FACEDOWNINSHIT - NPON: Nothing Positive, Only Negative

FACEDOWNINSHIT
NPON – Nothing Positive, Only Negative
Relapse Records
7/10





Harsh, lo-fi tones abound on “NPON”, as Facedowninshit parlay a great deal of influence from Eyehategod with the result being foreboding, coarse, doom-sludge with more than enough disparity to seize the listener’s interest. Over the course of seven drawn-out musical beatdowns, Facedowninshit incorporates significantly gruff undercurrents of NOLA-inspired dissonance.

During the record’s boisterous title track, the band steers well clear of conventional definitions of melody, instead opting to deliver a sound that is bitterly jagged, discordant and considerably unforgiving.

Random, squealing feedback and slow moving, teeth-gnashing reverberations infect “Countless”, a track that is powered by random string scraping and a thick, sludgy riff. A touch of hardcore worms its way into “Ten Strip”, but the band’s propensity for keeping a restrained tempo gives the track a slow motion effect.

Overall, Facedowninshit will be most appealing to those who take pleasure in a particularly anti-musical experience. Rough sounds such as the ones that listeners will unearth here are often difficult to swallow, but Facedowninshit provides an admirable antithesis to the plethora of sugarcoated sounds currently accepted as metal these days.

Written By: Angel Grinder

PIG DESTROYER - Terrifyer

PIG DESTROYER
Terrifyer
Relapse Records
9/10





Pig Destroyer returns with a vicious set of grinding horror...

This splatter-platter is a blood-soaked romp through the writings of J.R. Hayes and the pulverizing, jackhammer blasts which emanate from this furious three piece’s gore core composition. The centerpiece of the record is the DVD audio track ‘Natasha’, which clocks in at 37 minutes long.

‘Natasha’ is a definitive artistic statement from PxDx, a doom-laden gem which is very experimental for the group, providing a transverse compliment to Hayes’ Bates Motel lyrical nightmares.

Interestingly, this band grinds sans bassist. That said, the material remains thick, with sufficient bottom end in the tone of the guitars to rattle the windows, regardless. Produced by guitarist Scott Hull, ‘Terrifyer’ has sound akin to sticking your head inside of the center of a tornado, a whirling mass of violent destruction.

Throughout the record’s 21 grindcore tracks, the sound is full and clear. The lack of a bass guitarist works to their advantage in this respect. There’s not any muddy parts traditionally associated with the rapid fire bass runs of bands that incorporate this extreme style. The drums sound very powerful and you can pick out every hit of each blast. John Evans is an amazingly fast skin beater, each strike like another stab wound in the corpse…

Lyrically, Hayes marks himself as a prime candidate for induction into Bellevue, The album liner contains another short story written by the vocalist, which further adds value to the package and is effective in accentuating the gruesome lyrical nature of the album. ‘Boy Constrictor is a skull bashing affair with a psychotic drum attack courtesy of Evans. Some of the songs feature thrashy parts that are a bit less insane than the straight up grinding of ‘Prowler In The Yard’.

The interludes between proper songs reinforce the grinding blasts and serve to bring atmosphere to the lyrics. This is the most artistically complex record that I have ever heard from a band playing this type of music. Well thought out guitar patterns on tracks like ‘Carrion Fairy’ are like a vehement mathematical equation and ‘Soft Assassin’ is pure savage violence throughout.

Pig Destroyer's murderous music is entertaining in its complexity, overall tone and sheer unadulterated insanity. With ‘Terrifyer’, they leave all grind competition in the dust.

These guys are a killing machine set to hack, stab and shriek their way into the annals of GC history as one of the most aurally entertaining groups of that particular segment of heavy metal.

Written By: Blaze Booflea

CAMILLA RHODES - Like The Word Love On The Lips Of A Harlot

CAMILLA RHODES
Like The Word Love On The Lips Of A Harlot
Galy Records
7.5/10





The most proper description of the music of Camilla Rhodes would be relentless. From the first note of “Like The Word Love On The Lips Of A Harlot”, this band digs in and never slows down.

Disjointed, discordant riffing meets sandpaper piped screams and boisterous guttural bursts of vocal energy on the crushing “If Dreams Are Like Movies, Then Memories Are Like Ghosts”, showing that this is a group that is nothing to be trifled with.

During “Johnny Utah’s On The Case”, the band evokes a feeling similar to The Black Dahlia Murder, with a touch of progressive diminishment throw in for good measure. Greg Kepka is a qualified belter, issuing ravaging, larynx destroying rumbles atop the backdrop of thumping instrumentation provided by Phil Dugas (guitars), Jade Simonetto (Drums) and Simon Paradis (bass).

“You’ve Changed The Shade Of Autumn (To A Deeper Shade Of Red) kicks off with an introduction that is almost black metal in sound, but the track merges into an unyielding bout of cored out screaming and bashing.

Although many pigeonhole this type of sound as metalcore these days, there’s not a great deal of hardcore influence to be found. Instead, listeners can expect caustic thrashing by the bushels, trauma-inducing vocal barrages and nothing less than one hundred percent metal.

It’s high time that metalheads took their identity back and Camilla Rhodes is about as metal as you can get. See for yourself.

Written By: Chaos

CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN - Zero Comfort Margin

CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN
Zero Comfort Margin
Willowtip Records
7.5/10





Blasting grinding death that’s suitable for activities such as being boiled alive are to be found on “Zero Comfort Margin” as Circle Of Dead Children unleash a growling, gurgling vortex of ruthless metal annihilation.

This band tears into songs like a tornado and their songs are for the most part short and to the point, opting for the quick kill. With titles like “No Tears Fall Through Hollow Eye Sockets” and “Strip Naked For The Killer”, listeners should know exactly what they are in for. Vocally, Joe Horvath squeals, barks and bellows his way through cuts like “The System As The Master Deceiver” and the album’s highly grueling title track like the grind champ that he is, his pig squeals being some of the most powerful out there.

In terms of production, one could ask for a bit more thickness, but it’s more than likely that the hollower sounding parts are deliberate, as the band does break into some grinding flurries that carry a substantial amount of weight. A quality package on the whole, “Zero Comfort Margin” offers appropriately insane visuals and complete lyrics as well. The major downfall is that the album rolls by rather quickly, but that’s why fans buy competent grind CDs such as this, to play them over and over again.

File directly between Cannibal Corpse and early Napalm Death.


ERIN FOX © 2006 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

GOROD - Neurotripsicks

GOROD
Neurotripsicks
Willowtip Records
7.5/10





Aye, Gorod is quite the mechanical grind machine.

At times, the band’s music is highly reminiscent of Megadeth, albeit with vocalist Guillaume screaming like a stuck pig over the whole filthy, sick ordeal. During other moments, the band lapse into progressive grind, blasting away intently and at other times, the precision attack of the group’s rhythms highly resemble early Thought Industry. If that doesn’t have your attention, the group can also blow through power metal inspired riffing, with Guillaume barfing out some adequately sick vocals all the while. C

onsider the whiplash inducing, stop-action work of “Smoked Skulls” as Mat and Arnaud team up for some fantastic fretboard burning or the techno-thrashing “Pig’s Bloated Face” is ample evidence that this band can rip with the best of ‘em. All the while, the insane vocal vomiting brings a different type of a dimension to music that is more often associated with more traditional singing sounds, making Gorod a black sheep in a herd of same-sounding mimics. “Gutting Job” features some tasty bass work that shows Ben has the chops to make his subsonic pounding stick, while “Harmony In Torture” gives the listener a severe six string bludgeoning.

Throw in a couple of solid bonus tracks, add it all up and you have yet another highly intriguing, skull-stomping Willowtip release. Grind lovers looking for a change of pace will be kicking each others asses to get a piece of this action.


ERIN FOX © 2005 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

MISTRESS - In Disgust We Trust

MISTRESS
In Disgust We Trust
Earache Records
7/10




In many instances, a genre can be about a vibe as much as a sound. On “In Disgust We Trust”, Mistress carry on the same feelings that originally surfaced on Napalm Death records that were produced during the middle of that band’s tenure for the Earache label, this is due in large part to the types of vocal phrasing used over chugging rhythms.

“Happily Ever Disaster” certainly grinds along admirably, with 1-2-3-4 counts leading into blasts and 180 BPM 4/4 snare/ kick drum patterns. The title track chugs along like a freight train, appearing to move more slowly than it actually is, simply because of its enormous size. Being from Birmingham, these five grindpigs certainly have some rather large shoes to fill, in consideration of that city’s massive contributions to the metal world.

Mistress does a competent job of fulfilling the role. “Static” possesses a sinister sounding riff that would make Pungent Stench proud and although the vocals here are not quite as OTT as you would find on a traditional grind album, with the inclusion of semi-melodic vocals during the song’s chorus, a wizened analysis would conclude that Mistress are pushing the boundaries of the genre of grind as opposed to reaching toward it.

At other times, the group sticks directly to the game plan, as they do on the thumping “Alcohole”, which slams along with reckless abandon.

Fans of Extreme Noise Terror and the God-like Napalm will certainly find this record to be along the lines of their musical tastes, while those that have been force fed metalcore for the past ten years might take this as a good starting point for expanding their musical understanding.


ERIN FOX © 2005 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

BENEATH THE MASSACRE - Evidence Of Inequity

BENEATH THE MASSACRE
Evidence Of Inequity
Galy Records - 2005
7/10




Grinding, insanely methodological death is what Beneath The Massacre offer up on “Evidence Of Inequity”, a blistering beating in the vein of Necrophagist. But in stark contrast to that highly technical outfit, Beneath The Massacre sport a vocalist, Elliot Desgagnes, that fits the style of music well, blending in with the chaotic foray as opposed to being disconnected.

Rarely does one find a group that is so tight, precise and able to meld together as a cohesive unit as this band does on the purely punishing “Comforting Prejudice.” Christopher Bradley embarks on a blazing solo here, but it’s somewhat hard to distinguish it as such as the band is traveling at light speed throughout the track. Drummer Justin Rousselle is an unstoppable death machine on “Totalitarian Hypnosis”, giving new meaning to the term hyperblast as bassist Dennis Bradley and his brother rage on the strings like a meth addict in an alcohol funny car.

Beneath The Massacre don’t leave out the weighty, crunching riffing either, giving Rousselle an opportunity to crush with severe force. The amazing scalar runs that introduce “Regurgitated Lullaby for the Borndead” are simply jaw dropping in the degree of mechanical aptitude and pure speed with which they are executed.

Check out this five song death machine for sure, but stand back from the speakers if you’d like to keep the skin on your face!


ERIN FOX © 2005 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED