Bleach Everything :" So We Gnaw"

 It is clear that despite the fuzzy blown out tone of this recording and the primitive hard core they rumble out from it that these guys know what they are doing. They should since they are comprised of guys from the likes of Darkest Hour, Mammoth Grinder and Iron Reagan. The sound of Iron Reagan being the more prominent  if you compared the influences of the their collective resumes.One you get about 4 songs in the punk side begins to make everything sound the same. Their is a more metallic d-beat sound until the more dumbed down leanings of punk take hold in "Soft Bigotry". They are more impressive earlier in the album. The first song almost has a sludge feel to it. There are some catchy riffs still laced with enough anger to keep them legit. 

The harshly yelled vocals keep the lyrics from really being in your face, but the song titles are enough to tell you they are political. I am glad I can't make them out. I tend to stray away from wanting politics mixed with my music even when it comes to punk where that is more of a thing. I remember when Trump first got elected , people consoled themselves with the fact that perhaps they might get some good punk out of it. There did not seem to be an increase until 3 years later. Since these same people who bitch on the internet about the world they only see from the filter of their Facebook feed, they are unlikely to actually vote. Even if the system was not already rigged  and it would do any good so for the next five years we are going to see even more widespread influx of punk.

You are asking the computer screen, so why are you talking politics now? There is not much mroe to say about what these guys are doing because if you heard one angry punk song you have heard them all. I do like the last song "Dumb and Dug In" because it offers more in the way of dynamics and the riffs have more of an edge to the,. We have been getting all in your face aggression for the duration so needed some sonic variations. I will give this album a 7.5, these guys are good at what they do . I wish what they do was more like the first and the last song. Still it is well done , since the genre itself does not lend it self to a ton of new thoughts.

Mammoth Grinder : "Cosmic Crypt"

In music journalism there seems to be two schools of thought either paint the band into the picture of who you want your audience to be or if you are really into kissing a record label or P/R companies ass, paint them into being who they want them to be. I try not to play into either school and try to just call a spade a spade . It's what I used to like about rap from the 80s or 90s they had a quality control and used to call out rapper who were whack, These days that only happens in the comment section of music blogs and tend to devolve into trolling with not reference point or fact. I can say this band is not whack as they are good at what they do , however what they do is very easy to define. I think i'ts pretty easy, to say without question these guys are death metal. Upon second listen I think these guys benefit from the fact that they come in so heavy it makes it sound like there is more of an original flavor than might really be there, however The  execution of the second is more convincing. They tend to steer closer to the tried and true formula for death metal the rest of the way to the point that it's not until the fourth song "Divine Loss" that I am able to hear a clear cut distinction between songs. There is a little more of a punk undercurrent to that one. I think one of the albums more redeeming aspects is the fact these songs are very condensed. The longest song is still under 4 minutes so they never wear you out in one song with too much of the same thing.

Many of the guitar solos recall early Slayer and Morbid Angel, lots of diving off of the whammy bar.The drumming is a little less nuanced than what I want from death metal that I find exceptional. There is less double bass, making me think this guys used to be in a punk band. "Superior Firepower" is so straight forward that it begins to bore me a minute into it. The punk element to the drumming starts to get on my nerves as it does the stiff pitter patter on the snare that makes me think of those monkey toys with the cymbals. "Human is Obsolete" doesn't do anything to change my opinion and "Locusts Nest" really only seems to be a faster paced version of the previous song. "Mysticism" is the first song that really begins to change my mind I think I like the fact the dense dark riff reminds me of the first Unleashed album. They slightly revert back to their old ways by going into the monkey cymbal beat here and there, but I can handle it better when it's book ended by something more interesting."Rotting Robes" has a moshier riff to it that I could have found my self wanting to jump into the pit as a teenager so I gotta give them props for that one as the title track that closes the album is much less memorable.

Are these guys good at what they do? Yes. Do they have some cool riffs here and there ? Yes. Do you think I am someone who is content with cool riffs here and there? No. Do I need a greater sense of dynamics and some atmosphere to convince me things are darker? Yes. Do I already own all of the death metal albums from the 80s where this was done ? Yes.  So given these facts I am giving this album a 6. If you would have answered them differently or are too young to remember when this type of music came out then it might be more impressive and you might want to round it up higher.

Cannabis Corpse ; " The Left Hand Pass"

This band might have started off as a joke, but they have evolved into a punchline into something pretty bad ass. They have a great guitar and command you to bang your head on groove the verse of the opening song hits. They can revert into death metal cliches at times , but that is still more than I expected from this band going into this album. This a side project of Land Phil from Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan. He is joined by other high ranking metal pedigree such a members of Six Feet Under, Gatecreeper and Arsis. So when they lock into a chug is pretty devastating. There are some interesting effects applied to the guitar at times which provide some ambiance, as death metal themed around smoking pot needs plenty of that. The guitars are almost too angry to really go with that theme , but the end result from a metal perspective makes these guys who are just a joke better death metal that the bulk of what is normally sitting in my in-box. Another thing these songs have going for them is they are very concise in their construction.


"Final Exhalation" keeps the momentum it just doesn't feel as vital as the first two songs. "Chronic Breed" finds them locking into some riffs that defy my rule "cool riffs alone doesn't make a good song". With death metal running on aggression more than dynamics this is often a wall that has to be overcome. They are no an exception to this rule they are just so good at doing what they do is more forgivable in certain moments. One of these being the riffage leading into "In Battle There is No Pot". But they couple this with smart arrangements and catchy guitar work. Vocally it switches between a lower growl and a higher more black metal like rasp. They almost thrash inspired catchiness of the riffs reflects back upon the other bands these guys play for . On "Grass Orbit" it's the first time I hear anything that really reminds me of their name sake. The title track is a little darker, it doesn't really wow me , but is still entertaining in the way I need this brand of death metal to be. The bee swarm guitar of "Effigy of the Forgetful" finds them morphing the riffs pretty seamlessly at high velocity. It also become a blur that sounds like hundred of other death metal bands. The chorus gets lost in this rapid fire mush of riffs.A few head banging moments emerge, but this feel more like filler.

The last two songs are an improvement, though not really redefining death metal either.By this point in the album they have really settled on a high speed formula, the last song throws a few samples in ,but focuses more on hammering you with speed. The bass playing throughout the album is impressive ,but proves to be more nimble than your average death metal bassist on this song. The drumming is solid and the double bass rivals anything else out at present. I'll give this album an 8.5, I doubt this is going to make the top ten death metal albums of the year , but might come close.