TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION
I’m not entirely sure what it is about Die Antwoord’s music that draws me to it. It embodies mostly everything that I hate, but it appears to be done in such a DIY and genuine way that I cannot help but be drawn to it. It may also be because its perfect music for the gym, or because Yolandi Visser is mint as fuck, but who knows. Ten$ion isn’t my favourite record but there are few stand-out tracks and the beatwork is on point.
Stunning dark soundscapes and atmospheric drones that wouldn’t be out of place in movie soundtracks. Blazed through this on a nightshift. Impressed, and will be looking out for Husere Grav in the future.
Reek is really a turgid bowl of ulcerated offal. Plotting Carcass’ trajectory from this all the way through to Swansong is absolutely bonkers when you stop to think about it. In celebration of finding out that the 12″ vinyl I own of this is actually a fucking bootleg, I decided to spin it up and give it the Lines In Wax treatment. In a modern era of fucking endless tupa tupa garbage (although I am guilty of partaking now and then), Reek Of Putrefaction reminded me what goregrind was and still is about. Absolutely stinking!
Moody atmospherics and dense guitar-driven passages of almost melodic drone from the lovely lady Sarah Lipstate. Apparently she is also a filmmaker; judging by the quality of the soundtrack on offer here, I should be checking out some of her films too.
I caught these guys live at OEF a few years ago, and found that they were really great; brutal, chunky grindcore, with flairs of inspiration from both the death metal and hardcore worlds (or in the case of some riffs, even black metal). 908 is pretty obscure name, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to track these down.
This self-titled release is a massive leap forward in the evolution of Satyricon. To say the band had become stale would be unfair, but to deny that they have stuck to a tried-and-tested formula for the last few albums would just be an outright lie. Don’t get me wrong, if something isn’t broken, then it doesn’t always need fixing (Darkthrone I’m looking at you here) but the steps forward on this recording made by Satyr & Co are nothing short of breath-taking. That being said, Frost’s drumming is instantly recognisable, even if it is not as lo-fi as previous Satyricon recordings.
This is probably one of the more forgettable records in Napalm Death’s “groovy” 90s era. It isn’t awful, but likewise nothing in particular really jumps out and grabs my attention. Without wanting to sound too unfair it really does seem like this was just a bunch of leftovers from the previous studio album. I highly doubt that, being Napalm Death, but this is absolutely a low point in their usually highly regarded career.
Dreamy synth passages and morose piano pieces meld together into just over half hour of relaxed yet somewhat melancholy music; the perfect soundtrack for looking inwards, if there was ever such a thing. There are also a few dungeon synth vibes, if that is your thing. This particular version is a re-release of an earlier tape, coupled with another tape full of extra tracks. You can get it from Vienna Press.
Bizarre yet massive-sounding dungeon synth that invokes mixed memories of all manner of fantasy PC games, Mortal Kombat 3, and those interludes off earlier Cradle Of Filth albums. I can imagine battling Kangaxx to this shit. 10/10.
….And that was it; November 2016 marked a turning point into my journeys through metal – November is the month when I finally *got* Voïvod. (March 2019 edit: shows how long it takes for me to get around to posting half of these reviews, eh?) I don’t know where this random enlightenment spawned from, but asides from the records they did in the 90s with Eric Forrest as frontman, I have always struggled to digest Voïvod’s bizarre prog-cum-thrash; everything from the metallic lurch of Target Earth, to the revered legend of Dimension Hatross. Anyways, jamming Nothingface, everything finally made sense.
This is something that I have had in my possession for the best part of ten years and have never bothered listening to. I’ve got about three of ’em left from some trade from many moons ago, and I guess that fact that they were all shrink wrapped put me off listening to one and I just winged them all in my distro case and that’s where they have been ever since. The split is a pro-printed replication run by Kitchen Vomit Records, featuring the amazingly vivid artwork of Lou Rusconi. All I can say is that when I opened it, I was disappointed as fuck. Ok, so E.T.T.S.’ set here is solid as fuck, that much I can confirm. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Fecal Corpse, whose tracks sound like someone accidentally sent a 92kpbs rip of the master disc to the pressing plant by mistake. I mean, it’s not actually bad music, but the sound quality is absolutely fucking atrocious, which even for this type of shit is a crying shame. It gives the whole thing a rushed, unprofessional feel and totally kills the vibe. Wish I hadn’t opened it, to be honest.
Such misery and death befalls us, such puny humans that we are! Septicflesh channel said misery through exotic and traditional sounds, distilling an interesting brand of death metal that is mournful and morose, yet boasts masterful dexterity and precise brutality. That album cover is something else, though.
I’m unsure if Tom Waits is a genius or a raving madman (why not both?), but Real Gone is my favourite record of his that I have heard thus far. It brings the throaty, terrifying blues that he is known for and drags into into an either dirtier sound with a more modern sensibility. Even though it came out in 2004, it sounds like it could have been made yesterday.
Brutal, blasting, menacing black metal done properly, for once. Wurdulak are a veritable furnace of scorching hatred, and on Severed Eyes Of Possession, that furnace is firing on all cylinders indeed. Severed Eyes of Possession by Wurdulak
Where the hell has this been all my life? This sounds like Agathocles on steroids. Imagine mincing goregrind with Morbid Angel riffs and you are in the right ballpark. Not much to say about such a short old demo tape but definitely listen to this! My eyes are truly peeled for more Germen stuff (of which, admittedly, this is not much).
Ultra heavy grinding metallic noise from Ireland (apparently they are very pessimistic). To be fair to these guys (and girl these days) they have a solid back catalog. Thick, decent production for rabid, fast paced tunes. <a href=”http://candlelightrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/pessimist”>Pessimist by Abaddon Incarnate</a>
Ooh she’s a harsh one, Mildred! The Rita batters you with Vomir-esque walls (admittedly with more variation and wobbles) bookended with bizarre samples about Romans and a very English-sounding Cleopatra (lol), whilst Worker (who are new to me) operates on a much more skittish level; like the sounds of the bass from a hundred gorenoise bands running through a substation at 40,000 volts. All in all, these eggs is good.
Hyperemesis has got to be one of the best things to ever exist in the history of the world. Furious Scent Of Dumped Rotten Offals treads the line between blasting rancid putrefaction and stomping mince groove in such a way that the balance of the two itself almost becomes an art-form in itself. There’s a lot of stompy mincegore out there now but Hyperemesis easily remains one of the best. Cassette version is still available on Cadaveric Dissolution Records (2019 edit: they are now sold out!). Hyperemesis – Furious Scent Of Dumped Rotten Offals – Tape by Cadaveric Dissolution Records
Hard rock from Carcass’ Bill Steer. Quite a bit of a departure from “Swarming Vulgar Mass Of Infected Virulency”, but who’s comparing the two? It’s pretty laid back and chilled, and it’s pretty decent background music. It does drag a bit, and I’m not a huge fan of the vocals, but it is hardly awful. I bought this on CD years ago but I have no idea where it is.
This is the third offering from a more matured and developed Jig-Ai. It is still the same blasting goregrind at heart, but with an additional level and nuance and flare that was not present on previous efforts. I think to call goregrind progressive would be a bit daft on my part, but over the three full length records to this point, you can genuinely see the plotted path that Jig-Ai has taken in growing their sound, their skill, and their brutality. Excellent stuff all round.
A veritable cocktail of evilness, Panzer Division Marduk is a maelstrom of blasting militant madness. Watching blastbeat videos on YouTube led me back to this viscous classic, which I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard in a while. The record balances sheer brutality with a tidy, all-encompassing sound, much like what I’d except a warfare-obsessed 1349 to sound like, if I had to make comparisons. Marduk have a long and varied discography, but this always stands out for me.
Active Stenosis is genuinely my new favourite thing. I was turned onto them last year by Carlos of CxBxFxExTxCxExTxCx. Channeling the vibe of Lymphatic Phlegm and the watery, disgusting goodness and heaviness of say, Regurgitate, and presenting it for the new generation of goregrind sickos. Final Histopathology Report, and the band’s follow up album are essential listening for this genre. I am seriously late to the party! Tapes were out on Cadaveric Dissolution Records but appear to be long sold out. <a href=”http://cadavericdissolutionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/active-stenosis-final-histopathology-report-tape”>Active Stenosis – Final Histopathology Report Tape by Cadaveric Dissolution Records</a>
Nowhere near as trippy or “out there” as I thought it would be, from past efforts and from the frankly amazing album cover. Really chilled out, laid back, with long songs and meandering themes. Nice, but not their greatest.
This is a bizarre one, even by my standards. Imagine all kinds of weird lo fi pop meeting drone or noise. Mouthed drums, hypnotic guitar loops, odd synths. Highly enjoyed!
Scorn is generally, all-round, just a really under-rated project, which unfortunately low-key fizzled out in 2011 or 2012 (I forget which). I was lucky enough to catch Mr. Harris performing live under this moniker before the end came, and the remixes on this 12″ are a brilliant example of the type of shit that was pumping out of that later-day set. Props also go, of course, to King Cannibal and The Wee DJ for providing the remixes of the two Scorn tracks here.
I probably haven’t heard this record in over ten years. It is still impossibly heavy, but to the nearly-30-year-old me the lyrics now seem a bit emo (lol). In all seriousness, this album changed my life, and is no doubt responsible for a lot of the direction that my life has taken. A very dark and angry album. Does it hold up today? Fuck yeah, I’d say it does.
Absolutely gorgeous dungeon synth music! You’d never know that this was made only in the last year or so; Thangorodrim captures the vibe of 90s dungeon music to a tee, and then improves on it tenfold. I love mirky, hiss-filled lost recordings of old, but Taur-nu-Fuin is a high fidelity performance that takes the sounds of Era 1 Mortiis to whole new realms of imagination. Taur-nu-Fuin [REMASTER] by Thangorodrim
By the time World Of Lies entered this world of lies (hur hur hur), The Berzerker had become a fully fledged death metal band, shedding their grindcore and gabba roots and replacing them with more intricate song structures. This was hinted at on the skullfuck that is Dissimulate, but the songs here have much more room to breathe. I think ‘melody’ would probably be the wrong word; I’d say ‘scope’ would be the better option. Considering the entire thing was recorded in a ridiculously short space of time on a laptop computer, it sounds massive. Dr. Francis Gross samples win extra points, as does the surprisingly relaxing doomy outro looper, “Farewell”. Reviewing this took me back to my teenage years. Great stuff, although I’m definitely biased.
I checked out Life Index after being very impressed by a few of the singles that I’d come across from the producer. Unfortunately, the debut album doesn’t appear to be up to the same standard. Some of the vocal performances sound like Mortiis trying to break into the mainstream dance scene, and admittedly that leaves a little bit to be desired. Recommend sticking to the EPs for your Maceo Plex fix.
I attended Field Day 2017 with some work colleagues (sadly it was the same day as the London van attacks – mental shit) but I failed to inspect the merch stall and missed this record, which was for sale on this day only. Thanks to the wonders of the internet however, I’ve been lucky enough to not miss out retrospectively. This is, purely, a stunning display of Aphex Twin-erisms. I can’t really say more than that. Well worth a listen. (2019 edit: I have amended the title, as various sources claim this as an Aphex Twin record, and others as an AFX record. For my purposes, I’m not really that bothered, but the edit is for completion sake.)
