International Comedy - No Escape / It's Obvious (7" single, 1985 recordings, 2012.) + 3 songs from "Sounds and Noises of SKG" compilation (1984)

   International Comedy is the big hidden secret of the greek dark wave scene!

   It's the first group of the famous guitar player Asklepios Zampetas (after International Comedy he played for The Mushrooms and later for Trypes, the most succesfull greek rock band ever - and one of the best of course).

   But in the early '80's, in Thessaloniki, Asklepios had formed a mind blowing darkwave band! 

   In some way they were the perfect group for the legendary Creep Records - in fact the Creep asked International Comedy to participate for a compilation - unfortunately  soon after that both the label and the band stopped working!

   This year Lotus recordshop released two songs taken from the 1985 tape compilation "Give bees a chance" in vinyl only - limited edtion.

   You all know how great Asklepios's guitar work for The Mushrooms was, so imagine it in a dark wave band!

 

 I thought that i could complete the presentation of this great band by including in the file the three songs that they had recorded in Thessaloniki for the compilation LP "Sounds and Noises of the SKG"  in 1984. Unfortunately i don't have the vinyl record so i downloaded these 3 songs from the net and added them to the file.

I'll say it again - this band is the big hidden secret of the greek darkwave scene of the '80's!

Download here

Παρθενογένεσις (LP, vinyl rip, 1980 recordings). 2012

   The outset of the greek punk and new wave music is pin-pointed in 1978 when Parthenogenesis were formed. It was the very first time that a greek band was introducing this new sound to the audience. The band was playing exclusively it's own material and the only exceptions were "The House of the rising sun" and "Wild thing". 

   They had a lot of live performances and their fame was growing big but unfortunately the band split up in early 1981, without having release any record. 

   Band's members created other importand bands of the greek new wave scene of the '80's, like Forward Music Quintet, Reporters, Villa 21, X-Mandarina Duck, Scoria, Statues In Motion.

   The band became a legend by the years due to their excellent songs and gigs and of course to the fact that they didn't have a record.

   But this year B-other side records released this document. Some recordings from a tape from summer of 1980 at "Katara" studio. The quality of sound of course it's not the best but at last anybody has the chance to listen to their songs, 32 years later! 

   I was amazed when i played the record and i keep playing it for hours now! These are excellent songs proving that the legend was justifiable!

The vinyl record was released in only 400 copies and you may still have the time to order your copy.

                                               
                                                      Download  here

Stained Veil - Livin on Leavin (LP, vinyl rip). 1986.

   Excellent greek darkwave with a touch of punk! 
   Stained Veil was an '80's group from Thessaloniki and they released only this record in legendary Smash records. 

 This label released only three LP's (Fear Condition - 'till night comes again, Yell O Yell - XIII and this one here) but the three of them are now considered to be three milestones for the '80's greek rock and are very rare and expensive.

  This record begins with a punk rock feeling and distorted guitars but gradually it ends up to melancholic songs with fascinating melodies.

      Download  here

Fear Condition - One flew over the cuckoo's nest / Living in fear (7" single, 1985 - 1986 recordings, vinyl rip). 2012.

   Fear Condition.... One of the best dark wave bands of Greece. They formed in Thessaloniki and they soon gained the attention of the greek rock community due to their unique sound (tribal drums, saxophone, excellent vocals). They were influenced by bands like Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Joy Division.

   They had only one LP ("...till night comes again") in 1986 - the vinyl record is hard to be found today and quite expensive and the songs never re-released in cd. 

   You can download this milestone for the greek darkwave in this excellent blog.

This year Lotus recordshop released two live recordings from the old times in vinyl in a limited edition - 300 copies only. 

   "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" was included in the LP but here it is played live at  studio in 1986.

 "Living in fear" is an unreleased song and it is played live at the Selini club in 1985. It's a fantastic song proving that Fear Condition had a lot more to offer.

Respect!

Download here

Ανυπόφοροι (7" single, vinyl rip, 1983 recordings). 2011

   Anypoforoi (The Unbearables) were one of the first punk groups in Greece. 

   They formed in Athens, 1979, as a trio (guitars, bass, drums). keyboards were later added. They were one of the first - if not the first - punk bands to sing in Greek.

   They played numerous concerts till 1984 when they disbanded.

   Both songs were recorded in 1983 and were re-mastered in 2010 by Christos Manolitsis.

   The first song is speedy punk/new wave. The second song is more "dark" with the keyboards doing great work!

   The record was released in 2011 in limited edition (400 copies) vinyl only.

The writing behind the band says "Political and syndicalistic rights for soldiers". In the beginning of 80's anarchist and far left organisations in Greece organised a huge campaign for soldier's rights since joining the army was - and still is - obligatory in Greece. The band has played in concerts for this campaign.

The file contains the two songs, the covers and the lyrics in Greek.

Download  here

Killing Joke - what's THIS for...! (LP, vinyl rip).1981.

   This is Killing Joke's second LP.  If not quite as remarkable as the band's gripping self-titled debut, "What's THIS For...!" showed that Killing Joke could maintain their frenetic, doom-wracked intensity while experimenting with their already strongly established style. 

   Jaz Coleman's vocals go through even more treatments and tweaks than before, chorus shout-alongs swathed in deep echoes, hidden behind Geordie Walker's punishing riffs and the steroid-driven rhythm section.    Big Paul Ferguson in particular lays down some absolutely skull-crushing drum slams and Youth is no less intense at most parts, and often they rather than Coleman or Geordie dictate the song, as the lengthy death-groove of "Madness" makes perfectly clear (from Allmusic).

Aggresive, chaotic and dark, this is a sonic dystopia, one of the best LPs Killing Joke ever created.

                                                 Download  here

The Sound - Iron Years (E.P. 12", vinyl rip). 1987.

The Sound formed in South London in 1979. It was only by misfortune that the band didn't have the success of Echo and the Bunnymen or Cure. 

   Their music was genius. Depth and variation, tensions, atmoshperes and unstrained melodies was the perfect environment for the existensial lyrics.

  No need to write more about this unforgettable band.

  Only that Adrian Borland, the genius songwriter and singer of the band put an end to his life around this time, on 26 April 1999... 

  
 This is their last release. The darkness of the first records is still here. "Iron years" (could have easily been a part of "Shock of daylight") was included in their last LP "Thunder Up" (1987) but the true diamonds here are the two songs on the b side.

          

        Tracklist

        1. Iron Years (remix)

        2. Such a difference

        3. Fall of Europe

       We are living in the iron years