............................
Review at Punknews.org (....USA....) http://www.punknews.org/review/8585....
.. ..
Japanese label Akashic Records ensures that Americans
receive a tidy document of one particular sect of early ..80s hardcore with this
release. Caustic Defiance and Negative Element were two products of the Midwest
in the early 1980s and converted their desolation and adolescent rage into
tight, scratchy hardcore punk songs that, while fitting in well with the sound
of the time, is nonetheless a raw, unrefined and yet enjoyable piece of work.
....Peoria.., ..IL....'s
Caustic Defiance provide the first baker's dozen of cuts here. All were tracked
in 1983 and all blast by in a flurry of bare-bones riffs and flailed drum
fills, from the catchy, rambled chorus of "Controlled Aggression" to
the angsty "I Could Kill You" ("Well, I think you're
pretty...Yeah, pretty shitty!"). Vocalist Brad Krohn's raspy, almost
quickly-spoken take seems to lean closer to Milo Aukerman than John Brannon.
Their last song, however, "Don't Let It Die" is a slower, hopeful
number, bringing the speed of the previous dozen to a quick halt, but for a
wistful finish all the same.
Negative Element is the slightly elder band on this split, as Caustic Defiance
formed from their ashes. Essentially a sloppier and jokier version of the sound
that would be fleshed out and better thought out in Caustic Defiance, their
side's interesting though a little less listenable. Tracks like
"Anti-PacMan" and "What Ever Happened to Elmer Fudd?" get
on a goofy plane and never look back. "Just Be Yourself" is just
messy and snotty, though more promise shown in the accelerated "Police
Beat (On Me)" and the tempo change-ups in "No Way Out."
"Pay the Lord" is a natural reaction to the band's conservative
Christian community they sprouted from.
Clocking in at just under a half-hour, this is an interesting look into two
bands whose songs probably would have gone largely unnoticed otherwise.
Granted, they probably still will, but at least these will be pushed to a new
audience hungry for the style's origins.
.. ..
Review in Suburban Voice (....USA....)
http://subvox.blogspot.com/....
CAUSTIC DEFIANCE/NEGATIVE ELEMENT-Split (Akashic, CD)
Straight outta the suburbs of ....Chicago....
came these two bad-ass hardcore punk bands ca. 1983. OK, they weren't exactly
bad-asses but, instead, typified the fast, generic sound of the day. There are
distinctions, though. Let's begin with Negative Element, since they were the
first band and perhaps have a bit more notoriety since they got a 7" EP, Yes
We Have No Bananas, released back in the day. I've always had a soft spot
for this band's goofy approach... songs about Elmer Fudd and the Pillsbury
dough boy, an anti-Pac Man song (that was the video craze at the time), as well
as the de-rigeur plaints about the cops and religion. The mixes here are
different than on the 7", although definitely not slick. There are also some
very rough-sounding, unreleaed demos that probably could have stayed that way.
So after Negative Element split, due to the Steppe brothers (Chopper and Barry)
moving away, Caustic Defiance was born and the sound was much more aggressive.
A nastier guitar tone leading to a buzzsaw ambiance. They played the same kind
of thrash plenty of other bands did at the time but with enough youthful vigor
to make it enjoyable. Just don't expect any sort of revelation. I should
mention it's all previously unreleased. Nicely packaged with a booklet that has
lyrics and reminiscences. (Mukasoi 1058, ..Wakayama..
648-0025, ....JAPAN....,
http://www.myspace.com/akashicrecs)
.. ..
Review in Asice Magazine (....Netherlands....)
http://www.asice.net/reviews/3442/....
Negative Element/Caustic ....Defiance....
- split
The Reagan era of American hardcore was nicely documented in both the book
and the movie “American Hardcore”. Occasionally, a completely unknown band pops
up from the vaults. This time it’s two bands from ....Illinois...., both featuring the brothers
Chopper and Barry Steppe. They started Negative Element when they lived in ....Chicago.... and continued with
Caustic Defiance when they moved to the suburbs. You can read the who story in
the interesting liner notes from both bands by ex (?) members of these ..Midwest.. outfits circa ‘82/ ’83.
Both bands play snotty hardcore punk, very much like skate punkers JFA who were
around at the same time. The sound is raw (most tracks were taken from tapes)
and the kids were pissed off! This is how I like hardcore.
.. ..
Review in Got-a-nerve Magazine (....Denmark....)....
http://www.got-a-nerve.de/news/328/3/CAUSTIC-DEFIANCE-NEGATIVE-ELEMENT---Split-CD/....
CAUSTIC DEFIANCE/NEGATIVE ELEMENT - ....Split....
CD
07/23/2009 | Ab in die Zeitmaschine, ab
zurück in die wilden 1980er Jahre. In einem beschaulichen Vorort der
US-amerikanischen Metropole ....Chicago....
erlebte Negative Element 1980 seine Geburtsstunde. Ähnlich erging es auch
Caustic Defiance - die Band rekrutierte sich vor gut 25 Jahren aus Mitgliedern
von Negative Element, schlug dann aber seine Zelte in ....Peoria.... auf, um inmitten von Farmern eine
Punk-Hardcore-Szene aufzubauen. Wenn man Hardcore und die 1980er Jahre
verbindet, dann wird es euch nicht sonderlich schwer fallen, zu erraten, was
euch auf dieser Split-CD, erschienen auf dem japanischen Label Akashic Records,
erwartet. 27 Songs in gut 30 Minuten, ganz in der Kerbe von Bands wie Black
Flag, Gang Green, Minor Threat und den Bad Brains. Angepisst wie die Hölle,
rotzig, einfach, schnörkellos. Während sich Caustic Defiance bereits 1985 schon
wieder auflösten, juckte es den Jungs von Negative Element noch einmal in den
Fingern: Im November 2007 spielten sie eine Reunion-Show. Ein cooles Release für
alle alten Recken. Von Caustic ....Defiance....
gibt es 13 Songs, Negative Element dürfen 14 Mal auf die Kacke hauen.
Release-Date: 1. Juli 2009