Mellakka - '84 Practice & “R.I.P. Recordings 1984-1986” CD 2004 (FLAC/320)


"Mellakka was a Finnish Hardcore Punk band formed in a small Finnish coast/industrial town called Rauma in year 1983. During their relatively short career in the mid/late 80’s, the band visited the recording studio three times, resulting two ep’s and a three-song demo. A compilation album of these songs was released in 2004 and was named 'R.I.P. recordings 1984-1986'.

Pete and Jappe were friends, and started the band at the age of fifteen (Pete) and sixteen (Jappe). After spending a couple of years banging on cardboard boxes and yelling into the cleaning brushes in Jappe’s father’s boiler room. They were also spending time together listening punk rock. Bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, U.K. Subs and Lama were the first big names, but the final kick for forming a punk band came when the guys got a hold of Discharge’s 'Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing' LP, and 'Why?' EP. That was the time when the first Propaganda Records’ compilation album was released too, the new Finnish hc-punk bands on that record, like Riistetyt, Kaaos, Terveet Kädet all sounded awesome. Then they had the pleasure of seeing Appendix and Destrucktions playing live at their home town. That was a really influential hc gig, especially Destrucktions. Without these bands it could have been a really different story.

After getting their hands on some equipment, the guys started to practice in Jappe’s parents garage. After practicing for a while, the band was named Mellakka, and the first real line-up was Pete (voc), Kapulainen (bass), Janne (guitar), Jappe (drums). The band was ready to make it’s first gigs, and did, but quite soon the vocalist Pete left the band, and joined the other hc band in Rauma punk scene, Pohjasakka, as a bass player. In the meantime, Jappe met yet another bass player called Holkka. Kapulainen was ready to sing and Holkka naturally took the job of playing the bass. This change seemed to work, and the band sounded much better than before.

Soon Mellakka had enough new songs and it was time to visit the studio. The first Ei EP was published in autumn ‘84 by the guys themselves, mainly because nobody else would do it. Almost all the records at that time were published by the Propaganda Records, but Mellakka thought that they should release it themselves. All the other new bands were doing the same, Sekaannus, Massacre and bands like that.

The musical influences of the band can be spotted on the record. There was some disappointments after finishing the EP, it didn’t sound nowhere near as great as 'Hear Nothing', but at the end of the day the guys had to be more than pleased with the result. Everything in the studio went quite well for being the first time. The place was called Laser Studio and it was built in an old barn. It was run by a religious fanatic fool, but the guy who did the actual recording/mixing was a hippie called Pertti Palonen and he really has quite a lot to do in how both of the EPs and the demo are sounding...a very nice guy. They have only good memories of him. He is probably the main reason why all of the Mellakka recordings are made in that same place. The line-up for the Ei EP was Kapulainen (voc), Janne (guitar), Jappe (drums), Holkka (bass). The guitarist Janne left the band right after the EP was released. Luckily there was a help near by. A guitarist named Perttula was digging the Ei EP hard, and was more than happy to join the group. The band continued to practice and made some new songs. Soon it was time to hit the studio for the second time.

Itsenäisyyspaivä EP from January ‘85 was made for Rat Poison Records run by Mr P. Järveläinen. Rat Poison published other punk/hc music too at that time, bands like Kuolleet Kukat. After visiting one practice session and hearing the new songs, Järveläinen reserved new studio time for the band. Only two weeks before the studio, the singer Kapulainen had enough, threw the mic to the floor saying 'FYA, I never gonna sing a goddamn note again!', and just like that, it was over for him. Gotta respect that. Well anyways, the band was in trouble, new singers didn’t grow on trees as they say. In desperation the guys even called to Mike Poison, who is/was known for singing for the great hc band called Destrucktions. He promised to visit to the studio, to see what can be done, but didn’t sound TOO excited...It was getting clearer and clearer that only one man can do this job. The band got together with the original singer Pete, and after a long discussion and convincing, he decided to join the band again, and this time he stayed for good. The band did get the practice they needed before the studio and everything went just right after all. The guys thought that the result was far better than the first time around, sound wise, song wise, in all the ways. The band added some guitar riffs, solos and other non-hc-tricks in their songs, which made this record a bit more interesting than the first one. But no success without some losses, soon after the second EP was out, Holkka left the band.

Perttula’s good friend Altti was to replace Holkka right away, as the band had some gigs to take care of. First he played the bass, later the guitar. The year ‘85 went by making new songs again and practicing, maybe more than ever. The absolute best gig was in Helsinki at Lepakko 5.18.1985. With them there were at least Rattus, Maho Neitsyt and Painajainen. There is VHS footage of that gig, but it’s recorded so poorly, that you can’t really tell what song they are playing at times, but ‘85-’86 they were at their very best form.

The band tried to find a publisher for their LP, and there was some discussions but that was far as it went and it never came thru. Anyways, the band decided to visit the studio just to make a demo if nothing else and have some fun. The result was three songs (Totuus II, Anti-Kaikki, Turhaa Taistelua), recorded in five hours, which have a lot of musical influences by metal/thrash scene of that time. This demo was recorded in February 1986, and was never even meant to be released, as they were going to record the songs again later with more time in the studio. The line-up for the demo was Perttula (bass), Jappe (drums), Pete (voc), Altti (guitar). Mellakka had about ten to fifteen other songs from the same period of time than these three songs, but never got the time to record them. Damn shame. After the demo was made the band continued for some time, but the guys of the band started to get bored with the small town and soon everybody was leaving the place to different directions. It was time to lay the band to rest.

Mellakka has practiced together few times after that. Last session was in 1993. The band got together and played few days just for fun with the line-up: Perttula (guitar), Jappe (drums), Pete (voc) and Sätkä (bass). This is probably the line-up the band would have if they should play together again."

Click to embiggen...



Krunch – "När Varje Steg Är Ett Snedsteg" Demo 1984 & "We're Back...But We're Evil: The Almost Complete Krunch, But More..." CD 1993 (FLAC/320)





Selfish - "Patriotism Is Not Excuse" Demo 1990 (FLAC)


Pre Otto, but still insanely "Japcore" (upbeat, noiseless)
sung in a shockingly unexpected Keller-style...

Excrement Of War & Doom - 1990 Demo & Rehearsals (FLAC)


The ropey remnants of Fagin's final brood, snatching ears (and snatch) with their demo
and a split practice with Doom. Admit it, I should have been an editor for the NME... 

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Bacchus - Demo 2002 (FLAC)


Post Defuse orugaru garawgecore...


Laxative Souls - "Twist And Decease" Cassette 1982 (256) & "Desinfektionsraum" Cassette 1984 (320) With Scans



"Laxative Souls, also known by the contraction 'LXSS', was one of the very first post-industrial music projects on the Italian scene. Born in the early 1980s in the province of Ascoli Piceno, according to many critics LXSS was chronologically second only to 'MB'. The project was from the mind of Roberto Marinelli and takes it's name from Dante's Inferno's dialog of souls in purgatory, a literal translation of which s not reflected in the English language, thus generating a nonsensical phrase. His music is a mixture of electronic rage, vocal distortions, concrete music, feedback generated by self-assembly of electrical circuits and cut-ups of documentaries, recordings and radio proclamations. Less dehumanizing than Maurizio Bianchi, the compositions of LXSS seem more linked to an emotional interpretation of the social organism, where in the evolution of the songs and albums it seems to elaborate an almost narrative development of the sound material.

The first album under the name LXSS was released after two years of exhausting research and construction of samples, for the 'Multiple Configuration' label of Roberto Marinelli himself, for which 'TAC', 'Tasaday', 'Maze 1066' and 'Luca Miti' also recorded. In 'Twist And Decease' Marinelli traces a series of violent deaths that have crossed the historical, political and social universe, using an almost documentary style. From Umberto The First killed by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci to Aldo Moro killed by the Red Brigades, from the aerospace accident of Vladimir Michajlovič Komarov to the mass exterminations of concentration camps, the narratives sometimes develop following documentary evidence and elaborating compositions around recordings, interviews and voice documents concerning the events themselves, and at other times in an emotional way through a succession of sound images and 'suggestions'. In his narrative evolutions then, Marinelli never seems to give value to the catastrophic spectacularization of crime news ,trying instead to maintain the maximum critical lucidity in the poetic treatment of events.

In 1984 Marinelli published the album entitled 'Desinfektionsraum', a cassette focused on the final solution of the Jewish question and more particularly on the extermination camp of Auschwitz, in which, according to Ambrosini, the fusion between poetic-sound processing of images and documentary narration reaches its compositional apex, also managing to trace a link between those misdeeds and the inability of our society to analyze any event in a non-rhetorical way."

Inertia Kills ‎– "Tous Des Aveugles" Discography CD (1995/2009)


"Terrorisateur Québécois"...PUTAIN DE MERDE ILS AVAIENT RAISON!!!


CDR Culture: Three Friendship "Mixtapes" Of Industrial & Neofolk (Mostly) From Justin & Ray...


"A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape or mix tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette tape, CD, or digital playlist. The songs are either ordered sequentially or made into a continuous program by 'beat matching' the songs and creating seamless transitions at their beginnings and endings with fades or abrupt edits. Essayist Geoffrey O'Brien described the mixtape as perhaps the most widely practiced American art form.

Homemade mix tapes became common in the 1980s. Although the compact audio cassette by Philips appeared at the 1963 Berlin Radio Show, the sound quality of cassettes was not good enough to be seriously considered for music recording until further advances in chemical formulations of the tape. Before the introduction of the audio cassette, the creation of a pop music compilation required specialized or cumbersome equipment, such as a reel-to-reel or 8 track recorder, that was often inaccessible to the casual music fan. As cassette tapes and recorders grew in popularity and portability, these technological hurdles were lowered to the point where the only resources required to create a mix were a handful of cassettes and a cassette recorder connected to a source of pre-recorded music, such as a radio or LP player. The 8-track tape cartridge was more popular for music recording during much of the 1960s, as the cassette was originally only mono and intended for vocal recordings only, such as in office dictation machines. But improvements in fidelity finally allowed the cassette to become a major player. The ready availability of the cassette and higher quality home recording decks to serve the casual home user allowed the cassette to become the dominant tape format, to the point that the 8 track tape disappeared shortly after the turn of the 1980s. The growth of the mixtape was also encouraged by improved quality and increased popularity of audio cassette players in car entertainment systems, and by the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1979.

A distinction should be drawn between a private mixtape, which is usually intended for a specific listener or private social event, and a public mixtape, or 'party tape', usually consisting of a recording of a club performance by a DJ and intended to be sold to multiple individuals. In the 1970s, such DJs as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculoids, and DJ Hollywood would often distribute recordings of their club performances via audio cassette, as well as customized recordings (often prepared at exorbitant prices) for individual tape purchasers. These recordings tended to be of higher technical ability than home-made mixtapes and incorporated techniques such as beat matching and scratching. One 1974 article in Billboard reported: 'Tapes were originally dubbed by jockeys to serve as standbys for times when they did not have turntables on hand. The tapes represent each jockey's concept of programming, placing, and sequencing of records. The music is heard without interruption. One-to three-hour programs bring anywhere from $30 to $75 per tape, mostly reel-to-reel, but increasingly on 8-Track and cassette.'

Throughout the 1980s, mixtapes were a highly visible element of youth culture. However, the increased availability of CD burners and MP3 players and the gradual disappearance of cassette players in cars and households led to a decline in the popularity of the compact audio cassette as a medium for homemade mixes. The high point of traditional mixtape culture was arguably the publication of Nick Hornby's novel 'High Fidelity' in 1995. Since then, mixtapes have largely been replaced by mix CDs and shared MP3 playlists, which are more durable, can hold more songs, and require minutes (rather than hours) to prepare.

While the process of recording a mix onto an audio cassette from LPs or compact discs is technically straightforward, many music fans who create more than one mixtape are eventually compelled to confront some of the practical and aesthetic challenges involved in the format. From a practical standpoint, such issues as avoiding an excessive amount of blank tape at the end of one side (which requires careful planning of the length of each side of the mix) and reducing the audible click between songs (which requires mastery of the pause button on the cassette recorder) have been identified as part of the shared experience of mixtape aficionados. From an aesthetic point of view, many enthusiasts believe that because a tape player, unlike a CD player, lacks the ability to skip from song to song, the mixtape needs to be considered in its entirety. This requires the mixtape creator to consider the transitions between songs, the effects caused by juxtaposing a soft song with a loud song, and the overall 'narrative arc' of the entire tape. Many enthusiasts also devote substantial attention to the packaging of a mix tape intended as a gift, sometimes going so far as to create cover art and customized liner notes.

From an artistic point of view, many creators of mix tapes seem to regard them as a form of emotional self-expression, although whether a mix tape retains the same web of emotional associations when passed from its creator to the recipient is, at best, debatable. Some argue that in selecting, juxtaposing, or even editing originally unrelated tracks of pop music into a new work of art, the author of a mix tape moves from passive listener to archivist, editor, and finally active participant in the process of musical creation. On a very basic level, the creation of a mix tape can be seen as an expression of the individual compiler's taste in music, often put forward for the implicit approval of the tape's recipient."

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"'Cassette culture' refers to the practices associated with amateur production and distribution of home-recorded music via audio cassettes. Several factors led to it's popularity: the development of the format and widespread availability of tape decks allowed participants to produce copies of their music (or other's music via 'tape trading') rather cheaply. Additionally, multi-track equipment that used cassettes and electronic instruments such as drum machines all became more affordable, portable, and of fairly high quality. These factors finally made recording at home and duplication of those recordings a low cost alternative to professional studios and distribution services. 

In the United Kingdom cassette culture was at its peak in what is known as the 'post-punk' period, 1978–1984. UK cassette culture (as in the U.S.) was mainly championed by punk groups, industrial musicians, and marginal artists in general. Individuals would often freely copy their releases in exchange for a blank tape and return postage, but there also existed many small 'tape labels'. There was great diversity amongst those labels, some were entirely bedroom based, utilizing new home copying technologies, whilst others were more organized, functioning in a similar way to established music companies. Some also did vinyl releases, or later developed into vinyl labels.

In the US, cassette culture activity extended through the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Although larger operations made use of commercial copying services, anybody who had access to a tape-to-tape cassette player could release a tape and publicize it in the network of fanzines and newsletters that served niche markets. Therefore cassette culture was an ideal and very democratic method for making available music that was never likely to have mainstream appeal. Many found in cassette culture sounds that were more imaginative, challenging, and groundbreaking than output released on major and even mid-level record labels.

The packaging of cassette releases, whilst sometimes amateurish, was also an aspect of the format in which a high degree of creativity and originality could be found. For the most part, packaging relied on traditional plastic shells with a photocopied insert (though some labels, no matter how small the operation, made more of an effort). In the late 1990s cassette culture began to decline with the advent of new technologies and methods of distribution such as CDRs and MP3s, though in recent years it has seen a small yet highly dedicated revival."

Tellus #13: Power Electronics Tape 1986


Maybe Mental, Merzbow, Amor Fati, If Bwana, Rhys Chatham, Psyclones, Blackhouse,
Joseph Nechvatal, Master/Slave Relationship, Architects Office, Controlled Bleeding,
Mojo, Coup De Grace, Le Syndicat, Mitch Corber, and F/i...


"Launched from the Lower East Side as a subscription-only bimonthly publication, the Tellus cassette series took full advantage of that then popular format to document and promote the New York scene's experimental composers of the time. It published 'audio art', exploring musical spheres as diverse
as post-industrial, no wave, neo-dada, noise, avant rock, radio plays, tango, electroacoustic,
musique concrete, and sound collage."

Negative Gain - "Back From The Dead" LP 1986 (FLAC)


"Negative Gain was founded in Toronto by Peter Warner, who wrote all of the lyrics and provided rehearsal space in his basement. Filling out the lineup was Grant C. Slavin on guitar, Steve Currie on bass, and Andrew Mosely on drums. All members were in their mid-teens at the time. Their influences included Minor Threat, Millions Of Dead Cops, Misfits, and Dead Kennedys, as well as local bands Direct Action and Sudden Impact. They got their first break in 1983, opening for Jodie Fosters Army at the legendary punk club The Turning Point (Pete and Grant went skateboarding with JFA after the show). The evening was documented in a subsequent issue of Thrasher. Other memorable gigs included opening for the Circle Jerks, Gang Green, Descendents, and 7 Seconds. The group went from listening to their favorite bands' records on a daily basis to hanging out with them backstage (and stealing their beer riders)! More help came when promoter Jill Heath sent their demo tape, 1985's Attack of the Killer Bears, to Pushead for review in MRR. Pushead liked the tape so much that he offered to release an LP. They recorded the album in five hours on a Saturday afternoon in Oakville, Ontario., with Brian Taylor of Youth Youth Youth as producer. Sadly, Pete Warner committed suicide not too long after the LP was completed, and never lived to see its release. The remaining members continued on as a three-piece for two more years before splitting up in the late 1980s." --Edited From Grant C. Slavin
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