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

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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.

PULVERIZING LETHAL FORCE (USA): “Crushing Fury of Bastardization” full-length Cd 2008 Power It Up

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PLF Crushing FuryPulverizing Lethal Force aka Pretty Little Flower(s) is yet another metallic grind core band from USA. I already plentifully stressed out that I prefer a crustier kind of grind, yet I cannot deny the catchiness of the songs nor the unquestionable ability of this band to concoct enjoyable music. There is so much metal in both sound and structure in this Cd, that sometimes they even remind me of very early Sinister, but there is also a constant use of blastbeats and groove which is typical of the “punkier” part of the spectrum – I could say this band is 60% and 60% if you know what I mean.

The booklet is plain yet rather well done with 8 pages and some lyrics printed inside, of the classic yet never old “socioapocalyptic” kind, all about fury and crushing rage, everything packed in a sober, rational style.

I am not hugely fond of live shows (except for blatantly good ones, like Last Days of Humanity‘s amazing Cd of some years ago) so the final tracks can be easily skipped, but the tracks 1 to 17 are intense and tight enough to make up for a good album all the same, and they even squeezed covers by Doom, Unseen Terror and Denak inside this record. This might be one of the best releases I have heard from Power It Up so far, strictly speaking about this specific kind of furious metallic grind. There is a lot of groove and energy displayed all through, without all the dissonant bridge bollocks we often hear today. PLF is a band that is able to play its cards without recurring to any bells and whistles or endless intros as they can produce good riffs, arrange them with taste and record them with a extra generous pinch of ferocity. Well done, not bad at all.

IMPOSER (Ita): “Divine Intolerance” Ep Cd 2010 Butchered Records

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Imposer is another excellent band from my land. I haven’t got the chance to hear their full length released a couple of years ago (same NY based Butchered Records apparently) but I suppose the two songs on this MCd are pretty close to that sound. The only recording I had the chance to hear was their first demo-Cdr and that was at the time I still ram a shop, which translates to about 10 years ago. From what I remembered, they had a Krisiun-like sound and I liked it pretty much, but my memory is getting fuzzy on that time. I had the chance to see them live as well, at least twice, and they delivered solid brutal Death Metal the late ’90s way. So here it is: two new tracks plus two covers, or at least I presume it’s two as one is a famous Deicide cover and the other one is by “Heaten/Lifecode” which I think is a local band.

Everything is deliciously packaged: I absolutely adore the cover art as I have a weak spot for icons, symbols and woodcut-like medieval prints. You don’t get lyrics but the overall quality of the layout is quite good. I would have preferred a slightly different, less modern font on the booklet, but it’s not really that relevant.

 

The two tracks we have here are as straightforward as Death Metal can be. I think they might call it War Metal today, but since that was a term they used for “Panzer Divison”-era Marduk I am uncertain on using it. To be clearer: during the end of the 90’s when the whole sound was selling out like a whore all in a sudden we had bands like Diabolic, Centurian, Angelcorpse, Throneaeon, Infernal Torment, Exmortem etc. and Satan incinerate me if Imposer does not fit that school of relentless Death Metal without frills. It was a scene that exploded out of a violent rejection for the ever mellowing sound that was the rule at the time, and I am pretty sure it was a clear statement of intent. Imposer‘s sound is some sort of cross between Krisiun, Diabolic and earlier Deicide without the wimpy solos, but also skipping the excessively retro-worship of these days. I am pretty grateful we have bands like this going on today. The two tracks that make up the first half of the album are as solid as a boulder, but I have to admit I am not extremely excited about the slight turn they gave to “Sacrificial Suicide” and if there’s a weak spot here it’s definitely the Heaten/Lifecode track, which contains possibly the worse, sloppiest, most moronic riff I have heard in months – what the hell is that mid tempo “happy go lucky” dance? In my book this is no big deal as it’s not a track of theirs yet I am puzzled how they came up with covering this shit.

To wrap things up you can’t really find anything more coherent and proudly War/Death than this in my country. Two songs might be a bit too little to spend money on, but if you want a sample of what this band is capable of, here it is. Fuck god.

PROFANAL (Ita): “Black Chaos” full-length Cd 2012 Iron Tyrant

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Profanal Black ChaosHere it is, we finally delivered. One stays out of the local scene (please don’t start bitching about the use of the word “scene” if you can find another, less sabotaged term to describe a collection of bands playing extreme music within the boundaries of the same country, it’s your problem, not mine) for a decade and when you’re back you suddenly realize your country has produced more great releases in a year than the decade before you started drifting abroad. So this is it: my country is now able to release stuff like this monumental piece of Metal of Death that could as well being recorded in some cheap studios in 1990, with that acrid, crushing sound that was typical of that time (and broadly exploited in books like “Swedish Death Metal” and “Encyclopedia of Svensk Dodsmetall”), by  skinny teenagers dressed in checkered plaid shirts.

Let’s start from the very beginning, though. The packaging is quite nice: we have a tentacled Lovecraftian monster of Seagravean symmetry on cover, and we know that tentacles are very high in the scale of Death Metal subjects. It’s maybe a little bit cartoonish, but I certainly praise the choice of a black and white layout. Hell, you could not go wrong with lineart black and white. Well you can, actually, but this is not the case. Two big surprises await me as I open the booklet. It is 8 pages long (wow, no shitty folding leaflets this time?), and has LYRICS inside. Lyrics, for fuck’s sake, sounds like ages since I read any good ones. The writing may not be the best I have ever read, and sometimes the grammar is not entirely correct or elegant, but here we have DEATH METAL lyrics about suffering, death, grief, zombies, demons – themes that should always be in a Death Metal album. Fuck yes. Thank you, thank you very much.

Soundwise, there is very little to say here, but that is far, far from being a complaint. I might go digging some obscure reference for names of Swedish rehearsal bands of the early nineties, but I suppose Dismember are the greatest and most blatant influence here. I’d dare to go into little more detail and say their sound is a mix of ALL the Dismembers of all eras and not just the early ones (oh and excluding that tragic album I won’t name with the space marine on cover, of course). The uncompromising brutality of Grave is certainly another fitting element of description, as is Carnage‘s hyper-loose riffing and decrepit sound. If I was to play in a band today, I would play this shit, I have no doubts about this. Profanal (which does not stand for Professor Anal if you ask, that might be their pornogrind side project) love real Death Metal and play Death Metal. Swedish Death precisely. They play it with no frills and not a single iota out of place. Metallic, distorted chords with anguishing screams and a bucket of rotten blood smeared all over.

Color me impressed, this is one of the best Death Metal bands we have in this country right now.

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

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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.

THE ARSON PROJECT (Swe): “Blood and Locusts” Ep Cd 2008 Power It Up

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Technically speaking there is nothing objectionable in this Ep, and I loved it when I read that the ten songs on it are on the average less than a minute long. I hated when I saw the punchhole on the back inlay though. Is it so discomforting for a label to think promotion is being paid those 4 meager euros an editor can haggle by selling a second hand Cd? Not that I will ever sell a promo Cd (it’s against my ethics) but like I have said ad nauseam – and I will keep saying it every time I see a punchole or a cutout or any kind of marks on a promo – I pretend to be paid the 80 cents a label pays for a Cd plus postage for using my time to publish it on this e-zine/blogzine/whatever (yeah even with 5 years of delay, eh eh). Hell, I have to recognize that labels do not even send promos anymore. I just delete the promo-download offers when I get that shit in my email inbox. Do they really ask you to download promos? Sure, why don’t you ask me to buy it, lose an hour writing a review and  promote it for free?

Like I said before there is nothing wrong in this Ep. There’s even a super slick neogrind-willowtip-di-sto-cazzo layout with all those scratches and Photoshop layers overlapped like pros. The layout is balanced and we got all the necessary infos from recording details to thank lists. This at least looks like a 15 minutes Ep one could actually spend some money on, at least from the visuals.

“Nothing wrong” could be “not enough” when we talk about music, though. Considering the multitude of records circulating these days, even a recording with careful and well studied structures like these might not be enough. When the band plays Rotten Sound it works pretty well, as the sound is thick enough to stand the hyperspeed blasting. There are two things however that just don’t click into my chords. The first and foremost is the terrible vocals that sometimes creep in. Some sort of painful scream that just blabbers “we have arrived to the neogrind bandwagon”. Don’t get me wrong, when the band blasts it cam blast heavy and through, but then they have those fucking shitty beyond belief dissonant slow Neurosis-like  bridges that I just can’t stand. Were they fast all the time I would have appreciated the Ep somehow. The problem is really the high pitched screams that are as brutal as cracker crumbs on a bed sheet. Just a few songs for people that like this stuff, as for myself, when I reached the second part of track 5 I felt the urge to get a gun and shoot the Cd player.

INSANE ASSHOLES (Ita): “Grindzilla” Lp Cd 2007 Subordinate

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grindzillacoverPreface: This is a review I begun to write in 2007, so do not bother to write it’s an old album, I know it’s an old album, and yes I am a human shit for not having reviewed it when the band actually needed it, but hey, I was just at war with myself at the time eh eh. Stay tuned because you’ll see a lot of old shit in the near future. It might as well be some bands have disbanded in the meantime. In any case I have two crates full of old promos to review so just shut up and enjoy what I have to say now that nobody needs it, ah!

I’ll start right away by telling what I do not like about this release, and it’s, plainly, the not-so tongue-in-cheek-humor. I barely could bear Spazztic Blurr or AOD, go figure what I can think of a band with humorous lyrics 30 years later. There are no lyrics printed here, but the titles just need no great analysis. Thinking about it one can view the humorous approach a bit like that of cheezy genre movies like Blood Freak (the monster turkey movie) or classic Troma stuff but I’ll be honest, I am not a big fan of that kind of horror, preferring less happy gore demented stuff.

Setting rants aside, I’ll move on to what I actually like of this album, and for a start the layout is quite good. Sure, “run of the mill” vanilla Subordinate “neogrind” style, but you can’t say the packaging isn’t professionally done, with sharp lines and an all original artwork, so thumbs up for the presentation here. But please, lyrics next time.

I don’t understand why they decided not to feature this band on the Metal Archives as not only the crisp sound but the songs themselves seem pretty “metal” to me. Well, a lot metal actually. The backbone is definitely fucked up grindcore of course, and it has some frequent blastbeats as well, but everything just sound as metallic as it can get (hell there is even that Pantera guy who was shot on stage mentioned in the thanklist twice, can you dare to say they’re crusties?). Remove the freaked out vocals from the mix and just listen to the guitarwork and tell me what you think.

From start to end this album is relentless, pretty tight, and has a lot of consistence. With that I mean that there are no boring intermezzos and trippy shit (well, actually there is a humorous song called “Carbonara Groove”, and a modern black metal bridge towards the end, but we can forgive them) but just straight to the core songs which have one or two riffs apiece and this is an approach I generally appreciate. I think if you cut off all pauses between the songs and you can pass this whole album as a single track eh eh. Slow down it a bit and you get a pretty decent Death Metal album as well , I need to try that.

So to wrap up my opinion is a bit mixed, I like the no frills approach and the fucked up vocals (Bastard Saints could have been a strong influence here as the randomly scattered vocal style is quite characteristic on that band and the singer also appears as guest here) but I always preferred a more sick, rougher sound. I have a concept of grindcore which is quite far from this, something darker, borderline frightening, certainly not this metallic. This album is an honest display of fast Grind/Metal with a schizoid vocal dept and a sleazy horror movie backbone. Could be worse after all.