Despise You-Possessed To Skate

First off, let me just say that this whole comp is awesome, I would do a review of all of the bands on here but I’m too lazy to do that right now. But along with Despise You, this comp has songs from the bands Asshole Parade, Charles Bronson, Palatka, Pretentious Assholes, Spazz, and Unanswered. So you should know this is a pretty good PV comp. But Despise You honestly kills all of these bands in my opinion. In terms of portraying the powerviolence sound, I think Despise You does it best, because they have a very deranged and scummy kind of sound. And who doesn’t like the pictures they use for their album artwork? Despise You just sets something off in people, I feel their sound and imagery triggers thoughts of violence. Anyway, they’re a great band, probably the best powerviolence band ever if you ask me, and they’ve influenced some of the best modern powerviolence and grind bands like Hatred Surge, DOC, Magrudergrind, etc. Chris Elders is my fucking hero.

Blindside Assault- This song starts off with grinding buzzing guitars, goes straight into a blast beat, with Chris Elder disgusting pissed voice to make it all come together.

Extinction By Design- This song kind of has a punk/thrash sound to it filled with everything you love about DY, blast beats, fucked up lyrics, and it ends with a crushing breakdown. And no, I’m not talking about your fucking pig squeal hardcore dancing “chud chud” shit.

It Made That Man Snap- This song starts off sounding like straight old school death metal, it’s fucking awesome!! That’s another reason I love Despise You, they’re not afraid to show their death metal and thrash metal influence, while still remaining to there hardcore roots. The beginning guitar part has an awesome tremolo picking. This song manages to beat the shit out of your ears in a matter of 25 seconds.

End of the Line- This song is a little different from the grinding tracks I’ve already gone through. It’s pretty much an instrumental song. Very sludgy, it gives you a chance to breathe, while still remaining angry as fuck.

Run For Your Fucking Life- Gotta love that song title. This song is grind as fuck. I love when he screams “RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE!!!” This song should be the soundtrack to a riot.

You Can’t...- Another ridiculously fast song. Starts out at 100 mph, but slows down in the middle for a mid paced breakdown that kind of makes me think of something Hatred Surge would play.

We Won’t Stop Cutting You- Goddamn this song just sounds scummy as fuck. Never slows down for a second. Awesome lyrics as well. Chris Elder kind of growls in this song too which is awesome. Chris Elder always sounds like he’s in a lot of pain when he’s doing vocals, like he’s getting burnt alive or something.

Cry To The Bleeding Sky- Another song that is deeply influenced by death metal and thrash metal. See, what’s awesome about Despise You, is they’ll use the death metal sound without the stupid cheesy lyrics, and then they’ll turn into a song that still sounds like powerviolence somehow. This song has blast beats, tremolo picking, growling, and still manages to stay a hardcore song.

Mental Winter- I wish I could understand the lyrics of this song a little better because they sound extra pissed off. But none the less, this song is also good. Starts out kind of noisy with feedback, and then Chris Elder comes in, and then it ends. Goddamn it’s really hard to give a description of Despise You songs, cause they go by in such a fucking flash that it’s hard to explain what really happens. But I think that most powerviolence fans are okay with just knowing that song is fast and angry.

Rage of the Helpless- This is probably one of my favorite songs by Despise You. Starts out slow and sludgy, with feedback. Great song to end their part of the album with. The great thing about this song is it’s one of the most memorable songs, because it’s kind of catchy. After 40 seconds of sludge, it goes into a straight hardcore punk sounding part, super chaotic and awesome. The same way some of the other songs were a throwback to old school death metal and thrash, I feel like this a throwback to old hardcore punk, the good shit. If any songs make me want to actually go skate, which I never want to do, this would be the song to make me get up off my lazy ass and go ride around for a little bit, and maybe tag and vandalize some shit just to get the full effect.

Before I end this, I just want to say that the reason I like this comp so much is because it shows us how much skating and hardcore go together. Nowadays it seems like most of the skaters now are into hip hop and kind of follow that style too, which I think is pretty fucking lame for the most part. This shows us how it used to be, and how it should have stayed. But regardless of skating, Despise You is the best powerviolence band ever, and you should listen more of their music because they’re the definition of powerviolence in my opinion. And if you live in the Raleigh area, or in NC at all, you should come to Raleigh on September 14th because Kings will be holding an awesome show with the likes of Despise You, Magrudergrind, Sick/Tired, Stripmines, Man Will Destroy Himself, and Wall. Seriously, if you like Powerviolence/HC/Grind, and you have half a brain you will get to this show! I still can’t actually believe I’m actually gonna get the chance to see Despise You. So excited!

~Eli Thorp

Just Some News

Well, sorry for the lack of posts lately. I will start updating more frequently, doing more interviews, reviews, etc. Vii Caso of Hiroshima Vacation, is also going to be doing more stuff on Operation Grindcore! Also I am happy to announce the first Operation Grindcore Records release! I will be releasing a split tape between Green Terror and Lt. Dan! There will be more details announced soon, but this probably won't be out until early next year! I am also doing a cd-r repress of Gripe-The Future Doesn't Need You, which will be made available through the Operation Grindcore distro ! I will also have some more Green Terror stuff up there within the next month, including a dvd and a new discography cd!

~Andrew Lipscomb

Listen To Seeds of Rape!

Seeds of Rape are an awesome new powerviolence band from Vegas! I recently bought their demo tape and it kills! It's one of the best demos I have heard this year! I also found out that they have been added to the awesome Grindcore Karaoke roster! Download/stream their demo for free here

~Andrew Lipscomb

Dorian Rainwater (Noisear) Interview

Noisear are gonna be hot shit in the American grindcore scene real soon, I'm calling it right now! Hailing from New Mexico, their technical, discordancy, mind-fuck grind is both heavy and cerebral. In a nutshell, they make good grind. So good that Relapse Records snatched them up and released their latest full-length "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm", and it sounds like we'll be getting another one real soon. This interview was conducted over email with guitarist Dorian Rainwater. VII: First off, congratulations on Noisear's signing to Relapse Records! How has that relationship been going?


Dorian: Thank you! Relapse is a great label. They help us with promotion, merch and even some booking. They have a large crew of hard working individuals who are also very friendly and down to earth. They back all their bands 100% and are like family.

VII: Noisear have been grinding since the late 90's, how do you think the band has changed over the years?

Dorian: Like any band over ten years old we have had ups and downs through the years, but one thing we have always maintained is our mutual obsession for creating grind!
VII: Noisear are definitely not your standard sounding grindcore band, where do your influences come from when it comes to writing music?

Dorian: Too many to name, haha. Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Assuck, Discordance Axis, Human Remains, Lethargy, 324 and many others.
VII: Getting to your latest album, "Subvert The Dominant Paradigm". How do you think this album differs from your previous releases, if at all?

Dorian: "Subvert" is a multitude of different styles for us being that we mixed alot of different styles,speeds and arrangements we have not done on prior releases.
VII: I read somewhere that all the songs on "Subvert..." were written in a day. Is that true?

Dorian: Yes its true. We had 4 songs written and wrote 25 in the studio. Technically it was 2 days because the vocals were layed down the next day.
VII: Now that stuttering/staccato break in the song "Global Warming", that's total Human Remains worship, right?

Dorian: Those are volume swells, and yeah we love Human Remains to no end.

VII: I also heard that you guys are already writing songs for another full length?

Dorian: We recorded 20 songs with our original guitarist Thomas Romero last weekend. We also added Dalton Tuerck on vocals. Dalton also wrote guitars on a few songs. We are very stoked about the album and can't wait for everyone to hear it!
VII: Your drummer Bryan Fajardo has become a powerhouse in the American grindcore scene, playing with everyone from Kill the Client to Phobia. With all the bands he's involved with is it sometimes difficult to get together and concentrate on Noisear?

Dorian: No not at all. We live in the same city, KTC jams in the same room at the rehearsal studio and I do studio guitars with Phobia so its all pretty relative.

VII: I haven't heard much about the New Mexico scene. Is there a grind scene where you're from?

Dorian: Bryan and I live in Dallas (Texas) now. From what I hear there is a lot more death metal than grind in NM now.
VII: What bands/albums are you currently enjoying?

Dorian: Gride, Libertarian, Psudoku, Dislike(Croatia), Lycanthropy, Hatred Surge, Mindless, Lie Still, Antigama, The Kill, Sulaco, Rotten Sound, Shitstorm, Lack of Interest, Weekend Nachos, Magrudergrind, Shit Life, Cogs and Sprockets and a ton of others that would probably fill this whole page ha!
VII: Any final words?

Dorian: Thanks for the interview! Less fa$cion more thrashin!!

Operation Grindcore Vol. 2

Yes, I really am doing another comp and no there aren't any slots left. For the next comp I am no longer flying solo, me and Josh, from the mighty Green Terror have joined forces. The next comp is slated to be released as a two disc cd sometime in October. There will be more info coming soon.

Here are the bands(If I forgot your band for any reason let me know):

HEDORAH

CHULO

GRINNED

GRINCHFINGER

KINDERGARTEN HAZING RITUAL

LT. DAN

ROBOCOP

BODY HAMMER

MARUTA

AGATHOCLES

MAN WILL DESTROY HIMSELF

SATYRS

ASURA

INFECTED WOMB

GRIPE

OLD PAINLESS

WARWHORE

GREEN TERROR

AMP CANCER

KNIFEWOUND

BLISTER UNIT

BALANO SUCIO

SCREAMING FUCKING MAYHEM

MALPRACTICE INSURANCE

SMG

WARKRUSHER

HELLTERROR

HATRED DIVISION

DISEKSA

TREPONEMPAL

GOZER

MANTECA

HIROSHIMA VACATION

SAPRAEMIA

TOUGH LUCK

BRUXISM

HIVESMASHER

SHIT LIFE

THE DRIP

COGS AND SPROCKETS

PRIAPUS

~Andrew Lipscomb

Bandcamp Albums of the Week

Many of you know about the website Bandcamp now, the comp was hosted on it, and many labels and bands are now using it to sell/promote their music digitally. The best part about Bandcamp is that you can stream the music for free before you buy it, not 30 second previews, but full songs and albums. I use to do an Album of the Week post, but now I think it would be better if I just showed you a couple of cool albums/bands to listen to/check out every week.

Priapus-Air Loom
Priapus give us six tracks of unrelenting grindcore, mixed with a healthy blend of death metal. These guys are also from North Carolina, and I highly suggest that you check these guys out, because they are going places! Listen/Download here

Chest Pain-S/T

I have known about this band for a pretty good amount of time, and I am really glad that they are now a part of the great, always expanding, Grindcore Karaoke roster. Chest Pain play powerviolence, that is all the description you need for their sound. Listen/Download here

Deathrats-S/T

Deathrats are a hardcore/powerviolence band that blend together a lot of influences, which is definitely a good thing. This ep is really memorable, as is their new 7" Give Up that was recently released on To Live A Lie. Listen/Download here

~Andrew Lipscomb

Some of My Favorite Grind Releases

In Disgust - Reality Choke: In my opinion, probably the best grind EP I've ever heard. west coast grindviolence done absolutely perfectly. 15 tracks in 11 minutes. You absolutely need to hear this. Perfect production, perfect vocals, heavy as shit, just incredible. This band broke up last year after a split release with PLF, which is a damn shame. In Disgust for life! Listen Here!

Pig Destroyer - "Prowler in the Yard": It's no secret I love love LOVE Pig Destroyer, and this album is an absolute classic. Maybe a bit cliche by now to have in a "favorites" list, but believe the hype, this album is a monster. "Prowler in the Yard" is one sick, twisted mofo of an album. The raw, basement quality production (cause it was, durr, recorded in the drummers basement) only adds to the disgusting, dirty feel of this album, telling the story of a disturbed man stalking his ex-lover. Tracks like "Tickets to the Car Crash" still manage to creep me out. Listen Here!

Antigama - Resonance: Antigama are incredible, and definitely a band that doesn't get talked about enough. Totally forward thinking, very intense, and technical without being pure wank. "Resonance" is a fabulous combination of all of those traits. The lounge jazz interlude "Barabapapex" is admittedly a bit weak, but other than that there isn't a dull track on this album. Listen Here!

Standing on a Floor of Bodies - Teaching Pigs to Sing: Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, needs to get wise to SOAFOB right the fuck now. And I'm gonna help you! The solo project of one Mike Stitches(the ex-singer of Thousandswilldie) released one demo in 2010, "Teaching Pigs to Sings", and it packs more kick-assness in it's 4 and a half minutes than most bands full length album. If Agoraphobic Nosebleed had a bastard child with dark ambient music, this is what would come out. My favorite release of last year. Download Here!

Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless: What else can I say about this album that hasn't already been said? Absolutely mind blowing, incredibly forward thinking, masterpiece. Discordance Axis are one of those bands that looked at grindcore, and threw away the conventions of the genre and did their own thing. I'm floored every time I listen to the track "Jigsaw". Listen Here!

Magrudergrind/Shitstorm - split: Yeah, Magrudergrind's awesome and everything, but the Shitstorm side is where this split really shines. The best 9 minuet block of grind I've ever heard. It's just no holds bars, pure, simple grindcore, it's fantastic! Catchy songs, heavy riffs, with a very obvious hardcore influence to boot. So awesome. Listen Here!

~ VII Caso

Robocop Post New Track Preview

New Robocop Preview Mix In Progress by ryanpage

Maine grinders Robocop just posted a track from their last release(their guitar player/vocalist Ryan is moving to California), which is a split with the band Detroit. Here is their description of the track "The mix is in progress, but its somewhat close to its final form, with the exception of the vocals. Keep in mind that this a sample from a five minute song." This preview is sick! This song definitely sounds more straight forward, and seems to have a more grind influence from their previous stuff! As of right now Robocop II is my favorite release from 2011 and I am really stoked to hear some new stuff from these guys! What do you think about it?

~Andrew Lipscomb

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

Show Review:Night Fever, Double Negative, Unholy Thoughts

Night Fever
Double Negative -/-
Unholy Thoughts
July 4th, 2011
Kings Barcade, Raleigh, NC.


Fuck, this show really kicked ass. Every band was so good, and so fast and ferocious, and just great. I don’t think I've had that good of a time at hardcore show that was at a venue since November at the Berkley cafe for sorry state records fest. That was awesome. But I think I’ve been a little bit spoiled, because I've been to so many local shows at the Kent house, and when you go to shows their, that’s the real shit. To me, going to a show their is what hardcore is all about. It’s DIY as fuck if you think about it. But Kings Barcade has been putting on some really great shows lately, and are having more in the near future including Fuck The Facts, RBT, and Snake Baptist on July 23rd, I feel like someone’s just not going to make it out alive out of that show. Anyways, too the events that transpired at the show.

Originally, Slugz were supposed to play first, but for some reason they had to drop off the bill, not too sure why. So, Richmond hardcore band, Unholy Thoughts, played first. I really liked these guys, there was something about them, they had a very nasty sound to them, like a very ugly, hopeless, deranged kind of sound, I really fucking like that in hardcore bands. I feel like they take influences from both fastcore and a little bit of youth crew sound as well. They had a great mix of super fast circle pit parts, and a good mix of mid paced part if you felt like stomping around. They were just straight to the point. Unfortunately when they played, people were still kind of getting their, and whenever it’s the first band playing, the crowd is always a little reluctant to start moshing or moving right away. But the singer of Unholy Thoughts was not going to have that bullshit. After one of the songs, he was mumbling into the mic “This is a hardcore show..” implying to us to start moving. So once the band started playing the song, he got off stage onto the floor, and stood in the middle, and what do you know? People started moving. There was this one guy in the crowd that kept jumping on random people, just thought I’d throw that in there because it was funny, and he jumped on my friend which was awesome. After Unholy Thoughts finished I was pretty blown away, but that was just the beginning of my night. I really wish Unholy Thoughts had been selling some demo’s or something, because I really liked them, I did manage to buy a shirt from them for 8$. I definitely recommend checking this band out.

Double Negative was up next. Man were they on point! The new drummer they have is so good, he can really rip. And each band member just seemed super energetic. Double Negative have done a fair amount of touring lately, but you could tell that they were home that night. They Played a mix of songs, they played Beg to a vile nude, which was awesome as always. Everyone in the crowd was into it, and it was just a complete good time. I got a fair amount moshing in for their set, to make up for the lack of moshing I should have been doing to Unholy thoughts. It was super fun. We even had some stage divers during Double Negative’s set. Probably one of the best times I’ve seen Double Negative.
After their set, I wasn’t sure if it could get much more awesome than that. I was very mistaken. But before Night Fever came on, I got an awesome Double Negative shirt, and got two sweet stickers for free.

Finally, the band of the night was here. Denmark’s finest, NIGHT FEVER! Their name makes me think of an old 80’s metal band or something, but they absolutely shred. They’re so awesome, they have really sweet riffs, and lots of parts to sing a long to. And the singer’s voice is amazing! I had listened to them a little bit before the show, and I envisioned the singer to be some small little skinny guy, because his voice is so high pitched, but he’s actually not very small, and when he talks his voice sounds pretty deep. For someone who had not listened to them before hand, they’d be very thrown off. After Double Negative, I wasn’t sure how much energy the crowd was going to have left, but they definitely shocked me. Right when Night Fever started ripping, the crowd went crazier then ever, everyone was jumping on top of the other, shoving groups of people back and forth. I love moshing and thrashing and all that shit, but I was too tired. So I just enjoyed Night Fever from the side, and watched the carnage take place. The singer might have been the most energetic singer of the night. I really like a lot of jumping around from the members to take place on stage, and that singer was just leaping from one side of the stage to the other. His voice was so powerful, it was absolutely great! The singer kept asking for more volume in the monitors, which I’m glad he did because his voice started sounding heavier and packing more of a punch. I mean I really think that singer makes that band, and I like how the guitarist incorporates a little bit of melody in the songs, but still manages to keep it shredding. When they ended there set, everyone in the crowd yelled “One more song!” I could tell that the singer was completely exhausted, but they didn’t take their stuff off or turn anything off, and went right into playing a song. Not only did they play one more song, but THREE. They completed the destruction that took place that night.

All in all it was a great show, and shows like these show me why the hardcore scene has continued to exist in Raleigh.

~Eli Thorp

Old Painless Demo

Old painless are a four piece grindcore band from Raleigh. Three of the members are in other local bands, Rich Lombardi(vox) is in Snake Baptist, and he was also in a band from New York called the Sawtooth Grin. Alex Taylor is the bassist for local Raleigh hardcore band Stripmines(AWESOME). And the drummer Rodney was the former singer of Raleigh fastcore band Thieves (R.I.P.).

Old Painless are one of Raleigh most furious and fierce bands. They just sound like absolute psycho animalistic rage to me, and I fucking love it. The first time I saw this band was at the Kent house. It was such an awesome show! They were playing with Burma(pissed off Raleigh powerviolence), Hellbear(progged out thrashy, mathy, hardcore from Richmond, VA), and Street Pizza(Relentless Richmond powerviolence trio). Old Painless was the first band to play. I remember as they were setting up, there guitarist was messing around with these weird effects pedals, and making his guitar sound super noisy and chaotic. Then all of a sudden this short white guy with crazy blonde hair and a scruffy beard walks up to the front and says “Old Painless, Raleigh, North Carolina.” and then starts screaming super loud, and the whole room erupted into a frenzy of moshing. It all seems a little blurry to me because I couldn't help but completely rage with the rest of the dudes in there. And man can Rodney fuck those drums up! He was beating them in! And you could tell he was seriously into it! Awesome band, and it was an awesome night. But anyways, on to the demo:

Black Tar Burning White- This song starts off with a little feedback, and then Rich comes in with his vicious high pitched screech, and right away the demo starts off completely grinding. But this is only the beginning, and it ends and flows right into the next song so well.

Street Howitzer- I absolutely love the way this song starts off, the guitar intro with the drums absolutely rocks, it’s adds a little bit of catchiness to it. The guitars and the drums in the beginning make it sound like a hardcore punk song, but Rich’s vocals definitely give it that extra nasty grind kick. The drums in this song are done so well. Rodney is so good at changing it up. He doesn’t have to rely strictly on blast beats. He can go from your to hardcore circle pit kind of beat, right into a desecrating blast. And the drum fills he does are so sick, It’s almost as if he’s angry at his drumset and is trying to beat the shit out of it. The song ends in a noisy fog of sludge, awesome!

Snow White and 7 Different Kinds of Whore- This continues on the path of super fast punk influenced noisy grind. Old Painless really do a good job at making there songs sound absolutely evil. Rodney continues to pound away at his drums.

Goner- This song has got to be one of my favorites. Starts off very quiet, with this eery sounding radio playing in the background, and it’s this woman singing. And then a faint guitar sound comes in. It builds up for a bit, and then the drums come pounding in. The first line of the song goes as followed, “If my name is hate, your’s must be shame.” This song is definitely heavy, and the demo just keeps getting better and heavier. I think it’s really awesome that Old Painless are to step out of their grind sound for a second and kick ass at a sludge song as well. This band never fails to remain ridiculously heavy!

Teenage Candyland- This song continues in the sludge direction. Starts off really groovy, and then goes straight into grind. The end is filled with start/stop guitars and lots of noisy feedback.

Half Man, Half Bottle- This song is one of my favorites because of the lyrics, they’re so evil and fucked up. For example: “The broken blood vessel in your face vessels in your face are telling me that you’re thirsty. So put your teeth to the curb, and I’ll pour you that drink.” This song is probably the heaviest song on the album. It has a great mix of everything. This song is one of the more technical songs on the album as well, the band is really pushing themselves to go faster and faster. But of course they throw in a super heavy grooving sludge part to give you a small break from the hyper blasts and super spazzy guitars. The songs end with some feedback and guitar and Rich Lombardi’s disgusting screech. The final lyrics are “Half Man, Half Bottle, All Empty.” Absolutely fucking EVIL!!!!

Bronson- This final songs starts off grinding, and creeps into a dark thick sludge. You can tell that Rodney’s goal is to absolute finish off his drum set on this last one. And then the demo ends right when you feel like it’s just begun in an eery daze.

Old Painless are definitely one of Raleigh’s up and coming bands. You can download their demo at the link below. And I highly recommend seeing this band live as soon as you can, this demo is great, but when you hear it live, it’s so much more intense, and watching each band member go absolutely crazy makes it even better. They’re playing in Raleigh, August 12th, venue TBA with Fellow Raleigh powerviolence band Burma, My new grind obsession Priapus, seriously I aspire to be able to make music like them, and west coast powerviolence/grind band ANTI CHRISTIANxDEMON CORE!

Download

~Eli Thorp

Listen To The New Man Will Destroy Himself Album!

Listen to Raleigh grinders Man Will Destroy Himself's new album called This Is A Test now! The CD won't be released for a little while, but you can stream/buy it very cheaply from their bandcamp here. I highly recommend this album, really good stuff! A review will be coming soon, but I would like to know your opinion of it now!

~Andrew Lipscomb

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

Grinders I Present To You...

THE INTERNATIONAL GRINDCORE LEAGUE

Me, Ross Gnarly of Amerian Aftermath, and a few other grinders recently got the idea to start a grindcore community/forum . So check out and join the new forum here. Also let me know what you think about it. Is it lame, awesome, a great idea, etc.?

~Andrew Lipscomb

Double Negative-Daydreamnation

Double Negative is one my favorite bands. They are one of Raleigh’s leading bands in the hardcore scene. Their sound is described as hardcore confusion. They have a unique sound for a hardcore band, but they still know how to stick to their 80’s hardcore punk roots. They’re unique in the way that they add a little bit of noise into it, which really adds to the intensity of it all. And let me tell you that this band is FAST and are quick to change things up, so be ready.

The first song Erase Yourself starts off with with loud pounding drums that invoke excitement, and you can’t help but want to push and or shove anyone or anything around you. It even has an awesome noisy guitar solo. This song starts the album off at 100 mph. In Patient Out is super noisy, and stays at a constant fast speed. If you listen to the guitarist it almost sounds like he’s improvising at some points, but it works out very well, and that’s what keeps it exciting. Once again provoking you to push/shove something around you.

The album doesn’t get slow at all until you reach the song Endless Disappointment. But don’t get me wrong, this song still kicks ass. It’s at more of a mid pace, but it has one of the catchiest chorus’s ever. One of those chorus’s that you’ll learn the lyrics to, so you can go to the show and be able to get in the singers face and sing along. Trust me, it feels pretty awesome.

The songs continue to flow by, and although some of the songs might seem to blend together, Double negative has this sound that is so abrasive that you don’t really mind it. And they have such a fun but still kind of angry pissed off “fuck you” kind of sound. Towards the end we get to a song that sticks out the most on the album. It’s called Beg To a Vile Nude. Unlike most of the other songs on the album, this song is pure noisy sludge with a nice hints of blues. I mean, they’re from Raleigh, North Carolina, they gotta have atleast one sludge song. But just like the rest of the songs, it changes quick, and goes to an awesome riff and back to the fast pounding drums. Finally we get towards the end of the album to my favorite song Side Three. This song is incredibly fast, but manages to keep a really sick groove. The main riff in this song is just so awesome. It’s just absolute fun, care free chaos, but it’s performed at a certain precision by these guys that is just so awesome, and I really don’t think Many bands would ever be able to copy them.

This band is really special to me because they were the first local hardcore band I ever saw. It was at hopscotch music festival, and they were opening for Fucked Up, and I’d never heard anything about them. So I asked some people who they were, and they looked at me like I was crazy, and they told me Double Negative. This band opened me up to the hardcore scene that is around me in Raleigh. Without this band I really wouldn’t have had some of the great experiences I’ve had at the local shows I’ve been to. And just sayin.. if you ever get the chance to see Double Negative at the kent house(a house in raleigh that holds basement shows) then go to it, it’s a totally different experience up close and personal. And check out other kent house shows, they’re pretty rare now, but some great bands have played there such as D.O.C., Coke Bust, Old Painless(saw them for the first time at kent, never seen a more angry pit in my life), Priapus, Burma, Stripmines, Devour, Secret Police, Hellbear, Street Pizza, etc.

~Eli Thorp