On the island of Hokkaido in the North of Japan lies the city of Hakodate, home of the amazing hardcore punk band Crude!
The band has been around since 1995 and helped to define the signature “Hakodate sound,” characterized by blazing hardcore with ludicrous twists and turns in the song structure. Every note is played with passion, energy and fierce determination.
Catchy and melodic at times, rocking heavy and ferocious at others—Crude is a band that will appeal to even the most narrow-minded punks out there.
“Drug Culture” is Crude’s fantastic new LP that will make you go nuts for Japanese hardcore again! The blood-curdling riffs and sick guitar solos, the maniacal vocals and insane tempo changes… basically, everything you like about Japacore is all present on the record. The production is intentionally raw as hell as the whole thing is recorded on a four-track analogue tape machine—the old school way. Six raging tracks of raw aggression are on display here and it’s nothing but the crude attitude that you’ll feel deep within your punk-rock self by listening to these jams.
If you’re looking for a Japanese ‘burning spirits’ band that is not only the modern equivalent of Death Side, but also one of the most authentic punk acts to ever come to your attention—then Crude is the fucking answer!
And on top of all that, the artwork for this vinyl record (the first press comes with a huge poster) is done by no other than the legendary Akihiko Sugimoto, aka SUGI, the most famous punk-artist in the history of Japanese underground.
