The Drip – Wonderbox Metal

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2017

2017 was an amazing year for music, with so many top-notch albums seeing the light of day. I pretty much say this every year, of course, but that doesn’t seem to stop it being true. With this in mind, the 2017 list was especially hard to put together, and I agonised over this one more than I did for any of the lists in previous years.

As is traditional, I also want to mention some releases by bands that could easily have made it onto the list, and should have by many rights, if only I could have somehow managed to fit them all in –

Abhorrent Decimation, Amenra, Apes, Artificial Brain, Au-Dessus,

Celeste, Desecrate the Faith, Earth Rot, Earth Witch, Falls of Rauros,

Full of Hell, Gnaw, Gutslit, Helpless, Henry Kane,

Hundred Suns, Ingurgitating Oblivion, Into Orbit, John Frum, Karne,

Kval, Livid, Morbid Angel, Primitive Man, Craven Idol,

Slow, Soulskinner, The Kennedy Veil, Ulsect, Wildspeaker.

I urge you to check out all of the above releases, in addition to the ones in the actual list below. I could probably keep adding more bands you should give a listen to, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, I suppose.

So, without further ado, let’s get right down to it… Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2017”

Seeker – Loss (Review)

Seeker are from the US and play grindcore/hardcore. This is their second album.

Now this is the stuff for those days when you just can’t seem to get going and you need a huge kick up the arse to get you moving. Seeker are the steel-toe capped boot. Continue reading “Seeker – Loss (Review)”

The Drip – The Haunting Fear of Inevitability (Review)

This is the debut album from US grindcore band The Drip.

The band’s 2014 EP A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics was a brief glimpse into the world of The Drip and what they were capable of. I said in the review that the EP bodes well for a future album release and that they were ones to watch. Well, after a longer wait than Continue reading “The Drip – The Haunting Fear of Inevitability (Review)”

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.

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.