28 Inches of Punk Rock Part 5 (4x 7” vinyl)
12-27-2024: Originally these four 7” EPs or Singles were posted separately between September 25 and October 9 back in 2014. While updating the entries from my original blogspot I thought it would make much more sense to combine them into one entry and call it 28 Inches of Punk Rock, something I shall continue in the future.
Horrorcomic - I don't mind/England 77 Single
Label: Fan Club; Year: 200?; Format: Vinyl 7"Single
What we've got here is a bootleg pressing of an incredibly rare and incredibly good 7" single originally released on Lightning Records in 1978. Horrorcomic are a bit of a mystery when it comes to their band history, and in the past it has been said that the band actually recorded these tracks as '60s R&B act Downliners Sect in disguise. I haven’t been able to find any information pertaining to said rumor, but did find facts confirming that before becoming Horrorcomic these fine gentlemen were active as the Crackers since the early '70s and released a pretty good glam influenced 7" single in 1975 with "Judy, Judy, Judy" turning out to be a real winner. Since they didn't see any future in continuing playing that type of sound, they jumped on the punk wagon and as a result of that released three 7"s, with the last one having been withdrawn and resulting to be the rarest of all of them as only a handful ended up being pressed. The one herein reviewed is the middle one and often viewed as their best one. Both tracks are stomping '77 punk hits at their very best with choruses and chords that will definitely get you out of your armchair pogoing around your snoring grandmother. The band’s singer, Roger Rep aka Roger Semor, is an executive of the Sanctuary Records company and therefore it should come as no surprise that a compilation CD of the entire Horrorcomic catalogue was released on said label back in 2006.
Great footage of Horrorcomic playing a one-off secret gig back in 2010 somewhere in North London.
V/A - Na Eller Aldri EP
Label: X-Port Plater; Year: 1985: Format: Vinyl 7"
Before moving to the U.S. I have spent most of my life in central Europe and ever since having gotten into hardcore punk I have had a fascination for bands from Scandinavia. But to be honest for the most part the bands I like the most usually hailed from either Sweden or Finland (officially not Scandinavia) and were more accessible, at least in my memory. Bands from Norway were not just lesser known, but there also weren’t as many around. I saw So Much Hate when they toured Europe for the first time, and that was well impressive. But before So Much Hate there was Kafka Prosess who are as one can expect to be found on this classic compilation EP of Norwegian hardcore punk acts from the mid-80’s considering Gunnar, vocalist for aforementioned acts, also ran X-Port Plater. Other bands represented on here include Siste Dagers Helvete, Bannlyst, Akutt Innlegelse and three more. An interesting side note about Akutt Innlegelse is that a young fellow named Thomas Seltzer on guitar would go on to form Turbonegro some years down the line after this smasher originally came out. In my humble opinion only one song should not have been picked for this EP with the rest of them ranging from absolutely brilliant to almost brilliant, well you get the picture. If you like your hardcore punk fast, loud and distorted, then this is for you. I remember reading somewhere that the reason so many of the Norwegian hardcore acts from the '80s had a more rock'n'roll guitar oriented sound compared to the Swedes or Finns is down to the fact that many of the people involved in those bands had very varied tastes in music. I for one always thought that the Norwegian bands do sound quite different from their Nordic neighbors, and it certainly suits them well. It is shocking to see that to this day this EP has not been reissued. I wonder why, bearing in mind this is an absolute classic.
Rejectors - Thoughts of War EP
Label: Fartz Records; Year: 1982; Format: Vinyl 7"
There is really not all that much that I will say about this EP other than the fact that the Rejectors, who were from Seattle/WA, played politically-minded fast and furious hardcore punk typical for Reagan-era acts of this kind. This EP was recored in early '82 and delivers 9 angry numbers that are hard to distinguish from one another, yet will still convince anyone into early '80s US hardcore punk. The band went on to record a split-LP with much better known Seattle act The Accused a year after this EP was released. Good stuff!
Update December 2024: The EP has been reissued by No Plan Records back in 2023.
Flyer/Poster of a Poison Idea/The Accused/Rejectors show (great line-up).
Nog Watt - Fear EP
Label: Revenge Records; Year: 1985; Format: 7"Vinyl
Before I go on to say anything about this particular release I would like to ask why in the heck this has not been reissued yet? God, it's 2014 and nearly thirty years have passed since the release of this absolute classic from the Netherlands. These four women from Amsterdam just knew how to write angry and pissed off politically minded hardcore punk tracks, through and through. While the majority of the six songs on this EP are fast and well executed, it is in my opinion the title song "Fear" that wins the title of the stand out track, a mid-tempo, mean and gloomy song and in so many words just plain perfect. I honestly haven't listened to this little platter in a good while but when putting it on today I just held my breath, and realized how lucky I am to be still able to enjoy this sort of music. A superb release that should be made available again for a new generation!
Update June 2022: Eight years have passed since my original post and while reviewing the reissues of the two Rutto EPs from Finland I discovered that Final Doomsday Records has reissued this classic in 2021. Hurry up before it's too late!!!
