1.force of habit
2.numbing process
3.manufactured christ
4.creeping brown deth
5.society for creative pain
6.victim to the prey
7.last grave at dimbaza
8.attack position
9.silenced
10.never enough
I originally heard these guys on an old Maximum Rock n Roll radio show in the 80's. I couldn't believe how brutally metal they sounded, but had a goofy fucking name that still had some social relevance at the time. This was truly punk as fuck metal. The guitars and drums have a total Celtic Frost/Hellhammer sound. I'm not sure these guys were familiar with the bands at that time(though its hard to believe by the sound, that they weren't). If you love Celtic Frost, or even the 1st Sheer Terror LP, you'll kill for this one. More underground music from the great state of Michigan.
I've owned this record three times. Originally selling it in my first purge of record sales in around '93. I think I recently acquired it again through my buddy/ex band mate Jim MacNaughton. I Forgot how great this was. The band had a second LP slated to come out but couldn't find a "deal". Known as The "Contrafusion" demos these songs were even more metal sounding, as the band got a different singer. Don't miss this, or let the band name scare you away. This is a rager. Awesome lyrics that had my mind in the right place 20 years ago. Leave a comment if you remember these guys, or dig this shit.
"never enough"
break from the norm to fight for your rights
no peer pressure no more cliques no more labels
things have changed your ideals are a cover
practice what you preach stupid hypocrites
I go into the show you look me up and down
judge me by your standards as if you were my parents
is my hair to long? should I have a circle A on my back?
will I never score enough points to make your hardcore standard?
I hate war, poverty and death
I thought my values were in the right place
you don't even bother to ask what I think
you got me figured out by just one look
yeah you got me figured out, you know everything
and you'll never take the time to know me
hidden safe within your clique
use your rags to distort images
something meant for benefit used to destroy
we're not going to let your narrow minds hold us back
we'll do it without you!
http://www.mediafire.com/?1mmcgbseort
Posts
This band actually gave way to Thought Industry (a band that Jason Newsted of Flotsam/Jetsam and Metallica got signed to metal blade.)....
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I never knew they recorded a record because by time I started going to shows in my small city of Kalamazoo, Michigan I was a full on hardcore/punk kid.
Anyways, awesome you have this up!!!
J2K2 !!! I lived in Kalamazoo for a while and this jem fell into a used bin @ Flipside Records & i quickly grabbed it up. They also recorded a second LP that came out w/ a re-issue of this record around 94-ish. Completely awesome!
ReplyDeletePaul(mr party)
ReplyDeletedid you ever see them live?
I bought this Lp a few months back when i was in Las Vegas. Dude at the record store wanted way to much for it. It's a fun record.
ReplyDeleteDude, you were not kidding, I can not believe how heavy this Record is!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of these guys before this blog. A great post, on a great blog. thank you for opening my mind.
xBricksx
Yes, Thought Industry.. I had a 7" that they did in the early 90's... It wasn't very memorable.
ReplyDeleteJ2K2 did a demo before this LP, and then the demo after this. The band was really searching for a"deal", but due to their name, they really had problems beyond the punk scene, which caused them to break up. If you see this vinyl grab it, its obscure and pretty rare.
that´s exactly why i really like this blog here . awesome old school stuff , which people like me who were born too late , possibly have never heard about , made available by your efforts !
ReplyDeletefun to hear a band that goes under a name that would rather fit with a funk outfit, play such great heavy stuff - timo
ReplyDeleteawesome! lived in MI for 6 years and never heard this band. thanks nate.
ReplyDeletePre- thought industry
ReplyDeletehttp://leonstemple.com/desecrator.html
this site is all old-ish West MI punk, metal and alt rock. it is a work in progress but does include personal accounts of some of the few but explosively memorable L.A.P.D. Riot Midgets shows one of which I was nearly killed.
I remember seeing the J2K2 van driving around my neighborhood as a kid -- rusty, black with the band name spray-painted across the panels in old English lettering. It creeped me out.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for this great album. I was fortunate to catch these guys in Seattle (Tacoma) with D.R.I. on the Violent Pacification tour in '86. They put on a great show and I never knew they recorded an album.
ReplyDeleteCheers, X-D
CelticFrost.com
Derek
ReplyDeleteI can relate. Old band vans were amazing.
I can remember seeing the RKL(rich kids on LSD) van drive around S.F in the mid 80's... though it was more of a me wanting to climb inside and party...eventually that happened.
Nate
A great record, indeed. I interviewed the band for my fanzine in 1987 or so. Before J2K2, they were in an ultrafast HC thrash band called INSULTS. Their "Thrasher go home" 7" can be heard on my blog (I think, haha - don't bother checking right now).
ReplyDeleteYou have some nice stuff here. If only the rips were better done. Don't care for clean rips really?
Erich
ReplyDeleteI like em sounding like they sound on the records.. pops, snaps and all. part of the beauty of driving around in my car and cranking the White pigs 7" on my ipod, and it sounding like I have the actual record blasting.
Appreciate your checking out my bblog. I love yours.
I like your blog a great deal too. It's one that comes from the heart!
ReplyDeleteDon't wanna bitch about the sound, but let me put this clear: I didn't mean the clicks and pops. I hardly remove them myself and I'm not altering the sound in any way. I thought more of the recording quality itself. I'm a perfectionist in these things, so I use an external soundcard, pro cables, pre-amp and high bitrate. It actually makes the records sound close to the vinyl sound. But as I said: This is just me being anal, haha. Keep up the great work anyway!
this sounds great to me, the way I recall it indeed.
ReplyDeletedon't change a thing my friend, I love this shit!
Wish I'd seen these guys.
carl ss
this was really great stuff! Never heard of this lot before. A great upload on a great blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat memories...I communicated with a member of this band back in the summer of '86. They were touring and looking to set up a show in Spokane which I tried and failed to successfully accomplish (very flakey club owners back then). My brother-in-law still cracks up about the phone message he took from "Jim Jones and the Kool-Ade Kids". I made a flyer for the show (w/ False Liberty) and everything, but it didn't happen, so I altered to read for their Portland date since I then went down there to visit a friend. Handed them out at the D.R.I. show (where I sprained my wrist in an ill-advised stage dive during opening act Wehrmacht's set) to mostly befuddled people, and subsequently missed J2K2 later in the week because my friend didn't want to go.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...this was a great album back in the day. Very heavy metal/hardcore/sludge fusion that I haven't heard in 22 years. Thanks for the post!
Awesome Blog man
ReplyDeletegreetings!!
From Chile
www.myspace.com/niceeyesrotten
Yeah! I dig it! I remember seeing these guys in MRR but was turned off by the goofy name. Pretty dirgy punk. Sickening! Thanks!
ReplyDeletethe name is half of what makes these guys!
ReplyDeleteNate
I remember seeing these guys at a club in Tacoma, WA called "The Community World Theatre" in the 80's. I would always see their fliers posted all the time, I just assumed they were from the Pac NW area. Now I know after all these years they were not from the NW. Great site keep it up!
ReplyDeleteBrother, you have a great blog here! Thanks man! Sounds like we grew up in the same wonderful era!
ReplyDeleteFound this blog trying to find j2k2 downloads.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Myspace up for them, not sure who runs it.
myspace.com/j2andthek2
Pics of "the van" and some tracks
Hey Guys,
ReplyDeleteJust to clear some things up -
I knew Paul, Scotty and some of the other guys in the band and I also played with Paul in another project sometime after J2K2.
Jim Jones never gave way to Thought Industry, they were a completely separate entity down in Kalamazoo, while J2K2 were actually from closer to Grand Rapids (about 30 miles to the west on the Lake Michigan shoreline).
I enjoyed Thought Industry and would often talk with their bassist/vocalist Brent at shows, but in general I found them to be a bit standoffish. Their drummer was great, a nice guy as well. They did some good stuff while they were signed to Metal Blade Records but ultimately the band never took off - too weird for the label's audience, I guess.
Anyway, J2K2 actually did manage to snare a record deal sometime after "Trust Me" was released with an indie label of which the name escapes me at the moment. I do want to say it was Ever Rat Records but I just can't recall.
However, the label was a partnership and one of the guys just didn't get along with Paul so they tore up the contract.
Excellent blog by the way!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard a dam thing about these guys after the first LP, which I actually did find used in an Adelaide (South Australia) record store.
All my years in the US I never came across any news about activity after this record, so all the comments here were great to read. A nice thread has developed at least with all of us connected to the Tampa scene back then, and people are aware the LP is available through this blog.
Great work blog-master, your site is very cool and I think it's safe to say everyone appreciates all your hard work :)
alan
Fucking sick post! Thanks, being from Michigan, I got to say this is great, we need a stronger metal scene.
ReplyDeleteThese guys were from my hometown Grand Haven MI (even further towards the lakeshore than someone mentioned earlier). They broke up just as I was learning to play, so my bands (SPeD, The Schneiders) and other locals were the next wave of Grand Haven punk rock. Our wave wasn't as heavy hitting musically, at least with my band, we were influenced by
ReplyDeletemore melodic stuff (Bad Religion/Rich Kids on LSD/Crimpshrine/late 80's Epitaph/Lookout!).
When my bandmates and I were green, people would talk to us about the previous wave, and J2K2 was always spoken of very highly. We didn't personally know any of the guys and we went to the same schools, but the age difference meant we never saw J2K2 play live. So all we had were stories. Sure we listened to Trust Me repeatedly(which I don't know where my copy is, which is why I'm on this site, Thank You!!).
In my opinion or maybe just by fact, Grand Haven never had a band get bigger than J2K2. That's kind of a double-edged statement for me or any other dumb guy in a band from the beach, but it does show that J2K2 had a sound people liked and a pretty damn loyal following.
Also, there really isn't a scene anymore, for good or bad, just shitty bar bands. We need to bring J2K2 back from retirement, maybe bring out some of our old locals bands, or create something entirely new. The town is dead right now, with, as I stated SHITTY bar bands (just in case I was too subtle before).
Corbin
http://jimjonesandthekooladekids.tumblr.com/
ReplyDeleteRun by a former member of J2K2. Please follow and spread the word!
I recently picked up the J2K2 LP at a Phoenix record store. I played drums in a punk band called AOG (The Army of God) from 86-88. We played a few gigs with J2K2 in and around Michigan during that time. Always a great band to see live! Glad I can now spin their songs. Another great Michigan crossover band from that time was called Born Without a Face. Both bands drew a mix punk/metal crowd. Great bands! Great times!
ReplyDelete