Usurpress/Trenches Of The Netherworld/Selfmadegod Records/2012 CD Review

  Usurpress  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  Swedish  style  death  metal  with  d  beat  and  crust  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Trenches  Of  The  Netherworld"  which  was  released  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  flutes  they  are  only  utilized  on  one  song  and  they  bring  a  folk  music  feeling  to t he  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  Swedish  style  death  metal  with  d  beat  and  crust  punk  with  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  combine  death  metal  and  crust  punk  together.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Usurpress  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Death  On  White  Wings"  "The  Colours  Of  Darkness"  "Trenches  Of  The  Netherworld"  and  "Seduction Through  Bloodshed".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Radiation Sickness/Reflections Of A Psychotic Past/Abyss Records/2012 CD Review

  Radiation  Sickness  are  a  band  from  Indiana  that  has  a  history  that  goes  back  to  the  80's  with  a musical  style  that  combines  death  metal,  grind,  crust,  crossover  and  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Reflections  Of  A  Psychotic  Past"  which  was  released  by  Abyss  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffs that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  elements  of  death  metal,  crust,  grind,  crossover  and  thrash  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  underground  80's  metal  guitar  solos and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  death/thrash  screams  mixed  in  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Radiation  Sickness  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  death  metal,  grind,  crust,  crossover  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style  of  music,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Reflections  Of  A  Psychotic  Past" "Graveside  View"  "Escape  To  Insanity"  and  "Demented  Love  Song".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Desalmado/Self Titled/Greyhaze Records/2012 CD Review

    Desalmado  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  crust  with  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2012  album  which  was  released  by  Greyhaze  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  grindcore  riffs  that  also  utilize  some  crust  punk  and  death  metal  influences  as  for  the  lead  guitars  they  are  only  utilized  briefly  on  one  song  and  have  a  classic  death  metal  feeling  to  them.

  Vocals  range  from  crust  style  yelling,  growls  and  high  pitched  grindcore  screams,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Portueguesse  and  cover  political  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  recording  from  Desalmado  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust  influenced  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Canibal  Social"  "Sofrer,  Morrer  e  Apodrecor"  "Falso  Profeta" and  "Suicidio  Assistido".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Primate Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Primate is a hardcore/punk/grind band from Atlanta comprised of Bill from Mastodon, Kevin from Brutal Truth and three other guys you may or may not have ever heard of. Mike plays with Javelina and Dave and Shayne were with The Despised for the past several years.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

It's a hybrid mix of fast hardcore/punk in the Swedish/Japanese hardcore vein with some crust/grind thrown in. Fast, loud hardcore punk essentially. There are some technical metal riffs, some stoner metal riffs, but in the end, it's just fast hardcore.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

It is a post apocalyptic hostile world that will revert to militant groups... mad max ain't so mad...

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

There really is neither meaning or inspiration behind the name. We're a bunch of apes playing hardcore....it fits. And yes, we've heard about a thousand times that Primate was the original band name for Primus etc etc...

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

I think the two stand-out shows were the Scion Fest back in 2011 out in Pomona and the Halloween cover show that we did an entire Black Flag set. I think our stage performance is pretty energetic. If you've ever seen a Brutal Truth show you know that Kevin is a madman behind the mic which brings a ton of energy to the front. Then you've got Dave and Mike thrashing about on one side and Bill on the other just shredding. I tend to beat the crap outta my drums so the overall effect is pretty intense.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

There's some stuff on the horizon that we're working on, but nothing set in stone right now. Right now Bill is in Europe with Mastodon and Kevin heads over in a couple days with Brutal Truth so we're just waiting for those tours to complete so we can get some things rolling. Stay tuned as there will be some cool stuff coming.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of crust and grindcore?

I'd have to say it's been pretty good so far. I run our little web store (www.primategrind.com/grindstore) and am the one who ships out everyone's orders and I've actually seen a good number of orders from all over the world. I've sent a bunch of stuff all over Europe, Japan, Mexico and even China & Taiwan and all of this has been before Relapse started promoting us so I expect to see that grow even more in the coming months.

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

Mastodon has been kicking ass and touring heavily since the release of "The Hunter" back in September as has Brutal Truth after releasing "End Time" the same day. Javelina has a new record recorded, I'm not sure when it'll be out and Mike, Dave and my new project "Shots Fired" has just recorded some stuff that we hope to get out soon.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Fast and heavy hardcore. That's what we do. It'll probably be a little more technical with Mike and Bill working off of each other a bit more but we're not trying to reinvent the wheel here. There are a few new ones in the works currently that sound pretty good so I think the next record is going to be pretty brutal.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all grew up listening to punk and hardcore and that has definitely influenced our sound, but as to what we're listening to today I can't really speak for everyone.

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Bill and Kevin have families so that's a good part of their world when they're not touring. Ultimately it's working and paying bills....the American dream.... Oddly, outside of work our main interest IS music. With each of us being in more than one band, when we're not writing for one, we're writing for another, or fixing a guitar or amp or screwing around with some pedals to make some new sounds...

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Just thanks to everyone who has supported us over the past couple years and we look forward to hitting the road soon and playing live for you!

 

Enabler Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going with the band these days?

 

Right now, we are preparing to release our second LP (and first proper full length release) "All Hail the Void" and touring in support of it. We leave a week from today to make our journey out to start the Southern Lord summer package tour with Black Breath, Martyrdod, and Burning Love. Couldn't be more stoked, but there is much to do...

 

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous recordings?

 

With the first LP, we had only been a band for 3 months at that time and only played a handful of shows. We

recorded the record in 16 hours and it was the first 8 songs we had as a band. With this record, we had almost 30 songs to choose from, we did 18 days of tracking and about 2-3 months of mixing and editing. The new record is just much tighter and the songs that we picked were very thought out. I absolutely love both recordings equally for what they are, but I also felt that we really needed to step it up with this release.

 

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

 

The lyrics I write are usually personal and are initially based around something that has happened to me, but I try to write about things in a manner where everyone can relate with where I'm coming from. I have found that I'll use lyrics that I wrote 5 years ago, and I completely forgot what the situation was that inspired me to write those lyrics, but I can relate them to something entirely different that's happening in my life. I think that the world can be a very unfair place, and humanity in general just really lets me down.

 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

 

I feel like being in this band and having this as my songwriting outlet is what enables me to be myself, to be

comfortable in life. I have to express the way I feel or the frustration that I feel in life just really wears down on me and leads me to be a very unhappy person.

 

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage

performance?

 

Recently, shows that stick out to me are Portland, Missoula Montana, Albuquerque, the Power of the Riff showcase at SXSW. Almost every time we've played Minneapolis it has been killer. I think if I were asked this question after the next tour, I'd have a lot more cities to name. We just try to be as honest as we can in our performance every night, and we never try to act like something we're not in a live setting. I hate it when people try to act larger than life on stage.

 

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

 

Of course! We are going on the Southern Lord summer package tour next week and then we plan on doing a small run of dates in western Canada in August. We'll be doing a run around The Fest in Gainesville in October as well.

 

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of crust and grind?

 

Honestly, it's kind of hit or miss. I think sometimes people think that the band is something it's not. Although

there are a lot of crust and grind influences, I wouldn't say we are a crust or grind band by any means. There is just as much hardcore / punk, and a HUGE amount of 80s thrash and 90s death metal influence (probably more of this than any other influence). Sometimes people are surprised by the band and absolutely love it, but sometimes they just want the bread and butter grind or crust band, which we are not.

 

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

 

The band is a full time lineup but people in the band are involved with other bands. Andy fills in for Earth Crisis from time to time on drums and is involved in several very popular bands, and Greg also plays in Misery Signals. I'm currently not playing with anyone else, but I would like to get back behind the drums at some point!

 

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

 

I have a ton of new material written already. I think it's great, it's exactly the music I want to play. There's a lot of thrash and death metal, a ton of melodic parts, tons of d-beats, and of course I'm still trying to find ways to write heavier riffs than I have before. The lyrics are going to be pissed and dark as fuck. It's the same road we've been on, we're just not stopping anytime soon.

 

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

 

The best new records I've heard this year are Cannibal Corpse "Torture", Tragedy "Darker Days Ahead", Imperial State Electric "Pop War", and Van Halen "A Different Kind of Truth". I never stop listening to old Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, Sepultura, Testament, etc....

 

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

 

Star Wars, John Carpenter movies, Star Trek, Stephen King novels, and things of the like.

 

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

 

Thanks for doing the interview!

 

 

 

Ambassador Gun/Golden Eagle/Pangea Media/2012 CD Review

  Ambassador  Gun  are  a  band  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  mixture  of  metal,  punk,  hardcore,  crustcore  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2012 album  "Golden  Eagle"  which  was  released  by  Pangea  Media.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  tone  with  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  primitive  riffs  that  mix  elements  of  punk,  metal,  grind,  crust  and  hardcore  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  crust/hardcore  style  yelling,  high pitched  grindcore  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  anti  religion  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Ambassador  Gun  are  a  very great  sounding  hybrid  of  metal,  punk,  crust,  grind,  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style  of  music,  you  should  check  this  band  out.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Christbastard"  "Sunshine  Acid"  "Unleashed"  and  "No  Suffering".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Antigama Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Our new MCD entitled 'Stop the Chaos' is out now! And we're just back from a small tour we've played here in Poland. The gigs went great and we'll be doing more promotional shows very soon.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from the older recordings?

The new material is very fast, aggressive and groovy, and less experimental than our previous albums. We're happy about the direction we've taken as a band. Definitely we have more 'flow' right now.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

These are Lucas' personal experiences and thoughts, struggles and efforts dressed into his signature symbolic language.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Well... For us Antigama is like controlled chaos, antimusic. We have no hidden message in the name though.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

The gigs we last played here in Warsaw and in Poznan were very good, just wild and extreme. And the show at Maryland Deathfest in 2009 was cool too. All our gigs are noisy and intense.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

Yes, we'll promote 'Stop the Chaos' around Europe and other places we'll be able to go. We'll do it as soon as everything is fixed with our booking agency. Actually, we can't wait to go on tour!

7. I have noticed that the new album is on Selfmadegod Records instead of Relapse, what made you go back to that label after years of being on Relapse and how would you compare the 2 different labels?

Karol from Selfmadegod has been our great friend, supporter, and manager of ours since the beginning. Our comeback wasn't strange either for us nor for him. Karol is a very professional guy with years of experience with the scene. Relapse was a great label too but we're glad to be in Selfmadegod Records again... In fact you can't compare the two labels - Relapse is a huge company and Selfmadegod is still an underground label with underground attitude which is great for us.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of grindcore?

Well, it's too early for the full feedback because our MCD has just come out a few days ago. The reviews we got so far are just great. We're very happy about it. More reviews to come!

9. Are there any other projects going on besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Everybody has different projects/bands other than Antigama. I play in a band called Fuckdown - it's a dirty scumfuck rock'n'roll in the vein of GG Allin and Murder Junkies. It's a lot of fun! Pawel plays with Lost Soul, Soul Snatcher. Lucas has his experimental/electro projects, Michal plays as a session man sometimes. We have a lot to do for sure!

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

I hope we'll continue the way we took on 'STC'. We have some new tracks ready for the new album and they sound faster, more twisted and extreme, but also slow and heavy at times. Still, it will be Antigama - that's for sure.

11. I know that Poland is famous for both it's black and death metal scenes but how would you describe the grindcore scene in your home country?

Well, I'm not an expert of today's grindcore scene in Poland. I know that bands like Dead Infection or Squash Bowels are still on the grindcore map. Lots of good bands broke up because of different reasons. We still make it after 12 years though!

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Collecting movies, getting stoned, cooking, travelling, spending time with my woman and my friends.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

I would like to thank you very much for the cool interview. Cheers for everyone interested in Antigama - check out our new MCD!