I am incredibly excited to announce that Maldito Ruido’s first release will be Autarkia’s “Punks Al Slam” for the very first time on vinyl! Autarkia was a hardcore punk band that started in the Estado de Mexico in the early 90s. With a very straight forward sound, they are to be included with the group of bands that defined the countrys punk style between the 80s and 90s such as Massacre 68, Herejia, Sindrome, Desviados etc. This album was originally released on cassette in 1993 and was recorded by the one and only Lalo Tex (from the legendary Mexican rock band Tex Tex) who was one of the best sound engineers for punk at the time. The audio has been extracted from the original DAT tape and mastered by Mike Kriebel making this thing sound awesome and clear without losing any fuzz or gruffness. Done with the help of BamBam Records in Mexico.Our take: The first release from the new label Maldito Ruido is a reissue of Punks Al Slam by Autarkia. Originally released only on cassette in 1994, Autarkia is another great example of hardcore from Mexico during the flood of activity in the late 80s and early 90s. Musically, Autarkia isn’t too far off from their peers Massacre 68. The band’s songs are mostly based around a pounding umpa-umpa pogo beat on the drums, falling somewhere between the disorderly framework of Confuse and the anthemic songwriting of classic oi! and UK82. Apparently, this reissue has been remixed, but it is clear the original recording is RAW. The fuzzy texture of the guitar tone is so thin and noisy that it almost doesn’t resemble a guitar anymore. But underneath the sonic quality of the recording, the production adds to the charm because the band’s nastiness and gruff attitude really shine through. The singer sounds vicious, delivering hooky sloganeering choruses that the punks can readily chant along with. The photos of the band on the front cover say it all. With liberty spike mohawks standing at attention, Autarkia ‘s crude but tuneful take on hardcore hints at an early version of street punk. Punks Al Slam reads like a style-defining classic in the history of Mexican punk. Check it out.
