Napalm Death

Misery Index – Rituals of Power Review

Misery Index – Rituals of Power Review

“Originally spawned from the remnants of the classic Dying Fetus line-up from the monumental Destroy the Opposition, Misery Index wasted fuck all time getting their act together and becoming an immediate force in the extreme metal scene in the early aughts, grinding out a powerful and now lengthy history of their own. Their insightful and vicious socio-political tirades and passionate values matched up perfectly with their grind and thrash-infected style of muscular death metal. Misery Index have managed to deftly shift and evolve their sound along the way, crafting a consistent and high-quality body of work, highlighted by 2008’s vicious Traitors album, and arguably their finest hour, 2010’s modern masterwork, Heirs of Thievery. But nearly 20 years into their career, are these modern-day descendants of Napalm Death still able to muster the strength and power to dominate in 2019?” Misery loves power.

Basilysk – Emergence Review

Basilysk – Emergence Review

“The word “emerge” comes with sinister connotations. Think about where things emerge from: the fog, underneath things, out of the shadows and darkness. For Philadelphia quartet Basilysk, their debut full-length comes after almost a decade of honing their craft in obscurity with a series of demos.” Does Emergence find this independent Philly act emerging from the crowd?

Defecal of Gerbe – Mothershit Review

Defecal of Gerbe – Mothershit Review

“I’ve come around to better goregrind since, first by early Carcass and then Haemorrhage and General Surgery. Novelty grind, such as the shockingly good Trappist, has also wormed its way into my rotation. I haven’t listened enough to form an opinion, but Bitchfork and their “farm grind” is making a splash too. Defecal of Gerbe is novelty goregrind, except instead of gore the focus is on the scatological. Mothershit is also sung in French, meaning I miss about ninety percent of the jokes outside of some titles. C’est la vie.” POO-urns.

Beaten to Death – Agronomicon Review

Beaten to Death – Agronomicon Review

“The Norwegians’ 2015 masterclass Unplugged earned every bit of praise it received as it ruined thousands of scoliosis patients’ dreams of reaching the top shelf. I’ll say it up front: fourth record Agronomicon doesn’t top it, doesn’t even try. But don’t you dare to call it inferior; if anything, Agronomicon testifies to Beaten to Death’s staying power as a force in the grind scene.” The list beating goes on and on.

Cripple Bastards – La Fine Cresce da Dentro Review

Cripple Bastards – La Fine Cresce da Dentro Review

“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

Total Fucking Destruction – #USA4TFD Review

“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.

Yer Metal is (25 Years) Olde: Carcass – Heartwork

Yer Metal is (25 Years) Olde: Carcass – Heartwork

Heartwork, the fourth album by Liverpool’s Carcass, was an anomaly in 1993 for several reasons. Sure, the signs existed on 1991’s Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious that the Brits were growing more proficient at their instruments, and were slowly leaving their goregrind roots behind them. But while Necroticism kept one foot in their murky, surgically grotesque past, Heartwork, saw Carcass eschewing gory lyrics and guitarist Bill Steer’s growls entirely, trimming the fat considerably, and saw them streamline their attack with incredible lead guitar work, hooks galore, and a simplified verse/chorus/verse approach, angering their diehard fanbase.” Still working.

Betzefer – Entertain Your Force of Habit Review

Betzefer – Entertain Your Force of Habit Review

“Picture this, if you will. It’s Friday night, for at least a little while longer anyway. The air is thick with smoke and raised voices, illuminated only vaguely by various neon signs and their reflections off countless bottles and glasses. Here at the Angry Metal Bikerer Bar®, the music matches the mood: from a cramped corner masquerading as a stage, four angry metal guys unleash gravely growls and swagtastic riffage unto the leather and denim-clad patrons with a gritty little ditty titled ‘Ain’t No Party ‘Til You Hurt Somebody.'” Far beyond dreidel.

Axis of Despair – Contempt for Man Review

Axis of Despair – Contempt for Man Review

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.

DeathgraVe – So Real, It’s Now Review

DeathgraVe – So Real, It’s Now Review

“The question of why we listen to this stuff is asked so frequently as to become quite meaningless. Sam Dunn’s Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey documentary concluded that you either “get it” or you don’t, and that’s fine. Find a seventeen-year-old who’s just heard Nile or Behemoth and they’ll inform you that metal is for the musically elite, wrapping words about history and antitheism in swathes of dizzyingly technical instrumentation (especially the drums). I disagree with both to some degree, and the question being posed by a great friend I have tremendous respect for led me to think more about it than normal.” Why do we metal?