Limbs Bin Interview

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

I just relocated from Brooklyn to Cleveland, so Limbs Bin is in an exciting moment of reconfiguration and growth. Having released "Bliss Tech", I feel freed to renegotiate the boundaries of the band. Expanding the band beyond just my soft, soft hands and terrible throat to include other people on heavy electronics- and get this, maybe even a bassist. We're in talks. That's all I can say right now. Also I'm recording for splits with Paraplegic Erection, Crowhurst, Masturbatory Disfunction, and more.

2.Recently you have released your new album, 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?

"Bliss Tech" is the leanest, heaviest, most hypnotic presentation of Limbs Bin to date. I've spent years consolidating the sound into a powerful stream, and the recent addition of a new homemade oscillator to the fold that my friend Serge built for me gave me a chance to play off a new dynamic. I recorded it in one take in my semi-nightmarish basement apartment that I just left behind in Bushwick last winter, and it definitely captures an anxious man hiding underground in a city that beats the living shit out of you on a daily basis while it simultaneously rewards your darkest fantasies. Its unedited form captures the vibe of the live shows, and that second-to-second negotiation of space, timing, and release needed to remain intact for the record to sound honest. Limbs Bin is many things, but in its song-based form- previously best exemplified on the Sete Star Sept split- "Bliss Tech" is the band in its most direct full realization.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you explore with your music?

"Bliss Tech" has a lot to do with sex, the internet, a general sense of horror at how numb our culture has become and how little empathy people show for for each other, the feeling of confinement in New York where you work incredibly long days just to see your income immediately melt back into the city, and the endless rushing pace of life there. Reality seemed spliced between screens, and I began to act like a person I didn't recognize. Typical stuff for a bumpkin from Western Mass to get overwhelmed by.

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

I spent four months living in Israel in high school- I've spent a lot of time talking about this in the past, but suffice to say, I had an encounter with an actual box of severed arms and legs in the basement anatomy lab at Tel Aviv University that capped off a truly mind melting experience exploring human corpses with a little person surgical student trying to freak out some impressionable teens.

5.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work by yourself?

Many people have contributed to Limbs Bin shows or releases in the past. As a rule, I operate alone so I can maneuver with ease and not filter my inspirations through other people. Being able to shoot from the hip is sort of the doubled edged blade of doing it alone, but I like to think it's mostly served as a valuable tool over the years. The band has only flourished from the love and support of a vast network of incredibly hardworking DIY enthusiasts, and I would be nowhere without my friends.

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

I'm typing out these answers seven years to the day of the first Limbs Bin gig, when I was 19 and some older friends who play in a great indie pop band called Ten Minute Turns suggested I play a surprise set while they took a break during a Halloween gig at a little inn up in the wooded hills of Western Mass. The crowd was drunk middle aged artsy types, wholly unprepared for about two minutes (if that) of a ski masked child screaming over prerecorded drum machine blasts. I managed to bust my lip almost immediately, cleared the room within seconds, and was seriously a persona non grata for the rest of the night. I had brought all these friends from college out for it, and it was just a total mess. People were begging for it to stop, and I can't stress enough that this was in the middle of a two minute set. I don't know if it got better than that. Playing shows in Israel in 2012 was unreal and an absolute thrill, and I always miss the comfort of playing a nice intimate Western Mass basement show with other jammers trying out new styles and bouncing energy off each other. Gigs with Excruciating Terror, Gay Kiss, Realicide, Skin Graft, Container, and Cloud Rat all stand out. This year, blasting outside on a deck over a river in Ithaca at One Fest on a solid gold bill of friends was a dream come true, as was opening the Full Of Hell/The Body show at Market Hotel.

The live style has gotten much less performative and much more about playing hard over the years- I wanted to run around and stir shit up when I was younger, but now I'm focusing on playing everything with as much emotion and focus as I can muster.

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

I have a couple local gigs in Cleveland coming up. First is November 10th at Maple Lanes with ultimate homie Sunken Cheek, Cleveland legend Collapsed Arc, and my beloved fiancee Di Pic. Second is November 18th at the Yellow Ghetto with VAAULTS, Pillars of Ash, and Rubbermate. Other than that, I'm still getting used to life in a new city and a new job, so I'm keeping my touring plans modest for now.

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

Thanks to heroes like Vinod Karki, who runs a truly incredible YouTube channel of grind/noisecore/PV/etc. out of his home in Nepal, and J Randall and his Grindcore Karaoke bandcamp label, Limbs Bin has gotten out of its immediate surroundings a lot more. Huge shout out to Epul Rikard with his Repulsive Regurgitation zine in Malaysia as well. Some people like it, some people hate it. It's good to absorb the nice stuff so you have some fodder to thrive on, accept reasonable criticism, filter out the small minded, and most of all, keep playing for yourself. As long as I'm making the sounds I want to hear, I can't be bothered that much by how others respond to it. I listen to Limbs Bin because it's a band I'd want to listen to.

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

Into woodwinds for sure.

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?

The timeless influences are bands like Infest, Napalm Death, Black Flag, Nine Shocks Terror, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, An Albatross, Enemy Soil, Bastard Noise/Man Is The Bastard, Whitehouse, Consumer Electronics, Masonna, Hanatarash, Hijokaidan, Suppression, and other bands that capture that white hot line where everything is hanging in the balance and about to collapse, drawn forward by sheer determination alone.

Recently, I've just gotten through my annual "obsessively listening to Joanna Newsom and crying constantly" period of the fall, and I'm back in a rich diet of live recordings- the new Bloodyminded live record, the Butthole Surfers' "Double Live", Miles Davis "Live at Newport", Wolf Eyes' "Live Scum", and more. Kiyasu from Sete Star Sept has a brilliant solo tape out on Utech Records that's just him and a snare drum, and it's totally captivating. Finally catching up on some Gong records.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Big fan of science fiction, specifically authors who write about perception and the fragile nature of consensus reality like Philip K Dick and Christopher Priest (I suggest "Flow My Tears, Said The Policeman" and "Inverted World" by those two respectively). I love long walks and drives in solitude, they help me focus the more ethereal feelings and reflections into an actionable idea.

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

No matter what your political ideology is, projecting it onto other people without soliciting their voice in a conversation is cynical, dehumanizing, and bad. The world doesn't exist to reflect your beliefs- it mostly exists to test them. Don't hide behind them. Learning how to grow and change isn't betrayal, it's nature taking its course. It's important to be truthful to yourself, and that can be very hard. Don't run away from the fear.

Limbs Bin/Bliss Tech/2016 Full Length Review

  Limbs  Bin  are  a  solo  project  from  Cleveland,  Ohio  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  harsh  noise  and  power  electronics  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  album  "Bliss  Tech".

  Harsh  noises  and  power  electronics  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  grindcore  style  growls  and  screams  and  the  drum  machines  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  noisecore,  power  violence  and  digital  hardcore.

  All  of  the  music  is  done  on  noise  boxes,  distortion  pedals  and  drum  machines  and  there  are  no  traditional  instruments  ever  being  utilized  and  the  longest  track  is  over  42  seconds  while  the music  still  sounds  very  brutal.

  Limbs  Bin  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  grind  and  noisecore  and  mixes  it  with  digital  hardcore,  power  electronics  and  noise  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Limbs  Bin  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore,  harsh  noise  and  power  electronics  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stage  time" "Living  In  Tears"  "The  Trigger"  and  "Sky  Seems  To  Fall".  8  out  of  10.  

Axis Of Despair/Mankind Crawls/Give Praise Records/2016 Ep Review

  Axis  Of  Despair  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  grindcore  with  a  touch  of  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Mankind  Crawls"  which  will  be  released  on  October  28th  by  Give  Praise  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into a   very  fast  crust/grind  direction  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  blast  beats  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  style  of  crust  and  grindcore  and  some  of t he  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  gets  very  brutal  at  times  while  also  bringing  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  bring  in  any  guitar  leads  or  solos  and  the  music  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Axis  Of  Despair  plays  a  very  old  school  and  traditional  style  of  grindcore  that  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  crust  and  hardcore,  the  production  sounds  very  profesisonal  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Axis  Of  Despair  are  a  very  great  sounding  grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Last  Sight"  and  "Under  The  Surface".  8  out  of  10.    

 

Embalming Theatre/Re-Animated Tomb Contents(Live At Sedal)/GivePraiseRecords/2016 Live Album Review

  Embalming  Theatre  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  mixture of   gore/grind  and  brutal  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their live  2016 album  "Re-Animated  Tomb  Contents(Live At  Sedal)"  which  was  released  by Give  Praise  Records.

  Drum  beats  start  off  the album  and  have  a  militant  feeling  to  them  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  melodies  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Death  metal  growls  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  a  great  amount  of  grindcore  elements  an  the  music  also  has  plenty  of  mid  80's  and  early 90's  influences  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Covers  of  Naplam  Death,  Dahmer,  Nasum,  Mortician  and  Filthy  Christians  can  be  heard  as  the  album  progresses  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  singer  talks to t he  crowd  in  between  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat  can  be  heard  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams and  a  later  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing.

  Embalming  Theatre  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  old  school g ore/grind  and  mixes  it  with  brutal  death  metal  and  a  touch of  crust  to  create  a  sound  of   their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  along with  every  track  recorded  live  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  real  life  gore  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Embalming  Theatre  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  gore/grind  and brutal  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dead,  Stolen,  Hacked  Up  And  Raped"  "Flesh  Eating  Bacteria"  "Red  Carcass  River"  and  "Suffocation  In  The  Sandbox".  8  out  of  10.  

Blutrina Interview

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

A big hello to everyone!
We're Blutrină from Timisoara, Romania, everyone in the band does vocals, we like cartoons and we play funny aggressive music in our pampers live.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

A short description of the musical sound on "Looney Fuckin' Grind" would be a mixture of death metal, black metal and melodies from different Looney Tunes moments with flavours of grind and grindcore :).


3.You describe your music as 'looney grind', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

Well, the starting idea of the band was to play grind but after working on some songs, we realised we didn't want to take stuff too seriously so we started incorporating cartoons in our music, the most being from Looney Tunes.
We also wear different doctor's outfits, pampers, straitjackets that would imply us being deranged, hence "looney grind".

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

As mentioned before, we take huge amounts of inspiration from Looney Tunes characters like Beaky Buzzard, Porky Pig, Foghorn Longhorn etc. but also Quagmire from Family Guy.
We also have some more serious songs, focused more on medical stuff like Morphing In Vitro or Blood Clot.

But there are definitely going to be more cartoon characters added to our "roster" on the future album :).

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Blutrina'?

Urmuz, Lycan and Putrid played with another band before (even before thinking to form Blutrină) and when they had a show in Hunedoara, Romania, they also went on a tour of the Corvin Castle(check it out, awesome castle!), the archeologist showed us some ancient dacian relics and while explaining them to us, she mentioned the word Blutrină.
It refers to the small channel on a lot of swords and blades through which the blood flows to keep the handle dry.

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?

Not so many shows were played in our 3 and a half years of existence, but we're definitely working on that.
Arguably, the best show we played was as an opening act for Exhumed in Daos, Timisoara, but we also played some awesome shows with Innergrave and Abnormyndeffect.

What we like to think of our performance is that it's filled with energy, comedic moments, us in pampers and different absurd clothing and a lot of role changes, like one of the vocalists becoming the drummer, the bassist becoming a vocalist and so on and so forth.

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

Yes, we have some very special plans for 2017, hope everything works in our favour and we can announce them as soon as possible :D.

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

We received some positive reviews from different websites until now(even one from Germany mentioning that we need more blast beats!)

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

Definitely on the more aggressive side, but also more cartoon references, and more genres combined to form the ultimate blend of looney grind.

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?

Some of our influences are (old)Sepultura, Devourment, 2 Unlimited, Cock And Ball Torture but we do take inspiration from everything around us, and everything we listen to.

All of us listen to a wide variety of music, but these days I'd have to say that we listen to some 80's synthwave(especially the band SURVIVE, who also did the soundtrack to Stranger Things), grindcore(Wormrot), slam death metal(Abominable Putridity) but also stuff like King Diamond and generally what peaks our interest, regardless if it's metal or not :).

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We're all pussy blasters(like our song), mountain drinkers and we play golf in Săcălaz.

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

Thanks for having us, stay looney, remain alive and focus on quality ... ?!

Stream Blutrină - Looney Fuckin' Grind here: https://loudragemusic.bandcamp.com/album/blutrina-looney-fuckin-grind

Krupskaya/Forcible instinct/7 Degrees Records/2016 Split 12 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  the  United  Kingdom's  Krupskaya  and  Ukraine's  Forcible  Instinct  which  will  be  released  on  October  17th  by  7  Degrees  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Krupskaya  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  noise/grind.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  spoken  word  parts  and  a  melodic  guitar  lead  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  heavier  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  noisecore  screams  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  brings  in  elements  of  grind,  crust  and  math  rock and  the songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  clean  guitars  are  added  onto  the  last  track, the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Templars,  Religion,  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Krupskaya  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  noise/grind,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  Silent  Water  There  Is  No  Light"  and  "Order  Of  the  New  Templars".

  Next  up  is  Forcible  Instinct  a  band  that  plays  more  of  a  brutal  and  old  school  form  of  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  raw  and  heavy  crust/grind  sound  and  growling  vocals  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  All  of  the  songs  also  stick  to  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melody  while  also  bringing  in a   great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  song  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Forcible  Instinct  are a  very  great  sounding  old  school  style  crust/grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of  the  Split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  Line" and  "Vote".

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

Ashcloud/Children Of The Chainsaw/Xtreem Music/2016 CD Review

 Ashcloud  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  both  Sweden  and  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Children  Of  The  Chainsaw"which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  and  crust  style  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  vocals  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  growls  and  the  songs  also  incorporate  a  great  amount  of  d  beats and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and the  whole album  remains  heavy from  beginning  to  ending  of  the recording.

  Ashcloud  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  crust  influenced  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  style  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  post  apocalyptic,  horror,  death  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another great  sounding  recording  from  Ashcloud  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust  or  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Children  Of  the  Chainsaw"  "Inside  the  Shame  Of  Desire"  "The  Creeping  Unknown"  and  "Written  In  Flesh".  8  out  of 10.