Grind – Page 19 – Wonderbox Metal

Tibosity – Bimbocracia (Review)

Tibosity are a Spanish Grind band and this is their second album.

This is ugly Goregrind that favours a big ol’ groovy approach to its carnage, rather than the ultra-fast method.

The vocals are mainly of the sick-sounding pignoise-style that can be so hit and miss at times. Here the singer has just the right amount of grit and roughness to his voice to make it work for me. Higher screams also appear, and these sound knife-thin.

So – groove. As stated. Groove-based Goregrind, although definitely not unheard of, is still fairly uncommon, especially when done in a, (relatively), catchy way as it is on Bimbocracia. Some parts of these songs wouldn’t be out of place on the latest Modern Metal release, apart from the less-polished production and depraved vocals, of course.

Tibosity also have a playful side to them, albeit one that finds joy in fingering the corpses of dead fat people, but you get the idea. It adds a certain appeal and character to the music without descending into the realms of worthless comedy-Grind.

So give Tibosity a listen and see if they tickle your fancy.

Extreme Noise Terror – Extreme Noise Terror (Review)

Extreme Noise Terror are a Grindcore band from the UK and this is their latest album.

This is a band that have been around for a long time and know a thing or two about ugly brutality. This is Old-School Grind with a firm Hardcore/Punk base that lends the tracks a nervy energy and attitude.

The songs are like short, violent bashes to the head. This is a good thing, honest. It’s raw, uncompromising and savagely delivered.

Each of the tracks is like a shot of adrenaline, with the high-octane Punk riffs and the pummelling drums acting in concert with the frenetic vocals to produce maniacally destructive music.

The dual-vocal assault is belligerent, hostile and unrelentingly antagonistic, frequently straddling the line between murderous and downright frenzied and chaotic.

One of the great things about a band like this though is just how catchy some of these songs are. Sure, they’ll never be a radio hit, (why would they want to be?), but in our rarefied world of Extreme Metal these songs have more hooks than most.

30 years (!) into their career and it’s heartening to see a band like this still so vital and vibrant. Turn up the volume and blast this out for all it’s worth.

Die Choking – III (Review)

This is the debut album from US Grinders Die Choking.

After two very good-but-short EPs, (I and II), we now get III; this time, it’s longer.

Although not by much, really. Here we have a whole 14 minutes of tightly-compressed angry music. After the promise of the two EPs, this release lives up to my expectations.

The music is modern Grindcore full of extremity and rage, burning everyone around it with its intensity and brutality.

Their sound has progressed and developed from their earlier Grindings into an even more focused expression of hatred and violence. The vocals have improved and seem buried in the music in such a way it seems impossible to separate them.

Each song may be short, but they still manage to pack in a lot of content, with quite a few different sub-styles of Grind rearing their malformed heads throughout. It all adds a good degree of interest and variety in what is essentially a chaotic blast-fest of brutality and destruction. From old to new styles, from crust to modern, from Napalm Death to Misery Index; there’s a lot of meat on this violent treat.

If you’re into Grindcore, (and who isn’t, really?), then this is highly enjoyable and easily likeable.

Norylsk – The Catholic Dictatorship (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Grinders Norylsk.

This is ugly Grind for fans of Regurgitate, Brutal Truth and Squash Bowels. It’s fast, brutal and the epitome of savage.

Norylsk largely have an Old-School sound but they do have some modern elements and ideas here and there. This is enhanced by a heavy, modern production.

Growls, screams and something that sounds like gargled broken glass are the main forms of attack from the singer. I worry about the health of his throat.

Norylsk blast, groove and tear their way through these tracks with clinical precision and furious focus. It’s a near-unrelentingly heavy assault and the band clearly know what they’re doing.

This is Deathgrind for people who like the Old-School style delivered in a modern way. It’s an impressively brutal album but one that doesn’t become too one-dimensional thanks to good songwriting and a few non-standard ideas in places, (including clean female vocals and spoken word on Mental Selection).

For Grindcore with weight and substance, look no further.

Horsebastard/Noisebazooka – Split (Review)

This split is brought to us by the UK’s Horsebastard and Austria’s Noisebazooka. Both bands play Grindcore.

Horsebastard are up first and deliver the goods with 6 tracks of furious blasting Grind in four minutes.

High pitched screams slice through the noise as if made my by some form of giant insect come to feast on man.

The drum sound is unusual and is frenetic and frenzied. Surely this must be the work of a twisted, multi-limbed insect? I think the term insectile Grind must have been invented for Horsebastard.

The tracks blur by in a haze of shrieking, blasting and abrasive guitars. It’s unhinged, unhealthy and reeks of fabulously wanton violence.

It’s all pretty much over before you’ve blinked and Horsebastard have left a funny taste in your mouth that you’re quite happy to experience again.

After that we have Noisebazooka with 7 tracks of even more crazy Grindcore in just under 7 minutes.

The vocals are strange shouts where the singer sounds just a hair’s breadth away from losing it totally. The music is even more manic than Horsebastard; this is not of the insectile variety though, it’s more experimental, almost, with unusual riffs, ideas, effects and time signatures alongside the traditional blasting.

Noisebazooka definitely have an individual take on Grind and theirs is a sound that will not be for everyone, even within Grindcore’s already limited audience; this is due in large part to the shouting-style of the singer.

If you can get on board with their unorthodox style then there’s a lot to like here and the music is very well crafted and pieced together.

Overall this is a good split showcasing these two different-but-complementary bands. Check it out.

Haemophagus/Subjugation – Split (Review)

Haemophagus are from Italy and Subjugation are from Turkey. They’ve teamed up for this short and brutal split.

I was very impressed with Haemophagus’ début album Atrocious, and on this split they continue to impress with two tracks of quality Grindcore-infused Death Metal.

Hibernated World is an Old-School Death Metal revenant that stumbles and crawls its way out of the crypt. Savagely jagged riffs and evil, underground melodies combine with a cocky swagger to create a song that is confident and assured.

The vocals are dark growls that seem like they’re spewing acid and vile warnings. This feeling continues on into the second song Monsters in the Park, where the vocals are a little deeper but no less caustic.

This second track is faster with the rotting horror of the first replaced by a two minute grinder that still can’t resist a good groove in the last part of the song. Both are very good tracks but I favour this latter one very slightly.

Subjugation are a new band for me. They offer us three tracks in total and their Deathgrind has a Swedish Death Metal edge to the guitars, mixed with the taste of an older, less-polished Rotten Sound.

The vocals are ultra-deep and rough around the edges; they’re both uncompromising and satisfying.

Monuments to Greed is their first song and it’s a decent calling card for the band. Fast but not overly so; there’s some Swedish groove here too and it hits the spot.

Trembling on Broken Glass continues the theme only with a faster approach. The Swedish feel is still here in the sound of the guitars and it lends the band an immediacy to their already in-your-face style.

The final song Under the Whip is the longest at just under 3 minutes in length and is probably the most brutal of the three. The blasting eventually changes to a mid-paced chugging assault to see out the song, and, like Haemophagus, Subjugation’s final track is probably my favourite.

This short hit of Death Metal/Grindcore is just what the mad doctor ordered and is definitely worth a few spins.

Recommended.

Captain Cleanoff – Rising Terror (Review)

This is the second album from Australian Grindcore band Captain Cleanoff.

Here we have 16 tracks in a brief and violent 21 minutes. Napalm Death and Terrorizer are your instant points of reference for Rising Terror and it lives up to these lofty expectations by demolishing everything in front of it in a tidal wave of raw savagery.

The songs are fast and furious, with everything dedicated to the Grindcore assault, although it frequently stops short of becoming a complete blastfest.

These short and nasty tracks are all brutality and teeth, snarling and gnashing their way through the seconds like a hungry predator. The main exception to this high-speed delivery is the final track Threads, which is more of an atmospheric track; slower and Sludgy, (and at just under 5 minutes long it’s pretty much 25% of the album).

There’s a lot of d-beats involved on Rising Terror, as well as it having a Hardcore energy. Good groves and riffs are used and Captain Cleanoff have a clear understanding of dynamics within the Grindcore template.

The vocals alternate high-pitched acid-drenched vocals with deeper growls. The latter sound rough and angry while the former sound insanely psychotic.

This is an enjoyable 20 minutes from a band with a solid sound and style who know how to get down to business and get the job done.

Recommended.

Barrows – Swine Race (Review)

Barrows are a Canadian Grindcore band and this is their début album.

This is sophisticated-yet-ugly Grindcore that’s added to and fleshed out by Brutal Death Metal elements, resulting in savage Deathgrind the likes of which will be too extreme for most.

The songs combine rhythmic, pulsing mayhem with blasting carnage and insane guitar torture. There actually is occasional melody involved in their assault too, albeit of a twisted, warped variety.

There’s a lot going on in these songs as the band chug, Grind, blast, groove and rip their way through the 29 minutes on this album with vicious glee and crazed enthusiasm. It’s all about the brutality, but with a surprisingly varied attack. The point is, Barrows are a multi-dimensional band with many different facets to their offensive rather than just playing ferociously fast.

The vocals are a fierce collection of grunts, screams and pig-noises that are enough to scare away all but the most hardened of Extreme Metal fans. The singer’s performance is not to be faulted and he frequently sounds like about 100 maniacs all at the same time, which is no mean feat.

Sort of like a cross between Cattle Decapitation, Pig Destroyer and Circle of Dead Children; Barrows have produced quite a stunner of an album, which is up there with the latest Maruta release as a prime example of quality Deathgrind.

Essential listening for all fans of Grindcore extremity.

Fuck the Facts – Desire Will Rot (Review)

Fuck the Facts are a Canadian Grindcore band and this is their tenth album.

Fuck the Facts are always a good listen. Playing by no-one’s rules but their own, they play Grind with their own agenda and are wonderfully individual.

They combine most different aspects of Grind, including some non-Grind elements too. Labelling them as Progressive Grindcore is not too bad of a description. From blasting brutality to melodicism to experimentalism; Fuck the Facts have got it covered somewhere in their discography, (and on this release), and they do it very well indeed.

These songs are largely, (but not exclusively), short blasts of aural carnage, although there’s much more to the band than just this. Longer songs and more experimentally diverse songwriting, (including solos, melodies, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, atmosphere, noise, cello, piano, etc.), mean that there’s a lot on offer here.

Sitting pretty among similarly individualistic Grindcore such as Cephalic Carnage, Cloud Rat, Antigama and the like, Fuck the Facts have built an impressive legacy for themselves over the 16 or so years of their existence and Desire Will Rot only cements their sterling reputation further.

The vocals alternate between the main singer’s acidic shriek and the bassist’s deathgrunts. It’s a combination and team effort that works very well. The main singer has a very individual and charismatic high scream and her voice sounds as nasty as scraping nails.

This is 39 minutes of challenging and impressive Grindcore. It’s not for people who just want the latest scene-clone; this is thinking Grind for the discerning connoisseur, and yet it still remains its visceral nature despite this.

A must listen.

Organ Dealer – Visceral Infection (Review)

Organ Dealer are a Modern Grindcore band from the US and this is their début album.

Boasting a strong sound, Organ Dealer have come to smash! This is brutal music that’s bound to appeal to fans of extremity and destruction everywhere.

A fast, focused assault of tasty Grind is given further backbone by a Death Metal base and a heart of pure ferocity.

The songs are well written and paced, which might sound an odd thing to say of break-neck Grindcore but this isn’t a pure blast-frenzy; Organ Dealer know the value of a good riff and are not afraid to use it for maximum effect. When the mayhem slows down they’re just as devastating as when they’re going all out.

I like an album like this that essentially compresses Modern Death Metal into a tight ball of rage, clips the songs to about 1-2 minutes in length and then pours hot, scalding Grindcore on top of everything. I mean, what’s not to like here? It’s fast, ferocious and brutal, all with a modern veneer and enough musical talent to make it stand out.

The vocals are scathing screams that will leave you breathless. Deeper deathgrunts are also used and the impression is very much one of intensity and extremity. I can only imagine Organ Dealer would be quite a spectacle live if they can reproduce this faithfully.

Visceral Infection has the timeless dynamics of Nasum and Napam Death and the modern brutality of Maruta and Pig Destroyer. As such, it’s a damn fine listen.

Tune in and Grind out.