2008 Music Awards Nominees: Best Punk/Hardcore

(Thanks to bands for permission to post music!)

(The Humanoids)

The Humanoids www.myspace.com/thehumanoidsruleearth The boys in the Humanoids put their hearts into every live performance, creating an electric, sweaty scene in venues all around town. The bands sound is open, blazing straightforward punk, without any unnecessary additions or other confusing elements. The lyrics stream by fast, the guitars ring loudly and the drumming is hard and quick. With the aid of several high-profile opening slots (including for the Misfits at the Roberts Orpheum Theater) and constant gigs, the band has swiftly built up a following here and around the country, with both young kids and punk veterans singing along and furiously pumping their fists in the front row of nearly every show. -- Jaime Lees Halo Bar, 8 p.m.

Lye By Mistake www.myspace.com/lyebymistake Lye By Mistake will not rest until your brain is melted and your jaw has congealed with the spilt beer on the venue floor. Led by the virtuoistic shredding of guitarist Josh Bauman and the guttural, often effected vocals of Tony Saputo, the band crafts intense tech-metal that isn't afraid to push the boundaries of human ability or the preconceived notions of their genre; for Lye By Mistake, "breakdown" means a jazz-fusion guitar solo over a salsa beat. The easiest comparisons are to Dillinger Escape Plan or Mike Patton's many projects, but Lye By Mistake is almost peerless. They have not only transcended their influences, they are making them look like chumps. -- Ryan Wasoba

Nerve Parade www.myspace.com/nerveparade It is not shocking that half of Nerve Parade's backbone comes from the defunct Corbeta Corbata, since Eric Von Damage's caveman drumming and Don Beasley's downstrokes-only riffs are a core element in the band's fist-pumping, mid-tempo punk rock. With help from the Pubes' Peat Henry's anthematic yelps and Pat Sajak Assassins four-stringer Brian Fleschute's gritty, Dazzling Killmen-esque basslines, Nerve Parade could be considered a St. Louis weirdo supergroup. It’s not trying to break down any boundaries or re-invent any wheels: Nerve Parade just wants to make the perfect soundtrack to a DIY show in an unfinished South City basement, complete with a bass amp PA and a few cases of Stag. -- Ryan Wasoba Vintage Vinyl, 6 p.m.

(Ded Bugs)

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Ded Bugs www.myspace.com/dedbugs The Ramones may have loaded-in to that big dive club in the sky, but local stalwarts the Ded Bugs keep the 1-2-3-4 flag flying. They're juvenile enough to call for "Xanax for Everyone" and ask "How Come You Don't Barf with Me Anymore?", but old enough to remember when pop-punk wasn't a dirty word. Cheap, trashy, immature, simple-minded, unfashionable, hyperactive; if you consider those compliments, let the Ded Bugs devour your brain. -- Jason Toon Vintage Vinyl, 7 p.m.

Cardiac Arrest www.myspace.com/ca Two seven-inch EPs, five record labels, a U.S. tour and sweaty basement shows all over the country: Who would have guessed this is the resume of a hardcore punk band from St. Louis? You would if you've been lucky enough to see Cardiac Arrest. The attitude and sounds of early ’80s Boston hardcore -- think the F.U.'s with Choke from Slapshot on vocals -- soak through Cardiac Arrest's songs. An LP is upcoming, but make it to a show to shout "What's Up!" to St. Louis' longest running hardcore band. – Nick Lucchesi

Pubes www.myspace.com/thepubes In the thirty years since punk was born, the style of music has gone from adorably naïve to politically righteous to blisteringly ferocious. The four lads in the Pubes celebrate a return to punk’s charming naiveté while using the wit and fury of their mohawked forbears. Playing two-minute pop songs about dancing, drinking beer and girlfriends, the Pubes bring an innocence and joie de vivre that makes punk rock fun again; in fact, the sun-shiny sounds on last year’s Peat Sounds burst at the seams with amped-up bubblegum pop. -- Christian Schaeffer