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This isn't so much a post inspired by Venom Prison as a band, but it's more related to do with the fact that I think I finally *get* Death Metal.

I say this aware of the fact that VP are a band that sit in a more Hardcore friendly space when it comes to Death Metal, but aside from them, there's a few DM canon records and bands which have recently finally clicked for me. I've been enjoying some heavy rotation of albums by Suffocation, Deicide and Morbid Angel. In previous listens, and aside from a few stand outs like Entombed, a lot of this stuff washed over me; whereas now, I think, I finally get how to listen to and enjoy these records. Which, weirdly for me, seems to be when I'm trying to get my head down and concentrate on work, go figure.

I think I've always been a vocals guy more so than a guitar guy which is most often why I prefer Hardcore and Punk to Metal, for the most part. However, in learning to tune in and listening more attentively and closely to the guitar sounds, sonics and riffs, (thanks in no small part to listening to podcasts like HardLore), this has given me a new way to enjoy and experience stuff like Death Metal.

When you finally start vibing with something that you didn't previously fuck with, that's like one of the best feelings with me when it comes to Art and Music. It's that amazing feeling of possibilities opening up in front of your eyes, and your own personal universe of taste expanding and unfolding. It's that thrilling feeling attached to the surfacing of thought that 'there's still loads of things to discover!' And not just out there, in the world or in culture, but within yourself, within the connections in your own mind. To me cultivating or tapping into this feeling or mindset is one of the best 'anti-depression devices' because it's the perfect example of NOT growing tired with life, of discovering new ways to enjoy, look at and appreciate being in the world.

Anyhow, before I get too lost in fluffy mindset chat let me not forget about Venom Prison and this video in particular. I could of picked two or three other excellent VP videos but I went for 'Uterine Industrialisation' because it connects with another genre that I've found a new appreciation for in recent years: Horror films.

One of the ways I've begun to better appreciate Horror has been to more clearly understand and see them as allegories or reflections of the more everyday 'horrors' of life and society. I'm probably not alone in saying that watching and thoroughly enjoying Jordan Peele's 'Get Out' had a massive part to play in this mind shift.

Without having looked at the lyrics Venom Prison, and I imagine Larissa in particular, are capturing and portraying some of said horror in relation to the way women's bodies are seen as / exploited as 'birthing machines'. In this way the visuals and the music feel more substantiative and meaningful than the typical 'scary music = scary movies' type equation.

Also, a rather naff connection / observation, and perhaps linked to the fact that Venom Prison are also a Welsh band, is that the performance shots in the Church really call to mind the Funeral For A Friend - 10.45 Amsterdam Convo's video - horrific by virtue of reminding me of some very bad fashion choices from that era!

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- Yes, if you’re not familiar, this band really is called that, and yes, this really is ska music. I know, it’s 2022 and I’m watching ska-punk videos, but lemme explain.

- I grew up at the tail end-ish of, what I think might be referred to in ska circles as, Fourth Wave Ska (?) i.e. where it collided with (pop)punk and somewhat entered back into, sort of, pop cultural consciousness. So, your Reel Big Fishes, Less Than Jakes and all the other local, home town ska-punk equivalents, such as your Capdowns or Lightyears in the UK.

- At one of the first gigs I ever went to, I saw RX Bandits supporting New Found Glory. RX Bandits differing from this band by having a slightly less traditional ‘ska-core’ sound, but similar to them in that they also had an East Asian member of the band in Steve Choi.

- Seeing East Asians in punk bands was kind of big deal for me as a half Malaysian-Chinese teenager in a pretty white part of the UK. Not to mention seeing a band called with this name, a word up until then I’d only been on the sharp end of was pretty mind blowing, and sorta is even now. 

- Despite not listening to this band or Mike Park’s other bands a great amount then or now, I’ve still always had a soft spot for this song and recently discovered it had a video, of which I was not disappointed in. Its grainy 240p, simplicity mirrors the way the 128kbps MP3 of Big World still sounds in head (and the cheap, tinny headphones I had as a teen ). 

- What’s confounding about this song is the discord, almost, between lyrical content and music; with the former addressing the pain of the cultural / generational gap between Asian immigrants parents and their children over what feels like a simple, catchy and super-upbeat ska tune:

“I thought about my dad tonight And asked God, “Is he gonna be alright?” And my mind thinks I can’t give enough And I can’t pour enough And my love is not enough in this big world” …I’m skanking with tears in my eyes for fucks sake.

- And hat’s off to Mike Park for not only calling his band the racial slur you’re on the receiving end of, but also further confounding expectation by not making that band an obvious, aggressive ‘fuck-you’ hardcore band, but a fun, positive and upbeat ska band. You’re a better man than I’ll ever be mate.

[PS enjoy the song but, no, you can’t say the band name unless you’re East Asian 🕴🕴🕴]

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- I’ve been trawling a lot of punk distros at the moment. Not buying much mind you, just getting some low level serotonin hits when seeing records I might want to buy at some point. The added benefit of trawling said distros is coming across interesting new bands I’ve never heard of, and the Irish Oi band, Sympos, from Waterford was one such band. 

- On reflection it seems pretty weird that I’ve not come across more Irish Oi bands in the past. The combo just, sorta, seems like it makes sense and that there should be more bands in that lane. But, as someone who’s admittedly no Oi connoisseur, I haven’t come across any, which made me so excited to check these guys out, and they really didn’t disappoint.

- Really leaning into the more rootsy side of Oi, I can hear more than a touch fo the glam rock guitar and in Pub, Sympos hit us with a more of a bovver rock, stomp over a 1-2-1-2 tempo tear. I love that in a genre so defined by its love of pints and mentions of beer, Sympos have still managed to create a proper love song to boozer that, for my money, will really stand the test of time. 

- The video is great too. It’s not often I say this about a punk music videos but the two protagonists are really good actors! Their performances fit the lighthearted vibe of the tune but are also well done enough to really elevate the video to something that is, dare I say, bordering on the cinematic, all the while retaining the feel of mates having a laugh down the pub. Crack open a can of the black stuff and enjoy Sympos!

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- I’ve been listening to the latest album, Human Capital, by Bad Breeding quite a bit over the past few weeks, and I think this video captures a lot of what I like about the album. 

- The VHS like grain and washed out colour grading give the feel of a damp morning in the early nighties (I’m showing my age) before school; the sort of nostalgic feeling you get in Shane Meadows’ films like ‘This is England’.

- The faded municipal charm of the village school hall in which this the video is filmed is also the perfect mise-en-scene for an a song, and album, all about the importance and need for locality, empathy, connection, purpose and identity rooted in community, not capitalism.

- In 2022 it’d be so easy for an anarcho punk band to paint a very, very bleak picture of the socio-political landscape, and yet, whilst Bad Breeding most definitely achieve that on this album / video, it’s also filled with an equal amount hope, radical energy and struggle to make things better…

- “Because this new town will shine for another day, and solidarity is a fight for another way!”

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- I saw this band play in Luton last week with Knuckledust. They describe themselves as ‘chicken shop hardcore’, which should provide sufficient context for the video, provided you live / have visited cities in the UK. 

- We’re talking Agnostic Front meets the menu from Morley’s. Not to mention the patter of Paul Bearer down the boozer, I mean, I was into the music but I I’d have been equally happy to hear the guy on vocals take the piss out of his bandmates for the twenty minutes slot.

- You might think the video short at around 1.30, but I think the song clocks in just under a minute, and features the immortal line ‘chicken nuggets, chips and beans - all for me!’ 

- The opening shot, line (”I’m a right villain, I am”) and l the direct to camera performance in the back streets of Camden only heighten the already sky-high cockney credentials of this. It’s pure punk cinema. Enjoy with a some nugs. 

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Second 7" No Way Out E.P. is out now

forgot to mention,our second self-release 7” NO WAY OUT E.P.(Asia version) is available at below store/distros in Japan.

Hyper enough Punk and destroy Record shop base　 Nat records Time bomb Digdig　 70s records　 Record shop Answer waterslide records Record boy　 delta market Record Knox Akasic distro mocchie distro too circle records distro MCR

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too close to not reblog, 'cept i turn 28 in 2.5 weeks.

text post

in 3 weeks, i turn 28. everyone i know is married/getting married/having kids/buying houses and i’m just like “pizza’s really cool, man”. ain’t mad.

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Shottaz of da year - Big H & Paper Pabs

Throwback video

Used to bang out this tune back in the day

Not strictly grime but i couldnt care less

" I know some Aki’s who will merk you then say Ishbillah, dont test me star"

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if a song dont got gun sounds and reggae air horns is it even hot??

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6/4

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Bad Brains