Kerrang! Hometaping Vol. 2: Refuse Music, Compiled by Casey Chaos - 364

This week Dave returns as we dive into our bag of covermount CDs and unearth a real gem.

If you were buying Kerrang! in August 2002, you might remember issue 918 with The Prodigy on the cover. What you definitely remember is the cover-mount CD that came with it - Hometaping Volume Two, curated by Amen's Casey Chaos. This wasn't your typical corporate compilation of radio-friendly metal and whatever major labels were pushing that month. This was a proper education in underground extremity, compiled by someone who'd been living in the trenches since he was photographed at Black Flag gigs in 1982.

Casey wasn't messing about. He whittled down his selection from 60 songs, phoned Henry Rollins and Satyr personally for unreleased tracks, and designed the cover himself. The result was 26 tracks of whiplash-inducing genius that introduced countless metal and punk fans to bands they'd never have discovered otherwise. From Refused's "New Noise" and Iron Monkey's feral sludge to birthday party's pre-Bad Seeds insanity and proper OG punk from Discharge and X-Ray Specs, this was cultural education disguised as a free CD. The fact we're still dissecting every track choice 20+ years later proves Casey achieved something genuinely special - a compilation that worked as both a history lesson and a challenge to dig deeper into the underground.

Episode Highlights

• [00:00:00] Welcome to the cave: Easter resurrections and new studio vibes
• [00:05:39] Casey Chaos biography: From skateboard prodigy to punk legend
• [00:18:00] Rollins Band gets the pub rock treatment (Chris ducks for cover)
• [00:24:00] The Kinison: When Oblong, Illinois meets post-hardcore
• [00:29:00] Murderdolls: Budget Misfits for the nu-metal generation
• [00:32:00] Discharge delivers the D-beat masterclass
• [00:43:00] Iron Monkey: Nottingham sludge at its most feral
• [00:37:00] Refused drops "New Noise" and changes everything
• [00:42:00] Turbonegro: Norwegian glam-punk that divides the room
• [00:43:00] Void: The DC hardcore deep cut that finally clicks
• [00:46:00] Immortal: When black metal meets the Tony Hawk soundtrack
• [00:51:00] X-Ray Specs: Polystyrene schools the youngsters
• [00:56:00] Zyklon: Emperor side-project with uncomfortable baggage
• [01:02:00] Cave In: The wrong track for the right band
• [01:04:00] Birthday Party: Nick Cave's mental early years get the respect they deserve
• [01:06:00] Nasum: Swedish grindcore brings back the brutality
• [01:07:00] The Distillers: Brody Dalle's voice cuts through everything
• [01:13:00] Eyehategod vs Iron Monkey: The great sludge debate
• [01:14:00] Division of Laura Lee: Sweden's most forgettable export
• [01:15:00] The Haunted: At The Gates members go full throttle
• [01:17:00] Mortiis: Norwegian dungeon synth gets the goth treatment
• [01:20:00] Gary Numan: The robot pioneer closes out the education
• [01:22:00] Highlights, lowlights, and wild cards: The final verdict