Headless Death - "Poxy Death" EP

Australia Alert!!! Another brilliant provocateur of brutally from the magical city of Melbourne. And honestly a very new one for me. Even though Headless Death have been steadily putting out dynamite material since 2012. A quartet from Melbourne, who play a what I can only call bestial grindcore. Or super heavy, deathy, war grind. A style they bring out in full honest force again on their newest tape, "Poxy Death". On here we have three new songs, and a rerecording of the title track of their last EP called "Under the Mushroom". As well as a track that I guess is a Ringworm cover at the end. But I don't listen to Ringworm, and a quick Youtube search shows me a song much different then HD's interpretation so I'm lost. "Poxy Death" for the most part is perfect example of brutal hyperblast grind done perfectly well. In a very Australian way, I can say now. Distinctly rich with the same sounds that countrymen Internal Rot and Coffin Birth have perfected. Though with a much, much, much rawer recording. The musical performances here are relentless, particularly in the drumming. The speed that Headless Death maintain would make any average-joe-band sweat trying to keep up. The death soaked riffs are here at some of their most primal and savage, HD keep the variation levels nice an balanced. Definitely letting in a lot more space for more groovy, headbangable passages. The opener "Underground Existence" has a pretty sweet hXc mosh part that pops every now and again. The following track "Not A Worthy Death" opens with a very attention grabbing bass and drum riff, and utilizes some twisted dissonance and melodies. I'm not too hot on the closing, mysterious Ringworm cover though. The slow-song-at-the-end cliche is getting way too, well cliche for me. This track unfortunately does nothing to change that. The super sluggish punk beat towards the end is where I especially loose interest. What "Poxy Death" gives we on the whole first half though is completely fantastic. Headless Death are yet another knight in shining armor for Australia's grindcore army.

~VII

Seriously, Check Out This Vinyl Repress Of Caged Grave's Demo

Caged Grave were a band that I posted about at the tail end of 2013, regarding their excellent debut demo. They showcased some quality Vaccine-ish sounding fast hardcore with a more modern, HM-2 pedal abuse sound. Great stuff that I got hooked on instantly, and they were promptly added to the ever growing list of excellent Australian bands.  Functioning on a pure DIY work ethic, Caged Grave have so far recorded, produced, and released everything they've put out themselves. And if this self-released 7" re-release of said demo is any indication to the care, attention to detail and quality output for the future, then watch the fuck out. My particular copy was given to me very graciously by the band, a thousand thank you's.

(Photo's by VII)

The boys really went all out on the packaging with this one. Solid black vinyl with a large center label, and a flipping silk-screened box envelope to encase it. It's a super tidy, neat and honestly, very deluxe looking package. Like something that labels like Youth Attack! or Deathwish Inc. would make the "special addition" variant. When I first opened my package up I oogling over this whole presentation like it was a priceless gem stone.

A lyric sheet insert, download code, and a sticker are also included. Personalized note from the band, maybe included.

Now you all are probably saying "VII, this looks great, music's is great, I want this, tell me how to get this incredible record NOW!" Well dear reader, unfortunately you're a bit SOL unless someone decides to sell their copy online. Only 100 copies of this were made and it has since gone completely out of print. Bit of a bummer, no doubt, but Caged Grave seem to already be making a name for themselves in their home country, and record and release bits and pieces of new material on a semi-regular basis. A new record should be on the horizon, and you bet I'll be here to hype it up! Can't wait to see where this band goes. Check out the demo here.

~VII

Listen To Caged Grave!

I gotta thank my Aussie buddy Sean and his fantastic record nerd blog Skullfucked, a personally trusted source for awesome new bands from the country, for turning me on to these Melbourne rippers. Caged Grave is to my knowledge a fairly new band, and they're by far one of the best new Australian bands I've heard in a while. Their recently released demo tape/CD-r is an 8 track, barely 7 minute asteroid hit of blast beat ridden fast hardcore. Imagine Vaccine, but influenced a little more by sludgy hardcore and maybe throw a little Harm's Way in the mix. Fantastically recorded, perfectly compliments the intensity I'm sure the band was trying to go for. I've played it 4 times already just righting this post, replay worthy material and I can't wait to hear their next recordings. Check out the demo below, give them a like on facebook, and if you can spare the scratch, pick up one of their tapes. 

~VII

Self-Corruption - "History Of Clowns" Review

Readers of this blog should know that I have a passionate love for bands from Australia. I don't know what it is about that country, but for some reason the bands from down their just know how to do shit right. I could seriously go one for hours about the Australian scene (and I will, later on). Well, the great Down Under has once again proved that it is a fertile breeding ground for awesome grindcore by spawning this stupidly impressive duo, Self-Corruption. More specifically from Melbourne, Self-Corruption's "History Of Clowns" is one of the most refreshing grindcore releases I've heard this year. Sure, there's the usual blast beats, screamed vocals, and hardcore-metallic riffs, but you can tell that these dudes are inspired by so much more than just grind. There are riffs in all different shapes, sizes, colors and textures on here. And miraculously, Self-Corruption somehow made it all make sense. Normally when I hear a melodic death metal riff come after a series of four straight grindcore songs, I'm confused and often times gravely annoyed. But here, I'm just left thinking, "Huh, this band know's what it's doing." Australian juju, I tell ya! You just don't hear grind bands doing this type of thing and doing it well, pretty much ever. Take the track "Sickle Cell" for example. That's a total thrash/melo-death metal riff, and it totally fits! Or the funky drum beat on the interlude track, "Silence.jpg". These guys clearly has a lot of ideas, and the skill to execute them well, separating Self-Corruption from the rest. Check it out!


Rating: 8.5/10

~VII