I'm not going to lie folks, this week has absolutely sucked for me. Rather than bore all of you with the bullshit day to day misery, I'll just go over my albums of the week. Enjoy!
Bastard- "Wind of Pain" (1990)
Arguably the best and definitely one of my favorite Japanese hardcore records ever, "Wind of Pain" is eight tracks of blistering burning spirits hardcore. D-beats, bombastic Motorhead fistfucking UK82 Punk riffs, and shouted vocals make this record one of the most enjoyable listens in my collection. I first became acquainted with Bastard while at My Mind's Eye Records where Steve from legendary Clevo band 9 Shocks Terror informed me that I should check these guys out. Thanks to the kind folks at Feral Ward Records, this album was re-released and is fairly accessible in the states. Zigyaku's guitar playing on this album is superb and the leads always give me chills and give the songs the added touch of excitement and energy that makes this record so much better than other hardcore records released in the early 2000s. "Winds of Pain" succeeds where so many hardcore albums fail in that it captures the intensity of the live band in the same way that great hardcore classics do. Highly recommended.
Rob- Official Score of Maniac (2013)
I recently watched the 2012 remake of the horror classic Maniac starring Elijah Wood and, although the film was fantastic, the music made the film that much better. Throughout the film I kept mentioning how the classic synthesizer sound reminiscent of Giallo films by Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento kept grabbing my attention. I immediately searched the internet to find out who scored the film and could only find that it was done by a French composer known only as "Rob." A huge fan of 80s horror movie soundtracks, I love and appreciate the eerie and cold piano tones and the luminous synthesizers that create such a distant and haunting sound. Luckily for me, Rob's soundtrack for the film is being released by the UK's Death Waltz Records this year and I will certainly be picking this record up. Until then, I encourage all horror fans and fans of bands such as Zombi to check this soundtrack out.
- Joe