Stan Bush & Barrage

Stan Bush & Barrage - S/T

If anyone out there was all fired up after listening to those Blood Bros mixes and wants more rad and inspiring jams from the 80's then look no further. Before you go and put this on make sure you've got an extra pair of socks and pants handy because Stan Bush's music will rock your socks off while simultaneously making you cream your jeans (this dude can sing like Sammy Hagar and shred like Eddie Van Halen). Even the slow-jams are rad (and I hate slow-jams). This contains "The Touch" and "Dare" from the Transformers movie soundtrack (the 80's animated one) as well as three tracks from the Kickboxer soundtrack. Try and be angry while listening to this, it can't be done, I'm grinning from ear to ear just writing about how fucking cool this album is.

SNFU

SNFU - ...And No One Else Wanted To Play

SNFU - If You Swear, You'll Catch No Fish

SNFU - Better Than A Stick In The Eye

SNFU - The Last Of The Big Time Suspenders

SNFU - Something Green And Leafy This Way Comes

SNFU - The One Voted Most Likely To Succeed

SNFU - Fuck You Up Like A Bad Accident

SNFU - Let's Get It Right The First Time

SNFU - Ping Pong EP

SNFU - In The Meantime And In Between Time

SNFU (Society's No Fucking Use) are not just one of Canada's best punk bands, they are one of the best punk bands of all time. They have done time on BYO Records, Cargo Records, Epitaph Records and currently are releasing shit on their own label (Rake Records). For the bulk of their history the three constants have been lead singer Mr. Chi Pig (A total madman who is a punk rock legend) and the Belke brothers, Marc and Brent, whose guitar work ranks among the best of 1980's and 90's punk rock. All their albums totally slay and you'd be a fool to not grab at least one of these, seriously don't fuck around here (you really can't go wrong with any era of this band, I'm particularly fond of their 90's Epitaph output). Mr. Chi Pig is a total meth head now (a shell of the man he used to be) who is toothless and suffers from schizophrenia. He was homeless for a while, but seems to be doing better now and can still put on one hell of a show.

Blood Bros

Blood Bros - First Blood: Train! Fight! Win!

Blood Bros - Heaven2Hell: Train! Fight! Die?!

The Blood Bros are DJ/Producers Derek Allen (DJA) and Dirty South Joe (DSJ). Under this moniker they have compiled only the most radical and inspirational songs from 1980's action movies (and a couple real choice recent ditties). Here is their write up for first blood:

Put this mix on when you are training on the beach, hitting the bag, chopping wood, running up/down a mountain, or generally doing anything which requires/involves fierce determination and focus to win. BLOOD BROS!

I have never read a more appropriate description in my life. The sequel may even be better than the original (It contains One Track Lover from Garth Marenghi's Dark Place). Seriously this shit has got me all jacked-up. Volume one dropped in September, and the sequel was only just unleashed in January but the Bros are already promising a third edition this year, so keep your fingers crossed for that. Don't sleep on these mixtapes as they will totally own your life, big time.

Rad - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album

Rad - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album

The soundtrack to the ultimate 80's BMX movie. If these tunes don't get you all fired-up then you can get the fuck off my planet. John Farnham contributes two of the most radical tunes that you will likely ever hear in your life, like life shatteringly awesome songs (Break The Ice and Thunder In Your Heart). On top of that you get the song Real Life will always be known for, "Send Me An Angel". Crank this up and picture cliche 1980's montages playing out in your mind.

Aüfspring

Self Titled

Baghdad 7"

Ignition

Smash

Yeah I still dig these dudes' first couple of albums. Great west-coast punk that borrowed heavily from Agent Orange, Bad Religion and especially T.S.O.L. Sure their recent output can eat a bag of dicks, but this shit right here is un-fuck-withable. Try and pretend like you didn't drive Smash into the ground by incessantly playing it over and over again. This shit is just plain rad, its been scientifically proven (like in lab tests and shit). Mr. Brett dug them and you should too. Oh yeah and punk legend Thom Wilson produced all of these releases.

Cryptic Slaughter

Cryptic Slaughter - Convicted

Cryptic Slaughter - Money Talks

Cryptic Slaughter - Stream Of Consciousness

Cryptic Slaughter - Speak Your Peace

Politically charged, super-fast and pissed off hardcore/thrash from Santa Monica, CA. These kids (they were still in high school when Convicted was released) were one of the first bands signed to Death Records, and subsequently one of the most popular. They played super fast crossover that somehow managed to be both incredibly technical and a little bit sloppy at the same time. From 1986-88 they released three full length albums. The first three albums all have the same line-up and totally rule, but Speak Your Peace was recorded with a new line-up after the band broke in 1988 (guitarist Les Evans moved to Portland and resurrected the band) and as a result it is their least rad album. A couple of years ago Relapse Records reissued Convicted and Money Talks with some bonus tracks and those reissues are still available so go out and get them.

D.R.I. - Crossover

D.R.I. - Crossover

The perfect combination of hardcore and thrash (the genre term "crossover" was coined from the album's title). Some say Dealing With It! is the better album and on certain days I would agree with them, but this album really is fucking killer and one of their best. This was released on Death Records in 1987 and like most of their releases it is the shit.

Excel

Excel - Split Image

Excel - The Joke's On You

Great Venice Beach thrash on par with their friends in Suicidal Tendencies (Mike Muir signed them to his Suicidal Records imprint). Randy Burns (Suicidal Tendencies, Megadeth, Possessed) produced both of these albums and they both wail. Guitarist Adam Siegel went on to play in the Suicidal Tendencies funk side-project Infectious Grooves. Dave Mustaine claims that Metallica stole the riff for "Enter Sandman" from the song "Tapping Into The Emotional Void" off of The Joke's On You LP (there are similarities, but I don't think there is much merit in his claim). If you dig Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus and Sacred Reich then you'll love Excel.

Beyond Possession - ...Is Beyond Possession

Beyond Possession - ...Is Beyond Possession

Canadian thrash band from Calgary. These guys fucking slay big time. This album is so fucking fast and heavy it will scare the wrinkles off your balls. Jeff Hanneman and James Hetfield were both huge fans of these guys. This came out on the Metal Blade subsidiary Death Records in 1986 and it is definitely a classic. This thing is fucking hardcore, thrash and skate-rock all rolled into one. Crank this shit and go out and slay a bowl (like on a skateboard, not dropping a deuce). This is their only full length release (they recorded demos in 1989 but broke up shortly after).