Band members Killing Time waiting for the success of their new album (L to R): Carl, Drago, Anthony, Alex
PUSZVNÉ
Late. The typical never-ending
story that continued even against all
their complaints. But they were
strong, supportive and determined
It was their job, no matter what oc
curred, no matter what went down.
They always crushed their fingers to
the bone to deliver, or so they
thought. They were men who shall
be introduced on a first name basis
only, with little to no description since
that is hardly necessary. Kyle and
Morton, or as his friends called him,
Mort, were two unusual characters
with different personalities and
lifestyles. This is not normally a com
mon bonding for friends, but the
team effort of the work situation had
brought them together in friendship
Even though Mort had title leverage
and a higher salary than Kyle, they
worked in the same department, just
the two of them. Their jobs were com
puter works, typesetting (or typo
graphy in sophisicated dreams
proofreading and general assem
blage of pica bound magazine copy
and assorted jobs that were thrown
forced or bribed their way. A college
bound life had not led them to this
92
they were just in the right place at the
right time, knew the right people, and
had the right skills. Plus, the pay
seemed right at the time. Seems like
a bunch of rights, so where were the
wrongs?
The daily lunch break at the run-
down, half-working pinball machines
that provided free play for employees
and the run-of-the-mill guest proved
interesting one afternoon. Seems the
magazine they worked for was quite
popular, ahead of the rest of its com
petition, and the owner was quite the
greed monger. Since the mag was at
its prime he privately intended to sell
it off to a larger publisher, collecting
on as much capital as he could. But
this information was unknown to Kyle
and Mort as well as the rest of the
staff. As usual, one of the pinball
machines weirded out and needed
a quick fix-up. So Mort crawled
underneath to check the electrical
connection. Kyle watched for activi
ty to see if Mort got the right spot.
A phone page soon called Kyle away
from the machines, and Mort was left
waiting there alone on the cold
ground. The owner walked in the
room with two others, and, thinking
no one was around, he discussed his
proposition to sell the magazine to
two representatives from a larger
publishing group. To the owner's
dismay, the two flatly refused the just
upped offer, due to accumulated
hazardous waste on the site of the
magazine's building. Since the deal
included the building its contents
magazine, staff, everything, the
publishing group representatives
said they would come back with a
lower offer that included the cleanup
of the waste. The owner was furious,
screamed a million obscenities and
left the room Mort got out from under
the pinball machine when the room
was empty astonished by what he
had just heard. Kyle came back in the
room, confused by the look on Mort's
face. The story was told.
Three months later Mort was at the
keyboard sizing copy, narrowly
pushing the deadline back a bit, try-
ing to keep up, when he got a phone
call. It was a representative from the
publishing company wanting to meet
him for dinner. He agreed to meet,
even though he knew something was
up. Only Kyle and he knew of the ac-
quisition attempt by the publishing
company; it wasn't open house
knowledge. He didn't tell Kyle about
the dinner meet. The publishing
company was interested in bringing
Mort over to their operation, but with
the information that Mort had
overheard he knew the main objec
tive was to hire the magazine
employees in order to regroup the
magazine under a different name.
This was because the publishing
company had decided not to pur-
chase the magazine. Of course, the
publishing company never told Mort
of their attempt to buy the magazine.
Mort was confused about what to do,
especially when they told him they
were not interested in hiring Kyle. His
confusion worsened a week later
when the magazine owner held a
special meeting, revealing that the
publishing company had come to
buy the magazine but didn't want to
pay its worth, also claiming they
would relinquish most of the staff.
Mort knew the owner was lying. Then
the owner said he feared that the
publishing company would attempt
to hire most of the magazine's
employees to start their own
magazine. The owner called for uni
ty and loyalty to the magazine. This
was so unusual for the employer, to
show such paranoia in a meeting.
After the meeting Mort told Kyle
about the dinner and his subsequent
confusion. Kyle was also pretty
confused because things were
becoming tense lately. Kyle had
started wrapping himself up in the
monitor graphics he created, and fall-
ing back on drugs to buffer his
already confused, frustrated state of
mind. Kyle had become vicious to
Mort and escaped into the vision of
the resolution lines. The stress on
Mort was at an all-time high.
Three weeks later Kyle had heavy
black circles under his eyes, was lost
into the monitor screen, barely talked
and hardly got any work done. The
drug usage and stress had
increased. Mort and Kyle's friendship
wasn't what it used to be, the com-
radeship no longer existed. Kyle was
lost and Mort couldn't find him.
The phone page rang out for Mort
This time it was a representative from
the competition, the magazine that
both the publishing company and the
magazine he worked for despised.
Mort arranged the requested
meeting, Magazine B offered Mort
complete editorial control, three
times the salary and bonuses.
including six months' rent on a new
apartment since Mort would have to
relocate if he took the job. The offer
sounded loo good to refuse. Mort
tried to talk to Kyle about it, but Kyle
just said he was a traitor. Mort was
stressed out, confused and strained
at Mag A, so he took the job with Mag
B and moved away, thus splitting up
slumped over the keyboard, blood
splattered everywhere. Hearing a
sound behind him, Mort turned to
see the owner walking toward him.
"What are you doing here?" the
owner asked as he reached the door-
way where Mort stood. Both looked
at Kyle slumped over dead. To be
continued?
All right, Puszoners, an odd little
tale someone told me, but only you
can predict what or who caused
Kyle's death. It's a murder mystery
for sure, and you're the sleuths of
Puszone. Ha ha ha ha ha! Send all
written entries to "Marton and Kyle,"
cb THRASHER, PO Box 884570,
S.F. CA 94188-4570. The best one.
as chosen by the panel of three
detectives, will be printed in an up-
coming issue. So, writer's cramp
beware!!
SPOTLIGHT POSITION TWO
A strong structure was forming
with this band, a powerful local
following and a demo tape that cap-
tured a few minds. The name of the
band was Raw Deal, but signing to
In Effect, they found that another
band had copyrighted the name. This
raw deal forced the band to change
their name, Too bad that a band with
such a strong underground following
would seemingly have to start all
over. The band has been renamed
Killing Time, and just released their
eleven-track debut Lp titled
Brightside Killing Time provides
brutal doses of New York-style hard-
core spliced with metallic bits without
losing that punk stamina. The
rewarding combination has short
stabs of forceful riffs, chanting
choruses and a thick vocal deliv-
erance. Killing Time stands head-
the Kyle and Mort team. Kyle got strong above the current rebirth of
Mort's position.
Two months later, when the
holidays came around, Mort went
back home to Magazine A town to
see family and friends. It was natural
he wanted to see Kyle. He called
Magazine A and Kyle was quiet, a bit
cold, but agreed to see Mort later at
the office since he had to work late.
and he would be there alone. Mort
got to Mag A around 6:58, most of
the lights were on, the door was still
open, which was odd since the mag
usually closed at 5:00. He was sup-
posed to meet Kyle at 7:00. He went
in and up the stairs. The office hadn't
changed much. He walked down the
hallway to the last room on the right.
The lights were on, music was
blasting, the faint hum of churning
computers was evident. Mort started
to walk into the room when he
stopped in the doorway, seeing Kyle
hardcore blood. Their album, like the
band, is an attention grabber. The
non-pretty boy bellows of vocalist
Anthony Comunale echo with raw
stamina and deep anger; a discus-
sion on the psychological mishmash
of today's world. His ponderings yell
out as the barrage of guitar, bass and
drums create a head-rattling
experience. Killing Time proclaims
their commitment to a sound that is
crude, sincere and enjoyable. This
likable bunch will hopefully garner
the respect they deserve with a sen
sational but short release. Brightside
deserves your attention. On In Effect.
SMASHED & BASHED DIVISION
Okay, let's hear it once again for
the mighty pounders of Portland; the
bowling kings of punk whose lanes
exist only for the traffic of ferocious
dog-bite spin ball smashes. Bash
yourself silly if you don't recognize
the call of the wild, the siren of
mayhem Poison Idea. The monsters
of original hardcore stylings are still
continuing after all their years of
crazed noise. This time there are
three teases to taunt you. The first
is the U.K. pressing 12" called lan
MacKaye, which is the Filth Kick Ep
and the Getting The Fear 12" com-
bined along with a new track,
"Burned for the Last Time." On In
Your Face, PO Box 203, Nottingham,
NGI 3RF England UK.
Next the Poison Idea boys jumped
into the collector's market with a col-
ored gem of classical origins. Eight
years ago Pl. struck a vital blow in
the hardcore scene with a demo tape
that proved HC existed outside of the
stureotyped capitols; the tape started
the evolution of one of the gutsiest
bands ever. For the first time it's been
put to vinyl called Darby Crash Rides
Again. Featuring classic tunes like
"Give It Up" "Young Lord," "MIA"
Castration" and "Think Twice," this
definitely defines the roots.
A new 7" picture disc tracks songs
of current Pl. madness, highly-
refined since those distant days, yet
still a hammering blow. Check out
Jerry A sitting back in the passenger
seat as the car's tires expel a smokey
burnout, and the tune "Just to Get
Away" grooves on. The flip is a cover
of MC5's "Kick Out the Jams." Write
Poison Idea at PO Box 86333,
Portland, OR 97286.
MORE NYHC DIVISION
The sound pulls you in, heavy
hardcore rhythms with a metal in-
fluence that isn't speed metal, thrash
or crunch noise, this is a forward
pound, solid stance drive. Uppercut
sounds a lot like Killing Time and
delivers the power that makes the
NYHC sound so popular these days.
On their debut 12" Ep. 4 Walls,
Uppercut makes seven tracks note-
worthy with screaming thick guitars
that roar with teeth-gritting momen-
tum only to sear a smiling gleam of
high chord picks. Hollering vocals
run a chanty blur as the band con-
tinues to keep a strong melodic beat
without going overboard with the
speed or snare drum Lots of in-
teresting guitar bits add to the style
of this Uppercut release on Blackout.
Also on Blackout is the New York
Hardcore Where the Wild Things Are
compilation album featuring nine
bands, represents what's happening.
Personal faves go to Maximum
Penalty and Raw Deal (before the
name change) with two tracks each.
Also featured is Outburst, Uppercut,
Sheer Terror, Gorilla Biscuits.
Breakdown, Life's Blood and
NBSH. Eighteen tracks round out
this sample dosage of styles and
energy from a scene so vital to hard
core today. Blackout has provided an
excellent comp. Blackout, PO Box
544, Yonkers, NY 10710
Even though the intro song "New
Direction" inspires an excellent
head-tapping hardcore harmony, the
rest of the album sadly doesn't keep
it up Start Today is the title and the
band is Gorilla Biscuits. Their 7" Ep
last year was a dynamite fun fest with
similarities going to early 7 Seconds
almost sometimes too evident. Now
Gorilla Biscuits runs through twelve
tracks, and only a few grab attention
While the music is fun and has a
steadfast beat, it lacks the power to
capture the energy that exists here
CIV has a very unique voice that
sometimes works magic to a song.
with its pops and raw breaks and
adds depth to this Gorilla Biscuits
unit. While this Lp is enjoyable and
will please more than a few, Gorilla
Biscuits will still be a strong band to
watch for On Relevation, PO Box
1454, New Haven, CT 06506-1454.
Limited quantities of 7" releases
by young bands are popping up
everywhere. In Your Face is a fun Ep
of '83-style hardcore, not really in the
current NYHC style. It is raw, not too
fast with clever hooks and catchy
melodies, buzzsawing guitars.
atypical drum beats and a vocalist
whose voice bounces with the har
monies. Six tracks on The Grub Ep
provide nothing out-of-the-ordinary.
but are enthusiastic, aggressive and
enjoyable. On Common Cause, PO
Box 1541, West Babylon, NY 11704
OLDTIMERS? DIVISION
The Accused has released a
limited edition 7" split record with a
new band called Morphius, It's been
a while since The Accused has sur-
faced with some new material and
here Blain is in true psychopathic
vocal form. The band pounds with a
metal pulse, while still punk/thrash
crazy. An interesting track is called
"Brutality and Corruption." Morphus
is full on speedcore that is not
phenomenal or memorable, but
lovers of this genre will shag. On
Empty Records, PO Box 12034
Seattle, WA 98102.
Here's one that snuck in, a new 7
by the Straw Dogs Yup, it's that
same band once called the FUS
The aggressive and catchy title track
"Man in the High Tower" is very FU
sounding, except for the leads. Great
guitar work, and John's vocals are in
true form. As for the flip Do or Die
really Youth Brigade sounding.
especially in the harmony. Event
though this isn't hardcore, their roots
shine brightly. On Gawdawful
Records, PO Box 1331, Cambridge
MA 02238.
93