grind – Page 36 – Wonderbox Metal

Super Fun Happy Slide – Drop Your Pants and Grind (Review)

Super Fun Happy Slide are from Australia – can you guess what genre they play…?

You guessed it – this is Grindcore. Nasty and aggressive Grind with massive balls and a baseball bat with a nail through it.

The guitar sound alone is enough to peel skin. It’s like they’ve taken the Swedish Death Metal tone, wrapped it in barbed wire and distorted and warped it into a tight, hard bundle of super-condensed matter.

The vocals are at both ends of the extremity spectrum, with deep growls and piercing shrieks vying for a place at the front of the carnage.

This is in the best tradition of a band like Regurgitate only with a bit more of a Hardcore feel to some of the riffs.

This is the kind of Grind that takes you back to a long time ago when you were just getting into the genre and everything sounded fresh and exciting. For that reason if no other you should seek this out and listen to it loud.

Brutal Blues – Brutal Blues (Review)

Brutal Blues are a Grindcore band from Norway and this is their first release.

The band play ferociously aggressive Grind that feels unhinged and dangerous. The music seems refined to the point of Mathcore and the musical assault is relentless.

The vocals are demented and inhuman, sounding as if someone is strangling a murderous clown in someone else’s nightmare and the howls and screams are bleeding through into your consciousness.

Coming across like a more maniacal mix of Discordance Axis and Association Area with a hint of early The Dillinger Escape Plan; Brutal Blues provide a hypnotically mental 15 minutes of inventive, interesting and effective Grind.

I haven’t heard anyone really play this style of music that became quite popular in the early 2000’s for quite a while. I’m reminded of bands like Botch, Luddite Clone, Uphill Battle, etc. only more extreme. It’s a welcome reminder of something I was heavily into at one point, always seeking out the latest band at the time, and I’m very happy to see that the style is alive and well in the hands of Brutal Blues.

A blast from the past and a warning shot to the future.

Torch Runner – Committed to the Ground (Review)

Torch Runner are from the US and play Grindcore.

Well, well, well, if this isn’t some of the angriest, most abrasive Grind I’ve heard in a while. The relatively serene album art doesn’t really prepare you for the face-melting assault that lies within. It’s an impressively savage assault that’s clearly taking no prisoners.

The ferocity is allowed to reign freely and only tempered by the occasional more methodical passage where the savagery gives way to a more focussed and merciless heaviness that is no less murderous than the free-form viciousness that makes up the body of their work. Canon Cast is a good example of this as here the guitars slow down and are on a constant killing pace setting whilst the vocals spew hatred and the drums are doing all kinds of crazy stuff.

No, this isn’t pure speed, as that would be too easy; as fully paid up and qualified Grindsters they are well aware of the need for dynamics and variety in their songwriting and these tracks fulfil these requirements perfectly.

Even on the slower parts though the band never relinquishes the harsh nature of their being. No matter how fast or how seemingly uncontrolled they become they’re always focussed on the aggression; no matter how slow or how refined they play they’re always focussed on making the song nastier and heavier – there’s no Post-Grind here, just unrelenting musical destruction.

If you want my advice, and I know you do, go and get this now. Play it loud and become one with the frenzy.

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.

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 Dead in the Manger

The mysterious collective that is Dead in the Manger have unleashed something special on the world with Transience. We tried to pierce the veil of secrecy…

Tell us a bit about Dead in the Manger

DITM is a collaboration of people who aim to create a feeling of unease, aggression and sadness through various elements of sound.

I understand you anonymity is important to you as individuals – discuss

Who we are or anything else we are associated with is not important. We just want the music to speak for itself.

Dead in the Manger 1 What are your influences?

Sadness, depression, suicide.

You have an unusual juxtaposition of Funeral/Depressive Black Metal and Blackened Grindcore – how intentional was this or was it more of a natural occurrence?

We are just writing what comes natural. We want to portray how we actually feel, in an aggressive manner.

We didn’t intend on necessarily fitting in with any particular genre.

Will you continue to develop your songs in this style in the future or do foresee something different for Dead in the Manger?

I don’t believe it would truly be DITM without these elements. We are writing these songs out of pure negative emotion, so without that, there would be no DITM.

Where do Dead in the Manger go from here?

It’s hard to say what the future holds, but as long as the negative creativity is there, we will continue writing music.

There *might* be even the possibility of some select live shows if the offer and setting is right, but I can’t make any guarantees.

Interview with The Drip

Having just released their devastatingly brutal brand of state-of-the-art Grind onto the world with their latest EP A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics, US Grinders The Drip are poised for big things. Bobby Mansfield answered some short questions with some short answers. Grindcore style…

Give us a bit of background to The Drip

We formed in 2007, we’ve toured extensively in the northwest, Recorded 2 previous EP’s before our Relapse debut.

What are your influences?

Heavily influenced by Nasum, and Rotten Sound, we also take inspiration from other bands such as Napalm Death, Nails and many others.

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

Currently been spinning Afgrund’s Corporatacracy, and Fuck The Facts’ Misery. Stoked to get ahold of the New Misery Index as well.

What are your opinions on the current state of the Grindcore genre?

Grindcore is an ever growing genre, boundaries are broken, rules are rewritten. Grindcore will always be the most abrasive form of extreme music. Bands just keep getting better.

What did you want to achieve with your new release?

Establish ourselves as a Modern Grindcore band, It’s really awesome exposure being part of RELAPSE.

Are you happy with how it turned out?

Yes, we are, it came together very well for being recorded in 1 day, production is awesome, record sounds aggressive.

Talk to us about the lyrics

Angry, pissed off. That’s what we go for.

What’s the meaning of the EP title?

It can have many meanings, my personal take is that its meant as glimpse into our music.

How do you go about writing your songs?

We write individually and as a group. We aim to make better songs each time we start a new one.

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

Heavier, Faster, sicker. Already writing for a full length.

What can we expect from a future album?

A continuation of the material from APOGP. Songs will be aggressive and pummeling.

What’s next for The Drip?

Summer West Coast tour, with a stop at the 2nd annual DENVER BLACK SKY fest, writing and recording our full length.

I, for one, look forward to that full length very much.

Super Massive Black Holes – Calculations of the Ancients (Review)

Canadian band Super Massive Black Holes play Experimental/Progressive Jazzy Death Metal, and this is their début album.

This is bright and shiny music that’s technical but also slightly whimsical in nature; there’s something of the Devin Townsend about it.

The band manage to mix disparate elements of Devin Townsend, Opeth, Ephel Duath, Gojira and Cephalic Carnage; schizoid jazzy breakdowns, atmospheric interludes, Stoner vibe rockathons, pseudo-Grind workouts and heavy melodic cyber Metal all collide on this album.

The songs are surprisingly cohesive for all this. Sometimes an idea or a section can feel a bit half-formed or unfinished, however, although from the sound of it this could very well be intentional; to keep the listener guessing or to stop them becoming complacent?

The vocals are mainly between a shout and a growl, with the vocalist reminding a little of the singer of Gorod, or even Gojira on occasion, only not quite as emotive.

I like this album, although it definitely needs time to reveal its charms and won’t be to all tastes. Give them a listen and see what you think.

Transient – Transient (Review)

Transient are from the US and play Grindcore.

This is professionally-recorded and nicely heavy. The songs are short and the anger high. The vocalist sounds like she is possessed by demons, (yes, plural), and is a whirlwind force of nature stalking these songs and shortening their natural lifespan by her presence alone. It’s an impressive performance.

The songs are hardcore-influenced Grindcore with lots to keep the attention with. None of the tracks reach over the 2:00 minute mark but that just means that every spare second is used for something useful rather than just filling space.

I love this kind of grind; modern and brutal but still with a firm emotional core and lyrics that have meaning rather than just being a pointless gore-fest, (which can also be fun of course).

Cross a band like Nasum with the scathing feral hardcore of Converge and Transient will be the product. This is a top quality Grind album and should be on the want list of every fan of this genre.

Cage Grind Noir – Pilots (Review)

Nicolas Cage themed Grindcore? Sure, I can get on board with that.

The vocals are hysterical raging, an insanity that seems to have infected the singer and left him with nothing to do but scream and vomit his love for all things Cage.

Samples infect the tracks like a disease, making sure you’re never too far removed from the subject matter. Each song is named after a film.

Grind of this ilk based on a theme/novelty-factor wouldn’t normally interest me that much if it wasn’t for the fact that the band are good at what they do. They know how to Grind. Puig Destroyer are another such band, and like Puig Destroyer the concept doesn’t get in the way of the Grindcore.

As far as the music goes the band actually peddle somewhat sophisticated, modern Grind, rather than the ultra-primitive variety I was initially expecting, (no idea why. Baseless assumptions and all that). It’s quality stuff. It’s only 13 minutes long but the band still have time for a bit of almost Post-Metal in the middle of the album, (Knowing/8MM), and some mid-paced atmospherics at the end, (Fire Birds).

I see no reason for you to not pick this up and enjoy a little bit of what they’ve got goin’ on!