Secret Cutter : "/// "

This cult sludge band is back with more angry battering. The aggressive guitar hits you with a very deliberate wall of overdrive. For a three-piece, they always bring an intense density. This album upholds that tradition. I have always stuck to the fact that sludge is what happens when punks try to play doom. There is more anger than melancholy. These guys are obviously punks of the ore hard-core variety. The drummer is the one who seeks to push things more in that direction. The blunt force trauma they seek to inflict becomes more of a formula when the throb of the second song is not unlike that of the first. Then they break from this to prove by punk point with "Humanoid". There are grind-core tendencies with indications that they took notes from Eyehategod growing up. 

There is more groove to "Destined to Fail". The vocals can be a bit one-dimensional, but they work as an accent on this one. To their credit, they are more of a shriek and less of your typical gruff howling.  "Feeding the Gods" is another heavy grooving song that will win over fans of sludge with its seething intensity. "Charging Bull" is an adequate description of the assault that follows. It blasted with a grind-core frenzy, though it does lock into a half-time riff in a few places that works. With bands like this, it is impressive they cram so much into two minutes. "Siren Song" follows a similar blasting path. 

They allow for a more deliberate setting of the mood going into "Ghosts of Our Youth". Though the song really just hangs on to the one theme. They end with more blasting chaos. I can appreciate what they are going for here, but in terms of songwriting, it could be more dynamic as it feels like there is a lack of melody and it's all gnashing of teeth. I will give this album an 8 as it's not something I would listen to since when I am in the mood for this sort of thing would go for Full of Hell, but the band's fan base should be pleased which is why I am scoring it so high given the factors stated in this review, though it also falls in line with the score I gave them for the last album we reviewed by these guys, so they are consistent. 

 

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Secret Cutter :"Quantum Eraser"

Heavy... that is the mission statement here. This Trio is one of the band's whose name I am familiar with, but have never sat down to give a solid listen. Sludge seems to be the focus, though the spastic tormented vocals could come from a grind core band as they are not just the coarse bellow that booms from most sludge. The pace picks up on "Trampled By Light". The riff to this song is driven with a more commanding chug. The vocals are pretty much human generated white noise. The are mixed back into the guitars so more of an obligatory layer. The first hint of this band possessing intention more vicious than sludge comes about on "Bended Knee" as it's at a more feral mania bringing the more latent grind-core side to the surface. This song slows, but the focus gets shaky. There is a more deliberate sonic heaviness to "4 1/2". This puts them back into the sludge corner.

So far there are no guitar solos or anything but a sincere desire to be heavy. The guitar is tuned down so low and doubled so densely there is no reason for a bass player. "Transient" is more of a beating, with slight ebb and flow, though mostly dialed to 11. The speed back up into grind core on "Vow of Obedience". There is some weird angular atmosphere when it slows for a few bars. At under a minute vocals would have been pointless. At almost four minutes "Mantis" is one of the album's longest songs. It's like a less swampy Eyehategod. The screamed vocals are normally at a throat shredding higher mid range. With we lower growls thrown in. Almost like Sami from Acid Bath. The riff to the fast and furious "Doormat" almost seems out of character like it was lifted from a Meshuggah album and set to blasting grindcore. "Avalanche" almost feels like a continuation of " Doormat". The riffs roll on with an oppressive groove. In other words metal mush.

"Oblivion" at least makes an effort to provide dynamics by starting with a cleaner guitar tone. It does devolve into on crushing riff regurgitated into a drone which becomes the bands mission statement. Though I began to lose interest when the sound took on a more uniform pulse in the album's second half I think they accomplished what they set out to do and do this kind of thing well, I'll give it an 8 for this fact despite the fact that I personally see no reason to give this album another listen. If you are into sludge filled grind core with groove then this album is more for you than it is me. It comes out July 6th.

Cvlt Nation Sessions : Dead Kennedys "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables"

To celebrate their 5th anniversary  my friends over at Cvlt Nation are releasing the next installment of their Cvlt Nation sessions, this time they pay tribute to the Dead Kennedy's classic "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables".  Haarm starts off with a rough around the edges version of "Kill the Poor". This finds the singer with the mic crammed into his mouth for a burlier take on the vocals. Going into this I had to tell myself to get over the fact that no one was really going to go Jello on this. The lo-fi hard core attack continues as Plagues savages "Forward to Death". The first band whose singers captures a more Jello like feel is Hive with their rendition of "When You Get Drafted". This is a good balance of being themselves and paying tribute to their forefathers. Guilty Parents have some big shoes to fill as it hard to top Faith No More's version of "Lets Lynch the Land Lord". This version pays more respect to the song's punk heritage. While they recorded this in equally rough hewn fashion as the other bands, everything falls in place in a more cohesive manner.

I appreciate that Dethfox goes to a darker place for "Drug Me". The vocals are a little buried in the mix, but it works here. Secret Cutter is the only band on this compilation whose albums I own. As expected they pack more of a punch with their chaotic take on hardcore while bending over "Your Emotions" and throwing in a little Jello while they are at it.They are the heaviest thus far .  Good job guys. Rabies is snotty old school punk, so they kick out all the right jams when it comes to "Chemical Warfare". PS Fuck You has to know the pressure is on when it comes to "California Uber Alles". The vocals are more of a metal growl. They deliver the goods in the sense they hit on all the key moments in the song that connect with you. I even went and looked up their Bandcamp, but they haven't done anything since 2014, so here's hoping for some new music from those kids soon.

Piss kicks up some crazed punk spasms with a feral version of " I Kill Children". Dark Circles delivers a more metallic snarl on "Stealing Peoples Mail" with feed back squealing out in more a grind core fashion from the corners of the song. The burly bass line on Bou Quet's  version of "Funland at the Beach" lends a more muscular Black Flag like take on the song. A noisy blackened bile is spat out of Purge's  more brooding "Ill in the Head". It almost comes across like the Doors freaking out on acid in hell. The pressure is on Fever Nest in a big way to come correct on "Holiday in Cambodia". It's a darker version than the original for sure. The Coltranes are cut out to pull off "Viva Las Vegas" and the pretty much do while adding a dash of zaniness. I'm impressed that they pulled out the acoustic guitars. They close it out with the rough and rowdy "Police Truck" that Mower collides with like they are attacking a Motorhead song.If you are Dead Kennedys fan then you might just discover some new bands here,as more often than not the originals are respected and done justice.