“As you might recall, nearly every metal writer’s Top 10 lists last year was dominated by Liverpool’s other Fab Four…that’s right, Carcass. Surgical Steel, their first album in 17 years, was an unfuckwithable slab of near-perfection that easily held its own against their ’90s classics. So when I heard that an EP of outtakes from those sessions was being released, I was justifiably pumped.” New Carcass is like an early Christmas…or is it?
“Short Sharp Shock (SSS) have been around peddling their brand of old school 80s era crossover thrash since the release of their self titled EP and similarly titled full length back in 2006. Their latest hilariously titled foray wasn’t even a blip on my radar, but with a title like Limp.Gasp.Collapse, how could I resist checking it out?” 80s crossover is a grave you best open very cautiously.
“When I submitted last week’s Godflesh review for their awesome long-awaited comeback album, I had no idea that it would just be part one of a two-part special on British Two-Piece Bands Who Want To Watch The World Burn.” Will Anaal Nathrakh’s quick and cold Desideratum attack decimate or will it self-destruct? Read on!
“Nostril Caverns is a bizarre entity for more reasons than the incredible name. It’s the creative repository for one Chris Balch’s musical outpourings – he plays all the instruments and vocalizes – which over the past few years have included records of free jazz improv, tech-grind, noise, and a concept album about couples eating dinner at a restaurant. At this point you’re probably wondering whether Mr. Balch’s lack of band-mates is entirely of his own choosing.” This guy did a metal My Dinner With Andre? Now I can die in peace because I’ve heard it all.
“I chew through a lot of mediocre music on a daily basis, washing grains of sound across the dark pan of my eardrums in search of those glistening nuggets of aural excellence. Those are few and far between, meaning that most days I return to my bed without treasure to appease my lust for gold. But every once in a while, an unexpected element drifts down into my staked out piece of streambed. That’s where things get interesting. As much as I love great finds, there’s something to be said for the merit of pure novelty. When something unprecedented washes into my hands, that makes it all worth it.” This is a weird one, folks.
“Trap Them has for years been in that beautiful sweet spot of great hardcore with a monstrous buzzsaw guitar sound. 2011’s Darker Handcraft pushed out excellent songs at high speed and sounded really good thanks to Kurt Ballou’s revered production chops, turning many a head and securing an already growing reputation for excellence. Three years later, Blissfucker readies for release, but with an entirely new rhythm section and a long silence from the band, what could have been cooking?” Let’s look in the pot, shall we?
“The way Die Choking bursts out of your speakers, gnashing its angry yellow, plaque covered teeth at your throat, they have me wondering whether to skip the intro and dive straight into the heart of the review… well almost. Philadelphia based Die Choking are on the verge of releasing the first vinyl press of their début, 5-track, self-titled EP and with it comes a crust-based grindcore sound that harkens to the very early days of Napalm Death and at the same time worships the sacred ground walked by Nails. ” Madam X delves into some ugly grind in a very…revealing review.
“Band names are difficult to decide on, which is why so many of them are overwrought (Cryptopsy), ridiculous (Gorguts), deliberately self-effacing (literally any local hardcore band) or a combination of the aforementioned (The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza). No matter how terrible or fantastic a band is, their name can have a huge effect on what you think of them. Enter Eexeter’s Human Cull, a band whose sobriquet is so fantastically violent and straightforward that it could only signal one thing: really good grind.” Good grind is hard to find. Ask anybody.
“Slave Zero is a band I’d never heard of before this review, and I’d wager you haven’t either, despite their thirteen years of brutality. These devious Dubliners are poised to release their second EP Disambiguated Visionary, and it’s about time we all took note, because they’re bringing a new force into deathgrind: Aliens. The dastardly extraterrestrials have spread into slam via Wormed, colonized technical death metal through Rings of Saturn and are now, thanks to Disambiguated Visionary, invading deathgrind. I, for one, welcome our new grayish overlords.” Join Kronos as he leads the pro-alien overlord cheer squad and examines some extraterrestrial themed death grind. Turn on your heart lights!!
“Extreme metal has a problem: It’s aggressively conservative. For a culture that’s supposed to be about pushing forward – physically, intellectually, musically – it too often circles back into itself. The supposed outsiders and iconoclasts that comprise the metal scene rabidly pounce on opportunities to become insiders and conformists. Wanna write about metal? Rub the right elbows and suck ass for “access.” Wanna proclaim your allegiance to poseur-crushing death metal? Join a club. Wanna start a band? Grab a template and start building your box from the inside out. Ah, you want to go for the gusto, don’t you? You want to start a band. Good for you. Now: What kind of metal do you want to play? Thrash metal? Death metal? Black metal? Because there are rules, kid. You need to tweak your tone. Bolster your BPM. Hire the right artist. Wear the right t-shirts. You need to minimize risk. Unless you were born with gigantic balls. And you’re Beaten To Death.” Got an appetite for risk defying grind? Follow Jordan Campbell to the promised land.
