New EP from Fyasco!

Slovakia hardcore/d-beat barbarians from Fyasco released new record! For all orders and trades write to: punkgen(a)gmail.com

Distax / Barney Gumble / Basal Banar / Hopsasala / Rúbanisko / Ničiteľ (Totalitarianism Still Continues)

Some time earlier I promised to review second part of Slovakian scene's compilation. So here it is.
The artwork is just as grim as on the first part. It shows us some pieces of Slovakian history and their struggle for better life. and musically it's a lot different. If earlier on the first part we heard noise, grindcore, and other pleasant things, here we have somewhat more punk approach.

First one here is Distax. Instantly I was joyed by the great sound. They play very solid and blood-boiling D-beat with crunchy bass, fat guitar sound and, of course, good ol' screaming and shouting vocalist, hehe. 

Barney Gumble is a bit faster. It is something that stands between hardcore and fastcore. I guess, it's quite good, but I can't say I was that much impressed with it's performance here, and the recording was a bit too raw and dirty.

Basal Banar... I can't quite come up with something to say about them. It's kinda like blackened d-beat, with exact vocals and riff that you would expect. Although it's only 1 track, I found it pretty tiring to listen. Also I didn't quite like the guitar sound here, but I suspect that maybe it was the point to mimic this kind of sound black metal had in the early 90's, can't say for sure.

Hopsasala. Now we're talkin'! Motorhead-inspired crust'n'roll! Probably a bit too raw, but some might find it even more charming. These guys are making up with every of their shortcomings because of their energetic approach. Great bass and drums, and as a cherry on top we can hear some simple but still likeable solos. Pretty interesting band, if you ask me.

Rúbanisko. That's the spirit of a good ol' punk we all love! Everything done really good, I even remembered veterans of punk Konflict while listening to these guys. Rúbanisko is totally a kickass band that will leave you satisfied with what you just listened.

Ničitel' presented the longest track here, and, to be frank, I wasn't really into it at all while listening. Slow melodic guitar riffs, vocals are sludge-inspired, but overall it hasn't this low sound. Sorry, guys, it was pretty boring, better luck next time.


Оценка: 7/10        You can order this split at: punkgen@gmail.com

Humit / Abortion / Alea Iacta Est / Sedem Minút Strachu / Kumuru / Paskuda (Totalitarianism Still Continues)

Today I want to tell you about one of the two most interesting compilation records dedicated exclusively to the Slovak extreme scene. One small vinyl holds tracks by 6 bands you should really be aware of. So let us begin this tour gentlemen! 
Humit - one very strange band. 1 track is very strange piece of music with a hint of noisecore ... only bass and drums, not so surprising of course, but I've seen some people who can do miracles with this set up... and unfortunately, this is not the case. In general, Humit did not conquer my heart. Abortion - these guys are truly legendary Slovakian band. Their music is a mid-tempo grindcore with a very punk-ish bursts and brutal vocals. Of course this is not something that they played 10 years ago, there is no such fire as before, but the material in general is not bad. 
Alea Iacta Est - very cheerful and cool team. Boys emit sincere energy in only 2 short tracks but they are able to get even dead people mosh in those 2 minutes! Excellent slightly punky fast grindcore, what else you need to set good mood! 
Sedem Minút Strachu - noisy trio of crazy dudes. The secret of their crazy sound is very simple - 2 bass guitars, fast drummer and uninterrupted screams of all participants. This noisegrind has very high density, I just physically feel the severity of the noise of violence, ahaha! 
Kumuru - Slovak experimental dudes. They play an eccentric fastcore with a strong rhythm section. Some specific schizophrenic screaming vocalist. All at once it sounds very interesting and, most important, fast. 
Paskuda - these guys here represent the hardcore scene in Slovakia. Their hardcore is fast and has a pleasant mixins of grindcore and crust. Total 2 songs here but it is enough to get some sympathy for this pleasant fast music. This is the last band in this collection, and their music is a nice finisher for this brief tour into the world of Slovak underground music. 

Rating: 7.5 / 10      For oders write to: punkgen@gmail.com

Split Besthöven / DIS-K47 out now at Totalitarianism Still Continues!

For orders write to: punkgen@gmail.com

Gride / Abortion (Totalitarianism Still Continues)

This split of two old and respected bands was no surprise for me, after all, it was a matter of time for these two bands (from Czech Republic and Slovakia respectively) to show everyone how good friends they are. 
The artwork on this release for me is like a pleasant flashback. But unfortunately, not many people remember the character on this artwork, but those who remember will surely feel the might that Andre The Giant has! After all, this is a famous wrestler of the past century, and this split is awesome just like he is!
First band on this split is Gride, which is pretty famous (in underground scene, of course) because of their furiosity and weirdness. These guys can make really fast like hell songs, but at the same time they may do some experimental stuff, just like here. They didn't change their sound, sound just as fastcore/hardcorepunk as every time. And when I heard the fragments of circus music I was like "daaamn, these guys are crazy, haha". But these parts were totally in-place and added up to their performance. I am a big fan of these weirdos, and I wasn't left disappointed again with this split!
If Gride is all about crazy stuff, then Abortion is like a percussion hammer! You can see the difference between them right when you hear both of them. But, honestly, I can't say which band sounds better here. Pretty cool vocals by Anton surely adds up the spice to the guitar massacre, and I was jumping around and dancing while "Rovno Do Hlavy" sounded, hehe! Awesome tracks, Abortion keeps up the great work, wasn't boring at all and totally rocks.



Rating: 8/10    Abortion     Gride     Totalitarianism Still Continues 

Super 6-way split out now on Totalitarianism Still Continues rec!