Targets - "Schneller, Lauter, Haerter" and "Menschenjagd" EPs

Label: Aggressive Rock Produktionen; Year: 1984; Format: 45RPM EP

Out of the ashes of legendary Hamburg Punk Rock act Slime came Targets and just a few months after Slime played at the time their last gig Targets released their first EP "Schneller, lauter, haerter" on the well known Berlin based label Aggressive Rock Produktionen. Even though I grew up in Switzerland and was exposed to Punk Rock from Germany at a young age I could often not identify with Deutschpunk. As for Targets though I discovered them through a Mix-Tape a friend made me back in the '80s and loved them dearly ever since. Both of their sought after EPs I was able to get on the cheap in London of all places from a private collection and I shall never part with them. Both of the band's EPs came out in 1984 and they were definitely a continuation of where Slime have left off, lyrically and sonically speaking. The four songs on this EP are all straight forward, well executed hardcore punk tracks in the German language with great lyrics on top of the excellent songs. Terrorism and multi-national corporate greed for instance play an important role in the songs "Geld regiert die Welt" and "Massenhysterie", topics that would gain much more importance decades after the release of this EP but were equally important to the time this EP was released. Sehr gut!

Label: Aggressive Rock Produktionen; Year: 1984: Format: 45RPM EP

While there is no real difference in the quality of the songs between the first and this second EP, the main difference is that this one was recorded and mixed by Harris Johns at Berlin's Musiclab-Studio and one can tell the difference immediately. The sound levels are higher and everything is just much crisper and clearer. On top of that "Menschenjagd" is without doubt one of the best songs Targets have ever written, a song dealing with people feeling paranoid while on the run from the government. "Nie wieder Krieg" is equally great and the cover version of Germany's Schlager King Udo Juergens "Der Teufel hat den Schnaps gemacht" rounds up the second and equally great EP by Targets. While getting the originals is by no means cheap I just checked whether these two EPs have been compiled onto an LP and yes that is very much the case in the form of a compilation released in 2017 on Coltureshock. If you are relatively new to the world of Punk from Deutschland get your hands on said LP as you won't regret it. 

Deranged - Place Of Torment 12"

Label: Supreme Echo; Year: 2021; Format: 45RPM 12" Vinyl

Lately I've again opened my eyes and ears to Thrash Metal or Extreme Metal from the '80s after having ignored those genres for decades. Back in 85/86 like many bored teenagers stuck in suburban boredom I adored bands like Exodus, Possessed, Venom et al. but once my interest turned towards hardcore punk I lost interest in Metal all together and never looked back again. The other day I paid a visit to my favorite local underground record store and the nice proprietor behind the counter played Canada's Deranged while I was flipping through the racks filled with punk and hardcore records. Initially I wasn't too impressed but on my next visit to the store I asked for a copy as the songs kind of got stuck in my brain whether I liked it or not. Deranged hailed from Victoria, BC on Canada's West Coast and released two Demos in '88 and '89 respectively. "Place of Torment" was the second demo and now sees the light again in the form of this 12". The four songs have been remixed and mastered to the highest standard possible from the original demo and they sound absolutely bombastic as I for one would not have guessed that they were taken from a demo tape, which speaks for the band and their ambitions back in the day. As to be expected with releases from Supreme Echo much love has been poured into this release and a nice thick booklet containing an interview with the band members and old photos is included with this killer release. The songs themselves are quality Thrash/Death metal numbers reminiscent of acts like Kreator, Death or Sadus to name a few. I am no expert when it comes to '80s extreme metal but still have a good recollection of bands when I was into this sort of stuff all those decades back and highly recommend this release if no frills metal is your thing.