BLOCKHEADS - Trip To The Void [2021, Lixiviat Records; Bones Brigade Records]

 

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 and sets 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 show what 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. 

Here is the single from the upcoming album:

Follow Blockheads: https://www.facebook.com/blockheadsgrind

Lixiviat Records: https://www.facebook.com/lixiviatrecords

Bones Brigade Records: https://www.facebook.com/bonesbrigaderecords

BAS ROTTEN - SURGE [2020]

 

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

...And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basrottengrind/

...And Bandcamp as well: https://basrotten.bandcamp.com/

And here is a preview...

LØVVE - After the rain the sun comes out [2020, Lixiviat records]

 

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:

NEEDFUL THINGS/CONTROLLED EXISTENCE Split [2020]

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!

ATTAKTIX - Contra Order [2020]

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.

INTERNAL ROT - Grieving Birth [2020]

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.

Wound Man - Prehistory [2018]

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 is how these guys look like live:


I hope I get to see them live one day too!

MANACLES - Kol dar čia [2020]

Yet, another review of a local Lithuanian band is here! This time it’s a debut album “Kol dar čia” by Manacles, a new local hardcore punk band, which consists of members from ZLPGNR, SLØGA, and Crucial Features. Lithuanian underground scene definitely lacks this kind of hardcore punk bands – straight forward, fast, without any “macho” elements or other subgenres mixed in the music.

All of their songs are in Lithuanian and the lyrics cover important political and social problems, that are very relevant in the present time. Despite the fact, that at times those lyrics seem a bit cringy or cheesy, very important topics are being explored – the way it's supposed to be in punk rock! Also, the vocals do not sound harsh enough for my taste in the album, but while listening to them live it’s a completely different experience. The vocals sound great, a few local mosh enthusiasts (including me) are having fun in front of the stage, but it would be way cooler if there was some movement on the stage from the musicians themselves.

20 minutes of honest and angry, “punky” vibe, simple punk beats and crusty d-beat parts go by fast and after the first few listens you get the urge to replay the album, but after a while it gets old (but what else could you think of in this genre?). The highlight of this album is those catchy riffs that keep playing in your head after a while (like an annoying earworm). While I prefer way faster hardcore punk, I feel like this is a huge step towards the right direction, regarding straight forward hardcore punk music in Lithuania. I hope to hear even faster stuff from them in the future!

You can find this album on Bandcamp!

https://manacles.bandcamp.com/releases

...and Spotify!

PILORI - À Nos Morts [2020]

Another extreme outfit from a culturally rich country of France, this time - rather heavy than fast: "À Nos Morts" a debut LP by Pilori released on June 26 in LP, CD and cassette.
 It's a gloomy, atmospheric hardcore album with significant metalcore and sludge influences. Reminds me a lot of our local heroes Erdve.

Eerie compositions and dissonant riffs (especially on the interlude-like title track) that seem to come out of Silent Hill rather than this world are mixed with some mid-tempo beats and almost inhuman like vocals. As a vocalist I am not sure how exactly this effect is achieved, but it sounds unique for sure.

The guitars in the mix sound very heavy and it resonates well with the overall atmosphere, but it can be a bit too much if you like to re-play the same album few times at one take and I don't mean it as a bad thing.

If you miss soaking in autumn rain and seek for something fresh, but charged with strong, sulky emotions - definitely give it a spin. Not much happiness to be found on this one.
It's streaming on Spotify and you can buy physical at https://pilori.bandcamp.com/album/nos-morts

Bain de Sang - Sacrified For a Load of Filth and Lies [2020]

A second, co-release album on multiple labels, from Paris' explosive grindcore blood bath - Bain de Sang. Was never lucky to see them live (yet), but hearing this, I can imagine the moshpit would hurt. It's raw, it's super fast, almost no slow parts (except for the finishing track "31G" and saying "slow" here would be... generous) but you can also hear these guys know how to play their instruments and some variations feel really creative. This means a lot of hard work and sweat in the practice room. 8 minutes of pure, angry energy followed by 3 minute noise outro makes it a perfect length modern grind album. Zero bullshit and you can tell immediately. Though I would love 20 more minutes of this.

For those who have no idea I want to find a comparison and a band that comes to my head is Sayyadina, but some cleverly calculated hardcore moments with high pitched, lungs-out vocals even reminds me of Converge a lot, which can not be a bad thing by any means. I don't have much else to say to be honest, this is the kinda shit I really like so this should serve more like a recommendation from me. These guys deserve more attention, I see they have t-shirts, tapes and vinyls on their bandcamp, go support, drop a like and tell your mom!

MUSTASUO - Katharsis [Off Records, 2020]

K: Fresh new hardcore wind from the cold city of Oulu in Finland. D-beat, some blasts, and a lot of slow parts with painful echoing black metal vocals (also, Keijo Niinimaa from Rotten Sound appears in the album as the guest vocalist!). Much more serious and sad towards the second part of the album, but I somehow still see it as a hardcore record. No uplifting riffs in major key to be found here and this kind of music always talks to me. Would love to see these guys live someday when this bullshit pandemic finally goes away.

L: Their second full-length album Katharsis is a nice mixture of hardcore, crust and black metal. Instant tempo changes in between tracks from a slow and atmospheric black metal track to a hard and fast crust tune always surprises you. Melodic, but still chaotic riffs set the dark tone quite perfectly. Although In the beginning, I thought that there are too many slow black metal tracks and the album seemed too long, after a few listening sessions the album started making perfect sense. Everything they did, all the elements are like perfectly fitting puzzle pieces creating one amazing album. Cannot wait to hear what they will do in the future!

Favourite track: Turhuuksia

And here is their Bandcamp page! https://mustasuo.bandcamp.com/

FEASTEM - Graveyard Earth [Lixiviat Records, 2020]

You might have seen this band in Lithuania a few times or even in the last edition of In Feast festival. Feastem is a not only a professional, self-disciplined band but also very nice people to hang out with, we went on tour with them few years ago and it has been an experience I will remember until I'm no longer on this graveyard earth so it was very exciting to finally get a copy of their new long awaited full lenght CD in black & white cover.

Graveyard earth throws you into a cold shower of blastbeats from the first moment, but very soon surprises you with some melodic riffs and classic Feastem almost-Black-metal-like sharp guitar sound that pierces your ears and drills your brain throughout the whole thing. As with every Feastem record this also sounds very clean, when you can hear every instrument, but it does not lose the brutality. Some call it "northern" sound, some call it a "good mix", I like to call this style "sterile". No judging, it's a question of taste, but some like it more... "dirty" you know ;)

Perfect, precise drumming of a handsome machine gun named Patrik does not stop and along with relentless hardcore vocals (singalongs included!) and catchy riffs paints a very nice picture all the way from the fists-in-the-air metal anthem Sortovalta to an uncannily prophetic In isolation we die to "I wonder what is this one about" Mouths of others and a harsh noise outro that ends right on time. Fast and beautiful.

We had a long drive with my wife yesterday and after convincing her to listen to some grindcore I played Graveyard Earth. So cool it's on Spotify, there is a serious lack of underground music there. So my wife said "If all your stupid bands were playing like that - I would consider going to Obscene Extreme with you" which I think is a perfect compliment.

DISFORIJA - Priverstinis Gydymas [The hills are dead, 2020]

After 10 years of silence the legendary Lithuanian noise/grind/whatever/core band returns with the new full length "Priverstinis gydymas" on tape, CD and online streaming by Portugal's THE HILLS ARE DEAD Records. Seems Disforija is no longer trying to be funny and goes for more serious old school grindcore sound.

I really like what was done with the sound of this record in the mixing process as there is no guitar (bass only) but it still sounds really brutal, especially when I listen to it while driving with lows up on the EQ haha.

As for the structure it's quite simple and straight forward, songs are about 1-2 mins long and the whole thing barely exceeds 20mins. Not a fan of the long and slow intro but once the blastbeats start it's a quite raw, relentless and brutal attack throughout the whole thing. There are a few very catchy riffs, love the final song especially and there is actually a professionally shot music video on youtube which is cool.

Maybe as a bass-only album it would be interesting to hear some high-pitch shrieking vocals, but vocalists' death metal growling style gives record a feel of brutality, which you can not resist to love after a few spins. Not groundbreaking, but definitely a solid addition to the narrow Lithuania's grindcore history!

https://thehillsaredead.bandcamp.com/album/priverstinis-gydymas

https://youtu.be/UgzsxuSee_A