After some time of being too much into Powerviolence and exploring what the scene has to offer, I completely forgot what good old-school Grindcore is about. In general, nowadays most of the grindcore bands are experimenting a lot and not many bands are actually playing grindcore the way it was back in the day. These 5 dudes from the legendary band BLOCKHEADS, who have been in the scene for 30 years now (it seems that they still are not planning to slow down any time soon), reminded me what's up with top-notch old-school grindcore and got me out of the never-ending Powerviolence rabbit hole in which I was stuck for some time now.
The 8th addition to their discography does not disappoint. And while it does not introduce anything new and groundbreaking to the genre, it shows that you do not need to reinvent the wheel to make badass grindcore, proving that the original style of music still stands up to the current grindcore bands, which tend to experiment a lot more.
The album starts with a noisy sample, which works like a charm andsets the mood for the whole album perfectly. Afterward, without any further adieu, skull-crushing blastbeats take over the stage accompanied by sick guitar riffs and showwhat brutal music actually is. After a while some different elements are being introduced, short and very brief "trick" breakdowns, which are quickly going back into those ridiculously fast blasts and even crusty parts as well. Similar elements are heard throughout the whole album and the main few tricks are revealed in the first 5 songs, with subtle differences occurring later on in the album.
Nonetheless, the whole album is very manic and chaotic, but somehow controlled and tight at the same time; has these very swift pauses, which seem impossible to actually perform, but these guys can pull it off! In addition to that, different parts of the tracks are composed in a way, that stops them from constantly sounding the same and helps the listener to avoid zoning out because of the continuous blasts. As it is now usual, the lyrics touch upon different social and ecological problems, which are now more relevant than ever, considering the direction the whole world and society is going towards to.
It was very refreshing to listen to this album, as it was a very long time since I’ve heard NEW old-school grindcore done right. There was a big variety of different moments to enjoy, although there are some minor downsides, which are very subjective and it will not bother most people. Due to my stupid millennial short attention span, the whole album was a tad too long for me (especially after the whole Powerviolence phase), therefore I enjoyed it much more by "consuming" the whole album in a few times. It made me enjoy those short segments much more and I did not get bored so quickly. That would also be my suggestion to those people, who are used to listening to way shorter albums, as this record is 28 minutes long.
Anyway, it was a blast listening to this album and I am looking forward to the official release! The album is out on the 15th of November via Lixiviat Records and Bones Brigade Records and will be available on CD, Tape, and Vinyl.
For today's review - we have a trio of badasses from Lisboa, Portugal - Bas Rotten. This is their debut album, and it’s coming out on the 20th of November! And after looking at the album cover and the band logo, my first impression was “Oh no, another macho hardcore band…”. And I was dead wrong. Blastbeats tore my face off right from the first seconds of the album. This is a great example of judging the “book by its cover”, as this album was a great surprise for me.
While listening to the album, you can hear a lot, and I mean A LOT of different influences. Every song surprises the listener with different music styles, while still not being too different from each other. While this is not a macho hardcore band, there is a strong footprint of it in the vocals and guitar riffs (but not the whole time). The drummer plays a lot of different beats throughout the album - blastbeats, d-beat, pretty much everything this album would need. The guitar riffs have a lot of variety as well, as you can hear some death metal riffs, slower badass old school thrash metal riffs and with the combination of vocals, these riffs sound like something, that would be influenced by Sodom. I guess this is something you could call thrashcore. Although, throughout the album, I could not decide if this was more of a metal album or punk. Despite that, a lot of people will find something they could like about this album.
Support the band and buy the album, which is coming out on the 20th November, 2020!
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/basrotten
In today's review, we have a bunch of fellas from Tours, France, called LØVVE. This is their second full-length album which does not depart far from their style as it is quite similar to their first album. It is nice to find bands that have their own style and manage to maintain it throughout their discography while doing something different as well.
Let’s start with the thing that catches your eyes first - the album art and the album name. “After the rain the sun comes out” indicates that this is not some kind of “funny" hardcore album rather than something more serious and with an intentional meaning - which in my opinion, provides more value to the music itself. The way the album name is placed on the album cover could imply an endless loop of rain and sun constantly changing into one another. And the album cover looks dark and different than you would see on any other hardcore or powerviolence release. Although, I would love to hear more about the concept of the album.
After getting first impressions, this album gets even better and I am not gonna lie - it made me cum. That bass intro you hear at the beginning of the first track… MmmmMMM… Beefy and catchy hardcore punk riffs are everything I could ask for and that is the very first thing I get! Oh, and the guitar feedback also arouses me quite a lot.
The music itself is kind of similar to some other fastcore bands like Reproach or at times even Crippled Fox, but way heavier and a tad slower. And that is not a bad thing. Vocals remind me of old school hardcore punk or crossover thrash metal, but it perfectly accompanies the guitar riffs and creates a cool “IN YOUR FACE” vibe.But despite the aforementioned similarities to fastcore, you can also hear some quite melodic and “obscure” riffs that go into fast powerviolence-y parts with d-beat or sometimes even blastbeats.
All in all, the album should not be longer or shorter - it has the perfect length, does not get boring as there is a huge variety in the composition and you keep wanting to listen to this album more and more!
And I will say it again - that bass intro riff kicks ass!
You can listen to the album on Spotify and Bandcamp:
In todays review we are talking about a split from the two Czechs finest bands - Controlled Existence and Needful Things. For both bands it is a very important and in a way a sad release, but also a beginning of a new chapter as the vocalists of both bands are leaving and moving on to do something else! Nonetheless this is a great farewell split album and it was amazing hearing all the music they contributed to!
L: Let's start with Controlled Existence side and oh boy, that is a fucking amazing powerviolence release. No bullshit, fast and straight forward PV right from the beginning. Somehow even the slow parts seem fast and hard, the fast parts are fast enough not to turn into an uncomprehendable mush. Thats probably because the mix is quite high quality (for this genre) - the drums sound tight, the whole record sounds “sharp” and in general, this is what a power violence record should sound like, in my opinion. And while I prefer powerviolence because its closer to hardcore punk than usual grindcore is, this is fucking nowhere close to hardcore punk. Just pure hatred.
K: Few times I have seen this band live, they always have a very strong stage presence and the serious tone makes you think about the things they have to say. It will be interesting to see where things will head without Luba, but their technical, "broken", Warsore inspired grind we see live is one of a kind and I really hope it's not the last release from CxEx as they already have a replacement
L: On the second side we have Needful Things. Now, this is a proper grindcore release - blastbeats straight from the start, no bullshit. Songs are longer than on the CxEx side, they are a bit faster and way closer to metal. At times it sounds a bit crusty, there is plenty of powerviolence influences and you can definitely hear some Napalm Death in it as well.
K: This band has been around since forever and you can absolutely tell these guys know how it's done. I remember I was so excited to see them in OEF 2005, but the party just got too much fun before that. I wake up in my tent after a blackout and I hear *blastbeat ends* "thank you that was needful things!" God fucking damn it. I leave the tent in a rush and running I slip on my own puke I forgot was there mixed with Trutnov's mud sokaed in rain. Those fun stories I will never forget and this band has a special place in my heart for sure.
All in all, this is a great, personal and emotional split release, that should be played once in a while by everyone, who is into this kind of stuff. Definitely a top notch record, get a physical copy when it's out.It’s
fucking annoying, that there are no way you could listen to both sides
in the same place, but I hope that this will change sometime in the
future.
Here is the Controlled Existence side... And here is Needful Things!
I went to Austin, Texas with work once and besides having some fun at Austin Terror Fest I also found a local grind gem with a creepy-ass name. As soon as the first song started blasting from Bandcamp I knew I was in for a treat so I went to see them play live of course and oh my god did they made a new fan than night. These guys are very active in the scene, but they are not super keen to use social media so I wanted to help spread their amazing music on this side of the ocean and learn a bit more of what lurks behind their killer hardcore. Ladies and gents, today we are talking with Nathan and Andy from MOTHMAN.
So Mothman is this urban legend being that will show up at a tragedy site before it happens as a bad omen, is that right? What is your fascination with this being and why did you chose this title?
NATHAN: Aside from being an omen, when someone sees Mothman, they're struck with intense fear and can't look away or run. They just have to endure the deep feeling of pain and panic. I think the latter attracted us to the moniker--seeing something truly terrifying and being unable to remove yourself from it. Also the movie Mothman Prophecies (2002) scared Skiles and I real bad when we were kids.
ANDY: I didn't choose the title as I was brought into this project later on, but what Nathan said sums it up pretty well. I, however, never feared the Moth as a child but rather embraced the fear and teachings within.
I feel like your lyrics are a mixture of political and personal stuff is that right? Are there any other topics you are trying to transmit? Are you guys into horror?
NATHAN: A lot of the earlier record topics were political and religious with some personal stories here and there. The newer stuff is more personal. We're just trying to get some feelings out with no particular agenda other than making heavy music. Horror is cool too.
ANDY: I just play drums.
I can hear hardcore/sludge/metalcore/grind... How would you describe your style if we are trying to be more specific than "Aiming to bring the most abrasive music possible"?
NATHAN: I like how you described our sound when we met in Austin--metalcore influenced grind. Anything technical and heavy has always intrigued and inspired us musically. We want fans of loud, angry, fast, heavy music to enjoy our songs, but more importantly we want to enjoy writing and playing them and challenge ourselves. That usually means drawing influence from a few genres.
ANDY: I think our style is heavily influenced by how people may respond to what we're playing. It's quite often we'll look at a part and think, 'people are going to go nuts here' or something along those lines. Our live shows, in my opinion, are integral to the success of this band and we create a lot of special 'holy $#!t' moments for fans. Rarely do we ever look at a part and go 'we can't do that, that's not in our genre', nothing is off-limits if it melts faces.
You guys remind me of Vulgar Pigeons and later Pig Destroyer. What really are your main influences?
NATHAN: For me it's a lot of heavier bands that also have an all-encompassing mystique about them: Gaza, Architect, the_network... a lot of early Black Market Activities bands. It's hard to pin down a small handful. We'll hear a song by one band and be inspired to make some weird part fit into a song that was inspired by another song from a different band. Skiles doesn't listen to too much new music so he's always finding inspiration from old albums we listened to from back in the day. Andy doesn't listen to too much heavy music and that brings an interesting influence into the mix. We're all so comfortable playing music together that everything just works out. We enjoy pushing each other
ANDY: I don't listen to a lot of heavy music, and more-so probably not the same bands that Nathan or Skiles would draw inspiration from. However, I do still have my own bands that influence my style including Architects, Counterparts, The Black Dhalia Murder, Norma Jean, and Dillinger Escape Plan.
When is the new album coming out? Any chance it will have more blastbeats?
NATHAN: I'd expect we get this record out in 2021. As for blast beats, there are less than the last record, but they're extremely tasteful and well executed so it evens out.
ANDY: Sadly, not as many blast beats.
I see most of the shows take place in and around Austin. Is that right? Any tour ideas after covid?
NATHAN: This band has only been on one short tour. We'd love to take the show on the road, but it's difficult with life and other music projects. Hopefully one day we can make it to Europe, Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, WV and to a Mathcore Index Fest.
ANDY: Would definitely love to when appropriate.
I know Nathan is in a bunch of other bands. Could we know more about it? What about other Mothman members? What other bands you are related to and what should we hear?
NATHAN: Skiles and I play in Thieves, Drip-Fed and Mothman. Andy plays in Nominee. All the bands are on streaming platforms and all the releases fucking rip. Thieves dropped a new album at the end of 2019. Nominee and D-F are both sitting on new albums that will come out in 2021.
Are you gear maniacs or would you play with whatever as long as it's loud?
NATHAN: I'd say we're average gear maniacs. Skiles and I have played the same rigs for years. Andy has played the same kit for years. We're definitely into checking out cool weird gear, but we're definitely married to what has worked for us. We prefer to play our own gear. Andy got that spring mount clip for his china when we were in high school and that was a pretty big deal.
ANDY: What can I say, the spring mounted clip was exciting new technology at the time on par with when the Zil-Bel came out. I am not a gear head, I like what I like and stick with what works for me. I have plenty of friends who go and chase the 'new best thing' and that's just not for me.
I went to see some shows in Austin and I had an impression that every band brings their own equipment, like FULL backline. Is that common practice in the US for venues to not provide this stuff and leave it with the band? Or is it because bands care about their sound being unique so much?
NATHAN: Skiles and I toured Europe in October 2019 and were introduced to the idea that the headliner provides gear for everyone and it blew our minds. In the US it's rare that bands share gear to that extent unless they're friends and on tour together. We always prefer to use our gear anyways because it's what we're used to playing with. One time I asked the bassist of Vampyre if he wanted to use my 810 and he said he likes to use his own gear and I said word and then he rolled his own 810 on stage and by stage I mean floor.
ANDY: I loathe having to use another person's drum kit. I will always play on mine if I have the choice as it's set up for me and feels natural. I'll never tour in Europe.
Can you tell us more about TX grind/hc scene? What less known bands should we check out?
NATHAN: That's a tough question. We don't have too many grind bands in Austin, let alone a scene. Mammoth Grinder is probably the best heavy band out of Austin. DSGNS are another great metal band. The Bearer are a great band with new stuff coming out soon. Insvrgence are great friends of ours who work harder than a lot of bands from Austin. Of course Fire From The Gods are big time players now and still great dudes.
Do you think Texas climate is part of the rage in you? Do you enjoy constantly sweating in 3 digit degrees or would you rather live somewhere with snow and ice castles?
NATHAN: I'd rather be knee deep in snow at any moment. I think Texas politics are more influential than the weather.
ANDY: I'm inside 90% of the year so it never bothers me. It can be pretty brutal going to check the mail though. I don’t like snow. It’s coarse and rough and irritating… and it gets everywhere.
What do you guys do for a living? Any chance you could make money doing music someday?
NATHAN: Skiles is an project manager and musician. Andy is an SEO admin and a musician. I'm a multimedia producer and a musician. No we'll never get paid playing music. Actually, Skiles gets paid to play music on weekends in his cover band. But playing original music? Nah.
ANDY: If only, if only.
Do you guys like drugs? getting drunk or high? Or are you sober and that is why u so angry? What is your poison of choice?
NATHAN: Just the simple stuff--weed, beer and whiskey. We're Texas boys.
Would you like to say something about American politics?
No politics.
What is your favourite thing to do in free time when you are not doing music?
NATHAN: Start another band and do music.
ANDY: Playing video games as that's the only way I can interact with the majority of my friends that I haven't seen in months.
There is someone on another continent reading this and they are about to discover your music for the first time. What would you like to tell this person?
NATHAN: Thank you for listening. Turn it up to 11 and bang your head. Let us know what you think and show your friends if y’all know what’s good.
ANDY: I like walks on the beach and I'm open to new things. Get me out of here.
Last words and thank you's?
NATHAN: Thank YOU for setting up this interview. We appreciate everyone listening and enjoying what we've put out so far. It'll always be a side project, but we'll always have songs in the bank. Tell a friend and spread the word. New album coming out next year. Less blast beats, but heavier and better riffs. Mothman forever, or until one of us dies. Unless it's Andy, then we'll just get a new drummer.
ANDY: Thanks for the interview and good luck to Mothman finding a new drummer.
While it might seem, that the Lithuanian punk scene is not as big or active as everywhere else - this album will serve you some hope. Probably the only d-beat band in Lithuania released their first full-length album called CONTRA ORDER. And while I am not the biggest fan of crust or d-beat (unless it's super melodic like Martyrdod or very heavy like Seitan), this album speaks to me on so many levels. Its probably because to me it feels like a hardcore punk album more than d-beat (you can also hear a bit of rock'n'roll in those riffs, as well). And I think that this is great!
Seeing these bois grow in the local scene was a real pleasure, first shows were promising, but not too strong. However, after visiting the release party gig a week+ ago I was very happy to see Attaktix are now ripping a new one to everyone in the crowd (even though masked moshpit was hysterical). Line-up changes have probably played a part, but it's mostly practice that helps you master your instrument and finally achieve the sound that transmits the real power. Opening track "Snitch" is probably the weakest in the album, but after this punk rock hit it really catches up very quickly and sounds like any good d-beat band from abroad.
The whole album goes by really quick and you get the urge to play it again and again. The duration is perfect for multiple spins. Listening to it, you definitely feel the energy, the spirit - the guys from Attaktix are definitely doing what they love! Catchy lyrics with topics almost always present in D-Beat and Crust punk, amazing catchy riffs that keep playing in your head afterwards and occasional surprise blast beats, that make some songs even more brutal and fast than it should be. Just a straight forward, honest, angry and fast album, what else do you want? The band still has shirts and tapes, show some love $$$! Also streaming on Spotify.
I was lucky enough to fall in love with the genre where there are no unreachable superstars and you are able to have direct contact with your favorite bands. This is a gift that needs to be cherished and so I am super proud to share some first hand quality content with one of my favorite gXc bands! I first saw this band in Bloodshed festival 2014 and was blown away immediately. It's fast, it's raw, it's grim and there is absolutely nothing "happy" about this Besançon machinegun grindcore bunch. I am of course talking about the one and only, punch-in-the-face for a statement -WHORESNATION.
Tell us about the band name and some history, what made you think "I should be in a gXc band" one morning? Which country of this world you think deserves being called that (whores) and why?
Whoresnation started in 2009 in Besançon France. The line up was different back then and it evolved into what's now : Lopin on guitar, the only original member, Tonio behind the drums and Pibe on vocals who joined the band in 2010. But that has recently changed again with the addition of a new bass player.
As individuals we have different backgrounds and I guess that we have always all craved to play in bands and make things happening and grindcore is one big love for the three of us.
As a band we've always played grindcore, trying to be as fast as possible.
The name that was chosen for the band has been questioned many times but the meaning is generally understood. The idea is to play with words and reasign ideas, most, if not all nation are somehow selling them self, "whoring", to capitalism, sacrifizing the wellfare of "citizens" and jeopardazing ecology and life in general. And if it's not put on the altar of capitalism it's most likely about fascism, anyways we're fucked and the concept of nation is wicked and wrong. We target most of the nations with our name, but well, mainly occidental colonial pig countries.
We are rather "no borders" and "no love for a nation", states and governments are deeply unhuman and disgusting.
Of course you understand that the name Whoresnation has nothing to do with sex workers, the word "whores" remains a debate that we absolutely understand, but we've chosen to go on with it. We think that this is also a linguistic debate and we've carried our name for over ten years during which we have played about 360 shows on 3 different continents and kind of grew up with the band, we play grindcore and we stand against all kinds of oppression. We've released some EPs, splits and comps but also two albums, last one which is maybe a bit more deathy was released in 2018 and recently repressed by Lixiviat records. We're actually working on the next one.
It seems to be Whoresnation as a band is getting more and more serious/dark/metal/brutal. Is that image true and what are your main influences?
The speed and brutal part surely comes from the fact that at some point we played a shitload of shows and we practiced a lot, that's Lopin and Tonio's work that payed. The dark and metal part is quite new for the band, Mephitism as mentioned before is rather deathy grindcore, somehow a Death Metal thing in the atmosphere and the riffage was added. Vocals also changed to more growls. That was a natural direction that was taken as Tonio comes from Death Metal and all of us we're quite blown away by the recent new bands and productions in Death Metal with bands like Spectral Voice, Anatomia, Necrot and so on. But grindcore is our main love and we'll remain a grind band.
I don't know if we are more serious but we surely sound more serious. In the band we kind of distinguish 2 eras and we're for sure prouder of the most recent and of course of our last album Mephitism. We recorded at Disvlar studio with our consigliere Steph and it was mixed and mastered by William Blackmon, their work was perfect and that was the first time we were fully satisfied with the production. So maybe all these changes happened because we are now able to do what we want, we're really excited about writing the next chapter.
Is Whoresnation a political band? If not just that, what are other lyrical themes? What is "Who's to Blame? What's to Blame?" about?
We don't really consider WxN as a political band but we surely care about this aspect, we played in many squats and autonomous places, benefit shows, of course we are a leftist individuals and the messages behind songs are politically charged and 100% anti-fascist, anti-sexist and anti-capitalist. Lyrics on the last album are a bit less explicit and darker, they reflect on the human condition in general, we can talk about drugs or work, paranoia and anxiety and so on.
Who's to blame ? What's to blame ? Is some kind of tribute to the Wire, it's a song about drugs, violence, authority and cities. Lower class are always criminalized and used as scapegoat, it's about the war anti-drug and gentrification.
Mephitism is my favorite full lenght grindcore album from 2018. What does "Mephitism" mean and is there a concept throughout the album or rather just a collection of songs?
Mephitism refers to the stench, the thick and choking fuming reek. It's about the poisonous unbreathable atmosphere that our world is sinking in. We chose to remain blurry and picked a name and an artwork that are open to interpretation and let those who are curious listen to the music, check and the lyrics and make their opinion about the meaning of it.
There is a very cool video of you guys playing the legendary St Vitus bar in NYC. and the list of shows you have done is... impressive. Can you tell us more about your experience in US and some of the most memorable shows outside Europe?
We are huge fans of live set at Saint Vitus on youtubeshit, it was super rad that Frank Huang was there to immortalized this very special moment, that was our second show ever in the USA and we had a great time.
Regarding the amount of shows we played we wish we made more, it's never enough but we always managed to play as many shows as we can, it's become harder to find time with life going on but it's always been the main goal of the band: playing live.
Unfortunately we are bit stuck with the fucked up covid situation right now: we were supposed to make our 3rd North American tour in May with No/Mas and Warfuck but it fell through and we had also to postponed our September Eurotour with Endorphins Lost.
USA has always been good to us, and it's great to play there, the two coasts are really different and both are far from our European perception of things, that's also why we love playing there even if sometimes it's challenging. Bad part is to cross the border to the USA or Canada, we were always paranoiac and anxious about that, but once we were there we made great encounters and we helped by lovely and caring people. Also, weed is legal in some states and they've the best coffeeshops I've been in, that's a plus. Next year will be back there and finally do the tour with Warfuck, we're going to tour from the Maryland Deathfest to the Montreal Earslaughter Fest playing shows before and in between.
Outside Europe and North America we have only played in Japan yet. It was a unreal and great experience. We will surely tour there again for the next album. Regarding our top live experiences it's a difficult one … for sure New York was a Highlight as Oakland recently was (with Ghoul and and Impaled) in this huge and amazing venue. Some shows in Japan were absolutely crazy as well with pure raw energy. Playing fest is also most of the time stimulating and rewarding, Bloodshed fest, Maryland Deathfest, Obscene Extreme, Chimpy fest etc. are always made of great memories. We love to play live, everywhere, no matter which continents. We haven't yet tour on a large zone but we hope to discover new places and scenes.
Do you guys get along in the band well? Any threats to kill each other after touring?
Of course we get along, the three of us did a lot together and we have strong bonds. Other bands sometimes describe the way we interact as dad, mom and the child. We're not always agreeing and we're sometimes discussing things but we're united. Sometimes you feel it's time to go home on tour of course, when we're tired we're a bit moody but always finish tours before it becomes a problem.
What are your favorite non-brutal bands that you find to be heavy influences?
Regarding the lyrics (Pibe), French Hiphop and French Punk Rock have always been two big influences, And of course books, movies, series, cultural content that are not metal, but sometimes it's also brutal. Most of the time there are references to these in the words. Musically speaking (Lopin), I would say everything with a guitar in it can be influential. You won’t hear me tell "this riff has been stolen from Neil Young" but somehow we are all classic rock made and its may show up in tiny pieces in our music.
Can you tell us more about Deaf Death Husky records, what has it been up to, what is the main driving force behind this?
Deaf Death Husky is my (Pibe) records and tapes label. I try to help out friends as much as possible and to put out records I love. From the age of 15 I started to run DIY label and it's a part of my life, it's a very intense hobby and at the moment it's a bit slowed down but still, I just got my copies of the Satan Album called Toutes Ces Horreurs a band with which WxN made a split with long ago. But since I have moved to Paris my activity with the label is not hectic, but the husky never dies, it takes a nap.
What are other French bands our readers should check out?
Magma that's for sure! Well in the DIY scene we have many friends and luckily quite a lot of great bands ! If you're into grindcore and angry music check Warfuck and Satan that were mentioned before but also Blockheads, Doomsisters, Chiens, Deletär, Strong as Ten, Vomi Noir and all related projects.
The French scene is wide and various, luckily if you want some help to understand it Romain from Terminal Sound Nuisance blog wrote an awesome guide the French Punk Scene if you guys are interested just google "French DIY Punk Scene: The Definitive Guide" !
What is in the near future for Whoresnation, Will you come play Lithuania again??
We are supposed to play some shows in autumn (mostly domestic) but we won’t be surprised if the covid situation will make it fell apart. Hopefully we’ll be able to play our postponed North American and European tours next year. The main information is we are slowly writing songs for the new album which should be released in 2021.
I (Lopin) would have think the mandatory home containment would be a great amount of time to work on new songs but I’m afraid I have to face my daily intereaction with our cruel world to get inspiration. Anyway you can expect something angrier, darker and lower. Lithuania was a really good moment last time, we would love to come back and play in Vilnius and other cities and with Faršas it would be a plus!
When someone who has no idea but is legitimately interested asks you what is "grindcore" and you start explaining that it's this super fast combination of punk rock and death metal, you probably want to show them something like this, as INTERNAL ROT from Australia is probably the perfect example. And what a treat it is to get a full length album that is closer to half an hour (±24mins) rather than some 4 minute split, almost a challenge to fill your journey to work with something else, but a perfect match for my ride. Even though all songs are only about a minute long.
Internal Rot is pure old-school grindcore at it's best with maybe a hint of gore suggested by song titles only. Very heavy, always fast (almost no slow parts) and the composition of songs is just chaos all over, with all kinds of possible rhythm combinations, but always brutal and relentless regardless of what is happening in the structure. The whole experience feels like a massive train that crushes an unfortunate car left on the railway and drags it for 24 minutes without slowing down.
Internet helps me learn the band is a 3 piece (no bass), from Melbourne and playing for 10 years now. This is their 2nd full length album and members have played in Die Pigeon Die, Super Fun Happy Slide and countless other well known names.
As for the sound - guitars are as heavy as it gets and I never felt there's no bass so it's a compensation that works. Love the occasional part-of-a-second squeaks of the strings heard after they are muted and the next riff begins. The vocals are mostly deep growls without much variety, which is something I enjoy in grindcore most of the time, because it emphasizes the extremity of it's nature. The only possible criticism I have is probably that the snare could be a bit louder, because when the blastbeat starts, the whole thing is so heavy I lose the snare in the overall mass. But it might also be a matter of taste as I usually prefer ridiculous over-the-top snares that sound like empty metal buckets.
I wonder who the sad girl on the cover is, reminds me of some actress (which is probably the case as it looks like a photographed TV screen), but I always love the contrast where harsh music meets beautiful images or lyrics (think Inalienable dreamless) or vice versa. This album should become a modern classic built by the best time-tested standards. There are so many great bands coming from Australia, but this stands out in my head a bit due to how pure and simply crushing it is, very good without a need to "re-invent the bicycle". I will play it on repeat until it hurts.
Debut 7"by FAILURE contains the best 7 minutes of jump in the air + kick in the face audio violence I have heard in a while. The sound combined with tasty, serious imagery would make you think these guys cannot be messed with. However I was lucky to meet them in real life, play a few shows together and I have quickly learned they are just the sweetest people in the world. Ladies and gents, it's a great honor to present you this short but straight to the point conversation with the one and only - FAILURE from Italy!
Hi Marco! What is up? How is jerking off and getting high in quarantine going for you guys?
That was good to me. I enjoy being by myself at my place. Just in the end of quarantine I was starting to crave having fun with my friends again.
FAILURE is a great band name, even though there is some grunge rock or whatever band with the same name on Spotify already. I consider it to be the same case like AC/DC and ACxDC. Is there any story behind the band name that we should know?
Nothing to do with that. We just didnt know that this band existed. Steve and me chose this name because of the bad time we were living when we decided to form the band.
I am really impressed with the visual side of your band. I must say it is very sexy. Who is doing the design for shirts, covers, who did the logo etc?
Oh thanks my friend! I made the logo and we choose our covers and artworks all together. We wanted to use b/w pictures like most powerviolence bands. Steve and I play in Ape Unit too and we write lots of weird stuff with them. With Failure we wanted to play more "standard" stuff.
What were your main influences that made you make FAILURE?
Sadness, depression, frustration and Lack Of Interest.
Do you see yourselfes as a serious PV band? Or is it more like SPAZZ school PV in your eyes? To me is sounds more serious than DESPISE YOU at some parts lol
I dont know. We started writing lyrics about personal struggles but sometimes we write about more easy and ironic stuff. Sincerely, I don't care about that.
What are you currently listening to the most that you would like to recommend? (does not have to be heavy)
In these days i am listening mostly to Flamingosis, Viagraboys, The Chats, Pendulum, Vulfpeck and Kokoko.
Why no bass? Works better this way or you like the "sharper" sound?
When we started playing Steve originally wanted to play bass but we couldn't find a proper drummer. Now we don't want to look for a bassplayer and wait for him or her to learn all the songs. We are on a tight schedule and we want to be more comfortable and easy with composing and playing so...less people, less problems. You have a very unique sweet high hardcore voice pitch which is heaven for my ears (reminds me of RAISED FIST a bit). Are you able to do "normal" clean singing and are there any examples online?
Thank you buddy! I am not a pro screamer so I tried to learn the vocal style I like the most on fast music and that's what I came put with. Usually after 2 or 3 gigs in a row I lose my voice because I am not able to do that right (that's shite). I played with some friends on a NOFX cover band to play a couple of parties here in Cuneo but I can not sing properly there too. We recorded a punk rock version of "Ritornerai" by Bruno Lauzi (an italian songwriter from the 60's/70's) and you can find it in the latest Tanto Di Cappelo Records compilation here https://tadcarecords.bandcamp.com/album/vicious-circle as well as a Spazz cover with Failure.
Your dream band to make a split with?
Ona Snop was my previous choice but that dream already came true. Now I would say Sheeva Yoga.
How are you related with APE UNIT and what is going on with that band?
Yes in Ape Unit I play guitar and Steve drums. We are completing the new album composition. We are almost done with that but it's more weird and strange stuff and it requires us a lot of time more than the Failure punky tunes.
Can we expect a 30 min full length from FAILURE in the next 2 years or something?
We would prefer to release a good 7" all killer no filler more than a full length.
You are very fun people to be around. What is the funniest memory you would like to share from the bands history?
Oh man. Too many fun times to remember. One of my favourite situations took place in Milan when we played with Ona Snop and Afternoon Gentlemen in Villa Vegan. We started dancing to some electronic stuff staying in circle with people from bands and audience and I still don't know how all that began but a smile always appears on my face when I think about that.
Choose one alcoholic drink. The rest are gone from existence. Which one would you keep?
Beer.
Who's mama makes the best lasagna?
I would say mine, but I want to be clear this is not a competition: it's a war.
Will you come play Lithuania when we have a vaccine? Can't wait to get drunk with you again
I dream about that every night and in that dream we are dancing in circle with you.
Thank you for answering my dumb questions kind sir, wish you the best of luck working in those fields!
It's not everyday that I hear something new and go "wow" straight away and I can see it's not even the most recent record by this band, but this is what Laurynas showed me by saying "just stop whatever you are doing and listen to this now" and this is what I want to talk about. It's an odd coincidence I started driving when I played this and few songs later I drive past a tall building in the neighborhood I grew up in. I can see the ambulance, police and firefighter cars with their lights on. The balcony on level 15th collapsed and fell down destroying levels 3, 2 and 1. I was glad to learn no one was harmed in the incident, but it was a powerful sight especially with Wound Man blasting in the background.
Opening track "Dive" starts with a creepy-ass sample (or synth?) that sounds something like an old school horror soundtrack and a very heavy, slow sludge riff begins your descent into this short, but effective punch in the face of an album. Slow part does not last too long to get boring and we start hearing short, quick blastbeat+barking vocals attacks. They almost sound like a trick that you never expect, but at the same time feel like a classic element of the powerviolence genre and you know it's just right. Same formula ripples throghout the album and we get tricked over and over again by going really fast, then slow, then super slow and then super fast again all of the sudden. I guess the effect is achieved by slow parts being really slow, as in sludge doom slow and many fast bands fail at this by making their slow parts too fast.
We reach "Hate flag" which sounds like a hardcore hit you'd like to make a cover of in 15 years. Mid tempo violence that makes me think of something a person I know said about PV genre: "how is it that powerviolence somehow sounds more HC than HC"?
Title track "Prehistory" is a slow riff worship with vocals joining and catching up some speed only in the second half and the rest is just threatening hardcore that makes you feel like you're about to be beat up in a bad part of the city. "Evolution" ends with some more speed changes, angry vocals shouting over each other and a short sample talking about man VS god. Must say the vocals never sound silly during the record as it's sometimes the case with PV.
It's not a fast album, but it sure is fucking heavy and I am immediately hooked on this band. I see quite a few releases on their Bandcamp, gonna go check em out now, but if you have not heard of this pissed Massachusetts gang- Prehistory is sure a good one to start with. The whole thing is over in like 12 minutes, but that's just about enough as you constantly feel like being hit with a brick and I would not like to have this emotion for 40 minutes in an album like that. If you are a fan of Weeekend Nachos or Sex Prisoner do not hesitate for another second of this dumb review.
This week we have a fresh and sincere interview with a very busy man from a sunny state of California - the mastermind behind the super productive DIY label - No Time Records Tommy Smith!
So which is it -
"No time" or "no time for fun"?
Hahahaha, so the
label is called No Time Records, the bandcamp link is in reference to the other
founder of the label’s old band called High Tension, in one of their songs, he
says the phrase “I’ve got No Time For Fun, my old self is dead to me”.
Seriously - how do
you have the time to do everything you do?
I don’t, a lot of
late nights and energy drinks. With the whole covid lockdown and lack of shows,
I’ve had more time to focus on JUST the release label side of things, but under
normal circumstances, we’re throwing nearly bi-weekly shows, 3 to 5 releases a
month, playing in a few bands and touring.
What was your first
exposure to grindcore and what made you fall in love with this genre? What made
you go "I'm gonna do all of this shit!"?
I had been a fan of
powerviolence since high school, I mainly listened to like, 4 bands, all local
to Orange County. There is video of like, 15 year old me scared shitless at an
ACxDC show. My current partner started getting me more interested in this
stuff, plus going out to more shows in Los Angeles and linking up with more
bands from the area.
You are this keen guy
who just wants to do all this cool stuff, but there is a lot of negativity and
cynicism in the world and I know sarcasm can be demotivating. How do you deal
with all the smartasses that just know everything?
I grew up being
bullied relentlessly in elementary and middle school for my weight and overall
weird behaviors, punk was the first thing that I ever felt like I belonged.
After building a core group of people wanting me to succeed at what I do, I
really just brush of negativity.
I see you are a big
fan of Tony Hawks Pro Skater lol (me too!). What other inspirations could you
mention? Games? Movies? Books? People?
Outside of the Tony
Hawk games, for sure the Guitar Hero franchise is what also perked my interest
into “rock” music, I always enjoyed the punk songs more than the oldie classic
rock and metal. Dance Dance Revolution is actually how I found ska music, I
remember hearing “Little Bitch” by The Specials on one of the machines and
found that music so infectious.
I guess for movies like, maybe SLC Punk? I saw
that one once, thought it was ok, there was this dude I went to high school
with who swore that movie was like the bible. Not much of a book guy, never
really read many like “zines”, mainly spent my youth playing videogames.
I would really like
to learn more about your personality. Could you give us some background on who
you are besides your love for music? How old are you? Where u from? Family?
Work? Relationships? Any funny tattoos? Any unfulfiled dreams you might have?
So I am 24, born and
raised in Orange County, California. I just graduated college with a BS in
Computer Science, currently looking for my like “real” job, I have a part-time
gig which is the reason I was able to fund early No Time shit. I am happily
taken to my lovely and supportive partner of over 4 years, I plan on marrying
her but I wanna move out of my moms house before doing that. My mom is more or
less supportive of my label, my dad absolutely despises it.
I have 4 shit stick
n poke tattoos, a coffee mug from a piece of The Stupid Stupid Henchmen
artwork, my absolute favorite band. The phrase “FIGHT LIKE HELL”, the Wu-Tang
Clan logo but with the band name WADEYE in it instead, the bassist of that band
has a No Time tattoo so I thought it was only fair I got one of his band, and a
cassette tape that reads “TAPE LIFE OR HATE LIFE”, I gotta go back over it tho.
https://notimeforfun.bandcamp.com
what an impressive catalog. What 5 releases should one start with if they know
nothing about your label? Which ones are you most proud of?
You do all kinds of physical
releases (CDs/LPs/MCs) and you release A LOT of music. I am not going to ask
why you think physical is superior to digital these days, because I get it and
I hate this kind of question. However, - how did you find a crowd that thinks
the same and how do you sell most of the stuff without going bankrupt? If I
would do everything you do here in Europe I'd need to have very rich parents to
support me lmao
Oh I’ve been
bankrupt quite a few times hahaha, making most everything myself to start,
about 95% of my tapes releases I make myself and in small runs, I also don’t
pay myself for ANYTHING. I think people like having physical versions of stuff,
more and more people understand that buying physical items is the best way to
directly support artists they like.
California is fucking
huge and it's history is very rich with all kinds of music. Do you think it
makes it harder or easier to run a DIY label / have a band / make shows etc.
compared to a remote place where not much is happening?
There is a lot of
competition for sure, there’s no doubt about that, there’s nights were there
can be anywhere from 5 to 20 shows all happening within 50 miles of each other.
Super common for people to cruise like a DIY show at the beginning of the night
then hit a club show later. It’s harder to stand out for sure, so many people
to try and compete with, but you are also surrounded with so many people,
something like 18ish million between LA, Orange County, San Diego, and
Riverside, you are bound to have somebody listen.
I have been to Los
Angeles and I know it's a big, dirty mf and can be a bit scary at some points,
as opposed to this ridiculous, sparkling, fancy hollywood image of this city
most europeans have in their skulls. Do you feel safe there doing shows etc and
do you find the extreme social inequality as an inspiration to what you do?
What are the other big problems you see in the US? Would you call yourself a
patriot?
We had a band on
tour we were hosting a show for, park their van, and shit you not even 40
minutes later, they come back and all of their gear had been stolen, shit
fucking luck. LA gets a bad rap for theft and violence outside of shows, a few
infamous spots here and there.
I don’t really feel sketched out knowing that
the super majority of people just want to have a good time and get home.
There’s bad shit for sure that you gotta keep your ears and eyes up for. I’m
not from super poor roots, I never have claimed to be, I’m not rich by any
means, but a lower middle class. I always felt punk was for the voiceless and
if I can use my privilege coming from somewhat well-off background to devote my
time into a DIY label then that’s what I will do.
One of the biggest problems
that is facing the US is racial discrimination and abuse of police power, I’ve
been having those uncomfortable conversation with family, roommates and
coworkers, some understand, some still think ANTI-FA is a terrorist group so,
take what you can get, can’t waste your energy on those you can’t reach. Orange
County is super republican that I am not surprised people like my father and
99% of my coworkers don’t really understand why the country is so fucked.
Also
the heroin epidemic is something I care deeply about and take to heart, after
having multiple friends pass from ODing or be in and out of rehab and have
their whole lives ruined, it breaks my heart. We try to push for harm reduction
in the lyrics I write for my band, I want to start handing out clean needles
and NARCAN at my shows but I really don’t know the legality or a efficient way
of doing that, maybe that will be the first thing I push for when shows can
happen again.
Do you find it easier
to work with US bands rather than European bands? Or is there no difference for
you?
So I went through
high school being a HUGE fan of a bunch of UK bands, like Rash Decision,
Private Gain, The Domestics, JAKAL, From The Cradle To The Rave etc so I hold
European bands like super high above States bands in this weird, almost like
they are so much more better than US bands because they are from Europe
mentality, maybe because I can’t go see these bands live unless there is the
off-chance one of them tours. So I love working with international bands from
all over, and I can be more forgiving of any of the little issues that come up
with releasing. Although international co-releases fucking suck, dealing with
multiple currencies and shipping units ALL OVER is a fucking expensive
nightmare.
So besides label,
making shows etc you are also in a hardcore punk band Corrupt Vision. Can you
tell us a bit about your band? Are (were) you in any other bands?
Corrupt Vision is a
crossover grindcore / crack rock steady (skacore) band that I do with the other
founder of No Time Records. The members of Corrupt Vision also play as the
harsh noise band TIMExCUBE as sort of a joke. Me and Fern (label partner) also
play in our folk punk band called The Insomniac Collective. I am starting a
power violence band called NO MOTIVE with my friend Josh from a band called The
Bimbos and hope to have a demo out for that before years end.
Do ya'll really hate
SKA or is it like an ongoing joke? I'll be honest I'm not a fan of the genre,
but I can recognize a lot of SKA-like riffs in your music 😃
Corrupt Vision dubs our music as “Anti-Ska”, we are sort-of a direct response to the super shitty, copy/paste, sickly sweet poppy party ska that’s prevalent in the Orange County scene here. We hate that most current ska bands are just riding off the sounds of the 90’s and not really adding much to it, lack of diversity in the sound, empty lyrics and overall cringy presence, we really aren’t fans.
We also like being too grind for ska and too ska or grind that we sorta piss off the elitists of both genres, I have people from both scenes say we would sound better if we dropped either the ska or the grind.
Any chance you guys
would tour europe sometime when covid19 is under control? What places would you
like to visit the most and what are your favorite european bands?
We (tentatively)
have plans to tour the UK in April of 2021 with a band called Rash Decision,
billed around a festival called Manchester Punk Festival, however, with the god
awful Covid Response of both the UK and the US, I don’t see that happening. We
would LOVE to come and play the rest of Europe at some point as well, I
understand the UK is not necessarily the same as the rest of Europe, but with
the Brexit shit, we don’t wanna risk being sent home hopping from country to
country.
I dont think I have
heard a spotify podcast about grindcore before! How did that
happen and do you get many listeners? Any competition out there?
Its not so much a
grindcore podcast as it is just about me and Fern talk about the label and all
that we do, I think we are at like, 30 – 40 listeners so far which is dope, I
think, wouldn’t mind more but talking with my buddy weekly and making each
other laugh has been a great thing for my mental health.
Thank you so much for super fast, but also thoughtful and honest answers man! Next time I'm in on the west coast we must get drunk from a brown paper bag by the skatepark at the beach!
Make sure to check out and support everything Tommy has been up to!
