Archive for 2023

I remember years and years ago, when I was doing GCSE art. My teacher, someone who introduced me to all sorts of obscure shit like Unseen Terror for example, had this CD with him one day. He put it in front of me and said “what do you think that sounds like?”. I didn’t know what I was looking at back then, but the image of Douglas in that mask, holding a knife to the…

I saw this on a ton of year end lists on various social media, and that art is the stuff of nightmares, being so striking that it was a constant reminder to check this thing out. I had absolutely zero preconceived notions about what this would sound like, whether it would be black, death or doom metal, or something else entirely, so there was no internalised bias towards liking or disliking the sounds that were…

A lovely little 4-track EP from the AFX project. The first two tracks are remixes and flow together nicely, conjuring up a few variations on the same theme. “Nightmail” cuts in and changes the pace with a low-key breakbeat energy and chattering vocal sample before the final track gives us some ploinky synth padding to close.  In all, it’s a nice little cross section of styles, and a fun snapshot into the works of RDJ.

Abysmal, fetid goregrind with the shifted vokills and dustbin snare drum. Obligatory, my dear. Despite this, a fairly clear production helps hold your attention through the blasting, mushy carnage, as does the inclusion of more mincecore elements, which brings variation and respite, not to mention a bit of groove. Tidy.

Well-rounded production and a decent heavy sound, but a fairly typical groovy goregrind vibe. That sentence makes this sound like Rompeprop or something, but what I mean to say is, Egggore play the chunky, death-metal influenced form of drum machine grindcore (either that or the drums are triggered to smithereens) that was very popular at one point. It kinda sounds like Hymen Holocaust if they used a drum machine and were a bit more rigid….

Ugh! (Or should that be, Bleeurururppp?) Undergang are arguably the kings of slow-mo, slurry-churning, bone-grinding death metal; the snail pace allowing the filthy ooze to truly take its most hideous form.  The drums form a rigid, re-animated skeletal frame, where the thick bog of guitars, drums and bile-soaked croaks smear over the top of the percussion like the melted, impostumated epidermis of a nightmarish mutation crawling from the sewer with one thing on its mind:…

Nordisk Krim gives me interesting vibes, like a twist between old prog rock and the more recent group, Goat. It’s not entirely in my wheelhouse and I find some of the aspects a little tiresome, but I can respect the musicianship and the quality of the production. The subjects of the songs is also very interesting, I’m not just in love with the finished album.

Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment is probably the most un-metal thing to ever call a record, but y’know, for all of hardcore’s macho posturing, the message is usually one of positivity underneath. 25 Ta Life push that whole concept to 11 with this super-distilled shot of tuff-guy hardcore.  The music is absolute class though, with some amazing riffage and a raw but well-balanced production. Whatever you make of the vocalist, you can’t really deny that his style…

A similar method of approach could be given to that of Razor Sharp Daggers or Theatrical Symbolisation etc etc – if you are interested in Black Clouds Determinate as a studio album recording then the first 16 tracks are the only ones you should concern yourself with. The rest of this bloated run-time is filled with live material, which whilst not the worst thing in the world, does drag this thing out unnecessarily.  The early…

This album may have some pretty bad cover art, but it makes up for it sonically. What I like alot about Tauromachine is the presence of shorter, more easily digestible songs. This is still pummelling noise done in the way only Merzbow can do so well, but what this has over predecessor 1930 and even Pulse Demon is the less-intimidating track lengths. It really makes the difference for me, as pausing half way through a…

The Bug has collaborated with Warrior Queen many times now, but this EP is one of the earlier efforts. Backed with the tune “World War 3”, “Aktion Pak” itself is a fair ol’ banger. The rest of the release contains extensive dubs/remixes of the title track by The Bug himself, as well as a completely unrelated track at the end. A strange one.

2015 – The Fall Of Newport is the “lost” Sanguelia album that was originally meant to come out years ago. Unlike the project’s first record, a recording of real-life drumming was never placed over the synth work, so years laterx sole-remaining member Linus programmed the drums himself, and this finally saw the light of day in 2022. Personally, I prefer this over the first record (although I might be biased), I love the bubbling bass…

Absolute nonsense of the highest order. Anal Blasphemy don’t go anywhere near as hard as their logo and cover art history promises. Some of the other stuff looks proper wild though so I’ll have to start there. Necroslut sound like something you’d have heard on a demo cassette in 1990. The sound is a little better on their side, allowing that bestial stomp to hit home. Silly, but good fun.

Incredibly chilled record from the legendary John Coltrane and his band. Most immediate thing I notice with the mix of this is that the brass is panned hard left, blasting and rattling out of that speaker, whereas the right just bums with the double bass and ticking percussion. Seven tracks in length, I’ve been enjoying this as a soundtrack to my commute. Listening to the sublime tones as the rain dances with the tarmac and…

This was never really my thing but I caught Trap Them live at Roadburn festival many many moons ago and that cemented them in my head as a formidable musical force. Bliss Fucker, I guess, is a good example as any of the band’s dense, buzzsaw-worship sound. Sure, it’s not completely derivative Entombed-core, but the inclusion of the HM2 pedal always sets a tone (pun intended) about how a release will be received by me….

Some of the earlier Autophagia stuff can leave you wanting, what with a production that is so clogged with dust it’s impossible to really make anything out. On Postmortem Human Offal however, there is no such problem. The gruesome grindcore is bared for all to see in all of it’s sickening detail: guitar blurs and sharp riffs, shambling corpse drums, and my Brother in Christ, these are some of the most insane pitch shifter gurgles…

What an abominable down-tuned soup of hideous death metal! It took me a few goes to get used to the sordid display of metal oozing out of my stereo. The drums… wow. It’s like a corpse has risen from the grave. They shamble and shift, sometimes staggering. But for some reason, that works really well. The vocals fart and bubble out of the speakers. Some nefarious shit, y’all.

Busy, infectious jazz that still has a bit of that big band vibe, even with what sounds like a smaller group perhaps. I’ve listened to Ah Um a few times, but none of the songs really jump out at me. I’ve always enjoyed it as a suite, as a whole, and often to be honest as background music whilst doing something else. I find it heavily over rated, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy…

I love Neptune Towers. Part of me wants Fenriz to resuscitate the project, but another wants it to remain dead so we just have these two perfect gems. I’ve written about the other album some time ago, so it’s time to talk about this one. I love how Tangerine Dream had this low-key influence on the black metal guys, with Mortiis doing Fata Morgana and Fenriz doing this. This is far dreamier and stretched out…

Considering how “brutal” a band like Blasphemy are, it’s surprising how clear and powerful this early demo sounds. Usually these things are covered in layers of dust and tape hiss that not even the best remaster can remove. Granted, there is some of that charm here but for the most part this is a solid professional recording. Blood Upon The Altar contains everything that there is to love about music like Blasphemy: crazy downtuned riffing,…

Dune-inspired remix record for the first Fear Factory album. Probably a stretch to call this an album too, it’s more of an EP. Either way, it shows the techno and / or industrial elements have been there since the start, even when the group were more in line with death metal than anything else.

Manhunt play blistering fast grindcore that will rip your face off. Perhaps it is the perfect soundtrack to playing the super controversial and violent video game of the same name, if I could be so bold. Internal Rot are shaping up to be one of the greatest grindcore bands of the recent decade(s), and this split is no different in demonstrating their intense aural outpourings.

What always surprised me about this record, I think because of the name of the band more than anything, was that it wasn’t some hideous porn and / or goregrind, and was more in the straight-up grindcore camp (with a whole bunch of death metal influences, of course). Some pig squeals sneak in here or there, but these are used for comic effect more than anything. The production is clear and powerful, if a little…

Heavy, well-produced and chunky grindcore. They only ever did one album to my knowledge, but it’s a good one and it’s well worth checking out. There’s definitely a hardcore punk undercurrent, which along with the clear production carries this album along nicely (and at a ferocious pace too).

Gateways is some brutal shit. Like Formulas… but turned up to 11. The groove on Domination? My brother in Christ, it is long gone (well, almost). Steve Tucker’s second record with the group saw the guys doubling down on the heaviness, and on the speed. Pete The Feet’s blasts here are ridiculously good. Despite how good his technique is, the drums feel a little quiet, but I think it’s due to the insane technical nature…

Very interesting harsh noise with plenty of atmospheric passages. Harrowing walls of distortion are permeated with – and often built up from – loops of peculiar noises; scrapes and clanking, metallic abrasions and explained emissions. This is the kind of thing I would like to see more of in noise. Ligature are not afraid to set a scene or built an atmosphere before getting to the heavy shit.

Maddeningly lo-fi but also somewhat endearing, this muffled journey through introspective black metal is a bit rough around the edges. However, there’s enough charm here to keep me interested to completion. Not the best thing I’ve ever heard, but it isn’t trying to be.

Dense, scouring (what appears to be) analog noise from Werewolf Jerusalem, to whose credit, their 15 minutes sails by as if I am being carried along on a haze of audible wire. Culver is more restrained, offering a similar length piece but of the atmospheric, ambient variety. Dark, menacing ambience of course, but not the kind that will knock you out of your seat. More the kind of menancing ambience that would be the soundtrack…

Whereas the group’s debut was all “go”, Buried Secrets – which was a quick follow-up in the next year – hits the ground running but takes a moment to breathe every now and then, slowing sometimes to a Filth-era Swans style crawl, which allows for some real nastiness to show through. Buried Secrets is still very challenging, and still very much consists of incomprehensible jazz-meets-grind blurs, but the varied pace brings more interesting arrangements.

I know Zorn did Naked City but this kind of “high art” vibe experimental jazz seems a million miles away from the basement gigs and punk ethos of grindcore. Nevertheless, Napalm Death whirlwind Mick Harris is on this thing. An odd choice in 1991 it may have seemed perhaps, but Mick has done some very experimental stuff with his career, from Scorn to Lull to the bazillion other projects. The man is so much more…

Proper meaty, long-player split from two amazing grindcore legends. Agathocles don’t require any introduction, but their session here is solid and well-played. The high-end frequencies are a bit harsh but AGx aren’t known for production quality and this is far from the worst of their stuff. Suppository are brilliant. I fear I’ll sound a bit dense describing them this way but I love how the music is a mix of straight-up ravenous grindcore in the…

Embalming Theatre are so, so good. I’m the murky worlds of both grindcore and death metal they still stand unique, churning out their own brand of sickness. The two tracks here are par for the course, but hugely enjoyable. The vocals on track two are noticeably different than usual, though.  Jigsore are a messy blur, but that’s why we are here, right? I listened to this only yesterday but already can’t remember what the third…

I was pretty excited when I heard Bobby Maggard (aka the gore master) had another new project, this time a more “musical” death metal style form of sickness called Clumps Of Flesh. For all the endless forms of gorenoise Bobby has made, I do miss his more listenable exploits from the past such as Corpseinthecrawlspace and Dehydrated Tissues. (On that note I am forever and to infinite shame still sleeping on Gangrene Discharge as of…

Sometimes it feels like 1349 don’t half churn out albums but it’s actually been several years since this came out (at the time of writing). I’m sad to say, after a bit of a streak (MCoC and Demonoir were insane!), The Infernal Pathway didn’t immediately knock me out of my seat like other 1349 records have (yes even Revelations…). It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination but it just seems to lack a…

I remember walking through my hometown once, many moons ago, Sony Discman rammed awkwardly into a hoodie pocket, the earphones lodged firmly into my skull. A fellow metalhead who walked by too close stopped and turned. I took out a earpiece. “You’re listening to Nihility by Decapitated” he said, all matter of fact. “I can tell by the bass drums.” I’ve never forgotten that moment and I think about it every time I play this…

Where does jazz fusion end and prog rock begin? Endless instrumental noodling is afoot in that imitable, super-glossy big 80s production style. Only, this is from 1998 (lol). Ham-factor aside, these guys can seriously play, and Vital Tech Tones does kinda live up to its album / project name.

I first heard of Lafeyette Gilchrist when someone from David Simon’s crew (or perhaps the man himself) snuck a snippet of “Assume The Position” into a scene from The Wire. Later, the same song would go on to be used in much more dazzling effect as the closing theme to David Simon’s The Deuce, and that’s when I fell in love with this swaggering, jazzy monster of a song. Compendium is a compilation record that…

I’ve never been the biggest fan of King Diamond nor of Mercyful Fate to be honest but there’s something about a couple of their records that keeps drawing me back. Don’t Break The Oath is the main one that does this. I’m not sure if it is the most spectacular and hellish album sleeve, or the music itself, or perhaps a combination of both, but return I do. It’s hard to talk about the sound…

Awesome three way split with some amazing goregrind bands. Pulmonary Fibrosis kick things off with the most well produced session on this entire thing. Intense, blasting gore is the name of the game, with bludgeoning down-tuned riffs and sick gore vocals. There’s a live session too that extends the band’s runtime, but it’s fairly redundant. Haggus are up second, with that razor-sharp guitar tone and unique spin on the gore shifter vokills. In a (radioactive)…

Nonsensical, pointless, ridiculous noisecore – just as the genre should be. Footjob kick this 19 minute demo off with nearly 5 minutes of the same redundant porn sample, before hitting some early days 2 Minuta Dreka style noisecore bursts (basically like 7MON with gore vocals). Listening to this demo felt like the longest 19 minutes of my life. You could have halved the run time, left the porno sample in, and it would still feel…

This little remix EP proved a rather difficult task to hunt down online, so I bought a physical copy. Yes, this idiot is buying CDs in 2022! Roll up roll up! Anyways, this is a completists item most definitely, featuring six remixes – and the original – of the title track. And that’s it. The art is cool as fuck, and the remixes from Kid 606, I Am Spoonbender and Bastard Noise are worthy of…

A dusty, reverb heavy full length of cataclysmic heaviness from Scotland’s Black Sun. I’m unsure whether these guys are still going or not but I consider myself lucky to have caught them live (a very long time ago admittedly). Industrial hellscapes are the order of the day, with guitars and drums being the vehicle, upon which a very tormented passenger (the vocalist) sits.

I’ve been on a bit of a Lamp Of Murmuur kick recently, so checking out their split with everyone’s favourite black metal project that they can’t actually hear was definitely on the cards. Das Revenant once again bring some of the worst production in the black metal world (no small feat) but coming with it is that endearing melodic carnage beneath all of the grime. Lamp Of Murmuur are a similar beast, perhaps if RM…

To describe Climax… as an impenetrable wall of guitars and blasting drums would not be excessive. This dense chunk of metal (encapsulating both death metal and the nastier side of black/war) is not to be approached lightly. A cathedral of fornication indeed.

Feastem continue to be a massively under-rated grindcore band outside of Europe, which is shocking to me considering just how fucking fast these guys are. Like, this is some serious Insect Warfare level territory here, so I don’t understand why the USA grinders aren’t lapping this up. Maybe they are, and I’m just not privy to the conversations. Anyway, this falls into the well-produced end of grindcore populated by bands such as the previously mentioned,…

Melissa have been getting a lot of hype recently, and I do wonder how much of that is because of the striking appearance of vocalist Jane Pain who is an outspoken and absolutely fascinating character in all of herself. Anyway, this EP is awesome, so the hype is deserved. It’s as much rock and roll as it is black metal, but wholly unique too, which is super refreshing. I guess this falls squarely into the…

Crazy blasting gore – no groove, no compromise, just goregrind headcrash carnage. Insane vocal effort and FX, dustbin drums and a mechanical, deafening bass attack. Catastrophic stuff!

The first thing to notice about this second Rx remix offering from ANB is how insanely ferocious it is out of the gate. There was some harsh sounds on the first volume, but also a ton of moody offerings. Here, the entire ship is steered by none other than Delta 9, and only using (I believe) material from Altered States. So, taking both those things on board, it is hardly surprising that this thing rips…

I was very happy to see that Waking The Cadaver were back with a new album. I was under the impression that they had broken up. Authority Through Intimidation is a return to the brutality of old. That’s not to say stuff like Real Life Death isn’t brutal, but that super chunky, boxy slam on there is different from this record. Authority Through Intimidation (a very old title, those words were emblazoned on the back…