Album Review: Hivesmasher - "Gutter Choir"

Hivesmasher are a band I heard about through MetalSucks, where they linked a stream of their song "En Route to Meat Land" off of their newest album Gutter Choir. I listened to that song and the only song available on their bandcamp, "Used Food", and I was hooked. I immediately pre-ordered Gutter Choir, and I've been waiting attentively at my mailbox ever since.

Hivesmasher are a Massachusetts based grindcore/ death metal band that play in a style comparable to Pig Destroyer. Where Pig Destroyer can lock into insta-mosh grooves that make bodies fling across rooms, Hivesmasher deal out a fucking hurricane of shrapnel that makes you run for your fucking life. Gutter Choir has to be one of the most pissed off, primal, and depraved albums I've heard in a while. It's the motherfucking Sharknado of music. Gutter Choir has a range of songs, from 30 second grindfests to 5 minute death metal tunes and even a 37 minute final track that flies between grindcore, death metal, bluegrass, ambient, and shoegaze. Yeah. Fuuuuuuck.

The album seems to feed off of a seemingly endless pool of riffs that never fail to decimate your ears. From low chugs and gallops to upper-register riffs that sound like power drills boring their way into your skull, guitarists Tyler and Julius are masters of controlled chaos. I'm not sure which one of them handle lead playing  on the album, but the solos in "And They Thought We'd Forget" and "Vulture Assassin" are absolutely wicked. Beautifully crafted to fall right between tasteful shredding and mindbending guitar madness, the solos on Gutter Choir are incredibly refreshing to hear on an album in a genre known for almost excluding lead work from their music.

The drumming on the album is something worthy of praise as well. Drummer Tim Brault is a freaking machine, cranking out every type of blast, mosh beat, and thrash rhythm known to man. The drums sound really organic despite the inhuman speed that they're played at, and when they lock in with the guitars like in the gallop/ mosh section of "Damaged (P)Inc.", the mixture of the different tones makes an absolutely nauseating groove. When Aaron Heinold's guttural and blood curdling screams start soaring over top, Hivesmasher really sound like the kind of guys your mother warns you about.

Lastly, unlike Pig Destroyer's Blake Harrison, Hivesmasher's Dan Bolton is actually audible on the keyboards. Between the beautiful ending of "Damaged (P)Inc." and the layers and layers of synth on the 37 minute epic "Send Me to Satan", Bolton's keyboard playing really adds another layer of depth to the music and provides nice little breaks from all of the relentless aural beatings. I'm not going to describe "Send Me to Satan", because holy fuck. It's just an experience in itself.

I have to say the only thing that stops this from being a perfect album for me is the length. It's just too long. Over an hour for a grind record is just brutal. I think Hivesmasher should have released the first 16 songs as Gutter Choir and then "Send Me to Satan" as a bonus EP or something. Some sort of way to separate up all the material would have made both potential releases much easier to listen to.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Vomitouch, The Shit Waltz, And They Thought We'd Forget, Send Me to Satan

On a Playlist With: Pig Destroyer, Wormrot, Agoraphobic Nosebleed (Agorapocalypse)

Overall Score

4.5

Hivesmasher have written one of the best grind albums of the year. Yeah, I know there are a lot of them this year, but I'd put Gutter Choir up there with Pig Destroyer's Book Burner (review here). If you're a fan of any sort of extreme music, or just want a soundtrack to wreak havoc to, Gutter Choir should be your first choice.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: Cthulhu Detonator - "Infernal Machines"

This is going to be a quick review. Like, really quick. Quicker than my Six Feet Under review earlier this year. Today I look at Infernal Machines by independent noise artist, Cthulhu Detonator (aka Eric Hogg).

Right off the bat: I didn't like it. Yes, I listened through all of it, multiple times even. Pure noise music just isn't for me. I know I gave SexGender's Transgenital a good review, but I heard SexGender as a punk band first, and a noise band second. Cthulhu Detonator on the other hand is 100% noise based.

That being said, I'm not going to just bash this album. If there's something I can credit Mr. Hogg with, it's his ability to create atmosphere. My guess is that the desired atmosphere is supposed to be a bleak, dark, depraved future where massive industrialized cities cover the globe and machines have taken over, hell-bent on efficiency and general life-extermination. Pretty much the soundtrack to a grimdark setting. That, Cthulhu Detonator does well. That's about all I enjoyed from Infernal Machines, the only other bit being the more melodic and ambient songs like "Womb" and "Blinding White Light". I find the sheer harshness of the rest of the album gives songs like those a greater impact, giving you some time to calm yourself and breathe.

Overall Score

1.5

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Noise music just isn't for me. If you're into noise or dark ambient, I'm sure you'll enjoy Cthulhu Detonator's Infernal Machines. You can check out Eric Hogg's music at his bandcamp page.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Vinyl Update: Pig Destroyer!

It's finally here! I pre-ordered this shit as soon as I was able to, and finally, almost 3 weeks after it was commercially released, I finally got my hands on Book Burner!

It's on a beautiful white vinyl, and it came with a wicked shirt too.

Ready to grind! I also just noticed my Rush poster isn't level.

Fuck yeah Pig Destroyer.

That's all for now, folks! Have a great weekend and happy grinding!

-DG

Album Review: Gaza - "No Absolutes in Human Suffering"

It's been a while since I last posted anything, so I feel it's time for another review! Yay reviews! Today I'll be looking at Gaza, a band I've always heard about, but never got around to checking out until now. These fine bros dropped their latest album No Absolutes in Human Suffering in August, and slap my ass and call me Julie if it isn't one of, if not the heaviest fucking records this year.

"Wait a second, David!" I hear you screech. "Disfiguring the Goddess, Pig Destroyer, and Dying Fetus have all dropped albums so heavy they make Axl Rose look like Christian Bale from the Machinist!" Well, reader who probably has no idea who half those bands I just listed off are, Gaza have something that all the other heavy weights don't. Chaos. When it comes to something heavy as fuck nowadays, it almost always  needs to be the lowest, most down-tuned, fastest, most precisely executed playing possible. Not in Gaza's case. It's not like their songs don't have structures, rhythms and grooves, but Gaza aren't about the flash. There're no blistering guitar solos, no 300bpm blast beats, no cookie monster gutturals. Gaza just pump our songs that explode with energy and cause nothing but violent slamming, moshing, and powerstancing with your hands in the air.

No Absolutes is tough one to label. It's a mixture of hardcore, doom metal, progressive metal, and grindcore all pureed into one uniform blend. Vocals are 100% rooted in hardcore, with throat shredding yells being the main form of attack. The vocals are actually pretty intelligible sometimes, which comes as a nice surprise for this kind of music.

The instrumentation is where Gaza step above and beyond most other modern metal acts. The riffs on this album are brutal clusterfucks of guitar playing, but before you know it, they've smoothed out to slow, thick, lumbering doomy passages and have exploded back into utter chaos. Some riffs in particular seem to convey that "no matter how heavy it gets, it's still sounds airy and ambient" sound, and sometimes things back down completely from the heaviness. The last few minutes of the album come across as some of the most beautiful music you've ever heard after the last 40 pulverizing minutes. The outro of the monstrous track "When they Beg" reminds me of Cynic circa 1993 with its proggy and almost jazzy style. Some of the riffing and rhythms in that song also bring up memories of Pig Destroyer-esque or Wormrot-ish grind. The drums keep up with all the guitar wizardry on No Absolutes, and keep everything rushing forwards or crawling off. I'm almost certain sometimes there is even some polyrhythmic playing, which is always cool in my books.

The production on No Absolutes is what really adds to the ridiculous heaviness of the album. Production is some of the thickest I've heard, without entering entombedcore territory, which in this case is a good thing. The production on guitars isn't as muddy and sludgy as the Sunlight Studios wound, but sure as hell is as fat, warm and round. In the end, there's really nothing I can bash this album on. It's pretty fucking rad.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Not with all the Hope in the World, The Vipers, When they Beg

On a Playlist With: Converge, Ulcerate

Overall Score

4.0

Gaza have made a fantastically engaging album that absolutely decimates you from start to finish. It's tough to make albums that are memorable in genres like hardcore and grindcore anymore, but a nice little injection of doom, death, and wallowing despair gives Gaza the kick they need to stand out. A must-listen for anyone who loves to hate.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: Termination Force - "Grind Thrashing Death"

Every once in a while, an album comes around that embodies a genre so perfectly that you can't help but grin from ear to ear every time you listen to it. Termination Force's Grind Thrashing Death is that album. I mean, just read that last sentence. The band is called Termination Force, and the album is called Grind Thrashing Death. Grind Thrashing Death, goddamnit. It's official: the dudes in Termination Force are more metal than you'll ever be.

A zombie band playing in front of a zombie mosh pit. I have a raging thrash metal boner right now.

Termination Force are a four piece thrash/ death band from Houston, Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and apparently, the metal is too. Termination Force are primarily a thrash band and border on old school American death metal. It's like Possessed meets Pleasure to Kill era Kreator here. Sometimes, a little grindcore circa 1988 gets tossed in for good measure, just because Termination Force won't rest until your ears are bleeding from all the metal.

The band is fast, furious, and Tokyo drifting, with the guitarists punching in old school death metal riffs that would make the late, great Chuck Schuldiner proud. Hell, even the lead tone of the guitar and the soloing style seems reminiscent of Chuck's old guitarwork on Leprosy and Spiritual Healing. Not only are the riffs brutal as fuck, but they're catchy, too. Songs rarely hit near 4 minutes long over the 9 tracks and average out at around two and a half minutes, but that doesn't mean that there's a shortage of awesome riffs anywhere on Grind Thrashing Death.

The vocals are handled beautifully, with depraved, raspy growls being the main type of style used. Occasionally they plummet down to guttural, demonic levels, but for the most part, they stay at a pretty mid-high pitch, similar to Mille Petrozza's (of Kreator fame) vocals. Unfortunately I don't have access to any lyrics, so I can't comment on how well they're written, but with song titles like "Kills per Minute", "Human Intestinal Stew" and "Smashed and Thrashed into Submission", I can tell you for sure that they're totally appropriate to quote when you and your family are having dinner.

The last two things I want to touch on quickly are the drumming and the production. The drumming is phenomenal. Like, holy fuck. This dude can shred on drums. I can't even really describe it. Every beat fits every song perfectly every time. I feel like this man's kit needs to be made of cast steel or something so he doesn't break his kit every song.

I'm not sure if I told you or not, but I like his drumming.

Finally, the production is perfect for this type of music. It's raunchy and nauseatingly dirty, but clear enough that all the instruments shine through. It has the warmth and thickness of an old 1991 death metal release, but the clarity of the 2012 release that it is. Beautiful. The only gripe I have with this album is the length. It clocks in at just over 25 minutes, which just isn't quite enough for me. Death metal blue balls. Sadface.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Repulsive Impulsive, Kills per Minute, Obligate to Obliterate

On a Playlist With: Kreator, Possessed, (early) Death

Overall Score

4.5

Like I said, Termination Force are more metal than you. Grind Thrashing Death is a fucking beast of a death/ thrash release. If only it were a bit longer, it would be perfect. You can (and should) pick it up through Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

EP Review: The Fevered - "Blackout"

Alright folks, I got another entombedcore band comin' your way. The Fevered from Brisbane, Australia have just dropped an EP, Blackout about a week ago. If you have no idea what entombedcore is,  check out my super brief explanation on my review of the last Nails album. Got it? Good. Great.

Let's-a go!

As mentioned,The Fevered are from Australia, automatically making them the coolest band I've reviewed so far. They play a different style of entombedcore which makes me sigh in relief, because I find all the bands in this genre are starting to sound stagnant and boring. Not The Fevered though, who blend in the obvious sounds of Entombed, and classic hardcore punk, but spice things up with a little non-traditional hardcore in the vein of Converge, and a dash of At the Gates style melodic death metal.

Needless to say, the guitarists have nailed in a solid Sunlight Studios buzzsaw guitar tone. The riffs roll in hard and heavy, dancing between slow, crushing chords that would make the boys in Dismember proud and moshworthy passages that are both melodic and heavy as fuck. One thing I find great about the riffs are that they're original sounding, which always gets me 'cause I'm a sucker for good, original riffs. I find this EP much more entertaining than simply listening to Left Hand Path 2.

Something that adds to the music so much is the drumming on Blackout. The drums sway between classic death metal rhythm and old school punk beats. Both styles are sometimes used simultaneously, like on the track "Mediate", where there are blast beats, d-beats, and fills that would fit right into a NYC hardcore punk  song as mushed together. The drumming all across the album is perfect for getting your heart pumping and your head banging.

Things get extra interesting on the tracks "When it Comes" and "Sleep, Warm as Day". "When it Comes" is where the band definitely wears it's At the Gates influences on it's sleeve. The riffs scream Gothenburg style melodic death metal, with harmonizing guitar melodies and leads all over the place. Honestly, this song is pretty much a tribute to the entirety of At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, and I like it. "Sleep, Warm as Day" is the most different song on the EP, with only slightly overdriven guitars playing dark and looming passages underneath the vocalist's despaired screams. Images of a man trapped and lost in a deserted wasteland come to mind as the drums begin to boom and boom. Things turn darker and uglier as the familiar distorted guitars come crashing in for the ending of the song. A fantastic way to end the EP.

Production on Blackout is pretty standard for entombedcore. The one thing I would like to point out is the very natural and old school sound that everything has. Even though this genre is based out of two older genres, some entombedcore artists clean up their production a bit too much, and the music doesn't seem to have the same effect as these fine dudes'. The Fevered's music crushes your skull and caves in your chest with ease, just the way it should.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Five Points District, When it Comes, Sleep, Warm as Day

On a Playlist With: Entombed, Nails, Black Breath

Overall Score

4.0

The Fevered have managed to stand out amongst a slew of generic bands with Blackout. Things get deathy, punky, and doomy on here, and The Fevered pull it all off with flying colours. This EP is for any fans of old school death metal, melodic death metal and hardcore.

You can check out The Fevered on Facebook and on their own personal website. You can listen to and purchace Blackout on the band's Bandcamp page.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: FluiD - "Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD"

A while back I was contacted by a European record label by the name of Alrealon Musique, a label which prides itself by independently putting out experimental music. It was through them that I was able to review John 3:16's fantastic new album, and a few days ago in the mail, I received a package with John 3:16's album and Envisioning Abstraction: The Duality of FluiD by musician/ producer The Fluid.

Duality is one of those albums which mish-mash a bunch of genres together. Thick, distorted bass guitar straight out of modern hip-hop, electronic samples, and loud screeching, not unlike what you'd find in noise music are in ample supply on this album. The drums groove nicely throughout the album, and when everything comes together, the songs sort of seem to work as instrumental hip-hop tracks. None of it would fit in a T-Pain or Ludacris track, but these tunes seem to be more akin to the frantic backings of many Death Grips songs. One song in particular, "Iron Communique" features experimental hip-hopper Black Saturn on the mic, and it really becomes a full track once the vocals drop.

For the most part, FluiD keeps a pretty tense atmosphere throughout the album. With all the noise in the background of the tracks, things always stay uneasy, especially when the other instruments start to pick up. Luckily, things do ease up, like with the tracks "Dread Futures" and "Parallel States", but between these two (the fourth and tenth songs receptively), the intensity picks up again.

To be completely honest though, Duality isn't a mind blower of an album. In fact, I think it's pretty forgettable. Other than a couple basslines or chord progressions, none of the album sticks with me when I stop listening to it. The second problem I have with this album is the noise. Unlike noise punkers Sexgender, whose songs seem to flow without structure and have a very chaotic feel to them, FluiD's songs seem pretty focused and precise. The noise and droning that gets laid over top of the beats, basslines, and progressions just distract and annoy me from the quality music underneath.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Iron Communique, Dread Futures

On a Playlist With: Death Grips, any experimental instrumental hip-hop

Overall Score

2.5

FluiD makes some pretty impressive instrumental hip-hop tracks with an experimental flair, but his delving into noise and drone music turned out for the worse. In the end although I didn't dislike it, Duality was a pretty forgettable album.

That's all for now, folks!

-DG