MY TOP 25 RECORDS OF 2011

#25 – AxSxHx – The Awakening At Margate

AxSxHx delivered a good bunch of fastcore/powerviolence songs in their self titled EP and in their split with CSMD, but with this record they added an enormous amount of noise and pitch black negativity to their work, creating one of the heaviest record of the year. Too bad this one has been printed in few copies, because the music is great. Also, this is a 8″ lateh cut, which is always a classy addition to your collection!

#24 – DISLEKSICK / ASSPENNIES

Disleksick going back to noisy grindcore. And Asspennies following those Canadian freaks. I can’t end an year without putting a Disleksick release in the chart. Intense tape, as always.

#23 – FUCK ON THE BEACH – Eat ‘Em All

This record is too much underrated. The long awaited comeback of Fuck On The Beach carried a strong switch in style : songs became longer, darker and the sonic assault is more focused than in the past. I really enjoyed this record, even if you have to listen to it without prejudices. Welcome back guys!

#22 – INFARTO – Sul Fondo Insieme A Tutti Gli Altri Sassi

I wasn’t a fan of The Infarto Scheisse, but the name change brought this record that was stuck in my mind for a long time. There are a lot of great moments, but the lyrics of Del Brembo, dei Nostri Respiri e di Altre Facezie really nailed my heart.

#21 – EDDIE BROCK – s/t

Uhuhuhu. This record is the perfect fusion of fast music and fun. Everytime I spin this slab of vinyl my head starts to bang, while a stupid smile is stuck on my face. These guys are great, keep an eye open for them!

#20 – VILE INTENT – Regression To The Mean

I listened to Shadow Of The Skull a lot and when this record was announced I was very excited. It was cursed with a lot of pressing problem but when I finally received it I was very satisfied. Vile Intent added noise to their songs and the result is AMAZING. Dark and heavy powerviolence, the way it was born to be.

#19 – BEAR TRAP – Nailed Shut

OH. MY. GOD. This is fast. Way faster than you can imagine. Bear Trap is like a rusty chainsaw massacre on a Formula 1 car. Speed. Brutality. Awesomeness. Check ‘em out in Europe soon!

#18 – INTERNAL ROT – s/t

Are you missing the old times? Internal Rot will hit you with a shovel and drag you back there. This band is a perfect mixture of old school influences and destroys the separation between -gore and -core.  For fans of Repulsion and Terrorizer!

#17 – DEATH TOLL 80K – Harsh Realities

Noisy, harsh, powerful and fast grindcore. The old way. The right way. This band grows better at each release and this album is a great example of brutal European grindcore.

#16 – LT DAN / SATAN / VIOLENT GORGE / PIZZA HI FIVE

Four bands with four different styles. This bunch of guys manages to put a lot of different sounds in a little 7″ record, creating a whirlwhind of epic brutality. Four great bands to look out in the future! LISTEN TO SMG!

#15 – GHOUL – Transmission Zero

Ghoul is a religion. No excuses. Transmission Zero is a great one and, even if imho doesn’t top Splatterthrash or Maniaxe, is still a great way to spend an hour headbanging to the adventures of these hooded freaks. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

#14 – BLUE HOLOCAUST / EXPURGO

Blue Holocaust is alive! Pierre is a constant inspiration for me and holding in my hands a new release of his great goregrind project is amazing. Expurgo does a great job too, with their old school muddy goregrind. My heart beats for these sounds.

#13 – PORCODIO – Nessun Posto Per Me

If you’re Italian you’ve probably bought this record just for the name. Then you should have found four amazing classic hardcore songs, in the 80′s Italian way. Defintely one of the most interesting old school HC project nowdays.

#12 – RAEIN – Sulla Linea D’Orizzonte Tra La Mia Vita E Quella Di Tutti Gli Altri

I never listend to screamo. I was stupid, I admit it. Raein created a great following for their  Nati Da Altri Padri album. Epic and magnificent screamo songs with lyrics full of poetry. I always listen to this when I drive at night. It helps.

#11 – GRIDE – Zaskuby Chaosu

Gride! One of my favorite bands released a dystopic, visionary and very experimental album adding a lot of weird and schizoid features to their classic sound, following the path started in Horizonti Udalosti. I love this band and I think their new direction is really interesting and amusing.

#10 – LYCANTHROPHY – s/t

I’ve always liked Lycanthrophy. One of my first grindcore CD was the OEF 2003 compilation and I remember listening a lot to their tracks. On this record they managed to fill each groove with anger and violence, creating a good bunch of great fast songs. The vocal dualism, the skin-cutting riffs, the amazing bass work and the fast-as-hell drumming will seal this record on your turntable for a long time.

#9 – CYBORG / THE AFTERNOON GENTLEMEN

Cyborg features John from Weekend Nachos and they fuckin rule. The Gentlemen is simply one of the best young bands around. These two acts can’t fail. Each release is a masterpiece and each release is a violent fest of powerviolence awesomeness. There’s also a The Simpsons reference in a Cyborg song. You can’t go wrong with something like that.

#8 – DRAINLAND / TRENCHES

Stairs. I don’t think I have to add more. Drainland’s side is a trip into abduction, distress and disease, while Trenches keep up the vibe with a long, pitch black, hope denying droning track. The perfect soundtrack to your evening made of misanthrophy and booze.

#7 – ARCHAGATHUS – Coffee Grinder

When Agathocles fail to make great releases you can count on Archagathus. This record is pure old school raw mayhem. If you want to headbang to a bunch of raunchy grindcore songs, well, Coffee Grinder is your best choice.

#6 – LIFE OF REFUSAL – s/t

What a surprise! This little slab of vinyl needed a few listening to grow on me but, FUCK, it rocks! Top Saleseman is an hit song and there’s a great vibe flowing through the entire EP. This release haven’t received the spotlight it deserves, but it’s surely an amazing way to spend some minutes!

#5 – DEAD LANGUAGE – s/t

Andy. Low Threat Profile are amazing, mostly because of Andy’s singing but he topped himself with this all star band. Each song is pure genius.

#4 – GORGONIZED DORKS / CSMD

Two of my three todays’ noisecore bands. Together. Nothing more to add.

#3 – CURMUDGEON – Human Ouroboros

In 2012 you should keep your eyes open for everything that will be released under the name Curmudgeon. Brutal, dystopic, violent, no bass powerviolence. Great lyrics. Great packaging. and Krystyna is one of the best PV singers out there nowdays. I listen to this demo almost everyday and I can’t stop myself to mosh when she yells HUMAN! OUROBOROS!

#2 – WEEKEND NACHOS – Worthless

Wow. It’s ignorant. Predictable. Everything you must say of it but, hey, this is one of the most mosh inducing, 2-step injecting, punch in the face provoking records I’ve ever heard. I can listen to it ten times in a row and it never gets old.

#1 – SIDETRACKED – Uniform

This record sums everything fast music is about.13 songs. Only one side. Each tune is a perfect example of urge violence. This records always reminds me why I love this music. Nothing more. Nothing less.

MY TOP 3 GIGS OF 2011

#3 – EYEHATEGOD & CHURCH OF MISERY (MIODI FESTIVAL) @Milano

#2 – RATOS DE PORAO & CRIPPLE BASTARDS (CREMONA A MANO ARMATA) @Cremona

#1 – WEEKEND NACHOS @Milano

AND…

These are some records released in 2010 that I’ve listened a lot during 2011!

MARNERO – Naufragio Universale

LOW THREAT PROFILE – Product #2

CASO – Tutti Dicono Guardiamo Avanti

RVIVR – s/t

…..

Ok, this long is finished. There will be soon another one with some guests’ top 10. All of the records listed above are HIGHLY suggested and if you need any info on them just hit me up.

Have a great year. A great DIY year.

Sergio from ACxDC is asking for your help. His daughter Savina (one of his newborn twins) has to undergo heart surgery, which will really cost a lot. This article at Reverbnation will provide some info on how you can help him. Make the words DIY, scene, punk, support worthwhile. Donate and help a little life and a great member of the underground.

Q : First of all, thanks for accepting to answer this interview! Is everything fine?

A : Thank you for your interest in Curmudgeon! I am very excited to be on your blog and blabber on about my band…

Q : Unavoidable questions : how you came up with your monicker? What is its mening?

A : We actually came up with the band name before the band was even formed – it was an idea for another band that our drummer Ryan B. and I were previously in. That band ended up being called Unperson, but we liked the name Curmudgeon so much that once we disbanded, another band was formed to use that name! Simply put, a curmudgeon is a bad-tempered, sour person. Seeing as most of our lyrics are of an angry, political nature, we somewhat embody the spirit of the name.

Q : Unavoidable questions part #2 : how did you get together? What are your influences?

A : As I mentioned previously, Ryan B (drummer) and I played together in another band, which was also of the powerviolence persuasion. Ryan B. was on guitar in that band, and once our drummer left to go to college in Canada, we disbanded. Our good friend Ryan S. was starting to play guitar and write songs, so we decided to join up with him and try our hand at a new band. Ryan B. switched instruments, which was pretty simple because he also plays drums in a stoner metal band called Olde Growth. We all sort of come from different scenes – Ryan B. grew up listening to metal, Ryan S. was more into new school hardcore and I have tended to favor hardcore punk bands. However, we all have some favorites in common: Infest, Crossed Out, Assuck, Megadeth and a few others. I don’t really know how these bands influence our sound, but it seems that our differing tastes bring a whole menagerie of sounds and ideas to the table.

Q : Your tape, Human Ouroboros, gained a lot of attention in the scene. What kind of feedbacks have you received?

A : Feedback has been very positive! It’s super exciting to put something musical out in the world and receive so much encouraging feedback on it – it’s certainly a first for me. I know it’s not wise to put a lot of emphasis on what reviewers say, but it’s hard to not get wrapped up in what fanzines and websites have to say. I grew up treating Maximum Rock n Roll as my personal bible – I would literally circle reviews of records that looked good and grow my record collection based on that! So, for me, positive feedback is a very exciting thing, silly as it might be sometimes. More importantly, though, are the kind, supportive words I’ve received from women in the scene. I have actually formed friendships because women appreciated what we are saying/doing in Curmudgeon and have reached out to me. That has been amazing.

Q :The physical edition of the tape is really good looking and complete. Was it an idea od yours? How have you developed it?

A : Thank you! Our guitarist, Ryan S., completely came up with the idea for the packaging. We all like the idea of having something carefully handmade and elaborate, but still costing only a few bucks. It was very time consuming to copy, cut and glue everything, but I think the end result was worth it! I think everyone in the band is thrilled when you buy a record and have some inserts or other packaging to sit down, read, look at and maybe even hang up on your wall. It is nice to have something that doesn’t just feel like it was haphazardly slapped together.

Q : I’ve found your lyrics to be very clever and interesting. Who writes them? Can you explain your views on them?

A : Again, thank you! I do the majority of the lyric writing. Ryan B. wrote one song on the Human Ourboros EP (“Gran Machismo”) and one song on the upcoming 7”, but otherwise I do the lyric writing and bounce ideas off of Ryan B when I am stuck on phrasing or placement. My lyrics are largely political, but from a personal perspective. I like to write about political and social issues, but I don’t want to write vague protest songs that are irrelevant to my life (and maybe yours).

[from http://fuckyeahsxe.tumblr.com/]

Q : There’s a lot of commentaries that enhanches the lyrical depth of the tape. Have you felt that lyrics weren’t enough or it was just a natural extension of them?

A : There are a few reasons for having lyric explanations along with our lyrics. First, when it comes to writing for powerviolence songs, I often worry that 1 minute is not enough time to convey a full-formed thought. I see explanations as a sort of footnote to the idea I’m trying to express. Second, I want to make sure that folks know our lyrics are an important part of the band. I am not trying to yell about total bullshit – we are actually trying to spread messages and create dialogue with people. Lofty goals for a dumb punk band, I’m sure, but we are trying! Curmudgeon, before we recorded, actually made little zines of our lyrics and explanations to hand out at shows in lieu of merch. Third, I absolutely love Kill The Man Who Questions and have been inspired by their inclusion of lyric explanations!

Q : You talk about the role of women in the scene. There are a lot of female fronted bands around (and, btw, I’m so glad about it, I really hope that saying that a band is fronted by a girl becomes a normal thing and not a pecualirity to point out like an exotic thing…) and you are one of the best one recently spawned. How do you see this situation? Can you expand what you said in the commentary of Shut Out?

A : Talking about being a woman in the punk/hardcore scene seems to be my mission in life lately, but I think it will become less necessary, as women are becoming a force to be reckoned with! I have certainly felt marginalized in the scene, or exoticized as you say (“female-fronted hardcore” is not a sub-genre, contrary to what some show promoters think….), but the instances are becoming rarer and rarer. However, I am also lucky to be involved in a great, supportive scene in the Northeast US, and I realize not all women share my experiences. In “Shut Out”, I am trying to start a conversation about the ways in which women feel we can be involved in the scene. While being in a band is certainly not the epitome of community contribution, I worry that women are still forced into roles of ONLY cooking for bands, cleaning up after shows/potlucks, taking photos from BEHIND a camera – and these are roles created by men, and roles that support their boy’s club of a scene. I think women doing anything and everything in the scene is great and commendable, but our roles should be chosen by us.

Q : Can you explain something about the concept of Allston FOAD?

A : Allston FOAD is certainly a regional reference – Allston is a part of Boston that is almost exclusively home to asshole college students and scumbag punkers. Quite the combination. Both dislike each other, and yet they exhibit the same self-destructive, nihilistic behaviors! The term “human ouroboros” is a take on the idea of a snake eating its own tail – only instead of being reborn, it selfishly consumes itself.

Q : What can we expect from Curmudgeon live? There’s an ABC No Rio video floating around the net but, judging from some photos, your gig can be very wild…

A : Our live sets are often a struggle for me because I am so humbled and happy to be playing music that I love for anyone, ever, anywhere, but I also am yelling about upsetting shit and trying to get into my “angry place”. I might be pissed and roaring the lyrics, but song explanations can come off as timid, with lots of “um”s and laughing. It is a difficult balance, to channel my anger into a live set that doesn’t come off as too aggressive or even unappreciative of the audience. I am always pleased, however, with how many women are often up front when we play a show. That is absolutely the most exciting thing.

Q : You are from Boston, a city with a strong hardcore tradition. How is this scene nowdays?

A : The scene here is insane! Everytime I see Brainkiller play I literally think “I cannot believe this band is THIS FUCKING GOOD.” Scapegoat are another band who I have that same experience with! We are also great friends with the guys in Draize, and they are creating some of my favorite hardcore these days, from Boston or not. We certainly go through lulls here in city, though, as we largely rely on house basements to host shows and the cops crack down pretty seriously on that kind of activity. Plus, with the city being so college-centered, the turnover rate of houses is even higher. Even though I consider myself pretty clued-in, there are some nights I’m frantically texting everyone I know to get the address of some random house that is hosting a show.

Q : What is your view on DIY and the worlwide scene in general?

A : I could go on for days about what the DIY community means to me, so I’ll spare you and just say that it means everything to me. I cannot imagine my life without the underground punk/hardcore scene! As much as I love seeing great bands, experiencing great shows, listening to amazing records and so on, the relationships that I’ve formed with people thanks to the scene is what matters the most to me. I will literally go a year without seeing a friend and when their band randomly rolls through my town, its like we were never apart. The bonds that we form over this silly punk music is mind blowing to me. Also, after 10 years of being involved in this stuff, I am finally making friends & penpals internationally! My world is getting both larger and smaller at the same time….

Q : What about Curmudgeon’s future?

A : Well, most urgently we have a record coming out right now! The Human Ouroboros EP is being pressed to vinyl for the first time. It is being released by our friends at Nervous Nelly Records and we are very honored to be their first release. Next up, we have a self-titled 7” being split released by To Live A Lie and Bullshit Propaganda – Will at BSP is an old friend from home, and Will at TLAL is a new friend – both have been awesome to work with! We are really, really proud of this record can’t wait to tour with it. We are going out for 10 days in mid/late January, making a quick little trek down to Florida and back. Touring is one of my favorite things, so I am basically counting down the minutes until we leave. Hopefully the spring will include a few weekend tours, one with our pals in Bullshit Tradition from Vermont. I am hoping to do a little summer jaunt out to Chicago and back, and maybe…Europe at the end of next year? I feel like it is getting easier to tour internationally, so if we can get our shit together that is something we’d love to do!

Q : Ok, thanks for your time! End as you prefer!

A :Thank you so much for the support! Hopefully I haven’t bored anyone too terribly. I appreciate all correspondance, and it can be directed to weriserex@gmail.com. I am also going to take advantage of this forum to plug my cassette tape label and distro: http://werise.storenvy.com. Thanks again!

Not fully sure how I initially discovered Gorgonized Dorks (possibly one of many “random purchases” from a distro I used to order from)…All I know for definite is they were one of a handful of bands which INSTANTLY blew me away on first listen. Extremely prolific and showing no sign of slowing down (Katz himself states in the interview they’ve almost 90 releases out to date with more to come),  they constantly push the envelope with each release. Not a band to get bogged down in sub-sub-sub-genres, they describe themselves primarily as a punk band and, therefore leave themselves open to bring a wide variety of influences to the table. Choose any 3 G. Dorks releases and I guarantee each one of them will sound COMPLETELY different to the last! Interview conducted with Katz via email.

Col: Hey, Katz, what’s up? Cheers for agreeing to the interview! Boring shit first: who are G. Dorks? Where did you guys get the name from?

KATZ:  Thank you so very much for your interest in Gorgonized Dorks and doing this interview for your zine.
Yeah, it was obviously taken from an early song title by the highly prolific Belgian mincecore masters, Agathocles.  It was a name that our drummer Ben had wanted to use for a band name for quite some time, really.  It is also appropriate in that both Ben and I are fans of Agathocles and have many of their releases in our collection.

Col: When did the band initially form? What inspired you guys to play this style of music?

KATZ:  The band officially formed back on 25 January 2005, when we first got together in a Culver City rehearsal room to make our first batch of noisecore and grind together.  The band was supposed to be with other people that Ben had asked to do this project with, but none of them were reliable and never came through for him, until he asked me to do this project with him.  With the dissolution and the death spiral with my previous band (who shall not be named), I took this opportunity to start over fresh again and continue on the path that had stalled with my old band and get totally inspirational with G. Dorks.
Being that both Ben and I have been into underground sounds for a very long time, we have been influenced by all manner of stuff that we have listened to over our lifetime.  Our initial noisecore influences are usually from the likes of Anal Cunt, 7 Minutes Of Nausea, Gerogerigegege, early Meatshits, Fear Of God, Patareni, etc…  We would also incorporate other diverse sounds into our set like: experimental harsh noize, black metal, gothic, doom, and good ole hardcore punk rock of our youth…

Col: G. Dorks are extremely fucking prolific! How do you manage to keep your sound “fresh”? Of all the releases you’ve done, which is your own personal favourite?

KATZ:  It is through experimentation and exploring all the other diverse sounds that we can do and incorporating it in a rather frankenstein manner to see what we can get.  We would dispense with alot of the conventional and try something a little off skewed to make things interesting and add flavour to what would otherwise become stale and mediocre.  It’s really hard to keep things sounding fresh when constrained by boundries and limitations.
Too many releases to really pick one out of the bunch, and also that we put out stuff of diverse sounds, as well…  I think we did pretty brutal on the grindthrash with our split 10″ep with Godstomper.  Ben also likes our split 7″ with Xanax Feast, too.  Our split 7″ with the legendary 7 Minutes Of Nausea is crucial, too.  Of our better noisecore releases, I would probably say our split tape with Mancruel would be one of the better ones that we’re happy with.  Our “Two-Headed Beast Of Noize” double 3″ pro-cdr and “Sinister Audio Destruction Machine” tape is a good combination of both our noise and noisecore stuff on one release.  I really also like our split cdr with Kenji Siratori for our noise stuff.  With almost 90 releases out to date, it’s pretty hard to pick one, really…

Col: You’ve done shitloads of splits over the years with some amazing bands (Deche-Charge, Unholy Grave, Agathocles….)-how does it feel to have the opportunity to do releases with the “legends” of the grindcore/noisecore scene? Are there any bands you wouldn’t do a split with?

KATZ:  Yeah, we were pretty lucky in that we have been able to share split releases with many a well known bands.  It came from all of the years of correspondences with said bands, too.  It’s really amazing that they even agreed to do a split with us as we still think of ourselves as little bugs floating in a giant pond.  LOL
We have yet to come to such a decision about not doing a split with certain bands…  It would be based on a case to case basis, though obviously we would not be working with bands with blatant fascist tendencies.

Col: I remember seeing an interview with you guys where you said you’ve only ever done a handful of live shows… Any particular reason for this? Do you personally feel it’s necessary for a band to play live?

KATZ:  To date, we’ve done only 11 shows…  The lack of shows we’ve been able to do is usually do to logistical reasons.  It is kind of hard to do shows when we live over 200km from each other and that Ben works long hours to where his work schedule leaves little time for anything else.  Though we may have made a larger impression in the worldwide scene at large, we are pretty much detached from our local scene to where we’re pretty much a non-issue to most of the local hipster crowd who are too busy playing “popularity contest” to even bother with us.  We don’t care…
I think it is important to at least make some attempt at doing a live performance if one does not want to be just a mere “studio project”…  It kind of separates you from the myriad of mediocre “studio projects” filling up the internet desperate for someone to pay any attention to their stuff that sound identical to the next guy’s online files…  It’s important to a certain degree, but really not all that necessary, really…  It just depends on how far you want to take your band.

Col: G. Dorks are a pretty experimental band and you always incorporate a wide variety of styles into your particular brand of noise. What other styles of music do you guys take influence from? Also, some of your live shows seem to incorporate elements of performance art – is this something you’re interested in?

KATZ:  Yeah, we get really experimental with our stuff…  We try to push the proverbial envelope with what we are doing, as we want to see what mind-blowing things we can attempt.  We dig deep into our psyche in order to dredge up whatever inspirations we can tap into from the depths of the dark corners of our mind.  People would see us where our eyes would be rolling around in the back of our heads, tranced out in an altered state, or notice that we seem “not quite there”…  It incorporates things like dadaism and primal scream therapy kind of stuff in alot of what we do.
Yeah, we try to incorporate a tiny bit of performance art into our set, as it’s kind of boring sometimes just watching a noisecore or harsh noise act, unless you are one who can also harmonize with the vibrations we are generating.  The band is just the two of us, and we have to add a little stage flair along with it or we would be just a pair of boring fucks making shit noises on stage…

Col: You guys take a pretty improvisational approach when it comes to recording from what I’ve heard. Any particular reason for this? Do you feel this approach to recording helps or hinders how your releases sound?

KATZ:  We would prefer to be able to rehearse and do stuff like normal bands do but again it is all of the logistical problems I mentioned earlier, where distance and schedules hamper things, that keep us from doing things in a standard manner.  With it being improvisational, it hones our inspirational powers and help put the both of us on the same psychic vibrational levels.  It’s important that we be both on the same proverbial page.
It helps in our sound to where the inspirations and output of our rage is pure and immediate.  There is this “stream of consciousness” process that takes place, and we just let it control what we are doing in the physical world.

Col: How would you describe G. Dorks to a) a punk fan and b) an elderly relative who’d never heard you guys?

KATZ:  a) We’re a punk band…  LOL
b) We make horrible noises…  LOL

Col: What other projects have you guys got on the go aside from Gorgonized Dorks?

KATZ:  I have a solo noise project that I have been doing since 1994, called humanextermination project.  Ben also has another band, Doomed Species, which is a grindcore power-violence duo with Trevor (formerly of Sabu).  They have some unreleased demoes of which you can hear some tracks on their myspace page, and they have also done a couple of gigs, too.

Col: You’ve been involved in the “scene” for years, man, through bands like Hated Principles, doing Gothic Gospel Records and contributing to Flipside. How have you managed to stay interested for so long? What initially attracted you to the scene?

KATZ:  Yeah, I’ve been lingering around the scene since around 1979, really.  It’s pretty easy to get burnt out in the scene if you just stick to one style and one style only…  If the scene is but one sliver of the whole and it’s all one is invested in, then they obviously is going to get bored with that one sound and then move on, or if their little sliver falls apart and disappears on them, then they’re stuck with nothing.  Over the decades, I’ve spent time checking out and hanging out in the various scenes in the underground.  Not putting the proverbial “eggs in one basket” meant that I never got burned out on one sound, as I would find some other sound to bide my time with, and so forth…  It’s better to have a diverse taste in musick rather than a narrow taste in musick…  There is so much more out there that one could never imagine, really…  Just take the time to see what potential stuff is out there.

Col: Speaking of Gothic Gospel, when and why did you decide to start the label? How do you decide what to release? Anything coming up in the next while we should be on the lookout for?

KATZ:  Like with anyone who starts a label, it is usually due to lack of other label’s interest in what you are doing.  If one sits like a log and does nothing to promote their musick, then it’s not really going to go anywhere.  It just remains another ignored online audio file.  It’s the DIY (do it yourself) spirit of punk rock that is key to starting your own label.  It also means you are more serious than the next guy when starting your own label to promote your own band (and of your friend’s) because it shows that you are not sitting idle just waiting on someone to come and “discover” your stuff by divine intervention and whisk you off to rockstardom…  Not going to happen.  You only get what you put into it.
I primarily release stuff by my bands, usually when I have the money and resources to do it.  If it is something I really really wanted to become reality, then I would work my butt off in order for it to become reality, which is with the case with our split 6″ lathe-cut EP with Deche-Charge.
The next release on my label will be a co-produced split tape/3″cdr release with xAOAx, from Needles, California.  It will be released with Jerk Off Records and others.

Col: You’re a serious record collector right? How big is the collection these days? If your house was on fire and you could only save 5 records, which ones would they be and why?

KATZ:  I usually would jokingly refer to myself as a “record collector by default”, as I don’t really get all that hyperactive over trying to collect everything as inhumanly as possible.  My collection is big because it just ended up that way over the decades that I have been into punk/underground, especially my years doing record reviews for Flipside Magazine, of which I had participated in from 1984 through 2000!  If you can crank out as many as 135 reviews per issue, the total number of records added to your collection can build up very fast.
I think I have around 7000+ records, tapes, and cd’s in my collection.  I do stash away extra copies of some releases for trade, of which I just let it sit boxed up to which I retrieve a couple decades later for trading and stuff…  Trading is cool, as it’s all a part of the communication process.
If my house burns down, then my house burns down…  That’s just fate.

Col: As a record collector, how do you feel about the rise of sites such as Bit Torrent and blog sites dedicated to sharing downloads of previously hard-to-find gems?

KATZ:  It’s good in one sense in that more people, usually the newer kids getting into the scene today, can finally hear some of the rarities that just a generation earlier one had to spend enormous amounts of money for an original copy, or waste time on crap tape dubs of…  The only downside is if a legitimate current release exists that is getting pirated online, which just ends up being a bummer for the label, who had invested thousands of bux in it that some kids swipe online for free.  Another downside are kids who feel they are entitled to any recording, and just become total dickheads about it.  Case in point is one time I was on a punk message board, discussing some long gone, obscure and rare scandinavian hardcore records to which I get hassled by one stupid upper middle class git who demand me putting those audio files online somewhere for them to download for free!  Me being really piss poor and not having such technology onhand (I’m online via dial-up connection on the archaic webtv format) that I couldn’t upload any digitized audio files online, and even if I did I still wouldn’t as it’s such a labourous and time-consuming process on my part that why should some rich spoilt dipshit in the nice part of town deserve such effort on my part for her idle fascination…  That just incensed the turd even further, to where I got a barrage of board flames from said lazy moron.  Obviously, I never went back to that board ever again…

Col: Considering how long you’ve been involved in the punk scene, you must of seen your fair share of “legendary” bands live. What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to? What’s the worst?

KATZ:  Ah yeah…  I’ve seen many a killer show in my time in the scene.  Some of these would be:
Black Flag, Blasters, Suburban Lawns, Fear & Saccharine Trust in 1980.
Fear, Plugz, Flesheaters, Gun Club, Middle Class & others in 1981.
The Residents & Wall Of Voodoo on Halloween night, 1982.
45 Grave, Social Distortion, Symbol Six & Funeral in 1982.
Siouxsie And The Banshees & Test Dept. in 1984.
SS Decontrol, Minutemen & others in 1983.
Die Kreuzen in 1983.
PIL, Social Distortion, Butthole Surfers & Black Athletes in 1983.
Septic Death, Condemned To Death & others in 1984.
Dead Kennedys, BGK, Riistetyt, Raw Power, Solucion Mortal & Reagan Youth in 1984.
BGK, Cause For Alarm, Adrenalin OD in 1984 (the following night!)
Motorhead, Wendy O. Williams & Megadeth in 1984.  (I was Motorhead’s backstage security & I helped make Wendy’s vegan dinner!)
Conflict, DOA, Upright Citizens (w/2 bassists & 2 guitarists!), Raw Power & Government Issue in 1985.
Johnny Thunders in 1986 (I was his valet)
Celtic Frost & Voivod in 1986.
Dark Angel, Possessed, Death Angel in 1986.
Soulside & Underdog in 1987.
SNFU, Infest & others in 1989.
“Fiesta Grande #1 & 2″ @ Gilman St. Warehouse.
Lena Lovich, Ausgang, Cinema Strange, Ex-Voto & others in 2006, in NYC (I was also club dancefloor DJ, too)
etc…  Too many to name…  LOL

Col: Do you have a particular band or album that constantly inspires you to create music? If so, what is it?

KATZ:  Not really…  Though, the first band to inspire me to pick up a guitar back in the mid-80′s was the classic Italian hardcore thrash band, Raw Power.  I was all blown away while listening to an early rough mix tape i got from the band of “Screams From The Gutter”, and I ran out the door seeking out my first guitar.

Col: What’s your all-time favourite book or movie and why?

KATZ: The one book that stayed with me the longest would have to be “UFO’s: Past, Present and Future”…  It was from the 70′s and the stuff and images in there stuck with me ever since.  To this day I still have a fascination with conspiracy theories and the paranormal.
The one movie that seems to resonate with me at this moment, due to current socio-political situations, would be the dystopian flick, “Soylent Green”…  It is the most likely future I could see, in our current state of decay and death spiralling.  The grey, bleak existence is what we have to look forward to, sadly…

Col: What’s your opinion on the sudden increase in popularity of both grindcore and noisegrind these days? What are some bands currently doing the rounds that have impressed you?

KATZ:  I’ve not really noticed a rather increased shift in popularity in grindcore these days.  It seems relatively at the same level as it was a year ago and a year ago before that.  I really don’t know as both Ben and I are pretty isolated in where we are, so the world seem to go their way while we go our own way…
I wish I had the money to check out and get more releases from current bands today, but since I don’t have a current favorite at the moment.  I know Ben is pretty impressed with Parlamentarisk Sodomi from Norway.  I’ve not heard their stuff, either.  Oh well…

Col: What’s next for Gorgonized Dorks? Gigs, releases, etc….

KATZ:  We have one tentative gig in August, and we may plan for a couple more in September, when Ben has some vacation time.  We’ll see, as nothing is written in stone and plans always change.
With releases, there are a myriad of tape and cdr releases in the works…  When they come out I have no idea…  They will come out when they come out.  We also have a 6-song 7″ on Hirntrust, out of Austria, that will be totally killer.  We are also hoping by the end of the year our split 7″ with CSMD, on the Russian label Core Records; our split 7″ with Disleksick, on the Canadian label Coffin Crawl Records; and others will come to fruition by that time.

Col: Alright man, that’s all I got! Thanks again for agreeing to the interview. Anything you wanna add?

KATZ:  You are very welcome!  I hope you glean some useful info from our interview.
To all those out there reading this, go out make noize, start a band, start a label, get involved, network, put out our stuff, communicate, be productive, keep the spirit of underground DIY alive, etc…  Need I say more?  LOL

Here’s the demo from Crutch, a band from Amherst, Massachussets :

Then, well, I think everyone knows Bullshit Propaganda, so here’s a bunch of songs from Will’s new band (after mighty HipCops), for fans of muddy crust composed while listening to early Bolt Thrower! The band is called Weald, their genre is not much my cup of tea but these tunes are great, check ‘em out!

I have to admit that I’ve got a Curmudgeon obsession lately, so don’t be surprised if you’re going to see that name often floating around here in the next days (interview is on its way, yu-uhu!).

Here is a double serving of those Boston freaks, the first one is a live radio show, the second a new song from the upcoming 7″ on To Live A Lie. Killer!

Speaking of TLAL, let’s refresh your memory. Will is going to repress the Chest Pain 7″ so all of you who missed it the first time (that inclued ME), don’t miss this chance!

Col: Hey, Paul, what’s up? Boring shit first-when did Godstomper start, where did the name come from, who’s in the band, etc? Is there any particular meaning for you behind the name Godstomper?

Paul: Godstomper was conceived in 1991. The name comes from a mental meltdown of different inspirations when I was a young lad of 16. Namely a Ned’s Atomic Dustbin t-shirt that said Godfodder  that Kevin Sharp wore in a Brutal Truth photo session, Agnostic Front’s “Live at CBGB’s”  boot cover lp and Gobstopper candy. It just formulated and became

Godstomper, which is just me and my brother Daniel666 on drums. Godstomper basically means smashing all Gods, whether man made or metaphysical.

Col: What are your songs about? What drives you to continue to write music after so many years?

P:  The songs are a collective mix of both me and my brother’s struggles with identity of living in the Bay area, a bipolar world of super rich and very poor, with the middle class being slowly eroded by both. The songs are about love, hatred, death, friends, betrayal, scepticism of our modern world.  What drives us is our continued need to tell everyone how much life can suck and be unfair.

Col: What are your main influences, both musical and otherwise?

P: We both like different types of music but what we both really like is experimental audio  media core kinda weird shit that fits in the gray area of music and music scenes. A lot of it wouldn’t even be considered music. We both like as influences in Godstomper: Spazz, old Napalm Death, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Doom, Sex Pistols, Minor Threat, Larm. We also like photography, painting, and writing films.

Col: You and Danny are both brothers: do you find being in a band with a sibling impacts much on your music?

P: Oh definitely. With friends you have fallouts and never talk again or always have bad blood in or outside of bands, but with siblings you will always forever have to work with them on a relationship family level outside the band which transcends the band working dynamics and could affect the music if you have a fall-out personally. But if you think about it, a band turns into family, whether blood or not. But I give Danny his space concerning the band because he’s family man and the band isn’t his priority as much as it was maybe 11 years ago.

Col: How has your sound evolved over the years, since the band’s inception, if at all?

P: Well I think I’m more comfortable with actually singing instead of screaming or growling whereas before I was very self conscious of my singing. I think we have devolved, since our sound has gotten more sloppier.

Col: How did you initially get into grindcore/powerviolence? How have you managed to stay involved in the scene for so many years? What’s the scene like in your city for this style of music?

P: Well at first it was Danny who was into listening to college radio in the 80′s since at the time it was near impossible to find underground punk and grindcore records from America, the UK or Europe. So he turned me onto Minor Threat, Death, and from there we’d record the college radio shows so we could discover the bands and find their music and the first bands that I guess were grindcore we discovered was Napalm Death’s “Scum” and Doom’s “War Is Big Business.” At first I didn’t like Napalm but found Doom much better and I went to find those records at stores with no luck. With powerviolence it was the local bands and scene like Plutocracy, Spazz, No le$$, 976, Morbid Life Society that made me want to get involved in the powerviolence scene, since the bands were much more accessible and open to newer bands. There is no scene in my city of Sunnyvale for powerviolence. We are it. And yet most of the bands that play in Sunnyvale are not from here. I’ve managed to stay in the scene for years by just avoiding the drama, bullshit and just concentrate on what I want to get out of the scene, which is music and friends .

Col: What’s your opinion on the rise of sites such as Bit Torrent and blogs set up exclusively to share both new and old punk “gems”?

P:  I’m all for it. If the kids can hear the music and share it, all the better.  We aren’t getting rich off of music sales.

Col: Do you guys have any other projects on the go at present, aside from Godstomper?

P: Well I do Plague Hoarder with members of Tolteca Extra, which is folk doom noise and a thrash bass and drum band with James of Dos Amigos called Failed Species. Danny does his Soundthru electronic techno stuff.

Col: Do you listen to any other styles of music aside from grindcore/powerviolence? What are some bands/releases you’ve been checking out lately?

P: I listen to everything, mainly college radio since their format permits them to play a wide range of stuff. I dig the Paranoid Freakout CD, the Bird CD demo, Death Threat mp3s, Scalpe demo, Tolteca Extra.

Col: What’s your all-time favourite book and movie and why?

P: Hard one, favorite book-“This Band Could Be Your Life”- it just reinforces the reason why I play underground D. I. Y. music when I feel I’m going nowhere. And movie-“Decline of Western Civilization part 1” because it’s raw and honest.

Col: What releases have you guys put out so far? What’s your own personal favourite out of all your releases?

P: I think it’s at 45 now? I think “Heavy Metal Vomit Party” is the best because I was so pissed off with my life at the time we recorded it. I think it kept me from killing myself.

Col: What releases have you got in the works at the minute?

P: There’s the Tersunjung 13 split 7inch on Jerk off, at press as I type, the Scaple split tape, the Death Threat split tape, hopefully an El Mariachi split, split with Iron Butter, split with Bird, split with In The Shit.

Col: You’ve done releases with some pretty high profile bands over the years, such as Magrudergrind and Rot. How did these initially come about? If you could release a record with any one band past or present who would it be and why?

P: Well with Magrudergrind we played a fest in LA in 2004 and Magrudergrind played the first night but couldn’t get a show the night after, so they asked if they could play the second fest show again.  I didn’t mind so we split a set for fun and we all got along well as friends so it was an obvious decision that a split 7inch should happen.  With Rot, Ralph of Haunted Hotel records really wanted the split to happen so I said “alright, here’s some tracks” and presto – a split. I’d like to do another split with the Misanthropists because we really loved those guys as friends.

Col: Have you guys ever toured Europe during your long history? Any plans to do so?

P: we almost toured Europe in 2003 but it all fell apart with Danny’s law run ins. I’m sure we will eventually go to Europe.

Col: Politics are usually a pretty integral part of grindcore lyrics/imagery. What’s your opinion of this? Like, do you feel it’s a case of preaching to the converted or trodding the same well worn path or whatever?

P: I think grindcore has always been about politically conscious ideas. I think Napalm Death got that inspiration from Crass, who I like. People have to be told over and over the injustices of society, warning the youth of the power of corruption, helping those who have no voice. It must always be told: if not, no one cares and they go back to drinking and drugs and shitty black metal .

Col: Looking at some of your old fliers, you guys have the opportunity to play with some of the “classic” powerviolence bands (Dropdead, Spazz, No Le$$, Agents of Satan, etc).  What are some of your favourite shows over the years? What are your worst?

P: Our favorite show of all time was this tiny basement show in Arizona with Wormwood in 1999. The Navajo kids from the reservation went crazy and were thankful we showed up. Another favorite is the 5 minute show with Pig Destroyer, I. D. and Daybreak in Connecticut on that same tour. The worst was Speed Trials in 2005 when my amp shorted out after 2 songs. Another bad one was a teen centre in Palo Alto where the security told us to turn down the volume on the drum set!  We were like HUH?

Col: OK man, that’s all I got. Thanks again for taking the time to answer the questions! Finish off however you like!

P.: Thanks for the interview. Keep D. I. Y. alive, support your friends.

I have to admit that I haven’t  listened to the split 7″ between Disciples Of Christ and Mind As Prison. I’ve got the former’s full EP, which is not in my fave list, I have to admit, but listening to the latter’s first full 7″ I think I’ve missed the chance to know a great band earlier. Mind As Prison are from Baltimore, Maryland and with this record they express their great kind of dark and twisted grindcore. Their music is thick, tough and, long story short, blasting. On this self titled EP they deliver six songs, including a cover version of Give Respect by Sick Of It All. The A side begins with an instrumental intro which sets the mood for the sonic assault created by Ramifications. The blasting riffs and the blistering fast drums are often interrupted by some great breaks which help to make each song fresh and various. There’s a classic vocals dualism going on here, so expect your usual dose of switches between deep growling barks and raunchy screams. The alternation of the styles, mixed with the restless drumming and the dark riffing reminded me a lot a bastard son of Catheter and PLF, with an early Nasum twist, mostly recognizable in the guitars sound. I have to admit that this record wasn’t a big deal in my opinion at the first listening, but it started growing stronger and stronger and as soon as I went over the thick pitch black surface I’ve found these tunes super enjoyable. The first side is fast, powerful, full of blast beats and Hokuto no Ken fast riffs while the B side focuses more on breath taking slow composition, with only one song by the band, Rescue, and the Sick Of It All cover. I usually find pretty boring the practice of putting a slow song at the end of the release, which seems pretty common nowdays, but I think that Mind As Prison found a great tune to fill the B Side and the following fast cover version is there to smash the tension built up in its slower predecessor. Grab this vinyl and spin it a bunch of times, it will be a very good surprise!

The Afternoon Gentlmen is surely one of those bands that gained a shitload of attention in a  very short time. This is their third 7″ and they already released three collection releases (two tapes and the Pissedography CD/LP), played at Obscene Extreme and planned a good bunch of upcoming releases. They start this split EP with a bunch of samples of people saying good afternoon and after that, here they go! Powerviolence is the word and the Gentlemen deliver five songs of their signature frantic and blistering fast spastic hardcore. The main influences I can find are Spazz and a bit of Crossed Out, even if the former is the way stronger. Fast drumming, brain melting riffing and vocal dualism are just some of the ingredients of the music of this band. I really like the fact that the bass is strong and you clearly hear it through the mix, adding power to the songs, without dragging back the amaziong guitar work. Vocals are very various, divided between a wild and shrieking scream (which is the most used one), a classic low gorilla bark in the old Weekend Nachos way and an ultra chocking screaming that gives a weird feeling of anxiethy and air gasping. The classic mix usually delivered by The Afternoon Gentlemen is here and if you liked their previous efforts, you’ll love this one. I think that it can be easily put aside their amazing debut EP Pissed Again and that it’s just a little bit better then their split with OSK. Anyway, this is a band that deserves all your attention for the future and, please, please, keep an eye open for their upcoming splits with Suffering Mind and Chiens. I think this Leeds based band is one of the best new ones around these days and everything they do is way over the bar of average. Great side, great band. Oh, and the hip hop segment at the beginning of Boozejoggler is pure class. Total early 90′s Cali PV worship. Grab this record and pay those guys a can of beer!

On the flipside we find Cyborg, from Chicago. There is an incredible lack of informations about this band on the net and on the record, all I know is that they feature two members of Weekend Nachos, one of them being John on vocals. Their style is a fast and simple classic powerviolence, not so far from the early efforts of the Nachos (Torture and Punish & Destroy, for example) and all the first wave of classic PV bands, just like No Comment with an Infest twist in the less heavy parts. Music is mostly on the fast side of powerviolence, with some breakdowns here and there that makes clear the origin of some band members. There’s only a strong slow part at the end of the last song, We’re Not Nation Of Ulysses, but that’s not enough to add the classic “sludgy parts” section in this record’s analysis. John way of singing is different from his classic one, even if in some parts he reminded me his work on Worthless. He usually uses a higher vocal tone, sticking more to a classic hardcore singing instead of a pure powerviolence one. His acid high growl is not so far from the Andrew Beattie’s one. This side is fast, strong and widely enjoyable, with a lot of hooks and memorable vocal lines. There’s even a songs which talks about an episode from The Simpsons (Bonestorm -which is also a PV band from England!-) and quotes the Thrillhouse nickname. Yes, The Simpsons nerd here. This side is a very good one and, in my opinion, is a good improvement from the Demo tape/7″. I like the fact that you can hear some Weekend Nachos’ influences here but the bands are still clearly separated and recognizable.

This 7″ features and amazingly good artwork by Moving Parts Collective, as all the Afternoon Gentlemen’s records, plus an obi strip. I have the special edition with a different additional artwork limited to 50 copies, released by RSR.

Ok, Canada is full of freaks, without any doubt. You just can’t take your look away for a second that a bunch of weirdos record something that sound both killer and disturbing in a very unique way. Horrible Mess is a one man project from Chris, the guy behind Urine Soake Rag records. This track is made by almost five minutes of disturbing and ripping harsh noise, with a good personal twist to it. This waves are mory crawling, lurking behind you and slowly clutching your neck instead of assaulting you with saw forms and white-pink-brown-whatever full distorted noise. There’s a cool droning sound going on in the background, mixed with a bunch of low tone speaking voices, adding the feeling of getting dizzy and brain twisted among the crowd. There’s a video on YouTube of Why You Never Became A Dancer by Whitehouse and listening to Horrible Mess while staring at the cover art for the tape fave me the same feeling. Anxiethy, uncomfortableness, awakwardness. The noise seems coming from the teeth gnashing on each other. While she stares at you. This is the kind of noise I like, reminding me a lot one of my fave harsh artist, Richard Ramirez.

[geez...she freaks me out]

Vile Giraffe is a project which features Brad from Ad Nauseam and delivers three tracks of weird…ugh…noise? This basament made recordings is made by what seems an out of tune electric guitar and a demented bunch of vocals. The result reminded me a lot a stripped down version of the “Really Short And Unofficial August 1990 Rehearsal Tape” EP by The Earwigs. Weird screams, almost random music, freaky sounds everything fits with that out of space and time feeling given by the Spokane legends. The last song, Knitting Knots, has a strong style twist, shifting to a cool alien influenced droning compisition, with a strong eerie feeling that pretty much squares the circle. I have to say that the first two songs get old really fast, while the last one is a cool experiment in their style. Quite a good project anyway.

This is my first floppy disk review! Two bands on it, 22 seconds each. Ad Nauseam delivers one track of intense and terrific harsh noise. No bullshits here. A beep to start it, full range bludgeoning noise waves and distorted drones, a beep to finish it. This is so strong, so intense, so concise. Harsh noise should always be like it, for a non-expert like me. No frills, just thrills. You just have the time to get punched on the noise by it and no time to recover or a chance to be bored. Disleksick now. Fuck Disleksick. Dave and his good old jolly fellows are one of my obessions and on this floppy they deliver a noisy powerviolence track. Dave’s obsession with the skull should have given a strong influences on this recording session. Fast, manic and noisy frantic hardcore. Coupled with harsh noise. This floppy is killer.

You will also be gifted with a txt which contains the “The Art Of Noise” piece by Italian futurist Luigi Russolo. Fuck, Italy ruled so hard in the past.

Big thanks to Chris for the tape(s) and the floppy!

A Tribute To Seaman Popeye is a compilation tape which features six bands playing songs in a wide variety of genres. This is not a real tribute to Popeye since there are no references to him at all in the songs but, hey, the insert is full of spinach pictures, Popeye cans and the seamn himself so, who cares? Popeye is a fucking badass, you can’t go wrong with him. As I’ve already said, the genres are various and, as predictable, they’re into always fitting together very well. The tape opens with xRxAxNxGx, a noisecore band from Russia. Well, I think noisecore is not the rght way to define them. They play that kind of shitcore full of retarded playing, funny vocals and a total disrespect for music. You know, the stuff we usually love, but xRxAxNxGx grows boring very fast and sounds like an old joke. The first time you hear it is enjoyable, but listening to it over and over makes you grow sick of it. You know, if the Russian Go-Charge era wannabes played only one song or a bunch of songs located in a single section of the tape, well, it could be quite enjoyable, but they delivered seven songs out of fifteen, all mixed with the other bands. You go from “oh, well, this band is fuckign sick” to “oh, that xRxAxNxGx again!”. Dont’ get me wrong guys, your music is quite enjoyable and your jokes are funny but those songs sounds very out of place and the mixed tracklist is surely not on your side. The second band that appears is Antiétat, a new name for me. This duo hails from Croatia and has no bass. They play a straight forward form of grindcore, full of speed and intensity, with screaming vocals and no frills all thrills songwriting. The brutal and throat cutting style, mixed with the absence of bass, reminded me a lot bands like Pretty Little Flower and early Magrudergrind. Defintely a good band to check out! Dirtpill is another new discovery for myself and another good addition to the “give this guys a lot more listenings” list. They only smash your face with one track, Bottom, taken from their Oil Tank Blues album. The style changes a lot from the previous bands, focusing more on heavy and muddy mid tempos with some groovy faster parts. The overall feeling reminded me bands like Fistula, while the riffing has a very dark and almost psychedelic vibe, making me point my finger to Acid Witch. This band is kinda weird if compared to its companions on this compilation, but it’s surely a very cool act to check out. E.O.L. aka Emotion of Loss is a project from Russia, focusing on a depressive and dark sound splitted in two tracks. There aren’t many infos about this band on the net neither in the booklet of the tape, all I can suggest is that it’s a one man project and has an obscure and decadent concept behind these songs. The compositions are made with droning sounds, samples and high pitched vocals. The feeling is similar to a gloomy and eerie storytelling. Quite interesting project but maybe it suffers too much for being a little bit out of place. Slaughtergrave is a name which appears very often on this blog and by now you should have understood that that monicker can be read as “groovy and crusty mincecore”. Nothing new, nothing more, nothing less. Slaughtergrave is somewhat an insurance of what you’re going to hear. If you’re into mince you will really like Antif Blues, otherwise you’re going to skip it… Hello Kitty Mother Fuckers is a band which features the guy behind Death, Agony and Screams records and delivers one song of uncompromising grindcore. this is by far the rawest offering on this compilation and each note drools with distortion and fuzziness. This band was also featured on the mighty Small Doses compilation, so this is a solid comeback for them. Defintely one of the best bands paying homage to Popeye! Ok, now it’s time to feel really “what the fuck?”. Captain Three Leg, the amazing underground legend of noisy, dirty and sleazy grindcore is delivering a rock song. With a lot of southern vibes, may I add. ZZ Top on acid. This is kinda cool. The first time you listen to it you only wait for the grindcore part to explode and, well, it just don’t happen. This song is almost four minute of pure 70′s rock.
This compilation is really weird and, by the way, very nice. The only issues I can point out are the overflowing presence of xRxAxNxGx and a bit of weird feeling for so man y genre switching. Anyway, give this shit a listen, it’s surely a good showcase of some very cool bands and, guys, a fucking tribute to greatest sailor of them all.

Ointment is a project born 1988 from the wicked mind of Big Daddy, the legendary drummer of cult sludge band Kilslug. The recordings featured on this tape draw back to 1991, making this the first real release by Ointment. Satan’s Sandbox keeps the mood of the “mother-band”, so expect a filthy, blood drenched and malodorous mix of punk, sludge and obscure metal. This is not totally my cup of tea, but I can see a true and ultra-black honest way of creating music in Ointment. Everything is done for the sake of creating something completely unpleasant, dirty and brain poisoning. This is the classic mix of punk and heavy that gave birth of great bands such the aforementioned Kilslug or even Psycho, Gonkulator, Breathilizor and so on. The embodiment of sleaze with tongue in cheek lyrics and totally pitch black music. This kind of style always reminds me Nunslaughter, at least on a feelings level, which is always a good reason to spin a record. Fans of filthy music, if you miss the days when Fudgeworthy ruled the Earth, grab this tape!

Both tapes are released by Quagmire Records from Russia. Thanks to Dirt for them!