Grindcore – Page 42 – Wonderbox Metal

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!

Dead in the Manger – Transience (Review)

Screaming out of the US, Dead in the Manger are an unholy fusion of Black Metal and Grind.

This release is 18 minutes of pure depression and hatred in equal measure.

Unusually the band juxtapose Funeral/Depressive Black Metal against furious Blackened Grindcore. It works due to a skilful weaving together of the two usually disparate genres.

The slow misery of the haunting opening track gives way to the savage, focused Grind of the second. The third and fourth combine aspects of both styles in a way that’s a welcome breath of stinking air; savage Blackened Grind colliding with dirge-like riffs and miserably anger. The fifth is a haunting interlude of samples and dark atmosphere, while the final, (and longest), track is blistering and solemn; blastbeats rage over sorrowful chords.

And what of the vocals? Black Metal to the core. Like static being vomited up by a diseased corpse. Perfect.

Dead in the Manger are hopefully not transient, hopefully they will be with us for some time yet.

King Parrot – Bite Your Head Off (Review)

King Parrot are from Australia and play a combination of Thrash Metal and Grindcore.

Harsh and energetic; this is the sound that greets you upon pressing play and the first song Bozo rips itself out of the speakers. Kind of like a more Thrash Metal-influenced Pig Destroyer; the songs are short, 2 minute-ish slabs of spiky riffs and throat-damaging screams.

Speaking of the screaming vocals – they’re demented, chaotic and absolutely insane; the perfect counterpoint to the focused assault of the music.

There’s no denying the sheer exuberance on display here. The band are no one-trick ponies however; they have a fair amount of ideas and relative variety within these 17 tracks and the high-octane ride is fuelled by a powerful rhythm section that propels the songs along at frenetic velocities.

They know a good riff when they shred one; mixing crunchy Thrash attacks with melodic licks and chuggathons the band have a firm grasp of dynamics and make the utmost of their short playing time to get the most out of each song.

35 minutes of Thrashgrind nirvana.

Dead In The Dirt – The Blind Hole (Review)

Dead In The Dirt play Grindcore and do it from the US.

The band throw out highly aggressive Grind with short songs and even shorter tempers.

With a solid sound that’s so sharp you could do someone an injury, the songs blast out of the speakers covered in bile and thoughts of execution.

I do so love this kind of Grind! Heavy and fast at the same time; taking the blueprint and class of a band like Nasum and mixing it with bits of Sludge, Crust, Brutal Truth and Converge.

Take any selection of songs on the album and you’ll find a fair degree of variety. Sometimes it sounds like Eyehategod mixed with Deathgrind, (Strength Through Restraint), next it sounds like Uphill Battle if they totally gave in to their Grind influences, (Idiot Bliss), and then it sounds like a Hardcore Crust Brutal Truth, (You Bury Me).

Amazingly the band manage to perfect the balancing of frenetic, ultra-intense speed with heaviness and brutality in a way that most bands fumble, but Dead In The Dirt manage to make seem easy and the most natural thing in the world.

Better Grind you won’t hear in a while.

The Drip – A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics (Review)

Hailing from the US, The Drip play Grind, fast and brutal.

This EP is 12 minutes, 6 tracks of mutilating Grindcore. The band worship at the altar of Grind legends Nasum and Rotten Sound, and are just as tight and focused.

The songs are streamlined and belligerent, with a good grasp of Nasum-esque dynamics.

The vocals are mainly high-pitched screeches designed to curdle milk and other such meanness. They sound savage and layer the top of the music like broken glass.

The production is clear enough to hear everything but also dirty enough to avoid the band becoming sterile or safe. A band with bite.

Each song is a self-contained furnace of energy and destruction, with nothing being held back. The band manage to give off a very complete feeling of listening to both state-of-the-art Grind but also one that’s aware of its heritage, going all the way back to Napalm Death when they unleashed Scum upon the world.

This is a great little collection of high octane grinders and it bodes well for a future album release. Definitely ones to watch.

Antigama – Meteor (Review)

Meteor is the latest album from Polish Grind band Antigama.

Straight away you can tell that the latest Antigama album is just a top quality Grindcore release; the sound, the vocals, the playing, the delivery – it’s all spot on.

The recording is full and complete, with a devastating sound that makes the most of the band’s aggressive heaviness.

The vocals are brutal and satisfying with enough variety to keep things interesting but sounding good enough that the variety is a bonus and not something that’s necessary.

The playing of the band is tight and focused. They alternate between fast and aggressive, staccato stop-starts, brutal blasting and atmospheric heaviness with ease and the confidence of true professionals.

They’re also not afraid to experiment, with electronics and effects on some songs as well as guest and alternative vocals; it all adds up to something special.

Another solid, top quality release from these Grindcore masters; Meteor should see them at the head of the modern Extreme Metal pack.

Interview with Human Cull

Human Cull’s latest release Stillborn Nation is a fantastic slab of top quality Grind chock full to the brim with maximum aggression. I quizzed them for more info…

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

We are Human Cull, a 3 piece grindcore band from south-west England.

How did you form?

Human Cull was the refocused effort of a former band. We had a bit of a line-up change after our old drummer left, so I moved from guitars to drums and Edd added playing guitar to doing vocals.

What are your influences?

The usual mishmash of old and new grindcore bands, early (proper) death metal, thrash, crust, heavy metal, lots. Basically anything we think we can get away with chucking into the mix.

What are you listening to at the moment that you want to recommend?

Everyone should check what the UK grindcore scene is putting out at the moment, because there are some excellent bands in there; Fetus Christ, Atomck, The Atrocity Exhibit, Evisorax, Godsick, Oblivionized. There’s a list as long as my arm of lots of different takes on fast noise.

What was your writing process like for the songs of Stillborn Nation?

It was very organic (as cliché as that sounds). Edd and I would hash over ideas ’til something stuck. There were no shortage of ideas so we had to be pretty brutal with it all to weed out the weaker bits. Eventually we got to a point where we were happy with all the new stuff. There’s some re-recordings of older tracks on there too that had slowly changed over the course of playing them live so many times.

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

We try and take a few different themes and construct a bleak narrative about them. It’s a mix of current and often political situations, apocalyptic future sci-fi esque shit and some other bits and pieces, but all from a pretty nihilistic point of view.

In my review I praise the growling of the vocals in particular, comparing them to the characterful delivery of The Red Chord. How much thought went into the vocal patterns and rhythms?

With Edd and I both having to play instruments as well as doing vocals we tried to make sure we could play the songs live as well as just record them. Some are easier than others. The vocals are an important aspect to the texture of our music to us so we try and make them as fitting as possible.

Are you happy with how the album came out?

Yes. We always have set out to make music we’d enjoy listening to and I think we’ve managed it. We recorded with Dan Couch (from Godsick) and the album was mixed by William Blackmon (from Gadget), and they both did a great job of capturing the kind of sound we were after.

What does the future hold for Human Cull?

We’re hitting Europe next month for a tour with Oblivionized, Temples Festival in May, and more writing and recording for some more releases and splits we have lined up. We like to keep ourselves busy.

Thanks!

Die Choking – Die Choking I (Review)

Grindcore band Die Choking are from the US and this is their first release.

With only 5 tracks in just under 6 minutes this is fast and brutal. Die Choking like their Grind raw and rough, with Punk and Crust elements to the songs. Think of a band like Misery Index only with shorter songs and you’ll get the right idea.

Even with such short tracks the band show that they can play insane blasting just as well as heavy and brutal.

The playing is tight and focused and the sound does the songs justice. The passion and enthusiasm of the band is obvious and this is fresh and above all savage. This is Grindcore to pay attention to.

As an opening salvo into the world of Metal this short EP is an excellent warning shot. Let’s see what they can do with a longer release now.

Human Cull – Stillborn Nation (Review)

Coming from the UK, Human Cull play Grindcore and Stillborn Nation is 23 tracks in 25 minutes, which should tell you something, (especially as 5 minutes of the playing time is taken up with final track Echoing Silence).

This is ultra-brutal Grind with short songs and maximum aggression. The vast majority of the tracks are on, around or under the 1:00 mark so the entire album is essentially short episodes of shocking violence and mayhem.

But is it any good? Why, yes! Primitive riffs that don’t last for long tear out over rigorous drums and stringy bass. The band’s sound is rough and ready and perfect for the delivery. Each song wants to rip your face off and stomp on your skull.

For such short songs they do mix in a bit of variety in the sense that it’s not full on blasting all the time; a hardcore influence can be felt on occasion, as well as a debt to the more restrained and inventive, (relatively speaking), approach taken by Nasum. The tracks may be short but the songwriting doesn’t suffer due to this.

The vocals are impressively gruff and deep, accentuated with much higher screams here and there. The growling works really well for the band, with the singer having the same kind of characterful voice and delivery as the singer of The Red Chord which elevates the vocals above those of most bands of this ilk.

Top quality Grindcore. Get it while it’s hot!