Two New Going Undeground Releases Out Now!
Going Underground presents two albums from Los Angeles & the Orange Curtain for your consumption...
HOT LOAD
REALIZED LP
Going Underground #72
Mailorder Edition on Red + Black Swirl Vinyl
When punk started, it was a line in the sand--no other music was allowed. Motorhead were an exception, punk energy with some hard-rock gestures but single-minded enough to qualify. Discharge and early hardcore upped the tempos, but metal was still a foreign country. Lots of pent-up young people loved punk, and lots loved metal, so it wasn’t surprising that they started to blend into each other as the 80’s progressed. Most people who could play lead guitar wanted to PLAY LEAD GUITAR.
The Japanese have always excelled at refining any idea they encountered. Bands like G.I.S.M., The Stalin, Gauze, Lip Cream, Kuro, Systematic Death and The Execute took punks rage and added metal’s scale. The world had a model for how this peanut butter cup could be perfected.
Punk splintered into thrashier, spazzier, noisier, (and some poppier) directions. Indie, grunge, stoner rock, post-hardcore, and other flavors of the month came and went.
Los Angeles’ Hot Load is the logical conclusion of this story. It’s hardcore punk, it’s metal, it’s classic rock, and if you wanna fight about it, you’re gonna lose. Punk rock fury, 2026 style. You’re welcome.
- Geoffrey Weiss
SOCAL'S PARISHIONERS
SOCAL'S PARISHIONERS LP
Going Underground #71
Mailorder Edition on Blue Vinyl
SoCal’s Parishioners have picked a funny name for themselves. Is it a reference to the Church, the hallowed Hermosa Beach practice space that spawned Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Descendents, Minutemen, Redd Kross, and The Last? That would make sense. This is vicious OC punk with huge riffs, menacing vocals, and bad attitude for days. If it’s some other church, they attend, I hope it catches on.
Members of Not Shit decided they wanted to play old school punk rock the SoCal way in 2021. Collaborating with friends from G*U*N*N and Rolex, they’ve put out some cassettes, played some house shows, and are finally ready to unleash their brutal wax debut as SoCal's Parishioners on the mighty Going Underground label in 2026.
Grab your board, drop in, tune out, and get pitted. Real punks, see you at Polliwog Park!
- Geoffrey Weiss