Definitivos - Courtrai Moderne: Definitive Definitivos

After reading my Belgian Nuggets review Tony, the owner of Mayway Records, was kind enough to send me a link to pre-listen to the Definitivos record Mayway Records will release on record store day. 'Courtrai Moderne: Definitive Definitivos' will be the first full vinyl release of Kortrijk's punk heroes.

This band out of my hometown Kortrijk has quite an interesting history. They started out in the late seventies when the first wave of punk craze hit Belgium. In well known punk tradition these four guys didn't really know how to handle an instrument but they were eager to start a band. I could be mistaken but I guess they were the first punk band in Kortrijk. They recorded their first single 'The modern dance' in 1980 and it became an instant indie hit in Belgium and France. When listening to the song I can easily understand why. It's catchy, easy to sing along with and has an awesome and raw guitar solo (I guess they quickly learned how to play those instruments). 

Their second single 'Courtrai tonight' was released in 1982 and was produced by Serge Feys of the legendary band T.C. Matic. Reviews were raving again and they could do some touring in France and The Netherlands. 'Courtrai tonight' is a post punk anthem with that typical eighties bass sound that I love so much. I guess this is their most known track and it hit the alternative charts upon its release.

Their sound evolved and was influenced by eighties cold wave and post punk. They had some line-up changes and recorded a 12inch EP called 'Sight seeing'. Unfortunately the band died a silent death after this release. The band was never forgotten though and their releases and songs became cult classics.

Fast forward to 2010. Thanks to social media (these things are both a curse and a blessing...) people got really interested in the band and they started playing again. I saw them play some great shows. They released a best of cd and proved that they still have it and sound pretty fresh. Last year they presented their first new recorded song called '2017, the worst I've ever seen', a protest song in true punk tradition which will also be included on the vinyl anthology. Since 2018 they play with the original line up like in the early days. The punk spirit is still very strong and these guys are real Kortrijk punk heritage.

I can't wait to hold their vinyl anthology in my hands and put it on the turntable. The lay out looks awesome and I have been listening a lot to the tracks Tony sent me. They will play the awesome Textival festival in Kortrijk on the 22nd of april together with some great bands (click here for the full line up and some more information about Kortrijk's cosiest and eclectic festival). Go see them live and buy this record!

The record will be released on the 21st of april, on Record Store Day. More info: Mayway Records.

"You gotta make a choice, stand up and raise your voice!"

Love, Truth & Honesty - The impossible dream... 7inch and the early 8000 scene

I have been wanting to write about this little gem even before I started this blog: The Love Truth & Honesty 7 inch on Machination Records, released in 1992.

I was born and raised in Kortrijk, the mecca of H8000 hardcore in the nineties. H8000 hardcore was well known for its edge metal bands like Congress, Liar, Regression, Spineless,... that had a huge following, not only locally but also international. I was pretty young when all this happened and I was mostly interested in skateboarding, skate punk (I was a huge fan of Green Leaf Records, a subdivision of Goodlife Recordings, the label that released most of these edge metal bands) and chasing girls but I did attend some shows and bought some records.

My favorite H8000 band has always been Blindfold, who played more of a melodic and emo influenced style of hardcore. You can expect some Blindfold posts later on this blog.
Through the Blindfold 'world of fools' 7 inch I got to know Machination Records and through Machination Records I got to know more of those earlier bands when the scene was still called 8000 scene. Somehow those earlier days and bands interest me more than the more metallic H8000 scene (although Congress and Liar, the trailblazers of the H8000 scene were amazing off course). There were some awesome bands active and a couple of local labels: Warehouse Records, PMA Records and Machination Records. The motto of the scene back then was 'Positive, political, powerful', something I can totally relate to. The 'Regress no way' compilation 7 inch on Warehouse Records is a classic and has songs from the 4 most important 8000 bands: Nations On Fire, Blindfold, Spirit Of Youth and Shortsight.

Machination Records only released 7 inches, mainly of local bands (the awesome German band Acme being an exception) and they are all recommended. Even though these records are over 20 years old I still enjoy listening to them and this small label has always fascinated me somehow.

The Love, Truth & Honesty 7 inch was released in 1992 and is in my eyes a very underrated record. You can buy copies on discogs for only 1 euro. The band consisted of Edward (also in Nations On Fire and later of Goodlife Recordings) on vocals, the 2 brothers Dominiek and Frederik (of Spirit Of Youth, Solid, Blood Redemption, ...) on guitar and drums and Ignace on bass. These four songs were also on the Spirit Of Youth demotape on Warehouse Records, recorded by the same line-up a while earlier. So I guess Love, Truth & Honesty is Spirit Of Youth using another name for a short period of time.

The music always reminds me of Dag Nasty and later era Minor Threat. Good, fast and melodic hardcore. Lyrically two of the songs are in the same vein as the Nations On Fire ones and reflect the 'Positive, political, powerful' motto of the scene. Two other songs are more personal dealing with relationships and friendships.
I've always liked the lay-out of the Machination Records releases, they were always simple and to the point but nice to look at. This release is no different. I always wondered what the medieval looking illustration on the cover meant until Edward told me it was his hommage to a series of classical music compilation cd's that he was a big fan of. Nice anecdote and reference!

Get this record. Spend a euro wisely and remember: "Together we can turn the impossible dream into reality..."