsung, young, and out-of-fucking-control.
Yeah, there's a Deep Wound connection here, but I'd have to say I dig these guys better - their attack was even more primal and unpolished.
This is REAL teenage-angst / spastic-primitive balls-out hardcore.

*(They also had the best song on the Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Compilation Vol. II)*



Outpatients - Hardcore Outcasts Revisited '82 - '84

DISSONANCE.

While these guys (and girl) were a few years older than myself - and 50 miles away - I somehow always ended up hitching a ride (or scamming some artsy girl into driving to Flint) to see some of my first real hardcore shows, and Dissonance was usually on the bill.
I saw them open for 7 Seconds, Corrosion of Conformity, Raw Power and many other "classic" hardcore bands.

For me, Dissonance was more than just a band.
Phil & Tanya (drums and bass, respectively) were very much responsible for their being any hardcore scene in Flint - well, them and Doug 'Wyatt" Earp - who owned the only cool record store (Wyatt Earp) for nearly 100 miles around.

(I think it's pretty safe to say there would be no scene to speak of (north of A2 / Detroit) without the afforementioned folks - you can add Ben "Rivethead" Hamper and Michael "Roger and Me" Moore to the list of Flint HC alumni as well).

Dissonance was really about having a good time and not worrying about "being cool", and that energy inspired alot of people to start their own bands as well.

If it weren't for Wyatt Earp Records and skateboarding, I might have missed out on all of this, but when I think back on those nihilistic (and weed-filled) days before "I got my shit together", my reality was filled with sleeping all day, road-tripping, and skating all night.
The soundtrack usually was courtesy of these guys, who quite possibly could be my all-time favorite hardcore band...



Dissonance - KDVS / Davis CA (Live In-Studio 1986).

You can still purchase the 2-CD/DVD Dissonance Discography right here.




Now playing: Brain Drill - The Parasites

SMILING SACRIFICE.

Seein' as how I just came back from a visit to my teenage stomping grounds of the mid-Michigan (Bay City, to be exact) area, I figured I'd do a post on one of my "first" favorite local hardcore bands.
With the help of my annual visit to the greatest record store on earth, this next post is all about the under-appreciated Flint, MI hardcore band, Smiling Sacrifice.

As a young sk8 punk - we're talkin' the mid-to-late 80's here - I would drive the 50 miles or so south to Flint, MI a few times a week for late night sk8 sessions, and it was there that I learned first-hand (and for the first time) about hardcore, and how it meshed with skateboarding so well.
To this day I still would rather go skate and listen to hardcore - most kids these days who skate go hip-hop which is fine, but an old fuck like me needs some fast-paced aggression!

In Flint, I would go to "The Spiral" (one of many abandoned parking garages in the downtown area) and meet up with a ragtag crew of like-minded skaters. We would race down this three-story spiral downramp, then climb the center column back up to the top, over and over again, and do it all night.
There was usually alot of weed and beer being consumed at the same time, and sometimes a small BBQ would get fired up as well. Sometimes we'd climb a rain gutter or jump rooftop gaps to throw shit down at the cars cruising up and down Saginaw St.

It was during one of these bomber sessions that I met Brian the singer of Smiling Sacrifice.

If you know anything about the history of the Flint HC / Metal scene, you'd know that Repulsion was the big name.
Fuck, Napalm Death wouldn't even exist had they not traded tapes with Scott Carlson of said band - respect! The other big player on the scene (but more on the hardcore end of the spectrum) was a band called Dissonance.
I'll most likely do a post on them soon.
Anyways, Smiling Sacrifice was always kind of the "little brother" to both of these bands, and so I guess it's safe to say that these guys are a little bit metal and a lotta bit hardcore.
The beauty of the Flint scene was that the metal and the hardcore mixed so effortlessly.
This was before the term "metalcore" existed - by many few years - and I guess their sound lies somewhere between "crossover" and "thrash"?
Who cares, this shit is good.

Come get yourself a big heapin' of under-appreciated mid 80's / Mid-MI punk history...



Smiling Sacrifice - Smiling Sacrifice, Pt. I



Smiling Sacrifice - Smiling Sacrifice, Pt. II



Smiling Sacrifice on DoucheSpace.

Want your own copy (complete w/ DVD)?
Get it here.

Was that my longest post ever? Geez...