Ashcloud/Abandon All Hope/Xtreem Music/2015 CD Review

  Ashcloud  are  an  international  band  with members  from both  England  and  Sweden  that  plays  a  crusty  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Abandon  All  Hope"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  A  very  dark, heavy  and  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some spoken  word  parts  and  clean  playing  being  added  in  at  times  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  mostly  a  growling  fashion  along  with  a  few  high  pitched  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  the  songs  have  more  of  a  Swedish  feeling  to them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  music  also  adds  in  influences from  crust  and  d  beat  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain true to  an  old  school  style  of  death  metal  and  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's the  production  makes  the  songs  sound  more  modern.

  Ashcloud  plays  a  style  of  Swedish  death  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  also  mixes  in  the  raw  energy  of  crust  and  d  beat,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Post  Apocalyptic  Horror,  Horror,  Death  and  Darkness.

  In  my  opinion Ashcloud  are  a  very  great  sounding  crusty  death  metal  band  and if  you  are  a  fan  of this  musical  genre,  you  should check  out this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Abandon  All  Light"  "Drowning  In  Your  Own  Blood"  and  "The  Second  Wind  Is  Coming".  8  out  of  10.       

Mindful Of Pripyat/...and deeper, I Drown in Doom/Bizarre Leprous Productions/2015 CD Review

  Mindful  Of  Pripyat  are a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album "/...and deeper, I Drown in Doom"  which  was released  by Bizarre Leprous Productions

  Ambient  noise  style sound  effects start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  that  uses  a  great  amount of  blast  beats,  death  metal  growls  and  high  p[itched  screams  along  with  a  small  amount  of  guttural  vocals  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  track  being  a  little  over  2  minutes.

  Elements  of  crust  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with all  of  the  tracks  avoiding  any  use  of  guitar  solos  or  leads  and  they  also  bring  in  Unseen  Terror  and  Defecation  covers  that  are  also  more  brutal  than  the  original  versions  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples.

  Mindful  Of  Pripyat  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  heaviest,  rawest  and  most  brutal  elements  of  crust,  death  metal  and  grindcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mindful  Of  Pripyat  are  a  very  great  sounding  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  "Containment"  "Cleansed  By  Fallout"  "Mindful  Of  Pripyat"  and  "Impressions  Of  A  Sick  Mind". 8  out  of  10.   

 

Degenerhate/Chronicles Of the Apocalypse/Sliptrick Records/2015Full Length Review

  Degenerhate  are  a  band  from  from  Italy  that plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Chronicles  Of  The  Apocalypse"  which  was  re-issued  in  2015  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  A  very dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with some  noises  in the  background  which  also  appear  on  the  outro  as  well  and  after  the  intro  the music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  growls  bring  a  touch  of  death  metal  into  the  bands  musical  style.    

  Elements  of  crust  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  spoken  word  samples  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  melody  while  the  music  for  the  most  part  sticks  to  a  brutal  musical  style and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  thee band  also  brings  in  a  couple  of  covers  with  Blood  and  Fear  Of  God  being  the  bands  covered  and  a couple  of  the  later  tracks  brings  in a brief  use  of  solos  and  leads  and  a  later  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars..   

  Degenerhate  plays  a  very  brutal  style  of  grindcore  that  they  also  mix  in  with  elements  of  crust  and  death  metal  to create some  very  aggressive  music,  the  production sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  sociopolitical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Degenerhate  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  grindcore  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Earth  First"  "Behind  the  Black  Horizon"  "Breeding  Hatred  Inside"  and  "Turn  Of  The  TV,  Turn  On  The  Brain".  8  out  of  10.  

     

Double Me Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Hey!
First of all I'd like to thank you for this interview!
We are a four piece band from Padova / Venice (Italy) active since the end of 2012, we play a mix of powerviolence and grind. In these years we recorded a Demo and two 7" splits, the first with LIFES from US and the second one with HAN SOLO from Milan.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
We play a kind of mixture between grind and powerviolence, but we use to put some sludge parts. At the end we can say that we like to alternate the fast parts to the slow ones.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Most of the lyrics talk about personal diseases due to the social "life". The difficulties to be part of a community that don't want you to think, needs you to be an automaton. The necessity to find a good and constructive relationship with the people that surround you.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Double Me'?
It's really simple to explain. It means that if you want to do something important for you and your beliefs, you have to twice the commitment reach your goals. When we started we put ourselves into this with a lot of energy and passion. The reasoning is symbolic.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our performances are really short. We play 15 minutes shows. No time to finish a song that we already start the following one. It's a kind of one session. I think it can be defined powerful.
We had a lot of good memories with the band. The first time we played in Bologna or Milan, the shows with Coke Bust, ACxDC or Citizen Patrol, Go! Fest in Rome... Each one was great for different reasons. Meet old friends, the good response of the audience, the guy that come to you to tell you he enjoyed your songs. And obviously play in the same band with people you love to deal with.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We had to play in Austria few weeks ago but we had to cancel the shows due to some personal problems. We are trying solve them. Nothing carking but we prefer to be avoid them and start again with the right energy.
We have only a show set in Padova with Cloud Rat and some other proposal but we'll see what happens.

7.Recently you where a part of a split with 'Han Solo', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
We played more that a year ago in Bologna with HAN SOLO. Some of us already met at some gigs around Italy but nothing more. When both bands finished their performances we started talking all night long about how cool would be to split a record. It was a consequence of a wonderful night.
What can we say about HAN SOLO? They are nice guys, good friends and a great band. We chose to be into the split with them for these reasons. I can't split anything with a band that I can't respect.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of thrashcore, power violence and grind?
It's strange. We have some good feedback in Italy but not so much. People here are more focused and trapped into 80's hardcore. This doesn't mean it's wrong but I think we can't stuck ourselves into the old memories. Music changes, we need a good refresh. On the other side we had some great feedback all over the world, due to the good labels that helped us. Some people wrote me to buy our record from a lot of countries in Europe, Australia, US and Latin America. maybe we are not the most loved band in the Earth but some people appreciate what we do hehehe

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We chose to have a full length as soon as possible. We are practicing some new songs. I hope we can start recording them all at the end of the year. We still don't know if it will be  7", 10" or 12". Right now we are part of two collections with some unreleased tracks.
The first is a compilation run by ZAS AUTOPRODUZIONI that collect most of the grind / powerviolence bands from all over Italy. The second one is a kind of 13 ways split with all the powerviolence Italian band (xKATEXMOSHx, ANF, REPULSIONE, HAN SOLO and many others cool bands).

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?
Really difficult question. About the bands that influenced our style we can talk about Magrudergrind, ACxDC, Despise You, Full of Hell, Weekend Nachos, Spazz, Infest, Municipal Wast and a many many others.
On the other side Double Me members listen to a lot of kinds of music. From PV to Punk Rock, from Rap to Noise. Everything that catch our attention for more than 5 seconds hehehe

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Reading, Films, sometimes other human beings hehehe

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We want to thank you for your support and for the time you spent for us. It means a lot to us. It's obvious to thanks all the labels and friends that helped us with the releases and the gigs. DIY culture it's still alive fortunately!
Really thanks!!!!!

Noisem/Blossoming Decay/A389 Recordings/2015 CD Review

  Noisem are  a  band  from Maryland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  death  metal,  thrash  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album "Blossoming  Decay"  which  was  released  by  A389  Recordings.

  Noise  style  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  sound that  mixes  thrash  and grindcore  together  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  chaotic  style  of  extreme  metal.

  Melodies  at  times  mix  in  with  the  more  brutal  style  of  playing  and  the  screaming  vocals  also  add  a  touch  of  hardcore  punk  into  the bands  musical  sound  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on the  recording  sound  very  powerful  and  the  harsh  noise  sounds  also  return  in  certain sections  of  the  recording  and the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great amount of  death  metal  influences.

  Noisem  creates  a  musical  style  that  mixes  the  most  brutal  elements  of  thrash,  death  metal,  grind,  and hardcore  punk  together  along  with  a  touch  of  noise  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Noisem  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Burning"  "Hostile  End  /  Hollow  Life"  "Another  Night  Sleeping  In the  Cold"  and  "Blossoming  Of  The  Web".  8 out  of  10.     

Maruta/ Remain Dystopian/Relapse Records/2015 CD Review

  Maruta  are  a  band  from  Florida  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Remain  Dystopian"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Relapse  Records.

  A very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  as  well  as  a  touch  of  technical  death  metal  and  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length.

  Elements  of  crust  and  power  violence  can be  heard  quite  a bit  throughout  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  harsh  noise  sounds  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  melodies  with  the  more  brutal  style  of  playing  at  times  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Maruta  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  most  brutal  elements  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust  and  mixes  them together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent and  angry  themes.

  In my  opinion Maruta  are  a  very  great sounding  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  "Hope  Smasher"  "Minimal  Progress"  "Erode"  and  "Slaying  Jehova".  8  out  of  10. 

King Parrot/Dead Set/Agonia Records/2015 CD Review

  King  Parrot  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash,  grind,  punk  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Dead  Set"  which  was  released  by  Agonia  Records.

  A  very  heavy  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  before  mixing  in elements  of  thrash  and  high  pitched  screams  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  songs  also  bring in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  hardcore  style  back  up  gang  vocals  at  times.

  Death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  riffs  that also  mix  thrash and  punk  together  and  the  music  also  can get  very  brutal  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  an  old  school  extreme  metal  feeling  to  the  recording.  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  musical  direction  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  King  Parrot  creates  another  album  that  takes  the  elements  of  hardcore,  grind,  punk  and  thrash  to  create some  music  that  has  an  old  school  foundation  but  done  with  a  more  modern  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover angry  and  real  life  themes.    

   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  "Need  No  Savor"  "Like  A  Rat"  "Sick  In  the  Head"  and  "Dead  Set".  8  out  of  10.