Bedrövlers - Side Of Split Demo With Asocial 1984 & Unreleased Recording 1985
Bedrövlerz was formed half a year ago [1984]. Then the line-up was Fredda, Håkan and Micke. Håkan [‘Hocke’ Stadin] then left to start playing drums in ‘Crude S.S.’, then Micke moved to drums and they brought in Dick [‘Kerre’ Karlsson] on bass, but also Dick preferred to play in ‘Crude S.S.’. Then Markko joined on bass. (But soon they stole him too (note: joke). Current members are: Fredda Frivolt – guitar, vocals; Micke B. Drövlig – drums, ‘Markko Mörker’ [Marko Vuorinen] – bass. They have had 5 gigs, three in Hedemora, one in Norberg and one in Fagersta, but they also have some gigs planned for Stockholm and also in Helsingborg.
Over to the questions: answered by all members, the first question is to Fredda...
Tell us a bit about ‘Avlopp 69’, you were anti-‘Crass’ but what about now?
Avlopp 69’ [Sewer 69] was my first band and we were very inspired by the Oi-scene at that time and everyone in Fagersta & Norberg kept on with the anti-‘Crass’-thing, which we also went for at first but we thought about it and no one is worse than those who can’t change. I have read through most of the ‘Crass’ lyrics and several of them are damn good. The music may well be a bit monotonous at times. But after all, the lyrics are much more important. Though, it’s not possible to compare ‘Avlopp 69’ and ‘Bedrövlerz’. There are two completely different bands and ‘Bedrövlerz’ are not against ‘Crass’.
Tell us a bit about the tape you did with ‘Asocial’?
We chose to record a tape together with ‘Asocial’ because we like ‘Asocial’ and are long-time friends with them. The tape contains 22 songs (and is called How Could Hardcore Be Any Worse?) Which is a bit ironic, since many songs are fast punk and this tape is super fast. Especially ‘Asocial’. It has received very good reviews in Maximum Rock’n’Roll (USA).
What is a good lyric to you?
Good lyrics should make the listeners react, make them comfortable, get them angry, laugh or whatever. They should provoke a reaction from the listener. We find that many of today’s punk lyrics are repetitions of bands like ‘Discharge’, for example ‘Anti-Cimex’. It’s better to try to make your own original lyrics than to copy others. A good lyric often has an important and an actual message, which is often found in punk. But also bands/people like Mikael Wiehe [Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer], Bob Dylan and John Lennon write/wrote very good lyrics.
Will you release more tapes or records soon?
Yes, we will soon record an EP with ‘Fear Of War’. It should contain about 8-10 songs and it should be cheap. We will have both Swedish and English lyrics to go with it. In addition, Uproar records & tapes, that we collaborate with, will do a compilation-album after our and the ‘Crude S.S.’ EPs.
Drugs, what do you think of those?
We don’t like drugs and we also count cannabis as a drug [BED REVELERS! NEUOOOOOO! --S]. We hate the drugdealers that get rich on the misfortume of others. We don’t like alcohol when it’s abused but can tolerate it for those that can handle it, not the abusers.
What do you do in your free time (when you don’t drink beer)?
We don’t drink as much as before due to changed attitudes. In our spare time we rehearse, write lyrics, meet up with mates, think, work on 6 Pack (a fanzine), ride our skateboards, go to peace-meetings, help other bands, Micke and Markko go to school but I (Fredda) am unemployed and off to do weapons-free military duty in October.
Influences, do you have any?
Influences? We’re influenced by all kinds of punk bands with good lyrics. But we’re not that shortsighted that we pretend to be something else, because we don’t. Those who listen to our music usually think that we’re listening to American bands since we play so fast, but that’s because we get out our aggression better that way. If that would be the case, this would mean that lyrics aren’t as important as the music but that’s not the case; and for that very reason we have made some calmer songs.
Political positions?
Markko: The centre-party is the best, says mom. No, jokes aside, I’m not voting for any party. I have my thoughts and ideas, but I don’t care if they are represented by any particular party. But I think politicians lie a lot, they make big promises before the election but afterwards they say something different.
Mikael: I’m not familiar with politics so I’m not interested, the little I know is that it’s a lot of false promises of more jobs and that everything will get better.
Fredda: I don’t want to take a political stand because I have problems with all party’s political programs. There are also some good things but more are bad. I’ve got some anarchist thoughts and ideas but I don’t call myself an anarchist because it’s a label. And I don’t like labels. But in order for anarchy to work, man must first change himself.
Subterranean Kids - "Subterranean Hardcore" Demo 1985 (With Scans)
Raw Power and Wretched's Spanish lovechild. Translated "No Flag" interview (early 90s) below...
Could you introduce the new ‘Subterranean Kids’ members?
Well, since we got together again or better said: reformed, the line-up of the band at the beginning of 1990 is: ‘Damned’ [Fernando Poza Díaz] (guitar; also playing with ‘Dr. Calypso’), ‘Boliche’ [Carlos Antonio Buira Monferrer] (drums; also playing in ‘Tropel Nat’), ‘Mimo’ [Sergio Martínez Paredes] (vocals) and ‘Moncho’ [‘Moo-yoo’; Ramón Cubedo Fort]: (bass; also plays [drums] in ‘Corn Flakes’).
Do you consider this ‘Subterranean Kids’ period as a follow-up to previous periods or as something different, as a ‘new beginning’?
I think it’s a bit of both. It’s a follow-up, that is clear, and we haven’t forgotten about the experiences acquired in the first 6 years. A new beginning after a brief hiatus helps us to take things with enthusiasm and although we think to be keeping up with the ‘Subterranean Kids’ style, we believe to be new in certain things, since the new members ‘Damned’ and ‘Moncho’ bring in new aspects in comparison to the old members, and I think we should take advantage of these.
What really stimulated you for the reunion of ‘Subterranean Kids’? How did you convince ‘Mimo’ to sing again? (Red.: This info was provided by Jordi of B-Core during ‘Subterranean Kids’ gig in Sala Argentina, hence the question about ‘Mimo’. Apparently it wasn´t like that.)
Firstly, let’s have a good laugh (hahaha). Nobody convinced ‘Mimo’ to sing in the band again; it was rather him who, after the disastrous tour that we did across Europe the previous year and after splitting up, convinced us to play again with ‘Moncho’. The idea for a reunion was his; ‘Damned’ and myself were both comfortable with our respective bands: ‘L’Odi Social’ and ‘Tropel Nat’. The idea that drove us, was seeing how really dead the scene was plus also trying to find out if we could really do good things with the new line-up.
Are you still in touch with old members ‘Pep’ and Marc? What are they doing nowadays? Are they still playing music?
We meet them from time to time. ‘Pep’ [guitarist Pepe Vidal] is no longer involved in music and Marc [bassist Marc García Sastre] plays in a band called ‘Malas Influencias’ that recently recorded a demo. It’s a pity that ‘Pep’ is no longer interested in making music.
Do you think to keep on playing with ‘Damned’ and ‘Moncho’ or are you looking for more dedicated members to play in ‘Subterranean Kids’? Don’t you think that ‘Corn Flakes’or ‘L’Odi Social’ tours could be a handicap to the band?
First off: ‘L’Odi Social’ no longer exists, it’s a pity but is true. Secondly, it could take up a bit of time from the band if any member of ‘Subterranean Kids’ plays in another band but they have the right to do that and also it’s something that enriches our scene, having creative members that cooperate in different projects. Myself (‘Boliche’), I collaborate in Reptil zine, and ‘Moncho’ and ‘Damned’ have their own bands. Besides that we also have our day jobs. Of course we think about keeping on with this line-up for a long time, until we get bored.
Could you tell us about the new ‘Subterranean Kids’ songs? Will they be similar to the old songs or will you take a new direction? What about the lyrics?
‘Mimo’s lyrics could be a bit different and take a more personal point of view; music-wise I think we play fast songs as well as middle-paced songs that people who listen to ‘Subterranean Kids’ will certainly like. Next week we will also record a 6-track maxi-single for Mondo Stereo [label], a division of Semaphore, and since they do the production of it, we can expect a more powerful sound. We haven’t decided on the title yet.
Mixing my previous questions: Who’s going to write the new songs? Aren’t you afraid of having ‘Corn Flakes’ or ‘L’Odi Social’ influences in these new compositions?
One could perceive some new nuances in the music but as I said before ‘L’Odi Social’ no longer exists and ‘Moncho’ plays drums in ‘Corn Flakes’, so we don’t see it as something disadvantageous.
Will you continue working with the B-Core label? How do you value his work, regardless of you personal friendship?
B-Core [record-label from Barcelona founded by Jordi Llansamà] will probably organise a compilation with bands from Catalonia or from Spain, and it’s almost certain that there will be some music by ‘Subterranean Kids’ on it. He’s also very interested in re-releasing our very first demo Subterranean Hardcore as an LP or as a double-7”. We’ll see about that. We think he does a very good job: no-one in Spain knew about the band ‘Identity’ for example, in spite of them having members of ‘Raped Teenagers’, and thanks to the tours he organised for them and the EP he released through B-Core they got more popular over here and they’ve featured in some fanzines, which is good. We also know the musical tastes of B-Core and we think that none of his next releases is going to disappoint us, we have pretty similar tastes.
Could you tell us about your next concerts? Where do you think you’ll play? Will there be another “fucking problems tour”?
Yesterday we played in a benefit-gig in KGB, a concert-space in Barcelona, and even thought it was on a Thursday, around 300 people showed up and all hell broke loose: everybody was singing, there was non-stop slam-dancing…and of course there was big expectation towards the new songs since we haven’t played in Barcelona since March ‘91. There’s also a demonstration organised by the local neighbours each Thursday to get KGB closed down and there was such a demonstration the same day of our gig, so there were about 30 neighbours protesting with whistles in front of KGB. It was funny considering we were treated as criminals for attending a gig, really funny. We’ve some more gigs planned, like one in November in Sala Argentina in Madrid and another one in Barcelona areound that time. Touring foreign countries again – that hopefully wouldn’t be a “fucking problems tour” – could be a thought for next year, we’re eager for it.
How do you see the new wave of Catalonian bands that are coming out lately? Is it similar to the one that came about years ago or is it different? And what about the rest of Spain? How do you see the scene in general?
A few but good bands have come out; they don’t play live too often but they are there. ‘Budellam’ [HC from Barcelona] have done very well as they have produced their own EP and they have played live several times. ‘Carpe Diem’ [thrash from Barcelona] have recorded a demo, it’s being sold very well and they’ve planned some gigs. With ‘Tropel Nat’ we keep doing what we want, some people like us, some don’t, but we will record an LP in a Swiss studio in December. ‘Ktulu’ [thrash/metal from Barcelona] have also recorded a decent LP and they’ve been playing live lately. The new ‘Anarkotiks’ [HC/punk from Barcelona] repertoire is quite good and they’ll play live soon. ‘Corn Flakes’ will release their second LP soon and they’ve improved a lot, but if you don’t like their old style I doubt you’ll enjoy their new style: much more technical and improved. ‘Subterranean Kids’ will be recording a maxi-single in one or two weeks’ time. ‘Acció Directa’ [HC crossover from Barcelona], I guess will rip soon with their second LP. There’s also other bands recording soon and Tralla recs [record-label from Barcelona] is helping many bands such as ‘Alambique’ [punk from Barcelona], ‘Drogas Guais’ [HC/punk from Zaragoza], ‘Mardita Sea’ [HC/punk from Sant Andreu] I think a very good network is being formed. If you ask me if the bands that came out years ago are similar to the bands that come out nowadays: I don’t think so. The bands that played rock are still playing it and the bands that played punk/HC/metal are improving in search of an own style. In the rest of Spain there’s some new bands as ‘Nocivo’ [punk from Valencia], ‘Trip Inside’ [indie rock from Zaragoza] and many more. We’ld like to listen to new bands that appear in your zine, that come out from your area. Anyway, we think it’s good, in some places better than in other places.
If you want to add something…
Good luck with the zine, it’s really good! Thanks for your support and stay tuned for the new record!
Kyousantou - "Communist" Demo 1984 & "Ujimushi" Demo 1984 (With Scans)
Recently bootlegged L.S.D.-ish/Typhus-ish/metal-free hardcore from Japan. "Comrades" like 4th International, and orders of magnitude more normal about it than the nauseatingly deformed mutants who riot in gay-bondage-furry cosplay over here. "MAKE AMERICA GAPE AGAIN!!!"
Prenatal Lust - Demo #1 1982
"Prenatal Lust were a Hardcore punk band from Austin, Texas I believe. This is their first demo/studio recording allegedly from 1982, but I reckon it's from 1983. One of these tracks ('Entertainment Tonight') appears on the 1983 cult compilation LP 'Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death' & this entire session (7 tracks) appeared on the 1984 compilation tape "Texacore". This is pretty rowdy & boisterous stuff for 82/83 actually. Some of it is superfast, whilst mostly upbeat/midtempo HC, but always very tight & well-played. 7 tracks in 8 minutes. Restored & mastered by Mahler Haze, October 2019." 
Anus Cunt - "Glumph" Fake Demo 1991
Impaled Nazarene do a two+ minute live tribute to Anal Cunt.
Way.
Death Sentence U.K. - 1981 Demo & "Death And Pure Distruction" 7" 1982
THRASHMOSH!!!...(all three Death Sentences are a thrashmosh!!!)...Kinda short, razor sharp shocks of chaotic and disorderly hardcore from Northampton. The band was a kiloton heavier, snottier, A-N-G-R-I-E-R, and tunelessly tighter than the Bristolites, as well as being historical in extreme punk for having been founded by afro-caribbean twins (I bring that up in the humanistic way, not the SJW fucked up shithead way). "Criminally underrated, why isn't there an authorized discography blah blah blah"... http://www.mediafire.com/file/wofr86x0jj8e16k/Death_Sentence_UK_81-82.zip/file
Screaming Corpses (Pre Maeror Tri) – "A Different State Of Consciousness" Tape 1987
"Maeror Tri was an ambient, noise, and drone music band from Germany founded by 3 members of 'Screaming Corpses' in 1988. Similar to Zoviet France, they used only analog instruments* with an enormous amount of effects applied. Very little is known about the group except for spokesperson Stefan Knappe, who is also the owner of the label 'Drone Records'. Nevertheless, it is for sure that all three came from the city of Leer in northern Germany, and knew each other since their time in school."*As "Screaming Corpses" the band seemed to exercise live capture of percussion, musique concrete, and patched synth.
Megaptera - "Near Death" Tape 1991, "Nightmares" Tape 1995 (Limited To 6, With Scans), "You Will Never Survive This Nightmare" Tape 1995, "The Curse Of The Scarecrow" CD 1998 (Original Master)
Interview with Peter Nyström By Per Najbjerg Odderskov
First of all, I understand the founding and first member of Megaptera was Mikael Svensson (Deaf Machine). You then joined the project later on. How did you become involved in Megaptera?
It was Mikael and Magnus Åslund (Pettersson) who started Megaptera together. I was making music with Magnus Sundström as Fiskebåtarna and First Aid at that time Mikael and Magnus recorded the first Megaptera tracks. These later became the first homemade release. You Will Recover. I think I started to listen to CMI related music at that time, like BDN, MZ412 and Raison d'etre. I heard that they had started to experiment with some old gear that Magnus mother's new boyfriend had, like a 4 channel portastudio and an analog delay. I borrowed a drum machine from my friends in the synthpop band Cell Division, and then I joined them. We were friends already.
What was the idea of Megaptera in the early days? You managed to create something which was quite unique back then.
I'd say no idea at all. We got very influenced by the CMI sound and we were already big fans of The Klinik, Test Department and Cabaret Voltaire. We didn't know much about instruments so we just took what we had: scenes from various films, TV, radio, whatever we could hear fit in. The reason why we ended up making this kind of music was that it was quite easy. We didn't need expensive gear or a computer to record the atmospheres that we liked. And it was also very funny to just search for crazy sounds and movies and just push record. Very unpretentious.
It seems to me that the cult of Megaptera expanded with your friendship/involvement with Slaughter Productions. You had lots of side projects released there, and you appeared on many of the cult compilations. Do you miss the days of Slaughter Productions?
Of course I miss some of it, and Marco of course. He was such a nice guy. Very polite, gentle and everything went very smooth with him. The best part was that we wrote REAL letters back then, and it was amazingly fun to both receive and send letters, records and tapes. The most important releases were those on Slaughter, otherwise I don't think Megaptera would have reached the status we did. I remember being very proud of having two tracks on Death Odors and also as number 1 and 2 on the disc. Shadowland is still one of Megaptera's strongest pieces of music.
You finally had a bigger "commercial" release on Release Entertainment (also like Brighter Death Now). How did Curse Of The Scarecrow come to be? I'll also point that that a lot people got to know Megaptera through this album.
It really became a hit for us. Magnus Åslund left the band already in 1991 and Mikael and I recorded this album together with Magnus Sundström on his Amiga 500 and EPS sampler if I remember correctly. We felt that we were doing some really good tracks. We did not think, just recorded track after track. It went very easily. I had some contact with VUZ Records and somehow the record came out on Release Entertainment THROUGH VUZ Records and then the guy ripped us on the money. I was very blue eyed, and thought everybody was as polite as Marco Corbelli, but that wasn't the case. I'm still very proud of that album, and it was very important that we got Don't Desecrate the Dead released on Absolute Supper. It really promoted Megaptera well.
Which Megaptera album are you most proud of doing?
I must say Songs from the Massive Darkness back in 1992. Me and Mikael was heavily influenced by Great Death by BDN, so we connected the gear we had in my boy's room and recorded those 6 tracks in 4 hours. I still enjoy listening to that album from start to the end. I love the metallic sound of that BOSS RRV-10 reverb, the sounds we pulled out from the SH-101, and the voices in the background from The Thing. A perfect and funny recording session. I remember that I was down eating a quick dinner while we recorded one of the tracks, and Mikael were sitting on my bed playing a Casio VZ-1 with his feet in the meantime, haha! Great memories!
What does the future hold for Megaptera? Is there still unreleased material hidden in the vaults?
All tracks have been released, so no more old surprises. I get some ideas sometimes, but we'll see. Maybe a CD version of Nailed on vinyl later on. Only Satan knows (*Winking face)."
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