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CROPSY MANIAC - Carnage
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
Remember the good old days, yeah like three decades ago. Death Metal was still in it's infancy but people were catching on quickly. You would go out to the local club. There would be some DM act on stage hammering away with some decent yet heavy handed riffs. The singer would be yelling out some gruff vocals, no full on cookie monster ones yet. The front of the stage would be lined up with people headbanging away.
Behind them there would be a huge circle pit of people going crazy. Then behind that would be too older guys, one wearing a SLAYER shirt and the other wearing METALLICA. The guy in the METALLICA shirt leans over to his friend and asks "Ya think they'll kick our asses?" His friend wearing the SLAYER shirt replies "Well not me but" and looks at his friend's shirt then smiles at em. Yeah good times.
CROPSY MANIAC probably know what I'm talking about. On here their eight song EP, this band from Kentucky / Oregon (I don't fuckin know) relives the days of old school death metal in a decent way. Their old school aesthetic as well as their death grind touch is cool. Love the fuckin sick and twisted vocals by Kevin Reece. Their songs are all short forceful attacks. Basically it's beating people up music.
On the not so good side there's a major flaw in that there's not much guitar soloing at points in their songs which would've been exciting. Most of this is simple riffs, average drumming and good vocals. I'll add to that the production is horrible, the soundbites from whatever movies they were pulled from are not memorable. In the end a decent release by a band that obviously could be better.
http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/carnage
https://www.facebook.com/cropsymaniacgrind?fref=ts
CHALLENGER - Turned to Dust
Dying Victims Productions
Before I get into this review I need to mention that if you're a fan of old school 80's style metal, thrash, speed metal, etc then this German label Dying Victims Productions is your go to place for all of that. Seriously just go to their Bandcamp site, check out their bands and buy, buy, buy. I will not steer you wrong.
Here's another great one by this label. CHALLENGER are a four piece act from Slovenia. This is their debut EP and they know classic 80's era metal. They're more NWOBHM than California eye liner, cross dresser, glam metal. Of course that's a good thing. Think songs with a melodic flow that have a distinct galloping riff pattern. Real guy vocals with a few explosive heavy metal screams thrown in. And of course some cool soloing like a hot knife into butter.
CHALLENGER's first release is just four songs but it'll remind you of the songs you heard on old comps from the 80's. Then again it could bring back memories of seeing some great band in a club from back in the day. I really cannot name drop any act who they remind me of. They basically come across as one of those second tier acts that really were cool as fuck. And some times you enjoyed them better than the headliners.
https://www.dying-victims.de/
https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/challenger-turned-to-dust
https://www.facebook.com/challengerslo/
GOBLINSMOKER - Toad King EP
Sludgelord Records
Ah those English, they just love their ugly, fuzzy and haunting doom. Much like some of their classic horror films that don't have a traditional monster of legend. But instead it's something either not of this world or from it and we wanna put it back where it belongs.
With that said here we have GOBLINSMOKER a two piece English act who on this their debut EP have melded their love of stoner doom with the creepy harshness of black metal. Call this fuzzy and ugly which crawls along at a pace that would tire out a turtle.
Toad King is only three semi long tracks but with this style of molting goo edging it's way into your conscientiousness why would you need more. As far as the heaviness goes it's nothing new so it's the harsh vocals as well as gripping atmosphere which makes this well worth listening.
https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/album/toad-king
https://www.facebook.com/Goblinsmoker/
DISUSE- The Yeti From Kad-Man-Ra EP
EveryDayHate
I use to know this guy who was into metal and hardcore. He also had a job that sent him abroad, mostly to Europe, at least once a month. While over there on business he had time off to do site seeing as well as go to music festivals and shows. But while telling me about them whenever I'd see him. He'd piss me off because he'd tell me about going to all these cool shows but never stayed long enough to catch what all was going on. So he cut all his stories short.
Which brings me to this band here. DISUSE are a four piece grindcore act from Holland. They're the band that's making Amsterdam grind again. On this their second EP this year the band grinds their way through fourteen songs in a little over five minutes. Yeah that's correct I said five minutes. So how do they do that and how does that relate to my story in the previous paragraph?
Well it's simple you see while my friend never finished a story about his trips. DISUSE never finish a damm song. Seriously there's only a few cuts on here that have something you could refer to as having a time limit. For the most part DISUSE will not allow grass to grow underneath them. Many of their songs start out great with a cool riff or groove pattern and then bamm, it stops and you're left there thinking Whatafuck?
After multiple plays of this release, and at five minutes that's easy, it's obvious DISUSE are making grind old school back to it's early hardcore origins again. As much as I want more song length to my appreciation of grindcore at least this Dutch band has not gone the way of avant-grind extremity. Hell their cut "Scumbag City", all four seconds of it, could be my ringtone.
With some barked grunt and screamed vocals, Tupperware sounding drums, an ugly early death metal guitar tone and a barely audible bass, these Dutch individuals do end up making a threatening release. Which for me, even with my personal take aside, is fun.
http://www.everydayhate.pl/
https://disuse.bandcamp.com/album/the-yeti-from-kad-man-ra
https://www.facebook.com/disusegrind/
KIELKROPF - Ignorance Is Bliss
Sludgelord Records
If there's one thing I can say about Sludgelord Records, whether or not I like their releases, is that they do not troll the typical musical havens of trendy-ness and bandwagon jumping. Instead they comb the world of obscurity for the acts they release stuff by. Now as far as this one goes, it's another unique act that begs for your attention.
Here we have a four song EP by KIELKROPF an Austrian four piece who are not pushing boundaries, thank you very much. On the contrary they're touching on the past ready to kick your ass. Think of the second wave heydays of US sludge (that would be the late 90s for you kids) meets MOTORHEAD and KILLDOZER in a pub. Think of all the bands on those Southern Lord Records samplers (I've still got two of em).
KIELKROPF know how to give you some head banging groove as well as drag you slowly across a rip-rap covered ditch. Yeah "ouch, that's gonna leave a mark" is one way of putting it. This is heavy fuckin handed stuff by a band whose vocalist and guitarist were once in an Austrian metalcore act, FISCHHALLE, back in the 90s.Yes recognizing pain and misery does come with the retrospect of age. Trust me I know.
Look people if what I've written does not in the least bit excite your Doom sensibilities then you're either dead or still listening to an Athens, Georgia sludge metal playlist on Last FM which by the way is one in the same. Yes it's been a decade but I still hate hipsters. Be that as it may so hey people if you're into something old school but not contrived (hell they're from fuckin Austria which means it's impossible for em to be contrived) then this is for you. Trust me it's one of the best things in this genre you'll hear in 2018.
https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/
https://kielkropf.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kielkropf/
