Unruh/Tomb 3xLP Box Set: Misery Strengthened Faith(LPI)/King Of The Monsters/2015 LP Re-Issue Review

  Unruh  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grind,  crust,  hardcore  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  the  first  album  in  a  3  part  LP  box  compilation  with  the  first  album  being  entitled  "Misery  Strengthened  Faith"  which  was  released  by  King  Of  The  Monsters.

  A  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  they  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  faster  sections  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  crust  and  grindcore  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  reverb  and  distortion  while  the  mid  paced  sections  bring  in  a  heavy  influence  of  both  hardcore  and  power  violence  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in some  songs  and  towards  the  end  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  one  of  the  tracks.

  Unruh  plays  a  style  of  crust/grindcore  that  is  very  raw  and  heavy  while  also  having  a  decent  amount  of  power  violence  and  hardcore  elements  in  their  sound  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  which  makes  their  music  stand  out,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes.    

  In  my  opinion  Unruh  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust,  power  violence  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Compost"  "Jab  Job"  "Numbered  Days"  and "Ugly  Outside".  8  out  of  10.  

Come Back From The Dead/The Coffin Earth's Entrails/BlackSeed Productions/2015 CD Review

  Come  Back  From  The  Dead  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  crust  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Coffin  Earth's  Entrails"  which  was  released  by  BlackSeed  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  guitar  lead  which  is  also  used  on  other  tracks  as  well  starts  off  the  album  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  melody  and  heaviness  and  after  a  minute  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  fast  adding  in  angry  crust/hardcore  shouts  and  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  that  is  influenced  by  the  Swedish  bands  of  the  early  90's.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  d-beats  and  while  the  music  sounds  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  it  still  evokes  a  very  modern  day  feeling  at  times  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  raw,  old  school  and  heavy  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  end.

  Come  Back  From  The  Dead  goes  back  to  the  more  raw  and  melodic  style  of  Swedish  death  metal  of  the  early  90's  and  mixes  it  with  crust  and  d  beat  to  create  a  very  retro  yet  heavy  and  brutal  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  horror  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Come  Back  From  The  Dead  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  and  old  school  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Better  Morbid  Than  Slaves"  "Hell  Inside"  "Haze  of  Blood"  and  "Vault  Of  Horror".  8  out  of  10.  

   

Orgasmic Victim/BRUD/Disentomb/In Gore We Grind/Narcoleptica Productions/2015 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Russia's  Orgasmic  Victim,  Ukraine's  BRUD  and  Russia/Moldova's  Disentomb  called  "In  Gore  We  Grind"  which  was  released  by  Narcoleptica  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Orgasmic  Victim  a  band  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  gore/grind.

  A  very  brutal  gore/grind  sound  starts  off  their  side  of   the split  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  guttural  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  crust  and  death  metal  style  melodies  in  the  bands  musical  style,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Orgasmic  Victim  are  a  decent  gore/grind  band  and  while  some  of  their  vocals  are  not  my t hing,  I  still  feel  they  are  good  at  what  they  do.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hellbound"  and  "Rape  Goats  And  Geese".

  Next  up  is  BRUD  a  band  that  plays a  very  brutal  form  of  grindcore.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  good  mixture  of  guttural  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  brutal  death  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  perverted  themes.

  In  my  opinion  BRUD  are  a  very  decent  sounding  grindcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mustache  In  A  Cream"  "Sleep  Not  Cannibal  Cops".

  Next  up  is  Disentomb  another  band  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  grindcore.

  Melodic  female  chanting  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  before  adding  in  a  more  brutal  crust/grind  sound  that  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  guttural  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful, you  can  also  hear  some  deathcore  style  vocals  in  the  songs  at  times  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

In  my  opinion  Disentomb  are  a  very  decent  sounding  brutal  grindcore  band  and  while  I  do  not  care  much  for  some  of  the  vocals  I  do  feel  the  brutality  is  played  out  very  well.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Orgasm  Of  Ears"  and  "Exorcism  Of  True  Marasmus".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  decent  split  and  I  would  recommend  to  brutal  grindcore  fans.  7  out  of  10.        

Exegutor/Embassy Of Hell/Narcoleptica Productions/2015 Cassette Review

  Exegutor  are  a  band  from  Belarus  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  cassette  "Embassy  of  Hell"  which  was  released  by  Narcoleptica  Productions.

  A  very  raw,  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sounds  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  a  few  seconds  later  crust  style  growls  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  the  morbid  sounding  melodies  of  death  metal  in  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  time s the  vocals  can  be  very  guttural  along  with  some  deathcore  elements  and  high  pitched  screams  which  have  somewhat  of  a  black  metal  feeling  to  them  and  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  few  bass  guitar  leads  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  a  later  track  has  semi  melodic  vocals  and  they  also  do  a  cover  of  Venom's  and  Mayhem's  "Black  Metal"  and  "Deathcrush"  in  a  medley  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  brutal  style  of  crust/grind.

  Exegutor  plays  a  brutal  style  of  crust/grind  that  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  influences  and  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  hardcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  humorous  themes  along  with  the  song s being  written  in a  mixture  of  English  and  there  native  tongue

  In  my  opinion  Exegutor  are  a  very  great  sounding fast  and  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Smoke  Of  The  Water"  "Buy  Made  In  Belarus"  "Karahod"  and  "Pyro  Is  Not  A  Crime".  8  out  of  10.  

Flash Out Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Recently we just had our split 7” release show as it was also our farewell show for our long-time friend Joe. He’s moving to Australia later this month so hopefully he starts some sick bands out there and we hope to play shows with him again some day. But for the meantime we’re keeping it low and writing for a new full length. I (Anders) am thinking of starting a compilation series which we just recorded our newest song for. Our friend Nick from Sabbatory is going to fill in on bass duties so we’re looking forward to that.

2.Recently you were a part of a split, 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?

I would say the stuff we recently recorded was more raw and brutal, we took more time with our full length and basically had 2 different people record the releases. Terminated Efficiency has a more polished sound (hopefully not too polished) where as our split screams “fuck you blow your speakers!!”

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The majority of the themes involve war and broken down life. Constant struggles of human progression and how basically we are fucking ourselves over hard in the long run. We just write shit that we feel at that time and make it fit.

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

Bastard. "Many People have died"

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?
We have been fortunate enough to play with a lot of the bands that have had a huge influence on us for example Napalm Death, Doom, Despise You, Iskra and Massgrave which we’re all amazing shows. I would like to pick a favourite but they were actually all insane.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We did have plans that had to fall through due to our schedules and financial situations. We would love to tour with our next line up. We’re all in a bunch of other bands too so that makes things kinda tough.

7.Recently you where a part of a split with 'Begrime Exemious',what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording? We (Cory Anders and Ripley) were fortunate enough to meet those guys a couple years back when we played a festival at the Moose Knuckle Lodge in Lethbridge while we were playing in Putrescence. They were the best band of the night for sure and we became tight buds and talked about doing a split with Flash Out. They got stoked on the idea and we’re all stoked on the 7” actually being released thanks to our friend Jordan at Filth Regime Records.

8.You have had your stuff released through Filth Regime and Bloody Scythe, do you feel these 2 labels have been very helpful when it comes to getting your music out there heard?

Yeah, for the most part. Jordan and Eli at both labels are rad. But we’re just very lucky to have people wanting to put our shit out in the first place.

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

People into this genre are very friendly and supportive all around. Give what you get really, It’s just amazing to see how much respect as well as judgement goes on in this community. Locally and world-wide.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
New bass player, Same feel. But more fucked. Progression is never a bad thing.

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?

The Influences and musical styles of Flash Out was us originally playing Japanese hard-core type stuff . Like Bastard//Lip Cream//Death Side//in late ’07 (No recordings unfortunately) Now going more in the musical direction of Terrorizer//Disrupt and tons of other wicked bands. We listen to a lot of shit, but mainly the band is influenced by life . We feel this shit because it's real.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Staying in town.

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

Abyss/Heretical Anatomy/20 Buck Spin/2015 CD Review

  Abyss  are  a  band  from  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Heretical  Anatomy"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  20  Buck  Spin.

  Dark  sounding  ritualistic  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal/grindcore  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  growling  yet  understandable  vocals  are  added   onto  the  recording  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  morbid  sounding  melodies.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  influences  from  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's  in  the  bands  musical  style  but  the  production  and  the  way  they  approach  the  music  makes  it  sound  more  better  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  death  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  d  beats  ban  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them.

  Abyss  takes  the  rawest  sounds  of  old  school  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  update  the  sound  for  the modern  day  with  a  touch  of  crust  and  d  beat,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  based  on  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  Abyss  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  brutal  and  old  school  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore,  crust  and  d  beat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heretical  Anatomy"  "Flesh  Cult"  and  "Nightmares  In  Skin".  8  out  of  10.

    

Theories/Regression/Metal Blade Records/2015 CD Review

  Theories  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore,  crust  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Regression"  which  will  be  released  on  March  24th  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  fast  crust/grindcore  direction  which  also  utilizes  high  pitched  screams  and  blast  beats  and  you  can  also h ear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times   the music  can  be  very  technical  with  the  riffs  without  losing  the  raw  crust  and  grind  approach  and  after  awhile  deep  death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of t he  songs  avoid  using  any  solos  and  leads  and  focuses  more  on  a  modern  style  of  death/grind.

  Theorie s creates  a  very  modern  death/grind  album  that  also  bring s in  a  touch  of  crust  and  power  violence  which  also  makes  their  songs  have  a  bit  more  originality  to  them,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  discontentment,  economic  uncertainty,  environmental  catastrophes,  and  the  inevitable  cycle  of  decay.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Theories  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death metal,  grindcore,  crust  and  power  violence,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Burnt  Concrete"  "Abortive  Crescent"  "Swimming  In  Mud"  and  "Landfill".  8  out  of  10.