In Cold Blood - Hell on Earth

One of my favorite albums to come out on Victory in the 90s (back when Victory Records actually signed good bands) was In Cold Blood's "Hell on Earth." Featuring members of Cleveland legends Integrity, In Cold Blood plays mid-tempo metallic hardcore that falls somewhere between the bleak nihilism of "Humanity is the Devil"-era Integrity and the mosh-heavy stomp of the Cro-Mags.

With apocalyptic lyrics that often take an environmental stance, In Cold Blood aren't unlike many other 90s hardcore bands, but they are leaps and bounds above any of the Earth Crisis ridiculousness that was all too popular among their peers. "Bleak Existance/Dead to This World" is the standout track, with downright punishing riffs and a face-ripping solo midway through.

If you grew up in the late 90s, when chugga chugga hardcore was all the rage, listening to this is just straight Xed-up work gloves, messenger bags and windbreakers nostalgia. For everyone else "Hell on Earth" is still a brutal record that does a pretty good job of capturing the sounds and ideas of a particular time in hardcore's history.

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Masshysteri - Var Del Av Stan

Masshysteri makes me want to start buying bottled water from Umea, Sweden because I swear the Swedes must have something in their water to consistently produce punk that's so innovative and yet still deeply nostalgic. Featuring ex-members of The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Vicious and Regulations, Masshysteri plays reverb-heavy surf punk with dueling male/female vocals that mixes influences from the riot girl movement, 1950s Americana and furious punk rock into an infectious package.

Masshysteri seems like it is from some alternate universe where the 1950s never ended and everyone drives around in nuclear-powered rocket-propelled Cadillacs. Remember that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode with the teenagers from Dimension X? This is what they blasted out of that flying convertible while cruising the pan-dimensional rift. Shit, that might have been the nerdiest sentence I ever wrote.

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These Arms are Snakes - This is Meant to Hurt You

Ah, this album brings back memories. It was 2003 and it seemed like ex-members of every band I loved as a kid were forming new "rock" influenced bands. These Arms are Snakes were no exception, featuring ex-members of Seattle's seminal Botch and Kill Sadie, and boasting a thick sound that instantly reminded one of a better version of Ink and Dagger's self titled album.

Sonically, These Arms are Snakes are closer to Kill Sadie than Botch, with thick nervous riffs and shouted vocals buried low in the mix. "Riding the Grape Dragon" is an excellent opener, but "The Blue Rose" is the real standout track on this E.P. The song is as subtle as a boot to the teeth, a frenzied post punk rager of throbbing bass and howling guitars that's unrelenting from start to finish.

There's a lot promise in "This is Meant to Hurt You," promise that eventually gets squandered by the band's first L.P. "Oxneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home," a jittery synth-heavy foray into dance music. These Arms are Snakes later return to form on their sophomore album "Easter," but can't recapture the same urgency that drives "This is Meant to Hurt You."

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Mass of the Fermenting Dregs - World is Yours

Hailing from Kobe, Japan, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (Massu Obu Za Faamentingu Doreggusu) play shoegaze-influenced post rock with some stylistic nods to the choppy post punk rhythms of Gang of Four and the noisy freakouts of Sonic Youth. It's all wrapped up in an awesomely catchy package thanks to the vocals of Natsuko Miyamoto (bass, vocals) who sounds like a Japanese version of fellow shoegazing power-trio vocalist Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria).

The bands name, which sounds like some awful bastardization of tofu, admittedly means nothing. and was chosen because the band members like how the string of words sounded together. Mass of the Fermenting Dregs also released a self titled 6-song E.P. on AVOCADO Records.

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