Reviews

Crustatombe

Barrage Barrage LP

Latest release from France’s BARRAGE. Non-stop crushing crustcore in the vein of EXTREME NOISE TERROR or DISRUPT, although BARRAGE sticks to hardcore punk roots rather than the crustier realm of the aforementioned bands. Some death and thrash metal phrases can be heard in parts of the album, yet it successfully avoids the modern-sounding extreme metal approach. The D-beat tag does get thrown around, but D-beat masters out there might not call it quite that. Still raging, full-front ferocity of in-your-face sonic bombardment.

Ed Warner Ruins of Nations LP

Twelve anxious doses that span a crevasse between early ’00s colossal crust and an indescribably awesome hardcore lurch. Makes me think of the NOW DENIAL…or maybe just some modern kids simultaneously harnessing anthemic core and honest intensity. Fans of fast and/or heavy and/or intense hardcore will want to pay attention here, because France’s ED WARNER ticks off literally every box.

Endform Menace LP

Neocrust fizzled out in recent years, with only a few of the classic bands being active in the scene. The genre reached a peak around the ’00s when bands turned to post-metal or black metal influences, evolving into something new altogether. Menace, the newest offering from the Montreal-based ENDFORM, showcases the band’s evolution while remaining true to their roots. It opens with the track “Psychic Numbing,” a haunting instrumental piece that sets an ominous tone for the album. Some Word as Law-era NEUROSIS comes to mind, just before it erupts into an early FALL OF EFRAFA/TRAGEDY combo of modern-meets-classic neocrust, complete with dual vocals. Throughout the album, ENDFORM expands on delivering a blend of melodious aggression, one of the main tropes of the genre. An urgent manifesto of the times we live in, dark music that reflects darker times.

Insect Terror / Grossel Split 12″ EP

Here’s a double shot of raw grindcore that hits like a jackhammer to that metal plate in your skull. Germany’s INSECT TERROR is pure fucking mince annihilation. Eight songs in like four minutes. Vomitus vocals. All fast, all blast. You know the vibes. It’s the same general idea from France’s GROSSEL, except a little more feedback, and a little more noise. They also have a few songs that are over a minute long. Fuck music forever!

Illegal Corpse Riding Another Toxic Wave LP

Hard, tight crossover leaning more on the hardcore than the thrash side of the scale. The cover art, songs about beer, and sick riffs all spell “thrash,” but the aggressive breakdowns and brutal attitude will have you throwing elbows and picking up change in the pit. “Let It Beer” absolutely rips and particularly showcases the insane drumming with double-kicks flying, rolls and fills, and hi-hats crashing all over the place. There’s no fat or filler in any of these thirteen tracks. Impossibly fast and in-your-face like all the best crossover should be. Fans of MUNICIPAL WASTE and GOATWHORE, take note.

Naatlo Sutila Naatlo Sutila LP

NAATLO SUTILA is a hardcore band from Bordeaux, but rather than playing straightforward hardcore, they decided to mix their old school sound with deathrock and anarcho-punk. The outcome fucking rocks. From the opening drumbeat and bass chug of “Voices” to the thrashing speed of “Hell” and all the way to the end of the CRASS-like feeling of “Revolution,” NAATLO SUTILA presents a romp of a self-titled album. As a three-piece, it’s amazing the power this trio is able to generate and deliver. If you get a chance, definitely give this one a listen.

Verbal Razors By Thunder and Lightning LP

I find it really hard to take this sort of thing seriously. It just reminds me of shit like MUNICIPAL WASTE, drunken idiots in sleeveless denim, sordidly becoming caricatures of the aging thrashers of yesteryear. It just doesn’t manage to capture the grit and nastiness that the forefathers of the genre (SLAYER, VIO-LENCE, etc.) managed to radiate. It’s a shame in a way, because bands like this are always more than technically proficient, I guess proving again that just being decent at your guitar doesn’t necessarily make a decent thrash record.