VII's Top 20 Of 2013

I'm blown away by how fucking chaotic 2013 was. It's a year that seemed to go by so quick, but looking back, there was a ton of crazy shit that happened these 365 days. We all grew up, we got wiser, some got stupider, a lot of people died, we all experienced some hard times, and we all saw the explosion of pop stars making grinding on inanimate objects a symbol of sexual liberation. More importantly, we got body slammed with an ton of incredible new music. I think I say this every year, but I'm certain that I took in more new music this year then I ever have. It was a hard task whittling it all down to 20, but I'm pretty confident in my decisions right now, so let me just spill it before I over-think it again and change my mind. As I'm sure you'll figure out, I'm including LP's, EP's,  splits, and demos.



20. Flatbush Zombies - "Better Of Dead" mixtape

I really didn't keep up with hip-hop at all this year (I missed the new Danny Brown, that shows you
how out of touch I am). But the little pieces I've heard really impressed me. Mostly with the amount of creativity and energy they had. The new mixtape from Flathbush Zombies was the diamond that shined brightest. Drugged out, aggressive, and energetic bangers all the way through, with some grimy and impressive rhymes and flows from Meechy, Juice and Erick Ark Elliot. Love it every time I play it.


19. Bastard Noise/Lack Of Interest - Split LP

This came into my possession very late into this year, which is unfortunate as I haven't had very many chances to give it a proper listen (being stuck with broken speakers doesn't help either). But when I did get the chance to finally spin it, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. I've been anticipating this record for over a year now, and both bands deliver some of their most vicious tracks to date. Especially on the Bastard Noise side. The SKULL crew hasn't sounded this metallic and sharp in ever, and the choice guest spot from Maruta's Mitchell Luna was deadly! Lack of Interest are always, always, always, fucking incredible. Their side of this split is no different.This is one of the rare groups that never lets me down, and this record only strengthen's my love for them. Two of my favorite bands.


18. Prurient/The Rita - "Women Pissing" collab. 7"

Harsh noise/HNW music is something I don't expect everyone to have a fond taste in. But for those with even a mild interest, or for seasoned listeners in general, do not miss this epic pairing of two of the genre's best. The Rita, aka, Sam McKinlay, creates a brutal wall with the manipulated sounds of two women
synchronized swimmers, with Prurient, aka, Dominick Fenrow, supplying the harsh vocals. It's an excellent pairing of modern noises's best acts. Plus, it's cool to see Dominick still doing stuff that isn't techno/darkwave.


17. Archagathus/Nak'ay - Split 10"

This split was a pain in the buttocks to find, but the wait made listening to this incredible record even better. Nak'ay are a complete blasturbation on their side, it's unrelenting filth grind at warp speed.
Imagine if Insect Warfare snorted meth and played through amps made of rust, you get Nak'ay. Archagathus give us a meaty chunk of new songs, with a lot of Swede-grind influence, which was pretty fun and different. Their most metallic and straight grindcore sounding stuff in a while. Mandatory split!


16. Nails - "Abandon All Life"

Haven't played this one in a while, honestly. But I'm a huge fan of Nails, and this album crushed my skull when it came out earlier in the year. They came back louder, faster and heavier then on "Unsilent Death". More grind, more death metal riffs, more more more everything. Still keeping with the fifteen minute album length though, which I dig. Never got why it was so cool to hate on this band, especially if they keep putting out quality albums like this.


15. Sea Of Shit - "S/T" 10"

The mid-west rocked my world this year. That area seems to only be populated with the most fucked up, brilliant musicians. Chicago especially, and my favorite Windy City gutter blasters, Sea Of Shit, came through yet again with their new 10". Self released on their vocalist Robert's own label, Diseased Audio, by the way. While this is definitely the bands cleanest and least noisy recording to date, the pure filth that saturates their music is ever-present. Endlessly negative and grumpier then ever, I'd say that this record definitely has some of the bands best songs so far, and ends with one of my favorite final-screams of 2013.


14. Chainsaw Squid/Ether Binge aka Victim Of A Drive-By - Split cassette

Both of these bands could easily be my favorite bands of 2013. This is a mandatory split between two of the West Coast's best, new grind monsters. I talked very highly of this split in my review, and I stand by every word in that post. Chainsaw Squid are complete brutality, breakneck stops and starts and limb-
flailing blast beats from front to back. Ether Binge are a band that I absolutely cannot wait to hear more recordings from. This is grindcore from the future, with the most interesting slap-bass/metal guitar hybrid sounding instrumentation I've ever heard in this genre. These guys are on the 2nd level and you all need to learn quick.


13. Backslider - "Consequences" 10"

A release that may have come as a bit of a surprise to long time fans of Backslider. Definitely a surprise for me. This album (?) introduced a much different sounding band then the one that used to loyally stay in the no-song-over-a-minute club. Backslider sound more mature, inspired, and heavier then ever before on "Consequences". Keeping their roots in fastcore, and blending stoner sludge, death metal, rock riffs, and whatever the hell else they feel like into one monolith of a record. Do not miss this!!

12. Cheap Art - "Desocialized"

However, if you want a fastcore record that's a no holds barr blasterpiece of excellence, look no further then this new 7" EP from Cheap Art. This is a tough, tough fastcore record, leagues above the EP they released last year. The addition of the new vocalist is excellent. Adding a lot more vocal dynamics to the band, Blown-out screams, ludicrously fast blasts, heavy heavy down tuned riffs, there is absolutely nothing to not like here.


11. Cloud Rat - "Moksha"

When this came out, I was positive it was going to be my album of the year, While obviously, a few records have surpassed it, "Moksha" stands as Cloud Rat's best work yet, and is a landmark for grindcore this year. It's as ferocious as it is vulnerable, lyrically painting images of abuse, drugs, depression, and melancholy. It's a intense listen in many ways, and on a side note, these guys successfully pulled off a Neil Young cover. How cool is that?!


10. James Blake - "Overgrown"


I'm gonna guess not a lot of you know who James Blake is. Well, chances are most of you probably won't hold interest after I tell you. In a nutshell, James Blake is a beautiful man who makes beautiful music. This is a soulful, down-tempo, minimal and gorgeous electronic-music based record. Not something that sounds that nifty to most grindheads, I know. It's an album that just hits me right in that sweet spot I have for beautiful melodies and happy/sad lyrics. Some of my favorite songs of the year are on this album, such as the titled track and "To The Last". Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous music, I think it's worth your time.


9. Suffering Mind - everything

I'm going to be cheating a bit with a couple of these inclusions. 2013 was a huge year for Suffering Mind, and they put out some incredible splits, and keep spilling the beans about new splits to come. These splits with Massgrave, Six Brew Bantha, Water Torture and Dead Church we are choice additions to anyone's record collection this year. Suffering Mind just can not write a bad song, and every time I threw on one of their new records, I was satisfied. Can't forget the other bands though, crushing stuff from every one of them; my favorite Massgrave stuff by far, some of the sharpest songs SBBB have written (more of them later), torturous sludge from Water Torture, and an under-one-minute epic from Dead Church.


8. Full Of Hell - "Rudiments Of Mutilation"

This record rocked my goddamn mind when it was first unleashed onto the world. I haven't heard hardcore sound so evil or straight up as metal as on this new Full Of Hell record. The first four tracks alone are some of the most perfect and intense moments of music I've heard all year. With the raw power electronics in the opener "
Dichotomy", the swamp monster sludge chugs of "Vessel Deserted", and the complete fury of "Throbbing Lung Fiber". The B-side might not match the urgent intensity of the first half , to me, but this is still one of the most interesting hardcore records to come out all year. And seeing them at MDF kinda sorta solidified their vocalist as my favorite frontman.



7. Rectal Hygienics - "Even The Flies Won't Touch You" 

Representing Chicago on this list once again with the lucky number 7 pick! I'm counting the vinyl re-issue of this previously cassette-only album, I'd say it's valid. "Even The Flies Won't Touch You" is nothing but pure sleaze and perverted filth (what is it about Chicago that makes bands like this?). It's a
lyrical document of a madman, a complete sociopath, it's music that your vanilla PC friends will not like, and probably shun you for listening to it. Knuckle-draggingly simple, sludgy, noise drenched heroin rock. If you dig bands like Brainbombs, or even get a kick out of Anal Cunt, dive into this mess.


6. Sex Prisoner - "State Property E.P."

What an outstanding comeback year for Sex Prisoner! The fantastic 3-way split with ACxDC and Magnum Force (honorable mention) made their presence know again, but their stand alone 7" EP, State Property" put them over the edge. Deadly, tough, brutish powerviolence, the kind of stuff that makes any mosh pit an ignorant warzone. Sex Prisoner make every single second of this 7" a beat down, it's the heaviest powerviolence record I've heard all year. Some of my favorite vocals too. Can't wait to hear their new 12" from A389 next year, congrats guys!


5. Agents Of Abhorrence - "Relief"

Sadly, I never came around to giving this album a proper review on the blog. Somewhat regrettable, as this was one of my most anticipated records of the year. Agents Of Abhorrence have a solid spot as one of my my top five grind bands ever, and the anticipation of hearing their new full length was eating my alive. The wait, was to my Relief(hur hur), well worth the wait. This record is a fucking wrecking ball, some of the best grindcore I've heard out of Australia, and definitely some of the best stuff the band has ever done. This is their "brutal record", the guitar tone has never been more beefy or distorted, and the addition of Roskopp's Jacob Winkler to the band was the perfect touch to making "Relief" the great album that it is. Losing Grants vocals was a big loss for me, his pipes were a huge part of AoA's sound to me, so I was initially worried to hear what a new vocalist would bring to the band, and I'm happy to say that Jacob does not disappoint. The much more growly vocals definitely match the new sound AoA were going for, something that I don't see Grant doing quite as well, honestly. "Relief" only proves that Agents Of Abhorrence are one of grindcore's best kept secrets.


4. Water Torture/Six Brew Bantha - Split 7"

Water Torture released a lot of stuff this year, and don't seem to be stopping any time soon as hints and whispers of their upcoming releases keep popping up. By far the best stuff the Buffalo boys put out this year was their split 7" with Six Brew Bantha. For one, this is the first and probably only recording of them with a guitar player, and it's a fantastic change of sound for this record. It's kind of got an Infest meets Amphetamine Reptile noise rock thing going on. Kind of different, I dig it a lot. Certainly wouldn't be opposed to them doing this kind of thing again. Six Brew Bantha's side is straight up brilliant, it's by far my favorite stuff from them. Incredible riff after incredible riff with maniac drumming and vocals. Listening to this at max volume will not only destroy your speakers, it might cause everyone in your household to devour each other. Mandatory!


3. Abuse. - "S/T" LP & "A New Low" 7" (tie)

RIP powerviolence 2013, Abuse. killed everyone in the game this year. This is a band that doesn't

come around every day folks. This band, this new band mind you, broke out of the ether of the cosmos, crash landed to earth, and made the two best powerviolence records of the year. I just couldn't pick which one is better, they both wreck my everything in equal amounts. The 7" had a much rawer sound, more gritty and nasty. It had the same spirit as the classic No Comment and Crossed Out records that we know and love, but still managed to sound fresh, new and exciting. It's a perfect EP, powerviolence 101. Their LP however, shows the band with a brighter, much more modern and professional sound. And it doesn't take away a shred of their intensity, in fact it may have added some. Abuse. on the LP sound more urgent, adding a little more for a modern powerviolence sound. Some faster blasts, heavier breakdowns, more metallic guitars, the works. Both are incredible records, and are not to be missed. I mean it.







2. Deafheaven - "Sunbather"

I just know that a large chuck of you are going to look at this album's inclusion on this list a let out a loud, verbal "pshht" that I could let such a praised, insanely hyped record such as "Sunbather" come in as my 2nd favorite album of the year. And honestly, I mean this, if you can't find even one thing to like about this record, then I'm very sorry, because this album is amazing. Believe all the hype, this record is a masterwork. Some people call it metal gaze, post-black metal, some call it hipster bullshit. At the end of the day, I just say "Sunbather" is good music. Beautiful music in fact, a perfect balance of metallic intensity and energy with gorgeous, uplifting chord progressions and melodies. All together, this band creates a lush, colorful and impeccably passionate soundscape of reverby trembelo picked guitars riffs and blast beats, and some of my favorite songs of the year. "Dream House" is a monster opener, probably the best track on the album, which is maybe the only fault I can give it for starting with their strongest track. It's a very small one though, as it ends with the almost as amazing 'The Pecan Tree". I can't think of a record that's crossed over and reached so many different people in so many different scenes. I know grind fans, indie fans, metal fans, noise fans, you name it fans who all like this record. Just incredible. I know that this will definitely be a record that I'll talk about very fondly off in the years to come, and of the experiences that I've had and the people I've gotten to know with it's accompaniment.





1. D.O.C/Triac - Split 12"

At the end of the day, there can only be one. One record that stands above the rest as VII's favorite release of 2013. And with out one shred of doubt it my, the split 12" between Washington DC's
Disciples of Christ and Baltimore's Triac is that record. Grindcore just didn't get any meaner or nastier then this split, it was not even close to being matched. Keep in mind, this split came out way earlier in the year, so I've been saying this for a minute now. This is the record that all other records had to beat for me. Some same close, at time others may have even surpassed it, but it always came out on top at the end of the day. D.O.C.'s side is absolutely disgusting and earth shattering, it's still a chaotic mess every time I listen to it. And Triac bring their best stuff ever! Slick, loud, punishing, over the top grindcore perfection. You put it on and the swords come out, the ground splits, and the we all take a collective bow towards this magnum opus.

RIP 2013.

~VII

New Music From Disciples Of Christ, Sea Of Shit and Amputee

I found out about this literally seconds before I fell asleep last night. D.O.C. have debuted a brand spanking new track off their upcoming single-sided LP entitled, "Decomposition Fantasy". As if decimating almost all competition with their incomprehensibly good split with Triac wasn't enough, the dudes have been busy creating this sure to be incredible record, with very little updates. The new track, "Pus Ride", is a noisy, filthy, ever changing song that keeps everything I loved about that split in tact. I definitely remember hearing it at MDF too, it also crushes live. "Decomposition Fantasy" is coming out sometime in October/November on Rorschach Records. 

And this is pretty old news, but I love this band enough that I'm willing to rehash. Maybe a few of you haven't heard yet, but Sea Of Shit have put up two new tracks from their upcoming 10". As always, the tracks are filthy and brutal, but they let a little bit more studio clarity into the mix. They're great tracks, and seeing a lot of the newer tracks live was a great treat. I got to listen to the whole record thanks to the tour edition cassette that was put out, but I can't wait to hear it on it's intended format. The record should be out in a couple months on Diseased Audio Records.

Lastly, NJ Assück/gnar grind worshippers, Amputee have put up a new track on their Facebook page from an upcoming split 5" record with Triac!! I heard rumors of this split happening, but I never knew it would be a rad little 5". Pretty neat stuff, and the new song is a great little dose of raw, rusty blade grindcore. And any word of new Triac material has me squee'ing. Check it out here. The record should be released by Haunted Hotel Records sometime in the future. 

~VII

VII's Top 20 Releases of 2012

It's not to late, is it? I always seem to do lists like this way past the time they usually pop up. But anyway, happy new year everybody, we made it through 2012! It's been a crazy year; extreme weather,  face eating drug zombies, anti-climactic Mayan apocalypses (lulz), and more grindcore and powerviolence music than you can shake a stick at. When I look back at 2012, in terms of music, it was overall a pretty lack luster year. Most of the new releases I heard either made me go "ehhhh" or "that was pretty good". Maybe I've just gotten too overexposed to this music and it's starting to take a lot more to impress me, who knows. All you need to know though is that the 20 records were in constant rotation throughout my year, and I highly suggest you check out all of these releases if you haven't. And since I'm terrible with intros, let's not waste any more time and dive right into my 20 favorite releases of 2012!

20. thedowngoing - "ATHROUSANDYEARSOFDARKNESS": This Aussie noisegrind duo blew my ears wide open when I downloaded this beast of an album off of Grindcore Karaoke. This is scarily good music, and they really are, in my opinion, one of the best examples of a grindcore band purposely embracing noisy production. There are just so many things that make this album work; the riffs are there, which is unusual for noisegrind, the songs are brutal, the vocals are so ridiculous that it's hard not to love them. Great band that I want to hear more from asap.

19. Pig Destroyer - "Book Burner": Maybe a curious album to be on this list considering how unenthusiastic my review of it was. But when we get down to nitty gritty, at the end of the day, this is still a Pig Destroyer album, and it is definitely a good one. Scott Hull riffs all over this album, J.R. still gives a sick vocal delivery, the album sounds great, the grooves are killer. It's Pig Destroyer being Pig Destroyer, we just had to wait 5 years to hear it again.

18. JJ DOOM - "Key To The Kuffs": Anyone who knows me knows that I listen to a whole lot of other music besides grind, and that I am a huge fan of hip-hop. One of my favorite rappers is the masked super villain known as DOOM (or MF DOOM, the name changes depending on if he does production or vocals). On "Key To The Kuffs", DOOM teams up with Jneiro Jarrel for an album that hasn't sounded like any DOOM collab. album before, but still kicks incredible ass. The über modern, yet fresh production style is a bit of a weird companion to DOOM's trademark flow at first listen, but that quickly faded away for me. This album is a fantastic listen the whole way through, and in my opinion is the best DOOM project since "Madvillainy". Come at me.

17. Sakatat - "Bir Devrin Sonu": Unfortunately, this may be the last release we'll see from this Turkish grindcore band (they're playing their last couple of shows early this year), but man did they go out with a ripper of an album. Keeping it brief at a scant 8 minutes, "Bir Devrin Sonu" is about as solid as a grind album can get. The only thing this album does is blast; fast and efficiently. The songwriting isn't that varied, like, at all, which can be a bit distracting, but it's hard to ignore just how good these guys are at writing quality grindcore, and this album is 100% quality.

16. Converge - "All We Love We Leave Behind": I really fell of the Converge train this year, since their last 2 splits were very underwhelming, and I more than likely over-saturated myself with their music (I used to live and breath this band). So imagine my surprise when I finally gave this album a spin, after putting it off for so long and hearing so many people tell me how amazing it is, to find that this was in fact a killer Converge record! This album reminded me of why I love this band; everything about this band, and this album is fine-tuned and fitted to make absolutely refreshing, interesting, brutal, heavy, melodic, blasting hardcore music. I only wish I had heard this album earlier in the year, it probably would have been higher on the list.

15. +HIRS+ - "100 Songs LP": Yes, compilations count! I mean, how could I not include the discography compilation from my Philly favorites? Readers of this blog know that I've sung this bands praises many a time over the past couple years. And having all of their recorded material on one convenient 12" slab of wax is fantastic. Drum machine blasting, techy, sample smothered, sexy, industrial, grind as fuck, non-stop assault to the dome. Heres to another year of quality music from +HIRS+!

14. Extortion/Cold World - Split: Much like Converge, I haven't really been a fan of Extortions last few releases, but they came back with a vengeance on this split 12" with Cold World! This is the fastest and most aggressive stuff the band has done since their split with Agents of Abhorrence, and it is a great return to form for these Australian titans. And let's not forget Cold World, their side kicks just as much ass as their companions. Crazy, old-school inspired, blasty blast fastcore from Austria that is the perfect addition to Extortion's brutality.

13. OSK - "Wretched Existence//Bleak Future 2007-2010": The most criminally slept-on release of the year? I'd certainly say so. People, do you knot realize how crazy good OSK are? Buy this compilation CD and you'll get treated to some of the best grind Canada has to offer! This release is crazy good from front to back, and shows that this band has been consistently on top of their game for their entire recorded history. If you guys don't know my now, now you do. Buy or die.

12. Dirty Projectors - "Swing Lo Magellan": This is a band that I fell head over heels in love with in the last half of 2012. I had been a fan of their last album, "Bitte Orca", a long time before I heard this, and "Swing Lo Magellan" definitely is a very different sounding album that the last one. It's a lot more stripped down, less flashy, more rooted in grooves and simple melodies, and it's all absolutely fantastic. There are just so many great pieces to this album: "About To Die" is a high contender for my favorite song of the year (that bubbling programmed drum beat, and that bass, unf), I love the bouncy, playful piano melody on the track"The Socialites", and the vocals are just absolutely gorgeous. Fantastic, inventive, artsy indie-ish rock that I highly suggest checking out.

11. Death Of Self - "S/T": Here's a band that arrived, put out a stupidly good 7" EP, and then went and broke up. It's a real shame they didn't stick around longer, because if they continued to make music as sick as the material on this thing, they could have been untouchable. The songs on here are just absolutely brutal. Like, body smashed into jelly with a sledgehammer brutal. Also, Ethan Lee gives one of my favorite vocal performances of the year. Dude is just straight up vicious on this album. RIP guys.

10. Column Of Heaven - "Mission From God": It made my top 10!! I had some little problems with this release when I first reviewed it, but like most things in life, I get over them and move on. I really can't think of a grind or powerviolence album that sounded anything like "Mission From God" that came out this year. It really does stand out from the crowd. Equal parts grind and noise, with a little dash of death metal thrown in for good measure, this is an album that I've really grown to love, and I can't wait for their future releases.

9. Death Grips - "No Love Deep Web": The band that put out what I called my favorite release of 2011 came back with 2 types of vengeance in 2012 with "The Money Store" and this album, "No Love Deep Web". And while they're both very solid albums, I have to say I prefer "No Love.." more. This album really brought the heavy, noisy aggression that I fell in love with on "Exmilitary". MC Ride is back screaming his throat out, but also has given a lot more variety and character to his vocals. And the beats range from strange and futuristic ("Pop", "Whammy"), to just straight up punishing, like the track "No Love", which has a beat that sounds like Darth Vader coming down a staircase to hatefuck everyone to death. This album is catchy, heavy, groovy, and all around enjoyable. Can't wait to see what they do next.

8. Sea Of Shit/Water Torture - Split: A split that I'm sure we all saw coming before it was announced, this slab of black wax is a double dose of disgust. The Sea Of Shit side is good, for sure, "Black and Blue" is an excellent track. but to me this split really shines on Water Tortures side. This release has some of my favorite songs from the band ("Living Hell", "Attn: Starved"), and the heaviest recording the band has had so far. I'll end by saying that "Living Hell" has the nastiest breakdown I've heard all year. Fist-through-the-wall kind of material.

7. False Light - "S/T": This sickening South Carolina outfit gave me my favorite debut of 2012, and have serious potential to become a big thing in the underground this year. This EP mixes disgusting grindviolence, gutter production and heavy sludge metal, into a soupy, distorted concoction of incredibly enjoyable jams. This will finally be getting the 7" treatment very soon, and hopefully we can expect new material in the near future. Must listen!

6. Standing On A Floor Of Bodies - "Sacrilegious and Culturally Deficient": SOAFOB broke through the sophomore slump and released an album that slays even more than their demo, which I had thought would be impossible. "Sacrilegious..." is 15 minutes of total horror-grindcore. The cold, chilling industrial sound that this band captures, with nothing more than a bass guitar and a drum machine is basically unmatched in grindcore right now. These guys have a their own sound, and they push it to the extreme. Now hopefully my bands split tape with these guys will come out soon ;)

5. Six Brew Bantha - "S/T": This band shot out of the Canadian scene like an atom bomb and decimated the underground with their amazing debut album. I'd to say that this is definitely my favorite grindcore full length of 2012, no other album has kicked my ass in that good kind of way quite like this one has. This band is just so ridiculously tight, and the recording is just absolutely perfect. I'm still jizzing over how good the snare tone on this album is. Two splits are coming out this year, hopefully another full length too. Hail Canada!!

4. To The Point - "Success In Failure": To The Point are one of my favorite new bands, a band that I will buy anything that they release. "Success In Failure" completely sold me on this band, it's a 7" that I completely fell in love with at first listen. Old-school powerviolence runs through the veins of all the members of this band, and they bash out quality song after quality song with years of experience to back them up. Listen to this band immediately and if you find this record, buy it without any hesitation.

3. Water Torture - "Shellfire!": Yep, Water Torture make a 2nd appearance on this list with their EP, "Shellfire!". This really has been my favorite band of 2012, not other band has made quite an impact, or kept me as consistently satisfied as Water Torture have, and this EP never ceases to be absolutely amazing. What more can I say about this band or this record that I haven't said countless times already? It's bass n' drum powerviolence perfection; top notch recording, fantastic songs, completely over the top heaviness, it's an astounding release.

2. Sordo - "Tactical Precision Violence": However, if there was one bass n' drum powerviolence release that I'd have to say rules over them all, it would have to be the debut 7" from Sordo. More bassy powerviolence perfection that you all should seriously pay more attention too. This EP is just absolutely fucking disgusting, in the best way possible. Perfect, destructive recording, with a brutal bass tone.  There is not a dull track out of the 20 that are one here, this record gets me pumped up every time I listen to it. It's heavy, but it's also fun. It's not that über-serious face kind of powerviolence, this shit just straight up rocks.

Sea of Shit/Water Torture - Split Review

This is a  split that I kinda-sorta had foreseen coming/kinda tried to put out myself, but Diseased Audio had the gall to get to it first. I ain't bitter though, cause this split is a dream come true for fans of filthy fast music. Two titans of underground powerviolence together at last. Makes me sick, in the best possible way. Sea of Shit are up first with three tracks of grime-violence. The tracks are a bit cleaner than their last EP (but come on, most records are in comparison), and the slow parts have increased a bit overall, but it gives the songs and riffs a bit more room to breathe. The opening track, "Black and Blue", is an awesome down-tempo trudger that develops and builds very naturally, while at the same time sounding like it's decaying and falling apart, and the following two tracks both have interesting drum passages and breakdowns. The last track even has a kinda black metal chord progression. Overall, the tracks don't have as much of a visceral impact as their previous releases, but it is a solid effort.

Now the Water Torture side is just straight up violence. Five tracks from my Buffalo favorites, and this time we get not one, but two bass players slamming out the sickness. The result may be Water Torture's heaviest recording to date. Pretty remarkable how the new addition really didn't muddy up the sound at all. The riffs on here are just slamming, face-meets-broken-glass-and-rusty-nails brutal, case in point, the track "Living Hell". When that song breaks down, holy shit, it's heavy sludge perfection. The drum tones are more like they were on the s/t EP, which I very much prefer. The combination bass drum/cymbal hits are much more punchy this time around. Elephant stomping heaviness. I'll say it again, this band can do no wrong. Stoked for everything. Killer split.

Rating: 8/10

~VII

New Sea of Shit Songs!

One of my favorite modern powerviolence outfits, and the band that put out my favorite EP of last year, are back in action and bringing the hate and filth with three new songs from their upcoming split 7" with Chicago dwellers, Consent. Back after a very brief hiatus after losing their guitar player, Mike. Fortunatly though, they decided to continue on, though they have hinted at these being their final songs. Hopefully that's not the case, but worry about that later. Until then, check out the new songs now!

~VII

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