Harley's War - "Harley's War 2012" CD Review (MVD Audio)

Cro-Mags/Harley’s War bassist/vocalist Harley Flanagan posted a new track, “Comfort the Children”, to YouTube in late 2008 but little was heard after that. Seemingly out of nowhere, Harley’s new disc, Harley’s War 2012 (MVD Audio), hit the streets earlier this month. There isn’t much in the way of liner notes with this release so I’m taking some guesses as to the source of this material.

The disc’s first five tracks are previously unreleased studio material that feature Ryan Krieger (Drums and Rhythm Guitars), Will Dahl (Rhythm Guitars and Leads), Sean Kilkenny (Rhythm Guitars and Leads) and Rocky George (Lead Guitars). Given this lineup toured with Harley’s War in 2007, I’m guessing that the band may have had an unreleased studio session in the can. The songs are a solid mix of NYHC and experimental (almost bordering on black) metal. “Life is a Struggle” and “Comfort the Children” sound like the early Cro-Mags and have “from the streets” lyrical themes. “Extinction”, “Purpose of Your Life” and “The End is Drawing Near” are dark-themed metal tracks which include Tibetan Monks “OM”, quotes from Floyd Red Crow Westerman and Maha Mantra from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.



The next six tracks sound like a live rehearsal where the band touches on multiple point from the Cro-Mags back catalogue. The band sounds great and blasts from one song to the next – my only (minor) ‘complaint’ is that Harley’s vocals could have been better mic’d.
- “World Peace”
- “These Streets”
- “It’s the Limit”
- “My Life”
- “Street Justice”

The disc’s final tracks are from a live show recorded in Japan which I’m assuming this is from Harley’s 2007 tour. This recording appears to be from the soundboard as the crowd is only audible between the songs. The tracks on this segment are:
- “Survival of the Street”
- “Days of Confusion”
- “No Sympathy”
- “Premeditated”
- “Jones”
- “Hard Times”
- “Life of My Own”



It is great to see Harley back in action and these new studio tracks add to his legacy. One would assume that Harley will head out on the road once his first release for Southern Lord drops so the live and demo tracks serve as a good teaser for what is to come.

Links:
Harley Flanagan

Harley's War: Harley Flanagan Signs with Southern Lord

I'm both impressed and glad to see Harley back in action...

Harley Flanagan, bassist/vocalist of Cro-Mags and Harley's War fame, has officially signed with Southern Lord for several upcoming releases!

Southern Lord owner Greg Anderson released the following statement regarding this new alliance with Harley's newest endeavors:

"Harley Flanagan is one of the most revered, controversial and infamous musicians of the last 25 years of underground music. His resume and reputation speak equal amounts of vitriolic decibels as does his bass stack blaring in your face. I have personally been a huge fan of Harley and his work with the Cro-Mags from the first time I heard their debut album Age of Quarrel in 1986. Much like the feeling you got when you first heard Bad Brains, Discharge or Minor Threat, Cro-Mags were musically and aesthetically on another level that was matchless. Through the power of the net and sheer luck I started talking to Harley Flanagan over emails and telephone past year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the intensity and honesty of his playing also carried through in his personality. Harley is humble, raw, intelligent, driven and focused. To say it is an honor for Southern Lord to be working with Harley Flanagan is a enormous understatement! We're in shock and CAN NOT WAIT to get this shit going! The first release we will be doing together will be the forthcoming Harley's War album. The demos of the material he has shared with us for this are fucking phenomenal! The new Harley's War material has the same feeling as the initial musical impact the Cro-Mags first had in the mid-'80s. Killer songwriting, raw lyrics and Harley Flanagan's trademark bass playing. As mentioned above this is "other level" shit! Expect nothing less than a brutal musical beatdown from the master!"



Links:
Cro-Mags

Harley's War - "Hardcore All-Stars" CD/DVD Review (MVD Audio)

After the 2001 ‘break-up’ of the Cro-Mags, bassist/vocalist Harley Flanagan wasted no time going out with his solo project Harley’s War. Harley’s War’s first disc, entitled Cro-Mag, came out in 2002 and featured seven new tracks (which included a ‘who’s who’ of NYHC), four demos 1982-1983 (which include early versions of “Do Onto Others” and “Don’t Tread on Me”) and a live track from 1981 from the Stimulators.

In 2009, MVD reissued Cro-Mag as a CD/DVD set entitled Hardcore All-Stars. This reissue adds five additional studio tracks and a complete sixteen-track live show from the final hardcore matinee at CBGB (Oct. '06) but drops the Stimulators live track (which sounded a bit dodgy so no great loss).

Genre labels can be a dangerous thing…A number of reviews have called the Cro-Mags the “first cross-over band” but I always considered them strictly hardcore (and later metal). My definition of “cross-over” is the hip-hop/metal hybrid of bands like Biohazard and Anthrax. Getting back on point, the twelve new studio tracks on Harley’s Hardcore All-Stars CD capture the raw intensity of this hip-hop/metal crossover sound and Harley throws a bit of old-school punk and oi into the mix.

These new tracks features Harley on vocals and bass; ‘Crazy’ Jay Vento and Rocky George are the primary guitarists but Vinnie Stigma and Gabby Abularach (x-Cro Mags) guest on a couple of tracks; Ryan Krieger (x-Cro Mags) is on drums and Harley shares the mic with Micky Fitz (of The Business) on “Spirit of ‘77”. This later track also includes Vinnie Stigma and the band pays tribute to the Ramones with a chorus from “Blitzkrieg Bop”. This portion of the disc ends with the gang vocal sing-along on “NYHC X-mas”, which also features Vinnie Stigma along with Mike Gallo, Jimmy G. and Phil Calvano.



The next four tracks are demos from 1982-3 that feature Harley on all instruments and vocals and these tracks give an early look into the rage and power of the Cro-Mags. One can also hear the common theme of coming from “the streets” in Harley’s music from the early version of “Don’t Tread on Me” and the previously unreleased demo “Dead End Kids” to the newer tracks “Criminal” and “Who Survived”. The disc closes with a 16-track live performance from Oct. 2006 from the “final hardcore matinee” at CBGB (the video portion can be found as a bonus feature on the Cro-Mags “The Final Quarrel” DVD).

Harley’s War (new tracks):
• "Hardcore LAMF"
• "Nightmare"
• "You Don't Know"
• "Hardcore NYHC-OG"
• "Last Days"
• "Criminal for Life"
• "Parasite"
• "Spirit of '77"
• "Urban Screams (C-Squat)"
• "Scarred for Life"
• "Who Survived"
• "NYHC X-Mas"

1982 Demos:
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "Wake Up (Do Unto Others)"
• "Dead End Kids"
• "Why Don't You"

CBGB, NYC Oct. ‘06:
• "Intro"
• "Signs of the Times"
• "World Peace"
• "Show You No Mercy"
• "Malfunction"
• "Days of Confusion"
• "Street Justice"
• "Survival of the Streets"
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "Do Unto Others"
• "Last Days"
• "Crush the Demoniac"
• "It's the Limit"
• "Life of My Own"
• "Hard Times"
• "We Gotta Know

The real bonus is the DVD which includes high-quality live footage from CBGB along with an in-depth interview with Harley. The NYC live footage is classic – while Harley’s War featured a rotating line-up, most of the footage is split between a 2002 show where the lineup was Rocky George and "Crazy' Jazy Vento on guitar and Gary Sullivan on drums and the "Last Hardcore Matinee" show which took place in October 2006. Various special guests on some of the other footage include Vinnie Sitgma, Sean Kilkenny, John Joseph, Daryl Jennifer and Jorge Merauder.



The DVD also includes live footage from Germany and Japan, music videos for the songs “Hardcore” and “Who Survived” along with Harley reminiscing in CBGB post-closure (also found on The Final Quarrel DVD).

Live footage from various CBGB shows:
• "Death Camps"
• "Criminal"
• "Who Survived?"
• "Spirit of '77"
• "Urban Screams"
• "Down But Not Out"
• "Sign of the Times"
• "Regulator" (Bad Brains cover)
• "Life of My Own"
• "Can You Feel"
• "World Peace"
• "Malfunction"
• "Steal My Crown"

Remaining tracks Are From the "Last Hardcore Matinee" show:
• "Street Justice"
• "Survival of the Streets"
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "It's the Limit"
• "Crush the Demoniac"
• "Life of My Own"
• "Hard Times"
• "We Gotta Know"
w/ Will 'Cavman' Dahl, Joe Affe, Walter Ryan and Craig Ahead (on two tracks)

Links:
Harley Flanagan

Cro-Mags - "The Final Quarrel: Live at CBGB 2001" DVD Review (MVD Visual)

The latest incarnation of the Cro-Mags (with John Joseph and Mackie Jayson) have been touring pretty regularly over the last few years and it seems hard to believe that it had now been twenty-five years since the release of Age of Quarrel. I’ve read some recent interviews where John has been talking about recording a new Cro-Mags disc which should prove to be interesting as the band’s last recorded legacy was the “final quarrel” show that John, Harley and Doug played at CBGB back in May 2001 under the moniker Street Justice.

To give some background for this show, Harley & Parris (along with Rocky George and Gary Sullivan) released the Cro-Mags final studio disc Revenge (2000) but a major falling out between Harley and Parris resulted in Parris breaking up the band. The Revenge lineup reunited the following year with John Joseph and Doug Holland and started touring in support of Soul Brains (the reunited Bad Brains). Former rhythm guitarist Parris Mayhew attempt to stop this lineup of the band from calling themselves the Cro-Mags (see segment of Parris’ posted quote below) so I can’t remember whether the band was playing CBs as a ‘secret show’ or if this was to avoid Parris’ threatened lawsuits.

"This recent attempt to perpetrate fraud on the fans was easily stopped with the friendly notification to the venues involved in the SOUL BRAINS tour, that the use of the name CRO-MAGS was not permitted by the owner. As of today, most of the venues are voluntarily pulling any current advertisements using the name CRO-MAGS. Their reaction to the issue was apologetic and immediate. They knew and recognized the ethical and legal position they were being deceived into being put in and expressed their shock and regrets.” – Parris Mayhew ‘01

Taking a look back at the Street Justice / Cro-Mags show, this video does a solid job of capturing the vibe and experience of a Cro-Mags show. The band rips through almost the entirety of Age of Quarrel, substituting “Everybody’s Gonna’ Die” (from the band’s 1985 demo) for “Seekers of the Truth” and adding a breakneck cover of “Blitzkrieg Bop”. Both Rocky and Gary are solid players in their own right, so the absence of Parris and Mackie isn’t that noticeable.

The show is filmed with a single camera from above the crowd so I'd have to guess this was filmed from the soundboard loft. The sound is clear but the mix is "off" as Gary Sullivan's drums and Rocky's guitar are too high in the mix while John's vocals are too low. The reality though is that none of this matters as the Cro-Mags were all about aggression, energy and attitude (which is well documented here) and this is what they sounded like from the crowd on any given night.



Included as a bonus feature on the disc is a full set from Harley’s War which was filmed during the final days of CBGB at the “last hardcore matinee” (where the bill also included Agnostic Front,Murphy's Law and Sick Of It All). The show is well filmed and looks and sounds great. Harley is a solid front-man with a great voice for the music and Craig Ahead (from SOIA) joined the band for "Hard Times". The set includes a mix of Cro-Mags songs and tracks from Harley’s War debut CD. Here is the full track list:

1 – Intro > Sign of the Times
2 - World Peace
3 - Show You No Mercy
4 - Malfunction
6 - Days of Confusion
7 - Street Justice
8 - Survival of the Streets
9 - Don't Tread on Me
10 - Do Onto Others
11 - Fuck the Middle East
12 - Down But Not Out
13 - It's The Limit
14 - Crush the Demonic
15 - Life of My Own
16 - Hard Times
17 - We Gotta Know



Other bonus features include Harley giving a tour of post-closure CBGB, Harley and his son in a pre-show warm-up and two live videos ("Life On My Own", "Down But Not Out") from 2002 when Harley's War first got started.

From this corner, I’d love to see one final Cro-Mags tour with the AoQ lineup. Harley’s been trying to bury the long-standing beef between band members but it sounds the likelihood of a full reunion is comparable to “hell freezing over”. A couple years back Harley posted: "Growin' up everyone has favorite bands that break up, and as fans, everyone always wishes they would reform or do a tour, and the fans don't care about the beefs, they just want the band back together. Very seldom do you have the opportunity to make a lot of people happy with one simple act. But unfortunately, it is not all that simple. People have a hard time growing up and old beefs die hard.”

One can always hope though….

Links:
Harley's Cro-Mags Site
Parris' Cro-Mags Site
John's Cro-Mags Site

The Stimulators - "Loud Fast Rules!" CD Review (ROIR)

In 1977, after hearing The Damned, Motorhead and The Clash, guitarist Denise Mercedes returned from London and decided to start her own band. She recruited LES poet Patrick Mack on guitar and vocals, artist and fashionista Nick Marden on bass and, after trying out the likes of Jerry Nolan (Heartbreakers, NY Dolls) and Johnny Blitz (Dead Boys) on drums, settled on a then 11 year-old Harley Flanagan (Cro-Mags, Harley’s War). Soon the Stims gained a rabid fan club of the youngest rock ‘n’ rollers in the city and became regulars at legendary clubs like Max’s Kansas City, CBGB’s and Danceteria, sharing bills with bands like Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Bad Brains, Suicide, B-52s and The Cramps.

The Stimulators' Loud Fast Rules! was one of the early ROIR cassette-only releases which has finally been reissued on CD. The band played shows around the world from '77 - '81 (along with a brief reunion at one of the "Save CBGB" shows) and this CD captures a live show recorded at The Pier in Raleigh in 1981.

Given the involvement of Harley Flanagan, I was expecting The Stimulators to be a hardcore band but, interestingly enough, the band plays melodic, semi-chaotic punk (which was later called 'post-hardcore' when this style of music took hold in the mid-80's). Points of comparison would be the art-punk sounds of early Gang of Four crossed with the pre-goth melodic punk sounds of The Damned. Adding to the mix, the band makes a few well-executed forays into reggae. While the post-harDCore Washington, DC crews popularized the mix of reggae and punk, The Stimulators pre-date bands like Scream and Dag Nasty by a number of year and may have served as a source of influence for these later groups.

Last Fast Rules! isn't a high-fidelity recording but it is a reasonable sounding live recording that does a great job of capturing the band's energy. The Stimulators blast through twelve originals (and Harley co-wrote a couple of these tracks) along with covers of Kiss' " Rock 'N' Roll All Night" and Iggy's "I've Got a Right". Prior to listening to this recording, I hadn't appreciated that Harley is a pretty solid drummer in his own right.

In addition to this live recording, The Simulators only other documented recording is an impossible-to-find 7" which contains studio recordings of "Loud Fast Rules!" and "Run Run Run".



For anyone interested in Harley's rapid evolution from punk to hardcore, last year's Harley's War - Hardcore All-Stars (MVD) set contains Harley's 1982 solo demos, some of which later ended up on Age of Quarrel.

Links:
Cro-Mags (Harley's site - with picture of The Stimulators at Max's)
The Stimulators

Cro-Mags "Alpha Omega" (1992) CD To Be Reissued on Divebomb Records

I'm probably in the minority as I still think this is a pretty good disc. This was the Cro-Mags third disc and the sound is firmly in the crossover thrash genre. While detractors moan about how the band had moved away from the NYHC sound of The Age of Quarrel, crossover thrash was red-hot at this time. Biohazard released Urban Discipline in 1992 and the sound reached the mainstream the following year with the Judgement Night soundtrack.

Divebomb Records has partnered up with Century Media Records to reissue one of the most overlooked crossover albums ever, CRO-MAGS’ Alpha Omega. Only 1000 CDs will be pressed up for this special reissue. Since the original release of Alpha Omega in 1992, its creative origins have been long argued amongst the band members, and with so many turbulent rumors floating about it’s no wonder this record has neither been properly understood nor – even worse – acknowledged by many Cro-Mags fans.

Reissue highlights:
- New introduction by Andrew of Aversionline.com
- Contains bonus music video
- Out of print for years
- Limited Edition of 1,000 (CD ONLY)
- Remastered by Jamie King (May 2010)

Tracklist:
01 See The Signs
02 Eyes Of Tomorrow
03 The Other Side Of Madness (Revenge)
04 Apocalypse Now
05 The Paths Of Perfection
06 Victims
07 VII
08 Kuruksetra
09 Changes
+ The Paths Of Perfection (Music Video)



Divebomb Records has a pre-order going now till 7/13 which includes free shipping.

You can read both Harley and Paris' views on Alpha Omega at the sites below.

Links:
Cro-Mags (Harley's Website)
Cro-Mags (Paris' Website)

New CD/DVD Releases for this Week

There are a couple of interesting releases this week:

Angels of Light - We Are Him
The latest release from Michael Gira's post-Swans band. I've loved all of the past Angels releases and the early press on the release has given it great reviews.

"We Are Him is the most assured and relaxed Angels of Light album since the debut, and deserves to be considered alongside Gira's highest peaks. The frightening rage of old Swans surfaces several times, albeit in more bucolic clothing; the contrast is bracing. Lyrically Gira's constantly in-pocket, addressing his subjects with renewed agility, but also in a very relaxed voice; if De Sade had lived long enough to tell folk tales around a campfire, some of them might have sounded like this. The genuinely playful orchestration - banjos? horns? chimes? slide? check – is by turns charming and perverse, and has a band-of-brethren feel to it that's both ominous and exiting. The title track is like a pure shot of adrenaline. An intimate, unexpected masterpiece." - John Darnielle/The Mountain Goats

Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You (CD)
Who would have thought that Blue Cheer would still be touring and recording after 40 years? I believe this to be the band's first studio recording since 1991's Dining With Sharks. The band put on a great live show at NorthSix about a year or so ago so I would expect this to be a great disc.

Cro-Mags: The Final Quarrel - Live at CBGB (DVD)
MVD has put out some pretty interesting stuff documenting the NYHC scene and this is no exception. This DVD captures the final Cro-Mags show (with both John Joseph and Harley Flanagan) at CBGB in 2001. As a bonus features, Amazon says that the disc includes a full set from Harley's War, Harley Flannigan's post Cro-Mags band.

Heaven & Hell - Live from Radio City Music Hall
Dio-era Sabbath captured live on March 30, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall. This has been released as a 2-CD set and a (separately sold) DVD. Both this tour and this particular show got stellar reviews -- 'nuff said.

Killswitch Engage - "As Daylight Dies" (CD/DVD)
The CD came out a month ago and is now being reissued with a bonus DVD and four bonus audio tracks. (I'd be p*ssed if I bought this a month ago). The DVD contains:
"My Curse" video
Making of "My Curse" video
"The Arms of Sorrow" video
Making of the "The Arms of Sorrow" video
"Holy Diver" video (Dio Cover)

and the bonus tracks on the CD are:
Be One
Let the Bridges Burn
This Fire
Holy Diver

Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (CD)
There is both a 2-disc and a 3-disc version of the 40th anniversary edition of the first Pink Floyd release (w/ Syd Barrett).

The two disc version contains both the stereo and mono versions of Piper. The three disc version contains the same stereo/mono Piper discs plus a third disc of bonus tracks. The bonus track include all the Pink Floyd singles from 1967, ('Arnold Layne', 'See Emily Play', and 'Apples And Oranges'), plus the B sides 'Candy And A Current Bun' and 'Paintbox'. Other tracks are a version of 'Interstellar Overdrive' - previously only available on an EP in France - and the 1967 stereo version of 'Apples And Oranges'.

More Dirty Laundry Aired on MySpace (Harley Flanagan vs John Joseph)

MySpace is getting interesting with the public slams between current and former band members. First, Axl slams Tracii Guns, yesterday Taime Downe went after Brent Muscat and now Bloodclot (John Joseph's new band) broadcast the following message yesterday.

Don't look for a Cro-Mags reunion anytime soon...

The Great Harley Flanagan who has not only Robbed other Bands, but wanted Half of OHC-MMA without putting one DIME into it is a sponge.

He wanted Half of a company for use of his picture and when asked to contribute he screamed, and yelled and threatened but never came through HE IS A USER OF PEOPLE and once he gets what he wants or doesn't he shits all over you, and does posts to harm you

Harley straight up you re-nigged on everything you gave nothing, and used me until it did'nt suit your needs YOU ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL HARDCORE MMA, and YOU ARE THE RIP OFF ARTIST.

You are no Purple Belt, and you can't pummel you fucked up the Cro-Mags , and USE everyone around you. THOSE ARE THE FACTS. If anyone wants to delete us please do so, but know that Harley Flanagan is NOT WHAT EVERYONE THINKS HE IS.
1. You Steal From Sony
2. You Steal From Your Friends
3. You Steal From The State
4. You Stole from Paris
5. You Stole from John
6. YOU ARE NO PURPLE BELT Lets ask Renzo.
7. You drove the Cro-Mags apart

You threaten to hurt people when you don't get your way.... Grow up and stop being bitter...Just move on with your Life.