REVIEW: The Arson Project – Blood and Locusts
Sweden's The Arson Project have long been on my list to keep an eye out for since the band sent me a copy of their impressive demo 'Good Morning Vietnam' back in 2005. Their demo debuted a fast paced, frenetic grinding style that was topped off with scorching vocals that made me envisage scenes of mass-destruction brought about by widespread napalm bombing in Vietnam. Their name fit the aural intensity perfectly which is a rare thing is seems these days.
'Blood and Locusts' offered a similarly caustic experience; while the music is definitely more mature and developed, I was again met with an absolutely crushing wall of powerful blast beats from the second I pressed play, backed by those familiar raspy, scorching mid-range vocals and devastating guitars underscored by an appropriately thick distorted bass.
The Arson Project clearly owe a lot to the Nasum school of grindcore. I'm sure the band have a hard time avoiding such a comparison to their iconic countrymen. The main difference between Nasum and The Arson Project though are the song structures; The Arson Project are not content to let grooves settle, refusing to let listeners gain a sense of comfort. Their jagged song structures are aimed wholly at creating a volatile atmosphere of chaos and unpredictability. Listening to these short and potent grind tracks played at breakneck speeds with multiple tempo changes throughout is a thoroughly disorientating experience.
This is the style of modern grindcore I really enjoy; while the songs are short (I'd say the average clocks in at around 1:20) they don't fall victim to lazy songwriting. Each song is structured in isolation without reverting to irritating and predictable punk beat-blastbeat verse-choruses - and each song borrows from a wide range of extreme genres from grind, various schools of death metal (old school, melodic, progressive), hardcore punk, and crust. The track 'Mentalt Avrättad' even has a slight doom and melodic post-metal meditation as both Nasum and Rotten Sound have had a tendancies to do.
While this MCD is sure to have old school grind fans in a huff (and seriously who gives a fuck about them anyway? Boo hoo it doesn't perfectly rehash your favourite sloppy, poorly recorded nostalgic grind release - what a travesty) fans of modern grindcore should waste no time in getting. If you're into Afgrund, Rotten Sound, Sayyadina or Gadget then grab this album as soon as possible, because I believe it just might top any of the past offerings from either band.
This is crushing, violent, high-intensity grindcore done right. The songs are poweful and potent; crafted for maximum impact. Congratulations guys. This is definitely going to be one of my premier grind releases for 2009.
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.
http://www.grindheadrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/grindhead
The Best of 2008 – Lachlan
The year is nearly fucking over and I am glad. I am done with this year. Despite that pessimism, there have been a few highlights. Doing this AusGrind thang with Matt has been pretty fun as we slowly build up our jerk base.
We really hit our stride this year with Grindhead Records and released some of my favourite albums to date; Gruesome Stuff Relish, Pathology, Beyond Terror Beyond Grace’s amazing full length, Long Pig and Sound of Detestation. We also put on an amazingly successful Slaughterfest II, with the Canberra show selling out at The Basement. Thank you to everyone who helped out or came to a show.
Ebolie recorded a full length album that I am very proud of. Kill A Celebrity managed to put together a split with my favourite chaotic grinders Krupskaya. I got to see Pig Destroyer, Meshuggah, The Mars Volta, Grave, Against Me!, Graf Orlock and many others, and even got to play with the mighty Insect Warfare - twice. Meanwhile local Sydney bands like The Crooked Fiddle Band, Hospital the Musical, The Bakery, Pirate, Squid, Club Consolador and Squat Club reinvigorated my love for the local music scene.
All I want to do with my life is play music and tour, so lets hope 2009 brings more of that. I’m a total fucking narcissist, so while here are my top albums of the year, expect a more verbose bat-off in the next few days with a description of each.
What albums did you guys really enjoy – inside and out of the grind scene? I’m curious.
Lachlan’s top 10 albums for 2008
1. Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
2. Secret Chiefs 3 - Xaphan
3. This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You
4. Gridlink - Amber Gray
5. Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist
6. Meshuggah - Obzen
7. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
8. A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
9. Kill the Client - Cleptocracy
10. Ef - I Am Responsible
Lachlan’s top 5 grind albums for 2008
1. Gridlink – Amber Gray
2. Kill the Client – Cleptocracy
3. Agents of Abhorrence – Earth.Water.Sun
4. The Kill – Hate Sessions
5. Phobia – 22 Random Acts of Violence
Lachlan’s top 5 Australian albums for 2008
1. The Bakery – The Bakery and the Beast
2. Pirate – Demo
3. The Kill – Hate Sessions
4. Agents of Abhorrence – Earth.Water.Sun
5. Sleepmakeswaves – In Today Already Walks Tomorrow
The Biggest Disappointments of 2008
Fuck these goddamn safe-playing pandering shitheads - especially bands as fucking innovative and original as the first two. Way to ruin a good thing.
1. Genghis Tron – Board Up The House
2. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
3. Gronibard – We Are French, Fukk You
Sound of Detestation debut released
Sydney-based death, gore and grindcore label Grindhead Records has just released their 20th CD - the debut of Swedish grindcore bastards Sound of Detestation. The album is available from the labels homepage for $15 AUD (within Australia) or $10 USD (internationally).
You can listen to a sample MP3 here.
Sound of Detestation - Swedens newest extreme music exports waste no time in battering listeners with seventeen bursts of blistering modern grindcore - fusing their home country's signature style of extreme music with hardcore and death metal to produce a brilliantly executed, powerful debut full length album. Couple that with state-of-the-art wall-of-sound production techniques courtesy of Gadget progenitor William Blackmon and you have a jaw-dropping grind release that will no doubt carry huge impact into the international extreme music scene.
Fans of modern grindcore; waste no time in familiarising yourself with Sound of Detestation. This is one of the most exciting grind releases to come out of Europe that will see the group deservingly mentioned alongside countrymen Gadget, Splitter, Skitsystem and Nasum.
Download: Grindhead Records Release Sampler
Here are 16 MP3s from the latest 10 Grindhead Records releases - please take the time to enjoy them.
All these releases (and MP3s) are available from the official Grindhead Records website for $15 AUD or $10 USD (postage inclusive).
eMailing List
Tags
Recent Posts
- Dispolar Need A Lazy Guitarist
- Captain Cleanoff has a new Split!
- Grindhead Records Release: Exekute – Doomsday Mourning
- Weekend Gig Guide
- Diploid Mini-Tour
- SETE STAR SEPT Sydney Show
- Rotten Sound (Finland) Sydney Show.
- Michael Crafter//Sweet Teeth Tour – Easter
- All Are Equal In Death This Weekend
- Sete Star Sept – Australia Tour 2013
- Agents of Abhorrence recording Relief
- New AoA & Iron Lung.
- All Are Equal In Death Mini-Tour: Cruciform, Brazen Bull (Qld) & Mother Eel
- Just a quote about Man & Nature
- Kunvuk Need New Drummer