First Exposure: Richard Johnson (ex-Enemy Soil, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Drugs Of Faith)

I'm not sure what the first grindcore record I ever heard was. I'm thinking ... "Harmony Corruption" by Napalm Death comes to mind. I loved it. Well, having said that, my least-favorite song on that record is "Unfit Earth." I got into death metal before grindcore, so that might have helped at the time because of the influences on that album.

Their reputation preceded them for me. I remember going over to the import section at Tower Records in Northern Virginia and finding a copy of "From Enslavement to Obliteration" on vinyl, with that classic sticker that said something like, "'I want to be in the biggest band in the world, and you don't do that sounding like Napalm Death.' - Joe Elliot." I flipped the record over and looked at the photos on the back and thought, "Wow. These guys look really extreme." And I put the record back. I only knew about them at the time I think from seeing Dan Lilker wearing their shirts in Nuclear Assault band photos.

The record still holds up, yes. Besides the obligatory "Suffer the Children" I'd love to hear "If The Truth Be Known" in a set today. They brought back "Vision Conquest" I noticed several tours ago, which I thought was a nice touch to a set, so to speak.
I don't know that the album inspired me musically in a specific way other than them being Napalm Death and doing that for me. The record that really had an impact on my playing and how I write was "Utopia Banished." A huge impact, I would say.

~@AlexCha666 (follow him)

Four New Agoraphobic Nosebleed Albums??

I've been hearing exciting news regarding upcoming ANb releases all year, from upcoming splits with Extortion, to the new Decibel Magazine christmas flexi. But nothing could have prepared me for this bombshell that they dropped earlier this month.

New's like this makes me need to shit in other peoples pants, cause mine are filled. This is one of the coolest things I've heard all year, and if any grind band could pull off an idea this ambitious, it's Agoraphobic Nosebleed. And praise be to Scott Hull for not burning out or taking any resemblance of a break. Dude is not only banging out tracks with ANb, but released the new Pig Destroyer album, will be touring selectively this and next year, and most most likely working on these new solo albums well into next year. I'm now convinced he's an riff-crafting automaton from space.
While it looks like these new albums won't be released until the better part of next year (ugh), this gives us plenty of time to play the "What Will The New Albums Sound Like" Guessing Game! I'm gonna say a lot of sludge influence on Kat's, given her time with Salome. Weirdo grind with an oldschool vibe for Richard's, and for Jay...fuck, who knows. How about, noise drenched, hip-hop flavored, electronic encrusted, cyber blasting, hatefuck grind. Sounds about right, right? Right. Scott's will probably be more along the lines of newer Pig Destroyer, with a lot of thrash and other metal influences. Place your bets in the comments below!

~VII

New Agoraphobic Nosebleed Music Is The Best Christmas Present

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older and progressively more grumpy and curmudgeonly, or what, but I'm really starting to loose my usual cheery holiday spirit around the Christmas season. The consumerism, and just the whole cutesy, holly jolly atmosphere, it kinda makes me sick. I have a black heart. But, thankfully the fine people at Decibel magazine have once again rounded up the Agoraphobic Nosebleed guys and gal for another Christmas themed flexi disc, to make the season a little bit more enjoyable for people like me. It's looks like it's just going to be one song this time around, but I'll take it, any new ANb is a tremendous joy for me, and it looks like a lot of exciting things are on the way (read here). This should be released with the December/January issue of Decibel. Merry Chrystmeth. 

~VII

New Upcoming Extortion Splits are STUPIDLY AWESOME!!

I've been very up-front with my love for the Australian grindcore/powerviolence scene on this blog. And anyone who knows me, or has seen my record collection, know's that I have a special place in my heart for Extortion. Everyone should know what this band is about by now, and if you don't, shame on you, buy their records immediately. Their recently released split 12" with Cold World was an excellent return form, after a few underwhelming splits with Completed Exposition and Septic Surge (I should probably review that record soon). But the awesomeness doesn't stop there, because according to a recent post on their blog, it looks the these Aussie fuckers are hard at work writing and recording songs for four, count em, FOUR sure to be amazing and legendary splits. 

"OTHER NEWS. THE COLD WORLD SPLIT LP IS OUT, AND THOUGH  WE'VE RUN OUT OF OUR ALLOTMENT, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A COPY FROM RSR OR SOME HELL COOL DISTRO SOMEWHERE.
WE'VE WRITTEN FOR AND ABOUT TO RECORD OUR SIDE OF THE HATRED SURGE SPLIT 7". THEIR SIDE IS RECORDED ALREADY SO SHOULDN'T BE TOO LONG A WAIT TIL ITS OUT ONCE WE'VE GOTTEN IN ALL HELL RECORDED.
ALSO IN THE WORKS IS SPLITS WITH LOW THREAT PROFILE, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED AND BASTARD NOISE. WE ALSO AIM TO RECORD OUR NEXT FULL LENGTH LP SOMETIME HELL SOON."

Holy.fucking.shit. I knew about the Hatred Surge split, but I had no idea that it was so near completion. Fucking outstanding. But those splits with ANb and Bastard Noise, man. I mean...that seems almost too good to be true. Some of my favorite bands..doing splits...my brain almost can't take this much awesome sauce. 

~VII

Agoraphobic Nosebleed Get in The Holiday Spirit on Their New Flexi Disc!

Can you say "Best News of The Day"?? Well, technically not breaking news but I'm just hearing about it goddamit! One of my favorite bands, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, will have 11 brand-spanking-new tracks inspired by the holidays featured on Decibel Magazine's Flexi Series. I for one, and stoked beyond belief for my next issue to arrive. This is the best flexi that Decibel has done since the Napalm Death one a few issues ago. Not just cause it has grind songs on it, but because it's new and original material. My biggest peeve with the Decibel flexi's is that all the songs have either been covers or rehashed material from previous releases, while I think that if they concentrated on getting new material from these bands these flexi's would be more worth while. Truth be told, I haven't even listened to many of the recent flexi's I've gotten due to this issue, but I digress. You can stream all 11 tracks here, as well as all the previous Decibel flexi tracks. These new songs should definitely please old-school ANb fans who are unhappy with their more recent recordings. These songs are fast, furious blasters with that 1000 bpm pace and classic Jay Randall vocals, what more could you ask for?

~VII

VII's Favorite Grind/Hardcore/Powerviolence Vocalists

The vocalist is the messenger. The person who regurgitates his pre-written thoughts, beliefs, ideas, concepts and stories into a microphone and into the ears of the audience. In short, a vocalist is a necessity in a grind band. Here are a few of my all time favorite vocalists in the genre, I chose a few PV/hardcore vocalists too to make it a bit easier on me. All of these vocalists bring add something to their select bands that add that extra bit of awesomeness to the music the scream behind.

1. Aaron Kenyon(Man is the Bastard): Aaron Kenyon's voice brought so much intensity MITB. His gruff barks and his gravely screams were fueled by genuine anger and frustration. Incredibly political and socially conscious lyrics were his battle cries, and he delivered them with incredible power and volume. Listen here and here!

2. Rahi Geramifar(ex-Insect Warfare, Hatred Surge): Rahi only has two voices; growl and scream. He is a fucking non-stop vocalist, unrelenting in his delivery. No bullshit here, just a pure visceral vocal onslaught. His lyrics may be indecipherable, but he sure makes up for it in intensity. He now lends his vocals to fellow Texas bruisers Hatred Surge as a 2nd vocalist. His attack isn't as fast in that band, making his voice just a little bit more clear, but his trademark growl is still there. Listen here!

3. Jay Randall(Agoraphobic Nosebleed): I frickin love Jay's voice! It's definitely one of the more recognizable voices in hardcore/grind, nowadays going for more of a yell/loud talking technique. When he does scream though it sounds very loose and out of control, which I dig. He definitely doesn't sound like a "fine-tuned" vocalist, which may sound like an insult, but it's anything but. I think it adds a very unpredictable edge to his voice and makes it much more enjoyable to listen to. Plus, I love the way he puts words together and the vocal patterns he chooses. Listen here and here!





4: Lukasz Myszkowski(Antigama): Lukasz has one of the most interesting and recognizable voices in extreme music, matching the equally interesting weirdo-grind of Antigama. It's hard to really describe his vocals, at times it sounds like he's adding a little side-of-the-throat gurgle to his growl, a lot of times he seamlessly blends the growl/scream together into pure vocal gold, with occasional added vocal effects to boot. I'm so glad that he's back in Antigama and I can't wait to hear their new material! Listen here and here!

5: Matt Gomes(ex-In Disgust): Matt Gomes has one of the best, deepest, most chocolaty sounding growls in grind(violence), and it didn't sound out of place. A lot of times when a grind band has a deep-growl vocalist, it just sounds like a death metal singer that somehow ended up fronting a grindcore band, but Matt Gomes sounded genuine and had the perfect voice to match the down-tuned, blasting fury of In Disgust. Plus, he can do a sick pig squeal(see here.) Still pissed that band broke up!!! Listen here.

6. J.R. Hayes(Pig Destroyer, ex-Enemy Soil): J.R.'s vocals are absolutely disgusting. The noises that come out of his mouth are as slimy and grotesque as the lyrics he writes, making his sick, twisted fuck stories of stalkers, piss angels and girls in slayer jackets all the more hard hitting. Of course I mean all this is the best possible way. Listen here and watch the most badass thing ever here!

7. Andrew Beattie(ex-No Comment, ex-Man is the Bastard, Low Threat Profile, Dead Language): Andrew Beattie has one of the best open throat, pissed off yells I've ever heard, and he's only gotten better with age. The new super group Dead Language displays a new found grit and growl to his vocals. This guy is a beast! He sounds like someone that would be leading a massive protest. Listen here.

8. Mike Stitches(ex-Thousandswilldie, Standing on a Floor of Bodies): Mike Stiches has a one of a kind scream, one that I can instantly recognize. Kind of a bark/scream hybrid actually. Deep growls and harsh screams are also expertly executed. His vocals on the Standing on a Floor of Bodies demo are half the reason it's one of my favorite demos/grind releases ever. Download and listen here!

~VII

Agoraphobic Nosebleed-And On And On...

This is part one in a two part review I am doing on the Despise You/Agoraphobic Nosebleed split, And On And On... For Agoraphobic Nosebleed's side I will be doing a track by track review.

Half Dead

This song continues the slowed down pace that Despise You's last track"Cedar Ave." just had. This song kind of reminds me of Autopsy with it's slow pace, doom like guitar playing, and drawn out vocals. This song keeps the signature sound of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, while still being a departure from their usual style and fast songs. This is a great start to Agoraphobic Nosebleed's side of the split. I really love this song and think that it is cool for Agoraphobic Nosebleed to do a slower song like this.

As Bad As It Is...

Bam, this song is back to the normal style of Agoraphobic Nosebleed. This song continues with the thrash influenced sound of Agorapocalypse, but it still sounds new and different. I really dig the guitar playing on this song and I think it is cool for Agoraphobic Nosebleed to have solos in this song, where most grind bands don't use guitar solos. This song comes in at around two minutes, but it doesn't feel too long and it features a ton cool riffs from Scott Hull and the vocals are killer.

Miscommunication

This song is only 25 seconds, but it still rocks. "Miscommunication" sounds like a very good hybrid of Agoraphobic Nosebleed's new sound and their older sound on albums like Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope and Altered States of America. The slowed down part that comes in at around the middle of the song really makes this song very memorable.

Los Infernos

Much like "Miscommunication", "Los Infernos" is a very short song similar to Agoraphobic Nosebleed's older material. This song has some great guitar playing and the vocals also sound great.

Ungrateful

"Ungrateful" is a short 50 second song that starts off really fast, but then goes into this crushing, groove-like part that is awesome. This is probably the catchiest song on Agoraphobic Nosebleed's side and I can't get this song out of my head, which is not a bad thing. Kat also makes her appearance on this song and as always her vocals are absolutely incredible. The lyrics are really funny also.

Possession

This is probably my favorite song on Agoraphobic Nosebleeds side of And On And On... Everything about this song is awesome, the guitar playing, the riffs, the awesome solo, and the extremely angry vocal performance. The drums also sound great, with every release that Agoraphobic Nosebleed have put out, the drums seem to sound more and more natural.

Burlap Sack

This song is slow paced, much like "Half Dead". "Burlap Sack" starts off with a slow, heavy riff and then Kat's vocals come in. The riffs then become even slower and as the song goes on it goes into a almost straight doom song. With Kat's vocals and the slow guitar riffs I am reminded of Salome, but almost as soon as this happens the singing and guitar playing stop and the song fades out with some cool sounding noise/feedback.

Overall, I really love Agoraphobic Nosebleed's side of And On And On..., I think that this is some of their best material and I think that they really topped Agorapocalypse. Everything I love about Agoraphobic Nosebleed is full on display on this split, Scott Hull's guitar playing, the three person vocal attack, the sound of the drum machine, and the lyrics.

I give Agoraphobic Nosebleed's side on And On And On... a solid 9 out of 10

~Andrew Lipscomb