"Uh, we're from Canada, spare any change." S.N.F.U
Claustrophobia. The abnormal-
fear of being in an enclosed or con-
fined place... Those words rang like
church bells inside my mass of brain
tissue, as I stood alone in an elevator
car that had just stopped between
floors. I had no desire to panic. Fear
did not run through my body. It was
just that those sheet-metal walls lin-
ed with carpet seemed to hover
around me, getting taller and wider.
then shorter and smaller like the grin
of a vicious laughing man. I darted
my forefinger outward, pushing but-
tons, hoping for results. Even a few
rings on the emergency switch didn't
do much. The lights dimmed, then
flickered madly I spun around.
What was going on? The elevator car
skipped downward a few times, drop-
ping about a foot at a time, still
holding position between floors. The
fourth jolt knocked me to the floor. I
noticed the carpet was an ugly pur-
ple and blue in psychedelic swirling
patterns with gum and dirt ground in.
I got up quickly to see a flashing light.
It was the '17' button, representing
the next floor, yet it was just a flicker
due to the low electrical charges. By
now it was stuffy, beads of sweat
poured off my forehead as I clasped
my hands together, squeezing tight-
ly. Then the lights, the panel, every-
thing went out. It was dark, a deep
black so thick that the horror was ab-
sorbed by my body. I couldn't see the
tip of my nose in front of my face.
Now, the frightening reality set in.
Helpless, I stood there, no one to call.
Maybe no one knew. The situation
was definitely not improving. Like
water bursting from a dam, music
suddenly poured from the speakers.
Loud, unbearable power echoed in-
to the chamber I was trapped in. To
my agony it was that gawd awful ele-
vator music, and it continued louder
and louder and louder, I could
barely withstand the pressure when
I heard this faint laughter seeping in
with the sound, I quickly looked
around, paranoid, and when I glanc-
ed upward I saw two giant eyes peer-
ing downward with an evil gleem. I
screamed at the top of my lungs,
"Get me out of here!"
Suddenly the floor fell out, and if
I wasn't having enough bad luck
already, here I was zooming down a
dark elevator shaft, rushing with the
pull of gravity, plunging to the bottom.
It was quick-I hit the bottom sooner
than I thought I would. I shook my
head, looked around. Where had I
landed? My eyes looked down into
a magazine. Suddenly there were
lights and loud roars of laughing
voices. I had fallen asleep and my
face had hit my desk, but was cush-
ioned as I had landed into the Pus
zone. Hahaha, Puszone time again
with this month's edition of hyperac
tive rantings and ravings with that all
but typical adjective form to greet
you. Get the goods: 3-22¢ stamps for
list and sticker to Pushead, PO Box
701, S.F, CA 94101 USA. Thanx!
Here we go into the land of
S.N.F.U.. You know, 1,2-1,2-S.N.F.U.
The stylus is down, the sound is
spewing, and Mr. Chi Pig is croon-
ing. If You Swear, You'll Catch No
Fish, S.N.F.U.'s second album
release is packed in a more than biz-
zarre cover which these Canadian
lads claim they have permission to
use (since the first Lp jacket stirred
up a host of copyright complaints).
The cover shows a piranna-like little
beastie, menacing some sort of
twisted human kind. Strange. Yet on
the disc, that creative S.N.FU. sound
is alive with power, thrust and com-
bustion, and focused on a host of
creative ideas while still smashing
bat on spinning ball. The guitar work
is deep and grinding without being
out of control, holding crafty rhythms
of a medium paced acceleration. Ax-
emen Muc and Brent feverously bat-
tle the strings, finger lashing their
picks into a sonic firing of chord
action which works tight with just the
right amount of umph to kick the
sound around. Chunky drives keep
a real melodic feel that is classic
punk rock, not pop, in blaring
S.N.FU. fashion. Beat that down with
an upfront production that sparks the
harmonies clean and robust. This se-
cond Lp continues to pave the way
for a very talented band. Even go-get-
'em tracks like "Better Homes and
Gardens," which are more represen
tative of their first Lp, have a good
shove. The lyrical delivery is one of
humor and sincerity, which is a plea-
sant surprise, making it more in-
teresting to see what these S.N.F.U.
boys have to say. All in all, If You
Swear, You'll Catch No Fish is
something to throw the hook out for.
but I guarantee you ain't gonna catch
no typical hardcore. On BYO, PO.
Box 67A64, LA., CA 90067.
A bloody good mate by the name
of Shane, who runs Manic Ears, a
tape label/record mail-order in
Bristol, England has formed his own
record label and is pretty choice in
the selections he chooses. First, he
released the ultra-intense, excellent
slab entitled Earslaughter, featuring
noise destroy hopefuls Chaos U.K.
and Extreme Noise Terror, the
maniac new bloods on the U.K.
scene. He got a favorable, if not
disorderly response to that record.
So now, Shane has released the se-
cond Manic Ears Lp by a great band
called Civilized Society, which is
brilliant and right up there in a top
ten spot for 1987. The album, called
Scrap Metal, demonstrates Civilized
Society's originality and thought-
fulness. Hammy, formerly of the In-
stigators, sings for this band, which
has that same kind of charisma the
Instigators had when Hammy was
with them. Civilized Society offer
straight forward British hardcore with
dynamite song structure and har-
monizing and an ever-present.
rhythmic punch. In the forefront are
female vocals with male vocals har-
monizing, creating quite the stun-
ning effect. Kerranging echos of
guitar distortion strum out a power-
ful yet effective string sound that
shows a well-written chord progres-
sion. Intense bass work along with
clever drum slaps make this unit just
reek with success. Every song
stands out, the female vocals pierc-
ing right to the heart. The vocalist
could stand on her own, but the male
vocalist's harmonizing is so unusual
that it is intriguing. Civilized Socie-
ty pack up a nifty Lp that isn't too
fast or too clumsy, and that lets you
just bop and enjoy. Hats off to Civiliz
ed Society and Manic Ears. Good
show. Write to Box 666, Full Marks
Bookshop, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol,
B52 3P4, England.
Scorching out of New York is the
latest in speedcore mayhem that rips
with a feverous desire, packing all
the fast riffs in with metallic lightning
licks. Here comes Prong. A turbulent
charge from a fast-paced three piece
who mix up good lyrics in a berzerk
quest for vigorous strength and
heavy iron thrusts. The compositions
bring a metal guitar in with a hard-
core approach, so hollow leads roar
out, as bass plucks kick in the
aggressive action and the drum work
is strong without being repetitive.
Harsh vocals growl out of the larnyx
for seven songs that blaze in a stop
'n go fashion, mixing up the sound.
Intense work from Mike Kirkland, Ted
Parsons and Tommy Victor, other-
wise known as Prong. Check out
this debut demo. Contact Prong at
11 Stanton ST., 5-D, NYC, NY 10002.
Intense bulldozing power comes
from a tough Japanese band who
mix the sound qualities of early
Discharge and clamorous Swedish
thrash outfits, to rage suddenly with
an awesome jolt and raunched out
style. The furious Kuro whip up
cross-fire thrash with snapback deto-
nation into a blazing rage of high
volume brutality. Kuro's third
release, Fire, comes in a nicely pack-
ed envelope that includes a one-
sided live flexi, a nicely printed Kuro
booklet, and a sticker. Snare/hi-hat
combinations set the pace for roar
ing guitars, and a muffled vocalist
shouts out the spit covered lyrics,
maximizing the effect of a good
solid band with true vigor and abra-
sive punches. Among all the name
bands, Kuro is still unknown, but
their sound should not be, this is a
quality release on KPP Records.
How about this? The next Sam-
hain album to be out on a major
label might just come with a
Samhain comic book. That is, of
course, unless Glenn decides to put
it out himself, but it is in the works!
It will feature cover art by none other
than Michael Mc Monster Gilbert,
and have inside stories by a whole
slew of artists including Flaming Car
rot's Bob Burden. This will be one
fun affair.
Real gutsy stuff. Fast, chaotic
crunches of hammering mayhem
cranked loud with a speedy metallic
flavor storms out of Belgium as a
band called X-Creta rampages with
a hauling assault. Like setting your
stylus down on a Motorhead Lp with
the speed at 45 rpm, X-creta pos-
sesses that sound, except with thick,
hoarse vocals (not the Alvin Chip-
munk type) growling fiercely as the
sound roars wickedly fast and
When Katon De Pena left Hirax,
the band lost a unique vocalist who
made a sharp impression in the
speed metal realm with his high
sopranic tones (which was quite
unusual since most fast bands have
hoarse crooners and Katon's high-
pitched shrilling was definitely dif-
ferent). Katon became disillusioned
with the music industry and dropped
out, but slowly he's gotten back into
it. Enough to form a new band call-
ed Phantasm, who have just releas
ed their first demo. So what's new
Frantic Scratchings: Sergle "Sir G" Loobkoff
destructive. Bulldozing guitar churns
produce a violently loud and distort-
ed effect that rages in quickness and
feedback, working nicely as sharp
little lead teeth sink in. Totally raw
and abrasive, X-Creta mixes up a
lethal dose of a Japanese scorcher
with brutal speed metal from the
U.S.A. and comes out with a spastic,
unique approach that has interesting
changes and definitely fast surges.
The vocals and guitars create quite
the intense barrage, giving X-Creta.
its own style. Thundering stuff that
will vibrate the wax out. On Punk,
Etc. Records. X-Creta's eight-song
Lp, Patronizing the Heterodox is a
sonic force. Mottestraat 12, 1870
Wolvertem, Belgium.
for Katon and the Phantasm crew?
Well, mix a sound of fast and furious
metal derived from the likes of
Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth,
with a tad bit of hardcore roots and,
of course, a sound similar to Hirax,
due to Katon's vocal duties, and
you've got a powerful locomotive,
pushing a combustive load straight
at 'cha. Excellent guitar work rips
through, as an overall tight sound
dominates and this new outfit looks
bright and on their way to a healthy
following. Six tracks including an
ear-piercing rendition of S.S. Decon-
trol's "Glue." Phantasm are hot and
ready. Check it out. Write to Katon
De Pena/Phantasm, 6062 San Rafael
Dr, Buena Park, CA 90620
The guitar whines into gear and
the blitzkrieg begins. Rambunctious
turbulence hauling an incredible
load of boiling insistence plunging
fast with hoarse convictions is
Gudon. Stoic Violence is Gudon's
second release, continuing where
the first left off. Noisy, grungy sound
that is quick and non-hesitant as an
exerting vocalist flails the throat mus-
cles with a deep corrosive thrust;
pushes Gudon's power one step fur-
ther. Interesting guitar riffs, smashing
out continually, bring this band
beyond the norm, as their lashing
keeps you guessing. Three tracks by
Gudon should be enough to make
anyone a fan. Distributed by Music
Visions, 7-15-14 Nishi-Shinjuku,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160, Japan.
PUSZONE
Lipcream New 12"
Wretched "La Tua Morte" Lp
Brutal Personal - Ep
Heibel "Yeah, Everything's
Great" Lp
Ripcord "Fast & Furious" demo
Scoundrels "Don't Cry For The
Moon" Lp
Disaster Area "Die On Your
Board" Lp