Grindcore "All-Stars" Share Their Favorite Albums of 2011!

Vii and I recently asked a few people from some of our favorite bands to make lists of their favorite releases of 2011, here is what we got...

Eric Wood(Bastard Noise):
In no particular order:

• v/a - "Short, Fast + Loud #24 10" Compliation"
• Maruta - "Forward Into Regression"
• Weekend Nachos - "Worthless"
• Merzbow + Balazs Pandi - "Ducks: Live in N.Y.C"
• Despise You/Agoraphobic Nosebleed - "And On And On..."
• Brutal Truth - "End Time"
• Noisear - "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm"
• Retox - "Ugly Animals"
• The Communion/Transient - split 10"
• Low Threat Profile - "s/t"

Paul Sunderland(founder of Give Praise Records):

There have been so many radical releases that have come out this past year -- so many bands from over the pond that are really on the ball! These are 5 that you should make it a point to check out!

• 1: Gaz-66 Intrusion - "Power Without Violence" 7"
• 2: Suffering Mind - "s/t"
• 3: Voetsek/Barbatos/Minikons - "3 Way Split"
• 4. Keitzer - "Descend Into Heresy"
• 5. General Surgery - "Necrology(Re-issue)" 10"

Will Butler(founder of To Live a Lie Records):

• Bastard Noise - "Skulldozer"
• Archagathus - "Canadian Horse"
• Magrudergrind - "Crusher"
• Dead Language - "s/t"
• Vile Intent - "Regression To The Mean"
• Sea of Shit - "s/t"
• Pig Heart Transplant/The Endless Blockade - split
• v/a - "Brutal Supremacy"
• Lost Tribe - "s/t"
• Low Threat Profile - "Product #2"

Dorian Rainwater(Noisear):

• 1: Maruta - "Forward Into Regression"
• 2: Psudoku - "Space Grind"
• 3: Grindlink - "Orphan"
• 4: Wormrot - "Dirge:
• 5: Brutal Truth - "End Time"
• 6: Rotten Sound - "Cursed"
• 7: Dim Mak - "The Emergence of Reptilian Altars"
• 8: The Afternoon Gentlemen - "Pissdography"
• 9: Shit Life - "Shitscography"
• 10: Despise You/Agoraphobic Nosebleed - "And On And On..."

Mike Stitches(Standing on a Floor of Bodies, ex-Thousandswilldie):

• Owen Hart - "Earth Control"
• Crowbar - "Sever The Wicked Hand"
• Thou - "To The Chaos Wizard Youth"
• Noisear - "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm"
• Monarch - "Sortliege"

Topon Das(Fuck the Facts):

• 1: Defeatist - "Tyranny of Decay"
• 2: KEN Mode - "Venerable"
• 3: Ulcerate - "The Destroyers of All"
• 4: Secret Chefs 3 - "Saptarshi/Radar"
• 5: Today is The Day - "Pain Is a Warning"
• 6: Ghost - "Opus Eponymous"
• 7: Alaskan - "Adversary; Woe"
• 8: Collider - "s/t EP"
• 9: Motivator - "s/t EP"
• 10: The Sun Through a Telescope - "Summer Darkyard"

Cody Monceaux(Lt. Dan):

• Paucities - 4 quick minces cassette
• Gowl / Stone Titan split cassette
• Total Hipster Crusher / Shootingspree, Humanity? split cassette
• Scaphe - Forking Paths LP
• Crush Your Canadian Idols comp LP
• Pizzahifive / Powercup split cassette
• Violent Gorge / Agathocles 7"
• Six Brew Bantha / Archagathus
• Pizzahifive / Infernal Stronghold 7"
• Sakatat / Matka Teressa 7"
• Death Toll 80k - Harsh Realities LP
• Archagathus - Coffee Grinder LP
• Archagathus - Canadian Horse LP
• Mesrine / Sakatat 7"

Adam Jennings(Winters In Osaka, Sick/Tired, Paucities):

• 1. Harpoon "Deception Amongst Birds"
• 2. Psudoku "Space Grind"
• 3. Sea of Shit "s/t" 7 ''
• 4. The Endless Blockade-11 minute last tape
• 5. Bastard Noise "Skulldozer"
• 6. Noisear "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm"
• 7. Dead Language "s/t" LP
• 8. Disgust/Joshua Norton Cabal split
• 9. Asshole Parade/Slight Slappers split
• 10. Bongripper "Sex Tape/Snuff Film"

non grind/metal/noise:

• 1. Cut hands-Fact magazine mix (awesome mix from william bennet of whitehouse's new project!)
• 2. Michael Perkins "Mr. 666"
• 3. Hatcha/Benton - november mix, getdarker.com

Arif Rot(Wormrot):

• 1. Trap Them-Darker Handcraft
• 2. Necromorph-Grinding Black Zero
• 3. Psudoku-Space Grind
• 4. Code Orange Kids-Cycles
• 5. The Afternoon Gentlemen-Pissedography
• 6. Dead In The Dirt-Fear
• 7. Feastem-World Delirium
• 8. Priapus-Air Loom
• 9. Punch-Nothing Lasts
• 10.Full of Hell-Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home

Dustin Johnson(Actuary):

• 1.This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2: Lack of Intersest AND Marion Barry.............Superbad, Noisear, the list goes on..........this album OWNS!
• 2. Wake The Machines/Morose-tour split: Because Wake the Machines are bad ass.............
• 3. Bastard Noise-Skulldozer: A heavy as fuck ode to the fucked up state of affairs going on here on the earth mother...........the melodies leave you with an air of hope though......complete with knuckle-dragging "skull" noise and electronics.
• 4.Liver Cancer-Horrible Moment: Straight no chaser.....heavy harsh noise and power electronics with vocals.........a demon conjuring good time.
• 5.Fetus Eaters/Megatron-split: Proper West Coast powerviolence and grindcore.........
• 6.+DOG+-Bliss: Rolling walls of harsh noise.............good for the soul and pleasant to the ear.
• 7.Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You-And On and On...: Love me some Despise You.............and ANb come out of left field with some slow and heavy shit..............both sides are brutal.
• 8.Godstomper/Hotfuckactiontothemaxxx-split cassette: HFATTM makes beautifully layered noise...........Godstomper come out swinging on a dance kick......good stuff, must have.
• 9.Endometrium Cuntplow-Ecoplasty: Noise that goes back and forth between ambient soundscapes and harsh noise walls..............epic.
• 10. Brutal Truth-End Time: Relentless non-stop heavy as fuck grinding..................complete with noise from Winters in Osaka.........yowza.

Thomas Leyh(Water Torture, Inerds, Hoglust, Pacing, etc.)
In no particular order:

• Mellow Harsher: s/t - Graem from SFNs new band. so fucking fast and out of control.
• Scaphe: forking paths lp- duel bass heaviness from minne.
• Madlib: Medicine Show-theres 13 out, ive heard almost all of them. theyre all good.
• Dead Language: s/t lp- I cant listen to this record enough. Probably my favorite of 2011.
• Domo Genesis: Rolling papers lp- Im really losing intrest in odd future, but rolling papers is fucking awesome.
• Column of Heaven: demo- members of endless blockade, cant wait to hear more of this.
• The body: LP- crushing 2 piece, loudest band live. Super heavy and doomy.
• Scapegoat:LP- picks up where crossed out left off. So fast and pissed.

Marc Sabo(Gozer, OG Contributor):
Top Ten Albums of 2011 *the fuck you I cannot listen to grindcore 24/7 edition*

• Baring Teeth-Atrophy: Gorguts-Obscura era weirdness with lots of drone. I think the next album is going to be pretty massive.
• Sulaco-Build And Burn: I hate everyone for not talking about how awesome this record is. Seriously, what is wrong with you people?
• Wormrot-Dirge: Nuff said.
• VYGR-Hypersleep: Space themed sludge metal that is more concerned about cracking skulls than building moods. More please.
• Ghostlimb-Infrastructure: Another one you people are fucking up on. Best melodic hardcore album I’ve heard in ages.
• Gigan-Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes: One of the strangest death metal albums I have heard in a long time. Up there with Obscura as far as i am concerned *yes i hold Gorguts' Obscura in high esteem. Put on your big boy hat and deal with it*
• Maruta-Forward: Into Regression: This album destroys. Brutal, fast, and memorable. Also one of the casualties of the year. They will be missed.
• Cloud Rat-s/t: I reviewed this in the summer so I will not repeat myself here. Cannot wait for new material.
• Noisear-Subvert The Dominant Paradigm: The riffing on this gives me that same feeling I had the first time I heard Human Remains. Vital stuff.
• Robocop-Robocop II: One word. Vicious. If you have heard anything from the split they are working on then you know they have already topped this in terms of intensity. One to watch in 2012.

This was pretty hard to put together. A lot of amazing releases came out this year and and I do not have enough time or money to keep up with everything.

Justin Abare(No Comply):

(1.) AssholeParade / Slight Slappers split -12".
(2.) Starvation - 6".
(3.) Dead Language s/t 12".
(4.) No Static?
(both of their 7"s on Iron Lung recs + their 12" on Prank).
(5.) Capitalist Casualties - Live in Nagoya 12".
(6.) Bastard Noise - "skulldozer" - 12" + CD w/ bonus tracks!
(7.) Low Threat Profile - "product #2" 12".
(8.) Coke Bust - "deggredation" 7".
(9.) Magrudergrind - "crusher" 10".
(10.) A.N.S. / Agoraphobic Nosebleed "gang green tribute" split 5".
(11.) Despise You / Agoraphobic Nosebleed split 12".
(12.) Worlds - ltd.#200 pro cassette tape.
(packaged in a silk screened cardstock box, w/ patch & sticker inside).
(13.) XBrainiaX - "Deprogrammed" gatefold 12".
(14.) Bastard Squad / Elephant Man - split CD.
(15.) Mind as Prison / Disciples of Christ - split 7".
(16.) Lack of Interest / Capitalist Casualties - split 7" (free w/ Short, Fast & Loud #23 or #24? Zine).
(17.) ACxDC - "the second coming" - 7".
(18.) P.L.F. - "pulverizing lethal force" - CD.
(19.) Vennt s/t - CD.
(20.) Knuckle Scraper - (everything they've ever released... Both full length 7"s = Max isn't the Bastard + R.I.P. ~ plus their comp tracks on - "trapped in a scene" - 12"/CD + the "gulf coast hard core" 12" comp.) I know they didn't release anything in 2011, but they are R.I.P. AND... !!!They were the sickest!!!

Ryan Page's(Robocop/Body Hammer) Favorite Releases of 2011

In keeping with the ubiquitous preamble and qualification before every year end list in 2011, let me to briefly pretend that most Operation Grindcore readers are not intelligent, understanding people and pander to the "I can't believe you left _____ off the list! what the fuck?!" crowd:

This is not any official list, and it is not intended to represent OP's take on the best albums of the year. If you see any glaring admissions, take comfort in the fact that not only do I not care, but the internet exists, and it is begging for numbered lists.

Without further justification for the fact that I was only barely aware of new music this year, I'll thank Andrew for asking me to do this, and get around the arbitrary ordering.

8. Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You: and on and on…

While I am generally more of, for lack of a better word, a traditional ANB fan (my favorite release is still 'Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope'), of the recent crop of releases my favorites have been decidedly mid tempo. This l.p. and their split with Insect Warfare display interesting, self contained concepts, and, to a certain extent, a sense of theatricality that becomes more difficult at faster tempos. 'And on and on…' is not particularly different from Agorapocalypse, but, I have to say I was much more interested in this material. Maybe I am simply getting weaker of stomach but Agorapocalypse becomes too much for me to take as a full length (which is not to say I don't respect the album). I also felt that with this split the production became a bit less sterile; there seems to be less compression and processing.

Despise You's career I've followed less closely than that of ANB, but everything I've heard previously has impressed me. With that said, I quite enjoyed the changes to their sound on this release. I actually feel like both bands came a little closer to each other's style, adding consistency to the split. Both of the bands vocalists assert wildly divergent styles that compliment each other well. I especially liked the high pitched vocals occasionally bursting through, it serves as an aural dead ringer for the squealing whammy bar slayerisms of ANB's side.

7. Wadge: Grindcore Luau

Wadge is a great example of humor in extreme music done well. Grindcore Luau is a perfect distillation of this. The album opens with ANB vocalist and (excellent/underrated) Drugs of Faith frontman Richard Johnson tearing through the first of many Napalm Death tributes/parodies. I think part of the reason this album stuck with me is that it seems like a degree of care was taken with the lyrics, art and music, so that the theme was executed in a fairly clever way, with minimal emphasis on the usual misogynist/gore/br00tal stupidity that often substitutes for humor in post carcass/internet extreme music.

6. Weekend Nachos: Worthless

Weekend Nachos have consistently, despite what is perhaps the worst moniker in extreme music (yeah, I know 'look who's talking') have consistently delivered as heirs to Infest. Its the kind of music that gets termed jocky that no jocks would ever listen to. While their previous releases were less contained and much more jagged in tone, this album offers another interesting variation on what is perhaps the greatest concentration of pure mongo anger in hardcore. It doesn't hurt that much of the finger pointing happens to be pointing in the right direction.

5. Gridlink: Orphan

This is a release that I probably should have liked more than I did. The album blends together some of the best elements from Discordance Axis and Hayaino Daisuki and contains the fastest, most articulate performances in grindcore in many years. The dynamics are great, and the album is considerably fuller sounding than 'Amber Grey'.

With that said, I honestly haven't listened to it that much. I hasn't really stuck with me in the way it has for others. For a period, I thought it was simply because of the hype surrounding it (not to mention the general shittiness of GrindToDeathGate), but now I am not quite sure. Regardless of my personal relationship to the album, I felt that it would be foolish not place Orphan somewhere on my list.

4. Autopsy: Macabre Eternal

Someone once told me that compared to Despised Icon and Suicide Silence, Autopsy sounded like lounge jazz. That person was a fucking idiot.

3. Toxic Holocaust: Conjure and Command.

I can see this as somewhat of a controversial choice considering that everyone is back to hating thrash metal. I'm not going to apologize for it, but if it helps, think of it as a d-beat record (if Deathwish/Southern Lord hasn't soured you to that particular genre tag yet).

I've always liked Toxic Holocaust and main man Joel Grind's unassuming nature. I've come to think that the contrast between the exaggerated misanthropy in his lyrics and his affable nature in person makes the self aware absurdity of his lyrics easier to take. I also find that it is apparent when someone is having fun in a genre they care about, rather than using pastiche to deflect insincerity.

All of which would matter very little, except that while ignoring trends for over a decade Grind has consistently improved with every release, peaking with this release or An Overdose of Death. Perhaps the biggest improvement is the use of a full band on the recording (previous albums were almost entirely recorded by Grind). This allowed for a greater range of tempo variation, a trait immediately apparent in the speed of album opener "Judgement Awaits You". The guitars also underwent a major improvement tonally, and in general the record sounds more natural than the occasionally dull sounding "Overdose".

2. Yob: Atma

I only recently picked up (read downloaded) this release, but Yob deserves all of its current (read overdue) acclaim. There are not many metaphors left to describe the album's sound, so I will simply point to the numerous glowing reviews and its high placement on numerous year end lists.



1. Column of Heaven: Ecstatically Embracing All that we Habitually Suppress

One of the difficulties in creating this list was that, as many records as I liked this year, few have drawn me in to repeated listens. There is a sense with many albums that everything that is contained is apparent on the surface. After listening to thousands of grindcore/metal/power violence tracks the form becomes fairly obvious, and far too often the the content becomes a matter of connecting dots.

By contrast (and poorly constructed dichotomy) Column of Heaven's debut e.p. has rewarded numerous listens and revisitations of the themes and concepts. Much like The Endless Blockade (the band from which COH is derived) Column of Heaven utilizes noise and power violence, along with intelligent lyrics and carefully considered artwork to create a gestalt of musical ritual evoking unease and paranoia that fragments into complexity upon close examination.

What was particularly interesting to me, as a musician within similar genre confines, was the massive leap towards the synthesis of influences. No longer do we have what has become (at least partially in the wake of TEB's influence) the nearly cliched organization of "hardcore song, noise track, etc." where the styles merely contrast each other. Instead the entire release blends together, with various elements disappearing or bubbling to the surface throughout the tape's short, but well-suited nine minute running time.

It is perhaps odd that my top album for this year is a band's first release, especially one that is shorter than most of the songs off my number 2 pick, I can only offer that it I personally consider this the first step beyond the confines of power violence that other bands (including my own) have only hinted at.

~Ryan Page

VII's Top 10 EP's/Splits/Demos of 2011

10: +HIRS+ - "Worship": This Philadelphia drum machine grind duo has made quite a strong first impression with their debut physical release "Worship". This 4 minute, 1-sided 7" not only showcases this band has the ability to create and blast quality grind with the best of em, but also that they take an incredibly professional approach to their music and their athstetic, and I'm very excited to hear everything this band makes in the future.

9. Inside the Beehive - "Drink Bleach; Live Forever": A relatively late-comer this year, and another band that has displayed incredible quality with their debut EP. This NJ tech metal/grind outfit plays a style of music that I'm admittedly very picky about, bands like this are usually too spazzy/wanky for my taste, but ITB throw in enough good(and memorable)riffs and interesting song structures to keep me coming back to this EP. Plus a clean/polished production that still keeps the aggressive tone of the music, which I applaud them for.

#8: Punch - "Nothing Lasts": Simply put, Punch play a style of hardcore that I just love! "Nothing Lasts", my first real introduction to the band, is a solid 8 minute blaster that melds classic hardcore with hints of powerviolence. The vocals are aggressive, the songs are memorable, the drums are incredibly powerful(I love hearing this guy blast!). But my favorite thing about this EP has to be the production; a warm analog recording that suits the bands aggressive/raw sound like a glove. 

#7: Hoglust - "Support Hate": This is one of the first things released on the uber-prolific Grindcore Karaoke(back when they actually showcased grind and hardcore), and it's one of the only GK releases that has stuck with me and that I've listened to repeatedly over the year. Save for the completely unnecessary 2nd track,  I can't think of a single issue I have with "Support Hate". The dual vocals are fantastic, the production is excellently raw, the songs are great, what more can I say? Download it now!

                                           











#6(Tie): The Afternoon Gentlemen - splits with Cyborg and Osk: Holy fuck! The Afternoon Gentlemen completely came out of nowhere and left a coffee can sized hole in the heads of underground grind freaks in the states this year. A band this good needs to be heard by every grind fan in the world! I honestly can't say one of these splits is better than the other, they're both so damn good! Both TAG sides are some of the best grind I've heard all year, the Cyborg side is excellent old-school sounding powerviolence, and the OSK side is fucking stellar as well. It's just quality grind and hardcore with both of these splits, nothing bad about them at all!

#5: Worn Out - "Demo 2011": Here's one of the best demos that you hopefully, but probably didn't hear this year. Yet another up and coming band that made the smart move to have an incredibly professional first release. A pro-cassette demo with perfect production, a gnarly bass tone, seamless transitions between the short and oh-so-sweet songs, and face grinding intensity. It's just an incredible demo. Hope they record more in the future!

#4: Get Destroyed - "Shut In": I like Get Destroyed's previous 7" "Burnt Offerings", but I freaking love "Shut In"! Taking everything that made "Burnt Offerings" good and improving upon it ten-fold, Get Destroyed's latest offering is a mean, gruff, meaty, tough bastard child of powerviolence. The slow parts are devastating,  the guest vocals from Landmine Marathon vocalist Grace Perry are a great addition, just...just get it! 

#3: Sidetracked - "Uniform": How can I sum up Sidetracked's glorious 1-sided 7" "Uniform"? "Fucking brilliant" works. So does "Holy shit" and "what the hell was that". Perfect fastcore right here, 13 songs in about 2 1/2 minutes. Brevity's the name of the game, which can be the downfall of most grind bands, but Sidetracked have perfected the art of short-and-sweet on this release. "Runaway" is a fucking catchy song, it's true, and it's only about 20 seconds! The super raw production only enhances this blasting onslaught. Again, fucking brilliant.

#2: Water Torture - "s/t": Definitely the most enjoyable, catchy and listenable powerviolence EP I've heard this year. Half of the mighty Inerds make up this devastating Buffalo, NY duo and they play generally the same thing, but with a much darker/sludgier/heavier tone to them. I love the bass tone on this release, and the drums are played just right. Nothing flashy, nothing technical, just pure aggression. Yeah, I said it was catchy, but make no mistake there is nothing pretty or polished about this beast!

#1: Sea of Shit - "s/t": Probably won't come as a surprise to a lot of you that Sea of Shit's latest 7" made  my #1 spot. I praised the hell outta this thing in my review, and I stand by every word that I said in that post. This is the best EP I've heard this year. Fucking filthy, disgusting, distorted, grimy, disturbingly grotesque powerviolence. There is so much power and momentum to this release, it's just nonstop punishment, complete and utter audio torture, and I mean that in the best way possible. Sea of Shit 2011 son!!

Honorable Mentions:

• Mammoth Grinder/Hatred Surge - split
• Danny Brown & Black Milk - "Black and Brown"
• Dethroned Emperor - "War Grind Hell"
• Bastard Noise/Actuary - "Skeletal Uncertainty"
• Fuck the Facts - "Misery"
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You - "...On And On And On"
• Grudges - "DEMOlition 2011"

~VII

My Favorite Albums of 2011(so far)

1.KEN Mode-Venerable(Profound Lore)
When I first got this album I wasn't really into it. Then a few days later I picked it up again and gave it another shot and began to love it. This album is definitely a grower and after hearing Venerable I am stoked to hear more from them.






2.Victims-A Dissident(Tankcrimes/Deathwish Inc.)
I hadn't ever heard Victims before this album, but they were always on my "Bands To Check Out" list. So when I saw that they released their album on Tankcrimes/Deathwish Inc. I knew I had to get it. This album is some great Hardcore/Crust and once again this album is a grower.








3.Robocop-Robocop II(Grindcore Karaoke/Name Like His Master)
Man, this album is great. It's sick powerviolence with some awesome sludge/noise parts mixed in. It is a perfect balance of powerviolence/noise, think of The Endless Blockade.








4.Noisear-Subvert the Dominant Paradigm (Relapse) This is another great grindcore album, which features Bryan Fajardo, who also plays drums in Gridlink and Kill the Client. This album sort of reminds me of Discordance Axis and Brutal Truth mixed, which is definitely a good thing! Another great thing about this album is the twenty minute noise track by J. Randall(Agoraphobic Nosebleed) called Noisearuption.



5.Mitochondrion-Parasignosis(Profound Lore)
This is a very good ambient death metal album. Mitochondrion sort of remind me of Portal but a little more straight forward. This album is best experienced while listening to it in headphones. It's one of those albums that just takes you to another place and I can't help but get lost in this album.

~Andrew Lipscomb