Grind

Cripple Bastards – La Fine Cresce da Dentro Review

By Kenstrosity on November 9, 2018 in 2018, Grind, Italian Metal, Relapse, Reviews, Grind, 33 comments

“When I think of grind, the last place to which my mind takes me is Italy. But here I am, in the Piedmont region of the beloved boot-shaped country, whiplashing my upper vertebrae to smithereens with Cripple Bastards. This is their seventh full length since their inception in 1988, but along the way these bastards have also released one single, one live album, seven EPs, and more splits than would grace the stage at a drag queen lip sync competition. Cripple Bastards deal a chaotic brand of grind, unsatisfied with adhering to a single formula. While the band has embraced different influences successfully more often than not, the constant mutation Cripple Bastards undergo makes for an inconsistent discography. The goal, then, is for La Fine Cresce da Dentro to beat Cripple Bastards’ best album: 2008’s Variante Alla Morte.” Wow, he traveled to Italy just to listen to this band? These n00bs are dedicated as hell.

Total Fucking Destruction – #USA4TFD Review

By Mark Z. on November 2, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Give Praise Records, Grind, Reviews, 15 comments

“Few bands can pull off having “fucking” in their name. Total Fucking Destruction is definitely fucking one of them. This Philadelphia trio were formed in 1999 by Brutal Truth drummer Richard Hoak following Truth’s breakup the previous year. True to grindcore’s punk origins, the band have released a bevy of splits over the years but been pretty sporadic about putting out full-lengths, with only three released in their near-twenty-year history. Nevertheless titles like Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction and Our Love Is a Rainbow show TFD harbor a cheeky sense of humor alongside their frantic and eclectic riffing. Apparently they’re now also running for public office, as fourth full-length #USA4TFD possesses both a Twitter-ready title and an album cover I’ll definitely be sharing with my friends, if only to see if they can make any fucking sense of it.” Vote TFD.

Terrorizer – Caustic Attack Review

By Ferrous Beuller on October 26, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Reviews, The End Records, Death Metal, 104 comments

“Whenever a band like Terrorizer drops an album, I always wonder if their material gets by on individual merit or on legacy alone. World Downfall is rightly regarded as one of the first and greatest examples of death/grind and has remained a staple in any worthy metalhead’s collection. Unfortunately, nearly thirty years after that seminal record, the re-formed band’s quality has been spotty at best.” The Founding Fathers of Grind are back with a state of the union.

Anaal Nathrakh – A New Kind of Horror Review

By Grymm on September 26, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, British Metal, Grind, Metal Blade, Reviews, Black Metal, Industrial Metal, 176 comments

“2018 marks an anniversary year of sorts. On November 11th, it will mark one hundred years since the end of World War I, a war that was supposed to end all wars, but instead introduced trench warfare and chemical weaponry, forever changing the landscape of combat to this day. To give attention to this, British duo Anaal Nathrakh, themselves celebrating twenty years as a band this year, crafted an album that gives respectful tribute to the writings, poetry, and the sheer terror that World War I brought to those who survived to tell it.” Dead in a ditch.

Aborted – TerrorVision Review

By Mark Z. on September 21, 2018 in 2018, Belgian Metal, Century Media, Death Metal, Grind, Reviews, Death Metal, Grind, 53 comments

“Everyone loves a good horror movie, and for years Aborted have given us the musical equivalent. Since vocalist and Belgian native Sven de Caluwé began the project in 1995, he’s taken everything from goregrind to Carcassy death metal to melodic groove experimentation and bludgeoned it into his grotesque sonic mold. If you want to know what Aborted sounds like, shove your fist into a jar of old mayonnaise while watching the grossest horror film you know.” Special sauce and TerrorVision.

Mule Skinner – Airstrike Review

By Saunders on September 4, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, F.O.A.D. Records, Grind, Reviews, Sludge, Death Metal, Grind, Sludge, 43 comments

“Through my obsession with Acid Bath, I developed a taste for other trailblazing NOLA bands, from Soilent Green, Eyehategod, Down and Crowbar, to lesser known acts, like underrated grind maestros Flesh Parade and Mule Skinner. The latter act released a gem of a lone LP in 1996 called Abuse that I snagged a CD copy of many moons ago.” Skin to win.

Pig Destroyer – Head Cage Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 3, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Grind, Relapse, Reviews, 75 comments

“I know what you’re thinking, Grier reviewing a grindcore band? Bullshit, right?! It’s a little-known fact that I actually enjoy the genre. I rarely review it—or should I say, never review it. I may not be Kronos, our tech and grind enthusiast, but there’s something about the shove-it-down-your-throat chaos of the style that gets me. So, here I stand, having emerged from the grindcore woodwork, to review the newest outing from everyone’s favorite grindcore giant, Pig Destroyer.” Pork is brutal.

Leeched – You Took the Sun When You Left Review

By Grymm on August 21, 2018 in 2018, British Metal, Grind, Hardcore, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Hardcore, 45 comments

“In one month, I’ll be having my 5-year anniversary with Angry Metal Guy and His Amazing Super-Friends, and I’ve learned some major lessons in those five years. First, you never ever leave the toilet seat up in the bathroom next to ~~the dungeon~~ my office. Second, use of the word “samey” is grounds for immediate extraction from our building by way of a high-powered pneumatic catapult. And finally, critique the music you are subjected to without the beautifully colored shades of hype from others.” Taking the sun and going home.

Axis of Despair – Contempt for Man Review

By Mark Z. on July 29, 2018 in 2018, Grind, Reviews, Southern Lord, Swedish Metal, 59 comments

“Contempt for Man. Now there’s an album name I can get behind. I drive down the road and pull my hair out at drivers for whom “turn signal” is a foreign concept. I go to Walmart and see writhing bits of humanity shuffling around, eyes glazed over and blood pumping furiously to their heads as they attempt to operate a self-checkout machine. I think to myself that these people are breeding. These people are voting. These people are sharing their opinions on the internet.” Hell is other people.

Secret Cutter – Quantum Eraser Review

By Akerblogger on July 16, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Grind, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge, 37 comments

“As I’m writing this, the UK is surviving a heatwave of metal-melting proportions. Now, by most standards, our heatwave is puny and lightweight. But, for us pasty-faced pasty-eating tea-sipping fools this is hot. SWELTERING! I’m constantly sat in a state of stale perspiration, slowly drooping into a senseless stupor. My brain is constantly throbbing. My skin has turned a reddish-spotty-brown, the pale illness of winter skin a distant dream. I also commute to work, packed onto small yellow boxes that cart me to my pit of despair. Now, as my brain throbs, my teats leak, my skin melts and my eyes itch, I yearn for something brutal enough to give direction to my anger. Well, Secret Cutter has come at the right time.” Scar hopping.