Various Artists – ‘Silver Patron Saint – The Songs Of Jesse Malin’ (Sweet Relief)

Various Artists – ‘Silver Patron Saint – The Songs Of Jesse Malin’ (Sweet Relief)

Wow, simply wow. Talk about PMA when I first got wind that a Various Artist record was coming out to help Jesse with his medical bills I thought that was so cool and being something he’d be fully behind if it was one of his peers but hell, I wasn’t expecting a triple album with quite so many platinum artists rallying around and all adding their own twist on Jesse’s songs in such a majestic way.

Often a contributor to other people’s causes, Malin being the humble human he is must be blown away by all the musicians who have rallied around him, from Springsteen, Billie Joe Armstrong, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello, The Hold Steady, Tommy Stinson, Alison Mosshart (with the late Wayne Kramer), Tom Morello, Counting Crows, Dinosaur Jr., The Wallflowers, Spoon, Susanna Hoffs, Frank Turner, Rancid and many more. The full album tracklisting is a proper trawl through his career from the glorious D Generation days right up to the very recent past.

Anyone whos seen Jesse live knows how funny and compelling his performances are be it so or with a band he is a commanding spirit who also knows how to introduce a song with a special story and a superstar clang here and there. Rolling Stone magazine editor David Fricke, said it best when he wrote that “Jesse Malin knows about scars, from his youth, observation and more. They all carry tales, and he’s not done telling them. ‘Silver Patron Saints’ is the gang back at the bar, coming to the stage to toast the composer and his story so far.”

I don’t want to overstate how good this is and to go through every song would be a war and peace review so I’ll focus on first impressions and the stand-out cuts. Sure Springsteen owning ‘She Don’t Know Me Now’ is a stunning Americana interpretation and showing how damn good a writer Jesse is both lyrically and musically. I also love ‘Oh Sheena’ covered by Counting Crows frontman Adam. Also, Green Day frontman Billie Joe really cranks it up on ‘Black Haired Girl’ and it sounds so good it could easily have been a stand-out track on ‘American Idiot’ or 21st Century albums.

Hearing a ragged ‘Brooklyn’ absolutely owned by Dinosaur Jr is stunning. Owning a song but retaining its beating heart is no easy task and changing it without going too far from its roots is a fine art but Mascis does it superbly. The supergroup that dusts the cobwebs off ‘Turn Up The Mains’ Wayne Kramer, Tom Morello, Steve Van Zant Mike Watt and Joey C join Alison Mosshart for a blistering rip through the song. Lucinda Williams has been a long-standing collaborator with Malin and here shes joined by Elvis Costello for ‘Room 13’. Frank Turner plucks out a tune before Spoons takes a stroll through ‘The Way We Used To Roll’.

As the first half of this release takes a breather with the beautiful Rocky O’Rourden interpretation of ‘Shane’ you take in the diversity and consistently strong songwriting Malin has dished up for decades. Sure he’s surrounded himself with some awesome musicians from the D Gen days right to the here and now but his lyrics are also noticeably excellent, I always hear a line and smile at just how good it was and there are plenty on offer here and some I’d probably forgotten but hearing these talented artists shine a new light is stunning.

Butch Fuckin Walker twists ‘Modern World’ and owns it before Susanna Hoffs freshens up ‘High Lonesome’ beautiful song. One of my favourite recent Malin songs is ‘Greener Pastures’ which is owned by Graham PArker who turns it into a simpler harmonica and acoustic folk song. Alejandro Escovedo takes ‘Meet Me At The End Of the World’ somewhere I wasn’t expecting. The Hold Steady followed by Tommy Stinson dish up their usual high-quality interpretations on ‘Death Star’ and ‘Riding On The Subway’ respectively and to hear Ian Hunter own ‘Dead On’ and take it on a late-night sleazy walk is fantastic. The fact is there isn’t one single letdown on the whole twenty-seven tracks on offer and that is nothing short of miraculous. There are so many more songs I’d have loved to hear versions of which leaves the question of when can we hear Volume Two and who will be on that? It has to happen, doesn’t it? Willie Nile rocks it up before Rancid digs deep into the archive for a thrilling ‘No Way Out’, Man D Gen were a band and a half and this version is a belter.

Before this record finishes the old guard of the Bowery turn it up and open up a circle pit with the mighty Agnostic Front knock-out ‘God Is Dead’ before the album is disintegrated by Murphy’s Law own ‘Frankie’ and a more diverse line up you won’t find anywhere do justice to the living legend that is Jesse Malin, I’m sure he will be humbled by this record (or three) and shows that good guys do get helped when they fall down and having so many icons of music rally round is a beautiful thing. Buy this record, and you will marvel at its content regardless of whether you are a Malin vet or new to his music Jesse Malins’s music is in safe hands and a full recovery is all we want and if buying a copy of this helps that reality then I’ve don’t my small bit now what about you? PMA

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Ludichrist – ‘Immaculate Deception’ (Combat Core) & Tommy Christ Interview

Ludichrist – ‘Immaculate Deception’ (Combat Core) & Tommy Christ Interview

1986… It was a seminal year for metal with Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets, and Peace Sells all being released. I was 12 and diving deep into metal music. One night at Hastings Records in Coronado Mall in Albuquerque, I bought this album thinking it was someone else. I was extremely lucky as I likely would have completely missed this album at the time. I don’t remember seeing any reviews or hearing about the album at the time.

I did not have any hardcore or crossover albums at the time so the songs were unlike anything else in my collection. The first thing you hear is the fire truck siren introducing “fire at the firehouse.” A spoken word metal type verse leads into a brilliant hardcore part that serves as the chorus sets forth a template that is used to great effect.

There is little time to catch one’s breath as the 19 songs go by quickly with songs addressing: racism, big business, Dr. Seuss, the environment, chemical warfare, religion, nuclear war…. and having a god in your soup. This album also had one of the first blends of metal and rap (if not the first) with the brilliant “green eggs and ham.” It is straight hardcore for a little over half of its two minutes before a monster riff transitions it to a cover of “rock box” by Run DMC. I hate to imagine how many times I have played this song in the past almost 35 years.

One of the things that always set this record apart is the jazz influence. This permeates the guitar work throughout the album and even has “legal murder” start as a mellow lounge song before transitioning into warp speed.

Upon my first few listens when it was new, it was a very tough challenge to decipher a lot of the lyrics, but it became easier and easier to make out the words over the years as I never had a lyric sheet. It was not until the late 90’s or so that I was able to upgrade from cassette to CD. It is a miracle that the cassette never snapped in half. When it was reissued on CD, it came with a lyric sheet, and I was quite pleased with myself that I had so many correct.

Ludichrist’s follow up record “powertrip” was a good album, but it has never matched the debut to me. The songs had grown a little longer and the metal influence was a little more profound. Line-up changes had also occurred which continued with key members going onto start the band Scatterbrain. They had some success on college radio with a really solid album that included a totally different version of “down with the ship” from “Immaculate Deception.” Sadly, Scatterbrain emulated Ludichrist in having the debut overshadow the follow-up album and EP.

With this record, Ludichrist created an album that rests within my Top 10 or 15 of all time. It remains a go to album for me today. Part of me still remembers playing Castlevania on the NES while this provided the soundtrack.

This review is dedicated to Richard Campbell who left this world way too soon and who enjoyed this album as much as me.

Author: Gerald Stansbury

 

Q and A with Tommy Christ – A Look Back at ‘Immaculate Deception’

First off, thank you Tommy for taking some time to talk about Ludichrist. I was 12 years old when ‘Immaculate Deception’ was released, and it was like nothing else in my record collection at the time. I had got into Megadeth’s ‘Peace Sells but who’s Buying’ around the same time, but you guys were something else completely. Obviously, the hardcore scene in New York at the time was a hotbed of great bands with the likes of Agnostic Front and the Crumbsuckers just two of the great ones at the time. How did Ludichrist figure into the scene in the early days of the band?

We started out playing a couple of “Pay to Play” type shows, selling tickets to our friends, but then starting playing real gigs, opening for others at CBGB. I think we were considered hardcore, but as we changed and added guitar players, the sound started to get tinged with some metal.

How did the crowds at your shows compare to the other bands in the area?

Once we had our demo out, we got good crowds at CBGBs and eventually headlined there. We were definitely not the most popular NYHC band in the mid 80s. Cromags, Agnostic Front, and Murphy’s Law were. Our best local crowds were at Sundance on Long Island, which is where we were from. Well, technically Chuck was from Queens.

You had recorded some demos. Did you try to actively shop those to labels? Were you guys approached by multiple record labels?

We sold our demos in record stores, (in a plastic baggie with stickers!) I don’t remember if we shopped it or what. Probably record company people that would come to CBGBs got our demo, but I really don’t remember. Combat was the biggest label we dealt with. Probably some smaller ones too. I don’t remember. Profile (Cromags label) being too excited with us. Chris Williams or Williamson was never really a fan.

Combat Core seems to be something a little more unique in the 80’s as you were seemingly on a subsidiary of an independent label. What was the relationship with them like?

I liked the people we worked with a lot. Howie Abrams, Steve Martin, and the art department guy whose name escapes me, but I can picture him, and some of the PR people were great.

Before I get to one of my favorite moments in music ever, tell me a little bit about the songwriting approach at this time within the band.

Almost all of the stuff started out as either a chord progression, or a few chord progressions. I would write the lyrics (except for a few of the very early Ludichrist songs that Al wrote the lyrics for), and then I would sit down with whatever guitar player wrote the music and we’d put together an arrangement. Then we’d get together as a band and play with it a little more.

I had recently shared some YouTube links to songs from ‘Immaculate Deception,’ and they were met with a lot of appreciation. A comment that followed was if the band’s lyrics were a joke as she had looked at the song titles. I pointed out that you guys were addressing things like racism and taking care of the Earth in your lyrics as well as a variety of other topics. How did people generally react at the time as it is probably fair to say that people might not catch some of the lyrics on a cursory listen?

I guess people liked the lyrics. My favorites were the stories, because that’s what I liked to write. On the first album, “Young, White, and Well Behaved” comes to mind as a fun story. I also liked adding some humor to even the serious topics. I guess “Most People are Dicks” was, and is, the most popular line I ever wrote.

Now, being that ‘Immaculate Deception’ is one of my favorite albums of all time, I wanted to drill down a little bit into some of the songs on the album. I am not going to go in order though so let’s start with ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ which I think is one of the first metal rap songs in history with you incorporating ‘Rock Box’ by Run D.M.C. for the second half of the song. The part where that riff comes in is pure magic for me. How did you guys decide to do that, and what did the people around you guys think?

I don’t remember the details. Chuck was listening to a lot of rap then, and working at Rick Rubin’s Chung King Recording Studio, where a lot of rap was happening. Glen wrote the music to the first part of the song. I don’t know exactly how we added the Run DMC part. My guess is Chuck and Glken did it, but I honestly don’t remember.

The same year that Slayer was being met with resistance around getting ‘Reign in Blood’ pressed because of ‘Angel of Death,’ you were also singing a song addressing ‘Mengele.’ Did you receive any similar pushback for tackling what a monster he was?

No. At least not that I can remember. Slayer lyrics are quite a bit different than mine.

One of the beliefs the band had that you would come back to at times is that ‘Most People are Dicks.’ Was there one thing or several things that helped create those lyrics at the time as I know we have all felt like that at times?

I wish I could remember! It’s just a fun line…

I mentioned addressing racism earlier. The first song ‘Fire at the Firehouse’ does an awesome job lyrically of pointing out the stupidity of racism. What were you seeing around you at the time that made you want to address it?

Again, I really don’t remember. It’s like 35 years ago!

Since it was the 80’s, nuclear war was addressed as well as the effects of big business, but you also did incorporate a lot of humor in places too. I am thinking of your line in ‘God is Everywhere’ where you complain there is a god in your soup. This was an approach and balance you would take with you through the next record and then Scatterbrain. Digressing with Scatterbrain for a moment, more people probably know Scatterbrain’s version of ‘Down with the Ship’ than this version. What made you want to revisit it, especially with the way you incorporated all of the other musical nods on the Scatterbrain version?

By the time we were reworking that song, the band had changed a lot. Every player was ridiculously talented, and for Guy, Paul and Mike, theri backgrounds were not hardcore, and not even metal, so other influences creeped in. We probably just started screwing around at practice, and it stuck.

Returning back to Ludichrist, I often looked for another band that I felt really shared similar musical ground to you but really never found one as your individuality really shined. The jazz feel of ‘Legal Murder’ could stand perfectly side by side with the rage of ‘Murder Bloody Murder.’ Your vocal style would change to fit what each part of a song would need. Who were some of your vocalists you enjoyed then and now, and how did they influence your style, if they did at all?

Some of my favorite hardcore bands early on were Dead Kennedys and Discharge. I always liked singers that kind of talked too, like Lou Reed and Lux Interior. So my style kind of became a cross between talking and screaming.

The album also had several guests on ‘You Can’t Have Fun’ with the likes of Roger Miret, Eddie Sutton, John Connelly, and Chris Notaro providing backing vocals. Was that planned or something spontaneous that happened during the recording?

We were friends and in some cases labelmates. We planned it and invited them to do it.

I mentioned ‘Peace Sells’ earlier which was also produced by Randy Burns. What was it like working with him in the studio?

I don’t remember much about recording the album with him. I do remember mixing it in Los Angeles after the recording. Some of the guys thought there was too much reverb.

One last question regarding ‘Immaculate Deception,’ I think it is fair to say that the album cover represents the band perfectly with Edward Repka providing one of his iconic works here. Did the band give him a general idea of what you wanted, or did he create it without any kind of influence?

He came up with it himself, as far as I can remember.

While the focus here has been ‘Immaculate Deception,’ Ludichrist put out an excellent follow up album in ‘Powertrip.’ There were several changes internally in the band. I am one of those annoying people who always preferred the debut as it hit me at the right time and definitely carries some nostalgia with it too. ‘Powertrip’ has been one of those records though that I enjoy more and more every year. Musically, the band continued to expand with excellent musicianship, and some signs to me that made the transition to Scatterbrain a logical next step. What are your thoughts on ‘Powertrip’ today?

Some songs are really great, some not so much. The speed and changes and technical playing of those guys is amazing. For example “Johnnypump” and “Powertrip.” I don’t like some of the lyrics I wrote. Some generic stuff, and some dumb metal shit ,like “Johnnypump” and “Damage Done.” I like “Zad” a lot, musically and lyrically, and with “This Party Sucks,” you can hear what would become Scatterbrain.

Finally, I don’t think I am alone in saying that I have really missed not having more musical contributions from you over the years. Ludichrist plays the odd show every now and a great while in New York. Do we have any chance of seeing new music from you in some form in the future?

Maybe. I still write, but have been doing stuff besides lyrics. I doubt we’d ever do another album, but I could see us writing a new song or two to play live.

One of the last things I want to mention is that for all of the craziness that Facebook can create at times. I had the fortune of meeting another diehard Ludichrist fan named Richard Campbell many years ago. We would often talk about the band. This interview is dedicated in his memory.

Thanks Gerald. Rock on Richard…

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

Agnostic Front – Get Loud! (Nuclear Blast Records)

Agnostic Front – Get Loud! (Nuclear Blast Records)

With a movie documenting their incredible career and then the release of this their sixteenth Album (if you include the live records) even when they’ve not hit the giddy heights of the early vibrant releases  Agnostic Front have always stayed true to themselves and their scene and always been honest and to be fair have always had absolute stone-cold bangers on their records.

I’ll be honest I’m a massive fan of Mirets records with the disasters they were amazing and Stigma did a couple of great solo albums but as Agnostic Front was where they always excelled. The Godfathers of hardcore are back and with ‘Get Loud!’ they’ve really come out swinging, an in-yer-face record that draws on everything the band have done previously and poured it all into this.

Fourteen songs of Agnostic Front doing what Agnostic Front does,  In your face Hardcore – New York style. They were never going to stray from the blueprint that’s served the band so well through the ’80s and ’90s and beyond.

A name that is synonymous with a scene Agnostic Front are getting the props far and wide, and the way they unravel ‘Get Loud!’ reflects this and soundtracks a scene that’s as good and strong as it ever was.  Forget the opener for a minute seeing as it was the lead track released because I think its the weakest on offer as ‘Anti Social’ and then the title track fuckin’ nail it as far as the crossover punk-metal hybrid goes and is vibrant and exciting. “Its time to get loud!” is about right, its not four to the floor heads down rage like a bastard its measured like a boxer whos taken stock for a couple of rounds and isn’t coming out swinging but taking a measured menacing approach but hold on to your pants because ‘Conquer And Divide’ is coming out swinging.  Old School, fast as fuck, windmilling, gang vocals and a pulverising riff-a-rama that takes you to the edge then the pulverising breakdown.  Agnostic Front flying the middle finger raging on the system and corrupt officialdom – stand in line folks Miret and Stigma are on it!

I’m loving ‘I Remember’ its Miret telling stories of brotherhood and plenty of AF chest-bumping and high fives and Stigma on the replies – A Monster track right there worth the cost of the album and some.  If I ever found myself in a situation on a subway I’d want to hear some AF in my headphones and I’d like to think what would Roger and Vinny do?

The classic AF sound is here in an abundance they don’t sound like they’re trying too hard to please people other than themselves through the entire album, and the songwriting is exceptional, That heaviness is there for sure but it isn’t overwhelming and the attitude comes across louder and more in your face.  I’m enjoying this album more than the last few albums over maybe a decade or more and I know its early on but even the first play this was screaming at me to turn it up and I found myself hitting repeat which I didn’t do on the last two albums for sure. As the album unfolds songs like ‘Urban Decay’ are on fire and their sub-two minutes is vibrant and marry that with some exceptional depths like those bass runs underlying the brutality of the song is excellent. But hold on because ‘Snitches Get Stitches’ is breathtaking  I’m going to gather the kids around so we can Slamdance and have a circle pit in the front room #safespace and I can be the king of the pit without getting rolled.

Putting this up against the bands back catalogue says that this is a band still on the crest of a wave and riding high.  Agnostic Front has made a record in 2019 that is everything as good as any record in their entire catalogue – bold words you might say.  We might live in very different times from when they blew up in a scene on the lower east side in many ways things are better but globally it might be shittier times more dangerous times and the world needs bands like Agnostic Front pushing the boundaries asking questions and showing that brotherhood means something and is worth fighting for, there are thirty-five years poured into this record – thirty-five years of experiences – thirty-five years of owning a scene and often carrying it on their shoulders like a giant amongst other giants.  Agnostic Front Get Loud! is a triumph and any band young (or old) looking to put out a hardcore album needs to hear this because this is how it’s done properly. Never accuse them of giving less than 100% simply because they don’t just Buy It!

 

Buy ‘Get Loud’ Here

Buy ‘The Godfathers Of Hardcore’ Here

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Author: Dom Daley