Tankcrimes has announced they will be hosting a label showcase, dubbed Tankcrimes Brainsqueeze.  Scheduled to take place in the label’s hometown of Oakland, California at Metro on October 8th and 9th, the two-day event will include performances by Municipal Waste, Ghoul, Vitamin X, Cannabis Corpse, Toxic Holocaust, Direct Control, A.N.S., Voetsek, Ramming Speed, Deadfall, Population Reduction, Instant Asshole, and Face The Rail.  This is sure to be a great time, so don’t miss out if you’re in the area or up for the trip!

“My three faves are Aquarius in San Francisco due to the great tastes in stock, Vintage Vinyl in NJ, where I used to get everything growing up, and Plan 9 in Richmond, VA where I live and support as much as possible as I try to “live local.”  I can honestly say, I’ve never ordered an album in any format over the internet. Not that I am against it, but for me, there is nothing like the thrill of the hunt and holding the album you found in your hands en route to the cash register, anticipating the first listen.”

“A few blocks east of the graveyard here in Creepsylvania there’s a little hole in the wall record store called Bilzo’s House of Recordings. It’s literally a hole in the wall. The Secret Police blew the door off the hinges in a raid last month and Bilzo never fixed it. The first thing you notice upon entering Bilzo’s, aside from the smell, is the sound of real traditional Creepsylvanian music playing on the stereo, whether it’s “The Dancing Turnip”, “Once More Around the Tar Pit, Sweet Zinochka”, or the classic “May I Take Your Hand? (Because I Lost One in a Mine Explosion)”. On second thought, it’s probably better that you just ignore the stereo. The best thing about Bilzo’s is the surf rock selection (the only type of rock music allowed in Creepsylvania on order of the Grand Basilisk) where you can pick the latest from The Ventures, Man or Astroman?, The Ultras, The Deadly Ones, and more. By “the latest” I mean recordings that are sometimes decades old. You know, really the best thing about the place is it’s easy to steal from.”

Rambling through the dreary American countryside drunk on rotgut and in desperate need of cabbage, my fellow numbskulls and I stumbled across a curious shoppe full of rare and delightful punk/hardcore/metal goodies (no cabbage). The local folk of the “Pennsylvania” region apparently refer to this shoppe as “Double Decker Records.” This shoppe was chock-full of all sorts of rare punk vinyl which we drooled over and were subsequently made to purchase. Things like the Stimulators 7″, the Thrash Till Death comp, Decry records, etc… One thing that impressed me the most was the display of an old leather jacket emblazoned with the MOB logo (NY), apparently it used to belong to someone from the band. All I can say is if you are looking for great phonograph records to play on your stereophonic talking machines, Double Decker is the place to go!

The new s/t LP from FACE THE RAIL just officially came out yesterday, and already the record has been showered with praise by Maximum Rock ‘N Roll:

“Lemme just gush for a minute, OK? The scene that FACE THE RAIL operates in is fucking tight! And that is in no small part due to the former and current bands these guys play in. Three of the four dudes were in SECOND OPINION, a band that opened the door for the wave of young lions that are crushing Bay Area punk right now. The drummer earned his chops in SHANGHAI SURPRISE, others in ECOLI and NIGHTSTICK JUSTICE. I’ve seen Jake the guitarist, grow in the last couple years into the dizzing machine that turns everything he touchs into gold! I totally shit my pants when I even first saw this record – artist Mark Reategui really outdid himself with the Mesoziac tidal wave, psychedelic/beach burn-out aesthetic. The record stands alone in innovation, somehow sewing together unique scale based rock riffs with an aggro skate sound that takes traditional punk nods from all over the god damn chart. One part JFA, two parts ANNIHILATION TIME, definitely some LOSER LIFE, and a shitload of originality make this record a total winner. After like a million listens in a week, I still can’t quite wrap my head around this one, see for yourself.”

Stay tuned, as FACE THE RAIL will be touring throughout the Western US in the near future… details to be announced soon.

Speaking of Maximum Rock ‘N Roll, check out CANNABIS CORPSE on their photo blog:
http://maximumrocknroll.com/2010/01/25/monday-photo-blog-four-from-philly/

In other Tankcrimes news, VITAMIN X will be touring in the United Kingdom in late February (dates on our Tours page) and then hitting a ton of Summer festivals including:
Youth Attack Fest – Germany – March 27
Fight Back Fest – Nürnberg, Germany – May 29
Break the Silence Fest – Germany – July 10
Resist to Exist Fest – Berlin, Germany -August 7

L to R: Scotty Heath (owner of Tankcrimes), Dave Witte (of Municipal Waste, Burnt By The Sun, etc.), and Alex DiMattesa (ILC employee extraordinaire)

In the header for the reviews section of their recent issue (#64/February 2010), Decibel Magazine literally proclaims “Tankcrimes owns January” and feature a number of glowing reviews.  The same issue also notes that forthcoming releases from Toxic Holocaust, Inepsy, Engorged, and Vitamin X are highly anticipated.

Similarly enthusiastic, Maximum Rock N Roll contributors recently printed their “Favorites of the Decade”, with Tankcrimes’ Annihilation Time and Strung Up 7″s both getting mentions.  Annihilation Time also appeared on several “Performances of the Decade” lists, as did Peligro Social (who seemed to make an impression on anyone that saw them live in 2009).

Tankcrimes’ Voetsek have also been lauded for their performance opening for D.R.I. to a sold out audience in San Francisco in December.  A review of the show can be read here and a video from the show can be seen below.

A.N.S. Pressure Cracks has been receiving a lot of attention, including an 8/10 rating in Decibel Magazine (drawing comparisons to everyone from D.R.I. and Black Flag to The Accused and Black Sabbath) and a review on bornuglymag.com that admits, “I don’t know what else to say about this record except that it will hand you your ass.”  There’s also an interview from 2009 with A.N.S. available on the Thrasher Magazine website.

In honor of their 10th Anniversary as a band, A.N.S. will be doing a weekend of celebratory shows January 29th and 30th in Texas.  Dates for this, as well as a number of other noteworthy shows by Tankcrimes bands (including Cannabis Corpse West Coast dates and Impaled at festivals in Mexico City and Baltimore) can be found on our Tours Dates page.

And if that still isn’t enough, check out this video from a show at New York City’s legendary ABC No Rio:

For those of you in Europe, make sure to catch Cannabis Corpse on their Terrorizer Magazine sponsored this coming February!

Also, labelmates and so-called “super group” King Generator (featuring Dave Witte, Jamie Thompson, Mike Hill) haven’t exactly been in the press lately themselves, but all the members’ main bands have been drawing quite a bit of attention, substantiating the claims to “super group” status….

In Decibel Magazine’s Top 40 Records of 2009, Mike Hill’s Tombs came in at #8, Dave Witte’s Municipal Waste came in at #38, and Witte’s other band Burnt By The Sun were at #25!  Not to leave Jamie Thompson out, his legendary power-violence band Shank was recently featured in Terrorizer Magazine.