January 2013 – #356

Top Ten:
BELGRADO-Panopticon/Vicious Circle-45 + live
CURRICULUM MORTIS-Sentencia de Muerte-LP
CLOUD RAT / REPUBLIC OF DREAMS-split
MAN IS THE BASTARD / AUNT MARY-split
ABADDON-Wet Za Wet-LP / CRIMINAL CODE-both EPs
ARCHAGATHUS / PIZZAHIFIVE-split
ESKORIA-Discographia-LP / RATFACE-EP
D-CLONE-Creation and Destroy-LP
PERMANENT RUIN–EP
DEADPRESSURE / THE MOB / THE NEW FLESH – live


CURRICULUM MORTIS – “Sentencia de Muerte” LP

Damn, could this be any fucking cooler?! Originally released as a demo in 1988, “Sentencia de Muerte” is SLAYER-worshipping Peruvian metalpunk of the highest order, one of those bands where you have to instantly wonder why they're not a household name by now. With an awesomely blown-out guitar tone that's somewhere between DISCLOSE and Mexican psych masters KALEIDOSCOPE, CURRICULUM MORTIS go straight for the jugular with fast, anthemic riffs, twisted vocal snarls and the occasional crawling breakdown. If you can't handle an absurd guitar solo or seven then this might not be for you, but the rest of us can enjoy what is hands-down one of the most fun records I've heard in ages; seriously, I'd trade a thousand generic thrash revival bands for one CURRICULUM MORTIS any day. Those of you who worship at the altar of SACRILEGE—and ultra-lofi morbidity in general—do not sleep on this.

(Ultra Sonido)



MAN IS THE BASTARD / AUNT MARY – SPLIT EP

For most punks, MAN IS THE BASTARD is one of those bands that you either get, or you hate. What else would you expect of a hardcore band that name-drops jazz fusion bands ("(Tony Williams) Strifetime") and draws as much from CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND THE MAGIC BAND as MINOR THREAT or West Coast contemporaries CROSSED OUT and CAPITALIST CASUALTIES? With two basses, no guitars and some truly warped power electronics thrown in for good measure, M.I.T.B.'s epic discography remains a more or less singular statement in the annals of punx past, inspiring countless bands almost none of which sound even remotely like them. This EP is one of their earliest releases, a split with truly fucked-up Finnish outfit AUNT MARY, and their side presents a rudimentary take on their basic off-time, sludgy wierdness, culminating in the insanely catchy "H.S.M.P," notable as the song that introduced the term "power violence" to hundreds of grind nerds the world over. AUNT MARY's side is sonic terror on a whole other level, splicing together what sounds like hundreds of tape loops into a choppy, disorienting clusterfuck, something like the aural equivalent of huffing solvents. Overflowing with blasts, drones and backmasking galore, vocals are near-inaudible and function more as a layer of percussion than anything. It's quite amazing in its unrestrainted sadism, and sitting through the whole thing is enough to make even the most intrepid heads want to, like, totally spew. Originally released as a 7", this repress has been upgraded to a whopping ten inches for all the audio nerds, fitting treatment for a classic such as this. (WB)

(Deep Six)

MOLOCH / CLOSURE – SPLIT EP

A brutal team-up from a couple of UK bands that strattle the metal/hardcore fence, this split puts a twist on the classic doom band/grind band formula by having both bands go fucking slooooow when the chance strikes. MOLOCH are more firmly on the sludge/doom side of things, though their take is a bit crustier than the average EYEHATEGOD clone; bottom line, it's supremely bleak and they do what they do well, continuing the style found on their earlier split with THOU. CLOSURE are doing more of a dark hardcore/power violence hybrid, but the tone and feel is totally doomed out with bass heavy, resin-thick production. The result is bone-crunchingly tough and menacing, but thankfully lacks the macho edge that poisons so much hardcore in this vein. I guess they'd already broken up by this came out, but it's a damn high note to end on. (WB)

(Feast of Tentacles / King of the Monsters)


LENTIC WATERS / PLANKS – SPLIT LP

A collaboration between two bands that have recently garnered some serious attention in the German hardcore scene, this record highlights the confluence of neocrust, screamo and post-metal that has come to define an insular subgenre of modern hardcore familiar to fans of bands like PERTH EXPRESS. Even with a heaping dose of droning blast beats, LENTIC WATERS have a very emotive—and at-times a bit mathy—style; they may get quite metallic at times, but the overall feeling is more tortured existentialism than blood-thirsty hordes, and there's a whole mess of pretty parts that on that whole didn't really do it for me. PLANKS side is much more to my liking, weaving between atmospheric black metal and epic crust in the style of NUX VOMICA and FALL OF EFRAFA. The vocal delivery reminds me of PROTESTANT and for the most part is quite effective, but I just can't get down with the recent trend of bands doing hardcore vocals in black metal, sorry. That said, there's some awesomely gothy clean vocals that pop up from time to time, and they even manage to slip a dance beat or two in there without it feeling disruptive. All in all a very solid effort and worth checking out for fans of this style.

Apocaplexy / React With Protest / IFB)


ARCHAGATHUS / PIZZAHIFIVE – SPLIT LP

A truly rad split from two two-pieces united by a love of blunts and noise not music, you have to love any record that manages to stay this punk while also keeping it fucking grind. ARCHAGATHUS are hands down one of the sickest bands in today's fertile Canadian grind/violence scene, a mincing, crusty nightmare with vocals that alternate between oppressive death growls and some truly choice tortured high-end filth. PIZZAHIFIVE bring a strong metallic grind influence into their modern power violence style, with shit-fi cymbals that sound like shards of glass in the best way possible and some of the stupiest/most self-referencial lyrics in hc/metal history (no small feat!): “There is no going back on the fact that that you did this split. Hey Archagathus let's do a split! Archagathus let's do a fucking split.” They can laugh all they want at getting me to sit through three minutes of world's dumbest in-joke—hell, I'll even reference Dan Ryckman in this review, whoever the hell that is—because this record kills it, plain and simple. (WB)

(Grindfather Productions / Jennifer Grind / To Live a Lie / Adam Ant Blasts / Opaqus Rex / Rex Manor / Mercy of Slumber / Don't Fear The Night)