Top Ten:
GOOD THROB-Fuck Off-LP
PRIMATE RESEARCH-Final-EP
RADIOACTIVITY-LP/DISTURD-45
GAS RAG-Beats Off-LP
AHNA/CETASCEAN-split LP/OSK-10"
CONFRONT-LP/LUBRICANTS-45
ELSINORES-Dreams of Youth-LP
'O' LEVEL-Pseudo Punk-LP
ZYANOSE/FRENZY/ABSOLUT/ZANNA NERA-live
HIGH FUNCTIONING FLESH/CRIMSON SCARLET-live
GENTLE ART OF CHOKIN/RESURRECTIONISTS – split LP
Two sides of first-rate Euro-style emoviolence, this is a must-have
for fans of modern-day heavies like SVFFER and LENTIC WATERS. I beg
the reader to see past GENTLE ART OF CHOKIN’s terrible name (I guess
it’s a reference to some fancy gold plates you can buy on TV or
something?) in order to see that they’re making some seriously fierce
grind/screamo/crust, ending up sounding somewhat like German
hardcore’s answer to CLOUD RAT and SIXBREWBANTHA. RESURRECTIONISTS
bring their own mathy take on a comparable sound, trading in some of
the manic overstimulation of the flipside for a focus on precision and
to-the-gut hardcore. Not a wasted note on either side, just firm,
efficient grind for the brutal kids. (WB)
(IFB / React with Protest / Moment of Collapse)
ROBOCOP/DETROIT – split LP
This is a repress of the 2012 split between two newer bands making
waves in the North American power violence scene, titled Dead
Language, Foreign Bodies. ROBOCOP stay true to genre form with a
chunky take on the traditional hardcore blasting, adding some
intelligence to the lyrics that I can't say I expected from a grind
band named ROBOCOP. They veer a little too far into metallic hXc for
my taste at times, and that major-scale riff on "Room 641A" kinda hurt
my soul, but they also manage to pull off a pretty sweet sax solo on
the tongue-in-cheek "Feminism Über Alles", and I really liked the,
ahem, experimental pastiche "Zapruder Frame 265." DETROIT take a far
more shit-fi approach to the whole thing, fusing punishing-yet-thin
breakdowns with blurry fastcore and some straight-up punk beats in
there for good measure. The vocals sound desperate and pained in the
best way, adding a slightly screamotional appeal, and they even
stretch into under-two-minute melodic epicness on "Into You". Hearing
this split is making me nostalgic for Squamish's infamous Fastcore
Fest, maybe I'll have to head up there again this year… (WB)
(Give Praise)
PROSPERITY DENIED/SIX SCORE – split LP
A dual slice of metallic hardcore rage from Austria, these bands take
different approaches yet fit together quite well. Wien’s SIX SCORE
blast through eleven tracks of grinding dark hardcore, adding samples
and a nice touch of death metal to the proceedings along with the
requisite double-kick d-beat. If you can hang with the metallic side
of grind you’ll find a lot to like here, although I found the vocals
and overall production to be kind of a grating after a few songs. They
definitely lost me with some of the moshcore breakdowns on the second
half, oof. Speaking of death metal and dubious mosh parts, PROSPERITY
DENIED from Mödling get points for naming a song “Fermented Grapes of
Wrath”, but a more punk XIBALBA is just not something I’ve been
looking for. Why anyone would want to use a PARLIAMENT bass-synth on a
metal record is beyond me, and the DANZIG-goes-melodic-hardcore
experiment on the closing track? No, thanks. (WB)
(Bloody Lips)
WAKE/REHASHED – split EP
Where the goofy meets the grind. REHASHED hail from Saskatoon,
layering their fun, throwbacky palm-muted hardcore with a whole mess
of thrash leads, unconcerned with who they make giggle in the process.
To be fair, these guys are about as tight as it gets, and definitely
know how to shred, even if they haven't made the crucial realization
that it doesn't always actually make the songs good. Calgary's WAKE go
through the usual grindcore motions, but in the absence of any
dynamics, tasty riffs or interesting vocals it gets pretty monotonous
pretty fast (no pun intended). Completists will no doubt want to hear
this for themselves, but for the rest of us this is honestly a pretty
inessential offering. (WB)
(Give Praise)
CLOUD RAT/ORGULLO PRIMITIVO – split EP
If you haven't heard Michigan's CLOUD RAT by now, I don't know what to
tell you; this is probably the fourth or fifth time I've written about
them in these pages, and they've been consistently putting out some of
the most compelling grind and atmospheric black metal-infused hardcore
to come out in years. The material here builds on the massive Moksha
LP, with a harsh, crisp production that gets downright beautiful at a
moment's notice, only to drop back into a smothering whirlwind of
blasts. The slower parts on "Skin Flowers" make their recently outing
with THOU make a whole lot more sense, but CLOUD RAT are nothing if
not a band that refuses easy comparisons. The flipside by ORGULLO
PRIMITIVO ("Primitive Orgasm") is a out-and-out experimental fuckfest,
moving as seamlessly as one could possibly hope between spastic bursts
of multi-voice spoken word poetry, solos for drum and vibraphone (!),
and some seriously creepy drum-and-vox "black metal". Zoinks! (WB)
(IFB)
PRIMATE RESEARCH – "Final" EP
Man, it's been a minute since I heard an American band that went for
the early 2000s neocrust thing and just fucking nailed it. No skramz,
no post-rock buildup yawn fests, just siqq'n'brutal d-beat-centric
punk played with intelligent fury and an unquestionable influence from
the scene that produced DEATHREAT and HIS HERO IS GONE. A power
violence element reveals itself a few tracks in, adding some extra
speed along with a sharp-yet-primal sense of dynamics. Personnel from
COMBATWOUNDEDVETERAN and HOLY MOUNTAIN make the success of this
Tampa-based unit a no-brainer, and if you need any more convincing,
they also manange a fucking great take on DISRUPT's "Squandered" with
the singer from SACRIDOSE. (WB)
(Financial Ruin/All We Know)
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