E.D.S. (Spa) Dejemos Volar; tape (1989)

Side A – Side B

‘E.D.S.’ (Ejercito De Salvación; “Salvation Army“) recorded the tracks for this tape (Dejemos Volar = “Let’s Fly”) in November ’89 in a studio in their hometown Zaragoza: ‘Panzas’ Rafael Ortín Melero (bass), ‘Caspas’ José Luis De Castro Vela (drums), ‘Bubu’ Francisco Javier Gil Morales (guitar; replaced founding-member Ricardo Reparaz) & ‘Jero’ Jerónimo Estanislao Muñoz (vocals). The first 3 also formed the core of ‘Drogas Guais’ (with vocalists ‘Santi’ Santiago Ric Bazán & ‘Alicates’ Wladimiro Gil Martinez), who did the last track on the tape. As far as I know this was the only release by ‘E.D.S.’; but ‘Drogas Guais’ did a 7″ in 1991…

My review in Tilt! #6: >>Strong straightforward HC. We’ve heard this style a lot before but it’s still good. Something to witness live I think…<<

Brob

‘E.D.S.’ started at the end of 1987 as a four-piece with ‘Salas’ (vocals), ‘Caspas’ (drums), ‘Panzas’ (bass) and ‘Lupas’ (guitar). Very much influenced by US hardcore, we played our first gig with ‘IV Reich’, a legendary punk band from Zaragoza. Later we became a quintet with ‘Bubu’ as lead-guitarist and ‘Jero’ as the new singer. We played more gigs with bands such as ‘Toxic Reasons’, ‘K.G.B.’, ‘Parasitos’ and ‘Radikal Hardcore’, and recorded this demo-tape. As a spin-off of ‘E.D.S.’, ‘Drogas Guays’ (“cool drugs”) emerged – a rapcore band with two vocalists in the line of ‘Beastie Boys’, with funny political lyrics. Almost all the people in ‘E.D.S.’ were very much into the hardcore/punk and political scene at that time; doing the fanzine Desconcierto, radio-programs, squatting, getting connected with the rest of the international scene, trading stuff, helping bands to play in the city or just offering our rehearsal-place as a place to sleep. ‘E.D.S.’ quit after 3 years. Some members formed ‘Trip Inside’, a band that was more influenced by the DC post-hardcore sound. They recorded an album for B-Core Discs. Later, ‘E.D.S.’ drummer played in ‘El  Corazón Del Sapo’, a quite popular political hardcore band.

Great times for the worlwide hardcore and punk scene. Mind you: the demo doesn’t represent the real sound of the band as, at that time, we/they had no previous experience with recording. For me it sounds weak.

Ricardo Reparaz

Some live pics courtesy of Ricardo Reparaz:

GOD (Hol) radio-session (1987)

Tracks:

1. See Smoke Smell Fire / 2. Settling Down / 3. Teste Marce / 4. Swine / 5. So Be It / 6. Lust

This 3-piece from Amsterdam had Thomas ‘Tos’ Nieuwenhuizen on guitar/vocals, Michael Cavanagh (ex ‘Agent Orange’) on bass/vocals & Daan van der Elsken doing drums/vocals. They did 2 albums for Konkurrel (Sweet Life, ’88 & The Shametree, ’89) and in 1991 the Headrush LP was released on Destiny. Their music was called “post-punk that gradually evolved into jazz-punk or art-metalcore”. I also read somewhere: “You can hear many things in ‘GOD’, as the name implies. A bit of Rollins, ‘Suckspeed’ and ‘Prong’ on Sweet Life, ‘Thin Lizzy’ or Jimi Hendrix on the others, and why not, a drop of ‘Victims Family’ everywhere.”…

Brob

Tos had played in ‘Jezus And The Gospelfuckers’ and ‘Funeral Oration’ and nowadays does guest appearances in ‘Sunn O)))’. He’s also know for being a wizard when it comes to fixing (old) amps and many touring bands rent equipment from him when they tour Europe. The music ‘GOD’ did was maybe the prelude to what people later called grunge. Their LPs didn’t even come close to their live performance: a massive powerhouse, even though it was just the 3 of them. Luckily they also did this (VPRO) radio-session, which I ripped…  In my opinion, the best recordings they ever did.

Tos joined the ‘Gospelfuckers’ on guitar in the later line-up and turned out to be one of the best Dutch guitar-players. ‘Funeral Oration’ did their best LP (Communion) when he joined. His manic guitarplaying is all over the place, hectic as shit but yet melodic. Simply unmatched.

Jos Houtveen

These VPRO recordings were on December 9^th 1987. The radio-show was named Backline and presented by GJ Waldorff & Lotje IJzermans. The sound here’s a bit rough; my copy sounds a bit cleaner but I’ve no means to digitalise it. All songs are on the first album, except Swine (that was never released anywhere else).

‘Tos’ Nieuwenhuizen

‘GOD’ interview for TV Enemy Vol. I video-fanzine (1992)

photos (by ‘Joes’) from the Dutch zine Trashold #2 (1988):

Brainstorm (Yug) Only The Dead See The End Of War; tape (1989)

Side A – Side B

This was ‘Brainstorm’s first demo with a studio-side and a (live) garage-side… The tape was sent to me by the band’s guitarist/vocalist Gvido Obradović. I’ve no idea who did bass & drums… Gvido also did a tape-label called No Profit Tapes, ran the first distro in his country (Intermusic) & the label No Time To Be Wasted recs, and did a zine called Twenty 4 Hours.

People wrote about their music as grinding/thrashy HC, “reminding of ‘Doom’, ‘Deviated Instinct’, Heresy’, etc.”. In Tilt! #5 I wrote: >>Superfast and powerful HC with breaks and growling voices. Political lyrics.<< Some of the tracks also appeared on their 7″ The Nightmare Continues… (1990) and on the Milošević Is Dead LP.

The recordings were later re-issued on vinyl by the Italian label F.O.A.D. recs (ran by Marco Garripoli – who did a zine with the same name).