FACIALMESS – ‘TOTAL LIBERATION’

Mind fracturing Pulsing Harsh Noise from Kenny Sanderson A.K.A. FACIALMESS. Coils of sound unravel, leaving moments of near silent Ambience from which to draw breath, between noxious suffocating blasts of Pulsed/warped Harsh Noise, with the expressed intent of smashing animal experimentation; the ‘Total Libertaion’ referred to in the record’s title. Brief moments of pained, shouted vocal and short anti-vivisectionist samples add a nice accent to an already confusing and illogical listen. The sounds here are very reverent to Japanese Noise artists/records from the 90’s; the record I think this reminds me of most is Kazumoto Endo’s ‘When You Were Out’, a personal favourite record of mine. Endo’s contaminated sampling and back-and-forth cut up style are very much present here, and these two tracks have little forward momentum, rather they spin from sound to sound, utterly disorientating and battering the listener with myriad distortion, sample, texture and timbre. An excellent release.

GK#65 / Pro Noise.07

sperm – ‘yahweh brings us to this hell’

Nasty, skronky Noise Rock from the States. sperm sounds a lot like Cows with Hardcore leanings, with girthy Bass work slithering over muscular mid paced Drums, with burly Hardcore vocal/introverted tonal signing. The songs are actually pretty catchy, stripped-back and Punk, and there’s definitely the artsy aggression present in Big Black, Black Flag or even old Unsane in amongst these sounds. The bruising Hardcore moves into soft Post Punk sections with spindly Guitars, adding a sort frailty or vulnerability to such meaty Hardcore/Noise Rock. This combining of light and dark, aggressive and introverse, makes for a very potent brew of sounds, one that’s had me going back for multiple repeat listens. If you dig any of the above mentioned bands, don’t sleep on this one. If you dig it pick up a tape from Black Dots!

Bandcamp

ABRAXAS – DEMO

Abraxas is a Grindcore band from the States, sharing members with Robocop, Slavestate 641a, Sutekh Hexen and others. 20 minutes plus of dense, claustrophobic Hardcore/Grind. I would maybe describe this as ‘Grind Violence’, a term I’m not all that comfortable using since it kind of doesn’t mean anything, but Abraxas combine a kind of Grindcore aesthetic with a 90’s Powerviolence sense of momentum, ranging from mad fast to mad slow at the drop of a hat. The Guitar/Bass on this demo is extremely thick and muddy, giving a kind of Sludge vibe, the vocal is very forced, bellowed and pained and there’s lots of Noise woven through the demo, filling negative space with volatile Harsh. The production is murky and stodgy, well suiting these slow/fast compositions. Crawling, miserable and full of promise, recommended to fans of Column Of Heaven, Robocop, Detroit or perhaps Six Brew Bantha. Snag a tape from Kydoimos if you dig it!

Kydoimos Records

BIOCIDIO – ‘EAST COAST TOUR TAPE 2014’

Nearly 13 minutes of Crusty Mince/Grindcore from US band Biocidio. Fairly groovy, classic sounding Mincecore/Grindcore done the right way. They do a good job of balancing the D beats and blast beats, and there’s plenty of mid paced Death Metal-ish stomp here too, as well as an (un)healthy dose of ripping Crust, and loads of catchy three chord Punk style parts. The vocal is a classic Grindcore low low grunt, perfectly suited to this style. Production is raw but thick and meaty, making those stomping, Mincing parts really swing and the Guitars/Bass sound girthy as fuck. Reminds me of Dirsupt, Agathocles, Rot, Excruciating Terror or Subcut. Really, really enjoyable tape, get into it!

Bandcamp

ULTRA ウルトラ – ‘CYBERNET UTOPIA’

Lush, lo fi waves from ULTRA ウルトラ. Blissful, ASMR inducing codeine sounds, full of chintzy incidental samples, hollow Hip Hop beats and reverb drenched melodies sampled from Piano, Synth and even Pan Pipes. Yes, Pan Pipes. Spectral Japanese voices guide you through an enormous hotel structure, with a view of a sprawling neon lit cityscape from a glass elevator, rising silently to the the top floor. Equal parts 80’s and Cyberpunk, decadent, futurist and self absorbed. Some of the most relaxing, pointless and calming Vaporwave/Synthwave I’ve heard in a while. Painkiller music for prescription drug addicts.

Fortune 500

UROLOGIST – ‘FIBROMA OF TENDON SHEATH’

5 tracks of downtuned, vile Goregrind slop from Swedish one man unit Urologist. You know what to expect; samples from Gore movies, hammering programmed blast beats, total ripping chainsaw Guitars and disgusting burbling vocal retch. The drum machine here is awesome, and has that oh-so-desirable unweildy, rattling sound perfected by Dysmenorrheic Hemorrhage. The recording quality is raw and ropey but very loud, and pretty much perfect for this kind of Gore. Thick, punk, occasionaly groovy without being annoying and noisy as hell, and of course recommended.

Bandcamp

ALBERT TROSS, LEADER OF THE DEMONS – ‘S’HORRIBLE’

Creepy weirdo sounds from Albert Tross. Ambient, claustrophobic, minimalist sounds stretched out and looped, creating an unsettling vibe of shady lurkers and nasty stuff. Creepy things slithering about. Sub human creatures wallowing in the darkest crypts. More tape loop/sound collage than harsh, very lo fi and low rent. As always with Albert Tross, there’s a very fine line here between goofing off and menacing, and this record walks back and forth across it often.  As silly and weird as Albert Tross’ brand of Noise is, the sounds present here are dynamic and keep the ear engaged. I also really like the kitchy cover image with the 1970’s colours, an aesthetic that totally matches the Twin Peaks style nightmare within. Definitely not Harsh Noise, but if you enjoy your sounds Ambient, impenetrable and cinematic you’ll dig this. Deeply troubling and un-nerving, like tripping balls in your Grandmother’s living room.

Bandcamp

BROWN PISS – ‘TRAUMA’

Three track tape release from Jason Hodge’s Noise project Brown Piss. Pulsating, Industrial influenced Noise-scapes full of hissing, crackling analogue and thumping rhythms. Layers of droning sound are added and volume pressure builds until the hull tears open, and the throbbing beats are nearly completely enveloped in fleshy, flabby Noise. Slimy, wobbling, trippy, sweaty and highly combustible. As much as this stuff could be considered Noise or Harsh Noise, like Hodge’s other Noise unit Mutwawa there’s so much interplay between sound/noise and rhythm as to make this Brown Piss release nearly Industrial. Recommended weird.

Bandcamp

FIKIGU – ‘ATAKO SONA’

Fikigu is a Grind/Noisecore band from Brazil. ‘Atako Sona’ is 8 tracks of ropey, punked out Grind slop with a very low rent recording quality, lots of Mincing parts, lots of three chord punk rock Guitar parts and weird, groaned low vocal/squawk vocal. The drumming in particular is very sloppy and ropey, and the Guitar has a pretty thin sound. However, I feel like the somewhat crappy nature of some of the playing here only contributes to that all fun, no talent Noisecore vibe. Although this record is in many ways lacking in quality, it reminds me of bands like Agamenon Project, Agathocles or perhaps more recently Cacasonica. A short release, one for those who like their Grind/Noisecore crappy, fun and totally un-serious/un-metal. Garbage.

Bandcamp

HIKARU TSUNEMATSU – UNTITLED

Cold, piercing Electronics from Hikaru Tsunematsu. Three tracks of swelling, churning high end static aggravation, unbelievable volume and pressure-cooker intensity. The intensity of sound builds to insane levels before dive-bombing into piles of pulsing low frequency sound, with the volume rising and falling to match the peaks and ravines of Noise. Bleached out, emotionless and powerful. An overall otherworldly Noise release, with no played out violent/mysogynist/political intent or aesthetic. Recommended if you enjoy Incapacitants, Jah Excretion or Facialmess.

GK#318

30XX – ‘REALITY IS SHIT CYBERSPACE IS GOD’

Newest release from Sci-Fi Gore project 30XX, here operating via two cyborg conduits, GOREMAN X and W1NTERMUT3. 30XX’s usual blending of Goregrind and Wave music/Electronics/Dance is here abstracted further, into a sound far closer to Gorenoise. Screes of Electronic Pulse, dense cataclysmic Noise and sub human vocal grunt, completely maligned by effects, with some occasional traditional vocal shout, and of course endless L.D.O.H. style blast beats. There’s bits and pieces of more traditional Electronica/Dance fare, adding another element to the mix of noises. As far as Gorenoise goes this stuff is not the gnarliest by far, with plenty of room for differentiation of sounds rather than a full on Wall of Electronic Noise. This reminds me a lot of a more static, less chaotic Kusari Gama Kill, and I’m really digging this slight sidestep from 30XX. If you dig it too, snag a tape for $5.

Bandcamp