Mister Monster

In late 1998, one of today's bloodiest acts in the underworld of punk rock began. Mister Monster was started by singer/ guitarist J~ Sin Trioxin, with then bassist Mars Rio, and drummer Jimmy Skins. The band formed, wrote, recorded, released, and played their first show within a matter of 6 weeks of being a band. Audiences at their 1998 Halloween show were blown away with their performance, and their first release Songs From the Crypt sold out of its first pressing in a matter of days. Four pressings later, the band was playing New Jersey and New York City regularly to packed houses. Small tours of the Tri- State area, and line up changes would follow the band over the next year and a half. In late 1999, J~ Sin recorded tracks for a 5-song demo and released 4 other songs for various compilations. Soon after this, J~ Sin recruited long time companion Loki (guitar) and newcomer JV Bastard (bass) to play a string of show in the NYC/ NJ/ CT area. The latest (and most popular) lineup consisted of Germs, Pauly Lifeless, and JV Bastard. Other notable members included Grey Gorey, Mike Pierce, and Your Friend and Mine, Loki. (Pauly, JV, and Loki have since moved to join the ranks of an Ex- Misfit and formed the supergroup: Gotham Road.) Mister Monster's following grew out of control very quickly, making it near impossible to keep up with orders on their self-titled demo, all while gaining the respect of other top bands in their genre. In Late 2001, the band independently financed and released the full length disk Over Your Dead Body. Their debut CD has sold out of the 1st pressing and is being re-issued on Hell's Hundred Records as an enhanced CD featuring bonus tracks and a music video for "This Night I Call Bad Luck" with world wide distribution. That video along with the video for "Gore Whore" can be found as bonus materials on the DVD for the Horror Film "Creepy Tales: Girls Night Out" (Cinema Sky) where the band's songs appear on the soundtrack along with the Misfits. Also released in 2004 is a split vinyl 10" released in Germany on Fiend Force Records. They have also appeared on the recent compilation This Is Horrorpunk along with bands such the Nekromantix, the Crypt Keeper 5, the Independents, Blitzkid and Rock City Morgue. The band is also being featured in the upcoming Activision videogame "Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines" alongside Ghoultown and fellow labelmate on Hell's Hundred, the Empire Hideous. Their D.I.Y. ways of touring and self- released albums have gained them success over the short six years they've been a band. Rave reviews have come from numerous magazines, including Rue Morgue, Fangoria, and Varla to name a few. Sharing the stage with the likes of the Misfits, Doomtree, Rock City Morgue, The Undead, Blitzkid and GWAR, Mister Monster has toured the U.S. with concert attendance growing each time. With every ounce of blood they give, Mister Monster strives for respect among the living, and the dead. In late April 2005 Mister Monster released the Limited Edition four track CD EP Deep Dark containing two exclusive songs and a music video the title track.

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Skeleton Crew (2000)

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Over Your Dead Body (2001)

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Exhuming Graves and Making Dates (split w/Blitzkid, 2002)

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Deep Dark EP (2005)

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Heartless Bastards

The Heartless Bastards are a power trio whose members have taken a no-frills approach to life and music. Singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter Erika Wennerstrom and her brother were raised by a single mom in Dayton, OH. Wennerstrom discovered her interest in music at a young age, but she always preferred writing her own songs as opposed to singing Disney tunes in school productions. Wennerstrom dropped out of her Catholic high school her senior year, and began concentrating more on music. After a few years of working dead-end jobs in Dayton, Wennerstrom moved to Cincinnati, where she met bassist Mike Lamping, who was working at his family's janitorial supply company. Wennerstrom and Lamping began performing around town as the Heartless Bastards, and quickly added drummer and pizza delivery man Kevin Vaughn to the lineup. The band began to tour, its music rooted in and heavily influenced by garage punk (MC5), indie rock (At the Drive-In), soul (Otis Redding), roots rock (Neil Young), and blues (Leadbelly). The Heartless Bastards eventually were signed to Fat Possum Records, which released both the band's 2005 debut, Stairs and Elevators, and its follow-up, All This Time, a year later, continuing with The Mountain in 2009.

~ Megan Frye, All Music Guide

Official site
Myspace site



Stairs and Elevators (2005)

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All This Time (2006)

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The Mountain (2009)

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The Fumes

Compelling Sydney two-piece, the Fumes burst onto the scene in 2004. The Fumes deliver multi-facetted stylistic raw blues tunes mashed with healthy rock riffs and snappy beats. Steve Merry (vocals, guitar) spent 12 months in the U.S where he took on some mentoring from Bob Brozman and an opportunity to immerse himself with many styles of music. It helped define and develop the Fumes. The Fumes complete with the addition of Joel Battersby, who had been drumming with members of the Beautiful Girls, proceeded to churn out an 8-track demo. The demand for the demo was so strong it was re-packaged as a 7-track pre-release for gig sales.

Official site
Myspace site



The Fumes EP (2005)

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Guns of Gold (2006)

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Sundancer (2009)

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House of Broken Promises

House of Broken Promises arose from the ashes of Unida -- the once highly touted stoner rock powerhouse led by vocalist John Garcia, post-Kyuss -- whose would-be second album became entangled in major-label intrigue and red tape, and never (officially) saw the light of day. So when the journeyman singer took his golden pipes elsewhere in 2007, the remaining trio of guitarist Arthur Seay, bassist Eddie Plasciencia (who had recently taken over for another departed Kyuss alum, Scott Reeder), and drummer Mike Cancino decided to start again from scratch. They briefly worked with vocalist Michael Keeth but realized that Plasciencia could handle the microphone just as well, so after testing new material in and around their home base of Indio, CA, the power trio signed with Michigan's Small Stone for the release of its 2009 debut album, Using the Useless.

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Death in Pretty Wrapping EP (2007)

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Using the Useless (2009)

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Flex Your Head (1982)

Although this album contains a lot of non-essential hardcore, it does get props for so thoroughly documenting the early-'80s D.C. hardcore scene. For some of the groups (Red C, Iron Cross), this compilation was the extent of their exposure. For others (Minor Threat, Government Issue, Youth Brigade), this compilation was just the starting point for exposure and recognition. As for the music itself, all of the songs are fast and furious hardcore. While all brutally fast and confrontational, some groups are more melodic (Teen Idles, Red C), and some are about as atonal as a group can sound (Void). Whether the music is a light or heavy assault on the ears, this music is important. There isn't a more complete summary of early D.C. hardcore out there.

~ Zachary Curd, All Music Guide

various covers:

tracklist:

1. The Teen Idles - I Drink Milk
2. The Teen Idles - Commie Song
3. The Teen Idles - No Fun
4. The Untouchables - Rat Patrol
5. The Untouchables - Nic Fit
6. The Untouchables - I Hate You
7. State of Alert - I Hate the Kids
8. State of Alert - Disease
9. State of Alert - Stepping Stone Party
10. Minor Threat - Stand Up
11. Minor Threat - 12XU
12. Government Issue - Hey Ronnie
13. Government Issue - Lie, Cheat and Steal
14. Youth Brigade - Moral Majority
15. Youth Brigade - Waste of Time
16. Youth Brigade - Last Word
17. Red C - Jimi 45
18. Red C - Pressure's On
19. Red C - 6 O'Clock News
20. Red C - Assassin
21. Void - Dehumanized
22. Void - Authority
23. Void - My Rules
24. Iron Cross - Wargames
25. Iron Cross - New Breed
26. Iron Cross - Live for Now
27. Artificial Peace - Artificial Peace
28. Artificial Peace - Outside Looking In
29. Artificial Peace - Wasteland
30. Deadline- Stolen Youth
31. Deadline - Hear the Cry
32. Deadline - Aftermath

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