The Formative Years – Dutch Hardcore part 1
Despite small in size, the influence punk and hardcore bands from the Netherlands had on the European and even global scene in the 1980s cannot be overstated.
Take for example LÄRM, who with their messages catered simultaneously to a range of audiences from left-wing politics via straight edge and a PMA outlook to those merely in it for the sheer intensity of their own idiosyncratic brand of super-fast, noisy and disharmonic hardcore, which very much lived up to their name.
Having emerged from a range of short lived bands, the first incarnation of LÄRM manifested itself as early as 1980 and it took four years before they recorded for the first time, the result of which became the split LP with Stanx.
Set against the context of the Reagan and Thatcher eras and lyrically heavily influenced by the implications of the cold war, the arm’s race, apartheid and other tenets of the left wing movement of said time, their first recordings served not only as a musical outlet for their frustrations but also as a vehicle to propagate their ideas, which did not remain unheard during the heydays of tape trading as it placed LÄRM firmly on the forefront of European and international hardcore bands and enabled them to tour Europe.
1986 their LP “Straight on View” was released, followed by a 7“ titled „“No one can be that dumb“ and a final 7” in 1987 (“Nothing is hard in this world..”) before they split up to seamlessly reincarnate as SEEIN RED.
One of the most heralded bands within the context of punk and hardcore in the 1980s is the outfit behind the acronym B.G.K., an homage to the assassinator of the Dutch king in the sixteenth century, i.e. Balthasar Gerards Kommando.
Having risen out of the ashes of the fantastic THE NITWITZ in 1981 (check out their LP “Scorched Earth Policy”), the band perceived themselves as a musical countermovement to the popular, stereotypical Oi! Bands of the era.
Inspired by proto-punk bands like the STOOGES, MC5 and the first American hardcore bands, they were inspired to focus on writing furiously fast, intense and aggressive music paired with heartfelt lyrics infused with their DIY spirit.
Their first LP Jonestown Aloha!, which was released on their own label
Vögelspin Records remains a timeless classic and given its calibre, it should not come as a surprise that it was re-released a year later in the US by R Radical Records.
Another classic is their “White Male Dumbinance” 7” from 1984, which was followed by their “Nothing Can Go Wrogn!” LP from 1986, which saw a US release in the same year via Alternative Tentacles.
