Monday, January 4, 2016

Cro-Mags

Cro-Mags - Age Of Quarrel - 1985
Cro-Mags - Age Of Quarrel - 1985
Cro-Mags - Live 1986 - 1986
Cro-Mags - The Age Of Quarrel - 1986
Cro-Mags - The Age Of Quarrel - 1986
Cro-Mags - We Gotta Know - 1986
Cro-Mags - Best Wishes - 1989
Cro-Mags - Alpha Omega - 1992
Cro-Mags - Alpha Omega - 1992
Cro-Mags - Near Death Experience - 1993
Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel - 1994
Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel - 1994
Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel - 1994
White Devil - Reincarnation - 1995
Cro-Mags - Revenge - 2000
Cro-Mags - Live In Germany 1991 - 2016
01. Cro-Mags - Age Of Quarrel, 1985 Vinyl LP Unofficial Release
     Not On Label - Unkown
     Reissue from 1991
02. Cro-Mags - Age Of Quarrel, 1985 CD Unofficial Release
     Not On Label - none
     Reissue from 0
03. Cro-Mags - Live 1986, 1986 File FLAC Unofficial Release x 16
     Church Of Zer - Zer3
     Reissue from 2016
04. Cro-Mags - The Age Of Quarrel, 1986 Vinyl LP Album Repress
     Profile Records, Rock Hotel Records - PRO-1218, PRO-1218
05. Cro-Mags - The Age Of Quarrel, 1986 CD Album
     Profile Records, Rock Hotel Records - PCD-1218, none
06. Cro-Mags - We Gotta Know, 1986 CD Unofficial Release
     Holy Records - Holy 006
     Reissue from 1992 - Live in Winnipeg, 26/07/1986
07. Cro-Mags - Best Wishes, 1989 CD Album
     Profile Records - PCD-1274
08. Cro-Mags - Alpha Omega, 1992 Vinyl LP Album
     Century Media - 08 9730-1
09. Cro-Mags - Alpha Omega, 1992 CD Album
     Century Media - 84 9730-2
10. Cro-Mags - Near Death Experience, 1993 CD Album
     Century Media - 7750-2
11. Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel, 1994 Vinyl LP, Vinyl LP
     KINGfisher - KF 007-1
     Reissue from 1998
12. Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel, 1994 CD Album x 2
     Century Media - 77072-2
     CD 1
13. Cro-Mags - Hard Times In An Age Of Quarrel, 1994 CD Album x 2
     Century Media - 77072-2
     CD 2
14. White Devil - Reincarnation, 1995 CD Mini-Album
     Lost And Found Records - LF 210/CD
15. Cro-Mags - Revenge, 2000 CD Album
     Cro-Mag Recordings - CM2000
16. Cro-Mags - Live In Germany 1991, 2016 File FLAC Unofficial Release x 12
     Church Of Zer - Zer4
Let us start 2016 with a classic among classics. In 2015 we hailed the Atheist legacy, today we dive into full Krishna worship. Cro-Mags are the zero-default band that has banged my head for exactly 30 years. I find not a single bad song on the entire discography. Only killer riffs, amazing build-ups, so welcome metal influences and superior vocalization (from both skinheads). Yes, Alpha Omega is a perfection of metalized melodic groove thrash. Yes, NDE is a marvel of recycling of the Best Wishes axioms and yes, Revenge, which features Rocky George from ST, is a killer recycling of the Age Of Quarrel formula, even the NoFx sections are great (BTW the songs of the White Devil MCD are all featured on Revenge). Cro-Mags innovated the tough guy hardcore sound, they were heavier than Agnostic Front and Warzone. From this era, style and city, only Crumbsuckers impressed me as much as Cro-Mags.
I have been a non-stop Cro-Mags fan forever. Time I am. Their live performances were awesome, until some other versions of the band surfaced in the late 90s (I was disappointed by the Leeway-backed/Joseph fronted one). I don't care about the Krishna bullshit anymore that I care about the Jah or Satan or working-class-revenge feebleness of other bands. If I had to care about lyrics, I would have to throw away at least 6530 albums from my shelves.
Cro-Mags are firmly set in the EZTT among Bad Brains, Slayer, Victims Family, Raven, Celtic Frost, MDC and the other eternal immortal heroes. Happy new 2016. Amen.
Remove brackets and unzip: [the ozer side of zerness]
!ZER Cro-Mags, White Devil ZER!

PS: I wanted to do a Pneuma Hagion post this week. This is some killer heavy death metal, with those sewer vocals and straight forward pummeling riffs from the 90s. It's generic but fucking great. However they sell their music for $1 per EP, which I consider a more than fair price (compared to the stupid $10 some bands or labels sell digital albums - at this price, I want a CD). Therefore I won't post the PH stuff here and encourage all fans of the dark side to click and spend $3 for 9 songs. You pay for a cellphone, you can afford it.
Speaking of the dark side, I accompanied a bunch of nieces and daughters to the movies to watch the Star Wars disaster. It's a disaster. It does not even look great. It's a bad rehash of the first movie (which I liked when it came out, but I was 8), but  a lot more cretin, it's an astonishing achievement in stupidity. I'll never understand why this shit franchise is supposed to be classic, why anyone should find any philosophy/"societal commentary" in there or why the fuck anyone above the age of 8 would want to watch any of those movies 11 times. What reassures me is that among the kids I went with, not one over 9 liked it. Fuck Star Wars, double-fuck the posers who write essays about it, triple-fuck the media who make it look like profound art. Quadruple-fuck modern art. Listen to Howls Of Ebb. Amen.

16 comments:

  1. Cheers Zer... I'm especially digging the live bootlegs. As always, thanks for sharing the glory.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Zer,
    Do you have these bonus tracks?:

    Cro-Mags - The Age Of Quarrel CD (Label: Cash Only Records) 2008
    Plus 3 Bonus Tracks From Previously Unreleased 1984 Demo
    16 You'd Be The Death Of Me (Original)
    17 When Push Comes To Shove (Original)
    18 Hard Times (Original)

    Harley's War (Hardcore All-Stars) - CroMag CD (Label: Loud Fast Recordings) 2003
    Bonus Tracks Recorded 1982-1983
    8 Don't Tread On Me
    9 Do Unto Others
    10 Dead End Kids
    11 Why Don't U

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Definitely that post should be completed with Before the Quarrel CD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Before The Quarrel is the Age Of Quarrel demo posted twice here, isn't it?

      Delete
    2. it is, and it's one of the best shit ever recorded

      Delete
  4. You missed John Joseph's Blodclot in this retrospective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't know about that, links?
      I don't have any Harley's War either.

      Delete
  5. Bloodclot is decent.I dig John Joseph's vocal stylings. Harley's War is pretty cheesy... Just an opinion, and fortunately they haven't found a way to tax opinions yet, ughh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I concur with you, that is why I didn't point out HW as a necessity to an already extensive post. To me the perfect storm was/is Age of Quarrel.

      Delete
    2. Both World was great though.

      Delete
  6. Cheers Zer. That link was rather Un-Zer, but thanks for letting me know that my "intolerance" may soon be a chargeable offense... Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find the most obnoxious music that I can dig up and proceed to commit a "thought-crime"....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Zer! really like your posts and the interesting links you add in 'em.
    cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't know why, but reading the Higg's statement always makes me think about world peace...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because the song uses "anarchy" with the mainstream meaning of "anomie", while the Higg's statement refers to anarcho-capitalism: rules without rulers.

      Delete
  9. Is possible if you can re-upload this, please? amazing job!

    ReplyDelete

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