The Short List is a weekly dive into EPs, splits, reissues, comps, live records, etc.
LIVE:
Today Is The Day
Live In Japan: Beast Feast 2002
Fourth Media/SuperNova Records
Out Now
Not much can prepare one for a Today Is The Day live set, especially ones from the band’s downward spiral. Some great metal was created in those days by noise metal’s favorite nomad, Steve Austin, as he projected aimlessly in a lysergic, chaotic, self-destructive tsunami of turmoil. In this fraction of a moment, Austin had come off a string of hailed records on Amphetamine Reptile and Relapse, the labels to be on for noise metal in the ’90s. In the trailer below, Austin tells how he was trying to leave an impact on fans while playing among Motorhead, Slayer, Soulfly, Hatebreed, (Jane Doe era) Converge, and others. Austin and crew responded with leaving his sweat, blood, and soul on that Japanese stage by, as he put it, playing “the most punishing, evil, heavy-as-fuck set”. You be the judge.
You can hear the remastered audio (and snag a shirt) on SuperNova’s bandcamp.
For additional footage, interviews, and the set, go over to the team responsible for the killer Deadguy documentary, Killing Music, rent or buy at FourthMedia.
You can also visit Austin’s SuperNova Records Webshop to support.
EPS:
Big Laugh
Manic Revision
Revelation Records
February 10, 2023
In conjunction with Revelation releasing their debut LP, Consume Me, on March 23, Revelation are reissuing the band’s debut EP, Manic Revision. The EP is a scorcher. It was originally pressed on 11PM Records, but they sold out three pressings. If some hardcore fans missed the EP initially, this is a great chance to catch it. Saving collectors and fans from “out of print” prices on discogs. And while you are at it, preorder the LP.
Big Laugh’s sound taps their Midwest roots with influences like Necros and Die Kreuzen but also heavily draws from crusty Japanese hardcore, GAUZE, GISM, Death Side, FOTB, etc. and tosses in some Urban Waste and Void for good measure. Prepare for a noisy, abrasive onslaught of aural assault.
New pressing now available with updated cover artwork at RevHQ.
200 Black (RevHQ Exclusive)
500 Opaque Orange
Big Laugh has a busy month ahead:
20-Jan X-Ray Arcade, Cudahy, WI
21-Jan Subterranean, Chicago, IL
23-Jan Farewell, Kansas City, MO
25-Jan Mag Bar, Louisville, KY
27-Jan The Firehouse Arts and Events Center, Birmingham, AL
30-Jan Crowbar, Tampa, FL
31-Jan Gramps, Miami, FL
1-Feb Will’s Pub, Orlando, FL
3-Feb Snug Harbor, Charlotte, NC
5-Feb Comet Ping Pong, Washington, DC
RECORD RELEASE SHOW:
February 17 in Milwaukee, WI with support from Hotline TNT, Direct Threat, World I Hate, and Innuendo.
Big Laugh 2019 demo on bandcamp
Sirkka Viivyttely 7″ Sorry State
Jan 19 2023
Let’s get to the facts quickly, as Sirkka does with the music. Two people in NYC release a 2020 cassette. They build with other members on the East Coast of US and another from Leipzig, Germany. Sorry State asks them to make a record. Viivyttely is that record. The band’s sound crashed 80’s Finnish Punk into 80’s Northeast Hardcore. Fast, ugly, loud. The first four tracks come in under 5:30 and the closer stands at 2:50. This one is a smoker. Sonja’s vocals are commanding and raspy. The anger is palpable.
Vinyl pressed on 650 black which you can grab at their bandcamp or preorder from Sorry State.
H.I.C. Systeemi
Perälä-nauhat 1981-1983 cassette
Sorry State
January 19, 2023
Sorry State have provided the universe with some crusty, karmic justice. This yellow cassette represents the first U.S. pressing of H.I.C. Systeemi’s Perälä-nauhat 1981-1983 cassette. The collection of rehearsal tracks were originally released on the archival label Finnish HC late in 2020. The band comes from Ylivieska, Finland. They play pogo-producing, dirgy punk. Oh, are you wincing in hesitation from the term “rehearsal recordings”? The songs sound punchy and strong. The bass rumbles high in the mix (just how I like it). The vocals are audible, showcasing a rumbly growl. I am unfamiliar with this band, just happy to learn about this. But Sorry State note, “These recordings predate H.I.C. Systeemi’s lone studio album by several years and include six previously unheard tracks that never got recorded in a proper studio.”
RIYL: Rattus, Tarveet Kadet, Kaaos, Lama, Asta Rask
One hundred and fity cassettes were pressed in yellow which you can grab at Sorry State bandcamp or preorder from Sorry State Webshop.
REISSUES:
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel Merge
February 23, 2023
When a reissue is being created, the process (when done well) can be exhausting. But for the fans, musicians, and fervent collectors, the end package can be glorious. To commemorate an album in such a fashion speaks volumes about that record and its intense connection to people. Here, Merge are reissuing the entirety of Neutral Milk Hotel’s career. This Louisiana indie rock band started in 1989 and recorded until 1998. The band themselves put out an extremely hard-to-find box set of their material (named, NMH Vinyl Box Set; previously available only through the band’s website). Now, Merge have produced an edition which includes some extras.
The set boasts Neutral Milk Hotel’s two LPs—1996’s On Avery Island and 1998’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. These are supplements by live recordings, alternate takes, unreleased material, and more. For the diehards, the studio LPs were fed a massive amount of steroids which yielded: an expanded, two-LP gatefold edition of On Avery Island plus an exclusive, 12-inch picture disc of Live at Jittery Joe’s (1997). In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is also treated with the gatefold LP. The set also features a remastered version of the 1994 Everything Is seven-inch, this time pressed on the world’s best format, the 10-inch vinyl. Merge was permitted to add more to this variation: “Unborn,” “You’ve Passed,” and “Where You’ll Find Me Now.” The Ferris Wheel on Fire 10-inch EP includes the addition of “My Dream Girl Don’t Exist.”
Purchase The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel directly from Merge. Preorder for 2.23.23
CONTENTS:
• On Avery Island 2-LP gatefold
• In the Aeroplane Over the Sea gatefold LP
• Live at Jittery Joe’s 12-inch picture disc
• Everything Is 10-inch EP
• Ferris Wheel on Fire 10-inch EP
• “Little Birds (Live)” b/w “Little Birds (Demo)” 7-inch
• “Holland, 1945” b/w “Engine” 7-inch
• “You’ve Passed” b/w “Where You’ll Find Me Now” 7-inch
• Two 24” × 24” folded posters
NMH bandcamp
Integrity
Humanity is the Devil Reissue
Relapse Records
Feb 10 2023
From the bowels of Holy Hell, Dwid and the dudes at Relapse have remastered the classic Humanity is the Devil for reissue. Completely new artwork accompanies the seven tracks of seething metallic hardcore. Integrity morphed out of Die Hard in Cleveland in the late 80s. And while, yes, there had been about five years of crossover in the scene, when Integrity incorporated ‘metal’ into their sound, they kept the foundation old school hardcore and the metal, Slayer. The subject matter was the draw as well. Dwid’s demented imagination and topics of research and reading was entrenched in the occult and diabolical terrestrial evils. Speaking of demons, cults, and serial killers far before most, Integrity brought a completely new vernacular of Holy Terror to some kid in his bedroom alone expecting ‘Youth Crew’ lyrics about backstabbers and scene points.
Relapsed has done this same process back in June 2022 for Integrity’s first two records; Those Who Fear Tomorrow (1991) and Systems Overload (1993). Once again, Relapse taps Arthur Rizk for the remixing and Remastering. His name has been imprinted on classics by Power Trip, Code Orange, Cavalera Conspiracy, Sumerlands, Crypt Sermon, Cro-Mags, Xibalba, and hundreds more (as engineer and/or producer). HUmanity Is the Devil has been repressed and remastered prior (by Joel Grind!), on Knives Out, Magic Bullet, and Organized Crime Records. This go round, Integrity eschew the original Pushead artwork, which would be disappointing, but the new artwork’s interpretation of this savage journey is done by Dwid; as the prior two Relapse reissues had.
Humanity is the Devil begins with one of the most revered tracks in hardcore history, “Vocal Test”. And is followed by all bangers. The line up is well honed at this point with the Melnick Brothers and Frankie 3 Guns (Ringworm, Terror, Hatebreed). The songs are short and to the point. The main six tracks last 16 minutes. The music is sinister and piercing. Dwid’s venom is at its peak. Integrity was a brutal, ferocious machine – or feral beast – at this point. Released on Victory Records at its zenith; amid Earth Crisis, Strife, and Snapcase releasing career defining albums either a year prior or a year after. Humanity is the Devil comes at the listener like chaos in an atom bomb. Oppenheimer would be proud (or not…). Rizk brings a grander, encompassing feel the frantic distortion of the guitars. Still raw and caustic, Rizk did an impressive job. I can’t imagine being handed a classic and having fans’ barbed fangs laying in wait.
Integrity Tour Dates:
JAN 13 • Warehouse Live, Houston, TX (with Spiritworld)
JAN 14 • Mohawk, Austin, TX (with Spiritworld)
JAN 15 • Studio at the Factory, Dallas, TX (with Spiritworld)
MAY 12 • Agora, Cleveland (with Chimaira)
Available on Black Cassette or Vinyl or CD at Relapse Records
Vinyl Pressings:
2091 x Canary Yellow Standard Gram
341 x Translucent Yellow with Blue Cloudy Effect Standard Gram *Relapse.com Exclusive*
128 x Black inside of Sea Blue and Swamp Green Half ‘n Half with Neon Yellow, Red and Baby Pink Splatter Standard Gram *Relapse.com Exclusive*
100 x Clear (Not available to the public – Friends of band and label only)
Integrity links:
facebook
instagram
bandcamp
INTERPUNK 7-inch Series
It would be 2024 if I wrote on every band here. Let’s trust if you’re reading this, you know a few of these bands already. Highlights to me are 4-Skins, 2X Blitz, Reagan Youth, Chaos UK, Agent Orange, The Exploited, Iggy Pop… OK, well, that is practically all of them, ha! Interpunk has been around for over 20 years. This time, they truly outdid themselves wit gorgeous color represses of necessary punk and Oi! tracks to have in the seven-inch format. Killer.
Buy at INTERPUNK
February 3, 2023
Blitz New Age (Limited Blue Marble Vinyl) $20.00
Blitz New Age (Limited Clear Vinyl) seven-inch $20.00
Jyrki 69 White Rabbit (Limited Black / White Splatter Vinyl) seven-inch $12.50
Tsunami Bomb Dead Man’s Party / Out Of Touch seven-inch $12.50
February 3, 2023
$20.00
Agent Orange Bloodstains (Limited Orange Vinyl) seven-inch
Agent Orange Bloodstains (Limited Pink Vinyl) seven-inch
Agent Orange Bloodstains (Limited Yellow Vinyl) seven-inch
Blitz Warriors (Limited Clear Vinyl) seven-inch
Blitz Warriors (Limited Purple Vinyl) seven-inch
Blitz Warriors (Limited Red Marble Vinyl) seven-inch
Chaos Uk No Security (Limited Blue Vinyl) seven-inch
Chaos Uk No Security (Limited Red Vinyl) seven-inch
Exploited Race Against Time (Limited Blue Vinyl) seven-inch
Exploited Race Against Time (Limited Red Marble Vinyl) seven-inch
January 20, 2023
Elliott Smith Either/ Or: Alternative Versions seven-inch $16.00
Pinhead Gunpowder 8 Chords, 328 Words (Limited Colored Vinyl) seven-inch $12.50
Pinhead Gunpowder West Side Highway seven-inch $11.75
January 13, 2023 $26
Cadaveric Incubator / Undergang Split [Import] seven-inch $26.00
Spectral Voice / Blood Incantation Split [Import] seven-inch$26.00
December 30, 2022 $20
4-Skins Five More Years (Limited Coke Bottle Green Vinyl) seven-inch
4-Skins Five More Years (Limited Red Vinyl) seven-inch
Dickies Blink-183 (Limited Green Vinyl) seven-inch
Dickies Blink-183 (Limited Magenta Vinyl) seven-inch
Last Resort Violence In Our Minds (Limited Red / Blue Split Colored Vinyl) seven-inch
Last Resort Violence In Our Minds (Limited White Vinyl) seven-inch
Iggy Pop The Passenger (Limited Purple Vinyl) seven-inch
Reagan Youth New Aryans (Limited Purple Vinyl) seven-inch
