Neil Crud on Louder Than War Radio #200

Two hundred shows.

Two hundred Monday nights shouting at the void, feeding it noise, and the void occasionally shouting back.

Two hundred reasons to thank the ghosts, the gremlins, the listeners, the contributors (like Garry), the bands, the label miscreants, the fanzine scribblers, and Wyn — especially Wyn — patron saint of emergency cover slots.

No throat-clearing tonight.

We go straight in.

Rat Cage – “Emotional Blackmail” came crashing in first — a Sheffield-via-Skopje blast, resurrecting the UK Subs classic and hotly tied to that fresh issue of Raising Hell fanzine that still smells of ink, glue and one staple (Ben you tight barstard!). You can practically hear the interview bleeding through the guitar tone.

And because one UK Subs thread deserves another, I followed it immediately with UK Subs – “Kill Me,” pulled from Reverse Engineering, before letting the whole thing mutate into Finland’s finest D-beat barrage: Kürøishi – “Warhead! Warhead!” off Egocide of the Warmad. Feels like someone opened a window and a blizzard came through it.

From there the trail ran straight into surreal brilliance — Spaghelli – “Dead Man’s Sock.” Mentioned in Raising Hell, clicked the link, fell into an entire subuniverse of art, noise, and travel stories from a person who's been to roughly 90 countries.

The fanzine theme kept rolling with Diaz Brothers – “This Is My Oppressor.” Interviewed in RH #33 and carrying the weight of HDQ lineage, forming anew after the tragic loss of Dickie. Their album The World Is Yours is still on my “fix this, idiot” list.

Then: a Wyn leftover.

Chepa – “3 Jours Et 15 Heures,” rescued from the pile of CDs he abandoned here after covering my show. I copied the lot — fair’s fair.

From there things took a hard left: Hayden Hughes – “I Want You To Peg Me.” Released three years ago to the day. A classic of its kind. A kind that probably shouldn’t have a “classic” category but here we are.

Without Love – “Soul Purpose.” Played last week. Too good not to play again.

Then Decibel – “Object,” fresh from Bones, followed by a curious title-collision with Possible Damage – “Object” from their 2022 demo. Two different planets using the same language.

Dead Pollys – “Yes Sir,” from Better Off Alive, marched in next, before the mighty Wiccans – “Barbarian Queen.” Drunken Sailor Recs unwrapping something that feels almost like Black Flag with a migraine.

Liverpool haunted the next corner with Zombina & The Skeletones – “Phantom With The X-Ray Mind.”

Then straight to the political jugular:

Rites of Hadda – “Killer Profits (Tokitae)” from Inevitable Machete on Grow Your Own.

And then Two Tonne Machete – “Pigs Pigs,” an anthem about the criminalisation of dissent — the kind of track that rattles the windows of parliament if you play it loud enough.

We flew to Devon next (sort of) with Wags To Wytches – “Rage Bait,” from their second EP, complete with black “vinyl-style” CDs.

Then The Human Error – “Flags Of The World,” off their new record Ghost Army Deception, CD and download ready, red vinyl on the horizon like a warning flare.

Leicester barged in with Gout – “Just Watching (Live).” Two brothers, twenty years, one two-piece hardcore entity punching holes in the evening.

Then:

The Unknowns – “All Grown Up,” back with a second pressing of Looking From The Outside after the first sold out in a blink.

Back to Wales next — we always come home eventually — with Bad Sam – “Pedigree Poor,” off their new LP Trauma. A lyrical lashing at the wealthy feeding their pets gourmet nonsense while the poor queue for tins. Dean Beddis and Richard Glover do not do subtle.

And closing the 200th show with a wry grin because it’s too true to ignore:

The Puncturists – “They Don’t Pay Support Bands.”

Taken from I’m Not Alright.

And yes, they don’t.

And yes, it’s a banger anyway.

Two hundred shows.

See you for 201.

Or 300.

Or until this tinnitus finally kills me.

Whichever comes first.