Monday, July 22, 2019

Lethal Lipstick - Bad Boys (1987)


It's about time we get sleazy here at Capital Loss, we've had some pretty choice bands posted but none quite like this before. Lethal Lipstick formed in 1985 with the mission of combining glam rock, heavy metal, and the snotty viciousness of punk and their early recordings are full of all that goodness in one place. From what I could gather they had quite a rotating cast of characters, including Mike Trash who would go on to start the Erotics out of the ashes of Lethal Lipstick and Nick Grind the guitarist of The Plague, but in the beginning there were Bob Gori and Wayne Haskins of The Misfits/Tragics who formulated the plan to smash together the New York Dolls and the Dead Boys to some success. It sounds like at some point in the late '80s they had a record deal with CBS records that went south after Sony bought the company, but I couldn't tell you the details of that as there's a few different stories I've come across and none of them are easy to sum up in the interest of brevity. If it sounds like it would be your thing, then it probably is. Included here are the two original tracks on the Bad Boys single, and two demo recordings because they rip and I can't find any more than that of the original cassette.


Tracklist:
  1. Bad Boys
  2. Sick and Tired
  3. Love Kills (demo)
  4. Sick and Tired (demo)

Planet Eater - Self Titled (2012)


Not exactly punk, not quite hardcore, but Planet Eater had all the energy and force of them both in their live shows despite most likely being under the influence of a copious amount of marijuana. Stoner doom metal is tight as fuck, I don't care what you say, and this really is a prime example of just how heavy "heavy" can be at slower tempos with killer Sabbath inspired riffage. Had the honor of sharing the stage with them at a 518 Prints company barbecue in like 2010 maybe, and it was awesome seeing them even at the time, but I was a little ways away from finding my doom metal fandom that would give me new appreciation for these songs years later. It seems like the band didn't last long after doing this recording being that their last show was August 4th in 2012 and the bandcamp says this came out on the 2nd, but starting in 2008 they had a few good years and some good songs to back them. I know that most of, if not all of, these dudes have been involved in other musical projects but honestly I'm having a hard time digging any of that info up in my brain. Get in touch if you can fill me in.


Tracklist:
  1. I Once Was a Deer (Once) / Legion of Smoke
  2. A Richman's Dreams
  3. Waiting to Exhale
  4. Colony of the Moon
  5. Necklace of Heads
  6. Snake Water Woman
  7. They Pile High on Mount Meru
  8. If Yer Balls are Small They Ain't Balls at All
  9. Reptile Mother

Monday, July 8, 2019

Buzzard - Self Titled (2009)


From Saratoga Springs comes some crossover riff laden NYHC with all members of the band in the nationally established Silly Pink Bunnies crew (with album artwork done by Jeremy Fish, no less!), not to mention Saratoga staple George DeMers of Full Metal Racket fame, 20+ years and counting on WSPN 91.1 FM. This was the first recording done by hardcore legend Don Fury after he moved up to Troy and opened his new recording studio, which must have been quite the honor for these dudes to help him break it in.


Between drums and bass there is a really solid rhythm section to back the riffs that bounce between metallic shred and hard chugging breakdowns, which gives this some good peaks and valleys and keeps the music from ever getting dull. If I'm being totally honest the vocals were never really my thing but the dude was a ball of frantic energy onstage which made him a natural frontman, and his lyrical content goes above and beyond with over the top vulgarity that gets some laughs, desensitizes you, and then makes you realize how absurd the whole thing is all over again.


Tracklist:
  1. Brokeback Blades
  2. Richard
  3. Booze Cruz
  4. Exhaust of Fire
  5. Delusional Thoughts
  6. Red Light District
  7. Advocate
  8. Support System
  9. S.O.D.
  10. Shock n' Awe
  11. Murder Van
  12. Hop Slop
  13. Bird Flu

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Stench! - Demo (2009)


I was on the fence about including these dudes seeing as only one of them ever lived in the Albany area, while the rest of them were a little further south around Kingston, but they played the majority of their gigs in Albany at one point so I'd say they count. Besides that, this demo rips way too fucking hard to not include it, if we're being totally honest. Always a treat to see them play live partially because the songs were so good but partially because they had a real fucking grizzly bear on vocals. Singer Thomas Vomit was always the nicest of dudes, but the man is huge with a menacing presence and his vocal delivery can really only be described as a roar. The rest of the band were always tight as fuck, and played hard.


Really don't want to make comparisons to Discharge and Motorhead anywhere because then we get into that whole "motorcharge" terrain which is far more simplistic of a write-off than this band deserves. Yes.. naturally they took inspiration from both bands, but they made it into something that stands on its own two feet and smashed it together with a heavy UK crust influence along with some more USHC sounding hints here and there. Was really sad when this band stopped gigging, and wished there were more to their discography, but this demo stands the test of time. Drummer James would end up going on to form Bad Friends, who have been featured on this blog before, and eventually the Spirit of Violence.


Tracklist:
  1. Bleak Times Ahead
  2. Horrors of War
  3. I Need Another Drink
  4. Same Old Shit
  5. (A Sedative) Pill of Rights
  6. Cities Ablaze
  7. Parasite

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

The Menace Society - Demo (2003)


Honestly ska, and specifically ska punk, hadn't really been my thing since I was around 13/14 years old. Here and there some stuff will catch my ear, and I've never been particularly opposed to it, but generally I will tune it out if it isn't 1st or 2nd wave. That being said, something about the Menace Society was different. From the first exposure I had I saw immediately that the energy level was nearly unbeaten, their performance was chaotic, and above all the dudes were having so much fun it was impossible for me to not get into it. As soon as they'd won me over, they sealed my fate by busting out a note for note cover of Iron Maiden's "the Trooper" and I was floored. Over the years that passed I got to know the dudes a little better, we shared a stage together at Valentine's more than a few times, and shared more than a few beers a lot of times.


They released an entire discography CD, but as you know that isn't my style to post it all in one shot. Always better to leave the people wanting more, yeah? The rest will go up eventually but for now this will have to hold you over. This material was always my favorite, though later stuff certainly had some real standouts like the classic "Beer Run," the instrumental "Save Fugi," and a hilarious fuck you to local staple Kevin Jackson. I think the earlier stuff appeals to me more mostly because of the harshness of it compared to when they got a little more refined down the line, however that's in no way an indicator of decline in quality. This demo has a lot of catchy uptemo ska shit with a good dance beat with the occasional straight up punk part and even a little hardcore influence peppered in there. After they split up in 2007 members went on to play in projects like Acid Reflux, Chlorine, Girls of Porn, and PartyHorn. Stick around after the last song for a secret track.


Tracklist:
  1. Menace Society
  2. Egos
  3. Material Possession
  4. Free Thought
  5. Suburbia
  6. When Pigs Fly