Written by: Izzy
Much like the band in question, Methwitch, I will not waste any time beating around the bush. Rather, I'll just throw you immediately into this torrential review, spanning not only the album in question, but also providing a look into the bands previous efforts too, as I felt unable to discuss this album properly in depth without sharing my own short story that goes alongside my initial listen of this album. Methwitch is a one-man deathcore band led by Mr. Cameron McBride, a guy who’s been around for quite a while and played in a number of different bands I haven’t heard of. However, this latest offering from Methwitch has a especially flavourful addition that caught my attention far more than your run-of-the-mill deathcore group. INDWELL is a noisy, chaotic, and industrial album, but in contrast also has some melodic moments strewn throughout as well. Calling it mathcore would absolutely not be a stretch, many moments bringing to mind bands like Frontierer, Car Bomb, or even The Dillinger Escape Plan (which to even be compared to them is high praise in my book).
0 Comments
Written by: Izzy
Well I suppose it’s time to christen my very first goregrind review, one of the most inhumanely brutal genres out there, so much so even some metalheads fear it! Think you look brutal in your Dying Fetus T-shirt little guy? Wait until you see my Active Stenosis and Sulfuric Cautery cassettes! (Disclaimer: I don’t own either of these bands music on cassette (yet)! So, what a better band to kick it off than the Netherlands' very own Last Days of Humanity! ...Oh wait a moment, I seem to be reading from the wrong script. Today we’re ACTUALLY reviewing one-man Arizonian goregrind act FIRST Days of Humanity. Bad jokes aside, do not let the parodied name put you off from this album. Even if you are familiar with LDOH 
and know they aren’t your cup of tea, FDOH are a completely different monster and have carved a place for their own bestial niche amongst the cavernous cave walls of goregrind and gorenoise.
You may have already noticed this isn’t a regular review, well that is because FDOH have yet to put out an LP, and if or when they do, frankly I doubt it’ll be much longer than a standard EP anyways. This band’s projects thusfar have been especially short, more comparable to the average demo length than anything. I mean, their entire discography of 4 EPs and 2 splits is only about 40 minutes. So instead, since I’ve been dying to put out a full-sized review on these guys, we’re looking at the two EPs they’ve released thusly this 2020, Pixel Death and Atrocities. 
Another day, another Borborgymus release. I've spoken on the prolific nature of this Wisconsinite one-man (increasingly avant-garde) goregrind outfit before, so we can skip the preliminaries and get straight into the good stuff. Splatter Movie Madness, Hellsmasher's latest, is an overt ode to classic horror and slasher films--in other words: an unexpectedly blood-spattered platter. Y'know, the usual. Medical malpractice, cannibalism, murder by classic deranged slasher baddie, and gory submersion into assorted depravities? All in a day's work. While the majority of projects that deal exclusively in such content tend to feel a little one-note, Borborygmus consistently seems invested in recreating and honoring the cheesy horror tropes of yore. It feels genuine. It works.
 Ten minutes is, in the grand scheme, not a whole lot of time to assert yourself. Nor is it much of an allotment if you’re looking to make a profound point. But, despite a tendency to maintain a certain established aesthetic, the world moves quickly in the collective grungy underworld of crust punk, grind, and powerviolence. Bands operating in this arena do not debate--rather, they launch a vicious diatribe and disappear back into the crowd, eschewing reflection or extended discussion in favor of immediacy and brevity. I don’t know why I’m lecturing at this stage, though. If you like this particular flesh-peeling brand of extreme music, you already know the score. All this is to say, then, that on their latest effort, UK’s raging Negative Thought Process stick to this tried-n-true approach, delivering a blistering onslaught in less time than it takes to make breakfast. I know this because, in the course of making breakfast today (and the day before, and the day before that,) I was able to get the full dose of stomping aggression before my toast was done.
 Written by: Izzy
Grindcore is a super divisive genre, I’ve only ever heard three kinds of responses when I ask people if they like grindcore. A. "I love it! It’s the grossest, rawest, and most intense genre out there." B. "Most of it is garbage, but there’s a handful of good bands, have you heard of Discordance Axis?" Or C: "Ma’am this is a Tim Hortons please just take your coffee." All of which are acceptable responses, but show a lack of understanding of what truly makes the genre so amazing. For me at least, true grindcore is the perfect fusion of punk energy and metal's ferocity. Now few albums do so flawlessly, even much of modern hardcore and metalcore in some way or another falls short of reaching this unrelenting nirvana. But grindcore? Grindcore is the one genre that knows how to harness that chaotic ecstasy and craft it into something that achieves that bliss amongst the madness.  Lest ye readers read the forthcoming praise and subsequently turn upon us scribes in our lofty ivory tower, brandishing pitchforks and torches whilst profusely bleeding through wretched earholes, let me make something clear. Treading Water, the debut LP from Milwaukees’ two-man grind unit LIFES, is not a pleasant listening experience. Both in conventional and unconventional sense.
Treading Water is a brief but pugilistic cacophony, a squealing and burping punk-ridden grindy mess. LIFES carry themselves with the boisterous aggression, powerviolent attitude, and hardcore gravitas of Iron Lung or Dropdead, combined with the wild grinding invention of (my personal scene faves) The Locust. But sonically, the closest comparison I can draw is the vocal delivery of Liberteer's Matthew Widener. That said, both Zak Rudnik and Dave Holochwost handle vocal duties; I'm not sure which is which. Both are pretty damn excellent, it should be worth noting, and no matter who is roaring, the message comes across clear.  The ol' track review. It's been a while since we've had one, but lo, the promo bin hath spoken. If you're not in the reading mood--and really, we long-winded scribes shan't blame you--head on down to the embed below.
As a genre based in speed, aggression, and blunt-force viscerality, grindcore needs to be exciting in order to stand out from the bile-stained crowd. Brutality simply isn't enough anymore to garner or maintain interest, and that's why acts such as the wildly inventive Beaten to Death have risen through the ranks. Memorable, punchy, innovative, and perhaps a little unhinged. Necessary components all, and that leads us, conveniently enough, to the subject of today's review. |
Welcome!
We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!
|
RSS Feed