Unruled "Time Is Running Out" single (Unruled 1984 / Canada)

Ok, so there's 2 things i have been severely neglecting since starting this blog and those would be A) my great white northern Canadian roots and B) total raging hardcore. I figured what better way to kill two birds with one stone than one of my all time favorite Canadian punk records, the one and only release by Montreal's Unruled. For those that are unfamiliar with said record, all you need to do is look at the cover to get a fairly good idea of what these guys were about. While most Canadian bands up to this point were still highly influenced by 77 punk and the like, Unruled were ripping it up under the influence of UK82 bands and the desire to play as fast and aggressive as possible.


As much as i've tried over the years to find out a bit more about this still fairly unrecognized band, i've come up with very little. What i do know is that in Montreal (along with Zyklon B), Unruled were one of the first hardcore bands to have a record out in that scene, self released by the band and that one of my all time favorite punk drummers Louis left Unruled to start playing drums for Genetic Control. So the story goes that one of the Unruled guys threw a liquor bottle at Louis' head for some reason, thus causing him to bail on the band and join GC. Aside from that, one of my favorite bands still has much mystery to them.

Back in my teenage years, living in Nova Scotia with fuck all to do and playing in various sloppy hardcore bands, me and my partners in crime were always making tapes for each other and turning each other onto new bands. A typical scenario for any young punk, but in the ol NS, you'd be lucky if you found someone that knew a punk band besides the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag (two bands that we all loved, but failed to quench our thirst for new punk!). A friend of mine one day happened to borrow a stack of great records from an older crust punk by the name of DROCK which included things like Napalm Death's SCUM lp with dog bite marks in the vinyl and other various ragers that came in sleeves that were near falling apart. After going through everything and making some choice tapes, he then played me a few songs in his car which blew my mind. This was the Unruled single. Not only did these guys play fast and hard like all my favorites from the US of A, but they were a bunch of Canadians too giving me the idea that "yeah, i guess good bands can come from this frozen wasteland too!".

At this point i was fairly new to collecting records and refused to pay more that 7 bucks for a single no matter what it was, but i REALLY wanted to track down a copy of this. Though i started asking around to some of the older punks in Halifax, no one dared to part with their copy of the 7". I didn't really know it then, but this would be the start of one of my longest record hunts. Many years and various dead ends later, i was still without one of my top wants and it seemed with the rate that recent copies were going on ebay, that i was doomed never to get one. Due to it's recent discovery of many US collectors and being posted on a few mp3 blogs, the single was now almost topping 100 bucks at auction. Being 5h away from montreal, i refused to cave in and continued my hunt knowing that i would find one eventually, even if it took me years. Each time i found myself playing a show in montreal i would be scouring the shops and asking any punk with two ears about tracking one down. I seemed to get the same response from everyone. "Those used to be everywhere, but i haven't seen one in a LONG time." Some people promised me to get in touch and sell me theirs, but none ever did. It all seemed very hopeless.



As luck should have it, one day i happened to get an email from a gent in montreal that i had traded with in the past asking about some records i had and wondering if i would part with them. I wasn't about to give any of them up, but after looking at his trade list i finally found what i had been looking for all these years. I gave up one of my later and easily replaceable Newtown Neurotics singles for it and within a week, i had the record that had eluded me for so many years in my grubby collector hands. To be honest, it just goes to show you that with some work and effort, you can still track down certain records for a price you feel comfortable with. Sure, it might take you 7-8 years but it's always more satisfying when you do find it and don't have to shell out and extra 80 dollars in the process.

The music is mindblowing on this, really. Time Is Running Out starts off with a killer mid tempo 77 intro until the bomb drops and these guys just start ripping through some devastating mix of Discharge and GBH. A true punk rock anthem that looks at things from the Canadian perspective of the cold war as opposed to trying to pretend like they're from the US or UK. But as much as i love the A side, the B side is where Unruled truly shine. Forced Mistake and Lost Cause are not only stupidly great hardcore songs, but they showcase some of my favorite hardcore drumming of all time. If you listen to Louis pound that kick drum, you know that you can't fuck with that and i challenge someone to find me a more raging & solid hardcore drummer. Guy has that shit worked out to a SCIENCE. Unfuckwithable i say. That's not even mentioning the constant war going on throughout between the buzzing and blitzin bass and completely off the wall guitar solos and leads. Throw in a chorus like "don't take part in the governments plans // don't give in to their system!" and you're set. Let me just that that if you're still in the dark about this one, you'd be wise to get your head out of your ass.


Even though some folks are catching on, this classic is still fairly unknown to some which makes me think that you should be able to find one still with out breaking your bank. As mentioned before, it goes for quite a bit at auction but i imagine there's still a ton out there collecting dust in used bins across north america. Though there's no blogs that i know of that currently have this up for download, there is a youtube clip of these guys blasting through Time Is Running Out that you should check out. What i wouldn't give to have been there or at least see the rest of the show. Just look at that drumkit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9-hjG6Gmz8&feature=related