From Stars Come Hearts

January 30th, 2008 · 18 Comments

This post has something for everyone! As long as everyone loves really screamy, harsh, emotional, and chaotic hardcore.

Here’s a comp 7″, called From Stars Come Hearts, put out by Witching Hour in 1997. Limited to 500, or so I’ve heard. It features one song each by Makara, Khmer Rouge, Rinse, and Puritan.

As all the bands are brutal, muddy, chaotic, noisy, and screamy, I kind of consider this is as the predecessor to the Antipodes comp (wouldn’t you agree?). Clear yellow vinyl, and housed in such a way as to make it very difficult to keep clean; it’s held into the cover by a thronged pin, like the pin that seals a manila envelope. And there’s no doubt that pin’s rubbed up against the grooves. I had to play the Puritan song about ten times in order to get it to play through with a skip. But keep in mind there are some pops.

Feel free to read the insert and then make decisions to change the names I’ve chosen for these tracks. Some are ambiguous. Also, when you see the edges cut off on some of the insert pages, please remember that it’s because of a giant staple in the booklet that forces a half inch margin.

Rather than leave you all hanging with just one song by each band, and being that I am way into bonuses, I’m also throwing in the Makara 7″ (on Hymnal), Khmer Rouge 7″ (on Witching Hour), and Rinse 7″ (on Concurrent)! Sorry, I don’t have any more Puritan… but if anyone else does, please tell me.

Rinse. I came across this a few months ago while browsing the 7″ inch section at my local record store (which seems to be the only section I ever browse). At the time my mind wasn’t placing the band, but I knew it sounded familiar. So I slapped down the dollar and gave it a good home. Then I remembered where I’d heard Rinse! Way cool; I have such great instinct sometimes.

This seven inch is pretty dang good. And it comes with a great insert. Full lyrics, art, and a page by each member of the band. The lyrics are of an intensely personal nature. If I had to find a theme, I’d say it was lousy father. The last song features female guest vocals (and I’m guessing she sang for another band.. maybe someone can tell me which one. She actually sings - not screams - the backups). Pretty intense record, especially if you follow along with the words. Music-wise, they’re not breaking any new ground - many fast parts, some chugging, some Rorschach-y riffs, splintery, heaving guitars, and so on. But it’s totally good.

Khmer Rouge’s first song starts off with the same drum beat as their song on the comp! They’re pretty spastic, muddy, and brutal. And once in a while they bring in some Unruh-y riffs (Unruh from the Enewetak split seven inch, not the lp). And “Over and Out” is like if Constatine Sankathi went completely off the deep-end. Anyone else hearing that? Feel free to dispute my track titles. The little green insert confuses things. They have a song titled “Song 6″, but there definitely aren’t six songs on this record. So.

I got this record to review for Heartattack, and I remember not giving it the hottest review. Sorry. Now I like it more. Their name is still not the greatest, though. But at least they supply a little history note about the Khmer Rouge.

The Makara discography is still available. But here’s the seven inch anyway. They’re my favorite band of the bunch. In fact, they’re one of my favorite hardcore bands. I love how they have feedback running throughout the entire record. They bring such a sense of urgency. It’s like they’re possessed by an insane disease, with the result being this insatiable sound that emerges every time they come together. They can’t help it. I don’t know; that’s just the feeling I get from them. I split the sides into tracks. I did my best; there are no actual full breaks.

And there is no insert. They bit the Mohinder - The Mission 7″ cover style: their name and stuff screened on a random page from a fashion magazine. Of course, Makara had members of Mohinder, so we can excuse them! Plus we’re not the police, so who cares. If you want the lyrics, get the discography. And the discog is remastered, so it sounds a little better. Though I just compared them side by side, and the difference isn’t huge. Plus there were even some of the same snags in the recording (so it’s not just my vinyl… weird). After Makara, some members, most notably, went on to Ruhaeda. The Ruhaeda lp is very amazing (it was put out on CD, too, and I had both, but then I lent the CD out and never got it back… I might transfer the vinyl anyway, just so I can have it in my earphones).

Here it all is, in one beautiful package:

From Stars Come Hearts, et al

Tags: Tunes

18 responses so far ↓

Sapila // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:19 am

Holy shit, that’s a post!

I have everything Puritan released on slsk (or I can upload the mp3s for you): Demo tape, split 7″w ith December, Split 7″ with Officer Down, and the split 12″ with Reversal of Man. Fucking amazing band, really heavy.
Ryan // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:23 am

I just found it on Damn Those Blood Sucker…
Sapila // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:39 am

This doesnt have everything, I think. If you want, I can post the track list for each record. I hate when people just tag the album as “Discography”..

By the way, the title of the Khmer Rouge song is “Times Past But Memories Not Lost”
Ryan // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:58 am

Darn it, I had that originally as the title, but then I changed it, and then I fell asleep and forgot to make a final decision. I’m reuploading the zip with the fix.

I also mis-labeled a Jeberrekenelle song last post. I believe I put “page one of an unmailed letter,” instead of “page one of the unmailed letter.” Sloppy!

The Puritan “discog” names the song from the comp as “This is Medicine.” Yeah, post the track listing..
Sapila // Jan 30, 2008 at 11:30 am

Puritan releases (in chronological order)

Puritan Demo Cassette (1996)
1. Chisel
2. Indoctrination
3. To Fall in Line
4. Time Passed

Puritan/December Split 7″ (1996)
1. Puritan - Stationary
2. Purian - Indoctrination
3. December - Spark of Ember
4. December - Fixated

Puritan/Reversal of Man Split 12″
1. Puritan - Never Meanin’ No Harm
2. Puritan - This is Medicine
3. Puritan - They Say 81
4. Puritan - To Fall in Line…
5. Puritan - From Inside A Carousel (Whispering)
6. Reversal of Man - Pilot Gumby
7. Reversal of Man - Theory of Lamastra
8. Reversal of Man - Slingshot
9. Reversal of Man - Plaster of Paris
10. Reversal of Man - No Longer
11. Reversal of Man - Roswell

Puritan/Officer Down Split 7″ (1997)
1. Puritan - Many and The Masses
2. Puritan - With Love
3. Officer Down - Legal Terror
4. Officer Down - At Hand
5. Officer Down - Society Regressed

The song “This is Medicine” is a different (earlier, I think) version of “Dark”.

Hope this helps.
Sapila // Jan 30, 2008 at 11:35 am

Also, here’s the limited version of the cover:

http://i28.tinypic.com/30i9axg.jpg
Ryan // Jan 30, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Yeah, different color. Mine has the stars, too. But they are on the plastic sleeve. Also, I didn’t scan the back cover, which was pretty lame of me. I’ll do that, and post it here in the comments.

I had to run to work - couldn’t compare the track listing just yet. But yeah, I listened to the first five seconds of Dark/This is Medicine, and could tell it was a different recording.
gabbagabbahey // Feb 3, 2008 at 10:48 am

I like the Makara songs a lot. Like a screamo Mohinder (i.e., progressed into the next style of hardcore/emo… or something). Definitely right about the feedback, too.
weleasewoger72 // Feb 4, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Great release. Thanks for the link as well. as soon as i get my shit into gear i’ll link you up as well. great blog.
Stevey // Mar 28, 2008 at 5:11 am

Holy shit, this is some post man! I’ve been meaning to check Khmer Rouge out for a long time.
Stranger. // Jun 1, 2008 at 5:47 am

Amazing, stumbling upon this. Like a slice of screaming, bloody, heaven. I was searching for information on the Makara split with Sharazad… trying to see if it had an insert. I wonder if there are other shmucks floatin around cyberland looking for this kind of blissful noise? Guess so. Awesome blog (is that what it is?)… there really should be more info. on these sounds. Thanks for sharing!
For shits and giggles (share yours?):
5 songs that fucked you up (in a creative way):

Mohinder- acceptance, Makara-paper cuts, Honeywell- undesirable, Hoover- distant,
Amalgamation- as i slip into roles.

3 records you wish you had:
Orchid/ Jerome’s Skull shaped thing (glow-in-the-dark), Crossed Out discography Lp, and that goddamn Neil Perry Disc. Cd that doesn’t exist anymore.

I had no idea there was still an audience for this music.
Love, Stranger.
Ryan // Jun 2, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Yeah, no idea why I never bought the Orchid/Jerome’s Dream split. Many copies sat right in front of me for weeks on end while at work, and I failed to pick one up. Neil Perry-wise, are you talking about that mini-CD they put out? If so, I have that. And it’s so-so.

Yeah, it’s basically a blog, and yeah, there are other folks looking for this stuff (that shouldn’t be too surprising, should it?). And check out the “tunes” links to see other people doing similar things.

I’d say Rorschach - Skin Culture (from the Needlepack 7); Constatine Sankathi - In December; Honeywell - Five Minutes Only; Merel - The Guest; Antischism - Failsafe.
Ruhaeda | (mostly) blue skies above us // Jun 2, 2008 at 7:32 pm

[...] were around in 2000 to 2002, and featured members of Makara and Under a Dying Sun. I used to have this album on CD, also, but I made the mistake of lending it [...]
Sapila // Jun 6, 2008 at 7:10 am

I hate that split.

I’d say Mohinder - Imbalance, Iconoclast - New Song, Dag Nasty - Justification, Growing Up Skipper - Teenage Boyfriend, Honeywell - Mesh-Control, Guitar Vs. Gravity - Sixth Grade Dream.
jd // Jun 15, 2009 at 5:21 pm

I released that Makara record on my label. FWIW Most of these records had printed covers (aliens in jars) with silkscreens on the back, so this is probably one of a fifty or 100 that were put together by the band themselves. Not so sure anyone was “biting Mohinder” - as you note James and Chris were in Mohinder. That was just how they liked to do things.
Ryan // Jun 16, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Cool. I don’t think I’ve ever come across the label’s version.

Yeah, I didn’t mean that they were biting Mohinder - just that they bit Mohinder’s seven inch’s style. if there can be a distinction. and I guess “biting” isn’t the best word…
Ryan // Jul 8, 2009 at 2:02 pm

jd - yesterday I found a copy of the Makara 7″ with your label’s cover! I feel like I’m more complete now, as a person.
Casey // Jan 5, 2010 at 9:04 pm

Hey, the girl that sings on that Rinse record was in a band from the Florence, SC area called Shirley Temple Of Doom. I think some of the guys in Rinse went on to be in Prevail, too!