THE FIVE YEAR PLAN / POST.

(START OF RANT):

Plan?
What plan?
There never was a plan …

I certainly never thought I'd still be "writing a blog" about bands & records that I don't give a shit if anyone else besides myself fawns over.
My taste has only gotten more extreme (or worse if you ask some people), and my "photoshop skills" haven't broken any new ground - HA! - but I don't care - never have. What's the point?
In the end, I'm still having fun doing this. I have managed to crank out a post a week or so (almost / usually) so while I ain't so hella prolific in that department, I AM STILL FUCKIN' HERE .

I've outlasted quite a few - thought I'd pack it in a few times - but when I look around & see how many blogs I was buddies with over the years who have hung it up (for whatever reason), well then… that just gives me fuel to keep going!

The comments have waned over the years, but you really can't expect much from the internetz, honestly. This is my labor of love (not sure it's love, but it "is what it is"), and if you enjoy the ride that I provide, then let me know once in a while.

Thanks for listening, and hopefully you'll still be hanging in for whatever comes next.

(END OF RANT).

And now on to year six we go...

Squirrel Bait were "The Princes of Louisville, Kentucky" back in the halcyon days of the Mid-Eighties. A band of teenage bros who had chops for days, and wrote - for lack of better term - "post-hardcore" at a level way beyond their years (much like the chops they possessed.

While they only put out two short albums back in the day, those became the soundtrack to my skate-fueled "post-high school slacker life" that I had embarked on. Late nights & sweaty sessions grinding curbs all night on 10" x 30" decks w/ a boombox, a ratty cassette, some cold beers & a bag of dirt-weed. (That's all I needed anyways).
Here's a wonderfully fucking rare live recording of The 'Bait tearing it up in Minneapolis in 1986. Try to keep in mind that these guys were still in high school at the time. Makes you kind of feel like a chump, don't it? While I never cared for any of the other mega-bands that these fellas were involved with in the years to come, Squirrel Bait remains a VERY special band to me, and that won't change.
Guaranteed.

Squirrel Bait - 01.03.1986 Minneapolis, MN.

Link in comments.

STRONG INTENTION.

29 strong & still in your face, The Pride of Frederick, Maryland lays waste with its brick-to-the-face manner of unrelenting thrash/grind/violence.

Definitely a band that should have garnered more attention all along - the material on this mysterious CD-R "release" I downloaded many moons ago from the always awesome RAW GRIND CHAOS CORE blog always satisfies, and over the years they have honed their sound into something MUCH more than just well-crafted "tuff-guy" NYHC.

A swell cup of coffee in the A.M. if there ever was one...

Strong Intention - Disgrace to the Corpse of Hardcore: 1997 - 2001

Link in comments.

BOLT THROWER.

Simply put, this is a masterpiece album that mixes the best of fast & heavy.

A total juggernaut of brutality, 23 years later it's still hard to beat.
Downtuned beyond downtuned, but with a sense of purpose, the riffs on this thing are top-notch.

Doom-laden & heavy, this record sounds like you're stuck in a giant, cavernous sewer pipe w/ the almighty Bolt Thrower pummeling you w/ their chaotic rock mastery from the other end; the double bass (just a bit behind) teamed with the thunder-thump bass lines of one Jo Bench the whole time creating an uneasiness that feels just right...

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness)

Link in comments.

FOUL STENCH.

Take a big blast from the well-used & uncleaned bong of this "stuck in the Nineties" death metal scum squad from the "gem-covered streets" of Dayton, Ohio!

Foul Stench are stuck in the Nineties BECAUSE THEY WERE AROUND IN THE NINETIES, SON!

You won't find much technical merit here for the most part - just big FAT riffage, deep groove, caustic thrashing, and a big smattering of "cough-to-get-off" guttural bellowing over the top.

Sprinkle some of this shit on your bowl- a band that doesn't take itself too seriously, yet GETS THE FUCK DOWN in all seriousiness, Foul Stench is worth checking out.

Foul Stench - Eternal Rot

Link in comments.

Back from Michigan - it was hot as fuck - (just like your mom)...

RUDIMENTARY PENI.

Not much needs to be said about the legacy of this band that still ain't finished...

Rudimentary Peni is one of those timeless punk bands that everyone seems to be a fan of, or refers to as an influence, yet no one even comes close to the way they sound.

That is a good thing.

What I offer to you today is also a good thing - the demos for the DEATH CHURCH album - such a classic - well fuck - ALL of their recorded output is classic, honestly, but um… can I use any more hyphens and parentheses and create more run-on sentences?

YES I CAN…

Not much bottom end in the mix, but all the fury & anguish is in this THIRTY YEAR-OLD RECORDING. I'll bet most of you were still a few years away from being mistakes in your dad's ball-sac when this came out...

Rudimentary Peni - Death Church (Demos)

Link in comments.

Enjoy this recording - heading off to Detroit for a week.

I'm hoping to get one more post up this week, so check back soon (all three of you who actually read this shit & comment, etc).