Varaus - 1/2 LP

Label: Larmattacke Records; Year: 2022; Format: Vinyl LP

What better way is there to spend the afternoon reviving this somewhat dormant blog of mine while the wind is blasting arctic air at god knows how many miles per hour in god forsaken Buffalo, NY. And thanks to Tangerine Orange Herbal Tea made by Zinger the whole experience reached another level by not only keeping me warm but reminding me that I am a somewhat old fart sipping on tea while sat in a recliner. But, let's go back to the year 1997 while I was traveling in sunny California and walked into a record store called Vinyl Fetish in Hollywood, Los Angeles. There, to my big surprise, I came across a copy of the 2nd pressing of the original self-released Varaus 1/2 LP from 1983, and you wouldn't believe it that I paid somewhere close to forty dollars only. Yep, no kidding. I imagine it was one of the owners who rang up my lucky ass while saying: "I know this is super rare and I could ask for much more, but who in the hell would buy it?" Well, I did, but about ten years later in dire need for cash I sold it on eBay to somebody in Australia if I am not mistaken, and the chap definitely shelled out much more than what I had paid. It just goes to show you how much '80s Finnish Hardcore Punk has grown in popularity over the years, and rightfully so, even though Instagram and Facebook definitely play a big role, but so be it. Hence I consider myself pretty lucky again to be an owner of this 2022 reissue as even this one is hard to come by nowadays proving that it's just one of those records that will always be hard to come by not because it's so great, but because it is so hard to get. But, on to the record itself, which again was self-released by the band back in 1982 (1st pressing). Unfortunately there is very little to nothing to be found about Varaus on the intranet so the only information I gathered is from Discogs where I learned that the band hailed from the town of Hyryla, somewhere quite south in Suomi-Finland. The fact that the original first two pressings fetch such incredible amounts of money does irritate me somewhat as musically speaking this is not one of the classic great Finnish Hardcore records, at least not in my opinion. Fact is that the band in the spirit of the time must have thought that the songs were good enough to press onto vinyl even though in all fairness it does sound like a practice tape and nothing more. That doesn't mean it's horrible, but the band definitely lacked in tightness and song-writing, which they made up for a lot in spirit. Don't get me wrong as I do think it's an excellent document from a forgotten time when guys and girls in spiked leather jackets tramped to gigs in terrible weather to trash out to bands like Varaus, hence if you like rudimentary Discharge style Finnish Hardcore you will dig this, just don't expect the heights of records by better known compatriots of Varaus. I was sad to learn that two members of Varaus, Hande Pussinen and Jone Vaarala, are no longer with us hence may they rest in peace. 

Insert from the Larmattacke repress (probably same as the original) and a band photo stolen from the band's discogs page. 

Olho Seco - Os Primeiros Dias Mini-LP

Label: New Face Records; Year: 1995; Format: Vinyl Mini-LP

Olho Seco formed in 1980 in the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo. To many, including myself, they became known through the MRR Compilation "Welcome To 1984" for which they contributed "Nada", a perfect crude and brutal '80s hardcore punk track. They slowly gained an international fanbase through their EP released on German label Pogar in 1984 and from then on things started to take shape with more releases and an increasingly worldwide following. Before that though, the band recorded their first demo tape in 1981 and New Face originally pressed that onto vinyl in 1988 with a slightly different track list from the 1995 version I have. The seven tracks on this Mini-LP are with the exception of the last two tracks actually quite well produced for a demo and present the band in their heyday. I would say that the tracks sound somewhat more punk rock oriented compared to their later material but the brutal execution of the songs is definitely already part of the band's DNA. Speaking of "Nada", you can actually find a different version of said classic on this record and quite frankly I prefer this version over the later one. If you are a fan of international '80s Hardcore Punk then this is definitely worthwhile tracking down and from what I saw still to be had for not much money. 

Early photo of Olho Seco with the source unknown as it is from a Facebook page.

T.S.T - S/T LP

Label: River Records; Year: 1982; Format: Vinyl LP

T.S.T (The Shock Treatment) formed in the spring of 1977 in Vasteras, Sweden, about an hour west of Stockholm. As you can tell by their band name they must have been Ramones fans but by the time their first titled first LP came out in 1982 their influences have shifted drastically towards the underground sounds from the UK. As a matter of fact listening to the record tonight I would say the members of the band must have bought and loved records by the following bands from the British Isles: Discharge, GBH, The Business, Violators, Red Alert and Anti Nowhere League. Before this first LP the band released two EPs and after having split up for a while they reformed with the idea to take the band in a more electronic direction having been influenced by acts like Fad Gadget or Human League according to the info in "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987" book. The UK82 sound must have changed their minds as this LP is a truly good mixture of either Punk/Oi influenced tracks or songs more in the Discharge/GBH vein. River Records was apparently a record store in Vasteras and released some of the band's catalogue which is unfortunately hard to obtain on reissues hence my hope is that I will get to hear the rest of the band's output on some reissue in the near future. According to the book mentioned above Nalle (Bass/Vocals) was quite a character and at one point wrestled a cop into a fountain and on another occasion at a Peace Festival pissed on the stage ensuing in a fight with the sound engineer. Got to love the Swedish Drunk Punks. Many years after T.S.T's demise Guitarist and Vocalist Jarmo Makkeli became a member in Swedish Punk'N'Roll outfit Psychopunch, a band my friend and I actually organized a gig for in Switzerland some good twenty years ago. Shame I didn't know about his T.S.T past that night and I would have talked his ears off....

Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing LP 

Label: Clay Records; Year: 1982; Format: Vinyl LP

It was yesterday forty years ago that this LP was released hence I thought it was a great idea to give this classic a spin. Discharge formed in Stoke-On-Trent in 1977 but sounded nothing like the wall of sound they would become famous for. According to their own words they kind of figured out their sound by just playing faster and harder and eventually created a style that would influence countless bands around the world and across genres. Of course by the time this LP was released Mike Stone of Clay Records has already released several of the infamous and classic Discharge EP's. Still and without doubt it can be said that this LP catapulted Discharge into a league on their own and leather studded punks in the squats of Berlin or in the rubbles of Sao Paolo took note and started to create their own wall of noise. One can have a million and one records on their shelves but let's be honest how many of them stand the test of their time? This one here has turned forty and will be celebrated equally another forty years down the road provided the human race has not eradicated itself. Free Speech For The Dumb! 

Ulster - M-19 EP

Label: ABC Records; Year: 1995; Format: Vinyl 7"

You want noise? Alright, I got noise for your ears here in the most distorted and primitive way one can only imagine. But let me put things into context here before this review starts to sound like I am bashing this release, or the band. Quite the contrary because Ulster were one of the earliest bands to emerge out of Brazil, in particular out of the ABC industrial complex in Sao Paulo. The excellent KFTH website informed me that the band started as a reaction to high unemployment and socio-economical problems in their ABC area of Sao Paulo, and channelled all their anger and frustration into a visual and sonic attack. The tracks on this EP were originally all recorded during demo sessions in 1982, and as hinted above resulted in songs that will make your ears bleed. This is hardcore punk at its most primitive, but taking into consideration the circumstances and the environment these guys came from, one should quickly realize that the band did not have the same technological opportunities as bands in Europe or America, and as a result of that you get a very raw but honest sounding time document. Further to the extreme music, Ulster were aggressive and provocative in their approach of getting their message of anti-government lyrics across. The whole package of this EP tells the story of real urban struggle, and a violent three chord reaction to it. When it comes to the recorded music then this might not be top notch, but at the end of the day this is a fantastic time document from a scene that was just starting to explode at the time of these recordings.