Lack Of Interest/Bastard Noise - Split 12" Review

Honestly, the only reason I haven't posted about this record is because I thought that I already did. Better late then never, right? Besides, I take any chance I get to talk about either of these bands. I remember when I first heard about this EPIC pairing of west coast OG's, a couple years ago, it was like a dream come true. This seems like it should have been a classic 90's Slap-A-Ham or Deep Six release, and the news of it's development had fans/nerds like me jittering in our patched-up denim shorts. This fantastic split was finally released at the tail end of 2013, and was well worth the wait. Bastard Noise give us four new tracks, which were recorded after the loss of founding drummer Joel Connell. Loosing a long-time member like that seems pretty detrimental, but they recruited none other then Richard Hoak to step up behind the skins! If you've ever seen or heard Mr. Hoak tear up a drum set, you know you're in for some insane shit, and I couldn't wait to hear what his sporadic style would lend to BN's sound. Though his performance here truth be told, is actually pretty reserved and down-tempo. Which in retrospect was a bit disappointing to hear at first, but he flows with Mr. Wood's progressive hardcore sludge trotting riffs appropriately. I guess I was expecting more of a total fucking grind mayhem influence, but the trademark SKULL sound remains strong and intact, like there was no change at all really. Things do pick up a bit after the seven and a half minute opener, venturing into jazzy grooves and more visceral tempos. The closing track, "The Time Shifter", is a real highlight. It's a ruthless lil' jam featuring some excellent vocals from Mitchell Luna of Maruta. Him and Aimée's pull off a lovely duet of brutality, and it's an excellent way to end their side. Aimée and Wood seem a lot more balanced in the vocal department on here as well. No one seems to dominate the recording here. Some of Bastard Noise's brightest sounding and focused "musical" material so far. Lack Of Interest's side is just downright perfection. I'll say it once and I'll say it again, this band has done absolutely nothing wrong in their whole existence. The twelve tracks on here do nothing to break that streak, the guys just flat out rip your soul a new one here. The band has maintained a trademark sound that still sounds fresh and full of life, and they still pull it off masterfully. It's just like '99-era LoI stepped through a time portal into 2013 and recorded some tracks they had to spare. Not a drop of intensity, self loathing, or grumpiness has been lost. It's crazy to me how this band can still seem somewhat underrated, especially when they're STILL putting out powerviolence of this quality. Perfect band. Great split. If you haven't picked this up yet I'm not sure what your malfunction is.

~VII

10 Great Releases That Are Under 10 Minutes: Part 2

Y'all seemed to really like the first article of these that I did. And I enjoyed doing it, and my jihad against long grind albums is forever active, so let's make like these great records and not waste anytime getting right into it!

10. Extortion - "Control": Out of all of Extortion's EP's, I'd say that this one is their strongest. But considering how fucking solid their discography is, it's really not for any huge reason other than it's just really really really good. Excellent recording, super intense songs, and an outstanding vocal performance from Rohan. Dude's vocals in the earlier days were nearly untouchable, and I'd put him up their with some of the best vocalists in the genre. Their split 12" with Cold World this year was a great return to form for him and the band.

9. Beartrap - "Nailed Shut": A 16 track, under 6 minute release release from these TLAL favorites. Mmm, yes, let the brevity of it all consume you. If you like your hardcore fast, and unrelenting, "Nailed Shut" is for you. These songs literally bleed into each other, leaving absolutely no room to breath between songs (unless you're spinning the actual record, then you have to flip it half way, of course).




8. Thousandswilldie - "A Carcass Is Only Dead Once": Now this record right here, let me tell you, one of the craziest grindcore EP's I've ever heard. NO songs over one minute, hell, most barely reach 20 seconds. This record is all about fucking your shit up, being as crazy as possible, and blasting it out as fast and tight as possible. Excellent musicianship to bring it all together too, thankfully, so it doesn't sound like some amateur noisegrind band having a giggle and blasting out the quickest jams they can. 25 songs in 7 minutes, RIP Thousandswilldie.

7. No Comment - "Downsided": If by reading this you are just now learning about this record, you need to stop right here and learn up before going on. Widely considered one of the best hardcore/powerviolence records EVER, and it's not hard to see why. The importance and influence of this record can not be understated, you can hear it's influence in almost every modern fastcore band today. TIght musicianship, constant riff and tempo changes, and creative ones at that, and tons of stop/starts. A classic.

6. Spazz/Lack of Interest - Split: This is an essential powerviolence record, in my opinion. Not only because it pairs two of the best WCPV bands, but because, duh, it has some of their best stuff. Particularly the Lack of Interest side, goddamn son, it's just so good. The first song, "Mislead and Deranged", unf. Track this one down.

5. Parlamentarisk Sodomi - "Regnskog, Fred Og Vegetarmat": I really can't get over how fucking incredible Parlametarisk Sodomi was/is. This one guy, all by his lonesome, made some of the best and creative grindcore I've ever heard. His first EP didn't really have as much of the unusual riffing as his full-lengths, but the impact is more visceral and pulverizing. I love the almost blown out recording too, everything just sounds like it's exploding off the record. And the vocals on the track "Sakkosekk, Kaos Og Anarki" always put a smile on my face. RIP Parlamentarisk Sodomi (come back, please).

4. Sidetracked/In Disgust -  Split: Hey look, my favorite fastcore and grindviolence band made a split record. I love when that happens. This fut rucking monster of a split has my favorite material from Sidetracked on it, rivaling the near perfect, "Uniform" EP. Best sounding recording from Jay and co. and crazy great riffs. The In Disgust side is incredibly solid too, more of the same stuff from them, but the Sidetracked side is a real winner here.

3. Defeatist - "In Praise Of False Hope": My favorite EP from a band that was criminally underrated while they were still active. Great "tech-grind" that I never really thought was all that technical though. The riffs they made though were always intriguing, and they definitely gave Defeatist a recognizable sound that was all their own. Heavy as iron knads too. This EP is a total ripper, pick it up. RIP Defeatist.

2. Quattro Stagioni - "S/T": If you're looking for the fastest fastcore bands there is, I bet you Quattro Stagioni can keep you satisfied for quite a while. Inhumanly fast drumming, like the dude injected a cocktail of testosterone, cocaine, and speed into his arms right before recording. The first time I heard this, I was blown away just from the sheer ridiculousness of it all, but in a good way, of course. If your curious about where The Afternoon Gentlemen got a lot of their sound from, it's these guys.




1. SFN - "Itching": I'd say these guys are on of the most promising modern fastcore bands right now (I hope they didn't break up, please tell me they didn't). "Itching" is a lo-fi, distorted little gem of techy-fastcore. I'd almost say it's a little too lo-fi, since a lot of the great riffs don't really shine through the mix that well, but you can tell these dudes have their shit together and know how to write interesting and pulverizing music. This EP is progressively getting harder to find, so pick it up if you can. I hear a posthumous split with In Disgust is somewhere down the line too, let's all hope that's true.

~VII 

May 14th; The Day Deep Six Releases A Bunch Of Stuff

Deep Six, one of the best american hardcore/grind labels in the history of ever (fact), is dropping five hot hot records today! I'm sure you've all collectively gotten your underpants moist with excitement about the Weekend Nachos/Lack of Interest split. And why shouldn't you? It's a pairing of on of the best in modern hardcore, and one of the best in west coast powerviolence. Five tracks from each band on a 45 RPM piece of wax. The people who pre-ordered the record are getting green vinyl, limited to 100. I'm not sure how many are on black. I can't wait to spin this bad boy, and if you've ever wanted to see on of the members of Weekend Nachos deep, dark ass crack, you're in for a treat when you see the inside of the record sleeve.

Fans of fastcore should be all up on this Sidetracked/Self Inflicted split 7". Sidetracked are by far one of the best fastcore bands going right now, and anything Jay and co. put out is definitely going to be checked out by me. I haven't heard Self Inflicted, but I'm expecting awesomeness. 

Landmine Marathon are also putting out a self titled, 2-track 7" as well. I honestly haven't paid much attention at all to this band, but they seem like solid, semi-melodic death metal with a beastly lead singer (the only reason magazines like Revolver pay attention to them). I might check it out down the road. That cover art is done by Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit fame, by the way. 

This next 7" is a mysterious one. It's from a band called To The Point, who I've never heard of before. It's a one-sided 7", and Deep Six advertises it as sounding like Neanderthal and Septic Death, with powerviolence vocals. I also think that Chris Dodge might be involved, somehow. I'm really not sure, but this thing is limited to 100 copies, so buy or cry. Maybe. 

Lastly is a CD from a band called Cold War. I've never heard of them before, and the cover art is not leaving a good impression. It's supposed to be thrash/hardcore stuff, which is very hit-or-miss with me. 

~VII

Wanna Hear 5 New Weekend Nachos Songs?

Dumb question, of course you do! The Chigaco titans of sludgy powerviolence have recorded 5 brand new songs for an upcoming split 7" with the legendary west coast band Lack of Interest, and were kind enough to put them all up for download via mediafire! That sure was nice of them, huh? As is to be expected, these 5 songs are straight slammers. Any fans of their last album "Worthless" will find plenty to love here. Download the tracks here, and be sure to pick up the actual 7" when it's released later this year on Deep Six records!

~VII

BASTARD NOISE/LACK OF INTEREST SPLIT IN THE WORKS!!

OHOH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.OH.

Word is from Eric that this vinyl only split will hopefully be out early next year on Deep Six Records, and that's all I know so far. The wait is gonna kill me, this split is gonna crush heads. The brutality continues!!

~VII