Take a step back into the ever mutating late 80′s/early 90′s hardcore punk scene. Inside a world full of bands, genres and sub-genres that often seem overlooked by the hard thrashing youth of today. Enter the world of Powerviolence!

What is Powerviolence and how did this genre of ultra brutal hardcore come about? Powerviolence was a reactionary musical movement spawned in the late 80′s/early 90′s on the West Coast which attempted to end all humanity through their sonic onslaught. The originators took cues from from such ripping 80′s thrash acts as Siege, Deep Wound, Neos, D.R.I., Antidote, Raw Power, Rip Cord, C.O.C., Septic Death, and yes, strangely enough in some cases French prog-rockers Magma and even The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Characterized by ultra short songs with tempos that could start slower than death’s dirge and in a matter of seconds blast into a sickening frenzy of light-speed guitars and drums accompanied with “Cookie Monster” vocals. When all was said and done, you had just experienced 20 seconds of the most brutal music of your life.

Bands like Infest, No Comment, Cyclops, Pissed Happy Children, Neanderthal, Crossed Out, Man Is The Bastard, Spazz and Capitalist Casualties were the early cornerstones and originators of the movement, while Chris Dodge’s, Slap A Ham Records was the flagship label putting put records for the aforementioned outfits. As time passed more bands and labels emerged… Plutocracy, Dystopia, Lack of Interest, Despise You, Crom, Excrutiating Terror, Stapled Shut, Iaborher, Cattlepress, Assuck, Dropdead, Dissassociate, etc, etc.

By no means is this a definitive document of Powerviolence. This compilation, taken from original vinyl sources merely attempts to showcase a small portion of where Powerviolence began and how it quickly morphed and spread across this sickening country. Showcased here is only a small taste of where it started, where the music went, and what it became before eventually dying out in the late 90s.

Tracklist in the comments, enjoy!

- Mr. Malta