u/MutantsoftheEast

Here's a tape I made many, many years ago for a mixtape exchange that, for some reason, I never ended up sending to anyone. It's just been sitting here all this time, so I'd like to give it a home and send it to someone who will enjoy it.

It's packed with death metal, metalcore, mathcore, progressive metal, and technical death metal.

First person who wants it can have it.

It's affectionately titled “Fuck Paul LePage.” 

If the name Metal Punk Tape Exchange makes you think you need to be exclusively into metal and punk, don’t let that scare you off!

The “Metal Punk” part is meant to encompass a huge swath of heavy, weird, abrasive, experimental, underground and alternative music. Think of it like a regular mixtape exchange where you might see folk, grunge, synth, rap, shoegaze, etc., except these tapes lean toward the heavier-ish end of things.

Your tape could just as easily feature Suicide, Judge, Devo, The Adicts, Amyl and the Sniffers, Poison Idea, Sunn O))), Dark Angel, Korn, Cannibal Corpse, Black Sabbath, Mayhem, DragonForce, Buckethead, Green Day, Crucifix, Pig Destroyer, King Gizzard, Converge, Portal... and that's barely scratching the surface.

There are no genre police here. If it fits the spirit of the exchange, throw it on the tape.

The next round will be announced next month!

I fancy myself a collector of local Maine music, and just wanted to share this stack of tapes. This little pile is a pretty good snapshot of what was happening in Maine's underground in the 90s. 

Featuring:
Living Impaired – Flea Market Religion (1993)
Drugaskan – S/T (2000)
Stormfront – Crestfallen (1996)
Bates Motel – Habitual Offender (1993)
Molested Senses – Hustler (1997)
Lowlife – All Spit No Shine (1999)
Abstract Psychology – Saved By Grace (1995)
The Skin Flutes – Corrupting the Youth of Today... (1998)

Most of these were self-released. All original 90s cassettes.

Anybody else collect tapes from local scenes that never really broke out nationally? I'd love to see stacks from your state's forgotten punk/metal underground.

I traded for/received a bunch of mixtapes this summer and thought I’d share a little bit about what each one felt like. Over the past few months, I participated in two rounds of r/MixtapeExchange, a summer swap instigated by and while mixtape.exchange on Instagram was on a short hiatus, a round of metalpunktapeexchange on Instagram, and the (now seemingly defunct?) Mixtape Xchange website.

I also made a post on this subreddit two months ago asking if anyone wanted to trade tapes with me. Well, you answered the call and I think I sent 10 different tapes to those who responded maybe??

These aren’t really reviews, just my impressions after spending some time with them.

1. Cosmos (Mixtape Xchange website)

This was the first tape I received this summer, and I still remember listening to it for the first time while driving to Boston to pick my wife up from the airport. The mixtape unfolds as a cosmic-themed journey in two parts: “Astral Dance Party & Alien Contact”, a fun, futuristic mix of space funk, synth-pop, disco, and experimental sounds centered on UFOs, aliens, and interstellar partying. “Thinking About The Moon”, a more reflective collection about the moon, space, and human emotions, moving from curiosity and wonder into nostalgia and melancholy.

2. Teenage Dirtbags ( u/Vini-Vidi-Scripsi )

A two-part musical passport: Side A, "Neue Deutsche Welle Radio", is all German new wave, and Side B, "Radio Brasil 2000s", is Brazilian alternative. A fun way to discover two scenes that don't often get paired together.

3. Summer Exchange (Instagram)

This one feels like a road trip through forgotten America. It's full of outsider folk, punk, movie themes, strange pop, and oddball discoveries that sound like they came from thrift stores, old record bins, or dusty corners of the internet.  

4. Spaced Invaders (Instagram)

This mixtape feels like a dark transmission from an underground club on a dying planet. It's a descent through industrial, goth, EBM, coldwave, and punk.

5. Ethereal Specters ( u/MrLCGriso )

I gave them the theme "Apparitions / Spirits / Wraiths," and they absolutely delivered. The tape is full of obscure folk, experimental, goth, and stuff from the underground that explores loneliness, decay, ritual, and the darker bits where genres overlap. 

6. European Road Trip ( u/ewan_spence )

A musical journey across Europe by weaving together artists and songs from different countries, languages, and genres into a single travel soundtrack. Rather than following one style, it deliberately contrasts heavy rock and metal with folk, classical, Italian pop, and lesser-known regional artists, creating a sense of exploration that mirrors the "European Road Trip" theme. 

7. Field Studies (Instagram)

A journey through contemporary folk, experimental, and indie music, united by recurring themes of nature, solitude, and quiet reflection. Songs reference birds, forests, flowers, and the moon. It feels like wandering through a woodland landscape. It's a perfect summer mixtape.

8. Food (Metal Punk Tape Exchange)

A food-and-drink themed mixtape that turns everyday eating and drinking into a musical feast. Split into “Drinks Menu” and “Eats Menu,” it moves from songs about beverages to tracks inspired by food, blending punk, hardcore, metal, grunge, and classic rock. 

9. Desert Cruiser ( u/se7en8n9ne )

A "who's who" of stoner rock, doom, and psychedelic music. Featuring bands like Sleep, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Truckfighters, Wo Fat, Slo Burn, Tame Impala, and Ningen Isu, it traces the genres' evolution from 13th Floor Elevators to Black Sabbath.

10. Tales of Monsters and Mayhem + Double SeKret Oktober [Vampire Butters Presents: Burn Down the Hot Topic] ( u/MrAtomSteam )

These two tapes couldn't be more different. Tales of Monsters and Mayhem pulls from Americana, folk(ish), roots, and even a little Dixieland, with every song revolving around ghosts, monsters, supernatural creatures, and just enough violence to keep things interesting. Double SeKret Oktober, on the other hand, is exactly what you'd imagine Vampire Butters thinks vampires listen to: darkwave, synth-pop, and gloriously brooding goth music that's wonderfully self-serious.

11. Summer of Samhain (Instagram)

This one's split into two completely different halves. Side A, "Electric Fright Frankenstein," is a Halloween-themed mix packed with songs about Frankenstein and other spooky fun. Side B, "Listen to What Dog Said," throws the theme out the window in favor of a blast of hardcore punk. Most of the tracks were pulled from a compilation a coworker made for him.

One of the coolest and most surprising Easter eggs comes right at the start of Side B: it opens with a Castle Rock sample (a fictional town in the Stephen King universe, similar to Derry), followed by a brief audio collage featuring The J. Geils Band’s “No Anchovies, Please,” which includes a reference to Portland, Maine. Since I’m from Maine, that little detail felt like a personal nod hidden inside the mix.

12. Summer is Here, Hippy: Scumbag College ( u/jameseybhoy74 )

When I was just a wee American boy growing up in the 90s, I watched a ton of British television. I'm not sure what drew me to it, but I always felt more at home with the humor in those '70s, '80s, and '90s sitcoms than I did with a lot of American TV. So the The Young Ones J-card and title immediately won me over.

This tape works best when it filters through British novelty songs, pub rock, punk, and hip hop. For whatever reason, us Americans rarely get exposed to artists like The Wurzels, Chas & Dave, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Jilted John & Graham Fellows, or The Four Owls.  There are a few American artists thrown in there like The Blues Brothers, Joe Satriani, Vince Neil, Frank Stallone, and Elvis Presley.  although it may very well be a joke, but I don't know. I don't think it matters. I LOVE the British stuff I'd never heard before. Solid tape.

13. WXKRT Station Archives (Mixtape Xchange website)

Without a doubt, this is one of the most surprising, endearing, and imaginative tapes I've ever received.

Presented as a recovered radio broadcast from the year 3065, WXKRT Station Archives is a fictional retro-futurist artifact that seamlessly blends cassette nostalgia with ambitious sci-fi worldbuilding. Framed as an archived WXKRT transmission, the tape is filled with star dates, mysterious track titles, cosmic radio broadcasts, and psychedelic, experimental music that makes the whole experience feel like tuning into a signal from another galaxy.

What really elevates it, though, is the commitment to the concept. The creator recorded their own radio-style DJ voiceovers and even enlisted their wife and child to appear throughout the "broadcast," making it feel like a genuine radio program rather than just a mixtape. There's an actual narrative woven throughout the tape, transforming it into something closer to an audio drama than a compilation.

It's one of the most creative cassette projects I've ever encountered, and it's absolutely insane in the best possible way.

14. Ocean ( u/mregger )

This is the most recent tape I've received! I got this one from this month's Mixtape Exchange trade here on Reddit. A beautifully strange, hand-assembled mixtape built around the sea, travel, and the feeling of an imagined voyage. Its eclectic selections move between dreamy electronica, Celtic folk, progressive rock, French chanson, Brazilian guitar, chamber folk, pirate metal, and new wave psychedelia. Just got this one today and I'm excited to listen to it!

Thanks to all you cool cats for supplying with some seriously awesome tunes to hypnotize my ears with, make em bleed, and give em earworms all summer long!

https://mutantsoftheeast.bandcamp.com/album/maine-covers-maine-mutations-of-homegrown-standards

Hello r/Maine!

For the past several months, I've been organizing a compilation through my Maine label, Mutants of the East, called MAINE COVERS MAINE: Mutations of Homegrown Standards. It** **finally dropped this morning, and I figured some folks here might appreciate this massive album.

The idea is simple: Maine bands covering other Maine bands.

Twenty-eight Maine bands turned up to record twenty-eight exclusive covers spanning decades of Maine music with a wide range of genres.

More than anything, this compilation is a snapshot of Maine’s music community. There’s always been an astute amount of connection between musicians here, but a lot of those relationships, influences, and shared histories don’t always get documented. That’s what this compilation is meant to celebrate.

The lineup consists of Ada Bonnevie, Apis Malfiore, Befri Stends, Covered In Bees, Crystal Canyon, Dungavenhooter, Dusty Buckets, Greenbriar, Gum Parker, Intricate Mouse Work, Jeff Beam, Jojo Picone, Little Oso, Million of Energy, Mr. Greyy, Mr. Vinegar, Naythen Wilson, Nicholas Burgess, OGRE, Qualms, Savor, Shriek if You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th, Snake Lips, The Amoebas, Toby McAllister, Upper Narrows, Wayne Werewolf & The Howlers, and XJunkToyX.

They're covering artists such as A Global Threat, Afraid, Big Meat Hammer, Buddusky, Confusatron, Corrective Measure, Cryin Caleb, Diamond Sharp, Gary and the Gimmicks, Jeez, Jud Strunk, Laminated Cat, Lisa/Liza, Little Oso, Metal Feathers, Naythen Wilson, Phantom Buffalo, Sawdust, SeepeopleS, Skösh, Snake Lips, Swamp Witch Revival, The Cambiata, The Doldrums, The Pontiffs, The Wicked Good Band, Theodore Treehouse, and Wicked Dead.

I definitely wasn’t expecting the number of artists who reached out wanting to contribute, or the amount of enthusiasm the project received. But I think that response really speaks to how deeply people care about Maine’s music scene, and about Maine itself.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this compilation Maine-ly because every song is a banger and to showcase the talent that we got going on in this state.

Cheers!

My wife bought this pumpkin cassette player for me and I am obsessed with it.

Being from Maine, I decided I wanted to make a road trip across the state. Not only are all the songs about Maine or Maine cities, but all the artists are from Maine as well!

The playlist spans more than six decades, from the 1960s through 2024, and covers a wide range of genres along the way. I hope my trade partner enjoys the journey!

Tracklist:

Side A:
Stand or Fall – "Intro / Lewiscum" (2006)
Mr. NEET – "Portland Pope" (2014)
Wicked Good Band – "Old Lewiston Beer" (1985)
id m theft able – "When I'm Dead Put Me in the Fountain in the Maine Mall" (2018)
Greef – "Downeast" (2020)
Kioea – "Katahdin" (2023)
Mouth Washington – "Halloween in Hallowell" (2021)
Sterile Garden – "Glimpses of Portland" (2009)
Sunrunner – "Acadia Morning Ride" (2022)
Jud Strunk – "Downeast Viewpoint" (1970)
Auspicium – "Dawn Over Falmouth" (2011)

Side B:
Deep Gnome – "The Queen of the Coast of Maine" (2023)
Jesse Pilgrim & The Bonfire – "Falling Down in Portland Maine" (2011)
Hal Lone Pine – "A Winding Lane On The Coast Of Maine" (1963)
The Company Anthem – "Maine-ly Bullshit" (2004)
Molkromatic – "I Ain't From Portland" (2022)
Big Blood – "Heaven or South Portland" (2020)
Robocop – "Maine Is The Bastard" (2014)
Broken Clown – "F.J. Gallagher Will Have His Revenge On Bangor International Airport" (2000)
Tim Sample – "State 'O Maine" (2013)
Covered in Bees – "What Happens in Portland, Stays in Portland" (2007)
Shriek if You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th – "Curse of The Turner Beast" (2024)
Bummah Gurney feat. DJ Dumingo – "Infested (The Lewiston Maine Bed Bug Song)" (2010)
Pinko And The Action Boys – "Bridgton Funky Breakdown" (2000)
The Keeper Class – "This One's For the Pine Tree State" (2017)
August West – "Acadia" (2024)

…and you all delivered!

I have successfully made everyone who reached out to me a tape and will be sending these out this week.

Keep your eyes out!

The first tape is the ROAD TRIP mix I made for this subreddit's tape exchange.

Then there are these:

ACADIA HAS EYES
Theme: The Hills Have Eyes
It's definitely very moody. Lots of  ambient and synth and some folk. I tackled it as a cinematic horror soundtrack that turns Acadia National Park into a place where surviving until sunrise is never guaranteed. You enter at Dusk... then horror happens... and then the question is, will you make it to sunrise?  

TEMPORARY RESIDENTS
Theme: Isolation / Alienation
The requested genres were chill rock and emotional pop. It's reflective, lonely, and hopefully captures that feeling of being disconnected while still searching for a place to belong.

OBSCURE BUT CATCHY
Pretty self-explanatory. A collection of lesser-known songs that have no business being as addictive as they are. These are the tracks I can put on repeat for days without getting tired of them.

WANDER IN WONDER
This was one of my favorite tapes to assemble. Built around bluegrass, folk, country, and Americana, it travels through more than 70 years of music, with songs spanning from 1953 to the present.

STEPHEN KING
A mixtape devoted entirely to Maine artists who have written songs inspired by Stephen King's stories, characters, or worlds. Some are direct tributes; others are looser interpretations, but they're all rooted in King's influence.

GHOSTPORT
Ghosts, spirits, wraiths, harbingers, and haunted places. This one wanders into darker territory, with a heavier mix of punk and metal alongside its supernatural themes.

WICKED WAVES
An all-surf-rock mixtape made for sunny afternoons, open windows, and summer drives along the coast.

I fancy myself a collector of local Maine music, and just wanted to share this stack of tapes. This little pile is a pretty good snapshot of what was happening in Maine's underground in the 90s. 

Featuring:
Living Impaired – Flea Market Religion (1993)
Drugaskan – S/T (2000)
Stormfront – Crestfallen (1996)
Bates Motel – Habitual Offender (1993)
Molested Senses – Hustler (1997)
Lowlife – All Spit No Shine (1999)
Abstract Psychology – Saved By Grace (1995)
The Skin Flutes – Corrupting the Youth of Today... (1998)

Most of these were self-released. All original 90s cassettes.

Anybody else collect tapes from local scenes that never really broke out nationally? I'd love to see stacks from your state's forgotten punk/metal underground.