The reissues just keep on piling up. I have enough in my trunk to fill about three more of these feature articles. I think I got down a nice variety here, from the brilliant punk of the Subhumans to the experimental metal of Today is the Day and the cult classics of NWOBHM Blind Fury. Read on and spread the word!

Germany’s War Hammer are a rarity because they have blatantly built a career out of copying the music of Hellhammer.  As they attest, if a songs comes out sounding too personal or too un-Hellhammer-like, they discard it. On their 2000 third album The Doom Messiah (Grind Syndicate, 2000) the band gets back to basics so to speak. Actually, their music couldn’t be any more basic than it already is. It’s like the riffs are being played by a mongoloid, or a caveman just got handed a Les Paul, a distortion pedal and some crappy ass amp.  And that’s just fine. War Hammer is almost about regression, and in parts it seems like the band is taking that idea to heart, regressing in the quality of the songs too. The Doom Messiah includes the band’s Apocalypse Unleashed single from 2001. The sound is a little worse there, but who cares? It's War Hammer we are talking about.

Carnivore’s second full-length Retaliation (Roadrunner, 1987) has one of the nastiest intros I have ever heard. It may be the morning but it made me queasy. Get past that and we have one of the funniest hardcore albums ever. Peter Steele’s in your face humor is scribbled all over the lyrics with jabs and mocks about politics, race (‘don’t call me your brother, cause I ain’t your fucking brother, we fell from different cunts, and your skin’s an ugly color’), and more politics and war and then religion (‘Jesus Hitler, Adolf Christ, is this the second coming or the fourth reich?’) and ignorant nationalism (“USA for USA”). Stylistically, Carnivore had moved onto crossover territory. This digipack from the mighty people from Metal Mind also includes three demo tracks; the first of which “World Wars III & IV” is very melodic and rock and roll for Carnivore standards. Also the guitar is buried in the mix which gives their sound a strange almost post punkish edge.  

Excess & Overdrive (Roadrunner, 1993) is Treponem Pal’s third album. For those who don’t know this French industrial combo, they are highly regarded mostly in European circles. Treponem Pal’s music is pretty organic for industrial standards; the drums, though beat standard structures and timing and the mixture of heavy guitars give this album a pretty 80’s or early 90’s feel. If you are of those that upon hearing the tag ‘industrial’ think of Ministry, well, then think of Treponem Pal as Ministry played in less revolutions. The vocals have the same type of cold throaty feel, the guitars are heavy but very repetitive and the general tempo of the album is pretty damn regimental.   There is also a Swans-like feel to some of the tunes, especially in the excellent title track, where the tempo is odd and the sounds get dragged.  

Holy twat! I’ve never seen a sexy half reptile/half woman with a vagina in her forehead but leave it to classic Polish thrashers Destroyers to create such abomination.  I wonder if she gets a headache after getting banged. Destroyers’ debut Night of the Lusty Queen (Barricade, 1989) is one old school treat featuring some of the strangest vocals I’ve ever heard. Do you remember the first time you heard Mayhem’s Dead singing and though ‘what the hell is that’? You’d have to experience vocalist Marek to believe his approach. The guy is all over the place going from a menacing tone to a hilarious falsetto worthy of all our laughs and respect. The music pf Destroyers is your typical 80’s thrash with plenty of nice riff acrobatics, and tasty solos. In typical old school fashion there are vocal helps from the backing band. All of course, is sung in Polish which adds to their colorful delivery. This Metal Mind reissue includes nine bonus tracks.

Southern records is also rolling out some reissues from the legendary English punk band Subhumans. The digipack for their third full-length Worlds Apart (Bluurg, 1985) comes with a poster and an insert with all the lyrics.  These reissues actually feature a remastered sound along with improved artwork. Worlds Apart is the last album this band recorded before their 1986 break up and its workman-like attitude and dub reggae influences bring to mind the by then already spoiled sound of The Clash. The excellent “Fade Away” is a full blown reggae punk tune, while “Someone is Dying” sounds like an experimental ska tune gone right and “Get to Work On Time” smells of rockabilly.  The big merit here is that the Subhumans crafted quite the colorful album. They weren’t about straight up punk tracks and with Worlds Apart they managed to pull in all those worldly influences together quite flawlessly.

Subhumans EP-LP is a 1986 compilation of four EP’s released through the band’s own Bluurg Records in 1985. First up is the Demolition EP, which was recorded in 1981 and released in December of the same year. The contrast in sound compared to Worlds Apart is obvious. These EP’s feature a more straight ahead punk sound. Their creative and personal songwriting is obvious starting on 1982’s Reason for Existence, as evidenced on the fade out in “Big City” and the doomladen break on the title track for said EP. Later that same year came the furious Religious Wars EP, where the band accelerates the tempo and unleashes some lethal social tirades.  Last but not least is 1983’s Evolution where the OI and rock and roll influences is crystal clear from the get-go. Communal choruses add to the spirit.  What a band!

SuperNova Records is the label of Steve Austin, the leader of left field extremists Today is the Day. Amongst the label’s last physical releases are reissues of the early works from his band.  Their self titled third album (AmpRep, 1996) is pretty much ugly music from outer space. The acerbic, crude and raw vocals of Austin give the album an otherworldly feel and in tracks like “Ripped Off”, with its delicate female vocals, there seems to be a sci fi aura intoxicating the music. The rest of the songs are just as strange; angular riffs create radical noise, obsessive repetition, belligerent screams intent on delivering sweet melodies, clear strings, and tailed at the end, a pornographic lullaby. Without a doubt a potent record. Surprisingly listenable.

Supernova is Today is the Day’s 1993 debut (Amphetamine Reptile) and introduces the band’s awkward sound. Their left field leanings are still in evidence though, the voice of Austin is very corrosive and the guitar sounds rotted and electric as feedback. The songs are more amorphous with the band experimenting endlessly in closer “Self Portrait”, going  down in the twisted and cluttered doom of “Silver Tongue”, gone acid swimming in the instrumental psychedelia of “Blind Man at Mystic Lake” and offering some quirky hammering metal in “Adult World”. That Austin and his two cohorts at the time, Brad Elrod on drums, and Mike Herrell on bass guitar, where able to craft an album that is this crude and yet it has such range and reach is a testament to Austin’s skewed vision.

When I was a kid I was a huge fan of Satan’s Court in the Act. I always wondered why they never got any recognition. Blind Fury was actually formed in 1983, by two members of Angel Witch. After they recorded a demo, vocalist Lou Taylor deserted to become the vocalist of Satan. There, he turned the band into Blind Fury.  Out of Reach (Roadrunner, 1985) is the band’s only full-length and the fine masters of Metal Mind are reissuing it in a nice digipack that includes an insert with all the lyrics and a detailed family tree outlining the member transgressions into other cult bands like Pariah, Avenger, Atomkraft, Skyclad, Sabbat and D.A.M.  Blind Fury belong to the NWOBHM; therefore the musicianship is flawless, especially the guitars of Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins who play great building melodies together and do it even better when one provides the rhythm and the other solos with gusto.  Lou Taylor is a capable vocalist, if there is valid criticism to his high notes is that they don’t distinguish themselves from the majority of the heavy metal vocalists of the time. Out of Reach is as good of a record as anything the NWOBHM gave us. Unfortunately, Blind Fury did not  gain the recognition it deserved mostly because the band didn’t last long enough and because Roadrunner was at the time just a tiny indie.