Spinebreaker/Ice Grave/Creator-Destructor Records/2016 CD Review

  Spinebreaker  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  d  beat  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Ice  grave"  which  was  released  by  Creator-Destroyer  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  90's  Swedish  influenced  death  metal  direction  and  after  awhile  screams  and  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  some  of  the  riffing  brings  melody  onto  the  recording while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  When  the  music  speeds  up a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  some  elements  of  hardcore  and  d  beat  in  the  bands  musical  style and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

While  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  early  90's  the  way  the  band  approaches  the  music makes  it  sound  very  modern  again  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  even  more  of  a  raw  and  filthy  death  metal  feeling  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  before  making  a return  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  also  keeping  around  the  acoustic  parts.

  Spinebreaker  plays  a  style  of  old  school  death  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  Swedish  tradition  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  d  beat  to  update  this  genre  for  modern  days,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hatred  and  suicide themes.

  In  my  opinion  Spinebreaker  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  d  beat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check   out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Ice  Grave"  "Severed  Denial"  "Flesh  Wound"  and  "Divine  Mortal  Being".  8  out  of  10.

   

Piss Vortex/Future Cancer/Indisciplinarian/2016 CD Review

  Piss  Vortex  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  grindcore  with  a  touch  of  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  'Future  Cancer"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Indisciplinarian.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  adding in  high  pitched  screams  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  faster  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  progressive  and  some  of  the  vocals  also bring  in  more  of  a  deeper  style  of  hardcore  and  there  is  also  a  touch  of  psychedelia  being  used  at  times  while  some  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  also  only  using  a  small  amount  of  solos  and  leads  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  musical  sound.

  Piss  Vortex  creates  an  album  that  remains  true  to  a  very  brutal  style  of  grindcore  while  also  mixing  in  more  progressive  structures  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Piss  Vortex  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bug  Chaser"  and  "Abyss".  8  out  of  10.

Black Breath/Slaves Beyond Death/Southern Lord Recordings/2015 CD Review

  Black  Breath  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Slaves  Beyond  Death"  which  was  released  by  Southern  Lord  Recordings.

 A  very  heavy and  old  school  Swedish  influenced  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  songs.

  Vocals  use  a  good  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  has  a  lot  of  90's  influences  along  with  some  elements  of  thrash  and  crust  while  also  still  sounding  modern  at  the  same  time  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  of  an  old  school  extreme  metal  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental  track.

  Black  Breath  creates  more  of  a  straightforward  death  metal  album  while  elements  of  thrash,  d  beat  and  crust  are  still  present  n  their  musical  style,  the  production  sounds very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Black  Breath  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band.,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  'Slaves  Beyond  Death"  "Seed  of  Cain"  and  "Burning  Hate'.  8  out  of  10. 

 
 

Blood/O Agios Pethane/Dunkelheit Produktionen/2016 CD Re-issue Review

  Blood  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grind,  thrash  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1993  album  "O  Agios  Pethene"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  of  2016  by  Dunkelheit  Produktionen.

  An  epic  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  grindcore  direction  that  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  some  of  the  riffs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  in  even  more  of  an  early  death  metal  style  to  the  bands  musical  sound  and  a  great majority  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  elements  of  crust  punk  and  thrash  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  samples  are  also  brought  into  the  music  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  on  one  of  the  tracks  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  heavier  musical direction.

  Blood  played  a  style  of  death/grind  on  this  recording  that  was  very  raw,  aggressive  and  brutal  for  the  era  it  was  released  while  still  holding  on  to t he  punk  and  thrash  elements,  the  production  sound s very  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  anti  Christianity,  politics  and  society  themes.      

  In  my  opinion  this  was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Blood  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  early  death  metal  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cannibal  Ritual"  "Sodomize  The  Weak"  "God  Left  The  World"  and  "Blood  For Blood".  8  out  of  10.

Haemophagus/Necromantical Death Grind: The Early Years/Despise The Sun Records/2016 CD Compilation Review

  Haemophagus  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  compilation  album  "Necromantical Death Grind: The Early Years"  which  was  released  by  Despise  The  Sun  Records  and  consists  mostly  of  their  earlier  material.

  Drum  beats  start  off  the  compilation  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  grindcore  direction  that  also  uses  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  a  touch  of  crust  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  morbid  sounding  melodies.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  they  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  70's  metal  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  true  to  a  very  old  school  style  of  death  metal  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  Repulsion  and  Hypocrisy  covers while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  and  horror  movie  samples.

  Haemophagus  compiles  a  lot  of  the  music  they  have  released  over  the  years  on  this  compilation  and  the  music brings  in  a  very  old  school  and  extreme  approach  to  death  metal and  grindcore,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a very  great sounding  collection  of  music  from  Haemophagus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Possesses  With  The  Unknown"  "Sacrificial  Burial"  "Mummified  Vagina"  and  "Into  the  Mortuary".  8  out  of  10.

 

NEID/Atomoxetine/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  NEID  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  aggressive  form  of  grindcore  with  a  touch of  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Atomoxetine"  which  will  be  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  reverb's  and  spoken word  samples  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  grindcore  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  hardcore  breakdowns.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  some  of  the  riffs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  a  great  majority  of  the  songs  of  the  short  in  length  and  spoken  word  samples  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  true  to  a  heavy  musical  style  and  one  track  brings  in  punk  rock  style.  

  NEID  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  fast,  aggressive  and  brutal  with  some  crust  and  hardcore  punk  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  human  exploitation, mass  control  and  world  systems.

  In  my  opinion  NEID  are  a   very  great  sounding  grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Painting  Death"  "Saturated Child"  "Voltures  Of  Incorporation"  and  "Breed  To  Breed".  8  out  of  10.    


 

Shiv/V vetru se zibilje/2016 EP Review

  Shiv  are  a  band  from  Slovenia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "V vetru se zibilje".

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  musical  direction  that  also  mixes  in  some  d  beats  as  well  as  some  growling  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  guitar  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  riffs  are  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  both  crust  and  grindcore.

  Most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  while  a  couple  go  over  the  3  or  4  minute  mark  and  the  riffing  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  you  can   also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  synths  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  Shiv  plays  a  style  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  that  is  a  lot  more  melodic  than  most  bands  of  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while t he  lyrics  are  written  in their  native  tongue  and cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shiv are a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "V vetru se zibilje"  and  "Postati  Krik".  8  out  of  10.

   

Corporation Of Consumption Interview

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

We hit upon the idea of forming a grindcore band in 2009 or 2010 during a CxOxSx gig at T.N.T. Pub in Vicenza (!!!) but we started only in 2011. After many changes this is our last known line-up: Borni (Vocals), Cesare (Guitars), Barney (Guitars) and Baietto (Drums).
We released a self produced demo in 2012 ("Go To Die Killed"), a 12” split album with our friends CxOxSx in 2015 called "Eat My Tail!" and we've been involved in many grind/hc/fastcore compilations.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that has been presented on your recordings so far?
C.O.C.’s  main purpose has always been playing fast brutal grinding music:
our demo was more hardcore-oriented, very raw stuff, while the songs of the 12" contain more death/grind, crust and obscure parts.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Lyrics talk about things we see and perceive through our daily lives, despair, frustration, anger, criticism of the human race, people's behaviour and what humanity has become.
All themes are negative (injustice, alienation, control of the masses by media, …) but we try to present them in a constructive way, trying to send a message for a better tomorrow.
Humanity is a mental and moral freak.
 
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Corporation Of Consumption'?
A possible explaination is that the name of the band comes from our lifestyles and from our ideas about the world and the society, but to be honest we are not philosophers and we don't take us too seriously!


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The show at Kopi in Berlin during the german minitour with our friends Restos Humanos has been one of the best for us: great place, great people and great bands (Buio and Indian Nightmare broke assess that night!), but also our first gig in Padova along with Sakatat, Gelo and Culto Del Cargo was great, it will always remains in our hearts (so romantic!).


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
By now our priority is to work on new songs but of course we hope to tour around Europe soon to spread our shit beyond Italy.

7.Recently you where a part of a split with CxOxSx, what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
CxOxSx is an amazing band with a very strong old-school attitude, great songs and last but not least, they are great persons and friends!. They have been one of the first ultra-fast grindcore band active where we live so they are a great inspiration for us.
We are very proud and honoured for having released "Eat My Tail!" together with them!

8.Can you tell us about the many different labels you had worked with on the new release?
5 D.I.Y.labels have co-produced CxOxSx/C.O.C. split: Here and Now Rec. and Scaglie di Rumore, both from Padova (Italy) and both owned by some friends of us, Z.A.S. Autoproduzioni from Torino (Italy) that have also released the great "Crash Mandolino 2.0 a.k.a. Italia Violenta", a compilation with 38 italian grind/power violence/fastcore acts where we are involved with the song "Zeruhell", Fucking Kill Records and Subzine Records, both from Germany. All of them have been great and even if we asked help for the release a little bit late they answered positively and very quickly.
Of course we would like to thank them very much for helping us to realize this split.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of crust and grind?
Working with foreign labels was the first step to spread our music worldwide. By now, the first reviews, from Italy and from abroad, are very good.
We usually have good feedbacks about what we show on stage, but we have played out from Italy just few times so we haven't reach a "worlwide level" yet!

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
In this release we've reached a more definite style that is a mixture of our personal influences, so we think we will probably continue on this way, but future is unforeseeable!

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?
We enjoy mainly Nasum, Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer,Nails, Gadget, Autopsy, Abscess, S.O.B., Blockheads, Ratos De Porao, Discharge, GBH, etc... and lots of great italian bands such Vomit8, the Nutries, Gelo, Culto del Cargo, Zorndyke, Hobos, Restos Humanos, Spose in Alto Mare, Porcus Domini, Jesus Ain't In Poland, Mano Armata Grind Congrega and more.
By the way we listen very different kinds of music, not only grind core.
                                                                            
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Avoid every human contact, it’s our full time job!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank heaps,
AND EAT MY TAIL!

Agathocles/Degenerhate/Here And Now Records/2016 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Belgium's  Agathocles  and  Italy's  Degenerhate  which  was  released  by  Here  And  Now  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review with  long  rime  mincecore  legends  Agathocles  who go  for  a  humorous  blues rock  direction  this  time  around.

  There  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  programmed  beats  and  clean  playing  that  is  very  close  to  80's  music  along  with  a  touch  of  blues  rock  while  also  still  mixing  in  raspy  style  vocals  with  still  have  a  touch  of  grind  to  them and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in a  great  amount  of  depressing  melodies  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  tracks  and  on  the  last  track  the  music  starts  adding in  high  pitched  screams  while  also  getting  heavier  and  returning  back  to  grindcore,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Agathocles  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Bunka  Bunka  Blues".

  Next  is  is  Degenerhate  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  grind,  crust  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  sound  effect  intro  before  adding  into  growling  vocals  and  a  heavy  yet  melodic guitar  sound  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  hardcore  influences  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of   the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  anger  and real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Degenerhate  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of t he  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Submerged  Into  Void".

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

       

Agathocles/Cause Of Divorce/Wooaaargh/2016 10 Inch Split Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Belgium's  Agathocles  and  France's  Cause  For  Divorce  which  was  released  in  2016  by  Wooaaargh  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Agathocles  a  band  that  has  had  plenty  of  split  reviewed  in  this  zine  and  they  continue  their  mincecore  style  on  this  recording.

  Their  side  of  the  split starts  out  with  spoken  word  samples  from  'The  Never  Ending  Story'  before  going  into  more  of  grind  punk  direction  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  d  beats  present  in  their  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  screams  and  laughs  at  times and  all  of  the  songs  remain true  to  a  very  raw  yet  heavy  musical  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  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 t he  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Only  Judge"  and  "Emptiness".

 next  up  is  Cause  of  Divorce  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust,  and  punk.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats,  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  hardcore  punk  influences  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  remains  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cause  Of  Death  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  hardcore  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Addicted" and  "Black  Star".  8  out  of  10.

         

             

Godhole Vs Crozier/Anthrophobia/SuperFi Records/2015 & Inch Review

  Godhole  a  band  that  is  in  more  of  a  grindcore  and  power  violence  direction  team  up  with  Scotland's  Crozier  who  plays  harsh  noise  and  they mix the  styles  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  7  inch  "Anthrophobia"  which  was  released  by  SuperFi  Records.

  Harsh  noise  sounds  start  off  the  7  inch  before  mixing  it  in  with  a  very  brutal  grindcore  style  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  they  start  adding  in  more  high  pitched  screams,  blast  beats,  hardcore  style  shouts  and  elements of  power  violence  and  most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  spoken  word  samples.

  Godhole  and  Crozier  mix  their  2  seperete  styles together  and  creates  a  recording t hat  is  very  harsh,  raw  and  brutal,  the  production  has  a  very  raw  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  recording  from  Godhole  and  Crozier  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grindcore,  power  violence  and  harsh  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "As  In  Beast,  So  In  Man"  "Living  A  Quiet  Death"  and  "Anthrophobia".  8  out  of  10.

Megascavenger/As Dystopia Beckons/Selfmadegod Records/2016 CD Review

  Megascavenger  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  old  school  death  metal  with  d  beat  while  also  adding  in  touches  of  industrial  with  the  newer  music  as  well  as  having  plenty  of  well  known  quests  from  the  death  metal  community  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016 album  "As  Dystopia  Beckons"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  A  very  heavy,  dark  and atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  and  melodic  riffs  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style  of the  genre.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  90's  industrial  metal  elements  and  programmed  beats while  real  drums  are  still  utilized  and  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  crust  and  d  beat and  one  track  brings  in  clean  vocals  and  more  of  a  classic  metal  before  heading  off  into  more  of  an  industrial  death  metal  direction  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  and  the  known  musicians  scattered  throughout  the  recording  are  from  the  bands  Fleshcrawl,  Hail  Of  Bullets,  Entrails,  Loch  Vostok,  Bone  Gnawler,  Crypticus  and  Sinister  plus  many  of  the  other  projects  some of  those  musicians  have.

  Megascavenger  creates  an  album  that  remains  true  to  their  old  school  d  beat  influenced  death  metal  but  also  show  a  new  style  buy  incorporating  industrial  this  time  around  to  avoid  stagnation,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Dystopian  and horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Megascavenger  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  this  band  or  industrial  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rotting  Domain"  "As  The  Last  Day  Has  Passed"  "Dead  Rotting  And  Exposed"  and  "The  Harrowing  Of  Hell".  8  out  of  10.             

Feastem Interview

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

1. Well, we are currently preparing new material for an upcoming album. It's going to be a little bit different for us this time since for the first time after the band was formed in Raahe, most of the members are living in the same area, haha! Also, our previous bass player wrote a lot of our material which was then sent to other members online but now we are going to make it more like a band effort, jamming and finalizing the material at the rehearsal room.


> 2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

2. On this new split, you mean? Or in general? Generally speaking, we are grindcore, which you probably knew already, haha! And I think we are continuing the same way on the new split. I think we are definitely coming to our own with our new songs, making them sound more and more like Feastem and nothing else.

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

3. Things that piss us off, be it political or something about the general human condition. Human greed is the worst thing to have ever happened to this planet and that is something that pisses me off the most.

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

4. Probably the idea to have a name that no-one else can ever have combined with a good mushroom trip. It doesn't mean anything, it's just a made-up word.

> 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?

5. Festivals are always special. Obscene Extreme is always something completelty different, you know you are among friends there, haha! Off the top of my head I'd say that Vilnius on our previous tour was amazing and Paris back in 2012 was super cool too. Lots of stage dives and a proper mosh pit at both shows. I'd like to think our stage performance is all about energy. Angry.

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

Yes, we do. We are playing a few shows in Finland this March and April + we have some tour plans in Europe at the end of the year.

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

7. Teething fucking RULE.

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

8. It feels like it's getting better all the time. The reception we had on the European tour we did with Cut To Fit was unexpected. So many people were happy that we played their town and generally enjoyed our blasting. It was great.

> 9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

9. Yes, I have another band that's more hardcore punk called Famine Year and I also do noise under the name Tyhjiø. Not sure if Olli and Niko are doing anything right now besides Feastem but Pate is keeping busy with all kinds of bands. Death/black, hip hop... Lots of different things.

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

10. We're going to keep it fast and brutal!

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

11. I don't know man, I guess we are influenced by alot of things, from grind to prog to drum n bass, haha! Everybody in the band has a wide taste in music and I think everything you hear influences you in some way. And jazz also! I go through these phases, you know and lately I've been listening to a lot of early 90's chill drum n bass but also lots of modern, very brutal drum n bass like Limewax, Current Value and The Panacea. A lot of death metal, too.

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

12. Food, wine, visual arts, literature, etc.

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

13. Human greed will be the end of this world as we know it. Soon. Take care of each other!

Restos Humanos Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
*hi everyone. we’re a 3-piece band from italy born in 2013. we play grind-death metal with a lot of crust punk influence.

    2.How would you describe the musical sound that has been present on the recordings so far?
the sound we have been delivering so far, is dirty and raw. for this musical project we chose not to use very clear and clean sounds, we think that the type of sound we have is linked to the lyrics and imagery of the band.

    3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
the inspiration for the lyrics come from a lot of things : movies (mainly horror, 70’s exploitation, basically everything involving a lot of blood, ahah), books aswell. we try to develop a different concept behind the lyrics, for every release.

    4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Restos Humanos'?
the name is related to the sound. it’s a spanish name, that means ‘human remains’. we chose this name because we’ve been thinking about what is left on earth when someone dies.. it gives a sense of emptiness. we think spanish explains better the feeling behind this.

    5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
we’ve been playing a lot of gigs, all over europe. it’s hard to decide which show has been the best one, because every time we had a lot of fun and a great treatment. some shows we particularly remember are go fest in rome (2014), schrottbar (last summer’s tour, with our mates gravesite), and one of the last shows we’ve played this winter, in berlin’s kopi, while we were on tour with our friends c.o.c.
we think that the crowd and people make the difference. no matter if you don’t have the perfect sound engineering, or perfect venue.. people make the concert special.

    6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
we have a lot of programmes for this new year. we’re planning to release a split with buio (3-piece black metal band, from berlin) and recording our first full lenght. soon we’ll be starting to work on it.. we have some booked gigs for this winter/spring, and we’re planning to do a european tour in june.

    7.So far you have been on splits with 'Cannibal Rites' and 'Cryptic brood', what are your thoughts on the other bands that had participated on the recordings?
we’ve been happy to share the records with these two bands. we haven’t met cannibal rites so far, unluckily (hope in the future!), but we had the chance to meet and play with cryptic brood. they’re great guys and we hope to play together again in the future!

    8.The new split was released on 'Equinox Discos', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
eduardo from equinox was very kind and professional. he supports a lot the underground scene, and we know the thing that ‘moves’ him is a real and strong passion for music. we’ve been happy to work with him.

    9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?
we’ve been growing a lot during these 3 years. since when we started playing, a lot of people started getting interested in us.. more and more! we became friends with a lot of these people, still keeping in contact with them. when we printed the last split we made, we never thought it could be selling out in 3 months only.. it makes us happy, and we think it’s a great feedback

    10.Are any of the band members involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
of course we are! julian sings in askesis (black/death), plays bass in gelo (crust) and la pazzia (hc). he also plays guitar and sing in atàud (death). sara sings in messa (doom). barney plays drums in maya galattici (crazy italian prog) and plays guitar in hobos (death n’roll), corporation of consumption (grind).


    11.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
we are planning to record a full length album this year, it will probably be released in 2017.. we just hope to keep playing and having fun with each other, basically like how it has been until now.. if things keep on evolving like this.. well, we’d be damn happy!


    12.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?
 for this project we’re influenced by band such as machetazo, black breath, scurvy, assuck.. we also have a lot of influences from the early 90’s bands. generally, all of us listen to shitloads of different musical genres, we’re all very open minded.


    13.What are some of your non musical interests?
barney is interested in recording/sound engineering. sara is really passioned about photography, and julian has a great interest in literature and history.


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

first of all, thank you for giving us the chance of making this interview. we’d like to thank our friends and everyone that has supported us during these years. we’d also like to thank the promoters and the people who helped restos humanos in booking, printing records and so on, and everyone that let us crash in their places and sofas while we were on tour. without all of you, nothing would have been possible. see you on the road! restos humanos

Castle Freak/Human Hive/2016 EP Review

  Castle  Freak  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania that  has  been  featured  before in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep "Human  Hive"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  Horror  movie  samples  start off  the  ep  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  grindcore  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  death  metal  and  crust  punk  elements  as  well  as  adding growling  vocals  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the mid  80's  and  early  90's  while  having  more  of  a  modern  day production  and  they  also  keep  everything  heavy  and  aggressive  and  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Impetigo's  "Boneyard'  and  some  riffs  also  add  in  a  touch  of  thrash  and  the  solos  and  leads  when  they  are  utilized  bring  in  even  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  style  and  all  of the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Castle  Freak  creates  another  recording  that  takes  the  old  school  styles  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  makes  them  sound  modern  again,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Castle  Freak  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  metal,  crust,  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sickening  Corpses"  and  "Toxic  Winds".  8  out  of  10.