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Step on It and Extinction of Mankind…

Step on It - Allschool MonsterIt's not every day that you get to check out bands from Hungary, but on "Allschool Monster" (from Moshpit Tragedy Records) I'm happy to have such an opportunity, as the apparently prolific Step on It tears through 28 tracks in less than 23 minutes, and does indeed tend to flirt with "all schools" in a sense—from grindcore and thrash metal to hardcore/punk and crossover. Basic math dictates that few of the tracks pass the minute mark, so for the most part they keep things short, fast, and to the point with loads of blasting speeds that walk a fine line between aggressive hardcore and slightly restrained grind—leaving some of the more openly metal-oriented riffing for the occasional midpaced break or sparse segment of dissonance, etc. The vocals are an oft-chaotic stream of screams and shouts and then some, which can get slightly irritating at times (mainly during some of the more lighthearted moments, which can employ a sarcastic sort of strained "singing" that just doesn't work), but for the most part there's a solid sense of relentless energy happening here, and some of that crossover-esque "humor" does pay off ("Balboa" is a 33-second rager that opens and closes with riffs from "Eye of the Tiger", for example). They've got a fairly strong recording for what they're doing, too. There's room for improvement of course, but for the most part everything is pretty well balanced and on point, so... fuck it. The simple black and white sleeve looks fine as well, so this is a nice, quality little CD-R release from the label's "D.I.Y." series. Good stuff. There's certainly no time for getting bored, and I really hope these dudes can reach a wider audience outside of Hungary, because there's great potential displayed herein.

Step on It "Die if You Try"
Step on It "Trust"
Step on It "End"

This one's just $3 plus shipping straight from the label, so check it out if this is your thing:

Moshpit Tragedy Records






Extinction of Mankind - Ale to EnglandThe first official release from Moshpit Tragedy Records, however, is the "Ale to England" CD from longstanding UK crust masters Extinction of Mankind. The first three tracks originally made up the "Ale to England" 7", which is now out of print, and were recorded during the sessions for the "Apocalyptic Crust" split with Misery. Unfortunately, that was not the band's best recording session, and in fact is probably the worst sounding material I've ever heard from the band. You can't really go wrong with three classic covers from Antisect ("Out From the Void"), Discharge ("Ain't No Feeble Bastard", or the almighty Amebix ("Sunshine Ward") though, so... despite the fact that there are some inconsistencies in the mix and a lack of the crunchy, in your face heaviness for which the band is known, they're still cool tributes to three fine icons of the UK scene. The remaining nine tracks were recorded live in England in the summer of 2005 and actually sound surprisingly decent considering—certainly muddier than the studio tracks (which were overly thin anyway), but equally as listenable. Basically, as finicky as my ears can be, I just find that I have to give my ears time to adjust to each set of tracks on this release to develop the right sense of contrast and clarity. The bulk of the live set is made up of tracks from the band's more "recent" period—"The Nightmare Seconds...", "Apocalyptic Crust", etc.—before closing with another Amebix cover ("Arise") and a live rendition of Antisect's "Out From the Void" (which coincidentally opens the disc in studio form). Probably a release more for the diehard fans than anything, but another solid document from a band that's actually fairly legendary in their own right at this point!

Extinction of Mankind "Out From the Void" (Antisect)
Extinction of Mankind "One Bullet" (live)

This one's $10 plus shipping from the label, but the cool thing is that you get one of their "D.I.Y." releases for free if you order, so... that's not too shabby. Downloading is bullshit, so pick one up if you're a fan:

Moshpit Tragedy Records

Comments

  1. I thought the recordings were great to be honest but to each their own.  An awesome release..

    5.1.2007 | By Jay

  2. Did anyone check out the mp3s?

    Fucking sweet!!

    5.2.2007 | By Jean

  3. I’ve dug what I’ve heard from both bands, the label’s ethos is really cool.  Definitely one I’ll watch out for in the future.

    5.9.2007 | By Invisible Oranges

  4. I just now realized that I’ve heard Step On It before, from the their contributions to the Euro Thrash Retribution Comp. Probably the best songs on that comp, I will have to check this out now!

    5.26.2007 | By Thomas

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