ShatteredKnee Issue #1 Now Available

I'm proud to announce that ShatteredKnee #1 is now available.  This zine is 32 pages; ideal reading material for those ultra stubborn bowel movements.  It features interviews with:

Genocide pact
Budd Dwyer
Ultra//Negative
Mother Brain 
+ Reviews

And if that's not enough, each zine mailed will come with an individual BBQ Sauce Packet*

This is for sure going to blow up in my face, but I will mail anyone an issue of ShatteredKnee for free (while they last)** if:

a) You like the ShatteredKnee Facebook page (I know, but c'mon!)
b) You provide me with a mailing address

If you do not feel comfortable sending me an address through the Facebook page, you can email it to me.

If you are in the KC area, do not send me an address, just get at me with a message and I'll get it to you.

*If you consume the BBQ sauce packet and get sick, that's on you.
**As I'm doing this for free, I cannot promise that you will ever receive your zine.  What I can promise is that I'll try my best to get it to you.

Sterilized – Zero Sum Game – Warthog Speak

If you ever find yourself tied up in the back of the ShatteredKnee van, here’s a sample of what we’ll be listening to.  And that piss stench you’ll be smelling will be coming from you when Olympia, WA dungeon punks Sterilized come in with the intro to title track Zero Sum Game off their 2014 4 song 7” out on Warthog Speak.  Sterilized bring a dirty, fuzzed out style of d-beat hardcore similar to fellow Olympians, GAG.  Zero Sum Game is 4 songs of aggressive, buzzsawing riffs, red-headed stepchild drumming, and tormented hails for violence.  Not to be lost in the Sterilized chaos is how well they structure a song.  Each song on Zero Sum Game is set up nicely with crucial intros before spazzing through the remainder of the song.  A good intro to a song is something I appreciate greatly.  Back in the day, late 80’s, me and the not-getting-laid-crew used to sit in my homeboys (RIP) basement and watch Bloodsport on mute and listen to just the song intros on Anthrax’s State of Euphoria.  Anyway, Sterilized utilize intros to build up their songs in a way that maximizes the violence of their sound.  Matter of fact, I’m going to look for Bloodsport on Netflix Instant and listen to Zero Sum Game as this is some perfect walk up music for the Kumite…HEADING FOR WAR…AHHHHHHH!!!

Do yourself a favor and check out Sterilized if you’re into distressed leather frenzied, d-beat, violent hardcore.  Sterilized has a demo cassette from 2013, this Zero Sum Game 7” and another Chemical Dust 7” from 2014.  This Zero Sum Game 7” comes in a limited edition green vinyl if you’re cooler than me.

Tinnitus – Volume II – Cricket Cemetery

Before I dig into this new Tinnitus 7”, I want to take a moment and preach to the 12-15 of you that may actually read this.  I ordered this Tinnitus 7” back in January from Cricket Cemetery along with a pre-order for the new Jarhead Fertilizer.  The order took a few months to get here and somewhere along the line there was a mix up and the pressing that I originally ordered was no longer available.  It’s DIY, things happen.  In lieu of the mix up, Cricket Cemetery went completely out of their way to make it up by sending me a couple of their other releases, a tape, some patches, and some stickers.  They even contacted me to make sure that was ok with me, which they totally didn't have to do.  So this is just a reminder, to myself as well, that there are some really cool people out there that are doing this and that you should go out and buy a record…from CricketCemetery (or any other DIY band or label).

Now that I’ve emo’d up the place, this would be a good time to talk about Tinnitus – Volume II as it’s an absolute paralyzing blow of Massachusetts d-beat sprinkled hardcore.  Hailing from Worcester, MA, Tinnitus appropriately follow-up their 2011 3^rd round stoppage due to strikes, Gehenna, with Volume II out on Cricket Cemetery.  Tinnitus brings a plus blend of fast hardcore, powerviolence, and a slowed down d-beat/doom groove; all stuffed into one minute packages of fuck you.  The formula on Volume II is similar to what you heard on Gehenna.  I’m talking feedback intro to choppy mid-paced groove, blast into fast hardcore and shift back down into doom-ish mosh grooves.  Consistent mid-range barks add to the aggressiveness of Tinnitus’ brand of hardcore.  Gehenna sounded a little more straight up to my ear, while Volume II takes what they laid down and refines it a bit.  Highlights on Volume II for me are "File"; blasting snare intro to creepy crawl down tuned groove, wound up into pissed, blasting hardcore shifted quickly down into 30 seconds of pure beatdown chugs.  "Infliction" on the b-side is another standout.  Fast hardcore out of the gate, breakdown tease at the 0:25 mark, only to speed back up before the bottom falls out with a classic bass led mosh groove.

On Volume II, Tinnitus highlight just how good the Boston area hardcore is along with Draize and Suffer On Acid.  The production on Volume II stands out as well, this thing jumps off the vinyl loud as fuck and is one of my favorite records of 2014 to this point.  Get your shit together and check it out now.