WARCLOUD – DEMO26. "distorted, blown-out Japanese d-beat/crust that treats harmony and restraint as things that happen to other bands" by Mark J.

 WARCLOUD – DEMO26

Osaka's WARCLOUD arrive with a demo that plants its flag firmly in Discharge and Gauze worship and doesn't apologise for a second of it. Six tracks of distorted, blown-out Japanese d-beat/crust that treats harmony and restraint as things that happen to other bands — this is blistering, relentless, and noisy in exactly the way the best tape-culture punk always has been. And for me this has always been not only the best underground genre, but my fave by far.

There's nothing precious or amazingly original about DEMO26, and that's its strength. "DISASWAY" and "Victim Of The Crime" barrel forward with the kind of tunnel-vision intensity that makes a five-track EP feel like an assault, and closing on "Unreleased tracks#1" only reinforces the sense that this is a document, not a product — a band getting it down before it disappears. Heavy, fast, crushing, classic. If you've got any love left for the raw, unpolished end of the d-beat lineage, this is essential listening.

https://warcloud4.bandcamp.com/album/warcloud-demo26

#warcloud

#crustpunk

#hardcorepunk

#osaka