All posts by vladkraykulla

Active member of alternative underground scene and culture since early 1990-ies. Underground is a way of life!

(review) Scarecrow – Night Of The Creeps e.p.

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Scarecrow from Finland are no strangers to the pages of this zine. These horror punk veterans just released their brand new e.p. containing four songs. If you have listened to their music you will know that Scarecrow play horror punk, but a bit harsher and melancholic at the same time, with many metal influences thrown in the song structures sounding awesome topped with harsh and melodic vocals by mastermind Jack13. So, let´s see what we get here. The title song is a bit more melodic and paying tribute to horror punk classics being metallic doo wop vision of horror. I can also hear tribute to The Misfits in guitar work towards the end of the song. This one has such superb melody just made for humming and singing along for all you horror fiends out there. Zombie is a remake, fast, almost thrash metal or Scandinavian death metal influenced song mixed with horror punk, blood lusty and energetic. This record also features epic guest vocal work by Johanna Rutto on The Beauty of the Beast, being my personal favorite on this record, that I listened to over and over again. Vocal interplay between Jack13 and Johanna created atmosphere that made my skin crawling with goosebumps. This nice splatterpunk record ends with Le Moribond, most metallic song of the record and hardest song making perfect ending. Great one again!

https://scarecrow2.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-creeps-ep

(review) Rest Easy – Sick Day e.p. (Mutant League Records)

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Rest Easy is new band from Vancouver, Canada, but members of the band have been in the scene for a while playing in Daggermouth and Shook Ones.

This is their debut e.p. out with Mutant League Records and it contains four songs. Music of Rest Easy is fast and melodic hardcore punk, skate punk, with some angry shouting vocals, some melodic singing, fitting perfectly to song structures. My personal favorite is Headaches being a perfect mixture of hardcore and melodic punk, just the way I love. The other song that I must mention as being my highlight on this album is Bad Idea, mid tempo punk rock song with dual vocal lines, melancholic guitar work and vibe that made me sad and melancholic and brought up emotions in me that only this music can. This is a very strong debut being one of my favorite pieces of music that I listened in the last couple of weeks, so I am so stoked for the full length when it comes out.

https://www.mutantleaguerecords.com/

(review) NOFX – Single Album

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Long time has passed between two Nofx full length albums, almost five years since First Ditch Effort and this new one. That was longest line(pun intended) between two Nofx albums. But, the band released bunch of singles in these last years, also that split with Frank Turner covering each others songs and that awesome Decline version with orchestra. This one was planned to be double album, but due to corona and shit came out as single album, hence the title of the record. Many fans out there wage war with claims that this new Nofx era is not so good as old school stuff. To me, quite the contrary, I mean, I love old school albums, but these new songs are so melancholic, dark, as in lyrics, also musically. With Karina Denike handling keyboards and backing vocals the band gained even more fantastic harmonies and I daresay darkened melodies. There are ten songs on this one, besides epic songs that I heard as singles and seven inches series in last years being I Love You More Than I Hate Me(that epic suicide video), Doors And Fours(my personal favorite, gives me goosebumps every time), Fish In A Gun Barrel being dark reggae song with dual nice vocals fitting perfectly to the lyrics about murder and death and nice saxophone solo, My Bro Cancervive Cancer, there are couple of anthems that I love so much as instant hits, The Big Drag being heavy and somber song and I would love to hear it live how it would sound. The band sarcastically covered Linoleum in Linewleum, making awesome video to pay thankful tribute to all of the bands that covered the band´s most known song throughout the years, so Nofx covered themselves and did it fantastic. Fuck Euphemism is another autobiographic song, which deals with themes of sexuality, freedom and expression of yourself, of course done in one and only Nofx way. Birmingham is the song most similar to old school stuff, simple and effective skatepunk melodic anthem just made for singing along to despite having dark autobiography lyrics about hitting bottom from drugs. Grieve Soto is a beautiful tribute to late legend Steve Soto of Adolescents and it brought a tear to my hardened punk rock eye while listening to this one over and over again Your Last Resort is another personal favorite of mine, sounding more like Cokie The Clown song than Nofx, with piano and Mike´s singing about loss of love and separation. I love the lyrics, I love the songs and vibe that they produce, this fantastic album which battles with darkness, personal demons and brings some kind of catharsis when you went through it and calls you for more.