From The Ashes of Obacha, Rises Throat Slitter

This year practically kicked off with one of my favorite fast bands throwing in the towel. The almighty Squamish fastcore unit Obacha played their last show on January 4th. Thus leaving a gaping void in the Canadian grind arsenal that I feared would not be properly refilled for quite a while. 

That is until I got word of a new band, that was actually comprised of mostly ex-Obacha members. A 'lil group called Throat Slitter. Needless to say I was thrilled by the news, and awaited the arrival of any recordings from them. They finally released their debut demo early this month, and not only filled that void, but practically consumed everything else in the wake of it's arrival. Throat Slitter's demo is an incredible progression and enhancement of what Obacha laid out. This is modern fastcore at some of it's best and most aggressive. Taking the breakneck speed and frenetic shifts of Obacha's song craft, and surpassing it. The precision and agility at which these guys play grind is truly jaw dropping, and blood racing. Utilizing a less-bright instrumental tone and some seriously tough vocal swappage. It's some of the tightest grind I've heard in 2014, even with the lo-fi recording. I've been calling Throat Slitter "The Canadian SFN", a comparison that I feel is pretty justafiable. But I won't even front when I say that this could easily stand up against most of that bands catalog. My favorite demo of 2014, with out a doubt. I strongly urge everyone to pick this up. Tapes are floating around somewhere, and I hear they're teaming up with Opaques Records for a 7" of some sort. Take some serious notes. 

~VII

Detroit/thedowngoing - Split Cassette Review

Man, what an awesome split. Can we give a collective round of applause to the always on point Hygiene Records, for throwing down the dough for this excellent pairing of two super overlooked bands? Starting off with Detroit. A rawasfuk, grinding fastcore trio from Canada that's as mean and intense as the city they're named after. These guys have always had a pretty solid and consistent output of quality tunes, and their side is no different. This time going for more of a straight-up fastcore style then usual, with tons of Spazz-ish barks and going to almost Quattro Stagioni tempos. It's a pretty unrelenting assault, made all the more powerful by the screeching, clanging, grinding-sheet-metal guitar tone and machine gun snare hits. No faults here with Detroit's side, at all. And what an excellent return for Australia's best noisy grinders, thedowngoing! Though I will say that if you're going in expecting the same kind of sound they had on "ATHOUSANDYEARSOFDARKNESS" or their split with Water Torture, you might be a little disappointed. The recording here is much more clean and polished, and they've done away with pretty much any vocal effects. Something that would normally spell disaster for a band who have stuck with a certain sound for basically their whole existence. But you know, to me, it isn't even an issue. Because thedowngoing are still writing some tremendous riffs and songs, no matter how smothered in noise they may or may not be. They take the discordant style of grinding and make it all their own, which is something I've always given them props for. Thedowngoing actually create captivating and powerful songs, instead of just taking the usual "noisegrind piss". Which is still great, and a style that I very much like as well, but they surpass it. Creating a sound that has me clinging to each second their side plays. I love this split. Stream it down below!

Pick up a copy of the tape over at Hygiene Records: HERE

~VII