Spotlight on Japan’s H.G. Fact

Writing for The Ripple Effect has given all of us here some insight on a bunch of labels that are cruising along just under the radar. We’re found a ton of Indie labels over the last two plus years and we’re constantly being surprised by the passion and quality of the material being released under the various banners. Some labels are approaching their releases from a place of reverence towards the music and musicians that they’ve loved for a time by releasing re-issues or unreleased material, while others concentrate on putting out music that they may enjoy, but are looking to make a few bucks in the process. No matter where these labels are coming from, the product coming out of the Indie trenches still seems superior than the majority of the stuff coming out of the major labels. Case in point, H.G. Fact is a small label based in Japan that has been putting out some quality metal, hardcore, and emotionally intense music. What seems to get me most excited about this label, though, is the honest approach to the music. The products that I have in front of me have that D.I.Y. feel to the artwork, the packaging, and to some extent, the music. But it all feels like it’s been produced with loving hands and it reminds me of the how things used to be in the various regional music scenes across the U.S. But enough about all that, here are a few words about a couple of the H.G. Fact’s latest releases. www.interq.or.jp/japan/hgfact

Age – The Scar of Lead

Holy crap! The minute I heard the first strains of chaos blast of my speakers, I knew that I was gonna’ dig on this record. There was just something about the tones of the instruments, the aggressive vibe that didn’t sound like it was image driven, the intensity of the music felt like it was for real. And then, almost instantly, my imagination went wild. I imagined a village tucked along a hillside and into a valley, filled with your average hard working peasant folk . . . farmers, bakers, ranchers . . . good, innocent people of the earth. None of them have a clue about the war machine poised precariously at the top of the ridge of their valley. A war machine constructed of solid iron, 30 feet in diameter, its tarnished surface covered with rivets, spikes, and jagged chunks of twisted metal, blue clouds of smoke burp from exhaust vents in various locations of its form. A war machine fueled by hatred for humanity and overlooking its next victim. Age’s The Scar of Lead is the soundtrack of this war machines journey down the tranquil hillside.

Sounding a little bit like early Voivod, Age’s assault on the senses is magnificent and full of techno-violence. The title track is packed with gritty guitar riffs and supersonic drums, propelling the song on its chaotic way, riding shotgun with the war machine as it makes its way down the hillside, splintering age old trees into kindling, aiming its full destructive power in the center of the tiny village. Great breakdowns in the song give it a thrash metal feel, and the overall attitude of the music is filled with an anarchic emotion. “Outside the Window” starts off with the same burst of musical violence as “The Scar of Lead” did, but the tune downshifts a little more with a piston pumping chug of palm muted strings. The mosh part to this piece is exceptional, and by now, the war machine has made contact with some of the outlying huts of the village, and those who were able to assess the terrible rumbling in the earth earlier enough have been frozen with terror. Then, there were those who never had a chance and are now impaled on the various projections on the surface of the metallic orb of destruction.

”A Ghost in the Insanity” is straight up hardcore aggression. Up tempo and blistering, the song reminds me of those great pits of the 80’s, limbs flailing about and shirtless punks throwing their weight into one another. I love the guitar work in this one because it’s just a subtle solo, nothing noodle-y or pretentious . . . just a nice texture to add a point of interest in the song. At this point, the war machine has reached it core of the village and the destruction wide spread, fire erupts in the pile of debris being strewn about by the chaos, and the body count continues to climb, and the orbs descent has cut a rut in the countryside . . . a rut quickly filling with the blood of countless innocents. “The Night Kills You” is a thrashing good time, powered by a great groove and accented by excellent vocal work. This song is a killer and the perfect way to wrap up the bands original contributions to the album. The Scar of Lead closes with a high octane rendition of Twisted Sister's “Stay Hungry” that sticks pretty close to the original version, just a little more edge-y and violent. The Scar of Lead is a quick explosion of ultra-violent attitude, clocking in at just a hair past twenty minutes . . . and guaranteed to leave you homeless, if not impaled on a spike. http://www.interq.or.jp/japan/hgfact/untitled2.html

Hellshock – Singles

This disc, from what I can gather, is a collection of songs culled from a ton of releases that these guys have put out over the years, and after listening to this compilation . . . I think I’m gonna’ do some hunting for the original releases! Hellshock are a band that’s been categorized as crust, hardcore, punk, and metal. I simply think they’re bad ass. They incorporate enough musicality in the music to make them beyond any ordinary hardcore band, working in nice bits of ambient sound and quieter interludes to break up the sheer brutality that makes up the rest of the record. They’re more hardcore moments remind me of bands like Toxic Bonkers, they’re straight up punk-y moments remind me of Discharge, and they’re metal moments remind me of the first DBC album. It all works well together and I find Singles to be the perfect mix of aggression and melody that will keep me interested in Hellshock for many years to come.

“Passage” opens this disc with a quieter and more melodic piece than I had originally expected. The second guitar wailing away in the background adds a somber tone to the music while the rest of the band builds a wall of distortion as a foundation. The intro builds and builds with tension, layer after layer of guitar creating a massive sound, and then the guttural vocals enter the mix, adding further elements of tension. Then the whole thing explodes in fury as the guitars open up into a riff and tempo that would get a floor full of mosh happy Hessians in a tizzy! I love this song from a couple of different places. First, the musical dynamics are intense and Hellshock are always doing something to make me jump up and thrash about. Secondly, these guys don’t sound forced or contrived. This song comes across as immediate and straight from the heart. Just listen to the intensity of the vocals in the latter portion of the track. My God! That’s awesome!

“Beauty” fucking kills! Opening with big bursts of crunch, the song rolls into a mid to up tempo groove that gets me headbanging, bucking around in my desk chair, causing me to overuse my spell check function. This has that hardcore feel that I grew up with and can remember feeling the urge to fucking break things as the tempo shifts to high speed and then downshifting again to provide a little extra power. Fucking brilliant! Then there’s “Wax Statues.” Two and a half minutes of wall to wall brutality, high speed destructive intensity, and musical brilliance. The mosh part towards the end of the song is as good as they get, full of power and explosive force. Though some of these songs sound somewhat under produced, I think it works for these guys. If these songs were too polished, the intensity would certainly get lost and running on pure emotion seems to be what makes Hellshock sound so vital. www.myspace.com/pdxstenchcore

 -  Pope JTE