Terminal Nation/Absolute Control/Deep Six Records/2017 EP Review

  Terminal  Nation  are  a  band  from  Arkansas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore,  grind  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Absolute  Control"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Deep  Six  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  a  some  touches  of  harsh  noise  before  adding  in  heavy  riffing  and  aggressive  hardcore  style  vocals  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  elements  of  grind  and  power  violence  can  be  heard.

  A decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of   the  songs  while  back  up  gang  shouts,  grindcore  and  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  solos  and  leads  and  the  music  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the recording.  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Terminal  Nation  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore, g rind  and  power  violence  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Terminal  Nation   are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore,  grind,  and  power  violence  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Numb  To  The  Pain"  "Hand  That  Feeds"  "Violator_Violated" and  "Broken".  8  out  of  10.

   

Pain Tank/97,901,726 Confirmed Kills/Edgewood Arsenal Records/2017 CD Review

  Pain  Tank  are  a  band  from  Washington  D.C  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "97,901,726  Confirmed  Kills"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Edgewood  Arsenal  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  awhich  also  leads  up  to  vocals  that  bring  in  a  mixture  of  hardcore  shouts  and  grindcore  screams  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls.

  When  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  solos  and  leads  and  the  music  always  sticks  to a  heavy  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Pain  Tank  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore  and  grind  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyric  cover  war  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pain  Tank  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dollar  Sign  Suicide"  "Driving  Back  the  Occupier"  "When  Integrity  Means  Death"  and  "Barcodes  And  Byproducts".  8  out  of  10.

Abuse/Nothing Is Safe/Comatose Music/2017 CD Review

 

  Abuse  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  noise.  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  album  "Nothing  Is  Safe"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Comatose  Music.

  Crowd  noises  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  short  in  length.

  At  times  the  vocals  can  get  very  guttural  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  at  times  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  mix  in  elements  of  slam  while  some  of  the  faster  sections mix  in  the  raw  energy  of  noisecore  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  riffing  starts  incorporating  more  melody  and  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Abuse  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  brutal,  guttural  and  slamming  form  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  some  noise  and  grindcore  influences  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  rape,  killing,  and  misogyny  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abuse  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal,  noise,  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gibbeted"  "I'm  So  Horny"  "Swine"  and  "Bitchkabob".  8  out  of  10.   

Kriegszittern/Minenfeld/Caligari Records/2017 Split Cassette Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Germany's  Kriegszittern  and  Minenfeld  which  was  released  by  Caligari  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Kriegszittern  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  distorted  drones  along  with  some  dark  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  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  to  bring  in  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat  along  with  90's  death  metal  influences.

  Most  of  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also b ring  in  a  great  amount  of r aw  and  primitive  aggression  and  throughout  their side  of  the  recording  you  can  hear a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  high  pitched  screams  are  used  briefly  along  with  the  music  always  remaining  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  death,  loss  and  sacrifice  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Kriegszittern  and  if  you re  a  fan  of  crust  and  death  metal,   you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Green  Hell"  and  "Dance  Of  Death".

  Next  up  is  Minenfeld  a  band  that  plays  a  war  themed  style  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  music  and  commericial  samples  form  the  world  war  era  before  going  into  a  darker  yet  heavy  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on their side  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of raw  and  primitive  elements.

  Most  of  their  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  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  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo picking,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a mixture  of  English  and  German  cover  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Minenfeld  are  a  very   great  sounding  war  themed   death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Assault"  and  "On  Gruesome  Pathways".

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

    

Cancelled Interview

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

Cancelled is a project that I started a few years back while on tour with Fuck the Facts. During long drives I would tinker away with lyrics and ideas on my computer and eventually pull them all together when I get home. TO this day I am always finding myself writing music and wanted to try doing something completely on my own which was, and is, very different from any other band I’ve been in. I very much enjoy the collaboration between different individuals yet also relish the chance and the challenge to make something with only my own critical faculties to work with. It’s definitely a lot harder not having some other people to bounce ideas off of but it’s been a rewarding process so far.

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

It’s mainly a bass driven sound with all programmed drums with some synth layers added here and there. It turned out better than I expected and I feel that having Kurt (Ballou) mix it had a huge hand in that.

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

Mostly personal shit that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. This one is mainly focused on the darkness that we all bring out of each other and how we disguise the worst sides of ourselves. Writing is always about self-exploration and growth for me and I find myself in bad places if I don’t purge some music and words out of myself regularly.

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

Honestly, I thought it would funny on a poster. That being said I may never do it in a live environment. Funny, right?

5.With this project you record everything by yourself, do you feel this adds to the creativity of the music?

It’s different for sure. It’s truly made me appreciate all the other musicians that I write with. Just having one additional opinion does wonders for squashing self-doubt about something. This one was difficult to release and I even toyed with the idea of scrapping it because I felt as though it was too personal and I felt overly vulnerable releasing it. All in all I think it’s made me grow as a musician and a songwriter.

6.I have read that you are also looking for musicians for a live line up, have you had any luck with it?

Haven’t even asked anyone yet and I may never. If someone is interested in collaborating or helping me out I’d definitely be interested but as it stands right now it’s all just on record.

7.On a worldwide level ho has the feedback been to your recordings by fans of experimental and underground music?

Not sure about a worldwide level but for those I’ve showed it to it’s been a positive reaction. I want people to enjoy it but I’m not going to be bummed if not that many people end up hearing it. Curious to see what happens.

8.What is going on with the other band these days that you are a part of?

Greber is in the process of finishing a full length LP which we plan to release this year. I’ve also recently started a band with Matt Fleming and Nick Daleo of the late Hoosier Poet (Hamilton, ON) who are both heroes of mine so needless to say I’m pretty stoked for both those things. (Look up Hoosier Poet if you get a chance)

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

Just writing more. I really enjoy picking apart songs and asking people how they write which inevitably gets me more stoked and drives me to write more. Hopefully I’ll be heading into the future as a better musician than I was in the past. We’ll see.

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?

I really like bands that are fearless and don’t care how others will take what they do. I take a lot of inspiration from visual artists. I feel as though it takes a ton of heart to commit to making something that most people either won’t get or think is brainless. I love that. I’ve been listening to Toronto, ON’s “Ayahuasca” a ton. Their last album “Yin” is a fucking masterpiece. THAT’s some fearless shit.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Fuck. Not much. I think I need to get into some other shit. I like to read a fair amount and skateboard in the summer. This dude needs some fucking hobbies eh?

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

Thanks a ton for the interview and for giving the EP an opened-eared listen. These questions were great! Much appreciate friend!!

UK Hate Grind Interview

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

UKHATEGRIND are still doing the same thing really. Chilling up at chucks, getting as high as possible and writing brutal shit and that's that.

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

Brutal, aggressive, fast, yet catchy and full of wonderful grooves to dance with the family to.

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

(merv) I write about anything whether it be animals gathering together and farting cum over one another, somebody being an utter twonk and getting brutally fisted against they're will and the list go's on and on. Can be real events or fictional but as long as it either makes people laugh, get pissed off or just generally offensive in any way, jobs a good'n.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'U.K Hate Grind'?

It was just a play on words from UKHC. In school '98 I was pissing around, jotted down UKHG in one of my books and it just stuck. Sounds aggressive and to the point we reckon.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain a duo?

We'd be up for working with others I reckon, but I do like the fact it's just us two fucktards doing what we like when we like. If say, Adam Jarvis or Dave Witt wanted to drum We wouldn't say no.

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?

Never played live but if we did it would be absolutely nuts and extremely sexual, hehe.

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

No touring or shows planned.

8.You have a split coming out with 'Black Skies Burn', what are your thought on the other band that had participated on the recording?

We've know those twerps for several years now through playing shows etc with previous bands and they are a bunch of mongoose molesting pig fisters so yea, they're good dudes for sure.

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

Only ever had good feedback tbh. For example "Your music makes me want to rape and kill everyone including myself" that was a good phrase so that's a positive in the UKHG book. There's always going to be haters though and I bloody love it, so keep the hate coming people.

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

We'll never change our style that's for sure, it'll only get more aggressive and better or worse, depending on your outlook on things. If we decide to play live then hopefully we'll get to destroy the world with our cocks.....I mean music.

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 take influence from many genres of music but for UKHG some bands to name would be Dying Fetus, Discordance Axis, Demolition hammer, agoraphobic nosebleed/Pig destroyer/ Enemy soil to the real brutal extreme bands such as Spineshank, Kittie and even Radish. Generally keep it old school, ain't no school like the old school.

12.What are some of your non
musical interests? (Merv) personal training, getting high and part time duck bashing. (Chuck) other than music production I train kick boxing, get high and participate in door to door cat fisting.

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

Mordbrand/Wilt/Carnal Records/2017 CD Review

  Sweden's  Mordbrand  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  d  beat  influenced  style  of  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Wilt"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  Carnal  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  after  a  few  seconds  death  metal  growls  and  melodic  riffing  makes  their  presence  known  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  d  beat  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  is  also  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  while  having  a  more  modern  production  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  couple  of  tracks  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  synth  instrumental  before  closing  the  album  with  a  heavier  tune.

  Mordbrand  creates  another  recording  that  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  d  beat  style  of  old  school  death  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mordbrand  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  d  beat  and  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Delivering  The  Gods"  "Thrones  Of  Glorious  Death"  and  "Give  In  Into  Oblivion".  8  out  of  10.