Exhaustion demo

It took me a while to believe the hype about now-departed hardcore unit Throats, but when I finally saw them live it all made sense. I came away from that show with bloodied knuckles and ripped clothes, thinking "But I don't even like them?".

I went home and listened to the self-titled 12" I'd apparently purchased in a concussive haze, and all their secrets were revealed. I became obsessed with them, just as they announced they were disbanding at the end of 2010. Yet another case of a UK band cut down in their prime, I wasn't the only one lamenting their loss.

When I heard that a couple of the members had a new band on the go, so much time had passed that it raised only the mildest curiosity. Since seemingly everyone who had a hardcore band 3 years ago is now playing substandard pretentious bollocks of some variety, from electro to doom, I assumed they would have lost their youthful intensity and have recorded something similarly 'mature'. How fucking wrong I was.

Exhaustion's demo is just as blistering as Throats ever were, if not more so. From the piercing feedback that announces opener 'Ennui', a searing series of blastbeats and bile that's over almost before you can register that it's begun, through the ultra-distorted grind of 'Strangeness In The Strangeness', it seems I've found another band to hang my hopelessness on.

'Inessential' is a total fucking mess, blending everything from blackened tremolo, d-beat, sickening retches instead of remotely human vocals, all within a minute. 'Conceit' is a death-tinged grind that sounds like the band beat the vocalist close to death before dumping him down a well to record his vocals. The guitar work in the closing seconds is utterly mind-scrambling; I'd imagine the tab for this track would probably look like it was written by aliens.

There isn't much in terms of variety on offer, with penultimate track 'Liminal' continuing their penchant for torturous noise in the vague semblance of grind, but who needs 'songs' when you have sheer fucking fury?

Closing track 'Perfection Misunderstands The Ends...' actually has a vaguely melodic intro, the woozy, bluesy twin guitar harmony setting up the devastating d-beat attack which soon follows nicely. The constituent elements of this track are given a bit more breathing space here, allowing you to actually keep up with what's going on, which will be handy in a live environment; you might actually leave the gig with your sanity intact.

This demo is a hugely promising sign that Exhaustion will fulfil the potential that Throats displayed all those years ago. I highly recommend you take eleven minutes out of your day and get really fucking angry about it.

I highly recommend purchasing an actual tape from Church Of Fuck.

Old Skin - MÆRE

Manchester is churning out some fucking great bands at the moment, between the dark hardcore of Esoteric Youth, the putrid grind of Swinelord, the chaotic noise of Pine Barrens, the blistering blackened racket of Under The Horns and Cold Fell, and the caustic hardcore of Old Skin, I can't wait 'til my next opportunity to get down there again and check out some shows. Andrew at Dry Cough sent me a sampler of Old Skin material, and I was totally blown away by it.

Although this sampler only contains 3 minutes of music, its so packed with ideas, devastatingly delivered, its enough to have you spinning it ten times in a row. Old Skin recall a lot of the current crop of grind-inflected hardcore thats been making waves from across the pond for the past few years, and if you've been digging the filthy fury of Trap Them and the endless bands borrowing liberally from that template, you'll fucking love this.

Eschewing the done-to-death 'HM-2 + D-beat' formula and delivering pure, refined abrasive anger at whiplash-inducing tempo, Old Skin breath life into a sound you may have heard before, but played with a level of conviction that's refreshing.

As soon as they have more material recorded, I'll be first in line to have my ears assaulted.

There's not much info going about the band in terms of online presence, so I guess you'll just have to pay extra close attention to Manchester's currently excellent hardcore scene, and go see these guys (and all the other aforementioned bands) live the next chance you get.

Full Of Hell - Rudiments Of Mutilation

That Full Of Hell dabble in noise recordings on the side isn't exactly a secret, but the fact that they open their new album Rudiments Of Mutilation with such a challenging opening track as 'Dichotomy' serves to show just how seamlessly they are able to weave their penchant for abrasive noise into their just as confrontational hardcore.

The piercing feedback that screeches out of the speakers is a sharper, more painful proposition than the sub-sludge of many of the current crop of hardcore bands thieving from the monuments of His Hero Is Gone, and it serves to set Full Of Hell apart from the rest. The raw fury heard in Dylan Walker's wretched vocals is not forced or faked, it's the sound of true intensity.

This album is not something you listen to so much as suffer through, and I suspect that was the intention behind it. Throughout the course of Rudiments of Mutilation the many stylistic, atmospheric and momentum shifts will confront and eradicate your expectations, as well as serve to confirm that there is no band out there creating an erratic racket quite like Full Of Hell.

Stream this album over at the A389 Recordings bandcamp, buy it if ya dig it, and go see them live the first chance you get. Total acid-spitting fury. Numb Your Mind.

Read my full review at The Sleeping Shaman...

The Sounds Of The Great Grey North

Over the past couple of years there's been a great resurgence in the underground music scene in Scotland. And don't give me this "it's always been there man, you just have to know where to look" pish because I've been looking, for fucking years, and I doubt there are many that'd argue with me that this is the healthiest the scene has been for a long time.

Heavy bands, of all genres, from all over the country, have never been so plentiful, and with this years' inaugural North Of The Wall featuring a 100% Scottish line-up, and the continued draw of Les-Fest, it seems that there are plenty of people out there who recognise how great a time it is for the Scottish underground.

Anyway, the idea of this ongoing blog post was to collate as many of these fucking brilliant bands in one place, and give people a resource if they're looking to check out Aberdeen's grindcore scene, or see if there are any stoner rock fuckups from Glasgow they'd like to listen to with bong in hand, or where the nastiest, most malignant black metal from Edinburgh can be heard. Hopefully this will provide a starting point. Here we fuckin' go:

Atragon

[ http://www.atragon.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/AtragonDoom | http://atragon.bandcamp.com/ ]
Wizard-worshipping doom metal from Edinburgh. Formed in the cold, harsh winter of 2012 over a common disdain for mankind, Atragon worship at the altar of the riff. They desire only to bring about your doom through the powers of distortion, tube amplification & heathen ritual. Volume I available from Witch Hunter Records. See them live on just about every heavy music bill in Scotland.

Of Spire & Throne

[ http://www.ofspireandthrone.com/ | Of Spire & Throne on Facebook | http://ofspireandthrone.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Of Spire & Throne specialise in expansive blackened sludge, which is right up my street. Their latest release 'Vagary' is 21 minutes of torturous, mournful noise that will ruin your day. Go succumb to the misery over at their bandcamp.

Ommadon 

[ http://ommadon.blogspot.co.uk/ | Ommadon on Facebook | http://ommadon.bandcamp.com/ ]
Crushing doom with the impact of tectonic plates colliding. Two-headed dronebeast who record most of their output in isolation up in the Highlands.
All recordings (I-IV) available free through their bandcamp, as well as being collected into a discography tape available through Tartarus Records/Witches On Fire later this year, with new album V coming sometime in 2013.

Headless Kross

[ http://headlesskross.bandcamp.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/headlesskross ]

Psychedelic doom three-piece from Glasgow. Spacey, drawn-out stoner excursions with surprisingly harsh vocals. Recently released a split with Lazarus Blackstar on Head Of Crom which is well worth checking out. Stream it over at their bandcamp.

Sunsmasher

[ Sunsmasher on Facebook | http://sunsmasher.bandcamp.com/ ]

East Glasgow miserablists. Capable of producing a foul racket ranging from sludge to all out noise. One of my favourite local bands of recent times, they don't play anywhere near enough for my liking. Apparently recording new material this year, thank fuck, as I've been playing their Mammothian/Loud/Cult demo regularly for over 2 years now, and I'm fiending for new stuff. Gies a fix, eh guys?

Bacchus Baracus

[ http://bacchusbaracus.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/bacchusbaracus | New album streaming at Bandcamp ]
Glasgow's finest purveyors of whiskey-soaked barroom brawl anthems. Drummer/vocalist Qball manages to channel the hard-hitting groove of Clutch stickman JP Gaster as well as the erudite rasp of Neil Fallon. Catch them live and imbibe as many drinks as you can. New album available through Wasted State Records.

The Cosmic Dead

[ http://thecosmicdead.blogspot.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/thecosmicdead | http://thecosmicdead.bandcamp.com/ ]
All-out psychedelic warfare from Glasgow's most prolific band. In just a couple of years these guys have cemented themselves as one of the greatest exponents of Hawkwind/Amon Düül II worship, even securing a slot at this years Roadburn. If you dig long-form trips around the outer reaches of space, or if you just ingest a lot of substances and would like the ideal musical accompaniment, check out one of their squazillion releases right now.

Voe

[ https://www.facebook.com/voedoom | http://voedoom.bandcamp.com/ ]
The crushing isolation of travailing an endless barren landscape, set to a soundtrack of expansive, reverberating dronedoom. They only have one track on their bandcamp at the moment, but if they continue down the same bleak path, they'll be ones to watch out for if you like a heavy dose of misery in your doom.

Holy Mountain

[ http://www.holymountainband.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/HolyMountainBand |
I first saw these guys back when they were a duo that sounded like a feral lager-soaked High On Fire, though haven't managed to catch them live again since. I oughtta remedy that, as their latest release 'Earth Measures' (available through Chemikal Underground) is an absolute belter. If you don't believe me, either listen to it, or read this fucking hilarious review of it then listen to it.

Bisongrass

[ https://www.facebook.com/Bisongrassmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/BISONGRASS ]
I just missed out on Bisongrass' last show around my parts, so I guess I'll just foam at the mouth until the next time they come back down from Aberdeen. Anyway, they play solid as fuck stoner rock

No Island

[ https://www.facebook.com/noislandhc | http://nofuckingisland.bandcamp.com/ ]
I caught these guys when they opened for hardcore legends Negative Approach, and was suitable impressed with their intensity. I like my hardcore on the genuinely angry side with a wee bit of the old powerviolence thrown in, so these guys were right up my alley (at night, filled with big cunts that want to kick your head in). Get their EP Let Glasgow Perish off bandcamp and go about punching things.

Hush

[ https://www.facebook.com/hushofficial | http://hushofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Did any of you go see Black Breath when they first played Glasgow? Naw ye fuckin' didnae, because me and the guys who play in Hush were the only cunts there. Considering they played to an almost empty room, they let rip with the full force of their set, delivering an intense set of angular hardcore in the vein of Cursed, Converge et al. Go give their Night Music release a listen over at their bandcamp.

Filthpact

[ http://www.filthpact.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/Filthpact | http://filthpact.bigcartel.com/ ]
Crusty grind from Aberdeen. Haven't had the chance to see them play live yet, but I really dig their recent split (available through excellent Scottish noise/doom label At War With False Noise) with fellow grind bastards Sufferinfuck. Who I'll blather about now.

Sufferinfuck

[ http://sufferinfuck.blogspot.co.uk/ | http://www.reverbnation.com/sufferinfuck ]
Grindcore from West Lothian, these guys are fast as absolute fuck. Perhaps unsurprising for grindcore, I know, but there's a ferocity missing from so much modern grind that Sufferinfuck have in filthy spades, they eschew clinical precision in favour of just all out anger and aggression. Lovely stuff. Get their 'In Boredom' release for fuck all here.

Clocked Out

[ http://clockedout.tumblr.com/ | http://clockedout.bandcamp.com/ ]
Glasgow fastcore kings who have the most hyperactive frontman in the city. You really need to see this band live to get an idea of how manic their live show gets. They recently brought out a three-track 7" so go get that.

Skeleton Gong

[ http://www.skeletongong.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/skeletongong | http://skeletongong.bandcamp.com/ ]
Skeleton Gong are fuckin' weirdos. I recently caught them live for the first time, and was met with an intimidating amount of amplification, a double drumkit setup, and a bunch of wild-eyed guys rocking a variety of interesting headgear choices; dreadlocks, cowboy hats, baldys, all cross-sections of mad bastards are represented in the Gong. They also fucking rule, their thick syrupy sludge hitting somewhere between Weedeater and Kylesa, with a more cosmic angle. However you want to try and describe it yourself, gie it a go and download their album 'Eskimo Wizards & The Louisiana Swamp Priests' for free from their bandcamp.

Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair

[ Wheelchair x4 on Facebook | http://wheelchairwheelchairwheelchairwheelchair.bandcamp.com/ ]
More mad bastards, with an almost impossible to google name, Wheelchairx4 specialise in fastcore/powerviolence. I'm sure I've seen them live at some point but I'll be damned if I can remember where, when or who they played with. They've got an album, 'Contraception', up for free download over at bandcamp.

Dune

[ https://www.facebook.com/DuneEdinburgh ]

This relatively new Edinburgh band may not have any releases to their name as yet, but their space-themed sludge offerings have managed to snag them a support slot to EyeHateGod. I'm excited as hell to finally get to see them live, and you should be too. Get down to the EHG gig and support your local sludge band!
Also, buy a t-shirt off them because I drew it for 'em. SHAMLESS PLUG.

Isak

[ https://www.facebook.com/isakisloud | http://isakisloud.bandcamp.com/ ]
Homme-worshipping stoner grooves from the sun-kissed sandy wasteland of Dundee.

Cancerous Womb

[ https://www.facebook.com/cancerouswomb | http://cancerouswomb.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Cancerous Womb play repugnant grind-inflected death metal. They're currently in the process of recording their debut full-length, but until that sees the light of day check out their Fritzl-tastic 'Austrian Basement' Ep on bandcamp.

Cerebral Bore

[ https://www.facebook.com/cerebralboreofficial | http://www.reverbnation.com/cerebralbore ]

Perhaps best known for featuring youtube brutal vocal sensation Simone "Som" Pluijmers, who has now left the band, Glasgow's masters of brutality Cerebral Bore are signed to Earache records and have toured all over the world. Lucky cunts.

Skullwizard

[ Skullwizard on Facebook ]

I'm not sure how much of a full-time proposition Skullwizard are, but when I saw them live recently, they scared the shite out of me. Whoever their vocalist is, she went from wind-whistling shrieks that just about split my skull to dancing around to Journey's 'More Than A Feeling' mere minutes after their set had finished. A truly terrifying proposition.

Jackal-Headed Guard Of The Dead

[ https://www.facebook.com/jackalheadedguardofthedead | http://jackalheadedguardofthedead.bandcamp.com/ ]
Their own bio says it best: 'And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, for the earth had spat forth a most vile group of scum; borne loose with steely eyes and ravenous bellies. Their foul purpose is that most unnameable of horrors, the dark art in which even the most sinister backstreet necromancer in Cairo would not dare utter...doom metal. We are a doom band, who also like Lovecraft, weed, and films so raw they'll skullfuck your brain and leave you with a twitch. Enjoy, you cunts.'

Tommy Concrete And The Werewolves

[ https://www.facebook.com/TommyConcreteAndTheWerewolves | http://tommyconcrete.blogspot.co.uk/ ]

Lords of Bastard

[ https://www.facebook.com/lordsareloud | http://lordsofbastard.bandcamp.com/ ]
Self-styled psychedelic megariff dickheads from Edinburgh, the Lords Of Bastard play tightly-wound stoner weirdness that brings to mind Big Business or something equally as odd. Their drummer is tight as fuck. In depth review, eh? Give their latest album 'Cuddles' a blast and see for yourself, I can't do everything for you!

Co-Exist

[ https://www.facebook.com/Coexistgrind | http://coexistgrind.bandcamp.com/ ]
I've seen Co-Exist live but I'm fucked if I can remember who it was with. I remember being impressed by them anyway. This is another of Qball's bands, and couldn't sound more different from Bacchus Baracus, seeing as Co-Exist specialise in furious bursts of grind/death metal. Stream their newest EP 'Skelf' over at their bandcamp.

Horrors That You've Seen

[ https://www.facebook.com/horrorsthatyouveseen | http://htyshc.bandcamp.com/ ]
I first checked these guys out because their vocalist has the same name as a guy I went to school with. Wisnae him though. In their own words:
'Hardcore band from Edinburgh that play more Sludge and Doom than we do hardcore. Hardcore for fans of longer songs and slower riffs. Hardcore to get high to.'
Go get their latest recording 'Smokin, Skatin, Satan' off bandcamp because it's good.

Set Astray

[ https://www.facebook.com/setastraycrew | https://soundcloud.com/s-e-t-a-s-t-r-a-y ]
Hardcore created by angry young men from Stirling. Check them out if you like the NYHC sound and punching folk in the face. New EP available from Glasgow-based label Thanks For Nothing, you can grab a free download here.

Man Must Die

[ https://www.facebook.com/ManMustDie | http://manmustdie.bandcamp.com/ ]
Man Must Die hail from Glasgow and play crushing tech death that sounds like getting your head stuck in a concrete mixer filled with nails and broken glass. So, y'know, pretty good. They're currently recording a new album, and judging by the in-the-studio videos they're posting, it's gonna be fucking awesome when it's done.

Fifteen Dead

[ https://www.facebook.com/fifteendead | http://fifteendead.bandcamp.com/ ]
Fifteen Dead are from all over the shop, but get together to create a raging blackened crust racket reminiscent of Martyrdöd, Skitsystem and the rest of them manky Scando d-beat lot. The whole blackened crust thing is getting pretty big these days, and Fifteen Dead are defnitely in the upper echelons of that scene. Their stuff is available for pay-what-you-want download over at their bandcamp. I highly recommend you go chuck 'em a few pennies in exchange for their stuff.

Ablach

[ https://myspace.com/ablach ]

Ablach might be the only gaelic grindcore band in existence, but if I'm wrong and thereare more out there, please correct me as soon as fuckin' possible because Ablach are incredible. Hailing from Aberdeen, and taking their name from the gaelic for 'Mangled Corpse', they play fast, furious crusty grind with many not-so-subtle nods to their forefathers, both historical and musical.
You can get their album Aon from Moshpit Tragedy and Dha from Grindcore Karaoke. Those recordings feature covers of grind originators Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Terrorizer and Phobia strewn throughout the band's original material that has a mainly historical subject matter.

Bonesaw

[ http://scottishdeath.blogspot.co.uk/ | Bonesaw on Facebook | http://bonesaw.bandcamp.com/ ]
Why did no-one tell me about this band sooner? I mean, a quick trawl back through the archives of my blog will reveal I'm a total sucker for ugly primitive death/doom, and these guys deliver it in spades full of putrid gravedirt. Their facebook saws 'think Autopsy on a budget' and I'd say that's about right. Anyway, these decrepit bastards come from up Aberdeen way, so I think I'll be venturing up for a wee bit of death metal tourism next time they play. Fuckin' Bonesaw man... lovely stuff.

Easy Bake Oven

[ https://www.facebook.com/Easybakeovenofficial | http://easybakeovenofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Easy Bake Oven are a self-described 'Blackened Stoner/Doom' band from Glasgow. I caught them as local support at the Bison b.c./Black Cobra gig a few weeks back and was pretty fucking impressed with their disgusting sludge. Their EP 'Stoner Wisdom' is available for fuck-all over at bandcamp, so what are you waiting for? Get it!

Dog Tired

[ https://www.facebook.com/dogtiredmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/dogtired ]
Dog Tired are four-piece groove metal from Edinburgh. Think Pantera/Machine Head/Lamb Of God, with a sort of mid-90s Corrosion Of Conformity swagger. Check out their new album 'Titan', available on itunes/spotify.

Roll On Three

[ https://www.facebook.com/RollOnThree | http://rollonthree.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh bluesy stoners Roll On Three sound like Houdini-era Melvins with guest vocals by Phil Anselmo. At least that's the first impression I get listening to the recordings they have upon their bandcamp, though you should go download it for yourself and tell me I'm talking shite.
In fact, I'll tell myself; the Melvins weirdness is only present in opening track 'My Lost Way', the rest is a bastard hybrid of Down/Superjoint Ritual. So good, basically.

Zillah

[ https://www.facebook.com/zillahnoise | http://zillah.bandcamp.com/ | http://zillah.bigcartel.com/ ]
I first got into Zillah because their old guitarist Andrew Yates was proprietor/meat wizard at my favourite Glasgow food emporium Where The Monkey Sleeps. He's since left both Zillah and the Monkey, and now crafts towers of flesh in the kitchen of Nice N Sleazy. Go sink your teeth into the fucking best burgers in Scotland.
Anyway, enough of the food pimping, Zillah play scorching technical death-tinged metalcore, reminiscent of bands like Burnt By The Sun, which is a very good thing. All of their releases are available for free over at bandcamp, and I recommend their 'Substitute For A Catastrophe' album wholeheartedly. Get into it!

War Charge

[ https://www.facebook.com/warcharge | http://warcharge.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's War Charge play pissed off hardcore. You can stream their latest recording 'New World Justice' over at their bandcamp, and order it from Purgatory Records if it tickles your angry bone.

Prelude To The Hunt

[ https://www.facebook.com/preludetothehunt | http://preludetothehunt.bandcamp.com/ ]
Prelude To The Hunt play some of the foulest racket I've heard come out of Aberdeen since the accent. They recently released a split with Manchester's Esoteric Youth on Church Of Fuck, and deserve to be making as many waves as their Manc counterparts. Said split features a blistering cover of Cursed's 'Reparations', if that gives you a idea where they're coming from. I fucking love Cursed, so PTTH get an automatic thumbs up from me.

Dirtdrinker

[ https://www.facebook.com/DIRTDRINKER | http://dirtdrinker.bandcamp.com/ ]
Dirtdrinker are fucking disgusting. Coming across like a twistier Unsane with spazzy discordance ramped up to the max, this Aberdeen two-piece create the sort of noise that burrows their way nto your cranial cavity with their writhing, sludgey earworms. Absolutely horrible. I love them.

The Colour Pink Is Gay

[ https://www.facebook.com/thecolourpinkisgay | http://thecolourpinkisgay.bandcamp.com/ ]
Guaranteed to anger the PC brigade with a name like that, Glasgow-based tech metal motherfuckers TCPiG are a total heidfuck. I don't know how people can listen to this band without wanting to put a screwdriver into their ear canal just to make it stop. If the sound of Japanese cartoon themesongs played by mental patients through warfare grade amplification is your thing, these guys might be your thing. Remember the wonderfully absurd Take A Worm For A Walk Week? Aye, like that maybe.

Scordatura

[ https://www.facebook.com/Scordaturaofficial | http://scordatura.bandcamp.com/ ]
Scordatura play modern tech-y death metal. These Glasgow deviants will be supporting Fleshgod Apocalypse on their UK tour, so get down to Ivory Blacks in October and support your local brutalists. Until then, shred your fuckin' face off listening to their new album 'Torment Of The Weak'.

Exile The Traitor

[ https://www.facebook.com/ExileTheTraitor | http://exilethetraitor.bandcamp.com/ ]
Glasgow's Exile The Traitor play Swedeath-influenced metal that folk who dig Carcass' 'Heartwork' and At The Gates will be right into. They don't have much available for streaming at the moment, but what they do have is solid as fuck. Check them out on bandcamp.

Bleed From Within

[ https://www.facebook.com/bleedfromwithinband ]

These guys are from my hometown and are probably one of the best-known bands on this list. Who'da thunk a band from Hamilton of all shiteholes would get signed to Century Media and tour the world? If I'd known that, I would joined a band and gotten outta there fuckin' years ago. Ah well. Fair play to the Bleed From Within lads for doing so well. Musically they play tight, technical death-y metalcore, so give 'em a listen if that's yer bag!

Agonised Deformity

[ https://www.facebook.com/AgonisedDeformity | http://agoniseddeformity.bandcamp.com/ ]
These guys are from Carluke/Wishaw, two of the biggest shiteholes on the planet. I've seen Eastern European retirement homes with more life in them than those places. So it's only appropriate that Agonised Deformity play brutal, eardrum-obliterating, slam-worthy death metal, that ought to liven ol' Pishy Wishy up a bit! Stream their racket over at their bandcamp and mosh yer way down Wishy 'high street'.

Acatalepsy

[ https://www.facebook.com/AcatalepsyDeathMetal | http://acatalepsy.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Acatalepsy play proggy, weird death metal with occasional pretty intricate bits. So like Opeth, but not really. Their erratic staccato chugging takes a bit to wrap your head around if you're a braindead plodding sludge maniac like me, but they're definitely worth a listen. Do so at the usual place. You'd think bandcamp was fucking paying me to promote them, eh? I can only dream.

Maelstrom

[ http://www.maelstrom-metal.com/ | Maelstrom on Facebook | http://maelstromofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Remember Akercocke? The black metal band who played sweaty, Satan-conjuring shows decked out in the finery of Savile Row? Maelstrom sure do, adopting a similar aesthetic for their own gigs.
Scotland's metal gentlemen's blackened death has some symphonic elements, but don't let that put you off, they're not naff and overblown like so many bands who attempt a bit of keyboard noodling.

Coffinsplitter

There's pretty much nothing available online to prove these guys even exist. Pretty sure members of Clocked Out are involved, I've definitely seen them play a show together anyway. They were good. Get it together ya cunts.

Eagletomb

[ https://www.facebook.com/Eagletomb | stream 'Illiad' at Soundcloud ]
Edinburgh's Eagletomb play hypnotic doom. I'm pretty excited to get to see them play in a couple of weeks. Not much more to say than that, check them out if you like Sleep. Because who doesn't like Sleep?

Party Cannon

[ https://www.facebook.com/PartyCannonUK | http://partycannon.bandcamp.com/ ]
'Party Slam' from Dunfermline that basically sounds like the sort of thing you'd dance to at Obscene Extreme if you'd ingested the wrong cocktail of substances that day. Blastbeats and vodka and vocals that sound like hangover farts all in one band, how can you resist!?

Throne O Diablo

[ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Throne-o-Diablo/239517394648 | https://myspace.com/throneodiablo ]
Another band I saw supporting Black Breath a couple of years ago that I haven't really followed too closely, despite them being absolutely hilarious live. Are they meant to be? I don't know, but between the double-necked guitar and generally bizarre stage presence, I was laughing my arse off at them. But then I was also very very drunk.

Barshasketh

[ http://www.barshasketh.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/Barshasketh | http://barshasketh.bandcamp.com/ ]
Okay technically these guys hail from New Zealand, but seeing as they are currently based out of Edinburgh, they get included. Barshasketh play wintry black metal, so they should feel right at home up here in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, I know NZ gets winter too, but I couldn't think of anything cleverer to say. Check them out if you like it frostbitten.

Achren

[ http://www.achren.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/achrenmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/achren ]
Scotland's Achren produce a crushingly heavy and uncompromising brand of metal. Raw, razor sharp riffs; death metal growls; black metal screams and dark, brutally driving melody combine to create a unique and commandeering sound which has gained the name ‘Blood Metal.’

Heresy - 1985-87

I picked this up in Lisbon from the amazing Carbono record store which had a whole load of awesome vinyl encompassing the whole range of the heavy music spectrum. There were some real gems in there, I could have spent hours trawling their racks and brought home a hundred records, but I settled on some vintage Napalm Death as well as this little beauty.

The design and packaging is what you expect from an Eighties demo compilation, all black and white, cut and paste layout, and some great live shots on the sleeve. It also has one of my favourite album covers ever, I even have a patch of it helping hold my jeans together.

The first side opens with 'Never Healed', all ramshackle drums, buzzing guitar and incomprehensible yelling. Brilliant.
'Deprived' pulls no punches with it's immediate grinding three-chord progression, the drums and vocals racing to keep up. 'Mentally Conned' is all bouncing bassline until the drums and feedback cut in. This is one of the longest songs on the record, and is a bit more varied than the rest, the guitar alternating between between chugging along and a loose, squalling punk riff. It's fucking great.
'Blinded By Power' sounds like every other song until about 30 seconds in when the blastbeats hit, showing just how good these guys were at swinging between punk and proto-grind.

A fast blast of an instrumental gives way to 'Cries Of Wind' which has the first 'guitar solo' of the album, a strangled cry from the wrung neck of the fretboard. 'Disfigured World' opens with an almost nice intro, all tasteful hi-hat work and chiming guitar, which only serves to make the second part of the track seem so much harsher when it bursts into full-blown cacophony.

Another recording of 'Never Healed' opens up the second demo, which continues with 'Despair' and 'Deathbiter'. Deathbiter is another of those deceptive tracks which starts out calm enough (well, by comparison) before erupting into chaos. About halfway through they go into this groovy little section that actually gives you time to breathe before they sprint to the end ofthe first side.

The B side opens with 'Anguish of War' from the same session as the last couple of track, but it's 'More Blood Is Shed' from this demo that really stands out. It's the longest song on the whole record, much slower paced, with an almost thrash vibe to it. The playing on this track is much tighter now that they're not all racing against one another, it sounds great, though about a third of the way through it completely switches gears back up to hyperspeed, before closing out with a Metallica-esque riff. Yeah, you read that right.
'Dead' is the last track with this line-up of the band, before things go downhill in my opinion.

The next line-up features a different vocalist and guitarist, and I'm just not that into these tracks, specifically the vocals and lyrical content. They sound just like the countless knucklehead hardcore bands of this era, the apoplectic screech and apocalyptic words of Reevesy scrapped in favour of a 'less metal' approach according to the liner notes. Yeah, not into that idea at all.

I absolutely love the really early stuff on this compilation, but with the line-up change on conscientious about-turn in style towards the end, I lose interest. I haven't checked out any of the later recordings, as to me they just wouldn't measure up to the first incarnation of this band.

It turns out that Boss Tuneage records sells pretty much everything Heresy ever put out, you can snag this compilation from them here:
http://bosstuneage.bigcartel.com/artist/heresy

Hellmouth / Embrace The Kill / In Defence / Opposition Rising split 7"

You know what's awesome? When a record you knew nothing about comes through the post because your girl ordered it to your address so she could hear a vinyl-only demo recording of a song unavailable anywhere else, and needs to take over your record player to hear it. Thats how I came to be in possession of this little beauty.

Considering it's 'just' a 7", you get a lot of bang for yer buck, as it features four bands, flyers, a patch, and a lyric sheet. I'm always interested in hearing bands I haven't before, so I'm going to start with the three I'm unfamiliar with: In Defence, Opposition Rising, and Embrace The Kill.

Minneapolis' In Defence are up first with their track 'United Farces', which according to both the lyric sheet and the gang vocals, is about corporate bailouts, a subject most people are pretty angry about these days, perfect lyrical fodder for pissed-off hardcore.
This is hardcore verging more on the crossover side, with a few thrashy sections in the verses, and a few scuzzy solos thrown in. These guys should come over the pond and tour with Liverpool's SSS.

 

Opposition Rising, from Boston, continue the theme with 'FTW', which gives you a pretty good idea of what their viewpoint is. Fast-paced hardcore backs barked words of misanthropy, the chorus, somewhat obviously, being Fuck The World gang-shouted over and over. The music is tight and muscular, which is a bit of a stupid description, but it's what coems to mind listening to this track. It chugs along for a couple of verses before the pace slows for a breakdown before speeding back up for the final blast of fuck the worlds. Not usually my bag, but this was pretty damn good.

Embrace The Kill open the other side of the record with a fucking BIZARRE flamenco-sounding intro to their track 'Blacklisted'. The flamenco gives way to a bouncy rhythm with some tremolo picked guitar, which goes on for a few bars before another weird stylistic shift occurs. The vocals kick in, sounding like taking-the-piss black metal or something. Well, for one line anyway, before the vocal duties seem to split between two members, call and response style, the other voice having a guttural cookie-monster vibe. The first verse ends (I think, this song is impossible to keep up with), and there's a thrashy divebomb before another punked-up black metal-ish section kicks in. These guys clearly couldn't decide on what kinda band they wanted to be, so decided to do EVERYTHING. It doesn't exactly make for easy listening, but after a couple of spins, I appreciate it.
There's even a little Minutemen-esque jazz bass couple of seconds before the tempo lurches between mid-paced and a powerviolence blast. If you want to hear about a million ends of the punk spectrum, listen to this song. These guys must be fucking exhausted, and exhausting, when they play live.

Hellmouth sound like they couldn't have come from anywhere but the decay of Detroit, and they were the band that this record was purchased for. Their track is a demo version of 'Amen, Assholes', an anti-religious burst of bile with the crust-tastic chorus of 'No Gods, No Masters, Bow down to no bastards'.
I've heard the album version of this track countless times, but this version sounds rawer, looser.
The opening burst of rat-a-tat machine gun drums gives way to a ripper of a verse, ex-Suicide Machines vocalist Jay Navarro using his torn throat to lay into all religions, not just content with being antichristian, his words are equal-opportunity destroyers. No deity is safe.
I might be biased, but this is easily my favourite song on this split, it's short, sharp, and to the point, pulls no punches, and doesn't outstay it's welcome at just over a minute. Fucking great.

If you want a copy, there are still plenty available over at Profane Existence. While you're there, check out the rest of their catalogue too, there's a lot of great bands in there.

Check out each of the bands' sites too:
http://www.cultovhellmouth.com/
http://www.indefence.org/
http://www.oppositionrising.com/
http://www.myspace.com/embracethekill

Wolfbrigade - Audio Kollaps split 7"

I've had this split kicking around for a couple of months now, but just haven't gotten around to listening to it yet. I bought it on impulse when I had a few spare quid in my paypal account, being only vaguely aware of Wolfbrigade as being exponents of that modern crust sound I love so much, yet knowing nothing of Audio Kollaps except that they hail from Germany. Expectations are non-existant for both sides, though I'm excited to hear a couple of bands that I haven't before!

I'm going for what I think is the Audio Kollaps side first, since, rather annoyingly, the label has decided to force you to participate in some sort of 'DIY or Die' confusion in regards to the labelling of the sides. What the fuck?

First track 'Schwadronen Des Todes' opens with frantic buzzsaw tone, then the definition of cookie monster vocals kick in, and it sounds like the vocalist is singing this way for the very first time. I dig into the band's history a little and find that yeah, this was actually their first release, so that might be why his voice sounds so strained. An unimaginative single-snare d-beat hammers in background, with no deviation 'til halfway through, when the whole thing breaks down into a riff-led backbeat, which is pretty cool.

Second track 'Wahnsinn' is much more frantic and fast-paced. It's pretty standard grind, but late on in the track, there's this little weird descending riff that catches my ear. I dig that one riff, but not much else.

The final track, '5 Vor 12' opens with a bizarre sample of... what sounds like circus music, or trumpet-y nonsense soundtracking a chase sequence. Whatever it's from, it seems to have fuck all to do with the actual subject of the song, not that the English translation of the lyrics acually means anything, maybe they work better in German, I don't know. The blast of music itself is okay, but the sample has thrown me too off guard to really pay attention.

I'd need to check out what this band are doing these days to see if they morphed into something a bit more inspiring, after all, they've had 11 years to do so since this split's late-2000 release.

Next up is the side that piqued my curiosity...

It opens like the thousands of other punk/hardcore/crust/d-beat/grind songs I've heard, abrasive riff for a couple of bars, with two-chord accompanying drumfill intro, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And considering I can't get enough of that turn-of-the-century sound, I am more than happy with this record for this first track ('High Tech Degradation') alone.

Second song 'Equality?' opens with the sort of fat bass rumble that, again, countless bands utilise (Stockholm's VICTIMS seem to do it for every second song, and I fuckin' love 'em for it), before kicking into some awesome barked out vocals about the hypocrisy in crying equality, yet judge those who don't share those same beliefs. Lyrics I actually read and relate to? Whoah, this doesn't happen often.

Final track 'Misery' is a short sharp shock, over so fast that I have to drop the needle back at the start to try and catch it. S'good.

This was released on a German label called Epistrophy, who should still have some copies I reckon, as well as a bunch of other German punk/crust goodness I'll get around to checking out sometime.

Check out Audio Kollaps' amazingly 90s site HERE

I can't seem to find an official site as such for Wolfbrigade, other than a myspace link, but I sure as fuck ain't clicking that. Hey bands? There's this thing called bandcamp. Get into it.
In the meantime, here's SOMETHING I found for Wolfbrigade.