Remote - Starving Blaze And Hollow Shades

Coalesce meets Deathspell Omega?

Absolute savagery. Nasty noisey chatoic metallic hardcore stuff. Glorious stuff.

Beast As God demo

THIS WILL KICK YOU FACE OFF!

You're going to fucking love this if you're record collection contains Unruh, Catharsis, Integrity, Acme, Kickback, Turmoil, Bloodlet, Starkweather, Acrid, Thoughts Of Ionesco, Stalingrad etc.

Beast As God (Unruh/Catharsis/Acme worship)

Beast As God = total Unruh/Catharsis/Acme/Integrity etc worship. They've got a demo coming out soon on Viral Age. Heard an unmixed/unmastered version and it's definitely going to kick your head off. In the meantime, this little live clip will have to suffice.

Ex-Dead In The Woods by the way

Renounced - Conditioned From Birth (metalcore)

CHUG CHUG CHUG SQUEEK SQUEEK CHUG SQUEEK CHUGERDYCHUGERDYCHUGERDYCHUGERDY CHUG CHUG SQUEEEEEEEEEK.

Yup, metalcore. 7 Angels, 7 Plagues, Morning Again, Disembodied, Turmoil, Dragbody, Shai Hulud etc.

They even have a 'passionate' melodic guitar song called Interlude.

Quickly breaks back into chugs and squeels though.

I'll be incredibly disappointed if I catch them live and the guitars aren't permanently pointed skywards

Full Of Hell - Rudiments Of Mutilation (A389)

Utter brutality. downtuned heavy stuff with noise bits. slow, atonal non-mosh riff bits with fastblasts occasionally. If you took the mid-point of stuff like Man Is The Bastard/Crossed and Unruh/Left For Dead and took a detour via Eyehategod. This could have been on Bovine or Pessimiser. Metallic hardcore that's fucked in the head. No mosh. No fun. Perfect.

Dirtdrinker - s/t (noise rock)

If you like stuff like Unsane, Ken Mode, Kowloon Walled City and Coalesce then you're going to be into this. It kind of exists in the grey area between noise rock and the good offkilter end of metallic hardcore (ie Hydrahead, Kiss It Goodbye, Botch, Deadguy etc). In some places the vocals even reach Steve Austin of Today Is The Day levels of intensity. They've got a good sense of dynamics and song structure as well. Certainly not one dimensional.

Fucking great stuff. So good I'm going to track down the vinyl rather than jsut buying the flac.

Art Of Burning Water song from new 7"

Mentioned before about how fucking awesome Art Of Burning Water are

This is a song from a forthcoming 7". Quality noise rock ('math metal?) riffage.

You can't download it just yet but the label seems to have all it's other releases available as 'pay what you like' downloads.

GEHENNA discography on bandcamp (90s metalcore)

Gehennah have put up most of their discography on bandcamp for pay-what-you-want download - http://gehenna.bandcamp.com/

There's a few things missing and not everything can be downloaded but I'm guessing that's just teething problems.

Anyway, Gehenna are totally destructive 90s metallic hardcore. From the era of Catharsis, Integrity, Unruh, Enewetak etc.

Xaphan - demo (ex-Disembodied/Threadbare/108)

Slice of utterly brutal 90s style metallic hardcore.

I mean, it's ex-Disembodied, Threadbare, 108, Matyr AD etc. You probably get the picture.

Totally shits all over any of these current "holy terror" outfits.

I believe there's a split with Primitive Man in the works. Can't wait for that.

Basically, if you're record collection is filled with the likes of Bloodlet, Unruh, Integrity, Snapcase, Earthmover, Thoughts Of Ionesco, Systral, Kiis It Goodbye etc then you need to track this down.

Nails - Obscene Humanity (Southern Lord)

http://boomkat.com/downloads/637821-nails-obscene-humanity



There's a thread on Collective called Let's Talk About Dark Negative Heavy Hardcore. That's a good a description of Nails as any.

They veer between all out whirlwinds of blast beats and chaotic riffing to chunky, stomping chug riffs. Perhaps the mid-point between The Swarm and Earthmover. A bit more polished than that but the more metal production doesn't diminish the brutality.

3 short songs is the perfect length for something like this. Don't need more than five minutes of a frenzied assault.

Savage.

Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron

This one was recommended to me by our Ewan but I thought I'd write about it since he hasn't yet.

This album is pretty much everything I love about metal. Two content factors usually govern my love for metal: emotional and cerebral. The combination of these two things make for a record I am more than likely going to love. Emotional on it's own, for example all the well meaning but mostly generic Hardcore bands, don't do much for me as, IMHO, they all sound the same and nothing they do grabs me as really new, clever or interesting. Then, purely cerebral music gets you into Meshuggah territory where, as much as I feel bad for it, I just can't get into them as it's just too clinical and soulless without the passion and fire I need to really get me banging.

So here we have Dodecahedron. We have Meshuggah/Deathspell Omega complexity but with real fire and ferocity akin to the best Metal/Hardcore bands I love like Kiss it Goodbye and balls to the wall Black Metal. This really does get it right in my book. The third factor which makes this album stand out is this band really understands the importance of creating an album instead of a collection of songs. The progression of music through this record begins with hooked filled metalcore through to dense droning soundscapes, electronic sequences, Meshuggah style poly-rhythmic mantras, acoustic sequences and a whole shit load more. It really ebbs and flows, dragging you around like a vortex of evil, promising you beauty and then crushing you to death with some of the best riffs you've ever heard.

Oh, and the kick drum sound is utterly pulverising, I cannot get enough of that sound!

On bandcamp they've only posted two tracks which is a shame as you can't appreciate the whole epic in its full form (especially the "View From Hverfell" trilogy of tracks at the end which are a fucking masterpiece), so you'll need to demo the whole album via other methods (you know what to do), but please then go buy their album via bandcamp if you like it (you get the whole album in the download, don't worry).

Easily one of the best albums of 2012.

Losing The Battle - Live At The 1in12

Quick post before I do some more reviews later in the week. Here's something from my new bandcamp page of old UK DIY demos and things. It's an old band of mine called Losing The Battle (or Motley Crudos or Monkey Tennis). In our heads it was like a cross between Botch and His Hero Is Gone. Members have played in a bunch of other bands like Gruel, My Name Is Satan, Orrin De Forest, Doom, Jobbykrust, Health Hazard, The Devils, Servo. More than can be mentioned really. We played some gigs over a couple of years and it was fun (especially The Bacon Factory in London). This was a live set recorded at the 1in12 in Bradford. It was recorded via the studio so you can actually hear what's going on.

Battle Of Wolf 359 - demo

Just started to upload a load of old UK DIY demos onto a bandcamp. Here's Battle Of Wolf 359 who have recently called it a day. Lazy description is 'screamo' but that term doesn't mean too much anymore. Well, it means lots of different things to lots of different people so it's useless as a description. If you like stuff like Systral and Shikari then you'll be more than happy listening to this.

Army Of Flying Robots - Discography

Essential.

Vilipend - Inamorata (A389)

First heard this because the folk over at Elementary Revolt compared them to Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye and Botch. It's definitely in that ball park sonically. Obviously they're not quite as good as those bands. Honestly, if you managed to combine those bands and make even better music then you'd probably instantly become my favourite band of all time. It's unfair to judge any band by that standard.

Repeated listens have changed my opinion on them though. First listen I thought it was alright, not too bad. Slowly but surely repeated listens have made me think that actually this is some pretty killer stuff.

It's definitely more Botch than KIG/Deadguy. I could well imagine this having come out on Hydrahead.

I mean, these guys can really play their instruments. They don't wank off into a noodlefest but it's subtly there. Just occasional tasteful flourishes. More importantly, it's really well structured. It moves and shifts and does stuff.

The more I think about it the more I think of Botch. The tone of the guitars, the tempo shifts and the kind of discordant riffs used.

At this point their still students of Botch. But they're students that have got an A* in their exams. It's definitely something you should check out. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. And definitely keep an eye out for them in the future. There's the seeds of a band may well truly smash their way into the level of the aforementioned trio of bands. Here's in hoping.

Cynarae - s/t

This lot get compared to Systral, Unruh, Morser, The Swarm and Left For Dead. And that's a pretty fair comparison too. There'll be a handful of people who see that (like me) whose interest is piqued.

For everyone else we're talking blistering metallic hardcore punk stuff. Recent comparisons might be the more straight ahead Drainland stuff or that new Torch Runner album.

Definitely a cut above that post-Cursed thing where everything sounds dead samey.

Man Hands / L̶i̶c̶h̶ split 10"

Let's have a quick mention about how good the music is before we have a wee chat about how it's 'close, but no cigar' on the digital distribution front.

Man Hands blast through 7 tracks of tight, fast hardcore. A similar velocity and direction as Drop Dead or Hellnation. Riffs are interesting but there's none of that power violence fast-slow rhythms. Full speed ahead all the way.

Lich are great too. You may remember some of them from Battle Of Wolf 359. They've slowed the tempo down a bit and probably tuned down as well. Battering sludge fuelled brutality. One Eyed God Prophecy and Cattlepress and all that horrific savagery. Totally kick your head off live.

However, you can't hear their side. Well, you can hear one song here - http://lich.bandcamp.com/album/split-10-w-man-hands. But you can't hear the whole record.

You can buy half of the record digitally as Man Hands have got theirs up for 'pay as you like' but you can't buy the whole thing. And that's why it's 'close, but no cigar'. If you've read the description and had a quick listen then you should have come to the conclusion that it's something you'd want. However, unless you're a record collector, you can't buy the whole thing.

NB Bandcamp can now handle complicated tagging stuff for splits and compilations so it'd be an easy thing to change.

If you are a record collector here's the details on how to get a copy:-

Thanks to Robert/Adagio 830, Will & Lucy/Win Htein, Dr Tim/Dingleberry Records and Sam & Derek/Parade of Spectres the LICH/MAN HANDS 10" is finally out. We'll have it at shows, as will Lich, here's a bunch of links to buy it or trade. 7 songs from Man Hands, 3 from Lich. 500 copies.

UK
Parade of Spectres - paradeofspectres@yahoo.com http://paradeofspectres.blogspot.co.uk/
Win Htein - winhteindistro@gmail.com http://winhteinrecords.blogspot.co.uk/

EURO
Bis Aufs Messer - http://bisaufsmesser.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=22369
Adagio 830 - http://ww.adagio830.de
Dingleberry records - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dingleberry-records-and-distribution/118743564850504

Grace/Tide Of Iron split 7"

Ok, I bought this 7" at the first opportunity I could. Two of the best new bands in the UK punk/hardcore/blah scene. Grace are more metallic hardcore while Tide Of Iron are noise rock. It's out on the ever reliable Super Fi records. Both bands kill live and the recordings do them justice. Recommended with two thumbs up.



Grace have some of that 90s metallic hardcore that's a bit chaotic but a bit melodic in their blood. Unbroken, Botch, Mean Season, Coalesce, Harvest, Converge and all that jazz. They're not stuck in the past and it's not exact copycat stuff but it's just vaguely where the sound lies. It's not a million miles away from one of their previous bands, Thirty Seconds Until Armageddon. They're also ex-Jinn but aren't quite as fast and deranged as that post-Ebola band. It's more controlled and mid-paced.

Tide Of Iron sound like they're a bunch of grizzly, bear soaked noise rockers in some crazy gun-toting redneck town in 90s America that Tom Hazelmeyer discovered for Amphetamine Reptile. I guess witnessing an episode of Geordie Shore might explain things. Basically, if you love all that Am Rep stuff and Keelhaul/Today Is The Day/Unsane/Glazed Baby and all the rest of the riff-heavy 90s noise rock stuff then this will be right up your street. They're also ex-Marzuraan who were one of the most relentless far out guitar bands the UK produced this millenium. No 10 minute drawn out dirges but more quick punches to the face.

Well worth your time.

Absolutist - Ave

Savage savage savage savage dark metallic crust inspired hardcore. And it's not pretending either. This band are from Aberdeen. Ever been to Aberdeen? It's fucking bleak, cold and windswept. Some of this lot used to play in Filthpact and many moons ago they put on my old band in Aberdeen. Nice folk. But the town they live in is on the border of being the absolute wilderness. The North of Scotland has a similar line of latitude as all the Scandanavian black metal and raw crust bands. Not much else to do but shelter from the cold, drink beer and cook up the sickest music imaginable.



Now when i say crust i'm kind of alluding to the more fucked up end of the 90s crust stuff when the punks started making music like Neurosis, His Hero Is Gone and Dystopia. However, this is not sounds-like-Neurosis or sounds-like-His-Hero-Is-Gone stuff. There's tons of bands out there doing that generic copycat thing but this ain't it. It's coming from the same root as those 90s bands. The label compares them to The Dagda and I'd have to agree. Sadly, I feel that it's unlikely you'll have heard them. Do yourself a favour, find some Dagda stuff on a blog or soulseek. Oh, and My Name Is Satan too. Two of the sickest, most twisted hardcore bands Ireland ever threw up. It doesn't sound a million miles away from Ireland's current bleakest sons, Drainland. Not surprising as the man running the Suburban Mayhem label used to be in them. It's a bit more straight forward than them though. It's the kind of thing your regularly crusty might well shake his fist in the air at live whilst also appealing to the handful of oddballs that are into weird stuff but hang out in the punk scene. I reckon this lot would flatten the 1in12 if they played towards the end of an alldayer.

I mentioned the Suburban Mayhem label and sadly this is the last release as the label is calling it quits. It's all explained by them in a post called Death Of A DIY Label.

NOW GO AND BUY THE LP

That last thing was a link to buy the record but maybe you need me to show you the link like this - http://destroyedhuman.bigcartel.com/

Oh, and pick up the Drainland/Crows split 7" at the same time because it's killer.

Woodwork - demo

This band's self description says everything you need to know:-

Politically fueled 90'-Hardcore sounding band from France. Influences: Unbroken, Indecision, Catharsis, Outspoken, Trial, Morning Again, Burn, Inside Out, 108, Noam Chomsky, CrimethInc, Alexander Berkman, Elisée Reclus...