Flash Out/Terminated Efficiency/Bloody Scythe/Filth Regime/2013 CD Review

  Flash  Out  are  a  band  from  Manitoba,  Canada  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  crust  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Terminated  Efficiency"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Bloody  Scythe  and  Filth  Regime.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  old  school  grindcore  sound  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  the  music  more  on  a  regular  basis.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  elements  of  punk,  d  beat  and  crust  throughout  the  recording  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  in  a  very  old  school  crust/hardcore  punk  direction  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  one  being  only  a  little  bit  over  3  minutes  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  wit h some  songs  also  adding  in  elements  of  thrash  metal  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording.

  Flash  Out  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  old  school  and  brutal  sounding  and  also  brings  in  the  raw  aggression  of  thrash,  punk,  d  beat  and  hardcore  to  create  some  very  heavy  music,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Flash  Out  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Wasted  Graves"  "Chill  On  My  Porch"  "Extinction"  and  "Ode  To  the  Pit".  8  out  of  10.

The Kill/Kill Them All/Blastasfuk/2015 CD Review

  The  Kill  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  very  fast  and  brutal  form  of  grindcore  with  elements  of  power  violence  and  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Kill  Them  All"  which  was  released  by  Blastasfuk.

  A  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  before  adding  in  thrash  influences  and  crust  style  shouting  vocals  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  growls  and  they  also b ring  in  very  old  school  sounding  extreme  metal  guitar  leads  at  times.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  stay  away  from  guitar  leads  to  focus  more  on  a  fast,  raw  and  brutal  style  of  grindcore  and  they  also  do  a  cover  of  Anthrax's  "Metal  thrashing  Mad"  which  is  also  more  brutal  than  the  original  version.

  The  Kill  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  aggressive  and  brutal  sounding  as  well  as  mixing  in  elements  of  power  violence  and  thrash  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  raw,  powerful  and  heavy  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  dark  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Kill  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  grindcore,  power  violence  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heavy  Metal  Professional"  "Let's  Get  Mad"  "Evil  Dead"  and  "Pit  Victim".  8  out  of  10.
      

Dissident Clone Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Dissident Clone is a two piece band, just me (Patrick) on guitar and vocals and Chad on drums. We are influenced by death metal and crust punk music. I have more of a death metal background while Chad comes from more of the crust punk background. There has always been a crossover between genres, which we are just continuing.

2.You have an ep coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I think it is dark and raw, which is what we are going for. We decided not to record bass guitar because we don’t have one live, so we hope it represents closely our true sound. I recorded everything in our practice space then sent it to Triple4 studio for Jamie Strobach to mix and master. This was my first serious music engineering project.

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

Waiting to Collapse is about my disgust for Wall Street and the government causing the so-called Great Recession. Servile Sector is continuation of that. Eye of the Wound was written about politicians who continually invoke the “burning bush” allegory for why they seek office. Crushed From Above is a call to acknowledge the creative spiritual fire.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dissident Clone’?

Dissident - to defy your maker. Clone - to know your past. It is about looking around and wanting to separate myself from the stupidity of our culture. At the same time, I feel it is important to take time to learn about history and create my own narrative of how we got here.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

We have no plans of adding another member at this point. There are plenty of great musicians around the Twin Cities we would love to work with, but we like the raw and straightforward nature of being a two piece band.

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

There is a core of enthusiastic thrash metal and grind fans that make the scene here great. Any show with Agitate or Plagued Insanity is a good time! A few years ago we did a show at The Hexagon with Triple Crossed, Plagued Insanity and Terrordactyls. We were the first band on and played to a full room, so that was cool. Just this last Halloween we played with Hyldifir and Eternal Voyager at a friend’s basement, a small room that was packed. Its fun playing a show without a stage, so you are just eye to eye screaming at people. I try not to talk a lot during our shows. I figure people showed up to hear us grind, not me pontificating.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the ep is released?

No plans on touring at this point, though we aren’t against it. We are planning on doing some weekend warrior stuff, getting out around the midwest at least.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground  metal and grind?

We are still working on getting our music out at a worldwide level, part of why we are working with Tridroid records. So far people who appreciate straightforward no frills music seem to like what we do!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Continuing to be fast and aggressive. Chad and I enjoy a wide range of metal and music in general, but the point of Dissident Clone is to keep it fast with a few hooks and slam riffs intermixed. For the next release I am working closely with Dan Dittmer who does our art to have a visual theme with the lyrics and music.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Primarily I have to say early 90’s death metal as well as grind from the 80’s to current. Nasum is probably the band Chad and I most reference. Two of my favorite albums last year were the new Cripple Bastards and Internal Bleeding. For music without grind, I listen to a lot of Crowbar and William Elliott Whitmore, and NYHC bands like Madball and Sick of it All. I think Mitch Harris’ Menace album is brilliant, though it would throw the average Napalm Death fan for a loop.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

War and economics. I am always reading and listening to the news. War is my favorite sport. Economics is fascinating to me, especially now that the veil is being removed from our democracy to find out it is an outright plutocracy.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Respect to those who support! Check out Tridroid Records and our artist’s website www.dandittmer.com

Unrest/Grindcore/Unspeakable Axe Records/2015 CD Review

  Unrest  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  very  old  school  and  brutal  mixture  of  crust  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Grindcore"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Unspeakable  Axe  Records.

  A  very  distorted  reverb  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  grindcore  grindcore  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats,  crust  influences  and  a  good  mixture  of  both  growls  and  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  having  a  great  amount  of  mid  80's  to  early  90's  influences

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  any  of  the  songs  while  some  of  the  tunes  do  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  at  times  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  faster  style  of  grindcore  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording.

  Unrest  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  old  school,  fast  and  aggressive  and  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  crust  and  death  metal  to  create  some  brutal  music,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Unrest  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "You  Take"  "Protest  Culture"  "Identity  in  The  Internet  Age"  and  "False  Brotherhood".  8  out  of  10.    

Gristnam/Even Less/Housecore Records/2015 CD Review

  Gristnam  are  a  band  from  Louisiana  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Even  Less"  which  was  released  by  Housecore  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  good  mixture  of  both  growls  and  screams  before  slowing  down  and  adding  in  melody  and  elements  of  hardcore  into  their  musical  style  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  are  no  solos  and  leads  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording  with  the  music  focusing  more  on  a  very  heavy  and  dark  musical  style  while  some  of  the  tracks  do  incorporate  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  on  any  of  the  tracks  this  album  has  to  offer.

  Gristnam  plays  a  very  dark  and  heavy  style  of  hardcore  which  they  mix  in  with  the  speed  and  brutality  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Gristnam  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Column"  "Guilt  Runs  Red"  "Riding  Home"  and  "Oak  Tunnel".  8  out  of  10.   

Dissident Clone/State of Dysphoria/Trinidoid Recordings/2015 EP Review

   Dissident  Clone  are  a  band  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  mixture  of   hardcore punk,  grindcore  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "State  of  Dysphoria"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Trinidoid  Recordings.

  A  very  fast  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats  which  also  leads  up  to  more  of  an  old  school  thrash  metal  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  hardcore  style  screams which  get  more  high  pitched  at  times  and  add  in  more  of  a  grindcore  feeling  to  the  recording.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  growls  that  almost  have  a  death  metal  feeling  to  them  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  style  sticks  to  mostly  a  mid  80's  to  early  90's  style  of  extreme  metal.

  Dissident  Clone  goes  back  to t he  mid  80's  to e arly  90's  style  of  extreme  metal  mixing  the  thrash,  death  metal,  hardcore  punk  and  grindcore  genres  of  that  era  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dissident  Clone  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  thrash,  death  metal,  hardcore  punk  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Servile  Sector"  and  "Crushed  From  Above".  8  out  of  10.   

Agathocles/Satanic Malfunctions/Selfmadegod Records/2014 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Belgium's  Agathocles  and  the  United  Kingdom's  Satanic  Malfunctions  which  was  released  in  2014  by  Selfmadegod  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Agathocles  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  style  of  noise/grind  that  they  call  'mincecore'.

  Dark  electronic  music  sounds  start  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  some  deep  demonic  growling  and  after  a  minute  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  fast  and  brutal  style  of  crust/grind  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Agathocles  and  if   you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  their  side  of  the split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Brutality  In  Darkness"  and  "Dead  Meat  Walking".

  Next  up  is  Satanic  Malfunctions  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore  punk,  thrash  and  crust.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  raw  and  aggressive  thrash/crust  sound  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  aggressive  hardcore  style  shouting  and  screaming  and  all  of  their  songs  are  very  short  in  length  and  bring  back  and  80's  style  of  underground  thrash  punk  while  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  both  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  the  production  sounds  very  raw,  heavy  and  old  school  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.    

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Satanic  malfunctions  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  More"  and  "Welcome  to  Hell".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  thrash,  punk,  crust  and  grind.    8  out  of  10.

  

Krigblast/Power Till Demise/Selfmadegod Records/2014 CD Review

  Krigblast  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  d-beat  and  punk  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Power  Till  Demise"  which  was  released  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  getting  more  distorted  and  adding  in  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  solos  and  leads  they  use  stick  to  a  melodic  style  and  once  the  music  gets  heavier  and  adds  in  vocals  it  goes  for  an  aggressive  style  of  crustcore  and  the  music  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  d  beats.

  Most  of  the  music  goes  for  more  of  an  early  90's  style  of  crustcore  while  also  mixing  in  melodies  in  the  raw  and  heavy  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  elements  of  punk  and  hardcore  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Darkthrone's  "Transyivanian  Hunger"  which  also  shows  them  adding  more of  a  black  metal  influence  to  their  musical  style  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams.

  Krigblast  plays  mostly  a  raw  and  melodic  style  of  crust  punk  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  their  early  90's  style  and  also  mixes  in  a  good  amount  of  d-beat  elements  and  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Krigblast  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  d-beat  and  punk  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Lies"  "Power  Till  Demise"  "The  Kill"  and  "Transyivanian  Hunger".  8  out  of  10.     

Drap/En Naturlig Dod/Xtreeem Music/2014 CD Review

  Drap  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  d-beat  and  grindcore  with  a  touch  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "En  Naturlig  Dod"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

 A  very  heavy,  fast  and  raw  crust/grind  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  d  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  elements  of  old  school  death  metal  and  Swedish  style  melodies  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are   added  into t he  music  they  bring  in  an  80's  and  90's  style  of  crustcore  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  screams  and  some  of  the  blast  beats  and  faster  riffing  bring  in  elements  of  black  metal  and  there  is  also  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  present  anywhere  on  the  recording.

  Drap  plays  a  style  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  and  90's  style  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  death  and  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  violent,  hateful  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Drap  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  d-beat,  crust,  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Avsked"  "Horblod"  "Hostmorker"  and  "Min  Forlorade  Varld".  8  out  of  10.    

  

Evisorax Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

Since recording Goodbye to the feast...Welcome to the Famine, we went out on our first US tour on which we played our way from New York all the way down to Miami and back up again.That was incredible! We then played Bloodshed fest in Eindhoven and Kin Hell fest in Leeds last year – we've basically just been playing!

2. In 2015, you have a new album coming out, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

In my experience since starting recording with Evisorax years ago, I always wanted to capture that energy and power that I feel we put out when playing live. This record is the first time that I feel it’s been captured. I feel the energy off these recordings and that’s something that we‘ve always strived to achieve - a real punch in the face from start to finish. Total audio violence.

I'm not so sure if it differs but perhaps it’s a lot more refined and focused on this record. It’s a lot sharper and direct than previous recordings. When I listen back to the record, I feel it's as close to the initial sounds in my head when we started thrashing them out in the writing process.

3.This is going to be the first released since 2011, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

Touring, shows and daily life. After the 2011 record 'Isle of dogs, we went out on a UK tour supporting Wormrot, then at the end of 2011, our then-vocalist left the band and was replaced by our current vocalist Simon Wright. 2012 saw us go out with Wormrot again but this time throughout Europe. One of the highlights was when we made our first appearance at Obscene Extreme Festival, but we played every show in between that we could and they were all a blast. At the start of 2013 we had to have some down time after I was attacked and hospitalized but continued to write, played the shows we could, recorded, toured the US and again played the shows we could up until this point.

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

I think instead of divugling everything, I'm gonna leave this to the listener to make their own interpretation. It's always fun to read/ hear other peoples persepective's on these things. Though the obvious indications of what we have aimed for and explored are there within the song titles and album title.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Evisorax?

That's something our vocalist from many a record ago came up with. It's partly from the word eviscerate, which is to disembowel. The 'orax' part is something which he added.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

One that particularly sticks out in my mind is when we played Churchills, in Miami. It was so surreal to be there, let alone playing there. The crowd loved it, we were having a great time on stage, it just was a great night. Playing Obscene Extreme was great too, the stage was so big!
Also, when we first played with Napalm Death was a personal highlight and something I'd wanted to do since I was young.

Our stage performance is all about high energy, lots of throwing ourselves around and screaming abuse! Fast, abusive and chaotic. I think that sums it up about perfectly!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Yes, we have a summer tour in the planning. Though I'll keep that under my hat until it's announced. But there will be plenty of opportunity to see us live!

8.The new album is coming out on Bones Brigade. How did you get in contact with this label?

When we toured Europe with Wormrot back in 2012, Nico was driving the entire tour. We became good friends, and I assume he must have liked what he saw us do evey night, so it seemed the logical step to contact him when it came to recording and releasing our new record. We're very happy to a part of that labels history.

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

Good, it would appear! We have merchandise purchases made from all around the world, from Australia and Russia to Texas and Birmingham. So it's obviously getting around and being liked.

Also, we wouldn't have been able to book the US tour if there wasn’t a positive vibe surrounding us. We made a lot of new friends on that tour! Europe was great to us every night too!

10.What musical direction do you see the band heading into during the future?

Faster, more chaotic, total destruction. Furthering the speed, precision and audio violence.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Oh man, the list is endless! Stack, Narcosis, Discharge, Napalm Death, Infest, Kill the client, Noisear, Spazz, Discordance Axis, Iron Monkey, Hard to swallow....

12.What are some of your non-musical interests?

I run a silk screen printing company, but aside from that, movies, art, food, travelling all seem to pass the time quite well!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Just thanks to everyone who‘s checked us out so far, if not then rectify that!
Pick up the new record, check out the video and see us at a show!

The link to our video for 'Locust Breeders', taken from the new record - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3tylKQ-aH4