The Kill – Blast Beat’n the Shit Outta PBS MCD OUT NOW!
Without fear of hyperbole I can safely say that The Kill are one of the most unabatedly intense grindcore bands in existence. These guys specialise in stripped back abrasive grindcore played at an abrupt and break-neck pace, with angular and dissonant shredded riffing, caustic throat-shredding vocals and an unrelenting blasting pace.
On Blast Beat'n The Shit Outta PBS, Jay (Fuck... I'm Dead, Open Wound), Roby and Nik (Super Fun Happy Slide) tear through 16 tracks of caustic violent grindcore in 16 minutes. This is how grindcore SHOULD be played - and it's all recorded live and incredibly tight.
An unmissable release from Australia's most intense grind band. Own this if you like Insect Warfare, Discordance Axis, Gridlink, Pig Destroyer, Agents of Abhorrence or Captain Cleanoff.
Out now on Blastasfuk for $11 AUD (worldwide postage paid).
4 good reasons to catch Slaughterfest this Saturday
I thought I'd do up a quick article with a few reasons why you shouldn't miss out on saucy Sydney's Slaughterfest III this Saturday at the somewhat seedy Sandringham Hotel (Alliteration. I'm clever.) - other than the obvious - that there are a whole score of kick-arse bands, and you can enjoy 12 hours of Australian grind, death, stoner and doom for a mere $20.
Captain Cleanoff: One of Australia's most renown grind bands. These guys deliver a slew of old school punk-influenced grind tunes in the style of Napalm Death. Their toe-tapping tunes recently took them over to Europe to play Obscene Extreme 2009. They also supported the awesome Brutal Truth while they were at it.
Captain Cleanoff - Hardcore Fashion Parade
The Kill: If Captain Cleanoff are one of our more renown grind bands, then The Kill are definitely our most violent; channeling the sheer unabated blasting aggression of Discordance Axis and Gridlink. Unpretentious caustic grindcore. This will be their first Sydney show in a long, long time (that is, if they ever even played in Sydney when Neil was singing for them...).
The Kill - Axe Attack / We Want Blood
Looking Glass: Fuck Wolfmother. These guys are hands down, without a doubt the best stoner rock band currently active in Australia. Fusing the nightmarish intensity of Jimi Hendrix psychedelia with baked Black Sabbath riffing and the sludged out heaviness of Kyuss, these guys will fucking blow you away - guaranteed. They have an incredible energy live. Don't miss this one.
Looking Glass - Acid Tongue
Ebolie: Sydney's booze-fueled metallic grinders with a penchant for bad jokes, drunken intensity, and dropping 16th notes without anyone particularly noticing. A combination of Nasum, Botch, Cephalic Carnage and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Get loose. Between you and me this might be one the last times you catch these guys. They're also supporting Brutal Truth the following Monday.
Ebolie - Cronullafornia
For the record, Pod People don't seem to have a fucking thing up on YouTube. Bastards.
Catch you all there Saturday. Things kick off at midday and the show may sell out - so get there early to avoid disappointment.
http://www.myspace.com/slaughterfestaustralia
http://www.myspace.com/captaincleanoff
http://www.myspace.com/thekillgrind
http://www.myspace.com/lookingglassoz
http://www.myspace.com/ebolie
New music for your facehead, starring The Kill, The Guantanamo Bay City Rollers, Helm, Phobia, Altars and more
THE KILL: Melbourne's The Kill could be one of the most intense grindcore bands on earth (alongside the likes of Gridlink, Agents of Abhorrence, Discordance Axis, early Pig Destroyer and the like). They're about to release a live album they did for PBS Radio on No Escape Records. You can listen to two tracks Needs More Napalm and Fuck the Olympics on their MySpace page.
THE GUANTANAMO BAY CITY ROLLERS: There is a cool live clip up from the awesome South Australian grinding stoner/hardcore punk rock band The Guantanamo Bay City Rollers. It's one of those funky Facebook video things, but hopefully you can see it here (you may need to be logged in).
AGENTS OF ABHORRENCE / ROSKOPP: The awesome Agents of Abhorrence have teamed up with fellow Australian grinders Roskopp to release a split 7" from Crucificados, apparently.
HELM: Queensland's Helm have 4 of 5 new tracks off their upcoming album Volume 2... The Winter March - which is quite a lot when you consider their songs are all in the vicinity of 7+ minutes. Their new album is due out early 2010, and their debut album Keehaul... Volume 1 has been in almost constant rotation in my CD player since I purchased it. It is beyond highly recommend for fans of Cult of Luna, Isis and the like.
ALTARS: South Australian death metal band Altars have a new song up, which will form part of their split with Tzun Tzu. I'm not a fan of too many death metal bands these days, but these guys seem to have the whole Morbid Angel vibe going with an evil-as-fuck atmosphere to accompany it. Sounds promising.
GENE POOL SHARKS: Sydney thrashing 90s hardcore punkers Gene Pool Sharks have two demo tracks up.
EYETOFUK: LSD-soaked rocking cyber-grind whack Lithuanian cunts Eyetofuk are letting you download their Grindhead Records split with Putrid Whore for free.
PIRATE: Sydney prog wizards Pirate have some new songs off their latest release. I will go ahead and say these guys shit all over anything The Mars Volta could have hoped to achieve in the last few years.
KYU: kyü are an extremely promising new Sydney duo who you should all listen to.
PHOBIA: Orange County grinders Phobia have a new video clip up on their MySpace page for their track Rise Up.
- In other more important news, some vapid chick wants me to 'comment her truth box' as she is 'is bored and wants to know secrets'. I have something for her truth box right here.
REVIEW: Atka / Shimetsu Split CD
I saw this album lying on the top of new Grindhead Records arrivals the other day. The cover art was immediately intriguing, and a far step away from most of the album cover art we see coming through our distro. The digipak is a nice little package with a very well executed art concept, depicting an iceberg against dark, cold, desolate backdrop (apparently taken from "The Last Iceberg" series by Camille Seaman for anyone who'd like to check it out).
Now, I didn't have high hopes for this album, but my curiosity had piqued. I thought I might give the CD a few songs to establish itself, and if it hadn't grabbed me by then, then straight back to the pile with it.
The verdict after a few tracks? Atka kick fucking ass! Their side of the split is a relentless non-linear onslaught of metallic technical grindcore. The songs are intelligently structured for maximum chaotic effect with the occasion bit of breathing room given through a mid-paced section. I love the fact that riffs seem to be pulled from a vast pool of extreme metal genres. At any one moment there could be a burst of a frantic black metal passage, or an awkward 'mathcore' figure that'll have your brain crying out in incomprhension.
In the 13 or so minutes Atka are given on the split CD, nothing seems predictable. I could never anticipate the direction a song would go, which is definitely one of my most cherished aspects of grindcore: it's unrelenting chaos. This is definitely a band that keeps you on your toes. The vocals are a reasonably dynamic mix of bellowed gutturals, some shrieking highs, a more hardcore/powerviolence mid range, a handful of vocal 'nosies' and even some sparse spoken word.
A fucking great effort by this Germanic five-piece who come across as some kind of almalgamated bastard son of Discordance Axis, Pig Destroyer, Burnt By The Sun, Aborted, Cephalic Carnage and Botch. In a period where it takes a lot for any extreme metal or grindcore to really make an impact, these guys have really impressed me. They also get bonus point for uploading their new full 3" MCD for download on their MySpace page. Nice pick up there, Ecocentric Records.
http://www.myspace.com/atkametal
Next comes Shimetsu.
Shimetsu are one of those typical boring technical death metal bands. You know the ones; the type of dudes who spend their entire lives only learning how to sweep pick and never actually given thought to how to structure a memorable song or write a memorable riffs. Almost all of the riffs Shimetsu play blend into an impalpable gray of mediocrity, slotting nicely into the exact structure of a thousand genre-riffs before them.
The songs are very blandly structured. No song has any real discernible flow and each seem to have repeated stop-start passages followed by fairly sloppily played, over-technical riffs. It is quite clear that Shimetsu are trying their hardest to play above their abilities - an act they do not pull off well.
In terms of production sound is pretty weak, consisting of a pretty standard scooped guitar tone, a terrible triggered drum kit which I would swear sounds programmed if the beats weren't so poorly played and riddled with mistakes, and your standard death metal frontman grunts. The band swears that there's a bassist in the band, but I could not hear one bass line for the life of me. The linear notes mention this album was mastered by Scott Hull. Hmm.
I'm probably being a little too harsh, but the band simply offers me nothing to enjoy. This is generic, by-the-books technical death metal. If you want to hear another hamfisted Misery Index / Necrophagist clone (who both suck too by the way) then knock yourself out. I don't really have any interest in it.
Definitely worth grabbing for the Atka tracks. I've got to go scout those guys out. The album will (eventually) be available on Grindhead Records once we launch our new estore.
http://www.myspace.com/shimetsu
http://www.ecocentricrecords.com
Lachlan’s Top 5 Australian grind albums
It's been a slow news week and I can't find shit to post, so here are my Top 5 Australian grind albums I recently had to compile for a magazine interview with some additional explainatory bullshit attached. Why not list your favourite 5 Australian grind albums too so we all feed like one big warm, happy eFamily (or is that iFamily?)?
In no particular order;
Captain Cleanoff - Discography (No Escape Records): Insanely catchy punk-influenced grindcore; the perfect distillation of Napalm Death style grind coupled with truly infectious grooves. The original pressing of Captain Cleanoff's self-titled was one of my first ever encounters with grindcore, and still remains one of my favourite grind albums of all time. Grindhead sells it.
The Kill - Hate Sessions (No Escape Records): Blisteringly intense, caustic and relentless single-pedal grindcore which has featured at various times members of Fuck... I'm Dead, Blood Duster, Undinism and Super Fun Happy Slide. This three-piece are up there with Gridlink, Pig Destroyer, Discordance Axis and Insect Warfare in their ability in creating fast, violent and stripped-back grindcore. Grindhead sells it.
Agents of Abhorrence - Earth.Water.Sun (Numerical Thief): Frantic Discordance Axis-styled discordant guitar riffing fused with chaotic song structures and delivered with absolutely crushing intensity. To be completely honest, these guys even showed up Insect Warfare when they supported them in Sydney. A wall of chaotic grinding noise.
Blood Duster - Str8outtanorthcote (Relapse Records): This is THE Blood Duster album to own. It captures the band at their most stoner-rock orientated moment, melding incredible blues-baked stoner riffs and psychedelic grooves with erratic bursts of blast beats and Blood Duster's hilarious sense of humour.
Five Star Prison Cell - The Complete First Season (Faultline Records): An absolute oddity in the world of grind. These guys mix grindcore with The Dillinger Escape Plan-esque rapid-fire syncopations and complex Meshuggah-influenced polyrhythms with a vocalist that constantly conjures up references to Mike Patton's experimental approach to vocals. Incredibly awesome, complex and unique. You could argue this isn't strictly grindcore, but I don't care. It rules.
This weekend Ebolie and Kill A Celebrity triumpantly return to the stage at Bald Faced Stag. Be there.
DOWNLOAD: 32 MP3 Downloads from Grindhead Records
Grindhead Records have released a series of 32 FREE MP3 Downloads from their catalog of 27 death, gore and grindcore releases. For more information on any release be sure to visit www.grindheadrecords.com - Grindhead releases are priced from $8 to $12 AUD within Australia or $6 to $10 USD worldwide with shipping inclusive.
Code of Lies - Swarm of Vultures: Modern groove-laden, hybrid technical death/grind hailing from Orange, NSW, Australia.
Gruesome Stuff Relish - Broken Gravestones: The quintessential Spanish gore band for any horror metal freak.
Subterranean Fecal Root - Digging a 40 Mile Hole To Live In: Ultra-offensive grinding metalin the vein of Anal Cunt, Undinism, Macabre and Gronibard from Waco, Texas.
Pathology - Defiled Autopsy Remnants: Superb Californian brutal death/grind from members of Cattle Decapitation, Disgorge, The Locust and Being Killed. For fans of Goratory.
Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Recycled Carnage: From the debut full-length from the most intense of the new wave of Australian grindcore for fans of Rotten Sound, Discordance Axis, Circle of Dead Children and Captain Cleanoff.
Long Pig - Leaving Barrel Influence: Incredibly battering, thick, raw grindcore infused with downtuned sludge, death and stoner metal from Hungary.
Sound of Detestation - Voided and Blind: Blistering modern Swedish grindcore with hardcore and death metal elements with stunning production values courtesy of William Blackmon (Gadget). For fans of Gadget, Rotten Sound, Nasum and Skitsystem.
Eyetofuk - Unifuk Zombie: A severely warped, hallucinogen-induced and LSD soaked alien nightmare of electro cyber porno gore/grind for fans of Gigantic Brain.
Putrid Whore - XXX: The Number of the Bitch: Punishing downtuned Italian gore/grind for fans of Gruesome Stuff Relish and Mortician.
Maximum Perversion - Snowdropper: Fun, porn-obsessed and grooving Australian death/grind with flavours of Macabre and Carcass.
Ebolie - 1800 Fashioncore Kids Helpline: Mind-melting, cranium-crushing, alcohol-fuelled and slightly quirky modern Australian grindcore drawing from Cephalic Carnage, Napalm Death and Nasum.
Guild of Destruction - Kill! Kill! Kill!: Old-school all-blasting, no-frills, thrashing intense death metal from the bowels of Melbourne Australia. Ripping heavy riffs and screaming solos make this essential for any 1990s death metal fan!
Malignant Germ Infestation - Zombie Outbreak: Complex yet sickening bile-drench brutal gore/grind with electronic elements.
Mangled Whore Flesh - Labia Jerky: Grooving, thrashing raw death/grind in the vein of Intestinal Disgorge.
Embalming Theatre - He Raped His Dying Daughter: The infamous Switz grinders Embaling Theatre return with another intense slab of crusty, raw and violent Switz grind.
Hacksaw Surgery - Severed and Eaten: Tongue-in-cheek Australian brutal death/grind with elements of Dismember and Incarnated.
Gutted With Broken Glass - Headfuck: Absolutely traumatic, hyper-violent brutal cyber-death/grind, taking the music of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Fuck I'm Dead to chaotic new extremes.
Roadside Burial - Vengence is Mine: Beer and meat fuelled no-bullshit grooving gore/grind brutality from Australia.
Exhibit A - Urination Contest Disorder: Fast, crusty punk-influenced ear-bleeding Australian grindcore.
Devoured Flesh Regurgitation - Bones, Flesh n' Partysnacks: Depraved catchy punk and gore influenced Dutch grindcore, complete with the neck-snapping groove of Regurgitate to the tune of Napalm Death and L.D.O.H.
Roncsipar - Kibera: A viscious hybrid of experimental influences from stoner rock to industrial metal. A unque and obscure listening experience from Hungary with dark and droning textures offset by haunting ambient undertones. For fans of Neurosis, Godflesh, Ministry and Scorn.
Aeturnus Dominion - Traumatic Amputation: Heavy metal from Australia.
Roadside Burial - This Hammer has a Date with Your Forehead: Beer and meat fuelled no-bullshit grooving gore/grind brutality from Australia.
Corpsickle - Zombie Flesh Eaters: The Australian undead desecrators of death metal rise from their fetid tomb to unleash their plague!
Sordid - Mix 106.Fuck You: Crustier than a pregnant crack-whore with a yeast infection. A whirlwind of filthy grind infused crust in the vein of Phobia, Infest and Unholy Grave from Australia.
Halo of Knives - Watch the Red Devils Burn: Battering, violent, extreme Australian grindcore of absolutely ear-splitting intensity. Think Napalm Death with the intensity and chaos turned up to eleven. Features members of the almighty Extortion.
Silovanje - I Raped A Rapist: A brutal brand of depraved and sadistic cyber-gore/grind influenced by Fuck I'm Dead, Mortician, Gut, Disgorge, Beheaded and Abuse. Features members of Captain Cleanoff.
Aeturnus Dominion - Meathook: Heavy metal from Australia.
Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Murderer: From the debut MCD of this young grind act that are fast becoming one of Australia's most talked about grindcore band! See where it all began. A mix of Rotten Sound, old Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer, Circle of Dead Children, Discordance Axis and Discharge.
Hailstones Kill 200 - I Am Not Afraid: Total and utter chaos. This Australian band has all the ferocity and intensity of deadly jagged sheets of ice raining from the sky. Ultra-violent power-violence/grind beyond all reasonable level. Comparisons can be made to Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and The Locust infused with the pace of extreme grindcore. Features members of the almighty Extortion.
Ebolie - Blood Tapped Skull: Ebolie combine the humour of Blood Duster and Gronibard with the intensity and groove of Napalm Death and the intensity of Nasum and Fuck I'm Dead with sporadic flirtations with jazz and funk. Killer Australian death/grind.
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