Punk Hardcore

Futurismo present their new anthology series: Altered Vision, beginning with SUBURBAN ANNIHILATION The California Hardcore Explosion / From The City To The Beach: 1978-1983. This aggressive collection draws from California’s rich history of punk, more specifically hardcore: a new sound that eschewed melody for intensity, a sound that took punk harder and faster, a sound intrinsically American. Whilst hardcore was also burning over on the East Coast, it was in California that it had ignited and sprawled, a sonic punch in the face that raged socio-political disdain and total abandonment for commercialism, fueled by a crumbling American Dream and the collapse of family values.

Punk rock and mental health have been intertwined since the very beginning. Nervous breakdowns, anxiety, seeking acceptance, attempting to overcome internalized demons, and reacting to harmful and oppressive systems—punk rock embodies and emboldens all our feelings and experiences, positive and negative. Hardcore Anxiety charts and tracks punk movements from the 70s till today, from small towns to stadiums, from the struggles in our heads to the people actively harming us in our communities.

If you're a big fan of early 80's punk/hardcore then this book/cd compilation is definitely for you. It explores the underground music that sprang up, then festered, in Victoria in those days. The booklet is full of old flyers and pictures and manages to shed some light on all the bands featured on the 2 cd set. The 79 tracks on here range from a few poppy New Wave bands to crude English-style punk to low-fi jambox recordings of adolescent hardcore bands like The Beaten Retards, Jerk Ward, and The Commodes. You can find some great early stuff by the Dayglo Abortions on here too. Some of the best tracks, if only for the title are: Millions of Dead BMXers, Fuckin' Jerk, Whiter Than Hitler, My Son is a Kuwahara, Too Much Drugs, etc… I love this stuff! If you're into the obscure stuff like I am…you can't go wrong with this! –Diehard Skatezine #6