This is the second album by Ursut, a hardcore band from Sweden.
The first thing that strikes me about Ursut is the strong guitar sound. It’s thick, heavy and as black as tar. This is not to mention the winding leads and overal apocalyptic sound that greets you once you press play. Initially I Continue reading “Ursut – Köp Dig Lycklig (Review)”
Straight Hate are a Polish grindcore band and this is their début album.
Well, isn’t this a delectably savage little slice of nastiness?
Straight Hate have a nicely gritty sound that sees them rip faces off with ease over these 26 minutes. The music is fast, brutal and designed to go right for the kill. Continue reading “Straight Hate – Every Scum Is a Straight Arrow (Review)”
This is the début album from this US metallic hardcore band, Poison Headache.
Featuring an album cover that immediately grabs the attention, this is a band that fuses hardcore and metal into an ugly ball of condensed violence.
Hearing this description, and knowing that there is an ex-member of As I Lay Dying Continue reading “Poison Headache – Poison Headache (Review)”
Raging Speedhorn are a sludge metal band from the UK. This is their fifth album.
After their ultimately very enjoyable, but quite different, fourth album Before the Sea Was Built, the band called it a day. After a self-resurrection, the mighty Raging Speedhorn have now returned with their latest release.
Questions abound – what will it sound like? What kind of style have they embraced? Well, the only thing to be done is to press play and find out… Continue reading “Raging Speedhorn – Lost Ritual (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 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.
True Cross are from the US and this is their début album. They play Shoegaze/Post-Rock.
This is an interesting album. The band incorporate elements of Doom here and there and even a hint of Punk in some of the more upbeat parts. For the main though, this is firmly in Shoegaze territory, with Post-Rock filling in the gaps.
Apparently the theme of this release is all about endings, and I can believe that as there’s a definite air of finality about these songs. They’re darkly emotive and heavy on the feeling, creating a despondent attitude without going overboard.
The vocals consist of ethereal cleans that seem to just about have the energy to pull themselves out of the musical melange, adding further layers of emotion to songs that are already thick with mood.
True Cross have created an album full of raw emotion, unfettered by constraint and loaded with negativity. Artful and intense, Pure Divorce is cinematic in scope and shares some of its qualities with that of a soundtrack.
A lot of Shoegaze passes me by as not having enough substance to it, but True Cross have really got their formula sorted out on this album. I’ll definitely be listening to this late at night, in the dark, as I’m sure is intended.
Here’s one to live with and absorb for a while.
Grieved are a Swedish Hardcore band and this is their début album.
Grieved play dark Hardcore with plenty of venom and bite. This is a grim, nightmare vision of Punk and Metal, where destruction is commonplace and fear is everywhere.
Riffs are darkly emotive in a downbeat style and the songs take the positive energy of Hardcore and turn it in on itself, cannibalising and tearing at itself so that only the energy remains, inverted and corrupted. It is still a vibrant energy though, and these songs bristle with life and dark potency.
The singer screams out his words sounding like shattered glass given voice. His delivery is consistently engaging and has enough charisma and character despite essentially just shouting through these 29 minutes.
Across these songs the band show themselves to be adept at songwriting. These tracks are well-thought-out and have an emotive energy to them that’s undeniable. This is brought to the fore by the guitars and their interplay with the vocals, both of which are very satisfying in their own right.
There’s very little speed or urgency on this, it’s pretty much mainly mid-to-slow paced, revelling in its broodiness and building intent. When faster parts do appear, it’s like a coiled serpent has suddenly decided to strike.
I have really enjoyed this. I like that it focuses on songs and structure to deliver its negativity rather than overly relying on pure brutality or rage; this is more Born from Pain or Throwdown than Converge, although the positive message is entirely missing.
Highly recommended.
This is a split between two UK Grind/Hardcore bands.
Prolefeed start us off with 15 tracks of pissed-off Hardcore, tearing it up straight away with fast beats and a razor-sharp guitar sound.
Even though the songs are all short, sometimes they do slow the pace down and give vent to their groovier side. Apart from this, it’s all Hardcore-fury as the band play fast enough to vent their rage but rarely enter blast beat territory.
The riffs are full of confident swagger and attitude, embracing their heritage and really going for the throat.
The vocals are high shouts, angry and harsh, just as we like it.
It’s a more Hardcore/Punk take on the style as beloved of Extreme Noise Terror and early Cripple Bastards, mixed with an Old-School influence à la Minor Threat and the like.
After this we have War All the Time, who contribute the final 11 tracks to this violent split.
War All the Time have an uglier, fuzzier, filthier production than Prolefeed’s sharpness, and benefit from a rounder sound in this regard.
Other than that there are a lot of similarities between the bands; short songs, (although on average slightly longer for War All the Time), Punk fury, swagger, attitude, fast but-not-blast-beats, etc.
The singer has a deeper shout than that of Prolefeed; a throaty snarl shouting belligerently across the tracks.
Like their partners on this split, it’s an enjoyable listen. On balance, I think I prefer Prolefeed’s contribution though as there’s a little more variety in attack, but both sides hit the spot for a bit of grinding angry Hardcore violence.
Have a listen.
Extreme Noise Terror are a Grindcore band from the UK and this is their latest album.
This is a band that have been around for a long time and know a thing or two about ugly brutality. This is Old-School Grind with a firm Hardcore/Punk base that lends the tracks a nervy energy and attitude.
The songs are like short, violent bashes to the head. This is a good thing, honest. It’s raw, uncompromising and savagely delivered.
Each of the tracks is like a shot of adrenaline, with the high-octane Punk riffs and the pummelling drums acting in concert with the frenetic vocals to produce maniacally destructive music.
The dual-vocal assault is belligerent, hostile and unrelentingly antagonistic, frequently straddling the line between murderous and downright frenzied and chaotic.
One of the great things about a band like this though is just how catchy some of these songs are. Sure, they’ll never be a radio hit, (why would they want to be?), but in our rarefied world of Extreme Metal these songs have more hooks than most.
30 years (!) into their career and it’s heartening to see a band like this still so vital and vibrant. Turn up the volume and blast this out for all it’s worth.
Wonderbox Metal 