Various Artists - "Newcastle Hardcore Vol. 1"

Interesting hardcore techno compilation (6/10)

Bloody Fist Records was an independent record label based in Newcastle, Australia. Bloody Fist was one of the most prolific labels involved in hardcore/gabber, industrial, breaks, noise, and related genres. Founded by Nasenbluten's Mark Newlands (formerly known as Stigs/TDU) in 1994 as a platform for local artists, the label initially began distributing cassettes and moved on to become a major label in the hardcore techno scene. Newcastle Hardcore Vol. 1 & 2 [1994] was a first vinyl release of this label, presenting a compilation of artists from the local Newcastle hardcore techno scene. This is an interesting album, offering quality tunes, and although I personally dig only two tracks on each of the two records, the compilation remains a proof that the guy behind Bloody Fist knew what he was doing right from the start.

My favorites on the Volume 1 are Pendulum - Feel The Pain and Syndicate - Lower Level. The latter reminds me of the early The Prodigy from the Experience period, but while the inspiration is very clear, this is not a blatant copy. The former has great disturbing dark atmosphere. Both songs are catchy, energetic and just pure fun to listen.

The other six do not fit my taste, being comprised almost exclusively of samples from other songs or speeches mixed with extremely fast techno-style drums. This is not creative, this is not catchy, this is not original, this is not anything interesting - for me this type of hardcore techno is totally boring. Still, if they are typical for 1994 Newcastle hardcore techno scene, they fit this compilation.

I guess this album is very rare now, but if you happen to run into it somewhere along the links, be sure to check it out, if you are a fan of hardcore techno. And do not forget to visit the official Bandcamp website of Bloody Fist Records, where you can listen to and buy some other releases from this label.