Anal Thunder
"Once upon a time back in the dark nineties"... it was not a clever business move for a band to dress in mullets and moustaches, play covers by Sabrina and Alice Cooper, act disrespectfully towards show organizers and meanwhile try to drink as much as possible. Yet something wierd happened in the first years of this century. Suddenly Anal Thunder is welcome to every party and both daughters and grandmas buy ANAL stuff. Some fans say they have gone soft! We at Hell's Tone Records see it other way around. Anal Thunder's danger isn't anymore necesseraly in the promilles, but it lays in the band's unpredictable nature. This has been proved by both the energetic and tight live shows, and the occasional events, like the last years Swedish-style photo shootings, which got a lot of people upset. In 2008 there will be more wild shows and new album "4 am Illusion", that will leave you wondering, what the fuck are these guys thinking again.
KDN02 1999: Greetings From Uranus 7"
KDN04 2000: Will Fuck For Crack CD
KDN06 2002: split 7"ep w/ No Redeeming Social Value
HTR005 2003: Cheap Wine & Quality Time CDep
HTR007 2005: Cheap Wine & Quality Time/Will Fuck For Crack MC
HTR018 2008: 4 am Illusion 12"LP
www.analthunder.com
myspace.com/analthunderband
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Another One Dead
Another One Dead come from the eastern town of Lappeenranta, Finland, only about 20 kilometers from the Russian border. The band came together in the fall of 1998, and after a few weeks of playing and figuring things out formed a solid line-up (though it has suffered a minor change afterwards). The members of Another One Dead have all been playing in different bands before, but never has the outcome sounded as convincing as with this combination.
The band's influences are old and new hardcore alike, as well as some metal. Some of the influences are easier to pick up on than others, one that you can't avoid hearing is metal. Tight stomping guitar parts with some innovative technicality are Another One Dead's backbone. The music is straightforward, blunt and honest hardcore and things are said the way they are, without holding anything back.
The two Another One Dead tracks on the Building A Legacy compilation got positive feedback and gained a lot of attention for the band. The hype that started with a rehearsal tape in 1999 turned into solid recognition. On december 2000 Another One Dead self-titled MCD saw the daylight. Although the band wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome of the release, it got positive response. MCD left a bitter taste since the band knew that they could do a lot better. Even though the sound quality wasn't as good as possible, the songs were still hitting hard.
On fall 2001 the first guitar player, Antti, left the band. Jussi, who had played bass before, started to play second guitar and Jyrki joined the band as a new bass player. That's the only line-up change that the band's gone through. At the end of the year Another One Dead's first gig abroad took place in Sweden.
During the recent couple of years Another One Dead has been playing gigs here and there, but the primary emphasis has been in writing and rehearsing new material. There are circa 15 new unreleased songs, which will be hopefully released soon.
HTR015 2007: Come What May CD
www.anotheronedead.com
myspace.com/anotheronedead
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photo: Harri Nurmi
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Antti Tuska & Vähämieliset
Antti Tuska & Vähämieliset is traditional sounding Finnish drunk punk/hardcore band. They basically consist of guys, who have been kicked out of other local bands for excessive drinking. Ex-members of Anal Thunder, Worth the Pain, Charged... Viva resilar!
HTR016 2007: Kosmista Suhinaa - Live in Lappeenranta 7"
myspace.com/anttituska
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Arkham13
Arkham13 is a thrash/death/hc band from Long Island, NY, USA mostly known in hardcore scene for the guitarist Derek Schilling, who played in the legendary Neglect in 1991-1995. Arkham13 (initially called "Arkham") was formed in 1997 and has since offered excellent listening to metalheads and hardcore fans of Neglect alike, with their punishing mix of old school metal styles and NYHC with two CD releases and a 7". One album more was recorded around the time of release of "Born To Bring Death" CD (Filled With Hate Records, GER), but was never released until Derek offered it to us. I know everybody likes to say this, but in the sea of new thrash influenced metal bands, Arkham13 doesn't sound retro at all. They sound like nothing happened in the world of metal after the early nineties, and that's a huge plus in our book! Go listen to it yourself at Arkham13 myspace and/or get the CD, when it's out...
HTR022 2009: Bloodfiend CD
myspace.com/arkham13
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Kyre & Duunarit
Kyre & Duunarit started as a funny idea of a project with guys from Rejected and Horny Boys. Things got serious right from start, though, and the band recorded their first 4-track demo in their second rehearsals. The stuff was so brutal and promising, that HTR was about to send the tape to the pressings upon first hearing. We decided to wait, and the debut 7" - made out of another, a little more organized recordings - came out six months later in September 2003.
Kyre doesn't like being in internet...
HTR004 2003: 6 - song 7"EP
HTR008 2005: 9 - song 7"EP
HTR013 2007: S/T 7"single
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Mambohammer
An instrumental surfrock bastard born out of shit smelling glamour of the city of Lappeenranta. Members from The Verticals and Anal Thunder.
HTR019 2008: S/T CDep
myspace.com/mambohammer
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The Prostitutes
Out of the many bands with same name, Kevin Prostitute's "The Prostitutes", now located in Los Angeles, California, is perhaps the most well known. At least they should be. Their first release outside the U.S, a 7" called "Belle Ringer", is fashionably delayed, because Kevin had to form a new line-up in the midst or recordings. Everything looks cool now, that we see the 7" before spring arrives.
HTR021 2009: Belle Ringer 7"
myspace.com/thefuckinprostitutes
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Rejected
KDN05 2001: Heat of the Night CDEP
HTR010 2006: Fool For a Day... King For a Lifetime CD
lprhardcore.net/rejected/
myspace.com/53rejected
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The Verticals
HTR009 2006: S/T 12"LP
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1984
R.I.P.
Following in the footsteps of their brutal sounding Connecticut forefathers(100 Demons, Hatebreed, Death Threat, 2X4), the four piece known as 1984give you a harmonious combination of fast agressive thrash, barbaricbreakdowns, and misanthropic soul incinerating lyrics. The 1984/Black Betsysplit CD continues where their first EP, "Wide Awake In The Land Of TheDead," left off, but the bands progression is obvious: their sound hasmatured with more intelligent guitar riffs, while the craft of writingmonstrous beatdown material has only improved. Lyrically they have notstrayed from their path--humanity is evil, and "they" are after you, so giveup hope and dont even try. Parental discretion is strongly advised... Sideeffects include suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, frustration, violenturges and fantasies of which you may act upon, and an overall sense ofdisgust with the world. (Dennehy Records)
HTR012 2006: Black Betsy - Split CD
myspace.com/nineteeneightyfour1984
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Barse
R.I.P.
Barse was the first foreign band on Hell's Tone Records and by far have represented best what the label is (or at least tries to be) about: putting out stuff for bands, who share similar taste of humor and pessimism, who despise contemporary music thoroughly (punk included), are hopelessly or at least somewhat untrendy, yet make a mark on handful of people as one of the brutalest soundtracks in their lives. Our co-operation with Barse started in 2002 and lead to a few releases and two BARSE-visits in Finland. With songs like these and with better luck, where would have this band gone...
R.I.P. Gash 1971-2006.
HTR002 2002: They Said It Couldn't Happen Here... And It Didn't! CD/LP
HTR003 2003: Better Be Ready 7" single
HTR011 2006: Heartburns - Split 7" single
HTR014 2007: If You Can't Fuck Em, Cut them Up! CD/LP
lprhardcore.net/barse/
myspace.com/barsefilth
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Black Betsy
R.I.P.
Despite the style was misunderstood widely by mislead activist types and other losers, who lumped it to same category with all new school hc coming from the U.S. (and even the horrendous genre of 'attitude metal'), the late nineties was the heyday of East Coast U.S. influenced hardcore in Finland. Black Betsy was formed in Lappeenranta early on in 1998, when existing bands, who could pull the style off convincinly, were few in numbers. Thus expectations rose fast, and the band gained a cult status within a rather small circle of friends and hardcore fans of the genre. Yet Down My Throat, Another One Dead, Death from Above and the likes, who were formed around the same time or a little later (except D.M.T... rip 1996-2007) from same influences, got their bands going strong and put out first releases in '98-'99, but Black Betsy did not. They recorded a split demo tape with Another One Dead (1998) and one song for "Down For Life" compilation 7" (Full House Records 2000), but it seemed they would never be able to put out a proper release of their own. From the beginning, the band suffered from many line-up changes, which made the whole thing more of a project than a band. By 2002 Black Betsy played only a couple of shows and disappeared. The band still rehearsed occasionally and finally in 2006 resurrected in Helsinki, where a steady line-up would be possible to arrange. For about two years Black Betsy played shows and proved, that they were worth the expectations set years earlier. Unfortunately in early 2008, though, Black Betsy decided to quit. The split CD with 1984 is by now the last record they put out.
HTR012 2006: 1984 - Split CD
myspace.com/blackbetsy
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Bonded With Blood
R.I.P.
Bonded With Blood was formed as an "old school side project" for the guys in Shed, a metal/hc band from Lappeenranta. BWB was a straight edge band and existed from early 1998 to the spring of '99. Their recorder history contains an excellent demo tape from April 1998 and the four songs on Hells Tone/Kidney Records first release, BWB/Justice Shall Prevail -split 7".
KDN01 1998: Justice Shall Prevail - split 7"EP
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Bud Junkees
R.I.P.
Bud Junkees might be the coolest, non-trendiest and lyrically most decicated band in our catalogue. This means of course, that they were largely ignored and disliked in their existence. They didn't get gigs, 'cause scenesters thought they were too militant about tea drinking. As for now, BJ is starting to get attention in the unerground as the pioneers of Finnish sludge.
HTR001 2002: Fleshpress - split CDEP
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Callous 53
Callous 53 are a new hardcore band from Lappeenranta. These fellows pound the meanest shit in Finnish metallic hardcore at the moment. Like their mighty influences, Darkside NYC, Neglect, Setback, Arkham, SFA, Tension*, etc. Callous 53 take 80's NYHC as their founding ground, add groove and heaviness to it with trashy riffs and funky breakdowns.
Callous 53 have only played one show and got one demo, called "Kourula Style", out by now. The response has been divided (to put it nicely), like we expected, which just adds to our pleasure at HELL'S TONE RECORDS to sign this promising, underground act for a record release (tba). Ladies and Gentlemen. Callous 53 from Lappeenranta will tear shit up in 2008... Not for your pleasure, but your discomfort!
Edit: Nah, they broke up.
myspace.com/callous53hatecore
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Fleshpress
HTR001 2002: Bud Junkees - split CDEP
www.cfprod.com/kon/
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Furnace
R.I.P.
KDN03 2000: Bloodstains CDEP
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Heartburns
HTR006 2005: Ronskibiitti - split 7"EP
HTR011 2006: Barse - split 7"single
www.theheartburns.com
myspace.com/theheartburns
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Justice Shall Prevail
R.I.P.
Justice Shall Prevail hailed from the City of Vaasa, which kind of was the "new school hardcore" center in Finland in the mid 90's. The band had already played their last show and packed their shit, when negotiations leaded to build the first release of Hells Tone/kidney Records around JSP's unreleased and only studio stuff ever recorded and Bonded With Blood's forthcoming stuff. Ex-members played or still play in PMV, Turun Romantiikka, the Wrongdoers and Last Laugh to name a few.
KDN01 1998: Bonded With Blood - split 7"EP
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No Redeeming Social Value
So you're thinking, what the mighty No Redeeming Social Value from New York City is doing here in the list of crappy backwoods bands? Well, the story begins in the era of Kidney Records. We approached NRSV with letters and early Anal Thunder records, and begged them to join A.T. for a split record. After a while NRSV guys saw the huge (drinking) potential in Anal Thunder and started to take our messages seriously. Finally in 2001 they said yes! We were psyched to start working with the kings of Old-E.. Our boys Anal Thunder on a split with a band, who have played at WEMBLEY with IRON MAIDEN!? Unbeliavable! We still can't believe it.
Anal Thunder/NRSV: "Have a Hangover with..." split 7" was pre-ordered to distributors and shops by tens of thousands and soon made the Finnish rich as fuck. After the release of the 7", and a succesful world tour, the bands unfortunately parted ways. Anal Thunder's career has since flew them all over the world from stadium shows to another. They've learned all the dirty tricks of the business and take care of fashion shootings and heavy drinkin' alike in a very professional way. No Redeeming Social Value has had a lot of HIGH PROFILE activity as well, in which you can dwell in at www.nrsv.com.
KDN06 2002: Anal Thunder - split 7"EP
www.nrsv.com
myspace.com/noredeemingsocialvalue
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Ronskibiitti
HTR006 2005: Heartburns - split 7"EP
myspace.com/ronskibiitti