Archive for 2019

Well, I snoozed on the release of this, only discovering it recently. My first main thought, in retrospect, is that it contains lesser experimental passages than The Epic, although the records are similar in terms of scope and length. Heaven And Earth invokes more repetition, to the point where I found that some tracks went on perhaps just a little too long, but this is of course just my opinion. The freeform freakout elements that…

Joy Division are of course absolutely legendary at this point, but I for one had never really given them that much though (which is weird, because I love New Order), Unknown Pleasures then, really lives up to its name for me. Glorious stuff. Very sad in hindsight, knowing the frame of mind in which Ian Curtis and co wrote the songs, but heavily enjoyable. My only regret is waiting so long to give it a…

A bizarre offering from the “Korn of grindcore”. I see where they are coming from, what with the ultra downtuned guitars, but the weird melodic passages and longer-running tracks are a long way from resembling anything grind-related. Not bad, but not grind.

Well then… a decent film, with a stunning lead (how beautiful was Marilyn Chambers? Cool to see her here, I didn’t realise it was the same lass that was in that Green Door porno) but suffering with horrendous pacing issues. I enjoyed the story but was honestly bored for the majority of the film. A shame, considering the effects are pretty cool, and also considering the director’s reputation. I feel like the concept was all…

Enjoyable if you’ve got brutality on the brain, but my main criticisms which I feel need airing is that this production is very dry and awkward, and it can feel like the songs are lurching along at a snail pace even when the tracks are blasting away. That, and the vocals are mixed incredibly low. Sorry to level my criticisms in such a short review, but they are pretty big drawbacks.

I’ll start by saying the only downside I could find with this record is that MF Doom barely rises up to spit, compared to Czarface. Otherwise, the beats are on point, the idea was on point, and the whole record is on point. A seriously solid hip hop record, which I heavily enjoyed.

Of all the bands in the world to release a Christmas album, what with songs about ol’ Mr. Christ a’plenty, I would not have thought it would be Bad Religion. I’m not sure if this is some sort of joke or if the band legitimately wanted to do a Christmas record before their drummer fucked off to join Avenged Sevenfold (why in the fuck, right?), but here it is, in all its mind-bending reality. Honestly,…

As hollow as the production on this record is, it kinda works with the simple vibe that Ramones music gives off. I’m no mega fan, just slowly working my way through some of the most well known records in history. Glad I hit this one along the way. 

So this was my first experience with the films of Luis Bunuel. I love the imagery so excuse the flurry of different covers that I’ve provided alongside this post. I remember a few years ago a local cinema showing this for one night only, and I didn’t go because I didn’t want to be seen as the perv who went on his own to see this kinda thing. Boy, do I regret that decision. Belle…

Dark brooding 80s electronica with a refreshing and unique melodic edge. A little out of my usual comfort zone, definitely, but I enjoyed the vibes here. I think I’ll give it a few more play throughs. 

I was inspired to look up the swinging sounds of Duke Ellington due to his (fictional) appearances in the Big Mouth TV series. Anatomy Of A Murder is kinda an OST to a movie of the same name, where bluesy swing and big band jazz is the order of the day. For me, this is an example of jazz in its purest sense; incredibly moods and musicianship all round. I really want to check out…

Mr. Patton, how we love you; constantly tight-roping the minute cerebral space that is occupied between the lands of genius and madness. Solitude… offers yet another window into the mind of the creator, with lush orchestral flourishes and gorgeous instrumental tracks. I am not familiar as such by the book or film associated with this music, but I love it all of the same.

There’s prog… and then there’s Return To Forever. Boy, is Romantic Warrior a trip. Insane keyboard work, and bass lines that will melt your head. The drums are weirdly distorted, but its easy to live with and does not detract from this instrumental work of genius. Jazzy as fuck. I will be looking for more of this band!

Witching hour slowed down dance tunes time! VVvvVvVvvvVibrate if you’re up! From The Blackhole brings a stunning few moments of deep house, followed by mesmerising ambient keyboard synthscapes. Epic. Please accept my apologies for the quality on the image for this post, I cannot find this record sleeve anywhere! 

This terrible Troma-distributed title gets off to a promising start. However, it devolves rapidly from there and ends up being a total mess, and not in a good way. The practical effects are entertaining despite the budget, but I can’t say that this comes particularly highly recommended from me. I can only apologise as well for the horrendous cover scan on this one.

Just take the title of this album for a start: how can you deny yourself a listen to this record with a title like that? Thankfully, Super Fun Happy Slide are gloriously brilliant and Drop Your Pants & Grind is a perfect example of their hilarious yet gooey and disgusting grindcore sound. Fire up the grind barby, eh? Strewth.

The Bryan Ferry Orchestra is 10 to 12 people that revolve around the central piece of the puzzle that is of course, the man himself. On The Jazz Age, Brizza Fezza and Roxy Music classics are reimagined as if they were tunes played often by a jazz group in a smoky, underground speakeasy. Some of these translate over really well, others not so much.

In The Depths Of R’lyeh is an oddly melodic trip through the desperate mire of glacial-paced death doom. Channelling the morbid energy of such greats as Coffins, Evoken, Disma (sue me) or Disembowelment, Catacombs flatten you into a distortion-filled malaise of depressive, gloomy metal.  The sheer weight of the guitars is almost so crushing it is just delicious. It might be slower than your gran popping to the shop for a tin of cat food,…

Well, this is a blast from the past, to say the least. I never owned this album, but I vividly recall the era, and seeing this on shelves. I can’t say that it has aged particularly well, but it was a decent Saturday afternoon listen.

I am not entirely sure how it has taken me all my life until this point in time to finally watch Blade Runner. I treated myself to the final cut, and within minutes I was completely enthralled in this dystopian world. Unfortunately, I watched this on my phone at 1am, so will be purchasing a Blu Ray copy of it in the future, I should think (2020 edit: I have now seen this in all…

If you like your hip hop drenched in metal references there’s rarely any need to look past Necro or his brother Ill Bill. I’m not sure if a rap over Slayer’s “Raining Blood” really works all that well, but otherwise Black Metal is full of some pretty solid tunes, if not as gross or OTT as his brother’s albums.

Thankfully I gave in to my work colleague’s endless insistences that I check out Black Midi. This bizarre piece of work conjures up terrifying visions from the past, such behemoths as Swans or Big Black, and mashes them into a modern freakout sensibility. Did I just write that? I don’t really know what is going on here, or why it is so popular, but its fucking genius.

What is this artwork!? Who cares, Avulsed from Spain play razor sharp death metal, with a hint of thrash if I could be so spicy. There is a fun, tongue in cheek undercurrent which permeates through the tracklist, which is evenly paced and highly enjoyable.

If a misanthropic clusterfuck is your cup of tea, I would suggest to you this Warfuck record. The band name may sound a little uninspired, but this is chaotic, nihilistic grindcore at its finest. Highly recommended, cathartic listening.

Yo dawg, I heard you liked samples that were too long even for Mortician records, so we put some long-ass samples on your goregrind, because ya’ll love that long-ass fuckin’ gap between tracks right? I mean, whatever you think of what became of Torsofuck (actually, what became of Torsofuck?), and of those fucking retarded samples, Torsofuck’s full length is some serious brutality. It really scrapes the bottom of the septic tank, reaching into the very…

I guess the best way to describe this would be to say that it is Troma’s take on the Rambo era of War films. Beginning uncannily in the same fashion as the pilot (lol) episode of Lost, Troma’s War quickly descends into a jungle-fever drenched bullet fest, with a dashing of casual racism and exposed breasts for completions sake. Did I really care what the fuck was going on? No. Did I enjoy watching it?…

This was one of many cassettes I had from trading with Mike at Sludgesicle Records, back in the ol’ day, as they say. Unfortunately, I have no audio to share with you, but I’m trying to get into the habit of getting through Lines In Wax posts that have been queued up for literally six or seven years now. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I ever listened to this, but I’ve got this idea…

Well-produced and seemingly (for once) well thought out brutal death metal. These kinda bands are a dime a dozen so it truly is difficult to make a difference in the realms of brutality, but Abuse offer a glorious battering in the metallic style. Think Lividity and later Waco Jesus and you should have a good idea of how Like A Virgin is going to sound. The band are tighter than a [insert filthy pun], and…

I love how this project has continued evolving over the years. Like, what is this freakery? Its like some kind of primal body music. Deep down, it captures your mind and your body, and you just want to move, like some sort of lucid nightmare that is also rather purifying. Fucking banging, mate.

It is easy to ignore later Pig Destroyer as the earlier records are such classics of the grindcore genre. However, let’s not overlook that Book Burner is a solid, lightening fast metal record. The drumming from Adam Jarvis (of Misery Index fame) is on point, and melds well with Scott’s riffs and JR’s haunting, savage roars. Sprinkle in a few guesties from ANb vocalists Rich and Kat, and what more could you possibly want?

Ah, what a forgotten classic. I sure am glad that I dug this out for the sake of this stench-filled review. So, what sounds like it was recorded onto a dusty VHS whilst underwater in the bath? You guessed it – this record! Mad props to the selection on the drum sounds however, that shit is totes brutes, fam. In all seriousness though, this takes me back to the glory days, before this fucking genre…

The Agathocles line up of 1996 decide to jam through a bunch of the band’s tracks from back in 1987, and of course this shit gets recorded and put onto a vinyl EP. But hey, I’m a cynical fuck, this shit is actually very excellent indeed. Solid studio quality tracks (insofar as much as you can expect in regards to that description matching up with Agathocles – you can hear the songs clearly, so I…

Some decent groovy gory nastiness from two big names in the business of killing. Nothing groundbreaking on offer from either band but the split is solid as fuck and the tunes are great. I’d have to say Cliteater have the edge here, if I had to pick a favourite.

Wellity wellity wellity, what in the ungodly holy fuck is this? I saw the album cover and just had to dive in and take a look. For better or worse, 7 H.Target (I wonder what is the inspiration behind the name?) play brutal slamming death metal. I mean, as far as slam goes, this is actually pretty fucking good. The record is a compilation, so what I truly mean to say is that, the first…

My quest through Romero’s …of the Dead series marches ever onward. Slowly I guess, like a shambling zombie. Land Of The Dead is a strong one, pitting the zombie apocalypse against a Mad Max kinda societal vibe. Some outstanding gore effects, but loses some points for a few patches of atrocious CGI (nothing makes me more flaccid, truly lol). Those of you who enjoyed the Tenpenny Tower subplot of Fallout 3 should resonate with this…

I love the Dwarves; their blend of upbeat, happy punk rock really cannot be beaten. There’s a million other bands out there that sound like this, but to be honest it only really works for the Dwarves. Born Again isn’t a long album, and it doesn’t need to be. So sing along to the pretty song, but make sure your cock is out too.

Ahhh, of course, following the success of the immeasurably grim Cannibal Holocaust, many others in the same vein quickly followed. The acting in Cannibal Ferox is absolutely atrocious, but I still found myself enjoying this movie. Scenes of animal deaths are hard work, but watching tribesmen kill and eat a turtle as they would in reality is far less harsh than most films that have stooped to this level for shocks. On the face of…

This gimmicky beer themed band could have been a complete write off (like many batches of my purulent home brew) but Ancient Brewing Tactics is just fucking glorious. Appealing to both the crust punk and the beer geek, Trappist cast the net wide. A well rounded debut full of catchy yet heavy songs. I cannot argue with that.

I’ve grown quite fond of Rico’s rhymes. Her delivery is equal parts terrifying and entertaining. This mini album / EP is a pretty good showcase of her skills, with ace production by Kenny Beats, and I’m pretty sure Harry Fraud pops up too.

Tech death is never very high on my list of favourite genres, but you gotta appreciate the old school shit.  There’s something about the atmosphere here, combined with a level of grime that adds a whole other level to the proceedings. Cynic are an incredibly talented band.

Scream 2 is probably my least favourite of the whole franchise. Whilst I get that the series’ whole shtick is how meta it is, this is taken to nauseating heights with the insufferable know it all characters on the university set. Entertaining yes, but they also fucked the landing with the ending so it easily comes in as the weakest entry in my eyes, Sarah Michelle Gellar or no.

This is probably one of the oldest records I’ve listened to in sometime, but I’ve been trying to get back into jazz after unceremoniously being overwhelmed by the choice of places to start. All in all, I wouldn’t have called this mind-tormentingly experimental, but when you consider that it came out in 1959, it must have confused an awful lot of people! That sax… absolutely ear-drum piercing! Apparently a plastic instrument. Interesting stuff. Either way,…

Throned In Blood is one of the Jucifer records that is true to how the band sound in real life, up close and deafening in a live environment. The songs are messy, violent and devoid of any fucking around. Once you adjust to the recording quality, it is a real trip through heaviness. For me, the stand out tracks are the ones recorded on bass, and the closing track.

Chunky, silly groovy “porno” grind from the lovely town of Tilburg, The Netherlands. Kinda reminds me of a whole bunch of other stuff in the same vein, although utmost respect to 666 Shades, Whoracle did not get boring or tired at any point through the record. It is hardly refreshing or original, but if you want some beers and a party vibe, silly samples and sillier artwork, dive right in. The sound is good and…

So, this is where it all began? SOTS took At The Gates to new heights, cemented their place in metal history and spawned a generation of imitators. Of course however, you should always go for the original. Also, this is perfect gym music to boot.

Master of puppets pulling your strrrrings! Realising I hadn’t done an entry for this was a strange one. It is, of course, a classic. I treated myself to a spin of the remaster recently when I was at the gym and was surprised at how good it sounded. I’ll have to do a side by side listen one day to see what the differences are, but in all honesty I was just glad for the…

Compilation CD I picked up through a trade many moons ago, contains both the album Preparation Of The Patients For Examination and the EP Daddy’s Steak. Out of the two things, Daddy’s Steak takes the biscuit (or the filet?) for being the sickest and better sounding, although the Preparation… album has a Effortless Regurgitation… era Regurgitate vibe about it which is also quite charming. Tip top groovy muddy gore for the discerning gentleman.

The latest (at the time of writing) numbered EP / whathaveyou from the beautiful Fief, bringing all of the magical dungeon synth tunes that you could possibly what. Can this even be called dungeon synth? It’s more like straight-up olde worlde fantasy music, something you’d get whilst walking through Skyrim or something. It is lush and gorgeous, and does not seem to rely on synths, at least not the obvious electronic sounds. Amazing stuff.

I’m a glowing man I am! Rounding out the trilogy is one thing, but topping or even equaling To Be Kind and The Seer is no easy task. However, in retrospect it’s easy to see how the reformed Swans’ sound became less punishing and more ethereal as the trilogy unfolded. Glowing Man is, and I apologise for repeating words found elsewhere online, absolutely transcendent. I really can’t think of an easier way to describe this…

The world is definitely a colder and much more unforgiving place now that Brutal Truth are no longer with us. End Time is a volcanic explosion of scatterfuck, ants-in-your-pants grindcore. Dollops of heavy riffage and feral vokills are barely held together by spazzy percussion. What a send off.

Yo dawg I heard you liked crickets, so we put some extra reeeees with your breeees and filled the gaps with sampled sleaze! With a band name like that I just had to check these guys (guy?) out. Turns out they are associated heavily with Cemetery Rapist, Goremonger and that breed of bedroom pornogrind shittery, so I’m really surprised I’ve never come across this shit before. Honestly though, it all sounds a little tired and…

Dug this out recently for our “Its October So Lets Watch More Bad Movies Than Usual Month”, and I realised that I hadn’t seen Scream in so long that I couldn’t remember who the killer was in the original movie. There is eye candy galore in this Wes Craven classic, and although the plot is a bit daft, as an older and wiser (and more bitter) individual I can now get most of the horror…

Glass Swords is an exercise in lush, fathomless digital euphoria. Combining elements of pop with the slickest electronic music, Rustie really hits the nail on the head when it comes to all things big, shiny, and glossy.

Ah, Labrat; one of those early 2000s British bands that has unfortunately been claimed by Father Time. All in all, Ruining It For Everyone is a sordid trip down memory lane that I have enjoyed massively. Expect grindcore meets Dillinger style fuckery (and disturbing sleeve art). 

1987 gory classic that birthed a seemingly endless array of sequels. There is something charming (is that the right word considering the subject of this film?) about the fact that this film is British. Oh, no tears please! I read recently about some of the cuts made to this film and they are quite frankly ridiculous. I could tell in parts where the cuts were made and I agree with Mr. Barker that this has…

Sikfuk have been keeping it ridiculous for donkeys years and the third album proper (a solo effort from Sir Nikfuk Shitbeard, I believe) has one of the best (or worst) titles in death metal. The usual blast and splatter technique overlaid with a farmyard of different vocal styles is heavily welcomed, as always is the cover art, this time by the timeless Lou Rusconi. The presence of a drum machine rather than a real sticksman…

Stunning, razor-sharp black metal from long-time masters of the genre. Expect excellent riffing, clinical drumming and chilling, atmospheric synthesizers. Expect vocals from the blackest, darkest pits; invoking the unholiest, most infernal spirits.

You’re either one of those people who loves or hates Cliteater. Eating actual clits aside, the band sit – for me – in the murky no mans land between goregrind and death metal, not really massively appealing to fans of either. That probably sounds harsh, as they have done quite well for themselves, considering the limitations of this underground world. Clit ‘Em All doesn’t particularly stand out in their discography for innovation or individualism, but…

I always remember enjoying Scream 4 more than the previous sequels but a recent rewatch for Halloween proved otherwise. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve watched this, and honestly I’ve already forgotten the majority of the plot. That can’t be good. It’s worth noting that this is the goriest of the Scream films. I’ve watched some of the grimmest and most questionable of exploitation cinema, but something just feels incredibly wrong and jarring about…

Taxi seems like the weaker young sibling to Ferry’s stunning Bete Noire album. Both came out around the same time, and both reach for that same dark yet lush 80s electronics vibe (even into the early 90s!), laden of course with brooding vocals. Where Bete Noire excels, Taxi fails to hit the mark, and comes across a bit half arsed, especially with the inclusion of several cover tracks.

All three rappers (I think there is three? 2020 edit: yes, there is three) in this group kick ass, and I’m a huge fan of Esham anyways so I’m chuffed to finally getting around to checking out Natas. Of course, this is some old school prime rib wickedshit and absolutely just what the doctor ordered. If you don’t like lyrics about fucking bitches and shooting guns I wouldn’t bother, but otherwise I would strongly recommend…

How can a b-movie without any violence or nudity be so good? Ha! TerrorVision pulls out all of the stops without drowning you in blood and gore, and there isn’t a tit to be seen. Instead, the hilarious overuse of ‘body horror’ style prosthetics and monster creations rely heavily on the usage of slime and disgusting sound effects. As far as the humans go, the raunchy factor is steepened by innuendos, absurd situations and hammy…

The Berzerker’s final incarnation was a promising one. With a fully revitalised live band and a stunningly fast and precise new drummer, things seems on an upward slant. However, The Reawakening, the first album away from Earache records, falls flat on its arse. Tracks range from uninspired to downright horrible. Riffs that once were brutal as fuck or morosely melodic are clumsy and awkward. The vocals sound like they were recorded in somebody’s living room,…

Hi all – to celebrate hitting over 1000 posts, I’m going to further mix things up by also introducing TV show posts to Lines In Wax. The only criteria is that the show has finished its run and can be spoken about as a whole. Enjoy! The first I heard of Tuca & Bertie was that it had been cancelled by Netflix, to much criticism. I read that maybe the creators went “too niche” with…

I’ve recently started this insane habit of hitting the gym between 2-4am and nothing goes more with pumping iron like a totes dick than nu metal. This album has escaped me for decades, and honestly, it really isn’t that bad. I’m glad I listened to it. Wait a second, isn’t that narration by the same dude who does all those derpy TES IV: Oblivion characters? Lol

Godspeed… felt like something of a return to form after the super-commercialised blastbeat-free fest of Thornography (clean vocals much?), with new drummer Martin injecting a fucking powerhouse jolt of new life into COF’s arguably lacklustre attempts at mainstream music. Returning with a concept album about a French satanic paedo was just what Cradle needed to do. Sacre Bleu!

This one took a while to get going, but it was worth the wait. Sloshy, melty disgusting gore with some of the most hilarious effects I’ve seen for a while. Weird as fuck to see Larry Boy from The Sopranos acting here (it was his first feature), and I was head over heels in love with Jana Arakawa (despite her haircut haha), who has unfortunately not appeared in much else since.

She act like a sloot, she sing like a sloot, hell there’s a good chance she probably is a sloot (with all due respect – no offense intended, she’s owning that shit hahahah), but something tells me that Slayyyter and her fans love it. I mean all of this in the best possible way. Raunchy, if not a little uninspired, kinda like this review. It’s moments like this where I wonder where I’m going in…

Well isn’t this just delightful? Saint Pepsi got that fantastic chilled out vapor vibe to their sound, where Luxury Elite brings a bit more of a stomp to the 90s infomercial style. This split album was recently banned from YouTube over some shit about the album cover, but I’m glad to see its back, as its a fucking great piece of work. 

Well shit, who gots da funk, I hear you cry? Prophets Of Rage gots da funk, I’ll tell you that. I’ve definitely been sleeping on checking this project out, it is brilliant in every way. “Drones” is probably my stand out track. (2020 edit: What track are you talking about, pal? Haha!)

This is one of the those rare pornogrind records where none of the components can be faulted. Everything is absolutely on point. Admittedly, Anal Penetration borrow more from Mortician than they do, say, Libido Airbag, but it’s rare to find something so flawless flying under the pornogrind banner.

Canada’s Quatuor Molinari perform some challenging John Zorn compositions, bringing the terrifying hand that penned such musical atrocities as Naked City’s Torture Garden into the classical world. The menacing soundscapes of freeform jazz translate incredibly well onto the stringed instruments, resulting in a performance that is at times mournful and restrained, and at others, purely fucking unholy in every sense of the word.

I remember my parents had this album on cassette. When I had a bunch of money given to me on my 18th to contribute to my tattoo sleeve, they put the cash inside this cassette case and wrapped it up. Haha! As far as the record goes, its a bridging gap between the Stones’ world famous earlier work and the more divisive mid-to-late career outputs of the 80s and 90s. You can sense the changes…

This record was my first foray into the crazy world of Mr. Bungle. While the true craziness and musical tomfoolery would mostly came later on, this self titled offering is a slightly disturbing trek through ska-meets-metal, with a cheeky undercurrent. I’d love to know what inspired the guys in Mr. Bungle to come together and make music like this. Truly, there is no band like Mr. Bungle, not even with other experimental / avant-garde jazzy…

Well, if there was ever a disgusting ode to a capitalist society and a pointless existence of mindless consumerism, Herby has that all nailed in track one alone. She has really strong flows, some of which are incredibly impressive. As far as substance goes though, this is pretty weak. Come on, girl. 

A bit mid-paced, but very well recorded and catchy. Dare I say this is dad punk at its best? Haha! Either way, Bad Religion are what they are, and this is a good offering. The message is always worth diving into. 

Hi everyone and welcome to the 1000th Lines In Wax post! It’s only taken me over 8 years of inconsistent posting (haha), but we got there in the end. I’m nowhere near completing the list on the A-Z page, and the site has gone through various identity crisis’ in its time, but we are still here, and we are still posting. Nowadays, Lines In Wax is basically a nice archive of the stuff that I’ve…

John Zorn’s maddening orchestrations are brought to life by the massively talented three piece, Simulacrum. The compositions are almost operatic in a space rock / prog kinda way, taking the metal band template to strange new worlds. A glorious journey, but one, that for me at least, doesn’t quite invoke the horrors of the Gilles De Rais story. 

Hit and miss goregrind project from Italy. I love the swampy blur of the drum machine, but in all honesty the vocals and riffs are incredibly uninspired. All the pieces fall into place and at first listen it sounds great, but as soon as you start to dissect (lol) what it is that is going on, it is incredibly repetitive and monotonous. I traded this away a year or so ago, but took some pictures…

Pummelling assault of grinding fury from now legendary outfit, Blockheads. I guess I never really appreciated these guys until I caught them live at NDF 2016 and they absolutely fucking blew me away. Solid record.

Corrupt Fucking System was one of the last records I bough on 12″ vinyl (we’re going back now, mind). I picked it up from the band themselves during their appearance at Temples Festival 2014, so quite some time has past since I bought this! Doom do what they do and they do it well. Crust punk for everyone!

I love all this fucking mental vaporwave / nostalgia stuff. If I was a billionaire I’d buy a townhouse in Amsterdam and spend my days building a library of rare vinyl pressings of stuff like this, along with a sub-basement full of dodgy goregrind tapes. One Hundred Mornings is glorious, chilled-out, laid-back, takes-you-way-back brilliance. I’ll be running out of ways to describe vaporwave soon, but this shit is fantastic. Sold out as fuck on vinyl,…

Its funny, well, not funny, but fuckin’ great to see, how massive Pathology have become over the years. I remember this starting out as some low key project with disgusting zombie art, and that guy from The Locust on the drums. Not that it was bad then, but Pathology has morphed into this project that drops brutal death metal epics. The later efforts, such as Lords Of Rephaim, are much more polished and grandiose, even….

Timeless breakthrough record from one of the more consistent industrial metal bands (early 2000s aside, but that’s an era in music which almost everyone succumbed to). Crisp, clear production – mechanical, precise playing. Heavy as shit. Massive, massive Godflesh vibes vocally, especially on the single “Replica”. The Head Of David cover, “Dog Day Sunrise” is absolutely glorious, and is one of my favourite tracks – and covers – ever made.

A prostitute with a mouth fulla sass gets sent to a woman’s prison work camp where it turns out the guards are sadistic and the camp leader is “experimenting” on the women that work there. Queue all sorts of half-naked debauchery as the girls fight back and give the babyfaced freakazoid Dr. John (yes!) the runaround, with an absolutely insane ending. I haven’t personally for over half a decade, but it might be worth blazing…

Butcher MD are the greatest so it is always awesome to hear more gore from these guys. Distrophy, on the other hand, who I am not too familiar with, offer a much more rustic approach to proceedings. Soupy, Mortician-grade riffed mud and ants-in-your-pants drumming is the order of the day.  Tape now long sold out on Cadaveric Dissolution Records.

A heavy dose of savagery. A lot of death metal influences, but not bogged down in the tropes of that genre. A promising earlier offering from a now well established name in heavy music.

Glorious, regal, underground British doom metal. Think My Dying Bride, earlier Anathema or even 40 Watt Sun. “Rivers” is one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

If you had to distill the sound of the The Streets down into its most marketable and easily consumable form, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living would be the best way to do it. The record is short, sharp and to the point. It works well with the cocaine fuelled tales of Skinner’s new found fame, and there are some decent bangers here, although this is far from the greatest Streets album ever…

One thing that always strikes me about this record is how short it is. Not that it matters, as it’s packed full of soulful tunes. I love the production; it has that classic warmth of jazz and blues. Winehouse was another one gone too soon, but what are you gonna do?

On the surface of it, The Room is yet another really bad movie about failed romance. There are plenty of them out there, I’m sure. However, what makes The Room so alluring is its creator and star, Tommy Wiseau. I am obviously not alone in this fascination, as the film has enjoyed a cult status for many years and has recently seem a mocku-docu-drama-whatever insight released with James Franco at the helm. As ridiculous as…

Maybe this kinda production style on late 2000s / early 2010s powerviolence and hardcore hasn’t aged all that well, but the music of Weekend Nachos surely has. The group have been quiet for a while now, but 2011’s Worthless stands the test of time, as far as heavy music goes. 

When people think of Dutch exports they think of cheese, clogs and maybe Heineken. In the groovy goregrind world however, Rompeprop puts NL on the map. This gore and watery poo-soaked metallic blast of ridiculousness really needs no introduction. However, if you are new to this kind of thing, I implore you to zip up your wet suit, and put a peg on your nose. It’s going to get messy! 

The pre-Swans outfit that Gira was part of after moving from LA to New York. The history of this man and his revolving door of cohorts is absolutely fascinating and this rare EP is a gross little window into this bizarre world. I’ve heard Circus Mort described as Joy Division featuring Michael Gira. I think that is a pretty apt description. I also get Big Black vibes from this, though. I wonder if Mr. Albini…

Just what the doctor ordered for a nostalgia trip! Never been the biggest fan of this band but their sound has always intrigued me. Cracking percussion and bass playing. And the vocals? Unique to say the least. A great little trip down memory lane. Also, I forgot how much I love the album art for this one.

This was one of the first records I ever heard, and is probably responsible for my life-long interest in hip hop maintaining even as I spent most of my teenage years wallowing in the pits of grindcore. I remember being ten years old, over my friends house (who was the son of my primary school headmaster (that’s elementary principal to you yanks)) roaring with laughter at the contents of “Public Service Announcement 2000” blaring out…

An intoxicating combination of ambient atmospherics and mangled vaporwave. A giant infomercial for relaxation of the mind, body and soul. Fetches a pretty penny on vinyl, and has been repressed in some very tasty looking packages.

Ughhhhhh! Voïvod is like a cigar; when you come across it, it tastes like complete shit. After a while though, you start to realize how fucking brilliant and nuanced they can be. These days I look on Voïvod in a whole new light. Dimension Hatröss is one of the best records in their large repertoire.

Incredibly awful Stephen King story that should have just stayed as a novel. With your active imagination filling the gaps, this might just work. Otherwise, it really hasn’t aged well (and no, I won’t be watching the remake!). I always wondered what happened to Tasha Yar from Star Trek, though.

If Skyrim met Stranger Things. Dragonborn by Lisette