A NETWORK OF FRIENDS #4
HARDCORE ZINE OMNIBUS
MAY 2018 *****
Ain't read one of these zine compilations since 2007. I'm impressed with the overall presentation, which has come on leaps and  bounds since it's earlier photostatic forays. It's looking more like an A5 anarchist booklet. The type 1 in 12 used to flog to the desperately right on brigade. Except this is fronted by a neat cartoon of some of the contributors who look a little bleary eyed to say the least. It comes wrapped in a neat cardboard cover with semi-glossy pages inside. And believe me there's a few pages to go through. It features 8 different zine/art contributions with Ripping Thrash, Gagdie, Initonit the three regular participants. So it was nice to see one of my recent zine faves One Way Ticket To Cubesville join the show. I think it needed a bit more diversity. As for the rest I'd never heard of Our Future from the UK,  or Lost Dreams? Tasmanian Devil from Australia I vaguely recall, but Daniel Hughes a cartoonist who done the cover is also new. The tried and tested Gadgie gets the ball rolling and seems by far the most readable of this omnibus. Old Marv has a lot to say on all sorts of crap everyday life throws at you. And even some of the crap he spouts you just gotta read it to see what the cunt comes out with, next. Enjoyed the local Fen and Lincoln scene reports. Gadgie for the most part is interesting and in a format you can follow easily with his beloved Comic Sans text, making it easy on the eye. The Absurdist One Way Ticket To Cubesville continues its high octane optomistic approach to punk with an unplugged theme running through this issue. Featuring Anarcho cult weirdo Andy T. who i always thought sounded like he got a permanent cold. A new
name Andy Carrington, whose ,anti-fash poetry is from Bradford, so no suprise there. Having seen some youtube footage of him in action, his style and poems were absolutely
dreadful. My burning question is... are all poets called Andy? Apparently not, coz by far the most talented of this bunch is Molotov from Manchester who was a poetess but has morphed into an acoustic singer now called Mollusca. She has a great look with a lisp and broken teeth and an almost Amy Winehouse vibe to her vocals. Last but by no means least is Scot Brian Curran. who is the most punk orientated of the bunch, with a powerful attacking style. He apparently played in a load of thrash punk bands like Quarantine who I'm not familiar with, but sound topical. If you still need time to kill as lock down ends, you could try the tour van cut out page as Richard  reminds us "remember what goes on tour stays on tour" I'll just get my scissors! I didn't realise Ripping Thrash had sneaked in till the dark art appeared. Steve who compiles all these omnibus zines, says he thinks this could be the last. As it takes up too much time and is hard to sell the fuckers. He seems a little dissolutioned with the whole thing but mirraculously comes alive when he's telling us about his beloved hardcore thrash punk. His return to cut 'n' paste therapy seems to have worked wonders. So panic over. Ripping Thrash features an interview with crusty punks Broken Dead from my old haunt Oregon. Steve wants more international zines and female contributors next time, instead of the soiled 40 plus brigade. But if your hanging round in those circles musically, politically and socially I'm afraid thats all yer gonna get mate. Our Future is a new one to me, based in Scotland and straight away was let down by the grey format of pages. There's always one ain't there? I struggled to read it but what I can make out it takes a look back at Swiss punks the Decay. I did manage to read one of the rock era singers for Discharge interviews, with Rocky Shades fomerly of Wrathchild. Which was something of a Discharge coup for D-Beat diehards. This guy was written out their history, but turned into a fascinating interview as he explained the reasons and was probably the best interview in the whole zine. He reckons Discharge were the tightest band he's ever played with, so I guess asking Bones to get the next round in is futile. Funniest moment came from the angry Initonit. This mimmilist presentation of no art just lots of rants is hilarious reading. And whats even funnier is he's deadly serious! Apparently he's addicted to facebook, even though he cant abide it. He's seen 2 ghosts, he dances round the kitchen to Napalm Death while he stirs his vegan stew. "Cambridge is a lefty city and that's why i fuckin love it". And tells a horror story called The Killer Sab Wagon From Hell lol. It concludes with a Warwound interview.  Lost Dreams is a poet arts zine, which should've been obvious by the title. It's inspired by the Mobs 'Let The Tribe Increase' album. To tell you the truth the art and layout was the best in the whole ominibus, but the vibe was severly depressing and brought down even more when he admits he played the Mob ten times a day and night. No wonder he might seem a trifle lost. Especially after the suicide email reprinted on more grey pages. Some ppl seem to thrive on being down and im sure others get a sordid little kick out the whole suicide chat genre. Not really my idea of a fun read. Tasmanian Devil from Australia returns after 17 years, and is of a
similar field to Ripping Thrash same cut 'n' paste layout, similar bands from the whole grind/ crust community and we get vegan propaganda screaming at us from every corner of the page. It's like a form of grooming. Groups
who go barefoot onstage with tatts remind me of Henry Rollins. So lets hope the stage invaders wear socks. I enjoyed the grind interview with Christcrusher and the crusty one with Common Enemy. Some of the band names in this scene kill me...Vaginal Carnage, Sewercide tee hee. Australia seems to be thriving right now with punk. Daniel Hughes gets the easy bit filler towards the end with his cartoon flyers that has a definite Robert Crumb influence. So much so I'm tempted to commision somert for this site. Back cover features one of Jess Spice's more morbid art creations. For more info contact...
£2.00
RIPPING THRASH

EATEN ALIVE #48
NOV 2018 *****
Gawd this is a blast from the past and I'm amazed its still fucking going! It's like stepping back in the 90's reading this fanzine. Coventry's longest and possibly only punk zine has been knocking around since then. And you know what, with all the technology bollocks and everything else at our fingertips since the late 90's Eaten Alive still looks exactly the same. Always had a thrown together look especially the front page. And inside it's still square pictures, chunks of text, chunks of blank space no idea of layout Its like an A4 punk time capsule. And 20 years later nothings changed lol. It's like one of life's dirty habits you never stop doing it. Was way back in 1998 when i last reviewed an issue. I think it was issue #6? But whatever it lacks in presentation, the attitude and enthusiasm for punk can't be knocked. I always thought it was a bit too nice to bands but talk about staying true to its guns Big Derek the editor has more than stuck to his style hes practically burned it into concrete. You gotta admire his staying power when all around him have fizzled out or folded or even tweaked their publications...heaven forbid! Eaten Alive sure ain't, its even got the skull logo in the same place ha! Anyway less of the nostalgia trip, whats in this issue you might ask? Eaten Alive seems a lot more humorous these days with purloined news clippings and even a couple of comic strips which is about as arty as it gets. Old contributor Lazza Ogden is back reviewing a Rebellion fest I'm sure he done the same back in the 90's issue I read? But this time around its amusing to hear his take on an event i was at myself. We must've had a different drug dealer though coz I can't recall anything he witnessed? The Primitives remember them "Car Crash' are back gigging again in Sweden to a handful of punters. Jilted John's 40th anniversary tour gets covered. Traveller punks Reality Attack from Bath get interviewed yawn, early 80's punks Picture Frame Seduction tell us their life story but emit the sheep shagging. Armoured Flu Unit (where do they get these god awful names from?) look like concentration camp guards and sound like em too. More early 80's punks Blitzkrieg threaten to release an album arrrghhh! Plus 3 pages of eclectic reviews. 48 issues and counting (probably knocked another few out as you read this). Eaten Alive ain't one of my favourite zines then or now, but it was always around doing what it does best promoting punk rock. So I take my hat off to it for striding the decades without flinching or progressing...just existing. This one is here for the duration even the price is dirt cheap, but you do get what you pay for.
Cheers to Paul K from Bristol for passing it on.
£1.00
EATEN ALIVE