Death is June- FAKE DUST - "Decrepitizing Din Of The Cerebral Psyopticon"

 

When you like bands like Full of Hell and Portrayal of Guilt, who fall somewhere between grindcore and powerviolence, finding new music in that vein is not always easy. So i took a chance with this band. They are basically death metal for people with ADHD, who medicate it with cocaine and alcohol rather than Big Pharma. They blast through the first four songs in the blink of an eye. There are some cool riffs flown by you in that time, but not enough to hook you into what is a sonic assault and battery. You are five songs in before you know what seems to be a long, spastic song. Long by grind core standards, as the first five songs clock in at around five minutes. 

"Substance Abuse Lifestyle" is not only a pretty accurate song title, but in its 52 seconds almost forms an identity of its own. "Insominac Fluid" does have a more purposeful riff for a few seconds. "Cooked at Conception" actually makes it over the two-minute mark, how self-indulgent of them. They actually need to do more of that. "Detaching' sounds like a train knocked the drummer down the stairs, then the guitar was the tank that rolled over him afterwards. Their drummer is pretty insane; there is no question about that.

I used to think there was little songwriting involved in something like this, but there can be as you have to cram a great deal into a short time frame. I think the key is not getting lost in the chaos. That is the part these guys struggle with a little. "Delete" has more punk in its veins. Then they bring hyper-fast death metal back on "Little Bottle". You can at least get a better idea where they are flying off to on "Living Conditions,"/ Though it's hard to call "Marker" a song. The last song is almost three minutes, so that is really the test for them of what they can do in the span of a normal song. There are a few seconds of ambiance before they crunch into something that is obviously the album's best song. I will give this album a 7.5; there is potential but they are caught up in the hyperblast mentality of the genre. 

pst261

Barren Path : "Grieving"

 Japanese grindcore bands are normally pretty decent, so let's give these guys a shot. Gurgled vocals bubble under the more screamed vocals that are higher in the mix as the thrash-like riffs at thrown together with a jagged compact arrangement that sounds like they were written during a car crash. Most of the songs clock in around a minute long, so not much time to establish hooks. The songs have a uniform attack and begin to run together in their outburst at times. 

Time is not always what they need, as "Insufferable Weight" finds the vocal might have more purpose in the verse, but they do not expand on the dynamics even when closing in on the two-minute mark. "Relinquish"   is a spastic punishment with no breathing room. This is carried over into "Unreliable Narrator" with more of a death metal feel. "Lunar Tear" also dips into gore-grind slightly, lyrically, who knows, as you can't understand any of the vocals.

These vocals, as just a human layer adding to the fray element, also cause the uniformity of their sound to increase. The last two songs you can not tell apart. At this point, the fact that they were once Gridlink is not helping them as songwriters, and I am surprised they are on Willowtip. I will give this a 7, as it does not fail the genre but does not add to it either. 

pst622

Defigurement : " Endbryo"

This band, featuring members of Malignancy and Murder Construct, blasts out some death metal-influenced grindcore that still manages to cram some songwriting into these bursts of sound. Like any band dealing in this kind of sonic mischief, you have to be careful that you do not get caught up in the spastic energy and forget to make something worth listening to. The first three songs maintain a balance until the fourth song, when the need for speed causes them to get carried away. At two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, "Wounded Landscape" is the length of a normal song. It is an exercise in marginally experimental, somewhat chaotic death metal. But it works for what it is. 

They pour the speed back on for "Alteregomaniac," and aside from more deliberate vocals, the results are less impressive than the previous song. But better than what most grind-core bands do in less than a minute. There is more of a thrash  feel to "Humanity in Autumn" that works before going into the darker weirdness. "Her Knowing Collapse' blends the more feral aspects of hardcore with a blackened feel. "Godtopsy" is almost three minutes, which allows a brooding atmosphere to be cast over it. 

"We Are The Worst" finds the drummer proving his place behind the kit, and while it is a more fully realized song than some, it does not connect with me like some of the songs do. They bring more of a blasting style of death metal for "Love is Atrophy.". They circle this sonic zip-code for the rest of the album. Their last song carries some jazzy nuance, but nothing all that catchy.  I will give this album an 8,it's more grindcore-influenced death metal than not, but they were having fun making something that is fun to listen to, so it was a success. 

pst455

King Parrot : "A Young Person's Guide to King Parrot"

Things have changed for this band after being on tour with the likes of Pantera. The band's first album, I could not get past the vocals, and this time around, the vocals work for me as they are not just a shrieking like The Body, but balanced with a more powerful growl. Plenty confrontational but more refined, and following a song structure in this evolution from being a more spastic grind core band, to more of a death metal band, I guess we can say death grind, as their is more emphasis on the riffs. 

The higher snarled vocals are still present and trade off with the lower death metal vocals. They throw themselves into a more punk thrashing for "It's a Rort". The best part of the song is when they hit the more thrashing hook of a riff, though the general vibe is frantic. At almost three and a half minutes, this an epic for these guys. They throw blast beats into things. The cops show up in the middle of the song before they go into a hardcore riff.  "Punish the Runt" blasts ahead in a more in-your-face fashion. There is a guitar solo that adds to the layer of sound, but it's pretty much just a punk pounder. There is a cool riff that crops up in it, but the rule here has always been "cool riffs alone do not a good song make". 

"Target Pig Elite" has more of a stomp to it. It is the sound of giving your middle finger to the "pig elite". Impressive drumming. The drummer goes in a more thrashing punk direction for the way "I Got the Right" attacks. "Look Away, I'm Hideous" follows a similar direction as the previous song. "Glazed and Diseased in Defeat". balances out the chaos with more deliberate riffing. They have learned they need the riffs that might appeal to a Pantera fan, but are not giving up on grind-core. I'll give this album an 8, as it is an improvement over what I recall hearing from them before this era. 

pst228

Chepang : "Jhyappa"

Based in New York, this grindcore band is from Nepal, and use the ethnic tones of their culture as window dressing for the music. The first actual song is just over a minute, and finds these guys riding cool riffs rather than using their time as wisely as some of the grind core bands we have praised in the past. "Gatichad" is three and a half minutes long, which gives them more time, though the vocals are just screamed as a texture, sometimes doubled with lower death metal growls. They are more metal and less punk than a band like GISM. 

The main emphasis of "Ek Hajar Jhut" is the fast blasting section, though they do bring it down to a more deliberate pace. The production is raw enough to capture the feel of what they are doing. "Khel' has some heavy chugs that are brought to a chaotic boil. "Drivya Shatki" is a little more deliberate, but it doesn't get anything we haven't already heard on this album from them on it. The song after it is more tediou and punk, though just over a minute, so the ambush of stiff riffing does not last the song. 

"Niryana" is more like death metal with a hardcore accent of gang vocals chiming in. "Bidhai" is an instrumental outro, but it might be the album's best-written composition, almost making it feel like a waste of fine riffing. I will give this an 8. it works for what it is, though I think people will hype this up as the band plays up the immigrant angle, which got them recognition in the hipster circles of New York. It drops May 23rd on Relapse Records. 

,

pst215

Low Before the Breeze : "A Hole Beneath The Home We Shared"

 I like where this band from Atlanta is going with the experimental blend of grindcore-like explosions, which find the chaos tempered with atmosphere. That does not mean it's an easy listen, as it took me going back and giving it a second or third pass through before some of the songs clicked with me. The opening track is more possessed by spastic madness, as feed back squeals out over a collage of sampled sonics. It's very dissonant and moody, though more introspective in an odd way than dark. At times, the Locust might be a fair point of reference. "Night Wept" creates a more compelling mood that registers with me, more than the unhinged punk nature of the first song.  The drumming navigates the swirl of noise well, to hold things together. 

"Keep His Name Sacred and Pure" simmers in the glitch garden of sound. It reminds me a little of early Neurosis in this regard. However, it's more of an interlude than a song. 'Days Feel Rehearsed" builds in a slow swell. There is an apocalyptic agony to how it explodes to life. It feels like a mix of sludge and screamo. Granted, sludge seems to proliferate in Atlanta, so that is no surprise. It is more disconnected in its reluctance to recoil into something taunt and more metallic. "The Same Joke Twice" felt like it was an extension of the previous song, so it required another listen to discern the transition. "Cadaver Synod" opens with the wretched scream of the vocals. The spoken vocal creating a chant begins to remind me of King Missile, as the other vocal goes off the rails 

There is a similar transition into "Proverbs 7:22"; it bleeds over from the previous song, and I have to go back to catch up with where we are with things. Though as a stand-alone song, it is sculpted with more precision, and almost hooky. "Collected Messages of Abuse" creates a very effective mood as the samples are layered atop one another. "Faithful Dream" finds a punk energy being amped up, but with more experimental noise rock ambiance. The groove of the song takes a drunken lurch as it finds its footing. The drummer tries to hold the last song together, but there is too much going on for him to contain. It sounds like everyone is going in a different direction. The dynamic shift three minutes in, and it gives the song room to breathe, which is what they sometimes need more of, but I understand why they use tension they way they do, it is unsettling.I like the images painted here by these songs, I will see how it grows on me but is worth repeat listens, fans of more experimental grindcore will finds plenty to embrace here. I will give this album a 9. Out on May 30th .  

<

pst159

Byonoisegenerator : "Subnormal Dives"

This band plays jazz grind, which leans more into grind-core than what John Zorn would do, though the jazz sections do have the chaos of John Zorn to them. The bass line alone that works its way through the din to find melody tells you they are skilled with their instruments. They know the rules and are artfully choosing to break them. This can create dissonance at times. The vocals are at a low growl, that utters its bile bleaching where it fits in the riff hoarding they are unpacking here. Going into "NULL. state..." it feels like the chaos causes some of these songs to collide with one another when the short under two-minute grindcore nature dominates the songwriting. The bright side is it forces them to make the most of their time. 

"Nosuccesstoday! " finds them having to try harder to keep my attention as even with this musical spasm your ears grow accustomed to it when forced to expect the unexpected as you know there are two modes they are going to shift from. "UVB76" does feel more Mr. Bungle-like despite Mr Bungle being influenced by John Zorn. "Lovechargeddivebombs" feels like they are floating in a submarine, which seems to be some of the thematic imagery they are drawn to. The jazz section here is allowed more room to breathe. I think this side of their bipolar dynamics needs to be explored more. 

They do find their groove amid drumming that sounds like trash cans being kicked down the stairs."4-HO-DMT" is the worst offender when it comes to the drummer agitating the situation.  The vocals follow a more death metal pattern despite this, as a guitar solo drips out from behind them. I imagine seeing this live would be very compelling. "deBroglieneverexsisted". "5mginspiredvibes" hints that drugs are certainly one of their influences, the more psychedelic tinges of the atmosphere previously in the album suggested this as well,  Here the shift is more abrasive, though the confrontational nature of grindcore is meant to challenge what your ears can endure. I will give this album a 9, it's not the first time I have heard this pairing, but they leave their own mark on it, and is so experimental even if they were not as skilled it would have worked in theory, they just make it go down easier. 

pst131

Drugs of Faith : "Asymmetrical"

When it comes to grindcore the genre splits off into two directions one that is more punk and one that is more metal, these guys are on the punk end of the equation.  The band has been around for over 20 years and features former members of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and  Enemy Soil. Their first release in 6 years finds them in a more rock-oriented songwriting mode.'Desert War Eternal' sounds like it could have come from a crusty punk band out of the '80s. The vocals are shouted with articulation that gets the lyrics across and in your face. The guitar tones are pretty plug-in and crank it up, with none of the low-end metal gain. This keeps even the more aggressive moments rooted in punk.

There is more reckless abandon to "Drones' that keeps it from being hooky as the first song. Yeah, my expectations do not vary from genre to genre, I want memorable songs be it grindcore, black metal, or new wave. They thrash a little more into "Micro Chip". At this point, grindcore is more of an influence lingering from previously in their careers. It's not like they are trying to cram a bunch of riffs into a minute. "Gas Mask" is more riff-driven. It clangs with an abandon that makes me think of early Nirvana. Though with a noise-tinged dissonance. 

There is more of a grindcore feel to "The Void". Though it hurtles with a more punkish purpose. The riff to "The Next 100 Years" tries harder to hook you in though is possessed by a frantic energy. This does not thwart their attempt to bring more dynamics. "Essential" is a cover of a song by the band Drdoom, which later became Teethgrinder. It's a more chaotic hard-core energy thrown at your ears. The last song is an instrumental, that might have been better served as an intro, not a band that I think of when it comes to showcasing the prowess instrumentals normally require to capture your attention. Instead, it felt like they did not want to write vocals. I will give this album a 9, they put effort into the songwriting, and are veterans who have acquired the experience needed to make this work, and I think the album will grow on me. Perhaps not with the fervor the last Full of Hell album did, but at least stands the test of time for punk rock. It drops on Selfmadegod Records on February 21st. 

thanks for reading, please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

pst16

The Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2024

Extreme metal encompasses many sub-genres, all of which shun mainstream aspirations with their commitment to intensity, but that is not to say that these albums are the heaviest ever, as all of the albums listed in our Top 10 Extreme Metal Albums of 2024 list are very song-oriented, some even have melody, perhaps this year even more so than the past. The bands here did not fit neatly into other genre lists, because they blended other harsh genres, such as black metal or hardcore into these warped versions of grindcore or screamo.  They are all very dark and lash out with their own forms of sonic fury, but they are the albums that proved best at it.  

After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Extreme Metal albums of 2024.

10-Beaten to Death - "Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis" 

 This band from Norway is not playing black metal. They are heavy but thanks to their feedback squealing vision of grind-core.  This album is a great deal of fun, and the production makes it less dense than what I normally want from the genre, but it's a fun album that takes more chances than not, and they all pay off, I look forward to hearing what they do with a bigger budget and taking the time to dial this in

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/beaten-to-death-sunrise-over-rigor.html

9-Sars- "Nothing Hurts Quite Like Life" 

Metal Core is one of the hottest bandwagons to jump on, these guys are one of the few legit metallic hard-core bands pumping out real shit that is not just over-produced nu-metal.  . A few bands have taken on the moniker of SARS, but this Finnish band might be the most deserving of it as their songs are both crushing and infectious. If you are looking for rabid old-school hardcore with a metal pulse pumping its veins, these guys have you covered.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/06/sars-nothings-hurts-quite-like-life.html

8-meth. - "SHAME" 

This band from Chicago taps into the same torment that bands like Portrayal of Guilt dig into. The riff is pounding with a sludge-like deliberation, while their singer screams with the unrelenting anguish of someone being disemboweled alive. With the chaos being invoked on this album, it feels like blackened sludgecore would be the best description if we needed to tie it down to a genre. When things speed up there is more of a power-violence feel to it. They do hit you with rapid-fire intense blast beats. It does not give your ears the same sonic lubrication that black metal does by creating a hypnotic buzz. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/black-metal-history-month-meth-shame.html

7-Infant Island-"Obsidian Wreath"

On this album the band roars into a more metallic vision of screamo, that is balanced with a post-rock atmosphere. "Fulfilled" finds things lashed out in a more chaotic frenzy with an almost power-violence-like abandon. This is on the more extreme end of screamo. It more than likely appeals less to fans on the emo side of that equation. It builds into the shimmer of wild screaming. I wonder if he is even trying to utter lyrics at this point. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/infant-island-obsidian-wreath.html

6-Yersin- the Scythe is Remorseless" 

Crust is one of my favorite forms of metallic punk, as it connects with a primal darkness.  The lyrics are delivered with an anguished yell that bares an honest anger. An atmosphere haunts the album giving it an even darker tone than expected. Sometimes they drop down into more of a death metal growl. Their sonic arsenal ranges from black metal blasting interjected as an accent to riffs that pound like a hard-core band, throwing many of the best genres at you in their sound. 

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/yersin-scythe-is-remorseless.html

 

5-Hell is Real-"Scared by the World" 

This album grew on me, as it's aggressive but still has an unexpected groove to its hard-core hammering. Though they are capable of taking your head off with their chug.  The higher-pitched black metal-like vocals are still articulated enough to make out Eric Blum's hateful message. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/hell-is-real-scared-of-world.html

4-Benighted- "Ekbom" 

 I liked the darker atmosphere haunting this French band's brand of grindcore. By grind-core, there is a surprising blend of technical death metal in their songwriting DNA. This keeps things spastic and unpredictable. They can make you bob your head to their blend of madness. Some songs were just pure death metal with the grindcore taking a back seat in the meat wagon for the roaring vocals and double bass to be more dominant with a more Morbid Angel-like intention to the beating they are dishing out.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/benighted-ekbom.html

3-Deadform - "Entrenched In Hell" 

This is the first full-length from this Oakland-based crust trio which features Dino Sommese from Dystopia on drums as well as sharing vocal duties with Brian Clouse from Stormcrow, who is also playing bass in this project. The furious sounds unleashed on this album highlight the things I love about the Crust genre. It's heavy, yet grooving in its pummeling. There is also a dark apocalyptic mood churning from the songs. The tones coming from their blown-out amps are burly enough to belong to a sludge band, but they are played with more of a punk attitude. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/deadform-entrenched-in-hell.html

2-Full of Hell-"Coagulated Bliss"

This album grew on me more than any other this year, partly due to catching these guys live where it all clicked. It's also a huge step of maturity in songwriting. From a production standpoint, it's more organic. They were not darker, but more punk than the sludge-tinged gnarliness that comprised their guitar tone on other albums. The guitarist claims that he learned how to serve the song during their sessions for the album with Nothing. Things here reflect that due to the fact it is angular and mathy, but not spastic. The vocals are more deliberate as well.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/full-of-hell-coagulated-bliss.html

1- Weston Super Maim- "See You Tomorrow Baby"

This band is out to crush you with their industrial-strength metal, possessed by chaotic outbursts of jarring mathematics like a grind-core version of Meshuggah. This album proves you can go to the extremes of heaviness while still having a huge sound. At times electronic sounds enter the fray. Impressive guitar work does not hinder the sheer weight this album hits you with while writing memorable songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/weston-super-maim-see-you-tomorrow-baby.html

pst637

Siberian Hell Sounds : "Svengali"

This Australian band is spoken of by hip fans of extreme music . Up to this point I have been fairly mixed on them, because it takes more than just being heavy to impress me. These guys do have some chops are out to employ their black metal influences in a way other bands do not.  They blend grind-core in a manner that immerses you in their world  and brings depraved shadows to life. "Ripen" is dark and occupies a similar alley way in the night as Nails. What they do not have is as strong of sense of song writing as there is not a great deal of change when they go into the second song. It takes them about three minutes in to play around the sample that creeps into the song to provide more mood and atmosphere since just blast beats alone won't carry the song. Their drummer is totally insane. The vocals shriek, howl and growl with an unhinged quality that is more believable than if they had stuck with a coarse mid-range bark.

The two minutes of "Hypnoterror" are put to better use even though they do not carry the same mood as the previous two songs. "Blackmarketmind" races along a frenzied path between grind-core and thrash. This also carries hints of a hard-core past. The title track that ends the album has similar thrashing teeth. The vocals are mixed further into the background. They resort to trying to blast their way through this one without feeling the need to really give you anything to latch onto. While many blogs shall sing this band's praises. I do like the use of samples to build atmosphere, but feel aside from that Nails already everything this album tries to accomplish better so I will give this album a 7.5. If you are a fan of blackened grind-core with thrashing hardcore roots these guys are worth checking out.
 

Weekend Nachos : "Apology"

I have always thought this band's name was silly so never listened to them. I know they have a fan base that  has been looking forward to this release so I'll give it a shot for you guys. Most grind-core and power-violence clocks in at under three minutes so this five and a half minute opener is a bit of an oddity.It doesn't take long for the dense rumbling which is very heavy to turn into into a blur of riffs. With music that is so heavy, the first song runs you over with sheer intensity then i generally ask myself ...o.k, now what else can they do? I realize not every one asks this much of the music they consume. When I was younger I didn't either. When I got into metal thrash was the heaviest thing going. It was not until "Scream Bloody Gore" came out and the rise of death metal that this changed. i have described in this blog my interest in this and band's like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Nocturnus, Obituary and Cancer. I liked the darker more Satanic flavors more than punk, though I was into Black Flag, Bad Brains and Suicidal Tendencies, but my interest in punk stopped with D.R.I and the Cro-mags. Though Storm Troopers of Death, who helped spawn this sort of thing, got tons of play time on my walk-man. When you get into "Judged" it's evident these guys ow more to Storm Troopers of Death, but there is no where near the song writing to get me invested into this like I was when "Speak English or Die" came out.

"Writhe" digs into gritty heaviness, but the momentum is punk like in the chaotic outburst sometimes coiling into more groove laden riffs that impress for a minute. The golden rule around here is "cool riffs alone do not make good songs" this comes down hard on band's like this who have no interest in melody or dynamics that do not involve shades of fast. They are plenty angry 'NARC" should convince you of this, this is a monochrome range of emotion. It mutes the aggression, like a crying baby you've tried to comfort eventually you tune it out. They grab my attention for "World Genocide", but the vocals on every song are the same angry bark. The guitar tone never changes. Every thing feels very flat to me. Some of their best attempts at song writing take place on the more mid-paced 'Night Plains". The first appearance of melody is found in the layered guitar of the title track that closes the album.  But this drones on the same sluggish bashing for ten minutes.

 This is their final album, if you have stuck around with them up to this point, then this is your thing and you can go back to breathing in the sweet fumes of your Elmers. I'll give this one a 4. These guys might continue to push grind-core into the metal mainstream, but it doesn't do much for me.