King Parrot/Ugly Produce/Housecore Records/2017 CD Review

  Australia's  King  parrot  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  their  mixture  of  death,  thrash  metal,  punk  and  grindcore  and  this is  a  review  of t heir  2017  album  "Ugly  Produce"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Housecore  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album a long  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and w hen  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats,  crust  and  grindcore  elements  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  hardcore  style  screams  and  death metal  growls.

  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  an  extreme  metal  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  metal  influences  along  with  the  raw  energy  of  punk  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  riffs  start  utilizing  more  melody  and  the music  always  remains  heavy  and  brutal.

  King  Parrot  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  thrash,  death  metal,  punk  and  grindcore  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  murder,  shit,  violence  and  disgusting  stories.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  King  Parrot  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Entrapment"  "All  Hail  The  Grub"  "Numb  Skill"  and  "Spooki  The  Animals".  8  out  of  10.     

Old Night/Pale Cold Irrelevance/Rain Without End Records/2017 CD Review

 

  Old  Night  are  a  band  from  Croatia  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  doom  metal  with  some  elements  of  progressive  rock  and  blues  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Pale  Cold  Irrelevance"  which  will  be  released  on  August  26th  by  Rain  Without  End  Records.

  Drum  beats  start  off the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  adds  in  touches  of  post  and  progressive  rock  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  fashion  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  When  the  music  gets  heavy  it  brings  in  more  of  a  traditional  doom  metal  style  while  the  riffing  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melody and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  when  keyboards  are  added  into  the  music  they  give  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  and  elements  of  blues  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Old Night  plays  a  style  of  doom  metal t hat  is  very  atmospheric  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  death  metal,  progressive  rock  and  blues  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while the  lyrics  cover  dark and depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Old  Night  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  doom  metal  band  with  elements  of  death  metal,  progressive  rock  and  blues  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of   those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mother  Of  All  Sorrows"  and  "Something  Is  Broken".  8  out  of  10.

Born For Slaughter/Self Titled/WOOAAARGH/2017 EP Review

  Born  For  Slaughter  are  a  band  from  Macedonia  that  plays  a mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash  and  crust  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  which  was  released  by  WOOAAARGH.

    Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  along with  some  death  metal  growls  and  crust  style  screams  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  d  beats  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  A  great  amount  of  90's  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  but  also  mixing  it  in  with  a  more  modern  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  elements  of  thrash  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  touch  of  hardcore.

  Born  For  Slaughter  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  more melodic form  of  crust  punk  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Born  For  Slaughter  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Downfall"  and  "P.T.S.D".  8  out  of  10.

  

Sledgehammer Nosejob Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
SLEDGEHAMMER NOSEJOB was formed in Hoogeveen/Netherlands by Carl Assault and Fredde Kaddeth (me). Carl and I also play in the death metal band MASSIVE ASSAULT. Marco Prij (also in Distillator) is our drummer and Casper le Gras our bassplayer. With Sledgehammer Nosejob we released our debut full length album called Stop! Hammertime! on CD and LP this year.
Some little history that goes from a studio project to a live band: Sledgehammer Nosejob started in 2013 as studio project, we recorded all songs in my studio. we offered our demo songs for free downloads online. We also got attention from organizers who wanted us to play at their events. So this so called studio project was rolling into gigs in 2014. People from different areas where asking from the beginning if we would bring out CD's and vinyl. Together with DDR (Defying Danger Records) we realised the music carriers this year with our debut album "Stop! Hammertime!".


2.In January you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
The music we play is Death Metal, but some songs are pure rock & roll, and some songs we play are crust also some thrash.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Some songs have a lyrics about war and tragedy and conflicts, other songs are about dark thoughts and inner conflicts from a person’s view and some songs have a more amusing theme, the dark themes in our music is nothing new but a funny lyrics for example from Chainsaw Hank is about a person living the dream and being the best in TIMBERSPORTS / Lumberjack Competition sport. So the lyrics vary from dark themes to positive vibes.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sledgehammer Nosejob'?
In your face! That’s the music from Sledgehammer Nosejob.
Inspiration comes from 80s WWF intro theme songs, Chuck Berry, d-beat and (Death) metal in general


5.On the albums there are only 2 members, are you open to expanding your line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?
On this moment Sledgehammer Nosejob is reduced to 1 member and all other members are session musicians.
Explanation!

Carl Assault is stepping back with Sledgehammer Nosejob, because he's also very active in most weekends with lyric videos and video shoots for a record label right now. To plan shows is getting more complex when a member has less time to play. We got shows offered we weren't able to do. This also means that Sledgehammer Nosejob is looking for a vocalist now. The album is released this year and doing live shows will also help promoting the release. That’s also fair to our record label, who invested time and money in Sledgehammer Nosejob. The idea for a expanding line up is not there yet. It worked for me to keep things simple where I had to compromise with Carl only. I must say that Carl and I had projects in the past and I always felt that we complement each other. It feels weird when Carl leaves Sledgehammer Nosejob. But I also wish him luck with this video job!
Carl and I are still in MASSIVE ASSAULT, so we will have our music and time in that band together.


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Protsen open air in Germany was great, from a long drive with traffic jams, we arrived 5 minutes before our ShowTime, there was no time for warming up. Marco our Drummer needs it normally but all went good.  We played a great show and I think many people where entertained. We were!
And another great show was on a birthday party in Berlin, It was full packed with more than 200 people, played with awesome bands and the atmosphere was awesome. For that show we travelled by train the day before. A little strange way to tour, but all was smooth. In our performance people can see that we enjoy to play. Energy and drive!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
With the line-up change and auditions there is less visibility on long term plans.
But we have some shows on the short term on Berlin Swamp Fest 2017 on 15th September and on 14th October
Defying Danger Records Label Night

8.The album was released on 'Defying Danger Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
It's a small underground label, and the good people behind it have good connections in the underground metal and grind scene.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal, thrash and crust?
From many countries people were impressed with our music.
A lot of people where interested and asking for physical music carriers like CDs and LPs after we put our fist demo song online.

10.What is going on with Massive Assault these days?
Massive Assault released a third album on vinyl last July, and it will be released on CD in autumn.
We had a video shoot some weeks ago, and Carl is making a video clip now.
So expect some Massive Assault madness soon on YouTube also!

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I can't answer, with all this turbulence in this line-up now.

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?
With our album "Stop! Hammertime!" there is a rock, death metal, crust, thrash variety. Think of Obituary, Motorhead, Carnivore, Chuck Berry, Discharge
Nowadays i listen a lot of W.A.S.P. but also some old death metal albums, old Metallica, Pantera, Prong also Wolfbrigade. Sometimes New Wave.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Documentaries films from history to politics or science, carpentry, my girlfriend, I also love hanging out with my cats and dog and social time with friends.


14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yes, I want to thank you for your interest in Sledgehammer Nosejob and this interview. For the people who don't know Sledgehammer Nosejob and our music. Check our BandCamp and Facebook and my recording studio Dirty Bird Productions. Cheers! https://www.facebook.com/SledgehammerNosejob/  https://sledgehammer-nosejob.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Dirty.Bird.Recording.Studio

Hello Bastards/Herida Profunda/Wooaaargh/Deviance/738 Punx/Hecatombe Records/N.I.C Records/2017 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  U.K's  Hello  Bastards  and  Poland/U.K's  Herida  Profunda  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Wooaaargh,  Deviance,  738 Punx,  Hecatombe  and  N.I.C  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Hello  Bastards  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  punk,  crust,  power  violence  and  hardcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  acoustic  guitar  playing  along  with  some  back  up  shouts and  screams  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  aggressive  crust  punk  direction  while  also  adding  in  d  beats  and  angry  shouting  hardcore  style  vocals  along  with  a  few  blast  beats.

  Throughout  their  side  of t he  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  sloe,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  most  of  their  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  power  violence  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while t he  lyrics  cover  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hello  Bastards  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  hardcore,  power  violence  and  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Making  Hardcore,  Punk  Again"  and  "Equality".

  Next  up  is  Herida  Profunda  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,crust  and  hardcore.

  Their  side  of  the  spit  starts  out  with  news  sample  and  clean  playing  before going  into  more  of  a  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats,  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  while  d  beats  are  also  used  at  times  and  most  of  their  tracks  are  very  short  in  length.

  Throughout  their  side  of t he  split  you  can  hear   a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  while  the  music  only  has  a  small  amount  of  solos  and  leads  but adding  in a   great  amount  of  80's  and  90's  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  political  and  grindcore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Herida  Profunda  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust  and  hardcore,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Grind  You  In  The  Back".

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

Acephalix/Decreation/20 Buck Spin/2017 CD Review

  San  Francisco,  California's  Acephalix  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  shows  them  focusing  less  on  the  crust  influenced  style  of  death  metal  of  previous  releases  and  adding  in  more  of  a  straight  forward death  metal  style  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Decreation"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  20  Buck  Spin.

  A  very  heavy  90's  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  while  d  beats  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  remaining  true  to  a  very  old  school  style  of t he  genre  and  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  the  riffing.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them   while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  classical  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  during t he  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  On  this  recording  Acephalix  go  for  more  of    a  straight  forward  death  metal  style  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  d  beat,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  lack  and  loss  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Acephalix  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  d  beat,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Upon  This  Altar"  "God  Is  Laughing"  and  "Decreation".  8  out  of  10.  

Huoripukki/Voima On Oikeutta/Caligari Records/2017 EP Review

  Huoripukki  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Voima  On  Oikeutta"  which  was  released  by  Caligari  Records.

  Heavy  riffs  and  angry  death  metal  growls  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  screams  which  also  leads  to  guitar  leads  being  introduced  on  the  recording  and  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  morbid  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  incorporating  a  great  amount  of  punk  and  thrash  elements  and  the  music  always  remains  very  heavy.

  Huoripukki  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  old  school  death  metal,  thrash  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  are  writing  in  Finnish  and  cover  Satanism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Huoripukki  are  a  very  great  sounding old  school  mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash and  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Voima  On  Oikeutta" and  "Suttern  Verta".  8  out  of  10.

Rekoma/Eadem Errata/Inverse Records/2017 CD Review

 

  Rekoma  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  goth  and  heavy  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Eadem  Errata"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  symphonic  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  clean  playing  is  also  used  at  times  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  melodic  style.

  At  times  the  vocals  get  more  aggressive  along  with  a  few  death  metal  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  screams  are  also  used  at  times  and  some  songs  also  add  in  touches  of  groove  metal  and  blast  beats  are  also  used  briefly and  keyboards  return  on  the  last  track  which  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Rekoma  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth,  death  and  traditional  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  grievances  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rekoma  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  gothic  and  heavy metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dust  Becomes  My  Name"  "Misguided"  and  "Sleepwalker".  8  out  of  10.

Mutation/III: Dark Black/Undergroove/2017 CD Review

  Mutation  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  noise,  progressive  metal,  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "III:  Dark  Black"  which  was  released  by  Undergroove.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  used  at  times  and  after  awhile  shouting  vocals  and  traces  of  electronic  music  are  added  onto  the  recording,.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  clean  vocals  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  melodic  fashion  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  harsh  noise  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Mutation  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  harsh  noise,  experimental,  avant  garde,  industrial,  and  prog  metal  and  mixes  it  with  the  brutality  of  grindcore  to  create  something  very  original,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mutation  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  harsh  noise,  experimental,  avant  garde,  industrial,  prog  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Authenticy"  "Skint"  "Dogs"  and  "Victim".  8  out  of  10.     

Necromorph/Under The Flag/Defying Danger Records/2016 CD Review

  Necromorph  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  crust,  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Under  The  Flag"  which  was  released  by  Defying  Danger  Records.


  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while t he  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  d  beat  and  crust  elements  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  stringed  instruments  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Necromorph  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  English  and  German  and  cover  death,  gore  and  pain  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Necromorph  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Excrements  Of  The  Sun"  "End  In  Vomit"  "Handle  The  Flag"  and  "Perfect  Day  In  A  Perfect  World".  8  out  of  10.

Sledgehammer Nosejob/Stop! Hammertime!/Defying Danger Records/2017 CD Review

  Sledgehammer  Nosejob  are  a  band  from The  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  death'n'roll'  thrash  and  crust  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Stop!  Hammertime!"  which  was  released  by  Defying  Danger  Records.

  Rock'n'roll  style  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  crust  style  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  punk  along  with  a  few  back  up  shouts  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known  while  the  riffing  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffing  and  the  death  metal  side  is  more  closer  to  the  early  90's  Swedish  era.

  Sledgehammer  Nosejob  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  death  metal,  thrash,  crust  punk  and  rock'nroll  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  destruction  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sledgehammer  Nosejob  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash,  crust  punk  and  rock'n'roll  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sledgehammer  Bitch"  "Psycho  Rocker"  "Chainsaw  Hank"  and  "1347  Black  Death".  8  out  of  10.