Maryland Deathfest XI: My Five Favorite Sets

Well, another Maryland Deathfest has come and gone. This was my humble 2nd time going, after missing on the stupidly awesome 10 year anniversary line-up, there was no way I was missing this one. And it was a real treat celebrating all forms of extreme music with thousands of like-minded people, even if it was in the ass-crack of Baltimore. I got to meet a lot of awesome really cool people, make some righteous friends (shouts out to my NC bros), and of course, see an epic amount of awesome bands. The inclusion of the Soundstage venue, a space highlighting more of the hardcore and grind bands, was a great addition (though I have some mixed feelings about it), and made seeing a lot of these bands a lot more enjoyable. I narrowed everything down to five though, here were my favorite shows I saw this past weekend.


Infest: Y'all shouldn't be surprised. Ff course this show was going to be amazing, and was by far my favorite set of the entire festival. I knew this show was going to be rowdy, but goddamn if this wasn't the craziest show I've ever been too. The soundstage was packed, and everybody was ready to go nuts. Joe even started the show off by telling the audience that he told the security guards to prepare for the craziness that was about to ensue. Bodies were flying everywhere (apparently I stage dived a total of 5 times, according to my friend. I only remember 3), bodies were smashed against one another, and of course, the whole band was absolutely perfect. The inclusion of Bob Kastiz from Lack of Interest and Chris Dodge were great, and Joe is an absolutely killer frontman. Staring down into the audience, built like a brick house, and that awesome, commanding, classic hardcore bark. They played all the classics, and of course ended with "Where's The Unity". It was certainly found that night!

Melvins: The Melvins, by far, one of my biggest musical inspirations. Basically growing up with them, after I found a copy of "Houdini" in my car while I was riding with my mom, and immediately being captivated by the hypnotic crushing rhythm of "Hooch". Consider them on of my, "bucket list" bands. I knew this was going to be incredible the moment I found out that they did in fact, come with the Big Business guys in tow! Yes, this 4 piece Melvins was absolutely incredible. Coming on stage dressed in extravagant costumes, and plowing though crushing track after crushing track, with Dale Crover and Coady Willis's jaw dropping synchronized drum solos. Every second of this set was hard hitting, loud, and impactful. Buzz's voice hasn't aged a day. Hell, it might have gotten even more powerful!! The band wonderfully chose to play a lot of classic older track, including many near and dear to my heart, like "Honey Bucket", "Revolve", and my beloved "Hooch". Mind blowing set.

Full Of Hell: Truth be told, FoH was one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing. After completely winning me over with their new record, one that I am still crushing on hard, I knew that their set was going to be something not to miss. Though I almost did after getting painfully lost trying to get to the Soundstage venue (note to the MDF: staff for next year, please include some obvious instructions on how to get to the venue next time. Thaaaanks)!!!! But fortunately, I was able to catch it all, and man, it was scary intense. This set was just evil!! With the dark lighting, the harsh noise transitions between songs, and their amazing frontman, who wins my personal "Best Frontman Of MDF" award. An absolute force on stage, brutal as fuck locals, and throat shredding high vocals. This set still has me pumped.

Pig Destroyer: I was fanboygasming for this whole entire experience. Another "bucket list band" for me, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. They started the set off with some choice cuts from "Book Burner", even having Kat come out on a couple songs! But thankfully, they evened out the set with tons of choice cuts from almost all of their albums, including a few of my personal favorites (they played "Thumbsucker"!!). The real highlights were the tracks from "Prowler...", they pulled out "Junkyard God", leading into "Piss Angel", and the "Jennifer" intro track. They even played "Naked Trees"! Closing out with "The Diplomat" with Jason Netherton on vocals was a great way to end the set, and I definitely got a serious bangover when it was done. Only problem, they didn't play "The Machete Twins". C'mon guys!

Disciples of Christ: Little known fact; these guys and Triac released my favorite record of the year with their untouchable split 12". So seeing these guys was absolutely mandatory. I even got my nocturnal ass out of bed before 11 AM to get ready to see these guys. That's giving a shit. And of course, their set was amazing. After some pretty hilarious banter between the sound guy and the band, D.O.C. busted into a crushing 8 minute set (boo-ya). Opening with one of my favorite tracks of the previously mentioned split, "Hosed", and not letting up until their time was over. They even played some new tracks in the middle of their set, which were fucking great. Very excited for their new record to come out. Get wise to this band and listen to that goddamn split!!!

Hope you all had a good MDF. See you next year, maybe.

~VII

Pig Destroyer - "Book Burner" Review

Well, it's all come down to this. Five years, endless amounts of hype, a loss of a drummer, gaining a drummer, more hype, teaser tracks, even more hype, and now the finished product. Man. The past half-decade has been a real trip, for me personally. I must preface this review by saying Pig Destroyer is one of my favorite bands, period. I can't even begin to accurately describe what this band has done for me and how they have shaped my taste in heavy music. And in a sick way, this album was pretty much doomed to be underwhelming for me. Not to say that that this is a bad album, but let's be real honest here. There's no way in hell that this album could have lived up to the expectations I had for it. I have unwillingly fucked myself over. But I think that goes for a lot of people too; I don't think anyone really went into this going, "yeah, this should be pretty decent, at least". I bet every stinking one of you was thinking "Book Burner" was going to be balls ass amazing. But...no. I wish I could wait just a little bit longer for this review, so I could listen to it more and try and soak in some more details, but the curse of journalism is that you have to stay with the times, and I fear that if I wait any longer, this review will become irrelevant. Well, let's get into the nitty gritty now and dissect this beast. And keep this in my, I like this album.

Pig Destroyer Debut New Lyric Video For "Burning Palm"

The wait for the new Pig Destroyer full-length, "Book Burner", is almost unbearable. I used to be stoked for October just because of Halloween, but now I have a (hopefully) incredible album to celebrate as well! Little by little we've been getting sneak peaks of the new album, but now, Relapse Records has debuted a full on entire track called "Burning Palms" for a new lyric video. Unsurprisingly, the song is a ripper. Scott really pulled out some weird riffs for this one, harmonics and high notes are all over the place, and the drums are on constant blast-grind mode. Honestly though, I am a bit disappointed about the vocals. JR really seems tired on here, and not all that aggressive. He's always been one of the most intense and desperate sounding grindcore vocalists, in my opinion, so to hear him be pulled back a bit is a little surprising. Fingers crossed that it's just for this track though. Pre-order "Book Burner" now at the Relapse webstore, or pick it up on October 22nd.

~VII

32 Seconds of New Pig Destroyer Is All I Need To Get Stoked.

Well fuck me for not being on top of my game when it comes to juicy new streams from the new Pig Destroyer album, "Book Burner". Definitely, probably, certainly my most anticipated full-length of this year, and the details the band shared with us about it in our recent interview with the band only fueled my roaring excitement (thanks again to Alex Cha!). And now, we can give thanks to the British, for streaming a short and sweet sample of a brand new song entitled, "The Underground Man", on the BBC 1 Radio site. Just going by this sample, it definitely lives up to the "fast and furious" sound the band has mentioned the album will have. It sounds like typical fast Pig Destroyer, which is definitely not a bad thing. The production sounds akin to the "Terrifyer" album, Adam Jarvis drumming sounds great, and is that the Grindfather, Richard Johnson's vocals I hear? Guhhh, so excited, guys! Stream the song here and experience the magic. Be sure to pick up "Book Burner" on October 22!

~VII

Interview: Pig Destroyer

Pig Destroyer have been pumping out some of the some of the most brutal grindcore since their creation in 1997. The band has just put the finishing touches on “Book Burner”, their newest record which drops October 23, 2012 on Relapse Records. I’m sitting in the control room of Visceral Sound in Maryland where I have in front of me vocalist JR Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull and sampler Blake Harrison. While newly-appointed drummer Adam Jarvis, also of Misery Index, shoots drum endorsement videos in the next room, we get to talking about the new record, studio, drummer and more. 
                               

Photo by: Nick Martin

Cha: We had short straight grind on "Prowler in the Yard" and "Terrifyer", slightly longer songs on "Phantom Limb", straight up ambient doom on "Natasha". What can we expect from "Book Burner"?

Scott: Shorter grind. It’s a mix of a lot of different things but definitely a lot more shorter grind on "Book Burner" then there was on "Phantom Limb".

Blake: When Scott was starting to write and get some ideas, he asked JR and me what we wanted and we were like “lean, mean and stripped down”. Let’s just make it raw. I think the longest song clocks in at 4 minutes. The rest are about a minute long.

Scott: We got some new blood in the band and that blood wants to grind a little more so we’re trying to play to that strength.

Cha: Speaking of which, this new record is your first with Adam Jarvis on drums. Can you discuss the events surrounding the exit of Brian Harvey, the brief involvement of Dave Witte and any other drummers you had in mind, to Jarvis being a full time member?

Blake: Brian left. Let’s just leave it at that.

Scott: He had other issues in his life that sort of diverted his focus. He was our brother for 13 or so years, but I think the effects of the bad economy and his home life and work life kind of prevented him from being able to push forward with the band and we sort of let that situation dangle. 

JR: There was a little while where we thought we could work it out like we have in the past but it just got to a breaking point and we had to move on.

Cha: Ok, so Harvey is out. Where do you go?

The Best News Ever!!!

We’ve heard unofficially through the grape vine that the new PIG DESTROYER album is just about completed, with only mastering and artwork left to be finished. Word also came with the news that a split with ROTTEN SOUND is still in the works. This new album, which very well may surface this summer through Relapse Records, is the first in roughly 5 years. PIG DESTROYER released Phantom Limb in 2007 through Relapse.” - taken from Nefarious Realm


HOLY FUCKING SHIT PISSING ASS LICKING SUPER EXTRA MEATY BIG FUCKING SHIT CUNT FUCKING FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!!!

~VII

VII's Top 10 Pig Destroyer Songs

This year, the world is supposed to be blessed with the awesomeness of a new Pig Destroyer album. After approximately 367 years (okay, only 4), the Baltimore grind Gods are finally, finally releasing new material. And while there isn't an official release date yet, I'm still counting down the days. So, I thought I would celebrate my excitement by creating a list of my 10 favorite Pig Destroyer songs. This list is most likely subject to change sometime in the future, but for now, here are my favorites. Agree/disagree/troll in the comments below.

10: Natasha - "Terrifyer/Natasha": "Natasha" is a song that most grind bands could attempt to do, but just wouldn't be able to do as well as Pig Destroyer. This 37 minute(!) doom/sludge epic is a truly experimental piece for the band. Half of the music on it is ambient, or found sounds. The rest comprising of something akin to Godflesh if they went all funeral doom. And Pig Destroyer makes this work, to me, because the band already was so good at capturing misery, disturbing imagery, and sadness through JR's lyrics. Originally released as the 2nd disc to "Terrifyer", but was intended as it's own separate release, "Natasha" is a very intriguing piece of music that definitely sticks out in the bands catalog. But yeah, the falsetto vocals in the middle do get a chuckle out of me.

9: Piss Angel - "Prowler In The Yard": Nostalgia factor for me, because this was the first Pig Destroyer song that I ever heard, as I'm sure it was for a lot of people who looked this band up on Youtube for the first time. The final song on the grotesque, conceptual masterpiece, "Prowler In The Yard", "Piss Angel" is, interestingly, probably the most accessible song on the album(subtracting the ambient 2nd half). Killer riffs from Scott are all up in this song; I fucking love the use of harmonics in the 3rd riff, and that phone ringing sample always makes my skin crawl a little.

Pig Destroyer/The Black Dahlia Murder Split To Be Released?

Well, here's something I didn't expect to hear. The fine folks at Metalsucks.net have posted that a split between grindcore gods Pig Destroyer, and melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder is rumored to be released this year. Apparently this split has been in the works for quite a while now, and the recordings have been finished. Both bands are covering old punk songs, so sadly, no new material from PxDx on here. Honestly, this pairing is pretty darn random if you ask me, but any Pig Destroyer is good Pig Destroyer, so yeah, I hope this gets released. No word yet on format or what label is involved, this is still in the "rumor stages".  

In the mean time, keep bugging the Piggy dudes to release that new album already!!

~VII

FOOTAGE OF NEW PIG DESTROYER SONGS!!!

I have been wanting Pig Destroyer to release a new album for sooooo long now, the wait is literally painful sometimes. The loss of long time drummer Brian Harvey broke my heart and made me think that the writing process would be slowed down due to the arrival and breaking-in of new drummer Adam Jarvis(of Misery Index). But today, like a gift from the Gods, footage of three short, new Pig Destroyer songs were discovered on the internet. Hallelujah everybody, the Pig is back!! The sound quality is fucking atrocious, but I can still make out killer riffs, grooves and breaks in these songs. New drummer Adam does a good job keeping up with Scott Hull too, and does a sweet kick-drum break at 1:23. Consider me stoked out of my mind.

~VII

Five Songs That Creep The Hell Outta Me

Happy Halloween everyone! Today's the day to celebrate all that is creepy, spooky, sick and twisted, and that I think that includes music too. Now very rarely do I creeped out by music, but these select five songs have managed to make my skin crawl everytime I've listened to them.

1. Throbbing Gristle - "Hamburger Lady": This is literally the scariest song I've ever heard, no joke. Throbbing Gristle's droning masterpiece off the album "Sacrifice" takes lyrics from a doctors notes about a women who was treated with 3rd degree burns covering most of her body, who's flesh was described as looking like "hamburger meat". Creepy visual unto itself, but add the tense, industrial drones, Genesis P-Orridge's warbly, buried vocals and a manipulated clarinet cry that I think sounds like the women's screams all makes this track fucking horrifying. Piss your pants here.

2. Suicide - "Frankie Teardrop": Suicide's debut album takes a sharp left turn into mind-fuck-ville with the 10 minute opus "Frankie Teardrop". The lyrics flow like poetry read by a paranoid-schizophrenic telling a story about the murder/suicide of a man and his family. Really unsettling stuff. Listen to this with the lights off and just TRY not to jump at the random screams. Listen here.

3. Chris Vrenna(American McGee's Alice) - "Village of the Doomed": Here's a rather obscure one; the second track off the soundtrack to the cult PC game "American McGee's Alice" is the music that plays for the first time you enter the setting of Wonderland. It's as creepy and wretched as the world you inhabit in the game. Pulsing string sections, creaky music box's, echoy female vocals, it's just spooky. Listen here.

4. Pig Destroyer - "Tickets to the Car Crash": "Prowler in the Yard" is a sick twisted fuck masterpiece, but the lone 39 second track "Tickets to the Car Crash" is the one song out of the whole bunch that continues to give me the willies. The song just sounds chaotic and like it's falling apart, and JR's layered screams add even more disturbing punishment. Listen here.

5. Gaza - "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die": This song just starts out with a simple nihilistic quote from song unidentified women, and then explodes into tortured screams, blast beats, feedback, eerie guitar noises and bloody chaos. It sounds like massive carnage, it sounds like black metal getting fucked in the ass, it's dark as fuck and I love it. Listen here.

~VII

VII's Favorite Grind/Hardcore/Powerviolence Vocalists

The vocalist is the messenger. The person who regurgitates his pre-written thoughts, beliefs, ideas, concepts and stories into a microphone and into the ears of the audience. In short, a vocalist is a necessity in a grind band. Here are a few of my all time favorite vocalists in the genre, I chose a few PV/hardcore vocalists too to make it a bit easier on me. All of these vocalists bring add something to their select bands that add that extra bit of awesomeness to the music the scream behind.

1. Aaron Kenyon(Man is the Bastard): Aaron Kenyon's voice brought so much intensity MITB. His gruff barks and his gravely screams were fueled by genuine anger and frustration. Incredibly political and socially conscious lyrics were his battle cries, and he delivered them with incredible power and volume. Listen here and here!

2. Rahi Geramifar(ex-Insect Warfare, Hatred Surge): Rahi only has two voices; growl and scream. He is a fucking non-stop vocalist, unrelenting in his delivery. No bullshit here, just a pure visceral vocal onslaught. His lyrics may be indecipherable, but he sure makes up for it in intensity. He now lends his vocals to fellow Texas bruisers Hatred Surge as a 2nd vocalist. His attack isn't as fast in that band, making his voice just a little bit more clear, but his trademark growl is still there. Listen here!

3. Jay Randall(Agoraphobic Nosebleed): I frickin love Jay's voice! It's definitely one of the more recognizable voices in hardcore/grind, nowadays going for more of a yell/loud talking technique. When he does scream though it sounds very loose and out of control, which I dig. He definitely doesn't sound like a "fine-tuned" vocalist, which may sound like an insult, but it's anything but. I think it adds a very unpredictable edge to his voice and makes it much more enjoyable to listen to. Plus, I love the way he puts words together and the vocal patterns he chooses. Listen here and here!





4: Lukasz Myszkowski(Antigama): Lukasz has one of the most interesting and recognizable voices in extreme music, matching the equally interesting weirdo-grind of Antigama. It's hard to really describe his vocals, at times it sounds like he's adding a little side-of-the-throat gurgle to his growl, a lot of times he seamlessly blends the growl/scream together into pure vocal gold, with occasional added vocal effects to boot. I'm so glad that he's back in Antigama and I can't wait to hear their new material! Listen here and here!

5: Matt Gomes(ex-In Disgust): Matt Gomes has one of the best, deepest, most chocolaty sounding growls in grind(violence), and it didn't sound out of place. A lot of times when a grind band has a deep-growl vocalist, it just sounds like a death metal singer that somehow ended up fronting a grindcore band, but Matt Gomes sounded genuine and had the perfect voice to match the down-tuned, blasting fury of In Disgust. Plus, he can do a sick pig squeal(see here.) Still pissed that band broke up!!! Listen here.

6. J.R. Hayes(Pig Destroyer, ex-Enemy Soil): J.R.'s vocals are absolutely disgusting. The noises that come out of his mouth are as slimy and grotesque as the lyrics he writes, making his sick, twisted fuck stories of stalkers, piss angels and girls in slayer jackets all the more hard hitting. Of course I mean all this is the best possible way. Listen here and watch the most badass thing ever here!

7. Andrew Beattie(ex-No Comment, ex-Man is the Bastard, Low Threat Profile, Dead Language): Andrew Beattie has one of the best open throat, pissed off yells I've ever heard, and he's only gotten better with age. The new super group Dead Language displays a new found grit and growl to his vocals. This guy is a beast! He sounds like someone that would be leading a massive protest. Listen here.

8. Mike Stitches(ex-Thousandswilldie, Standing on a Floor of Bodies): Mike Stiches has a one of a kind scream, one that I can instantly recognize. Kind of a bark/scream hybrid actually. Deep growls and harsh screams are also expertly executed. His vocals on the Standing on a Floor of Bodies demo are half the reason it's one of my favorite demos/grind releases ever. Download and listen here!

~VII

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)