Spazz/Sweatin' 3: Skatin', Satan & Katon/Tankcrimes 2016 CD Re-Issue Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  compilation  from  Spazz  continuing  the  hardcore  punk,  grind,  and  power  violence  sound  that  they  are  known  for  with  the  album  originally  being  released  in  2001  and  called  "Sweatin' 3: Skatin', Satan & Katon" which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  by  Tankcrimes.

  Hip  hop  samples  start  off  the  compilation  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  fast  crust  and  hardcore  crust  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  shouting  style  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  songs  start  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  incorporating  death  metal  growls  and  the  brutality  of  both  grindcore  and  power  violence  while  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length.

  Spoken  word  and  movie  samples  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  songs  and  they  also  bring  in  covers  from  Dead  Kennedys,  7  Seconds,  Straight  Ahead,  Youth  Of  Today,  Sick  Of  It  All,  Electro  Hippies  Napalm  Death,  Sore  Throat,  Crab  Society  North,  and  Larm,  halfway  through  the  compilation  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  and  some  of  the  songs  are  also  recorded  live.

  Spazz  brings  out  the  more  raw  side  of the  power  violence  and  grindcore  mixture  on  this  compilation  and  have  more  of  an  angry  style  on  the  songs  that  are  present  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  compilation  from  Spazz  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Old  Youth"  "Socal  Battle  Royal"  "Bastard  Tomb  Ride"  and  "Dan  Lifting  Banner".  8  out  of  10. 

Spazz.Sweatin' To The Oldies/Tankcrimes 2016 CD Re-Issue Review

  Spazz  where  a  band  from  the  Bay  Area  of  California  that  played  a  mixture  of  punk,  grind  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1997  compilation  album  "Sweatin' To  The  Oldies"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  by  Tankcrimes.

  Movie  samples  start  off  the  compilation  and  they  also  return  on  a  lot  of  the  later  tracks  as  well  along  with  some  history  of  the  band  and  after  awhile  an  aggressive  crust/grind  sound  kicks  in  along  with  some  growls  and  hardcore/crust  style  shouts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  You  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on the  compilation  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  and  there  are  also  some  songs  that  bring  in  melodic  riffing  along  with  some  elements  of  old  school  punk  rock.

  Elements  of  both  thrash  and  crossover  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  compilation  and  they  also  bring  in  S.O.A  and  Negative  Approach  covers  and  they  also  add  in  bluegrass  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  briefly  but  in  more  of  a  humorous  and  there  is  also  a  few  seconds of  melodic  singing  and  clean  guitar  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  harsh  noise  sounds  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  live  tracks  later  on  during  the  compilation.

  Spazz  shows  on  this  compilation  which  also  contains  plenty  of  their  splits,  compilations  and  ep's why  there  where  a  very  influential  band  in  the  crust,  grind  and  power  violence  genres  and  the  music  still  sounds  very brutal  to  this  day,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous,  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  retrospective  of  Spazz's  material  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "One  Ghetto  To  The  Next"  "Problems  In  the  Homeland"  "Grome  Servant"  and  "Force  Fed".  8  out  of  10.

Obduktio/Self Titled/Caligari Records/2016 EP Review

 

  Obduktio  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2016  album  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  Caligari  Records.

  Movie  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and r aw  old  school  grindcore  sound  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  after  growling  vocals  and  d  beats  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and the  music  is  rooted  in  the  mid  80's.

  With  the  exception  of one  song  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  elements  of  thrash  can  be  heard  at  times  along  with  the  songs  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  screams  while  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  the  music  remains  true  to  a  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

 Obduktio  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  mid  80's  styles  of  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal  and  ignore  all  modern  trends  of  the  past  25  years  while  also  being  very  heavy  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Obduktio  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  mixture  of  crust,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mafia"  "Fantasia"  "Timecon"  and  "Eliitkumppani".  8  out  of  10.   

Teething Interview

Answers by Luis (vocals)

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


At the moment, we are writing our first full-length LP. We’ve always been a band that concentrates on EP’s and splits but perhaps it’s time to step shit up. Should be a whopping 11 minutes long!


2.Recently you have released a split with Feastem, 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?


The sound has always been fast music for slow people. Anyone who is pissed, slightly retarded and can blast will most likely be able to write our songs. This isn’t rocket science.


I wish I could write something like Aerosmith’s Dream On but I’ll stick to grind until that day comes.


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


A deep disgust, hate, and animosity towards my stupid first world problems.


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Teething'?


Nothing. Butthole Surfers was taken.


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


I love playing in unusual places like living rooms, kitchens, skate parks, warehouses, and so on. That element of surprise always gets me pumped. Obviously, playing to packed places with people diving off shit is always the best. The bigger the place and the taller the stage the more uncomfortable I feel. This kind of music doesn’t feel right in that setting.


As for our stage performance, that’s for the audience to say, I suppose.


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


We have quite a few weekend warrior gigs all over Spain and Portugal. We’ll also be playing the spanish leg of dates with Magrudergrind and Primitive Man on their european tour. We have another european tour in the works but I don’t want to confirm anything yet. DIY booking can fall apart in a second.


7.Recently you were a part of a split with 'Feastem', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?


We saw those guys play in our hometown while touring with Kill The Client. Later on, they came out to some of our shows in Finland while on tour. Eventually, we made love in and around the beautiful Tampere snow. The rest is history. We finally got to play together in Obscene Extreme Festival last summer too. This was bound to happen. Unquestionably a great band.


8.Can you tell us a little bit more about the many different record labels you have worked with over the years?


We have worked with multiple small independent labels from different parts of europe. In most cases, everything has gone smoothly because these people are grind geeks like us. We understand each other and have the same goals: release a charming product, both musically and visually, at a reasonable price.


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


Not sure people are too familiar with us outside of europe but over here we’ve been getting good feedback. We’ve been able to tour europe several times which is a good sign. Grindcore is law dude.


10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


I really hope we record an album this summer but for some reason we keep  delaying it. If we get our shit together, that’s the plan.


Next album is going to be a mix of early Sugar Ray with non-MTV Sublime.


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


I always say we are hardcore dudes playing grindcore. I think that sums if up pretty well. I can’t speak for the rest of the guys but real bands like Shitstorm or The Rival Mob really speak to me as a vocalist. There’s a lot of sincerity there.


As of late, my nocturnal record player has been spinning a lot Scorn, Dinosaur Jr and Jesus and The Mary Chain. Can you believe I just discovered some of these records? It’s comforting knowing there’s a world of music waiting to give me goosebumps.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?


I love my dog Bingo. He’s half boxer, half pitbull or hound, not sure. That and everything horror. My horror dvd/vhs collection is amazeballs, I am beyond awesome.


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


People that don’t enjoy the more extreme side of music like hardcore and punk are missing out. It’s great that you like pop, rap, or whatever. I do too. But the adrenaline rush and genuine people you meet in this scene cannot be found anywhere else but here. Mark my words, peace out homie.

CxOxSx Interview

CxOxSx – 21.01.16
1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Hi mates ! 2 months ago we’ve splitted on a 12” with  C.O.C. a record titled “Eat my tail!”. Fast grind played by 2 bands of friends. Now we’re looking for gigs around Italy and Europe. We want to spread our songs everywhere !!!

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the current music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have release in the past?
We always have played fast-core … ehm … Ultra-Fast-Core. We love play fast, we love grindcore and hardcore, then we always mix them and we make the songs you can listen to in our 12” or in our past Cds.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explores over the years?
We talk about our lives, about our everyday experiences. But we don’t want to be the classical angry grind band, we’d like to be an “happy-grind-band” , ah, ah, ah ! We want to see the world like our album covers: we want to report bad things (speculation on humanity, pollution, misery, unnecessary wars, ecc.), but with a touch of irony and a bit of “cartoon-view-of-life” !

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'CxOxSx'?
Oh … the meaning … I think it got lost in the memory of time. Everybody can choose the meaning of C, of O and S ... but the triple X remains the same .

5.The band has been together for 20 years, what is it that motivates you to still keep going after 2 decades?
Because first of all we’re friends and we still want to have fun together. Simple and honest. This is our only commandment.

 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?
We played many gigs over Italy and some in many european countries. In Italy and in every foreign state we met beautiful maniacs and we loved it. Obscene Extreme in Trutnov on 2005 was a great stage, for sure.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We’re looking for dates or places to make a gig … a very fast gig! have you heard someone who wants to organize one?

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of thrashcore and grind?
Luckly our last 2 albums has been sold in many countries all over the worlds. But we sell few copies. We’re a small band and our true fans love us. But we are mostly  followed  by friends … who loves grind, powerviolence, fastcore, etc.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We’d like to be like now forever and ever , and we work hard to do this. Ah, ah, ah ! We are sure about one thing: we want to be happy and we like fast core !

 10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We love grindcore , thrashcore, powerviolence and every song sounds violent and fast. We listen to Brutal  Truth, Ratos de Porao, D.R.I., Municipal Waste, Vitamin X, Hellnation, Flesh Parade, Massgrav and many many many more.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Three of us are married and have family, and you know, the family sucks all of our spare time every day. But we love chill out, going out with friends and drink beer. Two of us have dogs, they are part of the family.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Sure ! Thanks for this interview and the interest in our new album … play fast, live fast and laugh every day !

Teething/Feastem/EveryDayHate/2016 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Spain's  Teething  and  Finland's  Feastem  which  was  released  by  EveryDayHate  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  teething  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore  punk  and  grind.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  distorted  reverb's  before  going  into  a  fast  direction  that  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  angry  crust/hardcore  style  vocals  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  their  songs  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  one  still  being  under  2  minutes  while  you  can  still  hear  the  brutality  of  grindcore  along  with  soem  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding very  powerful,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teething  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  punk  and  grind and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Shittiest  Generation".

  Next  up  is  Feastem  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  grindcore sound  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  angry  style  shouts  and  growls  a  few  seconds  later  all  of  their  songs  are  short  in  length  with  the  longest  one  being  over  2  minutes  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  mid  paced  and fast  parts  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  melody,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  society  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Feastem  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Stitches".

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

Jack/Neurozis/Here And Now Records/2016 12 Inch Review

  Jack  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  and  grindcore and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Neorozis"  which  was  released  by  Here  And  Now  Records.

  Spoken  word  samples  which  also  remain  in  later  songs  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  that  also  get  very  guttural  at  times  along  with  a  few  melodic  guitar  riffs and  breakdowns.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  while  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  some  songs  bring  in  a touch  of  crust  and  grind  and  the  whole  album  remains  brutal  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  in  any  of  the  songs.

  Jack  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  old  school  and  brutal  while  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  crust,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  are  written  in  Hungarian  and  cover  dark, violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Jack  are  a  very  great  sounding  grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Megveszve"  "Gat"  "Melyaltas"  and  "Neurozis".  8  out  of  10.

  

 

Department Of Correction/Agathocles/Give Praise Records/2016 Split Ep Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  France's  Department  Of  Correction  and  Belgium's  Agathocles  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Give  Praise  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Department  Of  Correction  and  their  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  punk  influenced  sound  before  going  into  a  very  fast  musical  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  a  great  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  crust  shouts,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Department  Of  Correction  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  their side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Tank  Is  In  The  Garden"  and  "Do It  Like".

  Next  up  is  Agathocles  a   band  that  is  more  known  for  mincecore  but  go  into  a  sludge  direction.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  psychedelic  sounds  before  adding  in  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  sludge and  doom  metal  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  whole  song  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction,  the  production  sounds very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great sounding  track  from  Agathocles  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band  or  sludge,  you  should  enjoy  their  song.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grind  and  sludge.  8  out  of  10.        

Department Of Correction/Proletar/Give Praise Records/2016 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  France's  Department  Of  Correction  and  Indonesia's  Proletar  which  was  released  by  Give  Praise  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Department  Of  Correction a band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash,  hardcore  and  grind.

  Their  side of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  that  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  vocals  that  mix  death  metal,  hardcore  and  grind  together and  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  also  stick  to  a very  fast  musical  direction,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  redneck  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Department  Of  Correction  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  hardcore  and  grind.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Uncle Jack  Drives  To  School".

  Next  up  is  Proletar  a  band  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  power  violence.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out with  a  very  heavy  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  goes  for  a  grindcore  style along  with  some  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  both  of  the  tracks  are  short  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Proletar  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Global  Darkness  Destruction".

  In  conclusion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grind,  you  should  check  out  this split.  8  out  of  10.

Exegutor/Dive Sessions/Satanath Records/2012 EP Review

  Exegutor are  a  band  from  Belarus  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  this  is a  review  of  their  2012  ep  "Dive Sessions"  which  was  released  by  Satanath  Records.

 A very  distorted sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  an  old  school  crust/grind  direction  along with  some  growling  vocals  and  when  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  elements  of  brutal  death  metal  and  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  Most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  song  being  over  2  minutes  and  one  track  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  tribal  beats  and  clean  playing  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  no  solos  or  leads  are  ever  utilized.

  Exegutor  played  a  very  raw  and  brutal  style  of  grindcore  on  this  recording  that  was  very  true  to  the  old  school  tradition  while  also  mixed  in  elements  of  crust  and  brutal  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Exegutor  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Coffin  Break"  "Song  About  Nothing"  and  "Subway  Rats".  8  out  of  10.

Sick Of Stupidity/One Shot, One Kill/Gave Praise! Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Sick  Of  Stupidity  are  a band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "One  Shot,  One  Kill"  which  was  released  by  Give  Praise!  Records.

  A very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  adding  death  metal  growls  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  you  can  also  hear  all  off  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  crust  and  power  violence  influences  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  melodies,  guitar  solos  or  leads  while  elements  of  thrash  can  be  heard  at  times  and  there  is  never  a  soft  moment  present  anywhere  on  the  album.

  Sick  Of  Stupidity  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  most  brutal  styles  of  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  mix  them  together  to  put  out  a  recording  that  is  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  end,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  angry  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sick  of  Society  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Denial  And  Deception"  "Squandered"  "Bottleneck"  and  "Crushed,  Corrupted,  Convicted".  8  out  of  10. 
 

Always Never Fun Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1)Always never fun were born at the end of 2011 in via ferrara and we met for the first practices at the beginning of 2012.
Our debut record is a onesided selftitled LP released in 2014.
In the second half of 2015 we released a 7” split with PowerxChuck from Australia and we’ve also contributed to “Spazzin to the oldies” a tribute to Spazz released on 12”. We’re going to be part of the all italian fastcore/powerviolence bands compilation called “Blastbeats over Italy” out on Badfeelings Records. We toured with xKATExMOSHx in Europe during the summer of   2014 and with Insomnia Isterica across Switzerland in the spring of 2015. On our last tour in november 2015 we played across Germany,Holland and Belgium.



2.How would you describe your musical sound?
2-11)We are totally mad for 80’s hardcore, fastcore and powerviolence, 90’s west coast powerviolence gave us a lot of influences; so we could       describe our sound a mix between that and 80’s punk hardcore.
Nowadays we are following the European and the American scene but we also like crust, grind, stoner, sludge and hip hop.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3)We have a lot of topics that we explore when we start to write lyrics for a new song and as you can see we have very different topics. We write stuff on our love for good times and partying but we also write on our hate towards any kind of oppression and the sense on annihilation that we feel in this society. .


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Always Never Fun'?
4) Always never fun is the name of a song by The Stupids, this name was given to us by our friend Giacomazzi who is the drummer of F.U.G. (the other band of our guitarist).


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5)The best show that the band played so far was our 50th show in our hometown, we had a lot of fun and people really enjoyed our set crushing quite everything on the stage. In every show we try to play as fast as possible.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6)At the moment we are writing new songs for the next releases but we are planning to play some shows around Italy during spring. We also think it would be great play again with our friends Sickmark, ill!, Insomnia Isterica again. Anyway we are always looking for shows, so feel free to contact us J.


7.Recently you where a part of a split with PowerXChuck, what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
7) We are really satisfied about the split with PowerxChuck, we love this record, we love the songs and we love the great artwork made by our friend Prenzy. We have good thoughts about PowerxChuck, we like their sound and we hope to make a tour with them as soon as possible.


8.Which Spazz cover did you pick for the tribute album?
8) We picked ”Crush Kill Destroy”. It was a lucky strike to be involved in this compilation, because we had already recorded this song when we were asked to be part of this great compilation.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of power violence?
9)We had a good feedback all around Europe; a lot of people came to our shows and our first LP is almost sold out.


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

10) We pretty much think we will stick with our style of powerviolence, for the future we hope to continue to go in tour and put out new releases.


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?
See number 2.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
12) Beyond the music some of us are involved in graphic design and video making others are studying at university. We all have different interest, like Ernesto loves skateboarding, but we also have a lot in common like drinking beers and party hard like there is no tomorrow!


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

My Silent Wake/An Unbroken Threnody/Stone Groove Records/2016 CD Compilation Review

  My  Silent  Wake  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  gothic  and  atmospheric  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  compilation  album  "An  Unbroken  Threnody"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Stone  Groove  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  compilation  along  with  some  tragic sounding  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  that  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  onto  the  recording  and  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  When  melodic  singing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  goth  rock  atmosphere  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  compilation  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

 As  the  compilation  progresses  some  tracks  also  start  bringing  in  a small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  psychedelia  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  compilation  also has  its progresses  moments.

  On  this  compilation  My  Silent  Wake  plays  a  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  a  gothic  style  of  doom/death  metal  while  the songs  do  show  a  great  amount  of  diversity  and  can  also  be  very  progressive  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  faith,  loss  of  faith,  despair,  hope  and  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from  My  Silent  Wake  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  goth,  doom  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  last  man" "Burning"  "Tunnels"  and  "Shadow  Of  Sorrow".  8  out  of  10.

    

 

Razoreater Interview

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

We've been sleeping for the majority of this year, playing the occasional show but mostly waiting for the EP to come out. It's been nice to have a break from touring as before recording the 12" we toured quite extensively since starting the band

2.You have a new ep coming out in January, 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?

The EP is quite short but very to the point. We always try to write songs that are going to punch you senseless in one way or another and I'd say we've refined that more on this release compared to our previous ones. The production on this record is noticeably better than our previous releases too

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

Most of the topics Ben explores are dark in nature whether it be his own emotions, things he's read or his own ideas. It's all very open to interpretation though.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Razoreater'?

The name doesn't have much meaning behind it really. I guess it gives people some sort of insight to what we might sound like before they hear us but It was something we'd thrown around before the band was a thing. We originally started under a different name but decided to change it to Razoreater after our bassist Holmes threw the idea out there again.

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

For me, personally, one of the best shows we've played was at flo skatepark in Leicester. People were skating around, moshing, throwing pumpkin and just going mental. It was awesome. Close second is when we played temple of boom in Leeds with oblivionized. There was a crust punk show on before ours which overran so we ended up playing around midnight but everyone stuck around and partied, the place was packed out as well which was great!

Our live performance is quite abrasive and in your face. I think if we were to play the music we play and just stood there, some of the energy would be lost for the people watching us as well as for ourselves. The band is a release for all of us so it's good to get go mental and get some of our anxieties out on stage.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new release is out?

We have a few things booked at the minute but once everything is out we plan on touring throughout the year  both in the UK and mainland Europe, hopefully further If possible.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about 'Skin And Bones Records'?

Skin & Bones is a record label owned and run by our good friend Red from let it die. The label was originally started by our friend Steph but I'm lead to believe he has passed it on to red in recent times. S&B were interested in releasing our EP before it was even recorded and they stuck with it through the delays so it's been a pleasure having the on board alongside Wooaaargh. Plus they've put out some really cool records to date including the monolithian 12" and FAMINE 7".

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

So far it's been pretty positive, we have had people from the USA, Australia and people from as far as Indonesia emailing us asking for merch or asking us to tour there. The fact that our music has reached people that far from home and people dig it really blows my mind

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

I imagine we'll just continue to evolve the sound we already have. The longer we're a band the more that sound will evolve but it will always be pissed off, no matter what. It's what we do best.

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?

We all come from metal and hardcore backgrounds so we try combine the two as much as possible. It's also obvious in our music that swe-death has a big influence for all of us but we all have very wide music tastes whether it be Burzum or Bjork.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Most of us are either gamers, comic book nerds or movie buffs. Ben sometimes goes to the gym to keep fit and we all ride push bikes together pretty frequently but we're all pretty laid back guys that just like to chill out the majority of the time

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

We'll take the opportunity to thank everyone involved with the EP and to everyone who supports us. Also a thanks to you guys for the questions

Cheers
-Stephen