I don’t get the chance to check out music from certain areas very often at all, so I was psyched when Townhall Records out of Seoul, South Korea got in touch with me awhile back about sending some material my way. Starting things off is the “What’s Inside” EP from The Geeks – who may not have the best band name on earth, but certainly deliver some excellent old school straightedge hardcore with a strong recording and memorable songwriting that follows the traditional framework. Expect your usual dose of moderate to fast paced power chords with slower breakdowns but no metal and no lack of energy. There’s not but so much to say about this material since the intention is to stay true to the roots of this style of hardcore and that’s exactly what they do, right down to the positive lyrics that carry a message of standing up for what you believe in, etc. However, they do so with a great deal of sincerity, and the tunes are strong, so at five tracks in just over eight minutes, I’m definitely left wanting to hear more from The Geeks.

The Geeks “Break the Shell”

Luckily, this one’s actually available here in the US thanks to the kind folks at RevHQ, and there’s a vinyl pressing as well (from a different label) if you prefer that format. Pick it up if you’re into the tracks, and keep an eye out for more from these guys:

@ RevHQ

Changing gears a bit, Unleashed Anger’s “Straightforward” full-length (also from Townhall Records) is a much heavier and more in your face attack of vicious metallic hardcore. I believe this is the band’s first official release, and it’s jam packed with chugging picking patterns, moshy midpaced breaks, strained screams, and even occasional lead bursts that are obviously all influenced by the metallic edge of certain NYHC types of bands, but it does retain an air of hardcore across the board, so they’re not going too far into metal territory or anything like that. Since the lyrics are almost entirely in English the language barrier has an impact on the content so the message isn’t always clear, but track titles like “Hardcore is My Life” and “Born to Fight”, among others, should provide a pretty clear indication of what you’re in for from these cats. Another straightforward release (no pun intended) that sticks to the tried and true formula and gets the job done. Not bad at all.

Unleashed Anger “Straightforward”
Unleashed Anger “Rise”

This particular release hasn’t been distributed as widely as The Geeks EP at this time, so it looks like ordering from the label is your best shot for the time being. They do accept PayPal however, but get in touch with them via their contact page for specific ordering details since their website’s not in English.

And finally, Townhall Records has also put together the “New Kids on the Townhall” compilation CD, which includes 22 different bands across varying niches of hardcore, from the straight up youth crew sound to crunchy metalcore or even some slightly more melodic or punk-influenced acts. Aside from one Japanese act (Making Sense) as well as Nothing Left to Mourn from New Jersey (Huh!? Go figure…), I believe all of these bands are from South Korea, but I could be mistaken: The booklet includes lyrics and contact information for each contributing group, but it doesn’t always specify what country they’re from. Whatever the case, as with most collections of this nature there’s a varying degree of quality, especially in terms of the production values, but I have to say that there are quite a few great songs to be heard herein, and some of the bands have really fuckin’ strong recordings – almost surprisingly so at times. And even some of the bands that are a little rough around the edges (Things We Say, for example) demonstrate their potential enough to create some interest, so it’s cool to get a wide sampling of obscure bands in this manner. Here’s a minimal sampling of a few standouts:

The Patience “Life Goes On”
Things We Say “Goodbye to Ourselves”
Lowblow “Take Off”

As with the Unleashed Anger record above, it seems that ordering from the label is the best bet for this one. So the same goes: Go ahead and contact them directly for ordering information if you’d like to check out a shitload of bands that you’ve more than likely never heard of before. It’s awesome that there are so many burgeoning scenes like this around the world, it’s just a shame it’s so damn hard to get exposed to all of them! I’d love to hear from any other such labels out there, so get in touch!

Original post by Andrew @ AVERSIONLINE and software by Elliott Back