Final Massakre - 1999 - The Bells Of Hell Toll The Final Chime 7″

The back of the sleeve proclaims this record to be ‘Full Metal Jacket D-Beat Raw Punk’.  That means this record must be from Portland, OR,  the land of D-Beat Raw Punk.  This short-lived group featured Frank (from ATROCIOUS MADNESS and LEBENDEN TOTEN) on vocals, Brian Hopper (from DETESTATION, HELLSHOCK, etc) on guitar, and Kelly (RESIST, DETESTATION, etc) on drums.  This EP, courtesy of Tribal War Records, features 6 tracks, all played at a furious pace – the longest track is 1:21.  What you get is a solid D-Beat, manic guitar riffs, and some gasoline-throated vocals.
My only criticism of the sound is that the drums and vocals dominate too much.  I like my crust to have a thicker bass guitar sound, but on here the bass only stands out during a break on Death From Below.  There are times when Brian Hopper plays some furious lead breaks, but they are barely heard in the mix.  Only the lead break on We Stand In Silence gets a solid volume boost.  Nonetheless, this is worthy of being in your collection.  FINAL MASSAKRE only issued a few releases and they’re all worth tracking down.

Kylesa - 2002 - 7"

This 7″, released on German label Scorched Earth Policy, features one original and one cover.  The original track, Delusion On Fire, is a great introduction to those unfamiliar with KYLESA.  The dual vocals work well with KYLESA’s modern interpretation of the crust sound.  I’ve always loved the sound of male and female singers playing off each other.  It’s the right amount of soft and hard in the sound.  The rhythm section creates a solid, driving base for the thick guitar riffs to crash over.  The B-Side, a cover of NAUSEA’S Clutches, is the real gem here.  The song is just as apocalyptic as the original.  The recording quality is better than the original, with a solid, thick guitar tone.  This single is worth buying just for this track.

Misery / Extinction Of Mankind - 2001 - Apocalyptic Crust CD

This CD, released by Crimes Against Humanity, is a solid pairing by two bands whose influence has been felt throughout the crust genre.  First up is MISERY, from Minneapolis, MN.  They had been together for almost ten years by the time this was recorded.  Their sound is confident and mature, but still retains that crusty AMEBIX edge to it.  Most of their songs here follow a verse/chorus/verse structure.  My favorite song of theirs on here, One More Day, is quite different.  The lyrics consist of one long verse.  The words are paired up with shifting musical phrases which add a lot of variety to the song.
The other band here, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND, hail from the UK.  They have been around almost as long as MISERY, and also possess a similar musical confidence.  Their sound is similar to MISERY, but their bass guitar is more prominent in the mix.  Their sound is also similar to DOOM, with heavy guitars and gruff vocals.  Most of their songs are mid-paced, but EOM add some thrash bits for flavor.
Overall, this is a mandatory purchase for anyone interested in the crust genre.  My only complaint has to do with the CD’s sequencing.  Instead of having all of MISERY’s tracks, then all of EXTINCTION OF MANKIND’s tracks like a typical split CD, this disc has each band’s tracks interspersed.  Near the end there’s a noticeable difference in recording quality between the two bands.