The Formative Years – Inferno

When it comes to Teutonic hardcore punk bands that made a significant splash on the global stage in the 1980s, one cannot go past Inferno from Augsburg.

Inferno was light years ahead of its peers and seemingly effortlessly created its own lane from the get go, which in this furious and fast form was unheard of in Germany. Founded in 1981, songs that were penned during their first rehearsal became instant classics and were eventually covered by bands like S.O.D., i.e. the track "Ram It Up" on their album Speak English or Die.

All of their releases up until 1987 are bonafide classic and should be fun in the collection of any hardcore punk aficionado, including their first demo tape Gott is tot.

It did not take long for the new world to take notice and via Maximum Rock’n Roll and Inferno’s appearance on the Welcome to 1984 compilation, a direct line of communication with Pushead was established, who created the artwork for their fantastic debut album Tod und Wahnsinn, which is to this day the only artwork Mr Brian Schroeder created for a Germanic band and eventuated to Pushead featuring them on the fantastic Cleanse the Bacteria compilation released through his Pusmort label.

The album was frenetically celebrated around the world and not only lead to invitiations to contribute to international samples but resulted in a split LP with the Japanese band Execute.

Their last album It Should Be Your Problem unfortunately paled a bit compared to their previous emissions as the songs departed into thrash and speed metal territory.

Inferno were true pioneers and truly innovative, intense and musically tight band with fantastic song-writing abilities pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be possible in their time. With their oeuvre, they expanded my musical horizons and revisiting their early recordings is never not a pleasure.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Sanctus, Brick Lane and Oceans Reach Brewing 

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of Beer – while not necessarily all seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are applicable to the context of beer brewing, Sanctus Brewing’s emissions are testament to them putting wisdom, understanding and knowledge in the alchemy that is channelling the merits of hops to good use. 

Depending on your religious outlook, it could be argued if their beers constitute what per definitionem is manna from the gods, but fact is that what they produce in the Clarency Valley in the territory of NSW with the help of a head brewer with a pedigree in winemaking, catapults things to the next level and beyond.

My only exposure to Sanctus Brewing so far has been via their IPA and it delivers in spades with the name Sweet Disposition being a telling one: 

Upon approach beautiful aromas of sweet caramel excite the senses, an experience that is seamlessly continued on the palate with a melange of passionfruit and citrussy highlights. The fact that this IPA is essentially a beer ode to the indie anthem that was penned by Temper Trap only adds to the appeal. Not unlike the so

g it references, this is a well-calibrated little number that expertly manoeuvres the claviature between sweet and bitter notes.
With meticulous attention paid not only to the design of the artworks adorning their cans but also their excellent merch range, which also includes a custom-made beer drinking vessel that resembles the hop holding equivalent of how the Holy Grail is commonly perceived to look like, it is evident that they truly care about their offerings.

Apart from their endeavours in the realm of beer slinging, Sanctus’ has its own beer club and other outreach activities in a bid to make the brewery as inclusive as can be, i.e. Sanctus Brewing is a company you would want to get behind if you are remotely into quality craft beers.

Brick Lane Brewing

Brick Lane was founded four years ago and rose out of the ashes via a collective of close to thirty likeminded beer enthusiasts who joined forces to put head brewer Jon Seltin at the helm of its craft beer operations, who put his expertise from his dealings at Hawkers Brewing to good use and established what has become one of the finest breweries Australia has to offer.

With their mission set on creating a custom-made brewery with a focus on efficiency and sustainability, Brick Lane started out with core-line-up comprised of beers like their entry level One Love Pale Ale, which serves as a borderline perfect entry point into their range with its well-balanced bitterness and the finely calibrated melange of stone fruit and bright, citrussy hop aromas, which sit comfortably against a soft malty wheat backbone.

Now, things got exciting for me with Brick Lane’s Supernova IPA, which is, as you would have guessed, a thinly veiled hoppy ode inspired by one of the better musical emissions of when the Gallagher brothers still got along.

A big flavoured beers that rests on a formidable foundation comprised of Mosaic, Equanot, Centennial and Citra hops, the latter of which are used both in their original as well as in a cold extracted form in a bid to turn things to eleven when it comes beautifully resinous, piney lupulin. The result is a tour de force in terms of tropical flavour nuances and the most lip-smackingly dankness, which is counterpointed by a maltiness informed by Munich and rolled oats. With an ABV clocking in at 6.8% a formidable IPA.

Brick Lane’s Avalanche Hazy IPA series has seen previous instalments with hops sourced from the new world. The 2021 incarnation still uses Strata hops from the US, yet completes the picture with Motueka, Wai-iti and Riwaka hops from New Zealand. What I love about the result is that compared to other Australian Hazy IPAs, this little number has a more pronounced malty, oaty bitterness, which serves as the stage nuances of grapey, melon highlights dance on.

Having spent quite a bit of time in Belgium and developed a weak spot for their Trappist beers, I tend to be extremely critical when it comes to breweries elsewhere in the world trying to create local varieties. I am all the more pleased when the result is as delicious as Brick Lane’s Guardian, which is a Belgian Tripel par excellence.

The sweet spot with Belgian Tripels is when the right balance is created between complexity and accessibility, with the yeast character leading the charge when it comes to nuanced flavours. The Guardian is an extremely sessionable and dangerously moreish little number that lends itself perfectly well to be a suitable component for boilermakers – I paired it with a dram of Chiefs Son’s Sweet Peat cask strength expression and with its unique yeast strain from the Ardennes and its delicate spiciness helped to elevate things to new heights. 

Summa summarum: Each individual expression I have tried off Brick Lane’s portfolio demonstrates the brewery’s commitment to quality, understanding of the intricacies of complex flavours and the mission to make beer drinking the bacchanal pleasure it is meant to be.

Ocean Reach Brewing

Evolved from a passion for well-crafted brews and small scale homebrewing, what started out as a hobby has evolved into launching the full scale Ocean Reach Brewery that was eventually launched five years ago on Phillip Island and has since established itself firmly not only on the firmament of craft brewers but also as being one of the more forward thinking brewers when it comes to the branding and design of their emissions.

With a core range of beers plus the occasional limited batches released on a seasonal basis, Ocean Reach got not only the staples covered but also shows its expertise in the realm of experimentation, specifically when it comes to sours and hazy IPAs.

I have only had a chance to sample Ocean Reach’s core range IPA so far, which knew to convince not merely with the outstanding presentation in a pink can, but by expertly merging the merits of what India Pale Ales from the new world are known for with the ambition to push the envelope by using hop varieties that are not as commonly used.

The result is a flavourful tour de force comprised of a potpourri of slightly floral, musky berry flavours, which rest comfortably against a backbone of delicate malt bone. Towards the moreish finish, the affair is rounded out via a detour into syrupy territory before a well-calibrated bitterness kicks in.

A great IPA that makes me want to check out Ocean Reach’s future creations.

The Formative Years - Nomeansno 

For the longest time, I have had a love/hate relationship with Nomeansno. While I always loved their fiercely intelligent lyrical emissions which transcended angry sloganeering and could appreciate their willingness to experiment and incorporate progressive rock and jazz influences into their very own brand of punk, the complex instrumentation and borderline mathematical arrangement was more of a deterrent than it reeled me in as a teenager.

I was first introduced to them via a mixtape of Canadian bands that friend of mine compile for me, which included D.O.A., SNFU, Day Glo Abortions and well, Nomeansno. 

It took a couple of years to understand the depth and brilliance of Nomeansno’s oeuvre, which due to the fact of the band starting out as a two-piece, deviated from the standards other full-equipped punk bands were providing. 

With emphasis put on bass, drums and vocals, Nomeansno created their own earthy, unique sound and my favourite period of the band was when Andy Kerr joined the Wright brothers to complete the band with his idiosyncratic guitar tone to record the classic album Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed, which I acquired in form of the CD released via Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles label.

By the time Nomeansno released the fantastically intense Wrong album, I was hooked and travelled far and wide to catch them live when they incarnated in Germany in a live environment, which was never not a mind-blowing experience witnessing them channel their punk roots via noise, prog rock, improvisations and avantgarde rock and performing for hours on end.

Nomeansno redefined what a punk rock could do and have a special place in my personal musical pantheon. The current lockdowns on terra australis gave me time to revisit their entire catalogue and I dare you to dig in as there are so many gems to be found.

Rock ’n' Roll, Sunglasses and Sustainability  – Ozeano Vision

No matter what variant of music or art form you are into, as far as accessories are concerned there is hardly anything as omnipresent and relevant to conveying and reinforcing a certain style than a pair of sunglasses.

From early blues legends via icons like Miles Davis and Keith Richards, sunglasses can emphasize the wearer’s style and catapult things into a new dimension as they instal another barrier, an effortless cool – if done right -  and an intriguing sense of mystique.

There are few everyday carry essentials where tiny details play such a dominant role, especially within the realm of music, some of which have aided in creating a timeless appeal and a thrall that generation after generation falls prey to.

Needless to say, sunglasses also imbue the aforementioned qualities outside the confines of music or stardom and infuse the dreary day-to-day with both a bit of fun and style.

Having meandered through different styles of glasses throughout the years from respectable to the novelty end of the spectrum, if I was to determine my current favourites it would be a melange of classic designs (seasons might come and go but CBGBs era Blondie and Rebel Without A Cause shades have yet to go out of style) mixed with the occasional metal framed model and every now and then a tinge of 1960s psychedelia.  Getting older, ones with chunkier frames and the good ole brow bar metal framed model seem to be exerting an appeal.

All of the aforementioned make a statement and serve as an extension of one’s sense of style and individuality. All the better, if commodities like eyewear can be combined with sustainability, an appreciation for the natural world and a commitment to protecting it, which is where Ozeano Vision enters the picture and found its niche.

In essence, Ozeano Vision is a brand that does not merely pay lip service to being environmentally-friendly, but has its focus firmly set on not only on designing ethically handmade sunglasses using a one hundred percent biodegradable plant-based bio-acetates and extending its efforts to making all ingredients, accessories and packaging organic (even the waterproof case is made of Portuguese cork) and PETA-approved vegan. 

The fact that from the proceeds, Ozeano Vision funds the removal of marine litter and the restoration of vision for people in need in less fortunate regions of this earthround by partnering with relevant charities, adds further communal benefits to its appeal.

I cannot count how many times I have broken glasses, be it by dropping them during a run, sitting on them or causing damage in transit while travelling. The merit of Ozeano Vision’s emissions, however, lies in the fact that they create durable, artisanal shades, which not only feature stylish Australian-made frames but come with a solid metal double hinge with Teflon-coated crews that avoid breaking under impact so that they can be taken on the road with confidence.  Especially the latter is what you want if you make an investment in high calibre polarised sunglasses that are meant to last a lifetime.

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image from company website

The Formative Years - Italian Hardcore 

Not claiming that Italian hardcore comes close to the US, UK, German and Scandinavian bands in terms of the impact it had on me, but when it comes to the formation of my first band, Italian punks from the middle and underclass and the expression of their dissatisfaction with the status quo was instrumental.

Take for example Negazione, founded in 1983 and disbanded nine years late, was one of the earliest Italian punk bands who not only became one of the most important bands for the European movement at large, but whose monumental and classic “Lo Spirito Continua” album from 1986 caused a wave the ripples of which were felt in the new world as well. 

Raw Power is another early Italian band that remains active to this day. I vividly remember the first time I was exposed to the fulminant brilliance that is “Raw Power / Fuck authority” via the Maximum Rock’n Roll compilation “Welcome to 1984” and I could not believe the mind-blowingly sheer and desperate intensity. Their first two more refined long players remain classics in their own rights, with the “Screams from the gutter” album released on Toxic Shock Records following their tour in the US with Dead Kennedys selling close to 50k units. The influence of Raw Power’s US invasion could be heard for years to come in the sound of the second wave of US hardcore bands.

Another all-time favourite band of mine is CCM, an acronym standing for Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. The name alone and the fact that they were a punk band from Pisa was enough to intrigue me. With their sound being on the dirtier and darker side of things, an intense frontman going by the name of Syd and their live incarnations being the stuff of legends, I invested quite a bit of my allowance money to track down the original versions of not only their first two 7”s, which are to this day some of my favourite slabs of vinyl from that era, but also their demos.

Enjoy –