Category Archives: Shitcore

EBOLA (Ita): “You Know” tape Ep

AEBOLA You Knowrgh, this is one of those nightmare cases when I don’t really have an idea on how to store a  record. I got this seemingly unknown Cd-r together with a tape cover, so I could either use a deck and copy the songs on a standard tape or store the CD-r as it is in the inextricable forest of CD-r and random formats on my shelf. In any case, I probably lost the envelope and accompanying sheet so I have no clue who sent me, nor any extra details. I can only presume the band is Italian as there is an address of an Italian distro added by hand on the envelope. Who knows. But. It was in the big pile of stuff to review so regardless how it fell there, it deserves at least a note.

This band plays an hybrid of noisecore and black metal, in particolar I’d say the first 3 tracks are definitely more noisy and the latest one more on the traditional side, but nevertheless you can say it’s the same band all the time. The first songs are just a mix of super-distorted cyclical raw noise without any sort of melody, yet if you listen with some attention you can hear there is some structure in the background. I am not much into these screams but I think they complement decently with this raw mass of corroded chords, especially because they tend to disappear in the background. The good thing about the vocals is they sometime turn into bellows of agony, as if someone is being grinded into some machinery. I won’t rate this tape as mandatory, but it’s certainly better than most of the “plastic lame and weak” black metal of today.

 

HELLGOAT (USA): “Moonlight Ritual” split Cd-r with LEGIONS OF ASTAROTH 2005 Vile Art

hellgoat / Legions of Astaroth

If I was a stalwart defender of high-fidelity sound I could have never enjoyed bands like Apator or Black Mass Of Absu, yet we’re at a severely dangerous level here in terms of shitty sound. Luckily enough Hellgoat does not use the oxidized camera mic as a trick to recreate dismal landscape of shit like early Burzum. I will proceed in reviewing this split demo with a good share of my cognitive capacity focused on the health of my speakers, though, as they have been crackling and popping dangerously since the very first second. Whet we have is is rather plain, almost indistinguishable Black Metal with decent vocals. The cover of this slimcase is just a color-xeroxed piece of paper with song titles written by hand, but you know, I generally like disadvantaged people. The music is as repetitive and uninspiring as you can imagine, but I find some interesting ideas, if only I could discern a little bit more on what’s going on. Might be a good stuff for lovers of the aforementioned bands, or Gonkulator, as it’s not funeral shit Black Metal but something closer to Death/Black is labels still do matter something today. What I mean is there is some structure here, some fairly evocative riffing, flesh ripping vocals and so on. They sometime fall into the mid-tempo danger zone (and I HATE the mid tempo gallop) but it’s not something hugely intrusive. I guess it’s one of those cases a little fuller production could have mattered (or a slightly more basic songwriting if we want to keep it minimalist and indulge on the cave sound).

DLA COKE ET DES PUTES (Fra): “Fast Fashion Federation” full-length Cd 2011 Rewolucja/xBloclotx

D’LA COKE ET DES PUTESFrom a first glance at the shocking pink cover I’d have bet this was some freaky “Japanoise” project in the vein of Niku Dorei or Boredoms. The truth however revealed itself to be quite different: D’la Coke et Des Putes (which might means something like cocaine and whores, at least it’s my guess since my lack of knowledge of this language is complete, I don’t even know how they spell “1” – is it “ein”, “an”, “eine”, “oun”?) is actually a French band with two vocalists and humorous lyrics alike, just to name some country mates, the great Beer Vomit or Gronibard.  There is a weak link to what were my earlier considerations though, as the album was in fact recorded in Japan and, trying hard to decipher what’s written in the booklet, I dare to guess the guy pictured on the cover is some random person they met during their trip (not completely sure of that though eh. Despite the shocking pink color, the layout of this thing is not bad, we have a spread collage of pictures, another two pages of name combinations which ranges from “dicks and asses”, “bums and policemen”, “eggs and chicken” and so on. This must be their personal interpretation of the yin-yang philosophy eh eh.  Then we get some more random pictures and a long thank-list, let’s say routine stuff.

Using labels like Powerviolence, Freeform Noise, Grind Core etc. might be hazardous ground here as I can hear some sparse breakdowns and samples but no real crunch in between these. I certainly cannot claim this album is altogether something as disastrous and untalented as Subterranean Fecal Root, but in all honesty the parts that should consist in real music are rather uninspired. Despite the double vocal effort is supposed to give this album an extra punch all I hear is mouse squeaks over a texture of timid hard-core and painfully average metal riffs straight outta some high school show. Even the recording is somewhat under par for my (maybe a bit stereotypical) expectations of Japanese precision. The whole sound and songwriting here is quite flat, and even some choruses just don’t raise attention. I am always intrigued by flashy weird covers like this one, but this time I have been quite underwhelmed. Pity.

SUBTERRANEAN FECAL ROOT (USA): “Anthems Of The Antisocial Underground” full-length Cd 2008 Grindhead

sfr-aotauAfter all my rants about grindcore being nowadays too perfect and too controlled, one might think that I could be thrilled by a band like this American noise-shitcore Subterranean Fecal Root, with its freakish nonsense and a sound that could remind Impetigo‘s “Revenge of the Scabby Man” + Pile of Eggs on acid stretched into full length album + a bucketload of retardedness right? Fuck no. This is not just a demented album (which, in some particular occurrences could even be fun), but just nonsensical, non-revolutionary, non-hazardous mashup, lacking the fresh random brutality of noisecore acts like, say, Minch or Captain Three Legs. I am usually entertained by shitcore, as far as it’s played with heart, or at least gives me the feeling that something, some boundary, some parameter has been broken. I have the feeling that this album was just a carefully planned project destined to put you a win win situation: if it gets praised “cool”, if it gets thrashed “fuck off we hate everyone that is the greatest compliment for us”.

Of course the band sucks, the absolute worse being these annoying childlike vocals, and they take great pride in stating that their music is made to suck, and I’ll be completely honest, these guy are so completely retarded and untalented that in the end I started to appreciate this album. Not that I will ever give it a second spin, but these dickheads could be funny. So what you have here is a shit-noisecore recording with a bunch of samples and some paradoxical ideas. I am certain I have thrashed this record so much someone will attempt to get it so in the end these assholes have won their prize ah ah. What a twisted game  is this, isn’t it?

As usual my 2 cents on the packaging – very standard stuff. A rushed thank-list with a bunch of the same boring humorous lines, a huge tracklist with no lyrics, and a logo with embossing and other terrible Photoshop tricks. Here you have it.