JUGGLING JUGULARS - review


Maximum Rock'n'Roll no. 168
Reviewed by Matt Average
Juggling Jugulars New Toys
This band is incredible!! Everything I have heard from this outfit has been nothing short of amazing. They play mid to late '80's style European hardcore, somewhat similar to early Seein' Red at moments, but with an unmatched level of intensity and urgency. Some songs are fast and in your face, but they show versatility by incorporating various styles that keep the energy constant, and also demonstrates this band can write strong songs without relying on simple formulas. This works quite well in setting tones for the lyrics, which are political as hell. Many interesting ideas are presented within, such as in the song Do a Favour. Some material on here has also appeared on this No More Consumers EP and their split with Enough. Also included in this CD is a ecorevolutionary one pager, Muutoksen Kevät. Essential.

The Original Sin #23 (Belgium)
Juggling Jugulars Can You Explain?
Juggling Jugulars are not a new band, this is their sixth release. If I tell you that you'll hear 7 songs in less than 16 minutes then it's quite obvious that the essence of Juggling Jugulars must be their power. And power they certainly have, and yet they are more that just fast punksongs. Their fast songs are labeled as 'jugg-core' (and that's not just another marketing term as. Even if their influences are quite clear, it's quite unique as well). But the most weird thing for me was that on some tracks I heard some Goth-influences as well! Just very open-minded people, I guess.

Skrutt #34
Peter Thorsson
Juggling Jugulars Can You Explain?
Juggling Jugulars låter som om Dead Kennedys hade tagit något steg tilbaks och börjat spela igen i Finland. Det är stark punkkänsla i musiken och man känner lite revolution på gång bara på att se på omslaget. Det är synd att det bara är sju låter men man kan ju inte få allt. Mr. Extreme har en bra text om punkens vara eller inte och personer som ändrar karaktär och stil varje dag. Pure punk for the finnish people and now also for the swedish people.

OX #27
Juggling Jugulars New Toys
Zhen neue songs von Finnlands bester Punk/Hardcore-Band. Aufgenommen im Herbst letzten Jahres, finden sich darunter auch die Tracks der No more consumers 7" auf Campari Rec. sowie die der Split-7" mit Enough! aus Polen. Wie auf den bisherigen Platten präsentieren sich JJ auch hier als völlig eigenständige Band, die Molidie und Härte verbindet und auf eine lauten, beinache crustigen Song einen wunderbar gefuhlvollen folgrn lässt - Euro-Hardcore at it's best, irgendwo zwischen So Much Hate und Kina. Konsequent und eindeutig auch die politischen Statements in den Tezten. Unbedingt zu empfehlen!

Slug & Lettuce #49
Juggling Jugulars New Toys
Usually it seems that when I find a band that I really like, other people I know start talking about them too. I've gotten a few CDs from Juggling Jugulars in the past, and still haven't really heard anyone talking about this band. It's really too bad, 'cause this is a band that is fucking awesome! They play nitty gritty punk rock style that mixes in a bit of harmony and catchy vocals and hooks in the music. By nitty gritty, I mean that it's got an oomph and power to it that translates into energy that isn't lost by any of the catchy bits - only added in impact. They have good lyrics and are obviously DIY minded and conscious, so you all have been missing out on an awesome band!

Chaotic Critiques #7
Tate Bengtson
Juggling Jugulars: Positively Fed Up
Blasting their way through fourteen songs in a mere nineteen minutes are the four guys from JUGGLING JUGULARS, a socially-conscious band that has a lot to say lyrically, and manages to crank out some good punk in the process. Positively Fed Up! displays a bit of melody in the first two tracks, but the remainder of this album is a raging meteor of hardcore punk delivered in classic fashion. Scathing lyrics, angry vocals, and ultra-fast bursts of songwriting mark JJ's best music, which heaps on the hostility and aggression. The first two songs didn't work for me as much, because the band's use of melody isn't up to par with its use of high speeds and raw belligerence, thus those two tracks may get Positively off to a shaky start, but everything gets brighter as JJ gets meaner 'n meaner.

Maximum Rock'n'Roll no. 156
Reviewed by Matt Average
Juggling Jugulars Positively Fed Up
Unreal!! Super tight hardcore punk trash reminiscent of early '80's stylings. Aggressive, yet capable of solid song structure, providing dept to the sound. The mix is great, each instrument figure prominently, and the guitar has that awesome buzzsaw sound with a gritty edge. The dual vocals work extremely well, bounching off each other with precision and immediacy. Lyrically, they're political, but it's more from a personal standpoint, with a over all message or self-empowerment. They also do a cover Treblinka's Muuttolinnut. The more I listen to this, the more things I discover in the music that puts this over the top. Excellent stuff indeed!!

Profane Existence no. 28
Reviewed: May, 1996 by Dan
Juggling Jugulars Positively Fed Up
Very anarcho-punk from Finland, yet displaying a positive mental attitude of such bands as Seein' Red and Nation on Fire or Minor Threat and 7 Seconds in the classic sense. Music is brutally fast and tight, with loads of originality and move rapidly from styles silmilar to the first classic Instigators LP to early Slayer. Two vocalists alternate the angry lyric, which are almost all sung in perfect English, with simply, yet very expressive lyrics. There are translations provided for those few songs in Finnish, except song number three which is a blazing Treblinka cover. The cover is a fold out poster, with artwork, lyrics, Wildcat comix, and expose on Alternative Action Records for the Nazi sympathizers they are.

Slug & Lettuce no. 43
Juggling Jugulars Positively Fed Up
A marvelous and wonderful new discovery! This fuckin' rips! It's catchy hardcore punk with a hard edge and grinding chugging guitar with enough melody or catchiness of upbeat energy to blend toghter for a good repeatable listen. And on top of that they've got real good lyrics of the anarcho nature. I'm glad to see that anarcho-hardcore is still living in Finland! Best of all, this dosen't sound like anyone else!

World Wide PUNK! (Victor Gedris)
Reviewed: May 2, 1995
Juggling Jugulars ...For Humanity
So, you thought that Finland was only known for it's skiing, right? Wrong! They have some great hardcore punk rock, like the Juggling Jugulars. The people at Hiljaiset Levyt records sent me their CD - 9 songs packed into 18 minutes, plus lyric sheet. The Juggling Jugulars' lyrics are all in english, and they are good lyrics too (I especially liked the lyrics to "Western Disease"). Petteri sings the vocals in a melodic way that is complimented by the fast, hard-driving music. The guitar work is fantastic too. It's intricate, without having to resort to solos to show off this talent. I can't think of anything bad to say about this CD, it's a generally overall great piece of melodic hardcore! Make sure you check out the Juggling Jugulars home page, and also the Hiljaiset Levyt home page for more info!

Noise For Heroes (Steve Gardner)
Juggling Jugulars - No Counsellors/Jumping On Thin Ice/Gun In My Heart/It's Selfish
Is there anyone in Finland who isn't in a band? Here's another good one...they play metallized punk rock comparable to second generation UK outfits like Chron Gen and featuring some really fine guitar hooks. The singer's a bit of a generic sounding hoarse shouter, but he's mixed low enough to not be obnoxious and the tunes are good enough to carry things pretty well without better singing. Three of the four songs are under two minutes long and the fourth is just over; that's the best way to do it with this sort of thing. Pretty good.

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Created by JJu: January 8, 1996
Last Updated: September 29, 1997