Disciples Of Christ - "Decomposition Fantasy" Review

Playing a teeny bit of catch up here, as this record was kinda-technically released in 2013. Had I been as close attention as I should have, you would have bet your ass that this here recording would have

safely landed in the top 5 spot of my year end list. The band already made my favorite record of the year with their split 12" with Triac, and "Decomposition Fantasy" just pushes their inevitable domination of the grind world even closer to the present. Right away, screeching feedback and dirty production kick start the opening track "Cultivate Dissolution", the chaotic messy sound that I loved so much on that split are still here, and even pumped up a bit. This record is filthy. The guitars sound like slabbing metal sheets amplified through a broken amplifier. with Chris Moore's always monstrous drums hits providing some sort of structure for new ears. Underneath all the fuzz and treble lies some of the finely crafted grindcore to come out in 2013. Interesting songwriting 101, D.O.C are here to school you. This band works as a total unit, making every note and transition count. Constantly changing riffs and switching off vocals at a desperate, frantic rate. Blasting, high momentum riffs, leading seamlessly into crushing breaks or a choice "BLEH!" shout. Tracks like "Varicose Veins"   and "Pus Ride" showcase some of the best moments on this record using some of those dynamics. This band makes brutal grind in a way that I don't hear many other bands doing, or any for that matter, and the first five tracks will kick your head off. And then we have the last track, which is actually a cover. It's kinda no secret D.O.C have a thing for weird hardcore/punk bands. The cover art layout for the Triac split was a total Psychic TV homage, and the art here has a very distinct Rudimentary Peni look. So it shouldn't come off that surprising that they've gone and covered the Wire track, "Pink Flag", from their groundbreaking album of the same name. As is to be expected, they pull the song off very well, keeping the same general song and structure in tact, but making it their own, adding some noisy sound deterioration and blasts at the end. Proper. his band can do no wrong, pick up a copy at Rorschach Records! Listen to the record here!

Rating: 9.5/10

~VII

New Music From Disciples Of Christ, Sea Of Shit and Amputee

I found out about this literally seconds before I fell asleep last night. D.O.C. have debuted a brand spanking new track off their upcoming single-sided LP entitled, "Decomposition Fantasy". As if decimating almost all competition with their incomprehensibly good split with Triac wasn't enough, the dudes have been busy creating this sure to be incredible record, with very little updates. The new track, "Pus Ride", is a noisy, filthy, ever changing song that keeps everything I loved about that split in tact. I definitely remember hearing it at MDF too, it also crushes live. "Decomposition Fantasy" is coming out sometime in October/November on Rorschach Records. 

And this is pretty old news, but I love this band enough that I'm willing to rehash. Maybe a few of you haven't heard yet, but Sea Of Shit have put up two new tracks from their upcoming 10". As always, the tracks are filthy and brutal, but they let a little bit more studio clarity into the mix. They're great tracks, and seeing a lot of the newer tracks live was a great treat. I got to listen to the whole record thanks to the tour edition cassette that was put out, but I can't wait to hear it on it's intended format. The record should be out in a couple months on Diseased Audio Records.

Lastly, NJ Assück/gnar grind worshippers, Amputee have put up a new track on their Facebook page from an upcoming split 5" record with Triac!! I heard rumors of this split happening, but I never knew it would be a rad little 5". Pretty neat stuff, and the new song is a great little dose of raw, rusty blade grindcore. And any word of new Triac material has me squee'ing. Check it out here. The record should be released by Haunted Hotel Records sometime in the future. 

~VII

Vinyl Record Of The Week: Disciples Of Christ/Triac - Split 12"

I Can't think of a better record to highlight in the 2nd installment of this series then what may be my favorite record of the year. I've talked about this record endlessly in person, online, on this site, etc. And if you still haven't gotten a clue and listened to this beast already, you may need to just go back to the Jurassic period where you belong. Here is the absolutely fantastic vinyl version, released by RSR earlier this year.

(All pictures by VII)

We all know the music on here is as filthy as it is amazing, and boy is it amazing. This is one of those records where you can tell the physical copy definitely sounds better. Every bit of aggression in the music is increased by the boost of bass and punchiness from the press.

Great artwork from both bands, and the best looking record I've seen from RSR yet. A nice matte sleeve, a double sided insert, and a righteous Psychic TV homage aesthetic. 

I managed to get the clear vinyl version, of which there is only 100 pressed. Yay me, right? At the time when I bought it, this thing was dreadfully hard to find in the states. But now it's become a bit more common, and can be found at fine distro's like To Live A Lie and Diseased Audio. Buy or Cry!!!

~VII

Maryland Deathfest XI: My Five Favorite Sets

Well, another Maryland Deathfest has come and gone. This was my humble 2nd time going, after missing on the stupidly awesome 10 year anniversary line-up, there was no way I was missing this one. And it was a real treat celebrating all forms of extreme music with thousands of like-minded people, even if it was in the ass-crack of Baltimore. I got to meet a lot of awesome really cool people, make some righteous friends (shouts out to my NC bros), and of course, see an epic amount of awesome bands. The inclusion of the Soundstage venue, a space highlighting more of the hardcore and grind bands, was a great addition (though I have some mixed feelings about it), and made seeing a lot of these bands a lot more enjoyable. I narrowed everything down to five though, here were my favorite shows I saw this past weekend.


Infest: Y'all shouldn't be surprised. Ff course this show was going to be amazing, and was by far my favorite set of the entire festival. I knew this show was going to be rowdy, but goddamn if this wasn't the craziest show I've ever been too. The soundstage was packed, and everybody was ready to go nuts. Joe even started the show off by telling the audience that he told the security guards to prepare for the craziness that was about to ensue. Bodies were flying everywhere (apparently I stage dived a total of 5 times, according to my friend. I only remember 3), bodies were smashed against one another, and of course, the whole band was absolutely perfect. The inclusion of Bob Kastiz from Lack of Interest and Chris Dodge were great, and Joe is an absolutely killer frontman. Staring down into the audience, built like a brick house, and that awesome, commanding, classic hardcore bark. They played all the classics, and of course ended with "Where's The Unity". It was certainly found that night!

Melvins: The Melvins, by far, one of my biggest musical inspirations. Basically growing up with them, after I found a copy of "Houdini" in my car while I was riding with my mom, and immediately being captivated by the hypnotic crushing rhythm of "Hooch". Consider them on of my, "bucket list" bands. I knew this was going to be incredible the moment I found out that they did in fact, come with the Big Business guys in tow! Yes, this 4 piece Melvins was absolutely incredible. Coming on stage dressed in extravagant costumes, and plowing though crushing track after crushing track, with Dale Crover and Coady Willis's jaw dropping synchronized drum solos. Every second of this set was hard hitting, loud, and impactful. Buzz's voice hasn't aged a day. Hell, it might have gotten even more powerful!! The band wonderfully chose to play a lot of classic older track, including many near and dear to my heart, like "Honey Bucket", "Revolve", and my beloved "Hooch". Mind blowing set.

Full Of Hell: Truth be told, FoH was one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing. After completely winning me over with their new record, one that I am still crushing on hard, I knew that their set was going to be something not to miss. Though I almost did after getting painfully lost trying to get to the Soundstage venue (note to the MDF: staff for next year, please include some obvious instructions on how to get to the venue next time. Thaaaanks)!!!! But fortunately, I was able to catch it all, and man, it was scary intense. This set was just evil!! With the dark lighting, the harsh noise transitions between songs, and their amazing frontman, who wins my personal "Best Frontman Of MDF" award. An absolute force on stage, brutal as fuck locals, and throat shredding high vocals. This set still has me pumped.

Pig Destroyer: I was fanboygasming for this whole entire experience. Another "bucket list band" for me, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. They started the set off with some choice cuts from "Book Burner", even having Kat come out on a couple songs! But thankfully, they evened out the set with tons of choice cuts from almost all of their albums, including a few of my personal favorites (they played "Thumbsucker"!!). The real highlights were the tracks from "Prowler...", they pulled out "Junkyard God", leading into "Piss Angel", and the "Jennifer" intro track. They even played "Naked Trees"! Closing out with "The Diplomat" with Jason Netherton on vocals was a great way to end the set, and I definitely got a serious bangover when it was done. Only problem, they didn't play "The Machete Twins". C'mon guys!

Disciples of Christ: Little known fact; these guys and Triac released my favorite record of the year with their untouchable split 12". So seeing these guys was absolutely mandatory. I even got my nocturnal ass out of bed before 11 AM to get ready to see these guys. That's giving a shit. And of course, their set was amazing. After some pretty hilarious banter between the sound guy and the band, D.O.C. busted into a crushing 8 minute set (boo-ya). Opening with one of my favorite tracks of the previously mentioned split, "Hosed", and not letting up until their time was over. They even played some new tracks in the middle of their set, which were fucking great. Very excited for their new record to come out. Get wise to this band and listen to that goddamn split!!!

Hope you all had a good MDF. See you next year, maybe.

~VII

Disciples Of Christ/Triac - "Split" Review

A lot of times when you come across a split record, you may find that the comparative quality of each side is a little, shall we say, unbalanced. One side is usually noticeably better; be it in recording, performance, or just in how much you enjoy it overall. Finding a split where I'm genuinely satisfied with each side, equally, is a bit rare. Newest case in point, this body eviscerating split 12" between Disciples Of Christ (D.O.C.), and Triac. Brought to us by the fine German lads at RSR. I think my most recent discussion about this record sums it up pretty well; I was working at my local record shop, about to spin it, and my boss asked which side would be more "palatable for the customers". To which I replied, "would you rather get stabbed repeatedly, or burned alive?" Get the frick out, both sides of this record will tear your skin off and throw it against the wall like Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill movie, just to watch is slowly slide down leaving a trail of viscera and chunky blood. D.O.C kick starts their side off with some thick, punching noise, before sounding off like a cannon shot into nearly 8 minutes of non-stop blastfuckery. Definitely the more visceral of the two sides, in my opinion. D.O.C. got a hell of a lot better since I last heard them on their split with Mind As Prison. The recording here is loud, caked in lo-fi basement noise, and transitions seamlessly from great song to great song. The band sounds absolutely on top of their game here, all the songs are perfectly executed and orchestrated, each stop/start, every kickstarting yell, it's all a punch in the gut, and what little grooves there are are violent, and excellently groovy. The Triac side, while definitely not as brutally lo-fi, maintains complete violence and disgust in a whole new way. The songs here cut like a knife; excellent, sharp guitar tone, and a kick ass drummer blasting absolutely perfectly. Now while this is an excellent recording, don't let that make you think that this thing is sparklingly polished. There is noise and feedback smothered all over these songs. I love what they did with the bass guitar in particular, it stands out constantly, and there are creative bass lines and breaks every where. When the band is blasting at full volume, the rumbling, distorted bass is crashing down over everything, and when the band slows things down, it serves as the perfect back bone and foundation for the guitarists to play their mangled, skronky noises. This split is a perfect pairing of grindcore brutality, and will definitely make my year end list. Buy or die!

Rating: 9.5/10

~VII