Rage, Rage against the Dying of the Light (Review: False Light, ST 7" 2013)

There is something wholly necrotic rippling through the powerviolence bloodstream, a  malefic smear that has seen the genre eclipsed in darkness as a new cabal of misers take hold of its artistic reins, cascading it ever deeper into an unknown and seemingly endless subterranean abyss. Among those crepehangers endorsing if not orchestrating this penumbra of punk would be False Light, a dour four piece clinched in a curious squirm between dissonant sludge-bound exhalations and violent seizures of enmity. Vision and execution align precisely on the microscopic parallels as False Light seduce a vast array of nameless phantasms into the coil of their tightly bound claustrophobic covin, antagonizing and brutalizing each and every fragment of musical expenditure in an overzealous exorcism. False Light just reek of unrequited artistic passion bordering on the insane, every kilojoule of energy spent and every decibel ruptured has been compelled towards the continued construction and maintenance of the oily fume laden atmospheric density, nothing ever leaves the paradigm nor does anything foreign ever enter. Despite the insular essentially of it all, there is a positively organic albeit pestilential growth to it, an ever expanding blot of ink that by the end of it will see you quoting Nietzsche and assessing the futility of artistic endeavor. 

Inaugural track Rotting Teeth is an ordeal of grit punctuated with various mosh moments and knuckle scraping goodness, a jagged mode of operation that resurfaces with the physical penultimate track Lung, whilst tracks such as The Great Unwashed and Praxis are far more rigid in their uncompromising attitude, hemorrhaging ire and ichor as a result of continuous musical self mutilation, and lest we forget 36 second sprinter Almighty Thief that jumps on the offensive with a blast beat blitzkreig. Alas 7" of wax couldn't hold what would of been their dirge-ing finale ///, an almost 6 minute epoch of lamentation and echoes in the jaws of darkness, a drop-me down that shares little in the way of form from and presentation to its predeceasing tracks yet all of its grizzly vision. 

False Light

Dead Chemists Records / Headfirst! Records

(Review: ACxDC, Mangum Force & Sex Prisoner, 3 Way 2013)

The following review is written by Jay Nesbit, purveyor of harsh cacophonies every tuesday 8pm EST over at Core of Destruction Radio.

If you've ever wondered what it would feel like to get brutally beaten by a gang of prisoners itching to collect their debt you never repayed for those cigarettes, honey buns, and Ramen noodles you got them to front you, this split is your answer.  It would fit in perfectly as background music in some shitty delapidated theater on opening night of a Batman premier/ mass murder.  This split brings together three of the sickest bands in the scene today, and trust me, they do not disappoint.  Just over 10 minutes of song after song, deliver what is sure to be one of the best releases of this year, a true must have if you're even slightly intereted in this scene.

The legendary Los Angeles based powerviolence band ACxDC kick things off.  Clocking in at under 4 minutes, these 5 songs really get things going and let you know what's in store for you.  Some of the best material ever written by the band is present on here.  Crux is without a doubt one of the best songs they've ever done.  I dare you to try and not start moving in one way, shape, or form when that catchy riff kicks in around 18 seconds after the song starts.

Magnum Force was the true surprise for me with this release.  Being familiar with the other two bands prior to this release, I was interested in seeing what MF brought to the table.  They do not disappoint in the slightest.  Only 3 songs that clock in at under 3 minutes, this band pulls off what many have tried and failed over the years.  This Tuscan based 5-piece flawlessly pulls off a genre which is often imitated but never sounding original yet still following the formula created many years ago.

Sex Prisoner are back with more of what made you love them on their S/T.  These guys can do no wrong.  It's kind of hard for a band to make the songs stand out that much when they all seem kind of similar but they make it work.  I love what they did on this split, but feel like their next release will be when they pull it all together and start doing something really special.  Easily one of the best bands around today and only showing signs of improvement.  The perfect ending to what will hands down be one of the top splits of the year.

ACxDC / Magnum Force / Sex Prisoner

To Live A Lie

Heavy // Fast (Review: Aberrant / D.E.R. 2012)

Regressing to a state of barbarism by way of thrashly atavism, Aberrant's rancarous death-grind galumph around is a potent dose of skull-cracking not be taken lightly, and probably best enjoyed in the confines of a padded cell. Spearheading their delve into a damp and drab back alleys of Glasgow kisses and smiles is their ever twitching guitar tone, jumping from one thrash riff to another with an intense air of unpredictability and danger, coaxed in a repugnant sense of squalor further begrimed by a slithering bass tone coaxed in scum and filth. The foundation to this bastion of filth; aesthetically not too far removed from something we might see in Hobo with a Shotgun, is mostly a string dominated affair, and the main selling point to their tried and tested grind formulation. Vocals and blast duties aggressively follow the marching order, neither exceeding expectation nor falling below it, just your standard straight out of the gutter vocal rasps and howls, alongside you thud-thud-thud blast ensemble. 

D.E.R ever true to form just go in all guns blazing in their musically inclined attempt to break the sound barrier; and I use the term music lightly, any semblance of rhythm or form just blurs in rip of vehement blasts, prickly riffs and animalistic screeches - the last thrown in for good measure just to  give an air of humanity to a band that could easily be mistaken for these guys set on turbo. I dread to think of the Physiotherapy these guys might start needing in the near future from all that blasting and riffing, packing more riffs and drum hits in a one minute jaunt than some bands can muster in half a dozen full bodied tracks, little wonder they took a few years time out in between writing material, it probably would take me a few years to think of 24^10 possible riff permutations and blasts, not to mention the recovery time required having just played them in one compact 14 minute bullet. If D.E.R. have managed to pack any new tricks its hard to notice, its just grind performed at terminal velocity with no inherent complexity, just a continuous barrage of aural devastation. 

A solid excursion by the America's, what little remains standing from Aberrant's two handed sledgehammer swing, is sure as hell not going to outrun D.E.R's Usain Bolt armed with an uzi, consider your fate sealed. 

Aberrant / D.E.R.

EveryDayHate

Review: Gowl Cassette Roundup

Grind power trio Gowl a self-confessed “No hype, No ego, No message, Only Grind.” rarity of a band may have purged themselves from any angularity (unless of course you jump into the paradox that any conceptualisation of an absence turns it to a presence or value and thus any idea of nothing is void, and thus loops the process, curse you quantum mechanics!), but this faceless exterior to their grinding heave has no need of any of the lyrical & visual tropes that have been bestowed upon punkdom, because Gowl are more than able to conjure up vividly warm imagery and sequences solely on the basis of their music; letting loose depth charges of grind retroism echo deep in your cranium.

The theme and entire embodiment of Gowl is the nostalgic romanticism pinned to grinds embryonic days; set in some destitute town, a bunch of wild kids who happen to like both punk and thrash, a basement stocked with low budget booze and an 8 track tape recorder handily nearby and all this conjoined by a thick air of excitement and anticipation in regard to what their tape trading buddies will think of tonight’s recording, especially that cool Dutch guy and his obscure but awesome band: Lärm.– Regardless of how accurate this describes the actual environment that Gowl ferment under (although I am strongly inclined to think I haven’t strayed too far from the truth) , Gowl compel the listener in much the same style, entrenching themselves in a sea of electrifying energy as they pile up thunderous slabs of unrefined grindcore goodness with little care for order or formality.

Gowl - I
Gowl - I

The first of many tape releases to follow and in line with their reductionist / apathetic / purist agenda is simply given the numeral 1 for a title and each track following a phase # naming convention. Although Gowl’s first venture onto the physical format it quickly becomes clear that they are intimately familiar with the material and have likely refined it across many a rehearsal before putting tape head to magnetic tape, the craftsmanship of their songs highlighting a high degree of finesse. On the basic level tracks operate in a binary cycles the first part being high octane frenzied attacks were each note and drum hit struck is one in a series of quick successive blows to the listener, to which its counter the second part offers slow crushing riffs of immense power bulldozing your limp and battered body into the corner amongst the others. The cycle appears numerous times within each phase, yet feels moderately different each time alternating between baseball bats, knuckle dusters, tire irons and a variety of other bludgeoning instruments to dish out the punishment an acute stylistic variation that keeps things fresh whilst ultimately arriving at the same life threatening conclusion.  There are tangents of Scum and Anticapital in their works, soldiered alongside more refreshing influences such as Plutocracy, Dahmer and quite possibly demo era Gore beyond Necropsy; basically all old school stuff, but rather than going down the battered mincecore or Mosh number purity path Gowl make their own headway in a death metal tinged grindcore reunion party.

Gowl / Stone Titan

Gowl / Stone Titan

Gowls second venture is a split cassette with easy going stoner doomsters Stone Titan, both of whom emerge hand in hand from a thick veil of thc laden fog and channel all those goods vibes via the power of the riff. Gowl are still very much the same creature as before, only benefited with greater audio clarity and a standardised song naming convention, but still manage to keep the aloofness by the obscurity of song titles such as Milkcrate and Lee-hi, some of the old phases from their previous release make fresh appearances and with the added sharpness manage to kick your teeth in with more tactical precision. Vocals have undergone a stylistic overhaul and are a more echoey bawl from the turbulent howls of prior, but come off just right which when unleashed against the swarm of noise, thundering riffs and bone shattering pounds Gowl so tirelessly triangulate against you, sets the whole package off in a delightful series of destructive booms.

Stone Titan are Electric Wizard or so says musically uncultured Alex, but in any case you get the idea:  Riffs powerful enough to awaken the spirits, good vibes, hypnotic drum patterns and thick aura of transcendence whilst scuzz laden vocals exhale opiate licked words of sweet musical nectar. I don’t usually find myself listening to this type of music, but listening to Stone Titan was a highly enlightening if not spiritual musical experience, a ram shackle rhythmic rumble that majestically gleams with ardour.

Gowl II

Gowl II

Following this we have Gowls second solo exploit affectionately known as II, I have to confess is substantially more sombre than their previous exploits. Having laced their work with the constant mar of reverb and degenerate audio quality that dilapidated and claustrophobic sense associated with such productions gets all muddled in the process. Their song writing is still good, but trampled by a greater number of erroneous choices, namely that strings are too quiet especially amongst the reverb and the new hollow vocal presentation really forces the listener to strain to even gain a basic comprehension of what’s happening. It’s an experimental venture that has gone a bit too far from the comfort zone, although some moments manage to break out the musical blur presented you have to sit through a lot of meh to get through it. Better luck next time Gowl!

Gowl - Submit to Only Noise

Gowl - Submit to Only Noise

Having used a split release with Agitate and another solo cassette to get back into shape, Gowls latest entrance Submit Only to Noise is them at top form, a well-oiled machine set to grind in cold hearted mechanility and in industrial bulk. I am head over heels in love with the string tone, it’s a full bodied fortified bass heavy Godzilla roar of riffs; where some bands pack a punch in their guitar tune Gowl are packing a sawn off shotgun into those bass stomps. It’s not just that their sound set up is so intense, their song writing skills match up too, at every turn Gowl just pile on the pressure without even so much as stuttering or fracturing amongst the intense grind weight they put on themselves. Drums and vocals don’t slack of neither, all those viscous drum kicks and pounds inflict a deep sense of urgency, whilst those tar filled growls tear right into you. I compel you guys to check this release out, part of me feels foolish for leaving it off my best of 2012 list.