Tag: Grindcore

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GRAVEHUFFER – Mile High Live – REVIEW

Recorded live from the Mile High City, Denver Colorado on July 9th of 2023,Gravehuffer’s live album perfectly captures the mayhem of one of their live shows. It’s the next best thing to actually seeing the band in person. Plus you probably won’t get any bruises, broken bones or lost shoes jamming to this one at home.

For a live recording this album sounds fantastic. You can actually make out each instrument which is even a challenge for a grind/doom/punk/etc/etc band to achieve under studio conditions. But don’t let that frighten the grindheads out there. There is still plenty of carnage happening here. “Go Murder, Pray and Die,” still comes out savage as fuck. (Just try not to tip over the couch if you are listening at home. Or do. I don’t care. I’m not your Mom)

Vocalist Travis McKenzie even provides some amusing crowd between songs often involving some clever self deprecating humor. Who knew necrophilia could be so funny?

In addition to the live show, Gravehuffer included a few cover songs. “Like Rats,” (Godflesh) “Destroyer,” (Twisted Sister) “Inca Roads,” (Frank Zappa) and “Children of the Grave.” (Black Sabbath) The Frank Zappa cover is…..interesting. However, Gravehuffer some how transitions this into a killer doom crusted cover of “Children of the Grave.”  Don’t ask me how. It just works.

 

 

 

 

 

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A LA CARTE – Soup Dejour – REVIEW

Alright. Here’s a new Metal genre for y’all. Culinary Metal.

This is one of those few albums that come out and every now and then that really surprise you. The album cover instantly grabbed my attention with its morbid and cartoonish style. I had never heard any mention of this Death Metal/Grind band before this review. I wasn’t too sure as what to expect. Quickly reading the song titles, “Aborted Eggs Benedict,” “Rancid Risotto,” and “Heinous Hassenpfeffer,” I knew I was in for something truly different and fun.

A La Carte’s debut full length is equally impressive in both terms of music technicality and heaping servings of darkened humor. After working in a kitchen as a young Metalhead, I can really appreciate the band’s theme, morbid songs about preparing and serving food. To top things and come full circle the band performs their live shows wearing maitre d’ outfits. Just when you thought you’ve seen and heard it all in Metal.

Most “gimmick” bands spend too much time on the gimmick and not enough time on the music itself. A La Carte satisfyingly serve up some good tunes. I actually thought this might have been a side project for some more seasoned scene musicians! The band does a great job mixing in elements of Grindcore, Technical and Brutal Metal into some face melting music. One moment they are playing a soft Castlevania feeling melody and the next they are bringing a savage beatdown on your senses.

This a solid album that has no business being this good. If I was still working in the kitchen, these tunes would be blasting on my prep station. I only wish I had heard this album earlier as it totally would have made it into my top release list for 2022.

Dig in!

 

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THE HUMAN RACE IS FILTH – Echo Chambers – REVIEW

 

You gotta love that band name. Straight to the point and utterly complete statement. The Human Race is Filth or THIRF for short,  was formed back in 2017 by a bunch of veterans of the Maryland and Pennsylvania extreme music scenes. With a shit load of experience between the band members, THRIF deliver exactly what you would expect on this short EP.

THRIF does a great job playing blistering old school Grind. The closing track, “Shit States USA,” is just a little over 30 seconds and length but starts out with a cool groove before going into full blown blast mode. It’s one of those tracks that remind of the early days of Napalm Death where you would want repeat the shortest tracks over and over.  The group does take time to slow things down a bit in parts. “Mindless Thoughts,” starts with a groovy crawling bass that is followed by a creeping guitar before the blast beats hit What sets THRIF apart is their ability to blend in some Sludge and Doom elements that perfectly fill out a song. It dosent feel at all out of place and still delivers a meaty hook to the jaw.

At less than 10 minutes in length, you can spin Echo Chambers a few time before clocking in to work.

 

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DRIVE BY BUKKAKE – Bastards of Slime – REVIEW

 

The band name alone,  Drive by Bukkake, was enough to pique my interest in the band. Then I checked out some of the song titles; “CumBum,” “Spank Bank,” “Meth Nachos.”  I knew this was going to a fun review.

The movie and TV samples the band uses as intros and throughout some of the songs are funny as hell and perfectly work with each song. Extra points for including my heroes Creed Bratton and Frank Reynolds. Drive by Bukkake are undeniably having a ball on this recording and hopefully the listener is in on the joke. I spent half of my time on this review recalling where the samples used came from. Personally, I find these cats funny as fuck.

Musically, this is a nice mixture of grind, thrash and some sludge thrown in for extra measure. Tons of blisstering guitars and blast beats help Drive by Bukkake get their message across. The higher end vocals hit just right with the perfect amount of savagery.  The gang vocals have a real “Ghoul” feel to them and beg you to scream along.

This is a great listen when you need a little palate cleanser after listening to too much metal that takes itself way too seriously.

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THLURM – The Thlurm Must Die & Dungeon Scum

 

Thlurm bills itself as, “Metal Punk from the dungeons of Indiana,” which is quite an accurate description for their contribution to this month’s subscription. “The Thlurm Must Die and Dungeon Scum,” is part of Wise Blood Records demo series that highlights up and coming and promising new artists.  This recording, combining 2 separate demos is raw and punk as fuck, covered in chunky layers of pure filth.

” Instantly you hear influences of Toxic Holocaust and Midnight and like those bands, Thlurm is a solo product brought to you by Austin Sipes. Thlurm though has a much more punk and grind approach to their style. Songs come in fast and filthy with a certain unpolished charm that is comparable to early Napalm Death. This recording reeks of the lo-fi production of the the mid to late 80’s.

The vocals are sick, the guitars have more of a punk then metal feel and the while the drumming does not include any blast beats, the first demo, “The Thlum Must Die,” is some killer Grindcore. “Disease,” is punk rock kick to the jaw and the following track, “Imaginary Hell,” is a straight up banger that reminds me of Ghoul.

The second demo, “Dungeon Scum,” is much more raw in sound than the first. This half shows more of a Black Metal influence which can be felt the most on “Serpent Master.” “Illusions of Chaos,” and “Human Waste,” even slow things down a bit with even adds more of a haunting vocal feel.

For a demo release, Thlurm are already a band to watch.

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PUKE MUTANT – An Unsightly Desecration – REVIEW

With a name like Puke Mutant you get a feel for the band before you even manage to hit play. Not much is known about the band other than they formed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 2020 and claim to be the #1 Adult Contemporary Artist for citizens of sewers across the nation. They guys in Puke Mutant play some nasty no frills Death Metal with a heavy dose of gross out humor added to the chaos. Gross out humor and Death Metal? That’s always a winner in my book. If you are a fan of Pungent Stench or early Carcass, this is one for you to check out. The vocals are regurgitated and spewed perfectly melding with the bands dark and vile lyrical themes. The twin vocal attack reminds me of the grinding my garbage disposal does whenever a spoon is accidentally  lodged in the drain. The guitars provide some thick, chunky and punishing riffs with a few biting solos thrown in for good measure. With only 6 tracks, “An Unsightly Desecration,” is a short and satisfying listen.

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VHS – I Heard They Suck…Blood! – REVIEW

Canadian horror monsters, VHS are back from the crypt once again with more thrashy, trashy and blood splattered tracks based on films from the great video store era of the 80’s and 90’s. This time the band focuses its  theme on the most rocking creature of the night; vampires. VHS plays a killer style of death and roll that is part thrash, part death metal, part grind and so on. If you are a fan of Carcass, Midnight and Ghoul this is a can’t miss. Being a band of each of them, this album has already received heavy rotation in my collection. VHS even managed to snag a few guests on this album as well. Trevor Strnad and Dave Ingram lend their unholy howls to tracks, “Horror of Dracula,” and “Immortality Comes with a Price,” Not only is music here top notch the sound bites included are worth the price of admission alone. If you are a horror film fanatic, you’ll be impressed with some of the films that VHS include in their undying homage to bloodsuckers. From classics like “The Lost Boys” and “Near Dark” to cult classics “Martin” and “Monster Squad,” this release will make you want to go back in time and visit your local video store.

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VHS – Gore From Beyond the Stars – REVIEW

If you are a fan of cheesy B-movies horror, then VHS has you more than covered. With song titles such as, “From Crystal Lake to Space,” “Earth Girls are Easy,” and “Space Jam,” (yes, you read that correctly, it is not a typo.) “Gore from the Stars,” is oozing with plenty of film references to your favorite interstellar horror and science fiction films.

Have you ever noticed once a franchise starts to become a little stale, setting the next movie in space always seems to be the next option? Jason, Pinhead and even the nasty little Leprechaun have all taken the trip beyond the stars for better or worse. (mostly worse) So, how does VHS fair on their 4th album? Are things starting to go stale? Have they run out of any fresh ideas?

Thankfully Gore From Beyond the Stars delivers all of the maniacal and brutal fun that we have come to expect from VHS while still remaining fresh and memorable. For those unfamiliar with their insanity, VHS sound like a blended version of old school punk, Grind, Thrash and Death Metal with deep guttural vocals and an infectious sense of humor.  Most of this release is hostile and brutal but VHS also delivers some diversity on this album to keep things interesting. The somber synth filled intro track, “Blast Off,” starts the album off with a nostalgic nod to 80s Sci Fi.  The tracks only intensify from here as VHS stomps your skull in with a blitzkreig of horror mayhem with most tracks well under the 1:30 mark. “Earth Girls are Easy,” breaks this mold with an extremely Glam Metal feel compete with some ridiculously funny falsetto vocals and almost power ballad feeling solos. Another highlight are the movie samples that proceed most of the songs giving you a little break in their blood soaked audio onslaught. “Space Jam,” is an instrumental track that takes a moment to slow things down with some incredible grooves and solos that may leave you asking yourself, is the same band? If you are a fan of the humor of the legendary Macabre but need something a little more hard hitting, this CHUD is for you.

 

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POISON WIND – Virus! – REVIEW

As we inch closer to shows opening back up and the year anniversary of Covid shutting everything thing down in the first place, we actually starting to see new  projects and albums come emerge from this rather bleak period of time. Poison Wind bills itself as a “Quarantine Band.” The group was formed in the earlier stages of the pandemic by Brian Magar (Cultic, The Owls ANWTS) who brought together some of his musician friends from other groups to remotely compose and record 8 tracks which would become “Virus!” Mager laid down the groundwork with the drum tracks then passed the recording off to the rest of the group who supplied the guitars, bass and vocals. The band did not know who or which members they were working with at any time

With such a unique method of recording it has captured an extreme metal album the encompasses many different elements ranging from Doom, Sludge, Black, Death, Grind and even some Thrash elements. The songs themselves riff of the chaos that has been the last year with such titles as, “Branch Covidians,” “Get me out,” and “Wear a Fucking Mask!”

All of this adds up to a satisfying listen full of diversity ,some killer experimentation and good ol’ fashioned cooped up quarantine fury. More than a novelty album, this is proof something good can come out of a lockdown.

 

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FUMIGATED – Composted Album Review

Both bands for this month’s reviews are from Ohio. Ever been there? It can be fucking brutal. Fumigated are just your average group of no good illiterate rednecks from the swamps of Lima, Ohio. (and here you thought the cast of Glee were the only notable musicians from that area)

If you like your music crusty, nasty and covered in piss then this is the album for you. Composted is an excellent name for this album as it feels like it is a trashy blend of early grind and death metal, it reminds me of many of the early Earache recordings. Let’s start off with the vocals. I’m not even sure it’s human. My best guess is that it is some sort of pig gargling bleach mixed with broken glass. Seriously, they are fucking sick! This along with blast beats and some early Carcass Reek of Putrefaction sounding riffs give Fumigated a really killer debut album. This band still has plenty of room to grow from here and it will be exciting to see where they take it next.