10 Great Releases That Are Under 10 Minutes

I'm just gonna flat out say it; I can't stand long albums. To me, there is nothing more aggravating than a record that just goes on and on, overstaying it's welcome. I definitely think that this animosity comes from the very nature of grindcore, where a band can say all that they need to say in no time at all. Don't even get me started on grindcore albums that go on for too long (read this excellent post to see what I mean). Personally, I feel like a grindcore album shouldn't have to ever break the 20 minute mark. Even just 10 minutes of music is enough to keep me satisfied. So, with that being said, I present a list of 10 excellent releases that are under 10 minutes. Bitch, moan, or agree in the comments below.

10. Colony - "s/t": If you ever get the chance to see this band live, do it. Dude's have some of the most intense stage presences I've ever seen. The drummer alone looks like he's just about to explode from rage and testosterone. Their "s/t" 7" is a brilliant piece of über-negative hardcore. Very strong down-tempo and sludge elements, there's actually very few fast parts on the entire record. It's a sound that I've grown to absolutely love, and these guys do it better than most.

9. Agents Of Abhorrence - "Earth.Water.Sun": Yeah, you all knew this was coming. In my ongoing mission to get everyone to listen too, and love this album, I shall remind you all that this is one of the best post-Discordance Axis style grind albums that has ever been made. There are razor sharp, bright, dissonant riffs by the truckload, with a fantastic drum performance serving as the backbone and excellent vocals being the cherry on top. These Aussie's now how to do it right, and this is their crowning achievement, so far.

8. Psychic Limb - "Queens": Another one that you all probably saw coming. I'm still amazed that Psychic Limb aren't getting talked about more, what the hell is wrong with you people? "Queens" was one of the most solid, enjoyable and well executed grind/hardcore records of last year, and I didn't see it make any year-end lists but mine. For shame. These dudes are pretty pretty much on every big grind show in NYC, so if you're in the area, you should be able to see them at least once. Amazing album.

7. Wormed - "Quasineutrality": Nowadays, I could give 2 shits and a fuck about death metal, since most of it just seems boring to me. Wormed, however, are a band that continues to amaze and excite me. This 2 song promo/EP that the Spanish BDM band put out in 2010 is some of the best and most impressive DM I've ever heard. The song structures and riffs are so technical and complex, it may take you several listens to actually pick out grooves and make sense of it all. Like most modern DM, the production is very, very good. But Wormed brilliantly kept "Quasineutrality" from sounding transparent and plasticy. This is a very heavy EP, and I can't wait to hear their new album.

6. Hummingbird Of Death - "Goatmeal": 20 songs in 3 and a half minutes. That's some fastcore excellence right there! One of the more interesting and constantly evolving bands in the genre, HoD put out a monumental 5" record in 2008 with "Goatmeal". Every song is distinguishable from each other, and you can tell that a lot of time went in to this release, keeping it from being just a mediocre, novelty fastcore record. Really makes me wonder what they're going to do for their upcoming 4" split with xBrainiax.

5. Vaccine - "Human Hatred": I've been listening to this EP all week, and it only gets better and better. Hateful, misanthropic, straight edge, rusty nail raw fast hardcore is the name of the game for Vaccine. These dudes bring the punishment on "Human Hatred", lyrically and musically. The recording is so raw and distorted, and the songs are so ridiculously fast and short. There's barely any breathing room, and before you know it, the EP is over. 10 songs in 4 minutes, proper.

4. Extortion/Agents of Abhorrence - split: This is probably my favorite Extortion split. Go figure, right? Two of my favorite Australian bands team up on this Deep Six release, and it's some of the best stuff that they've done. Extortion blast out 7 fast as fuck tracks on there side, I believe they're left overs from the "Sick" recording. Some of the fastest stuff that they've done, I think. The AoA side consists of 4 very strong tracks, and the last recordings they did with ex-vocalist, Grant Johns. Probably my favorite stuff of theirs outside of "Earth.Water.Sun". Get this split now, you won't regret it.

3. Matt Ants - "TORTUREFUNK": Hip-hop albums are notorious for going on for too long. most lasting for almost and hour or over. Good thing we have dudes like Matt Ants around who can dish out a sick, 6 song EP in under 10 minutes of funky, interesting rap jams. This is probably my favorite release of his, but everything he's put out is worth checking out. His new album "Arnold Palmer" is definitely worth a listen or 3.

2. Backslider - "s/t": Backslider is one of those bands that just amaze me. I can't even imagine how tough it must be to remember all of these songs. Each song on here has more tempo changes and riffs per second than you can shake a stick at. Song structure wise, these dudes are almost mathematical on this record, but they keep things interesting and do break out some slower riffs, even if they do only last  5 seconds.



1. Dead Radical - "Rottenness": This is probably in my top 5 favorite fastcore releases. Originally a 1-sided 7", later repressed with the 8 song demo on the B-side, it's just an amazing piece of fastcore. Blindingly fast and technically impressive fastcore wizardry, with a crazy good bass player. This release is crazier than most xBrainiax records, which should give you some idea of what you're in for.

~VII