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Wretched
Italy - Milan

Discography compiled by Erik Otophobia and Jeff, bio by Jeff Wretched hailed from Milan, Italy circa 1980. Along with bands like Negazione and Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, they are the embodiment of the abrasively noisy Italian hardcore sound. The original line-up was Gigi on guitar, Fabio on bass, Giancarlo on drums, and Gian mario singing. This version of Wretched debuted on their 1982 split EP with Indigesti. The music the band created was furious and raw, with trashed guitars, shrieked vocals, and barely-holding-on drums. Although they originally sang in English, they soon switched to their native Italian, finding it better suited to expressing their radical political message. The band took strong anti-war and pro-anarchist stands through their lyrics and imagery. They also self-released all of their records on a label that came to be known as Chaos Produzioni. The band lived at the infamous Milano squat Virus, which played host to many classic hardcore shows in the early-mid '80's. Wretched lived and breathed the DIY spirit of rebellion that they advocated in their music. The band recorded their first EP before switching guitar players and drummers in 1984. Daniele (guitar) and Crema (drums) played on the next record, Finira Mai? and on the full length. These releases established Wretched as one of the best hardcore bands in the world. Appearences on BCT tape comps and the seminal international compilation P.E.A.C.E. spread the word of "Chaos non musica" to everywhere punk was being played. Zambo took over drums in 1985, and the band began its shift into more heavy metal territory. They recorded one more LP and a 7" before internal problems (including Mario's shredded vocal chords) and line-up changes forced them to call it quits. Before melting down, they played the last show at Virus with Antisect. Unfortunately, Wretched's strong commitment to doing it themselves meant that their records have always been hard to get outside of Italy. An official CD discography (mysteriously missing the first EP) came out some time in the mid '90s, and the Furious Years of Italian Hardcore compilation CD fills in the hole. There are also plenty of people out there with tapes or CD-R's of this amazing band. It's well worth tracking one down.

DISCOGRAPHY Releases: IN NOME DEL LORO POTERE TUTTO È STATO FATTO 7" EP (self-released, 1983) FINIRA MAI 7" EP (self-released, 1983) LIBERO DI VIVERE, LIBERO DI MORIRE, NESSUNO PUÒ DECIDERE PER TE LP (Chaos Produzioni, 1984) LA TUA MORTE NON ASPETTA 12" (Chaos Produzioni, 1986) IN CONTROLUCE 7" (Chaos Produzioni, 1988) Splits: WRETCHED/INDIGESTI split 7" EP (self-released, 1983) Reissues/Etc: LOTTA PER VIVERE CD (Antichrist Dionysus, 1996) Compilations: EXTREME NOISE 1 tape (Extreme Noise) STEPPING STONE TO INSANITY tape (Stepping Stone to Insanity Zine) MUSIC ON FIRE tape (BCT, 1983) LÄRMATTACKE tape (Anti-System Tapes, 1983) CONCIERTO PUNK tape (Nuova Fahrenheit Cassetta, 1983) PEACE 2xLP (R Radical Records, 1984) HAUPTKAMPFLINIE tape (Höllenqual Zine, 1984) LA NOTTE DELL'ANARCHIA tape (Antiutopia Edizioni Creazioni, 1984) 1984 THE 2ND 2xLP (New Wave Records, 1985) BABYLON: BLEIBT FAHREN LP (Babylon Bleibt Fahren, 1985) PTTP:S tape (1985) WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT LP (BCT, 1986) I'VE GOT AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM 7" EP (BCT/Loony Tunes Records, 1987) TOUR DE FARCE #2 tape (Empty Records, 1987) REVENGE OF THE KAMIKAZE STEGOSAURUS FROM OUTER SPACE LP (Ax/ction Records, 1988) TOUR DE FARCE #3 LP (Empty Records, 1989) THE FURIOUS YEARS OF ITALIAN HARDCORE PUNK IN 7 INCHES CD (Antichrist Dionysus, 1996) INFO Interviews: