9 Shocks Terror- Zen And The Art Of Beating Your Ass (1999)

Sorry metal dudes, I know I've been disappointing you with my output recently. I mean seriously, punk rock? Screamo? Fucking indie rock? Two metal records in the last month and a half. Well, don't you worry because I mean to put a stop to that...some other time. Here's a hardcore record! Petition Rob to do more than one post a month if you don't like it.

At some point in the past year I decided to do some weeding of my record collection. Most of what I got rid of was anarcho-punk I hadn't listened to since I was 15, but during that process I rediscovered a number of things I had absolutely adored, but had neglected in more recent years. One of those things was the hardcore scene in Cleveland, Ohio from the mid-90's through early 2000's. It started out with H100s who played thrashy hardcore that paid equal homage to Poison Idea and bands from the 80's Japanese scene such as Gauze, Lip Cream and G.I.S.M. When H100s split up the members formed two bands, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers and 9 Shocks Terror, who were, in my opinion, the penultimate band from that wave of Clevo hardcore.

H100s were already infamous in the Ohio hardcore scene, in their short history they were seemingly incapable of playing a show that didn't end up in a small scale riot and a trashed club. 9 Shocks Terror proudly grabbed the baton from H100s and ran with it across the country and beyond. They were spastic. They were confrontational. They like fireworks. They gave zero fucks. A quick Google search will turn up stories and even some video of their hijinks, but more important than any of that silliness is the fact that they fucking ripped.

After two 7"s and a split, 9 Shocks Terror released what I believe to be their magnum opus Zen And The Art Of Beating Your Ass on Japan's Devour Records (also the home of some of Discordance Axis' early work). I've never heard the Devour version, but apparently it sounded like complete shit and the original mix and a new master was re-released by Havoc just a few years later (which is what you'll find linked to below). While 9 Shocks never really departed from the sound of H100s (obviously, they did name themselves after a Lip Cream album), they most definitely refined it. Zen leaves behind the sloppiness of H100s for some tight, focused, straight ahead thrashing hardcore. Sandwiched between razor sharp riffs are scorching leads and even a few quick and to the point guitar solos. 9 Shocks Terror didn't have any fucking time for breakdowns and mosh riffs and that's just the way I like it.

Try it.

Buy it (LP).