Los Crustaceos / Vacuum split

If I had been able to, I would have offered a review here of Los Crustaceos' self titled EP. Unfortunately of the three links that Cloromiro, the vocalist, sent me, this was the only one which worked. What we have here though is a fine slab of raw, angry powerviolence at its best. So, instead i'll simply review Los Crustaceos' side of this split, and you can all make do with that until i get hold of a copy of the EP. This split is more than enough to keep you happy until then though, and i'll tell you why.

Los Crustaceos formed in the distant nation of Chile in 2008. They rehearsed once and stuck a video on youtube, then went straight in for the jugular with a show with Czech band Onanizer. After this show, Cloromiro states, the band decided to go in a more Powerviolence direction, having previously been more of a thrashcore outfit. Along with Vacuum and RichardHarrison, they began playing vicious powerviolence with a no-holds-barred rawness that is equal to any powerviolence emanating from the states or Europe. Their lyrics and their imagery do not, as far as i can tell, represent their views - the band are vegans and have appeared at an animal liberation rally. However, Cloromiro tells me their lyrics are sarcastic in nature and reflect rather nihilistic points of view.

With a ripping punk guitar sound that slices through the psychotic yelling like a wall of distortion, the songs are short frantic bursts of power, a chaotic and very angry style. The speed of the playing is incredible, tidy neat little blasts perfectly sculpted into structures slightly more complex than your average powerviolence band. The vocals slip between high screeching and a more hardcore style of yelling/shouting, seamlessly blending into the noise of the overall piece. Consisting of simply a drummer, guitarist and vocalist, the overall sound is an overwhelming wave of brutality that feels like getting punched in the face, to put it lightly. They carry a raw anger which seems to be lacking in a lot of contemporary powerviolence, but they seem to manage to keep the songs fresh and interesting with varied riffs and structures that would be considered slightly more complex than say, Dropdead, for example. They remind me more of Plutocracy, but whereas with Plutocracy they are hard to call a powerviolence band, these slip into the genre with ease. This band also use a lot of samples in their music, and even have a cheeky reference to Plutocracy with a hip-hop outro. They have a small following within Chile, and have played throughout the country in both the north and south. However, despite having a wide and varied punk/hardcore scene, Los Crustaceos are one of the only bands in Chile taking it to the next level with this kind of stuff.

The only problem, if there is one, is that this is a relatively small split. The songs are short, and Los crustaceos' side of this split is no longer than five minutes long, which is a real shame because it leaves you wanting more. A whole lot more! As of yet they have only released this split, a live split with another band, and their self titled EP. The self titled EP is hard to find but the live split is available on numerous blogs. Luckily they have more plans - a split with fellow Chileans RichardHarrison, and a 5-way split with some fastcore bands. But still, this split could have done with more material from both bands - and especially Los Crustaceos. They could have easily had double the amount of songs here, and it still would have been short enough to leave you wanting more. Undoubtedly, these will be a band to watch out for on the international scene, as they may be tearing it up someplace near you soon if they carry on in this way. Overall, this is a quality piece of Powerviolence perfection, solid in every way except length. Definately one of the better powerviolence bands i've heard in the past few years, Los Crustaceos are gonna blow your mind if you give them the chance.



Myspace

Last.fm

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"Like a Crow Attacking a Vinyl Player" (Atomck and Paucities Split, 2011)

One day I was on the train home, when my train somehow ended up taking me to Narnia, and whilst asking the locals of Narnia for directions back to reality, I spotted a man dressed up in a full suit of armour, thinking he also was a local I decided he may very well know the route home, as the other locals seemed intent on finding their way to Mordor for some reason, and knew not of the fair city of London, but said it may lye between the realms of Atlantis and New Vegas. Mustering up enough courage to ask the foreboding man I approached him and asked "Excuse me kind sir, noweth thee, the route one may take to reach the city of Londinium" To which he replied "Fuck knows! I was on my way their also, to go to an art convention, I was supposed to showcase my work in the Museum of fine arts (as us Londoners like to call it "the building which contains overpriced pieces of paper"). Having realised we were both looking for the same destination, we decided to trek together and hope to finally find a path to London. Along our arduous journey I learnt many a thing of this masked stranger, finding further that we shared many a thing in common, from our mutual disdain for dolphins and 8 sided shapes, to our shared passion of Grindcore and Haribo. As we proggressed he delved further telling me of his band Atomck, and he wished to create the greatest pokemon tribute band the western hemisphere had ever heard via the medium of Grindcore.

As it transpired the land we thought to be Narnia, turned out to be Bracknell, and as was southern Railway custom; all passengers are given suits of armour to protect themselves from the drug fiend locals, who have tendency to stab at anything that broadly reminds them of Jeremy Kyle.

Luke's own Artwork

The identity of this masked stranger, is non other than fellow grindcore zealot, and grindtodeathian Luke Oram. Who contrary to their self styled pokemon outlook on grind, play a blend of chop and change grindcore and psychedelic electronica with a pulsating vein of progressive guitar work. I feel I have best described Atomck via twitter, as a crow attacking a vinyl player. The crow being a metaphor for the unnaturally high heinous shrills screeched out at ear drum blistering proportions, who surprisingly hasn't wreaked his vocal chords enough, to allow him to juxtapose the highs with a bellowing booming of equal ear torturing proportions. 

Having pestered Luke in many of a conversation, I am well aware of his love of progressive rock, which shines throughout offering a really fresh injection of new blood to the heaving mass that is grindcore. They have for the purposes of this split and future releases, brought a human drummer to their traditional drum machine operated percussion, bringing a human element to their abstract quasi-death/grind/electronica/prog which in all honesty is a mindfuck to even begin to unravel. Having just spent the better part of the last two weeks at uni stressing the importance of independent judicial review, I feel somewhat of a nepotist hypocrite stating on this site that I really do enjoy listening to Atomck. I feel by well and far you will have a hard time finding a band who are equally as idiosyncratic and enjoyable as Atomck

Taking the remaining 2 songs on the split, we have Chicago's self-styled Repulsion grinders Paucities. Starting off with the traditional gore ethic as established by Impetigo, of sampling b-list horror flicks, we then are introduced to lo-fi high reverb buzzing drumming and guitaring in a manner akin to early grind days cassette days mums basement recordings. Although I do admit I like the general direction the music goes in, I can't say its repulsionesque in any form, the recording quality really does make this half of the split irritable to listen to. Being a child of the 90's I may lack the appreciation of lofi basement grind, that I am sure many a reader here once partook in, but for me the audio quality resembles that of one cassette player recording the output from another cassette player which fails to bring any hope of hearing the finer points of their musicianship.

Another critique is that the vocals really are awful, half the time they sound like an angry Alsatian who demands his dinner, and at other times, sounds like the scenes from The Exorcist played on a dusty VCR through a 1950's television.

Committing to purchase splits on the basis of one half being amazing and the other not so credible, on the advice given by a stranger is a risky grindcore related investment, well luckily for you fair lads and lassess of the realm, this release is 100% free so fuck off and download it and make your own opinions for a change (Just Kidding please come back! You guys are my only friends!)

Download

Atomck

Paucities

Lukes Art Work

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Swedish Formality (Livet Som Insats / Raw Hate, 2010)

Normally when I think of Sweden, I depict fierce cold weather and stunningly beautiful blond women... not Grindcore. Don't get me wrong Sweden has its class acts, but its not necessarily crawling with good Grind bands. Despite these preconceived thoughts of subliminal nationalism, something lucrative has emerged from the profound depths of the northern hemisphere. The Livet Som Insats / Raw Hate split is an upcoming release from both groups of Swedish maniacs that is going to diabolically corrupt your eardrums and possibly inflict tinnitus. Livet Som Insats personally sent this split in for us to review and when the job went up for grabs, I just had to take matters into my own hands.


Raw Hate begin with a flurry of cymbals and a simple punk riff that repeats over a mid-paced alternating drum beat. The Vocals are hoarse yells that really add to the raw punk feel that Sweden is well known for and suit the music really well. The guitar work is a bit repetitive, as is most Hardcore Punk but this seems a bit below average, apart from the occasional random solo. The band provides three tracks that seem to sound quite the same and there is no distinct difference between each. This is normally not an issue for me, but I got bored after a little under the two minute mark. The band overall does an okay job, but its definitely nothing that stands out or that will be remembered. My advice to Raw Hate would be to make it noisier, and a bit more RAW. They seem to have the right idea but need to mix things up a little bit, maybe add in another vocalist. Anyways, that's my take on these guys, moving on to the next.


Livet Som Insats start with a brief drum-thumping intro that quickly turns into a belligerent frenzy of pummeling chaos. The vocals switch constantly from a hardcore yell to an agonizing shriek that is definitely my favorite and used quite frequently. Guitar work is far more Metal then Punk and you can hear a lot of Sayyadina influence in their music. I feel that the guitar should be turned up a bit though, seeing as how the vocals are the main focal point, some of the riffs are pretty catchy and should be turned up enough to really impact the listener. Drums are very nicely recorded and played on this split, my only complaints being that the snare drum sounds too soft and weak like the drums on the Birdflesh album, Alive Autopsy/Trip to the Grave. Overall this is very good, my favorite track would have to be Skuld, due to the sheer amount of ferocity directly from the beginning that smoothly transitions into a head-bobbing groove. I foresee this band going places and I really hope they keep at it and release a full length soon, along with an arsenal of other releases. This split is definitely worth checking out and will make an awesome collector's item when this band gets big in the Grind scene. They definitely have a good mix in their music and keep things interesting, I could totally see this band playing Obscene Extreme Festival alongside with other great bands. Like I said, musically this band is pretty legit, just a few production tweaks need to be made for maximum performance. Livet Som Insats, live on!

- Cody

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FCUK (Sylvester Staline/Joe Pesci)

Historically the worst of foes, but now on good terms the cheese eating surrender monkeys (I kid, I love the French) and the Queens glorious subjects have come together to release an ultra fast baseball bat to the face Powerviolence & Noisygrind double act. Aside from the Hollywood namesakes, these guys have one other thing in common and that is to produce music that is fast, and I mean break neck, I wouldn't be in the least surprised if their hairtrigger supersonic drumming didn't breach the sound barrier..

Sylvester Staline bring to you some of the meanest powerviolence available on the street, listening to the music just wants you scream and to thrash about your room, throwing all manner of Ikea furniture out of the window hitting unsuspecting passer-bys.Lyrics are ultra-punk fast paced screams of rude, abusive and amusing subject matter, not that you can ever keep up, and kudos to Lord Crust described as the 6 string ayatollah for making sure the sleazy punk feel is not lost in the haywire of playing so fast.

As for fellow Kinsmen Joe Pesci, expect nothing but the best AxCx worship you have heard ever. The only subtracted element by  Joe Pesci is the blatant and sometimes comical; sexism, racism, and pro Nazi themes  which we are an unsure if Anal Cunt really advocate or just do so for laughs, however they do keep lyrics and song titles in line with more unprejudiced AxCx with song titles like Crouching Tiger, Biro in the Neck and Thats not a cat. Drumming has been raised from typical incoherent inaudible mess, to a level where one can actually hear and recognise it, but fear not vocals and guitar work are about as Noisecore one can get before merely becoming noise.

I am not even too big on Noisecore and Powerviolence, yet I still love this gem of an album, but

these guys don't care what you and I think, hell S.S myspace even tells you "if you want a good band listen to another one", both bands just play fast, loud and carefree, so if you still not interested, in the spirit of the bands I will politely say "Fuck Off!"

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Wormrot I Adore (Wormrot / I Abhor, 2010)

The day has finally dawned, I have my much awaited copy of Wormrot/I Abhore, listened to it God knows how many times, and finally decided to spread the word of our Lord and share its Glory!
Introductions with Wormrot should not be needed, but if you so happen to  have been in a coma between late 2009 and now then all you need to know is that these Singapore trio release kick ass more often than a falsehood leaves a politicians mouth. As for the other band present, I Abhor  are a hell bent quintet based in L.A with a grim dystopian approach to some fast paced Grind, and should not be neglected in the shadow of Wormrot's awe.

I Abhor start off with a few rogue shacky notes struck out, then accompanied by a simple generic cymbal beat, creating an aura of suspense, then a short lived warping guitar work drags us into the realm of blast beats and shifting screams of anger and despair.  Throughout their tracks the drum work has a eminent echo from  constant snare bashing, and at first glance may sound messy and repetitive, however you should notice that drumming is highly above standard and is the main driving force, behind the songs. The guitars are very much only used to fill space, and when they are used independently nothing exceptional is performed, but nothing terrible either. Vocals are gruff, and compliment the angry raw drumming perfectly , expect nothing but pure energetic low tuned screaming. One can easily identify Assück as being the overall feel the band are trying to achieve, and although it is certainly a good route to go down, I have my own suggestions for the band. 

The band certainly have all the elements that makes them a fantastic band, however I think the way they play out these elements needs adjusting, instead of going the Assück route, I recommend making the drumming more clear and the vocals a bit louder as it was too often drowned out in the snare blasting,and if these where to be achieved the band will never be second rate to Assück, but have their own sound and feel, alongside their already impressive ability.

This is purely and simply 100% cacophonous defenestrative Grindcore. It's rowdy and upbeat nature is only superseded by its addictive temperament which will get you hooked faster than chocolate flavoured crystal meth. They even toy with their audience having the first 13 seconds of their track a tribute of counting to the number 12 before Arif's vocals explode your eardrum in a 3 second blast, powerful enough to give Gulf War Syndrome even to the most resilient of men. These guys are just relentless, at no point do they waiver or pull out a short straw on their instrumental lashing, we have 8 grinding tracks of biblical proportions. "Critical Human Stupidity" is the second track and by far my favourite, with its energetic virulence  one can not find a fault in such a wild tune.
These guys stick a middle finger to the concept of one album wonders, and bash out nothing but Grindcore of the highest order, everything seems to be there, amazing guitar work? check, blast beats galore? check, ear piercing vocals? check, crystal clear sound quality? check, elements all thrown together through a black hole? check, what more could one ask for? A bassist I hear you say? Sorry I can't quite hear that over the crushing guitar work of Fit. The overall Abuse formula has been fine tuned to near perfection, we have a more fluid rhythmic structure in place, but at the other end of the table these guys have brought a more overall Insect Warfare stranglehold to their already mind-blowing songs, and they just make it work as if there was no jump from one to the other, not even a shudder. There is only one way to play this and that's with the repeat button on, volume maxed out and a health hazard warning outside your front door, any other way and its wrong.
Lastly, all I have to say is Wormrot LEAD US ONWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wormrot   -   I Abhore

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(Kill the Client vs Thousandswilldie, 2009)

At 7 minutes, there is not too much one can actual delve into before realising all your arguments and observations have been exhausted before kicking up enough pace, so just like the release the only thing to do is to leave it short and sweet.

Kill the Client  use their 3 tracks to show the listener they still have the Cleptocracy momentum in full swing, and are able to kick more ass than the UFC Heavyweight division combined with chainsaws. Prominent guitar work with an ever uncompromising percussion have been the key features of defining Kill the Client's success, with the vocals adding another layer of awe to the already grindtastic set up. This release is no different to that, and is a nice sign of life and integrity since they last threw out an album back in 2008. Once again strength has been added to the claim that Kill the Client are well on their way to establishing themselves as a Grindcore trademark.

Myspace

Metal Archives

Last Fm

Now Thousandswilldie, have somewhat of a less palatable form of Grindcore, but their fast paced scruffy frantic fury certainly burns a soft spot in my heart for them. I would best describe these guys as what would occur if one was to breed Watchmaker's unconventional approach  with Insect Warfare's razor wire barbarity. Moments of musical mess are untangled fluidly, as Thousandswilldie  shift from more recognisable primitive Grindcore to weird and wonderful things, that leaves the listener in bewilderment as to how they pulled a stunt like that off. They certainly confirm all the suggestions their self assigned tag of Eastbayhategrind implies, this is one giant portion of vehement hatred to feast your ears on.

Sadly Thousandswilldie are no longer active, they have however stated that they will be posting on  a separate website all their out of print material, and also unreleased material, but in the meantime I highly recommend checking out their earlier material to get better acquainted with their hateful music.

Myspace

Last FM

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Putrefactive Pain (Neuropathia vs Putrescence, 2010)

 We all love covers among some of the classics in our respective genre, but rarely if ever do we actually come across a cover which is actually preferable to some of the most fundamental defining building blocks of Grindcore, and much to my surprise I have come across a  a cover of Scum which I greatly prefer to the original, and furthermore a cover of Dead Shall Rise which I find almost en par with the original. Now I love N.D and I love Terrorizer, and for me to make such a statement is not merely a sign of rampant fanboyism , but a well grounded statement, read further to explore.

Neuropathia are perhaps the most famous of the Polish extreme metal acts, and such a reputation is anchored in a fist full of releases scattered amongst their veteran career. Across their 9 tracks they manage to ram in 3 cover songs, Nasum - Time to Act, Napalm Death -Scum, Carcass - Manifestation of Verrucose Urethra, these covers as to be expected are "Neuropathiasised" and that certainly ain't a bad thing. We all remember Scum  with its notoriously dirty down tuned fuzzy guitar work, gritty bass lines and echoey drums well Neuropathia scrap that and play a clean cut fresh approach to it, and they effectuate this fantastically well. Among early grind fans, this might not appeal given the nostalgic appeal has been severed, however certainly amongst  those who Grindcore has come into being second hand, then I am sure you will rest on my side of the camp and prefer the cover. The other two covers are not quite as good as the original, the Carcass cover lacking the outright heavy fear factor which Carcass brought into the genre, and the Nasum cover lacking the general Nasum feel, although both attempts are commendable endeavors and worthy of a listen in their own right.
The remaining six songs are straight up standard recent Neuropathia with their death metal that occasionally dances into the realm of Grindcore, it has an upbeat rythmic stance to it, which although does not create a seriously heavy sound which we are accustomed to, it does have a nice catchy groove to it however. Certainly a recommendation for those seeking something fresh in Grindcore.

 Putrescence spawn from Canada, and romp about a sui generis blend of many genres, from straight up Grindcore, Death metal, Deathgrind and even on occasion tangoing with the Gore. The lack of genre consistency is what produces the delightful and unique sound which has made Putrescence's name, they are pretty much a band that will please any lover of any extreme metal genre. Racking up a total of 10 minutes across 5 vile tracks, we see no hint of technicallity, nor that of any insane guitar work or drum work, but merely a carcass of simple and catchy uncomplex extreme metal, yet somehow they manage to pull it off to create a very decent 10 minutes.
Sadly as per usual I shall commit myself to the typical moan; that the song titles are half-witted attempts at creativity however, the musical content behind the poorly strung names is of good character, and easily redeems such an injustice. They also do an amazing cover of Terrorizer's  Dead Shall Rise, from start to end they do not fail to give the old grinding classic a nice makeover, although being a fantastic cover, it does not quite reach the audio attack ecstasy of the original, but I am yet to meet a band who can.

 If you like something new to feast your senses on, and/or if you want to hear some fantastic covers of some Grindcore's best tracks ever or you just want a mishmash of death metal- grindcore - Goregrind, if any of these satisfy you, then get your ass in gear and get yourself a copy asap.

Sorrry about shit sound quality

Putrescence@Myspace

Neuropathia@Myspace

ScrotumJus@Myspace 

 

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Technophobia (Phobia/Gadget Split, 2010)

Gadget take hold of the first 7 tracks, and although the first track Torture starts off a tad slow for my liking after about 43 seconds we become reacquainted with the Gadget we last saw back 4 years ago. Now perhaps it is just me or is Slayer the new "thing" for Grindcore bands, on the second track right at the end, and at the beginning of the 5th  I spotted a cheeky Kerry King like interjection, which was nice given my love of Slayer, but was somewhat of a surprise, and have noticed it quite a bit this year amongst the newer releases. Gadget insist to start most songs of slowly, then after an indiscriminate amount of time, they release their grind and then to tone it down, up to the point of a moments silence, although this gives a more mellowed and approachable feel to it, this repetitive stop start approach doesn't please me, and would of greatly preferred if it was a non stop battery of some very progressive and enjoyable Grindcore. The guitar work as prior releases is excellent, and the same can be said with the drumming, giving a desirable technical vibe to it with the technical moments  highlighted more so with the ever present primitive screams and shouts. The Gadget half is some stupendous Grind, with plenty of examples of creativity and professionalism that reflect their dexterous nature, but their constant stalling sadly fails to fully immerse the listener 100% into it, and leaves it closer to 90% mark.

Opening upon with foul mouthed title Dick Head Life, we are greeted with a scream, a rampant drum beat and a punch in the face, and such ferocity carries on until the end of their 10 minute 20 second siege upon the listener. Although I have never claimed to be able to decipher the groans of the punkish vocals of Shane Mclachlan, every so often I would catch a snippet of a string of crude words such as "Human Error", and it seems rewarding to have finally understood something from his Neanderthal grunts and hollers. Drumming and vocals are the defining elements, of this split, and they work together intrinsically to bestow a crustcore charge, whilst the guitaring gives a depth to the release and aside from some occasional somewhat above satisfactory metal injections, has no prominence, nor is it needed.

Phobia's tracks are a rag tag collection of pissed off, hate-fuelled crusty aggression, a perfect accompaniment to thesprightly and clean shaven approach of Gadget's nimble coordinated defilement. A release highly worthy of recognition.

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