September 2012 – #352

Top Ten:

MAUSER-EP+live
PASSIV DÖDSHJÄLP-Skit På Repeat-EP
ZYANOSE-LP+live
THE DICKS-Hate the Police-EP
AXEMAN-Arrive-LP
OEDE-One Man's Trash-EP
KROMOSOM-Paranoid-EP
V/A-More World, Less Bank Pt. 3-EP
WHITEHORSE-live
SIXBREWBANTHA-live


THE KILLER – OBEY NO ONE EP

This band is from Chicago and plays plodding, misanthropic hate mosh that fans of NAILS should eat right up. Some folks go goofy for the well-orchestrated hardcore call-out, but these guys pretty much lost me when the chugs cut out for a screamed “I am the champion!” halfway through side A. Still, nothing could prepare me for the same trick two minutes later, only this time offering “a toast/For those who hated life the most”. Yeah, that just happened. It's pretty hard to take seriously a record that spends this much time telling you how tough and dark it is, but the basic appeal of bands like NEGLECT and INTEGRITY is there for sure. Whatever, I’m spin-kicking my way out of this pit. At least they say they hate cops. (WB)

(Organized Crime)



AXEMAN – ARRIVE LP

Sprawling, idiosyncratic black/death metal insanity from LA's mind-numbingly prolific BLACK TWILIGHT CIRCLE, this is a vinyl repress of a tape originally released in 2010. Composed and performed almost entirely by VOLAHN (whose eponymous project is probably my personal favorite of the BTC bands), this is by far the most punk-sounding release to come out of the collective besides MATA MATA. Intended as unabashed early crust worship (most obviously of AMEBIX) and also drawing heavily from first-wave black metal like VENOM, AXEMAN melds the classic battle-crust aesthetic with the revolutionary, mystical use of Mesoamerican indigenous mythology that is central to the BLACK TWILIGHT program. The result is a thrashy take on the basic BTC style, with reverb-soaked production and washed-out guitars giving way to meaty mid-tempo parts and cosmic leads that can only be described as bonkers. It's a lot to take in, and those less inclined towards fuckin' metal might get lost when things get shreddy. Too bad, because the connoisseurs will tell that BLACK TWILIGHT (along with the related RHINOCERVS label) is making some of the best and most original black metal out there, and AXEMAN is no exception. Metalloid punkers and open-minded crusties will definitely want to get their hands on this. (WB)

(Darkest Heavy)



ROTE HEXE – RED WITCH LP

Doom metal is one of those genres that seems hopelessly overpopulated these days, but ROTE HEXE manage to carve out their own niche by mixing the southern sludge of bands like BUZZOV*EN with a distinctly post-NEUROSIS approach to doom. Even though they play wildly different genres of metal, the whole thing has a very BLACK BREATH vibe to it, with a spooky and sacrilegious tone throughout, and this band definitely sounds like they're aching to put something out on Southern Lord in the near future. Unfortunately, in the end this is an album with lots of hooks but not too many riffs, and it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed until the end, where the tempo picks up into some WEEDEATER territory that's a bit more fun than the slow stuff. The LP comes with a bonus flex, so that's pretty damn cool. (WB)

(Cricket Cemetery)



THE NAKED HEROES – DEMON THE WHISKEY DOWN LP

Ugh, why the fuck do people still make music like this? Lest the "sexy", retro-futuristic cleavage-bots on the cover confuse you, THE NAKED HEROES are nothing more than another tired 70s cock-rock clone, lacking even the slightest hint of originality or taste. The opening song – in which the singer enlightens us to the fact that he "don't want no ugly woman" – seems like it was written to gross people like me out, but having to hear the same goddamn song nine more times after that is what's truly offensive here. Even the comic book that comes with this record sucks. Ouch. (WB)

(Drug Front)



OEDE – ONE MAN’S TRASH EP

Some music is timeless, while other stuff is simply too weird to be of any particular era or scene. I really don’t know what to say here: delta blues, raw black metal and pulsing electronic soundscapes all figure into the bizarre concoction that is OEDE, and it fucking works. This is apparently a one-man act from Norway, but the record plays out like a bad acid trip through the Deep South that rivals THE GUN CLUB if only in sheer darkness. One might compare this to the "Crossroads" LP by France's brilliant DIAMETREGON, but OEDE have a style all their own, right down to the altered photographs of corpse painted and Baphomet-headed bluesmen on the cover art. I can only imagine where this band is going from here, but I want to follow. (WB)

(Holy Terror)

PASSIV DÖDSHJÄLP – SKIT PÅ REPEAT EP

Sick and brvtal metallic käng, this shit rips from the first note and never lets off. Not to be confused with AKTIV DÖDSHJÄLP (dödshjälp, in case you were wondering, means euthanasia in Swedish), PASSIV DÖDSHJÄLP provide a textbook demonstration of how to do modern d-beat/crust right, with dissonant, melancholic guitar work and vocals that project a powerful sense of desperation and foreboding. The driving drums and melodic, emotionally-charged songwriting can’t help but invite comparisons to the mature works of MARTYRDÖD, offset somewhat by the straight-ahead hardcore spirit of a band like TOTALITÄR. A must-listen for fans of the Swedish upper crust. (WB)

(Halvfabrikat / Total Punk)



NO MASTER – “BURNING SPIRIT” EP

The label on this seven-inch says "PLAY LOUDER", so I did. Good call. Kansas City's NO MASTER dish out quick blasts of raw, bass-heavy noise punk, sort of like what MAUSER might sound like if they'd turn down that damn treble knob. The tone and overall sinister feel are perfectly dialed in, of course, as are the nails-in-the-throat vocals, but what really takes this record to the next level is the insane abundance of hooks, which flow seamlessly into one another and make repeat listening a true pleasure. Breakdowns are few and far between, but always manage to add to the atmosphere, especially when they hint at the crust-metal vibe of bands like ACEPHALIX. For those of you who like your d-beat thick and oppressive, NO MASTER is sure to satisfy the craving. (WB)

(Self-released)

SUCKED DRY – EP

SUCKED DRY from Kansas City play a grimey form of USHC with a familiar progression of fast punk, blast beats and claustrophobic breakdowns along with several excellent opportunities for the well-refined floor punch. There's also a notable influence from classic powerviolence, with the utterly pissed off ghost of CROSSED OUT looming over the whole gnarly mess. The requisite smattering of tempo changes manages to keep things interesting, and the vocals give off a compelling sense of wierdo frustration throughout. Damned good stuff. (WB)

SHAVED WOMEN – S/T + LIVE @ APOP CD

A CD reissue of their extremely limited-run LP from 2011 along with a recent live cassette release, this release shows SHAVED WOMEN to be one of the more interesting bands in contemporary American hardcore. Very much in line with the art-kid NYHC revival currently being led by bands like HOAX, SHAVED WOMEN rely on killer vocals and inventive, varied guitar work to stand out from the crowd. The record kind of hangs out at a slow, deliberate pace, which just serves to make the uptempo cover of DIE KREUZEN's "Think Of Me" at the end of the LP feel that much more cathartic when it hits. Top this of with better-than-average lyrics and some truly fantastic original artwork and we're looking at a rad total package. I generally don't get the appeal of live recordings, especially for punk bands, but the utterly blown out sound on the second half of the CD helps to bring out the noizier tendencies implied on the studio tracks and actually made me want to come back again instead of skipping over them like I usually would. (WB)

(Ektro)