SMG/Daisycutter-Split(Review)

SMG are a band from Shah Alam City, Malaysia. This is the first of their material I’ve heard, so I can’t compare it to past releases, though I will say I expected this to be much noisier. I mean, when your Last.fm bio includes the phrase “flithy [sic] noisegrind,” one gets certain expectations. Anyway, what we have here from SMG is four tracks of mincecore with some distinctly Eastern touches that go beyond laughably poor English lyrics (though those are here as well). So what do I mean, you ask? Take for example the sample at the beginning of track two, “Strong In Group.” It’s two entirely out of context seconds of someone rapping, and not even a full line. It’s like they really liked Magrudergrind’s “Heavier Bombing” and wanted to make their own version, but without any understanding of hip-hop.

The production on this side is a bit thin and quiet. Shit, if you were to tell me they used a $100 Squier out of a half-functioning cassette deck to record the guitars, I’d believe you. Drums sound like standard raw grindcore drums and the vocals are the typical incomprehensible URRRRZURRRRRRFRRRRRRRRRRR that everyone loves. Now if any part of this review seems negative, I can assure you it’s not. Every single idea present in these four tracks rules so hard it’s probably illegal in most municipalities. SMG unapologetically make raw as fuck grindcore. Listen or don’t. (Also, a million bonus points to the band for including the phrase “annihilate fake fucks” on the insert.)

Daisycutter take up the B-side of the split with eight tracks of a grindier take on Infest. I actually have heard these dudes before on the “Invertebrate” 7” as well as their split with Socially Retarded. And I’d be lying to you if I said this was their best. The last track, “It’s An H.M.B.S. World,” is so pointless I really don’t even know why they put it on here. Maybe they wanted to make a noise track? Who knows, but good lord is that track unnecessary. That’s not to say it’s all bad though. “Self Righteous Slave” features some quality riffing, and the Infest-styled vocals that briefly appear in “260” rule so hard. Overall though, this really isn’t the best I’ve heard from the band. If you find yourself enjoying their side, be sure to pick up a copy of “Invertebrate,” as it features everything done here but better.

~S Thomas Posega

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

Horsebastard – Equestrian Blastcore Demo

If I were to sum up Liverpool based hardcore band Horsebastard in a single phrase it would be this; this band is fucking crazy. Crazy good, crazy fast and all round bonkers. My band shared a bill with them at London’s Purple Turtle once and it was a performance quite a lot of the other bands frankly struggled to match (I was certainly happy we didn’t have to follow them). Every element is top notch chaos executed with a savage foaming insanity. Their now ex-front man Johnboy holds the title of most intimidating on stage personality I have ever encountered; his self-preservation switch wasn’t so much as flipped off as it was ripped out of the wall. He flailed in all directions, got in the audiences’ faces, verbally and physically abused us and tried to smash a bottle to roll around in; he failed but there was still blood. Horsebastard now have a new vocalist Chris and by all accounts he is just as talented. Their three song sample Equestrian Blastcore is up for free download on their bandcamp so go get it.

p.s Watch the drummer and remember to place a cushion beneath your jaw.

~Martin Grainger

Sergio from ACxDC's favorite Powerviolence Releases!

Propagandhi- Less Talk More Rock
I remember being about 14 years old when I first heard this record. I was exposed to several political bands previous to this including Crass, Subhumans and Flux but outside of their musical aggression I didn't much connect to the message they were singing about. This album changed everything for me though. The lyrics as well as all of the liner notes really opened me up to not just enjoying the music of other heavily political punk bands but also the message that at 14 was sort of lost to me. I became heavily influenced by this record and adopted a vegan/ edge/ anarchist lifestyle pretty much instantaneously and remain so to this day. It made everything accessible to me. I instantly knew where my anger and disappointment in society came from. It wasn't just cynicism and teen angst anymore. I had a well thought out set of guidelines to give me a renewed sense of meaning in a world I saw completely devoid of it. Yes its pop punk. Yes I still love this album.

Dystopia-Human=Garbage
I actually bought this record without ever hearing of the band before. I was a freshman in highschool and I was desperate to get my hands on punk vinyl of any kind since I never owned any. A friend of mine at the time was selling the LP for $5 so she could buy some booze. I took the dive and bought it off her. The funny thing is I didn't even have a record player. I had to lend the record to a friend so that they could dub me a tape of it. I popped the tape in with vinyl in hand. I opened up the lyric sheet and heard the first hiss and pop of vinyl that I would come to love so much. This record, its anger, depression, grooves, moodiness, bitternes, etc…it affected me in a way nothing had ever really moved me before. This band remains one of my favorites to this day. This album is cemented in my brain.

Reality Part 2
This comp messed me up. It was a definitely a good thing that I stumbled upon this. After listening to the Human = Garbage LP I went record shopping. I remember going to Dr Strange records and searching for a long time for all the records my friends recommended. I bought the Aus Rotten Discography, this cd and a Destroy 7". Sufice it to say that EVERY band on this thing is a legend. This is one of those records that as soon as I got it I made it my priority to make tape copies and walk around school handing it out to all the "punks" I knew at the time. Life altering to say the least. Favorite tracks: Gasp, Noothgrush, Stapled Shut.

Short Fast and Loud Vol 1
I remember when this came out. Its weird to think its was 11 years ago! But I remember being very very excited for it. I was an avid collector of Maximum Rock N Roll, Heartattack and Short Fast and Loud. Back in the day you actually had to subscribe to magazines, get photocopied flyers, listen to records or tapes, etc etc. It wasn't as easy as borrowing someones ipod or downloading torrents online. So when you got some new piece of music you savored it. This comp, along with the other comps that im posting about, changed my life because not only did they manage to compile some of the best hardcore bands I had ever heard but you could tell they did it with love. EVERY band on here rips. I forget what the criteria was but I think all the songs had to be less than a minute long? 40 bands crushing thru song after brutal song and not letting up. Not one band slacked on this. Not to mention the amazing amount of genres covered in this. Powerviolence, grind, hardcore, thrash, etc. Favorite tracks: WHN?, Ultimate Warriors, Shank, Scarlett Letter, Point of Few, Mukeka Di Rato, Lifes Halt, Insult, El Nudo.

Fiesta Comes Alive
SLAP-A-HAM was, is, and forever will be the best "powerviolence" label out there. I wish I could have caught any of these shows. The lineups were legendary. To have captured it on record and with such awesome quality is ridiculous to me. I wish there was full sets of all the bands out there! Im glad to have caught Speed Trials, Super Sabado Gigante and other stuff similar to these shows but nothing can compare. This album is a true testament to the punishing sonic force of all these genres as a live medium. Favorite tracks: Cavity, Agents of Satan, Plutocracy, No Less, ETO, Capitalist Casualties.

~Sergio Amalfitano

ACxDC: Facebook, Store

KEN Mode – Venerable

Venerable is KEN mode’s fourth album and first for label Profound Lore Records.

Based on a review I read somewhere on the interweb (yes I still read album reviews) I decided to give this badboy a spin, as I like to take a chance occasionally. So glad I did. Usually it takes at least a few dedicated listens for me grasp the scope and magnitude of a piece of music. It can take weeks or months for a record to take hold and grow on me, but I was taken by this first listen. The shine has still not faded. It’s immediately apparent that this is music lovingly crafted over time during a period of peak creativity by individuals passionate about their craft. Pushing boundaries and wandering the path between sub-genres, KEN Mode deliver crushing but catchy post hardcore riffs presented in a doomy progressive manner. Think ISIS’ Oceanic in terms of sheer weight with the noise-rock dynamic of Converge’s later stuff. I’m writing this (shitty) review based solely on this album, I cannot compare this to any of their previous works as I have not heard anything that came before. No doubt I will back-track their catalogue slowly over time, careful not to rush, savouring every album in its own right. Each taking their unique place in the music/life timeline, creating associations with my own memories and experiences.

Kicking off with ball-stomper Book Of Muscle, low, rumbling bass and swaggering guitar work lay foundation for scathing mid-range vocal attack. The crushing pace is kept during the wandering bass of Obeying The Iron Will and the groove-laden Batholith. Speed is decreased with The Irate Jumbuck and the comparison to ISIS rings true. There’s an epic, progressive/post metal vibe going on whilst you are being crushed under the heaviness of it all, and the whole thing just works. Nail on the head. A Wicked Pike is an upbeat rockin’ little number leading up to the brilliant post-rock instrumental masterpiece, Flight Of The Echo Hawk, breaking the album up at roughly half-way. What impresses me most is the tango between guitar and bass and the way the thing builds and challenges your emotions. This is what happens when hardcore kids grow up to be passionate and accomplished musicians. Slowing things down yet even more is the dark, brooding Never Was. Whispered vocals and muted guitar give way to heavy-as-fuck riffs leaving you crushed under thick layers of sludge. The Ugliest Happy You’ve Ever Seen keeps the noisy fires burning until Terrify The Animals rolls in all sinister and then practically goes nowhere. This is the closest thing to filler on the entire record. Venerable is closed with Mako Shark, a killer track that thrashes about, caving skulls in as it goes. The drumming carries the songs well throughout the whole album, and production is clear, crisp and deliciously bass-heavy. KEN Mode are a band I want to get to know better.

Listen to Venerable through KEN Mode's Bandcamp page here

~Craig Welfare

Joshua Armijo's Favorite Movies

I recently asked my bud Joshua Armijo to do a post about his favorite movies. He is a rad guy who does some sick album reviews on YouTube, check them out here and he also happens to work in a movie theater.



What I do for a living is I work for an independently owned and operated movie theater called Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, based out of Austin, Texas. I love my job, but to work for a prestigious place like this, you have to also have a deep love for movies and pop culture.

Here's a small list of some of my favorite movies:

1. American Psycho
This is hands down my favorite movie. Based upon the controversial Brett Easton Ellis novel, it follows a man whom by day seems to live the high life as a corporate yuppie who mingles with high cash, business cards, and fancy resturants. But by night he has a mind numbing bloodlust for killing people and hiding his own fears. I can almost say the movie line for line, quote for quote. Christian Bale seems to give Patrick Bateman a creepy quality and an unnerving charm. And not to mention, this is best viewed unrated and uncut.

2. Requiem For A Dream
I'm not into drugs, never have been, never will be. And this movie is further proof why ill never be into drugs. This is the second film from one of my favorite directors, Darren Aronofsky. Another novel based movie, Hubert Selby Jr., this is a cautionary tale about addiction. Interweaving storylines based around a elderly woman who longs to fit into a red dress and stoops to taking diet pills, and eventually becomes addicted to them. And her son who's a nervous wreck who becomes painfully addicted to heroin. And his girlfriend who'll do anything for the taste of both money and drugs. And I mean anything. And his best friend who seems to long for a lost childhood while seeming to make all the wrong choices. The brilliance of this film is the four seasons the film is divided in. And the brilliant Clint Mansell/Kronos Quartet score is mind melting. The psychotic imagery is just as disturbing. This movie is meant to make you feel bad, and overall scare you into believing the pain and sorrow of addiction. Amazing film



3. Bill Cosby, Himself
Now to lighten the mood. This is my favorite comedy from one of my idols and inspirations. The title of the film is as it says it is, just Bill Cosby doing insightful and meaningful stand up. He's painfully funny without ever having to use a curse word, well except for "asshole", but it works so well. His life lessons about being a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a good person almost tugs at your heartstrings and wants to make you slap your kneecaps off with his genius exxagerations. I have mad respect for this man and his positivity and inspiration.

4. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
This is one of my all time favorite music documentaries. Obviously, every metal fan now knows who Anvil are, and they have this movie to thank, bringing new fans to this awesome power metal trio. This is a film that is further proof that if you have a dream, and you never give up, dreams can come true, and for Anvil, they are definitely living the dream all over again. Keep On Rockin!



And obviously there's a lot more good movies I love, but I feel this is running on too long, so ill cut it off here. Movies are a wonderful part of life and pop culture. One way or the other, they matter a lot. Until then, Armijo Out :)

~Josh Armijo

The Albums That Got Me Into Grind: Vii Caso(Hiroshima Vacation)

Napalm Death - Scum
How fitting that the first grindcore album I ever heard is the one generally credited for spawning the genre. This album was given to me from a friend of mine on X-mas a long ass time ago. I was into heavy music at that time, but the heaviest thing I was listening to were bands like Slayer and Pantera. So when I first heard this album, I don't think I got passed the first 3 songs before I turned it off. I hated it, I mean I really hated it. To me at that time it was just noise, but gradually as I kept pulling it out and listening to it I gradually started to appreciate it more and more. Until eventually I could listen to it with genuine enjoyment. It's what started my interest in grind; researching it and finding more bands. It opened the flood gates.


Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb
Why this album and not "Prowler in the Yard"? Well, because this was this first PxDx album I heard, and once I got into it, it stuck to me like napalm, baby. Definitely a more "metal" release than there previous albums, but "Phantom Limb" is still very much a grind record. Chock full of catchy as fuck yet crushingly brutal riffs, great songs, and some of the best lyrics J.R. ever spewed from his mouth. This was the second grind album I really got into, and it's still one of my favorite.


Magrudergrind - S/T
This was the album that solidified me as a serious grindhead. This album made me go, "yeah, this grindcore stuff is the shit!" This album hit me like a sack full of bricks. The first time I heard the song "Excommunicated" on their myspace page, I got chills. It was so intense, so heavy, so fast, it was love at first listen. I still think that's one of the best grind songs ever written. When my band first started up, we were heavily influenced by this album, it was so infectious. It practically changed the way I listen to grind.

~Vii Caso(Hiroshima Vacation)