Wednesday 21 November 2018

CITY HUNTER - DEEP BLOOD

Deep Blood
City Hunter
2018

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Horror Punk, Hardcore Punk Blackened Punk
For Fans Of: Misfits (bear with me here), YDI, Septic Death, Beherit

I'm sure this has been all over everyone's radars, but considering the fact that it's one of maybe 5 or so hardcore punk releases from 2018 that I've felt was worth my time (one of the others I released on my label), I actually feel compelled to do that thing where I tell you why it's worth your time too. City Hunter's first two tapes were fantastic, but this long awaited LP blows them the fuck away which is a move that is incredibly rare for both contemporary hardcore punk as well as for third installments in slasher series.

Deep Blood is the most relentless and brutal hardcore punk LP I've heard in quite some time, and I can't get enough of it. There is no pretense of political significance or corny tough guy bullshit or failed attempts at being "weird," there is only a vicious assault of cutting riffs, driven by pummeling drumming (these musicians are clearly metal musicians and it definitely pays off big time), and pierced by pitch shifted roars and howls from the mouth of fear itself. Musically, City Hunter draws heavily from 80s US hardcore punk bands who are known for being outrageously ripping such as YDI and Septic Death, combines that with hints of black and death metal akin to bands such as Beherit and Shub Niggurath, and then filters it all through a lens crafted by a band who you may have heard of called Misfits with their ruthless, thrashing, and truly criminally underrated (arguably one of the most underrated hardcore punk records of all time) Earth A.D. / Wolfs Blood LP -- go ahead and click the link and tell me that shit doesn't make Discharge sound like Buzzcocks (which funnily enough is how they got their sound in the first place). But I digress.

City Hunter's new LP is horror punk at its finest, and anyone who denies that is just afraid to admit how amazing horror punk can actually be. This will scare the pants off of you and remind you why you got into hardcore punk in the first place.


Tracklist:
1. Watching Blood Darken
2. Living Nightmare
3. Bind Torture Kill
4. Beyond Recognition
5. Crimson Streets
6. Dark Descent
7. Open Season
8. Silhouette Of Death
9. Dying Out
10. Stab And Repeat
11. Slow Death
12. Hollow
13. Schizo
14. One By One

OUT TO HUNT

Monday 16 July 2018

GRIM - PRIMARY PULSE

Primary Pulse
Grim
2018

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Industrial, Power Electronics, Death Industrial, Noise
For Fans Of:  Factrix, Gilles Des Rais, (early) Clair Obscur, Haus Arafna

This was (not surprisingly) my most anticipated release this year. And (also not surprisingly) it's fucking phenomenal. Konagaya Jun is truly an unstoppable force when it comes to well-crafted industrial, and even after over three decades, he has yet to put out a single dud under the Grim moniker, or with any other project (White Hospital, his solo work, etc).

What sets Primary Pulse apart from most of Grim's more recent releases is that it's somewhat of a return to form which calls back to the harsher synth/electronics driven material on the earlier releases such as Folk Music, Amaterasu, and Vital 1983-86. Sure, the project's core sound has stayed the same throughout the years, but with time there has been some movement away from the primarily harsh, primitive synth and electronics driven compositions which were prevalent throughout his 80s output. Each track on this tape is an overwhelming nightmare of bleak soundscapes, obscured samples, terrifying screams and howls, abrasive arcs of screeching noise, and pulsing repetition. And, of course, all of this is juxtaposed with uncomfortably serene melodies which are just as (if not arguably more) haunting than the crushing cacophonies which they sit in between. Like all of Grim's work, the uncomfortable silence following the final track hangs heavy in the air around the listener, and that moment is as beautiful as it is unnerving, which is the very essence of Grim.

Do not sleep on this, it is some of the most sublime and wretched noise you'll hear this year.
Trapdoor Tapes still has copies left, so get a copy while you still can!

Tracklist:
1. Hermit
2. Volcano Flower
3. Assassin's Room
4. Melting Man
5. G.T.R.

DOWNLOAD

Sunday 29 April 2018

BALCANES - DIRECTO #1

Directo #1
Balcanes
2018

Artist Submission

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Post-Punk, Industrial
For Fans Of: Skullflower, Will To Live, The Ex, Swans

I've been vocal about my love for Balcanes since their first 7" in 2014, and everything I love about them is amplified on their newest release which happens to be a live recording. In anything noise related, live documentations are crucial because of the unpredictable nature of performance, and a studio recording can never accurately capture the energy and intensity of an artist's performance.

Those who know Balcanes already are in for a treat (as are those who don't). They are a heavy and filthy band, and those aspects of their music is only highlighted by their performance on this tape. The whole thing just sounds like a dilapidated machine lurching forward through a post-industrial wasteland, struggling to keep itself together, fixing one piece at a time not able to keep up with its imminent collapse. This is accomplished with nasty and wretched tones, death howls, and a mastery of build and release. The bands mentioned up top should give you a pretty good idea, so if that's what you're about, you gotta get on this screaming metal death trap.

As far as the setlist, Balcanes plays through everything they've put out, which clocks in around 40mins (much longer than any of their studio releases). Get ready to get steamrolled.

Tracklist:
1. Pánico / Combustible / Rójo Máquina
2. Decrépita
3. Masada
4. Desorden
5. Decadencia / Plataforma / Autopista 2

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD (Bandcamp)

Sunday 22 April 2018

DATSUSTORA - OF FINAL

Of Final
Datsustora
1986

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Deathrock, Industrial, Post-Punk, Power Electronics, Death Industrial, Goth, Noise
For Fans Of: Mannequin Neurose, Grim, The Dead Relatives, Clair Obscur

Okay, so you're probably thinking "holy shit, that's a lot of genres, what could this even sound like?" so just sit tight and I'll do my best to explain. There are four tracks, two of them are industrial/noise tracks; and they are sandwiched in the middle of two deathrock tracks, which act as bookends of a sort. Each track is absolutely punishing, twisted, and truly dark in a different way, yet all four still form a whole.

Datsustora was the project of Elle (a.k.a. Achy) from LSD, the legendary Japanese hardcore punk band of ADK Records fame, and the less well known industrial project Criminal Party. This project, however, does not have nearly the level of notoriety of LSD, but I'd argue it's much better (and certainly much weirder and multifaceted). The rest of the lineup remains a mystery as far as I can tell -- aside from a brief run with Yoshimura Hideki, also of LSD fame, on guitar -- and was most likely a revolving door, quite possibly as multifarious as the music itself. Musically, this flexi is as I described (half deathrock, half industrial), but the varied nature of each track -- starting with bouncy dark punk, transitioning into two tracks of unsettling ambient, heavy electronics, and rhythmic industrial, and then closing with a track which feels like the joyful embracing of despondency through post-punk -- really adds to how strange this thing is. It's one of my favorites and there's a good reason for that.

This is a wild ride from start to finish, and I feel it should be essential listening for both industrial and post-punk fuckers. Highly, highly recommended.

Tracklisting:
1. Untitled (apparently there is a title, but it's in characters nobody can read)
2. Datsustora
3. Of Final
4. 幻夢円舞曲

DOWNLOAD

P.S. If anyone has a link to the split with Criminal Party and/or the Kyo-On compilation 7", please get in contact because I've been dying to hear those for a long time. And while I'm asking, if anyone has the Criminal Party split with Grim, please please get in contact with me.

Tuesday 6 March 2018

MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONSHIP - BLUE FACED LUST

Blue Faced Lust
Master/Slave Relationship
1985

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Industrial, Power Electronics, Noise
For Fans Of: Negativland, Justine & Juliette, Nervous Gender, Hunting Lodge

I was asked for this specifically, but it's also something I've wanted to review for a while anyway. Master/Slave Relationship is one of my favorite industrial projects, and Blue Faced Lust in particular is my favorite thing put out under that moniker, as well as one of my favorite industrial releases in general. So here we go.

One thing you'll notice about M/SR is the heavy BDSM influence (shocker) which shows up in different ways, namely the heavy and imposing sexual motifs. Power electronics has always been about explorations of power, and M/SR does so through the lens of a domme (i.e. an inversion of the dynamic inherent in heteronormative sex*) to a great effect. The vocals mock you, taunt you, tease you, and hang over your head. The electronics work in tandem, presenting uncomfortable soundscapes which mirror the lyrics; M/SR beautifully -- and brutally -- juxtaposes soft and hard, ambient and harsh, rhythmic and chaotic, soothing and jarring sounds in a tumultuous fashion, which makes for a turbulent and frightening listen.

Go get'em, tiger.

Tracklist:
1. Nothing To Love
2. The Dream
3. Some Dry Hopeless Mess
4. People Where They Ought To Be
5. Wait
6. Avoidance
7. Take Over
8. Blue Faced Lust
9. Nothing Happens In This World
10. Inconclusive Thoughts

YOU WANT IT...HAVE IT

*Even in BDSM, role reversal does not completely erase the structural and institutional dynamics of power, blah blah there's way too much to get into that I don't have the time/energy for, and so much has been written on this topic that you can just look it up.

Wednesday 17 January 2018

THE SHITS - DRINK YOUR BLOOD

Drink Your Blood
The Shits
2018

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Sludge, Post-Punk
For Fans Of: Thug, Drunk In Hell, Rectal Hygienics, Gentlemen

Welcome to the new year, fuckers. I hope you're ready because I'm gonna start it off right with some true scum produced by members of No Form and others who I'm not sure of. This bad boy is absolutely slamming. Hell, it's so good that it had me opening up a new post on blogger within 5 minutes (less, really).

I clicked play and was hit with a wall of feedback which gives way to a riff (still with feedback of course) after 30+ seconds, and you bet it started kicking my ass; and when the opening track on something like this is almost 7 minutes, you know you're in for some shit. The level of degeneracy and filth that The Shits wade through and pour over you with their debut tape is -- in the immortal words of Bill -- "most egregious." This shit (by The Shits) is as crushing as it is pugnacious as all hell. The sludge-leaning dirges go on and on and on and on, testing your endurance -- 3/4 tracks are around (and over) 6 minutes of the same pummeling riff -- undoubtedly weeding out the posers. Leeds, UK is really pumping out some fantastic degeneracy, it's amazing. Good to know that 2018 is off to a great fucking start.

Get in on this or don't (and miss out on all the fun sin).

Tracklist:
1. Whatever
2. I Know
3. Alone
4. It's All The Time

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD (Bandcamp)


Monday 1 January 2018

I changed my mind, so here you go: THE 2017 FBN YEAR-END ROUNDUP MEGAPOST

I was going to do a handful of smaller posts, but I felt that would be tedious (and also, I've been super busy with a lot of shit), and I like the dramatic flair of putting up something like this on the actual end of the year (fuck the nerds who publish lists in November when there's a whole month left). I cut  back a little from last year so as to only include releases I revisited a lot (ie there's more I liked, but these were my absolute favorites) and because I don't want to overthink it. So, it'll be 15 total instead of 15 per category (also no categories because like no rules, dude); but the drill is the same as before --  all releases have download links and are in no particular order blah blah blah -- so let's skip all that needless exposition and get right the fuck to it. Off the top of my head, here's what I liked this year.

Brainbombs Inferno
Obviously this is at the top (even though in general, these are in no particular order). Instead of writing a whole new review, however, the link leads to the one I already wrote when it came out. Short version: Brainbombs are always at the top of the food chain, and in the tradition of each of their releases having a distinct flair, this one relies on buildups rather than the spontaneous combustion which people usually (wrongly) associate with them. Have fun with your paranoia.

FFO: The Stooges, Chrome





Grim Discharge Mountain
I also reviewed this previously, so the link will go to that; but short version: it's fucking perfect industrial. Grim always manages to bring so many layers together and blend them into the most frightening pieces. It's funny, my two most anticipated releases this year were both from old pros showing everyone how it's fucking done.

FFO: Nails Øv Christ, Test Dept.
No Faith Forced Subservience
So-called contemporary "power violence" is, for the most part, a boring cesspool of wannabes playing formulaic tough guy garbage through through HM-2 pedals. Enter No Faith: another perfect example of old pros showing us all how to do something right. All you really need to know is that Dave Witte of Discordance Axis, Black Army Jacket, Exit-13, Burnt By The Sun, Human Remains, etc drums on this, and he sounds like his old self. Add layers of power electronics, an element of true unpredictability, and some unrelenting rage, and you've got a winner.

FFO: Man Is The Bastard/Noise (yes, really), Crossed Out
Blank Spell Miasma
Look, Blank Spell is one of the best bands on the planet, period. Their manic, brooding approach which combines nods to frantic 80s italian hardcore punk with elements of deathrock (and a slew of other things) is unmatched -- they really are the perfect punk band. I wrote a whole thing about it on Cvlt Nation (which you can read here) so I won't go wild in this post, but I will say that if you sleep on this band, you're a total fool and a tasteless ass.

FFO: Bedboys, Declino

Devil Master Inhabit The Corpse
And while I'm on the subject of top tier dark punk bands (who use a lot of purple and also happen to share members), Devil Master's new tape also kicks ass which should come as no surprise. I reviewed this over at Cvlt Nation (here), but short version: if you like thrashing metalpunk influenced by some of the classics from Japan, and with a true devotion to the spooky, you're gonna eat this shit up.

FFO:  集団自殺 (Syudan Jisatsu), Sex Messiah




Gasp Ghost In Scow Out
Okay, but do you know how excited I was when I found out Gasp is back? In so many words, I flipped the fuck out. Gasp is one of those bands who I've always felt deserved so much more attention and credit for how genuinely weird and intense their music is, but people who are "so into powerviolence, bro" don't even know who they are. Well, this new material sounds like Gasp -- it's the trippy spaced out psych noise violence I've always loved, but the grindy elements take more of a backseat this time. I interviewed them this year which was an incredibly fun experience (read it here), and I'm so excited to see what they've got coming next.

FFO: Suffering Luna, Dome
Plastic Plastic
Not all of these are releases I previously reviewed, I promise, but I did definitely do this one when it came out, too. Short version: Plastic is such an incredible band, and play with synthpunk in a way nobody else really is -- the industrial influence certainly puts them above most, and the overall execution is genuinely unnerving in a way no "mutant freak weirdo" bullshit ever can. This tape is just a miserable, bleak trudge through a synthy wasteland, and it's fantastic.

FFO: Nervous Gender, Flipper


Drunk In Hell Drunk In Hell
I've been waiting for this one for a while, and sweet christ it does not disappoint. Drunk In Hell are a band who perfectly represent the smut, filth, and degeneracy we've all come to expect from this style of noise rock; and this LP is a disgusting and beautiful display of depravity. Fantastic riff after fantastic riff (but only one per song, obviously), the band drudges on through the musical mire they've dumped onto the world, leaving the listener to wade along in their nauseous wake. This LP doesn't get old, and I would say it should be considered a modern classic of the style.

FFO: Rusted Shut, Drunks With Guns

Roht Roht
I love when bands who I meet perfect bands through FBN. Roht submitted their demo in 2016 and I absolutely loved it (even if I forgot to post a review of it), and I was so excited to see that they were going to have a 7" on Iron Lung Records (aka the dream label). The 7" -- which was released last year digitally, but taken down shortly after it was put up because it was picked up by ILR -- slams harder than the already amazing demo. Roht's dark, winding riffs are blanketed in harsh electronics; the band stomps forward relentlessly like a tank rolling over a mountain of skulls.. And what part of that doesn't sound awesome?

FFO: Rudimentary Peni, Skullflower
Triumvir Foul Spiritual Bloodshed
There's been a lot of cavedweller death metal in the past few years, and I gotta say the field is getting pretty crowded. Not every band can be as good as Impetuous Ritual or Antediluvian (most aren't). Triumvir Foul (along with other Vrasubatlat projects) take a different approach to the style than most of their contemporaries -- an approach which involves the inclusion of power electronics as an additional element to the already crushing and tormented sounds which come along with the cavernous death metal package. And yes, there are sickass divebombs.

FFO: Dagger Lust, Order From Chaos


Bad Breeding Divide
The integration of industrial/electronics into just about everything has made a big surge (or resurgence, really) in the past couple years. The bands who do it well do it incredibly well (and those who don't are so bad that I wouldn't bother with them anyway), and Bad Breeding is among those who deliver the goods. Divide is an LP which had me hooked instantly and doesn't get dull for a single second; Bad Breeding wears their influences pretty clearly on their sleeves, but they combine those influences with a finesse and weirdness which makes them a truly exciting band. Words won't do it justice, so take a listen for yourself.

FFO: Icons Of Filth, SPK
Full Of Hell Trumpeting Ecstasy
This is probably on just about every year-end list (as it should be) so it's not too hard to find or whatever, but I still needed to include it because of how killer it is, and because of the way it feels like the LP Full Of Hell have always been moving towards -- something they brought up in the interview I did with them this year (here). Trumpeting Ecstasy is deliberate and unrelenting -- as punk/noise/metal should be. The attention to detail and thought put into crafting it really shows in the final product, and as always, Full Of Hell leaves me excited for material to come. Plus, that industrial track fucking slams.

FFO: Discordance Axis, Multiplex



Balcanes Decrépita / Decadencia
Well, this is another (and the last on this list) I reviewed already reviewed (here), but short version: Balcanes delivers two more tracks of steamrollingly heavy post-punk on this new 7" which pick up right where last year's Carne Nueva LP left off. Waves of feedback screech over lurching dirges which pound the listener over the head repeatedly as they swell until they fall apart and end. Another winner for contemporary noise rock.

FFO: Will To Live, The Ex






Disciples Of Christ Parched Dredge
One of the greatest contemporary grind bands returned with two releases this year: a split 7" with Gas Chamber, and this 7" on ILR; both are fantastic (obviously), but this was the stronger of the two for me. DOC's brand of noise damaged grind is instantly recognizable, and just gets more vicious with each new release they unleash upon us. Parched Dredge features tracks which were on the 2015 Demo tape (now with titles) along with some brand new ones which are just as relentless and disgusting as I've come to expect from this band. DOC's breakneck bursts of dilapidated thrashing destruction will never be not exciting.

FFO: Ulcerous Phlegm, Excruciating Terror
Bone Awl The Lowest Road
Fucking finally, the Bone Awl release we were promised by NWN a year or two ago is seeing the light of day. But, until that does finally happen. Bone Awl has given us a little preview of what's to come. And well...it's Bone Awl, alright. The repetitive and tortuous riffs played through a trashcan they're famous for are dished out one after another on this tape, and (as always), they're all rippers. Do I really need to say anything else about this?

FFO: Ildjarn, Seviss






Mutant Video Vanity Of Life
Unfortunately, the horror movie soundtrack via industrial outfit known as Mutant Video is done, but they did manage to release one final LP of their dying gasp. I looked forward to this all year, and when it dropped I was all over it. Vanity Of Life differs somewhat from their previous efforts, however -- the Cronenberg elements take more of a backseat to more of an old school death industrial and industrial punk sound --  it's heavier, harsher, and more overtly aggressive than what people have come to expect from Mutant Video; but don't worry, it's still rife with the paranoia inducing subtlety that they have excelled at in the past.

FFO: Minimal Man, IRM
Gowl On Our Feet Or On Our Knees
Promo copies of this were released in 2016, but nobody ripped it so it went mostly unheard until the band put it up on their bandcamp a month ago. Gowl is another one of the top tier contemporary grind bands (even if they don't receive the same notoriety as DOC, Full Of Hell, Triac, Sete Star Sept, et al), and this release is so ruthless and ferocious that I needed to listen to it a handful of times for it to really sink in -- it's a fucking monster. From the pounding industrial at the onset of this assault to the final cut out at its end, there is not a single moment of reprieve from the punishing intensity via a flurry of riffs, hyperspeed blasts, unpredictable changes, and raw, blown out fury. This was probably left off a lot of lists because of dipshits who publish year-end lists in fucking November (with a whole month left in the year), but if you sleep on this you're missing out big time.

FFO: Suppression, Warsore



As I said at the start, there was a lot more that I liked in 2017, but a certain brevity felt fitting for this. I've got some posts which I'm part way through writing, so I'll drop those soon. 2017 was definitely a rut kind of year for me -- even if I did drop two tapes (one was an overdue dub of Execution 2 the other was a new recording of a set I played this year in Richmond, VA released as Execution 3) and was contacted by a label to release an LP -- but 2018 looks promising and exciting (and not just because I have a 12" coming out). Anyway, sorry again about the absence.

All music is bad.