Métal Urbain - Chef d'œuvre

second part :

Métal Urbain is the only french 77' punk band to get some fame outside of France. Actually, there was not a lot of bands in France, and less to be able to issue a LP (2 ? 3 ?). Here is the double-CD reissue, it contains everything they made at the time : the full LP with demos and outtakes.
Don't bother : Metal Urbain invented electro-punk and noise-rock before anyone else. Their music was intense, paranoiac, schizophrenic and angry as hell. The singer doesn't sing, he spits. They disbanded soon before making an industrial —or let's say experimental— outfit, Dr Mix & The Remix. Then they disappeared during 20 years to resurface with this reissue. Since then they have made another great album in 2007 "J'irai chier dans ton vomi", that you can translate by "I will shit in your puke" (can you imagine they are 50 ;)... on which Jello Biafra himself went for a sing.
An absolute must-have !

Spermbirds - Eating Glass

Last album of their "trilogy", before the singer went away, issued in 1990. Then the music changed, I admit I wasn't much interested, because the way of singing of Lee Hollis was so special. I think they made 2 more studio albums during the nineties. As far as I know they are back nowadays... well like everybody from 1977 to 2000, aren't they ?

Spermbirds - Common Thread

Common Thread was issued in 1989. Another great album.

Spermbirds - Nothing Is Easy

The Spermbirds were a german band playing a typical 90's hardcore : intelligent, non-conformist, evolutive, somewhere between the Circle Jerks and Alice Donut, in a word really good !
This is their second album issued in 1987, but the first being known.

Minutemen - 3-Way Tie (For Last)

The last studio album of the band. It contains wonderful melodies. Next to this, they should have become huge probably, but one night, while D. Boon's girlfriend was driving their van, and while he was sleeping behind, caught with flu, she fell asleep and they had a car crash. D. Boon died in a second. Mike Watt and George Hurley wanted to stop music, but they were convinced to go on, and founded fIREHOSE.

Minutemen - Post-Mersh, vol. 2

This compilation contained the EPs "Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat" (1983) and Project Mersh (1985). Maybe the best CD to get.

King of the Hill :

Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

44 songs in one album ! This album is probably their master piece along with 3-Way Tie (For Last). It has something magic in it.

Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires ?

Their first real "long-play" album (1983), if you can call it like that ! Still full of hardcore influences, but other styles are coming in each song.

Minutemen - The Punchline

The first album of the Minutemen (1981). Intelligent experimental emotional hardcore, if you can call it like that. the longest song lasts only 1 minute and twenty seconds !

Minutemen - Paranoid Time

The Minutement began their career along with Black Flag. They played a really powerful hardcore, fueled with funk, jazz, pop melodies, always experimenting, always uncompromising. D. Boon, Mike Watt and Goerge Hurley had a deep political mind and all their songs were very engaged. Everyone loved them, every bands, but their signature on SST was not enough for them to get fame, and you can understand that because their music was hard to get into.
This is their first EP, back in 1980. 7 songs, only 5 minutes...

Minor Threat - Complete Discography

Shall I introduce you to Minor Threat ? The first band of Ian McKaye, later founder of the famous Fugazi band and of the Dischord label. Straight-edge hardcore punk (that meant "let's be punk, but sane punks, not into drugs, drinking, and... fucking, because if we want to fight the system, we have to be in good health with all our senses opened" —without fucking they should have been priests, but well, the idea was good—).
This is a compilation of all they have done, with songs always less than 2 minutes. A classical one.

Rancho Diablo - Plan B EP

Plan B was the 3 songs single issued with the album. I remember I went mad receiving this for my fanzine. This was really huge, insane... begin with this if you dont know this band.

Rancho Diablo - Chicken World

This english band, signed on Mute, camed around 1995. They played a kind of angry electro-punk, with an experimental touch (what could you expect, on Mute), and it was one of the best album I've heard that particular year, when Suede and Oasis ruled the world. Nirvana was dead and all the noise bands seems etrangely away, and Rancho Diablo was really refreshing. But such a shame, they should have come today, where this kind of music should have got more echoes.
I think they did one album after that. A great forgotten band, with such bad graphic tastes all you can do is love them.

Oh well I add a video, it's a good way of introducing bands :

Lubricated Goat - The Great Old Ones

A Compilation issued some years ago. Best sound of all the Lubricated Goat I've posted, but not my favourite.

Lubricated Goat - Unskinned Goat

Could'nt find anything about this record, except that it is a compilation of old stuff, demos, etc. I even was not able to find the cover (this above is a single). But you really need this one, I think it's better than the two other records here (and all I ever got from this band).

Lubricated Goat - Schadenfreude

Lubricated Goat was a band born in the eighties in Australia. They played a mix of punk, with an exciting touch of death-rock, you also can call their music proto-grunge, well it makes me think to bands like God Bullies, it's dark, angry and cynical with a lot of humour, I really like that.

Helmet - Betty

And the third one, in 1994. Maybe less angry and more experimental, just like the CD case, which was coloured in orange. Helmet issued another album in 1997, than splitted, before coming back in 2004.

Helmet - Meantime

Second album, issued in 1992. As good as the first one.

Helmet - Strap It On

Somewhere between noise and metal, Helmet was one of the band you couldn't ignore at the beginning of the nineties. I remember a great concert with Ministry, everyone was sweating a lot and it was dangerous to be in front of the scene. I would not be able to slam like that anymore, today, I'm afraid ;)
This is their first album, issued in 1990... guess where ? Amphetamine Reptile, of course.