Man, this band has been getting a LOT of hype lately. I'm a HUGE fan of this sort of ripping old school hardcore punk, but over the past few years, I've fell out of touch with that scene due largely to the fact that there just didn't seem to be anything new happening. The last band that really stoked me on hardcore like this was 9 Shocks Terror, but noone else has really carried the torch since. Well, when I first heard Fucked Up online recently, it was the craziest blast of fucking straight up HARDCORE that I've heard in ages, and I had to track down everything they had in print. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Fucked Up, they are a 5-piece from Toronto, Canada, whose fast and raw early 80's style hardcore punk channels Negative Approach and Black Flag through old Dangerhouse Records style LA punk and an apparent love of psychedelic rock and other musical references that I wouldn't expect to ever hear from a band playing this sort of fucking ferocious old school HC. Their songs feature an awesome blown out guitar tone and a unique strumming style that adds all sorts of melodic flourishes that remind me of Husker Du at times, although Fucked Up don't sound anything like Husker Du. This is, however, brutal and seriously fucking catchy tuneage with some of the best songwriting I've ever heard from a hardcore outfit, and the weird elements that pop up in their songs make this music even more awesome, with speedy thrashers turning into extended Krautrock jams, and trumpets appearing from out of nowhere, and amplifiers pushed to the breaking point with some really imaginative use of feedback as part of the songs. So yeah, the music is fucking incredible, hands down the most potent hardcore punk I've heard in years. On top of that, Fucked Up have this confrontational, intellectual undertone that is really cool and thought provoking, which materializes with their mixing of fascist imagery with leftist anarchist punk, their cutting and sarcastic yet cognizant interviews and press statements (which seems to have gotten them alot of heat from the punk scene), and their ability to totally clown the conventions of underground music in all of it's guises. So far, I'm convinced that this band is total genius, and this music could save hardcore from the bloated, cash-hungry joke that it's become over the past decade. Fucking CRUCIAL. Epics In Minutes collects their 7" vinyl tracks along with previously unreleased mixes, demo tracks and part of a radio set, and the booklet contains liner notes, photos, and flyers. Highly recommended, and if you're even remotely into hardcore punk, you need to get this right fucking NOW.--crucial blast
This is a collection CD of most every song from the band's vinyl releases to date, often appearing as alternate mixes from the versions on the actual EP's. Apparently the band prefers the 7" format and is just doing this to satiate non-vinyl-loving fans who want to hear their music. According to the liner notes some of the records represented herein weren't out when CD was put together, hence a few missing tracks. I admire that decision as a fan of music who hates buying 7"s only to have them released on collection CD's soon afterwards, but I'm not sure I agree with that decision because making such a CD as complete as possible is generally the best way to go. Anyway, what you're in for is a lot of rock 'n' roll with a hardcore/punk attitude/edge. But there's no denying the rock here, be it in the form of a quick lead break or a simple, blues based chord progression. The vocals are gruff as fuck and definitely add a lot more anger to the songs, which I love. The tracks included were taken from the sessions for "No Pasaran", "Police", "Baiting", "Litany", and "Dance of Death", as well as live tracks recorded on CIUT 89.5 FM, and the band's original demo. Most of the recordings are pretty damn consistent here. Part of that might be due to a solid mastering job, and there are of course some subtle differences, but the band seems to know how to achieve their sound. It's of course pretty raw, but the mixes are even, it's thick, and it sounds about right for their approach to rocked out hardcore/punk. I could live without the live and demo tracks because the recordings are shoddy, but as a document of the band it's cool to have 'em here. The layout looks pretty cool, so you'll get photos, flyers, the original record covers, brief yet interesting liner notes about each recording session, etc. The only thing that bothers me is that the tracklist on the back, while it looks cool, is hard to read, and they don't include song titles for the demo. Also, the tracks seem to be arranged in a sort of haphazard order as far as chronology goes (the order is listed wrong on the traycard as well), which is strange... I don't know, a cleaner organization that would be easier to follow may or may not have been helpful. All in all I like this CD a lot because the songs rock and it's cool to have a lot of this stuff on one disc back to back. I definitely think things could've been handled in a slightly more listener friendly matter, but fuck it. The music's there, and it's good.--aversionline
Original Release Date: 2004
Label: Deranged Records
Bitrate: 192kbps
72.12MB
TRACK LISTING
1. Color Removal
2. What Could've Been
3. Baiting The Public I
4. Baiting The Public II
5. Last Man Standing
6. Litany
7. Police
8. Circling The Drain
9. Reset The Ride
10. A Light That Never Comes On
11. Generation+Red
12. Dance Of Death
13. Ciut Radio Session
14. The Lurking Fear (Demo)
15. Circling The Drain (Demo)
16. The Achilles List (Demo)
17. Sleep Tight (Demo)
18. Sirens (Demo)
19. Piece By Piece (Demo)
20. Following (Demo)
21. Land Of Nod (Demo + Bonus)
[get this widget]
