D.I. - "Ancient Artifacts"

D.I. were a band from Fullerton, CA, and were made up of members of The Adolescents, a band that should be familiar to punks everywhere. Featuring the Adolescents drummer, Casey Royer, on vocals, and guitarist Rikk Agnew, they released this debut album in 1984. The original album had nine tracks of great melodic punk rock, but what really makes it stand out is Rikk Agnew's guitar playing. He is, to me, one of the unheralded masters of punk guitar. Just about every melodic punk band took the groundwork that he laid out and tried to expand on it. His solo album, "All By Myself", is featured on most copies of the first Adolescents album so you should definitely check that out if you haven't already. This album also features songs that were originally done by Rikk Agnew on his solo album, "O.C. Life", and what I consider to be one of the BEST punk songs ever, the phenomenal "Falling Out". Actually, every song on this is great. This contains the original nine track LP, plus a full live set with six "unreleased" tracks and some of the funniest in between songs banter you'll ever hear. If you don't already have this, then don't be a damn fool and get it now.

How do you get a nun pregnant? You fuck her.

Discordance Axis - "The Inalienable Dreamless"

Here is the last full-length from Discordance Axis. D.A. were one of the best, lightning fast grind bands ever, with intelligent lyrics about topics like Philip K. Dick novels, and science fiction in general. Dave Witte was the drummer for this band, now he's in Municipal Waste and they're NOWHERE near as awesome as this band. I think the fact that this band has no bass is great, and the guitar playing is all over the fucking place. The vocalist also does the standard low growl/high scream vocal style so popular in grind these days, but D.A. did it best. I highly recommend this.

Sound Out The Braille

Mornington Crescent - "Greetings From Amsterdam" EP

Here is the only vinyl output by Mornington Crescent, a great and totally overlooked punk band from the Netherlands. Like their fellow countrymen B.G.K., Funeral Oration, and Gepopel, they play great punk rock but with really gruff vocals. Years ago my friend Jesse sent me these mix tapes and this was one of the EP's he taped me, and it became my favorite stuff on that tape. This EP is four songs in eight and a half minutes, so it shreds.

Mornington Crescent - "Greetings From Amsterdam"

Assück

Assück is everything that is great about death metal in short, grinding hardcore songs. There's really not much to say about these two albums I'm offering you here, other than they are ultra brutal grinding metal with such an intense hardcore vibe that I don't see how anyone into metal and punk couln't be into this. In this file you will find TWO albums by this gone but not forgotten band, "Anti-Capital"(with "Blindspot" EP), and their final offering, "Misery Index", a total of 42 songs in under 40 minutes. Total fucking fury. Legend has it that they wouldn't play at the venue for Columbus Fest one year because the stage was too high, so they played on someones front porch down the street from the venue. I cannot imagine how brutal this show was, if it actually happened. Get these albums and play them loud.

"We starve our children before the banquet of knowledge while politicians indulge in the feasts of war."

Pussy Galore - "Corpse Love - The First Year"

My freshman year of high school would have sucked if I hadn't had this album to get me through it. At that point in time (and at this point in time also), I was into stuff like Black Flag, Misfits, Sonic Youth, Sebadoh, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Descendents, etc....and Pussy Galore was like no band I had ever heard before. It was pissed like hardcore, yet noisy as Sonic Youth, with an utter sleaze and trash vibe that I just couldn't resist. Like being in a very sketchy, dark alley, while cars crashed and people screamed obscenities at you while they died. I fucking love this album, and just about every other subsequent P.G. albums. It is exactly what its name implies, tracks from the first year of P.G.'S existence, including the "Groovy Hate Fuck" and "Teen Pussy Power" ep's. Yeah, they hated Ian Mackaye, and yeah, this was Jon Spencer's first band, but fucking A this album rules. Hell, there's even some Rolling Stones covers on it for good measure. I used to think this album had a song on it for everyone to find offensive, check out "Cunt Tease" and "You Look Like A Jew" for proof. Why don't you get it now and find out for yourself?

For what I do to you, I should burn in hell.

Helmet - "Meantime"

1992 seems like so long ago. When this album was released I was not yet eleven years old, but I knew it was heavy, and so by that standard, it was good. Here it is, almost 20 years later, and this album STILL holds up. I think it has excellent riffs, and I also think that John Stanier is one of the more under-rated drummers out there. I know that for some Helmet is an acquired taste, but this album has blown me away since '92, with no signs of stopping any time soon. It is a great, heavy, head banging album. Yes, I know that it is partly because of Helmet that crap like Deftones, Limp Bizkit, and the like are around and so popular, but I don't hold that against them.

Helmet - "Meantime"

Mauser - "End Of The Line" 7"

Man, I have been seriously neglecting this blog. I do intend to make up for it though, starting...................now.

Two days ago we here at the House Of Scummified (that would be me and my lady friend Lindsay) received a package from our friend Josh May. Josh runs the fledgling record label called Karmic Swamp, who did not release this record, but has released some mighty fine records by bands like Veloz and The Men. When this package came it was a mix of black metal records and punk records, but this record blew me away.

Mauser hail from Gainesville, Florida, and this 7" is six tracks of raging hardcore in the spirit of your favorite scandinavian d-beat greats, but theres something else about this that just gets me. Maybe its the pissed lyrics, maybe it's the great drum sound (the rolls sound like fucking machine gun fire), maybe it's the fact that this record just flat out KILLS. I highly recommend this record for those who like furious, assaulting punk rock. I hope these guys play around here sometime, I'm sure they rip shit up live. This record is available from Vinyl Rites and once again, I seriously recommend it. Until you can save up money to get a legit copy, get it now, and get blown away. Then, support this band!

Mauser - "End Of The Line" 7"