January 7, 2023 – Lines In Wax

Ass To Mouth – Degenerate (2014)

January 7, 2023January 18, 2023

What always surprised me about this record, I think because of the name of the band more than anything, was that it wasn’t some hideous porn and / or goregrind, and was more in the straight-up grindcore camp (with a whole bunch of death metal influences, of course). Some pig squeals sneak in here or there, but these are used for comic effect more than anything. The production is clear and powerful, if a little over-compressed (just a smidgen!), so if well-produced grindcore is your thing, look no further.

grindcore

The Arson Project – Disgust (2017)

January 7, 2023January 18, 2023

Heavy, well-produced and chunky grindcore. They only ever did one album to my knowledge, but it’s a good one and it’s well worth checking out. There’s definitely a hardcore punk undercurrent, which along with the clear production carries this album along nicely (and at a ferocious pace too).

death metal

Morbid Angel – Gateways To Annihilation (2000)

January 7, 2023January 18, 2023

Gateways is some brutal shit. Like Formulas… but turned up to 11. The groove on Domination? My brother in Christ, it is long gone (well, almost). Steve Tucker’s second record with the group saw the guys doubling down on the heaviness, and on the speed. Pete The Feet’s blasts here are ridiculously good. Despite how good his technique is, the drums feel a little quiet, but I think it’s due to the insane technical nature of the playing (of the whole band), and the lack of triggers where usually there would be on a record such as this. Mad props for that.

noise & power electronics

Ligature – Paradise (2016)

January 7, 2023January 18, 2023

Very interesting harsh noise with plenty of atmospheric passages. Harrowing walls of distortion are permeated with – and often built up from – loops of peculiar noises; scrapes and clanking, metallic abrasions and explained emissions. This is the kind of thing I would like to see more of in noise. Ligature are not afraid to set a scene or built an atmosphere before getting to the heavy shit.