ΑΤΟΜΙΚΗ ΣΧΑΣΗ "Ακροβάτες Στο Κενό" tape, 2018

I first learnt about the label Extreme Earslaughter in 2017 when I read about a coming discography of Industrial Suicide (or Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία as they are known in the non-posing world), that classic Greek band virtually unknown outside of Greece and of the crust elite. Of course, excitement grew exponentially at the Terminal Sound Nuisance headquarter. A very limited run of a tape including rough late 80's recordings from a gruff metallic crust band with a grim name is the equivalent of a holy miracle in these quarters, if not the proof of the existence of God. Further investigations indicated that the man behind this operation was none other than Vagelis from the excellent Παροξυσμός, a band I was already following closely. It basically all made sense. 

Readers of the blog are well aware that Greek crust is definitely my thing and I have written about this localised take on the old-school crust genre - whose unique defining specificities, I would argue, make it an actual subgenre - on numerous occasions and the band Ατομική Σχάση (aka Atomikí Schási meaning Nuclear Fission) gloriously ticks all the boxes. If I were a judge at the Crust Olympics I would give them a 10 for sure. I knew this 90's Athens band before this reissue through the enigmatic Same Old Madness blog (it's been inactive since 2017, sadly) that was bent on archiving all the Greek punk bands that ever existed with absolutely no information about any of the bands beside the names and dates. Needless to say I spent hours exploring that rich but ultimately rather inhospitable place, discovering absolute gems in the process, among which Ατομική Σχάση. That Extreme Earslaughter in 2018 decided to resurrect this 1995 demo, Ακροβάτες Στο Κενό, is a selfless gift to the world. And that's what I love about this label and about this tape: it's what they represent. This humble tape, with only 100 copies made, is a labour of love, passion, dedication, of the immortal DIY spirit in the face of the commodification and the artificialisation of our culture. This tape is the opposite of the online crust pants contests and of bands constantly promoting themselves, it is for the genuine lovers of crust, and I would argue that this applies to Greek crust as a whole itself, it is how you identify the trve kvlt. If I was the bouncer of an exclusive crust nightclub I would ask people who want to get in what their favourite Greek crust band is and if they are unable to answer then it's back to the cheap neocrust club down the road. 

Fortunately I don't have the gatekeeping mentality (and I am far too much of a wimp to be a bouncer, even at a kids party) and Terminal Sound Nuisance is all about sharing and loving so here is your opportunity to show off and feel superior with a delicious if little-known metal crust band. Details about Ατομική Σχάση are scarce to say the least. The band formed in 1993 in Athens, only self-released this demo in 1995, the bass player Haris also played in the first lineup of Ρήγμα (I reviewed the excellent first Lp here) and that's about it I'm afraid. Stylistically, the music is pure old-school crust with that characteristic Greek sound and songwriting. It is very epic with a dark melancholy atmosphere enhanced by keyboards (Greek crusties just love their synth don't they?) very much in line with what Χαοτικό Τέλος. The band blends heavy mid-paced metallic crust like the aforementioned forefathers as well as Axegrinder, Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία or Misery (clearly) but they also tread into faster and thrashier territories reminiscent of Ναυτία, Anti-System or even Hiatus. Apocalyptic synth stenchcrust at its very best. I particularly love the sense of narration and storytelling in this recording with the band taking a genuine breath with an instrumental acoustic song in the middle. You can tell that they really cared about the atmosphere they wanted to create and about the tools they could create it with. The sound is pretty raw compared to today's bands and I guess that with a more polished production this would have easily deserved to be released on Lp at the time but it what it is. I don't mind it at all, if anything it conveys an even more organic vibe.

Fantastic stuff, great label, love music, support the scene and all that.  

THE CRUST

Japanese CRUST (compilations) Against the Millennium (part 3): "混沌難聴大虐殺 (Konton Damaging Ear Massacre)" Lp, 2005

Osaka. Third most populated city in Japan, legendary punk spot, historical epicenter of the crasher hardcore style and home to that massive plastic red crab. I only stayed there for a couple of days in 2018 for the All Crusties Insane Noise Victim festival because of its smashing lineup, along with rather cheap plane tickets, that prompted me to go there on my own, like a nerd armed with determination and resolve, with the desire to spend far more than reasonable in notoriously busy record stores. Before I traveled to Japan, I had been told Osaka was supposed to be a place where people were rather outgoing and a bit rough as well, something of a raucous, boisterous city as opposed to the more conservative Kyoto. It was described to me as the Marseille of Japan and you'd know what it means if you have been to the South of France. And of course, I had very good time, got absolutely plastered at the Konton bar (a very apt name for the place), got lost on my way back to the hotel, found a fellow punk randomly who kindly took me there (to my great embarrassment I realized the next day that he happened to be Framtid's drummer...) and obviously forgot to take off my boots when I came in the building. Proper French class.

But let's get back to more interesting matters. Beside the great music that everyone knows, I often associate Osaka punk with elite crust pants, vast knowledge of punk and with words, very specific neological phrases created to describe the sound of a band. These are combinations of familiar word commonly used in the punk world, that are, strictly speaking devoid of literal sense, but very rich in evocations and pregnant with meaning if you "speak punk". Know what I mean? This linguistic practice cannot be restricted to Osaka, of course, it's a national phenomenon and most crust or d-beat bands do it - they could be legally bound to for all I know. A quick glance at the Inferno Punx photo book published in 2003 and edited by influential Osaka punks, Jackie (Framtid and Crust War), Mitsuru (Gloom) and Jhonio (Gloom, Defector and others) illustrates what I mean: Deconstruction's sound becomes "Ultra collapsing noise crust", Collapse Society are referred to as "Ultra-scandi Tokyo crusties", Frigöra as "Scandi-magnum crusties torpedo" (I like that one) or Condemned as "Primitive blast crust core". There are many other telling examples of such imaginative portrayals in reviews, fanzines, on record's inserts and of course on bands' logos themselves, like the iconic Gloom logo for instance and Contrast Attitude's "Dis noise attack survivor", Effigy's "Grinding metal massacre", Death Dust Extractor's philosophical "Destroy death energy" and plenty more. In fact, this phrasing was adopted by a lot of bands outside of Japan, notably Physique and their "Disbones crasher" or Fragment's "Total noise fuckers". It can arguably get very redundant, if not lazy at times, but I like how cryptic it really is as these nonsensical phrases are coded for punks. It's fun, folkloric and validating I suppose. In my tiny mind it is very associated with the culture of that place.

And all that for some noisy punk bands. 混沌難聴大虐殺 (Konton Damaging Ear Massacre) (the word "konton" can be translated as "chaos" and it's also the name of a tiny punk bar where I lost my usual sense of moderation, so that gives you an idea) was released in 2005 on none other than Crust War Records. A pretty close knit affaire indeed as Jackie also provided some art, Framtid Takayama the text and Defector Toyo and Jhonio did the design. I have said it many times but I will reiterate because it is my blog: I love town-based compilations. They provide a fair but biased (there's always a curator) view of a specific scene at a specific time. The theme of the Lp is crystal clear: noisy hardcore punk for noisy hardcore punks. All the songs were recorded in 2004 so I imagine it had been planned well in advance to make time for the bands. The artwork reeks of classic crust punk imagery so the more timid listeners might be willing to avoid this one but it'd be a mistake because the Lp is more diverse than it literally looks like and claims to be. 

The opening band is Framtid and I don't really need to introduce them at this point. In the second part of the 00's, they just sounded unstoppable as they maximised the traditional gruff scandicore formula, making it sound more aggressive than ever thanks to triumphant guitar arrangements and riffs, this manic ultra energetic Osaka crasher drumming style and intense vocals. Like Gloom covering Svart Parad and Asocial. Excruciatingly good. Framtid are a tough act to follow and Poikkeus have been picked to take this tricky spot. Poikkeus is the kind of bands that I am familiar with but never really cared for at the time. Japanese punks never show restraint when they get involved and like Frigöra sang in Swedish because they loved Mob 47, Isterismo in Italian because they took "Chaos non musica" very seriously, Desperdicio in Spanish because they overplayed Destruccion and Voco Protesta in Esperanto because they romantically believe in the power of language as a tool to unite people, Poikkeus went for Finnish because they revered Propaganda Records. It does take a lot of courage and dedication to try to sing in Finnish, I'll give the band that, and their distorted take on the traditional Finnish hardcore sound of Kaaos, Melakka or early Bastards must be commended. I like the amount of energy they put in, especially with the first song, but it is sometimes too punk-rock oriented for my tastes and the songs are a little long. I prefer my Finnish hardcore fast and furious with generous pints of snot but this is well-executed enough.

I had absolutely never heard of Kruw before playing this Lp and a damaging ear massacre they are certainly not. The band was active for most of the 00's and played tuneful, old-school hardcore, but the first number sounds almost like a late 70's punk band (like Anarchy maybe with the lyrics in Japanese). The second one is much faster, with still a clear guitar sound which makes quite a contrast with the rest of the lineup. High-energy hardcore with a slightly crazy punk vibe. I wouldn't listen to Kruw all night but I welcome these fresh songs in this context. Adixion are next, a band with an interesting history. They had been active since the early 90's and used to call themselves Addiction back when they were a very different animal. Originally, up until the mid-00's, Addiction played excellent UK82 influenced punk-rock with singalongs and great spirit and you could argue that they were one of the best bands - not to mention one of the earliest - working on that sound around in the 90's (let's remember it was the heyday of bands like Tom & the Bootboys, Discocks, The Kickers and the whole Pogo 77 Records scene). Their switch to Adixion was also a musical switch as they started playing a more experimental and dissonant, not as regulated you could say, kind of hardcore music. I am a man of recipes and while I can really enjoy Addiction, Adixion are not my cuppa. This said I appreciate the fact that they were included on this compilation and this is exactly what makes such endeavours interesting and even challenging.

The other side of the Lp is, undeniably, much more in line with the Osaka crust orthodoxy. And we start off strong with Zoe and their groovy blend of Amebix and Zygote. Zoe was very much Taki's (from Gloom and Defector amongst others) baby and a grand opportunity to rename himself "lightning baron" which makes him sound like a crust superhero I suppose. I have always loved Zoe and almost twenty years after their demise I realize how genuinely original they really were and I cannot think of a band really working with the same Amebix-as-language predicate. As for the songs you have two rerecorded numbers that originally appeared on The Last Axe Beat (that I covered extensively here), the very Zygotish "New world" and the supremely Amebixian "Zygospore". It's good stuff. Did I mention they loved Amebix?

The listener is then brutally attacked by two songs of Ferocious X, then still a relatively new Osaka bands immersed in a relatively old Osaka tradition: playing emphatically furious käng hardcore with a lot of distortion. If Poikkeus decided to sing in Finnish because they revered Riistetyt, Ferocious X went for the Swedish language because they dreamt of Disarm and Mob 47. Or - much - closer to home of Frigöra, the Japanese hardcore band that pioneered the notion that hardcore could very much be used as a second language in the 90's, that substantially singing in Swedish (or in any other languages tied to a legendary hardcore scene) was a way for you to sound closer to the source material. I think that it does make sense conceptually but it also does make for some odd syntax moments and I cannot wait for a Japanese bands to sing in French because they like Les Béruriers Noirs (they won't dress as clowns hopefully). To get back to Ferocious X, I only got into the band rather recently (by which I mean 10 years ago) and was unaware of them in the 00's. They are one of the oldest - if not the oldest - bands doing the blownout crasher käng thing still in activity, have produced some solid records throughout the years and even though they may not be as popular as other Osaka, these two songs are absolute hardcore tornadoes of anger, distortion and just plain dementia in the pure local crust tradition. The drumming, courtesy of Takayama from Framtid, is insane and the vocalist (formerly doing similar noises in Reduction) sounds like a howling rabid seal lion. If you know, you know as the kids say.

The second Suomi band of the record comes next under the guise of Laukaus and I actually like them better than their brother in arms Poikkeus. Laukaus were snottier, with a touch of UK82, maybe just punkier, with a clearer guitar sound and overall less effects. They are very reminiscent of Bastards and Kaaos (just listen to that bass sound) with a spontaneous sense of fun and a "two fingers in the air" attitude. This is hardcore to pick up your nose to while drinking cider outside of the venue if you know what I mean. The song "Poisiukaa" even made me want to pogo (briefly and just metaphorically but still more than usual). The band's three Ep's (on Distort Label Records, Putrid Filth Conspiracy and Pogo 77) are also very strong and let's just hope that someone will have the grand idea to release a discography because Laukaus could rightly be considered as one of the very best Finnish hardcore of their generation. Not a mean achievement when you're from Japan.

Finally Konton Damaging Ear Massacre ends on a very crusty note with two songs of Defector, the band vastly known as being "post-Gloom". There are elements reminiscent of Gloom of course but you could always tell that Defector craved to create something a little new and different, not to the extent of going free jazz as they still very much want to destroy your ears and the little sanity you have left. There is precisely an atmosphere of insanity, chaos, lunacy in their music as the band plays with song structures and paces, maybe not unlike Confuse's latest period but with still Osaka crasher crust tools. It might be a bit too chaotic and loony for some but I have always found the band very endearing and an interesting sequel to a legendary band whose legacy permeates the compilation textually and paratextually. 

Is this a must-have, a classic, a compulsory record to own, a genre-defining moment? Not really. There are some brilliant moments indeed - the whole side B actually - but other songs leave me a little cold. However the album must appreciated for what it is, a snapshot of a portion of the Osaka scene at a given point in time so that it reflects what was happening there and then. Beside the bands included are quite diverse for a Crust War Records production and the album must be given some praises for it. 

As much as the unreasonable part of me would have loved to be punished by crasher hardcore crust bands playing the exact same thing for 30 minutes, the reasonable one also appreciates some variety and the discovery of bands I did not know. That's what's called wisdom apparently.

Konton Konton Konton

    

 

  

Japanese CRUST (compilations) Against the Millennium (part 1): "Crust Night" cd's (2001-2004)

Summer is here, the heat is here, shirtless obnoxious twats are back too like wasps bent on ruining your lunch (they extra points if they are on mopeds) and the shitty job is (tragically) still here as well. Isn't this the perfect, ideal time to take a look at some Japanese crust compilations from the 00's in order to get inspired and pick the right shirts for festivals, the ones that will have the rest of the audience stare at you in awe and envy? You have to enjoy these little moments in life even though the said precious shirt might eventually and unexpectedly "disappear" from your tent only to "reappear" on another bloke's back the next day (true story that, I still mourn for that missing Electro Hippies shirt I never had the guts to reclaim because, to be fair, the other guy was definitely harder than me). But anyway, I have been toying with the idea of just chatting relaxedly about some nice Japanese records, nothing I haven't said before I guess but then isn't life structured around repetitions aimed at reaffirming and confirming what our inner selves are all about? It's a bit like connecting with your inner crust pants instead of your inner child. Crusties not hippies or something.

This will be a short four-part enterprise but the opening one is pretty massive it includes three records that were part of a series of compilations called Crust Night. There were four volumes of these compilations but we will only deal with the first three because I was never able to find the last one, Crust Nights 2005. A small discrepancy that will not impact your reading and listening pleasure I'm sure. Beside, a lot of bands appeared on the four volumes so that there were not that many newcomers on the last installment anyway. The Crust Night's were released on Tribal War Asia, the Tokyo-based label run by Masaki from the band Power of Idea - which accounted for the band's inclusion on the four compilations despite not being actually crust - and by Shige from Crocodileskink and engineer at the infamous Noise Room studio. The label released records from Japanese bands (some excellent ones like AGE's Four Wings and the very underrated Social Crime and Answer Crying) but also Japanese versions of European or American bands (like Warcollapse or Döm Dar). At the end of its run, Tribal War Asia started to work with hardcore bands from Malaysia or Singapore and I wish it had been able to go on and develop further in that direction but it was not to be.

Can the Crust Night's be considered as classic Japanese crust compilations that all soap-dodging foul-breathed Disclose worshippers should own? Well, in my opinion, the answer is mixed. First and foremost, to be blunt, the curation was quite uneven, if not patchy and even the sound level between songs is not always on par. While you could find some absolute gems that should be appreciated by punks loyal to the crust doxa and while it certainly provides a relevant snapshot of parts of the Japanese crust scenes, there were also very rough and rather forgettable songs. However, this might have to do with the philosophy behind the compilations too. The label ambitiously strove to release one volume a year so that I think he may have had to work with the songs that were sent to him, whether it was a scorcher or a band dicking around in the practice room. Not unlike a 00's Japanese crust version of the Bullshit Detector? I wish some sort of introduction to the compilations were included in order to describe what the Crust Night was all about beside being a record that your mum hates. All this is therefore very much left to interpretations. Second, well, they are cd compilations and outside of Japan this format has been ignored by most and is deemed to be about as uncool as your dad's pager that he's been keeping since 1998. Fortunately for me and you, it means that you can get these for cheap. This is not to say that the Crust Night's had nothing going for them. They were a great way to discover largely obscure bands that I would have never come across otherwise, especially in the pre-youtube years (also referred to as "prehistory" by people under 25). I got to become familiar with classic bands like Reality Crisis, Abraham Cross or Contrast Attitude through these. If you were to trim the compilations a little and select the 20 best songs, you would undeniable have a classic 00's crust compilation. 

The first volume must have been one of the first - if not the first - Japanese punk compilations I owned because back in the early 00's, Tribal War Asia records were pretty easy to find and, as I mentioned, rather inexpensive. It is unsurprising that I hold it quite dearly even if it was objectively not a game changer but at the time I was just enthralled to be able to discover all these exotic unknown noisy bands. I loved, and still do, how they looked. A simple foldout Ep sleeve with all the bands providing lyrics and some artwork, pretty old-school and simple. A very striking thing on these compilations is the absence of any Osaka band (apart from Argue Damnation). There could be contextual rivalries (what with it being a Tokyo label) that I am unaware of but, from a synchronic perspective, one can only be surprised and muse at the astonishing absence of the classic and now legendary Osaka crasher sound especially since a lot of top bands were very much active during the first half of the 00's (Framtid, Defector, Zoe or Ferocious X to name a few) and that the genre is indeed represented here. Again, this is left to interpretations and as I said there are probably reasons that I am clueless about. But let's have it, shall we? 

Crust Night 2001

The first volume starts strong with a raw aggressive classic crasher crust song (like early Gloom or something) from the oft overlooked Peaceful Collapse, from Sendai up North, a band that would have deserved a proper vinyl record but that never happened for some reason. Next are Reality Crisis, this time a well-known act from Nagoya that would start changing their sound a bit later in the 00's (the synth introduction to "Times goes by so fast" kinda already gives it away I guess) but we're very much still in the cavemen crust territory of Doom, Hiatus or Abraham Cross here, with a slight more polished production. This song also appeared on their split with Avskum. Two numbers of Power of Idea follow, two covers actually, Battle of Disarm and Social Crime respectively. Not bad in itself, they are energetic and angry enough, but I don't really see the point here. Speaking of Battle of Disarm, they offer a raw live version of "Control shit" (that was unreleased at the time I believe) that is pretty much what you would expect from this iconic 90's crust band although not their best take.

Then it's the mighty AGE from Niigata follow with a live version (again) of "Invisible future". The song is brilliant, total SDS-styled dark and rocking metallic crust and you can feel the energy and power. I am usually not a huge fan of live recordings but this is really good. Käng lovers Crocodile Skink are next with two cover songs, a cover of a classic No Security hit and of Within Range, an obscure Norwegian hardcore band from the late 80's that I have never heard of and this one feels unnecessary. Then, it's a song from the classic 80's metallic hardcore punk band Asbestos that would also appear on the 2002 Ep with a riff that reminds me of Brazilian thrashing hardcore. Otherwise a traditionally executed Japanese hardcore song with an epic solo and gruff vocals that could have been recorded 15 years before. 

A band called Change from Hiroshima follows and if they were a wrestler they would be in the mid-card. Quite a good fast crusty hardcore number with yelled vocals, distortion and dynamic singalongs. It lacks a bit in intensity but it does the job here (they did a split double Ep with Agree to Differ that is of the same caliber). Next are the enigmatic A.A.N.A (or An Apology Nature Rise) from Tokyo I'm guessing, a band I wish I knew more about because, for all the relative snotty sloppiness of the song, I am always up for some old-school anarchopunk with female vocals and "Forgot things" is exactly that, somewhere between DIRT and Avaricious. The band released a split tape with Diskonto but I have sadly never heard it. Then, Screen Out play an epic 6 minute song. Like Change, something of a mid table band with a future member of Unarm that released a satisfyingly brutal crustcore Ep in 2000. The song starts with a slow emo-sounding introduction before exploding into traditional Japanese hardcore with intensity, energy and gang style chorus. Enjoyable but I prefer the raw crust aggression of the Ep (funny how the sound, the intention and the production can affect the result in this case). The only Osaka band on the cd comes after with their brand of fast thrashing hardcore punk with a message. I quite like Argue Damnation but this recording is rough and I don't really see the point of its inclusion.

Crossover long-timers Beyond Description are the next in line, a band with a long resume and a certain craftsmanship when it comes to fast hardcore thrash, but this is a a pretty average live recording bound to please die hard fans but that's about it. Gotcha follow and I'm not sure what to think. This is rough and ready and sounds like the noisier dissonant Japanese version of peacepunk bands like Media Children. Primitive, heartfelt and pretty good. Information is scarce but welcome. Next up are the mighty Abraham Cross and this was my first introduction to the band and... it is a fucking ambient song, not crust whatsoever. I realized the band evolved into more experimental electronic territories by the end of their run but, being clueless at the time, I did not understand what they were doing on a compilation called Crust Night. Finally, the compilation ends with Indistinct Unrest from Chiba and a very harsh noize crust song that would make Death Dust Extractor blush. This is barely listenable I suppose but if you crave poorly recorded and barely discernible cavemen crust (I know I sometimes do), this could be your thing.

Crust Night 2002: the War Begins For them

The second installment is probably the best of the four in terms of overall cohesion and quality but a lot of the bands already appeared on the first one so that it feels like an extension of a select crust club with strict membership rather than a new volume and the difference between the two remains light. The compilation does not starts that well with an untitled rehearsal track from Battle of Disarm. It's alright but its very inclusion is difficult to understand from an outsider's point of view. The listener is then offered a short and sharp song from Voĉo Protesta from Tokyo. You've got to love their dynamic brand of distorted crasher raw punk in Esperanto. Direct and to the point. You've got Asbestos again with a fast thrashing hardcore with fast paced Japanese lyrics and a lot of energy. I like this one. As I do the next contestant, Peaceful Collapse, gracing this compilation with a solid crasher crust song that ticks all the boxes. 

Abraham Cross finally unleash their full power with a Doom-loving cavecrust song and amazing grizzli-like vocals. Are they the best to have ever done it this way? Probably. This one won me over of course. Next up are Power of Idea with a pretty typical fast and direct hardcore song with some blast beats and Answer Crying from Aichi, a highlight of the compilation, with high-energy crasher crust that is well worthy of your attention if you are into Deceiving Society or Contrast Attitude. This is followed by It's You, a Tokyo band playing hardcore punk bordering on screamo at times and it sounds a little stale after Answer Crying. Not my thing but this had an ex member of Macrofarge apparently. 

We keep going with more classic noize crust devastation with Contrast Attitude from Mie City back when the band was still in its infancy and not yet a point of reference as this song is their first official appearance on a record. Needless to say they were already brilliant and in full control. We'll be talking more about Contrast Attitude later on. Next up are Воля (meaning "will" in Russian) from Kyoto and they play straight-forward female-fronted hardcore punk with lyrics in Japanese. Not bad at all. D-beat fanatics Final Blood Bath follow with a raw song of Disaster-meets-Discharge's State Violence State Control in a basement. "Glow (!) strong" can't be said to be the band's strongest number but there aren't many strict d-beat bands on the Crust Nights so I'm digging it, brother. 

The mighty Acrostix, from Mie, are next with "Filth chain", a deliciously raw Amebix-style anthem taken from the band's first demo, well before they morphed into a more traditional Japanese hardcore band. By far my favourite period of Acrostix back when they were crustier than a bum's sock. They are followed by the always excellent Revölt from Kumagaya doing a fairly similar style, although doomier. The band was also in its early years and had a sound that was not unlike Effigy's but they were going for the Axegrinder-snogging-Misery vibe. The production here is a bit saturated but this is top shelf stenchcore. The band C.P.S (standing for Cunt Penis Sucker apparently) seal the deal with, I'm guessing, something of a joke song recorded in their rehearsal space, I'm guessing again. Pretty useless here to be honest.

Crust Night 2003-2004: Destroy All War Bastards and We Know It

This third volume is supposed to be for 2003 and 2004 so I suppose Tribal War Asia did not have enough material for the 2003 installment and had to wait a bit. Like for the other two you will have some faces that are growing very familiar by now. And yes Battle of Disarm and their gruff crust open the compilation with a pretty solid song this time. They are followed by Border Line from Fukushima and Miyagi, a very obscure band with members of Sacrifice and Corbata doing quite well what you are entitled to expect from Japanese crasher crust bands. The now traditional Peaceful Collapse song comes next and it is an absolute Gloom-loving chaos scorcher while Power of Idea sneak in discretely as usual just after with some grinding hardcore. 

The grindcore banner keeps flying high in the crust skies with, first, two songs from Parkinson from Malaysia that are old-school and primitive and punk-as-fuck and then two songs from Little Bastards from Kumagaya, a long-running band (since 1992!) with Revölt's drummer, who deliver disgusting thrashing grindcore with an Agathocles vibe. I don't often listen to grindcore but when I do I want the bands to sound like this. The supremely obscure Calamity follow with a wonderful Doom-loving cavecrust song not unlike Battle of Disarm or Abraham Cross but apart being from Tochigi I know fuck all about them. Too bad. The band Tohchika comes next and I have no idea who they are. They deliver pretty standard 90's crustcore with groovy bass lines probably done by Shige Tribal War Asia/ Crocodileskink/Noise Room especially since the name of the song is "Noise room". Could Tohchika be a couple of friends dicking around in the studio? 

The brilliantly named Arize are up next and they did not come nothing. Great noize crust reminiscent of SDS (Arize were also from Gifu actually), early Gloom and Final Noise Attack bands. It sounds pissed, it sounds raw, it sounds like quintessential Japanese crust and it is a shame the band never got to do a proper record. The quite unique Proletariart from Aichi follow with one song (and not two as the cover indicates) of raw käng hardcore sung in Japanese and I like it a lot, like Diskonto holidaying in Tokyo and learning the lingo. The band has changed a lot throughout the years and this was their first endeavour on record. After that Revölt come crashing with their anguished metal crust and a long and (very) heavy song to mosh to and Asbestos come say hi again with a pretty solid live song although I don't really see the point of having it included once again.  

The band Baptism from Fukushima are up next. Clearly a young band at the time (in fact they never recorded anything else) that kind of announces neocrust with its dual angry male/female vocals dark but somehow melodic crust punk (like a much simpler Muga or Antiproduct maybe). I actually like this very 00's sound. Beyond Description then contribute an impressively crushing hardcore thrash number before Destruction (future members of Unarm here) provide an intense slice of crusty anarchopunk with some more melodic and emo bits (gasp). The sound is raw but I like the layers and the story told here. Of course, it reeks of mid-00's neocrust but I can enjoy some and I think it is meaningful to have this kind of crust represented on the compilation and not just your usual wall of noise. Speaking of which Voco Protesta follow with a barely listenable overdistorted low-fi raw punk. I like the band but this is silly. The last song of this Crust Night is a looooong number by Sacrifice from Sendai (members of Border Line, Little Bastards, Peaceful Collapse, small is the world of crust) that is clearly a tribute to the nationally beloved Doom. Japanese cavecrust to the max.

As you can deduce, listening to the three compilations in one sitting is not recommended because many bands are included on two or even the three of them. The Crust Nights are not deprived of fillers but if you were to take the 20 best songs off these you would end up with an absolute classic compilation so that, while I understand that they are not hailed as canonical or mandatory, I think any self-respecting crust fans keen to refine and boast their knowledge should be familiar with them as some noticeable bands who would eventually become popular started with these like Acrostix, Voĉo Protesta or Contrast Attitude. And why not use reverse snobbery if the local record bully points out that these are uncool cd compilations? Just answer something along the lines of: "The format is still very much in use in Japan, I would have thought you were aware of that. I mean, don't you own the Disturd/Ulcer split?".  

CRUST NIGHT!!!