X-tra Hot Sauce

I’ve always been a mark for Howard Stern’s metal doppleganger Danny Lilker. I won’t show off my S.O.D, Nuclear Assault and (working on a) Brutal Truth collection here, but I’ve got one.

I’d heard of his pre-all of those bands Xtra Hot Sauce through the grapvine, but was finally pushed over the edge by my friend who described them as “S.O.D. igno meets NYC Mayhem wildness.” Tell me dear reader, wouldn’t that description get your ass in gear to check them out too? Here’s “Tony’s Dilemma” for reference. Lilker is a beast, a metal lifer who has officially retired from music. Big ups to the guy for leaving a cash cow to start a fledgling grind band and for being a part of Need to Control. Bummer/awesome that Metallica ended up stealing that one tiny “Godplayer” riff from ‘em.

Turkey Lurkey #3

Separating the cranberry sauce from the cranberry jelly. 

World Peace Can't Be...Pun

Tommy Carroll 2012

Thoughts on Harley going to jail:

1) How long must we await the famed Harley's War album on Southern Lord?

2) JJ's mags are kewl, but those who don't acknowledge Best Wishes are (to quote the aforementioned) "pussies."

3) Is there any famed NYHC guy that uses commas on social media? Do y'all need editors? *I'd do it.*

4) Haven't heard from Rick Ta Life for a while...are we sure it wasn't him? (ever?)

NYC Mayhem - "Deathwish" (Dylan's Dumb iPod #14)

Apparently there was a thrash band from Louisville called Mayhem. Never heard of 'em, but interesting nonetheless (No bro, I've never heard of the Norweigian black metal band. Educate me, for I only learn about bands when Cold World spoofs them for merch designs).

Cool shirt bruh

NYC Mayhem experienced a few sonic permutations in their short lifetime, but this demo sees the lineup of Tony Marc and Gordon Ancis (both of a band called Assault that you've never listened to...right?) and Tommy Carroll (yes, THAT Tommy Carroll) on drums and vox (Phil Collins style). Later on in the game, Craig Setari (Sick of it All, Rest in Pieces, Straight Ahead) would replace Tony Marc (though, he's credited as being "ex-Smegma" in Metal Forces Magazine, history is weird!). Were it not for later and subsequent contributions to hardcore, it's difficult to say if people could muster up a passing fancy in this band, but that ain't important.

D.R.I, C.O.C, N.Y.C

I love this demo. A lot. So much that once I was listening to it on the way home from work. It was dusky outside, I thought I was alone and the time seemed ripe for public moshing...so I did it...and right when I get to the crosswalk I was heading (moshing) to, some sexy latina literally laughed and pointed at me. D'oh. That's how college worked for me. I moshed at inopportune times and didn't get dates. The astonishing thing here is that at the time, the exchange didn't seem that weird.

Though staking their claim as one of those "fastest bands around," this demo's actually chock full of above-average instrumentation and not tuneless warbling like a lot of the "pioneering" fastcore bands. Especially for a trio. Vocals are muddled, but riffs are noodly. Lore and long-haired fandom asserts that this demo is NYC Mayhem's only purely "metal" release (and that's why they've got a page on the metal archives) and the rest is just "thrashy hardcore" but my favorite shit involves line blurring of all kinds.

"Deathwish" has a snakey intro that conjures up the crossover stuff that D.R.I was messing with, and the bass always has a presence with this band. Then it goes into standard blast beat territory from then on.

Thanks the godz for those comp sites that compile all this stuff for dorks like me. Apparently some thrash band called Mortal Sin (from Australia) also had a release called Mayhemic Destruction but it came out a year later and had no relation to the New York band.

If you're a Tommy Carroll superfan, track down that Crumbsuckers live set where he heckles Kirk Hammett for being a "rock star."

Also, they used to call this "death core." If only they knew.