BAND OF THE DAY: STIGMA

Not that Stigma, or that Stigma, Croatia's Stigma formed in 2007 in Zagreb a whole year before Agnostic Front guitarist Vinny Stigma decided he had more chug than he could fit into an AF album and couldn't think of a name for his solo project.

Following on from a demo and a promo CD, 'Nova Doza Mržnje' (new dose of hate, thanks Google Translate, your cheque is the post) is the band's first full-length (download here with their blessing), a riotous battery of classic, metallic d-beat - delivered with the venomous pugilism of Ratos de Porão. Extremely rough around the edges, Stigma aren't exactly blazing new trails for classic crust, instead focusing on doing what they want with all the requisite power and conviction to make it worthwhile.

There's no excuse for a Discharge cover though, that really is an imaginative nadir.