Cheap Tragedies - Volume 1: Souvenirs and Evidence

 

Label: Mad At The World

Year: 2009

National treasure Tony Erba never fails to deliver the goods when he steps up to the plate (wait, is that a baseball analogy? Pardon me.). After Face Value, H100s, 9 Shocks Terror, the Gordon Solie Motherfuckers,  Amps II Eleven, (and if you could have seen into the future, Fuck You Pay Me), you should be prepared for the Motorhead-ish dirtcore of Cheap Tragedies. Straight ahead, no bullshit, leather strap match type stuff. Punk rock from the back of disreputable roadhouse kind of place. 

DL

Iceburn - Hephaestus

Label: Revelation
Year: 1993

Ambition on ambition on ambition. Iceburn decides to follow up their alienating debut lp with a concept record split into four sections across 28 songs based on the Greek god of fire. Why not? I mean, the hoodie-and-cut off camo pants crowd were now completely confused by the band, and nobody outside of that small hardcore circle had ever even heard of them. So, what's to lose? Why not go full prog/jazz/sludge?
Turns out that Iceburn would actually go further down the rabbit hole, further flummoxing those who were still following their weird trajectory. Not that folks don't need to be flummoxed on occasion...I think they (we) should.
Heavy and crazed the way Craw were heavy and crazed.
Members from, or went on to, Rival Schools, Institute, Eagle Twin, Ascend, How To Kill, and Insight.

*originally posted 06.05.16, reposted 07.10.22

DL