This Is Not a Split, Its an Album! (Agathocles, This Is Not a Threat, It's a Promise 2010)

Prolific Mincecoreaholics Agathocles, have reached the double digits for their full length album count, entitled This is not a threat, its a promise, they deliver once again their anti-authoritarian down with the system grind, throwing a few little twists here and there to prevent it from sounding like one of their countless other releases. Personally whenever I wish to bitch about some institution, I either do so with my rag tag consortium down the pub accompanied with alcohol, or send a hateful tweet for all of my 6 followers to see, however Agathocles take the more creative and long winded route of releasing a split EP with any band on the planet. Now judging by my tone, you may get the impression that I don't like Agathocles, and such an assumption will be wrong, I love Agathocles, I love their extensive discography (its like Pokemon I have to get them all!), and definitely one of the few bands with real conviction in what they say out there, their music is crude and primitive and somehow it becomes a blast of raging political poetry warped around a  set of blast beats and pounding bass.
This is not a threat, its a promise goes 21st century with tirades against the banking industry, the internet, false punks and a plethora of other topics, adding humorous jibes here and there to give a nice smile to their otherwise staunch message. Is it a good thing that I found parts of the release fun? I personally think so ,after all even grindcore need not be all doom and gloom 100% of the time. Spicing it up with a combo of micro-songs and those going above the three minute mark, we have a palatable selection of 27 songs that bring out nothing but the finest Agathocles across a half hour session of mincing.
For the most part we have the traditional tried and tested angry Agathocles, dirty vocals, fast bass d & blast beating drums with a slow churning guitar, you know the method, yeah that one, the only one.They do start of a bit more forceful than usual belting out two tracks of whiplash in just over a minute. However we do get a few unprecedented twists and turns every so often, including a surprising yet greatly delightful singular reggae interjection which they manage to weave in and out in a impressive manner.
This is Not a Threat, its a Promise  is a flagship of what Agathocles are and always will be; the loud voice against injustice and their trademark unkempt regnant musical accompaniment.

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Dawn of Godzilla! (Agathocles & Black September, Dawn of the Infidel, 2010)

By the time I have finished this review, Agathocles have probably dished out another few dozen releases, once again initiating the painstakingly  and time consuming game of catch up for a collector such as myself to keep on top of their infamous portfolio which I might add Metal Archives is missing plenty of.
If one was to pick to any review about an Agathocles split, there is a 99% chance I could copy and paste the review of the Agathoclean half to this post and the  lifted review would apply to their half of this split also. Agathocles aren't known for their creativity, Their trademark lo-fi, plenty of reverb and simple yet messy tracks leave their music stuck in the 80's punk and early grind scene, but thats cool we all like Back to the Future and other landmarks of the 80's. For better or for worse they stick to their formula, and for me personally it works, and that is all their half is; straight up Agathocles, no twists or surprises just raw mincing grindcore mayhem, the way we like our politically charged grind. In fact I do lie a tad, there is something unique about this, and that is it comes on  8" square flexi-disc(yes an actual square), although highly impractical it adds a unique factor to their generic formula.
As for Black September they  are named after a terrorist organisation, a un-pc theme they play strongly on to create a highly comical monologue before entering their low production value loud punk, although the low production can be attributed to that the release is a live recording. Their half is a set of hilarious gags contrasting the stereotypes of Islam fundamentalism and of American contemporary politics in a manner akin to Borat crossed with Achmed the Terrorist, and the transition between jokes and music is executed well and leaves a smile on your face as your ears a given a sucker punch of live audio.

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The Half Way Time is Nigh 2010

It has reached that time of year when most musical blogs release a list of the top x albums of this half of the year. I certainly shall be joining in this biannual phenomenon, not just in order to conform to blogging etiquette, but also to spread the good word of albums that deserve a shot at the spotlight. The albums I will list are not in order of greatness just merely in which order I remember and wish to present them.

Fleshrot - Traumatic Reconfiguration
I must stress there is no local scene or home town bias here with these guys, they just know how to play Brutal Death Metal how I like it. Any of you know the film genre Grindhouse? (just coincide), well in said genre traditional filming elements are replaced with those of violence and sex scenes, well this also true for the Brutal Death Metal. Traditional death metal elements tend to be replaced with all manner of shit to create a more aggressive and tyrannical sound, and generally it has no appeal to me. Luckily Fleshrot in their album Traumatic Reconfiguration go back to the basics of the genre and from there add in levels of blood curdling brutality.  This is the way Brutal Death Metal was meant to be played and I hope more bands see the err of their ways.

Spineless Fuckers - It is Just a Real One
Mental is a good way to describe how these Czech Grinders approach the genre. The alleged saying of the alleged New World Order that "from chaos there is order" holds true in this album, it is just a frantic mess of various instruments and vocals that all come together to make some weird sort of noise we like to call music.Morbid Satire is what the Czechs do best in the world of theatre and this seems to have transposed into this album too alongside Czech excerpts from films and cello based Czech Classical Music. Originality is something these guys do well, prepare to have the rules of music broken.

Abscess - Dawn of Inhumanity
Many critics have a general loathing of this album, well luckily for Abscess I love this release.A predominant feel of Crust Punk in the style of Skaven and strong metal presence come together in a eerie form that give Abscess and unique and creepy sound. Reminds me alot in essence of the song Seasons in the Abyss by Slayer, but with a more dark and atmospheric nature. A nice mix of sections of horror with despair to a section or song of aggression. The aggression lacks the kick that many bands opt for and additionally it lacks a vibrancy of energy , but it is these attributes that make this release fresh and give it this unconventional slayerised crust punk early death metal.

Utopium - Conceptive Prescience
I used to hold the belief that Portugal was one of the countries where Grindcore was a non-entity, luckily for me Utopium have dispelled such a
myth from my mind, they play flawlessly great Grindcore and the best part of it is that you can have it for free here. Featuring a tribute to Nasum, these grinders play a mixture of old and new Grindcore in the vein of Phobia and have a pure refined sound which is played with high precision and professionalism. These guys are certainly should stay on our radars, I am expecting amazing things from them.

Moncho Cabrera - Demo 2010
For a long time it may of seemed that perhaps indeed punk was a rotting corpse, although as Grind fans we must never forget the role of Punk in creating the genre. Of the bands that had a great input is crazy J-Punkers S.O.B.  and this is exact;y what Moncho Cabrera sound like, oddly enough on their myspace they make no mention of S.O.B as an influence. I will be honest this album has nothing special nor is it amazing, it is just nice to hear decent punky thrashy sound again but from the present not 20-30 years old. For fans of S.O.B this is a must have.

Sayyadina - The Great Northern Revisisted
There is an ongoing debate in my head whether Sayyadina are more Crust or more Grind, but one thing there is no debate about is that Sayyadina  are good. These guys take their own stance on Grindcore and Crust drawing from the ethos of Nasum, despite many similarities between Nasum and Sayyadina, Sayyadina do there own thing which give them a nice Independent sound.

Hayaino Daisuki - Invincible Gate Mind Of The Infernal Hell

Jon Chang, need I say more.

Misery Index - Heirs to the Thievery
Misery Index  never cease to impress me and Heirs to the Theivery was no exception. With spectacular drumming, nice riffing and solos, and a vocals hell bent on political criticism. Unlike most bands that focus on Racism, Dictatorships or any other gross exaggeration of their very democratic system, Misery Index focus on economic matters, making a nice break from the over top politic haters. Overall a fabulous release perhaps with a tad of Marxism, which gives it that edge.

Exhale - Blind
Nice raspy Death Grind that is full of energy and aggression. These Swedish grinders play a fast and very heavy sound with all the pros and with non of the cons. They make recognisable distinctions between songs giving each song a feeling of freshness and uniqueness, a brilliant album overall.

Aborted - Coronary Reconstruction
I have loved Aborted for a very long time now, and love their aesthetic Gore-grinding theme but musical brutal death metal approach. Coronary Reconstruction sticks to the formula they do well, with an approach of a more conventional heavy sound  with a few solos and technical moments thrown in, they have decided to bin the approach of Strychine 213 and stick to what was good. Perhaps we can see a reincarnation of Goremageddon soon!

Infanticide - From Our Cold Dead Hands
Well Sweden certainly know how to write good music, this is their 3rd appearance so far in  this list. Infanticide remind a lot of a more modern version of Terrorizer, the 25 minute tornado will keep you bound to your seat not just in awe, but due to a fear that one of those audio waves emanating from your speakers may actually eviscerate you the moment you get up. So remember to take a piss before you put this on.

Agathocles - Peel Sessions 1997
 I don't know how well John Peel's legacy is on the continent or across the Atlantic, but in the U.K he is pretty much a saint among metal heads and Grindcore fanatics across the board. Well the first thing about this release is that it taught me how to actually say the name Agathocles  correctly, I am sure all of you too have been pronouncing it wrong prior to hearing it, and for those of you who haven't heard this will want to get it now just on the strength on finding out what is the correct way to pronounce the name. This compilation is a nice blast from the past and is another brilliant release by these prolific material releasers.

Defeatist - Sixth Extinction
These New Yorkers certainly know how to play a soundtrack to a possible sixth extinction, with a combo of strings, percussion and sickening vocals you can expect all manner of life to wither around your speakers yourself included. For those who wish not to take part in the demise of man, do not play this.





So there we have it my 13 favourite releases of the year so far, there probably is ones I may of preferred more , but I cant judge on what I haven't heard, any recommendations from you guys? 4 bands from the U.S and 3 from Sweden, so congrats to all you who pledge allegiance to the flag.
Grind Out

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For the Good, the Glory and the GRIND!

Agathocles are pretty much the Marmite of the Grindcore genre. I am not sure how well Marmite is known outside the U.K, but it is pretty much a product that people love or hate, there is a lack of middle ground and mediocrity, it is either rubbish or insanely good. I personally like my Marmite, in addition to liking Marmite I also like very much Agathocles, perhaps there does exist a correlation between Marmite likers and Agathocles, who knows? However I didn't spend the last few hours researching about Marmite, I infact spent that researching Agathocles.

To those of you who have not heard of Agathocles yet classify yourself a Grindcore fanatic, then I suggest you re evaluate your stance from to just grindcore fan. The self labelled Mincecore Legends play a style of Grindcore that is high politicised and has its own sound of sorts. I am not entirely sure why they would need create their own sub-genre to my knowledge the grindcore scene at the time was highly politicised just look at the likes of Napalm Death.
On the other hand, I do tend to find that Agathocles play a very unique style of grindcore which distinguishes themselves from other Political Grind bands, and they tend to be more blunt and straight to their point with their political message, unlike most bands who adopt countless metaphors and sublime imagery to paint their political views.
Agathocles are notorious for the number of releases they have done, most of the releases they do are with up and coming Grindcore bands, examples of this are Nasum. I honestly have no idea as to the number of Agathocles releases, although at a guess I place it at well over 200.
For those of you who frequent this Blog, you may be aware that I usually like to play with words in my title and then explain it prior to the review, well this is also the case today. Agathocles is named after the Greek Poet of the same name, and his name stands for Good Glory, hence the Good, Glory and Grind.

The Review

This best of compilation released in 2008 is for me the best Agathocles release so far, although I doubt I have even heard 5% of Agathocles material. The title itself really sets the tone of everything Agathocles represent. In my internet travels I have come across many a blog with a image stating Grind is Protest, and it seems to be the unofficial slogan for Mincecore Maniacs across the globe.
The compilation is a 40 track of foggy guitaring intertwined with a static bass, and then add in a rampant raging fast drum beats. To add to this already monstrous political machine is a 2 man satire founded rage, spewing forth all manner of political discourse with that added tint of European Satire which is somewhat lacking from our friends over the seas.

Totalling an entire 34 minutes and 36 seconds, with the exception of the first song there is a non stop assault of the finest mincecore, songs like Bon apetit and Ministries of Arms, you get a high level of diversity with the sub genre. The first track mentioned I associate as a cross of Insect Warfare and old timers Repulsion, and then with Ministry of Arms you have a sort of early death metal outfit encapsulated by grind. Through a high level of borrowed elements from D-Beat, death metal etc which varies track to track, you never feel like it is one continous song or sound for that matter, but more a collection of fine materials taken from all ends of the mincecore spectrum.
This really is a great compilation after reading a somewhat shocking review on Encyclopedia Metallum,  I do respect peoples freedom of speech and opinions and do not have any problems with scoring this album at a mere 10%, however what I did find to my distaste was as follows. As within his rights can complain about the Musicianship, but he treats it as if it was an album and is complaining how only a few years ago they were of much better quality, after looking up a random sample of tracks, I can conclude that those tracks pre-date the given date he has said Agathocles has gone down hill. Now the purpose of the last paragraph was not to spite a fellow journalist (If I may be so humble to be blessed with such a title) or to criticize him for his musical opinion, the message is a much more important one. Do your research before you make a statement or conclusion, now to be honest I am being a hypocrite, as I make assumptions and hold them as fact, however by actually researching his statement I have in fact learnt what he said is wrong, thus teaching me the importance of research.
I will make the conclusion quick and concise: You either like Agathocles or you don't, if you so happen to like your fuzzy and somewhat amateurish musicality infused with a raging agenda of Anti-(Insert Whatever Noun you see fit for mincecore), grounded together with fast drumming and a range of styles and a tad of quirkeness then this is definitely a must have for you.
Rating 76/100

25 Years of Mincing!!! RIP Tony Schepkens, suicide was a bad move!

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