Stream Five New ACxDC Songs From Their Upcoming 3-Way Split!

The list of most anticipated releases of 2013 isn't that big, but this fucking EPIC 3-way split 10" between ACxDC, Sex Prisoner and Magnum Force is damn near the top of everything else. I can't think of any other split coming out that I know of that will unapologetically destroy and massacre everything as much as this split. And now that I've heard the 5 songs that ACxDC are contributing to this beast, I think you'd be hard pressed to disagree with me. This is, to me, their best stuff that they've done to date. These song will fucking annihilate you. Absolutely crushing, punishing, brutal, every adjective you can think of to describe apocalyptic destruction, that's what these songs sound like. This shit will make your girl's water break, even if she isn't pregnant. Stream it below, and if the world does end before I get to hear this in full, I'm going to flip.

~VII

To The Point - "Success In Failure" Review

Guys, I'm really having a hard time deciding what my favorite EP of the year is. I've definitely narrowed it down to 3, this being one of them. I'm sure you've all heard of To The Point by now; the unstoppable group comprised of members of Actuary, Fetus Eaters, Lack Of Interest and Spazz. Caveman powerviolence. "Success In Failure" is their 2nd EP this year, a beautiful 1-sided 7" in what will probably be a series of EP's of this nature (their previous EP was also 1-sided). Honestly, this new one blows the first completely out of the water for me. And I'm really not sure why. Maybe it's because now I knew what to expect, whereas with the first, the release really was kind of shrouded in mystery. No audio clips, not a nothing was presented before the release. Now, I know the type of noise To The Point bring, and it's a style that I just absolutely love. Total and complete Lack Of Interest-core. Everything that made LoI great is executed perfectly in To The Point, which is no surprise given the people involved. I guess it you could say that there's a distracting lack of originality here, but fuck that noise, because this EP is the jam. Just as the band name advertises, these guys don't fuck around and give you nothing but the best stop/start, hard blasting songs that you're likely to hear all year. The musicianship here is tighter than a nuns nether regions, and the songs are crafted just how you would expect seasoned veterans of this style to make them; perfectly. I just love hearing Bob bash the shit out of a drum kit. Dude really blasts like no other, he definitely has captured a sound that is uniquely his own, with the very dry drum tone and super hard attack. It's also great to hear Chris Dodge, Caveman almighty, front a band again. Again, very early Lack Of Interest style vocals; gruff, low, and kind of cheesy. This 7" is nothing short of absolutely fantastic, and I highly suggest every single one of you to hunt it down and keep tabs on their upcoming releases.

Rating: 9.8/10

~VII

Bandcamp Artists Of The Week: Agonizing Blight and Rapturous Grief

More solid as a rock powerviolence-y hardcore from the west coast for ya! A brand new band featuring members of the mighty Crutch, Agonizing Blight keep their jams short, to the point, and pulverizing with the old-school powerviolence inspirations in full force. Definitely gonna get these guys on the OG West Coast comp. Check em out.

Guh, I wish I had listened to this band sooner. Rapturous Grief play the kind of simple powerviolence that I can fall in love with at first listen. All the key ingredients are there, the flail-in-the-mosh-pit riffs, the punchy drumming, and an excellent recording (the distant low end rumbles during the slow parts is a fantastic touch). This is a band that knows what a guitar/drum band should sound like, dynamically. Add a few stop/start riffs in there, and you know I'm sold, baby. Fans of Shitstorm should definitely dig these guys.

~VII

New Iron Lung Songs Mean New Iron Lung Album!

Hard to believe that it's been 5 years since the last full-length album from Iron Lung. Sure, they've kept us happy with a few splits here and there, and a couple songs on some compilations and what not, but it's definitely about time they made another full album. Well, as luck would have it, their 3rd LP, entitled "White Glove Test", is rearing it's beautiful head, and it looking like it will be released next month! The absolutely gorgeous cover art from Feeding and a brand new track from the album, entitled "Plasma Separatist",  have already been made available, and yep, it sure sounds like the Iron Lung we all know in love. "White Glove Test" will apparently be available on January 20th, 2013, on vinyl and CD. And for the vinyl collectors scum (like myself), a 2xLP version will also be available. Maybe with some extra goodies added? Who knows. In addition to this, the "Iron Lung Mixtape II" will be released in January as well, and also has a new track from the band, entitled "Treatment", which is also streaming. Holy moly. Check em out and get pumped for the new year!

~VII

Noisear - "Turbulent Resurgence" Review

I’d been waiting to do this until I got the vinyl, but since I found out that it’s been delayed by about three months, I figured I’d go ahead with this review now. Better late than never, right?
Coming a year and a half after one of my favorite grindcore albums of 2011 (as well as one of my all-time favorites), Noisear are back with a full-length of tight, technical, grinding ragers. Press releases say that "Turbulent Resurgence" was written in one day and recorded in the span of 48 hours, which should come as no surprise to anyone who looked in the liner notes for "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm" and saw the note about “All decompositions written and recorded June 25th 2010” (which continually blows my mind). Drummer Bryan Fajardo and guitarist Dorian Rainwater have been playing in bands together for so long that they can write albums in a day and with this set of 23 songs in 18 minutes there is no room for over-thinking. Each song comes bursting out of the gate fully formed, nearly all of them having no sort of song intro, leaving not a second to waste. The songs range from 25 to 67 seconds and with only three songs over a minute (two of them being noise tracks contributed by Winters in Osaka) Noisear have possibly written the most bullshit-free album of 2012. Winters in Osaka wrote the intro, interlude, and outro tracks, which are the only times this album lets you take a breath; without these the album would be 16 minutes flat, half the length of the new Pig Destroyer album.
Noisear has changed their lineup this time around, losing their dedicated vocalist and bassist, lending to a different mood that is still distinctly “Noisear,” and in fact sounds a lot like their early material (but with a much tighter recording and playing quality). Dorian handles all bass work on the album, but it is pretty low in the mix. "Subvert.." was my introduction to Noisear and I immediately loved the rumbling bass brought by the insanely good Joe Tapia. While I am a bit disappointed he isn’t on their new album (first time in a long time), Noisear on "Turbulent Resurgence" do not sound like they’re missing anything. Whereas "Subvert..." has what many people like to call a “jazz fusion” element to it (meaning frequent tempo changes and bizarre chord shapes), Resurgence is about as “pure” grindcore as it can be while still being dynamic and interesting. Noisear are in full-blast mode on here, with no guitar solos and very few breakdowns (if you insist on calling the slower end part of a song a breakdown), and while twenty minutes of blast beats would get boring or overwhelming for most grindcore bands that’s simply because they don’t have Bryan Fajardo behind the kit. Fajardo is without a doubt one of the best drummers in grindcore because unlike so many million-mile-an-hour blasters he utilizes his kit to the fullest extent, playing snare and tom rolls within the beats, constantly changing what the beat is. Look to his other bands (Kill the Client, Gridlink, Phobia, and most recently P.L.F.) if you need any convincing of his talents.
Having listened to this album several dozen times at work since its release, I can safely say that it is one of the best grindcore albums of 2012, if only because of the repeat plays it demands. It’s much less of a mind-fuck as their previous album, but the songs are just as short and catchy as before, and once you start playing one song it’s easy to just let the album finish. Some of my favorite tracks are “Indifference,” “Educate Hatred,” “Born Alone, Die Alone,” “Less Fashi   on, More Thrashin’,” and “Fiery Rebirth.”


Rating: 8.5/10

~Dylan

Fuck The Facts Are Hitting The Studio And Making Some Cassettes.

My favorite Canadian weirdo's have apparently been hard at work this past year. Numerous postings on their Facebook page tell of a new album on the way, and the band is apparently heading into their own studio this Sunday to record! It only seems like yesterday that their excellent album "Die Miserable" came out, so to have a whole full length of new material on the horizon already is some brilliant news. I've also heard that a couple splits might be in the works as well, but I'm not too sure of it (what's the word, Topon?). There are a few videos up on their Facebook showing some instrumental practices of new songs, and the riffs are fucking killer. Definitely one of my most anticipated albums of 2013.

In addition to the new album, the band, in their true DIY fashion, are re-issuing their last 2 full lengths, "Stigmata High Five" and "Disgorge Mexico" on cassette! Everything here was done by the band, and the finished products look great. There are also tentative plans to get the "Misery" EP (also released last year in company with "Die Miserable") on vinyl as well. These guys just never stop!!

~VII

 

The Kill - "Make 'Em Suffer" Review

For as much as I talk about my love for Australia grindcore, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never sat down and listened to a full album from The Kill. Or even given the band much time at all. I hope you all can forgive this great travesty and with due time, I can redeem myself by immediately listening too and buying every single one of their releases ever until the end of time. Or I can just review their new album, "Make 'Em Suffer". Which I'm doing anyway. So there.
"Make 'Em Suffer"  is definitely what I would call a "ripping" grindcore album. The musical precision and blazingly fast attack to the ears that these Aussies grind out is basically the musical equivalent of a buzz saw to the sternum. Slashing and hacking at anyone that even brings up the words "mid-tempo". Being just a guitar only grindcore band, these dudes really did capture a full sound. The guitar tone is bright, and the overall production is very modern sounding, but the intensity of the bands performance doesn't let these ordinarily unpleasant qualities distract from my enjoyment of the album. Another great thing here, they keep the album short. At a very nice nineteen and a half minutes, the album stays around for the perfect amount of time. It also seems like this band had some fun with this album, and like to not keep things too serious. From the semi-tongue-in-cheek album title, to the very tastefully placed melodic riffs, and even borrowing lyrics from Judas Priest. The cover of Slayer's "Necrophobic" is also a very nice surprise here. Not only because they managed to twist it into one hell of a grind song, but that they actually made something from Slayer enjoyable (bravo)! So yeah, you could say I'm a fan of these guys now.

Rating: 7.5/10

~VII

Standing On A Floor Of Bodies - "Sacrilegious and Culturally Deficient" Review

As some of you may know, I am notorious for cursing myself with atrociously high standards when it comes to new music sometimes. Which more often than not leads to bitter, sickening, curl up in a corner disappointment. But I mean, how can I not do this to myself? Especially when it comes to bands like Standing On A Floor Of Bodies, who released one of my favorite under five minute grindcore releases EVER in 2010, with the "Teaching Pigs To Sing" demo. Now back with a new member, Bvnny Stitches, doing additional vocals, this husband and wife duo (cute, it's it?), return with their debut full length, and it rips! If you loved their demo as much as I did, you should have absolutely no problem getting into the material on here, and you have no idea how happy it makes to to say that. Everything that made "Teaching..." great is amplified on "Sacrilegious and Culturally Deficient". The recording is much thicker and brutally heavy this time around, the riffs and the excellent programmed drums all blend together into this wall of destructive low-end punch to the jugular. If you want your perception of what a bass/drum grindcore band sounds like to change, listen to this band. Yeah, absolutely no guitar anywhere near this recording. The tones they get are insane. The vibe this band sends off is also genuinely unsettling and cold. SOAFOB's style of horror-grind is pretty unique, and it's something I don't hear a lot of bands pulling off, or at least not as convincingly. It's like the musical equivalent of a trap from one of the Saw movies, or the torture cellar of some sociopathic killer.  It's great stuff. Mike Stitches vocals are top notch, as always, and Bvnny's natural high screams are a great companion to Mike's guttural roars. 15 minutes of sickening grind, and on a side note, the record is on one beautifully packaged single-sided 12" with a screen printed B-side. 7 Degrees records did a great job with the presentation. A cassette version was also put out on Sisster Ssound, which is equally awesome looking (it comes it a fucking body bag). Can't wait to hear this bands future releases.

Rating: 9/10

~VII