There is a lot of sadness in this world, and one thing that feels like a kick in your festive nuts is the plight of the Bathynomus, or Giant Isopod.

If you don’t know what these internet favourite underwater creatures are then click here, or to describe them in a few words they are like giant woodlice that have a deep craving for Doritos…. Not too sure on their flavour of choice would be but it would probability be ‘cool original’ as it is by far the best.

One man has stepped forward known as Pagan Wanderer Lu who is going to try and strike awareness into all hearts by producing a tribute CD from a vast list of bands including:

Pagan Wanderer Lu himself,
Team Brick,
Paul Hawkins,
Pocus Whiteface,
Hornby Pylons,
MC CrabbyCrab,
Christopher Alcxxk,
Tracy is Hot and The Clap,
Stealthtones

These range from a vast set of styles so everybody should be happy and lap up one of those CDs which Keep It Fast has been informed is going to be out by the end on January… But WAIT… Thats not all!!

If you feel that your band has what it takes to produce a underwater adventure in 2 and a half minutes of quality mp3 then you have a change to submit your entry too! Hurry up however as the closing date is on the 5th of December.

I have in fact submitted my own isopod track which goes under the band name Soda Scream, so if you want a listen give it a click!

Then if you are ready click here for more details or to join the battle!!!!

I will keep everybody informed if the Soda Scream track makes it for the pressing and soon we will review the CD!

I seem to be running short on ideas, which means this will only be a quick post before I think of something really amazing to say; and thus have the ability to post something possibly more worthwhile than a discussion about a Black Flag song that two bands; both the opposite end of the music spectrum, have covered.

I became unhealthily obsessed with this track a few weeks back, which led me to listen to the three different versions I had of it back-to-back, almost non-stop over several evenings. Those of you who have heard ‘Depression‘ (taken from Black Flag’s mirror-smashing ‘Damaged‘) will know it’s an exceptional piece of no-frills, punk rock fury, completed by some quite deep and emotional lyrics about alienation, solitary and of course joylessness, disillusion and despair. Cheerful eh? Bet you feel really fucking happy now! Let’s take a brief look at the two bands and their take on this slice of sentimental musicianship.

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Dirty Projectors

Led by Dave Longstreth, Dirty Projectors recorded a cover of ‘Depression‘ for the album ‘Rise Above‘, a strange kind of concept/tribute album. It was Longstreth’s attempt at recording the entire ‘Damaged’ album from memory. Crazy, right? His interpretation of ‘Depression’ is a million miles away from the caustic power of the Black Flag original.

Although, it still contains the rather clunking bass/drum sound on the song’s chorus, but obviously much slower, chunkier and sinister. In fact, the whole cover is a kind of headfuck trip, with the female vocals possibly provided by Amber Coffman adding a haunting and melodramatic feel, echoing all of Longstreth’s heart-broken and miserable statements.

I mean, it’s just as intense as the original, possibly more so. The instrumentation is a complete ramshackle of twinkling keys, almost jazz-like guitar lines and odd horn breaks. The strongest element for me is the vocals, which puncture through the layer of sound quite majestically. Unlike Black Flag, Dirty Projectors have injected a rich warmness into this song, something that I didn’t think anyone could do. An amazing cover, but really one that needs repeated listening before you finally ‘get’ it.

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Give Up The Ghost

Background info on this band can be found here, I can’t be bothered to type it out again. I think it’s the buzzsaw-like guitars that do it for me. They seem to sound even more feral and brutish than those on the original.

Maybe it’s the heightened production, I don’t know. It chugs and grinds for 20-odd seconds, before letting rip like a particularly moist fart after one lethal tasting curry and several pints of Guinness. Possibly the most punk track the Boston quintet has ever released - relentlessly fast to the point of reaching heart-attack status.

Unlike Dirty Projectors however, it is slightly one-dimensional and it fails to retain some of the grit and repulsion felt in the original (Rollins vocal work in particular, in which he rasps most of the lyrics in an almost drunken slur) but vocalist Eisold manages to convey the sense of total and utter misery, as well as portraying to the listener just how fucked off he really is.

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Those of you interested in listening to these two covers and the original…..will have to buy Black Flag’s ‘Damaged‘, Dirty Projectors ‘Rise Above’ and ‘Black on Black: a Tribute To Black Flag’.

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Links

Black Flag
Dirty Projectors
Give Up The Ghost

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By Ross Macdonald

Just as Keep It Fast had all but cleaned up that last piece of pumpkin and horrible scared mess from the floor, we got a late ghoulish interview entry to scare the pants off of us!

However it doesn’t matter what time of year it is for Liverpool horror-rock 5 piece Zombina and the Skeletones, they are always in the mood for terror!

Covered in blood and dressed to the eyeballs in rotten flesh, they are deeply independent, refusing offers from many major labels. They have influenced a “horror punk” movement in the Liverpool area but they remain the kings so far!

Supporting the likes of The Misfits, Wednesday 13 and the mighty GWAR, they are nothing to be sniffed at! No Sir!

Zombina and the Skeletones have recently been touring all around the country and even fronted a zombie prom! But as they are such nice people they still have enough time to talk to us about the Wolf Man and the end of the world:

1) If you had to perform at an all groaning zombie nightclub, how would you get their bodies swinging?

Spit some blood, peel off a little skin here ‘n there. Not much different from our normal shows!

2) If the band could pick a song to be murdered to in a horror flick, what would it be?

That’s an amazing question! It would have to be New Orleans Incident! That’s one of our songs that covers that very event, well, more or less!

3) If you could play any spooky venue from the silver screen, where would it be?

The vampire gang’s hangout in The Lost Boys, or on the staircase at The Munsters place!

4) Do you have any favourite lyrics from ZATS that could get a B-movie scream queen started?

Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! Everybody’s gonna die! EVERYBODY’S GONNA DIE! Cuz it’s the end of the world!

5) If you could have any one universal studios monster to be a extra band member just for Halloween night, who would it be and what would they play?

Wolf-man playing a really lively, growling south American style percussion set-up!

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Zombina and the Skeletones are still touring up and down the rotting rolling hills of England so check them out! Also by the end of the week I will be reviewing the Halloween EP they have released free! Want to know where you can get it? Well I will tell you soon

Band - Dillinger Escape Plan
Album - Ire Works
Label - Relapse
Release Date - Now
Sounds like - opinion-dividing, party smashing joy.

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You have to admire Dillinger Escape Plan. Here is a band that has survived numerous line-up changes, a stint with Mike Patton, defecating on stage at the Carling Festival, feuds with Avenged Sevenfold and covering Justin Timberlake. Led by the formidable Greg Puciato, along with guitar-wizard Ben Weinman, bassist Liam Wilson and new drummer Gil Sharone; DEP are back with ‘Ire Works‘ the follow-up to their critically claimed, ‘Miss Machine.‘

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I’ll throw my cards on the table right now and admit my Dillinger Escape Plan knowledge is somewhat limited. Here are the facts:

- I own the “Irony is a Dead Scene‘ Ep that they recorded with Mike Patton; it’s excellent.
- I have several songs from the “Miss Machine‘ album on my Itunes, they are all terrific.
- I have heard the Justin Timberlake cover. It is *ahem* interesting.
- I have seen the fire-breathing video/’43% Burnt‘ and that Virgin Megastores vid with the singer using the audience as stepping stones - yeah, that’s good shit.

My review therefore, will be purely based on what I hear on “Ire Works‘ and not a tired, dull witted comparison of how the band used to sound with different vocalists and their dice-roll decided time signatures. Got that? Good.

For an album that is aimed at the noise-rock/mathcore market, “Ire Works‘ pretty much has it covered and includes a few surprises along the way that will probably shock, amuse and disgust the listener in equal measure. It opens with the predictably noisy “Fix Your Face‘, which rushes from the depths like an oxygen deprived deep-sea diver, desperately trying to reach the surface. It’s an atrociously wicked beginning, that flows nicely into the mangled-spazz rock of “Lurch‘ that, like its title suggests, staggers, totters and throws itself around for about 2 minutes in a drunken haze of confusion and blaring pain.

This isn’t an attempt to be controversial, it’s genuine. In my opinion, “Black Bubblegum‘ is an excellent step towards something new and in some respects something old. Obviously, the stint with Mike Patton hasn’t done the band any harm, as this track sounds closer to Faith No More than anything else they have ever done. Puciato’s vocal range is a great example of how much his voice has developed as his opening salvo crosses boundaries between spoken-word and melodic harmony.

“Sick on Sunday‘ is the sound of 65daysofstatic jamming rather enthusiastically for about a minute, then deciding they need a vocalist to warp their sound, before cutting the track of abruptly. It’s a weird step, and the next few tracks are even stranger. The “scare‘ tactic DEP have optioned to use comes in the form of back-to-back tracks “When Acting As A Particle‘ (a trippy, Tubular Bells-inspired piece) and “Nong Eye Gong‘ (a minute long blast of ferocious punk rock that’s stamped down your gullet with such force, you’ll have trouble breathing for a while.) “When Acting As A Wave‘ is the musical brother of “…Particle‘ and instead of the Mike Oldfield tendencies, dominates a more instrumental rock basis, with a heavy use of distortion, electronics and briefly, elements of breakcore.

‘Milk Lizard‘ seems to have this creepy ‘film-noir’ vibe that I can’t seem to shake off thinking about whenever I hear the track, mainly due to the strange squealing, almost jazz-band effect that seems to sit in the background, just outside of the listener’s earshot; but it’s there….oh it’s there alright. Regardless of this, ‘Milk Lizard‘ is definite single material, should the band take down this path.

The decidedly creepy introduction of ‘Dead As History‘ (all glitch-filed programmed beats, tweaks and sinister keyboards) is taken apart as the other instruments decide to make their grand entrance blowing away the calm with the inevitable storm. It’s an erratic but deep statement about the band’s sound, emphasizing their experimentation and mellow space-rock tendencies. On the other hand, ‘Horse Hunter‘ incorporates several elements of unmanageable jazz guitar spliced with an unrelenting punk-meets-metal sound and is reminiscent of a monkey fucking around with the speeds in the mixing room, whilst Puciato screams blue murder at it from the sound booth.

The 7 minute closer ‘Mouth of Ghosts‘ is a somber-sounding, but gloriously moving and elegant piece of music that is unlike any other track on the album. At the 5 minute mark, DEP tip their sound over the edge, crashing in with the epic finale, closing what has been a startling musical odyssey and finishing with possibly one of the best tracks of their career to date.

I’m guessing that the band will probably be met with a lot of backlash with this album, (’Black Bubblegum‘ in particular, which I think is the strongest track on ‘Ire Works‘, but hey what the fuck do I know, I just reviewed the thing) and I can bet they don’t give two shits that have been wiped on Greg Puciato’s shirt about what the fans think. This is an intense, intricate and fantastically challenging record that mixes elements of the complex math-punk sound with staccato electronics, fear-inducing vocals and stylish atmospherics. I realize that some may feel that throwing a load of samples and heaps of programming, mixed with more harmonious vocals doesn’t make something “amazingly revolutionary and totally awesome” (see Enter Shikari, *shudder*). I don’t think DEP are trying to do that and you shouldn’t either; accept it and stop bitching.

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(Slightly more annoyed opinions can be found on the Dillinger Escape Plan last fm page, which makes interesting reading.)

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Sounds

To listen to ‘Lurch‘ the second track from ‘Ire Works‘ click on the player below.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

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Links

DEP Myspace
Record Label

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By Ross Macdonald

This is a very sad and sore subject to talk about, but of course anybody who loves The Blood Brothers (and have been hiding under a rock) needs to know:

On the 8th of November they left this message on their myspace page:

THANK YOU AND GOODBYE

Dear Friends,

After 10 years of making music as The Blood Brothers, we have made the collective decision that our time together has come to an end. We feel extremely fortunate to have spent such a deeply memorable and amazing part of our lives with each other.

At this point, however, we feel it’s best that our futures move forward on separate paths. We’d like to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to all the bands we’ve played with, individuals who have helped us make our records, and fans who have come to our shows and picked up our music throughout the years.

Your friendship, support and love hold such a profoundly special place in each of our hearts. We hope that the memories you attach to our music are as fond as those you have given us.

Thank you and take care, we’ll miss all of you.

Love,
The Blood Brothers

The Keep It Fast team have luckily seen these guys on three occasions, all of which were brilliant! We would just like to wish them the best of luck for the future and hope that they will bring out even more grand side projects. Cheers!

Here is one of my favourite tracks that they brought out (and is in video format) Trash Flavoured Trash Enjoy!:

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Side projects at the moment include:
Jaguar Love
Head Wound City
Neon Blonde

The first time I was introduced into the hardcore digital genre was Alec Empire’s “break into the mainstream” solo album Intelligence and Sacrifice. This album really rips into your ribs with its hard cannon thumps and screaming politically-driven lyrics.

The problem at the time was reading such material as Kerrang (yes we have all done it.) They would rather be interested in what colour hats he wears on a Thursday then delving into the focused yet dangerous mind that had became massive in the past with Atari Teenage Riot.

In the years that ATR were active (1992-2000) they fused anarchist, anti-fascist or anti-Nazi views with punk vocals and used break beat samples at a speed up to 1000 mph! On top of this they were surrounded by controversy in Germany due to the prevailing “no politics on the dance floor” attitude.

Some sources even say that they had to black tape all of their instruments down, as the clubs where they would play would get so hyped up that there would be mini riots within the place resulting in fights, flying monkeys and everybody in the crowd trying to take all of ATR gear! (Monkeys may be a lie.)

They really make any other band (see simple plan as a prime example) look like little soft kittens ready for a snooze.

Of course these are all words and what better way to really show what they were all about is a video made in May 1999.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

This outdoor show in Berlin resulted in the arrests of all of the band members for “inciting violence” after crowds, assembled for an anti-NATO protest, rioted with police (the charges were later dropped).

So next time you think about putting on your dusty copy of The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) *shudder* think about the true kings (and queens) of anger.

One gig that was a particularly important moment in my life as a music lover happened about 2 years ago. It was back in 2005 where San Diego’s Hot Snakes played their last UK show at Camden Underworld. It was an emotional time for all involved and possibly one of the finest live performances I’ve ever seen, despite vocalist/guitarist Rick Froberg being very drunk on Tequila and walking off at the end of ‘Luau‘. The band went on to play several shows in Australia, record a live-studio album at JJJ radio station and then split, never to return. Their demise was perhaps expected. Rumours of tension between band members littered internet forums and when the announcement came of the break up, it was accepted with a grim smile.

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Hot Snakes started life as a side project for lead guitarist John Reis during his time off from his most popular and long serving group, Rocket From The Crypt. Around this time, Reis set up the Swami Records label. The initial Hot Snakes recordings came from Reis working on tracks with former Delta 72 drummer, Jason Kourkounis. He then contacted former Drive Like Jehu band-mate, Rick Froberg as vocalist and the first Hot Snakes album was born in the form of 2000’s “Automatic Midnight‘ a stripped down, volatile and extremely abrasive punk rock record.

Gar Wood joined the band as the permanent bassist for touring duties and recorded on the band’s follow up album, “Suicide Invoice‘ in 2002. Their second album was a more experimental and “cleaner’ affair - utilising organs, more melody and darker lyrics. In 2004, Hot Snakes released their final studio album, “Audit in Progress‘ to critical acclaim. This album would feature Mario Rubalcaba on drums in place of the departed Jason K. It was possibly the band’s biggest and noisiest album, and won the “best punk album‘ award at the San Diego Music Awards. A music video was made for the opening track, “Braintrust.‘

They went on to record one of the last ever John Peel “Peel Sessions’ Eps, which featured 2 tracks from “Automatic Midnight‘ and “Audit In Progress‘ respectively.

After an amazing UK tour (well, the few dates they played!) The band announced it would split and after recording the “Thunder Down Under‘ for JJJ radio. They also contributed cover of the Government Issue song, “Time To Escape‘ to the Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland computer game.

The band are highly regarded in Indie music circles, somewhat down to the imposing figures of vocalist Rick Froberg and John Reis, both who served time in the legendry Drive Like Jehu. At the end of many of their live sets, Hot Snakes would play both “Bullet Train to Vegas‘ and the 9 minute epic of “Luau‘, both which appeared on “Yank Crime‘ an album that any aspiring guitarist should own.

The impact Hot Snakes had on punk music was a revelation. It was a wake up call to show that not everything had to be the same formulaic rehash of the same three chords. It challenged the listener with its gritty and layered sound, snarling vocals and chilling atmospherics. They were a raucous, rollercoaster ride of a band that kept strictly to the staunch DIY approach of many other Independent labels and acts at the time.

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Where are they now?

Rick Froberg - is continuing his work as an artist and illustrator (Rick worked on all the artwork for the Hot Snakes albums and for many Swami Records releases.)

John Reis - after disbanding Rocket From The Crypt and The Sultans, John worked on Swami Records for a bit before announcing he’d started a new band called Speedo, featuring ex-members of Hot Snakes (see news item).

Gar Wood - part of John’s new project, Speedo. He will take on guitar duties.

Mario Rubalcaba - current drummer for indie-rockers, The Black Heart Procession.

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Releases

Automatic Midnight (2000)
Suicide Invoice (2002)
Audit In Progress (2004)
Peel Sessions (2005)
Thunder Down Under (2006)

Video

Click below to experience the only official Hot Snakes video for the song, ‘Braintrust‘. Enjoy!

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

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Links

Hot Snakes
Swami Records
Rocket From The Crypt
Drive Like Jehu

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By Ross Macdonald (with thanks from Hot Snakes wikipedia page!)

This new release from Dinocore/Disastercore 4 piece Down I Go is very much a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair. Clocking in at 5 minutes and 49 seconds and containing just 4 tracks, it’s an incredibly short-sharp burst of robotic noise rock. Let’s take a listen……

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T-1000

Robert Patrick as T-1000 in Terminator 2 was terrifying. Imagine you’re John Connor, a good-looking rebel that plays by his own rules, constantly pissing people off with your youthful hi-jinks, when suddenly BAM! This fucker starts chasing after you in a truck cab and you have to rely on the Governor of California to save your skin. Now imagine that this shape-shifting cyborg has cornered you; the soundtrack to your swift and sudden demise would no doubt be soundtracked by this little ditty. A Brutal, uncompromising, fight-in-a-steel-mill metal attack, showcasing Down I Go’s truly barbaric and sledge-hammer-like nature. Vocalist Pete sounds as if his words have been force-fed through some distorted, scrambled radio, whilst the rest of the band drag the most sludge-drenched riffs and robotic blasts of sound from their battle-worn instruments.

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R5 D4

Amazingly, R5-D4 was the original droid that Luke Skywalker’s Uncle Owen was going to purchase before it malfunctioned (they don’t make them like they used to!) not a very good start for a minor Star Wars droid, eh? On this track, an ode to the somewhat unlucky robot, DIG’s schizophrenic vocal attack is just about audible (cries of “Luke Skywalker!” are heard through the distressed squeals of noise from Alan’s guitar.) The System of a Down shrieks are apparent, spraying across this minute or so of musical oddballism like a malfunctioning sub machine gun.

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ED-209

ED 209, possibly the worst robot ever? It malfunctioned constantly during the Robocop films and it looks a bit like a car stuck on to the legs of an AT-ST walker. Utter bobbins. Anyway, stupid designs aside; let’s look at the audio effects used in the film. Apparently, a jaguar’s growl played backwards was used as the robot’s own battle cry in the first film and vocalist Pete seems to be trying to intimidate this on the 3rd track of this EP. His relentlessly barking mad screams and wails show how versatile he is as when it comes to random bouts of insane noise. This is all backed up nicely by an incredibly disjointed jazz-metal soundscape that would make even Robocop shit his pants.

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Mecha-Godzilla

Imagine these things:

Flamethrower
Lazer Eye Beams
Missile Claws
Electrical Beam
Forcefield
Mega Buster
Plasma Grenade
Maser Ray
Absoloute Zero Cannon.

Vs

Atomic breath/ray
Nuclear Pulse
Enhanced regeneration
Spiral Fire Ray
Magnetic manipulation

You’re now somewhere along the lines of what the track “Mecha- Godzilla‘ sounds like.

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Verdict? Down I Go might just well be the greatest UK metal band ever. A hard-working, incredibly talented and very versatile band that deserve your attention. ‘This Is Robotcore‘ is a very brief glimpse of what the band has to offer, but it’s one that doesn’t disappoint. Full marks to the robots, now roll on Tyrantcore!

(’This Is Robotcore‘ can be bought from the band’s myspace page for 2 english pounds and a few pence for packaging. ‘This Is Disastercore’ is available from Undergroove Records and all stores that have taste in good music.)

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Links

Down I Go
Undergroove Records

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By Ross Macdonald

Just over a month ago the keep it fast team stared a competition to see if anybody has been in music video and if so were they the main star shaking their naughty bits to a George Formby classic tune, or simply a tramp near a spice girls zig-a-zig-ah promotion.

We really have had a lot of emails which could only be lies but they do make us smile. One of the best is as follows:

“I am Slash so I rule your mum so please can I have the special prize”

If that really was Slash then we are sorry, we can find you a small goodies back left over from Halloween… You do like gummy bears yeah?

Anyway cutting the crap we have a winner!!!!

His name is Gabriel from Spain and he says that his dog Naruto, loves the site and even though he hasn’t been in a video, he wanted to show his guitar skills in a photo:

So for this effort he wins!!! What does he win you ask? Find out next week!