Grindcore – Page 34 – Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Collision

As I sit here listening to Collision’s latest release Satanic Surgery, it strikes me that in addition to being a very brutal record, it’s extremely well put together and just plain fun! As it’s a very enjoyable album that I keep returning to, when the opportunity arose to catch up with the band I grasped it with both hands…

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

We are Collision from the Netherlands! We play a crossover between grindcore and thrash metal with a lot of punk and hardcore influences! Collision is around for 15 or 16 years now, touring Europe and sometimes we will make an album… like we just did: Satanic Surgery! Released by Hammerheart Records on CD and LP.

Give us a bit of background to Collision

Collision started back in 2000, after a trying out some guitar and bass players we found the right line up for this band and we start to write songs and perform live. We were ask to do some local supports and shows on metal festivals. From one thing came another and before we knew we were in the studio recording our first album, released by Czech Republic’s grindcore label “Bizarre Leprous”. With this album in our pocket we did a lot of shows in The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Czech Republic. We changed bassist after this and now we are still in the same line-up. We just like to do a lot of shows and sometimes we record an album, a split single or some cover songs for a tribute album.

What are your influences?

Old school grindcore, thrash metal, hardcore and crossover in general. We are 5 individuals, but I think we all love Slayer and Napalm Death haha. More influences came from bands like Repulsion, Nasum, Wehrmacht, Stormtroopers Of Death, Brutal Truth, Municipal Waste, Dead Kennedys, Anthrax, Suffocation and more!

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

I’m currently listening to Skeletal Remains (groovy old school death metal, good stuff!), the latest album from Gadget (ultra fast grindcore with cool sludge and hardcore parts), Textures (awesome Dutch band) and some old school classics that are not metal like The Specials and Run D.M.C. But like I mention before, the other members will listen to complete other music then me haha.

How do you feel that you fit into the wider Metal scene?

I don’t know, we also love to play in the crust and grindcore scene… but for us it’s not about scenes etc. We just love to play and that everybody that likes grindcore, thrash metal, hardcore, death metal, punkrock etc will love our music!

Give us a bit of background to Satanic Surgery – any particular concepts or ideas you want to discuss?

Normally we sing about drinking, stupidity of religion, girls, war and horror. We used to do some politics, but that’s just not our thing.

How do you go about writing your songs?

Normally our bass player Boris will come up with some riffs. We will select our favourites and make skeletons of songs from it together with guitar player Luc. These songs are sent to our drummer Job and together we finish the song. Normally Björn (sometimes me) will come up with some lyrics and topics to scream about. Some fine-tuning and the song is finished! These days we think it’s important to have the song full of power and energy, but also needs to be catchy and have a good chorus!

I’m glad you mentioned that – is it important to for you to have a good amount of catchiness in your music, rather than focusing purely on aggression and extremity?

Hehe, I already answered this! But yes, it needs to be catchy! But we also focus a lot of aggression and extremity for sure.

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

I don’t know, I really love to play “Necromantic Love Affair” live because of the combination of grindcore riffs with a sludgy metal break. Lyrics are also hilarious hehe. I also really like “Cripple The Cross”… faster, faster!!

Tell us about the album artwork

The artwork is done by Luis Sendon, he also did the cover from our previous album and the split 7″ with The Rotted. The concept was already clear for a few months, so it was just up to him to visualise our ideas. And I must admit, he did an awesome job!

How did the recording process go?

Surprisingly smooth! We were not that prepared like the previous album, but we made nice demos for ourselves, so we finished the job in a few recording days.

What does the future hold for Collision?

We just hope to play a lot and everywhere! We have some cool shows booked at the moment, but we are still open for more! So keep an eye at http://www.collisiongrind.nl for updates!

Thank you fort he interview and the support!

Piss Vortex – Future Cancer (Review)

Hailing from Denmark, Piss Vortex play Grindcore and this is their latest EP.

Piss Vortex return, subjecting an unsuspecting world to more of the angular, dissonant Grind that we so enjoyed on their self-titled début album.

As with their début, this EP is filled with interesting and inventive riffs, alongside a decent amount of Sludge influence in their killing sound. Piss Vortex don’t do things the typical way, which is only to be commended, of course.

Future Cancer is 12 minutes of savage experimental and exploratory Grindcore. There’s plenty of brutality and mayhem on offer, which the band do in their own inimitable way. These tracks focus on causing as much damage as possible from as many different directions at once, it seems.

I can’t help but be drawn into the odd time signatures and atypical riffs that the band use, and these tracks have a lot to offer someone who’s into their Grind with a side order of modern violent Hardcore and nasty Sludge.

Highly recommended.

Morgue Supplier – Morgue Supplier (Review)

This is the second album by US Grinders Morgue Supplier.

This is rabid, brutal Grindcore that takes some Death Metal influences into its nasty embrace, resulting in 41 minutes of punishing Deathgrind.

Fast and intense, the band launch into their assault with glee and these tracks are not for the weak.

An album of this length could get quite boring though in the wrong hands, which is where the Death Metal influence comes in; there’s more than enough tempo changes and slower, groovy riffs to provide additional variety and substance to the aggressive mix.

Scathing screams, sickening shouts and ugly growls provide the vocal contribution and, alongside the well-recorded music, makes for a very satisfying listen.

This is a really enjoyable album. The songs are well-written and provide much more depth and content than a lot of Deathgrind bands aspire to. It has the chaotic mayhem of unhinged Grindcore and the controlled slaughter inherent to Death Metal. Blend these two together and you have a recipe for a winner. It doesn’t stop there though; also add in some atypical, interesting riffs and ideas, and you end up with an album that has far more staying power than most.

A success.

Livet Som Insats – Check Your Grind (Review)

Livet Som Insats are a Swedish Grindcore band. This is their second album.

With 24 songs in just under 24 minutes, you can pretty much gather the kind of thing this is going to be before you press play, and when you do you’re not disappointed. This is Swedish Grindcore played exactly as you want it to be played – fast, direct and relentless.

The songs have an audible Hardcore influence that gives the tracks a vibrancy about them. The speed work is streamlined and sharp, and when they slow down they reveal a nice heaviness to the guitars.

The singer’s rabid screams are just as streamlined and sharp as the music, with the two parts going together nicely to create the finished product.

The recording quality is right where it needs to be too and everything sounds clean, clear and brutally correct.

Check Your Grind is a really satisfying release. With a change in album title and album cover, I could easily see this being picked up and released by one of the larger labels out there in the world of Extreme Metal. For us lucky people who have already discovered it though, get your fill now.

Highly recommenced for all Grindcore fans.

Gadget – The Great Destroyer (Review)

Gadget are a Swedish Grindcore band and this is their third album.

Gadget play furious, vicious Grindcore that’s fast, angry and lives up to the high standards of the best of Swedish Grind.

The songs on The Great Destroyer have a modern sound that’s relentless and gripping. However, just boiling underneath the surface is enough remnants of old-school Hardcore swagger and energy to imbue the tracks with a real confidence and presence.

The singer’s vitriolic screams are a pleasure to hear; snarling, deranged diatribes are delivered with a passion bordering on insanity and the songs on this album benefit from the singer’s presence greatly.

These sharp, cutting tracks are like unstoppable slices of ultra-brutality, seamlessly performed with real fiery relish and a taste for all things bladed and dangerous. Occasionally the band slow things down to a groovier grind, but these parts are short-lived and soon degenerate into blast beats and high-speed guitars once more.

Snippets of tense melody appear here and there, just enough to enhance the songs without detracting from the main frenzied focus of the music.

I love it when bands play this kind of Grind – with a heavy, modern sound, a bleeding-edge disposition and more blast beats than you can shake a stick at, Gadget have the talent and skill to hold attention across these 27 minutes, and before you know it you’re left breathless and bewildered, wondering what just happened.

Highly recommended for all fans of quality Grindcore.

Convulsif – IV (Review)

Convulsive are an experimental band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.

After the blackened mindfuck, (in a good way), that was CD3, Convulsif return with something a bit different that’s actually superior. It’s mostly instrumental, dark and surprisingly addictive.

Featuring bass, clarinet, violin and drums, this is an experimental foray into noise and unusual Rock. These instruments come together in a variety of ways to produce music that is always trying to push the envelope and always manages to be emotive, in one fashion or another.

Largely gone is the experimental Black Metal of their previous release, although stylistically and atmospherically we’re not a million miles away from it with some of he crawling Doom/Drone here; IV can still be dark and foreboding when it wants to, as well as displaying any number of other moods.

Instead, this release has an even more diverse approach than its predecessor. Doom, Post-Rock, Black Metal and Grind are all merely ingredients to be liberally sprinkled around during these 37 minutes, and Convulsif leave few stones left unturned in their quest for sonic excess.

Disturbing noises and unsettling vibes are frequently the order of business for IV, mixed in with Grindcore-level extremity and exploratory bludgeoning. Add in some Jazz and some sexy bass workouts and you end up with a compelling collection of twisted soundscapes that really succeed where such an eclectic, esoteric assortment of tracks could so easily fail.

If you’re in mind for something a bit different that has a lot to offer, check out IV; you won’t regret it.

The Mild – Left to Starve (Review)

The Mild are a Grindcore band from Italy. This is their début EP.

Here we have just under 11 minutes of grinding Hardcore action. It’s sharp, nasty and liable to leave cuts.

The vocals are high pitched screams that sound absolutely scathing. The singer sounds pissed and I suspect he’s not entirely happy about something.

Each song rips along at a fair old pace, slowing down occasionally to mop up any listeners who somehow think they can get away without a good ear-bashing.

The fact that the band feel comfortable adding in some slower and mid-paced sections around the speedy main bits in such short tracks is welcome. This makes for a release that’s nicely differentiated and willing to think about pacing and not just the next fast part.

When they take their collective feet off the accelerator their Hardcore influences shine through and I can imagine them being really enjoyable live; high energy and blasting aggression clearly go well together.

Most enjoyable. Well done chaps!

Teething/Feastem – Split (Review)

Feastem are from Finland and Teething are from Spain. Both play Grindcore and they have come together to unleash this savage split on the world.

Teething start things off and offer up three tracks lasting four minutes in total.

Their music is fast, furious and full of aggression, just the way we like our Grindcore. They slow things down here and there and offer up some mid-paced groove with a Punk edge that adds to things quite nicely.

For the most part the vocals are halfway between shouts and growls, finding that sweet spot between the two that sounds harsh as Hell.

It’s a brief few songs, but enjoyable. Their blend of extremity and energetic Punk know-how makes them the epitome of Grind in many ways and if you like the style it’s hard to find fault with them.

Feastem are up next and also offer three songs, lasting a slightly longer five minutes in total.

Compared to Teething, Feastem have less of a Punk influence and offer streamlined, sharp Grindcore that has a more modern edge than their Spanish counterparts.

The tracks are full of blasting mayhem, not happy unless they’re doing their best to damage the listener’s ears by any means necessary. There’s a decent Extreme Metal influence to the guitars, although you can still hear the Punk/Hardcore influence too.

Scathing screams are the main mode of delivery for the singer, although deep growls do join in on occasion.

Another top quality Grind split between two bands that represent different points on the Grind spectrum in some ways. Which you prefer will depend on your personal preferences, and for me it’s hard to say – occasionally Teething’s more traditional approach wins the day, whereas at other times I love the blasting speed and modern delivery of Feastem. Either way, this is short enough to enjoy again and again and packs a punch regardless.

Highly recommended.

Department of Correction/Proletar – Split (Review)

Department of Correction are from France and Proletar are from Indonesia. They’ve teamed up for this 16 track, 19 minute split.

I like Department of Correction, and this split does nothing to change that fact. Their side consists of 10 songs over 8 minutes.

Department of Correction play their Grindcore songs fast, short and brutal. For such short tracks, they’re also surprisingly sophisticated and interesting. Buzzing, razor-sharp guitars tread that fine line between Metal brutality and Punk energy, while the vocals scream, growl and even dementedly sing their way through the mayhem.

The tracks have an intense dynamic to them and include a rare amount of grinding melody, although that has to be understood in the present context, of course.

Once again the band have impressed. I do so love Grindcore when it’s done exceedingly well and is also different enough not to be yet another generic clone band. Department of Correction prove just how much Grind has to offer and just what can be done with short, aggressive songs; if you’re left with any doubt at all – it’s a lot.

Very nice.

After that impressive 8 minutes, it’s on to Proletar. These are new to me, and their side of the split consists of 6 songs over 11 minutes, including an Agathocles cover.

With longer songs on average than Department of Correction, Proletar play a more traditional Grindcore with deep growling Deathgrunts interspersed with rabid, savage screams.

This is primitive, ugly Grindcore that brutally espouses the genre forefathers with an old-school delivery and a suitably energetic performance.

It’s a good pairing of bands as in some ways this can be viewed as a showcase for the past and future of the genre, with Proletar demonstrating the classic Grind style and Department of Correction showing where it can be taken in the future.

As Grindcore splits go, this is a great listen. Check it out.

Sick of Stupidity – One Shot, One Kill (Review)

Sick of Stupidity are a Grindcore band from The Netherlands. This is their début album.

Here we have some grinding powerviolence lasting all of 14 minutes over 11 tracks. It’s unhinged, it’s nasty, it’s good.

The songs go fast as we like them to, but also take the pressure off the accelerator occasionally to give the listener a mid-paced ear-bashing now and then. It’s mostly fast-paced though, and I’m fine with this as the guitars have a very satisfying tone and the riffs hit the spot nicely.

Glass-gargled screams and aggressive growls and thrown around like there’s an infinite supply of them, to the backdrop of musical destruction and fast-forwarded chaos.

As it doesn’t last long this doesn’t outstay its welcome and if anything it’s extremely easy to listen to again and again.

Recommended.