Crust – Page 18 – Wonderbox Metal

Idols Plague – Nursery Crimes (Review)

Idols Plague are from the US and play Hardcore.

This is short and to the point; 14 minutes of energetic, stripped down Punk. It may be a short EP but it captures the attention quickly and wastes no time in displaying its wares.

It’s heavy, nasty and all of the things that Hardcore should be. The songs are a blur of speed and groove with the band knowing when to put the foot on the accelerator and when to ease off; they really exploit the groove-laden riffs in this manner.

The band mix a few different styles with their Hardcore, as there is a strong rust element to their sound but also a bit of Classic Grindcore, more Modern Hardcore and even the odd hint of Crossover Thrash.

The songs are surprisingly catchy, both vocally and riff-wise. The vocals are suitably unhinged and desperate-sounding, as if he’s screaming and shouting for his very life. They’re timelessly Hardcore in that they flit between sounding Old-School and sounding Modern, ultimately performing equally well no matter how he employs his lungs.

The band are loose and underground enough to sound very natural, with nothing forced or contrived. This, coupled with the songwriting, means that this release sounds very fresh. The merging of the different styles into the Crust Punk sound adds a deeper shade of murk to a band that’s essentially song-focused, really bringing home the quality of the tracks and impressing with their vitality and longevity.

Rolling through a town near you like a freight train, I give you Idols Plague. Listen loud.

Mortals – Cursed to See the Future (Review)

Mortals are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their second album.

This is a Crusty form of Black Metal that takes the Darkthrone sound and kind of crosses it with a band like High on Fire to create something a bit different yet recognisable instantly.

This is an album of long songs that are primitive but not in a negative way. There is a sort of primal power to the riffs and energy that the band offer the listener.

The vocals are serrated rasps that call out to the darkness and the terror within. They’re ably produced and a satisfying listen, the same of which can be said for the album as a whole really.

The song lengths give the Darkthrone-esque riffs time to germinate and seed, allowing the band to develop them fully.

The tracks are bleakly emotive and hit the spot whether the band are playing fast and sharp, slow and dirge-like or mid-paced and rocking. Whatever, it all hinges around razor sharp riffing and a guitar tone to die for.

A very nice release indeed. Old-School Black Metal with a helping of Sludge and arrogance. Just what the doctor ordered.

Hashed Out – Hashed Out (Review)

Hashed Out are from Canada and play angry Hardcore.

This is violent music that’s noisy and Crusty. A hint of Grind, a smattering of Metallic fury, a good Hardcore base and even a touch of Sludge here and there – Hashed Out play music that’s full of rage and bile.

The singer shouts and spews vitriol across the 6 tracks and keeps the intensity up for the full 15 minutes playing time.

The songs may be short and furious but they have some hooks in them that keep you coming back for more. This reminds me of a more extreme version of some of the 90’s Metallic Hardcore bands like My Own Victim; the sense of songwriting that’s heavy but still catchy is similar, only with added Crust, filth and blasting.

Think of a Punk band swallowed by Eyehategod and powered by Grinding Crust. The songs stick around and the singer in particular is very memorable. In a sea of mediocrity Hashed Out stand tall.

This is an EP worth getting hold of.

Ruins/Usnea – Split (Review)

This split is between German band Ruins and Usnea who are from the US.

Ruins are first with their track Discrimen. It starts with an eerie riff and then builds in the bass and drums with a lumbering gait like some twisted swamp creature stalking its prey. This develops into a very satisfying riff that still manages to sound a little uneasy even while it’s rocking out.

The vocals are dirty and deep, sounding like some balaclava-wearing bruiser who’s only out to hurt you. These change about halfway through to a slightly more emotive sounding semi-clean and the song becomes energised.

Ruins are a curious blending of Crust/Hardcore and Sludge with even a slight hint of Post-Metal in the mix. Either way it makes for an enticing listen and I think I’ll be looking into what else this band has done.

After Ruins we get Usnea with Only the End of the World. Usnea are great band who have released an excellent self-titled début album of Blackened Doom, which I heartily advise everyone to immediately go and get. I was especially interested to hear their half of this split as at just under 6 minutes in length it’s a lot shorter than any of the songs on their album.

Their contribution is slower and more monolithic than that of Ruins; with the song seemingly dragging itself along against the burden of time immemorial.

The chasm-like vocals seem to open wide and swallow the light. They appear like fissures under the foundations of the song and it seems like it would be so easy to fall into the blackness there. Later as the higher vocals come in the massive holes in the world are replaced with piercing shrieks that cause their own no-less fatal puncture wounds.

Usnea don’t disappoint. It may be shorter than their other work but that doesn’t stop them from making the most of the playing time and ramming it chock full with Doom delights.

A highly recommended EP. Two great songs from two great bands. Seek it out.

Interview with Nux Vomica

Nux Vomica’s latest, self-titled, album is one giant mass of quality. No need to say more than that. You should go and get it. So without further ado let’s find out a bit more…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

I’m Just Dave, vocalist and percussionist. Not familiar with my band? Check us out here:

https://www.facebook.com/nuxvomicaband

Give us a bit of history to Nux Vomica.

We’re a punk band who learned how to play better, so now people call us “extreme metal”, which is appropriate considering how much Mountain Dew some of us drink. We started in Baltimore in about 2003, moved to Portland in 2006, had some lineup changes ending in 2008, and here we are. Our 3rd LP is out now and we have a slew of other releases. For the last year we’ve taken time off to work on other projects, and our guitarist Chris had a baby. This year we hope to get back to jamming and playing shows!

What are your influences?

This is a classic interview question, and in our case it’s so hard to answer. Here’s a very incomplete list of band members’ favourite bands: CRASS, VIOLENT FEMMES, PUBLIC ENEMY, MORNE, BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, MISFITS, BLIND GUARDIAN, CEE-LO GREEN, DEVO, THE B-52S, PUBLIC ENEMY, DEAD MOON, THE RESIDENTS, LOW, DYSTOPIA, JUCIFER, QUEEN, MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE, JAY REATARD, HIS HERO IS GONE, AMEBIX, THE CURE…. I’m just stopping there.

Nux Vomica What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

THIN LIZZY – Live and Dangerous. Damn good house cleaning music!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

We wanted to agree on anything. Since that was obviously not gonna happen, we figured we’d cram our songs full of so many ideas that they became almost 12 to 20 minutes long. Then we had to figure out how to put it all on an album that sounded cohesive. 5 years later, it’s out!
Are you happy with how it turned out?

Yes we definitely are. I think all the hard work and time we put into it is very apparent. No part of any song went unscrutinized by us. We got very meticulous about how we wanted everything to sound, and some of us went back in the studio multiple times to re-record parts. In particular the extra percussion was an issue. Trying to do what we do live sounded like a clusterfuck, so we scaled down the extra drumming. I think it turned out great.

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

“Sanity is for the Passive” is about the idea that being labelled “insane” to me means you are reacting correctly to your surroundings in this world. Being labelled “sane” means you have been successfully assimilated into the insanity. “Reeling” is about a guy I knew who almost drank himself to death. People had to break into his house and take him to detox. Empty vodka bottles were littered everywhere. I’m pretty sure he is drinking again these days. “Choked at the Roots” is basically my theory on how people started down the path to being power mad ruiners of everything. Overall this is very dark album lyrically. Read all the lyrics here:

http://punkrockmuppet.blogspot.com/

Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.

Usually one person has an idea of the entire song structure and brings the riffs to practice and we all pick it apart and build on it. We rarely have a plan of the length of a song, we just let it grow and if it starts getting boring we start scrapping parts and re-working others. We spend a good deal of time on transitions between parts. We like to the longer songs to flow well and remain interesting. We try to avoid the typical “this part ends, the guitars bring in the next riff, everyone else joins in” way of writing punk and crust songs. The lyrics for these newer songs were largely written at practice while the band was jamming. That was because the songs started getting too long and complicated to just bring a bunch of lyrics I wrote and fit them in like I used to.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

We have about four new songs, and we were working on more last year before we decided to take a break. The newer batch of songs are more thrashy and shorter than this LP, and people were really into them when we played em live. We also started playing a WAKE UP ON FIRE song that was never recorded. I think once we get back to jamming we’ll see where we’re going beyond that.

What’s next for Nux Vomica?

Practice! We haven’t played in a year. We need to re-learn our songs, shake off the cobwebs and get back to it. I think we’re ready.

Cheers,

Thanks!

Primitive Man/Hexis – Split (Review)

Primitive Man are from the US and play Sludgy Doom. On this release they have teamed up with Danish Crusty Black Metallers Hexis. Each band contributes one song, each about 8 minutes in length.

This is my first time hearing Primitive Man, but I’ve heard good things about them and am not disappointed.

When Getting High Is Not Enough starts off crushingly slow and heavy with vocals so deep and dark they seem to swallow all light. After a while the bass adopts a crawling pose while the guitars transcend to an almost Post-Metal ethereality before falling back to earth with a weighty riff. This soon breaks out into an unexpected frenzy of speed and the vocals become higher and much more vicious.

The band have this ability to play slow, fast or chuggy-as-hell while still retaining their own identity and a sense of filthy, Sludge-fuelled blackness pervades everything. The song is a victory and I am left wanting to hear more from this impressive band.

Hexis are a band who I am very familiar with as they have produced some very strong material over the years, particularly their recent full length Abalam.

Their track Excrucio is a weighty beast that has their trademark Blackened guitar walls with shredding vocals seemingly buried just underneath the enormous tide of distortion. Hexis manage to write very emotive songs where the guitars are the main stars of the show and the vocals and everything else are their to support them and help to accentuate how rock solid they sound.

Hexis have struck a winning formula with their sound and Excrucio is no exception.

This is a great showcase for two talented bands that offer a lot for the discerning metal fan who wants something a bit more from their listening.

Dråp – En Naturlig Död (Review)

Dråp are from Sweden and play Crust/Hardcore.

The band have a thunderous sound that is heavy and belligerent.

The vocalist sounds rabid, dangerous and thoroughly pissed off. His vocals bark out over the ugly music like a bruiser looking for his next victim. A constant onslaught of abuse and bile streams forth with grim enthusiasm.

The music is muscular and without remorse. The guitars bash and smash their way through the short playing time like a determined beating that never seems to stop.

This is angry music for angry people. There is no subtlety or nuance here, just menace and barbarity. The drums beat, the guitars attack and the vocals snarl.

It’s relentless, it’s harsh, it’s not pretty, but it is good.

Hunt this down and listen to it loud.

Favourite Track: Höstmörker

Boddicker – False Flag (Review)

Boddicker are from the US and play Grindcore with a healthy Sludge influence.

A short release at 13 minutes, this nevertheless allows Boddicker to flex their musical muscles and supply us with an all-you-can eat buffet of extremity.

Brutality and aggression are in bountiful supply as you would imagine and there is a Crust/Punk aspect that propels the delivery along with gusto.

Their sound is dirty and Sludge-fuelled and in addition to the standard Grind speed there is a relatively high incidence of slower, Doomier parts where the band take on the aspect of Eyehategod/Buzzov-en and destroy the listener with heaviness and slow-core battery.

The vocalist sounds suitably unhinged and bellows at the top of his lungs with anger and barely suppressed rage.

A very enjoyable EP, mixing a Punk Grind sound with a tasty bit of filthy Sludge. Boddicker are to be commended and recommended.

I bet they’re amazing live.

Interview with Skinfather

Skinfather have produced a powerhouse of a Swedish Death Metal album mixed with Crust and Hardcore influences with their début None Will Mourn. Attempting to find out more, questions were posed to the new pack leaders in town…

Tell us all about Skinfather and where you came from

We started playing in 2010. We’ve had some member changes since then, but I think Skinfather as it exists now is the band it was always meant to be.

What are your influences?

We built Skinfather on a foundation which takes a lot from the classic Swedish DM scene, but if you listen closely I think you’ll hear other influences. Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, and early Gorefest come to mind. We also come from punk/hardcore backgrounds so that influence finds its way in there as well.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

As far as metal goes, the new Triptykon and Teitanblood LPs are insane. Also loving Stoic Violence “Chained”, The Flex LP and Forced Order’s demo and upcoming 7″.

How did you decide on the style of Death Metal that you wanted to play – what appeals about the Swedish Death Metal sound?

We collectively listen to a wide range of music but I think one place where we find a lot of common ground is that style. For me, I love the guitar tone, the emphasis on groove and the pounding d-beat influence.

In my review I note that you have a bit of a Crust/Hardcore influence to your sound as well – would you agree with this?

Definitely. That wasn’t a conscious influence on our part but its there. We have all played in punk/hardcore bands and some of us are heavily involved in that scene, so its just natural for that to come out in the music. We’re not trying to be something that we’re not.

Do you have any goals for your album?

Our goal was just to release a mind numbingly heavy album, which would be something we’d like to listen to ourselves. We’re really proud of this record and I think we achieved that, so anything else that happens from here on out is just a nice bonus.

Is there anything on the album you’re not satisfied with?

Anytime you’re engaged in any kind of creative process, you’re never going to be 100% satisfied. At least that’s how I am. That said, I’ve never been as satisfied with any musical output I’ve ever been a part of as I am with None Will Mourn. We’re very pleased with the result.

Do you want to discuss any of the lyrics on the album and any themes/hidden meanings/etc. that might be there?

I’m going to let our singer Stephen handle that one:

“Most of the songs deal with storytelling that’s meant to display imagery of social issues that surround us. I like to read about history, and thus used it to create what I thought to be intriguing stories with underlying themes of oppression, adversity, corruption, etc. Ordeal by fire, Born of Despair, Hellish Grave, and Impaled are songs written in this manner. Drown in Black, Calloused, and Planes of Ruination are more personal songs that deal with psychological struggles. Dead Still is kind of a lone wolf as far as its theme goes. It’s a slightly fucked up twist off of an old English folk tale from the 12th century that I find fascinating.”

What’s your songwriting process?

Either Anthonie or myself (guitarists) or Taylor, our drummer, will have an idea for a song. If its Anthonie or myself, we’ll do a rough recording of the song at home with programmed drums and then bring it to the band. Most of None Will Mourn started off this way. We’ll usually learn this “first draft” as a band, jam it a few times and spend time making whatever changes need to be made. This might mean adding parts, fills, or rearranging the song. It has to sound like a Skinfather song, and not a Scott, Anthonie, or Taylor demo.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

I think that the process will only become more collaborative. I think that you’ll be able to hear a Skinfather record and think “This sounds like Skinfather” rather than “Wow this sounds just like _________”

What does the future hold for Skinfather?

We’re trying to play as much as our personal lives allow us to. We’ve got a couple festival appearances coming up, and will continue playing local shows. We’ll be making our way up the West Coast very shortly with Nails, Iron Lung and Bone Sickness we’ll be on the East Coast this fall.

Thanks!

Mind – Save Yourself From Hell (Review)

Mind are a Crust/Hardcore/Metal band from Germany and this is their third album.

This is primitive Crust violence, played with passion and honesty.

The songs rattle and bash their way from the speakers while the singer tries to compete with the local attack dogs to see who is the most rabid.

Songs like Lost carry a real feeling of threat but also, paradoxically, of camaraderie. Best to make sure you’re on the right side, eh?

They have an Old-School sound that could probably have done with a little more beef in some of the departments, but having said that it still fits the music well and hones the authentic feeling of Hardcore being played by lifers.

The feeling in general is Old-School, reminding of Hardcore bands from the 90’s such as Merauder and especially fellow German’s Ryker’s, as well as all of the standard Crust reference points. They also cover Napalm Death, which can never be a bad thing.

This is a 25 minute trip to the wrong side of the tracks. Will you survive the journey? With this as your soundtrack you might.