Vision pt. 2

It's rare that i'll post newer live shows, but this set from Vision sounds so incredible i just had to include it. This was recorded at the This Is Hardcore Fest on Saturday, August 11th at The Electric Factory, 421 North 7th Street in Philadelphia, PA. Great energetic and tight performance, and an excellent soundboard quality recording. Enjoy!


Vision 2012

Thanks to Dan from the Old, Fast & Loud blog for sending me this!

Soundboard mix by Len Carmichael.

Thanks to Jmarc from the great Pay No More Than blog i was finally able to get a quality sounding rip of the first Vision ep from 1987. Four killer songs that are not on any other releases. Classic stuff.

  

Vision 1987

The Vision 7" was recorded at Little Apple Studios and released on New Scene Records in 1987.

1986-1987 lineup

Dave Franklin - vocals

Pete Ventantonio - guitar

Sean Brazel  - guitar

Garrett O'Brien - bass

Brian Boucher - drums

Vision's second full length, Just Short of Living, was released in 1992 on Criminal Records. It was remastered and re-released on March 9, 2004 on Knife Or Death Records, along with the 4 tracks from the 1987 ep, which, unfortunately, skipped like crazy. Just Short of Living was a huge departure from the band's previous material. It's a grower though, although the new metallic sound and vocal delivery takes some getting used to i would imagine.

Vision 1992

1992 lineup

Dave Franklin - vocals

Vin Villanueva - guitar

Peter Tabbot - guitar

Christopher McGill - bass

Matt Riga - drum

Vision

Here's another one of the great East Coast bands i discovered on Pat Duncan's radio show back in the late '80s. Most Thursdays, Pat would play songs from the 1988 demo as well as the first two 7"s. Eventually the band played live in the studio. The first time was either '88 or '89, i forget, but as usual for back then, i recorded it and played it endlessly. That tape, along with most of my tapes, was lost by the mid '90s. Recently i was lucky enough to get a good sounding rip of the band's second trip to Pat's show on WFMU in 1990, along with the '88 demo. I also dug out the 1993 demo that a friend ripped for me years back, and cleaned everything up as best as possible. This collection of Vision recordings really shows the bands diversity. From punk with DC "Revolution Summer" and indie rock influences, to ripping hardcore punk, to full on metal. Dig in:

Vision - Demos and Live

Here's an anthology of my favorite Vision recordings spanning 1988 to 1996. I wanted to include the band's great 1987 debut 7", but unfortunately i couldn't get a rip of the vinyl, and the recordings that appear as bonus tracks on the CD version of the band's second LP from '92 (Just Short of Living) skip like crazy. I tried to fix the skipping problem, and put way more time into it than i should have, but gave up in the end as it was driving me nuts.

Vision - Hardcore Anthology 1988-1996

The Undiscovered 7" was originally released in 1988 on New Scene Records. It was re-released on CI Records in 1996. The four tracks on this 7" were later re-recorded for the band's first LP, but these versions remain my favorites, and just my favorite Vision material all together.

The In The Blink Of An Eye full length was recorded at Trax East Studios in South River, NJ in May of 1989, and was released on both LP and CD in 1989 on Nemesis Records. It was re-released on Tacklebox Records in 1997. This is a NJHC classic.

In 1990, Vision played The Country Club in California, along with East Coast buddies Killing Time and Sick Of It All, and West Coast greats Carry Nation, Chorus Of Disapproval and Point Blank. Out of this even came the Hardcore 1990 - East Meets West compilation 7", released on Nemesis in 1990. The Vision track is a brutal live version of Animosity Overkill, a song that wound up on the band's (much more metallic) Just Short Of Living LP in 1992. This version kills the studio version in my opinion. The East Meets West track was later included on the Best Of Nemesis Live CD in 1995.

1988-1990 lineup:
Dave Franklin - vocals
Pete Tabbot - guitar
Chris McGill - bass
Matt Riga - drums

The One And The Same 7" was recorded January 19-20 of 1996 at Trax East and released on CI Records the same year. It was also released on CD with various ep, live, and comp tracks as a bonus. After nearly 10 years, this ep is a return to the band's more punk sound from their early days, and i think much better than anything else they released after 1990. During this time the band also recorded 2 excellent cover songs. Suspect Device (Stiff Little Fingers), released on the Let's Try Something Newer! compilation 10" on CI Records, and Stop Me If You Think You Heard This One Before (The Smiths), released on The World Still Won't Listen - A Tribute To The Smiths CD on Too Damn Hype Records.

1996 lineup:
Dave Franklin - vocals
Pete Tabbot - guitar
Paul Famula - guitar
Nate Gluck - bass
Matt Riga - drums

Vision was founded by vocalist Dave Franklin, who originally played in Neurotic Impulse, formed in 1986 in Bridgewater NJ. You can read more about the band's history here.

Thanks to Jason, Gen, Mike and Coregasm for helping out with the music.

Goth Punk Classics

Just a quick update before i get started with the post. The INFEST 2xCD has been revised for better sound quality. This has a much better sounding rip of the Mankind 7", as well as various comp tracks. The only real flaw that i can hear is a slight skip in the song Plastic, but other than that i'm finally happy with it. I'd say it's worth the upgrade, especially if you're an INFEST fanatic like me. You can grab it here. Also, all links are now direct downlaods. No Sendspace links.
 
Since i tend to spin a lot of dark music during the month of October, i figured i'd share some of my favorites here. I've decided to stick to dark post-punk. All rips are from the CD versions (in many cases here, they're actually harder to find than the vinyl), and most have loads of great bonus tracks. All of it is mandatory listening. Hope you dig it, and if any of it's new to you, hopefully you'll be as blown away as i was when i first heard this stuff.
 
I've always been drawn to dark music. Shit, since age 5 i've been infatuated with Black Sabbath, and can remember playing Hand of Doom over and over thinking it was the greatest thing ever. During art school at the end of the '80s, i was turned onto stuff like Rudimentary Peni, 45 Grave, Septic Death, Undead etc. It was like discovering a new world. After that came Bauhaus, X-Mal, Christian Death (i'll never forget how floored i was when i heard Only Theatre of Pain for the first time), Sisters of Mercy, The Sound, Kommunity FK and loads more. Now, 30 years later, there seems to be a pretty big revival of this sound. Newer bands like Funeral Parade, Bellicose Minds, Lost Tribe, Cemetery, Shards, Ciril, Blue Cross, Arctic Flowers, Moral Hex, Spectres, Christ vs. Warhol and Cross Stitched Eyes come to mind. All influenced by a huge range of music, from Bowie, to Peni, to Sisters to The Wipers. For starters, check out the newest Ciril album "Sick Surreal". My pick for best album of 2012.
 
OK, let's get to the music.

First off is Peilitalossa, the amazing first album by Musta Paraati from Finland. Recorded in 1983 and originally released on Johanna Records. This rip is from the 2001 re-issue CD and contains all the tracks from the band's other 7"s, three tracks from the band's second full length, Käärmeet (1984), as well as one demo track and one live track. Ripped at 320. Peilitalossa is a goth punk classic. The band broke up after the second LP, which is also excellent by the way.

Musta Paraati - Peilitalossa

Peilitalossa lineup (1983):
Jore Vastelin - vocals
Saku Paasiniemi - guitar
Panda Nikander - bass
Ykä Knuutila - drums
Jari Kääriäinen - synthesizer

Käärmeet lineup (1984):
Epe Kronholm - vocals
Saku Paasiniemi - guitar
Panda Nikander - bass
Sande Vettenranta - drums
Jesu Hämäläinen - synthesizer

The band went through several lineup changes between 1982-1984, with different members playing on different 7"s. The only constant members were Saku and Panda.

Next up is the great overlooked German band Serene Fall. This band has such a unique sound. Kinda like Joy Division fused with the pop sensibilities of a band like Screeching Weasel, with vocals in the Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) and Andrew Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy) vein. It works somehow. I mean REALLY works. I've listened to this stuff countless times and it never fails to amaze me.

Serene Fall collection

Serene Fall was founded in 1989, then called My Eden Dies, featuring guitarist Maul from the classic German punk band EA80. This is a collection of the band's work spanning roughly ten years. The first LP, Oh My Prophet Oh My Liar was recorded from June '91 to May '92 in Manchester, and released on Beri Beri Records in 1993. Also included is the band's demo. This may have been recorded in 1995, but i'm not totally sure of that, and i'm not even sure this is the full demo. After that is the title track from the Audry Rose (remember that movie?) 7" released in 2001 on Major Label Records. This is a fantastic track with a huge Mourning Noise (or Misfits to a lesser extent) vibe. Pretty different from their other stuff. Ending it all is a batch of tracks from various German compilations. Serene Fall also released an album in 1999 called The Long March (that one didn't do much for me unfortunately), and an album in 2010 called Burn Out The Light which I haven't heard yet.

1991 lineup:
Hqöuxä - vocals
Oesd - guitar Aural Activator - bass
Nico - drums

45 Grave was the first "goth punk" band i ever heard and it made a hell of an impact. The Autopsy LP (more of a collection of early material than a proper album) was released on Restless Records in 1987, but recorded in 1981. Much faster and more abrasive than the Sleep In Safety LP from 1983 (which i love). This may actually be my favorite record to come out of the whole early '80s LA punk scene. This is ripped from the extremely rare CD version, which was released the same time as the LP, but never repressed for whatever reason. As bonus tracks i included the two tracks from the Hell Comes To Your House compilation from 1981.

45 Grave - Autopsy

1981 lineup:
Dinah Cancer - vocals
Paul Cutler - guitar
Rob Graves - bass
Don Bolles - drums

Members of 45 Grave were also in Germs, Vox Pop, The Consumers (early versions of some of these songs appear on the Consumers LP),  The Bags, Alice Bag Band and more.

Bassist Rob Graves died in 1991.

I'm guessing the great Dutch post-punk band Coitus Int. remains pretty obscure, This is one of those bands i would have easily overlooked if it weren't for music blogs. Their self-titled, self-released LP from 1981 has reached classic status in my book. The music is doomy and bleak, minimalist punk. Bass-heavy (with some amazing bass lines, check out The Connection Is Obvious), with a jagged guitar sound that just kind of creeps in over the bass lines from time to time. The vocalist has a powerful voice but keeps it subdued for the most part. The Joy Division influence is obvious, but there's much more to this than just some clone band. At times it sounds like late '70s anarcho punk played at half speed. Whatever it is it begs to be heard. Over and over. The band's first 7", Dead Excitement (released in 1980 on Rock Against Records), is faster and a bit more straight forward, but with goth/wave leanings already showing. A great debut, and a legit ripper for the time. Also included here is the split tape with Local Negatives, recorded in 1982. Three tracks that follow in the footsteps of the self titled LP. As a bonus i tacked on my favorite tracks from the band's second full length, Sex For The Wealthy, self-released in 1985. While not as instantly satisfying, it's a grower for sure, and the song The Habit Stayed is up there with the best of any '80s post-punk i've heard. If you dig any of this stuff, and i know you will, you may still be able to get some of the band's catalogue on Infrastition Records. There was a also a reissue of the Dead Excitement 7" on Bunkerpop Records a while back.

Coitus Int. Anthology 1980-1985

Jos de Groot - vocals
Marcel Uffing - guitar
Heino L'Ortye - bass
Rob van Asperen - drums

All songs recorded at Rosegarden studio, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Ex-Humans were a punk band from Athens, Greece. They formed in 1982 (originally called Soldiers Of Anarchy) and released one album in 1984 entitled Anofeli Epiviosi (Futile Survival) on Enigma Records. They also contributed two tracks for the  compilation Diataraxi Koinis Isyhias (Disruption Of Public Peace). Considered one of the greatest Greek punk bands, the music is an aggressive sounding mix of hardcore punk and post-punk. Some tracks have a heavy Rudimentary Peni / Mob vibe, with a killer bass sound that stands out in the mix. It doesn't get much better than this. This is ripped from the CD version, although i wish it was at a higher bit-rate. If anyone has the CD that they can rip at 256 or higher i would really appreciate it. Or if anyone has a copy for sale, or knows where i can get one, please get in touch.

Ex-Humans

The band went through many different members throughout their short existence.

Line-up for the Anfoneli Epiviosi LP (1984):
Giorgos "Havoc" Aleuras - vocals / guitar
Giannis Trobetas - bass
Fibos Pergaliotis - drums

Line-up for the compilation tracks (1984):
Giorgos "Havoc" Aleuras - vocals / guitar
Giannis Trobetas - bass
Giorgos Glinelis - guitar
Giorgos Damelos - drums

I'm not sure how accurate the spelling is on both the band members names, and the record titles. I've seen them spelled at least three different ways on various websites over the years.

Fibos Pergaliotis was also in an '80s goth band called South Of No North. Giorgos Aleuras and Giannis Trobetas also played in the band Velocity (not sure if they are still active).

Ex-Humans also released a demo in 1983 on Bluurg Records. Five songs. Written on the inside of the demo cover is "All lyrics in Greek! But the ideas are universal. So read the lyric sheet and hear the music.

I worship Fliehende Stürme. There's no other way to put it. They started way back in 1980 as the classic German hardcore band Choas Z, who were active up to 1984, and then reformed in 1995. By the end of 1983 the band's sound changed from Discharge influenced hardcore to a more darkwave sound, mostly influenced by Killing Joke. Soon after they changed their name to Fliehende Stürme (Fleeing Storms) and released at least a dozen albums and several eps between 1988 and present day.

This is my favorite Fliehende Stürme material, the band's first album An Den Ufern (On The Banks), recorded in April of 1988 and released on Storm Records. I guess this would kinda be the band's crossover album, mixing their early Discharge fueled punk and their icy darkwave sound. The results here are goth-punk perfection. This is a 320 rip of the 1998 reissue CD on Snake Records, which includes three extra tracks, two of which were recorded as Choas Z for the Keine Experimente Vol.2 comp, released on Weird System Records in 1984. The two tracks are In Gefahr (my favorite song on the CD), and Ein Tropfen im Feuer.

Fleeing Storms

1988 lineup:
Andreas Löhr - vocals / guitar
Thomas Löhr- bass / backing vocals
Michael Ortner - drums

If you want to explore this band further, i'd recommend their 1991 album  Priesthill. You should also check out the Choas Z "Dunkle Strassen" double LP (or CD) 1981-1995 discography on Weird System Records.

It wouldn't be a proper Halloween post without the mighty Bauhaus. Here's the legendary debut full length In The Flat Field from 1980. Simply one of the greatest recordings of all time, any genre. This is a 320 rip of the 1998 remaster on 4AD Records. As a bonus i loaded this up with my favorite ep tracks, radio sessions and alternate mixes. The incredible Dark Entries is my fave, maybe because it was the first Bauhaus song i ever heard (on the Gothic Rock comp on Jungle Records in 1992). Also here are my favorite versions of Telegram Sam and St. Vitus Dance, and can't forget the BBC-only sinister track Party Of The First Part. All this stuff is essential. Listening to Bauhaus always has me daydreaming of standing in some smoke filled cave-like goth bar in 1980, with Peter Murphy on stage belting out In The Flat Field, while a group of sweaty people all dressed in black look on in a hypnotic state. Dream away:

Bauhaus

In The Flat Field 1980 lineup:
Peter Murphy - vocals / guitar
Daniel Ash - guitar / saxophone
David J - bass
Kevin Haskins - drums

In The Flat Field was recorded in Southern Studios in London in June-July of 1980. The album was self-produced, as the band had a clear vision of what it should sound like. They used the BBC version of Double Dare on the LP, as they could never seem to record a version that matched the intensity of the version they recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio programme. A very similar situation happened with the song Third Uncle used on the band's 1982 album The Sky's Gone Out (my second favorite Bauhause LP). They recorded a batch of albums after Flat Field, but never quite captured that same spirit that made that album so amazing. Or maybe it's just me.

Siekiera formed in 1982 in Poland, originally named Trafo. They changed their name to Siekiera (Axe)  in the Autumn of 1983, and released a 17 song demo (basically a band practice) a year later in the Autumn of 1984. Much like Fliehende Stürme, the band started out playing fast hardcore (the demo rips) and a couple years later became heavily influenced by (mostly) Killing Joke. The demo tracks were released in 2008 on an LP called 1984 put out by W Moich Oczach Records.

The Nowa Aleksandria LP was recorded in 1985 and released in 1986 on Tonpress Records.  It is regarded as one of the greatest Polish albums ever. This is a 320 rip of the remastered CD put out by Tonpress in 2004. It includes the two tracks from the band's 1986 7", and a track that was released on the compilation 22 Polish Punk Classics put out by Sonic Records in 1991.

Siekiera

1984 Demo lineup:
Tomasz Budzyński - vocals

Tomasz Adamski - guitar / music / lyrics
Dariusz Malinowski - bass
Krzysztof Grela - drums

1986 LP lineup:
Tomasz Adamski - guitar / vocals / music / lyrics

Dariusz Malinowski - bass / vocals
Paweł Młynarczyk - keyboards
Zbigniew Musiński - drums

Siekiera also released an album called Ballady Na Koniec Świata in December of 2011. I haven't heard it, but from what i've read about it, there doesn't seem to be too many original members left. Also there's like four flute players and two trombone players? It's labeled as Folk, World and Country. I think i'll pass on this one.

There was also an amazing looking enhanced collection CD put out in 2008 called Na Wszystkich Frontach Świata. Thirty tracks of remastered demos and live sets, plus a video, all recorded in 1984. This may be my next purchase if it's still available. I found out about this damn thing way too late!

I was looking through some little hole in the wall record store on 2nd Ave. in the East Village, NYC sometime in the '90s. I forget the name. It was mostly rockabilly and surf type stuff. But they had a small section of hardcore vinyl in the back so i did my usual weekly hunting. I remember picking up a Feederz LP that day, the one with the sandpaper on the front. Then i noticed a Spanish punk section which was pretty extensive. I came across a record by a band called Paralisis Permanente. The cover got my attention. A blurry photo of a lady on a crucifix, with the bands logo in a medieval type gothic font. I knew it would be right up my alley, so i skimmed through the rest of the records and came across an LP by the band. I bought both records, the Feederz LP, and headed for the next record store. Later that night i was spinning all the stuff i picked up that day, probably a lot of powerviolence type stuff from Generation Records at first. When i got to the Paralisis Permanente records i couldn't believe what i was hearing. How could i have not heard of this band? This stuff was right up there with early Christian Death as far as i was concerned. I must have played both records at least three times that night, and the very next day i took the ride back into NYC from Jersey. I went through the Spanish section again looking for anything else by this amazing band, or maybe something that looked like it would sound similar. All i found was a split 7" between Paralisis Permanente and a band called Gabinete Caligari. Only two tracks, but that was fine by me. For a while the band became an infatuation. Some years later i was able to get a copy of the band's discography CD though some Spanish mailorder. This was all the stuff i had, plus another 7' and some alternate LP versions, all remastered, in seriously the nicest looking CD packaging i own. A 40 page book housed between hardcovers, with all new artwork, loads of info (in Spanish though), and tons of pictures and lyrics. It's called Grabaciones Completas 1981-1983, and was put out by 3 Cipreses Records in 2001. This is a 320 rip of the discography CD. Enjoy!

Paralisis Permanente 1981-1983

Madrid's finest punk band, Paralisis Permanente formed in 1981 and were done by '83, producing roughly 30 songs. The two founding members, Eduardo Benavente and Nacho Canutwere were also playing in the popular Spanish wave band Alaska Y Los Pegamoides. The Pegamoides were great (they're actually my 7 year old daughter's favorite band). Their self-titled LP released in 1983, which is a compilation of early material, is their best stuff. It's all you need really. Certain songs like El Jardin, Vertigo and Reacciones were already veering into the dark punk/wave territory that Paralisis Permanente would record on their six song demo in 1981. Those tracks wound up on the Singles Y Primeras Grabaciones collection CD, but were not on the discography CD unfortunately. When Nacho left the band to focus more on The Pegamoides, Ana Curra left the Pegamoides and joined Paralisis Permanente to play on the El Acto LP in 1983.

The band's first release was the split 7" with Gabinete Caligari released in 1981 on Tic Tac Records. This record has the band's most straight forward punk song (and also the first song they ever wrote), Autosuficiencia. The other song, Tengo Un Pasajero (re-recorded in 1983 for the El Acto LP), was heavily influenced by Killing Joke. It was a good debut, but their greatness was yet to be heard.

1981 "split ep" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals
Ignacio (Nacho) Canut - bass
Jaime Urrutia - guitar
Johnny Canut - drums

The band's next release was the Quiero Ser Santa 7" released in 1982 on DRO Records. They really found their sound on this one. Four of their strongest songs effortlessly merging punk and new wave. Un Dia En Texas (inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) that closes the ep is their fastest, most hardcore sounding song.

1982 "Quiero Ser Santa" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals
Ignacio (Nacho) Canut - bass
Jamie Caligari - guitar
Johnny Canut - drums

The El Acto (The Act) LP was released in 1982 on 3 Cipreses Records. Although subtle, i hear so many influences on this LP, but it all comes together as their own sound. I definitely hear some Bowie in there (they even cover Heroes), early Christian Death, Chameleons, XMal Deutschland, The Cure, Killing Joke of course... the list goes on. Also there's a huge heaping of late '70s / early '80s new wave here (check out the song Vamos A Jugar), similar to some of the stuff Alaska Y Los Pegamoides were doing early on. They do a great cover of the Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog, with a guitar sound that brings to mind Rudimentary Peni. And the last song, Esa Extrana Sonrisa is a slow, creepy classic that has the dark feel of something like Bauhaus meets Joy Division. From fast punk songs to doomy melancholic songs and everything in between, this album is up there with the best of the deathrock genre.

1982 "El Acto" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals / percussion
Rafa Balmaseda - bass / backing vocals
Ana "Pegamoide" Curra - keyboards / backing vocals
Johnny Canut - drums

The band's final 7" was released in 1983 on 3 Cipreses. Recorded March 3rd and 4th of '83 at Doublewtronics Studio. Two tracks of the band's most sombre, gothic sounding material. Much less punk than anything they recorded prior. It's a great record though, and i can only imagine the haunting music the band would have recorded after this ep had they not disbanded.

1983 "Nacidos Para Dominar" lineup:
Eduardo Benavente - guitar / vocals / percussion
Rafa Balmaseda - bass / backing vocals
Fernando - guitar
Ana "Pegamoide" Curra - keyboards / backing vocals
Toti Arbolés - drums

In 1983, shortly after the release of the last 7", Eduardo, Ana and Toti got into a major car accident, and Eduardo Benavente died instantly. That's when the band ended.

All of the band's records were re-released on Munster Records in 2002.

DRO Records also released the Singles Y Primeras Grabaciones/El Acto 2xCD in 2006. This seems to be the most complete collection so far, compiling the eps, the LP and the demo tracks. I'd say it's worth your money if you can find it.

EA80 is one of the oldest punk rock bands, still making music now for over 30 years. The group formed in Mönchengladbach, Germany in 1979 as Panzerfaust and changed their name to EA80 in 1980. This is a 320 rip of their first full length album, Vorsicht Schreie, another one of my all-time favorite albums. Goth punk of the highest quality. Enjoy!

Vorsicht Schreie

Vorsicht Schreie was recorded in September of 1983 at Joswig Studio in 3 days and self-released by the band that year. EA80 has a pretty big catalogue at this point, but this album is by far my favorite. The band's first 7", Der Mord Fällt Au, released in '82, was pretty much straight up Joy Division worship. It was OK, but Vorsicht Schreie was a huge leap forward, and set the bar pretty high for German punk in the eraly '80s. The first track is sang in English, and the rest of the album in German. Every song is a classic. The album was re-released in 1992 on a glow in the dark picture disc, with the Der Mord Fällt Au 7" as bonus tracks. It was also re-recorded in 2004 (21 years after the fact) and contains a Yacoepsae cover. Weird. I've never heard the re-recorded version, and don't think i want to.

1983 lineup:
Junge - vocals / guitar
Hals Maul (Thomas Hütten) - guitar
Nick - bass
Nico - drums

Takte Später

The band's second album, 2 Takte Später, released in 1985 is excellent as well. After the second LP the band started to lose their dark edge and put out more straight forward punk albums.

This is a collection i made a while back of my favorite Christian Death songs, all with Rozz Williams. I figured i'd share it here as it fits this post. While a lot of people tend to think the first album, Only Theatre Of Pain was the band's best work, i think their best stuff came with the following two albums. Everything they did up to 1985 is pretty much flawless in my opinion.

Burnt Offerings

This is a 320 rip of selected tracks from the Deathwish 7" (1981), Only Theatre Of Pain LP (1982), Catastrophe Ballet LP (1984), Ashes LP (1985), Skeleton Kiss (1992), plus tracks from the band's 1981 and 1985 demos, and various live tracks. The live cover of Gary Numan's "Down In The Park" is a standout. As is the live version of Theatre Of Pain which is completely different than the LP version. Lullaby is a live version of an unreleased song.

Lineup:
Rozz Williams - vocals
guitar, bass, drums - too many to name
That's it. Hopefully this post exposes some people to some great music.
Have a fun Halloween!

Here's some other great dark punk albums to check out:

Mine, Ether Command (pre-Serene Fall) "The Land Of Roses" tape (1989)
Kommunity FK "The Vision And The Voice" LP (1983)
Villa 21 "The Ghost On The Move" LP (1983)
The Sound "From The Lion's Mouth" LP (1981) / "Jeopardy" LP (1980)
Xmal Deutschland "Fetisch" LP (1983) / "Tocsin" LP (1984)
Leitmotiv "1981-1988" CD
UK Decay "For Madmen Only" (1981)
Pyhät Nuket (post-Riistetyt) "Kuoleman Sotatanssi" (1984)
Coma "In A Coma" EP (1985)
Hexenhaus "1986 Demos"
Rudimentary Peni - everything from 1981 up to 1989
Human Sexual Response "In A Roman Mood" LP (1981)
Modern English "Sex & Lace" LP (1981)
Quel Domage "Bright Lights" 7" (1984)
English Subtitles "Original Dialogue" LP (1982)

Plus of course all Joy Division and Sisters Of Mercy! 

Life's Blood - Live Recordings

In anticipation of the Life's Blood discography that's coming out on Prank Records i've decided to post some great sounding live sets. Enjoy!

Life's Blood - Live NJ

The first set was recorded live on Pat Duncan's radio show on WFMU in NJ on March 17, 1988. Four of these songs (It's Not In Your Heart, Resist Control, Maximum Security, and Left Out On The Ice To Die) wound up on the Life's Blood / Sticks & Stones split 7" released on Forefront Records in 1990. The set was engineered by Dan X. of the mighty NJ punk band A Priori. Three of these four songs were never released until this split, and the only studio versions that exist (that i know of) are the Don Fury studio outtakes from the demo. You can download those songs here. I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this split from Pat Duncan when one of my old bands played live on his show back in '90. I played the hell out of that record, and since then have always considered the WFMU set to be my favorite Life's Blood recordings. This is a really nice sounding set, super clean, perfectly re-cut, and ripped at 320.

The second set was recorded live at the Dirt Club in Bloomfield, NJ on January 21, 1988. Probably the best sounding Life's Blood live set i've yet heard. This was the band's first show.

The cover image i used was the original art for the Defiance 7" (released on Combined Effort Records in 1988), which was scrapped in favor of the Lamont W. Harvey illustration.

Jason O' Toole - vocals
Adam Nathanson - guitar
Neil Burke - bass
John Kriksciun - drums

Confusion - The Live Recordings

Confusion - The Live Recordings

Following text by bassist Mike Scondotto

CONFUSION
Live @ City Gardens - Trenton, NJ
March 1993
also on the bill - Breakdown, Power Move and Worlds Collide (or Worlds Apart?)

1. Intro
2. Storm The Walls
3. Confusion
4. The Seeds of Greed
5. Distorted Visions
6. Gasping for Air
7. Half Dead
8. Trendy World
9. Outro

Mike - vocals
Mike - bass
Mike - guitar
Ralph - drums

This was a really good show.
Not packed, but the kids who were there were into it for sure.
A fight broke out during our set and our singer was pretty vocal about his opinion on it to say the least.
The drummer for Breakdown at the time got arrested after they played for attacking the promoter over $.
The promoter Randy did indeed pay us though... perhaps because we didn't threaten his life?
I made friends at this show with people I still know to this day, nearly 20 years later.
I was wearing a sweet Carcass shirt at this show.
My hair was long as hell. 
We had no shirts for this show and had ran out of our 7" at the time.
Good memories of this whole set for sure!

CONFUSION
Live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos
February 13th 1992

1. Confusion
2. A Fatal Infection
3. Distorted Visions
4. Early Frost
5. Without Hope
6. Selfish
7. Taste of Hate

Mike - vocals
Mike - bass
Mike - guitar
Frank - guitar
Ralph - drums

I remember it was really really cold out, the day before Valentine's Day.
I remember Johnny Stiff was the host and he was cool to us... still cool to this day! 
I remember this was my second time playing on Crucial Chaos, as my first time was in 1989 with CLOSE CALL.
I remember no one could hear a word I was saying as the 2nd mic was not on, ha!
Listening to it again, it is funny how hard we were promoting a 7" that was not yet finished and would not even come out until about 7 months later. 
Fun times! I miss Crucial Chaos.

Damn, this took a year to get here., but i'm really excited this finally made it to the blog. If you're a fan of this band's demos you will be floored by these recordings. Massive stuff here. The Intro to the City Gardens set is such a monster song. Kills me every time. For band bio check out the previous Confusion post. Enjoy!

Blogged & Quartered is back up and running...

Thanks to Seth for letting me host my files on his server on Firstpress, everything should be running very smoothly from now on. All links are working great, and no more being directed to online media servers, these are (mostly) all direct downloads. I'm also in the process of revising certain collections i was never too happy about. In the next few weeks i'll be re-doing the Absolution, Warzone, and Infest collections for starters. I'll also be posting live sets by Confusion and Close Call (thanks Michael Scondotto). And as usual, i'm always open for suggestions / requests. Also, if you are, or have been in a band (preferably '80s though mid-'90s) and have any obscure and/or long lost recordings you'd like to see on here, please get in touch. I'll do my best to make any recordings sound better if possible, and do the artwork etc.

I'm psyched to be doing this again, and until Seth contacted me, i never thought it would happen. I could never thank this guy enough.

I Figured i'd contribute to this revival post by uploading the new and improved Supertouch collection. Similar to the one posted way back, but this one has the 5 song unreleased demo from 1988 with the speed and pitch corrected. If you've heard those songs you'll know they're way too fast, with Mark Ryan sounding like Alvin Chipmunk at times. Great to finally hear this the way it should be heard. As a bonus I also threw in 3 comp tracks. Hope you like it.

It's a shame this stuff was never documented, as most of these songs were never released, and some never even recorded in a proper studio. So here you go, 22 tracks recorded between 1987-2000, as the band made their transition from Death Before Dishonor to Supertouch. All files cleaned up to the best of my capabilities. Enjoy.



Supertouch: The Early Recordings  
1988 lineup
Mark Ryan - vocals
Jon Biviano - guitar
Joe - bass
Andy Guida - drums

The first 5 tracks were recorded at Don Fury Studios in late 1988 to be released as a 7", which obviously never happened, although 3 of the 5 tracks were later re-recorded for the "What Did We Learn" 7" on Combined Effort Records in 1989. Excellent sound quality on these 5 tracks which were recently adjusted to have the correct speed and pitch.

Tracks 6-12 were recorded live on WNYU's Crucial Chaos in March of 1988. Some of the tracks here, like Stugglin' To Communicate and A Death In the Family were never recorded outside of the WNYU Studio, and various live shows (most of which suffer from awful sound). The first track sounds a bit rough. It sounds like whoever was working the boards was adjusting the levels during the intro until they got the guitar right (about halfway through the song). After that, the set sounds great.

Tracks 13-19 were recorded sometime in 1987 when the band were still called Death Before Dishonor. Although they started playing live in the early '80s (according to some of the flyers i've seen), they never recorded any material until just before they changed their name. Supposedly these tracks were recorded to pass around to friends and hopefully find new band members, and never actually released as a demo, although it's usually labeled as the '87 demo. The original Death Before Dishonor lineup consisted of Mark Ryan on vocals, Mike Ferraro on drums, Jimmy Yu on Guitar and Steve Yu on bass, although i don't think that's the lineup that played on these recordings. Mike and Steve of course went on to play in Judge shortly after leaving Death Before Dishonor.

Ending the collection are three compilation tracks.

goodbye

In the words of the mighty GO!, "It's been fun"! I met lots of great people doing this blog and discovered lots of great music, even recordings from some of my favorite bands that i never even knew existed. I just want to quickly thank all the bands and labels who provided so much music, info and pictures. All the people (including band members and others involved in the scene) who left informative comments, or just dropped in to say "thanks. That's basically what kept this blog going for so long.

Unfortunately Mediafuckup deleted all my files because of copyright laws on ONE file. The Corrosion of Conformity collection, which has been up and working for years. Why not just delete the one problem file instead of deleting over a hundred files? I'll never understand the razor sharp intellect behind that decision. Ever. Besides that, the comments sections have become flooded with hundreds of spamshit.

In my current situation - I moved to Florida with my wife and kids and am looking for work - i doubt i'll ever have the time to find all the CDRs, re-upload all the files to some other server, and delete hundreds of useless spam posts. It's a huge undertaking that i definitely cannot handle right now. Maybe someday.

Take care everyone. Thanks for all the support.