Various - Holland Sux

OK, might as well stay in the Netherlands for this next post... this is a compilation I recently picked up while visiting friends in Portland, OR.  Holland Sux features a veritable "who's who" of 90's Dutch hardcore.  Each band has at least two tracks and several styles of HC are on display - from melodic punk of Funeral Oration to the thrashcore of Seein' Red.  This entire record rocks and the lesser known bands contribute strong tracks that stand shoulder to shoulder with the heavyweights.  My favorites include Catweazle, Human Alert, Seein' Red (of course) and a lesser known group - Absconded and their super melodic take on hardcore.  A great mix of bands and tunes.

Various - Holland Sux

Insult

Here's more blistering thrashcore... this time from Holland.  Insult played ultra fast hardcore as only the Dutch seem to be able to.  This is their discography CD - 43 tracks of thrash including Infest, Spazz and Cryptic Slaughter covers, plus a few live tracks.  Released on Six Weeks Records so you know what to expect.

Insult - Emobashing Fastcore Pimps CD

Point of Few

Here are two Eps from Dutch thrashers Point of Few, who appeared in the last post - the Four Corners compilation.  The dudes played ultra-fast, youth crew influenced, political hardcore... they released a slew of 7"ers and split Eps, in addition to contributing songs to quite a few compilations.  Presented for you here are the "Beneath the Surface" and "Silence" Eps.... great accompaniments to their tracks from the "Four Corners" record.

Point of Few - "Beneath the Surface" and "Silence" Eps      

Various - Four Corners Lp

Building on the theme of my recent posts, here is a great early 2000s compilation Lp of posi thrash and fastcore bands... "Four Corners" came out on 625 Records in the U.S. and featured 5 bands - Life's Halt from the U.S., Dead End (Sweden), Razlog Za (Croatia), German straight edgers Highscore (from the last post) and Holland's Point of Few.  Each band contributes at least 3 songs, giving each about a split 7"s worth of material...  The entire is record is killer, with Highscore and Life's Halt doing what they do best.  Dead End were short lived and didn't release much else, but their tracks are some of the best and showed a group with lots of promise.  Razlog Za are perhaps the weakest link - mostly due to the recording quality of their songs - but their contributions are by no means detrimental.  Point of Few comes out the winner, though, in my mind.  Their short, heavy and ultra-fast tracks bring to mind compatriots like Lärm and Seein' Red or perhaps a more muscular version of U.K. thrashers Active Minds.  Overall, a great collection of fast, pissed off youth crew influenced hardcore.

Various - Four Corners Lp   

Kriegstanz

And now for something completely different... Here are a couple of records from early 2000s Dutch hardcore band Kriegstanz.  Made up of members of Seein' Red and Betercore, Kriegstanz played a heavier, more muscular, but still blazing fast, version of the Dutch thrash associated with those groups.  There is a definite His Hero is Gone or Tragedy vibe to the music, but the amped up speed endears them to me a bit more than most of the Tragedy-worship bands of the time.  I was fortunate enough to see them on their U.S. tour with Seein' Red in 2005 and pick up these records...  Included in this file are their self-titled 10" and their also self-titled 7" Ep.

Kriegstanz - 10" and 7"   

Cry of Terror - s/t Ep

 OK, sorry for the silence... It was Spring Break at school so I took some time to chill and refresh for the remainder of the semester and my lack of activity spread to the blog.  Anyways, here is a great 7" from a short lived Dutch thrash band, Cry of Terror.  I first heard these guys on the In Crust We Trust comp.  Their two tracks sounded like crust meets crossover and made me think of early Concrete Sox.  This record has those two tracks from In Crust We Trust, along with two more.  Cry of Terror had 2 Lps as well.... you can get the first one here.  The Lps were more thrash metal influenced but still good.  I don't think they topped the songs from that comp. and this Ep, however. 

Cry of Terror - s/t Ep