TROUBLE.

This record came out at the right / wrong time…

In 1990, I was in the throws of some old-school American Hardcore hangover, trying not to fall into the newfangled "grunge thing" - (TAD ruled) - and then THIS RECORD showed up.
Fuckin' Xtian hippies into Sabbath? Huh?

In the end, they are just a fuckin' killer band who enjoyed getting fucked up & weren't really Xtian band at all.
Politics aside, this band was an anomaly for ANY scene at the time.
Still a weekly go-to record for me.

Why this record is not easier to find is beyond me - Rick Wartell & Bruce Franklin could possibly be one of the most under-the-radar guitar-slingin' bad-ass rock duos out there. Seriously, not a filler riff on this slab at all - the Rick Rubin production - just like on Slayer's 'South of Heaven" *ahem* "re-invented their sound" - and there is not a note wasted here. Sound-wise it's a time bomb; with the fat fucking mix, etc.

Get your Black Shape of Doom on already, willya?

Trouble - Trouble

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☞ Last post until 4/20 at least - (off to Hawaii for a week). Fuck yes. ☜

GRAVE.

Absolute perfect early Swedish Death Metal played with stylistic perfection. Heavy as fuck, relentless as fuck, and brutal as fuck.

This record goes straight for the jugular every second of every song. Tasteful drumming, dynamic riffing, and from-the-depths vocals?

Works for me…

Grave - Into The Grave

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FEAR.

Not much to say here - it's fuckin' FEAR!!!

They've been featured here possibly more than any other band; this recording has good sound as well as a tight set of hits - FEAR in their heyday, if you will - AND YOU WILL…

Fear - W.O.W. Hall, Eugene, OR 09.17.1982

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TOILING MIDGETS.

"UNREST IS RIGHT"…

Probably one of the three hardest records I've ever tried to describe would be "Sea of Unrtest" by San Francisco's own Toiling Midgets.
At some points, it oozes some of the most blissful melody ever, but then the turn-around comes and you find yourself alone, desolate, naked, cold, ugly, and trembling in fear - yet it feels incredibly RIGHT - and the stark solace becomes your (best) frienemy.

Huh?

There's about a thousand fucking shitty bands that owe this band a paycheck or two, and while they'll never get the credit they deserve, I can rest assured knowing that I've done my part to help you fill in the blanks of (lost & under-appreciated) S.F. punk/hardcore/rock history.

Oh, and by the way, if you need a stiff drink or a cold beer, stop by the Lucky 13 bar in the Castro / S.F. - Craig (guiarist) pours the drinks there a few days a week. I'll see you there.

You can buy me a shot of Hornitos, bitch.

Toiling Midgets - Sea of Unrest.

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ALTAMIRA.

Sometimes I don't want to share the goods, bro.
I'm sorry.
Every now and then though, there comes a record that just defies genre by creating the perfect brew of all things good about all things punk / metal, etc.

Serious stoner jams - but not in that "Stoner Rock" cliche' kind-of-way.
The "heaviness of the load" runs DEEP here, son.
If there was ever a record that could GET you high w/o you actually being high, here it is.

Unsung WestBayKoalition / Doomryderz ATTACK!!!

"You better axe somebody…

Altamira - Point of Impact

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