Reviews

Regurgitated Semen

Cryptic Void Physwar//Psywar LP

Brutal death-doom out of Texas. Drums are absolutely incredible here and are all over the place. Recording quality is conducive to this, picking up every little thing the drummer does—almost mind-blowing at points, and really what caught my attention the most. Guitars are heavy as all hell, slow and low at points, and manically fast at others. Vocals are in the traditional death metal styling here, but sound great. All in all, a fantastic record for those who are fans of the genre.

Brain Tourniquet / Deliriant Nerve split LP

If you’re familiar with Washington, DC demolition crews BRAIN TOURNIQUET and DELIRIANT NERVE, you could easily assume that this split is an instant classic without even listening to it—and you’d be totally right. It really is. Both bands are in top form to wreak havoc and fill their sides with the nastiest tracks you could ever imagine. While BRAIN TOURNIQUET masterfully switches from thrash-fast to sludge-slow in a heartbeat as the powerviolence formula requires, DELIRIANT NERVE sticks to death-metal-infused breed of full-throttle grindcore that rarely stops for anything. What I especially love about this split is that it demonstrates the grind spectrum perfectly—from “more hardcore, less metal” to “less hardcore, more metal,” in order of appearance. Imagine if CROSSED OUT and INSECT WARFARE had a split. It’s probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to that. Yeah, it’s that good.

Escuela Grind Indoctrination LP

“Escuela“ (at least via my shithouse translation methods) means “school,” so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but what I got was seventeen tracks of punishingly heavy grind-violence that achieves what should probably be the goal for people seeking to write a grind LP, making something that careens by with all the gusto of a 7″. The riffs in this remind me of more modern grind, admittedly, but the sheer aggression on display and abrupt time signature switches and that utterly relentless blasting make this a band I’d love to see fucking destroy a basement show. If the labels on the back of this LP didn’t make it a blind buy for you then take this recommendation to heart and blow out your eardrums.

Hacked Apart Hacked Apart LP

Grindcore is a bit like Marmite, innit? You either love it, own 100 AGATHOCLES split EPs, know the medical terms of a lot of disgusting diseases, and are able to decipher the messiest and hairiest band fonts, or you absolutely hate it and leave the venue as soon as you hear the first blastbeats. I am somewhere in the middle (for Marmite as well). I can really enjoy some old school primitive grindcore (the punkiest side of the spectrum) if the time is right, but I cannot stand technical grindcore (which I associate with metalheads). You guessed it, HACKED APART is a grindcore band, from Canada, and this is their first LP. The artwork says it all, I suppose—this is filthy extreme music, and thanks fuck for that. We are deep in primitive and raw grindcore territory here and it is bloody brilliant. Thrashing riffs, all sorts of fast beats, hoarse bear-like vocals, and a production overall highlighting the Neanderthal brutality of the music. This is the old school of WARSORE or ROT. They remind me of MASSGRAVE because they have that manic crust vibe at times. A full album of grindcore can sound a bit long, but this is quality.

Systemik Viølence Negative Mangel Attitude LP

Cathartic maniacal screams and great sound all around from these chaos-bringers and riot-exciters from Lisbon. Thrash mayhem of blackened punk with fast tempos and sick drum cuts that never stop and stomp on you through the whole ten-track course. This is the sixth release from these Portuguese mad people, delivering a fusion between blackened metallic punk and classic USHC cadences in an almost perfect balance. Imagine BAD BRAINS and MERCYFUL FATE entered the blender and got out ready to drink it all in a second—I mean a frenzied, crazy feeling. All tracks are rippers in their own way. Sick artwork on the cover from these sick metal punkers. Good riffage, good blastbeating, and the vocals ain’t a cut-and-paste in any way, with colors very distinguished in-between.