HORRIBLE EARTH - Weakened by Civilization review

 

HORRIBLE EARTH - Weakened by Civilization

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Since this is the MARCH ov GRIND I was just listening to HORRIBLE EARTH's 2016 full length Typical Human Behavior. A damm good album under fourteen minutes in length. A perfect release when you've gotta get ready for work and you wanna blast it out. Kinda like a grudge fuck but it's grind. But ya know the grudge fuck would be better.

So now we have the newest full length by these grindcore Massholes. Yes they hail from Boston, Massachusetts aka: Massholes. Be that as it may HORRIBLE EARTH are a great modern day grindcore act. I mean their song structures are interesting whether their ripping your head apart or dragging you into a pit. This latest one has seventeen of em.

The riffs are mostly psychotic, the drum work is phenomenal, the vocals are full on aggro and the bass sound actually punches through. Ya know I first learned about this band via a compilation that Horror Pain Gore Death Productions put out a few years ago aka: Discography 2013 - 2019. I liked their mix of grind and power-violence. Like an east coast version of NAILS.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/weakened-by-civilization

HORRIBLE EARTH - Weakened By Civilization review

 

HORRIBLE EARTH - Weakened By Civilization

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

A few years ago I was checking out a HORRIBLE EARTH compilation which also came out on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. At that time I said that HORRIBLE EARTH sounds like a band who just walked out of the time tunnel from the late 80's. And I was very interested in what they're gonna do next. To explain it all, this band sounded like some act who came out of the late 80's grindcore scene which evolved out of the hardcore era. 

Now like I said I was very interested in what they were gonna do next and here it is. Weakened By Civilization is the second full length by this Boston, Massachusetts four piece act. Sound-wise they've definitly taken that next step beyond retro and delivered a damm good grind album. Musically you've got seventeen quick cuts which still hold true to the hardcore/grindcore aesthetic.

Sound-wise there is a complexity to the songs. Major props to the drum work as well as the guitar riffage. The vocals are full on savage. Yeah this is early grindcore intensity minus many death metal grooves. If anything is added it's a slow sludge part or two. So in the end this is a grindcore release which grabs hold of ya demands repeated listening. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

bandcamp.com/album/weakened-by-civilization

https://hpgd.

LED TO THE GRAVE - Pray For Death EP review

 

LED TO THE GRAVE - Pray For Death EP

Horror Pain Gore Death

Basically what we have here is a two song release or an introduction to this Boston three piece act. LED TO THE GRAVE have been around for a while now. Starting out in 2006 and since then they've officially put out two full lengths, a handful of short form releases and a live album aka: Live at Ralphs Diner. By the way hows the chili there?

So like I said this two song release is an introduction to them in the now. Musically it's death thrash without any bells or whistles. I was surprised by the cool ass soloing on the title track. That definitely rocked. The second cut "No Salvation" is decent. The band's last release, Bane of Existence, came out a few years ago so who knows what changes these Mass-holes have done over that time. Either way these songs are catchy. 

http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/pray-for-death

TORN IN HALF - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth EP review

TORN IN HALF - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth EP

Redefining Darkness Records






Years ago, well maybe I should say decades, an EP release by a band was usually their demo and a step up from a tape. The band would put two to four cuts on vinyl and hope for the best. If things worked out in their favor they'd record an album with some of those early cuts or none. Then came the era of compact discs, cheap recording and the internet. So much for the good o'l days of collecting. 


But I still get a kick out of seeing an EP float in for review. It's even better when the band is playing my type of maniacal music. TORN IN HALF is a new four piece act out of Boston, Massachusetts. These massholes (and that's not a slag against em. I've got plenty of friends from the Boston area.) are into old school death doom with part US and part Swede influences. Yeah like there's not enough of that around.


Now I'm not gonna lie and say they're breaking new ground. Nor am I going to name drop a bunch of names. What's cool about this band comes in a couple of ways. First off of the four cuts on here only one is over three minutes in length. I like that because it means they don't fuck around. In fighting terms it's like smacking someone around a bit and then go in for the kill shot. Then just walk the fuck away.


Second thing I like about TORN IN HALF is how their vocalist uses a variety of bestial or harsh sounds which accent upon the heavy riffs and rhythms the other three musicians are punishing you with. Once again this music falls into that atmospheric punishment style with no exciting guitar soloing. That seems to be the norm of late.


Still it's great stuff especially if you ever had to live in a dark and damp rooming house basement apartment (me twenty years ago). I'd play something similar to this late at night just to piss off the people upstairs who were into indie rock. So maybe you can use this to piss off your neighbors as well.


http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/

https://torninhalf-us.bandcamp.com/album/basic-instructions-before-leaving-earth

https://www.facebook.com/torninhalfmetal/

SCAPHISM - Unutterable Horrors review

SCAPHISM - Unutterable Horrors

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions



SCAPHISM are a bunch of Massholes who think they can play death metal. Hey don't be offended, I'm originally from New Jersey and that's just the way we speak. It's not like I called Boston a shithole. I mean ya won a couple of World Series titles. Hey the Yankees can't win every year. But I digress....

SCAPHISM are a decent sounding USDM act who come across more like some Midwest acts from the past. First off they have a sickness to em, yeah those vocals, plus their tempos have combinations of thrash as well as grind. There's a low fi tech appeal going on as well be it the drum flourishing or the riff structures. 

I wasn't too thrilled with this release at first which by the way is the band's second full length. By the third time listening to this and allowing songs like "Vaults Of Pestilence" and of course "The Feaster From The Stars" to sink in I realized that their frantic pace reminds me of MACABRE to a degree. Maybe MASTER on speed. 

Either way it's punishing, enjoyable for the sheer fact that the drumming sounds like a crazed guy from a construction site wielding a nail-gun without the safety. sure they're still Massholes but damm they are good. Musically they've hit that sweet spot. You've got the basic death metal strides, the tech death aesthetics as well as the sickness whether it's in the vocals or the twisted riff patterns. The more you listen to this release the more you find cool things to like.

http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/unutterable-horrors

https://www.facebook.com/Scaphism