"Holy Fetus", Batman! The New Hummingbird Of Death Song Is Killer!!

Everyone should know that my love for the Boise, Idaho fastcore outfit, Hummingbird of Death, burns deep within my soul. And that I've been craving to own their new, awkwardly named album, "Skullvalanche", ever since I heard of it's early stages. Not being a band to stick to the standard fastcore formula (their last release, a split with Titanarum, featured two 5+ minute fastcore monoliths), HoD said that this new album would be their most "experimental" yet. Showcasing more of a slower sludge/doom metal influence. Curious, is it not? Well, a new track from the album entitled "Holy Fetus" has just been released, and it is fucking awesome! For one, the production is fantastic. Chunky and full of crunchy low end distortion, definitely the heaviest the band has ever sounded! To go along with that, the vocals are much deeper and more guttural than any recording before. It really has an old-school death metal sound, especially in the first have of the song, which is the faster part. It has this awesomely riff with a great primitive blast beat driving it forward. The 2nd have is where the slower doom influences show up, and it's just crushing. Fucking A, this band can do no wrong! I've already pre-ordered the new album, you can too on the Deep Six website, and be sure to order all the other new releases the label is ready to put out!

~VII

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.

Hummingbird of Death/Titanarum - split Review

The gimmick with most modern, techy fastcore bands is to write the shortest songs with the spazziest song structure that they can. Some do it well(see Sidetracked), others just sound like a bunch of ADD freaks with guitars making jumbled messes of songs. So leave it to Hummingbird of Death to write two 5+ minute songs on their latest split with Titanarum. HOD have never been a band that just sticks within the comfort zones of the genre, opting instead to experiment and push it into territories that most don't dare to go, and they actually pull it off with great results. Usually a fastcore band that makes a six minute song goes the "sludgy" route for the sake of having a slow track. The welcome change here is that HOD haven't elongated these songs with repetitive sludge riffs. These songs are fast and furious the whole way through, but not spazzy and schizophrenic. It's like the usually ADD freaks took some chill pills and said to each other; "Hey guys, let's actually play some of these riffs for more than 2 measures". While also showing some black-metal-sounding chord progressions, some death metal vocals thrown in at one point, and some thrashy/crossover riffs.
On the flipside, the now disbanded Titanarum give us 8 tracks of fairly straight-forward fast hardcore. No songs are over 2 minutes, and they are all developed and display some pretty good songwriting with solid musicianship. I can definitely hear a lot of crossover influence in their sound. Particularly in the vocals, which are probably my favorite part of this band. They have so much personality and a decent amount of variety to them. I definitely get an Accused vibe from them. Very solid sides from both bands. You can pick this record up at Give Praise Records and stream it here. By the way; coolest album cover of the year? Debatable.

Rating: 8/10

~VII

VII's Recent Purchases(16oh Records)

I made my first purchase from the 16oh Records Big Cartel about a month ago, and had my records arrive yesterday. Normally, I'd be upset by this long wait, but the dude informed me he was in Europe at that time. All good man. For those who don't know, 16oh has released a few Sidetracked records, the Bookburner 7", and In Disgust - "Reality Choke" 10". Super legit. And speaking of In Disgust, I managed to snag this little gem. The In Disgust/Massgrave split 7", 33 RPM, white vinyl.

In Disgust are one of my favorite grind bands, anything I can get from them is a treasure. I've heard their whole discography, and it's all stellar. This recording it definitely rougher, but it still kicks ass. Massgrave are a Canadian crust/grind band and share some members with the might OSK. They've been around for a while and have quite a large discography. I'm normally bored to death by crust, but the grind elements these guys throw in the mix keep it from being a snooze fest.

Next up are a couple records from Hummingbird of Death. I'm trying to get all their releases that I can, and I have a couple more on the way. First is their split 7" with the band Dead Stare, black vinyl, 45 RPM. Good side's from both bands, not much more to say, it's fastcore.

Next one is super! My two favorite fastcore bands, sharing a 6" record together. Dream come true. This came out a year ago on Cowabunga records. Super happy to finally get this.

I'm pretty sure the labels were reversed in a pressing flub, cause the HOD side clearly has 8 songs on it as opposed to 5.

Last one is the Extortion/Rupture split 5", transparent yellow vinyl, 33 RPM. I got this cause 16oh had it for the cheapest price. Everywhere else has is for 6-7 bucks, which is a bit much for a 5" to me. Nice little record, great artwork from Rohan as always, any Extortion record is good to have. Rupture play crust, snooooooore.

~VII

VII's Recent Purchases

I've gotten a whooooole bunch of stuff lately, a bit to much to show in one post. So again, I'm just showing ones I'm particularly excited about. The first two come from the first ever purchase I've made to Cowabunga Records. It was a good experience, definitely ordering from them again. This is something I've wanted for quite a while, Hummingbird of Death - "Goatmeal" 5". Black vinyl, 33 RPM, 1st press. This little beast of a record has 20(!) songs on it, 19 of which take up one side. This ain't your amateur fastcore either, each song sounds different. Very impressive EP. I'm trying to get all the HOD releases I can, they're tied with Sidetracked as my favorite fastcore band.

Pretty simple packaging. Fold-over sleeve that looks like it was printed on photocopy paper with an insert. 

Next is the Hummingbird of Death - "Show Us The Meaning of Haste" LP, they're first full length. Blue marble vinyl, 33 RPM, I believe this is a 1st press. I've actually had the CD version of this for a while, but I felt a vinyl replacement was in order. I got this for the excellent price of $5.50. Such an incredible deal for such an awesome album. Everyone should definitely pick this one up, it's super cheap in all the distros I've seen it in, and it's a great introduction to the band. My only real complaint about this album is the last track; a repetitive, 11 minute, instrumental sludge outro. Meh.

This next 7" is one of the best split's I've heard this year. The Afternoon Gentlemen paired up with Cyborg. Released by RSR, black vinyl, 33rpm, purchased from Give Praise records. Incredible record in every way, the music, the packaging(kinda), the pressing, the artwork. Everything is top notch. I'll most likely be doing a full review of this soon. 

Shitty webcam photo's don't do this artwork justice, it's incredibly detailed. I'm sure this is done by the same guy who did the art for the TAG/Osk split 7". 

It also comes with an obi strip, which I'm not that into. I get the aesthetic appeal, but it's just such a pain in the ass to slip on. It doesn't even go on the right way without getting in the way of access to the record, so I just keep it in the plastic sleeve. 

Last thing I'll show is something I picked up from a record fair this Saturday. The legendary "Reality Part #2" comp. (highlighted by Sergio of ACxDC as one of his favorite powerviolence releases) Transparent green vinyl, 45 RPM, I'm not sure which press this is. Just one look at the list of bands should moisten the pants of any fan of hardcore/powerviolence. It's hard to top a line-up like this. The sleeve is a little bent, but the record is in great shape. Very happy to finally get this. 

*drool*

Other pickups:

• the Melvins - "Nude with Boots" 12" on red vinyl
• Coalesce - "Functioning on Impatience" 12" on transparent red/black splatter vinyl
• Spazz - "Crush Kill Destroy" 12" on red vinyl
• Agathocles/Violent George split 7" on black vinyl
• Tom Waits - "Bad as Me" 12" on black vinyl

~VII