Left For Dead

The Swan King- Good Deeds EP

2010-06-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

While this may be a blog focused on bringing seldom-heard local hardcore and punk to a far-greater audience, the Mastodon-loving metal fan in me is too restless over The Swan King's "Good Deeds" EP to not share it.

My band had the privilege of sharing a bill with The Swan King about a month ago, where the Chicago-based power trio proceeded to completely blow me away. Harking to mind big names such as Baroness and Kylesa, The Swan King's "Good Deeds" EP manages to strike an epic vein, while at the same time keeping one foot firmly planted in simplicity. This band doesn't need to be flashy, the riffs speak for themselves on a very basic level.

Download

Neurons- Tape

2010-06-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

I always get bummed out when great local bands don't play a lot of shows. Neurons is no exception. Seems like these dudes don't get on a lot of bills, for whatever reason. Be it because they don't have the time, or because people are busy booking other bands, it needs to change.

Playing a blistering breed of hardcore that calls to mind bands like Australia's Straightjacket Nation and local rippers Raw Nerve, Neurons often wordy and poetic lyrics may discourage some listeners, but a lot of these songs are just too catchy to ignore.

For fans of flailing, breakneck hardcore who don't mind a well-placed hook.

Download

Like Rats- Demo/Upcoming 7"

2010-06-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's great to see a band so plugged into a scene that they sound almost nothing like.

Like Rats is a raging Chicago hardcore band. Citing influences such as Celtic Frost and Discharge, they manage to inject a much-needed shot of variety into a region that often finds itself heavy-handed in one variety of punk music for long periods of time.

Enclosed in this post is last year's demo, along with the MP3s of their upcoming 7".

The 2009 demo might have been my favorite demo of last year. Riff-heavy, crushing hardcore that cannot disappoint. Both thrashing and heavy, it's something everyone should have in their rotation.

What excites me the most about their as-of-yet released 7" is that Like Rats manage to break out of their old formulas, making for a record that both sounds like the band and signals a new direction at the same time. You can still feel all of the old influence in this album, but Like Rats pushes as hard as they can to make an even heavier collection of songs that still stays true to their roots. You don't often find a lot of that in any genre of music, with bands either totally changing directions with each album or becoming increasingly stagnant in sound. Like Rats' ability to keep things fresh without straying too hard or copying their old material only solidifies them as one of my current favorite local bands. Buy this fucker on vinyl when it drops.

Download

Minuteflag- S/T/ Henry Rollins- Hot Animal Machine/Drive By Shooting

2010-04-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

Finally.

It's been too fucking long since I updated last. Thankfully, I found something I've been searching for, and it kicked my ass back into gear to write up another post.

This post has MP3s of three pretty rare albums. The first is the legendary "Minuteflag" experiment. Long story short, members of The Minutemen and Black Flag decided to form a one-off supergroup in the mid-'80s shortly before the death of D. Boon. The end result was something that sounds essentially like The Minutemen featuring Greg Ginn. Very jammy, and mostly instrumental, but still very cool.

If you're like me, though, the short supply of Henry Rollins on this thing is very disheartening. So, I included the two EPs released between Black Flag and Rollins Band, "Drive By Shooting" (Released as Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters) and "Hot Animal Machine". The two serve as the logical steps between Rollins' time in Black Flag and Rollins Band, and showcase his first work with Chris Haskett, who would become a staple of Henry's future group. Great shit, and absolute must-haves for Rollins fanatics.

Download

My Internet Has Been Out...

2010-01-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

I've been without Internet connection at school. Between that and getting a new external hard drive set up to house my MP3 collection, in addition to starting school again, posting has been impossible.

I will update as soon as I can get my shit together. Bear with me.

Weekend Nachos- "Kill Shelby James cASSettes" Demo

2009-12-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

Getting amped that Weekend Nachos is finally coming back out to DeKalb this weekend.

For those of you who don't know, this Chicago-based outfit is hands-down one of my favorite bands. They're actually what got me into hardcore.

Imagine a Youth of Today 45 played at 33 1/2. But, you also have to imagine that all of the songs on it are about killing people. That's basically, at it's roots, what this band sounds like. Somehow, they manage to keep things fresh from record to record. It probably has something to do with the constantly rotating line-up, but I choose to believe it also has something to do with the fact that the band constantly tries to keep things interesting.

This is everything a hardcore band should be.

Here's one for the collectors. MP3's of the demo cassette tape. Original line-up from their days as NIU students. Most of these songs ended up making it onto the Torture EP. I think I might be missing one song, but beggars can't be choosers. If I am one short like I think I am, or if you have it, let me know.

MySpace

Download

Bad Religion- Into The Unknown

2009-12-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

In honor of getting fired today from a job I was overqualified for, I decided to feature another ridiculous concept: Bad Religion's prog-rock album.

I love Bad Religion. I love their hardcore material, and I love their later stuff. I'm not afraid to admit that, and fuck you if you think anything they did after No Control sucks. Almost every era of this band has something awesome to offer, from thrashing punk rock to multi-layered harmonies and wicked solos.

This album, however, is something else entirely. You can hear signs of where the band will end up going in later years, but burying the actually good songs under goofy keyboards makes this album pretty hilarious.

There is a reason this album isn't in print anymore. Download this if you need to have it all, or if you're just in the mood for a good laugh.

Download

Kieltolaki- Ei Armoa Demo

2009-12-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

This is my first honest attempt at a blog.

I've tried blogging before, but have always fallen out of it. It was recently, however, that I stumbled across a series of blogs that made me realize that I don't want to stick with just one topic or concept, and I would rather just post about anything and everything.

This will, however, primarily be a showcase for underground punk and hardcore. Expect to find a few rantings or movie reviews here and there, but I was mostly enticed by the idea of sharing seldom-heard music with those who might find it interesting.

I've chosen to first feature the Finnish hardcore band Kieltolaki.

These guys absolutely rip. Thrash-influenced, old-sounding hardcore. I may not be able to understand what they're saying, but walking around listening to some of these songs seriously makes me want to break shit. Here's to hoping these guys tour America soon.

MySpace

"Ei Armoa" Demo