The kids were in the back seat
bouncing about, singing smiling with
a bright glow as I sat up front alone,
watching the long stretch of highway
get longer. We were traveling back
home from a vacation in the forest.
sort of a camping trip-you know,
tents, sleeping bags, open fires, mos-
quitoes and none of the luxuries of
home. The four of us against the wild
and I feel the wild got the best of us.
or at least of me. Sleeping on that
rocky ground bent my back out of
shape. Still, it was fun, and that
memory persisted as the black road
stretched forward. My imagination
formed images to pass time and I
fantasized while the children played
loudly. I never really noticed the on-
Frantic Scratchings by Leroy Martin
coming traffic, which rarely passed.
Perhaps I should watch the road
more, I thought, and wondered if
other motorists drove the same way.
mind aloft. My question was quickly
answered. We slowed down rapidly.
An accident had recently occurred
about 200 feet in front of our car. It
appeared to have been a violent one,
but there was no sign of what had
happened. I cautioned the children
to sit down and try not to look as we
came near, but it's hard to calm a
child's curiosity. I hoped nothing
bloody or gory was visible, nothing
that could leave a scar on a child's
mind. The ambulance and the police
were there. Red lights flashed.
People in uniforms ran about. I saw
a stretcher with a white sheet cover-
ing a body I looked back at the kids
and all three had their faces pressed
against the window. eyes wide with
astonishment. I worried that even if
I scolded them. I couldn't explain
why. We passed the car, or a crushed
metal jigsaw puzzle, and sped up to
continue our cruise back home. The
vision of death now haunted the end
of our vacation. The kids went back
to playing and I turned up the radio
Rock and roll blasted out. It wasn't
the right music for the mood, with
death in the air. It did get me think-
ing, though, how rock and roll had
changed. how perhaps the initial
idea had died and it had become
hundreds of little sub divisions, all
noisily fighting for attention, hyped
past the point of what's reasonable.
vying for that slice of your weekly
paycheck, like a game of Monopoly
and who owns what street, spreading
emotions at a roll of the dice, pick a
card and listen to chance. I turned
up the radio louder, maybe out of
frustration, maybe as a way of ex-
pression, but I forgot, I smiled, and
sadly I didn't see the headlights com-
ing. The sound was extreme, metal
ripping into little jigsaw puzzle pieces
and I knew that this didn't happen to
everyone, this distraction from my
responsibilities, and that I could
never rebuild that metal mountain
again, there were too many pieces
Who would explain to the children?
Not my vacation, Puszoners, but
the column is back now that
Skaterock Volume 7: "Noise Forest."
is complete. Send all inquiries and
important tunes to Puszone, PO Box
701, S.F., CA 94101 USA. Thanx, me
pals!
CRUNCH DIVISION
This guy comes up to me and asks
me to listen to this band. He says it's
got some cool CB noise on it. It was
a track off some compilation Lp. I say
to him as I'm listening to the band,
"What's the name of this group?" He
tells me the group is called Tad.
Unusual name for a band. I knew a
guy in Boise named Tad. To my sur-
prise, this was him. No way, Tad is
doing stuff like this? This is intense,
not what I expected. So Tad has just
released a new Lp. God's Balls, and
does this hummer rage. Tad, where
did you get his material from? Man,
this is some mean stuff. Thick, heavy
wicked, distorted, evil, bold, brutal,
the newly formed In-Effect label. Also
recently released is a 12" Ep featur
ing two versions of Chrome's "Third
from the Sun" and a new track,
"Mind the Gap" Finally, if you're
lucky, you'll find the Sounds Blast Ep
and 7" that came with the tabloid that
housed the Prong track "Your Fear"
Just can't get enough of Prong, a
truly good original band. Recently
returned from a successful European
tour, Prong has been raving about a
band they played with called Head
of David. So next up...
From out of the dirgy corners of
Britain comes a slaughterhouse of
sound, a virtual barrage of raw,
piercing guitars and pile driving drum
beats that calls itself Head of David.
Perhaps if you combined early Black
Sabbath with early Killing Joke you'd
get a feel for this band's approach.
But no comparison can prepare you
for the total onslaught this band wails
out. Guitars echo madly as if claw-
ing their way out of the bowels of the
earth. Speed is kept to a minimum
and the beats roar as the drums are
continually smacked, fashioning a
solid frantic beat. The vocals are full
of effect and haunt between the notes
and eerie chaos, chanting to the
savage rhythm. Capture the moment
with tracks like "Dog Day Sunrise,"
"Cult of Coats," and "Tequila."
These are just three of fifteen tracks
that make up the Dustbowl Lp. Head
of David isn't a band that rips your
head off; they deep fry it while it's still
connected to your living body. This
is boiling. On Blast First
savage, not to mention untamed and UPCOMING DIVISION
raw. So here's Tad at the head of this
ensemble, roaring out staggering
guitar chords and pushing out crazed
vocals. This guy played all the instru
ments on his first 7", but there are
three other members in this Tad bar-
rage who add to the combustion of
this noise hothouse. This music is
definitely not fast, but it's extremely
hard and packs a crunch even the
captain would be proud of. Ten cuts
of knuckling power rip the teeth from
your gums, no novocaine. Tad is your
smiling dentist; let his guitar bite that
soft flesh. On the definite heaven.
track "Sex God Missy," the sweat
pours out of the grooves. Crown the
new king Tad, the behemoth with his
face everywhere. Elvis didn't die, he's
hiding under the disguise of Tad. Ha
ha ha ha. Eat it up, grunge freaks.
On Sub Pop, PO Box 20645, Seattle,
WA 98102.
More blasting crunch from Prong.
those NY power-housers of some-
kind-of-core. Sure, always tons of
raves here, as this band spews a lot
more than washed up metal spittle.
since this is a rigorous no-holds-
barred aggression that wraps itself
around your unsuspecting nervous
system. This three-piece unit grinds i
cannon booming charges of bulldoz
ing fury with brute strength. Prong
continues to be a wall of dominance
Their US release of the classic Force
Fed Lp contains one extra track on
Watch for new stuff soon from
Sick Of It All-Blood, Sweat and
No Tears in in Effect. The advance
tape shows a crucial hardcore
release for 1989
Mass Appeal-New Lp. Australian
thrashers-a bit tamer but none the
weaker. The advance tape dominates
the home deck. Should be on
Waterfront.
Reason to Believe 7 Ep.
Southern Cal posi-band, good sound
and singer that sounds too much like
lan MacKaye On Nemesis Records.
Frank's new label.
Visual Discrimination-Step Back
and Listen Lp. Crazed thrash again
on Nemesis
Ripcord Poetic Justice Lp. Brit
thrash with a great deal of appeal on
Raging Records.
Pink Turds in Space 12" Ep
Greatest Shits Northern Ireland
thrash on In Your Face.
Heresy Whose Generation? 7".
parody of the classic Who sleeve. On
In Your Face.
Unity Blood Days, the alter ego
of Uniform Choice, still sounding
great. No label yet.
Haywire-Debut band featuring Bill
Rubin of Half-Off. Traditional HC
sound, a pace down. On New
Beginnings
Underdog-The Vanishing Point Lp.
great new release from one of New
York's best, not featuring Chuck
Treece on guitar. On Caroline.
Sheer Terror-Lp. great NY band.
Rest In Pieces-Under My Skin Lp.
the Pieces are back with an explosive
new disc on Hawker Records.
Excel The Joke's On You second
Lp featuring cover of the Police's
"Message In A Bottle" on Caroline.
Brotherhood Debut 7" Ep from
this Seattle band that sounds like a
cross between SS Decontrol and
Siege on Skate Edge records.
Raw Deal-Band that must soon
change name due to some band who
has already registered the name.
Debut from one of NY's hottest
bands. Anthony and Co will more
than split your sinuses. Advance tape
is exceptional! On In Effect.
CORE DIVISION
They're back! True form, true
power, true expressions, all are
characteristics of one of Canada's
most original outfits, namely SNFU
It's been a while since we last saw
a release from this bunch, but it's
been well worth the wait, since this
Better than a Stick In the Eye Lp is
the SNFU'ers best slab of black vinyl
yet. Fully enjoyable with non-stop ac-
tion, this record combines the best
elements of hardcore without going
over the top on excessive speed.
They keep the power chords strong
with effective harmonies and positive
furious melodies keep the beat in a
proper pace. Chi-Pig croons wildly,
pushing the vocals in and out at the
right moments as the band electrifies
the sound. The first few songs on
side A draw you right in, you feel the
black humor of this unit and the at-
tack stays vigorous and fresh. "Time
to Buy a Futon." "GI. Joe Gets Angry
With Human Kind," "The Quest for
Fun, "In the First Place" and the
lead track on side two, "Postman's
Pet Peeve are classic tracks that
capture the senses, as all twelve of
these tracks do, including the cover
of Cat Stevens "Wild World" The so-
called metal fatigue hasn't kept these
five madmen from churning out their
jarring attack of raw enjoyable com-
bustion. They keep the hardcore feel
ing alive. This is an Lp worth any
one's attention. Add it to 1989's ten
best Lp's list. On: Cargo Records
1180 Saint Antoine St., West Montreal,
Quebec H3C 1B4 Canada
Here's a band that's a true per
sonal fave. They split up some time
back, and most of us thought that
was the end of them. Either they got
bored, needed the time off, or just
came up with so much new material
they had to re-form to record all their
ideas. Who is this, you wonder. Well,
it's those British crazies, Rudimen
tary Peni, and they are definitely
pushing out riffs from the lunatic
asylum on this release. Cacophony
is a non-stop barrage of mixed
mayhem. It literally doesn't stop-
no track breaks, song after song.
noise after noise, chaos after chaos
Despite this and the fact that Rudi
Peni were pioneers in the speed
arena, this record doesn't overdose
on ultra-speed. This three-piece puts
more than imagination in their music.
The music starts with one of Nick
Bunko's masterful covers in all its in-
tense detail, introducing you to a lot
of verse on the gothic horror author
H.P Lovecraft: The thirty cuts here
always leave you guessing. With
sometimes strange vocals, poetic
jaunts, ranting and screams.
distorted guitars, and song titles that
could be book names, Rudi Peni
prove so original in the field they are
in, it could scare people anyway.
Tracks like "Lovecraft Baby.""
"Arkham Hearse." "Sunset for the
Lords of Venus" "The Old Man is not
so Terribly Misanthropic," "Musick in
Diabola" and "Architectonic and
Dominant" are just a few slices that
show the diversity of this outfit. From
their sped-up thrusts to their vocal
assaults of psychological mayhem.
this is Rudimentary Peni in fine form.
licking their chops and smiling. It is
great to know a band can still do it
so well after so long an absence. On
Outer Himalayan Records.
Here's another slab destined to go
into the punk record collector's hall
of fame. Self-financed again, Poison
Idea prove they're still a force to be
reckoned with as this two-song
twelve-inch colored vinyl disc shows
why Portland's finest is just that. The
title track, "Getting the Fear" with
its Charlie Manson overdubs and
Witches of Mendocino rap, packs
that awesome whallop of a true core
song. Even with attempt at metal
guitar sounds and drum whacks, it
still is brutally forceful and vicious.
Still, it's the opposing cut, "4 a.m."
that gets my vote for best kick in the
butt. This number is a total onslaught
of grinding and power, guitars roar
ing and ripping, pig champions still
delivering those mean riffs, and in
their trademark style blowing your
flesh clean from the bone. Jerry's
vocals growl with an eager bite, strok
ing the rhythms, barking at the right
moments while singing about life
with a passion for words. This is
another fine moment for Poison Idea.
Even though the two tracks aren't
enough, it's great to know this band
hasn't given up. hasn't changed
styles and is still as critical as ever.
Write to Poison Idea, PO Box 86333,
Portland, OR 97286-0333
Southern Cal posi-straight-core's
No For An Answer comes alive with
their second release, and album en-
titled A Thought Crusade. All the
prominent elements of hardcore exist
here-speed, power, heartfelt lyrics.
a strong youthful stance and deter
mination. Vocalist Dan O'Mahoney
sports a mean deep growling voice
box that crosses well with the low raw
sound of the distorted guitars.
Everything's here and it's a good
follow-up, especially the personal
quality of the lyrics. Be sure and
check into No For An Answer on
Hawker Records.