June Paik

I'm sure you know who June Paik is. If you listen to skramz at all you have heard of this band, no doubt. If you haven't then you are really missing out. Honestly. Their sound is dark and epic, mixing post rock elements with hardcore and screamo dynamics to deliver an extremely unique sound. JP are definitely legends in the scene.

They recently toured America with label-mates Battle of Wolf 359. I had to miss their Baltimore show thanks to the well-oiled machine that is the west Texas legal system, but I heard that their performance was bananas. During their run June Paik have put out a 12", a 10", a 7", splits with both Titan and Battle of Wolf 359 and a demo. They also appear on all of the "emo end of the world" compilations and the React With Protest Sampler.

You can still buy alot of their stuff from various distros. I just bought their split with BOW359, so fucking excited to listen to that shit on vinyl.

Below is a sweet video of them from 2008, along with all of their releases (except for the emo compilations, all of which can be found elsewhere on the blog).



Word.

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Demo


7"


10"


12"


Split with Titan


Split with Battle of Wolf 359


React With Protest Sampler

Battle of Wolf 359

The first time I heard Battle of Wolf 359, I nearly shit myself. In the past decade or so, Europe has emerged as a hotbed of DIY punk activity, stretching from the Iberian peninsula to the former Soviet satellites, and have sheltered some of the most interesting and groundbreaking hardcore acts active today, but Britain has seemed to have little to add to the equation for whatever reason.

The United Kingdom's Battle of Wolf 359, along with acts like split-mates Kaddish and crust Gods Fall of Efrafa, have refreshed the British hardcore scene with their unique sounds, mixing elements of hardcore, emo-violence, and doom into their music.

BOW359's sound is characterized by grimy bass, fast-paced, epic guitar riffs, and breakneck drumming grounded by two vocalists, one male and one female.

React with Protest just released The Death Affect, which is BOW359's first full length LP. It does not disappoint. Moments of quiet melody peer through passages of absolute chaos, which the dual vocals add a great depth to. I am a huge fan of their previous body of work, especially the Kaddish split and "Tsunkatse", which appeared on the Emo Annihilation compilation, and The Death Affect seems to be the next logical step in their body of work; overall a very solid LP. My one piece of constructive criticism would be to add just a little variation; the songs flow together extremely well, but sometimes it seems the melodic passages should be expanded upon to add a little more depth to their sound. Regardless, this will surely be one of the strongest hardcore releases of 2009. Download it, and all their other material.

BUY SHIT


MYSPACE

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Summer 2007 Tour CD-R



Battle of Wolf 359/Kaddish Split (2008)



Battle of Wolf 359/Singaia Split



Emo Annihilation Compilation (2008)



The Death Affect (2009)

The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra

Apoplexy Twist Orchestra is a screamo/emo-violence band from Germany that was around from '01 to 04. Their sound is comparable to June Paik and Louise Cyphre. I first heard these guys on the Emo Annihilation compilation, and then really got into them when I downloaded their split with La Quiete. Besides their split with La Quiete, they have a full length, a song off The Emo Annihilation Compilation, and a Split with The Kinetic Crash Cooperation. I could only find one version of the split with The Kinetic Crash Cooperation, and the artist names are not labeled. I tried to figure it out but I didn't want to label anything wrong and be a DILL HOLE.

Anywho, here's a video of 400 Miles and Counting, it isn't live, but it has some cool video clips and stuff.




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Create The New


"..." from The Emo Annihilation Compilation


Split with La Quiete


Split with The Kinetic Crash Cooperation

Emo End-of-the-world Compilations

Since 2005, React With Protest has put out three great international screamo compilations. Vinyl-only releases, but these comps have gotten around mostly due to blogs. Admittedly, there are quite a few songs on these compilations I skip every time, and I find some of the spoken word tracks to be extremely corny. But these are a literal gold mine for any DIY/screamo fan. These comps have turned me on to some great bands I had never heard of before, as well as feature some fine work from some legendary bands. Definitely worth your download.

Here's a list of just a few of the bands you'll find on these comps: Daitro, Raein, June Paik, Loma Prieta, Suis La Lune, Louise Cyphre, La Quiete, Funeral Diner, The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra, Cease Upon the Capitol, Towers, Pyramids, Balboa, Arse Moreira, Battle of Wolf 359, Comadre

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The Emo Armaggedon (2005)



The Emo Apocalypse (2006)



Emo Annihilation (2008)