Stephen

Yaay Psychos. Spent many nights watching these guys in dingy Melbourne pub venues.

These two tracks make up the A side of their debut EP.






If you want more Melbourne punk info check out this site: Melbourne Punk Directory

Stephen

Good stuff. Hadn't heard of them 'til now. Look forward to the rest of your list .

Janszoon

Bob, this journal isn't going write itself.

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Paedantic Basterd

Get it together, Bob.

bob.

"phone is ringin'...oh my god!"

part of my new years resolution is to finish this....so starting on or around the first

thanks guys for the nudge

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

bob.

....five months later....





The Means were a band that formed in 2001 in the city of Columbus Ohio....started by local hero and legend Brad Swiniarski formal;y of the band Bob City....he joined with other sloppy noise master Jason Fredrick of Spiveys finishing up the line up with Emily & Dave Allen formally of Bloody Matt Dillons....in two short years the band recorded three albums (Vil/Viol, Community Horse, and The Divine Right of The Means) tweaking and bettering their abrasive sound with each release

their name fits the music perfectly....its raw and mean....i first found out about them in 2002 while living in Baltimore....i remember coming back to Reno for a visit and going out with my friends Sean and Paul....i told them "you guys love Nirvana right?....this is what they wished they were!" by the end of the second track Paul looked at me and said "this is what Nirvana's older brother would sound like while they were playing Nazi interrogation"....a perfect description Paul
my album review is for their first album Vil/Viol....its much more aggressive and sloppier than their other two releases....and has definite moments of coked out experimentation

i don't think i could say it any better than this....this review is gonna be a little hard for me to express whats going since i cannot find anything but two songs from their second album on youtube....i did find a stream of the album which i'll post at the end but if you dig this i highly suggest sending me a pm and i'll send you a link to the full album....if you like short loud aggressive no holds bar rock n roll this album should be played loud and daily!

the opening track Heart starts with a simple distorted base line then jumps straight into assault....this is probably the only track (save the last one) that Jason seems to hold a little back on the vocals.....this is a great opener with just a small taste of what is to come

Primitive is where you see why they are called Means....straight into it....guteral music mixed with mean and straight forward lyrics....this is more than likely the best track on the album and has my favorite description of a woman ever
"she has my eyeballs as ear rings
she has my teeth as a necklace
she wore my guts for garters
thats all she wore
covered in me from head to floor"

What Went Wrong is probably the closest this band comes to punk rock....fast and Jason screams so intensely you can't understand a damn thing he says

the albums love ballad Charlize Theron sounds like its be performed by a group of murderous stalkers

"i think i know just what you need" says the sample that starts Rob Wheeler which then goes straight into a cacophony of bliss and slowly morphs into an almost bluesy middle and the back and straight for the jugular

starting to notice that most of these songs start with a short bass lead in....as is the case with Record Holders in the Blood Purge...i can't really describe this one....its fast loud and fucking awesome

here we go....a little guitar intro...I'm On is a little less screamy and a lot more structured....very blues and maybe Cramps influenced....still noisy as hell and with clever lyrics

Consider yourself a Hero...slow and brooding....lyrically intense and going in blast to the face from a shot gun but ending slowly and with a sense of despondency

R. Loxley is probably my favorite track on the album....just everything that is great about this band....when i said earlier about "coked out experimentation" it's all right here....the song itself is really only about 1 minute long then they go into a strange musical experiment

(t.p.) Massacre is more of the same just great fury filled noisy garage rock....with a little bit of fuzzy organs

All They Hide is the surprise on the album it's not anything like the rest of the album...actually its almost the polar opposite...slow and almost a real ballad with insightful lyrics....actually i feel it's a great closer for the album

you can listen and apparently download it here....although it is missing the final track for some reason.....again if you want the entire album just let me know and i'll send it to you

Free Music Archive: Means - Vil/Viol

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

bob.

i can honestly say that Unsane is by far my favorite band on my seemingly endless list.....there is something incredibly urgent about the music and Chris Spencers "vocals" remind me of those beautiful scenes in Taxi Driver where Travis is just driving around getting sicker and sicker of the filth that surrounds him...in other words Unsane is the soundtrack for the man that has been pushed to far

Unsane formed in 1988 when guitar/lead vocalist Chris Spencer, bassist Pete Shore, and drummer Charlie Ondras got together and formed the band Lawn Chair Blisters....quickly they changed the name to Unsnae (the name for the American release of Dario Argento's classic Tenebrae)....they quickly rose in the ranks of some of new York City's finest including CopShootCop, Pussy Galore and Feotus

right from the start Unsane was creating a unique mixture of post hardcore, sludgy metal and blistering intense noise rock....which many feel paved the way for more bands than i can count too.....in the early days Unsane's music was a mixture of loud bass heavy poundings intermixed with uncontrollable spastic noise rock and topped with Spencer's desperate vocal delivery....in 1991 they released their first album on Matador records aptly titled "Unsane"....one look at the cover and you knew exactly what you were in for

this was the beginning of what in my opinion would be some of the greatest album covers in music history....while touring the US in 1992 Charlie Ondras died from an unfortunate heroin overdose and was quickly replaced by ex Swans drummer Vincent Signorell.....the band toured relentlessly and Matador release a compilation of their early singles and comp released entitled Singles 89-92....

Unsane also found themselves in the studio recording the sophomore album Total Destruction....which was released on Matador/Atlantic in 1994...the cover of which shows the front of a car that has been covered in blood....Matador also released a Peel Sessions album....Unsane recorded their first video for the single Body Bomb....which depicted a young man slowly losing it and ultimately (and somewhat eerily) walking into the world trade centers with a bomb strapped to him and ending in a large explosion....needless to say even at that time the video got very little airplay on Mtv.....1994 also saw the departure of Pete Shore for apparently unknown reasons and the arrival of Dave Curran and what would become the definitive line up....that same year Atlantic decided to drop Unsane from the roster.....but Unsane quickly found the loving arms of Amphetamine Reptile records and that same year the ever loving ears of yours truly

in 1995 Unsane released what in my opinion is their most important album....Scattered Smothered & Covered (the name of which comes from an egg dish served at a chain of white trash restaurants in the US called The Waffle House).....on this album Unsane created what would become "their" sound....slightly more structured but even more intense.....this album also spawned the closest thing too a hit for the band with the opening track "Scrape"...mainly due to some airplay on Mtv of the video....the video simply shows skateboard crashes intermixed with live footage of the band and was voted by Mtv to be in the top ten funniest videos of all time

in 1997 they released a live album called AmRep Christmas: Live at The Turf Club, St. Paul MN....if you are ever in Minneapolis i highly suggest checking out the Turf Club....its a great venue and very friendly to all that isd noise rock....and they have an amazing jukebox ....i mainly mention this album to give an example of just how much influence this band has on my life....the opening track to the album is "Sick"....it stars with then usual live album...talking audience and guitar tuning....then you hear a blood curdling scream and Dave laughing and saying "well alright!"....i find that to be one of the funniest things i've ever heard and still to this day exclaim "well alright!" daily....nobody ever understands the reference

in 1998 Unsane released my personal favorite album Occupational Hazard on Relapse....this was also the first of many times i got to see them play live....while touring the album in Europe....Chris walked outside of a club in Austria....somebody said "Hey" and he answered with "what?" and was then answered with a bat to the face....he was beaten by four men literally within inches of his life.....from what i understand they never caught the attackers but felt it was likely a group of Austrian Nationalist who assumed Chris was a member of the army and stationed at a near by base....he spent months recovering in the hospital which basically put Unsane on hiatus

during the hiatus Vinny opened a tattoo shop in the New York area, Dave form a band called JJ Players Club and Chris formed a band called The Cutthroats 9

in 2003 the band reformed and released a greatest hits comp called Lambhouse named for the butcher shop that Chris buys the blood from for the album covers....they also extensively toured

on this tour i was living in Minneapolis and went to see them when they came to town at the Triple Rock Social Club....the audience literally consisted on me, AmRep owner Tom Hazelmyer, two women and two other (very drunk guys)....6 people total in an otherwise empty club....Unsane fucking killed it that night....by far the best show i have ever been too....i also got to hang out with and drink the night away with one of my all time favorite bands....and i can honestly say that all three are some of the nicest most approachable people i've ever met....had a great night talking about horror films and music

in 2005 Unsane released their 5th studio album and final release for Relapse called Blood Run....which is nothing less than a perfect continuation of the bands damn near perfect discography....in 2007 Unsane released Visqueen on Mike Patton's Ipecac label and last year they released their 87th studio album on the infamous Alternative Tentacle label entitled Wreck.....for a bunch of old guys who play some of the most intense and aggressive music out there....this album is amazing

although Unsane have not broken up....all three are concentrating on other projects Vinny formed a band called A Storm of Light with Josh Graham of Neurosis, Dave formed a band called Pigs and Chris is apparently recording the second Celan album with members of Einsturzende Neubauten and Oxbow


it was very difficult for me to decided which album i would want to review as their most important album.....it was really a toss up between Scattered and Occupational Hazard....and in all honesty it came down to two songs that made me decided that their definitive album is in face Scattered Smothered and Covered



"WELL ALRIIIGHT!!!"

the opening track to this album is ironicly like getting hit in the face with a bat....Scrape is mean....heavy as an elephant and takes no prisoners....this is also the beginning of what i think could be called the Unsane formula.....i also think that this song has one of the best examples of Chris's desperate scream....at about 2:40

then a somewhat out of place bluesy harmonica....and then the pounding of your life....Alleged....is by far one of my favorite songs by Unsane....the slow building intro....and into the pounding bass and drums...mixed with the scratchy disconnected guitar....and the lyrics are simple and yet filled with a true intelligence that people who live in major cities know "my block! can you guess my race?!"....i don't think i've made a mix tape that has not included this song

Blame Me continues the album momentum with great guitar licks and again just an amazing dynamic between Dave and Vinny

Out is is a fine example of what Unsane is...thunderous with noisy blues inspired scratchy guitar....and Chris's trademark "man pushed to the edge" screaming....i just don't see how him screaming "i've been waiting so long....for things to calm down" could not strike a chord with you...

Can't See is probably the closest Unsane comes to upbeat on the album...mainly due to the fact that is has a fairly fast beat....i also think this track is an excellent example of Vinny's drumming and how well it fits with the band as a whole

enter deal breaker one....Get Off My Back....this is why i love this band....the only lyrics are the title but the music is sooooo intense and just perfectly expresses the feeling of the weight of everything pounding you into submission.....seriously i think this is one the best songs they have ever written.....every time i have seen them play...they play this song and each time it just gets longer and more intense....if i ever lose my shit and go to a parade with a loaded rifle....this song will be playing in a continuous loop right up to the last shot into my temple

straight into Blew...where Chris seems to replace his normal desperate scream with an angry growl.....i love the guitar in this song

next up is Empty Cartridge...which i would say is a fan favorite....great bass intro

then we switch things up a bit....as Dave takes over vocals on No Loss...the drumming in the beginning fantastic....i also think that this is another great example of just how well Chris plays the guitar....probably because he isn't using all of his energy on the vocals....seriously look at any picture of him live...

Test My Faith returns with Chris on vocals and back to the typical pummeling that Unsane delivers

then into Ruin which is about as close to "punk" that Unsane gets on this album....upbeat and almost fun music...practically danceable

and into deal breaker two....Swim...this is just a fine example of everything great about Unsane...it's slow and ominous with great breakdowns throughout the entire song....and the desperation of hearing someone scream "Breathe!".....it is a perfect end to a damn near perfect album


thanks for reading

__________________
A kiss is the beginning of cannibalism.

Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.

Stephen

Ever come across the Primitive Calculators? They were a late 70s-80s Melbourne band. Not sure where they'd fit in the noise spectrum but I guess they're somewhere in there.

Stephen

Was blasting Consumer Revolt in the car this morning to combat some frustration. Really is a great album.

Any pre-cursors, side-projects or off-shoots I should know about as far as Cop Shoot Cop?

Mondo Bungle

Tod formed this band after CSC


This really is the final CSC album, too bad Tod wasn't around


Synth/Noise guy left after Consumer Revolt and formed this band, oddly sounding like a mixture of CSC and the not yet established Firewater.


Bassist Jack Natz played with this band here after CSC though they'd been around before that.


CSC percussionist played in Swans for a minute, this too

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