Headbangers blogg

Rating: Hellacopters’ siste verk skaper litt rabalder i deler av norsk musikkpresse. Head Off er nemlig Hellacopters sin hyllest til andre band, i form av en samleskive med verker fra artister som Dead Moon og New Bomb Turks. Og det har ikke alle norske anmeldere fått med seg, noe som nettopp var hensikten ifølge hellacopters.com:

“… We wound up chosing the songs that sounded like they were written for us – by us even – and ended up with an album that’s one hundred percent The Hellacopters. In other words, it’s not a case of “hey, we don’t have any songs – let’s just record a bunch of covers and get it over with” … Why the secrecy? Well, by not announcing that we’re releasing a “cover album”, rather than just a new album – which is how we see it – we’re trying to avoid any preconceived ideas people might get about it. We basically want people to listen to the album for what it really is: our new album.

Distributøren Tuba sitt presseskriv gir heller ingen hint om dette. Resultatet er at to anmeldere ikke har nevnt eller vært klar over det faktum at dette er en coverskive, og triller terning i (tilsynelatende?) ren uvitenhet frem til NRK Lydverket “avslører hemmeligheten“:

• Terningkast 3 fra Harald Fossberg i Aftenpostens oslopuls
• Torgrim Øyre kaster femmern i Dagbladet

Andre anmeldere har derimot fått med seg at Head Off er en coverskive:

• Egon Holstad gir femmern i Nordlys
• 7/10 i Musikknyheter.no

Men nok om det. Hvordan låter det da når The Hellacopters spiller andres favorittlåter? Vel. Det låter som om de skulle skrevet låtene selv (noe som var meningen), og lydbildet er slik det har vært de senere år. Personlig liker jeg aller best The Hellacopters tidlige skiver, som Supershitty to The Max”: det røffe og upolerte soundet og den fandenivoldske pønkenergien, fremfor den glattere stadionrocken de har lirt av seg de seneere årene. Nevnte New Bomb Turks’ “Veronica Lake” er kanskje det aller sterkeste sporet.

Alt i alt et verdig farvel og et artig pek fra skandinavias fremste fanebærere av høyoktanrock.

Kongen av scandi-rawk er død, lenge leve kongen! (Hellacopters er død, lenge leve Hellacopters)!

Første video fra Hellacopters Head Off er In The Sign of Octopus:

Denne listen over topp 100 punkband er stemt frem av brukerne av punkforumet på musicianforums.com. Se også Topp 100 punkband del II.

1. Dead Kennedys
The Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 in San Francisco, CA after Jello Biafra and Klaus Flouride answered East Bay Ray’s ad to start a band in a local magazine. The 3 joined together with drummer Ted and started playing hardcore-punk together in the every changing SF scene. DK is known by nearly all punk fans because of their revolutionary changes in hardcore-punk, bringing in politically charge lyrics with high quality musicianship. The Dead Kennedys changed hardcore-punk forever.
by Brain Squirmin’ Like a Toad

2. The Clash
The Clash were formed in 1976 when Mick Jones and Paul Simonon got Joe Strummer to quit the 101ers and join their band, soon to be known as the Clash. Their first album had Terry Chimes on drums and blended punk with rock ‘n’ roll and hints of ska and reggae. Topper Headon soon came in as the band’s permanent drummer, and in late 1979 London Calling was released and changed punk (and all music for that matter) forever, moving away from their original sound. The Clash scored some pop hits with their fifth and final album, Combat Rock. With Joe Strummer’s amazing songwriting, Mick Jones’s talent as a guitarist and arranger, Paul Simonon’s “screw Sid Vicious I don’t want to play root notes” basslines, all supported by Headon’s smooth percussion, the Clash defined and perfected punk by playing what they wanted to.
by guns_of_brixton

3. Bad Religion
The most influential band to come out of the 80s Southern California hardcore-punk scene, Bad Religion are, very ironiclly, gods of their genre. They inspired many bands to start up their own bands, playing hardcore-punk and getting a scene started up in there area. And with the founding of Epitaph by Bad Religion’s own Brett Gurewitz, these bands were able to be signed to a label that would respect their needs as musicians and would help them get their name out there. Not only were Bad Religion pioneers in their genre, but they were also proof that punks could be intelligent. With many of the members going to college, finishing college, and even getting Master’s degrees. And this intelligence shows in their music, provoding points of views on religion and politics that could get any young punk thinking differently about the world around him.
by Brain Squirmin’ Like a Toad

4. The Ramones
Starting out in the New York City Underground in 1975, the Ramones played fast, catchy punk rock, taking influence from the New York Dolls and the glue they sniffed. Many consider them the founders of punk and pop-punk. Their 3 chord songs were simple and catchy, everything that punk rock was supposed to be. The Ramones’ first album inspired a ton of bands across the Atlantic. They released great album after great album in the 70’s and continued to play into the 90’s. The Ramones weren’t the most talented or political band, but that didn’t stop them from making some amazing music.
by guns_of_brixton

5. Operation Iyy
Ska gods Operation Ivy formed around March 1987, when Matt and Lint’s (Tim Armstrong) band, Basic Radio broke up. After only being around for two years, and only releasing one album, Energy, Operation Ivy called it a day, playing their final show at the place where it all began, the Gillman Street club, in the home town of Berkeley, San Francisco.
by TakeWarning

6. Black Flag
Black Flag was one of the most influential hardcore bands of the 80’s. Black Flag are credited with kick starting the underground movement in the United Staes with the devleopment of SST records. Black Flag toured relentlessly, influencing countless bands where ever they went. Their music filrted with heavy metal, experimental noise, and even free jazz at some points, but are still considered the definitive hardcore band.
by Anxious Mo-Fo

7. Minor Threat
What’s there to be said that everyone doesn’t know already? Minor Threat helped to form the way hardcore sounds today and influenced an entire generation with their Straight Edge philosophy, although legendary frontman Ian MacKaye first conceived the idea when in the band the Teen Idles. Such classic songs as Out Of Step, In My Eyes, Seeing Red and of course, Straight Edge remain favourites among all fans of the genre even today, with the band’s fury and energy still
attracting listeners today.
by BERSERKER!

8. Streetlight Manifesto
Formed by Tomas of Catch 22, along with the sax player and bass player, joining with members of One Cool Guy and a new drummer. Streetlight Manifesto are hailed as one of the greates ska-punk bands of this decade. With Tomas genius songwirting and lyrical skills with the playing ability of all the members, the bands make a ska-punk sound that is to be reckonned with. They even may be pioneers of a 4th wave.
by Brain Squirmin’ Like a Toad

9. Propagandhi
Three Canadian agit-rockers formed a band in the early 90’s and named it Propagandhi. The band has progressed over the years, going from bubble-gum anarchy-skate to inflammatory prog-thrash, always raising the bar of political correctness, songwriting abilities and technical proficiency. One of the most influential acts in the Canadian punk scene, as well as the international arena, thanks to an unrelenting awareness and awe-inspiring live shows.
by FatPete

10. Bad Brains
During the late 70’s, former jazz fusion artists Dr. Know (Gary Miller), Darryl Jenifer, and Earl Hudson joined with singer H.R. (Paul Hudson) to create one of the most hardcore punk bands to ever hit the face of the earth. Influenced by anything ranging from The Sex Pistols to Led Zepplin, Bad Brains put out some of the most amazing hardcore albums punk fans had ever heard before. After H.R. discovered his roots, converting to the rastafarian religion and slowly converting the rest of the band, the four rasta-punks started putting reggae tracks into their albums, creating an amazing contrast between songs that had never been heard before. Mixing their rastafarian beliefs, and punk ethics Bad Brains put out some revolutionary hardcore tracks that no other band will ever come close to copy.
by i_luv_i_jah

Fortsett å lese ‘Topp 100 punkband’

Rating: Meshuggah er ett av disse tekniske/progressive death mattemetal bandene som jeg ikke får helt grep på, men som resten av metallverden ser ut til å elske. Jo da det er rått, heftig og brutalt, polyrytmisk og i det hele tatt. Men det fester seg bare ikke. Ikke faen. Ikke på høylys dag. Ikke om svarte natta, ikke til trening, jeg kan rett og slett ikke bruke det til noe som helst. Inn i det ene øret, ut av det andre.

Jeg tror du må være utøvende musiker, helst gitarist eller til nød trommis, for å bli blodfan av Meshuggah. Jeg har kjøpt mange av skivene, og prøver forventningsfullt hver gang de kommer med noe nytt, men nei. Litt som med Between the Buried and Me, egentlig.

Ellers er coveret stygt, og tittelen et “artig” ordspill på obskøn og zen. En skikkelig no-brainer.

Hvordan obZen skiller seg ut, eventuelt ikke skiller seg ut, fra backkatalogen? Spør noen andre. Det er nok av andre som syns skiva har noe for seg:

• 9/10 i musikknyheter.no
• 9/10 i streets webzine
• 5/6 i folkebladet.no
• Idol-asbjørn kaster femmern i bt.no

I påvente av en video kan du jo se reklamen for obZen:

Dersom du er uenig (eller gud forby enig) kan du lashe ut i kommentarfeltet under, om du gidder. Velbekomme.

Rating: I en tid hvor alle band legger ned massiv innsats på MySpace og Facebook lenge før de har lært å spille, glimrer Tragedy med sitt fravær på verdensveven. Ingen hjemmeside, hverken for band eller label, ikke noe MySpace, svært få bilder, nix njet nada. For informasjonsjunkier er dette et mareritt. Dette gjør at når man først har oppdaget sitt eget favoritt-undergrunnsband som “nesten ingen har hørt” blir interessen for bandet merkbart mer intens av denne mystikken.

Tre essensielle hardcore crust-album av sjeldent høy kvalitet på egen label gir Tragedy en sjeldent høy stjerne i alle tenkelige undergrunnsmilljøer som setter pris på denne Do It Yourself-holdningen. Ulempen er at det krever uvanlig mye innsats å finne skiver, for ikke å snakke om merch.

Uansett, ifølge Wikipedia er dette fakta faen: Brødrene Burdette (vokalist og gitarist Todd og trommis Pauls) og gitarist Yannick Lorraine har fortid fra crust-heltene His Hero is Gone, og fjerdemann fra de oppløste D-beat / hardcore-heltene From Ashes Rise: Det er klart at dette blir bra musikk.

Nerve Damage er dystrere og litt mindre umiddelbar tilgjengelig enn den glimrende forgjengeren Vengeance, og enda et hakk mer variert. Tragedy øser fortsatt ut dyster, progressiv hardcore crust punk med thrash metal influenser, og følger ingen kjente oppskrifter for låskriving. Låtene er krydret med detaljer og melodiøse gitarriff, soloer og licks. Herlig!

Produksjonen på Tragedys hittil siste opus gir følelsen av å være på konsert; bandet improviserer og koser seg skikkelig i studiom og krydrer det hele med en rekke fiffige arrangement og detaljer. Det låter langt fra polert som det er mulig å komme, men det hele er svært velregissert og gjennomtenkt.

Nerve Damage er for meg en like stor åpenbaring av en skive som Sick of it Alls Scratch The Surface, Metallicas Ride The Lightning og Slayer’s Reign in Blood var. Jeg kan ikke fatte og begripe at det er mulig å gjøre hardcore eller crust stort mye bedre enn dette (unntaket er nevnte forgjenger Vengeance og den eneste grunnen til at Nerve Damage ikke får 6/6), men når jeg kommer ut av psykosen ser jeg kanskje klarere.

Se video: Tragedy – The Force Of Law – Live fra 924 Gilman St in Berkeley, CA

Se video: Tragedy – Plan Of Execution – Live fra 924 Gilman St in Berkeley, CA