From Brum (Again) with Hate, Despair and Desolation

I know this is my 3rd album I have reviewed which features at least one member of the Kenny brothers, and my second review of Anaal Nathrakh, but what can I say I love Anaal Nathrakh. If you wish to read generally about  the band and also my review about In the Constellation of the Black Widow you may do so here. For those who have already or just read or just wish for me to skip straight to the review then carry on reading.

Thinking hard about it this album is probably my favourite album of all time. In fact I love this album so much that I have 2 versions of it and am awaiting to get my hands on the 3rd and 4th version. The first version is the basic 9 song, the second a reissue by Earache with the Peel Sessions featuring additional tracks which I do not have, the 3rd, I believe to be a fan made one which features live tracks and the final one a reissue in 2009 by FETO records which I also lack.Ironically the two I lack are the two released by my two favourite record labels. However all good things come to those who wait.

This album generally had a mixed reception, with some proclaiming it was the greatest sound to hit the earth, whereas others claimed it was aimless. I tend to find that die hard black metal fans are the ones who detest this album so much, whereas those who aren't big on the black metal genre are the ones who really like it. In fact my house mate who likes drum and bass loves the Humanity Loves Cancer track, one which I highly recommend. I remember reading a journalist describe the track as the gates of hell are being opened up, and further more it was the track used on the premier of an epic british horror film 28 Days Later, another overlooked masterpeice.  I really have been painting this album with Gold, and best get on to reviewing it.

This album is neither Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore nor any other genre you can think of. It is a sort of hybrid beast that possess the best elements of all 3. The underlying clockwork and machinations of their songs are rooted in the rawest black metal, with that constant layered guitaring and a sense of mortal fraility and global demise. However this release and band all together borrow heavily from the death metal  and Grindcore end of the spectrum of the extreme metal family. In my opinion they take some of the better elements and nail it into this already cruel black metal framework.

As I believe I have previously described them, they don't create music so to speak but create this grim and eerie atmosphere, and other points just release forth all manner of dark odium in a tornado of brutality coupled with despair. The use of audio sampling is used frequently to give their songs that additional ingredient for success. My favourite of which is the Technogoat, which samples Event Horizon, which is another masterpiece which has received minimal attention it deserves.
If we think of the songs in terms of verses and choruses then the songs often consist of a audio assault as a verse, which is loud fast and aggressive (not to the extent of grindcore, but more on the lines of early death metal or even thrash) and then we have this sort of more melodic break into the songs, this sort of repeats itself 2/3 times and then we have this sort of well structured climax which combines the two. This is the general formula used, and they manage to pull it off very well. There is no one song that I dislike, there are times that some songs have that sort of amateurish feel to them, but if you listen closely you realise how much of a coordinated effort.

The Vocals are your savage screams, to your low bellows and occasional sort of being told through a fuzzy microphone, which paints a picture for me of some sort of Fallout scenario (I have been playing too much fallout recently).  The drums are good and are pretty standardised apart from your occasional machine gun blast, and the use of the beloved blast beat. The guitaring is layered and fluid, and tends to be different with each song, and is always well integrated with the fast tempo set by the drumming. For you grind fans I suggest checking out the song Pandemonic Hyperblast, for me the beginning feels like some put Insect Warfare through the Hadron Collider and recorded the result. Another highly recommended song is the first track, the Supreme Necrotic Audnance, infact I have it as my alarm clock, it isn't a song that is about speed or heaviness (that comes later in track 2), but is a well crafted peice of art.
In my conclusion I will copy a qoute from another review, as I pretty much think it summarises my views about music and the band in general.
"They've released several great albums since this one, but I always return to 'the Codex Necro', their finest and darkest hour, and I recommend it to you as your inaugural neckbreaking to this band. Jesus avert your ears."

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Grind to Death 3.0

Welcome to Grind to Death's new overhaul, sadly for me all these little tweaks have consumed hours of my time, however I have learnt many things. I am sure the first thing you noticed was the new logo which has replaced the original header. This was entirely created by me using a combination of two wonderful programs, Paint.net and Pixlr. Although this is a musical blog, I must say that these two programs are highly recommended if anyone wants to do any graphical work, the first is a desktop program which is free and the second is a amazing web based service, both come highly recommended as Paint Shop Pro alternatives. The logo looks very black metal like, which is ironic since the blog is not black metal orientated, however the visual themes used in black metal are very appealing to myself. The only image that has a purpose are the Capricorn which represent myself being a Capricorn, everything else is there only to make it look nice(I hope).
 Another change I have implemented is that there is only one post per page, as I usually elaborate my posts with images, hyperlinks and videos, it has a high amount of data, I would like to keep this anti-minimalist feature rich Blog, but I don't wont to make it a burden on my viewers, so by limiting it to one post per page it optimises the site to only relay the relevant material and features and no dead weight information.
The Navbar has made a return, to be honest I don't even remember getting rid of it, must of done it by accident somehow.
Other change in features include a search bar, and a tag cloud instead of a tag list, as the list was starting to get too long, I have also removed the label sphere, although it was my favourite feature it seemed to have stopped functioning and I can't fix it.
All in all html coding and JavaScript coding are royal pain in the assess, hope you guys like the alterations, feel free to complain, if need be.

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Grindvirus Alert! May result in Compressed Innards!

The Difference between the virtual world and the real world is that those who frequent my blog and don't know me in person believe me to 100% English, well this is a falsehood I am infact 50% English and 50% Polish. The Grindcore scene in the U.K is quite big, not big enough to be mainstream but big enough to have a recognisable following, most be people know of Carcass and Napalm Death, even if they are unaware of what Grindcore is. However in Poland Grindcore seems to be very much a minority within a minority, you have the occasional metal fan, and then out of a possible 100 metal fans you might get one person who likes Grindcore. This is really a crying shame because Poland does put out some good grindcore and metal for that matter (I am a big Vader Fan). And this review will be about the Epitome of the Polish Grindcore scene(No reference to fellow Polski Grinders Epitome intended)

Grind Virus is contagious, there is no doubt about it, once you hear it, you just can't stop playing it, then you go forth and recommend it to your friends who in turn repeat the cycle. The Grindcore Epidemic takes form. These Grinders date back to 1994, thus not old enough to be in the Old School, nor new enough to be  in the New School, to my knowledge there is no term for this middle strata so I will use the term "Mid-School"  to describe these sort of groups. In my opinion they often are the Cadre of Grindcore, they take the best elements from the innovators and pioneers and mould it into something else, and they lack the impurities that have tainted the good name of Grindcore (i.e Deathcore).

Unlike some early grindcore and hardcore bands who strive to achieve a sound which was faster, louder and heavier than anything else, squash bowels have opted not to follow this route. The core element they do possess, is something I can't really put a word on it is sort of like a slow paced groove that still retains the most pure grindcore, it is catchy as hell. They are a sort of early Gore-Grinding Carcass incarnate which has opted instead of going on melodeath or death 'n' roll route, to refine their sound to a alternate better approach. For those of you who have read my review on Jig-AI here, you may be aware of my general loathing of most Gore-Grind bands. However Squash bowels try not to sound the most sickest and demented sound on the planet, they try to stay true to the essence of music and just write stuff the best they can.

The sound possess that underlying raw very heavy metal feel to it, everything they do is nothing new or unique to the genre put what they amalgamate together is just amazing. For a Grindcore release, the song lengths are quite long the shortest being 1minute 28 seconds, but the songs tend to be about 2 minutes in length.  At no point the songs are felt that they have over extended themselves or repeat themselves, each song is crafted uniquely and barrages your ear drums with the finest Grindcore.
The vocals are your typical 2 types one growly and one screamy, add in your clotting bass line, your earth shaking drums and a hell of lot of shredding and you got yourself one hell of a catchy tune.

I often think that most reviewers and listeners tend to forget the importance of production value, talent is talent without a doubt and regardless of production value you can tell whether something is amazing or shit. However I like to see production value as a metaphorical amp,by being good you amplify how good or bad the release is, by having minimal production value you leave it to the more unprejudiced person to unearth the hidden treasures. The production quality in this is most definitely praiseworthy it really does give this release an additional amazing edge. On a side note I do love some bands particularly in death metal that sort goes well with that amateur minimal production value, check out some Cannabis Corpse, recorded in the blokes Kitchen.
It is a tear up between Squash Bowells, Wormrot and Napalm Death as to my favourite album of 2009, I am trying to remove all personal national bias I may possess, and even so it is a tough one to call. In short this has to be the most catchy Grindcore release I know, it aint fast nor brutal but it still is in the finest Grindcore you can treat your ear drums to.
Grind Out
Rating: 96/100

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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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Hell is Empty and the Horror is Here!

The Kenny Brothers must have extreme music in their genetic code, it is just amazing in how many top rate bands, and playing a array of instruments to a high degree can be achieved by the same source of heritage, yet again they make me proud to be British. Whoever said family and business can't go together, clearly did not embrace the horror of FUKPIG!!
To those who are still pondering  as to the title it is a play on words from Nathrakhs Hell is Empty and all the Devils are Here and the track by Fukpig the Horror is Here.

The Review

Spewings from a Selfish Nation, just sounds raw before you even begin listening to it, its got one of those typical sort of Political-Punk or Agathocles styled titles, and if you put that alongside the band name of Fukpig you can already tell that this is going to be a savagely cruel album.
I have never really been into the punk scene, and only within the last year I have learnt its importance on the grindcore and metalcore scene, and when I first saw this album labelled as Crust Punk infused with Black metal, this forced me to research the finer points and history of punk.
Opening up with an operatic chime with that lightly static radio interference, then the guitars slowly dredge their way through, with a standardised but prelevant drumbeat then come in this harsh vocals, the first 40 seconds pretty much set the tone for the rest of the album: this grim desolation has taken musical form.

This album is just cruel and dissonant all the way through, much like Anaal Nathrakh, Fukpig create this truly grimmoire outlook, but they have opted for a different take on this Weltschmerz than their other bands. To my understanding Anaal Nathrakh opt for a more moralistic and rational argument as to painting this barren world, Fukpig go for this more current affairs aproach with song titles like: As the Bomb Falls, Mother Nature's Tears and Millions Dyings, they really capture my understanding of the political punk scene, which seems to be a source of nostalgia for the mass of punk wannabes and counter conformists.
I seem to be talking alot about the Punk element of the band, by doing so I have greatly neglected to mention the intricate Black Metal elements that are melted in. Crust Punk + Black Metal ≠ Absurd Combo that will never take off, this rudimentary attempt of implementing mathematics into Music is a very good diagram to summarise my next few sentences.

Fukpig take the high level of politisation and aggression of punk and add a layer of black metal to add this sense of impending doom, and they do it very well. I would of never of considered that fusing of these genres was possible, however as we have now learnt it has been, and very well at that. I don't think we can expect too many more crusty black metal hybrids, I am pretty sure that Fukpig has pretty much taken all that's good from the fusion, leaving only the dregs.
The guitars and bass have this sort of sluggish down tuned despair in them, that sort of conjures up pictures of soldiers slowly dragging themselves through a mass of mud and shrapnel as all around them death and misery pollutes the surroundings. The drums are pretty standardised, but at times add to that much needed break in Fukpigs agenda which may just start to get a bit samey but the drums rescue it. However it is the vocals that are definitely extremely praise worthy  , they are the sort of things that give kids nightmares and really give that global distress a voice.

Songs worthy of praise, not to be confused with songs of praise are As Millions Suffer, and Caught Out, the first one adds in a kick ass metal guitaring and the latter just really epitomises the whole essence that is Fukpig.
To conclude Fukpig are the more politically active cousins of Anaal Nathrakh, but share that same dominant morbid depressive gene on the outlook of humanity. Fukpig goes on a relentless audio barrage to show all the injustice and problems in this World.

Rating: 90/100

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And now for something less serious: French splattering neo-death grind pop metal fun....???????????

Foreword

I know what you guys are thinking, how absurd it is to use a whole eight genres to describe a band, however I can safely say that I never assigned the band this tag, this tag is a copy and paste job from the bands website, now I know again what you are thinking: who the hell are crazy enough to sound like that? well the answer is ULTRA VOMIT!(A clue was in the banner above) Once you have finished pondering on what that would sound like, or how it is even possible, then feel free to read the rest of the review.




Band Info

Ultra Vomit are absolutely phenomenal, everything they play and do is a parody of music and modern life, although not the first nor the last band to do so, they do it with such a high level of perfection and maintain a high level of professionalism throughout. They are often tagged and describe themselves as grindcore, I am not entirely sure whether this is an accurate description or not, they certainly play some sort of metal with grind elements, however I personally feel that grindcore may be an incorrect tag, with the exception of a few songs. However I must add, the album I am about to review is the only main material by them I have heard, and will come into possession of more material.  The way I prefer to classify Ultra Vomit are a insider joke for those who are versed in the metal genres, parodying everything from Motorhead, Slipknot and Immortal. They just play the stylistic traits of the said bands perfectly and the whole time, make a parody through the lyrics and stylistic shifts, an absolutely phenomenon.

The Review

Like mentioned in the Band Info section, I am not even sure if this album fits into any genre between death metal and Grindcore, although it parodies death metaller veterans Cannibal Corpse, Infact you can't even fit this album into any neat genre category as they just parody most forms of metal. Of the self assigned title of French splattering neo-death grind pop metal fun, the only one which must be emphasised and is 100% correct is the tag fun. This album is just fun to listen to from start to finish, it is sort of a catalogue of all metal parodies from metal pop to bordering grindcore/hardcore punk. Even if you are not a fan of other metal genres you will love this album, it has that quirkiness about it that everybody loves. The only problem with this album, is that all lyrics are sang or in some cases shouted: in French. This is quite a vulgar Anglo-centric comment to blurt out, however I will elaborate,because the lyrics are in French and not English this album has failed to hit the mainstream as well as it could of, and sadly has only retained a cult underground following and not the full recognition it deserves.

I personally like the fact that it is all in French, it makes me think back to my pre and early teens, sitting in all those French lessons and attempt to use my rudimentary French linguistic knowledge to decipher the lyrics of the band. About 30 minutes prior to writing this particular section, I showed my house mate who has a very good grasp of French some videos of the band, the fact he was laughing all the time, has convinced me in a paranoid round about way that there is another joke in the lyrics that I have not bothered to look up, thus fuelling me to relisten to this album, in an attempt to find the joke.
The instruments are all perfect, whatever genre or band they attempt to parody they sound exactly like how the band sound, occasionally they add in a comical twist in the musical playing, so they don't sound 100% exactly like the band, but it is done on purpose to add even more humour to the already hilarious songs. There are two vocalists one main and one support, it is amazing how they sing. Its not like anything impossible, it just the level of diversity , when they scream, they sound like a heavier metal band, when they sing they sound like exactly how these pop rock bands sound like, they even at particular songs convincingly sound like a French Lemmy and even a French Michael Jackson!!!

A thing that I absolutely love, and sadly a dying trend is amazing art work, and the art work for this release is just so hilarious, as pictured far above, it depicts the band members in some Tolkien fantasy, using their instruments as weapons, already from the front cover alone you can tell this album is going to be filled with laughs.
Not only do Ultra Vomit play metal amazingly well, and parody the stylistic habits of the particular artists and genres, they chuck in their heritage in the songs. Featuring tales from French Folklore and French Children's bed time stories and even dedicate a song to the one and only Jack Chirac.
Objective Thunes is not heavy nor is it "brutal", but it just is an absolute laugh to have, it will never bore you and is one of those must haves for any true metal head.
Grind Out.

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