Bastard - Wind of Pain (1990), 7/10

If you are at all a fan of hardcore punk you will enjoy Wind of Pain as it is undoubtedly the peak of Japanese punk in both sound and execution. Tokurow's vocals are punchy, Zigyaku absolutely shreds from front to back, and Koba and Iizawa provide a varied but extremely solid rhythm section. Yes, there is a foundation of d-beat but there is much more to the percussion as you can quickly hear on derivations in “Flash Out” or “Never Change”. Gets your blood pumping right away and rarely ebbs in energy even for a brief moment of respite. Sixteen minutes really go by quickly, especially at such a ridiculously blistering and relentless pace. The vocals have an added charm in that there are so many chantable lyrics and such explicit virility in Tokurow’s delivery. The surprising variation along with the immaculate performances easily separate the album from its contemporaries. Highlights being the destructive “To the Stumped Underdogs” along with the opening two and closing two tracks. Simply badass hardcore from Tokyo.