Municipal Waste - A Wasted Article

Here is a nice guest article on Municipal Waste, a band that we are pretty sure you have heard of if you listen to heavy music at all. This following piece, which could be considered a sort of tribute to the lords of punk party thrash, was submitted to TYS by my good friend and band-mate, Sergios. Dude knows all about thrash and death metal, so read on and see what you find out about these crazy thrash revival kings! Enjoy!--Fotis TYS

Hailing from the parking-spaces of shopping malls in Richmond, Virginia, speed metal punks Municipal Waste guarantee an explosive atmosphere in every record they have laid down so far. But hang on; before we really get into it, let’s trace the roots of this modern day phenomenon. Back in the day, Richmond was called Powhatan, named after the Indian tribe that resided in the area and around. It had an outstanding natural beauty, was rich in resources and definitely pretty much quiet (or at least we suppose). Powhatan was a perfect place for chilling and fun. Maybe this has something to do with our modern music thrashing “Indians” (thumbs up to Anthrax), who knows. 

We believe that if you want to get a good grasp of a band you should look at its background, culture, environment etc. Surely all of us when we were young were searching each tiny bit of info we could get from CD booklets in the pre-internet era and talk about it with our friends. Those were the good old days, judging a band to be cool or not from their t-shirts in the back cover photo. I mean c’mon “this guy is wearing a Possessed t-shirt, they should be good lads and the music should be amazing!”. You could call us naive, romantic or whatever.

Municipal Waste formed back in 2000 and played their first show on New Years Eve just before 2001 was replacing 2000. How cool is that? From the band’s current line up, only Ryan Waste and Tony Foresta (guitars and vox respectively) were there, so we could say they are the core of Municipal Waste. Add Land Phil molesting the bass and last but not least Dave Witte on drums, and you got the rest of the wheels of this monstrous thrashing machine.

What can you say about Dave Witte, the guy is a legend. Personally, I regard him as one of the most influential and amazing drummers I‘ve ever listened to. His style is like open heart surgery, no mistakes – deadly precise.  In all the bands he played it was only mayhem, death and destruction. I kindly suggest that you check him out in Discordance Axis, Burnt by the Sun, Human Remains and East West- Blast Test among others. All these aforementioned bands have nothing to do with the style that Municipal Waste prefer to spread all around, but still you should give them a go. Judging from his interviews, he also seems like a pretty cool and dedicated guy. His playing style in Discordance Axis and Human Remains took him extreme music miles ahead and I think that all of us speed and intensity freaks should at least give him the credits and respect.

Having said that, Land Phil, the bearded bandana guy behind the bass flicks is also active in other bands. He plays in a humoristic death metal band, called Cannabis Corpse. In their own words: “Cannabis corpse was formed in the summer of 2006 as a way to express our love of smoking weed and listening to Cannibal Corpse”. Song titles like “Staring through My Eyes That Are Red” or “Reefer Stashed Place” or even “Addicted to Hash in a Tin” pretty much points out what you should expect. Who said that death metal is not fun, it is mostly about fun!

Ryan Waste has himself an old school heavy metal project called Volture which is not so big news but anyway. He is the mastermind behind the axeripping riffs of the Waste so we should say some stuff about him. Plus he is a founding member. Speaking of that, last but not least Tony Foresta is the bringer of doom with his 2 sentences per second attacks, funny faces, wicked poses and all around on stage thrashing. He is also participating in a hardcore project named No Friends which are pretty cool! He loves football and has a “PIZZA” lip tattoo.

You can tell that until know we only cared about sideprojekts, ex bands, heritage and everything apart Municipal Waste. Well that might be true, but I (we) don’t think that we should tell you the obvious. You don’t need us to tell you how great and awesome Municipal Waste are. You already know that! Thus we will complete this piece with the top-5 reasons why one should get his hand on these guys’ releases, if hasn’t yet done so.

1. Kurt Russel is a really huge actor! Who would argue against? I mean, Escape from LA/NY, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing or even that movie that his wife was kidnapped from rednecks and he was a truck driver – these are masterpieces! The Waste seem to have that point of view to, Tango and Thrash is a homage to the – as the pun states- Tango and Cash movie, featuring Kurt along Sylvester Stalone. Who hasn’t seen that? Plus the whole Municipal Waste side of the split (with Bad Acid Trip) is a general homage to Kurt Russel (being also on the cover).

2. Beer cans! The sound of a beer can opening is surely close to paradise for some of us. That sound means that in a few seconds you will be swallowing that divine thing that beer is. Beer drinkers raise your cans/bottles/glasses and listen to that sound in a couple of Waste’s songs! We won’t tell you who they are, find them yourself (straight edge kids just ignore the above paragraph and let's just drink coke to MW and mosh our heads off nice and sober-ed:P).

3. Fun! Every band should in our opinion have always a touch of fun and humor, I mean c’mon even if your lyrics are about horror movies or such shit, it is fun since you overuse it. Just like Cannibal Corpse’s lyrics, they are funny like low budget splatter films (which I am not a fan of, but you get my point). Too much ketchup makes you laugh. Well if you want to pay a tribute to 80s horror b-movies then this is fun! Song titles like The Thing or Terror Shark or Toxic Revolution among others with cover artwork that is in line with this golden era proves the point.

4. Live! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend their show here in Athens or anywhere else. I am aware of what happened here, no need to talk about this now. But it seems to me after watching their dvd, many videos in youtube and from friends' words, that they are really energetic and give 100% when they perform live! Well, that’s a big plus for a band! Trampoline stage dives, circle pits, moshing, stage dives on bodyboards (you know the board that Hobie Buchannon of Baywatch used to have when he was a teenager) is the norm in a MW show.

5. Math! 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321. That’s a fact! Last reason why to love these guyz is that they kind of brought back the glory of the thrashing 80s, an era that is far too much important for thrash/death metal/hardcore, you name it. If this is not good enough for you or if you going to blah blah about how much better other bands are, or how overrated Municipal Waste are, or how fake they are, or how Toxic Holocaust are better (they are truly great in my opinion), or if it is not Razor then it ain’t thrash, then this piece is not for you.

Last but not least, I wanna thank Fotis and TYS for giving me a place to express my thoughts, respect!

P.S. In Chuck’s words: Support music, not rumors.

SYT (Shoot Your Take)

Safari Black - Straight Up Vegan Hip Hop

In our search to find and document the best in awesome, thought-provoking staight edge and vegan hip hop, we stumble upon all kinds of interesting stuff circulating out there in the underground. Safari-Black is a super cool hip hop artist taking the animal rights cause to a whole new level, by mixing high-quality, intelligent raps with extra tight, modern hip hop music.

An outspoken animal rights activist and a member of the Vegan Hip Hop Movement, Safari Black does not forget to keep things entertaining (it's music after all). He manages to provide some real awesome hip hop to groove along to, while getting a healthy inflow of funky, compassionate & thoughful  messages. We strongly recommend to go and check his mixtape The Art of Love at bandcamp if you're up for some extra-chill, NY flavored hip hop in the vein of 2nd generation Wu Tan, Dead Prez, Masta Killa etc. Moreover, Safari Black showcases the latest  and best from that new wave hip hop sound, by adding  crazy samples and aural landscapes that will get your extra-terrestrial avatar in motion.

Safari Black is a busy man doing cool stuff for a good cause. Aside from making music, you will find his vegan episodes on youtube (vegan pizza recipes and all), as well as promoting all that is cool and compassiontate in the world of hip hop through his website So forget all that crappy, commercial hip hop and connect with the real urban underground!

Are YOU a hardcore hipster?

Each one of us has to decide for themselves.

Truth Of My Youth - 'Farside EP' Review

Today we are happy to present and review Farside by Truth Of My Youth, an exceptional new band with a very refreshing and crucial 'core to deliver in today's scene. The band has formed its own brand of melodic hardcore/pop punk which is so tuneful and inspiring that it truly stands out from the millions of poppy hardcore/easy-core fad bands out there. They have a sense of urgency in their sound that really makes you wanna go out and live life like it's your last day. Let's go!

TOMY is from Maine/US, and this is their 1st EP. They play 6 songs of upbeat hardcore with melancholic pop punk sensibilities in the vein of Lifetime, Dag Nasty, Good Riddance and - of course - early New Found Glory (the band's name is also a NFG album title). You won't find any songs with metalcore beatdowns here; just real punk rock music played fast and with a 'heart on the sleeve' hardcore-spirited approach. The production sound is also kind of different, as it is a bit rougher and not so polished compared to most of the stuff that's generally on display in the music world today.

I don't know so much about this band. But if I was at the party and this played, I would surely go and ask what it is. Listening to TOMY creates a strange blend of feelings... like hope with nostalgia and restlessness all mixed together. This band should really be big in a couple of years. They've got what it takes. If you're up for some real modern punk music, go and check 'em out! You can listen to the whole Farside EP at bandcamp: http://truthofmyyouth.bandcamp.com/

Assorted Fast Reviews - February 2011/#1

OK, so due to the amount of stuff we have waiting to be reviewed, we've decided to throw a quick-piece of reviews for some of the records that deserve a mention and get a lot of luv here at TYS HQ. We'll try to be brief, but accurately descriptive at the same time. Let's go!

Bandage - self titled ep
We'll start things off with Bandage, an ultra-tight punk rock band from Athens, Greece. Punk rock with a distinct 90s Fat Wreck/Epitaph flavor is what Bandage specialize at, and they do it well. The 3-piece brings back the memory of fast 'melody-core' drums, with speedy guitars, rolling bass lines and catchy vocals. If you dig the original whiney punk rock of Pulley, Ten Foot Pole and NOFX, then this is for you. 6 songs of self-released happy melodic punk with excellent guitar work standing out. Did just I say 'happy'? Maybe I'm wrong; there's a definite bittersweet and melancholic feeling lurking in the background of these tunes [8/10].

Attrito - 'Indotto A Camminare'
Attrito come from Italy and play a style of raucous hardcore/punk that many will love, if they can deal with the singing in Italian. Attrito deliver 8 songs of furious Italian punk for Maximum RNR lovers, in a neatly designed gatefold CD case. The music is fast and furious, the vocals are screamed in your face (spitting included) and there are some extra post-metal elements that positively surprise and elevate the overall outcome. There are explanations of the clever socio-political lyrics in English, so you can know what's up in these songs. This is quality modern punk for skaters, hardcore kids, metalheads and squat punks alike [7/10].

Out Of Step - 'Sometimes Posi'

If you like no frills, feverish straight edge hardcore, then you should get into some Out Of Step. These Dutch guys have been around for a few years, releasing nothing but straight ahead sXe mosh music. Not too fast and not metal, but quite heavy and ultra-sold school, Out Of Step knows how to create real hardcore in the vein of Slapshot, Floorpunch and all of that sweet youth crew stuff - but with a harder edge. OOS have a clear in your face approach throughout their whole act, which makes them even more memorable. They might piss off some people, but they will psyche just as many kids. This is real deal even if not it's not that innovative [8/10]!

My Own Voice - 'A Perpetual State of Revolution'
MOV is another Italian band, but these guys are closer to that harder, moshy and metallic side of hardcore. Combining 90s hardcore with a strong metal (but not beatdown!) influence, they deliver the goodies through 14 songs of political, socially minded European hardcore. You can tell a great amount of work has been put into this album, from the perfect crunchy production to the artwork, the song interludes and the explanations/book quotes etc in-between songs. We could call this 'intellectual hardcore', but it still has a lot of guts and an ever-existing street spirit. You might need a few listens until this vast multitude of music, lyrics and ideas actually grow on you - work on the album and it will pay you back in return [7/10].

Desinence Mortification/Giht Shasie - Split
Wow... Last but not least, we also have some insane grindcore from Croatia. I think I haven't reviewed any grind bands since 07 or something. DM plays straight forward grindcore not unlike fellow countrymen (and grind legends) Patareni and even early Napalm Death. Just sloppy, intense punky grind for you, baby! God Almighty if I can classify what Giht Shasie play; let's settle for electronic experimental grindcore. This is some hard-to-listen stuff, holmes. Here are some 40 minutes of industrial grind in recorded, live and remixed forms. Try to see if you can take it and if you can, well go to Hyperion Records and get into some more extreme grind madness [6/10]!