The compilation starts with Violent Headache, one of the best bands in the history of European grindcore. The Spanish band is a sure deal, plus these recordings come from a 1996 recording (meant to be released on a never printed split with Anticlerical), so between the classics split EPs with Proyecto Terror and Carcass Grinder. What can I say? This is pure, pounding and passionate old school raw grindcore, maybe not so fast or brutal, but totally enjoyable and full of energy. This recordings come before the slightly crust switch the band had with their album Bombs Of Crust, but some signals of the change can be heard here and there. I want to point out the great basswork of Chico and the amazing sound of these songs, which perfectly mixes the brutal and raw soul of Violent Headache with a rather clear recording. The last song is an HHH cover version, so you have another reason to think that you can’t get wrong with this band.

Next, ladies and gentlemen, the best, in my opinion, songs by Captain Three Leg EVER. This band changed their style a lot during the years, but this time I think they really nailed it. This is the kind of songs that a band can release only if its members have a wide range of musical tastes. How can I describe these songs? Mix a slowed down collaboration between Spazz and Infest, add some raw grind here and there and pour a HUGE DOSE of Rupture. So, Rupture-influenced-powerviolence? Powerviolence-drive-Rupture-worship? Call it like you want, this is just great. There are also some very cool old school punk (scandi and UK!) sections here and there. The scum punk feeling that flows through these songs is really inspiring. Rupture. The Scroungers. Netjajev SS. You know the deal. Pure fan. Raise your beer and band your head.
p.s. don’t worry when you’ll here the noises on track 22. Just read the title and enjoy the inside joke!

Wadge time! This Canadian band has a long history and it still kicks asses. I have to say that I’m not a fan of all their records, but on this comp they really nail it with three solid and intense grindcore songs. As always their main concept sticks to Hawaiian folklore and the guitar work gives the feeling of deep sea misteries, haunting bonfires in the night and ritual dances. Wadge is an insititution in grindcore and these songs continue their legacy. I still use the “they” pronoun talking about Wadge, even if I think that only Paul is in the band right now.

And when you talk about Iron Butter you have to talk about fun. This four-pieces from New York has a long history of great split EPs with bands like Mesrine, Unholy Grave, SMG, Rot and Archagathus and sticks to their classic formula of strong and spazzztic grinding noisecore. High feedbacks, short bursts of noise, scream/growl alternance, messy sounds, rancid bass and so on. Imagine a messy mix of Deche Charge, Fear Of God, Anal Massaker and Sore Throat. With a deranged twist. Plus, the last tracks is just hilarious.

And now, Rupture. Kneel! Behold the power of the best punk band ever. There are no infos about these recordings, but they really sound in the vein of the early stuff, like Baser Apes, Righteousfuck, Corrupture and Lust And Hate. Fast, blistering, uncompromising and totally poisonous full throttle punk. You either love or hate Rupture, but if you hate them you really should reconsider your life.

Fossil Fuel is a new one for me and, well, a really odd one. They sound like a weird mix between 50 Ways To Kill Me and GG Allin. This stuff just doesn’t work, for me. Sorry guys, but I really think you’re on the wrong compilation. Maybe not as attitude or whatever, but surely your music doesn’t fit between Rupture and Pantalones Abajo Marinero. Sorry.

I was talking about Pantalones Abajo Marinero, right? I thought this band was over and, suddenly, BAM, they appear on a compilation. No infos and twenty untitled tracks from them. Typical. This no bass duo delivers an amazing amount of HOLY SHIT grindcore, fast, unforgiving and with a cold sound that will make your ears bleed. This is totally the kind of music I expect from a band coming from the late 90′s and released by Discos Al Pacino. You will love every single note of these songs. No time to breath, no time to think, just bang your head and blastbeat on your furniture with your fingers. In my opinion, one of the best bands on this compilation.

Whoretorn is dead, now. And that’s a total bummer. They weren’t the best grindcore band on the planet, but they deliver two songs of really honest and well played grind, with a lot of emphasis on the low side of the frequencies, making their sound heavy as fuck and hard to handle for weak ears. Nothing too personal, but really effective, with a strong groovy side of the songs, coupled with faster blastbeat ridden sections. Cool band, too bad they split up.

I’ve already talked about Dysmorfic when I reviewed their split with Progeria, and it’s always a pleasure. This Italian band delivers five songs of amazing death influenced grind, with a lot of groove and brutality, coupled with a very nice guitar work and a strong attention to shades. Really not bad, even if the songs are maybe a little bit too long, but that’s a minor flow. During the first listenings the fact that they stick to a linear growling style may be a letdown, but it will grow on you after each listenings. Check out these guys!

[Released by At War With False Noise, DIY Noise, Hurts To Hear, Pure Fckn' Hate Prod. & Luchacore Records]

[Thanks to Andy & David for the CD!]

At the end of the first pack of songs of this live album Giulio shouts “Gesù o Barabba?” to a rioting crowd. The choice. Which side? Sometimes music, particularly punk music, needs a choice, a selection between different and competing factions. Choosing between Jesus or Barabbas is something that is inside of every person with a strong critical soul. You come to a moment in life when you need to put yourself in a faction, ending the neverending struggle in the grey zone. Growing up in Italy and listening to hardcore, grindcore and so on, puts yourself in that situation. You’re with or against Cripple Bastards? It’s very hard to be neutral about it. VERY hard. Are you with Jesus or with Barabbas? You have to choose. Do what you want, do what you like, but remember that a decision is worthy only if made after knowing everything you need to know about the matter. Don’t pose. Don’t take a stand without searching the depth of a band that has been around since before you were born. I’ve made my choice. I’m here because of Cripple Bastards, they made me find a light in the dark and frustration brought by living in Asti. They raised me. They made me wanting to be part of something bigger than just me and my records. I know them. I know every note they recorded. I’ve seen them live more than any other band. I know every word of their songs. I’ve made my choice.

This record is something more than just a live album. It’s a statement. The first songs are form the infamous Rovereto gig, with people rioting and boycotting the band, shouting insults at them. You can be with them or with the band. Make your own choice. I think that Cripple Bastards are the way they are also because of all the curses they received during the years, feeding their hating side and making their songs harder and harder.

Jesus or Barabbas? Take a stand.

On a sidenote, this is the best sounding live recording in all the 25 years of the Bastards’ career, with a song, Self-Zeroing, that stood for a very short time in the band’s set list. The original songs from the first Live To Hate People 3″ MCD are included. Out on F.O.A.D. Records.

Thanks to Giulio & Luca for the CD.

Tsubo is a band based in Rome, which has been around for ten years, but only releasing a split 7″, a 4 way CD and a full lenght album. This is their sopohomore release and I can say it’s also their best effort so far. Tsubo always focused on a mix of death metal and grindcore, mixing the power of the former to the speed of the latter. I’ve seen them live in 2007 and the mix worked out really well, while I’ve always thought that their recordings were a bit too rigid, with the death metal influence holding down the potential of the songs. Four years have passed since their latest release (the split EP with Agathocles) and I think that all this time was a good chance for improving their sound. “Con Cognizione Di Causa” is a solid record, the best Tsubo release so far, without any doubt. Their sound is still a mix of the above mentioned genres, but they managed to add a lot of freshness to the songs, making them sound fast yet powerful, heavy yet quick. The lenght of the compositions varies a lot, going from a few seconds to three minutes. The last song, “Colto Da Disperazione”, lasts way longer, but it has a long instrumental coda, so, well, it’s not a solid six minutes grind fest. I want to point out the guitar riffing, created with a solid thrash base and able to span to grindcore and death metal licks. Tsubo recorded two covers for this album, Salt Mine by Assuck and Storm Of Stress by Terrorizer. Mixing those two bands and adding some Deeds Of Flesh, some Possessed and a solid early Brutal Truth vibe can describe how Tsubo sounds. The result is a good record, which can finally stand out in the grindcore underground, side to side with great Italian bands of our days like Ape Unit, O, Terror Firmer or Zeit Geist. There’s still something to do, like making songs a bit more personal, but I really think that “Con Cognizione Di Causa” is a good checkpoint for Tsubo. Give ‘em a try!

Thanks to Manuel & Tsubo for the promo

I first came in touch with the work of Rubens when I received a copy of his drone side project, Void, and got instantly caught by the great atmosphere it was able to recreate. Some months later I received a promo for reviewing the first album by his main band, Hungry Like Rakovitz, and I was very happy to hear such a powerful and original band from Italy. Some years have passed and now it’s time to write some words about the new album by HLR.

The Cross Is Not Enough is a great record. Let me say it before going in the depths of its songs. Hungry Like Rakovitz changed their sound, putting the black metal influences a bit aside and expanding the range of vibes they could add to their music. They can still be described as a mix of grindcore, black metal and post core, but there’s something more. Rubens improved his vocal skills and the voice is more powerful and, most of all, has a wider range of sounds. This improvement enhanches the dynamics of the album, making it sound freshier and less bound to classic cliches. Music-wise they are playing a bit faster than before, keeping the road started with their split EP with O. The songs are carchy yet violent and powerful, with a cold yet passionate sound, filled with edgy chords and devastating drums. There are a lot of formal contradictions going on here. There are some cool melodies but you just can’t call this album a melodic extreme music record. As said before, the sound is cold, edgy, unforgiving, but still filled with passion and pulsating energy. I liked a lot the times when songs slow down a bit, punishing yourself with interesting and fresh breakdowns, not too far from some palm muting solutions used by The Rotted. After the half of the album (making “Putrefiction” the ideal limit), songs start to sound a bit more schizoid, like “The Size Of The Horn” and “The Beard Of Satan”, and you can also hear  a composition that could be written by Impaled Nazarene, “We Who Fuck The Darkness”. The post-core vibe is till strong, but it’s more subtle than before, making The Cross Is Not Enough easier to appreciate even to those, like me, who don’t like that kind of sound.

So, if you want a dark and powerful grindcore album filled with different influences and that can sound very fresh and enjoyable, give this record a spin!

Thanks to Rubens for the promo.

It’s always a great time when Insomnia Isterica release a new record. The Swiss grindcore outfit is made by four freaks who love to drink and blast at blistering speed. Being friends of mine I’m always really happy to listen to some new tunes by them, but I think this time they’ve really outdone themselves. Their previous best moment was, in my opinion, the split tape with Psychotic Sufferance but this split with Terror Firmer has taken the throne reserved for the Insomnia Isterica true masterpiece. The Tessiner warriors deliver six songs of brutal and unrelenting grindcore, mixing classic grinding moments to groovy parts that will take your beath away. I’ve always thought that the greatest quality of the band were the vocals, because all four members shared that duty. On this recording vocals are recorded only by two of them, Giulio and Attila, but they managed to use a lot of different styles, going from classic growling, to screaming, caveman grunts and classic hardcore raunchy barks. Maybe you’ve already listened to Insomnia Isterica, so you know that they started as a mix between Cripple Bastards and all the classic 90′s grindcore, with powerviolence and fast hardcore as subtle influences. I know (yeah, I know it, guys), that at least one of the members (Giulio, I’m talking about you) is a great fan of Archagathus and you can clearly listen that influence now. They go fast and powerful, without leaving room for breathing, but when they start to mince and deliver the groovy parts (like in the first song, Onesta Constatazione) you’ll hear the King Of Mince hand in their songwriting and you’ll know what to do : low your head, run with your knees really high and mosh through your fucking room! This side is pure grindcore fun, with fast sections, killer groovy ones and an amazing usage of vocals. Hail the lords of Swisshide Mountains!

You should already know Terror Firmer for a bunch of really cool split EPs with bands such as Humus, Eating Machine, Minkions and Social Chaos. And also because I’ve already reviewed them, if you are a regular reader. Anyway, they’re an all star band, with members of Jesus Ain’t In Poland, Cancer Spreading, Black Temple Below and Repulsione. This side of the split is not very different from their previous releases, even if they sound a bit heavier than before. Their kind of music is a very cool mix between fast crust, thrashcore and old school grindcore, but I think you can easily imagine them as a brutal compendium of the first 20/25 releases of Earache, so put Napalm Death, Spazztic Blurr, Heresy, Concrete Sox, O.L.D., Intense Degree, Unseen Terror, Filthy Christians and Sore Throat in a big grinder (oh oh oh, sweet, sweet irony) and listen to the result. Fast song, crunchy guitars, moshing sections, Disrupt like vocals, distortion-drenched bass, battle drums. Everything is in the right place for all the old school grindcore fans. The Troma reference in the monicker and the cover version of I’m Positive by Fear Of God (bow to the kings) are nice addition to an already great side.

This split EP is GREAT. Both bands rule very hard, their lyrics are clever and never boring, you will find the purest grinding songs mixed with a lot of groovy parts that will make your neck snap, the artwork is amazing and the colored vinyl looks great. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BUY THIS RECORD, FOR GRIND’S SAKE!

Let’s talk about extreme music stereotypes. Finnish make some badass suicidal black metal, while Norwegian one is the only true one. Mexican bands can compose some fine and fucked up gore grind, while Brazilian one always verge on the crusty side. Japanese musician, fuck, they are so weird and out of mind that you can compare Frank Zappa to Manowar, while American grindcore bands always flirt with powerviolence and classic hardcore. And Australia? Australia is the country of one of the fastest and most powerful grindcore around.

Well, stereotypes are often wrong, we all know that, but, with Australia, you can follow the cliché. Agents Of Abhorrence, Captain Cleanoff, Extortion, Suffer, Internal Rot, Warsore, Default, Roskopp. Those are just some great examples of extreme bands from the land of boomerangs that can rip your face off with their AMAZING kind of music. And then there’s The Kill. This band has been around for a while now but they haven’t managed to build a very big discography and that’s a real shame because the moment you put Make ‘Em Suffer in your stereo you will be assaulted by one of the fiercest records around nowdays. If you want a cheap ass description about how The Kill sounds I can go with one single word : grindcore. Is that cheap enough? I know it is, but I think this band perfectly fits in the classic definition of the genre, pushing its limits in the ultra fast environment without losing one ounce of groove and power. Fifteen songs in just a little bit more than nineteen minutes, I think that this is already a great way to put you in the mood for this album. Amazing machinegun-like drumming, catchy riffs and ripping vocals. Everything is in the right place. If you were whining about the break-up of Insect Warfare you can wipe your tears and start to smile, The Kill is here to blast everything off. Plus, you will also receive a bonus cover version of Slayer’s Necrophobic. It’s not easy covering such a famous tune by a god-like band like Slayer but The Kill managed to succeed in an amazing way, adding a lot of blastbeats and creating a brilliant version of a classic.

So, what do you want to read more? This record is an instant classic and one of the best grindcore releases of the last few years. If you want your music to choke you with unforgiving speed and brutality, Make ‘Em  Suffer by The Kill should be one of your first choices.

Thanks to Rob for the promo.

Stone Titan is a three piece hailing from Connecticut featuring the guitar player (Scott Martin) from Big Business. They play a heavy psychedelic kind of sludgy stoner, with an amazing guitar work and a deep bass sound. They put a lot of effort in creating a powerful dose of groove, usually cominbing mesmerizing drums/bass patterns and effects-ridden guitar riffing. The final result is something very similar to bands like Acid King and early Spiritual Beggars, but they also reminded me Italian acts such as Gum, El Thule or Stoner Kebab. The two songs featured on this tape are called (according to Metal Archives, my copy doesn’t have the info sheer) Tengutake (the shorter one) and Stab You In The Fucking Ear With A Knife. I really have to say that the approach to this kind of music by Stone Titan is reallt good and the lo fi production adds a lot of charme to this release. This was their second output after a single EP and since then (2010) they made only an appereance on a compilation and released a self titled EP. This band sounds really great, check ‘em out!

Gowl is a three piece from Connecticut and play a noise and punishing kind of raw grindcore. Musical wise they sound like earl Napalm Death with a bit of Violent Headache and Unholy Grave thrown in the mix, only recorded with a shitload of feedbacks and reverb. It’s like if 7 Minutes Of Nausea started to play classic and straight forward grindcore without changing anything about their choice of sounds. This is very old school yet refreshing, sounding like an early 90′s demo but with a strong influence by the more recent raw grindcore revival bands. If you’re into early Archagathus or bands like Sengaya, Dispepsiaa and Violent Gorge you will love this. The huge amount of noise added to the songs is like a bond between each one of them, making the whole Gowl side sound like a neverending whirlwind of unforgiving chords, growls and pounding drums. I want to point out that vocals are amazing. They’ve been recorded with a terrific sounding delay/reverb effect which adds that late 80′s feeling to the band. I think the best song here is the second one, Lee-Hi, but the whole side is just great. There’s also a Stone Titan cover thrown in, which is a great one. A grindcore band covering a sludge one. Classy.

GOWL – 2

This is the second full tape by the Connecticut band. This one starts a little bit slower than the previous one and the first thing that stands out is the change in the choice of vocals effects. Now they’re more saturated, with almost no reverb. Aftet the first one songs speed up a bit, but the feedback layer is almost gone here, with compositions sounding a bit more classic and less violent. There’s a chaotic feeling lurking through the notes of this EP, with a vibe that reminds me bands like Violent Noise Attack, early Cripple Bastards and even something from the first Patareni’s recordings. The old school sound is still intact, even if I think that changing the vocals effects made these songs lose something compared to the split with Stone Titan. Songwriting is still very good, but there’s a feeling of unsatisfaction that attacks me when I compare the two recordings. And that’s quite odd, because a bunch of songs are featured in both of them. I think the point is that this recordings sound weaker then the previous one, thus failing in terms of “violence”. Still a nice listening, but Gowl can do better then this.

GOWL – SUBMIT TO ONLY NOISE

This is the latest output bu Gowl and, let me say this, it RULES. It features nine songs plus an intro and displays a band in amazing shape. The sound is just perfect, clean enough to sound powerful and punchy, but still very harsh so it doesn’t lose an ounce of brutality. They dwell in the classic grindcore environment, with strong influences by early Agathocles, Terrorizer, Assuck, Dahmer and so on. Except for some (relatively) slower sections there is no time to breathe here, with great blastbeatting fun and raw guitar riffing. Seth sticks to a classic deep growl enhanching the feeling of old demo tapes and EPs with xeroxed covers. This is a top notch release and you’ll find yourself reversing the tape again and again. I don’t know what to say anymore, this is just PURE FUCKING GRINDCORE. For me, it’s an instant classic. Support this band motherfuckers!

Huge thanks to Seth for the tapes!

Four years ago a new band out of Modena, Italy, released an EP called Holobscene. That band was Jesus Ain’t In Poland and, probably, wasn’t realizing what kind of bomb they dropped. That CD is probably in every grindster’s collection now and it’s one of the best releases out of Italy in the last ten years. Songs like The Monkey Valley, Cyclops or Scum are still great now and are a great example of how you can play fantastic grindcore in the 21st century. A lot of time passed and only a bunch of months ago they released their second record, a full length, called Freiheit Macht Frei. There was a lot of hype preceeding the first Jesus Ain’t In Poland album and I have to say it almost deserved all the attention it received. First of all their style hasn’t changed that much. They are just a bit more deep in matter of songwriting, even if that is meaning that they lost a bit of their primordial aggression displayed in Holobscene. Songs are all fast, blistering and unmerciful, with a fantastic drumming and the usual classic voice of Julli enhanching the aggressive feeling of the record. The fifteen tracks flow one into the next without problems and you will end up being unsatisfied with just one listening and you HAVE TO push play another time. There are also some cool slower sections, like in My God Is My Will or Blessed Be. If I have to point out some bands to sum up JAIP’s sound I can tell that they are a mix of Assuck, early ’00s Cripple Bastards, Brutal Truth and Phobia, plus a shade of American brutal death (e.g. Disgorge). The only thing that I’m not really fond of is the production, which seems a little bit too clean and tends to flatten some parts that could be more powerful with a choice of warmer sounds. Anyway, this is a very good follow up to their amazing debut Holobscene and still put Jesus Ain’t In Poland on the front line of Italian grindcore.

Thanks to Ricky for the CD!

ZEIT GEIST – s/t

Turin is famous for its hardcore scene, which spawned an huge amount of great bands, both in the 80′s (Negazione, Declino, Quinto Braccio…) and in the 90′s (Arturo, Crunch, Belli Cosi, Frammenti..) and now the city expectorates a very cool grindcore act, called Zeit Geist. These guys have already released a self titled demo a couple of years ago, which featured seven songs, all included in this first official release, plus three new ones. Their style is quite simple, perfectly fitting a classic grindcore formula mixed with death metal and crust. If I have to make one of my influences recipe, I think I’ll start with a solid base of Spanish and Canadian grindcore, like Looking For An Answer and Ras for the former and the more recent stuff by Mesrine for the latter, the add a small dose of Assuck and Realized, a shade of Swedish Death Metal and some of the thickier crust you can think about (like Mouth Sewn Shut or the last offerings by Amebix). You will have a strong grindcore band, with some death emtal riffing, a powerful growling mixed with a raunchy throat bursting cleaner voice and some very cool crusty groove sections. The seven songs already featured on the demo have a rawer sound, while the last three are a bit cleaner. I really like this band, tehir songs are well composed and full of energy and, even if they are not reinvinting or revolutioning anything, they are still kicking asses.

Thanks to Fefo for the CD!

On October, 6th there will be the new edition of the Bloody Beast Festival! It will be hosted in Turin at the legendary El Paso Occupato and will feature Insomnia Isterica, Buffalo Grillz, Conviction and Uzi. If you are around Turin that day, come and we’ll share some beer! For infos : http://distrozione.jimdo.com/

Wage Garnisher is a band from Winnipeg and this is my second encounter with them. My first one was with a split tape with the almighty Disleksick, when they were a three pieces and played a slowed down noisy grindcore. Now things have changed. Simon linked me these new songs, which are going to be released as a split with LT.Dan and, looking at the band’s site, I can assume they are a two pieces band right now. Their style shifted to a slightly faster and more aggressive kind of grindcore, with a nice load of powerviolence influences thrown in the mix. Songs are very good and, in my opinion, blast away the older stuff by the Garnisher. This stuff is thick, powerful, with a nice classic grindcore influence, e.g. Warsore, Dahmer, plus a more modern approach, which reminded me stuff like Dismembered Fetus or the noisy stuff of SMG, plus an always appreciated connection to Crossed Out and similar bands. “Sing Some Songs, Have Some Prayer” is an amazing tune and surely the best one out of the recording, while “Thee Ahnd” is a power electronics/noise closing piece which I find a bit too boring and out of context. Anyway, give these guys a spin, they deserve it!

******

TENSION is a three pieces band from O.C. and they alreased released a self titled demo and a live recording on CD-r. Now they just released a split EP with xMAYONNAISETHEBASTARDx, which I think it’s their best work ever. Check ‘em out!