Autopsy – “Skull Grinder” • Peaceville // EP
Death Metal
I laugh my arse off just reading these internet retards who somehow are expecting a legendary band such Autopsy to deliver a revolution, an extraordinaire output in 2015. What? They will just stick to what they know best, good ol’ death metal, slowly stomping everyone’s craniums with savage riffary, a brutal sonic assault to oppress and crush these newborn babies who assume they’re the shit. This is not a prank, Autopsy are still absolutely fit to nuke you. Ask Chris Reifert in person if you doubt that. Oh, yes, you won’t. [PS]
Bismuth – “Unavailing” • Graanrepubliek | Dry Cough | Box | Tartarus | Viral Age
Drone | Doom
No bullshit, just bass riffs amped up the maximum, fabricating a slow, a SLOOOOOOW rendition of drone/doom that lies somewhere between Monarch and Undersmile. If you enjoy being dragged to the gallows pole only to be haltingly tortured by the sluggish molecules of heaviness, Bismuth, a two-piece from the UK, is more than apt choice: it is a mandatory one. Tanya Byrne‘s voice only adds up to an already bone-chilling atmosphere. [PS]
Chrome Over Brass – “Chrome Over Brass” • Deathwish Inc.
Drums | Mathcore
Deconstructing drums without plunging in a proxy avant-garde exercise might be a tough rock challenge. Not for Alex Garcia-Rivera, who embraces the sly of soul-sapping mathcore to orchestrate a non-verbal lyricism of engaging rhythms and swooping tempos. The multi-instrumentalist, known for his tom-tom work with melodic hardcore merchants American Nightmare and with the sepulchral synth-goth haven of Cold Cave, presents in Chrome Over Brass a velveteen, groovy, drum-oriented solo work. All applying a monastic 100% analogic studio approach that only enhances Alex‘s precision and cleverness. [EP]
CØNDITIØN – “Actual Hell” • Iron Lung
Hardcore punk | D-beat
«Big as a pig and vicious as hell. The torturous maelstrom sounds of bone breaks and thuggish isolationism. Howling feedback underscores the massive swirling riffs and relentless battery of drums. Foul, tumultuous vocals made entirely of the final exhalations of humanity really send this opus to the apex. A perfect band. For those unfamiliar, CØNDITIØN are a raging south Californian corpse-beat unit more akin to the likes of BASTARD than DISCHARGE. Fucking heavy.» What the fuck else do you need to know? [EP]
Crötchmutt & Dislies – “8-Trax Split” • Runstate Tapes
Crust | D-beat
Can’t really survive a whole new week without my d-beat quota filled up. This eight-track split is nasty, 80s discore style done exactly the way I enjoy, lo-fi, shouted, angry and reeking of hate. With a nice plus: discovering two brand new bands. There’s no way of going wrong with Runstate. [PS]
Subheim – “Foray” • Denovali
Ambient
Egocentric randomness is what we all are on these dire nights of fog and spooky alleyways, gradually floating and breathing the tar-reeked-atmosphere of pre-capitalist Rostock, the misty gardens, the tragic courtyards where all industrial specimens bury themselves with coal, waiting for the imminent collapse that is constantly foreseen in hardcover guerrilla handbooks. I will not lie to you, I am afraid. The provocateurs of banal are preaching the language of commonality, stretching their own arms to embrace unconsciousness as answer to fear, but numbness is unradical. I would rather shoot myself in the head. [GMC]
Tarquin Manek – “Tarquin Magnet” • Blackest Ever Black
Electronics | Free Jazz
Morrison’s corpse keep saying that the west is the best. Would that be the case with Tarquin Manek? Nay, not by a mile. An enthralling meditation questing to be deciphered, this Australian project roams between the mysterious foam of non-sensical electronics and the psycho-fog sprouted up in dub fragmentations, all slowly motioning in a dense maze that could make your mind rattle to wonder if you’re actually seeing Matana Roberts playing in Tangerine Dream. [EP]
The Rodeo Idiot Engine – “Malaise” • Throatruiner
Hardcore punk | Experimental
After all these years, you already know what to expect from a trustworthy label like Throatruiner Records. They always find a way to seek and extract the very best of French hardcore, no matter if it’s closer to Kickback‘s legacy or more alike to the screamo scene that erupted back in the 00s with stuff like Mihai Edrisch or Daïtro. What’s curious about The Rodeo Idiot Engine is how they juxtapose both those worlds of pure aggression and honest passion into a single frame of despair, fortress-like, pursuing rhythm digressions while deploying white walls of post-melody. This is French hardcore in a nutshell, striking what could be described as “Church Of Ra Aesthetics” as well. [PS]