Blurring/Cloud Burner/2017 EP Review

  Blurring  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  technical  form  of  grindcore  along  with  some  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "Cloud  Burner".

  Angry  shouts  along  with  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  a  few  seconds  later  that  are  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  black  metal  and  the  music  also  gets  very  technical  at  times.

  All of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  experimental  elements  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls a re  added  onto  the  recording  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  solos  and  leads.

  Blurring  plays  a  style  of  grindcore  that  is  very  technical  while  also  adding  in  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of   their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Blurring  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  grindcore  band  with  some  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Casket  Black"  and  "Cloude  Burner".  8  out  of  10.  

Drap/Roten Till Allt Ont/Xtreem Music/2017 CD Review

  Drap  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Roten  Till  Allt  Ont"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  also  mixes  in  elements  of  crust  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount of  Swedish  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  d  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  album  also  always  remains  very  heavy  and  brutal.

  On  this  recording  Drap  takes  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  brutal  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Drap and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grindcore,  crust  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ner  Pa  Kna"  "Overvald"  and  "Nederlag".  8  out  of  10. 

Sharzall/Black Sun/NRT Records/2017 CD Review

  Sharzall  are  a  band  from  Slovakia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  goth  metal,  dark  rock  and  post  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Black  Sun"  which  was  released  by  NRT  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  they  start  mixing  in  with  a  heavier  sound  that  is  in  more  of  a  goth  metal  fashion  along  with  some  touches  of  post  punk  along  with  some  clean  vocals  that  also  get very  aggressive  at  times  with  a  few  death  metal  growls.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a very  melodic  fashion  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  also  has  its  symphonic  moments  as  well  as  mixing  in  elements  of  dark  rock  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Sharzall  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth,  dark  rock,  and  post  punk  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sharzall  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth  metal,  dark  rock  and  post  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hell  Quit"  "Way  To  Die"  "Black  Sun"  and  "Frozen  Touch".  8  out  of  10.

Mesrine Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
DAN: The band has been very, very quiet since the album has been recorded. We took a sort of 'break' for a while. It only came out a couple weeks ago so up until now we have played the Earslaughter Fest in Montreal, and we have a show in july opening for D.R.I. in Quebec. Two members of the band had kids in the last few months so we have less time for shows and rehearsals.

2.Recently you have released a 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?
DAN: Well it's still old school grindcore, it's what we have been known for playing for the last 20 years. We are not about to get technical and add any new school ingredients to our stuff. I think it's probably our most diverse album, it's like a mix of the last three albums with death, crust and even
some crossover/thrash influences. Having two guitarists now and a new bass player (hi Seb!), their influences have brought a couple different ideas than before. But it's still raw, basic and in your face.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?
DAN: For the most part only our vocalist Steve knows what the fuck he's talking about 'coz we didn't include the lyrics, so i don't know! But the subjects are mostly about serial killers, or strange people who have done strange things. Like 'Matricule 728' which is about a fat lesbian cop from
Montreal who got caught beating up and insulting people on various occasions for no apparentreason. We just thought it was funny. Or 'Colosse is back again', which is about this dude from Quebec who spent about 30 something years in prison and the second he got released he tried to rob a bank and got thrown right back in jail (which we also thought was funny). '12$' is basically about exhorbitant beer prices in bars! It's all non-serious stuff, mostly black humor or dumb shit and alot of fictional stuff about putting yourself in the shoes of a killer. Also some tracks have no lyrics at all.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mesrine'?
DAN: Again it's the serial killer theme. It's a fascination i have since i was a teenager and started reading and watching tv shows about serial killers. Jacques Mesrine was a french guy who is very well documented, just search him on google or wikipedia. Let's just say that he was a very interesting
character and has done some really incredible stuff.

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?
DAN: That's not an easy one, we've had lots of great shows. The Earslaughter a few weeks ago was pretty cool. The 2015 Obscene Extreme fest in Montreal, 2014 MDF, Vancouver 2007, tons of crazy shows in France, Germany, Czech Republic etc... Our live show is pretty straight forward, no speeches, costumes or gimmicks. Just 30 minutes of grindcore.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
DAN: No tour plans but only select shows here and there. Gig wise we will be much less active from now on.

7.Over the years you have been a part of a great amount of splits, can you tell us a little bit more about the bands you have shared these recordings with?
DAN: A lot of those splits were done with bands we are friends with (G.O.D., Deboned, Roger Moore, Septicémie, Fuck The Facts etc) and al ot are just suggestions from different labels who wanted to release something from us. Sometimes we made splits with bands we met on tour and liked them so we did a split with them. Our first split was very special for me and Fred as it was with the Brazilian band Rot, which was an influence for us when we started the band.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of grindcore?
DAN: In the underground grind scene we have mostly had positive feedback for the most part. Any negative reactions/reviews we don't really pay attention about it. We play DIY grindcore aimed at a DIY grindcore public, we don't care about big magazines/labels or media attention.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
DAN: That would be a question for our bass player Seb, as he has the most outside bands/projects going. But the main ones would be Fistfuck (grind/punk), Badass Commander (o.s. death metal) and Mighty Megalodon (stoner).

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
DAN: The same place we have always been. Just old school grindcore.

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?
DAN: Personally old Napalm Death, Agathocles, Blood, Grave, old E.N.T. etc. Every member has their own influences but it's mainly old school grind/death/crust/thrash stuff.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
DAN: 1)Craft beer 2)Pro-Wrestling 3)Travelling

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
DAN: Thanx for the interview and check out our new album. Get in touch through our facebook for shirts/CD's/records and ask what we have available.
Cheers


D7i Records:
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d7irecords
bandcamp: http://d7irecords.bandcamp.com/

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d7irecords@hotmail.com

The Blight/Meditations On Insignificance/Tridroid Recordings/2017 CD Review

 

  The  Blight  are  a  band  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric and  harsh  form  of  noisecore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Meditations  On  Insignificance"  which  will  be  released  on  July  28th  by  Tridroid  Recordings.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  noisecore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blat  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  mixing in  harsh  power  electronics,  atmospheric  synths  and  sci  fi  style  vocals  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.


  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  mange  to  capture  brutality  without  any  use  of  electric  guitars  and  the y songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  harsh  noise  elements  while  also  having  an  avant  garde  and  improve  feeling  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  touches  of  ambient  and  a lot  of  the  tracks  get  very  experimental.

  The  Blight  plays  a musical  style  that takes  noisecore,  harsh  noise,  ambient  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  an  original  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  song  themes  focus  on  space,  galaxy  and  the  universe.

  In  my  opinion  The  Blight  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  noisecore,  harsh  noise,  ambient  and  experimental  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Humanity"  and  "Galaxy".  8  out  of  10.  

Summer Complation #1/Give Praise Records/2017 COmpilation Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  summer  compilation  from  Give  Praise  Records  which  mostly  consists  of  grindcore,  crust  and  power  violence  bands  and  we  will  review  each  track  individually.

  Eaten  brings  us  "Demise"  which  is  mostly  a  very  fast  grindcore  song  with  death  metal  growls,  power  violence  elements  and  melodic  guitar  leads  along  with  a  few  d  beats  and  also  having  some  mid  tempo  riffing.

  Embalming  Theatre  brings  us  "Amputation  Of  The  Wrong  Leg"  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  song  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  also  mixes  in  an  old  school  death  metal  vibe.

  Fubar  brings  us  "Consumed"  a  song  that  mixes  death  metal  with  grindcore  and power  violence  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  leads  and  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and f ast  parts

  Grave  Plague  brings  us  "Halls  Of  The  Rotten"  which  is  mostly  in  the  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  tradition.

  Herida  Profunda  brings  us  "Eat  Before  Rot"  a  song  that  mixes  the  old  school  gore/grind  style  in  with  elements  of  crust.

  Jesus  Crost  brings  us  "Bitsocker"  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  song  which  also  mixes  in  some  deathcore  and  slam  touches.

  Keitzer  brings  us  "Salvation"  a  very  fast  and  brutal  song  that  mixes  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  together  while  also  displaying  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  in  the  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Krigblast  brings  us  "Dawn  Of  The  Apocalypse"  a  song  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  grindcore  but  also including  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Traffic  Death  brings  us  "Nobody  Survives"  a  short  song  that  mixes  doom  metal  with  brutal  grindcore.

  Unholy  Grave  brings us  "Mental  Disease"  a  very  short  yet  brutal  song  that  mixes  grindcore  and  crust  together.

  Whisker  Biscuit  brings  us  "Wake  Up"  a  song  that  is  more  in  a  traditional  hardcore  punk  and  crust  style  while  also  being  very  old  school.

  In  conclusion  I  fell  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death  metal,  crust,  grindcore  and  punk.  8  out  of  10.

 

Atomck/Every Room In Britain/SuperFi/Wooaaargh/Made In The Meth Lab/Rip Roaring Shit Storm/Stop Talking/2017 LP Review

  Atomck  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  punk,  noise  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Every  Room In  Britain"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  SuperFi,  Wooaaargh,  Made  In  The  Meth  Lab,  Rip  Roaring  Shit  Storm,  and  Stop  Talking.

  A  short  into  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  which  also  uses  melodies  at  times  as  well  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  mixes  crust  punk  with  grindcore  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  short  in  length.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  noise  and  hardcore  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  solos or  leads.

  Atomck  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to t he  crust  punk,  noise  and  grindcore  mixture  of  previous releases,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording f rom  Atomck  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust,  noise,  and  grindcore  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Full  Of  Sell"  "Prseton  Slayer  Fans"  "Misery  Trance"  and  "Anguish  Champion".  8  out  of  10.