Archive for September 2019

If Skyrim met Stranger Things. Dragonborn by Lisette

Highly sought after 12″ EP from disappeared (?) pop/rap goddess, Abra. Six tracks, all fairly chill, some a bit raunchy. A decent listen. Not really my usual cup of tea, though. Just wanted to check what the fuss was about.

Carver City is the final studio album by CKY (or the incarnation of CKY that we all know and love). Unfortunately, after this the band split into two tangents; two simultaneous existences – an act that has plagued many bands before when members have departed or separated bitterly. Don’t let that detract from this album, though. (2020 edit: I can’t believe it took me 10 years to write this joke of a review hahah)

Classic lo-def body horror thriller from Cronenberg (M-Mmmmorty). James Woods is a bit wet (reminds me of Weller’s RoboCop) and Debbie Harry, despite looking absolutely fine, leaves a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, its a great movie with some awesome trippy effects.

What I love about this record is that it harks back to the earlier days style of just blasting out 1 or 2 minute short tracks. This keeps you on your toes as The Black Devil jumps from track to track spitting bars and dropping fat bass up on yo ass, fam. There’s a bunch of oldey-worldey samples too, like how MF DOOM does. That isn’t to say of course that it is a short…

Not the best RRR release, but hardly the worst either. Bitch Infection play in the style of Anal Whore, Sperm Swamp etc., where Anus Tumor is a bit more messy. Awful bedroom grindcore all round though. If you’re down you’re down, if you’re not you’re not.

Sextrash bring their trademark hyper-trash, complete with echo chamber production and lewd cover art. Sprinkle in a few twinkly guitar solos, and you’re laughing. This was also released as a side of a 12″ with another band called P.U.S. (not the one from Wales lol), but I cannot hunt a recording of that down anywhere. 

Two of the most veritable noise powerhouses of the current decade collide on a mystical and cataclysmic collaboration album. Passages of droning sludge meet ear-frazzling noisescapes, thundering vocals and pounding drums. The proceedings almost have a spiritual feel to them, although the brutal heaviness helps keep the experience rooted at ground level, exploding in your face. Strong stuff. 

Arnie in the Hunger Games, basically. Insert fire asf female accomplice, terrible bad guys and a pile of one liners and cigars, oh and the chief detective guy from Homicide: Life on the Street, and you’ve got The Running Man. Really, it kinda feels shitty to summarise it like that, but this is an 80s Arnie action movie, and its best to just watch the thing. Or not. LOL.

A tidy little trip through olde worldes invoked by classic rock and or roll. Imagine it… a warm, analogue recording provides caressing guitar riffs with just the right amount of crunch, along with dry, robust percussion. The bass line booms and rumbles front and centre, and the vocals caress you into relaxation along with some sparse keys for good measure. Yeah, it is a bit hokey, but what a bloody enjoyable album. (2021 edit: I was…

Lethally precise slamming brutal death metal goodness from who can only surely now be described as a household name in this kinda stuff? Either way, enjoy!

Playing heavily on nostalgia (both of 2002’s Bethesda Softworks epic, TES III: Morrowind, and that of the vaporwave style of music), Young Scrolls dropped this absolute banger. Not as silly as “Dagoth Wave” or Sheogorath’s rap record, “Neon Vivec” instead showcases the project’s serious musical chops. Neon Vivec by young scrolls

Haunting, mesmerising astral soundscapes are the order of the day. Striving to take you places alien yet familiar, close yet distant, tangible yet effervescent, Seven Movements for M.R.M. is a masterwork in emotional evocation through audio. Words can only say so much, please press play to ascend.

As I am sure many of you are aware, Earache Records went through a puzzling phase in the 90s, signing all sorts of rave, dance, gabba and electronic music to the label. One such short-lived act was Adrenalin Junkies. There isn’t much to say about this bog-standard dance record, other than I got it for next to nothing one day when I was buying a whole bunch of shit from Earache. I’m not even sure…