Reviews

Throne of Lies

Afterpill / Double Me split EP

This AFTERPILL/DOUBLE ME split 7″ is a quick and dirty snack of powerviolence done two ways. AFTERPILL, a bass-and-drums duo from Saguenay, Quebec, cranks out seven tracks of no-frills, meat-and-potatoes fastcore tunes that sometimes tended to blur together a little bit. It’s solid, but don’t expect a lot of variety. Then DOUBLE ME, a four-piece from Padua, Italy, crashes in with five tracks in just under two minutes, balancing screaming and Cookie Monster vocals over rapid-fire drumming. Despite an average song length of 22 seconds, each track somehow manages to sound distinct, and the recording quality delivers a serious punch. It’s over before you can catch your breath, but if relentless, no-bullshit powerviolence is your thing, this split’s got you covered. Check out the whole thing.

Life’s Torment An Abomination of Collective Ideologies EP

Lots going on here with LIFE’S TORMENT, a self-described “grind-punk/sk8 violence/fastcore” unit from Vegas. Dual vocals belt out anti-facist lyrics amidst buzzing riffs, blastbeats, and breakdowns. I don’t really have any complaints—on paper this all sounds pretty good, and in practice, it does, too. That said, by the end I felt exhausted by this EP; maybe best served in smaller doses.