I told you before and I will tell you again: 1985 was a good year for extreme music. Not only did many bands polish up their sound by importing Metal or HC or other elements, or rather say, experiment with it – for a short moment, the whole HC thing seemed to be evolving in a wild, unpredicatable direction.
When NYC MAYHEM announced to release a 14 songs 7″ by early 1986, everybody got excited, cause the bands “Flesh of the Wench” Demo Tape from July 1985 was a bloody steamroller! Unfortunately, that 7″ never saw the light of day (though every once in a while you’ll hear somebody claiming to have have heard of somebody who has a brother of a girl who’s been married to the nephew of another guy who has heard of some guy who had a testpressing of it). With a bit of luck and the right connections, you’d be able to track down a cassette copy of the rough mix of this 7″, but the sound wasn’t too exciting.
I did make fun of the british Revoltation bootleg label and its notorious shortcomings in sound reproduction. I forgot that there are two exceptions: The enormous “Eat my Brain go insane” Compilation LP (with swedish demo-only material by ANTI-CIMEX, ASOCIAL etc. – and especially ASOCIAL’s “HC Holocaust” demo KILLS!!!). The other one is, you guessed it, NYC MAYHEM’s long lost “We stand” 7″EP! Although for whatever reason, the guys decided to leave off the instrumental intro track, this slab here RAGES!! Totally great fucking sound (I tried my best to cut out the usual Revoltation-background-hummings) and a serious kick in the stomach with hyper-hectic, lightning fast HC with some mosh parts that I can seriously relate to. NYC MAYHEM were around when the first generation had almost faded away and right before the Revelation boyscouts ruined the remainings of what was left of HC. By the way, this bootlegs label name, Revoltation, is of course a piss-take of Revelation.
Later that year 1986, NYC MAYHEM became STRAIGHT AHEAD and recorded the great demo tape you’ll find on the “End the Warzone” 7″comp. They had a 12″ about a year later but that one sucked. After it, lights went out for STRAIGHT AHEAD.
This bootleg is very hard to find. If I remind this correctly, there were only very few copies made.
1 – 2 – 3 – gooooooooo!
Corrupted.mp3
We stand.mp3
Fill out the Form.mp3
Epileptic Death.mp3
Nothing.mp3
Life of Riley.mp3
Your Mind.mp3
Insecure.mp3
Violent City.mp3
Want Authority.mp3
Not.mp3
Bodybags.mp3
P.B.M.mp3
44 Comments
You maniac!! Thanks for having the best blog!! More music I never heard of before but blows me out of my shoes.
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great
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I’ve got the red cover!
(traded it off of Thomas of all people!)
THE STRAIGHT AHEAD 12″ RULES ERICH!!!
What’s the word on that Gai tape ol’ china? –Sean
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oi sean! good to hear from you! but sorry, the 12″ is lame, I must insist on it.
GAI tape? Drop me a line, yeah?
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i think there were 4 or 500 copies of this. you’re so right about the 12″ bro!! thanks for the quality rip. sounds better than my vinyl!
)
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man this is really good doesnt NYC Mayhem have a demo called “Violence” and for some reason i cant download the “Nothing” track anyways this is really good and i want a copy of this but on tape…
-henry
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“nothing” is working now!
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okay thanks and sorry to bother you about it..
-henry
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thanks
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oh forgot, Abba? what the fuck??
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I think that year or 1985 was breaking point in hardcore brutality, but since punk was originated there were couple bands trying to play faster and harder than the rest:
1978 MIDDLE CLASS
1979 THE SS from Japan
1980 THE FIX
1981 NEOS from Canada
1982 YOUTH KORPS
1983 D.R.I.
1984 SIEGE
and we would continue…
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I have another two demotapes from ´85 by NYC MAYHEM in my collection, but forget about them coz the stuff there is absolute bullshit. A really poor attempt for playing metal or how could I describe it. But this session is more than cool.
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haha stinky, the 25 yrs old expert for hc and punk again. dude we’re kinda beyond those simplistic lists here. this blog illustrates like no other that the history of extreme music needs to be re-written.
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Well put, John. These lists and especially such a rudimentary one like stinky’s, are way too simplistic and they reflect a very naive understanding of history. To speak with Foucault: I don’t think there was a significant discontinuity in the history off extreme music since maybe the 1950s and in order to able to find out, one must choose a archaeological method rather than sticking to the old models of genealogy. They don’t explain much in this field of extreme rock music.
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Erich and John,
My intention is not write a comprehensive music history because I mean that Erich´s liner notes for each record he´s posted are brilliant. I just wanted bring to visitors´ attention couple old bands which were, according to roughness, speed or songs structure, extraordinary in era they played. I love them all.
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Re: “the history of extreme music needs to be re-written”
Goddamn true! Too right in fact, read stuff by lame journos and / or books on history of punk, history of hard core etc and you’ll know its all shit (99%).
The recent Crass bio for e.g. was complete shit (regardless of ones opinion on the band I should add), the two recent Uk punk books -Burning Britain + Day Country Died- are not so much historical as such, but after the event interviews with old band members – i.e. only a starting point or overview for scene (and as such the 2 books are great)…
yess….
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Cool, stinky – I just don’t think things are as simple as in your list nor that this is the methodically best viewpoint. maybe historians shouldn’t talk about music at all, haha.
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Slobo – The two Glasper books are fun reading and put a lot of things in perspective. In some cases the story doesn’t quit fit the magic of bands long gone (discharge for example), but sometimes they do (Amebix and Crass for example).
I was amazed by the ammount of bands in ‘Day the country died’ i’ve never heard of!
On the NYC Mayhem post: i think it’s boring.
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people saying an old record is “boring” and no more should be punched in the face for the record’s length.
john
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That’s the spirit! If we can’t bore you to death with our lame music we’ll kick your ass!
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Hahaha, sometimes this is really fun!
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And, oh yes, Slobo – ABBA is tthe shit! The best of theeir songs are HARDCOREPUNKMETAL of the most delicate sort! Just spin “gimme gimme gimme” really loud and don’t you tell me it makes your head go crazy!
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did this record ever come with lyrics…
-henry
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This is a very odd question but: what exactly IS everyone’s definition (here at least) of what “Extreme” music is?
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As in what is required for it be considered “extreme”? What types of things would make it not extreme…
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This band always reminds me of when I was into punk (SEX PISTOLS, CLASH, BUZZCOCKS etc)& a guy the year above me at school was trying to get me into Hardcore. Among the tapes he gave me was NYC MAYHEM live in NYC. Crap quality & it sounded like total noise to me. Amazing that I actually did get into HC after that!
Got this ep & haven’t listened to it for years. I think I prefer STRAIGHT AHEAD & I do like the 12″, Erich. But I agree, the tracks on the “End The Warzone” EP are better.
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Do you have any further info (tracklist, etc) for that “Flesh Of The Wench” demo? As far as I know they only had demos called “Taken By Storm” and “Mayehmic Destruction.”
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Regarding the punk history books:
This is a tired-ass quote but I still think it sums up just about everything that has ever been written about rock and roll:
Most rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, for people who can’t read.–Frank Zappa
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any band that played (or plays) guitars after 1985 is not extreme
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Erich! Let’s trade links!!!
http://damagingnoise.blogspot.com/
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“Anonymous said…
did this record ever come with lyrics…-henry”
Yes, I want to know too. Did the Abba record come with the lyrics? I enjoy Abba kaviar more than Abba hardcorepunkcrustdisco!!! She was a nazi child and all! And obviously the dudes were soooo fucking each other offstage and the bitches were only there to disguise the homo eroticism etc. Kind of like Ace of Base – another Swedish hardcore band with ex-Nazis on keyboards – have you heard em? Perhaps you can post the ultra-rare Ace of Base’s “All that she want” flexi (Vinyl Japan, in snot-green and 10 pressed only!) ?
HA HA HA!
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Mr Slobodoboandsoforth!
I must say regarding your comment that you are an ignorant wanker, prat, twat and a prick with a capital P!! The poor girl Anni-Frid could not help that her father was a member of the Wehrmacht. She sure did suffer then and now you are making fun of it. All the poor children in the same situation! Think about it! If you think ABBA sucks, say so but don´t do crude remarks and don´t compare a brilliant pop band with the plonkers Ace of Base!
Sincerly Yours
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Slobodoboandsoforth can’t help it if he’s a COMMIE
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Yeah, yeah – the 2nd Demo was maybe called “Taken by Storm” (at least the first song is called so). I got my tape from Evil Chuck / Death and he had written “Flesh of the Wench” as title, but he might have been wrong with that.
And yeah, yeah – maybe that 7″ bootleg isn’t THAT rare. Dammit.
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Lordy, you fellows are really mean to “stinky82″…. Why?
It makes me think of a bunch of old men sitting in a pool hall discussing politics, telling some younger fellow who frequents the same bar to “shut up kid” everytime he tries to join the conversation.
as John Waters said “a 19 year old with rage is sexy, but a 40 year old with rage is just an asshole”
The Old Punks Club
Membership requirements
Age: (above 36)
Poltics: (leftist)
Fat Percentage: (above 40%)
Claim to fame: (released a terrible genre record in 1987, OR watched Ian McKay’s sweaty bald head bob up and down for 30 minutes in 1982 at (insert club name here)and can say “I was THERE, maaan” OR was a member of the Pulsing Squids who recorded a sub-grindcore-postpunk-deathrock-emotional-hardcore demo in 1986 and once met a drunken Pig Champion at a Denny’s; keeps Pig Champion’s man-titty-nipple ketchup-print and autograph (on MINT Denny’s napkin) framed (backed with acid free paper) on the wall as a heirloom. Keeps one ear pierced in order to still feel “alternative”. Likes to grouch about how The Pulsing Squids were ripped off by My Son The Dyke Biter (the biggest Death-Emo-Hardcore band in Placcid Garden of Yuppies County California.)Eats at White Castle and IHOP on a regular basis. Married to an “intellectual” woman who wears men’s khaki shorts.
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Haha, mipose, dumb and reactionary but funny.
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Mein Gott Erich, dass ich NYC MAYHEM nach so langen Jahren wieder mal hören kann – wow, bin gerührt – und danke aus Berlin, von einem alten Propheten !
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Ha! That comment was great Mipose! Right-on, my brother, now start a political party aimed at routing out the mean spirited hard core collectors! How about “PFQIAOP – The Party For Quasi-Intellecuals Against Old Punks” the many initials make it look clever no? Kinda like Kurdish Liberation Army circa 1986 don’t you think?
(Stinky82′s a cool kid, he likes good music)
I stand by my ignorant criticism (above) of Abba as I live in England where people fucking worship the band in karaooke pubs (when I am trying to sleep next door, I tell you – every damn night I have to hear some old wino croony crow-crow Dancing Queen! argh! ugh!). SwePete: please take everything very literary & serious. It’s good for one’s sanity, alledgely.
ps. seriously, I would sooooo but “Pig Champion’s man-titty-nipple ketchup-print and autograph” if it came up on Egay! ds
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Got a massive bootleg of NYC Mayhem material (demo/reharsal and live) that a (very kind) guy posted on a download thread on a forum. I’d heard a lot about NYC Mayhem, mainly from Death/Thrash metallers, not really who knew their shit. Fuck, Repulsion spoke of them, Shane Embury from Warhammer/Unseen Terror, Bill Steer from Carcass, Death. When I heard the material it was much more hardcore sounding than I thought it would be, in fact there were very little metal elements to it, I wondered how the hell they got into metal tape-trading lists. THEN I heard their first rehearsal and FUCK it ripped, the drummming is insanely concentrated and of course fast, the riffs are fucked-up whirlwinds and the urgency of the band is gripping. Then I found out they did a Possessed cover, then I saw flyers where they promoted themselves as a Deathcore act and then it all may sense why so many old-school metal tape-traders spoke highly of NYC Mayhem. Not to knock the hardcore stuff they did, which I have only listened to twice before, but I’m a metalhead so the earliest stuff gets me more.
There is a killer MySpace page for NYC Mayhem right here http://www.myspace.com/mayhemnyc.
And an interview with Straight Ahead here,
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/phoenixmilitia/pm_p16.html
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Thanks a lot, anonymous! We’re all metalheads here!
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A few of these songs were changed a
bit and became Straight Ahead songs.
Different lyrics, same music. Their
sound sure changed a lot in a years
time. That first material from that
MySpace page is full-on metal. Thanks
for the post.
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if only i could find my live tape… it sounds great, and is some of the best stuff!
do you remember Nuclear Assault, Slaughter (Can.), NYC Mayhem tour? Necrophagia was added to the show i saw.
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FUCKIN CRAB SOCIETY!! Thank You for posting the songs!
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Hey Erich-
Thought you (and some of the other blog readers) might like to know that there is now a 2CD NYC Mayhem discography out on Hell’s Headbangers. It’s in their new release listings this week. For someone who’s a fan of the band already there is probably nothing you haven’t heard before, but hopefully the sound is decent and the booklet looks like it has some good pics, flyers, info in it.
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Admin Reply:
June 11th, 2011 at 22:28
Jolly good. Thanks Jamie!
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