Curmudgeon-Human Ouroboros(Review)

I just recently heard this EP. I saw it posted on the TLAL facebook page, and TLAL has become my favorite label with some of my favorite new hardcore/pv/grind bands such as Sex Prisoner, Get Destroyed, ACxDC, Magnum Force, Eddie Brock, but most importantly two bands that have become my favorite bands, Lapse and D.O.C. I feel like those two bands encapsulate everything I want in powerviolence, definitely two of the angriest sounding bands I’ve ever heard. And now I think Curmudgeon has become my next favorite super pissed band. This band is relentless. They play a style of powerviolence that I think is a little more metal influenced, and they’re definitely not trying to be the fastest powerviolence band out there, in fact I think they rely more on groove then blast beats, but I really like that about them. But they have a great mix of everything, sludge, blasts, moshy mid tempo parts that make me want to destroy everything, d-beats, and even gang vocal parts that don’t sound like total bro bull shit, they just add to the intensity.

Another thing I really love about this EP is the production, it’s clean, but doesn’t sound over produced at all. And the fucking drums sound amazing, they pound your fucking head in, and they kind of sound like they have a little bit of an echo to them, which makes them sound really powerful, and it kinds of reminds me of drums on a doom metal album or something.
Now, lets talk about the vocals. When I first heard about curmudgeon(for anyone who doesn’t know, the singer is a female), my friend told me they sounded like Punch without any of the catchy parts. I don’t think that was a great description. First off, the vocals are nothing like the vocals in Punch. Don’t get me wrong, I love Punch, but the girls vocals can give me a headache after a while. I like Curmudgeon’s vocals more because it’s more of just a higher pitched yell, and I really like that I can make out most of the words the girl in this band is shouting because the lyrics kick ass! The lyrics for the most part are negative, but I feel like in the end are trying to convey a positive message. For example in the song “Worthless Generation” the lyrics are something like “Fuck me and fuck you too. The world tells me I’m not good enough, so it all must be true.” I feel like they’re trying to say, just because the world thinks our generation is useless doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to prove them wrong.

And the lyrics in the last song “Devoid” are also really great. It’s a song about consumerism, which is a subject that I feel passionate about, and this song just gets out exactly how I feel about it. Some of the lyrics go something like “I reject morality, while you reject everything, except another way to fulfill your desires. Ethics are not a dilemma when you ask yourself no questions. Living blindly to consume, you yourself are consumed. YOU YOURSELF ARE CONSUMED!” I don’t think it could be put any better than that. Very well written lyrics all around, and they’re all written in the vein of anger, which is what I fucking love.

This band delivers everything I want musically and lyrically. I really can’t ask for much more from this band. So if you’re a fan of really overly pissed off dark powerviolence such as D.O.C., or Lapse, or anything crushing... do yourself a favor and go listen to this band. http://curmudgeon.bandcamp.com/album/human-ouroboros-ep

P.S. for any hardcore fans in North Carolina, this band is playing NC on January 15th(at King's Barcade) with Torch Runner, another really fucking pissed band from NC that delivers live! And my new PV band Mad Dog!

GO LISTEN TO CURMUDGEON NOW

~Eli Thorp