Hardcore – Page 62 – Wonderbox Metal

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.

Skinfather – None Will Mourn (Review)

This is the début album from US Death Metal band Skinfather.

They may come from the US but their style of Death Metal is more Swedish than anything else. They are also named after a Dismember song, so you get the idea.

However, they are not just about the hero-worship, they also add some more contemporary influences into their sound – a bit of Entombed here, a bit of Crust/Hardcore there. It all adds up to a riveting listen.

That chainsaw sound is plastered all over every song and this gives proceedings a hefty amount of muscular backbone. The riffs are powerful and the band clearly passionate about their songs, which is obviously a good thing. Also; there are some seriously good riffs on here…

The vocals are halfway between the Death Metal standard and a more Crusty gurning, although when needed the growls do come out in their full bestial glory.

A very satisfying listen. Unlike a lot of bands who try this style Skinfather have managed to stamp their own mark on the Swedish Death Metal template, which is no mean feat.

Listen up – there’s a new pack leader in town.

https://soundcloud.com/earsplit/skinfather-ordeal-by-fire?in=earsplit/sets/skinfather-none-will-mourn

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.

Nux Vomica – Nux Vomica (Review)

Nux Vomica are from the US and play Sludge/Doom.

The songs are long and the guitars are heavy and raging, for the most part at least.

There is a healthy Crust influence to the Metallic Sludge that the band play, which gives them an extra vitality to their sound. The recording is clear and warm with a solid sound that lets everything come through the speakers just right.

The vocalist is savagery incarnate and seemingly a very angry man. He screams bloody hatred over the electrifying Metallic storm that is raging around him.

Nux Vomica certainly have anger and hatred in spades, but they also have the ability to play more restrained and considered sections, which makes the dynamics of the songs so much better than if they were just pure aggression.

This has the anger and brutality of Metallic Hardcore/Crust tempered with the epic soundscapes of the Post-Metal elite. The result is a tour de force of exciting music that should appeal to any Extreme Metal fan.

This is superlative stuff.

Pyrrhon – The Mother Of Virtues (Review)

Pyrrhon are an unusual Hardcore-influenced Technical Death Metal band from the US and this is their second album.

They kickstart proceedings with an entry track that would do Converge or Cephalic Carnage proud. The Oracle of Nassau explodes out of the speakers all frenzy and bile, and for 1:25 it proceeds to annihilate everything. In complete contrast the next song White Flag starts off slow and menacing, and lasts for a much longer 9:42.

The vocals are screamed static attacks or brutal guttural growls, depending on the mood of the singer.

The music is technical, involved and very intricate. The instruments twist and turn and play all manner of elusive riffs; the listener is submerged in a lake of discordant dissonance that somehow manages to satisfy in spite of the multiple disparate elements being unleashed.

This is the clever thing though, as each instrument by itself is exploring its own path but everything gels together for the benefit of the wider picture in ways that you wouldn’t expect. The songs manage to be exploratory and experimental while remaining coherent and delivering a completed whole.

Angular riffs, wilful bass, schizophrenic drums and daemonic vocals collide to create a challenging and ultimately involving listen. The songs owe about as much to the violent Hardcore background of bands such as Converge, Botch and The Dillinger Escape Plan as they do to Technical Death Metal.

Pyrrhon strike me as having a combination of sounds from bands as diverse as all of the previously mentioned ones, as well as having elements of bands like Uphill Battle, Gorguts and Today Is The Day.

If you’re looking for a new band to obsess over who are not your average band then say hello to Pyrrhon. This album is a must.

All Pigs Must Die – Nothing Violates This Nature (Review)

All Pigs Must Die are from the US and play ultra-violent Hardcore Metal.

The band mix the aggression of Converge, the crust of Discharge and the Metal of Entombed into one searing package of extremity and violence.

This is a brutal rampage though a filth-fuelled rage-dump and catharsis through ferocity. The songs strain against the fabric of civilised society, holding the promise of anarchy and release but remaining coherent enough to channel all of the fury into a collection of tracks that are not only heavy musically but also with destructive potential.

There is 33 minutes of music here, spread across 10 tracks; the perfect amount of time so that the aggression truly flows into you but not so much that it can become stale or wasted potential.

I love music like this. It’s so vital and alive and epitomises why heavy music is so enticing. Do yourself a favour and get this album.

Earth Crisis – Salvation Of Innocents (Review)

Earth Crisis are from the US and this is their latest album of muscular Hardcore Metal.

These veterans are an institution in their own right, and I’ve been listening to them since first getting Gomorrah’s Season Ends in 1996. Which makes me feel very old, but let’s ignore that…

This is another prime slice of Grade A Metallic Hardcore guaranteed to get the pit moving and limbs thrashing.

The songs are short and to the point. There’s no need for messing around when you’re this focused and have your vision nailed down. They manage to combine a few different styles from their quite varied back catalogue.

Earth Crisis have always played the slower, almost sludge-infected riffs really well, and I’m pleased that there are still a good smattering of these on most songs alongside the more chuggy riffs.

Salvation Of Innocents is similar to their style on the brutal Breed The Killers album only with a lot more vocal variety; we get the standard bellowing, rawer shouting, semi-cleans that are still rough-around the edges, gang vocals, and most things in between. Although we never really get the ultra-melodic clean vocals that peppered their excellent Slither album, I’d say that this is roughly a cross between that release and Breed The Killers.

After the first two tracks of heaviness and aggression Shiver brings in melodic vocals with an almost orchestral chorus. It’s a welcome reminder that this is a band that have in fact a wide arsenal of weapons in their armoury with which to assault the senses with. This is ably shown by the next track The Morbid Glare which is an up-tempo rager and faster than Earth Crisis normally play.

I’m very pleased to say that I am not disappointed by this latest album and wholeheartedly recommend it to every and all fans of heaviness.

Epistasis – Light Through Dead Glass (Review)

Epistasis are a US band that play experimental Metal.

It’s relatively hard to classify; combining elements of Black Metal, Hardcore and Progressive Metal. With a trumpet.

Let me see…if you take the urban decay and atmospheric barrage of a band like Red Harvest, mix in the experimental extremity from some of Converge’s work and add splashes of Ephel Duath you’ll be on the right lines. Add to that a singer who screams with the best of the Black Metal/Scream-core elite and you’ll have a package for a very interesting and gratifying release.

There is a lot going on in these songs and although they have brutality and intensity in spades they also offer a whole lot more than that. When they want to they can be very atmospheric and create darkened moods ripe with promise of arcane fulfilment, if only the price is right of course.

The use of the trumpet is inspired and is nowhere near as intrusive and incongruous as you might expect; its contributions are relatively subtle and work wonders in adding a further layer to their labyrinthine sound.

Unfortunately this release is only 26 minutes long, which is a shame as the band clearly have a lot to offer. However what they do give us as exceptional and worthy of repeat listens.

Individual and distinctive. Highly recommended.

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.

Barbelith – Untitled (Review)

This is the latest from US Depressive Black/Post-Metal band Barbelith.

Their first EP was a corker, so I was looking forward to what this 2 track release would bring.

As with their previous release the band enshroud themselves in bleakness and woe, with anguished, tortured vocals lashing out at an uncaring world and a fate undeserved.

Barbelith manage to combine a mournful atmosphere with a style of Blackened Hardcore for the first track Caverns of the Mind. It’s interesting as the song seems to gain and lose momentum multiple times during its 6 minute length, switching between Depressive Black Metal and Blackened Hardcore as if it’s never sure whether it wants to end it all now or persevere for one final, desperate lunge at life.

The second song Rebirth takes less of its cues from Hardcore and more from Post-Metal, while retaining the aura of misery and lost hope. It has somewhat of a Deinonychus feel to it and as such is swamped in negative feelings and emotions; unlike the pure-strain misery of Deinonychus however, the net result here is strangely uplifting. The addition of angelic clean vocals as a background juxtaposition is an inspired choice.

2 tracks, 12 minutes. Utterly worth it.