Stream Five New ACxDC Songs From Their Upcoming 3-Way Split!

The list of most anticipated releases of 2013 isn't that big, but this fucking EPIC 3-way split 10" between ACxDC, Sex Prisoner and Magnum Force is damn near the top of everything else. I can't think of any other split coming out that I know of that will unapologetically destroy and massacre everything as much as this split. And now that I've heard the 5 songs that ACxDC are contributing to this beast, I think you'd be hard pressed to disagree with me. This is, to me, their best stuff that they've done to date. These song will fucking annihilate you. Absolutely crushing, punishing, brutal, every adjective you can think of to describe apocalyptic destruction, that's what these songs sound like. This shit will make your girl's water break, even if she isn't pregnant. Stream it below, and if the world does end before I get to hear this in full, I'm going to flip.

~VII

The Kill - "Make 'Em Suffer" Review

For as much as I talk about my love for Australia grindcore, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never sat down and listened to a full album from The Kill. Or even given the band much time at all. I hope you all can forgive this great travesty and with due time, I can redeem myself by immediately listening too and buying every single one of their releases ever until the end of time. Or I can just review their new album, "Make 'Em Suffer". Which I'm doing anyway. So there.
"Make 'Em Suffer"  is definitely what I would call a "ripping" grindcore album. The musical precision and blazingly fast attack to the ears that these Aussies grind out is basically the musical equivalent of a buzz saw to the sternum. Slashing and hacking at anyone that even brings up the words "mid-tempo". Being just a guitar only grindcore band, these dudes really did capture a full sound. The guitar tone is bright, and the overall production is very modern sounding, but the intensity of the bands performance doesn't let these ordinarily unpleasant qualities distract from my enjoyment of the album. Another great thing here, they keep the album short. At a very nice nineteen and a half minutes, the album stays around for the perfect amount of time. It also seems like this band had some fun with this album, and like to not keep things too serious. From the semi-tongue-in-cheek album title, to the very tastefully placed melodic riffs, and even borrowing lyrics from Judas Priest. The cover of Slayer's "Necrophobic" is also a very nice surprise here. Not only because they managed to twist it into one hell of a grind song, but that they actually made something from Slayer enjoyable (bravo)! So yeah, you could say I'm a fan of these guys now.

Rating: 7.5/10

~VII

The Artwork For The New Six Brew Bantha Album is Fucking Awesome!!!!!

That is all.

~VII

OSK - "Wretched Existence // Bleak Future 2007-2011" Review

A few months ago I was sitting around thinking to myself; "Boy, I really really love the band OSK. They're so cool and awesome. But I just wish that I could have all their music in one place, like a compilation CD of sorts. So I could have their music on my computer and be able to listen to them on my iPod all the time. That would be swell". Well apparently my thoughts traveled throughout the cosmos because a little while later it was announced that the always excellent To Live A Lie records was putting together the compilation CD I wished for. Smiles for days, people. In my opinion, OSK are one of the most criminally overlooked grind bands going today. Listening to this comp shows that not only does this Canadian trio have what it takes to blast with the best of them, but also the incredible consistency in quality throughout their existence. The songwriting is phenomenally strong, and displays a bit of variation from track to track. Like the metallic tremolo picking in the track "Empty White Box", the upbeat grooves in "Arm Yourself", and the heavy sludge riff influence in "Creeper", "It All Means Nothing Now" and "Lie Through Your Teeth". It really sounds like each song was tweaked with and constructed, instead of just blasting out grind riff after grind riff. I really have no qualms with this band, or this compilation. It's consistently excellent with little to no dull moments. The last few tracks of quite obviously of lower recording quality, but they only take up about a minute and a half of this 20+ minute comp. Crazy good band.

Rating: 9/10

(disclosure: TLAL sent me a promo)

~VII

To Live a Lie Will Reissue Magrudergrind's - "Crusher" 10"!

Magrudergrind's "Crusher" EP is pretty much the ground zero for the whole "Scion controversy" in the extreme music scenes. The idea of a well established and highly respected grindcore/powerviolence band  having something released by a car company of all things got everybody's collective panties in a knot and fueled a whole lot of outrage and confusion(even though Magrudergrind hadn't changed there style at all, and the resulting release was, dare I say it, one of the best things they've ever recorded). Opinions are opinions, but all of you who dismissed "Crusher" because of it's background should be happy with this; To Live a Lie will be re-issuing the EP on 10" vinyl with different artwork, and no with no Scion involvement. According to TLAL founder WIll Butler, the re-issue will look very similar to the Bones Brigade Records version that was released last year, and will include an 18"x 18"poster. The vinyl will be limited to 600, 400 on black and the remaining 200 on opaque red vinyl. Very excited for this release, since I'm one of the people who was too late to snag one of the BB 10"s. This should be released very very soon, so keep a look out. And if you haven't heard this awesome EP yet, do yourself a favor and click "play" on the video below!

~VII

VII's Top 10 EP's/Splits/Demos of 2011

10: +HIRS+ - "Worship": This Philadelphia drum machine grind duo has made quite a strong first impression with their debut physical release "Worship". This 4 minute, 1-sided 7" not only showcases this band has the ability to create and blast quality grind with the best of em, but also that they take an incredibly professional approach to their music and their athstetic, and I'm very excited to hear everything this band makes in the future.

9. Inside the Beehive - "Drink Bleach; Live Forever": A relatively late-comer this year, and another band that has displayed incredible quality with their debut EP. This NJ tech metal/grind outfit plays a style of music that I'm admittedly very picky about, bands like this are usually too spazzy/wanky for my taste, but ITB throw in enough good(and memorable)riffs and interesting song structures to keep me coming back to this EP. Plus a clean/polished production that still keeps the aggressive tone of the music, which I applaud them for.

#8: Punch - "Nothing Lasts": Simply put, Punch play a style of hardcore that I just love! "Nothing Lasts", my first real introduction to the band, is a solid 8 minute blaster that melds classic hardcore with hints of powerviolence. The vocals are aggressive, the songs are memorable, the drums are incredibly powerful(I love hearing this guy blast!). But my favorite thing about this EP has to be the production; a warm analog recording that suits the bands aggressive/raw sound like a glove. 

#7: Hoglust - "Support Hate": This is one of the first things released on the uber-prolific Grindcore Karaoke(back when they actually showcased grind and hardcore), and it's one of the only GK releases that has stuck with me and that I've listened to repeatedly over the year. Save for the completely unnecessary 2nd track,  I can't think of a single issue I have with "Support Hate". The dual vocals are fantastic, the production is excellently raw, the songs are great, what more can I say? Download it now!

                                           











#6(Tie): The Afternoon Gentlemen - splits with Cyborg and Osk: Holy fuck! The Afternoon Gentlemen completely came out of nowhere and left a coffee can sized hole in the heads of underground grind freaks in the states this year. A band this good needs to be heard by every grind fan in the world! I honestly can't say one of these splits is better than the other, they're both so damn good! Both TAG sides are some of the best grind I've heard all year, the Cyborg side is excellent old-school sounding powerviolence, and the OSK side is fucking stellar as well. It's just quality grind and hardcore with both of these splits, nothing bad about them at all!

#5: Worn Out - "Demo 2011": Here's one of the best demos that you hopefully, but probably didn't hear this year. Yet another up and coming band that made the smart move to have an incredibly professional first release. A pro-cassette demo with perfect production, a gnarly bass tone, seamless transitions between the short and oh-so-sweet songs, and face grinding intensity. It's just an incredible demo. Hope they record more in the future!

#4: Get Destroyed - "Shut In": I like Get Destroyed's previous 7" "Burnt Offerings", but I freaking love "Shut In"! Taking everything that made "Burnt Offerings" good and improving upon it ten-fold, Get Destroyed's latest offering is a mean, gruff, meaty, tough bastard child of powerviolence. The slow parts are devastating,  the guest vocals from Landmine Marathon vocalist Grace Perry are a great addition, just...just get it! 

#3: Sidetracked - "Uniform": How can I sum up Sidetracked's glorious 1-sided 7" "Uniform"? "Fucking brilliant" works. So does "Holy shit" and "what the hell was that". Perfect fastcore right here, 13 songs in about 2 1/2 minutes. Brevity's the name of the game, which can be the downfall of most grind bands, but Sidetracked have perfected the art of short-and-sweet on this release. "Runaway" is a fucking catchy song, it's true, and it's only about 20 seconds! The super raw production only enhances this blasting onslaught. Again, fucking brilliant.

#2: Water Torture - "s/t": Definitely the most enjoyable, catchy and listenable powerviolence EP I've heard this year. Half of the mighty Inerds make up this devastating Buffalo, NY duo and they play generally the same thing, but with a much darker/sludgier/heavier tone to them. I love the bass tone on this release, and the drums are played just right. Nothing flashy, nothing technical, just pure aggression. Yeah, I said it was catchy, but make no mistake there is nothing pretty or polished about this beast!

#1: Sea of Shit - "s/t": Probably won't come as a surprise to a lot of you that Sea of Shit's latest 7" made  my #1 spot. I praised the hell outta this thing in my review, and I stand by every word that I said in that post. This is the best EP I've heard this year. Fucking filthy, disgusting, distorted, grimy, disturbingly grotesque powerviolence. There is so much power and momentum to this release, it's just nonstop punishment, complete and utter audio torture, and I mean that in the best way possible. Sea of Shit 2011 son!!

Honorable Mentions:

• Mammoth Grinder/Hatred Surge - split
• Danny Brown & Black Milk - "Black and Brown"
• Dethroned Emperor - "War Grind Hell"
• Bastard Noise/Actuary - "Skeletal Uncertainty"
• Fuck the Facts - "Misery"
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Despise You - "...On And On And On"
• Grudges - "DEMOlition 2011"

~VII

Listen To a New Backslider Track!

Philadelphia fastcore hate-duo Backslider have posted a new track from their upcoming 7" EP called "Maladapted", out soon on To Live a Lie records and Psychocontrol records. I kinda knew that they were working on new material, but it sorta got lost among everything else that happened this year, so to hear a new track is a very nice "surprise. The track, called "Idiot Hymes", is a 34 second blaster of standard Backslider fastcore, but with a major update in terms of recording quality, and the vocals do sound more urgent than their previous self-titled 7". Stream the track here and eagerly await the physical release!

~VII

Eddie Brock/Lapse - split Review

Grind.fucking.violence! This awesome split pairs two up and coming Maryland bands for a double heaping helping of head-crushing brutality. These bands were meant to share a split together, it's a beautiful and completely natural sounding pair, just like the two people on the cover(which for some reason reminds me of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey whenever I look at it). First up is 3 tracks from Lapse. They definitely have an eastcoast hardcore sound, mixing in sharp tempo changes, mosh riffs, and gruff powerviolence vocals. The build up to the breakdown in the second track "Trend" is particularly sweet. Minimal blasting, definitely more slam dance friendly, but they don't have a macho/brocore type of vibe. Old-school and new-school powerviolence fans will dig it. Eddie Brock is next, graced with the majesty Scott Hull's mastering skills, making their two tracks sound viciously heavy. These two tracks are brutal, I can only imagine the carnage that must unfold at their live shows. It's definitely more mid-tempo then the self-titled 7" they released earlier this year, but I think the song-writting has become way more refined and memorable because of this, everything just sounds more realized and thought-out. The 7" version of this will be out very soon on To Live a Lie, but you can download the whole thing right now here while you wait for the physical version. Get on it!

Rating: 8.5/10

FFO: Weekend Nachos, Crossed Out

~VII

Capitalist Casualties/No Comply - split Review

This split is so retro, it would make Chris Dodge feel nostalgic. This could have easily been Six Weeks #14, especially when considering how old these recordings are, resurrected by the great To Live a Lie records and put on wax for the first time. On one side we have a live recording of the legendary Capitalist Casualties from 1994. I've never really been a fan of live recordings, purely because I think they're unnecessary, but the band sounds good and the recording sounds crisp. The vocals sound particularly fierce throughout. There's not a whole lot of crowd noise or breaks between songs, which does kinda take the "live" feel out of it, which I'm perfectly fine with. On the flip side is No Comply with a recording from the 90's intended for a split with Charles Bronson that never came to be. I'm a sucker for drum/bass powerviolence bands, so I was destined to love this band from the start. Great hardcore riffs and weird clean bass playing with a great, tight, fuzzy bass tone and excellent sounding drums to go along with it. The vocals are probably my favorite part of this recording though; spastic and high-pitched, reminiscent of bands like The Locust or their would be split companions Charles Bronson. The last track "Squatter" is one of the catchiest hardcore songs I've heard this year. Buy it here.

Rating: 7/10
FFO: Capitalist Casualties, No Comply (duh)

~VII

VII's Recent Purchases

I got a crap ton of records the last couple days, and more are on the way, but for now I'll only show some pieces that I'm particularly excited about. Unfortunatly, I don't have a turntable at the house I'm currently at, so I can't tell you what most of these sound like. First up is the Pig Heart Transplant/The Endless Blockade split 7" put out by Superfi records, black vinyl, 45 RPM. I purchased this from To Live a Lie.

Excellent packaging with super, super great artwork. The record is packaged in a 3-panel fold out, heavy weight sleeve with lyrics and more art printed on the inside. Definitely evident that a lot of care and effort went into this presentation. This is The Endless Blockade's official swansong release, and I'm expecting it to be more on the noisy side given who they're sharing this split with. Super excited to spin this. You can still pick it up at a few distros including Give Praise records.

Next up is the brand-spanking new Capitalist Casualties/No Comply split 7" released by To Live a Lie. Will sent me the "pill bottle orange" version (limited to 100) to review, so expect that sometime next week. The CC side is a live recording from 1994 and the NC side is taken from a split with Charles Bronson that sadly never happened. The orange vinyl one's are going fast so pick one up real soon!!

Gorgeous vinyl

Next up is The Endless Blockade - "Turn Illness Into a Weapon" 12" on black vinyl with a double-sided insert. I got this from Vinyl Junkie, and I just have to rant about this purchase for a bit because it was not a good experience. Now, I've ordered from them 3 times prior, all with good results, but I don't know what the fuck happened with this one! First up, it took about 3 weeks for my purchased to "finish processing", and I should have gotten Dystopia's - "s/t" LP with it, but apparently someone stole it, or it disappeared some other way. Which is weird, cause you'd think if someone ordered it, it would be taken off the shelves. Anyway, this record finally arrives, and I open it up to find no padding, no protection, nothing. Just the record in the LP mailer with a few random things thrown in. Major, major, MAJOR no-no!!! The record wasn't even mailed outside the sleeve, leading to the inevitable split seams and dents. Also, it had a big as fucking sticker on the cover(not advertised with this information), which I thankfully managed to get off without tearing, but still an unpleasant surprise. Fucked up order, but I got another order from VJ coming in the mail soon, and hopefully that one's better. If not, I probably won't order from them again. Anyway, here's the record. 

Lastly is the vinyl version of Fuck the Fact's - "Die Miserable", released by Relapse Records on clear vinyl with a double sided insert. Topon Das messaged me asking if I would be interested in buying a clear version off him(the clear Relapse records are limited to 100 and only given to the bands and the employees, not sold to the public), and of course I bought it right up. Thanks a lot dude!! I've talked endlessly about this album on here in the past, and let me tell you that it is awesome. Very awesome. Expect a full review in the near future!

By the way, here's a little fun fact; I own this album in all the 3 mediums it was released.

Fucking stupid.

Other records purchased:

• Magnum Force - "Self Loathing" 7"
• No Comply - "s/t" 7"
• Mesrine/Sakatat - split 7"
• Mind as Prison - "Maryland Grindcore" 7"
• Deathrats - "Give Up" 7"
• Jurassic 5 - "Power in Numbers" 2x 12"
• DS-13 - "Killed by the Kids" 12"
• Napalm Death - "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" CD

~VII

Sidetracked - "Uniform" Review

One of the great things about short releases is that there is usually very little room to fuck up; a few songs play, they do their thing, and then done. And if they do happen to fuck up, it'll be over in no time at all. "Uniform", the latest EP from Tacoma, Washinton's fastcore duo Sidetracked, does not fuck up. What we have here is a 13 song, one sided 7" that blasts your balls off with non-stop aggression(and a very minimal amount of slow parts), then ends 4 minutes later. Some people might not be able to get over the brevity of some of these songs(the longest being 34 seconds), but this is a release that you really have to take in as a whole. Trying to pick out stand alone tracks will only leave you with a headache. The recording is very rough and distorted, but I think that adds to the aggression and momentum of the music. The lo-fi production almost give the music a throbbing effect. This is the kind of release that I can see being a big hit in the early days of grind/fast hardcore, where the fastest and shortest releases were sought after by speed hungry kids. Definitely one of my favorite EP's of this year, pick it up at To Live a Lie and keep an eye out for the metric-buttload of releases they have coming out, which you can read about here.


Rating: 9/10

~VII

Interview: Will Butler(To Live A Lie Records)

To Live A Lie Records is one of my favorite record labels. Everything that Will releases is great, so I was thrilled to be able to do an interview with him over email! Check out the TLAL website here.

Andrew: TLAL has some great releases coming up; can you tell us about a few that you are particularly excited about?

Will: Super excited about all of them, but the biggest one I’m working on is the XBRAINIAX – Deprogrammed LP because I decided to do it as a gatefold. The artwork and insert look amazing amplified up from a CD. Hope people don’t mind to pay the extra $$ since it is quite a bit more expensive due to the packaging. Luckily I’m not having a problem with people checking out the new Archagathus LP despite its cost. I guess I’m trying out the DIY but nicer package release idea. It is scary to pony up that much money, especially considering all my other releases rely on me having money.

I’m excited about the Capitalist Casualties/NoComply split, old Cap Cas material so it is like a time capsule of awesome powerviolence from ’94 and the NoComply material is another old session they were originally going to do a split record with Charles Bronson. Vocals on their side were split between Justin, the original member of the band, and Travis from Assholeparade who sings on all but one song. Also I worked closely with Justin and Shawn from their respective bands on the layout.

Very excited to hear the Mind As Prison EP, I haven’t heard it yet because another label is the main one involve. The Kill/White Eyes split 5” will be insane, can’t believe I’m releasing something for either band. ACxDC’s new EP is going to be huge, it sounds amazing… you can hear the whole album on their Bandcamp. Lapse/Eddie Brock is going to be a supremely good pv/hardcore split, the two bands blend well and I feel like I’m supporting bands from close to my area. I’m doing my second official tape on TLAL for Sidetracked…been working hard putting art together for it… twelve songs in three and a half minutes. Mega excited to put out the Curmudgeon EP… love this band, can’t wait for people to hear their amazing music (check em out online, they have a tape for sale/download). Also have a book release which I’m excited about but really scared how much work it will take to lay it out… most likely by myself. So keep an eye out for a new Brian Walsby book. Super super excited to do a record for the Texan band Mindless too. Newly devised records.. I’m doing an Osk collection CD. Osk is members of Mass Grave playing a little grindier. I’m doing a new Backslider EP. Finally doing a small run of TLAL 2011 sampler tapes before the year is over, and piggybacking on top of that I’m doing a run of 500 business cards with downloads for those songs for free with orders.


A: When did you start TLAL? And can you give us a little bit of history on the label?

W: The label started in 2005. I was friends with two guys who soon went into the band Shitstorm/later one went to play in Torche. They asked me to co-release the Magrudergrind/Godstomper split with both their newly founded label and a label from California called Nuclear BBQ Party. I ran a record distro for three years until that point under the moniker ‘Stronghold Distro’ and they quickly convinced me to do the record. Dub and Ricky ended up not being able to go in it so I split it with Nuclear BBQ and that was the first release as a label. We did a second press because it did so well. Just kind of started rolling from there… second record I did all myself for Rhino Charge, an edge powerviolence band from outside of LA, and that record took off too. Ebullition took seventy-five copies of the press right off the bat, and reordered more later. I started out doing everything right, I don’t know where I went so wrong. Haha.


A: What was your motivation behind starting TLAL?

W: I’ve said time and time again that I’m not a musician, so this is the closest I come to music. I don’t want to downplay my musical exploits, but most of my own musical projects are much more thanks to the other people in the bands. The label is a hobby, not a job, and I do it for the love of music. I’m really lucky to be able to do something with DIY music I love, sell to like-minded punks and small Mom and Pop owned record stores. There is a lot of love in DIY and if it weren’t for everyone out there throwing support in, I’d be stuck as well as unmotivated. Everyone I know involved in this music is worth all the effort. I think the whole thing makes me a well-rounded person too, I’d never heard learned to do layouts for records or audio recording/editing without the need.