tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71512604553779912592024-03-13T07:08:30.916-07:00Hipness as a Second LanguageDesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-12877953520800144372021-03-02T07:05:00.003-08:002021-03-02T07:06:47.163-08:00Migration, For the Forseeable Future<p>Hey everybody! Wanted to write a brief post to let you all know that Karlo over at Cephalochromoscope has started that project back up, and I'll be helping him with that for the forseeable future. You'll still be able to see my writing, and hopefully it's going to occur more frequently, at least for a bit.</p><p>You can check out my first post for the site, about Gall's excellent <i>17:21 MIN</i> album from last year, right <a href="http://cephalochromoscope.blogspot.com/2021/03/gall-germany-1721-min-2020.html?m=1">here</a>.</p>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-59542907145295083202019-09-25T22:37:00.000-07:002019-09-25T22:43:49.964-07:00No/Más- Last Laugh EP<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CFPVVfq1WcA/XYxNeTHLLKI/AAAAAAAAAYk/JI64tIbs4wAvaaIAU8yYYn-ftMzK7MkngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CFPVVfq1WcA/XYxNeTHLLKI/AAAAAAAAAYk/JI64tIbs4wAvaaIAU8yYYn-ftMzK7MkngCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Washington, D.C.’s No/Más make
blasting grindcore blended with a strong strain of d-beat and crust punk. Those
influences manifest themselves in a few key ways. In the case of a song like
“Rabia,” it’s that the first 36 seconds ride a d-beat, until a moment’s silence
is cut by a freight train blastbeat. Or in a song like opener “Claustrophobia”,
it’s a mid-tempo breakdown near the halfway mark that channels grinding kinetic
energy into raw punk fury. <o:p></o:p></div>
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These are common influences in grindcore, to the point that
it would feel unnecessary to mention them save for the fact that each element
of the band’s style is so distinctly articulated and well-integrated. While the
way the band deploys its more overtly punk influences is a big part of this
record’s sound, don’t expect a punk record with some grinding parts. This
release is all forward momentum, and every breakdown is just seconds away from
the next full-bore grind section.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This EP signals a sonic leap forward for No/Más. The songwriting on the <i>Last Laugh </i>EP is
tighter and more confident than on 2018’s ten-track <i><a href="https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/ra-z-del-mal">Raíz del Mal</a></i>. The
production differences in the two releases are notable as well. <i>Last Laugh</i>
is a thicker, fuller sounding record without sacrificing immediacy or bite. The
guitars sound heftier, the growls deeper, the drums crisper.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No/Más have been growing rapidly
as a band since 2017, and they show no signs of slowing down. This release has
rightfully attracted more attention to the band, as has a recent support date
with Pig Destroyer in Baltimore. These songs feel engineered to be impactful in
a live setting, and playing shows with this material is sure to continue to
grow their fanbase.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Last Laugh </i>is a notable release in the world of
grindcore, and seems likely to appear on a number of year-end roundups of the
best releases of 2019 despite stiff competition from releases by Cloud Rat and
Discordance Axis offshoot No One Knows What the Dead Think. If their next major
release can capitalize on the improvements made on this one, expect to hear a
lot more from No/Más.</div>
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<i><b>Last Laugh</b> is available digitally and on CD from <a href="https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/last-laugh">Horror Pain Gore Death Productions</a>.</i></div>
<br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-85195006563141653672019-09-20T21:58:00.002-07:002019-11-14T16:47:53.751-08:00Gate- Resurrection of Relentless God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-58x31zz5NgA/XYWhrYzqSMI/AAAAAAAAAYU/NcZ32An_DF0et3rl_Eip6bqo48Av__JbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-58x31zz5NgA/XYWhrYzqSMI/AAAAAAAAAYU/NcZ32An_DF0et3rl_Eip6bqo48Av__JbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Grindcore innovators Discordance Axis dissolved in 2001, shortly after the
release of their now critically-lauded final LP <i>The Inalienable Dreamless</i>.
4 years later, Hydra Head released a collection called <i>Our Last Day</i>.
It’s referred to as a Discordance Axis compilation, but it’s best described as
a grab-bag; what it actually contains is two previously unreleased Discordance
Axis songs, a number of videogame music-style instrumental reimaginings of Discordance Axis songs, the
first released song from vocalist Jon Chang’s new grindcore project Gridlink, a
Merzbow remix of the entirety of <i>The Alienable Dreamless</i>, a cover by
former split-mates Melt-Banana, and covers from 3 nascent grindcore bands that
Discordance Axis admired: Mortalized, Noisear and Gate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Gate had been around for 5 years at the point of <i>Our Last
Day</i>’s release, and had a demo and a pair of EPs under their belt. After the
collection’s release, they had developed some buzz in grindcore circles, and
released a 3-way split LP on Blastasfuk Records a year later, called <i>Crushing
the Grindcore Trademark</i>. They released a number of splits and a 7” called <i><span style="font-family: "ms gothic"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">希望=絶望</span></i>, but never managed to release a full-length
album.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s where this album comes in. Put
out 5 years after the last Gate release, a collection called <i>Early Works</i>,
<i>Resurrection of Relentless God</i> is the first full-length album in the band’s
discography. With an historically erratic release schedule and varying audio
and performance quality across their catalog, it’s hard not to ask: after
almost twenty years, what can we expect a Gate full-length to even sound like?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Turns out, pretty damn good. This is
the Gate that fans of that first decade of material will remember: almost
constant, lightning fast drums, growled vocals, dry, buzzsaw-tone guitar.
However, this incarnation of Gate is like a well-made videogame remaster: faithful
to the source material, but adapted to modern sensibilities. Gate sounds better
than ever here, while still retaining a
significant layer of grit and rawness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Resurrection of
Relentless God </i>consists of 21 barreling
tracks that average out to a minute and 20 seconds per song. What that adds up
to is a briskly paced record, with songs that still have some room to breathe. Save
for the album being bookended with samples from what seems to be the 2010
remake of <i>I Spit on Your Grave</i>,<i> </i>there’s almost constant forward momentum.
<o:p></o:p><br />
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Despite being a step up in audio
quality and production value from other releases in the Gate catalog, this is a
timeless-sounding example of classic Japanese grindcore. These songs could sit
effortlessly next to favorites from Rise Above’s <i>I Love to Relax </i>or
Mortalized’s <i>Absolute Mortality #2</i> on a playlist. Jagged, twisting riffs,
pummeling drums and relentless vocals are everywhere here, with songs like “<span style="font-family: "ms gothic"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">女神ノ天秤”</span> and “Emancipation of Yourself” exemplifying
the style.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is an album that felt like it
would never happen. What makes the fact that it did even more bewildering is
that this is the best material Gate has ever released. Only time will tell whether
Gate will release another album after this, but this one is more than enough to
cement their place in the esteem of grindcore fans for years to follow.<br />
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<i><b>Resurrection of Relentless God</b> is available digitally on Gate's <a href="https://gategrindcorejapan.bandcamp.com/album/resurrection-of-relentless-god">Bandcamp</a>, or on CD from Obliteration records with a bonus cover of 324's "Lowestlevel" from Obliteration's Japanese-language <a href="http://obliteration.shop-pro.jp/?pid=135249221">store</a> or via <a href="https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/item.asp?PID=75123">Hells Headbanger</a>s. [Digital download edition was used for the purposes of this review.]</i></div>
<br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-71283226193800667202019-09-16T18:15:00.002-07:002019-09-20T22:48:38.372-07:00Needle- Needle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPUYAd9vgG4/XYAxh3c0a6I/AAAAAAAAAYA/ihSDV9G9QBUCTa0pX2vfVeqvJqSofi8yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPUYAd9vgG4/XYAxh3c0a6I/AAAAAAAAAYA/ihSDV9G9QBUCTa0pX2vfVeqvJqSofi8yQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cover.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Needle is grindviolence three-piece from Washington, D.C. This
self-titled second EP is a brief, expertly-realized slice of exactly what it sounds
like. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Opener “Shattering Retinal Matter” wastes no time laying out
exactly what you’re in for on the rest of the EP. Seventeen seconds of
fretwork, blasts, mid-range screams and low growls, plus a <i>King of the Hill</i>
sample, it offers the ideal tone-setting intro. “Sonic Terrorism” rides a
loping intro straight into a wall of blastbeats and grunting lows for an adrenalizing
minute of grinding punk. “Extinction Blast” is the one you’d put on a label
compilation, if that was a thing you were doing, because it’s a ferocious,
sub-one-minute, middle tempo blaster that sums up the band well and would slot
in nicely alongside a range of styles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While <i>Needle</i> certainly has its share of blastbeats,
it doesn’t prioritize speed over all else. “Reaper Descends” and “Flagrant
Display of False Hope” showcase meaty thrash riffs and pit-opening tempo
changes, and “Inter-Dimensional Game of Suffering” features a hip-hop outro of
the style you might find on a Spazz record. Rather than speed, <i>Needles </i>focuses
on a sense of sheer propulsion, making it an ideal soundtrack for a skate
session or a bike ride to work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is well-made, high energy grindcore with a healthy dose
of riffy punk, and if there’s any shortcoming I can find, it’s that this
description sums up most of what I have to say about this release. It gets in,
blasts hard and gets out, and while it truthfully has more tricks up its sleeve
than some records that I’ve reviewed on this site in the past, it isn’t trying to
reinvent its chosen genres. However, if “grindviolence EP from To Live a Lie” is
a phrase that gets you excited, this EP comes highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<i><b>Needle</b> is available on cassette from To Live a Lie <a href="http://tolivealie.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=2228">here</a> or digitally from Needle's <a href="https://needledc.bandcamp.com/album/s-t">Bandcamp</a> page.</i>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-55569918153139626242013-10-11T19:15:00.000-07:002013-10-11T19:16:23.970-07:00Blast Eats: Closet Burner Late Night Snack<i>Bloomington, Indiana's Closet Burner are a queer/pro-queer hardcore band with a blistering, bordline-fastcore sound and refreshingly pro-queer/anti-oppression ideologies. In this edition of <b>Blast Eats</b>, Matt, the band's vocalist, fills us in on his short, fast 'n' tasty solution to a day of greasy, unsatisfying utility eating.</i><br />
<br />
<b>xMattx's "Get Your Fuckin' Greens After A Long Day of Eating Greasy
Garbage On the Go" Late Night Snack</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<u>What you'll need:</u><br />
Bread<br />
Veganaise<br />
Sriracha<br />
Your choice of greens<br />
<br />
A piece of lightly toasted bread
with veganaise and sriracha folded around a fat mound of greens. Nom.<br />
<br />
<i>Check out <b>Closet Burner</b>'s <a href="http://closetburner.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a> to hear their excellent self-titled 12" from last year and grab yr. own copy.</i>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-64892473510640655092013-10-11T18:28:00.001-07:002013-10-11T18:40:50.880-07:00Agents of Abhorrence- Relief<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YATw8teBPXY/UlilA0OqFKI/AAAAAAAAAKo/446MC4QhoPs/s1600/Relief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YATw8teBPXY/UlilA0OqFKI/AAAAAAAAAKo/446MC4QhoPs/s320/Relief.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For some time now, Australia’s Agents of Abhorrence has been
a part of that post-Discordance Axis pack of grindcore bands extrapolating the
game-changing New Jersey band’s melodic innovations into strange new forms.
Now, for the first time, with new album <i>Relief</i>,
Agents of Abhorrence expands past that and other influences into its own skin,
and to say the results are the best thing the band has ever released only
scratches the surface. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The somewhat tinny, hyperactive band of former releases has
reshaped its component parts into a full, mature force. Blastbeats abound, as
always, but rough, earthy warmth pervades this new material. <i>Relief </i>has a warmer, more naturalistic,
fuzz-toned sound in contrast with the brittle, icy quality of 2007’s <i>Earth.Water.Sun. </i>Space is a commodity in
limited supply here, but the buzzing tone that fills it between notes sounds
surprisingly great. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since its last release, 2010’s split with Roskopp, vocalist
Grant Johns left the band, to be replaced by Roskopp bassist/vocalist Jacob
Winkler. Winkler’s voice is a gruff, ground-level affair, but he still manages
the occasional texture change and acrobatic maneuver. At first, the absence of Johns’
higher-register screaming takes some adjustment, but the vicious mids and lows
delivered by Winkler suit the new material so well that Johns is barely missed.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ben Andrews’ riffs swarm and divebomb, occasionally
embracing the odd groove. On the second portion of <i>Relief</i>’s <a href="https://soundcloud.com/blastasfuk/aoa-relax">title track</a>, he even give in to some pulsing, deliciously
Rob Marton-esque repetition. “Bad News” and “The Mistake Again Made, the Proof
Again Put,” both from the album’s back half, also find Andrews mining Marton’s
circular Discordance Axis playing style, the latter containing some of Andrews’
best writing of the album.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Max Kohane turns in a tight, crisp, exhilarating drum
performance. As with many of grindcore’s drumming greats, his playing is adept
enough that he could just as easily find work with a jazz ensemble as he could
a hardcore outfit. While I’ll admit that his is a name that hasn’t come up in
my past conversations about grind drumming, the blastbeat Max Roach act he
pulls here means that is likely to change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Relief</i> is a dirty,
fiery blast of a record that catapults Agents of Abhorrence from another great
Australian grindcore band to one of the country’s best. The album’s success
puts AoA second only to The Kill in terms of furious, tight, grindcore for grindcore’s
sake blasting, and those bands, along with thedowngoing and a growing handful
of others, continue to prove that Australia is a major player in the ongoing global arms race for louder and faster that is grindcore. 2013’s album-of-the-year
candidates are numerous (see Cloud Rat, Sick/Tired and Cara Neir’s albums from
this year for starters, as well as the looming possibility of Gridlink dropping
<i>Longhena</i> before the year is out) but if this album doesn’t at least make your list, you haven’t been paying attention.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Relief</b> was released by 625 Thrashcore and Psychocontrol, and you can still find vinyl copies from <a href="http://shop.a389records.com/products/agents-of-abhorrence-relief-13">A389</a>, <a href="http://www.ebullition.com/listwhole.html">Ebullition</a>, <a href="http://interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=213515&">Interpunk</a>, and others.</i></span></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-21330157194179981112013-04-04T14:48:00.000-07:002013-04-04T16:05:58.391-07:00MERV- Demo 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-715J_hB76DA/UTaqfalCllI/AAAAAAAAAJo/N7gKDnA6vuQ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-715J_hB76DA/UTaqfalCllI/AAAAAAAAAJo/N7gKDnA6vuQ/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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MERV, a sludge and grindcore band hailing from Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, is part of an increasing group of British Columbia bands (including <a href="http://sixbrewbantha.bandcamp.com/">Six Brew Bantha</a>, <a href="http://violentrestitution.bandcamp.com/">Violent Restitution</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/massgrave">Mass Grave</a> and <a href="http://ahna.bandcamp.com/">AHNA</a>) that offers compelling evidence of the province as the next go-to destination for creative (and often destructive) extreme music worldwide. Musically, MERV sits on a continuum somewhere between many of these bands, and serves as a key piece to anyone interested in understanding (if such a thing even exists, or needs to) the BC extreme music "sound" at this point in time.<br />
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The four songs on this demo are sludge metal stretched out over a grindcore framework, resulting in one of the more synergistic examples of this pairing of styles in recent memory. Sure, it's stoner fuzz propped up next to eardrum-popping blasts, but with both halves fully formed and shouldering the weight of the songs equally. In the sludge and doom sections, MERV is a band fully committed to that style, but, more importantly (because so many bands get this part wrong), their grindcore counterparts are of the highest speed and intensity. Where so many who dabble in melding fast and slow splice their sludge with midpaced Nasum-isms, the band differentiates itself by making many of its "fast parts" truly fast, allowing for a sharper contrast between the two speeds.<br />
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"Baptized" opens as a classic grinder, exhibiting a bludgeoning singularity of purpose straight out of the Insect Warfare playbook. As artful pauses and swung notes start to creep in, the song becomes an agony of Southern riffs and phrasing, channeling misanthropic greats like Grief and the untouchable Eyehategod. Enter the song at either its first 30 seconds or its last minute, and you'd think it was either a grindcore song or a sludge metal song, respectively. This is MERV's real strength, and one that could make them great if expanded upon in the future.<br />
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Aside from several brilliantly brief, pace-adjusting breakdowns, "Wrought in Depths of Time" is a 47-second stampede of barks, riffs and blasts. Here, pace-adjustments are a strength, rather than a copout: the song melts triumphantly into its final lurch, using the sudden change's drama to augment the moment.<br />
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The band ditches the stylistic point/counterpoint of the previous songs for stoned, swampy closer "Runes," the demo's sole moment of complete sludge metal subsumption. Led by a catchy Southern riff, it's a believable Eyehategod impression that works independent of the hybrid style of the rest of the material. While enjoyable, however, it's not one of the strongest moments featured here, highlighting the fact that MERV's biggest draw is its exploitation of extreme music's in-between places. Remove themselves farther from this conceit, and the band risks losing our attention.<br />
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Laid here are the building blocks for a weedgrind band of the highest potency. The buzzy stoner rock guitar adapts remarkably well to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_WqSrC-LY">Salt Flats</a> trial that is grindcore. The band's other members show an equal flair for musical diversity; vocals (delivered by new Violent Restitution vocalist Jessica) run effortlessly through growls, barks, high screams and black metal-styled shrieks, the drumming sounds equally natural attending to time-keeping and atmospheric needs as it does jumping hurdles in search of the perfect blast or fill, and the bass rumble rounds out the slowed-down heaviness while keeping its tone from muddying the attack of the fast parts.<br />
<br />
At the bottom line, this is an excellent demo, but a demo nonetheless. This is a highly listenable taste of what the band is capable of, but it will take a crystallization of that promise on future releases to prove that the band has the staying power of its British Columbia contemporaries.<br />
<br />
<i><span id="goog_118186039">Stream or download MERV's <b>Demo 2012</b> </span>below from Bandcamp.</i><br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="355" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1583934629/size=grande2/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 355px; position: relative; width: 300px;" width="300"><a href="http://merv.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2012">Demo 2012 by MERV</a></iframe><br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-36751757220776314512013-03-05T15:37:00.000-08:002013-03-05T15:47:35.012-08:00Nønsun- Good Old Evil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RbJ68kidZeA/UR7ydSUAPeI/AAAAAAAAAI4/a8sV58AswrQ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RbJ68kidZeA/UR7ydSUAPeI/AAAAAAAAAI4/a8sV58AswrQ/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lviv, Ukraine’s Nønsun plays a style of doom metal mixed
liberally with drone, sludge and modern post-metal. As the years have progressed, the meanings of these
aforementioned genres have come to denote an assortment of things, and,
seemingly in answer to that fact, this band, on points throughout its 48-minute <i>Good Old
Evil</i> “demo,” manages to cover most of them.<br />
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“Jesus’ Age,” after a beginning blast of noise and feedback,
lumbers into a doom metal plod that’s anchored by vocalist Goatooth’s
full-throated roar. Droning noise rushes back over the song, like the ocean
reclaiming the coast, but after roughly a minute guitars, drums and vocals
re-enter the song with a devastating, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GiEPwfWY0A">YOB</a>-style heaviness<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">,
complete with bluesy stoner metal soloing that is undeniably indebted to that band's sound. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The
push-pull between drone and metal continues, with long stretches of both
commingling beside one another. Out of the final stretch of metal, the drums
and guitars begin to pick up speed for a bashing, almost punk section that
collapses into molasses-drenched doom and feedback.</span></div>
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In addition to the expected heaviness and passages of enveloping noise and feedback, some surprising bits of melody find their way onto the album. Moments like the second half of "Rain Have Mercy," with its elegiac-sounding riffs and soloing and spoke-sung vocals, <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">reveal
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">how far-reaching Nønsun’s sound is
within its chosen genres. Though less representative than “Jesus’ Age” of what Nønsun
does most, “Rain Have Mercy” might be the best track to introduce the average
listener to exactly what the band </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">can</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">
do. Though I love how huge and angry the former is, there's a transfixing emotional nuance to the latter that draws me to it individually, even if I don't have the time for a listen to all 48 minutes of the demo.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nønsun’s
strengths, as mentioned above, are in the way it fits together the extreme
influences that encompass its style. It follows, then, that <i>Good Old Evil</i>’s
weakest point is the nearly 7-minute rolling drone that is “Message of Nihil
Carried by the Waves of the Big Bang,” which contains little-to-no genre mixing
and only the barest changes in tone or mood. As with other drone and noise
compositions on extreme punk and metal records, the emotional flatness of “Message”
belies the peaks to which these genres can be carried by veteran practitioners.</span><br />
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After the droning of “Message,”
closing track “Forgotten is What Never Was” makes a slow transition back into
doom metal, beginning with noise and piano and working up to an ancestral
stomp, out of which only occasionally bubbles growls or chanted vocals. Little
more than a mesmerizing exercise, the 11 minutes of “Forgotten is What Never
Was” feel longer than the 18 of “Jesus’ Age,’ and while its slow, atmospheric progression makes it a stronger piece of
music than the drone work that precedes it, it joins that work in being part of
the weaker second half of what is otherwise an excellent first release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
Overall, this is a band with a ton of promise. The impressive amalgam of extreme genres (on both the metal and noise sides of that spectrum) represented on the first half of the release, if reigned in with a slightly tighter compositional leash and carried over the final two tracks, would have made the word "demo" completely unnecessary here and elevated the band from "awesome, can't wait to hear how they improve next time" to a plain old "that's awesome."<br />
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<i>Stream </i><i><b>Good Old Evil</b> </i><i>below and/or download it for free from Nønsun's <a href="http://nonsun.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>. <b>[Note: The band sent me a download of the album.]<br /></b></i><br />
<i></i>
<i><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="355" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=4118667371/size=grande2/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 355px; position: relative; width: 300px;" width="300"><a href="http://nonsun.bandcamp.com/album/good-old-evil">Good Old Evil by Nonsun</a></iframe></i>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-25416320294601654642013-03-04T09:52:00.001-08:002013-03-04T12:21:51.671-08:00Grinding Halt / Suffering Quota- Split 7"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-38zGMvm-X_k/US84uvjq3LI/AAAAAAAAAJY/ogPEidrEI5U/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-38zGMvm-X_k/US84uvjq3LI/AAAAAAAAAJY/ogPEidrEI5U/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Grindcore's Internet-era globalization, while maligned for disintegrating the thrill and discovery of organic networking and tape-trading within the punk scene, brings the unquestionable advantage of leveling the playing field for bands outside of stereotypically accepted scene loci like North America and the UK. A non-US or UK band no longer has to be attached to a prominent label (or any at all) to gain international exposure, which, scene politics aside, is nothing but a great thing.<br />
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All this to say, then, that had the Internet never existed, I would never have heard this pair of Netherlands bands (or seen their satisfyingly colorful 7" cover art). Grinding Halt and Suffering Quota feel like children of that globalization, both in the musical styles they integrate into their sounds and because of the still-amazing fact that I'm listening to their music hundreds of miles away from where it was made, not thanks to label plugs or tape trading or letter-writing, but simply because of the magical musical equalizer that is Bandcamp and services like it.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grinding Halt’s side opens with the lacerating “Kaaskopen,”
a shrill-vocaled, heavy-riffing piece of grinding fastcore that morphs into a
rich, Southern sludge metal after a mid-song bass break. Initially unassuming,
repeated plays reveal the sophistication it takes to blend the whole thing
together so effortlessly. While these sorts of structure aren’t new, the track
feels organic, and each section would work as well on its own as well as it does
as a part of a greater whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The standout track from either side, it is also a blueprint
track for the duality in Grinding Halt’s approach. Their other two contributions
(“Knuffelverzet” and “Bedrog”) are predominately in a groovy, Southern sludge
style à la Thou, with a hardcore punk accent to the vocals and instrumental
performances. The punk hybridization is
also present in the tracks’ lengths, as only one exceeds 2 minutes (and then
just barely), and their shrewd songwriting gives the tracks a sense of being
well-honed song nuggets rather than stunted throwaways.<br />
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“Bedrog” is pulled straight from the closing song handbook, as it is heavy,
driving and feels like a recapitulation of the side’s previous sounds. With groovy
Southern progressions and impassioned, frantic shouting, it shows a glint of that
mournful, end-of-the-world quality found in many of the best album-ending
songs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grinding Halt’s approach is upon first listen unusual, as
the switch from grindcore to sludge metal (but never, on this release, back to grindcore again) seems
to defy conventional wisdom. However, after some time spent with the songs, the
progression feels natural, and a well-curated continuation in a similar
direction could yield exciting results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A batch of thick, mosh-ready grindcore songs
from Suffering Quota occupies the B side. “No Lust For Life” is a beatdown masquerading as a thrashing hardcore song, and the singer sounds like he’s screaming the title in your face,
with veins popping out on his neck and spittle flying from his mouth. Once the
song reaches its stride near the 50 second mark, the whole affair picks up
considerably, abandoning the mosh for the blast until a repeat of the opening “chorus”
finally melts into a closing vocal sample.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Goodbye Self Awareness” is both the shortest and the
tightest track among their offerings here. It recalls, while considerably less outré, Total
Fucking Destruction’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKnIL8ZdV1Q">most straightforward</a> and punishing moments, or a genetic experiment between Noisear and PLF. Its barreling pace and frantic vocals mark it as a standout among Suffering Quota's tracks and a worthwhile starting point for those put off by the sometimes mid-paced, meaty sound of the band's other songs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These are songs that sound manufactured for the pit veteran, not the
BPM fiend, and those looking for innovation or alienating speed would do better
searching elsewhere. However, those seeking well-produced, tough-sounding
grindcore for those “I want to break stuff” days that we all have will find a
lot to like about Suffering Quota's andrenalized death-thrash grind.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The transition from one side to the other is neither perfect nor overly jarring, and this certainly isn't the most unlikely pair of bands to share a split. The contrast between the two bands' production styles (Suffering Quota's sound is fuller and better-produced) makes the switch from one to the other noticeable, but in a few seconds the change is a non-issue.<br />
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Overall, this 7" is a fair introduction to two Dutch bands previously unknown to me. Neither band's output here has made me rush out and fill myself in on their back catalogs (I am, however, eyeing <a href="http://graanrepubliekrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grinding-halt-brito-split">this</a> pretty hard), but it has most definitely put the pair of them on my radar.<br />
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<i>Stream or download Grinding Halt and Suffering Quota's <b>Split 7" </b>below or purchase the 7" from <a href="http://givepraiserecords.com/fastshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=1393">Give Praise</a> in the US or <a href="http://paradeofspectres.blogspot.com/2012/06/pos-grinding-halt-suffering-quota-7.html">Parade of Spectres</a> in the UK.</i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="355" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1391107237/size=grande2/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 355px; position: relative; width: 300px;" width="300"><a href="http://graanrepubliekrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grinding-halt-suffering-quota-split">Grinding Halt / Suffering Quota split by Graanrepubliek Records</a></iframe><br />
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DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-19086710238857753642013-02-26T23:42:00.003-08:002013-03-19T14:55:25.439-07:00Ash Borer- Bloodlands 12"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0cP_6tpODEo/UR72B29AnrI/AAAAAAAAAJI/5MOmhXYH0w0/s1600/relic47-pvvii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0cP_6tpODEo/UR72B29AnrI/AAAAAAAAAJI/5MOmhXYH0w0/s320/relic47-pvvii.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the more interesting paths in the last decade of extreme music has been that of the genre of black metal. After older groups largely became mired in the pristine offerings of orchestral black metal, newer bands began to shift their focus, pinpointing their favorite aspects of the genre, from its formative years on, to take it to strange and as-yet-uncharted places.<br />
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This specialization and hybridization within the genre spawned, among a host of others, Arcata, California's Ash Borer. They excel at extracting black metal's most astral and most abstractedly occult moments and stretching them across a canvas of trance-like, long-form song structures. Nowhere in their catalog is this approach and its lineage more apparent than their <i>Bloodlands</i> 12", the follow-up to their critically acclaimed second LP <i>Cold of Ages</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first sounds on the album, from A-side track "Oblivion's Spring," have more to do with what we think of as black metal in an atmospheric sense than a sonic one. Echoey, chiming guitars and a haunted-house organ synth pad wind into and out of synch with one another, creating a mood that feels pulled straight from the eerie opening credits of a horror film. Tension mounts with each introduced phrase and variation, but no blood is shed in the first few minutes of the song.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That all changes when the track suddenly jump-cuts from that creepy (but relatively clean) introduction to a full-out, distortion-wrapped black metal sprint. </span>What gives this shift an organic quality is the fact that the
organ riff employed in the introduction is carried over into the firebombing
extreme metal core of the song, tying the ambient, otherworldly aspects of the
band ably into the violent, immediate ones.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the song's last half, the riff explored in the intro returns, but is at this point incorporated into the black metal meat of the song for a middle-paced buildup that caters equally to the part of the brain interested in repeated hooks and the ancient, primal one that feeds on music's violent, pummeling tendencies. </span>Its eventual degradation into melting, howling
drones sees both of these aspects of the brain evolved into oblivion, leaving
the listener adrift in a post-mental wasteland that recedes in a long, siren whine
at the song's close.<br />
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On the record’s b-side follows the aptly-titled “Dirge,” an
atmospheric, swirling lament that builds at a more measured, deliberate pace
than the introduction to “Oblivion’s Spring.” Where the instrumental opening of
that piece felt like it was moving toward something and its draw was as a
vehicle for reaching that goal, the purpose of “Dirge” is in the journey
itself. Like time-lapse footage of a flower blooming, the track thrives
in individual moments, unfolding slowly to reveal a whole.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Purgation,”
the b-side’s second half, is a blackened, accelerating slow burn that builds momentum
around an undulating, circular riff. Around the halfway mark of the nearly
20-minute second side, the band slides into a galloping traditional black metal
style (still hearkening back on occasion to that riff) that wouldn’t sound out
of place on one of Emperor’s first LPs. However, to quote the excellent and massively
over-quoted <a href="http://www.bestlibrary.org/englit12/2011/06/-the-second-coming-by-william-butler-yeats.html">William Butler Yeats poem</a>, “the centre cannot hold,” and within minutes the onslaught is reduced </span>to a single guitar, buzzing against the emptiness. A thick doom
metal carapace forms around the riffing, which gives way to mid-paced, headbang-inducing
black metal and another inevitable return to the nullifying womb of piercing
feedback.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As well-liked as last year's <i>Cold of Ages</i> was, one of the complaints it received was that it seemed to lack some of the aggression and presence found on previous releases. While those hoping for another "<a href="http://ashborer.bandcamp.com/track/rest-you-are-the-lightning">Rest, You are the Lightning</a>" may be disappointe</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">d, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Bloodlands</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> does sport a purer, more satisfying sound, thanks in part to its being recorded live and mixed down to 1/2" tape. This is the first of Ash Borer's records to be produced in this way, as the previous LPs were both recorded onto 2" tape and mixed digitally, resulting in a warmer overall sound and a more immediate delivery than any of their previous releases.</span><br />
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What most impresses about Ash Borer is the way in which they
can manipulate the black metal form while remaining firmly rooted in that
genre. Despite divergence into drone, doom and ambient instrumental territory,
their sonic aesthetic stays tied to the isolated, individualistic outlook of
black metal, in a stronger sense than many “roots” black metal groups of the
present day.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bloodlands</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> sees the further growth of the band, past the
transitional qualities of <i>Cold of Ages</i>
into something darker and more expansive. There’s no road map to where Ash Borer
goes from here, which only makes it all the more exciting to follow them there.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Bloodlands</b> is out April 15th on <a href="http://www.gileadmedia.net/">Gilead Media</a>. </i><i>Stream "Oblivion's Spring" below. <b>[Note: Gilead Media sent me a download for review.]</b></i></span><br />
<i><br /></i><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=181075020/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/track/oblivions-spring">Oblivion's Spring by Ash Borer</a></iframe>
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DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-72818878830641346072013-02-03T04:04:00.001-08:002013-02-03T04:11:49.893-08:00Cloud Rat- Moksha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9uDqnW-SfI/UPea4LmSzII/AAAAAAAAAIo/NTvmXaO6s1s/s1600/Crat+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9uDqnW-SfI/UPea4LmSzII/AAAAAAAAAIo/NTvmXaO6s1s/s320/Crat+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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No album is more charged with a greater degree of both potential success and failure than a band's so-called "breakout record." Touted as the moment that a band is poised to "break out" to a larger audience, it is just as often the moment that a band's former fans choose to break ranks with them over an actual or imagined change in sound or approach.<br />
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With that being said, Cloud Rat fans, promise me that you won't run in fear when I tell that you that this album is unquestionably Cloud Rat's breakout moment. This is the point that fence-sitters and more casual grindcore fans will stand up and start to take notice of this talented Michigan band, but said moment is achieved not by removing elements of their former sound but by expanding their musical focus while improving upon the elements that made them great in the first place.<br />
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First track "Inkblot" opens with 25 seconds of echoing, haunted ambient noise that is cut through by a simple-but-massive thrash-grind riff delivered by guitarist Rorik. With a sound like a door being kicked in, vocalist Madison and drummer Adrian join in, blowing the record open in the tradition of album openers like Disrupt's "Domestic Prison" and His Hero is Gone's "Like Weeds." By the halfway mark, the track shifts into screamo-influenced territory, and it ends on a guitar-minimal hardcore punk note.<br />
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A melodic opening riff peeks through a black metal-grade wall of distortion on "Widowmaker," and within seconds the band is in full blast mode. A dark, snaking riff transitions the song into close-quarters, mid-paced hardcore that closes with an ambient coda similar to the opening of "Inkblot."<br />
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Sequenced third-to-last is a cover of the Neil Young classic "The Needle and the Damage Done," and in many ways this song is the record's emotional apex. The cover is arranged in a style that integrates the original's texture into Cloud Rat's approach, alternating between a clean-sung version (with vocals from all three members) that stays true to Young's haunting, minimal recording and a vicious, distorted hardcore version that boils angrily out of the pain and loss encapsulated in the lyrics. While by no means the fastest, heaviest or by any stretch the most extreme performance found here, it remains among the most resonant.<br />
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The trait which especially characterizes <i>Moksha</i> (and which is in part responsible for its success) is its variety. While indisputably a grindcore record, no track here is colored merely by a grindcore palette. Besides the already-touched-upon swatches of punk rock, hardcore, screamo and various styles of metal, shades of traditional rock, folk, noise, drone and post-rock blend to form a rich mosaic that is all but unprecedented in both scope and detail elsewhere in the genre.<br />
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Cloud Rat embrace cross-genre arrangements like a blastbeat-fueled incarnation of the Beach Boys circa 1966. Changes in style occur often across these 13 tracks, but always in an organic (if sometimes sudden) manner. Rather than the choppy, spastic lurches of your average kitchen-sink-grindcore band, these songs always feel at their core rooted in punk rock, even when exploring its most astral reaches.<br />
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If anything close to a wrong step is to be found on this LP, it is the soft, ghostly instrumental title track that closes the album, performed by Adrian and musical partner Thomas Oakley as the noise/ambient duo Found Letters. While perfectly enjoyable on its own, the piano and lost-souls drone of the track gives the album a feeling of dissolving rather than ending, and its nearly 7-minute length diffuses a bit of the energy built up on the preceding tracks. It's a minor criticism, and does little to shake the record's instant-classic status, but it's a flaw that could be easily resolved with a change in sequencing or by engineering a more structured climax for the existing song.<br />
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Even more than their willingness to experiment both structurally and sonically, Cloud Rat are defined by the bare, unrelenting emotion found in their music. Without lyrical context, each player's performance conveys the anger, pain and suffering that is at the heart of their musical power.<br />
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Accompanied by vocalist Madison's lyrics, however, that raw emotion is channeled and honed into a weapon. Focused alternately on the social and deeply personal, her lyrics shift effortlessly between poetically abstracted and smack-in-the face literal. While cloaked in some degree of anonymity, lyrics like these found on "Inkblot"reveal enough to be at once powerful and deeply disturbing: <i> </i><br />
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<i>"Dresses dancing against a boundless breeze.<br />Orgasm rolling forth...<br />Big yellow buses. Big purple bruises.<br />Breaking nails, dirt hiding under.<br />You know just where to touch me."</i><br />
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Other tracks, like "Widowmaker," have lyrics that are as aesthetically beautiful as they are arresting and personal:<i> </i><br />
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<i>"Scars resemble the wilderness.<br />A marbling of reflected light.<br />Obscure and perfect she floated to me."</i><br />
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On "Infinity Chasm," a song penned jointly by Rorik and Madison, a parent laments the eventual and inevitable separation from a child by death. The song, detailing Rorik's own fears as a father of a nine-year-old daughter, benefits from its lyrical straightforwardness by the fact that most listeners will be instantly able to connect to its themes of love, loss and lamentation about this beautiful, terrible, stupid fucking world we all inhabit.<br />
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This album is a moment that Cloud Rat has been working up to since its first material, though only now that it has been fully realized is it clear that this is what the band had been reaching toward with their excellent string of previous releases. Not only is it the best release in the band's catalog, <i>Moksha </i>is a frontrunner for 2013 album of the year, and whether you're new to the group or a fan since the beginning, this is an essential record for this and any year following.<br />
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<i><b>Moksha</b> is available on vinyl (with a free download card) from <a href="http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/label-releases/halo52-cloud-rat-moksha-lp/">Halo of Flies Records</a> in the US, and for pre-order through <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/7DegreesRecords/443059589044797">7Degrees Records</a> and <a href="http://www.reactwithprotest.org/">React with Protest Records</a> in Europe. The band will also have copies of the record available on their European tour, and dates for that can be found <a href="http://cloudrat.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-gigs-tours.html">here</a>. Download links and lyrics to past Cloud Rat albums can be found <a href="http://cloudrat.blogspot.com/p/discography-lyrics.html">here</a>.</i>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-25339378440310530232013-01-26T18:13:00.000-08:002013-01-26T19:47:53.435-08:00Top 20 Albums of 2012My track record for year-in-retrospect lists is not great. It's rare that I've finished one before the year is out, and last year I failed to even put a formal list together. 2012 continues my trend of spotty year-end lists, as I'm turning this one in almost a month into the new year and devoid of individual album descriptions in interest of finishing it before February. The list itself is relatively unordered, but see the below paragraphs for a taste of what these records are about.<br />
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Hip-hop has been on a creative upswing in the last year or so, evidenced by the fact that 3 of the year's best rap albums, the records from Black Hippy members Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q all didn't make the cut. However, the year also saw the first truly great album from Outkast/Dungeon family affiliate Killer Mike, produced entirely by alt-rap wunderkind El-P, an influx of awesome gay and lesbian rappers, the most exemplary being rapper/producer and Das Racist affiliate Le1f, producer Flying Lotus putting on his rapper cap for an album of stoned, pitch-shifted psychedelic rap that recalls MF DOOM, Quasimoto and elements of Odd Future as Captain Murphy, Meyhem Lauren puting together a hard, funny, classic-sounding and mostly-overlooked second album of 2012 (the first being this summer's solid <i>Respect the Fly Shit</i>) and 16-year-old Barbadian/Brooklyner Haleek Maul teaming up with Chicago production duo Supreme Cuts for a dark, moody future trap album, all of which I could by no means exclude from my year-end list.<br />
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Black metal has shown itself to be more than a one-trick-pony over the last 20-plus years, and the black metal records that I loved this year came from pretty much ever corner of the genre. The doomy Coloradans in Velnias brought a folk-flavored, ancient-sounding brew, while Nihill's <i>Verdonkermaan</i> was a lo-fi, occult tornado of riffs and blasts and Ash Borer turned in another LP of long-form, almost post-black metal brilliance (I'd say "transcendental black metal," if that term hadn't taken on a tainted character in the last few years).<br />
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The doom-and-drone-influenced post-whatever of Canadians AHNA and Californians Wreck and Reference came out of nowhere this year, and while similar compared to other bands on this list, each band took a unique and unexpected path to turn in an awesome album. AHNA's crusty, drone-sludge howl took my ears hostage with its bass-heavy, dirge-to-blast approach, and Wreck and Reference delivered a jaw-dropping, almost unclassifiable mix of post-punk, Swan-esque doom, drone, and noise that includes clean singing and replaces the usual guitar with an electronics-centered approach.<br />
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Grindcore and powerviolence continued their proliferation with another strong year that showed bands looking both backward and forward for inspiration. Cellgraft turned in an Insect Warfare and Ass<span class="st">ü</span>ck-reminscent final release of ear-shattering traditional grind, Black Hole of Calcutta mixed the traditional grindcore approach with black metal and thrash for their satisfying second self-titled record, the Canadian newcomers in Violent Restitution blasted on to the scene with a gut-level LP that made them my favorite new grind band of the year, and Sakatat unfortunately heralded the end of their era as a band with their short-but-sweet first full-length. Dephosphorus transcended grindcore with their magnificent, skyward-looking debut LP, Column of Heaven mixed powerviolence and grindcore with noise and unusual instrumentation to tell a disturbing tale about a serial killer that's made more disturbing by its scope and basis in reality, The Kill delivered the snarling, blistering, no-nonsense breakout album I'd always been willing them to make and the Australians in thedowngoing continued their growth as an angular, tech-noisegrind duo with an equal interest in art and destruction.<br />
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While (good) indie rock was not as prolific as in years past, a few standbys brought creative and memorable albums to the table. Electronics weirdo Dan Deacon continued his avant-garde mixing of goofy electronic pop and classical composition with a warmer, more expansive album that's presented as a love song to the American landscape, and Ariel Pink (also a weirdo) brought an album that bridged the unrelenting strangeness of his older bedroom-pop material and the higher fidelity and tighter construction of last year's <i>Before Today</i> as well as paid reverence to lost-in-the-shuffle rockers Donny and Joe Emerson.<br />
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See below for album streams and samples, and keep your ears tuned in this year for a ton of great announced and already-released albums.<br />
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<ol>
<li><b>Killer Mike- <i>R.A.P. Music </i></b>(Sample tracks: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNsAfGDkUtk">"Untitled</a>," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIqNjC1RKU">"Reagan</a>," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8-RmM5py1c">"Big Beast</a>")</li>
<li><b>Nihill- <i><a href="http://nihill.bandcamp.com/music">Verdonkermaan</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Column of Heaven- <i><a href="http://survivalistdeathcult.bandcamp.com/album/mission-from-god">Mission from God</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>The Kill- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr3ViTcgePdhZi7xs8aJYiPxnHWVoJdek"><i>Make 'em Suffer</i></a></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Dephosphorus- <a href="http://dephosphorus.bandcamp.com/album/night-sky-transform" style="font-style: italic;">Night Sky Transform</a></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Wreck and Reference- <a href="http://wreckandreference.bandcamp.com/" style="font-style: italic;">No Youth</a></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Meyhem Lauren-<i> <a href="http://mishkanyc.bandcamp.com/album/mandatory-brunch-meetings">Mandatory Brunch Meetings</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Velnias- <i><a href="http://velnias.bandcamp.com/">RuneEater</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Cellgraft- <i><a href="http://cellgraft.bandcamp.com/album/cellgraft-lp">Cellgraft</a> </i>LP</b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Dan Deacon- <i>America </i></b>(Samples: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnXiXlF7olo">"True Thrush</a>," "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGd6s3itVt4">Lots</a>," "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IADHZcdc0Ik">USA Parts I-V</a>")</li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Sakat- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZH3nQRvLPI"><i>Bir Devrin Sonu</i></a></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Violent Restitution- <i><a href="http://violentrestitution.bandcamp.com/">Violent Restitution</a> </i>LP</b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Supreme Cuts and Haleek Maul- <i><a href="http://mishkanyc.bandcamp.com/album/chrome-lips">Chrome Lips</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Captain Murphy- <i><a href="https://soundcloud.com/selftitledmag/sets/captain-murphy-duality-mixtape">Duality</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>LE1F-<i> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/le1f/sets/dark-york">Dark York</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>thedowngoing- <i><a href="http://thedowngoing.bandcamp.com/album/athousandyearsofdarkness">ATHOUSANDYEARSOFDARKNESS</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>AHNA- <a href="http://ahna.bandcamp.com/album/empire-12"><i>Empire</i></a></b></li>
<li><b>Ash Borer- <i>Cold of Ages </i></b>(Samples: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ZxX1aN4gc">"Phantoms</a>," "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RAFwiRAY5A">Convict All Flesh</a>")</li>
<li><b>Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti- <i>Mature Themes </i></b>(Samples: "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCd0Wzrxeyc">Kinski Assassin</a>," "<a href="http://vimeo.com/47752033">Symphony of the Nymph</a>," "<a href="http://vimeo.com/47748996">Baby (Donnie and Joe Emerson Cover)</a>")</li>
<li><b>Black Hole of Calcutta- <i><a href="http://blackholeofcalcutta.bandcamp.com/album/black-hole-of-calcutta-s-t-2">S/T #2</a></i></b></li>
<b>
</b></ol>
<br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-22470549998497748382013-01-11T09:23:00.000-08:002013-01-11T16:34:16.555-08:00Blast Eats: Priapus Chocolate Pecan Toffee<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Desserts are a class of foods almost equally over- and under- rated. Some glorify sweets to an absurd, almost Olympian degree, holding the sugary confection on a pedestal higher than any other culinary achievement. Still others ignore candy and sweets all but completely, thereby missing out on the simple pleasure of a perfect dish of ice cream or a just-right pastry. No matter your stance on desserts, Priapus guitarist Jeremy's recipe for chocolate pecan toffee seems manufactured specifically to bridge that divide, pairing the salty and savory qualities of crackers and pecans with the sweetness of chocolate and toffee. And if that's not enough to sway you (pecans, seriously!) his step-by-step instructions also happen to be funny as hell, so there's that.</i></span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 17px;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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you guys, this fucking toffee rules. my girlfriend makes
this every Christmas and we hand out plastic bags full of this stuff like drug
dealers. i usually don't like desserts/sweets (via my unique "eat every
fucking carb ever" diet) but sometimes you need to take a break from
shame-eating your way through a Hungry Howie's MIGHTY MEATY pizza and treat
yourself, you know? THIS WAY TO FLAVOR COUNTRY.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Things to buy at the store:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 cup of butter. (2 sticks)<o:p></o:p></div>
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a box of club crackers. (go for the brand name yeah? go
ahead, you deserve it)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 cup dark brown sugar. (make sure it's dark brown)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. (make sure they're
semi-sweet)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3/4 cup chopped pecans. (make sure they're pecans. don't be
a fucking fool and use some renegade nut like almonds or, god forbid,
PISTACHIOS. jesus.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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some pots and shit<o:p></o:p></div>
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an oven<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Things to do:</b><br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. pre-heat oven to 400. (if you just got home from the
store, bring the oven inside first.)<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. put some aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. line the sheet
with as many crackers that will fit, in a single cracker layer. while you're at
it, eat some of those mother fucking crackers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. in a sauce pan over medium heat, combine the butter and
brown sugar and bring it to a boil. DON'T STOP STIRRING or you'll ruin
everything. once it starts boiling, continue stirring and let it boil for 3
minutes or so; it should start to thicken and get kind of sludgy, like a
Weedeater riff. this is also the point where i like to pretend i'm cooking meth
in fucking Indiana or something.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. pour the meth onto the cookie sheet. try to distribute it
evenly and coat every cracker. i'm not a god damn gourmet chef so if you fuck
up and miss a few, no worries, this isn't Gordon Ramsey trying to fix a fucking
Applebee's and no one is going to freak out if you grab a spatula and spread
that shit around to get the corner crackers covered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5. pop that bad boy in the oven for 5-6 minutes and take a
breather. eat some more crackers if you want.<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. take the pan out of the oven. if you're a pussy you'll
probably want to use an oven mitt or a sock or something for your hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7. sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crackers. again,
try to do it evenly but seriously who cares.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8. let that shit sit for like 5 minutes and then take a
knife or spatula and spread the melted chocolate chips all over the crackers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9. sprinkle pecans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10. put the pan in your refrigerator. cover with aluminum
foil if your fridge smells like butts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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11. turn your refrigerator on and go to bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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12. the next morning, be a tough guy and break that shit up
with your bare hands. if everything went well, you should be dealing with something
that looks like
this: <a href="http://lickmyspoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chocolate-almond-toffee-005.jpg">http://lickmyspoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chocolate-almond-toffee-005.jpg</a> distribute to your friends and loved ones in small batches.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<i>Check out Priapus' latest, their 2012 split with Old Painless, on their <a href="http://priapusgrind.com/">Bandcamp</a>. </i></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-12465403818503371902012-12-26T18:08:00.000-08:002012-12-26T22:43:09.314-08:00Top 5 Splits of 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SeIuMNTc1LA/UNmuOPIlUfI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Er-JYyn_L6A/s1600/Dead+Language,+Foreign+Bodies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SeIuMNTc1LA/UNmuOPIlUfI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Er-JYyn_L6A/s320/Dead+Language,+Foreign+Bodies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>5. Robocop/Detroit split: <i><a href="http://grindcorekaraoke.com/album/dead-language-foreign-bodies">Dead Language, Foreign Bodies</a></i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Robocop has emerged as one of contemporary powerviolence's more interesting voices, and part of the reason for that distinction comes from their willingness to experiment with the form. What's normally a down-and-dirty genre gets the audiophile treatment on Robocop's side of this split, and the result is a twitching, mutant punk that incorporates saxophones, echoing noise and whatever else it can wrap its tentacles around into a strange, satisfying experimental powerviolence gestalt. The Canadians in Detroit, while opting for a more traditional approach to powerviolence, ramp up the violence and anger with a moshing, throat-bursting kick-in-the-teeth of a B-side that occasionally gives way to 90's post-hardcore sincerity ("Day After Day," the second half of "Pusher"). All that, plus a Jennifer Lopez cover. A well-made, varied split that also happens to come with some of 2012's best cover art and packaging.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0ETK_5Bpkk/UNmuubASIOI/AAAAAAAAAIA/rypugtpIcF0/s1600/The+Afternoon+Gentlemen+Suffering+Mind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0ETK_5Bpkk/UNmuubASIOI/AAAAAAAAAIA/rypugtpIcF0/s320/The+Afternoon+Gentlemen+Suffering+Mind.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>4. <a href="http://theafternoongentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/the-afternoon-gentlemen-suffering-mind-split-7">The Afternoon Gentlemen</a>/Suffering Mind</b><br />
<br />
The boozegrind/slackerviolence of The Afternoon Gentlemen is a stinking ball of fastcore, grind and powerviolence pickled in cheap alcohol and crust punk. Pissed-off, irreverent (and in moments like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster">Fukushima Daiichi disaster</a>-referencing "Nuclear Terror," truly funny: "Leaders speak to calm our spirits/Crust bands write piles of new lyrics") blasting for the burnt-out crusty in all of us. Suffering Mind, arguably this year's king of splits and per-volume one of the most consistent bands working in their genre today, blast out four shots of Insect Warfare and Discordance Axis-inflected shrapnel (one of which is an Assück cover) with the ease of true A-list grind
lifers. Together, these two keep the grind alive on ten tracks of low-stakes
but highly enjoyable punk noise.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LKRtkfcAIWo/UNmvIjrfGFI/AAAAAAAAAII/VDoUNrJdFHI/s1600/693771737-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LKRtkfcAIWo/UNmvIjrfGFI/AAAAAAAAAII/VDoUNrJdFHI/s320/693771737-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>3. Sete Star Sept/<a href="http://rotgut.bandcamp.com/album/rotgut-split-sete-star-sept-grindovermatter">Rotgut</a></b><br />
<br />
Among the year's most controversial extreme music releases was the sprawling, uninhibited noisegrind omnibus that is Sete Star Sept's <i><a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/11/sete-star-sept-vinyl-collection-2010.html">Vinyl Collection 2010-2012</a></i>. For most listeners, it was a hard piece to approach because of its sheer size alone, and many walked away from it as perplexed as when they started. As the enjoyable-ness factor of SSS's side of this split (featured on the aforementioned collection) shows, in small bites, the unhinged and left-field nature of these Japanese grinders can be immensely satisfying. On the flip side, Malaysian grind 'n' roll newcomers Rotgut serve up a classic-sounding set of nasty, lo-fi Asian grindcore heavier on attitude than speed (and surprisingly enough, all the better for it). The perfect 2012 split to satisfy your inner Neanderthal noisehound, these tracks sport a sound that would fit in chronologically anywhere from the mid-90's to last week.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMYNLCVv1bA/UNmvZikwJ1I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/I72YIPpdnnI/s1600/1226778567-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tMYNLCVv1bA/UNmvZikwJ1I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/I72YIPpdnnI/s320/1226778567-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>2. Gripe/Diseksa: <i><a href="http://gripe.bandcamp.com/album/indefinite-detention">Indefinite Detention</a></i></b><br />
<br />
Politically and socially conscious grindcore, by its nature, rests on one side or the other of the line between pertinent and painful, depending on its execution. Thankfully, then, the overtly socially charged <i>Indefinite Detention</i> (and with <a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/indefinite-detention-0">a name like that</a>, how could it not be?) sits comfortably on the former side—and happens to rule musically, as well. Gripe's outraged, high-caliber grind is one of my personal favorite recent examples of the form, and the lyrical content of songs like the anti-rape "Ballbuster," the title track and "You Can't Spell Dead Without D.E.A." prove that all that griping comes with some very solid arguments. Diseksa (the second set of Malaysians on this list, further illustrating South Asian grind's continued ascendance) smash out raw, boombox-in-a-room-fidelity crust-grind that does fun as well as it does fuck you (and so well that I'm willing to forgive their use of the first "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ky-N0J9Yo">Oh my God, they killed Kenny!</a>" sample that I've ever heard). An effortless-sounding grindcore tutorial that, especially at the impossible-to-pass-up price of a <a href="http://gripe.bandcamp.com/album/indefinite-detention">free download</a>, is a must-have blastbeat-fest for this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPkmD_npCmE/UNmv4ihHyBI/AAAAAAAAAIY/LboQtB6a2_o/s1600/Cloud+Rat_Republic+of+Dreams_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sPkmD_npCmE/UNmv4ihHyBI/AAAAAAAAAIY/LboQtB6a2_o/s320/Cloud+Rat_Republic+of+Dreams_Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>1. Cloud Rat/<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lfmjBhRrkg">Republic of Dreams</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I've already <a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/10/cloud-ratrepublic-of-dreams-split-lp.html">said a lot</a> about this split, but considering how much I love it, I'm willing to say a bit more. Cloud Rat might be my single favorite recent grind act, and considering the fact that they seem to get better with each release, stand to hold that honor for the foreseeable future. The mixture of punk, doom and memorable grindcore riffs on their six tracks stuck with me like nothing else did this year (I liked this record enough I almost considered saving it for my top LPs list instead of top splits) and each track oozes emotion and energy in a manner I've mainly encountered on Pig Destroyer's strongest material and Jon Chang's Discordance Axis and Gridlink releases (and the lyrics are at least up to par with the ones from those records). I'll admit that's it's the second side, by screamo newcomers Republic of Dreams, that was the real surprise for me. Every bit as cohesive as the Cloud Rat side, RoD's side made me love a genre I don't usually pay a lot of attention to, and while I'm too much of a Cloud Rat fan to say that this is the superior side, Republic of Dreams is going to be on my new release radar from here on out. Long on atmosphere and emotionality (and longer on catchy riffs), these tracks swing from one polarity to another with more blasts than you'll find in your typical screamo album. This is a split that's determined to avoid any limitations conferred by the form, and if it isn't sitting somewhere in your record crates/on your shelves, do yourself a favor and buy it as a late holiday/early New Years present. No split even came close to this one this year, and if either of these bands' 2013 releases are anywhere as good as this (<i><a href="http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/label-releases/halo52-cloud-rat-moksha-lp/">Moksha</a></i> already has a tentative place on HaaSL's Best LPs of 2013 list and I've only heard one song from it) expect to see them both on my lists this time next year.DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-45245231421243945732012-12-13T03:05:00.001-08:002012-12-13T15:01:45.382-08:00Violent Restitution- Self-Titled LP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apXQb0sXlFA/UKCV_oB8NQI/AAAAAAAAAHk/MVnSOQZEGVQ/s1600/VIOLENT+RESTITUTION+-+st+front.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apXQb0sXlFA/UKCV_oB8NQI/AAAAAAAAAHk/MVnSOQZEGVQ/s320/VIOLENT+RESTITUTION+-+st+front.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of grindcore's greatest casualties of the last 10 years (and for a genre with an attention span like this, there have been scores of excellent ones) is unquestionably the noisy, grinding Texan powerhouse that was Insect Warfare. And since its passing in 2009, there have been more than a few bands pegged as the second coming of IW (Wormrot and Cellgraft being the two most notable examples).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The latest band to receive this questionable compliment is the Canadian grind trio Violent Restitution, and from the cover art of this debut LP to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujYtFF8jWHY">band name itself</a> (really a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_Restitution">Razor</a> reference) the surface comparisons are obvious. However, beyond sharing a noisy, no-nonsense approach and a violent, confrontational sound, on a deeper level the two bands are no more similar than any other two old-school-inspired grind acts; to stereotype Violent Restitution as little more than an Insect Warfare tribute band means missing the full scope of what they bring to the table.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Violent Restitution deal in ugly, old-school patterned grindcore
of a fast, noisy character. What is immediately apparent about the songs is a sense of militant social consciousness and the anti-oppression attitude that permeates most aspects of the record. </span><o:p style="font-family: inherit;"></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For fifteen angry, neck-snapping minutes, vocalist Mya delivers missives against animal cruelty, vivisection, racism, colonialism, genocide and patriarchy in shrapnel bursts of screams and growls over guitarist Sarah’s nasty, mangled-sheet-metal riffing and drummer Pierre’s frenzied blasts.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Evisceration” is a brief, vital shot
of pure grind that doesn’t get mired in pleasantries. Barring a 2-second intro
and an equally short breakdown at its end, the track remains locked into
blasting gear with a satisfyingly single-minded sense of purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Raw-throated, unaccompanied
growls open “Acculturation,” before guitar and drums kick the track into overdrive. Eventually it finds a
thrashy, speed punk groove that is occasionally abandoned for vicious bursts of
grinding, finally giving way to a sludge-drenched breakdown and a final burst of
speed punctuated that’s punctuated by a tortured high scream.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the b-side is opened with an animal-liberating audio sample, it is followed by the face-smashing, limb-swinging grindthrash of "Murderous Colonialist Assimilators." Besides being vicious sonically, its lyrics decry colonialism and the slaughter of indigenous peoples with bite-sized, highly screamable couplets like "Mutilation, colonization/Disgusting human greed" and longer lines such as "Ancestral practices of a colonialist regime/Built a nation of shame and deceit." There's nothing like well-placed outrage to get the blood pumping, and this entire record has that by the bucketful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While the LP’s most notable trait
is its speed, Sarah’s jagged tone is periodically trained on slow, heavy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> riffing, like the pit-forming assault of
opener “Intro/Liberate” or the second half of “Burning Rage of a Dying Planet.”
This technique occasionally comes off as a songwriting crutch when breakdowns
drop in out of nowhere, but otherwise serves to add variety in a structurally
homogenous genre like grindcore.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This refreshingly dirty chunk of Canadian grind, while far from revolutionary, manages to be one of my favorite pure grindcore experiences of 2012 and almost unquestionably holds the title for this year's strongest debut. Sonic similarities (or lack thereof) to deceased Texan grindcore bands aside, this record rips, and I've been itching for more material since my first dozen or so spins.<br /><br /><br /><i>The LP is available on vinyl from <a href="http://www.mercyofslumberrecords.com/releases.php">Mercy of Slumber</a> and <a href="http://blackbananarecords.blogspot.com/p/releases.html">Black Banana Records</a>, or as a free download (split into its A and B sides) from Violent Restitution's <a href="http://violentrestitution.bandcamp.com/album/s-t">Bandcamp</a>.</i></span>DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-57477234734999492372012-11-10T23:57:00.003-08:002012-12-04T06:30:34.528-08:00Sete Star Sept- Vinyl Collection 2010-2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rG3kIqIYrXY/UJQeK2NY_0I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/_d7E0_o-pYk/s1600/booklet_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rG3kIqIYrXY/UJQeK2NY_0I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/_d7E0_o-pYk/s320/booklet_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I remembered a friend who'd died of a bad liver, and what he'd always said. Yeah, he'd said, maybe it's just my idea, but really it always hurts, the times it don't hurt is when we just forget, we just forget it hurts, you know, it's not because my belly's all rotten, everybody always hurts. So when it really starts stabbing me, somehow I feel sort of peaceful, like I'm myself again. It's hard to take, sure, but I feel sort of peaceful. Because it's always hurt ever since I was born." - Ryū Murakami, <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Transparent-Blue-Ryu-Murakami/dp/4770029047">Almost Transparent Blue</a> (1976)</b></span></i><br />
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If you thought explaining the appeal of grindcore to the uninitiated was a headache, try it with noisegrind some time: "Well, everyone tries to play as fast and as loudly as possible, like last time, only now everything's as shrill and as blown-out as possible and the recording quality is terrible. It's great!"<br />
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In struggling time and again to sheepishly explain why I love this garbage, I've stumbled into a rough sort of theory that comes close to defining exactly what it is that's so exciting about noisegrind, grindcore and extreme music in general.<br />
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Life seems to vibrate at a certain speed, and music in general is pleasant because it matches that vibration. Melodic music is pleasurable because it mimics elements of that vibration in simple, emotionally-resonant figures and recycles them in equally pleasurable variations. However, the beauty of extreme music is that it eschews the derivative qualities of melodic music and seeks to purely mimic the speed and intensity at which our lives operate. The inspiration for grindcore is all around us, just waiting to be tapped into. <br />
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That purity of focus is exactly what drives this record, a collection of Japanese bass-and-drums noisegrind band Sete Star Sept's vinyl output from the last two years.<br />
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A few months ago, I reviewed Sete Star Sept’s <i><a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/01/sete-star-sept-revision-of-noise.html">Revision of Noise</a></i> LP (which,
interestingly enough, continues to be one of the most popular sources of
traffic to the blog). While the tracks on that record were certainly noisy,
those songs were downright mannered compared to the violent, freeform output
collected here. The tracks on this collection are of a splintered, grinding
avant-noise character that makes it a for-noisegrind-heads-only affair,
excepting grinders who enjoyed <i>Revision
of Noise</i> and are willing to branch farther afield into a truly alienating
space.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The sonic disconnect that traditionally occurs between
material from multiple releases is softened by the fact that, while differences
in approach and recording technique are evident upon repeat listens, everything is so mercilessly blown-out that
nothing sounds incongruous or polished to the point of conspicuousness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, the noisiest section of the collection is easily (and appropriately enough) the split with Noise. Sequenced from tracks 26 to 38, these songs are little more than bubbling geysers of drums, overlaid with a constantly vibrating and barely intelligible low-end and shot through with an occasional vein of vocals. While certainly not unlistenable as noisegrind music, it lacks the punch of much of the other music collected here, and is immediately upstaged by the release sequenced after it.<br />
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The <a href="http://katorgaworks.bigcartel.com/product/sete-star-sept-penis-geyser-split-7">split</a> with <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=penis+geyser&rlz=1C1TSNP_enUS453US453&oq=penis+geyser&sugexp=chrome,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=penis+geyser&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&tbo=u&rlz=1C1TSNP_enUS453US453&source=univ&tbm=vid&ei=7FqfUOOEJKe30gHN_oDoBw&ved=0CDgQqwQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=78e5bdf4fbc06433&bpcl=38093640&biw=1280&bih=667">Penis Geyser</a>, which occupies tracks 39 to 46, contains some of the best material on the album. From the opening blast of "Big Issue," the sheer focus of these tracks is evident: no "exploding song structures," no improvisational hiccups, only sweet, aggressive grinding. While still wonderfully abrasive and dirty, it's mixed well enough that no elements bleed over onto any other, and the structures are tight to the point that the only feedback present is at the end of songs. Of all the releases collected here, this is the one that I most wish that I had picked up on vinyl, and a great starting point for those daunted by the massive volume of music on this collection.<br />
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Sete Star Sept are at their most unrestrained on the 50-song
<i>Gero Me</i> EP, sequenced here from tracks 64 to 93. A number of these are specks of single-digit blipcore, and many of them have been bundled into omnibus tracks with anywhere from two to eight micro-eruptions contained in a single shot. Songs from <i>Gero Me</i> burst and re-form, splinter and fade, tumbling with the drums into buzzing masses that roll into one another. These songs especially carry with them a sense of free jazz experimentation, and make a case for noisegrind as an extreme music cousin of the improvisational free psychedelia of bands like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCBI4q0bTIg">Sunburned Hand of the Man</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2zv7X5Sg4&feature=related">Jackie-O Motherfucker</a>.<br />
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In many ways, this record sounds like a marriage of two of noisegrind's original classics, Sore Throat's <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvkx8bWMFw">Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid</a></i> and Fear of God's <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYfixIpbapI">Pneumatic Slaughter</a></i>, delivered with a twisted avant character that counts coughs and feedback as elements as integral to the music as drums, bass and vocals.<br />
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As a 100-song, 76-minute noisegrind collection, <i>Vinyl Collection 2010-2012</i> inevitably has its daunting moments, but those who delight in extreme music's experimental tendencies will find a lot to love here. Anyone with more noisegrind than one Gore Beyond Necropsy record in their music collections is going to need this.<br />
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<i><b>Vinyl Collection 2010-2012</b> (FY40) can be ordered from <a href="http://www.hellmilitia.com/releases.htm">Fuck Yoga</a>. Sample tracks from the collection can be found on Soundcloud <a href="http://soundcloud.com/user1280665/11-the-balance-of-fear">here</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/user1280665/sete-star-sept-26-seems-like">here</a> and <a href="http://soundcloud.com/user1280665/sete-star-sept-72-gas-chamber">here</a>, and some of the releases collected here, as well as other Sete Star Sept material, can be found on <a href="http://shop.7s7.org/music">their Bandcamp</a>.</i></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-31285312714931480252012-11-01T21:15:00.001-07:002013-01-10T20:27:08.298-08:00Atomçk- Never Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pE7XhwuKUBI/UJM0NmlupFI/AAAAAAAAAHA/z1Jn9KC6M9g/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pE7XhwuKUBI/UJM0NmlupFI/AAAAAAAAAHA/z1Jn9KC6M9g/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When it comes to music, never write anything off. I hated
hip-hop in middleschool, and just a few years ago, couldn't quite “get”
Gridlink's <i>Amber Grey </i>upon its release.
Whether it's a musical style, album or band, it sometimes takes the right
moment before something you didn't get or downright hated finally clicks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With this new LP from Welsh grinders Atomçk, whose earlier
material left me wanting more, that something finally clicked like none of
their material had before, and in a way that I would have overlooked entirely
had I not given them a third chance after my lukewarm receptions of the split
with Paucities and <i>Yes to Alien Victory</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Vocalist Linus' delivery shifts between a deafeningly shrill
cricket-chirp high vocal, a cornered-panther mid-high (high enough to be
considered some vocalists' high-range scream) , a snotty, tortured midrange
vocal and a raw-throated, vomit-flecked low, with gradations in between as
deemed necessary. This rather dizzying array of styles is one of Atomçk's chief
draws, though at times the shrillness of Linus’ highest vocals flirts with the
annoying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Luke Oram's guitar work on the album is a technical splatter
of traditional grind riffs and out-there skronk that will put a smile on the
face of modern grindcore fans not afraid to jump down the rabbit hole with
bands like Maruta and Psudoku. While still heavy as ever, his tone has lost the
too-chunky metalcore sound of their older material, which lends some
badly-needed nuance to his bludgeoning guitar performances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aptly-named LP opener “Desert Blast” leads in with spacey,
stoned desert-rock riffage that wouldn't feel out of place on a doom
record. Progressing in intensity as it
adds elements, the track builds into full-fledged desert doom, complete with
death growls, before morphing even further into a blast-capable force of grind.
With a last harkening-back to its principal musical theme, the song shifts into
a thirty-odd seconds blaster that abandons the subtlety of the first section
for a vital, Insect Warfare-esque grind assault. This is one of Atomçk's most
impressive tracks to date, and it showcases a surprising strength for the
band in its grasp of both the atmospheric and destructive elements of its sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“If This Peace is Fictitious… I
Will Destroy It” follows a rather unconventional structure to its close at the
34-second mark. From a heavy, grinding opening five seconds, it rides over a
speedbump of four micro-pause sections, the first three of which are broken by
a short, death-growl-accented blast 'n' grind. The fourth pause is broken
instead by a drum fill, followed by one of Linus' cricket-high screams and a
riff that starts out as conventional and dissolves into an alien heat ray of
Asterisk-style wonked-out fretwork.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Positioned near the middle of the album
is “No Sleep Til Trutnov,</span>”<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a mutating, nearly-4-minute track that serves
as a sort of center point for </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Never Work</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.
Beginning its life as a bile-spitting grinder, it downshifts into sludgy
repetition after about 30 seconds. As it rides this newfound groove with a
krautrock-esque determination, elements of noise creep in until, by around the
last minute, the only remaining signifier of the song’s past is the breadcrumb
trail of drummer Marzena's percussion, which keeps us from getting lost in the
dark forest of the song’s structure. The fact that this track works as well as
it does is testament to what seems to be an improvement in the band’s curatorial
skills. “No Sleep Til Trutnov” is the kind of song that most bands would
sequence at the end of an album, but as track 8 it offers a respite from the
intensity of the preceding tracks without derailing their momentum. [See that,
every other band ever? Slower-paced songs don't </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">have</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to be bookends. I promise.]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The aforementioned noise on the
album is created by Oram and Chicago experimental act <a href="http://wintersinosaka.bandcamp.com/">Winters in Osaka</a>, and is
presented in a more smooth and organic way than on past material. Noise fans
will still get their harsh, abstract kicks, but in a way that's not going to
freak out more vanilla grindcore fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This LP is a splintering,
left-field art-grind collection for those who like a little adventure in their
grindcore, as well as those who like a lot of grindcore in their art. On this
outing, they continue to differentiate themselves from the grind
masses while sanding down some of the more awkward edges in their sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Atomçk manage to make <i>Never Work</i> both their most varied and
cohesive offering to date, and it's the perfect place to start paying attention
to their brand of shrapnel-laced grindcore.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Never Work</b> is available as a pay-what-you-want download from </span>Atomçk's <a href="http://atomck.bandcamp.com/album/never-work">bandcamp</a>.</i></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-69956086651580923562012-10-25T20:18:00.000-07:002012-11-01T21:17:14.224-07:00Monomaniac Volume One<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s easy to forget how awesome compilations can be. Most of
them that any of us bought would be more useful as coasters, but for every 10
hastily-assembled, all-album-tracks wastes of space, there’s one thoughtful,
well-curated collection that features the right balance between exclusive
tracks from well-known bands and pleasant surprises from lesser-known acts and
manages to further our experience as fans of the featured genres.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This compilation, put together by Panos Agoros from
<a href="http://dephosphorus.com/">Dephosphorus</a>/<a href="http://blastbeatprod.wordpress.com/">Blastbeat Mailmurder</a> and created as a split 7” collection of compilation-exclusive
songs that total a minute each per band, (spoiler alert) sits comfortably in
the latter category.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Opening side A is the always-<a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/10/cloud-ratrepublic-of-dreams-split-lp.html">excellent</a> <a href="http://cloudrat.blogspot.com/">Cloud Rat</a>, who
delivers a scorcher called “Finger Print v1.” A perfect way to begin the
festivities, the song spends most of its runtime in destructive, hateful
blasting mode, leaving around 20 seconds near its end for a sludgy, deliberate
and equally destructive finale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next finds <a href="http://thedowngoing.blogspot.com/">thedowngoing</a> in a typically off-kilter mood, with
three blistering noise-grinders that together clock in under a minute. The
relatively mid-tempo “Littered” is the first of their contributions, and serves
as a nice transition from the sludginess of Cloud Rat’s track by waiting until
its second half to gear up into full-on grinding. Following that is an
alternate version of <i><a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/08/thedowngoing-athousandyearsofdarkness.html">ATHOUSANDYEARSOFDARKNESS</a></i>
track “Floorboards” that is only 1/3 as long as the original but every bit as intense with its shifting, technical aural abuse. Closing out
thedowngoing’s contribution is “Hibakusha (Reprsise),” a brief, distorted
number that shifts from death metal vocals and heavy, metallic riffing to
piercing shrieks and a circular, Discordance Axis-style riff that ends the
song.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Detroit/253918236388">Detroit</a>’s angry powerviolence comes next, with a track by
the deceptively-cheery name of “Birthday Party.” This is the kind of song that
destroys live. After a tension-building opening riff, a tom-centric roll around
the drum set transitions into the song’s main riff, which is shortly buoyed by blasting
drums and then the band’s pushed-to-the-limit shouted vocals to create a circle
pit perfect storm. After a few seconds,
that gives way to a minimal combination of blasts and shouts, punctuated by the
occasional stab of guitar, and a brief punk section rounds the whole thing out.
It’s all over in a little over 30 seconds, but this brief taste is a pretty good
indicator of what you can expect from the band’s <a href="http://detroitpv.bandcamp.com/">other material</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Noisiest Track of the Comp award goes to <a href="http://www.7s7.org/">Sete Star Sept</a>
for their typically blown-out, screeching noisegrind as featured on “Why Not
Intersect.” The track is a seething, rolling wave of abrasive noise out of
which traditional instrumentation occasionally floats, and if you told me that
Kae’s bass was a noise synth I wouldn’t think twice about believing you. Kae’s
vocals are the track’s most distinct feature, and the growls and shrieks
exhibited here poke their heads highest above the noise. This brief, abrasive track
puts Sete Star Sept more in line with Japan’s legendary guitar-less (and
bass-less) noisegrind act World than I’ve ever heard them, and this track
should cause interest in both their more noisy material (such as the
recently-released-on-<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/FUCK-YOGA-records/177418818961670">Fuck Yoga</a> <i><a href="http://www.hellmilitia.com/index.html">Vinyl Collection 2010-2012</a></i>) and their more formalistic grind-noise (last year's LP <i><a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/2012/01/sete-star-sept-revision-of-noise.html">Revision of Noise</a></i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://punkminusirrationalism.blogspot.com/">Ryan Page</a>’s Body Hammer project makes its triumphant return
here with “Dog Star Man,” a track that exhibits that project’s dual focuses, namely brief
pulses of intense grindcore and moody, atmospheric patches of doomy ambience. This
track manages to blend the two better than 2009’s <i>Jigoku</i>, and it leaves me itching to hear that album’s followup,
which Page is <a href="http://punkminusirrationalism.blogspot.com/2012/08/two-new-robocop-songs.html">reportedly</a> working on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last track on the A side, “The Weapons of the
Proletariat,” comes from the heavily death metal-influenced (if not entirely
death metal) Greek grindcore band <a href="http://www.facebook.com/headcleanerband">Head Cleaner</a>. Vocals are predominately a
commanding growl which is occasionally punctuated by harsh screams, and are the
most forward element of the track. While starting on a brisk death lope, the
track locks into a groove built around a circling riff and headbangs its way to
near-conclusion until the bpms pick up slightly for a layered-vocal finale. Though I would consider it the least successful addition to a stellar compilation, this is a
track that is engineered to fit right in the sweet spot of certain groove-oriented
extreme music fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/DOOMCULT">Diocletian</a>’s blackened death metal opens side B with “Traitor’s
Gallow,” a dirty piece of extreme music which, with a shortened runtime to fit
with the <i>Monomaniac</i> series’ theme, comes
off like blackened Repulsion. The compact format suits the band surprisingly well,
and means that a <i>Horrified</i>-esque slab of cemetery deathgrind could be quite a
good look for the band’s next LP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/thehowlingwindofbabalon">The Howling Wind</a> lives up to its name with “Bewilderment,”
an echoey, occult gust of US black metal with vocals so low in the mix that it’s
not 100% clear whether they’re there at all or just a trick of the aesthetic.
While one guitar shreds along with the drums, another solos for practically the
whole track, which makes this black metal duo in line with the genre’s classic
tradition of creating a soundscape independent from the sum of its parts. The
atmosphere they conjure on this track is enticing enough to make me curious
about what their material is like in longer form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Newcomers <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SempiternalDusk">Sempiternal Dusk</a>, whose only other output is a
just-released cassette that boasts 2 tracks over 24 minutes, serve up a tidy
minute of fast, aggressive death metal that boasts technical riffage and is
lithe enough not to get bogged down in structural woes while changing up its
game several times to keep things interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the length constraint, diversity is <i>Monomaniac Volume One</i>’s greatest asset. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/This-Is-Past/193269390719026">This is Past</a> close out the compilation with “Catatonia,” a ritualistic sub-minute
chunk of what is ostensibly black metal but consists of Liturgy-esque chant-singing,
buzzing picked electric guitar and some ominous cymbal work. Though certainly
an unusual submission on the surface, it’s a perfect way to round out the
collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Agoros’ <i>Monomaniac Volume One</i> fulfills its promise, with a slew of short, exciting tracks that will
cement old loyalties and most likely forge new ones. It delivers a jolt of adrenaline to the dying
art of the compilation, and we can only hope the already-announced <i>Volume Two</i> lives
up to the successes of this first installment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Monomaniac Volume One</b> is
out now on <a href="http://blastbeatprod.wordpress.com/">Blastbeat Mailmurder</a>, and available digitally <a href="http://blastbeatmailmurder.bandcamp.com/album/v-a-monomaniac-vol-1-7ep-bb011">through Bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want download.</a></span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-12553792714375582182012-10-22T10:55:00.000-07:002012-12-04T06:33:37.654-08:00Blast Eats: Violent Restitution Lunch Party<i style="font-family: inherit;">This <a href="http://hipnessasasecondlanguage.blogspot.com/search/label/blast%20eats">Blast Eats</a> feature has been one of my favorite things
I've done with the blog in recent memory, and the coolest part about it has
been, unquestionably, the variety not only of the recipes submitted but also in
the points of view of the people who have submitted them. People and food both
rule for basically the same reason: there are just so many different kinds, and they're all equally cool in drastically different ways. This installment is further proof of that, as Sarah, guitarist for Vancouver grinders <a href="http://violentrestitution.bandcamp.com/">Violent Restitution</a>, walks us through a lunch of some of the band's typical eats while on their most recent tour.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">GRIND ROAD EATS - VIOLENT RESTITUTION LUNCH PARTY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These are the items we mostly ate while on our 6 week
cross-Canada tour. Items can be dumpstered, some bought. Bread and some produce
should be garbage-available, though and we managed to dumpster a half full
container of flaxseed oil and that shit is expensive, so score.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chickpea Grind Sandwich/Kale Wrap<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Carrot-Hot Sauce Blast-wich ( Pebbles' specialty)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Iced Mincer (Obviously not for van eating! But when you can
take over someone’s kitchen. )<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What you need -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Canned chickpeas ( unless you aren't on the road and would
rather soak vs canned )<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nutritional yeast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomatoes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Avocado<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Salt + pepper packages stolen from fast food restaurants<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bread<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kale (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Flaxseed oil (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pickles (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tofurky Italian sausage (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Large Carrots<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hot sauce of choice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dairy Free Iced Dessert of choice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oreos of some sort<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bananas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chickpea Grind Sandwich/Wrap – Beat-by-beat breakdown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Open and drain canned chick peas onto sidewalk and place
into large bowl. You can try to wash them if you want, if not the left over
goo-water should make for a farty ride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Mash with fork, if you don't have a fork like we did
sometimes, you can attempt to use a spoon but it really sucks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add some flaxseed oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add finely minced Tomato<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add finely minced avocado, or mash into it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add Nutritional Yeast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add apple cider vinegar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Add optional pickles
( we had pickles towards the end of tour and it was the coolest )<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Grind and mince together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Put a slice of kale on the sandwich, add mash and if you’re
so lucky to have tofurky sausage, slice up and place on bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For kale wrap, obviously just wrap it in some kale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Carrot-hot sauce blast-wich, Specialty of Pebbles the
drummer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 slice of bread wrapped around a carrot. Add Hot-sauce to
desired amount. Ingest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">More enjoyable if you have not showered since tour started
(actually).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Iced Mincer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Container of Dairy alternative frozen ice
"cream" emptied into a saucer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grind up the Oreos using a potato masher, hammer, fist or
whatever you have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finely mince banana into mixture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mash together, put in container and return to freezer for 20
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Serve with Oreo cookie, and a slice of strawberry if you’re
so lucky to have access to one.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-11536615724682702742012-10-17T14:23:00.001-07:002012-10-21T15:03:59.087-07:00Cloud Rat/Republic of Dreams- Split LP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sfw020TQWH0/UHrPeFelmKI/AAAAAAAAAF4/LGK85ntefUI/s1600/Cloud+Rat_Republic+of+Dreams_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sfw020TQWH0/UHrPeFelmKI/AAAAAAAAAF4/LGK85ntefUI/s320/Cloud+Rat_Republic+of+Dreams_Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As a writer, it’s hard not to fall into patterns, especially
when taking as specific a focus as “extreme music blogger,” an emphasis that
deals in often-similar styles and textures. While these patterns are evident in
the writing of me and others in many places, one of the worst might occur when
writing about split albums. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For whatever reason, splits tend to be more or less glossed over
by music writers, reduced mostly to a competitive structure that assesses which
band out-performed the other and whether the loser is an outclassed upstart or
an old fogey that simply lost its mojo. This approach ignores the fact that
splits, when done right, can be more like full-length albums with a different set
of performers on each side (sound familiar, <i>Scum</i>
fans?) and it takes an excellent example of the form, like this split LP
between Cloud Rat and Republic of Dreams, to jar me and my compatriots from debilitating
reviewer lethargy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Michigan’s Cloud Rat opens its side with the sludgy
post-metal of “Burning Doe,” a move that simultaneously bucks expectations and
accentuates the strength of the band’s songwriting. While an example of the
“slow opening song” trope found on <i>From
Enslavement to Obliteration</i> and scores of albums after it, the song is
remarkable for two things: firstly, with its Isis-indebted quiet-loud structure,
buoyed by blasts near its middle section, it is the rare instance of that trope
that doesn’t crib stylistically from early Swans; secondly, it’s one of even
fewer examples that has re-playability tied to its own merit and not simply the
notion that, “Hey, it’s a grindcore band playing slowly!”<br />
<br />
Second track blast-force “Parachute” opts to skip the subtleties and stomp the
accelerator out of the gate, offering a memorable, no-nonsense 51 seconds of
sweet-spot grind. The song is equally tight instrumentally and in terms of
construction. This is what well-made grindcore does: take whatever time it
needs to prove its point and then <i>stop</i>.
There’s no dignity in wearing out your welcome, and stretching ideas farther
than they need to go is as painful to the listener as it is the song structure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cloud Rat’s range within their chosen form never ceases to
impress me. The stuttery opening riff on “Moving Mouths,” the
sludge-courting heavy punk of “Keba” and the transition from blasting grindcore
to vocalist Madison's acapella singing on “Stench of Sage” interact side-by-side perfectly
without so much as a raised eyebrow. For some time now, Cloud Rat have been among
the best active groups in modern grindcore, so the fact that this is their best
material to date should indicate something pretty significant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Republic of Dreams, who occupy the other half of this split,
are a German and Polish screamo/emoviolence
three-piece with a focus on the fast and intense side of that spectrum. Grindcore
fans looking for a screamo gateway drug will find it in this band, who serves
as an excellent foil to the emotional, nuanced grinding of a typical Cloud Rat
release.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The contribution from Republic of Dreams is a lean, frenetic
bunch of songs, keeping an average length around a minute-and-a-half. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“There’s No Bullshitting Here” opens the side, and begins
with a disturbing, minute-long soliloquy seemingly plucked from a horror film
(though I can’t place its origin). The sample’s wracked closing scream blends
into feedback and punishing chords that dance in off-kilter, disorienting
patterns befitting the foggy streets and howling, feral inhabitants detailed by
the sample’s breathless narrator. The track plays out like a harrowing chase,
complete with pauses, backtracking and an abrupt, violent conclusion.<br />
<br />
One of the screamo genre’s most striking features is its
marriage of melodic sensibilities to hardcore punk’s standard unrelenting
noise. “An Enlightened Macho is Still a Macho” is brimming with noodly earworm
riffs but kept grounded by snappy hardcore drumming and emotive, varied
screams.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Closing number “(Your) Banality is Evil” slashes out of the
gate for its first 20 or so seconds, before sliding into a
meditative-but-energetic instrumental section that builds the requisite tension
for a final burst and subsequent collapse. Through use of minimalism and
repetition, the track builds a beautiful end-of-record momentum that doesn’t
suffocate the listener and the band uses just enough negative space to mandate
an immediate repeat listen to the whole record.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the case of both bands, there is more happening lyrically
than your typical freeze-dried political straw man arguments or overdone,
consequence-exempt violence. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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Cloud Rat’s lyrical focus is deeply personal, and sometimes
it’s possible to only grab snatches of meaning from the poetry. It seems almost
like prying to dissect these songs in a review, but many seem to deal with
painful experiences having to do with religion and spirituality, abuse and gender
issues. Yet while clearly packed with underlying significance, it’s possible to
simply enjoy the lyricism of lines like these from “Burning Doe”: <i>“The leaves have this curl to them; / Racing
past, golden hues like wisps of a horse tail not yet fenced in.” </i>There is
always more to unpack and discover in these songs, and vocalist/lyricist
Madison is quickly proving herself as one of grindcore’s finest writing
talents.<br />
<br />
For Republic of Dreams, most lyrics are some combination of
social and philosophical musings, with an alternately broad and personal bent. Songs
from their side deal with machismo, impartiality, social change and a range of
other topics, and include the added bonus of commentary on each song from the
band’s lyricist. One of the more interesting is the economics-focused “(Your)
Banality is Evil”: <i>“Your ‘invisible hand’
is a force of regression / (Taking from the many, giving to the few). / Your ‘trickle
down’ is (drop by drop) killing people. / Can you still believe all that
nonsense?”</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
The LP’s packaging makes this a crucial release not just as music but as an
artifact. While the individually screen-printed cover means that every copy won’t
be an exact replica of the above digital image, it serves as a healthy reminder
that this record is made for no one but you and the people who produced it; no
intermediaries, no compromises. The booklet is beautifully laid out, and besides
the lyrics contains a number of striking visual art pieces. Everything (the
covers, the booklet and even the stickers that designate the sides) displays
the same amount of care and it <i>feels</i>
important. Punk is feeling like something matters and this is punk to its
eyeballs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Because of the quality found across its 20-minute runtime, this
split feels truly collaborative. “Winning” or “losing” the record doesn’t apply
here, because these artists feel like they’re on the same team. As a result, they
manage to produce what is one of the best releases of the year and a must-buy
album for dedicated extreme music fans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>You can purchase the split from <a href="http://ifbrecords.blogspot.com/2012/07/cloud-rat-republic-of-dreams-split-lp.html">IFB Records</a> in the USA or <a href="http://www.reactwithprotest.org/store.php?rid=1743">React with Protest Records</a> in Europe, or on Cloud Rat's <a href="http://cloudrat.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-gigs-tours.html">upcoming US tour</a> with thedowngoing.</i></div>
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<b>[Note: Cloud Rat sent me a copy for review.]</b></div>
<b>[Edit: In the original version of this review, the phrase "vocalist Madison's acapella singing" read "(sampled?) singing" because I was unsure of the origin of the vocal that came after "Stench of Sage," and the phrase "effects-assisted stuttery riff" </b><b>in the same paragraph</b><b> was changed to "stuttery opening riff" in reference to the guitar work on "Moving Mouths" because I was unsure how the effect was produced. Guitarist Rorik has graciously informed me that the vocal on "Stench of Sage was Madison performing <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday">"Gloomy Sunday"</a></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday">("<i>Szomorú vasárnap</i>"), or "The Hungarian Suicide Song<span style="line-height: 19.185184478759766px;">"</span></a></b></span><b>, and the guitar effect that opens "Moving Mouths" was produced not through an effects pedal or other artificial means but through an alternate picking technique.] </b><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-78863728001968907552012-09-24T01:26:00.000-07:002012-11-05T12:49:18.519-08:00Wretch- The Senseless Violence EP<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aAjX_r-XQx4/UGAWDWCq_8I/AAAAAAAAAFo/SHnU-3ddbgA/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aAjX_r-XQx4/UGAWDWCq_8I/AAAAAAAAAFo/SHnU-3ddbgA/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"To love a murderer. To love to commit a crime in cahoots with the young half-breed pictured on the cover of the torn book. I want to sing murder, for I love murderers. To sing it plainly. Without pretending, for example, that I want to be redeemed through it, though I do yearn for redemption. I would like to kill." - Jean Genet, <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Our-Lady-Flowers-Jean-Genet/dp/0802130135">Our Lady of the Flowers</a></b> <b>(1943)</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grindcore does not mean the same thing to everyone. When
meeting new people, in the real world or online, a discussion of taste expected
to yield a high degree of common ground can quickly find you at angles with
your discussion partner on what grindcore should sound like, what makes it
great, and even what it fundamentally is and is not. This shouldn't suggest a clear one-up, one-down, right-or-wrong situation; rather, it’s a question of experiential data,
and, like more aspects of music than most critics care to admit, largely a
matter of personal tastes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Take this Wretch EP, for example. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fundamentally, it scans as some amalgam of death metal and
grindcore. However, someone with a more or less exclusive interest in
high-speed grindcore could have a tendency to read it as death metal or
goregrind, while a metal fan with a casual interest in Pig Destroyer and Nasum
might find it exactly in keeping with their definition of grindcore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The death metal and grindcore signifiers in Wretch’s sound
share a fairly equal amount of weight in their vocals. Their pitch is for the
most part binary and split between low and high patterns. Low vocals are a guts
deep (but not pitch-shifted) marriage of death metal’s growl and gore music’s
gurgle, while the highs are spat out in a raw, violent manner that values
emotion over sheer height (vocalists: to translate that criticspeak, “emotion”
means that it’s going to hurt—a lot).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lyrics on <i>The
Senseless Violence </i>EP haunt classically gore territory, with hatred,
violence and grotesquery dominating the subject matter. The taboo and
disturbing are common fodder here, and songs like “(Dis)located,” with its
focus on sexual violence, might warn off some potential listeners outright.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Guitar tone and recording fidelity both rest around the
midpoint between 80s extreme music demo-trading and the height of major label
metal in the 90s. Mid-fast death metal is roughly the band’s cruising speed,
and blasting grindcore serves as a counterpoint to that principal tendency. <br />
<br />
The first of 6 gore-soaked tracks, “Purveyors of Senseless Violence” splits
open the EP in fitting fashion. A sample from Australian Nazi skinhead flick <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105275/">Romper Stomper</a></i> sets a violent tone that
is matched deftly by a fast, metallic intro riff, the call of which the rest of
the instruments rush to answer. An energy builds around their playing for a few
seconds until Joel, the band’s vocalist, brings that energy to a head in a
long, hate-filled high scream that serves as one of the track’s high water
marks. The rest of the song rolls along at a deathgrind churn, and later
sections lock into some especially head-nodding death metal grooves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Death-thrash grinder “Shit Shovel” performs some gut-level
satisfying maneuvers and is one of the faster numbers on <i>The Senseless Violence</i> EP. It’s a track with the most
chocolate-and-peanut-butter moments of any found here, and a good one to play to a
mixed room of death fans and grinders. With both an intro that recalls a schlock-horror
foggy graveyard and an energetic later half, it’s a pretty good example of
where the band’s interests extend musically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
The material’s overall metallic proclivity means that, as expected, Wretch is
stocked with a talented cast of players. However, talent without savvy editing
can lead to flaws in song structure, as found most notably on “Gorging.” A destructive
drum fill transitions into a tasty groove that buoys the song, until that
groove becomes mired in an errant breakdown that sees the song slowly collapse
onto itself, dissolving into a disoriented pause/count-off that briefly
restores order before an unfocused dual guitar exercise leads the song to a
somewhat puzzling, abrupt end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Wretch will especially appeal to the listener who identifies
first as a metal fan and a grindcore fan second. Fans who tend to be hardline
toward either metal or grindcore might tend to focus more on the musical
notions that they’re unfamiliar with than the ones with which they are, but someone
whose graph meets somewhere in the middle of that continuum will be right at
home here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You can purchase/download <b>The Senseless Violence</b> EP from Wretch’s <a href="http://fvckingshitcvnt.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a> page, either as a
name-your-price download or as a physical cd.</i></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span>
<b>[Note: The band sent me a digital copy for review.]</b></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-35749026384845784832012-09-03T20:51:00.002-07:002012-09-03T20:54:41.221-07:00Blast Eats: Rape Revenge Vegan Fudge<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Samantha, vocalist of
the powerviolent Canadian feminists in <a href="http://raperevengeband.tumblr.com/">Rape Revenge</a>, brings us the sort of
vegan treat that even the most snobbish carnivore can't deny: good,
old-fashioned fudge. No matter your diet or culinary philosphy, blast Rape
Revenge's newest 7" <a href="http://raperevenge.bandcamp.com/">Paper Cage</a>, whip up a batch of this goodness, and
while it's cooling, destroy something oppressive in your neighborhood. (And
don't forget to respect those around you). Then dig in.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My favorite recipe is for vegan fudge, it goes like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup peanut butter (or any other nut butter, almond works
well too)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 C Carob powder or chips<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3/4 C Cocoa powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 C Agave Nectar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/3 C non-dairy milk (almond is awesome)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp Vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Combine everything in a pot on the stove over low/medium heat,
stirring regularly. Once it thickens,
remove from heat and put in greased pan and throw in the freezer. Let cool for an hour or more.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-43050694145104658492012-09-02T21:35:00.002-07:002012-09-03T18:16:37.601-07:00Syntax- Syntax 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1qy1dpb9BKY/UEQwwcusYFI/AAAAAAAAAFY/ND2nRH39tjE/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1qy1dpb9BKY/UEQwwcusYFI/AAAAAAAAAFY/ND2nRH39tjE/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I never know how to feel when listening to a new band’s demo
material. It’s not the fact that demos are never perfect; demos are cool for
what they promise as much as what they deliver. My reservation toward demos
lies exactly in that promise. Just like I’m never sure if a band I love is
going to follow up on a great LP, I’m never sure if a demo band I like will
make it to one decent LP before they break up or change so drastically that I’ll
wish that they had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">California's <a href="http://www.theevacuationplan.blogspot.com/">Syntax</a> is the perfect band to speak on this occurrence about.
Their <i>Demo</i> from 2009 was quite
promising, if derivative of Discordance Axis, and the fact that I liked it
worried me as much as it excited me, for fear that whatever they filled in the
blanks with once they discarded their grind hero worship would make me wish
that they’d just remade <i>The Inalienable
Dreamless</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Syntax’s 2012 material is feedback-scarred, destructive
stuff, and a definite step up from the 2009 <i>Demo</i>.
Gone is the overwhelmingly Discordance Axis-lite aesthetic, along with the
thin, clean guitar tone and the Damage Digital trashcan drums of the first
outing. In its place is a looser, more mature set of songs that pack a lot of
noise while still retaining the angular, tech-flecked style that made them an
exciting find a year ago. This Syntax has more in common at first glance with a
band like Cellgraft than Discordance Axis or Assück, and as back-handed as that
sounds from a pedigree standpoint, it’s meant as high praise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The science fiction aesthetic of the demo is still present,
though this record trades the thin,
cerebral quality of something like Isaac Asimov’s <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Robot-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553294385/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header">I, Robot</a> </i>for a dirty, intense and visceral tone reminiscent of
Richard K. Morgan’s <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Carbon-Takeshi-Kovacs-Novels/dp/0345457684">Altered Carbon</a></i> or
William Gibson’s <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441569595">Neuromancer</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From a vocals standpoint, it’s hard for me to not love this
band. Vocalist David’s main approach is a high, gasping shriek that sounds like he’s
putting every ounce of himself into the performance. That trick is hardly the
only one at his disposal, however, and this release finds David hitting
gut-churning lows more often and deeper than found on the last one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Never is the sonic shift from 2009’s <i>Demo</i> to <i>Syntax 2012</i> more
noticeable than in the opening of first track “To Forget.” <o:p></o:p>The shrill feedback and bashing drums of this song
are firmly grounded in earthly pursuits, and the airiness of the early demo is
barely a distant memory. “To Forget” is an immediate, snarling cocktail that shouts</span> “<span style="font-family: inherit;">This the new shit!</span>”<span style="font-family: inherit;"> at you like an ad-lib on a rap single and then blasts into the ether.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A slow, emotive, eyes-downcast riff floats through the
feedback that opens “Glitch,” gaining intensity until it chugs itself into
full-fledged blasting halfway through. The guitar and drums toy with several
riffs, stop-starts and tempos over its run, a technique that assures that the
song stays exciting while never getting tangled in the convoluted vines of math
metal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Shape Shifter,” the definite “single” if grindcore had or
needed such a thing, resurrects the Discordance Axis staple of half-time riffs
over blasting drum patterns. Guitars stab and flail around seismic, rolling
drums, screams emerging from every direction; the three players ride shifting
cyclical patterns around one another, three interlocking cogs in the same
grinding piece of machinery. Some moments find them perfectly at pace with one
another, while others find them at angles with each other in ways that only
seem asynchronous until you look at them twice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the sound of a band coming into its own. It’s the
point where you can stop saying, “This is really cool because it sounds like:”
and start saying, “This is really cool.” Now is the time to start hoping for a
Syntax LP, because the band that I’m hearing on <i>Syntax 2012</i> has the chops and direction to actually pull one off.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You can download <a href="http://grindcorekaraoke.com/album/syntax-2012"><b>Syntax 2012</b></a> from Grindcore Karaoke. You can also find the <a href="http://grindcorekaraoke.com/album/syntax-2009"><b>2009 Demo</b></a> there in a version that's oddly missing two tracks, or grab the full version from Karlo at <a href="http://cephalochromoscope.blogspot.com/2011/10/syntax-usa-demo-2009.html">Cephalochromoscope</a>.</i></span></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-17424443289109327852012-08-28T23:14:00.002-07:002013-05-09T21:17:29.290-07:00Blast Eats: The Oily Menace TEN FUCKING SKULLS Hot Sauce<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><a href="http://theoilymenace.13bels.net/">The Oily Menace</a>'s Kevin has kindly offered this weapons-grade habanero-based hot sauce
recipe for your tastebud-eradicating pleasure, along with what is bar-none the
funniest recipe I've received thus far. Even if you're a complete wimp and
don't eat anything "spicier than ketchup" (I actually have a friend
who defines her spice limit this exact way), read this recipe, because it
rules. Also, please note: If you're preparing this recipe, DON'T FORGET A PAIR
OF GLOVES. Never underestimate the habanero's power to permeate EVERY ORIFICE
IN YOUR BODY.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hardware: Blender, pot or
pan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Software:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1-10 habaneros, depending on heat level (1 pepper for ONE FUCKING<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
SKULL, ten peppers for TEN FUCKING SKULLS). Stems removed and cut
in half. Leave the meat inside
the pepper, it's got a lot of flavor that only posers throw away.
These are the same people who wave a 7a drumstick over a snare to dust it off and call that a blast beat. Sorry, even Rich Hoak can’t get away with that any more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cumin seeds (anywhere from 1 tsp to infinity, but start small).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hopefully raw because we want to toast these. If you’re using ground<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
cumin, consider getting a
spice grinder or a mortar and pestle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
because fresh seeds are cheaper and have a lot more flavor. Anyway,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
start at ½ tsp with ground.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 medium onion, chopped. I
like a red onion, but some may prefer a<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
large shallot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1-1½ cups of carrots,
ripped to shreds. More carrots for a
slightly<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sweeter result<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A whole head of real garlic.
Hard neck garlic. Real garlic
from the<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
farmer’s market that has some purple or red on it. Strong garlic.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Garlic that doesn’t use triggers.
Peel ‘em all and coarsely chop.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Juice of 3 small or 2 medium limes. You can roll the limes under the<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
palm of your hand before you cut them to soften them up. It's okay if<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
some lime pulp gets into the recipe too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. White vinegar is NOT THE SAME,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
just like the reformed Terrorizer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One tablespoon of salt.
This is a lot of salt for this sauce, so you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
don’t have to use it all, but don’t use more than this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oil, about a tablespoon<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water, about 3 cups.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Start with a dry pot or pan that is big enough to hold everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Turn the heat up to med-high and once the pan is hot drop the
cumin<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
seeds in. As soon as one or
two of them pop, or you smell them<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
toasting then turn off the heat, and dump them into your grinder
or<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
mortar…and grind. They should be done toasting by the time you get<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
through the long version of Metal Attitude Sucks by Larm, or<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Starvation by Siege. If
you’re using powered cumin skip this<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
altogether but you should still listen to Larm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next place a small amount of oil in the pan, return to medium
heat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once the oil is hot place in the onions, celery, and carrots. Do you<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
know what a sweat is? You
probably do after this insanely hot summer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we have had, but in this case it means to soften the vegetables and<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
concentrate flavor. Do this
with a pinch of the salt to help draw out<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
moisture. Kitchen veterans
might note that is a mirepoix, but with a<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
bit less celery. This will
take longer than the Thin Lizzy song Cold<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sweat, but should be done in a Whiskey in the Jar, or a
Remembering pt 2. If it starts to brown,
it's too hot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next add the habaneros and ½ of the garlic. If you happen to have<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
started Defeatist’s last LP when you added the peppers, they will<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
probably be done somewhere near the start of Choking the Light, or<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lament. If you don’t have
that LP…get it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://defeatist.bandcamp.com/album/tyranny-of-decay">http://defeatist.bandcamp.com/album/tyranny-of-decay</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay, let's blend. Put the
lime juice, vinegar, and remaining raw<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
garlic in the blender and spin ‘til it's smooth. Then add the hot<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stuff and blend ‘til it's super smooth. If you need to learn about<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
smooth: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkizL1oyYQc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkizL1oyYQc</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once the sauce is thick and smooth, you can thin it out to the
desired consistency with some water.
I usually add about a cup, but some people want a much thinner sauce.
This will only thicken a small</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
amount when cooled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Add salt to taste, and bottle!
If you use a canning jar it's usually hot enough to make a seal.
Once opened it keeps for about a month.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151260455377991259.post-1181687143513224042012-08-28T14:02:00.001-07:002012-10-14T07:33:18.935-07:00Acid Shark- Bombs Away Demo 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybqvEr3d398/UD0xtcXlVuI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9K65uNOUODg/s1600/Acid%2BShark%2B-%2BBombs%2BAway%2B-%2BDemo%2Bcover%2Bartwork.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ybqvEr3d398/UD0xtcXlVuI/AAAAAAAAAFE/9K65uNOUODg/s320/Acid%2BShark%2B-%2BBombs%2BAway%2B-%2BDemo%2Bcover%2Bartwork.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre conventions are a funny animal. We, as music fans,
will at one time or another all complain (to anyone willing to listen) about
the strictures of genre and how its stifles creativity. Yet skew one element in
a way we’re not expecting, and we balk instantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enter my introduction to Acid Shark. Drummer Lee sent me the
standard e-mail asking if I’d like to review the record, along with the equally
standard links to some contextual info. After browsing their bio and finding a
comfortingly familiar blend that included Repulsion, Terrorizer, 324 and Napalm
Death, I mentally agreed, deciding to hit YouTube before answering back only to
make sure that they weren’t some cleverly camouflaged bedroom e-grind band.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I decided upon one of the three demo tracks (“Anger,” I
believe), and the instrumental racket that first met my ears was of a similarly
familiar and comforting nature. Around 30 seconds into the track, I was
prepared to find some variation on a screamed vocal. However, rather than this
genre standard, I met with something quite different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Acid Shark’s vocals take the form of a shout-speak snarl so
well-enunciated that practically all of the lyrics are discernible without
reading them. While this approach would
sound common enough on a crust-punk record, its presence on something touted as
grindcore was enough to give me pause before responding to Lee in the
affirmative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some reference for former vocalist Matteo’s surprisingly
clear bark can be found in 324’s Masao, an obvious influence. Other similarities
can be found in Mick Harris’ vocals for Unseen Terror, minus the blurring
speed-rap delivery found on some UT material. Still, even compared to these,
the degree of clarity in the vocals is arresting; Matteo lacks the gruffness of
Masao or the aforementioned speed of Mick Harris, so when lyrics fall flat, as
the average grindcore lyrics are wont to do, that fact becomes painfully clear
to all but the most unobservant listeners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Firmly anchored in the old school, Acid Shark’s guitar work recalls
the consummation of the 80's teenage gropings between punk and metal that would
eventually beget grindcore. The band
packs tone and riffage so middle-grounded between the two that I had to scrap a
potential lead for this paragraph because I simply couldn’t choose which genre
signifier to pin on it. Their grind stays militantly planted in the linearity
of something like Terrorizer’s <i>World
Downfall</i>; out of the many early grind touchstones that inspired the songs
on this demo, I can say with a degree of certainty that Sore Throat’s <i>Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid</i> and <i>Unhindered by Talent</i> probably aren’t two
that feature prominently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title track “Bombs Away” opens the set, and while it’s the
shortest to be found here at 1:37, it doesn’t bring the blistering speed
expected in most shortest-song grind tracks. Instead, it introduces
another unexpected twist along with Acid Shark’s grindcore: choruses. While all
three tracks follow a verse/chorus structure, “Bombs Away” (with its chorus
consisting only of the words “Bombs away!” repeated six times) comes up short
on ideas (if long on energy) and winds up a bit repetitive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Anger,” the 3<sup>rd</sup> and final track on the demo, comes
off as the most successful cut of the bunch. The track opens with a headbanging,
old-school groove that it rides until a half-second jolt of silence ushers
Matteo in. At that moment, the whole band surges forward, the vocals taking on
a thrash-indebted urgency thanks to the
song’s longer line structures and wordier (in a good way) lyrics. Besides
containing some of the demo’s fastest playing, the song also contains its most
complex chorus, meaning that you don’t mind hearing it repeated 3 times. This
is the song to hope future AS efforts sound like, and it’s the best indication
that they’ve got something exciting to offer on their next releases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Convention will probably keep most fans of modern grind at
arm’s length, but crust-lovers and open-minded modernists will discover a
skillfully-delivered demo outing that forecasts good things if the band
continues to refine the blueprint laid out on these tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<i>The <b>Bombs Away Demo 2012</b> is available <a href="http://acidshark.co.uk/acidmusic.html">here</a> for download and streaming.</i><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>As touched upon within the review, vocalist Matteo has split
amicably with the band, and they are currently seeking a replacement. Any interested parties can record a demo over
this <a href="http://soundcloud.com/acidshark/acid-shark-anger-karaoke">karaoke version</a> of “<a href="http://soundcloud.com/acidshark/acid-shark-anger">Anger</a>” and send it to <a href="mailto:band@acidshark.co.uk">band@acidshark.co.uk</a> for consideration. It's probably a good idea to be in the UK if you actually want to be considered, but either way, send 'em a demo, 'cause extreme music karaoke rules.<br />
<br />
While Delaware isn’t anywhere close to being in the UK, I couldn’t resist recording
my own vocal demo, so if you’d like, check it out <a href="http://soundcloud.com/desiccatedveins/acid-shark-anger-nigel-vocal">here</a>. </i></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span>
<b>[Note: The band sent me a digital copy for review.]</b></div>
DesiccatedVeinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16783531567772825094noreply@blogger.com2