The History of Hardcore Techno: Looking back at Strike Records from Leipzig, Germany

Steffen Kuschel kept 66.6% of the underground hardcore techno scene afloat and alive in the 90s, and the years after. He ran sound base music, out of leipzig, germany. Was host to a network of labels, sub- and side-labels. And distributed half the scene, from bloody fist artists in australia to the other side of the globe.

the main, "own" label of sound base was strike records. i'd say it was one of the pillars of the "german" variant of gabber. fast tracker type music, lots of metal guitars, lots of swear words. less melody and harmony in vocals, unlike the kissing cousins from the netherlands.

so... let us take a look at 7 outstanding records of strike records! (i refrained from saying "the 7 most striking..." ha!)

Various Artists - Straight Out Of Newcastle (Strike 008)
https://www.discogs.com/release/47687-Various-Straight-Out-Of-Newcastle

Oddly enough, most of these tracks are outstanding pieces, even when compared to the rest of their output.
Like Grim Reaper, Shitbeater, or No Significance, which are amongst the hardest and wildest by the respective artist. Quite the feat for a compilation release.
But I guess my own favorite is "no sex", which is an oddly "calm" breakbeat track by Nasenbluten (well, it's not the breakcore you would expect with bloody fist) which fades into super melancholic pcp-like sounds.

AXL - Hardcore (Strike 006)
https://www.discogs.com/release/120982-AXL-Hardcore

i always had a thing for these tracks. it's not ultra hard or brutal or anything.
but it has these weird, amiga type pads throughout the tracks. almost like ambient trance gabba!

Various Artists - Strike Records Vs. Bloody Fist (Strike 015)
https://www.discogs.com/release/56796-Various-Strike-Records-Vs-Bloody-Fist

clash of the 16 bit core titans!
fav by far is "patchcore" by sandkorn for me.
not because the other tracks are bad. but because this track has some super insane sounds that i never heard elsewhere.

Nasenbluten - Cheapcore EP (Strike 020)
https://www.discogs.com/release/90154-Nasenbluten-Cheapcore-EP

my 2 cents: not as good as not as good as 100% no soul guaranteed.
no wait, let me reverse this opinion: there are some brilliant tracks on this one, like the early breakcore track "check the sound".

S37 - En Ordentlig Omgang Røvsutning. Uden Ost - Tak! (Strike 019)

https://www.discogs.com/release/52558-S37-En-Ordentlig-Omgang-R%C3%B8vsutning-Uden-Ost-Tak

Together with folk like Noize Creator, S37 was one of the german artists that stripped the gabba sound to its bare necessities. No need for a groove, melodies or happy singing. Drums, screams, death metal samples, go!
After the stuff he did on Juncalor and Brutal Chud, this is the one where that concept is fleshed out the most.

Rage Reset - Sydney Core EP (Strike 012)
https://www.discogs.com/release/121029-Rage-Reset-Sydney-Core-EP

good quality gabba as usual with rage reset.
"Fortex" has been played at quite some parties and DJ mixes.
"subconscious" is my pick, though. almost completely minimal, some horror flick strings, plus a nasty reverberated kickdrum. but that is enough. the track rocks.

S*icide Squad And Max Death (Strike 018)
https://www.discogs.com/release/3702300-Suicide-Squad-And-Max-Death-Untitled

666 might be the number of the beast, but 13 is the number of death... am i right?
maybe it's only logical that max death is on here then.
S*icide Squad was one of the projects by simon underground, as you probably know. and they are still one of my fav "amiga style" hc projects (even though, i guess, strictly technically speaking, this was not done purely on amiga).
and the "death side"... this is strike records at it's best. take no quarters. just brutal, brutal hardcore.
"go insane!"

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

The Hardcore Overdogs return, with a brand new anthem for their magazine.

And the last one was quite furious and fast, am i right?
the next one is almost the total opposite, a real slowcore banger, with very low bass frequencies.
99 bpm, to be exact.
can you still dig it?

it's almost goth / ambient / industrial sounding.... but the rave vitamins are plainly audible, too!
a true, dark, heavy ritual for all raving aspirants...

just like you would expect from the overdogs.
and 1 faster remix and 2 different tracks are included as well.

Info and Tracklisting:

The Hardcore Overdogs - Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

1. Ritual of Rave (One 2 Three) 03:51
2. Low Entropy - Festival Riot 02:35
3. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 1) 08:45
4. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 2) 07:51
5. Meta-Morph - Musical Stairs (Ambient) 03:45
6. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 1) 04:07
7. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 2) 03:51
8. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 3) 07:15

Omnicore Records 79
Doomcore Records 234
Slowcore Records 68

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/anthem-vi-ritual-of-rave

The Gabber Elders Obscure Summer Mixmarathon - Save The Date - 11.7.2026

The sun is turning round and round each yeah, just like a record, baby, just like a record.
And when, finally, the sun is at its highest of the year, you know it's time for a new edition of The Gabber Elder's mixmarathon!
and this is what we are gonna do. we're gonna have a party. we're gonna have another mixmarathon.
for last year's summer mixmarathon, the theme was: all styles of the 90s, or 90s styled hardcore. beginning with slowcore and doomcore, then acidcore and gabber, and ending with the most frantic terror and speedcore.
now this year the apple did not fall that far off the tree. there is still a mix of styles, and a build up in energy...
yet there is also a special twist: the gabber elders only play rare and obscure records.
the stuff you never heard about! (hopefully)

so that the rare / underdog tracks of the 90s see the light of day for once, too.

like last time, where will be a special video / visual show that accompanies the music.
the whole thing is hosted on youtube, will be broadcasted live, and will run for several hours. so be there, or be square (wave).

more info coming soon.. watch this spot!

The Gabber Elders are:

Low Entropy (Hamburg, Germany. Age: 147 Years old)
GabberGirl (Minnesota, USA. Age: 83 Years old)
N.i.k.a.j. (The Netherlands) Age 158 Years
DJ Asylum (Bathgate, Scotland, Age 126)

The mixmarathon is presented by:
The Gabber Elders https://thegabberelders.com/
HCBX https://www.youtube.com/@hcbx666
The Hardcore Overdogs magazine https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/
Pure and Obscure records https://nikajs.bandcamp.com/