Burai Core Distro

あけましておめでとうございます

2012-01-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

2011 was a little quiet for Burai Core, the Origin of M 12" release and having a newborn in the house took up most of my time. But I had secret plans cooking in the background that are starting to come to fruition.

Took a trip to the pressing plant yesterday...

Came back with new test presses... What could they be??

Bastard, Nemesis, Slang, Warhead, Nukkehammer

2011-10-30T18:10:00.001-04:00

New stuff in! All the Warhead presales have been shipped ~~and I actually have one copy left. $10 with other stuff or $12.50 postpaid by itself.~~ (Warhead is sold out) Also have one copy of the European pressing of the most recent Slang LP, "Life Made Me Hardcore." Completely different artwork, gatefold jacket. $14.50. Also got a handful of copies of the Nukkehammer 12" and 7", $14.50 and $4 respectively. Cold War themed savagery from Ohio, influenced by Discharge and various Japanese classic bands. Also got the Bastard "Controled in the Frame" 7". Finally an official reissue after all the crap bootlegs, very nicely done with silver ink and slightly updated artwork, $5.50. And last but certainly not least is the Nemesis 7", a new young band in the classic Selfish thrashing style, $4.50. Prices don't include postage, email me with your zip code for a total, buraicore@gmail.com.

Warhead pre-order closed

2011-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Pre-orders for the Warhead CD/DVD are sold out. I'll get some more copies down the line, but this is it for the time being. They should be arriving any day, so hopefully I'll have them out to everyone who ordered this week.

Also, I may be a little delayed responding to email. My seven month old has been staying up until 11 and then waking up as soon as I put him in his crib, so I will have less free time than ever until we get this sorted out. I can usually get a little work done in the morning (like now). Please bear with me, thank you!

Mailorder list

2011-09-04T18:47:00.003-04:00

http://buraicore.blogspot.com/

---Japanese

Adverse #3 zine $10

Alliance "Resonate Agitate" CD $15.25

Crossface "人間のいない世界へと" $10.25

Crow "Bloody Tear" 12" $11.25

Crow "Neurotic Organization" 7" $5 (last copy)

Crow"Flock of Beast" 7" $3.75

Crude "Corner" 12" $11

DSB / the Assassinators 7" $3.75

Elekidz "エレキッズの電気的占星術" 7" $9

Etae "All Possibilities Will Come From There" 12" $11

Forward / Warhead "Live In USA" DVD $29

Framtid/Seein Red 7" $9.75

Freaks "77 Points of Hate" 7" $3

Hazard / Fight Back CD $10.25

悲鳴 (Himei) s/t 7" $11

Isterismo "discography" 12" $11.50

Masterpeace 7" $9.75

Nightmare "Bloodsucker Years" CD $10.25 (last copy)

No Problem / Doomsday Hour CD $6.50

Ogreish Organism "鬼" CD $31 (last copy)

Ogreish Organism "偽物の時間" CD $31 (last copy)

Ogreish Organism "4th Pill" CD $15 (last copy)

Origin of M 12" $5.50 w/other stuff plus postage, $9.50 ppd by itself

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" CD $22.50 (last copy)

Persevere "Tragic End" 7" $4.25

Persevere "Instant Accident" 7" $4.25

Reality Crisis "Sound of Destruction" 7" $11

Rise Above "I Love To Relax" CD $5

Slowmotions "Operation Anagram" 7" $5

Super Frisky "For Buddy" CD $28 (last copy)

Systematic Death "Systema 6" 12" $10

Systematic Death / See You In Hell 7" $8.50

Veihaiz CD $7.50 (last copy)

Warhead "This World of Confusion/Acceleration" 7" $6

Youth Enrage "Heyoca" CD $5

Zone "Win Back To Sanity" CD/DVD $21 (last copy)

v/a Burning Spirits 2004-2005 DVD $24.50

---Japanese style/influenced/other

Annihilation Time "II" 12" $7.50

Annihilation Time "Cosmic Unconsciousness" 7" $4

Burial/Antimob 7" $6.75

Burial "Speed At Night" 12" $12.75 (last copy)

Discharge "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" 12" $8

Discharge "Why" 12" $8

From Ashes Rise "Nightmares" 12" $8

From Ashes Rise / Victims 12" $8

Lotus Fucker 12" $8 (last copy)

Nightbringer "Fight Like Hell" medium t-shirt $10

Nightbringer s/t 7" $3

Nightbringer "31st and Michigan" 7" $3

9 Shocks Terror "Zen And the Art of Beating Your Ass" 12" $8

Poison Idea "Feel The Darkness" 12" $11

Severed Head of State "Power Hazard" 12" $8

Skitsystem "Allt E Skit" 12" $8

---Michigan

Apathemy/Counterfeit 7" $2

Bill Bondsmen/Out Cold 7" $5.50

Bloodpact "(A) Bastardization CD $8

Bloodpact/Time X 7" $3

Bloodpact/Varsity 12" $6

Bump n Uglies "All American 4 Pack" 7" $2

Cast In Fire/xKombatx 7" $3

Deathskin Razors 7" $4

Disconnected/Wasteland 7" $2.75

Earthmover "Death Carved In Every Word" 12" $8

Earthmover "Death Carved In Every Word" CD $5

Easy Action "She Ain't My Girlfriend" 7" $3.50

Final Assault demo cdr $2.75

Hellmouth "Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing" 12" $8

Insults "Thrasher Go Home" 7" $3.25

Madison 7" $2

Mazinga CD $3

Mazinga/Sex Sex Sex 7" $2

Michael Knight 7" $2

Michael Knight "Slip And Fall" 7"

Mt Tai CD $3

Neighborhood Threat 7" $2.75

Nightbringer t-shirt $10

Positive Noise/Xtra Vomit 7" $3

Positive Noise "No Hardcore" 7" $3.25

Positive Noise/Crucial Section 7" $4

Pub Life "Fueled By Hate" CD $2.75

Ruination "Year One" CD (original, not the bootleg) $8

Ruination "Dead Horse" 7" (various colors) $3

Ruination/They Live 7" (second press) $4

State "Wuste Dtld." 7" $2.75

State "Nihil Ex Nihilo" 7" $2.75

State "No Illusions" 7" $3

State "Sanctimony" 7" $3.25

State "Verboten" 7" $2.75

State/Fuck This 7" $4.50

Threatener discography CD $6.50

Under Anchor/All Hype 7" $3

Unidentified Drunk Injury (UDI) 12" $6.50

the Wake demo CDr $1

v/a "Fuck Detroit, This Is Grand Rapids" 7" $3.25

v/a Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage CD $10.75

Email orders to buraicore@gmail.com, include your address and I'll calculate postage by weight. No charge for paypal, but include a confirmed address.

--- New Stock Sale Items ---

Acrostix "Truth Turned Grey With..." 7" $4 (last copy)

AGE/Hellshock 7" $6.50

AGE "Scar of Lead" CD $8.50

AI "Sounds of Hearts" 12" $8

Assault "Martyrdom" 7" $3 (last copy)

Contrast Attitude "Apoc…" 12" $11.50 (last copy)

Crow/See You In Hell CD $7.50

Crude "Attitude" 12" $7.50

Crude "1999" 12" $7.50

Crude "Just Go Go Ahead" 7" $7.50

Demolition "Mob of Wolves" 12" $7.50 (last copy)

Ecodamned "Ekodani…" 5" $6.50

Gauze "Binbou Yusuri..." 12" $9 (last copy)

Jhabara "…And Now And…" 7" $7.75 (last copy)

Judgement "Just Be" 7" $5

Lip Cream II DVD $25 (last copy)

Lip Cream DVDs I, IV, VII set $75 (last copy)

Lip Cream DVDs II, V, VIII set $75 (last copy)

Lip Cream DVDs III, VI, iX set $75 (last copy)

Mikaduki Bakuondan "Judgement Truth" 7" $6.50

Nightmare "Scatteraw" 12" $8.50 (last copy)

No Value 7" $5

Positive Noise/Crucial Section 7" $3.25 (last copy)

Range &the Dirty Hospital "Posi.." CD $8.50 (last copy)

Rydeen "AAAA" CD $8.50

SBGM "Super Bastards…" 7" $4 (last copy)

Shock Troop "Nightmare In..." 12" $7.50 (last copy)

Smash Your Face "Light Times, Loose Times" 7" $3 (last copy)

UG Man/Charm 12" $4.50 (last copy)

v/a "Axis of Wolves" CD $7.50

v/a Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage CD $10

--- Used Stock Sale Items ---

Charm "Hito" 7" (press error, no screen print on record) $6

CSSO "Live" 12" $7.50

Damaged Youth 7" $2

Disclose/Hellkrusher 7" $18.50

Final 7" $7.50

Forward "Feel The Core of Self" 7" $9

Heartwork "yellow" 7" $4

Messed Up "Sign of the Times" $12

Nailbiter/Viimeinen Kolonna 7" $7.50

Paintbox "炎/砂漠" 7" $34

Shock Troop "Your Worst Nightmare" 7" $7.50

Shock Troop "Your Worst Nightmare" 7" $9.50

Short Fuse "Blow My Fuse" 7" (black/white vinyl) $6

Societic Death Slaughter/Hong Kong Knife 7" $7.50

Sqwad flexi 7" $11

v/a Patrick (Disgusting Void, Slub Judge, Defuse, and Crow) $11

Email orders to buraicore@gmail.com, include your address and I'll calculate postage by weight. No charge for paypal, but include a confirmed address.

Warhead CD/DVD pre-order

2011-09-04T18:37:00.001-04:00

I've never bothered with pre-orders before, but given how popular this release will be and my time constraints, I'm going to do it for this one in order to take care of most of the orders at one time and get them out as quickly and efficiently as possible. If it works out well, I may continue it in the future. Bloodsucker Records is compiling all the out of print Warhead material onto this CD due out in early September. Pre-orders will ship as soon as I receive the CDs. The CD includes...

●1st 7 ep CRY OF THE TRUTH（SELF RELAESE）
1. CRY OF THE TRUTH
2. SUICIDE
3. FIGHT WITH NO FEAR
4. YOU IN CORRUPTION
5. YOUR ON CRIME
●2nd 7 ep The Lost Self and Beating Heart（BLOODSUCKER）
6. Burn Your Heart and Go Through Darkness
7. 疾走
8. Absorb Shocks!
9. Crazy Soul Hurricane
10. The Lost Self and Beating Heart
11. I m Still Alive!
●V.A. CD HARDCORE BALL 3
12. SLASH ONE'S WAY
13. (WHO'S A)LAW BREAKER
14. IT'S NOT A DEAD END
●V.A. LP ONE SHOT ONE KILL
15. BRAIN WASHING BY THE SHOCKS
16. SLASH ONE'S WAY
17. LAW BREAKER
18. CIRCULATION
●3rd 7 ep DRIVE IT IN YOUR HEAD!（FASTNAIL)
19. 月下
20. FACE CRISIS
21. 日常
●SPLIT with ORdER 7 ep（HG FACT）
22. DON'T GIVE'N TO ANY PRESSURE!!

And it comes with a DVD of footage from throughout their history. I think most people haven't heard the v/a Hardcore Ball tracks. They might be the most savage recordings Warhead have done, and that's certainly saying something.

$12.50 in the US including postage and paypal, payable to buraicore@gmail.com . If you want to order some other stuff, please specify if you want it to all ship at once to save postage, or if you want the in-stock items to ship now and the Warhead CD/DVD when it's available.

New items

2011-09-04T18:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since updates. I more or less took the last month off, just keeping up with mailorders and behind the scenes stuff, because my boy started crawling, and climbing, and falling off things, so it became even more of a full time job to keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble. He's just hanging out today, so I was able tog et all this together.

First up, the new Slowmotions single, excellent as always, and the Isterismo discography 12", both on 540, released for Chaos In Tejas courtesy of Timmy Hefner. Istermismo are raging Japanese crustiness, obviously inspired by the Italian classics. Next, I got copies of the recent Annihilation Time reissues on Tank Crimes. Sure it falls outside my general focus on Japanese hardcore, but it's a similar rock/hardcore fusion, and frankly I think they were one of the best American bands in the last ten years. Similarly, I got a few copies of the reissue of Poison Idea "Feel The Darkness" on Farewell. Like Discharge, undisputed classic and very influential on the Japanese scene. Finally got some copies of the newest Crude 12", "Corner". Raw and along the lines with their last 7" on HG Fact. And brand new is the Etae discography 12". Compiling both their 7"s on the A side and all 5 comp tracks on the B side. Etae were from Hakodate and shared a guitarist with Crude around the time of their "Attitude" 12". If the new raw Crude doesn't satisfy your jones for burly melodic Hakodate style HC, Etae will.

Unfortunately, thanks to soft European cardboard, some of the Etae and Crude jackets suffered corner damage in shipping. I'll sell the cleanest copies first while I wait and see if the label can send me replacements for the rest.

Also, a lot of stuff in the distro is getting down the last copies, so I noted that where applicable in the mailorder list.

Origin of M tour wrap-up part 1

2011-09-04T18:09:00.001-04:00

There are a lot of great photos and videos from Origin of M's tour. I'm going try to post some each time I update the site. To begin with, here's one from West Philadelphia, shot and edited by Clones and Fashions. For a higher res version, follow the link and check out their other videos too.
http://www.clonesandfashions.com/clonecast/clonecast-films-episode-04-origin-of-m/

As for the Burai Core label, I want to keep things a little secret for right now until they're 100% certain, but I'm working on the second release right now, laying the groundwork for the third, and next year might see a vinyl release of Origin of M "Struggle".

New Items

2011-07-10T15:14:00.001-04:00

The full list is down a few posts, but here are the highlights of the new stuff this week.

I took a few Havoc LPs in on trade, tangentially related to my regular Japanese focus. You can't underestimate the worldwide impact of Discharge, and it's nice to see these 12"s back in the hands of a diehard punk label rather than the usual. Classic reproduced precisely, only exception being the Havoc logo on the back instead of Clay. From Ashes Rise had a bit of the Japanese influence filtering through their sound by the end, particularly the anthem Reaction with it's massive rolling intro. Severed Head of State did as well, though with more of a raucous Motorhead charge to their harsh punk on the "Power Hazard" 12". 9 Shocks Terror need no introduction, they were some of the key figures responsible for the popularity of Japanese HC in the US in the last decade. And Skitsystem, well, I just like this record. Compiles all their earliest and rawest output before they got heavier.

The second Nightbringer 7" is out on Deer Healer Records, "31st and Michigan" b/w "A Better Tomorrow". The first song is a speedy ripper with a personal take on the urban decay in Detroit, and the second one is a Hawkwind and MC5 via Motorhead semi-instrumental featuring guest guitar from ex-Nightbringer Matt. The download hasn't been turned on yet, but it also includes 2.5 new songs intended for a Michigan/Ontario comp that failed to come together. The 'half' song is an alternate mix of one of the other songs with noise guitar substituted. Also still available is the first 7", though copies of the first press of that may be dwindling, and the "Fight Like Hell" shirt in medium and lots of colors. Speaking of, the "Fight Like Hell" single will be coming out in a couple months as a preview of the LP and will have some Detroit area covers on the B side.

<a href="http://nightbringerhc.bandcamp.com/album/31st-and-michigan-b-w-a-better-tomorrow">31st And Michigan b/w A Better Tomorrow by Nightbringer</a>

Last but certainly not least, restocked the Kriegshog CD and got the Forward/Warhead US tour DVD and the Elekidz 7". The DVD has songs from all over the tour and is a neat capsule of that time. Elekidz is quirky punk, friendly with the Slowmotions but sounds more like a girl punk cartoon show soundtrack or something. I like it and so does our little boy. Got a few copies of the Paintbox DVD but they were all reserved, so I'm going to have to reorder that yet again. If you're interested in one, please email me so I make sure to get enough copies this time. It's selling much better than any other DVD, so it caught me by surprise.

Elekidz "エレキッズの電気的占星術" 7" $9

Forward / Warhead "Live In USA" DVD $29

Kriegshog CD $16

Origin of M 12" $5.50 w/other stuff plus postage, $9.50 ppd by itself

Discharge "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" 12" $8

Discharge "Why" 12" $8

From Ashes Rise "Nightmares" 12" $8

From Ashes Rise / Victims 12" $8

Nightbringer "31st and Michigan" 7" $3

9 Shocks Terror "Zen And the Art of Beating Your Ass" 12" $8

Severed Head of State "Power Hazard" 12" $8

Skitsystem "Allt E Skit" 12" $8

Wurzel ex Motorhead, RIP

2011-07-10T14:48:00.000-04:00

Motorhead are pretty much the standard by which I measure all music, and one of the big appeals of Japanese hardcore, and particularly the Tokyo Burning Spirits scene, is the degree of shared sound with Motorhead. I don't know if it has been reliably confirmed yet, but the rumor is going around that Wurzel passed away a few days. While he had been out of the band for sometime now, even Lemmy remarked in the past that in the mid '80s Wurzel may have been more Motorhead in spirit than even Lemmy was. The band lost a lot when he left, he was a great counterpoint to Phil Campbell and he took his busy stylized riffs with him. I don't take much interest in celebrity death or put much value in internet memorializing, but when someone's whose music changed the way I hear all other music dies, it does get to me. I felt similarly when Chelsea and Pig Champion passed away, definitely felt some serious denial at first. Anyway, after Motorhead, Wurzel played on the second Disgust CD and released an ambient record that I didn't even know existed until today. He also had a solo ep from 1987 that's worth a listen.

Forward and Turtle Island outdoors, Gauze response to tsunami

2011-07-10T14:30:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple recent videos that have been making the rounds. First up, Forward and Turtle Island playing outdoors in Ueno at the Punks Were Made Before Sounds gig. There's also footage on YouTube from the same show of Jabara, Piledriver, Spike Shoes, Hat Trickers, Pinprick Punishment, and Melt Banana.

And here is a recent video of Gauze. Before they play, bassist Shin addresses the audience, as translated in the comments, "He talking about Ex SVS member is school teacher at Tohoku, and his school is using as shelter of Earthquake victims....1,000-yen/each T-shirts donate. And they are singing "We would like to cry, but we can't cry, because don't have a time to" and "Japan is Never Die!!" The response of punks in Japan to the tsunami disaster has been quite moving, with people like Ko from Slang organizing relief work and punk flea markets popping up at shows as benefits.

Origin of M 12" out now

2011-05-31T07:23:00.000-04:00

I'll make this look prettier tonight after work, but here's the crucial info for early adopters:

1 copy postpaid in the US, includes shipping: $9.50
1 copy postpaid to Europe: $18.50
paypal to buraicore@gmail.com

There is no special edition or tour edition, but the first round of mailorders get special bonus treats.
The band will have copies with them on tour and at Chaos In Tejas.

BCR-01 Origin of M 12"

Burai Core presents the first Origin of M 12"! With similar speed and power as bands like FORWARD but with their own Hiroshima hardcore style, Origin of M has Mr Guy ex GUDON on vocals and Maru ex ASPHALT on guitar. Raging sound and insightful lyrics, all new art by the master illustrator Sugi. Originally released on CD by Under The Surface in 2008 and long sold out, this 12" also includes their song from the "Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage" compilation. Includes digital download code.

Listen at http://originofm.bandcamp.com/

Origin of M US tour 2011

June 2 - Chaos In Tejas after party at the Broken Neck w/ Tragedy

June 3 - Chaos In Tejas at Emo's w/ Doom, Kriegshog, Kieltolaki, Isterismo, Spazm 151, Mata Mata, Wild/Tribe

June 5 - Chaos In Tejas at Beerland w/ D-Clone, Kieltolaki, Crazy Spirit, Vaaska

June 6 - Denton, TX at Rubber Gloves w/ Slowmotions, Crazy Spirit, Perdition, and Wild/Tribe

June 7 - St Louis, MO at Rue 13 w/ Tenement, Chinese Telephones, and Shaved Women

June 8 - Milwaukee, WI at the Ground Zero, w/ See You In Hell, Lotus Fucker, Impatient, and Bored Straight

June 9 - Chicago, IL w/ See You In Hell and Lotus Fucker

June 10 - Detroit, MI at the Shelter w/ Nightbringer, xBrainiax, Wind of Death, Final Assault, Wells

June 11 - Cleveland, OH at Now That's Class w/ Wind of Death

June 12 - Pittsburgh, PA at Helter Shelter w/ Nightbringer

June 13 - Richmond, VA at Strange Matter w/ Parasytic and Aghast

June 14 - Baltimore, MD at the Barclay House w/ See You In Hell, xBrainiax and Lotus Fucker

June 15 - Philadelphia, PA at the Milcreek Tavern

June 16 - Boston, MA

June 17 - Brooklyn, NY at the Charleston w/ Agitator

June 18 - Portland, OR at the Know w/ Slowmotions, Crazy Spirit and PROBLEMS

June 19 - Portland, OR at the Branx w/ Slowmotions, Burning Leather, No Statik and Martyrdod

Origin of M 12" release on Tuesday!

2011-05-27T23:08:00.000-04:00

I picked up the vinyl this morning, it's still in the trunk of my car so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. It's going to be $9.50 postpaid (including paypal fee) in the US, payable to buraicore@gmail.com. I've been working on setting up the digital download code tonight, but now it's time to fold diapers and go sleep (glamorous, I know). In the meantime, you can now listen to the entire record here

<a href="http://originofm.bandcamp.com/album/origin-of-m">Origin of [M] by Origin of M</a>

New Releases

2011-05-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

Got the latest batch of HG Fact releases. First up is the Himei 7", reissue of their first self-released ep, now on split red/yellow splatter vinyl. Bit reminiscent of the Stalin. Next is the Zone CD/DVD. Compiling their early 7"s and compilation tracks, I prefer the slightly rawer sound of this to their LP. The DVD has live material from throughout the years. Very nice package. I've seen them twice, killer band, and I guess I was lucky because they have only played Tokyo a few times ever. Burly, anthemic hardcore, the type I love. Restocked the amazing Paintbox DVD. Got a few Kriegshog discography CDs and already only have two left. Compiles their demo, 7", both splits, LP and mystery bonus track, full booklet, great sound so you can hear all the distorted noise in crystal clarity. Honestly really good, and I'm not really one for "raw lo fi D beat". Kriegshog were many notches above that sort. Playing their last show at Chaos In Tejas with a special guest second guitarist, Souichi from Forward. And last but not least, the new Warhead single (front and back cover pictured). Two noisy thrashers with guest guitarist Jacky from Framtid filling in. Crucial as always.

Recent video of Warhead playing at the Studio Dom rehearsal space in Kouenji. I can't even imagine what it would be like to see them in a tiny room like this.

Remember to include your zip code when reserving so I can calculate postage, email orders to buraicore@gmail.com, and check out the sale and regular lists below.

悲鳴 (Himei) s/t 7" $11
Kriegshog CD $16
Paintbox "Anarchy, Madness & Love" DVD $28
Warhead "This World of Confusion/Acceleration" 7" $6
Zone "Win Back To Sanity" CD/DVD $21

Origin of M 12" nearing completion

2011-05-14T12:50:00.001-04:00

The Origin of M 12" jackets arrived yesterday, the lyric sheets arrived a week or two ago, and I should have vinyl before Memorial Day. So assuming there are surprises, I will start shipping them May 31st. I will have prices up soon, just need to settle a couple little things.

They are playing three times at Chaos In Tejas including the first day's after party with Tragedy at the Broken Neck and will have 12"s for those shows (as well as tour).

Origin 12" jacket with 1984 Honda Interceptor 500

Origin of M tour poster and video

2011-04-18T20:40:00.000-04:00

Burai Core Release 01 - Origin of M 12"

2011-04-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

I'm taking the plunge back into the label game after a ten year break. First up is the debut 12" from Origin of M. Hiroshima City Hardcore style, featuring Mr. Guy from Gudon, Cavemen and the man behind Bloodsucker Records. Needless to say, raging stuff with its own sound. This is the first time on vinyl for the first CD originally released by Under The Surface. All new artwork by the master Sugi. They will be playing Chaos In Tejas and touring through the midwest, hitting the east and west coasts before flying home. Also look for the second CD on Straight Up, it smokes.

June 4th Chaos in Tejas at Emo's with Doom,Kriegshog,Isterismo,Spazm 151 and Wild//Trive
June 5th Chaos in Tejas
June 6th Denton,TX at Rubber Gloves w/ the Slowmotions,Crazy Spirit,Perdition and Wild//Tribe
June 7th St Louis,MO at Cranky Yellow
June 8th Milwaukee,WI at the Doghouse (2438 N Bremen) w/ See You In Hell,Lotus Fucker and Protestant
June 9th Chicago,IL w/ See You In Hell and Lotus Fucker
June 10th Detroit,MI at the Shelter w/ Nightbringer
June 11th Cleveland,OH at Now That's Class
June 12th Pittsburgh,PA w/ Nightbringer
June 13th Richmond,VA at Strange Matter w/ Parasytic and Aghast
June 14th Baltimore,MD at the Barclay House w/ See You In Hell,xBrainiax and Lotus Fucker
June 15th Philadelphia,PA at the Millcreek Tavern
June 16th Boston,MA
June 17th Brooklyn,NYC
June 18th Portland,OR at the Know w/ the Slowmotions,Crazy Spirit and P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S
June 19th Portland,OR w/ the Slowmotions and Burning Leather

Nightbringer new singles preview

2011-04-17T17:34:00.001-04:00

<a href="http://nightbringerhc.bandcamp.com/album/upcoming-singles">upcoming singles by Nightbringer</a>
Here are the A-sides to the next two Nightbringer singles. 31st and Michigan will be released by Deer Healer, and Fight Like Hell will be released by... me! 31st should be out in May, and FLH will follow after that.

Bastard / Paintbox / Super Frisky !!!

2011-02-04T17:27:00.003-05:00

It isn't uncommon in the most productive scenes to find the same people involved in multiple projects, and the Japanese hardcore scene is no exception.

Using BASTARD as a starting point...

vocalist Tokurow is now in FIGHT BACK (with Iron Fist Tatsushima from CROW, GISM, DIE YOU BASTARD!, etc)

guitarist Zigyaku was in GUDON and SYSTEMATIC DEATH and went on to form JUDGEMENT

bassist Iizawa went on to JUDGEMENT, BUZZY 大和町バンド, and is now in RANGE AND THE DIRTY HOSPITAL and 鉄アレイ (Tetsu Arrey).

Zigyaku and Iizawa both played on OGREISH ORGANISM recordings with Pill from LIP CREAM.

drummer Koba (aka Masaaki Sweden) was in SYSTEMATIC DEATH, DISARM, went on to ROCKY & THE SWEDEN, and is now in RYDEEN and SYSTEMATIC DEATH (if not more).

Bastard "No Hope In Here" official discography CD $29.50

Fight Back/Hazard "Realities of Hardcore Punk" CD $10.25

Gudon "Early Years" CD $10.25

Systematic Death "Systema 6" 12" $10

Systematic Death / See You In Hell 7" $8.50

Judgement "Just Be" 7" $5.50

Range & The Dirty Hospital CD $11

鉄アレイ "14All All41" CD $10

Ogreish Organism "鬼" CD $31

Ogreish Organism "偽物の時間" CD $31

Ogreish Organism "4th Pill" CD $15

Rydeen "AAAA" CD $11

SUPER FRISKY is a relatively new band, their CD just came out, really great, the first thing to come to mind is a mix of the Comes (for the female vocals) and Motorhead-ish Japanese punk hardcore.

SUPER FRISKY

vocalist Yoko from AKUTARE

guitarist Keiro from AKUTARE, 鉄アレイ, and formerly EXTINCT GOVERNMENT

bassist Sakura from JUDGEMENT and SCREAMING HOG

drummer Kaki from 鉄アレイ

WATERBED is

vocalist Jhajha from LIP CREAM and JUDGEMENT

guitarist 宇賀秀樹(MADORDEATH)

bassist Ali (Deep Count)

drummer Kaki from 鉄アレイ

Super Frisky "For Buddy" CD $28

鉄アレイ "14All All41" CD $10

Judgement "Just Be" 7" $5.50

Waterbed CD $7.50

Lip Cream II DVD $30.50

Lip Cream VII DVD $30.50

all nine Lip Cream DVDs, poster, stickers special: $250 --last set--

Lip Cream "Trash Til Death" CD $27.50

Lip Cream "9 Shocking Terror" CD $24

And that's just to start. Add in the Death Side family tree and it seems to touch nearly every top tier Tokyo band by some degree of relation.

I should note that the Lip Cream complete DVD set is the last one I have and I don't intend to break it up. I do a have some extra copies of the second and seventh DVDs to sell separately (two of the best in the series). I have very limited copies of a lot of these things, particularly the Bastard, Super Frisky, Gudon, and Waterbed CDs, and I'm down to my last couple Lip Cream CDs as well.

And the Paintbox DVD is finally here! 31 songs from multiple shows, 146 minutes. The opening clip is literally stunning, with the band in their early days playing 炎 from the first single, looking like reclusive hippie wizards conjuring their otherworldly sound... Just awesome. The DVD goes through the rest of their career, including their trip to the US, the later shows with Akira from Continental Kids singing (while Mune was incarcerated) and ending with their final tour with Osamu from ALLIANCE playing guitar after Chelsea passed away. Includes a booklet listing every show they played. There's a lot here, including vacation footage from the US trip, I haven't even had the chance to really dig into it yet. Worth every penny. Limited copies, of course... I'm also down to the last copies of the "Trip Trance, Traveling" CD, these are the first press in a gatefold cover (the repress was in a standard jewel case).

Paintbox "Anarchy, Madness & Love" DVD $28

Paintbox "Relicts" 12" $11.25

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" CD $22.50

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" 2xLP $19

Paintbox "炎/砂漠" 7" $45
Paintbox "The Door/Provided Railroad" 7" $55

v/a Burning Spirits 2004-2005 DVD $24.50

Slowmotions at Chaos in Tejas and west coast tour!

2011-01-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

Chaos in Tejas invariably brings a batch of Japanese bands to the US, and while the full line up hasn't been completely announced yet, the Slowmotions will be coming over for it and to do some shows on the west coast. I've seen them twice, fantastic band. Definitely a favorite and a nice break from the Motorhead/bands that sound like Motorhead that I listen to 90% of the time. I really think these are some of the best punk songs being written these days.

June 2nd Chaos in Tejas

June 3rd Chaos in Tejas

June 4th Chaos in Tejas

June 5th Chaos in Tejas

June 6th Dallas,TX

June 7th OFF

June 8th Phoenix,AZ

June 9th Los Angeles,CA

June 10th Orange County,CA

June 11th Bakersfield,CA

June 12th San Jose,CA

June 13th Oakland,CA

June 14th San Francisco,CA

June 15th Sacramento,CA

June 16th Arcata,CA

June 17th Seattle,WA

June 18th Portland,OR w/ Origin of [M]

June 19th Portland,OR w/ Origin of [M]

from the Burning Spirits 2006-2007 DVD

from the Dead Heat Disco 05 VHS

the Slowmotions/Burning Leather 7" $6.25

the Slowmotions "Mystery Action" 7" $8.75

the Slowmotions "ダイオルを回せ！" CD $6

the Slowmotions "マケロベ / Yes, Future!!" 7" $15

v/a Burning Spirits 2006-2007 DVD $32

Winter Update

2011-01-12T21:51:00.002-05:00

I took it a bit easy this fall with the distro, mostly as I was saving up to release a 12" by... Well, more on that later, tthe distro is going to expand into a label this spring. I'm only planning to release one record at a time to roll the money from one to the next. I'll announce the first one in the coming weeks when the artwork is completed by Sugi, who has done innumerable classic Japanese record covers, shirts, and flier designs. So to catch up, I went to Japan for a week at the end of November. Good trip, arrived and got to hang out with Slowmotions and FUK guys at the end of their tour, saw Forward, Zone, and 鉄アレイ (Tetsu Arrey) at EarthDOM (phenomenal show from all three bands, Forward with their new drummer playing a mix of early songs and four new ones, Zone making a rare Tokyo appearance, and 鉄アレイ not missing a note with the recent addition of Keiro (Akutare/Super Frisky) on guitar), and then things came to a wretched halt when I woke up the next morning and proceeded to throw up for 24 hours from a stomach virus. Went to the hospital to make sure I wasn't getting dehydrated and then slept all day, meaning I missed the Burning Leather tour final with AI, Slowmotions, Forward, GATES and Nanox. Squeezed in a whopping 30 minutes of record shopping the next day, took care of some other stuff and then went across the country to Hiroshima where I met Guy san (Bloodsucker Records, Origin of M). Got to see Origin of M practice (killer), got some good stuff at Guy's store Misery, and hung out at Dumb Records (cool Ramones/garage punk record label, coffee shop and bar). Woke up early the next morning to take the shinkansen back across the country and flew home the next day. The trip was way too short, I felt like I barely had any time in Tokyo and wish I could have hung out longer in Hiroshima.

But I did bring back a few things, namely recent Bloodsucker releases and a few old 7"s. First up is the Fight Back/Hazard split CD. Hazard are long running Tokyo punks, maybe you know them from the split with Extinct Government or the recent full length CD, and they now have Eiji (ex DSB) drumming for them. Raw recording, turn it up and destroy your speakers. Fight Back is the return of Tokurow, ex Bastard vocalist, with Iron Fist Tatsushima (Die You Bastard!, Crow, GISM etc) drumming. Crushing D beat/thrash hardcore, almost Swedish sounding.

Next up from Bloodsucker is the debut ep from Waterbed. Mellow sounds from the drummer from 鉄アレイ and the singer from Lip Cream. I only got a few copies for people who are willing to take a chance on something unexpected, and Guy san gave me some screened patches that I'll include with them.

I also got a handful of the last copies of the Gudon "Early Years" CD and some stickers to go with them. This is all the insane early noise core that wasn't included on the discography on Bloodsucker and Partners In Crime, both demos and the flexi.

Also the third Crossface CD, the Veihaiz CD (burly hardcore), both Persevere 7"s (UK punk style) and some other odds and ends. The first Nightbringer 7" came out in November, and the second one will hopefully be out by the end of winter. Nightbringer 7" is on colored vinyl.

Also new is the No Problem/Doomsday Hour CD on Under the Surface. Doomsday Hour are from California, ex Star Strangled Bastards, and No Problem are the original bassist from Paintbox and the singer from Geshpenst and Sticks In Throat. Got a few copies of the Nightmare "Bloodsucker Years" CD, crucial material from the 7"s and comp after the first LP and before the CD on Dan Doh. Definitely some of my favorite stuff from them.

Long Overdue Update

2010-07-05T11:09:00.001-04:00

Time for the first proper distro update in around three months. The main reason is I spent just about every free night in April and May recording with Nightbringer. We've been doing live track sessions of four or five songs at a time for the last year at Bottom of the Lake in Toledo and finally wrapped that up, so it was time to do the overdubs. We had what I think is the best guitar and bass sound I've ever gotten, so we wanted to get everything done in one go. I kept imagining I could get a couple songs done in a night, but it rarely worked out that way. So 17 songs later (not including the brand new songs we demo'd for ourselves to work on), it's finally done. Now we're going to take those songs in batches and do vocals and mix. The second 7" on Deer Healer is getting done first, followed by two songs for an American/Canadian hc comp on Schizophrenic and a song for the Detroit covers comp on Spider Cuddler. We should have test presses of the first 7" (on High Anxiety) as soon as Chris rolls back through town with Burning Love (one of my favorite North American bands going, if I may say so), so look for the real thing in a month or so.

Oh! And we made new shirts. We ran out of medium shirts in the black design (but we still have YL, S, L, and XL), so we made a new design in medium only (actually there are 4 larges too) and in a dozen different colors. Just specify size and color when ordering. Has "Fight Like Hell" on the sleeve and the NB/FLH hawk on the front.

Fight Like Hell is the series of shows Len from Nightbringer and I have started putting on at the Shelter in Detroit. Inspired by the Japanese Burning Spirits, Smash Your Chains, etc shows, we're trying to have one great show a month with an emphasis on local area bands to try and really get things moving in Detroit again. The time is right, there are a lot of good bands and a lot of people doing the work to support the scene, so things seem ready to break out. The first show was June 5th with Slang from Sapporo, Mind Eraser, Nightbringer, Final Assault and Disconnected and despite a torrential rain storm halfway through (that actually had water running down the entry steps to the Shelter) went very well. There haven't been hardcore shows at the Shelter in years, so its very cool to be doing things there again.

But enough about me, on to the records...

The Alliance 12" was released on CD with an extra song. I also picked up an inexpensive copies of the Blood Spit Nights discography, Portland's noise core outfit from a couple years back, the Slowmotions CD (the first four singles and a bonus track, same as the Partners In Crime LP. A personal favorite), and the Bonescratch CD, which is an older HG Fact release, Born Against worship, oddly enough.

In the Japanese influenced department, we have the new Burial 12" and the Lotus Fucker 12". Lotus Fucker just completed a tour with the Wankys from England and we had the pleasure of playing with them at Michigan Meltdown in Grand Rapids. Total noise assault. Burial have really come into their own and remind me a bit of a more metallic Talk Is Poison now.

Also pictured is the Systematic Death/See You In Hell 7", released for their European tour. Bit of warning, two of the Systema songs are on the new LP and the other is a re-recording of an older classic. Still worth it to get more SYIH material. Glue it to the Crow/SYIH split and you can have a SYIH 7" or a Systema/Crow split.

I restocked a couple of the Lip Cream DVDs, so I have one complete set available and a few copies of the ACC and Lip Cream Only volumes. At the same time I picked up the recent represses of the Ogreish Organism CDs on Pill's Oni label. Ogreish Organism was Pill's project after Lip Cream. He sang and played drums, Minoru from Lip Cream played bass on most of it, and Zigyaku (Bastard/Judgment) and Chelsea (Death Side/Paintbox) alternately played guitar. Hardcore as you'd expect, with some of the Chelsea material getting a little more out there, but mostly kept together by heavy riffing and Pill's growling shout.

And last but far from least, I picked up the recent Crow represses on Prank. The Neurotic Organization 7" is finally available again, Bloody Tear gets a red cover and is remastered, and Beating of the Wings of Destruction has been redone as a gorgeous picture disk. That last one was gone in the blink of an eye the first time around, so I'd suggest getting it while you can. One side is one crushing dirge and the other has four fast rippers. The mysterious LP in the middle of the picture is the 解剖室 LP (Kaiboushitsu/Autopsy Suite). Rumored to have Crow members involved (definitely sounds like it when he breaks from Gastunk/gothish singing into a howling yell), limited to 700 copies on 180g red vinyl. Great record and very expensive. (Sold out!)

And I picked up copies of the recent Paintbox 12"s, the Clown picture disk... Check the list and see!

Mailorder list

2010-07-04T21:50:00.006-04:00

---Japanese

Acrostix "Truth Turned Grey With..." 7" $5

Acrostix "A Chain…" 12" $11

Adverse #3 zine $10
AGE/Hellshock 7" $8

AGE "Scar of Lead" CD $11

AI "Sounds of Hearts" 12" $9.75

Alliance "Resonant Agitate" 12" $29.50

Alliance "Resonate Agitate" CD $15.25

Assault "Martyrdom" 7" $3.75

Breakfast "Eat Rice" 7" $3

Clown "Livestock World" picture disk 12" $14.75

Contrast Attitude "Apoc…" 12" $14.50

Crow "Bloody Tear" 12" $11.25

Crow "Beating of The Wings…" picture disk 12" $12.75

Crow "Neurotic Organization" 7" $5

Crow"Flock of Beast" 7" $3.75

Crow/See You In Hell CD $9.50

Crude "Attitude" 12" $9

Crude "1999" 12" $9

Crude "Just Go Go Ahead" 7" $9.25

Demolition "Mob of Wolves" 12" $9.75

DSB / the Assassinators 7" $3.75

Ecodamned "Ekodani…" 5" $7.75

Extinct Government CD $20

Framtid DVD $20

Framtid/Seein Red 7" $9.75

Forward "While You Alive" CD $11.50

Freaks "77 Points of Hate" 7" $3

Gauze "Binbou Yusuri..." 12" $11

Jabara "...And Now And..." 7" $10

Judgement "Just Be" 7" $5.50

Kaiboushitsu 12" $30 (sold out)

Lip Cream I DVD $30.50

Lip Cream II DVD $30.50

Lip Cream III DVD $30.50

Lip Cream IV DVD $30.50

Lip Cream V DVD $30.50

Lip Cream VI DVD $30.50

Lip Cream VII DVD $30.50

Lip Cream VIII DVD $30.50

Lip Cream IX DVD $30.50

all nine Lip Cream DVDs, poster, stickers special: $250

Lip Cream "Trash Til Death" CD $27.50

Lip Cream "Kill Ugly Pop" CD $27.50

Lip Cream "9 Shocking Terror" CD $24

Lip Cream "Close To The Edge" CD $27.50

Lip Cream "s/t" CD $27.50

Masterpeace 7" $9.75

Mikaduki Bakuondan "Judgement Truth" 7" $8.50

Nightmare "Scatteraw" 12" $10.75

Nightmare/Skitkids 7" $4.25

No Value 7" $6.25

Ogreish Organism "鬼" CD $31

Ogreish Organism "偽物の時間" CD $31

Ogreish Organism "4th Pill" CD $15

Paintbox "Relicts" 12" $11.25

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" CD $22.50

Paintbox "Trip Trance & Traveling" 2xLP $19

Positive Noise/Crucial Section 7" $4

Range &the Dirty Hospital "Posi.." CD $11

Rise Above "I Love To Relax" CD $5

Rydeen "AAAA" CD $11

the Slowmotions/Burning Leather 7" $6.25

the Slowmotions "Mystery Action" 7" $8.75

the Slowmotions "ダイオルを回せ！" CD $6

SBGM "Super Bastards…" 7" $4.75

Smash Your Face "Light Times, Loose Times" 7" $3.50

System Fucker 7" $9.75

Systematic Death "Systema 6" 12" $10

Systematic Death / See You In Hell 7" $8.50

Tetsu-Arrey "II" CD $13

Tetsu-Arrey "14AllAll41" CD $10

UG Man/Charm 12" $5.75

Youth Enrage "Heyoca" CD $5

v/a "Axis of Wolves" CD $9.25

v/a Burning Spirits 2004-2005 DVD $24.50

v/a Burning Spirits 2006-2007 DVD $32

v/a Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage CD $10.75

---Japanese style/influenced/etc

Blood Spit Nights "Complete" CD $6

Burial/Antimob 7" $6.75

Burial "Speed At Night" 12" $12.75

Lotus Fucker 12" $8

Nightbringer t-shirt $10

Shock Troop "Nightmare In..." 12" $9.50

---Michigan

Apathemy/Counterfeit 7" $2

Bill Bondsmen/Out Cold 7" $5.50

Bloodpact "(A) Bastardization CD $8

Bloodpact/Time X 7" $3

Bloodpact/Varsity 12" $6

Bump n Uglies "All American 4 Pack" 7" $2

Bunny Skulls "18 Song" 7" $3.25

Bunny Skulls "one sided" 7" $3.25

Cast In Fire/xKombatx 7" $3

Deathskin Razors 7" $4

Disconnected/Wasteland 7" $2.75

Earthmover "Death Carved In Every Word" 12" $8

Earthmover "Death Carved In Every Word" CD $5

Easy Action "She Ain't My Girlfriend" 7" $3.50

Final Assault demo cdr $2.75

Hellmouth "Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing" 12" $8

Insults "Thrasher Go Home" 7" $3.25

Madison 7" $2

Mazinga CD $3

Mazinga/Sex Sex Sex 7" $2

Michael Knight 7" $2

Michael Knight "Slip And Fall" 7"

Mt Tai CD $3

Neighborhood Threat 7" $2.75

Nightbringer t-shirt $10

Positive Noise/Xtra Vomit 7" $3

Positive Noise "No Hardcore" 7" $3.25

Positive Noise/Crucial Section 7" $4

Pub Life "Fueled By Hate" CD $2.75

Ruination "Year One" CD (original, not the bootleg) $8

Ruination "Dead Horse" 7" (various colors) $3

Ruination/They Live 7" (second press) $4

Shitfucker 7" $5.25

State "Wuste Dtld." 7" $2.75

State "Nihil Ex Nihilo" 7" $2.75

State "No Illusions" 7" $3

State "Sanctimony" 7" $3.25

State "Verboten" 7" $2.75

State/Fuck This 7" $4.50

Threatener discography CD $6.50

Under Anchor/All Hype 7" $3

Unidentified Drunk Injury (UDI) 12" $6.50

the Wake demo CDr $1

v/a "Fuck Detroit, This Is Grand Rapids" 7" $3.25

v/a Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage CD $10.75

---Used Japanese and Japanese influenced

Assfort "Ejaculation" 12" $7.50

Bonescratch "Diaglam" CD $5

Breakfast "Eat Rice" 7" (splatter white/pink vinyl) $8

Charm "Hito" 7" (press error, no screen print on record) $8

CSSO "Live" 12"

Damaged Youth 7" $2.75

Disclose/Hellkrusher 7" $25

DSB DVD $12.50

Final 7" $10

Heartwork "yellow" 7" $5

IYAD "Dive Into A…" CD $5

Nailbiter/Viimeinen Kolonna 7" $10

Nightmare/Aburanabi split CD $7.75

Outsider "Outsider's Pride" CD $10

Shock Troop "Your Worst Nightmare" 7" $10

Shock Troop "Your Worst Nightmare" 7" $12.50

Short Fuse "Blow My Fuse" 7" (black/white vinyl) $8

Sqwad flexi 7" $15

Stalin "Stop Jap" CD $15

v/a Patrick (Disgusting Void, Slub Judge, Defuse, and Crow) $15

Email orders to buraicore@gmail.com, include your address and I'll calculate postage by weight. No charge for paypal, but include a confirmed address.

new DSB split 7" and UDI 12"

2010-03-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

I listed the leftover records from my old distro on a few message boards two weeks ago to see if anyone was interested, and the unexpected response proceeded to take over all my free time. Now that the feeding frenzy has calmed down, I can get back to this, as well as getting the layout for the first Nightbringer 7" finished and sent off. Next weekend I'll update the old distro list and make a linked page for it on this site.

But as for new stuff, the DSB/Assassinators 7" is out and its really good. Two DSB tracks up to par, and the Assassinators remind me of Post Regiment, so great stuff on both sides. Unfortunately the other news this week is that DSB are calling it quits after twenty years. Some last shows are in the work, possibly abroad in addition to Japan. Sad to see them go, but they say new bands are in the works.

On the Detroit side, Jeff from Hellmouth released the debut 12" from Detroit's UDI, a ripping thrasher indeed. Only 300 pressed, so grab it while you can. He pressed them at Detroit's Archer Record Pressing, making this a proper "Made In Detroit" production.

This week also saw the passing of Bruce Roehrs, steadfast columnist and reviewer for MRR. I didn't know him, but I'm honestly sad that I'll never get to send him a Nightbringer 7" to review. His sincere enthusiasm for hardcore, punk, and rock n roll transcended the printed page. MRR has organized a memorial fund to have him buried in the place he wanted. Help out if so inclined. He was the definition of a lifer, no question.

Alliance, Systema, Burial, Detroit....

2010-02-28T14:14:00.001-05:00

Bunch of stuff in this week. First up is the Alliance 12". I did a post on them a few months ago, it's Osamu from Assault's new band. Also featuring the singer from Frigora and bassist from Macrofarge and this recording also has the drummer from Assault. The music continues in the progressive, tasteful metallic hardcore vein that Assault was working in. Takayama san from Punk and Destroy described it as an Antisect for 2010. 180g vinyl, big 3 panel fold out cover, and it comes with a sticker. Limited to 700 copies and by this time its probably sold out from the label. Quite expensive, but its about what you would pay ordering it from overseas. Next is the vinyl treatment of the most recent Systematic Death LP, great record and despite more than a ten year break, it picks right up where they left off. Different song order and reworked artwork from the CD. Also in is the Burial/Antimob 7", from Germany and Greece respectively. Both bands pay tribute to the modern Japanese hc sound, but Burial are started to break out of the mould and establish their own personality. I think its their best song so far. On the Michigan side of things, I have three of the recent State 7"s, some of the last copies of the Heresy 7" (Detroit mid 80s Discharge style), the Pub Life CD from a few years back, and the Final Assault demo. Final Assault are (to my knowledge) the only band in this area playing pure Discharge/Scandi style hardcore. Ex Heresy, Social Outcast, and Pub Life. I saw them a couple months ago with the State and both bands were great. They're playing tonight (Feb 28) at the Magic Stick with UDI. I also got a few copies of the Hellmouth LP from the band, they're possibly the hardest working band in the area and it shows.

Burning Spirits, Conflict For Freedom

2010-02-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Just got in a box of good stuff from Mr. Takayama, the man behind Punk and Destroy shop, Freedom Fighter label, and the drummer of Framtid and Nightmare (busy guy!!). First up is the new Masterpeace 7" that he released. Charging Japanese hardcore with eclectic breaks. Also on Freedom Fighter is the Framtid DVD from their European tour. And while we're on the subject of Framtid, I also got some copies of the Framtid/Seein Red 7". Seein Red are a long time favorite of mine and its always cool to see such a great pairing on a split. Finally for the 7"s is the System Fucker 7" on Crust War. Full noise attack!! Back to the DVDs, I got limited copies of the Burning Spirits DVDs. These are incredible productions. The first one includes Forward, Warhead, Delta Puree, Paintbox, Rapes, the Trash, AI, Crude, Final Bombs, Zone, Piledriver, Sticks In Throat, and Extinct Government. Most of the bands are multi camera shots and sound board recordings, multiple songs from each band as well. The second one is a double DVD with Forward, Colored Rice Men, Slang, Conga Fury, Origin of [M], アグレッシブドックス, Slip Head Butt, Dioxin's, Veihaiz, Blowback, 8000, Gouka, Trust, Crossface, Padlock, クラウン, Extinct Government, the Slowmotions, 原爆オナニーズ, Mustang, ROM, トサカ, Asphalt, オーダー, 狂い咲きサンダーロード, KGS, Framtid, Flock, Naked Yeggs, Buzzy 大和町 Band, 1-Minutes, Little Mirrors, and ノープロブレム. I ahve personally watched these DVDs a bunch of times since they came out, and these are some of the last new copies available "in the wild". I have very few of them, so if you're interested, don't wait too long. A word of warning though: the Burning Spirits DVDs are Japan region encoded, so you will need a region free DVD player (or to tweak your computer or DVD player) to watch them. I have a $40 Cyberhome DVD player I bought for that very reason. Do a Google search for your DVD player model and "region free" or "hack" to see if there is a code you can enter to change the region. I haven't checked any of these other DVDs I carry for it yet, I only realized the Burning Spirits ones were encoded when I tried to watch them on my computer. Ok, back to the goods... The most recent Extinct Government full length CD, which has ex and current members of bands such as Rocky and the Sweden, AI, 鉄アレイ, and Akutare. Check out the video I borrowed from YouTube below, not least for that killer bass tone. And last but not least, the Conflict For freedom 2009 DVD, which is mercifully less expensive than most other things (postage, paypal fees, and the exchange rate are all still killing me). Shot at one show, pro multi camera and sound board recording, this one has Kriegshog, the Disclapties, Tom and Boot Boys, Hat Trickers (one of the craziest things I've seen), Order, Reality Crisis, Hazard, Outsider, Life, Framtid, Warhead, and Extinct Government. Another phenomenal line up for this DVD, that must have been one hell of a show.

Lip Cream part 2

2010-02-08T12:32:00.000-05:00

The last three Lip Cream DVDs arrived as this week as well as the reissues of all their CDs. Like the first six DVDs, these are each about 40 minutes long. The CDs are also on drummer Pill's Oni label. These were originally released around ten years back with much better mastering than the Selfish label originals (and before the CD volume wars got out of control) and have been generally unavailable for the last couple years. I'm glad to finally upgrade from my Selfish copies of 9 Shocking Terror and Close To The Edge.

I asked some friends to comment on the specific albums they like best, but in the meantime...

"Thrash Til Death" compiles everything other than the albums, the first two singles and "Hardcore Unlawful Assembly comp tracks (which Pill didn't play on) and the "Virus" comp tracks. So you have the songs from the "Thrash Til Death", "Punx", "A Farewell To Arms", and "My Meat's Your Poison" comps, as well as the studio side of the s/t cassette (aka "Kill The IBM"). Crucial stuff, and a good range of material from the early rocking punk, anthemic songs like "Kill Ugly Pop" and "Bloody Summer", and the aggressive thrash of their later songs.

"Kill Ugly Pop" was their first full length and probably my favorite. Opens with the Comes "Shangri-La" and proceeds with the full burn Chuck Berry at double speed leads seamlessly mixed into anthemic hardcore.

"9 Shocking Terror" was an ep (and is a little less expensive than the others) and marked a shift into more aggressive, thrashier hardcore. "Close To The Edge" continued that sound with 18 songs of relentless all out attack. This is part of the foundation or blueprint of what has come to be known as traditional Japanese hardcore. Something that stands out to me was the way these records were all mixed to let the drums remain very dynamic. Pill continues to take a very artistic approach to his current drumming projects, and it can be seen here as well, with the unusual fills and tom rolls that jump out of the mix like concussion blasts. It can't be understated how much influence each member of Lip Cream left on the Japanese hardcore scene, as in Naoki's burning rock leads, Minoru's thundering bass, and Jhajha's howl.

My other favorite Lip Cream album, their self titled finale. The attack of "CTTE" is still there, but this album is somehow even heavier while bringing back some of the catchier, more anthemic feeling. I'm having trouble expressing how much I like this record. I passed it up the first time I went to Japan because of the unusual cover, my mistake.

DVD VII "Lip Cream Only. Plus"
Scene 1 "Lip Cream Only at Shinjuku" (30 min)
Scene 2 ""Other tunes from Lip Cream Only" (18 min)
If I could only have one Lip Cream video, it would be this one. This is the band at maximum energy and aggression on a small stage (flanked by torches!) with the crowd right on top of them. Each member has a cool little "off stage" clip, and for one song it cuts back through old footage of total mayhem. As a bonus there's another 18 minutes of songs from the same show, fully edited from the multiple cameras. This rules.

DVD VIII "Dog Days Live, Plus"
Scene 1 "Dog Days Live at Kyoto" (10 min)
Scene 2 "from Gudon Last 2 Days Live" (8 min)
Scene 3 "December at Citta" (14 min)
Scene 4 "August At Hiroshima" (19 min)
This video compiles their later compilation appearances. Very cool to get four different shows on one disk. Each show seems to catch the opening of their set, so you end up with four versions of "Close To The Edge", which they seem to have opened every show with around this time. I don't know how, that song is a marathon sprint, but I guess its best to come out blazing and get it done before being winded. Songs from the 4th LP also start showing up in the set list. The "Dog Days" clip has interesting footage from outside the show, including grinding blocks of ice into chips by hand outside the show. It must have been truly hot...

DVD IX "DDD 9/24. Plus"
Scene 1 "Last Live At Kyoto" (39min)
Scene 2 "August At Hiroshima" (5 min)
And the final DVD... Good quality, multiple cameras... Aaaaagh I'm going to have to watch this again later! 9 DVDs of Lip Cream, "Close To The Edge" is seared into my brain,,,,

Again, postage and the exchange rate are working against me, but I'm keeping the price as low as I can (and actually my mark up on these is lower than anything else I'm carrying). DVDs are $30.50 and I'll do a package deal of all 9 DVDs for $250 (which saves $24.50). I set the CDs to the same price as the Japanese MSRP, so they are $27.50, except for 9 Shocking Terror which is $24. I also have some stickers of the album covers and fliers for the Lip Cream reunion show in June that I'll include with orders for these.

Slowmotions/Burning Leather 7" out now

2010-01-03T21:41:00.001-05:00

At the start of the holiday season my eleven year old G4 Mac proceeded to its great reward, so since the end of the family business I've been making the switch to a new computer. The site is well overdue for an update, but to span the gap, the Slowmotions/Burning Leather 7" covers arrived and they are now for sale for the quaint sum of $6.25 plus post. The Slowmotions songs are as catchy as anything they've done, great stuff. Burning Leather are a Portland "ex members of" band and they sound almost exactly like pre-Ace of Spades era Motorhead.

I have a big Michigan centered update in the works with all the new State 7"s, the Final Assault demo, and the Hellmouth LP, with proper reviews, pictures, and an attempt to tie all the bands' members and ex members together. Next weekend then, tomorrow I have an engine to pull out of a Civic.

Lip Cream DVDs

2009-12-21T10:36:00.004-05:00

Quite an ambitious undertaking here. Lip Cream are possibly the definitive Japanese hardcore band. Formed from the nucleus of the first Comes line up by bassist Minoru and guitarist Naoki, add ex-Dead Cops bassist Jhajha on vocals (after a brief stiny by Baki from Gastunk), and joined after their first two 7"s by G-Zet drummer Pill, the band had no weak points. Every member could have been the center of any other band, and I've heard people say how much each particular member inspired them to play their own instrument. The band existed from 83-90 and the members stayed active after the split, with Minoru in Colored Ricemen and playing on records like the early Extinct Government 7" and LP and the Human Arts CD, Naoki had his LOX project, Jhajha resurfaced in the last line up of Judgement, and Pill was in Delta Puree as well as his Ogreish Organism and solo projects. So to take possibly all the Lip Cream video footage and release it on 9 DVDs over a three month period is quite significant. One of the interesting characteristics of 80s Japanese hardcore is just how much of it was documented on video. Lip Cream's two solo videos (the ACC video and "Lip Cream Only") are fairly well known here, but they appeared on compilations and some of this additional footage might even be unreleased until now. Each DVD is approximately 40 minutes long and has footage from at least two shows. Is it really necessary to own all 9 DVDs? I guess that's up to you to decide... It seems hard to justify, but where do you stop once you start? The completist side of me says "Go for it," but I'll try to review each DVD to let people make the best decision for themselves. They are quite expensive (although they're priced comparably to the Japanese list price), but it seems safe to say that these are the only copies that will be imported to the US. They won't fly off the shelves, but can you risk missing out? Haha! I'll try to review each one as well as I can to help you decide. All video footage is borrowed from drummer Pill's website.

DVD I "1984 不法集会. Plus"

Scene 1 "1984 December at Rokumeikan" (36 min)
Scene 2 "1985 July at Loft" (5 min)
This video stands out as the only one before the release of the "Kill Ugly Pop" LP, so all the songs are from the first two 7"s and "Kill the IBM" cassette album. Definitely a different feel as it catches the band and scene as early as 1984. Its electrifying to watch them open with "Night Rider More Than Fight." Footage and sound is a bit raw, after all it was 1984, but still perfectly watchable. From what I can tell, the first set was from a comp with Outo, Gas, Cobra, and Laughin Nose (Live at Rock-May-Kan, Tokyo 12/3/84( as Hardcore Unlawful Assembly, or this may have just been assembled by tape traders. Clip from the 1984 set.

DVD II "1986 ACC Lip Cream Live!. Plus"

Scene 1 "1986 ACC Lip Cream Live!" (27 min)
Scene 2 "1986 from 'Dynamite Tour'" (14 min)
The ACC video is great, multiple camera and cleaner video and sound. Very exciting, as the camera in the crowd gets bounced around and they open with "Top Fight". In the "Dynamite Tour" clip, the footage is a little rawer, but worth it to see them open with the Comes "Shangri La" intro (used on the "Kill Ugly Pop" LP). Still lots of 7" and tape songs in the sets. The Dynamite Tour 86 was with WP City Indian.

DVD III "1986 August at Hiroshima. Plus"
Scene 1 "於・見真講堂" (23 min)
Scene 2 "於・ハードコア選抜大会" (19 min)
The first set is on a very big stage and shot from the back of the room. The footage is grainy and never really zooms in, but the sound is very good. To contrast that, the second clip (Live at Chuou University, Tokyo 11/2/86) is shot right on top of the band, with them and about twelve bystanders crammed onto a tiny stage, but the sound is blown out. The songs are still distinguishable and you get used to it after one or two. Clip from the first set.

DVD IV "1987 Live in steam. Plus"
Scene 1 "於・鹿鳴館" (26 min)
Scene 2 "於・NEW AGE MUSIC FESTIVAL" (15 min)
These shows mark the release of the "9 Shocking Terror" 12", and there's a subtle shift from the more rocking and anthemic early years to a more aggressive and direct style of hardcore. Footage and sound for both shows is a bit rough. Clip from the first show to judge for yourself. Jhajha has an awesome long sleeve Danzig t shirt with the skulls on the biceps and Plan 9 on the back.

DVD V "1987 August at Hirosima. Plus"
Scene 1 "1987 August at Hirosima" (26 min)
Scene 2 "Egg Plant Live" (14 min)
Similar vibe to DVD IV (all these shows were from 87), but the footage is better quality here, at least midgrade VHS. Shot from closer up for more detail. Sound is still rough, but probably better than disk IV. Its worth mentioning that these DVDs are all really loud!

DVD VI "1988 Hard and Loud Lip Cream. Plus"
Scene 1 "Hard and Loud Lip Cream. Plus" (35 min)
Scene 2 "from 'Rockin'dex88'" (1 min)
Opens with "Close To The Edge" and keeps that vibe throughout, although still hitting some of the early classics. Good video and sound, shot from the back of the hall but good detail and zoom. Its a shame the last clip is only a minute long, its great!

The third and final batch of DVDs came out Friday and I should have them in a few weeks. Disk VII is the classic Lip Cream Only video, Disk VIII is four comp sets from 89, and Disk IX is the final Lip Cream show.

Back from Japan update

2009-12-13T19:29:00.001-05:00

I got back Monday from a short trip to Japan. The jet lag is still messing me up, I feel like passing out at 5pm and can be wide awake at 5am. I think making a trip like this is more difficult in the winter as you don't have much sunlight to help reset your clock. I brought back as much stuff as I could, but the exchange rate was brutal (I heard a 20 year low), so some of it is unfortunately quite expensive. The sued stuff is priced off what I paid for it, I haven't researched prices for anything, so if something seems unreasonable, email me and I'll consider offers in some cases. But on to the good stuff... I have Slowmotions/Burning Leather vinyl (including a handful of orange ones), but the covers were not printed yet when I left, so I'll put them up for sale when I get them. The Slowmotions side is great as usual, the first Burning Leather song is a blatant lift of the riff to Motorhead "Keep Us On The Road." The new DSB 12" is quite a package, gatefold jacket and it comes with a DVD of footage edited together from their European tour. 5 new songs (yes, all new songs!). I've started going through the Lip Cream DVDs, I'll post more specific information on each as I watch them. Each one is around 40 minutes. Disk one has a show from 1984, all the songs are from the 7"s and "Kill The IBM" tape. One camera that moves around a bit, very cool early footage. Disk two raises the bar with the ACC video, good quality multi camera shoot, very high energy. If anyone gets crazy and orders all six, I'll include the promo poster and sticker sheet for free. The last three in the series should arrive sometime in the next month. Disk seven is the classic "Lip Cream Only" video, so that's going to be very cool to have. The Sticks In Throat CD is an older HG Fact release, but its one of my favorites so I picked up the last two copies he had. Top notch burning sound, featuring Mikio and Naka currently of No Problem (and ex Geshpenst and Paintbox, respectively) and Kazu (ex Order/Slowmotions), one of the most distinctive guitarists in hardcore I can think of. The new Systematic Death CD lives up to their legacy, I can't think of many other thrash hardcore bands that write such catchy and memorable songs. This will be on vinyl from Feral Ward in the next couple months. (I already sold out of the CDs, I'll see about getting more in a few weeks) All sorts of good stuff in the "used" section. The first two Paintbox 7"s are perfect records and my favorite songs from them. The Rocky & The Sweden t shirt is dark grey and has the "League A Rise" design. I would keep it for mysef but I already have it as a long sleeve. As usual, new stuff is in orange, email me with your zip code to reserve items and I'll calculate postage.

v/a Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage

2009-10-25T11:07:00.001-04:00

A quick Google search for "Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage" turns up page after page of download links, so clearly people are excited about this comp, and they should be. This is the strongest compilation I've heard since 2002's "Tribute to Masami" (which was great, find a copy if you can). While MRR tried to re-create the spirit of "Welcome to 1984" with the "Public Service" comp, I think this comes much closer to hitting the mark without intentionally trying to remake the past. The international scope is narrower (sixteen Japanese bands, a couple of Canadians ones, and the rest are American), but the spirit and quality are higher. There are no throw-away tracks, every band goes for it in their own way, and every one offers something different to check out. I don't mean to oversell it, but I have been really excited about this ever since it entered planning a year and a half ago, and the results exceeded my expectations. It has even nudged out "Trip Trance Traveling" to take up residence in my car's CD player. Here's a track by track review by Dan from Lotus Fucker (although contrary to his opinion, the No Problem song is one of my favorites on the comp). To bring it back to the intro, I can't imagine downloading this and enjoying it as much as the actual CD. It has a big booklet with every band getting a full page. Funny how times have changed, out of 27 bands only two included street addresses!

And now a brief interview with the man behind the Under The Surface label, Souichi of Forward:

Who made the name "Demented Anthem Hardcore Assemblage"?
Todd Burdette (tragedy,shos, warcry)

Record Shop Base compared it to the famous international comp "Welcome to 1984", what do you think? The cover reminds me of "My Meats Your Poison".
It is my honor to hear people compare it to Welcome to 1984 because that comp is kinda legend.

Will it be released on vinyl?
Now I'm planing to release it on vinyl, i know people want them.

How was the Unit 21 tour? Did you organize it by yourself?

Yes I did. The tour was amazing. Those boys are crazy dudes and they play loud. They are my favorite.

What is next for UTS?

The Slowmotions & Burning Leather split 7" check them out!!

Alliance interview and video

2009-09-28T11:45:00.001-04:00

I did a small trade with HG Fact in 2001 for some copies of the 324/Corrupted/Discordance Axis CD, the second Tetsu Arrey CD, and I took a chance on a few copies of a CD by a relatively new band called Assault. I was blown away right from the start, the opening bass line sounded almost like Youth Of Today, but then the music just exploded when the rest of the band came in. I remember calling my friend Brad to tell him I had that comp CD he wanted and telling him to bring some extra cash because he was going to want the Assault CD too. They played Ann Arbor a couple years later when they toured with From Ashes Rise, great show, one of the few held downstairs in the Launch skateboard shop the summer after State Control Records closed. One of my dogs kept them up late relentlessly trying to lick them, like she did to every band that stayed over. I seem to luckily run into their guitarist Osamu san every time I'm in Japan. He recently toured with Paintbox filling in on guitar for the departed Chelsea, and since Assault broke up, he has been doing a band called Alliance who have a mcd coming out on HG Fact sometime soon. I haven't gotten to see them yet, but here's a clip from Youtube. We did this interview in a mix of English and Japanese, thanks to Kevin Hunt for translating the parts in parenthesis. Thanks to a cooking demonstration involving him and hot peppers, I will never forget what chinpoko means.

Alliance at EarthDOM:

Who is Alliance?

Alliance member are Guitar: Osamu (me). Bass:Haji Kushima (ex-Macrofarge, It's You, Asbestos.). Vocal: Tohru (ex-Frigora.). Drums:now we seeking. This year April Kentarou left the band. Do you remember Kentarou? He and me are playing with 10 years. But this time we debate the course. Now he is playing in another band, the name is "Auto Roll". Bass player: Sakura from Judgement. Auto Roll's sounds? I don't know.hahaha

Alliance.now we are playing with support drumer. His name is Yuki (ex-Colored Ricemen, now-Pigmen.)

What is "progressive hardcore"? What is the sound?
"Progressive hardcore"...tonikaku ironna ongaku no ii tokoro wo kyushu shite atrashii katachi wo tsukuritai. (Anyhow, I'd like to the absorb various great aspects of music, and create something new.)

Are you making a recording?
Recording. We finished only sounds. Now we making cover art working. Its so difficult! mosugu dekiru kara matte kudasi. (It'll be ready soon, so please wait.) 6 songs vinyl, release on H.G.Fact. maybe November...

How was playing in Paintbox, and will Paintbox continue?
Paintbox? I try very hard!!! Valuable and splendid experience for me. Mr Chelsea's guitar works is very difficult. I did practice 7 months... tired. but now I'm happy! And growth with Paintbox member, World Burns to Death. They are nice guys! And Blow Back. minna totemo yasashii takusan ooen shite kureta. honto niminna ni kansha shitemasu. (Everyone was really nice, and they cheered for us a lot. We were really moved by everybody.)
Continue? I don't know...

Do you like dogs? haha
I like dogs! My favorite dog is japanese "shiba"dog. Do you know? I remember your dogs! peroperoperopero∞∞∞hahaha ano koro watashitachi itte ita "inu yashiki" (That era was our "dog house")

Osamu with Paintbox:

DSB at Shinjuku DOM and interview

2009-08-30T14:35:00.014-04:00

The first time I heard DSB would have been the "No Fight, No Get" 7" around ten years ago. Copies made it around over here since Wedge (Inmates/9 Shocks etc) had a hand in releasing it. Stand out thrash stuff, but I think they really found their power on the "Wings Continue To Strive..." LP (Bloodsucker) and the "Radical Sharp Shot" 7" (Overthrow). I saw them around that time in 2002 at Nishi-Ogikubo Watts. We arrived on a Saturday night, got right off the plane and went to Boy to see if anything was going on that night. We managed to find the live house after getting directions at what might have been a recording studio (???). Padlock played and we all bought copies of their demo (all the songs were redone on their first CD), Crossface played as well, and I think Colored Ricemen headlined, but we left after DSB to catch the last train. DSB started solid but gained momentum with every song and by halfway through the set were unstoppable. I didn't see them again until 2005 at Shinjuku DOM. I think this was sort of their come back show after the singer and bass player left. Yo took over vocals and Heat joined on second guitar, and for a couple years they had various friends fill in on bass. This time it was Kaoru from Assault, who was sadly killed in a motorcycle accident not long after. Having met him briefly and as a biker myself, this shook me up quite a bit, and it's still sad to think of. But back to the show, there was no telling that this was the first show with the new line up, they came out blazing (after using the Princess theme from Braveheart, which inspired my wife and I to use it in our wedding! But that's a whole 'nother story...).

INTERVIEW WITH EIJI (DRUMS)
I heard DSB had a limited tape for the Europe tour. What was this tape?

That's the rough track demo tape for the tour. Ask another Andy(Sista sekunden,INSTIGATE record)

When is the "Useless System Abuse" record release?

We finished everything to do. Just waiting. Ask JIM(Vex records)

Your myspace says a split ep will be released. Who will it be with?

You'll know it soon.maybe out next month. With the band from Denmark. And they'll tour USA in October.
Guess!

It sucks that you could not tour the USA. Will you ever try to play here again?

We wish to do that!!! do you know any tricks to come across the border without passport? We're looking forward to hang out with some friends from USA at VARNING FROM MONTREAL,instead! Be there!

(I told him I filmed a little of their set at Shinjuku DOM in April 2005, and asked him if I could put it up here)

Yeah,thats a important show for us.the first show with our firiend,KAORU. no problem upload videos on your blog.really interested in it!
DOM and Watts closed because of troubles with neighbor.they opened new houses called EARTHDOM,Zone B.the guitar player of Assault started the band named ALLIANCE.you should check it!

EIJI

DSB

Paintbox "Trip, Trance, Traveling" CD

2009-08-17T16:02:00.008-04:00

The long awaited third album from Paintbox, and sadly the last to feature Chelsea on guitar. I believe recording started in 2001 and the sessions also yielded the Cry of the Sheeps and ゲンセキ eps. A long saga of closed studios, incarceration, presumably nearly endless overdubs and orchestration, and finally Chelsea's passing in 2007 delayed its release until now. Its hard to believe that it has already been two years since his death. I was fortunate enough to see Paintbox for the first time at Shinjuku DOM in 2004, and they were one of the most technically proficient bands I've ever seen. It was almost weird seeing musicians of such high caliber playing in a basement punk club, but I think that part of what made Paintbox so special was that they didn't "progress" to playing jazz or heavy metal. Instead, they pushed the limits of their hardcore punk sound and explored freely which gave their music a depth few others can touch. At sixteen songs and over an hour, this record is a lot to take in and will definitely be one to go back to repeatedly as time goes by. Despite the length, it's very listenable. I like to think of it in four song blocks, as the upcoming double LP on Prank will probably be divided into. Each block has a previously released song re-recorded and these serve as familiar anchors to keep the listener from getting lost in uncharted territory. Whenever the frantic pace and trumpets and blazing, singing solos almost get to be too much, there is a more mellow song to bring things back down for a few minutes. I remember the final song (出発) being played over the PA at the end of the Chelsea memorial show in February 2008, and it has a feeling of excitement, uncertain future, and departure, a perfectly fitting end. These are first press copies in a nice mini gatefold with a big booklet. If the booklet gets blown up to full size for the LP, its going to be very cool, lots of pictures including many from their US shows.