Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Hardcore History: The beginning of Speedcore in the 90s

Hello friends and readers,
Low Entropy sent us this story, and we would like to share it.

I want to talk about the beginning of Speedcore, and I know what I'm talking about, because I was around then. Now, let's start.
I joined the Hardcore world in 1995 / 1996.
You can read the full story elsewhere (right here, to be exact), but to cut it short, like most kids my age then (I was a 13 year old), and in Europe, I first got into the then popular "Rave / Hardtrance" sound (which was similar to Happy Hardcore already). Then I discovered the world of "Hardcore and Gabber" through the CDs, compilations and stuff that were easily available at chain stores, supermarkets, video rental shops and so on - Thunderdome, Earthquake, the Ruffneck and Mokum compilations - you get the point.


RMB - Redemption

I loved that sound - but then I went deeper into the rabbit hole, and it came to my notice that there was a whole world of Hardcore Techno *below* the Hardcore that was featured on TV, Radio, fun fairs, burger joints (I remember going to fast food places in the 90s and suddenly Party Animals or Marshall Masters - "I like it loud" - was playing on their sound systems).
I'm talking about stuff like Fischkopf, Industrial Strength, Napalm, Bloody Fist. Unlike the "other" Gabber scene, this scene was almost invisible to the public and not featured in newspapers or magazines. I first got most information about it through the internet, but it quickly came to my notice there were plenty of parties going on with that sound, the scene had its own paper zines and other forms of communication, and there were record stores were you could pick up the newest sounds, or have a chat with like-minded Hardcore heads.


Chosen Few - Danica

At that point, in the mid 90s, the sound had already begun to split into several "subgenres", like Acidcore, Doomcore, Breakcore, Industrial Hardcore (different from the later "Industrial", mind you!), Digital Hardcore... (although most hardheads listened to all that stuff, and did not exclude certain subgenres).
And one of them was Speedcore. 

Okay, so let's clear some things up here. Short intermission. All respect to DOA, Lenny Dee, all the others involved, I love them, I love what they did, I love their music, and, people, let them have their fame and fortune - but there's this myth going on on the internet, that "New York City Speedcore" was the 'first' Speedcore release and even coined the word "Speedcore", but, yeah, that's just one of these internet myths, "friend of a friend stories", like 'licking an electrical socket will turn you into a power ranger' (don't do it!), and similar "facts" that you can find and read on the internet.
The word "Speedcore" had been around for much longer, and even on the internet, I can point you to some easy sources that show that "Speedcore" was already in use back in 1994.

Now that this was made clear, let's get back to the point.
The term Speedcore was already around. What did it refer to? At first, to especially fast Hardcore and Gabber tracks. Think of the faster stuff by Speedfreak, or E-de Cologne, or other "fast" stuff.
I was totally hooked on that sound. Not only was it more frantic then the "Thunderdome Gabber" that I had listened to until then, it ditched the happy vocals and overused Juno melodies for vicious guitar samples, screams, horror movie samples, anger, nihilism and a general "fuck you, fuck the world, and fuck everything" attitude.


E-De Cologne - Kill 4 Jesus

There was just one problem. It still was not aggressive enough for me, and not fast enough yet. [1] That's how I felt it, and I'm sure others felt it the same back then.
From the mid 90s onwards (well, actually even before that), a race was going on. Who pushes the tempo even one bit higher? Who has the most brutal kicks? Who will one up the nihilism?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fastest of them all.

Like a BPM-Trainspotter, I carefully checked each release for the fastest stuff I could find, and things were getting better.

One of the starting points for me was the "Industrial Fucking Strength" 2xCD compilation. And, unlike some other releases that followed, this was still actually part of the "Hardcore in public view" spectrum, as it was advertised on TV with its own commercial spots, could easily be bought at the music chains tores etc., thus, apparently, it was far from being a secret underground item. But the sound of it was.

There were tracks on it like Nasenbluten - Cunt Face, with the part at the end that speeds up. Or Manu Le Malin's "Paris Hardcore Mix", whose final track is a remix of "Extreme Terror" that goes up into several hundred bpms over a test-tone sound.
I was listening to these short sequences over and over again, and I was thinking - "why are these just short sequences? Why is there no track that runs 400-500 bpm from start to finish? and why is most hardcore and gabber not like that?".


DJ Skinhead - Extreme Terror (Strength Of Terror)

I bought "The Destroyer" album by Alec Empire, and these's this track "I don't care what happens" on it, which is already very noisy and abrasive, but it has a middle part that also goes into hyperspeed beats, over a metal guitar, and again, I went "oh my god" and listened to this part on repeat and repeat and repeat...

But things went ahead. Producers kept pushing the bpm. Fischkopf 21 was released, with "If the truth be known" on it, which not only had ~280 bpm throughout the track, but even doubled the speed at parts.
Before that, Amiga Shock Force did Fischkopf 20, which actually went over 300 bpm. I was shocked and awed by that, and I loved it. My vision of tracks that were "fucking fast" from beginning to end had come true.

Amiga Shock Force also released on Speedcore Records, a label by Martin Damm, that also sported some quite fast releases (more on that later).

Another label in this "race for speed" that needs to be mentioned was Brutal Chud, with it's releases by, for example DJ Tron and Noize Creator, that set new standards in tempo and sheer aggression. a straight kick to the head.


Burning Lazy Persons - If The Truth Be Known

And of course, Nasenbluten's own Bloody Fist, exhibiting similar advancements.

From Denmark, sounds by Lasse Steen aka Skullblower (and many more akas) were transmitted that eventually, too, went over the 300 bpm mark, and combined sonic terror with dark, moody melodies.

Fischkopf faltered, but not before releasing the "Otaku - Slick but not streamlined" compilation, that featured "Violent Geisha" by Amiga Shock Force and "Praxis Dr. Fischer" by Taciturne, which were some of the fastest tracks back then, and were cultishly listened by me again and again and again - once more...

There were many other tracks, projects and labels I could mention but I think you get the point.

Now lets get back to Speedcore Records. They put out "Inextricable Zenith" by The Berzerker and... yeah, I mean, that was *it*. The total apocalypse of sounds and disorder.
This was not just some "300 bpm thing" anymore. It was a mix of death, thrash, black metal, and beats then went up to 800 bpm and faster. All limits on speeds and tempos had been put away now.
Not just by this single release, of course. It was a simultaneous development. France had a very important role as a pioneer here, with labels like Sans Pitie, Hangars Liquides, or projects like Xkv8... again, projects that had ditched any connections to "dance" and "party" Gabber, followed no rules anymore, and just unleashed a blast of drums, noises, and experimentation... with no speed limit.


The Berzerker - Evil Worlds Beyond

This was by the end of the 90s, and around the turn of the millennium, and I will also end my story here.
This chaos and riot of drums, speed, noise and nihilism, was the foundation of the Speedcore scene, it shaped its sounds and structures, and lots of newer releases still reference these ancient sounds.

As I said, of course there were many more tracks, other producers, other stuff worth checking out... that paved the way for this very extreme sound. I could not list it all here.

But I hope I could clear some things up here, and that this information can be useful to new Speedcore heads.

Footnotes:

1: I mean, in my teenage mindset. I'm totally okay with the tracks I mentioned, and their tempos, these days.

Honorable mentions:

Quindoor - Full Energy Flash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A3bH53zKu0
Stickhead - Get In Gear (Remix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Tr4Blrzsc
DJ Freak - Four To The Floor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj8yeiEZWQg
Low Entropy - Adrenaline Junkie (hehe) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFe66oUEH94
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