Lines In Wax

TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION

Day: January 1, 2023

Melissa – Melissa (2021)
black metal

Melissa – Melissa (2021)

Melissa have been getting a lot of hype recently, and I do wonder how much of that is because of the striking appearance of vocalist Jane Pain who is an outspoken and absolutely fascinating character in all of herself. Anyway, this EP is awesome, so the hype is deserved. It’s as much rock and roll as it is black metal, but wholly unique too, which is super refreshing. I guess this falls squarely into the RABM movement, with the content being handled in the songs. Savage vocals, though. The next release from Melissa is gonna be one to watch, I think.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Delta 9 – ANbRX II (2011)
electronic grindcore noise & power electronics

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Delta 9 – ANbRX II (2011)

The first thing to notice about this second Rx remix offering from ANB is how insanely ferocious it is out of the gate. There was some harsh sounds on the first volume, but also a ton of moody offerings. Here, the entire ship is steered by none other than Delta 9, and only using (I believe) material from Altered States. So, taking both those things on board, it is hardly surprising that this thing rips your head off from the beginning and doesn’t let up until the end. Your tolerance of this record though is surely going to be dictated by your love (or lack thereof) for speedcore and gabber techno. It’s hardly straight up Dutch rave shit like from the hay days, but Delta 9 brings that energy to the already warp-speed of ANB’s world, which makes for an interesting listen, but one that is almost guaranteed to give you a headache. (Also, I’m sure this came out before 2011. At least, it was packed in with the Altered States repress before then, and maybe it came out on GK as a stand-alone in 2011.)

Waking The Cadaver – Authority Through Intimidation (2021)
death metal

Waking The Cadaver – Authority Through Intimidation (2021)

I was very happy to see that Waking The Cadaver were back with a new album. I was under the impression that they had broken up. Authority Through Intimidation is a return to the brutality of old. That’s not to say stuff like Real Life Death isn’t brutal, but that super chunky, boxy slam on there is different from this record. Authority Through Intimidation (a very old title, those words were emblazoned on the back of a WTC hoodie I got during the Necromangler days) seems to walk a tightrope between the gory, insane beat-downs of the debut, and the tight, lightening-fast death metal of the Beyond Cops, Beyond God era. Parts of “Human Chop Shop” or “Asphyxiating Ligature” could be straight off Perverse Recollections… if the production was a bit shadier (and the drums a bit crappier haha). Going back to that sound is not something I ever would have expected to see in this day and age! LOL – I think the pink logo on the cover signals an bold intention to bring back those “Core” sounds they got so much shit for back in the day. Good on you, lads. The one downside for me is that the production is very over-compressed and modern. It sounds great out of the gate but after a while fatigue starts to set in. Otherwise, I’m really happy with this album. Fair play, top effort.