AYPEROS

 

I often write about things that remind me of other things - about listening to things that make me thing about other times when I listened to other things. That's Nihspra in a nutshell, and I am fucking frothing while I introduce myself to AYPEROS because these sounds are emblematic of one of the best times in (my) punk history. This is mid-'00s stadium crust; PDX SweDe-Beat infused with black metal and CELEST(E) blasts and then just.......fukk man, just listen to the title track here. Please. PLEASE. 

NIHSPRA

GRASP OF DYNAMITE

 

A few weeks ago we went to see a bunch of black and death metal bands in San Diego. Some of them were pretty satanic and it was generally a really good gig....but I still left feeling like I wanted something else. Not necessarily something more, just something else, you know? Apparently what I wanted was GRASP OF DYNAMITE. A blackened satanic metal infused crust assault that is distinctly and undeniably punk in approach and delivery, Satanik Krust Impera does in four songs what those six bands tried to do all damn night (with the exception of CARDINAL, that shit ruled...but I digress. "In Darkness We Alive" in-fucking-deed. 

SATANIKA KRUST IMPERA

SKITKIDS

 

I truly hope that this needs no introduction, and I suspect that for most readers this will be a reminder to go (re)listen to one of the best releases of the '00s and not any kind of new discovery. SKITKIDS were a product of their time and place, and when Besöket Vid Krubban dropped it completely changed the game. I remember Mick giving me a copy in Philly and being stoked to crank it once I got home...he warned me devilishly that I was not prepared but even still I underestimated. It was like INEPSY and ANNIHILATION TIME and fucking TOTALITÄR all at the same time, but faster and wilder than any of them. The were shit-hot fire on stage, and as good as Onna For Pleasure was...this is possibly the only recording that came close to capturing that shit in the flesh. Hard to imagine anything hitting like this ever again. 

BESÖKET VID KRUBBAN

FRAGMENT

 

Maybe it was just because it's been a minute since I blasted FRAGMENT, but this tape knocked me completely on my ass when I popped it in last week. This is the same In The Dust that Desolate released on wax six or seven years ago and I swear it hits harder in a 2025 world dominated by retro 'hardcore' and punks who've grown out of the genre/s and seemingly turned to dark wave for excitement (don't get me started). This is thirteen minute of pure hell - distorted and chaotic crasher crust rooted in DBeat, speed and confusion (or CONFUSE-ion, if you're picking up what I'm laying down). Every single EP is a killer and all are recommended - I'm not even going to say this one is the best (that status might be reserved for the Serial Mass Destruction EP on Sewercide) - this one hits just fukkn right in the moment though. Listen to "Final Stand" before you do anything you think is important today and I reckon you'll change your mind as the Maritime dominance continues....

IN THE DUST

TOPSY TURVY

Seven minutes of dual vocal Indonesian crust brutality. Not exactly sure what else it was that you thought you needed today, but rest assured you didn't actually need that...you needed this. You needed it before, and I gave it to you. You needed it again today. You're welcome. 

ELEMENTS OF RESISTANCE

MERKED

 

Fifteen minutes of anti-capitalist mince/grind from Oakland. You can say that there's nothing special here, and I'll respond by saying that you're wrong. It's fierce and ugly....there are now sounds for now times. And if you don't thing "Soothing Sounds Of Slaughtered Rapists" is special, then I suggest you visit a different and/or worse/r blog. Choice cut: "Remove The Burden." Mandatory listening: Start to finish.  

MURK MOB

FLEXITD

 

FLEXITD blew the fukkn windows out of my apartment and wrecked my earholes. It's like a crasher crust LP played at 45rpm....but faster. The bass that opens "Stabilized Destruction." The midtempo part near the end of "Only Death" (that's only midtempo because everything else is so fukkn fast). The piercing distortion that opens "Killing Nation" and gives way to the face melting cacophony. The complete lack of low end anywhere in the mix creates a void that the vocals fill with crushing efficacy. Everything. I'm telling you.....this is an eleven minute masterclass. Readers remotely interested in noise punk, bombastic DBeat, FRAMTID-worship and/or anything close to any of those things...you've found it. It is FLEXITD.

MASSIVE SUFFERING OF THE EMPTY WORLD VERSES

DISSLATE // PERDICIÓN

 

I like how this blog typically pays no attention to "special" days and/or dates, because what is important to a person in a place or space may mean nothing whatsoever to another person in another space or place, you know? Punk is important though, and I know I share a lot of no necessarily punk things here but punk is what started this nonsense and punk music in all its forms is what keeps me breathing. So fuck a colonial "holiday" and listen to Mexican hardcore punk...right? DISSLATE are more ferocious than ever. PERDICIÓN are raw Mexican punk on a diet of DYSTOPIA and I'm here for it. So yeah....fuck your aunt's pumpkin pie recipe and who gives a shit about the sports game. Punk rules. 

TE•PER

GEIGER COUNTER // ZUDAS KRUST

 

It's hard to know what to say when something is executed this perfectly. GEIGER COUNTER harness '00s epic crust, Burning Spirits, face melting fastcore and DISRUPT and create something that is so instantly infectious that....it's hard to know what to say. So you flip the tape to blast ZUDAS KRUST. Epic and apocalyptic crasher crust borrowing from the classics but delivering with wild thrashcore energy. Two tracks from ZK, three from GC.... and every single one of these five tracks is an absolute berserker. 

GEIGER COUNTER // ZUDAS KRUST

DISGOD

 

What if there was a world where Thrash2K and SHITLICKERS joined hands and made a modern crasher crust band? Well, that world would have a king, and that king would be named DISGOD. Not sure what more I need to say here, except that listening to "Fuck Your Power Fuck Your Arrogance" could serve as a very important reset to start your week.....have a pleasant Monday, punk.

ENDLESS MISERY

BACKYARD

 

A savage dose of old school primitive grind/crust worshipping at dual altars. West Bay Doomryderz and CROSSED OUT. Dank violence and sonic misanthropy. This is beyond an homage, BACKYARD are lighting the way with a fire from the old/er guard....six minutes of pure disgust. 

LOWER INCOME DRESS CODE

TOPSY TURVY // PUTRID SCUM

 

Today is everything yesterday was not - metaphorically and sonically. UZI RASH defied convention while these two bands personify it. Bombastic and terrifyingly brutal howling rage/crust from Indonesia....both bands fit the bill perfectly.

LIBERATE OUR MINDS FROM THE MALICIOUS INTENT OF FILTHY SCUM
RESURRECTION

PERDICIÓN

 

What an absolute fukkn beast. PERDICIÓN came from out of nowhere (actually they're from Tijuana) and knocked me on my ass in a Muay Thai gym a couple of weeks ago. Raw and brutal lo-fi metallic crust with a serious classic heavy metal bent. You know the sounds, and PERDICIÓN felt like an old friend the instant I heard them. 

TRANSTORNOS CTÓNICOS

ZOLOA

 

Remember the early '10s when the punk underworld was buzzing with every new Silenzio Statico release and the closet metal freaks were salivating any time a new Crepusculo Negro tape dropped? And then there was ZOLOA....the were both worlds. All of the worlds. Raw OSDM and DISRUPT  and ScandiCrust and black metal destruction and MISERY all at the same time (likely on different turntables at different speeds). Tell me "Sicario" doesn't waste your ass and I'll tell you we aren't friends - simple as that. It's the mid '20s now, and I still buzz when I blast this shit. 

PLATA O PLOMO

CADAVERIBUS

 

Was drawn to the cover initially (for obvious reasons), but when I opened the case and saw "Cadaveribus is a new Death/Doom band from Tokyo, Japan" printed on the inside of the j-card under the track listing....? I was helpless. So I took this four song cassette home and popped it in the deck and I get exactly what I was hoping for - filthy guttural primal death metal stomps layered with stench and doom. The four tracks here are painfully restrained, the vocals are disgusting growls and the guitars redefine disgust itself. "Demonic" is the most melodic cut, anchored by a guitar break around the 2:30 mark that will break hearts, but the individual "moments" are simply too many to count (though you would be advised to prepare yourself for the moment when the tempo picks up in "Eternity" because.....oooff, motherfukkr). A truly devastating release - exactly what I was looking for and exactly what I wanted but even better than I expected. 

OPEN THE GATE

IDX

 

Total stench/crust obliteration from Singapore. This came a few years before the mind blowing Onslaught Within, and the sound is slightly (if predictably) more primal. Meticulous howling lurches open the tape, and then they open it up on "Unanswered" and don't look back. By the books? Pretty much. But absolutely flawless execution, and I'm here for it. 

STARK REALITY

SATELLITE vs. PROLETAR

 

Strap in, young punk/s. I don't think you're ready, but honestly I don't think anyone is ready for this assault. PROLETAR with a unbridbled white-knuckle fastcore/grindcrust assault - shit is simply terrifying to listen to, even more so than the Rakyat Jelata tape I posted last year. And then there's SATELLITE, godfathers of the Jakarta crust scene dishing out maniacal metallic raw crust. Check "Amerika = Imperialist" and think about your life. Then reach for the volume knob (or toggle switch thing or whatever) and drown yourself in noise. 

DERITA TANPA AKHIR // THERE'S A SPECTRE HAUNTED

HATRED JACKALS

 

This is what I wanted today. Vicious mid-teens anarcho crust steeped in now-classic '90s USDIY sounds and ethos. The guitar leads are going to grab you first (and I warn you that they won't let go), instantly familiar anthemic melodies that float over ferocious dual vocal clenched fist hardcore that borrows liberally reinterprets so you're listening to something that you feel like you already know even though every songs starts with a "holy fukk what is this?!" I first heard the band ages ago on the Singapore Punk Holocaust (with DISTRUST, a recent Monday visitor to The Escape), and was thrilled when I pulled this one out of the stack. It's as good as I wanted it to be. 

DEBELLATO

Controversial Opinion: One of the vocalists kinda sounds like Ernesto on the first LIFES HALT record. 

CULVERT CORPSE

 

Got a nice little package from the Sewercide folks last week. I say "when" when what I really mean is "filthy," of course. Three offerings from Halifax's newest export and tariffs be damned because this fukkr is worth every penny and more. You want my lazy comparison? '90s DIY crusters recording primitive black metal on a boom box and using a kindergarten synth for the leads. Yup, it's as good as you think it is. "Blood Streams" is relentless knuckle dragging raw NABM and worth the price of admission on its own....but what about "Warpath," you ask? well it sounds like a fucking war path, obviously. This was the only tape in the package, so you're going to have to seek the MISANTHROPIC MINDS // HÄPEÄ split on your own - it shouldn't be too hard to find. 

DEMO 1

DISTRUST

 

Greater than the sum of its parts, Greatest Very Fuvkin' Shit$ gives you everything that you might be (should be) expecting from the promises made by the cover, but DISTRUST gives you something else. DISTRUST gives you more. Wild studded jacket dis-crust mixed with stench and a healthy dose of Detestation, this collection of tracks smothers you like an avalanche from the unhinged Scan-DBeat of "Nuclear Tomorrow" to the hollow metalcrust of "Doomed To Oblivion," these Singaporean veterans do absolutely nothing half-assed even when it's painfully simple two riff offerings like "Protect And Save" (okay, four riffs if you count the breakdown and the second solo). Plenty of bands hump the corpse of G.I.S.M. and there's a touch of that here to be sure, but DISTRUST just harness that sonic energy and fuckkn own it in the most diabolical way imaginable. Just filthy, desperate and essential metallic hardcore. Listen to "Nightmares Of War." You're welcome. 

GREATEST VERY FUVKIN' SHIT$