(review) Another Joe – ‘Ready Or Not’ (People of Punk Rock Records)

Canada has such a great punk rock scene and Another Joe are part of that scene. After long 23 years they finally released their full length record with People of Punk Rock Records. This is a record containing 8 songs. This is not your all out war fast skate punk/hardcore, no. This is pure punk rock, played tight, harsh and with conviction. Songs are mid tempo, influenced by old school punk bands from England, but more technical and also influence of American school of punk rock can be heard in song structures. There is rawness that many today’s punk bands lack, but there are also subtle or less subtle melodies getting through the guitar riffs and some almost gentle backing vocals like in my personal favorite ‘Freak’. Maybe it is only me, but I can also hear a lots of garage punk energy in there, not only in the mentioned song, but through the album as a whole. Songs that I must also mention as my highlights are ‘Sound Advice’ and ‘T-Bird Tattoo’.

Good one.

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(review) ROT/Cemetery Static – ‘Undead Beasts Unleashed’

Time for horror punk to grace the pages of this zine again. This time, it is a split release between Houston’s Cemetery Static and ROT from Mexico. Each band is featured with four songs here. It is interesting that there are no one side by one band, then another by other band. This split goes one song by CS, one by ROT and so on. Well, I liked Cemetary Static side a lot because they play rather fast and raw hardcore punk with horror lyrics and shouted vocals, meaning they are not your typical horror punk band, rather hardcore horror punk. ROT from Mexico were already featured in this webzine, meaning also raw and fast hardcore punk with horror filled lyrics, both bands are not your usual Blitzkid/Misfits/Calabrese horror punk style of bands. No, this is raw energy and horror lyrics. I must admit that on this release both bands deliver, but somehow I liked Cemetary Static side of split better. But, that is only my opinion. Now, go, listen, support and long live the horror!

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(review) Goatmoon – ‘What Once Was…Shall Be Again’

Controversial Finnish black metal institution Goatmoon is back with new opus. This one contains eight songs. Why controversial? Because many tie Goatmoon to some not good political themes, but this is not the issue here. The music and atmosphere is. I always admired how Goatmoon under management of one Blackgoat Gravedesecrator who writes music and his friends and session musicians help him at gigs, gets to create such superb melancholy plus aggression atmosphere with such epic guitar melodies coupled with synths and tortured screaming vocals. This is Nordic pure black metal par excellence. I love how Goatmoon progressed from raw black metal roots to more epic black, backed with domicile northern folk synth melodies and inspired by cold and bleak surroundings of the North. My personal favorites on this beautiful record are: ‘Raging With The Lion’s Blood’, ‘What Once Was…’ and ‘Protector Of The North’.

9/10