You know what? A triple Japanese Hardcore / Punk attack on FOAD Records is ready to destroy! Many of you already knew that this month we would have announced these 3 death threats since we let leaked some images and trailers on our FB and Instagram profiles… and one in particular has been often discussed through the years, a lot of maniacs were demanding a proper vinyl reissue, somebody was aware that we were searching for photos and rare material… then even a bootleg was done. But now it’s time to officially announce it, SODOM ソドム “St. Requiem” gatefold LP + 7″ is ready to be released on FOAD Records and preorders are up now! As ultra enthusiasts and collectors of Japanese HC and Metal, we can honestly say that this record is in the top 10 of our favourite recordings of the whole ’80s Japanese HC panorama, so it’s hard to describe how much we are honored to bring to light such a fantastic masterpiece making it finally available at reasonable prices (the OG tape is ranging from 300 to 500 $ on auctions and discogs).

In conjunction with this we are also glad to introduce a new VULGARITY KIDS LP including some brand new studio tracks and the infamous “ghost session” called “Bloody splatter” (1989) that we previously thought was completely lost. And we were totally floored when we first played it, it consists of 7 tracks in less than 8 minutes of rabid fast Hardcore insanity that will make your day if you like classic Japanese thrashers like Systematic Death, Raise Cain, Outo and similar!

And there’s more… the 3rd release of this endless blocade of rising sun’s Hardcore bombardment is the new album of the Tokyo-based all star band EIEFITS, released in collaboration with Mangrove Records that just put out the CD version. EIEFITS “Mezame” is an adrenalinic explosion of powerful female fronted Punk/HC, showcasing a relatively new band delivering great music with the same power and energy of countless Japanese legends that have amazed us through the past 3 decades!

So, to cut it short:  SODOM ソドム “St. Requiem” gatefold LP + 7″, VULGARITY KIDS “No one / Bloody splatter” LP and EIEFITS “Mezame” LP are up for preorders, needless to say that the diehard splatter/colored editions will be sold out in few days, so don’t sleep on them!

More in detail about each release:

SODOM ソドム “St. Requiem” gatefold LP + 7″ (F.O.A.D. 150)

A treasure of Japanese Hardcore/Punk finally seeing the light on vinyl in a deluxe version authorized by the band and all mastered and assembled in a process of years under supervision of the singer Zazie. This collection includes the cult “St. Requiem” tape-album (1984) + a bonus 7″EP with the “ADK Omnibus” tracks (1983) cut at 45rpm for the best sounding sonic impact. 25 songs in total.  “St. Requiem” stands with no doubt as one of the best Japanese Hardcore tapes released in the ’80s, it combines rapid fast Hardcore bursts with some dark, claustrophobic atmospheres that were characterizing the sound of several bands released by the legendary ADK Records label. And talking of the pioneering status of this great band (that moved to a different musical direction in the years to follow), the singer Zazie was part of a very early stage of GAUZE‘s line-up in the passage from Typhus to Gauze in fall 1981.  Housed in a silver laminated gatefold sleeve with a fanzine styled booklet full of rare flyers, photos and original artworks. Click HERE for the trailer!

Available in 3 different versions:

Diehard half-half colored vinyl (half silver and half clear) ltd to 150 copies

Diehard splatter vinyl (silver strypes on crystal clear) ltd to 150 copies

Black vinyl ltd to 200 copies

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VULGARITY KIDS “No one / Bloody splatter” LP (F.O.A.D. 152)

Furious Japanese Hardcore founded in Utsunomiya City in 1985! Brand new LP including their “No one” studio session 2017 and the lost&found “Bloody splatter” demo 1989!! As mentioned on the previous VULGARITY KIDS LP also released by F.O.A.D. Records, it was believed that the “Bloody Splatter” demo was completely lost and there were no chances to find it, not even through the circles of the most diehard Japanese tape collectors. After their 30th year reunion gig at Bar El Puente in Yokohama, a friend of the band got in touch and told us that she had found a copy of it. So what you have here is an incredible rarity, a lost and found recording of raging fast Japanese Hardcore/Thrash recorded 3 decades ago + brand new songs that will equally rip your brains off. 12 songs. Lyrics sheet included. Click HERE for the trailer!

Available versions:

Diehard coke bottle green vinyl with bloody red splattering ltd to 100 copies

Black vinyl ltd to 200 copies

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EIEFITS “Mezame” LP (F.O.A.D. 155)

Energetic and loud female fronted Punk from Tokyo at times speeding up to Hardcore territories that recall classic 80’s bands like The COMES and GAS. As a matter of fact this band includes a spectacular parade of ex members from cult acts such as THE HECK, COLORED RICEMEN, FORWARD, KGS, LIP CREAM, THE COMES, EXTINCT GOVERNMENT, plus the current drummer of THE SLOWMOTIONS. Prepare for a sharp Punk attack of piercing female vocals over sturdy riff laden momentum built by pounding drums, thunderous bass and tough guitar riffs.  Their third full length album including 15 songs that simply rip!! Lyrics sheet included. Click HERE for the trailer!

Available versions:

Diehard opaque baby blue ltd to 100 copies

Black vinyl ltd to 200 copies

It’s one of the hottest summers on record here in Italy and the temperature in our warehouses is nothing short of hallucinatory! But this is no reason for us to stop and chill out on the seaside, our suicidal mission of unearthing rare and obscure treasures from the underground meanders never ends!  And for this month we decided to redirect our viewfinder towards the Metal side of F.O.A.D., picking two great East European bands that deserved the proper vinyl treatment to enhance their classic recordings. Hailing from Hungary and Croatia, it’s time to introduce you to FANTOM with their legendary “Lucifer jelenj meg!” demo for the first time on LP with some extra rare rehearsals 1987 and DEVASTATION with their thrashing bomb “The possibility of life’s destruction” LP also including a bonus CD. Both releases are limited to 300 copies, first 100 on diehard colored vinyl, so we strongly recommend you to act fast, they won’t last for long…

So to summarize things…: FANTOM “Lucifer jeleni meg! + Rehearsals 1987” LP and DEVASTATION “The possibility of life’s destruction” LP+CD are available on preorder!!

More in detail about each release:

FANTOM “Lucifer jeleni meg! + Rehearsals 1987” LP (F.O.A.D. 151)

Although Tormentor is said to be the classic Hungarian black metal band, there was an even more evil entity lurking in the darkness of the Magyar infernal circles: FANTOM. This shortly lived horde was probably one of the best East European’s answers to Bathory and represented the ancient feeling of Black Metal in music just as in lyrics: only gruesome melodies and Satanic invocations can be found here. 31 years later, their ominous “Lucifer Jelenj Meg” demotape 1987 comes back to light for the first time on vinyl enriched by rare rehearsals from the same era, remastered from the best sounding sources provided by Metal Or Die Records, a Hungarian label that over time has been strongly committed to keeping the kvlt of this underground Metal icon alive.

FANTOM‘s influences ranged from bands such as Bathory, Possessed, Hellhammer, Venom and Slayer, their song-writing was simple and direct but extremely distinctive, oozing of a unique atmosphere of malevolence and obscurity.  Highly recommended to the true maniacs of old school Black/Death Metal delivered with passion and sincerity.  Comes with 2 inserts including lyrics, rare photos and original artworks.

Click HERE for the teaser.

Available in two different versions:

Die-hard edition on smoky yellowish vinyl strictly limited to 100 copies

Black vinyl version, limited to 200 copies

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DEVASTATION “The possibility of life’s destruction” LP + CD (F.O.A.D. 153)

Emerging from the ever influential and colorful Yugo 80’s underground, DEVASTATION were one of the first Thrash Metal bands from Yugoslavia (among Evil Blood, Witchcraft, Heller, Bloodbath, Bombarder and few more). Their style was a scorching Speed/Thrash aggression, think of early Voivod and Onslaught with HC/Punk influences (as a matter of fact they covered bands like Discharge and S.O.D.). The band recorded two demo tapes before the end of the eighties and appeared on some Balkanian and European fanzines getting an excellent feedback. Later on they changed their name to Devastator, and finally in the nineties into Hatröss. With this new name they recorded some studio works that were released as a cassette in 1993. This release highlights their best demo, “The possibility of life’s destruction” (1989) here appearing for the first time on vinyl, remastered from the original reels for the best possible sonic impact… and to make it more complete and interesting we also added a CD including Devastation’s 1st demo “The upcoming mayhem” (1987) and the two Hatröss demos.

With this new release done in friendly collaboration with ultimate Croatian underground diggers team/label “Guranje S Litice” and original band members, all the studio material by both bands are being combined on one release for the first time. And there’s more… after few years of research we managed to track down the original 80’s  illustrator of several Metal and HC bands from Yugoslavia Amir O. from Croatia who provided a special unreleased artwork made the same year the demo was recorded… 1989! Most grindcore and underground freaks will remember his epic artworks for the early vinyl releases by Buka and Patareni, from the same era. Finally unleashed this killing Thrash Metal gem is a must for all past and future headbanging collectors! Includes a 12 page booklet with extensive liner notes, photos, zine excerpts and a lot more!!

Click HERE for the teaser.

Available in two different versions:

Die-hard edition on smoky transparent green vinyl strictly limited to 100 copies

Black vinyl version, limited to 200 copies

As usual, July at F.O.A.D. Records is all dedicated on preparing special releases for the best worldwide Festival of all times: the Obscene Extreme Fest!! Every year we’re honored to be there and introduce new records of bands performing at this incredible extreme music hellhole (think of Wehrmacht, Bulldozer, Raw Power, Yacopsae, Systematic Death, Cripple Bastards and tons more) or… if not performing, our July offerings must be anyway totally in the mood of this great event… in one word: GRIND!! So here with are with two bands that fit to what we’re talking about like a fist in the ass… MULE SKINNER and SELF DECONSTRUCTION!! Yes, MULE SKINNER from New Orleans are back with a new face smashing album of pure, relentless Grind… “Airstrike“, available both on ltd vinyl and CD! And to make their return even more outrageous, we have also added another LP collecting their early works… “Beyond the abuse 1991-1993“… a must for all you old school Death/Grind maniacs! And as we promised at least one band performing at OEF, our triple Grind assault also includes the vinyl version of SELF DECONSTRUCTION “Wounds“, their furious full length originally released on CD in 2016. Don’t miss their show in Trutnov because on stage their violence is of another planet! So, MULE SKINNER “Airstrike” LP/CD + “Beyond the abuse 1991-1993” LP and SELF DECONSTRUCTION “Wounds” LP (ltd. white vinyl) are up for preorders, the official release date is the Obscene Extreme Festival in Czech Republic (20th anniversary!) if you’re coming there you can find them at the F.O.A.D. tent in the Grind Market area, otherwise if you’re ordering online, act fast for the die-hard editions because they are expected to disappear quickly! We’ll start to ship all orders placed via www.scareystore.com from July 25 2018.

More in detail about each release:

MULE SKINNER “Airstrike” LP / CD (F.O.A.D. 148)

Formed in 1990, MULE SKINNER stands as one of the first Death/Grind outfits spawned by the infernal circles of New Orleans that also gave birth to bands like Eyehategod, Crowbar, Soilent Green, Exhorder and so on. Since their first demo, they proved to take no prisoners with their tight, neck-breaking Grindcore aggression. “Airstrike” marks their merciless comeback 23 years after their devastating debut album “Abuse“. And it sounds like no time has passed since then, as they are even faster and more crushing. Ballistic blast beats, caustic vocals and highly addictive riffs make the 13 songs on this new full length a complete aural warfare in the race to be one of the best Grind albums of the year, recommended to fans of Assück, Terrorizer, Flesh Parade, early Brutal Truth etc. click HERE for the trailer!

CD (8-page booklet)

Diehard splatter (clear with black speckles, ltd. to 100)

Black vinyl (ltd. to 200)

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MULE SKINNER “Beyond the abuse 1991-1993” LP (F.O.A.D. 147)

A descent into the early terrorizing sounds of this legendary New Orleans’ Death / Grindcore unit. This LP includes their “Stripped of flesh” Demo (1991), “Servitude” EP (1993) and a completely unreleased “Abuse” demo (1993) recently found in the band’s archives. As usual meticulously restored and remastered for the most devastating sonic impact on vinyl. Get ready for a fierce bombing of pulverizing, Death-tinged Grindcore delivered with ferocious speed and tightness. LP includes an insert and a poster with liner notes, rare flyers and photos, original artworks and more! click HERE for the trailer!

Diehard splatter (white melted with black, ltd. to 100)

Black vinyl (ltd. to 200)

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SELF DECONSTRUCTION “Wounds” LP (F.O.A.D. 149)

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan – SELF DECONSTRUCTION describe themselves as “free-style Grindcore / PowerViolence“. Think of a brutally insane tornado of tempo-changes, suicidal blast beats at outrageous speed and schizophrenic riffing, all topped by the vitriolic screams of the female frontman Kubine. In short: sick as fuck! “Wounds” is their 2016’s album that originally came out on CD only in Japan, released by Break The Records. It consists of 23 bursts of sickness rarely lasting over 1 minute, most of them knocking you down in a few seconds!! To support the band’s first European crusade and above all their appearance at the Obscene Extreme Fest 2018, F.O.A.D. Records and Break The Records join forces to make this brain-stabbing piece of violence finally available on vinyl in a deluxe version including a full colored insert with the original art. Japanese customers get the exclusive blood red version ltd to 250 directly from Break The Records, the F.O.A.D. version on sale here and at the Obscene Extreme Festival is all on milky white vinyl, also limited to 250. click HERE for the trailer

Milky white vinyl (ltd. to 250)

As summer comes by, we’re proud to announce the second pressing of one of the most iconic releases in F.O.A.D. history. In 2013 the first vinyl treatment for the groundbreaking 1985 demo “Life in Grave” by California speed freaks Cryptic Slaughter was unleashed and quickly became a collectors’ item. Now, five years later, we’re proud to announce the second coming of that incredible full throttle hardcore maelstrom with a brand new colour pattern! Now, let’s get a bit more in detail with the release:

2nd pressing of this thrashing speedcore classic with blue background  on the cover (the previous pressing was red)! California’s pioneers CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER team up with FOAD Records for an incredible vinyl treasure finally giving the right treatment to their legendary “Life in grave” Demotape 1985 and to an accurate selection of ultra-rare/unreleased recordings ranging from their 3 piece line-up era (1985) to the “Convicted”/”Money talks” days. This release has been in the works for months until we found the top sounding masters in existence and restored them for the best possible audiophile result when pressed on vinyl. Side A includes the band’s Demotape “Life in grave” adding 2 rehearsal tracks from the same period, one is a speeded up HELLHAMMER cover and one is a super-raw version of VENOM‘s “Welcome to hell“. Side B is all focused on the “Convicted”/”Money talks” 4 piece line-up and includes various live recordings and a good sounding rehearsal 1986. All songs here are performed even faster than how they were played on their classic albums.

This is how Goodbadmusic.com introduced “Life in grave”: “1985 was a good year for music – bands like SLAUGHTER, NYC MAYHEM, VOOR, WEHRMACHT, HIRAX, DEATH, REPULSION and CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER amazed me and they still blow me away today! Especially this one here with its youthful urgency, its unpolished power and enthusiasm. And stilistically, this was very refreshing. Could you say whether this is more metal or more HC? Does it matter to you?” Being this one of the most important FOAD releases to date, we also dedicated the right passion to the packaging: a stunning gatefold sleeve and most of all a 36 PAGE zine/booklet stuffed with rare photos, interviews, zine excerpts and gig flyers. If you’re into any kind of fast music be it Thrash, Hardcore, Grind or Power Violence, you are MAD if you miss this!!!!

Available in two different versions:

DIE-HARD SPLATTER GREEN/BLUE VINYL LIMITED TO 100 COPIES

BLACK VINYL LIMITED TO 300 COPIES

Wondering what’s next on FOAD Records? Two shredding Hardcore classics from Italy and Britain is our lethal ambush for this month. Our commitment to re-issue the 80s back-catalog of RAW POWER in the best possible quality with plenty of bonus rarities comes to a new chapter with a stunning extended version of their highly acclaimed “Wop hour” EP (1985).  And to be on a par with such a devastating band, we chose one of our favorite UK Hardcore units – for the 2nd time joining forces with FOAD Records: BROKEN BONES with their hard to find demo 1988, for the first time on LP!!  So to make it short: RAW POWER “Wop hour – Extended” LP + booklet and BROKEN BONES “Demo 1988” LP are up for preorders!  The release date for both titles has been set for May 22nd 2018 but we’re hoping to premiere them at the Venezia Hardcore Festival 2018 on May 2018 where you’ll find our record stand in full force armed to the teeth with thousands of records! It’s still a mystery if we’ll have both records in time for it – depends on the pressing plant, so we’re leaving it as a surprise.  If you’re pre-ordering it through our webstore, as usual act fast to catch the diehard versions as they are expected to sell out fast!

Ok now more in detail about each release:

RAW POWER “Wop hour – Extended version” LP + booklet (F.O.A.D. 145)

Italy’s undisputed godfathers of furious Hardcore since 1981 team up again with F.O.A.D. Records to unearth another classic from their 80s discography enriched with a hailstorm of bonus gems! This LP includes their insane “Wop Hour” EP (1985) an adrenalinic assault of rapid thrashing HC delivered with ballistic tightness… plus an incredible selection of bonus tracks, part of which were never heard before.

You’ll find all the bonus songs that were already included in the extended CD version and two unreleased soundboard live rippers: Fiorenzuola 1984 and Amsterdam 1986. The first – still with Giuseppe on vocals – sees these maniacs smashing the stage with a devastating set including a totally unreleased song (“Police Harassment“), some rare ones from their first demo ’83 and covers of BLACK FLAG and DISCHARGE (!!), the second – taking the whole B-side of the LP – is just RAW POWER at the top of their game, “Screams from the gutter” setlist and that invincible line-up with Helder on drums with all the hits that you want to hear with a powerful and aggressive sound. 26 SONGS IN TOTAL. Comes with a 8 page booklet with rare photos, flyers and zine excerpts from the mid 80s. Get ready to blast this at top volume and scream “Fuck authority”!!

Available in two different versions:

DIEHARD YELLOW VINYL WITH OXBLOOD RED SPLATTERING LIMITED TO 100 COPIES

SOLID BLACK VINYL LIMITED TO 400

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BROKEN BONES “Demo 1988” LP + insert (F.O.A.D. 144)

The rare B.B. demo 1988 until now available only as digital files, for the very first time on vinyl! LINE-UP: Bones – guitar, Tezz – vocals, Bazz – drums, Darren – bass. 6 songs, total Hardcore attack with a metallic touch. BROKEN BONES were one of the first bands to start crossing over the worlds of metal, hardcore, and punk, as their extremely aggressive sound required something that wasn’t done being a lot at the time. This recording has it all, thrashing guitar aggression and a speeded up d-beat drumming topped by absolutely caustic vocals!  Specially mastered for vinyl at Toxic Basement studio.  Includes an insert with unreleased photos!

Available in two different versions:

DIEHARD TRANSPARENT RED VINYL WITH WHITE SPLATTERING LIMITED TO 100 COPIES

SOLID BLACK VINYL LIMITED TO 400

Let there be THRASH! After 3 months of pounding your eardrums with the most extreme, anti-musical bands on the planet, it’s time for us to return to a territory in which we are equally specialized and that has always been considered one of FOAD‘s trademarks: Old School Thrash Metal! And we’re doing it with two bands that have made history since 1983, the first on a worldwide scale – yes, we’re dealing with the L.A. Metal legend HIRAX and the other more in the Italian underground scene – even if, as we’ll explain later, they would have certainly deserved more: we’re talking of JESTER BEAST!! So our recipe for April consists of HIRAX “Born in the streets 1983/1984” LP (complete collection of their demo, unreleased tracks and pre-Hirax “LA KAOS” Demo ’83) and JESTER BEAST “The lost tapes of poetical freakscream” gatefold LP + CD, an unreleased mix of the band’s devastating full length album with a lot of extra features unearthed from the archives of their legendary 6-string maniac CC Muz! As usual act fast if you want to catch the stunning colored vinyl versions as they are expected to be pulverized in a few days!!

More in detail about each release:

HIRAX “Born in the streets 1983/1984” LP + booklet (F.O.A.D. 143)

The roots of LA Metal! This is the ultimate collection of early HIRAX recordings on LP including their cult Demo 1984 in the best quality ever, unreleased tracks from the same era and the rare LA KAOS Demo 1983 for the first time on vinyl! Instead of the savage thashin’ assault met on albums such as “Raging violence“, these early HIRAX recordings are a pure incarnation of denim smelling and fast Heavy Metal, at times showing a NWOBHM influence. Every song is a riff-fest from beginning to end topped with fierce guitar solos and the absolutely amazing vocals of Katon.  The 4 track Demo 1984 has been ripped and remastered from the best source around, then you’ll find 3 unreleased songs 1983-84 (“To be free”, “The saviour”, “War hero”) and the very hard to find LA KAOS (pre-Hirax) demotape ripped straight from Katon’s personal copy! And to complete the FOAD quality treatment, you’ll also find a booklet including liner notes, lyrics, rare photos, ‘zine excerpts and flyers!

Katon W. De Pena about this release:  “You hold in your hand something very special. This record / album is HIRAX’s first time in the recording studio. This release also includes music from a pre-HIRAX era. We hope to give the listeners high quality with never before seen photos, lyrics, flyers, reviews, memorabilia, etc. We have to go back in time… the year was 1983… getting ready to turn over to 1984… (I was 20 years old) …” (continued on the LP booklet!)

Available in 2 different versions:

Die-hard half-half colored vinyl (black vs mint green) limited to 100 copies

Solid black vinyl limited to 400 copies

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JESTER BEAST “The lost tapes of poetical freakscream” gatefold LP + CD + booklet (F.O.A.D. 138)

One of the most overlooked Italian Thrash gems of all times finally coming back to light in a completely refreshed edition, mastered from a recently found tape with an early stage (unreleased) mix powered by an extra guitar track recorded back then by the riff genius known as CC Muz. JESTER BEAST started in Torino, Northern Italy in 1983 as a Power/Speed Metal act and progressively changed paths improving their style into crazily fast Thrashcore combining the lesson of Italy’s furious 80s HC with their Thrash made of speeded Voivod-esque riffs and some Slayer influenced breakneck rhytmic solutions. Their 1988 demotape was so fucking great that captured the attention of Nuclear Blast Records, that included 3 tracks from it on the classic “Pleasures in life” 3xLP compilation.

This ultimate release includes the complete “lost tape” of Poetical Freakscream (that originally came out in 1991 with a much weaker sound) and a bonus CD with the album + their cult demo 1988 (hands down among the top 5 best Italian Thrash Demos ever) + a never-heard-before soundboard live from 1988 including several unreleased songs. As with all FOAD releases, you’ll find a manic care in sound mastering and a wonderful packaging consisting of a gatefold jacket, CD in cardboard sleeve and a 12 page booklet full or rare photos, excerpts from magazines and flyers.

From the LP liner notes: “A different version/mix of Poetical Freakscream was originally released in 1991 by GLC Records. Following the common taste of the time, it was decided to mix the album leaning towards a more “grungy” edge hiding a guitar track and some other relevant features. This left a shadow of unsatisfaction between the band members in the years to follow. Luckily, a pre-mixed version with all the guitar tracks in full evidence survived in the archives of the riff monster CC Muz.” The process of restoring and remastering it was quite complicated because some parts were damaged, suffering of bad storing conditions. What you’re going to listen here is the end result of an accurate work made with dedication and love, approved by the band and finally giving justice to what we repute one of the most under rated Metal records in the Italian underground history. If “Destroy After Use” proudly stands among the top 5 best Thrash Italian Demos ever, now you can finally enjoy “Poetical Freakscream” with that same dose of impact, aggression and riffing perfection!

Available in 2 different versions:

Die-hard edition in swirl green vinyl limited to 100 copies

Solid black vinyl limited to 200 copies