LOWCARD DE LA MORTE / KILLSEDUCTION Split EP review

 

LOWCARD DE LA MORTE / KILLSEDUCTION Split EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

OK bias alert because this split release reminds me of the 1980's Underground Hardcore / Speed Metal era when you only heard good music via tape trading. What we have here are two bands from Japan who not only nail the sound and fury. But the production is time honoring perfect. The fucking attitude is a slam pit smack to the face. 

First of there's LOWCARD DE LA MORTE who deliver six cuts that are pure old school sounding Hardcore / Speed Metal. I mean short songs, meaty riffs, aggro vocals with plenty of tongue in cheek lyrics. It's serious music for the not so serious but want to get crazy to. 

The second band here is KILLSEDUCTION who deliver five cuts in a different way. Yeah it's Hardcore, Speed Metal as well as Thrash and Grind. That latter touch is obvious since guitarist Takafumi Matsubara of GRIDLINK is in the band. Musically their songs are a psychotic speed trip which would be more enjoyable if I was still a coke head. But for right now their short sharp and diverse extreme shock is pretty cool. 

Like all split releases I judge em as wrestling matches. I mean real wrestling and not like that BS on TV today. This is Japan style Wrestling from decades ago in a exploding barred wire match with tacks on the mat. Although KILLSEDUCTION seem to walk into this ring as the predominant winner and heals. I'm choosing the baby-face LOWCARD DE LA MORTE who do a better job jumping off the ropes and pinning. 

NUFF SAID!

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/kill-de-la-morte

INEPSY - No Speed Limit for Destruction reissue review

 

INEPSY - No Speed Limit for Destruction reissue

Tankcrimes

Back in 2008 a good friend of mine turned me onto this Canadian act with their first full length, Rock ‘n’ Roll Babylon, which came out in 2003. To me this is one of the best match ups of DISCHARGE and GBH meets MOTORHEAD and TANK. The band's second album, City Weapons, which came out in 2005 was decent. 

But this album, which originally came out in 2007, is when the band dropped the Hardcore influences and went straight up Hard Fuckin Rock n Roll. I mean the opening track is "Rock 'n' Roll Is the Only Way". And if that wasn't an obvious introduction to where this band was headed then you were an idiot. This was basically MOTORHEAD lite which at the time the band said was a change to a more Rock n Roll style. 

Now I'm not going to get into what people years ago said about this album whether good or bad. To me it just doesn't fuckin matter. If this was the first album by this band I heard I'd be like hell yeah. I mean ya got the gruff real guy vocals sorta Lemmy like. Of course there's plenty of other singers which come to mind. Be that as it may the songs just rock the fuck out. 

Just blast this album and tell me your head doesn't bang a bit. Do you find yourself tapping your hand on your knee? And what about some air guitar moments, do you kick into that as well? Well I do and that's why No Speed Limit for Destruction is a must have release. If you don't own it already then here ya go. 

https://www.tankcrimes.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://tankcrimes.bandcamp.com/album/no-speed-limit-for-destruction

CHUFFED - Demo 2025 review

 

CHUFFED - Demo 2025

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So this is pretty cool and it's because the band shows promise in a style of music I really like. Basically it's Old School Death Metal in the Swedish vein crashing head long into 1980's Hardcore ala England's DISCHARGE. Now there are a few older bands, yeah from Sweden, who have done it all before. But in recent years I discovered two cool new bands from Sweden, CRAWL and FERAL, who nail the sound to perfection. 

Sorry but they're not on this label. This act here hails from the mountains of Pennsylvania. OK like where? Are we talking the Catskills, the Poconos or the fucking Allegheny Mountains which is Bigfoot country. I mean maybe those mountain towns are an influence in like boredom. 

Which brings us back to this five track release. CHUFFED is actually a one man band. The one man being Deron Christman who performs all the instruments and vocals. Supposedly he'll have a full band the next time we hear from em. I hope so because this is raw sounding killer fucking Extreme Metal. I like Deron's guttural vocals. The riffs on here are crunchy as sin. And of course the drum work is hardcore as fuck. 

I'll be waiting for CHUFFED's full length debut in the future but for now damm pick this fucker up. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2025

WOLFBASTARD - Satanic Scum Punks review

 

WOLFBASTARD - Satanic Scum Punks

Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings

WOLFBASTARD are an English Hardcore band who I first heard decade ago. Back then I was thinking this is the type of music punks should be listening to. Yeah was I fucking wrong. But anyways I got their debut self titled full length from 2015 and their third full length, Hammer the Bastards, from 2022. 

As far as this latest one goes to me it's the best one I've heard from em. Yeah the musical term is "Blackened Crust" which everyone who reads this blog (and frankly who doesn't) knows I hate the term "crust". The title of this album says it all and that's what you get. 

This full length is their best because of a few obvious reasons. The production is damm better for starters and the band does not lose a bit of rawness as well as savage in their songs. I think this is Derek Carley's best vocal performance and the guitar riffs are cool as well as part of the blackened package. The rhythm section of bassist Simon Fox and drummer Dave Buchan is solid. 

I mean this is the band at their best which is that they are Satanic Scum Punks. I don't think much of the album's intro or the ending cut but out of eleven cuts you've got nine to go blitz over. Once again I'll say it. If you're into Punk Fuckin Rock or Metal then this is what you should be listening to. Nuff Said!

https://apocalypticwitchcraft.co.uk/

LISTEN HERE:

https://apocalypticwitchcraft.bandcamp.com/album/satanic-scum-punks

CRUSHUMAN - Besides EP review

 

CRUSHUMAN - Besides EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

The maniacs from Upper Marlboro, Maryland are back and they're angry as fuck. I first learned about this extreme sounding three piece in 2024 via their self titled full length which came out on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.

Musically that album had a lot of variety as in Death Metal, Grindcore and post 90's Hardcore. Looking back I actually liked their aggro-grind and Hardcore stuff. In the end I thought this band has a way of creating apocalyptic sounding metal.

So as far as this nine song EP goes it starts out great but then goes into territory which I don't know what to say. The first two cuts "Select Sacrifice" and "Waiting for a Savior" are cool as in a Hardcore band playing Death Metal. Hell yeah start a slam pit in your basement when your parents are away. "Dead End Suffering" ain't too bad of a cut. 

But when "Apeasement to the Frauds" kicks in then it's really not a cool time. That goes with what follows afterwards. There's way too much not so cool HC style modern riffs which makes me hate to think these guys wear backwards baseball caps and shorts on stage.  Their first album was better but the HC crowd will like this one either way.   

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/besides

THE SLIME - Crab-Walk to Oblivion review

 

THE SLIME - Crab-Walk to Oblivion

Self Released

Listening to this is like being at a club decades ago during a DRI show. I should know because I was there. As far as DRI goes yes Violent Pacification was good. Dealing With It was better but their Crossover album sucked. So when I was reading the promo info on this band. The PR person describes this band as being "hardcore/crossover". WTF?

OK I get it your young. But if you were around in the late 80's HC scene then you would know that the term "crossover" is a bad word. The term was created by major label hacks to describe bands who they signed as being liked by the HC crowd and metal heads. Alright but what about the punk fans who liked SABBATH or PRIEST? Would you call them "crossover"? 

Basically it, crossover, started because DRI was playing shows with SLAYER. Next thing you know the major labels started signing all of these Hardcore bands. At first it was called "crossover" but then a year or two afterwards it was called Metalcore. You had HC bands trying to sound Metal and it pretty much sucked. Sorry for the history lesson buy hey I had to. 

Anyways this is the debut full length by THE SLIME a four piece act who hail from Toronto, Ontario. That's in Canada for all of you punks. I think there was an old early 1980's Punk band called The SLIME as well. Be that as it may this band started out in 2020 and so far has released a handful of short form releases prior to this full length. 

As far as Crab-Walk to Oblivion goes well for starters the album cover artwork has a guy with a BAD BRAINS T-shirt on. At least that's cool. Musically as far as these eleven songs go, in slightly over fifteen minutes, I like it. Ah yeah I'd say they're influenced by DRI as well as maybe a few other HC bands from the late 1980's. 

But I give these guys credit. They've taken a sound from fuckin decades ago and actually put a cool original spin to it. There's a few cuts on here that sound more diabolical then their ancestors could've produced. The musicianship is very wild with caustic vocals careening over wild ride riffs. The rhythm section is on fire. 

I think in 2025 and you're into Hardcore Punk then THE SLIME should be one of your favorite bands. I mean back in the day my favorite Canadian Punk bands were DOA and the DAYGLO ABORTIONS. And that's just off the top of my memory as I write this review. There's plenty more but for now yeah THE SLIME fuckin rule.  

LISTEN TO & BUY IT HERE:

https://theslimehardcore.bandcamp.com/album/crab-walk-to-oblivion

DISTRUSTER - Obscurum Per Obscurius EP review

 

DISTRUSTER - Obscurum Per Obscurius EP

Ossuary Records

So let's add speed metal / hardcore to the list of great extreme music from Poland. Just for the record I'm not Polish but damm when it comes to extreme music their nation really does rule. I've been praising extreme bands from Poland for four decades now. So here we have something new and it's DISTRUSTER who musically are a mix of speed metal, hardcore (or what some people call Crust) and I'd say they're touching on Death Thrash a bit. 

The band is a three piece consisting of Kosa on harsh / gruff vocals. Then there's Uappa Terror who aside from doing all of the guitar and bass work also sings. Finally there's veteran drummer James Stewart whose been in a host of extreme bands including VADER and DECAPITATED. Just for the record this band started out in 2021 and has a previously released full length from 2022 titled Sic Semper Tyrannis. 

As far as this release goes you can split it in two. The first four cuts are the meat of this release. Every musical extreme I mentioned above is in these four cuts. Now what comes next are three cuts which are remixed to various degrees. You've got the song "Bullshit" which was on their full length. Next is a remixed version of "God Reject" which is a song from this EP. But this version sounds like something played at a Warsaw underground club rave scene. 

The final cut is "To Live Beautifully" which is another cut from their debut full length but remixed into another Warsaw underground club rave scene style song. So as far as dancing goes the first part makes for some slam pit action while the latter half is disco / rave music. You make the call.

https://ossuaryrecords.com/en/

LISTEN HERE:

https://ossuaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/obscurum-per-obscurius

HATCHEND - Summer of 69 review

 

HATCHEND - Summer of 69

Selfmadegod Records

So I'll get the obvious out of the way. Let's give the artist who came up the cover of this release some due. Re-imagining Andy Warhol's famous pop art Marilyn Monroe painting and supplementing Charles Manson's face on to it is interesting. Although if I saw this in a store I'd think it was a punk band release. Also a punk band who thought they were being cute. Then again I might think they're some indie / hiptard band trying to be ironic with the cover and the title. Thankfully there's music involved ahead of it. 

So what we have here is HATCHEND a four piece act from Sweden who are, in their words, a Thrash and Hardcore band. Hey guys ya got plenty of grindcore influence to which is why I gave this a second and third listen. That last listen sealed the deal for me. If anything HATCHEND's goal on this their debut full length is to rip off your head and shit down your neck. That is evident with their violent guitar riff attack and their vocalist who has a sheet metal roar that'll leave scars. 

This eight song album from start to finish is a full on assault to your senses. And not just mine I mean the neighbors dogs started barking and their motion lights went on. Whatafuck? By the way Sweden what happened to Death Metal? Be that as it may yeah this pounds, grinds and also rocks like a 'sumbitch' (that's a Southern US term). HATCHEND also include in their sound some Death n Roll influence which is wild. They're like the sixth band this year I've heard pushing that style and I like it. 

Get this one, blast it at a party and watch as a slam pit erupts in your living room. Who cares if your expensive flat screen TV goes flying out the front window. That'll happen by the third song of course. I can only smile in a sadistic way when I listen to this release. Yeah this one rocks your ass off. 

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/summer-of-69

CRUSHUMAN - Self Titled review

CRUSHUMAN - Self Titled

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

A few years back there was a Death Metal act hailing from Washington, DC called SNIPERS OF BABEL. Despite having a bunch of short form releases to their credit. The band's only claim to fame their 2022 full length Gabriel which also came out on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. 

This band, CRUSHUMAN, has two former members from that band. You've got Mike Bossier on guitar and bass plus drummer Mike Lumer. Their vocalist is Danny Boiko. So on this their debut full length the band's a three piece. But on a handful of songs they do have some invited guests adding vocals. 

Musically CRUSHUMAN create an extreme sided mix of Death Metal, Grindcore and post 90's Hardcore. Now given all of that, out of these seventeen songs I'm gonna go out on a non extreme metal limb and say I like their Hardcore sounding stuff. Thankfully I don't have a comments section or I'd be pillared for that. 

But hey when you hear songs like "Champions of Ruin", "Syko", "Slock", "Assassin's Special" and "Lose Face", just to name a few from the first half of this album. You can just feel that slam pit worthy energy. Now trust me, this is not Metalcore or Deathcore like the stuff we remember and cringe at. This is metal or maybe Death & Roll to a point. 

Now of course the band lays out a lot of other punishment via the crushing and atmospheric death doom of "There Was Blood Everywhere". Add to that they do the whole aggro-grind stuff. I mean yeah CRUSHMAN has created a real apocalyptic genre defying sound which would probably be a hit with anyone under thirty. 

Since I'm beyond that age group I'll just keep an eye on a neighbor who has a teenager into Metal and a basement. Ya never know, when he and his wife are out of town I'll probably see a bunch of cars parked outside, hear a fuckin racket and will know you've got a house show going on. But hey I might be that cool guy ya see down the street and wave to when I'm out front ranking leaves wearing a NAPALM DEATH shirt. But I ain't buying ya beer. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/crushuman

 

CRAWL - Altar of Disgust review

 

CRAWL - Altar of Disgust

Transcending Obscurity Records

Some years ago I said CRAWL is what DISFEAR tried to be but failed at since they weren't consistent after their debut album. Too much melo-deth in their system I guess. But basically it's combining old school Swedish death metal with elements of late 80s / early 90's hardcore (What the new kids called crust) and add some thrash in the sound. CRAWL mastered it on their first album, Rituals from 2018. 

Fast forward to 2023 and CRAWL returns on a split EP release with fellow Swedes FERAL. Of course CRAWL were great with their two song contribution. But in all honesty I liked FERAL's cuts better. So here we are a year later with CRAWL's second full length and after a few listens it's obvious that this four piece band has taken the formula to more extremes. 

Musically it's simply DISMEMBER (and the HM-2 pedal) with hardcore and thrash influences. But the players push it to levels which are amazing. First off ya gotta give props to vocalist Joachim Lyngfelt. This guy's screams could shatter diamonds. He's straight up real guy vocal death metal style and almighty maniac when the speed insanity kicks in. Speaking of which the songs on here break away from the cliche. 

While CRAWL bleeds out hardcore grooves as well as some actual grind sounding parts their main foot is firmly planted in death metal. That's what makes this album a devastating motherfucker. CRAWL have basically pushed things up a notch as far as this style of extreme goes and I like it a lot. The music simply invokes slam dance action. Which means CRAWL has surpassed what they've done before and kicked more fuckin ass on this new one. All I can say is Hell Fuckin Yeah. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://crawldeath.bandcamp.com/album/altar-of-disgust

JIM JONES AND THE KOOL-ADE KIDS - Trust Me reissue

 

JIM JONES AND THE KOOL-ADE KIDS - Trust Me reissue

Dark Descent Records

OK this reissue came out in December of 2023 but I'm talking about it now because this is personal history for me. I saw this Michigan band back in their late 80's heyday (could've been the summer of 1986 or 87) when they were on tour. Some friends and I took a road trip to see em. They were supposed to play at a local club but that show was cancelled. So we hit the road and saw them play a show inside a karate studio in a town at the beach. I never got their album. Instead a friend recorded the album to a cassette tape for me. In fact I still have the tape.

So what was this band all about? Well nowadays I think of em as DRI meets CELTIC FROST and you can slam dance to it. This was the late 1980's with bands who might've come up through the  hardcore scene. But they didn't follow the simplistic punk musical playbook that plenty of bands in the underground thought they had to do in order to be liked. One listen and you could tell these guys liked some VENOM, SABBATH and speed metal. But for the most part these guys were fucking heavy before the onslaught of death metal or doom.   

This is a rare one to say the least originally coming out in 1986 (aka: when you were still in your dad's balls). I guess the question is why would a bunch of friends and I travel to see a band called JIM JONES AND THE KOOL-ADE KIDS? Well in all honesty a friend said he read a review of their album in a magazine. Secondly with a name like that wouldn't you go see em? Third was that some people from out of town came to see em and decided to go to their next show so we decided to go along. It turned out to be a three day weekend party from hell. 

But anyways listening to this today reminds me how the late 80's underground music scene was not so cookie cutter defined like some modern day revisionists in the mainstream media would have you believe. I know because I lived it but you always need something to represent. So to me this reissue is a must have to anyone who was around back then as well as anyone around now who wants to hear the cool stuff. 

https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/

LISTEN HERE:

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/trust-me

MASTER - Saints Dispelled review

 

MASTER - Saints Dispelled

Hammerheart Records

First off I need to give a shout out to Hammerheart Records because over the past couple of years they've rejuvenated the careers of many old school bands. And now here we have MASTER from way back when. Ironically I was blasting the DEATH STRIKE CD two weeks ago. This is the first MASTER full length in quite a while. In all honesty I haven't kept up with the band in many years. Now I do like the death metal releases Paul Speckmann was doing with Rogga Johansson (aka: Johansson & Speckmann). But hey let's dive in.

As far as performances go on here I have to say Paul Speckmann sounds sick as fuck as ever on vocals. Guitarist Alex Nejezchleba is absolutely amazing with his riffs as well as dive bomb solos. And fuckin drummer Peter Bajci is phenomenal behind the kit. The musicianship is amazing but the music? Saints Dispelled sounds more like a band doing a wanna-be late 80's hardcore release. What death thrash sounds, of which MASTER was known for, are minimal. Most of the songs on here are hardcore. 

Now sure I wasn't expecting something exactly old school MASTER. But hey my last album by em, "An Epiphany of Hate" from 2016, was still great death thrash. Be that as it may I'm sure young people will like this one a lot. "Dude it's like old school hardcore" spoken by someone who was born in the 2000's and thinks GREEN DAY is punk rock. 

Personally the best song on this release is the bonus track "Alienation of Insanity". That's the MASTER I know albeit some death n roll but it's still good. 

https://www.hammerheart.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://master.bandcamp.com/album/saints-dispelled

DEGRAVE - Volume review

 

DEGRAVE - Volume

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

For the past couple of decades metal bands have had an easier route to explore. If you want to, a band can pursue a genre style that has a huge ready made fanbase. Or you could include variety to your music and forge ahead. The latter path is the hardest and honestly half of the bands which do that make it. Unless twenty years later some label reissues their music and you get schmucks in music groups posting "Dude this band was under rated."

Which brings us to this four piece act hailing from Jefferson City, Missouri. This is the third full length from DEGRAVE who started out back in 2016. I actually learned about them in 2018 with their second album which was their self titled full length. At that time DEGRAVE were a full on thrash revival type band, think METALLICA and MEGADETH. They wore their influences on their sleeves as well as their music. But the bottom line, unless you're jaded, is that it sounded cool. 

Fast forward to today with this latest release and sure the tagline is still thrash but they sound much more than that. The influences they've taken on since I last heard em are still old school but into a different direction. Still there's plenty of props to give em because of respect. For starters DEGRAVE have the audacity to open off this release with a two and a half plus minute instrumental. I mean whatafuck is this 1987? I'll give em props for that. 

Second prop is calling your album Volume. Yes as ironic as it may be you have to blast this release. Yeah this band has balls for that one. But next up comes the wild part. Their vocalist has taken on a more caustic hardcore singing style. He now reminds me of Kurt from DRI. "Volume" is a great cut which is more amazing hellish metal than a tagline to a genre. And after that it gets all crazy.

DEGRAVE switch around from hardcore to thrash and toss in plenty of bass lines for pit action. The metal guitar soloing is a defining compromise to the competing styles. Add to that some death metal touches as well as proggy tech elements. For the most part this album comes across as a precursor to an amazing live set. I believe this is more in the vein of MUNICIPAL WASTE then MEGADETH.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/volume

ROAD PIG - Still the Future Is Bleak EP review

 

ROAD PIG - Still the Future Is Bleak EP 

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Punk Fuckin Metal from the great state of New Jersey, yeah it is great because I was born there. Wait who am I kidding, NJ is a shithole in it's most urban sections. It's safer to live where the Jersey Devil roams. Be that as it may ROAD PIG sound cool as fuck on this four song EP. 

Now we're not talking about another anarcho crusty punk type of band we all heard back in the late 80's/early 90's. This ain't some Food Not Bombs bullshit. I wanna say it reminds me of some cool 90's Punk that was aggressive and didn't give a fuck but they knew how to play their instruments. I mean this comes across like the ADOLESCENTS meets The BULEMICS at Sunlight Studios in Sweden. 

Does that sound cool to you because it sure as hell sounds good to me. This band is using US Hardcore Punk mid-80's style riffs (aka: no DISCHARGE) and adding that 90's era snarl and filth. Now with that said they make it all sound fresh as fuck. Now if they show up at my doorstep looking and smelling like a bunch of hippie punks I'll tell em to go fuck off. But after this the band needs a full length.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/still-the-future-is-bleak

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.

SKUMSTRIKE - Deadly Intrusions review

 

SKUMSTRIKE - Deadly Intrusions 

Selfmadegod Records

The first time I checked out this release it was after a long hard night at work, three-thirty in the morning and I had a few beers in me. The sound coming out of the speakers had me thinking I'm not ready to deal with hell unleashed right then. Two days later I returned to this release in the afternoon and still I was like WTF?

Ya know for years I've mocked the whole modern scene of punk/hardcore because it's a fuckin joke. It started being a joke in the 1990's. So since then anything that had some excitement from that style usually came from bands that had some metal in their sound. So now it's 2022 and welcome in SKUMSTRIKE to the fold.

Here we have the debut full length by this two piece act from Quebec. Musically this is blackened speed metal, hardcore to the fuckin hilt. Imagine listening to HELLHAMMER on 78 speed. You push play on this release and the maelstrom is there to knock you on your ass. This is a far more dirty style than any blackened thrash act could muster. The band even covers a POISON IDEA cut, good stuff. 

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/deadly-intrusions

FRIGHT - Self Titled EP review

 

FRIGHT - Self Titled EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So this release came under the genre moniker of Hardcore. Now as someone who knows what hardcore was in the original 80's era I cringe these days whenever I see a band is supposed to be it. 99.9% of the time they're metalcore or a mixed soup of genres with grindcore being the strongest ingredient. Then this one comes down the pike and I'm like, hmmmm?

What we have here is the debut EP by a Philadelphia/New Jersey outfit which is kinda a seminal supergroup of sorts with experience from the past. The band's drummer was once in CITIZENS ARREST. They were an ABC-No Rio hardcore band from late 80's/early 90's. I've still got a 7"er comp which they're on. This band's singer was in the thrash act A.S.D. Plus the guitarist here was once in the hardcore band DEVOID OF FAITH back in the 90's. Their bass player is the only band member without any baggage.

So what you got here are six tracks of actual hardcore with a late 80's influence. Add to that there's a touch of thrash. The vocals by Ian Thompsen are sung clean yet emotionally caustic and are down right cool. The drum work by Derik Moore is fuckin amazing. You really can't hear the bass player, wow how metal is that. 

Then there's the guitar work that really pushes this release to the hilt. Nate Wilson can play some wild and vicious riffs. You pack in the talent by these individuals and you've got a damm great release. This reminds me of the past in a good way but with better production and song writing chops. This is probably the best Punk/HC EP you'll hear this year and you should get it. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/fright

COME MIERDA - Demo 2021 review

 

COME MIERDA - Demo 2021

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 

I feel like I'm checking out a new 7"er from 1990 or some time around then for the old Scumfeast print version zine. Good times, yeah forty words maximum for a seven inch release review because of space limitations. A hundred words for an LP/CD review but with some leeway. Print media/Fanzines must be looked at now as ancient times.

Anyways here we have a punk/hardcore act from, according to their PR info, "the mean streets of New Jersey". Well they can't be from the part of Jersey I grew up in because that's all been gentrified. So if I were to guess I'd say COME MIERDA are from Camden, NJ which is a shit hole across the river from Philly, PA. 

By the way COME MIERDA is Spanish for "Shit Eater". That's one of many other derogatory words I know from working with Hispanics over the decades. But anyways musically this is full on noisy insane style hardcore meets grind. It kinda reminds me of some stuff from Japan. I mean psychotic vocals, chaotic riffs and tupper-ware drum snare sounds.

In a way I like this and believe the five cuts on this release just don't do em justice. Maybe next time they'll do a 12"er with ten songs on it. But anyways COME MIERDA come off as something circa West Coast HC circa 1989. That's around the time bands started getting chaotic enough and got to grind. Then again there's that Japanese fast core stuff style to be aware of. In the end it's good. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2021

SEXMAG - Sex Metal EP review

 

SEXMAG - Sex Metal EP

Dying Victims Productions

There are those times when I ask myself, normally whenever I'm listening to some crazy band's release, WHY? I mean seriously why do I write about what is essentially underground music when I could easily be a scribe repeating bullshit for mainstream pop music. I mean sure I'm not some college radio loser who figures writing PR for labels will get them into the big leagues aka: yellow journalism for a free weekly.

Why? Because I'm essentially a sick fuck who feels a kinship, to a point, with the musicians who create this music. Case in point, if you saw that a band named SEXMAG was playing at a local venue and you had a choice to see them or say METALLICA at a huge arena who would you go see?

So let me tell ya about SEXMAG, there's your answer. This four piece act hail from Poland and are a sleazy sounding thrash act that have more of a punk/hardcore edge than you would guess. Like many other releases from this label the sound on here is raw to the point of demo quality. That's not a rub because this label puts out non-bullshit releases. You will not get Andy Sneap over-produced schlock or  Joel Grind generic stuff.

SEXMAG are definitely in the depths of low-fi which is cool especially if you're old like me and remember bands who just didn't give a fuck about production standards or label / genre adherence. Just play what you want and let the losers walk away while the rest of us start a pit and slam into each other. 

The songs are sung in Polish. The vocals are a mix of caustic screams and guttural vocals. The guitar lines are actually exciting and almost have a surf music quality to em in the rhythm riff department. The soloing falls into that insane dive bomb versus face ripping mode. And of course the rhythm section, especially the drumming, pulls off the insane job of making it all come together well.

https://www.dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/sexmag-sex-metal

CAPRA - In Transmission review

 

CAPRA - In Transmission 

Metal Blade Records

I learned about this band by chance aka a video that popped up on my YouTube feed. CAPRA live in a studio for some fest. Musically CAPRA are a full on noisy attack with anger being the main focus. I'd like to drop em into the grind genre but there's so much going on with their sound that it would do them an injustice. 

CAPRA are a four piece (?) act out of Lafayette, Louisiana. Musically as far as this release goes it's a long way from the live performance I saw as well as their video for the song "Medusa". Sound wise you get some riffs and drum beats from black metal. Add to that there's some sludge metal influence but hey go figure from where they're from. 

The bottom line is that they're part of the post 90's hardcore style with a bunch of metal influences thrown in for good measure. Add to that there's some raging female vocals, well basically screaming, which is cool. Crow's vocals are unfortunately pushed back into the mix on here. Actually she sounds better in the videos. Somebody screwed that one up.

Musically I've heard this all before aka around twenty years ago because the whole metallic hardcore thing is not new. I'm guessing it was something out on Relapse back in the day. Either way this is decent and hopefully next time around they'll come out sounding more like a mix of BLACK BREATH meets PIG DESTROYER. Otherwise being angry without intelligence is stupid.

https://www.metalblade.com/us/

LISTEN HERE:

https://capraband.bandcamp.com/album/in-transmission