Tomorrow's Ashes #3.5

Tomorrow's AshesCrust PunkRaw PunkRaw HardcoreD-beatDeath MetalHardcoreAnarcho PunkStenchcorePost PunkNoise PunkPunk Rock
Written By Craig Hayes

Kia ora friends and frenemies. 

Welcome to Tomorrow's Ashes #3.5. I'm posting this bonus edition of Tomorrow's Ashes because I got waylaid and out of sync over the past couple of months. I ended up with a backlog of music I wanted to shout about, which meant an extra column was called for. If you haven't already, check out Tomorrow's Ashes #3, which is also stacked with rowdy releases. 

I've kept things short and sweet below; less of me talking in favour of cramming in more music is clearly the way to go. Also, I want to streamline Tomorrow's Ashes from hereon in. Writing snappier blurbs seems like a good place to start. 

As always, a huge thanks for stopping by. If you’ve shared Tomorrow's Ashes around at any point, then rest assured a cyber hug is winging your way. I appreciate the support… big time.

Stay safe. Be well. I'll see you soon. 

Kia kaha.

x

Noisy Words to Check-Out:

Six Noises Jams of the Month:

  • Wilco: Cruel Country (No apologies; Dadrockers gotta Dadrock.)

  • Suicide: S/T (An always rewarding masterpiece of minimalist/maximalist theatre.)

  • Pond: S/T (A long-lost indie/grunge gem from Sub Pop’s glory years. )

  • Cold Chisel: Circus Animals (One of the bogan Godz’s best LPs.)

  • Wolf and Owl Podcast (UK comedians Tom Davis and Romesh Ranganathan shoot the shit about everything and nothing at all. Hilarious.)

  • The Pop Group: Y in Dub (Dennis Bovell reworks the UK post-punk band's forward-thinking debut. Warped reggae and funk abound.)

  • Anthem: Gypsy Ways (My love for 80s Japanese heavy metal knows no bounds. Godhead guitar histrionics from one of Japan's true metal heroes.)

Burning//World: Peace is No Reality

Extreme Crude Disorder: Aftermath

Raw punk and d-beat bands are a dime a dozen, but not every outfit cuts the mustard. Worthy groups have to be au fait the rot, one with the grot, and they have to be well versed in life's trials and miseries. That's not the end of the tale, though. Those bands have to project all of life's unjustness and wretchedness — and the boiling rage it inspires — into the earholes of unwashed fans, and they have to make us believe it too. 

New Jersey punks Burning//World do an excellent job of selling their shit(noise). I don't mean 'selling' in any commercial sense. I mean Burning//World hammer their horrible truths home with a shedload of authenticity. The band channelled abundant anger on their 2020 debut, What Brings Tomorrow?, which was released by raw punk specialists — and home to raging bands aplenty — Blown Out Media. Burning//World draw inspiration from the unhinged oeuvres of bands like Disarm, Disclose, and Framtid, and while it feels odd (but not really) to praise Burning//World for making such a dissonant racket, credit where credit's due, the band make great fucking noise. 

Burning//World's latest obnoxious release, Peace is No Reality, affirms their ability to write genuinely murderous-sounding music. Peace is No Reality is a harsh, migraine-inducing maelstrom, with crashing waves of super-abrasive guitars, guttural barks, and thundering bass and drums wrapped around fierce critiques of myriad social and political ills. It's a ferocious wall of noise, but what nudges Peace is No Reality over the line (turning it into an essential release) are two things. 

First, the LP's sequencing is downright homicidal; throat-gripping track after throat-gripping leaves zero chance to catch your breath. It's intense. Secondly, while Peace is No Reality is acidic enough to melt the skin from bone, everything here also feels armour-plated in its core strength and impact. 

Again, it feels incongruous to 'rank' music that rails against the hierarchical nature of modern capitalism and consumerism, but fuck it; Peace is No Reality is a shoo-in for one of 2022's best raw punk LPs. It's a scorching release purpose-built to soundtrack the worse of times (i.e. right now). Kudos to Burning//World for bringing their very own moniker to life.  

Also out via Blown Out Media is Extreme Crude Disorder's raucous Aftermath cassette. Here's a fun fact: when I typed 'Extreme Crude Disorder' into the search bar, the top results pointed to an article on degenerative brain disorders and the 'angry outbursts, self-destructive behaviours and impulsive aggressive symptoms' associated with a mental health condition. Although wildly off-topic, those results are also a pretty good summation of Extreme Crude Disorder's music. 

The EU-based four-piece base their chaotic sound on the Discharge model, but then Extreme Crude Disorder smash things up with even more brain-battering aggression on split-second songs. Side two of Aftermath is currently streaming on Bandcamp, and it features more than enough lo-fi mayhem to tempt noise not music nerds like you and me. 

[Blown Out Media]

Invalid: S/T

Woodstock 99: Gremlin

Hüstler: S/T

I fucking love Raleigh, North Carolina label and record store Sorry State Records. I hope that doesn't sound too creepy. It's just that Sorry State always has a great selection of releases to choose from, and I've always had excellent customer service from half a world away. Although, that's not what we're here to talk about today. 

We're here to chat about three LPs that Sorry State has recently released. All of those releases — from Invalid, Woodstock 99, and Hüstler — tick all of the punk rock boxes. However, they also all sound markedly different from one another. 

Invalid's self-titled LP collects all of the tracks from their 2020 debut, Do Not Resuscitate, and combines them with six newer songs, which follow the same blunt/brutal/angry-sounding path. Invalid's antagonistic tracks call to mind the definitive hardcore of Black Flag, Negative Approach, or (as Sorry State points out) early Direct Control. You can expect tough songs and urgent tempos; howling hardcore that'll exorcise your woes with full-bore blasts of primal punk. 

Woodstock 99 sound just as intense as Invalid. However, the Cleveland-based band's Gremlin LP also explores well beyond hardcore's usual boundaries, with tracks like "Beatboxing in Viet… Nam!!" and "Budget Inn" ignoring any set genre rules. Woodstock 99's songs are dark and grim, and Sorry State points to Poison Idea's influence, which makes sense when hard-ass opener "La Casa De Fuck You" kicks into gear. Elsewhere, though, Woodstock 99 incorporate a few off-beat swerves, with "$800 Lunch Meat" leaping from alt-rock to nu-metal to ripping hardcore. That changeable MO keeps you on your toes, ensuring Gremlin LP remains gripping throughout. 

Hüstler's two cassette releases for Sorry State were instant best-sellers, so slapping them on the band's vinyl debut is sure to be welcomely received. Like Woodstock 99, Hüstler also fuck with genre by injecting deathrock, post-punk, and varying shades/styles of underground metal into the core of their often gloomy (albeit always electrifying) tracks. There's not a massive difference between Hüstler's first and second releases. The latter is a little more metal and maybe a little more anthemic. But there's still plenty of deathrock's darkness to be found. In any case, hitting 'add to cart' is a no-brainer. Hüstler's vinyl debut is sure to be another best-seller. 

[Sorry State]

Swab: Big City

Australian label Hardcore Victim recently held a two-day festival featuring a host of killer bands, including groups like Geld, Enzyme, Execution, Sistema En Decadencia, Sepsis, and Fukkheads. (If you're interested, there's plenty of rungus live footage from the Hardcore Victim '22 on Short Sharp Shock's YouTube page.) Sepsis and Fukkheads dropped new releases around the same time, as did Naarm (Melbourne) band Swab, who were also on the bill. Swab's Big City LP is a breakneck blast of searing hardcore where the band's influences — old school Japanese and East Coast bands aplenty — are fused at high temperatures and even higher velocities. As Hardcore Victim points out, you might stop to wonder if you're playing Big City at the wrong speed. Trust me; you're not. You're just listening to Swab's 100% commitment to playing truly blistering hardcore that's tight as a gnat's ass from go to whoa. Big City is super-fast and super-furious. But most of all, it's a heap of fist-raising fun. 

PS: I haven't heard the new release from Sepsis or Fukkheads' debut, but I'll report back as soon as I do. I'm looking forward to hearing both. 

[Hardcore Victim]

Repression Attack: An Endless Landscape of Ugly Shapes

Russian five-piece Repression Attack explore a lot more psychedelic terrain on their latest full-length release, An Endless Landscape of Ugly Shapes. Tripped-out elements have gnawed at the edges of the band's stenchcore-friendly sound before now. But epic-sounding tracks like "The Nameless City," "The Road to the Unknown Places," and "Through the Ruins of the Mind" feature more acid-fried tweaks and modulations. Saxophone, frenzied percussive passages, and strange and sinister soundbites all make an appearance on An Endless Landscape of Ugly Shapes. However, while Repression Attack have certainly expanded their sound, raging metalpunk still sits at the heart of their songs, with heavyweight crustcore fuelling tracks like "The Torch" and "Golgotha". It's been close to a decade since Repression Attack's last full-length release, so change isn't unexpected or unwelcome. The band haven't radically overhauled their approach to songwriting on An Endless Landscape of Ugly Shapes, but it is a far more enthralling release for Repression Attack's creative experimentations.  

[Self-released]

Crosshairs: Demo 2022

Canadian band Crosshairs' Demo 2022 kicks off with the ridiculously catchy "Picked Clean" before ripping through three more hook-laden tracks that'll leave you grinding your teeth/aching for more. If you're a fan of Slow Death Records peers like Bootlicker, Chain Whip, and Blood Ties, then Crosshairs' neck-snapping hardcore will likely fit the bill. The band tear through their mosh-ready songs with a blazing skillset inspired by classic hardcore. Expect powerhouse punk that'll get you over the hump. Fired up and good to go. 

[Slow Death Records]

M​:​40: Dödens Bleka Häst 

The latest release from the long-running Swedish band M​:​40 is a four-song 10" entitled Dödens Bleka Häst (translated: The Pale Horse of Death). M​:​40's follow up to their anvil-heavy 2019 LP, Arvsynd, features more of their signature barrel-chested crust and d-beat. Muscular hardcore is M​:​40's strong suit, much like comparable bands Tragedy, Martyrdöd, Victims, and co. Dödens Bleka Häst tracks like "Avgrunden," "Lykantropen," and "En förlorad värld" are thick of tone, burly as a mammoth, and they feature a wealth of stamina, strength, and gusto. Even better, M:40 do a great job of ratcheting and releasing the tension, meaning their tracks also feature plenty of cathartic payoffs. Howling vocals, steel-tipped riffs, and an inexhaustible rage; twenty years into their career, M:40 still have passion and creativity to burn. 

(Halvfabrikat Records, Phobia Records) 

Abuso de Poder: Vago Muerto

Most of the music that emerges from RoachLeg Records' armoury sticks to the raw hardcore side of the street. However, Santa Ana-based punks Abuso de Poder offer something different on their Vago Muerto 7". The band's tightly laced Spanish-language street punk is fittingly gruff and hard-bitten. But Abuso de Poder are also happy to throw an arm around your shoulder and drop in a catchy hook or three. There's a strong sense of authenticity here; you know, cheap beer, shout-a-longs, and a drunken brawl that ends in the gutter. That said, Abuso de Poder's songs also have a darker tone than many other brews 'n' glue street punk bands. Tough-as-steel. Good times. 

[Roachleg Records]

Gripe: Como Acabar Contigo Mismo

Gripe: Déjame Solo 

Gripe hail from Santiago, Chile and their Déjame Solo EP and Como Acabar Contigo Mismo LP popped up on Bandcamp at roughly the same time. Como Acabar Contigo Mismo (out via Neon Taste Records) features new and older songs, while Déjame Solo (out via Junko Records) includes four recent tracks. Both releases feature punchy/catchy hardcore that's pitch-perfect for slamming, skating, and throwing bricks through windows. In all honesty, I've only heard half of Como Acabar Contigo Mismo, which features rip-roaring tracks plucked from Gripe's 2020 demo. Still, I think it's safe to assume the rest of the LP will feature similar redlining hardcore. (I also think it's safe to assume that every band that Keith Morris ever appeared in would wholeheartedly approve of Gripe's riotous energy.) 

[Junko Records, Neon Taste Records]

B.E.T.O.E: Punk Crudo Como Nuestra Cruda Realidad 2016​-​2018

Prolific Venezuela-born punks B.E.T.O.E round up a couple of years of their trademark 'raw punk shit' on Punk Crudo Como Nuestra Cruda Realidad 2016​-​2018 (roughly translated; Raw Punk like our Raw Reality). Songs are lifted from compilations, splits, and 7" releases, including B.E.T.O.E's Totalitarismo del Siglo and Sometidos sin Mañana EPs. All of B.E.T.O.E's songs stick to an extremely crude but effective recipe that's über-primitive and dissonant as hell (take one part gunk, two parts fuck-ugly punk, and feed it through the gristmill of modernity.) Capitalism, corruption, and the scourge of war, prejudice, and poverty are B.E.T.O.E's main points of interest; you know, fuck everything, slash some tyres, and throw a couple of Molotovs for kicks. Punk Crudo Como Nuestra Cruda is recommended for fans of Disclose, Shitlickers, and Confuse (and kin), with every vitriolic song sounding like it was recorded in the boot of a half-crushed car in a radioactive junkyard. Horrible music for even more horrible days. Great stuff.

[Self-released]

Organ-ism: Naci Muerto

Released by Milwaukee, Wisconsin label Unlawful Assembly, Organ-ism's Naci Muerto EP starts with a mind-melting wave of screeching feedback and finishes 10-minutes later with more of the same. Between those two ear-piercing points in time, you get rapid-fire d-beat and hardcore that's super-volatile and yet tight-as-fuck. Organ-ism's first release features all the passion and energy you'd hope for on debut, but it also reveals a band capable of writing songs that explode and contract with wicked effect. I got some heavy Vaaska, Destripados, and Impalers vibes right here, and that's never a bad thing. Naci Muerto is a great debut. Get some. 

[Unlawful Assembly]

Klonns: Crow

Prowler: Demo

The Bandcamp page of prolific Seattle label Iron Lung Records is the gift that keeps on giving. Every time I take a peak, there's another tempting treat on offer. Klonns and Prowler's recent releases are well worth mentioning. But I'd encourage you to check out recent Iron Lung releases from No Future, Living World, Heaven, and top-notch — i.e. sickening/suffocating —death metallers Somatic Decay. 

(Actually, let me triple the recommendation for Somatic Decay's Existential Decadence debut; it's a prime slab of pestilence and filth.)

I picked the Japanese band Klonns' Crow EP to highlight because it's a step up from their previous releases. In fact, Crow is an absolute ripper. Klonns apparently looked to old school Japanese punks like Lip Cream and The Clay for inspiration, and while Crow doesn't sound like a release from either of those bands, Klonns do a first-rate job of corraling the unhinged energy of early Japanese hardcore. There's a mountain of off-the-chain intensity right here, which is why Crow is easily Klonns' most impressive release thus far. 

Prowler's demo is best suited for fans of rough-and-ready and relentlessly hammering hardcore. (Damaged being the exemplar for this strain of noise.) I recently bought a copy of Antidote's Thou Shalt Not Kill, and Prowler's berserker demo would slot right in next to that classic. The Denver-based band don't mess about with any fripperies, cutting right to the marrow of quintessential 80s hardcore. Prowler's throat-ripping tracks never let up. In the words of Iron Lung, go hard or fuck right off.

[Iron Lung Records]

Fukker: Demo

Territory: The Tower

Fukker's demo was initially released back in 2019. However, the Western Australian band's debut is being re-released (with new artwork and a new layout) by DIY champs Televised Suicide Records and Fuzzed Atrocities. Fukker's demo absolutely warrants a reissue, with its obnoxious-sounding contents being a veritable raw punk feast. Chainsawing guitars attack blown-out vocals, and all the face-melting feedback and drums-from-hell are sure to satisfy fans of filth-choked crust/d-beat. Pro tip: buy a copy right this second. A brutal journey awaits. 

Fellow Perth-based band Territory also deliver an intense listening experience. In fact, I'd rate the 'powercrust' band's 2019 self-titled LP as one of their label Televised Suicide's best releases yet. Territory have a new 7" entitled The Tower on the horizon, but only the EP's title track is currently streaming online. That might not sound like much to work with, but holy shit does "The Tower" promise great things. Territory's epic crust framework remains intact, but "The Tower" feels grimmer and sounds heavier. There's more ominous metal foregrounded here, which mirrors The Tower's portentous artwork in many ways. I guess the verdict's out until we hear The Tower in full. But if the EP is a much darker affair — both instrumentally and psychologically — you'll hear no complaints from me. 

[Televised Suicide, Fuzzed Atrocities]

Craig Hayes
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