NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND VOL. 7
CHUCK CIRINO - SORCERESS CD - NEKROMANTIK (1987) CD - BONG VOYAGE - HEDONISTIC HARD ROCK (2026) CD - PARABELLUM - BEHOLD A PALE HORSE (2026) CD - PARABELLUM - THE IRON CURTAIN (2024) CD - RED ROCKERS - IT'S IN OUR BLOOD (2026) CD - ELDER - THROUGH ZERO (2026) CD - DEMONS MY FRIEND - SURVIVE / YOURSELF (2026) CD - WILD BILLY CHILDISH & CTMF - HOUSE ON FIRE (2026) CD - MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER - MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER (1985) CD - LETHAL - PROGRAMMED (1990) CD - PAGAN ALTAR - MYTHICAL & MAGICAL (2006) CD - THE SECRET LIVES OF BILL BARTELL (2025) Blu-ray - BORN INNOCENT - THE RED CROSS STORY (2024) Blu-ray
Limited Edition of 500
Label: Dragon's Domain
Duration: 44:16
Chuck Cirino's atmospheric score for the erotically charged supernatural- horror Sorceress, directed by B-movie icon Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall), makes it's Blu-ray disc debut from Dragon's Domain Records, mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland with exclusive liner notes by author Randall Larson, and is limited to just 500 copies. The score is heavily drenched in synths and electronics, conjuring Gothic suspense as well as some beautiful themes, with swirling electronics and lush soundscapes. This release arrives in a jewel case with a clear tray, plus the sic-panel fold-out booklet includes 'The Saga of the Sordid Sorceress: Spicing Up the Erotic Thriller Genre' write-up by Randall D. Larson that synopsizes the film and also gets into the score, including input from composer. Cirino is someone who teamed-up with director Jim Wynorski and producer Fred Olen Ray quite a q bit, having scored Chopping mall, Return to Swamp Thing, Munchies, 976-Evil II, and Alienator, and it's great to see this gem finally get a disc release celebrating Cirino's terrific synth/electronic score, including some bonus tracks.
Tracklist:
1. Prologue and The Accident (3:38)
2. You’ll Never Be Rid of Me / Main Title (4:52)
3. Larry Comes Home / The Murder / Stan Runs (3:43)
4. Larry Finds Maria In Bed (W/Vocals) (1:53)
5. All the Way / Stan in the Shadows / Maria Exits / Stan Dies (3:20)
6. Carol’s Erotic Dream (3:13)
7. Amelia at the Altar / Amelia’s Dark Magic (2:19)
8. Maria Follows Larry (2:27)
9. Shower Time (2:18)
10. Amelia’s Madness (3:49)
11. The Final Rampage / Aftermath / Bad Dream (Finale) (5:39)
12. Sorceress End Credits (4:03)
Bonus Tracks:
13. Short Transitions (0:30)
14. Larry Finds Maria In Bed (W/O Vocals) (1:55)
Total Time: 44:16
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Expanded Edition CD
Limited Edition of 500
Label: Rustblade
Duration: 50:00
Nekromantic (1987), a film directed by Jörg Buttgereit's Nekromantik, is one of the most provocative independent films of all-time, a morbid romance with necrophilia shot on 8mm, it's a grimy and scuzzy descent into the distasteful. What we have hear is a new expanded edition of the soundtrack, a limited edition of 500 from Rustblade Records, presented in a 6-panel digipack with a center tray housing the disc, The panels are adorned with artwork, track list and images of composers Daktari Lorenz, Hermann Kopp, John Boy Walton and director Jörg Buttgereit. The minimalist soundtrack is quite effective, even on it's own, listening to this I the car I was pleasantly surprised how well I liked it, even without the disturbing and morbid visuals of the film, an eerie selection of minimalist themes that serve to enhance the extreme melancholy and loneliness of the film, with an off but quite enthralling mix of morbid ambient textures, grim atmosphere, and discord ("Surprise"), as well as a couple of beautiful piano themes ("Menage A Troi", "Pas de Deux" by John Boy Walton), but it's that the darkness of the "Nekromantik" main theme by Daktari Lorenz with its opening darkness and bombast that is still the standout for me. Rust Blade put together an attractive package with this release, and I appreciate the glossy artwork and the bonus tracks which offer later versions of the songs. A booklet or liner notes would have been appreciated, but that is not to be for this release, but still, a solid edition for fans of the soundtrack.
Tracklist:
1. Daktari Lorenz – Nekromantik
2. Daktari Lorenz – At Home
3. Hermann Kopp – Surprise
4. John Boy Walton – Ménage À Trois
5. John Boy Walton – Pas De Deux
6. Hermann Kopp – Supper
7. Hermann Kopp – Autopsy
8. Hermann Kopp – Drunk
9. Daktari Lorenz – Gardener
10. Hermann Kopp – Jellyface
11. Hermann Kopp – Deafmusic For A Grey Movie
12. Hermann Kopp – Dream Surgery
13. Hermann Kopp – Sapor Sanguinus
14. John Boy Walton – Ménage À Trois (First Play)
Bonus Tracks
15. Daktari Lorenz – At Home (Extended Katzi)
16.John Boy Walton – Ménage À Trois (Monster Version)
17. Hermann Kopp – Nekromantik 91
18. John Boy Walton – Pas De Deux 91
19. Hermann Kopp – Home, Domina Version
20. Daktari Lorenz – Nekromantik Reprise
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Label: Ripple Music
Duration: 39:10 mins
Norway's Bong Voyage have release a ripper of a pasty rock album on Ripple with Hedonistic Hard Rock, an album chock full of bangers with melody, groove and stoner-rock riffs for days, it's catchy, melodic and has more than it's fair share of earwork, starting off with the red hot satanic-rocker "Saturday Rite Special", referencing Elton John by way of Turbonegro. Loving the swagger of this one, lots of classic rock influences bleeding through here, I am getting notes of Kiss and Thin Lizzy for sure, but pumped up and beefier, with heavy grooves and some tasty psychedelia, but never loosing it's riff heavy groove and stomp. Definitely the catchiest album of this week, infectious party anthems and some fun cosmic rockers, I had "Escape from Prison Planet Earth" on repeat in the car for a good 20-minutes. another highlight was the NWOBHM-esque "Enabler" which brought to mind On Through the Night era Def Leppard. If you like feel good party hard rock with dark themes, a little bit of sci-fi, a little satanism, and a whole lot of energy and fun, not to mention riffs for days, well the debut album from Bong Voyage will not disappoint. This single-disc CD arrives in a four-panel digipack with a clear plastic tray.
Norway's Bong Voyage have release a ripper of a pasty rock album on Ripple with Hedonistic Hard Rock, an album chock full of bangers with melody, groove and stoner-rock riffs for days, it's catchy, melodic and has more than it's fair share of earwork, starting off with the red hot satanic-rocker "Saturday Rite Special", referencing Elton John by way of Turbonegro. Loving the swagger of this one, lots of classic rock influences bleeding through here, I am getting notes of Kiss and Thin Lizzy for sure, but pumped up and beefier, with heavy grooves and some tasty psychedelia, but never loosing it's riff heavy groove and stomp. Definitely the catchiest album of this week, infectious party anthems and some fun cosmic rockers, I had "Escape from Prison Planet Earth" on repeat in the car for a good 20-minutes. another highlight was the NWOBHM-esque "Enabler" which brought to mind On Through the Night era Def Leppard. If you like feel good party hard rock with dark themes, a little bit of sci-fi, a little satanism, and a whole lot of energy and fun, not to mention riffs for days, well the debut album from Bong Voyage will not disappoint. This single-disc CD arrives in a four-panel digipack with a clear plastic tray.
Track Listing:
1. Saturday Rite Special
2. Large And In Charge
3. UFOria
4. One Hundred Million Billion Beers
5. Escape Prison Planet Earth
6. Outer Space Freebase
7. Enabler
8. Wizard Of Ozlo
9. In Possession
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PARABELLUM - THE IRON CURTAIN (2024) CDLabel: Rockshots Records
Duration: 50:15
Tracklist:
1. What Is Freedom?
2. Deserted
3. The Iron Curtain
4. Corridor Of Rage
5. One Above All
6. Indoctrination
7. Truth Written In Blood
8. The Vacant Gaze
9. Logos Rhema
10. Amoshalypse
Sacramento, California thrashers Parabellum's debut album was originally released in 2024 and is re-issued here by Rockshots Records. The 10-track album is an old school rager, channeling healthy amount of Bay Area icons like Exodus, Forbidden and Slayer, with a strong whiff of Arise era Sepultura, especially in the vocals of Emre Aube. The songs are tight-knit, killer riffs, solid breakdowns, real headbangers and moshers across the board, I was especially fond of the leads from guitarist Dylan Stearns, terrific stuff, with some interesting socio-political lyrics, that were very Sepultur-ish as well. I thought this was an solid debut, I had it in the car all week listening to it, so it's a keeper for sure, the album closer "Amoshalypse" send it out on a headbanger, that's got to be a great live track, the circle pit must go apeshit for this one.
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PARABELLUM - BEHOLD A PALE HORSE (2026) CD
Label: Rockshots Records
RED ROCKERS - IT'S IN OUR BLOOD (2026) CD
ELDER - THROUGH ZERO (2026) CD
WILD BILLY CHILDISH & CTMF - HOUSE ON FIRE (2026) CD
MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER - MOJO NIXON & SKID ROPER (1985) CD 40th Anniversary Remastered Re-Issue
PAGAN ALTAR - MYTHICAL & MAGICAL (2006) CD
THE SECRET LIVES OF BILL BARTELL (2025) Blu-ray
BORN INNOCENT - THE RED CROSS STORY (2024) 2-Disc Blu-ray
Duration: 61:11
Track Listing
1. Behold A Pale Horse
2. I Am the Mockingbird
3. Sanctification and Heresy
4. You Think, Therefore I Am
5. Sic Vita Est
5. No Honor, No Glory
7. Binding
8. Descent To Darkness
9. 7 Years
10. Scourge of God
11. Territory (Sepultura Cover)
12. Vaxatious
Their second album Behold A Pale Horse is more of the same tasty thrash, but fine-tuned and tighter sounding. The thrashy Sepultura flavor is just a strong this time, with lyrical themes revolving around despair, political corruption, and media manipulation, you know, stuff that all pretty relevant at this moment, but also universal. The riffs are again quite tasty, precise and tightly knit, real headbangers that get under the skin, offering a fierce attack, the guitar and vocals are sharper and more dialed in, showing maturity. Highlights include the "I Am the Mockingbird", "Corridors of Rage" and "You Think, Therefore I Am". This album I noticed some changeups in the vocal department with Dylan Stearns offering some contributions and accompaniment, which adds some nice dynamics to the songs. Both of these releases from Rockshots Records come in jewel cases with clear inlay trays, both with artwork by Ken Knecht. No lyrics inside the booklets but loads of photos of the band. The only thing I would complain about is that the metadata for both CD does not include sing titles, which when playing it in the car bothered me a tiny bit, but otherwise, if you're a fan of Bay Area style thrashers with a strong 90's era Sepultura influence, further evidenced by their cover of "Territory", this is a terrific two-fer from promising young group of longhairs.
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Label: Liberation Hall
Duration: 43:05
Red Rockers were a New Orleans Clash-esue punk band form in '79, releasing their debut album Condition Red in '81 on 415 Records, and releasing two more album that were more commercial in nature, before disbanding in '85. This live album, recorded in 2023 at Tipitina's performing the Condition Red album, almost in it's entirety with the exception of the cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsum Prison Blues". The band is in fine form, the anthemic tunes sound like they've got the crowd pumped, from the set opener, a rollicking cover of The Clash's "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A" the live mix sounds terrifically raw, and they throw in some real Red Rockers obscurities into the set like "Voice of America" and "Missing In Action", which I think only appeared on more recent Condition red re-issues, as well as "United We Stand" which comes from their '84 album 'Schizophrenic Circus'. The anthemic tunes hold up quite nicely, delivered by a band not merely reliving the past, but knocking out some timeless and catchy punk rock tunes that forty years on still sound vital and raucous. The CD from Liberation Records arrives in a jewel case with a six-panel fold-out booklet with liner notes by Audrey Faine. This album is also available on vinyl and streaming, as well as Blu-ray, which includes additional songs not on the CD/Vinyl releases, those being the aforementioned cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" and "China", the later of which is from the Red Rockers 'Good As Gold' 1983 album. If you're uninitiated would say just buy the Condition red album first, give it a spin, and then check out this live document, but if you're into anthemic punk along the lines of The Clash, The Dils and Social Distortion then Red Rockers is gonna get your fist pumping for sure.
Tracklist:
1. I'm So Bored With the U.S.A.
2. Teenage Underground
3. Peer Pressure
4. Can You Hear
5. Know What I Think
6. United We Stand
7. Dead Heroes
8. Grow Up
9. Condition Red/My Generation
10. Hold On
12. Missing In Action
13. White Law
14. Voice Of America
15. Live Or Die
16. Guns Of Revolution
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ELDER - THROUGH ZERO (2026) CD
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Duration: 54:38
Celebrating their twentieth year together as a band, Elder's seventh album 'Through Zero' is 55-minutes of heavy psychedelic stoner with some seriously wonderful proggy tendencies, perfectly blending hypnotic groove, melody, synths, and occasionally a mind-bending riffs with melodic/ethereal vocals, and exploratory and existential song compositions that really take you places. The songs run on average about 8-minutes, so they have they have plenty of space to stretch out and follow it's own path, with gorgeous musicianship, the album opener "Sigil To Ruin" has some mind-bending prog-rock keyboards that hit me just right, while "Capture/Release" careens with energy, while never really gets into their doomier earlier sound, it delivers in a different way, I could feel all my synapses firing for this one. They've evolved, though the guitar riffs are still there, the later end of "Sight Unseen" really packs a wallop, and where they've found themselves I am happy to follow, enchanted by the adventurous world they're currently inhabiting, majestic and mesmerizing, heavy in it's own but not metal either, they've really gone their own and carved out their own slice of heavy psyche. The CD from Blues Funeral arrives in a 4-panel digipak with a clear tray and sleeve, the eight-page booklet contains lyrics and album credits.
Tracklist:
1. Sigil To Ruin
2. Capture/Release
3. Through Zero
4. Strata
5. Sight Unseen
6. Blighted Age
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DEMONS MY FRIEND - SURVIVE / YOURSELF (2026) CD
Label: Ripple Music
Duration: 41:53
Power-trio Demons My Friends second full-length 'Survive/Yourself'
is a thick and sludgy bit of alternative metal, the slabs of riffs are immense, with a muscular rhythm section that just hits hard. It's stoner sludge with psychedelia, but also has some catchiness to it that feels 90's era alternative along the lines of Soundgarden, with a touch of Deftones and Mastodon as well. I really fig this album, I like that you cannot pigeonhole it, it's heavy, it's catchy, it gets weird, with chugging riffs, psychdelic synths, interesting vocals and melodies for days, I love the desert rock chugs and heaviness to it, too. "Brain Holographic" stomps, with vocals that go from clean and melodic to black metal screes, and "Smile" just eviscerates. This album packs a wallop, if you're looking for something heavy, this unexpected stoner sludge with some 90's grunge tendencies is chock full of terrific tuneage. The CD arrives in a 4-panel digipak with a clear plastic disc tray.
Tracklist:
1. The Theory Of Change
2. Last Dance
3. Star Child
4. Kalorama
5. We All End Up Here
6. Brain Holographic
7. Smile
8. The Isolate
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Label: Damaged Goods Records
Duration: 40:00
The ever prolific Billy Childish returns with a new collaboration with CTMF, the new album 'House on Fire' delivers the Childish goods in spades, rollicking garage distortions and fuzzed out nuggets sure to keep you're foot tappin' all night long, including covers of both The Saints' 'Untitled' and The Yardbirds' 'Shapes of Things', both with Childish's wife Julie taking on lead vocals, though my favorite turn from her this album is the reflective ". The array of tunes here is a terrific listen burning guitar leads and chainsaw riffs ("Bridgeburner"), and boatloads of lo-fi garage, it's classic Childish, still able to muster up a garage-punk frenzy, with ease, and still venomous with tunes like "Beneath Your Touch", while "Tralfagar" sees him exploring a folkier side as a character just prior to the historical naval tragedy. Personal favorites include "Have You Seen the Devil" and "Rope Puller", both trading in Childish's signature twang and yowl. If you're a fan of Childish' brand of lo-fi stripped down and raw garage-punk this new collab with CTMF will be quite a treat.
Tracklist
1. The Magpie's Flown
2. Shapes of Things
3. Bridge Burner
4. Trafalgar
5. Beneath Your Touch
6. Traces of You
7. Untitled
8 Keep Mojave Weird
9. Blues That Kills
10. House on Fire
11. Have You See the Devil?
12. A Surprise to You (No Surprise to Me)
13. The Rope Puller
14. Searching From the Losing Place
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Label: Pravda Records
Duration: 40 mins
Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper (1985) was originally released in 1985, it was the duo's debut album, and has been long out of print, till the fine folks at Pravda Archives saw fit to herald it with a new 40th Anniversary re-issue. Nixon/Roper's debut album is a seminal slice of cowpunk, a reckless and rough hewn assembly of country tunes with a punk spirit the sound like something be howled by a couple of semi-incoherent drunk hobos who just fell of a train. Mojo wildly strumming his guitar while Skid brings the rhythm with junky percussion via washboard, harmonica, and what not, Mojo crooning about "Jesus at McDonalds", getting down n' dirty and a little crude "Moanin' With Your Mama" and "I'm In Love with Your Girlfriend". We also gets and ode to couch-surfing with "King of the Couch", and the It's a raucous and ramshackle affair, and funny as fuck, had a blast revisiting this one, it's been a long time since I lost my cassette tape of it, and this remastered edition sounds terrific, not polished, certainly brighter and cleaner, but still ragged and bruised, you would only ever want an album like this to sound so pristine. On a fun note, I've never been a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, I have never owned any of his albums, so it was only on this listen that I realized "Big Payback" was a Springsteen cover, though I still have not heard the original. For the curious who will want to know, this re-issue does not include the cassette-only rarities "Ain't Got Nobody" and "Death Row Blues", sorry. The remastered CD arrives in a four-panel digipak.
Tracklist:
1. Jesus at McDonalds
2. Mushroom Maniac
3. Moanin' With Your Mama
4. Promised Land Tonight
5. Guns To My Head
6. I'm In Love With Your Girlfriend
7. Rockin' Religion
8. Big Payback
9. Comin' Down
20. Momma Possums
11. King of the Couch
12. Art Fag Shuffle
13. Black Yo' Eye
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LETHAL - PROGRAMMED (1990) CD
Label: Punishment 18 Records
Duration: 44:00
Kentucky's melodic power metal band Lethal's debut album 'Programmed' 1982 gets a new re-issue from Punishment 18 Records, licensed from Metal Blade. Lethal's melodic power metal style offered driving rhythms and soaring vocals, with a musical style that I would favorably compare to early -The Warning--era Queensryche, with crunchy metal riffs, cool song dynamics, and soaring vocals from vocalist Tom Mallicoat, with a solid rhythm section. The album opens with "Fire in the Sky" which sets the pace, a standout track with soaring melodies and galloping rhythms. The title track "Programmed" highlighting Mallicoat's piercing vocal style, and I was never a fan of the upper register singers to be honest, but his never over-do it, it fell right into a sweet spot with me. The track "Plan of Peace" has pleasing notes of Iron Maiden, and it and "What They've Done" feature some stellar twin guitar attack from Eric Cook and Dell Hull, with chugging riffs galore, and the album closer "Killing Machine" has some fantastic leads and soloing that stand out. The re-issue from Punishments 18 Records arrives in a jewel case with an 8-page booklet with lyrics. This is definitely a bit of a lost power metal classic, and it's great to see it get a re-issue.
Tracklist:
1. Fire in Your Skin.
2. Programmed
3. Plan of Peace
4. Another Day
5. Arrival
6. What They've Done
7. Obscure the Sky
8. Immune
9. Killing Machine
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Label: Dying Victims
Duration: 65:00
Pagan Altar's 'Mythical & Magica' (2006), is the third studio album from the doomy folk rockers featuring songs originally written between 1977 and 1983 but not properly put down on tape until 2006. The third album delivers another terrific slab of heavy Doom riffs and mournful English folk, the highlights being the ancient-sounding and reedy vocals of the late Terry Jones and the rather fantastic guitar work of his son Alan Jones, who delivers vintage riffs and searing leads, channeling the pyrotechnic chops of Ritchie Blackmore and Toni Iommi, but with his own unique intonations. The album opens with the sounds of wind and church bells as the opening track "Samhein" rolls in, riffy and wonderful with crescendoing solos, and of course Terry's seemingly otherworldly vocals, it's a stunner. Next is the galloping "The Cry of the Banshee" with female choral elements that add atmosphere to an already transcendent slice of doom I love the production on this album, it's arguably a bit thin in places, but I think it's so evocative of the NWOBHM era when these songs were originally written, it's pitch perfect. It feels like a relic from another era, and it is, but it's also timeless and wonderful, too. When the bands turns the amps down and get into into the folkier side of things prepare to be wowed, tracks like "The Crowman", "The Sorcerer" and "The Erl King", gorgeous lush arrangements and melodies abound, eerie and etherical, but then right into another sharp-edge rocker like "The Witch's Path", the albums most traditional hard-rocker, has a prime-era Ted Nugent-esque main riff that is fire, with the album closer "The Rising of the Dark Lord" takes us out on another high note, leaving me wanting more, and totally bewitched by it's blend of NWOBH, doom and folky metal tones. Pagana Altar of a band I knew by name only for many years, having only discovered them for myself a few years back, while on lunch at work listening to Pandora, I think I was listening to the Witchfinder General station set to a 'Deep Cuts' playlist and Pagan Altar popped up a few times, I had no idea these were recordings from the 2000s, they sounded so vintage and fit so well into the NWOBHM playlists. I remember looking into purchasing the albums at the time, and they were out-of-print and expensive, so I was only streaming these for the longest time, and to this day I have never found a used copy in the wild. As a physical media collector not owning these certainly stuck in my craw for years, that is until the good folks at Dying Victims records saw fit to re-issue the Pagan Altar albums, fucking saviors, doing the metal-lord's work with these Pagan Altar. This reissue arrives in a jewel case and includes a 24-page illustrated booklet with not only lyrics for the songs but detailed notes for each song by guitarist Alan Jones. This release also includes a removable obi-strip and a sticker with the album artwork on it.
Tracklist:
1. Intro / Samhein
2. The Cry of the Banshee
3. The Crowman
4. Daemoni na Hoiche (Demons of the Night)
5. The Sorcerer
6. Flight of the Witch Queen
7. Dance of the Druids
8. The Erl King
9. The Witches Pathway
10. Sharnie
11. The Rising of the Dark Lord
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THE SECRET LIVES OF BILL BARTELL (2025) Blu-ray Label: We Got Power Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 Minutes 37 Seconds
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: David Markey
The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell (2025) is a documentary about the mad-genius you've probably never heard of, the titular Bill Bartell. The doc is directed by David Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke), and features interview with Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Dale Crover and Buzz Osborne of the Melcins, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Fat Mike of NOFX, Victor, Krummenacher, Jeff McDonal and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross, and of course some archival clips from the man himself Bill Bartell, to paint an enigmatic portrait of a truly mysterious man who operated behind the scenes through the decades influencing music popular music in weird ways. The doc tracks his early life and starting the band White Flag which was a play on Black Flag, he started a record label name Gasatanka which was a spoof of Casablanca (because he was Kiss-obsessed), and releasing his own band's music in addition to Redd Kross's Teen Babes from Monsanto EP. He also had the ability to get into any concert for free and to get backstage access to the bands, and he had a mysterious source of money that allowed his band to tour Europe and start up a record label, even though no one knew how he got his money. They also note that he had a cop moustache that was super-uncool in the punk scene, but that looking the way he did allowed him to get away with shit the other punks could not, and that he would later seemingly join the ranks the L.A.P.D., and also became a professional bull rider - this guy was all over the place! The doc paints him as a real attention seeker, a guy who sidled up to his heroes through sheer charisma, turning up in the Penelope Sheperis doc Decline of the Western Civilization as an audience member during The Germs performance, and we get a clip of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain mentioning his pal Bill Bartell and the cool music he turned people onto, it turns out that Bartell even gave Cobain the Daniel Johnston t-shirt he was often seen in, the doc also noting that Bartell pretty much single-handedly brought the Brazilian band Os Mutantes and the Japanese band Shonen Knife to popularity in the US releasing several of their albums as well as the compilation tribute album Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them (1989). It's a wild doc about a wild guy, including becoming a substitute teacher at some point, bragging to friends that eh would teach them false information, it just so fascinating. Back tot he music he somehow convinced Kiss's manager Bill Aucoin to sign Billy Idol after Gen X broke up! This guy lived the life of ten people, I tell you. The doc is absolutely lousy with wild archival footage of White Flag, his side Beatles-cover band the Tater Totz with the McDonald brothers from Redd Kross, the vintage film clips are tremendously entertaining. We also get another side of Bill, the side that compartmentalized his private life and friendships, never opening up about his sexuality, and how that contributed or masked a loneliness and sadness, which gives the mostly high-energy doc some meaty melancholia as well. Its a terrific doc, overloaded with so many stories from friends, family and the bands he surrounded himself with, I've only just touched on the wild life of this an enigmatic and often contradictory personality, I didn't even get to the Steve Harris/Iron Maiden story, just watch it, it's freaking amazing.
Special Features:
- 46 Minutes of Deleted Scenes and Bonus Footage (46:19)
- Q & A from Slamdance 2025 (15:48)
- Trailer (2:59)
Label: Reich & Co.
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 88 Minutes 51 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Andrew Reich
Cast: Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald, Ron Reyes, Dez Cadena, Buzz Osborne, Kim Shattuck, Anna Waronker, Charlotte Caffey, Robert Hecker, Greg Hetson, Eddie Kurdziel, Brian Reitzell, Tracy Lea, Vicki Peterson, Dale Crover
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story is a sprawling doc that covers the cult band Redd Kross, founded by brothers
Jeff and Steve McDonald who were heavily influenced by pop-culture, Kiss and Partridge Family, they were long-haired punks with glam stage costumes that were unpopular during the punk scene at the time, hailing from Hawthorne, California, the home of the beach boys The Beach Boys. The fascinating doc make a great double-feature with The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell, both coning out of the same scene. In a lot of ways it's a doc about a band who wear hugely influential, especially on the Seattle grunge scene after they played there, but somehow never went onto those upper echelons of success, always a cult favorite but never quite achieving that grunge-era success that others went onto grasp, however fleetingly. The doc is made with the participation of both Jeff and Steve McDonald, and they're back and forth is so charming in their shared interviews, plus we get input from Dez Cadena form Black Flag, Buzz and Dale from the Melvins, Kim Shattuck of The Muffs, and loads more, painting this enthralling punk rock portrait of a band with a constantly shifting line-up, the ups and downs and re-starts, and then we get the story of how Steve was kidnapping and went missing for three months as a teen, which was something I never really knew about, it really surprised me when that came up. Interviews with his parents are somewhat harrowing around this event, understandably, his mother still quite shaken by it. There's also a treasure trove of archival performance footage, clips from the film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, and more interviews with members of Soundgarden, The Bangles, Veruca Lalt, The Linda Lindas, and and Sonic Youth. If you're a 80's-90's alt-rock/indie kid I think this is gonna appeal to appeal you, for the already initiated and newcomers alike this is an utterly fascinating rock n' roll doc, and we get a second disc of bonus material that is also jam-packed with more stories, more performances, and extended interviews.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary Track with Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald and Andrew Reich
- Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and Lovedolls Superstar Featurette (15:07)
- Polliwog Park Concert Featurette (5:09)
- Santa Monica Pier Concert Featurette (4:29)
- Beginnings – Expanded (8:04)
- The Posh Boy Era – Expanded (10:34)
- Ron Reyes and Dez Cadena (4:49)
- Name Change from Red Cross to Redd Kross (9:12)
- Teen Babes From Monsanto – Expanded (12:32)
- Neurotica – Expanded (8:38)
- The Naz Pad (2:0
- Third Eye Gets A Good Rap (1:49)
- Spirit of ’76 – Expanded (5:46)
- Naz Pad Rehearsal Jan 1989 (52:41)
- Media Blitz Appearance (12:29)
- Digging in Jeff’s Record Closet (18:31)
- Steve Breaks Down Every Redd Kross Record (27:50)
- Kim Shattuck Full Interview (30:52)
- The Tourists Reunion Rehearsal 11/21/15 (12:37)
- The Tourists Reunion Show 11/22/15 (13:18)
- The McDonald Brothers Unplugged (41:21)
- Santa Monica Screening Q&A with McDonald Brothers and Andrew Reich 11/11/24 (30:09)
- Trailer (1:33)
- First Pressing of 2000 Limited Editions comes packaged in an o-ring with a booklet and 2 of 4 randomly inserted postcards
Buy it!
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