SEPIK – ‘HUNT THE GHOST EP’

Sepik is a Punk/Hardcore project from Paul of Wadge. Apparently he was going for a kind of Leatherface type sound here. Stomping, Punky Hardcore with shouting/singing vocal and a very similar recording style to Wadge, just with more breathing space between instruments. The Drum Programming/Sound is very similar to Wadge, although with more groove and swing and less blastbeats. The songs are catchy and raw with a kind of naked-Pop sensibility and a pissed off, melancholic mood. The Leatherface influence really comes through in the melodies present here; Poppy but dark and brooding, and always Punk. Melancholy, fast and rad. Very cool DIY Artwork too. Wadge fans/everyone else should absolutely check this out! These songs will totally stick to your ribs.

GK#421

CHULO – ‘ODIO A PRIMERA VISTA’

Chulo totally rules. Exactly the kind of blown out, bass heavy, sociopathic Grindcore I’m always in the mood to hear. Lo-fi, unbelievably pissed, deprived and hungry. Moody Sludge parts, lightning fast Grindcore bursts, samples and insane bellow/shriek vocal. Cruelty, abject cruelty. The four-track hissing recording does this record many favours; Chulo really do have that ‘Power Violence’ vibe/sound that so many of these younger Hardcore bands aspire to, that raging, dangerous and nihilistic feel. Think more Crossed Out than M.I.T.B. There’s a definite Noisecore type sound present here also, and at times ‘Odio A Primera Vista’ sounds like ‘Open Wound’ era Warsore or Noisecore era Violent Headache. Ingest cocaine, extort small businesses.

GK#3

MICKEY NAPALM – ‘STREAM OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS’

Mickey Napalm is an MC/Producer, and also makes Digital/Electronic Grindcore under the name Infected Womb. His Hip Hop stuff combines crisp sampling from Soul and Jazz, snappy, fresh programmed beats and euphoric and beautiful arrangements with hyperactive flows about Grindcore, weed and food, and an alienated resentful worldview, all shot through a laconic vocal delivery. The combination of vibes totally works, this reminds me a lot of Definitive Jux artists, or specifically Aesop Rock and Jughead in terms of the interplay between production and MC. This is worth mentioning because four producers, including Mickey Napalm, contributed to the record and it all coalesces perfectly. Thoughtful, catchy, hypnotic, outsider Hip Hop. The record is available to download from  Laugh Now Records also, and will be getting a physical release on December 3rd so check back at Laugh Now in the coming weeks and snag a copy!

GK#297

VARANUS KOMODOENSIS / PHYLLOMEDUSA SPLIT – ‘REPTILES VS AMPHIBIANS’

Another Gore/Noise release from The Lillypad/Amphibian Worship blog and the Ultra Noisy Shit!! blog. The Phyllomedusa tracks here are a deviation from their Last Days Of Humanity worship, instead offering up Harsh Noise Wall with pitch shifted vocal. This stuff is heavy and dank as a spore cloud and headache-inducing. Random, crushing and amphibian. Occasional quieter, more ambient movements with distorted spoken word and amphibian calls keep the sounds here interesting and their sound-scapes uniquely froggy. I prefer their Gorenoise stuff in general, but I enjoy their side of this split. The Varanus Komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) ‘tracks’ are some of the filthiest, heaviest, most intense sounds I’ve ever heard. Programmed Drums so fast they become a single Noise tone in parts, Guitar and/or Bass so buried in distortion it’s completely inaudible and vocal so pitch shifted and pestilent it’s stupid. The most tinny Snare sound ever experienced by man. Unbelievably manic, stupid, intense and mystifying, and sonically way closer to HNW than Gorenoise or Noisecore. I believe V.K. is a one man project from Chile, and to me at least his stuff is pretty much the xenith of bedroom Gorenoise. I don’t listen to this stuff that often, but when I do I’m always left speechless. I mean I can’t even tell if this is genius good or retarded bad. Utterly, utterly ridiculous, yet brilliant. A great, bizarre split.

Mediafire – Linked from the Amphibian Worship blogspot

Mediafire – Linked from the Ultra Noisy Shit!! blogspot

BRAIN HYPERTENSION – DEMO

Brain Hypertension is a Gorenoise project from Chile (I believe). 1 track of rancid, heinous Gore with aquatic gurgle vocal, Punk as fuck Guitars, D Beats, Grinding Bass and loads of blastbeats, lasting about 1 minute 40 seconds. I can’t tell if these are programmed drums or not, but they’re crazy fast. This reminds me of Last Days Of Humanity’s ‘Putrefaction in Progress’, with arrangement and structure rather than endless blasting. I could see this appealing to fans of more traditional Goregrind like old Dead Infection or Regurgitation also. Taken from Ultra Noisy Shit!!, a Gore/Grind/Noise label who offer their Tape/CDr releases for free download via Rapidshare at their blog. Their tape releases seem very limited in terms of numbers so if you want one act fast.

Rapidshare – Linked from the Ultra Noisy Shit!! blogspot

AREYFU – ‘AMETHYST’

Areyfu is a Noise unit out of Australia. ‘Amethyst’ is a beautiful, scarring Harsh Noise barrage, cutting between ambient sound-scapes and devastating Noise eruptions. Fissures in lush, light ambiance spew molten magma Electronics and audio destruction. Psychedelic, disorientating and achingly dense. The range of dynamics present here creates an interesting, rewarding listening experience; there’s a keen sense of design and intent here not often found in Harsh Noise, avoiding Chaos Theory Noise and zeroing in on specific movements and sonic phrasing in Power Electronics. Intelligent, thoughtful, ear bleeding Harsh Noise.

GK#142 / Pro Noise .05

 

BLUE HOLOCAUST – ‘TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE’

Unrelenting one man Gore from France. Blue Holocaust are right up there with Hyperemesis, Birth, Oniku or Hydropneumothorax in the current wave of amazing Goregrind stinking up the underground. ‘Twitch of the Death Nerve’ is 32 tracks of Giallo obsessed, thrashy, sloppy Gore, with unweildy programmed drums and disgusting, roaring vomit vocal. Sludgy, vomitous and infected-sounding. Slower half-time stomping parts, Thrash riffs, interesting drum patterns, Groove parts and an overall old-school Grindcore/Gore vibe. Loads of movie samples stitch the whole release together, and the production is very noisy and crushing. I like the Giallo movie theme, again because I find much of the Pathology Goregrind out there quite boring and stale. I also love the OG collage style Artwork here, very colorful and eyecatching. Pierre, the maniac behind this foetid creation, also runs the excellent Braindead Zine, which if you are unaware of you should absolutely check out. Gross.

Bandcamp

MUTWAWA / SEAL TEAM 666 SPLIT – ‘WATCHERS FROM THE ABYSS’

A split between these two Noise units was always going to impress me; both Mutwawa and Seal Team 666 have been responsible for some of my favourite Noise of the last few years. Mutwawa offer 3 tracks of dense, sweltering Noise assemblies, throbbing Neo-Dance/Electronica Techno drenched in Harsh distortion. Rumbling, maddening Sci-Fi tribal ritual music for future cannibals. Piercing, hypnotic, grimy. Some of their best material. The two Seal Team 666 tracks here are my favourite of their stuff hands down; absolutely corrosive, acrid THC Pulse cut into millions of pieces and reassembled, rancid audio destruction of the strangest caliber,  haywire disruption deep in the bowels of a Star Destroyer. This stuff is uniquely damaging, futuristic, nightmarish and incredibly dense and vibrant. I have no idea how some of these sounds could possibly be achieved, and I like that. The two sides of this split are perfectly symbiotic, in that both projects are astrally projecting Noise into strange , psychedelic new realms and their sounds complement each other really well. The Artwork here is also excellent, created by Joe Leggz, who does most of Mutwawa’s art stuff and can be checked out here. Mind bending. An absolutely essential download.

GK#389 / Mutwawa Bandcamp

PEACEMAKER – ‘ALIVE! ON A SATURDAY MORNING’

More sound-scapes from Rich Hoak’s peace loving free Noise exercise Peacemaker. This release follows in the same vein as ‘Peace Is The Victory!’, creating swirling, hypnotic found-sound tableau’s, weird melodies form in the repetitions of tape tracks, dense sub sound rumbles under strange samples from religious ceremonies. The final three tracks of ‘Alive! On A Saturday Morning’ are each the same source material with varying degrees of distortion/manipulation applied, creating a triptych of tracks with a far harsher vibe than previous tracks. From what I can hear this stuff seems to be stitched entirely out of tape sounds and recordings, which is refreshing given the far more popular Pedal Noise that dominates much of the modern Noise scene/sound. Very old school, unique and endlessly intriguing. Both Peacemaker releases come highly recommended!

GK#27

PEACEMAKER – ‘PEACE IS THE VICTORY!’

Peacemaker is another project of Rich Hoak of Brutal Truth and Total Fucking Destruction. ‘Peace Is The Victory!’ is four tracks of absurdist found-sound collage, minimalist Noise manipulation and weird melody. Rumbling tape dissections, bubbles of distortion rising through the stew, samples drenched in overdrive scattered throughout. Hypnotic, psychedelic, strange, non-violent. This does have a certain harshness, but I would hesitate to describe this as Harsh Noise; It reminds me of older Noise music as described by Cage rather than post 80’s HNW or Power Electronics. An overall hypnotic, weird and blissful listening experience. Highest volume reaps highest reward.

GK#26

CLIPPING – ‘MIDCITY’

Clipping have been hyped a lot this year and for good reason; their eclectic blend of Harsh Noise and Hip Hop is ear-catching to say the least. ‘Midcity’ is a euphoric collison between Noise and Hip Hop, with minimalist Noise coerced into form under extremely distorted Beats, all wrapped in angry, antagonist left-field flows, very lyrical and catchy. This definitely owes a debt to sounds created by the likes of Dabrye and Dalek but Clipping is certainly it’s own beast. Imagine a cross between the alien, Skull electronic sound-scapes of The Bastard Noise, and the lo-fi Noisy Rap of Danny Brown and your nearly there. I’ve heard Noise referenced and even sampled in Hip Hop before, but I’ve never heard a Hip Hop record so utterly drenched in minimalist analogue Noise. An incredible release. If you like Harsh Noise and/or Hip Hop please check it out!

Bandcamp

BILLY CRYSTAL METH – ‘METH METAL’

Yet another band from Andy of the mighty Mortville Noise, unfortunately now defunct. Billy Crystal Meth play crushing Sludge/Doom; instrumental, droning Sludge with more traditional Doom parts, super ponderous trudging melody and hard hitting Drums. In terms of tempo the record is pretty dynamic, ranging from torturous, creeping Doom parts to more upbeat Metal sounding parts. This reminds me of a bizarre mix between Unsane, Autopsy and Winter. There’s no songs about Satan or Weed, and for the most part ‘Meth Metal’ avoids boring Doom tropes, which is always a plus. Final track ‘Frostilicus’ is a 27 minute, epic Sludge feast, which finishes out the record with a nearly 20 minute(!) Guitar drone. If your a fan of Andy’s numerous other projects you need to get this one. Great Artwork too!

Bandcamp

MARION BARRY / SEAL TEAM 666 SPLIT – ‘FUNKADELIC HYPERBLAST’

An amazing split between two diverse Noise dealers. Marion Barry is a Grindcore/Power Violence two piece from California, Seal Team 666 is Jay Randall’s Noise unit out of Massachusetts. The three Marion Barry tracks here are from various recording sessions, and are each previously unreleased. Live Grindcore/Hardcore madness, parlay smokin’ electronic Noise and insane, sampled Ebonics. Short and sweet, super raw and irreverent. A potent mix of the styles Marion Barry deals in. The Seal Team 666 tracks are Pulse/Cut up resurrections of sections from the revered Merzbow release ‘Pulse Demon’. Punishing, unbearable Pulses of warped Harsh Noise, cuts and oscillation scattered with samples from ‘Dolemite’. I like the self reflection of remixing/reusing a record that probably is a big influence on Randall and ST666, and the concept works well sonically also. A great collision of sounds, and all around a cool split.

GK#219

GOREJIRA – ’50 FEET WALKING PILE OF INTESTINES’

This is another release I found trolling around on the Amphibian Worship blog. There’s no info for Gorejira at the blog, so I have no idea if this is another brainchild of Big Frog but I wouldn’t be surprised. One track of blasting, filthy, Kaiju obsessed Gorenoise. Crackling, rumbling Noise smothered over insane, frantic drum programming, with sick vomit vocal and loads of samples from Kaiju movies. If it’s Guitars or Bass making those sounds they’re completely unrecognisable as instruments, rather sounding like septic Harsh Noise. The samples give this release a fun, unserious vibe, even if on the whole ‘Citystomper’ sounds like a Kaiju monstrosity made of sewage stomping on Tokyo. Enjoy!

Mediafire – Linked from Big Frog’s Amphibian Worship blog

PREDOMINATE CAVEWOMAN – ‘PREDOMINATE CAVEWOMAN’

Another project/band from Big Frog, the insane amphibian genius behind Phyllomedusa and a whole load of other Gorenoise projects. Predominate Cavewoman is a three piece, Pro-Feminine Gorenoise machine, churning out vicious, downtuned blasts of filthy cro-magnon Gore slop. Roaring pitch-shifted(?) vocal mixed with more traditional Grindcore burly yells and screeches, walls of blastbeats with ringing Snare, pulverizing slower parts and sewer Guitars and Bass. Entirely recommended for fans of Last Days of Humanity, Urine Festival or Anal Birth, or in fact Phyllomedusa fans. Ovarian Reign!

Mediafire – Linked from Big Frog’s Amphibian Worship blog

SPECIAL BUDDY DISCOUNT – ‘DARKENED MINDS’

Special Buddy Discount are a 4 piece Grindcore band from the States. ‘Darkened Minds’ is in 6 parts; 5 of these parts are subdivided into short, raging Grindcore songs, the last is a long jam session. Pissed off, riffy, lo-fi Grindcore that sounds like classic 90’s West Coast Grind in the vein of Utter Bastard, Excruciating Terror or Stapled Shut. Howling, squawking vocal, half-time breakdowns, occasional Doomy riffs, a huge Hardcore influence and a mean spirit. The final track is worth mentioning for it’s tripped out swirling noises, bong-coughs and distortion howls, and it rounds this awesome record out really nicely. The artwork is a great throwback to the 90’s, even if having a priest on the cover of a Grindcore record is a little played out. Great release!

Prime Eggsample

KICKING SPIT – ‘REALITY DROPOUT’

Kicking Spit are a 3 piece from Jersey, kickin’ out noisy, grungy Pop/Rock tunes. ‘Reality Dropout’ is two tracks of blissful, distortion drenched Grunge/Punk with Pop melodies, yelled/melodic vocal, and thick, noisy Guitars and Bass. There’s also a certain Metal sound here, especially in the Guitar solos. This has a very 90’s feel, and reminds me of old Dinosaur Jr, Meat Puppets, Sebadoh and ‘Bleach’ era Nirvana, with a huge scoop of saccharine Pop music. Highly recommended.

Tankcrimes

BEARTRAP – ‘ASCENDING ORANGES’

Beartrap are a legendary Noisecore band from Japan. This release comprises of two different live recording sessions bundled together, and it’s great fun. Nearly 50 tracks of spastic, funny Noisecore with a really silly and funny vibe. The vocals are absolutely ridiculous blurts of nonsensical garbage, the recording quality is very raw and lo-fi but loud enough, and the guitars and drums create a very Hardcore/Punk sounding brand of Noisecore. No crushing tones here, just razor sharp Noisecore. This is really good-time, fun Noisecore and for the most part avoids angry/pissed off subject matter in favour of stupid phrases and goofy humor. Recommended for fans of Cacasonica, Sockeye or Sore Throat.

Mortville Noise

RICH HOAK – ‘CAVEMAN / R. HOAK DEMOS’

Rich Hoak, legendary drummer of Brutal Truth and Total Fucking Destruction, here presents a Demo of primitive, minimalist Neanderthal Electronics and sound-scapes, with Jazzier tracks scattered throughout. Never has a record cover so perfectly represented the sounds within; this release literally sounds like Cavemen smashing instruments of fine construction. Primordial howling, ominous tribal drumming with blastbeats, ruined Saxophone and very minimal Electronic Noise creates an amazingly interesting and measured Soundtrack to the reversal of man. The whole thing has a very improvised, wild vibe, and it’s hard to really place an influence here. An obvious comparison can be made to Naked City or Painkiller in that both Zorn projects marry Saxophone and blastbeats, but Hoak really has created his own sonic beast here. Very discordant, Jazzy, psychedelic and entrancing, with Hoak’s trademark hard-hitting, spastic Drumming style right at the forefront of this utterly bizarre and fun release. In my opinion, this is completely indispensable. Get primitive.

GK#62

METASTASIS – DEMO

Metastasis is a Grindcore/Gore band from Canada. This demo is 8 short blasts of uproarious Goregrind. Crushing Guitar sound, blastbeats, stampeding Mince parts, horrible gurgle vocal and a very raw, Punk attitude. There’s a certain Anarcho/Crust vibe here also, although it’s not overbearing, but there’s definitely a nod towards stuff like Disrupt or Massgrave. As far as I can tell, Metastasis is themed around the destruction of natural resources, and the general rape of the Earth by human hands. This gets the band points from me, because their message isn’t berating and they avoid played out Gore tropes. Environmentalist Goregrind? Sure. This is for fans of new school Gore/Mince like Hyperemesis, Pyemesis, Urologist or Parazitozis. Rotten.

Bandcamp