Custodian/Developer (C30, Narcolepsia): Haven't been listening too much Harsh Noise lately, but Custodian is really great, 'burning' Harsh Noise and a really nice ending to his side. Developer is cut up stuff as usual, haven't heard a lot of his releases yet, but this seems a bit slower than some of his other stuff I've heard. The two acts on this tape complement each other well.
Developer/Orgasmic Response Unit (C20, Factotum Tapes): The tape starts with ORU which is good Harsh Noise, but it doesn't seem to have a lasting impression. Developer starts with cut up, but after that there's a part that's more straight forward Harsh Noise. All in all a good tape, but the Custodian/Developer tape is just a bit better.
Freak Power (Compilation single sided 12", Fuck Yoga Records): This is a really nice compilation, for which I have to sit down to listen to it, otherwise I miss tracks, hehe. Interesting interviews in the fanzine too. Favorite tracks by Apartment 213, Nihilist Commando, Hatred Surge, Iron Lung and 1 or 2 others which I already can't remember. The downside of having quite a lot of bands I had never heard about before. Seems like quite a lot of these bands haven't released much either.
The Endless Blockade/Wadge (7", Regurgitated Semen Records): The Endless Blockade is The Endless Blockade, don't really know what else to say, to me they really sound recognizable and good! Wadge I only knew from the Freak Power compilation (haven't heard his track on Small Doses yet, still going through that compilation). It's weird and interesting, but I don't see it becoming a favorite band. That fascination with Hawaii is pretty out-there for a grindcore band too and somehow it feels more than just a gimmick.
Hatred Surge/Insect Warfare (7", Regurgitated Semen Records): Hatred Surge is great as always, those double male & female vocals really work well for me, even though I liked the voice of the girl on the Deconstruct 12" a bit more. Insect Warfare is pretty good grindcore, though not that good that I really feel compelled to check out all their other material (I'm pretty picky when it comes to grindcore).
Vapaudenristi/Pagan Skull (7", Sakaramina/Europe Erwache): The Vapaudenristi track is pretty good, really nice synths. Good choice for a cover too, even though the original is still a bit better. Pagan Skull is good, though it's a bit weird, parts RAC, part NSBM, but judging after a first spin, the different pieces don't really flow into each other well, got the feeling of listening to a different song sometimes, while it still was the same track.
Ironbird - Österland (7", Wewelsburg Records): First track on the A-side after the intro and the last track are pretty interesting, the rest seems lesser, will play it again, but first impression isn't too good...
Schizophasia - 5000 (LP, Deathangle Absolution Records): A-side starts with some kind of malformed punk track, rest of the tracks are more industrial, then the last track has a beat that reminds me of Joy Division. B-side starts with, well, I don't know how to describe, Industrial weirdness or something? Then more industrial, then back into feedback-laden kind of (slow) punk. Vocals are what sounds like a monsterrobot in some tracks and some more regularly effected vocals in other tracks. First spin and I seem to prefer the A-side. Very weird band, but intriguing and I quite liked their 3000 LP as well. Even though there's quite some different styles on this, I feel like there's still a wholeness in atmosphere through their stuff (I guess the bandpics help).
Knockout - Think It's Time (CD, Rebel Records): The band that came before Youngland. I got this because I really like the Same Old Song track on Winter Wind & because Pure Impact sold it quite cheap in his sellout. More or less the same style as Youngland, but Youngland seems simply better.
Small Doses (Compilation CD, Mortville Records & 4 other labels): Pretty cool compilation. 100 bands in 45 minutes. Different styles such as punk, grindcore, noisecore, harsh noise and absurd fuckery. Features both well known and less known bands. Each band has max 30 seconds. Nice layout too and it was quite cheap. Obviously not everything is good in here, but there's definitely some stuff that deserves more attention, though due to the big number of bands, I already forgot some of the interesting stoff, so I'll have to go through it again.
Stormwolf - Unbreakable (CD, Good Night Left Side): Short lived Belgian RAC band featuring some members from Flemish NSBM bands. Some tracks are pretty good, others are less interesting, nice Landser cover, not too very interesting lyrics. Well, ok, it was very cheap, so it was worth it. But all in all, I much prefer the drummers NSBM band Elfenbloed, whose only demo (Voor Den Eer Van Ons Geschied...) comes highly recommended.
