Do you like your Hardcore rough and out of control? Do you like Sludge as well and do you have an affinity for raw and unpolished Metal? But after all you'd say you listen to Punk? If your answer to at least one of these questions is yes, you should keep an eye open for the new A389 signing LOW PLACES.
Just like their now-labelmates in Full Of Hell LOW PLACES combine wildly everything fucked up and heavy there is and spit it towards you with so much hate and anger you're running the risk of wetting yourself. I've had the chance to listen to a roughmix of their new output Spiritual Treatment and I'm super stoked about it. Imagine Neanderthal having sex with Eyehategod and early Napalm Death is watching the mating through the keyhole. Got the picture? This is how LOW PLACES sounds like.
This is some heavy, mean and aggressive shit, I know you'll love it. And I'm really glad LOW PLACES changed their logo. Just sayin'.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Seed Of Pain are awesome, one of my favourite bands blablabla, they recently released a two song 7" on Cobra Records which is kind of a teaser for the new LP that is coming up. In the beginning they played music in the vain of "New School"/Post-Hardcore bands like BURN, 108 etc., from release to release they developed more and more into some kind of Post-Punk-Post-Hardcore-Post-Rock-Wave-Industrial kind of thing, which is very unique and: awesome. So here's an interview I did with Samuel, their guitarist.
Would you describe Seed of Pain as a pessimistic band?
I don't know. I mean, I can understand, if people see us that way. Especially, when they catch us live. We don't feel that it's neccesarily to thank the promoter on stage, speak out for certain values etc. The lyrics are mostly about personal and sociological problems, but they speak for themselves. And yes, we like dark music. Life - at least for me - is pretty boring and most humans I don't like neither. But on the other hand, you can have quite a fun time with us. We're not some Graveyard Goths. I sent some of the unmastered tracks from our upcoming release to some friends to ask them, what they think of it. One of the reviews we got is that the dark aspect of the music sometimes is a bit over-the-top. And even though, I normally couldn't care less about what other people think about our music, I can somehow understand this. Because, after all, it all just has to fit together the right way. And I really don't want to sound like a clichee.
We all know enough bands, trying too hard. Especially in the Hardcore scene. Upside-down crosses, some Illuminati-bullshit as well as one or two "Doom" bands, they came across on some messageboard. This pretty much seems to be all you need to start a new zeitgeisty band. Fuck that. Hopefully, we never get there...
So, bottom line: We may be a pessimistic band, I don't know, but we definitely don't want to force that image in any way.
Do you have an idea where this trend during the last years comes from? I mean, six oder seven years back it was hip to be into Nike Airmax und PMA and all this, now it kind of completely changed to a bunch of middle/upper class kids pretending to be as evil as possible.
I mean, I kinda lost track with a lot of new stuff. So I can't really say what's in and what's out. I just figured out, that playing Belgium or Germany, you almost every time play with the same kind of band, having the same image, topics and shirt designs. But I don't want to judge anyone. Six or seven years back, I've listened to BOLD and JUDGE as well. So, I think to change and evolt is something natural, especially while growing up. The only thing I ask myself is, why so many of them all change towards the same new style at the same time. It could all be a little more diverse.
Since the first time I've seen you, you've always done things different than other bands in that whole Hardcore-context. Your latest recordings can hardly be described as Hardcore anymore. Do you even feel yourself still as a part of the scene? Do you think that there is even anything like that?
Of course there is a scene, a network, a community. I can only speak for myself, but I'm really happy that I got to know some nice people through Punk music. On the other hand, I guess it's just the same with everything in life: You get bored, feel annoyed and begin to realise, that there is "something more". Like other music, other people, different points of view and so on. I don't see Seed of Pain as a Hardcore band. Still, most of the people listening to us, know us because of our Hardcore/Punk background. And it would be ridiculous to deny this. I don't really care, what kind of music people think we play, and I also have no problems if some Oi! Skin likes us. Though, matter of fact is: You will meet a lot of people during life without any clue about music. EVEN IN THE UNDERGROUNDxSCENE (I shit you not!)...
Are there people who are upset by your musical development?
Some! There could be more, though. But, we try our best. I reccently stumbled across a swiss Gothic/Industrial messageboard, where they were arguing about wether "true batcavers" might listen to us or not, since we also have some hard parts and after all, for them we are still a Hardcore band and not "real goths". Same with some Oldschool Hardcore Nerds. In they're eyes we're some sell-out-hipsters and whatnot. There are times, when we are frustrated about it, but mostly we enjoy our status. Or at least, that is what I do. Don't know about the others, since we hardly talk with eachothers about such stuff.
How can I imagine the typical SOP song writing process? Do drugs of any kind influence your song writing?
No drugs. A lot of songs are just ideas we get from listening to other music. All kind of music. Someone comes up with an interesting drum-beat or guitar effect. Mostly the outcome then sounds completely different than the initial idea. Sometimes we just fool around and something good comes to life. In the beginning of the band, it was mostly me who came up with an almost finished song and then tried to explain to everyone what they have to do. Luckily, this isn't the case anymore. By now, we're with six people. And who knows... maybe there are still more members to come. A lot of times, some of us just hang around in the rehearsal room and try out something. Then, it gets recorded on some shitty dictaphone and sent to all the comrades. Some other band member then may think, it sounds like crap, and then we start all over again. There is no classic way of songwriting in Seed of Pain, but most stuff gets put together in a very democratic way.
Drugs are bad. Stop the madness. Okay, maybe there were certain sessions....
Have some of you ever considered to play certain musical preferences in side projects/bands? Why did you choose to incorporate all these influences into one band, SOP?
Actually, there are other projects with Seed of Pain members like Evje, Youth+Laughter or Hollow Bone. As well as some more without names. The point with SOP is, once we started, we said to ourselves, that we would like to make constant progress. Even though, we didn't know in what way we would drift, it was an unspoken rule, that everything is allowed. Maybe we would have gotten more attention, if we would have changed the name with every release. There are people around who might like our new stuff but they won't even give it a try, since they think, we're a common Hardcore band. Or maybe we should have stuck with "new school 90ies hardcore", so at least we could get some shows... But nevermind, we like messing around with all this. I'm proud of my fellows, that we're still enthusiastic about music and that nobody of us is stuck in his niche. I'm pretty sure, that we will continue to make music for a long time. Without anyone noticing us. Just because we can, haha!
Why is it so hip these days to be into Joy Division?
Because, "classics never go out of style". I'm too young to say this, but still: Thinking of it, I can imagine, that the late seventies/early eighties had a similiar vibe in society comparing to the times we're living in. But yeah, it's obviously chic nowadays. I'm a big fan of Joy Division, and I think everyone who is interested in Punk music should at least know about the band. So, I don't think it's a bad thing. All those fancy boys and girls claiming to be huge fans probably don't even own records of 'em. They also won't know about other bands in the same vein. But that's okay. I don't exept people to be as enthusiastic about music as I am.
When did your enthusiasm about music start? Could you describe your personal musical development? What do you think is the reason that some people like you and me are kind of obsessed with music and everything behind and around, and others are just happy with listeing to the radio?
How should I know, why other people (don't) listen to music? I for example don't care about Soccer or video games. Why? I don't know and don't care. Music has just always been the biggest fascination in life for me. My father let me know about good music when I was still fairly young. A bit later I got to know some older dudes here in the area, who told me a lot about Punk, Hardcore and Metal music. I came in touch with bands such as SxTx, BL'AST or 7 Seconds. Later on I discovered all the good Revelation Records bands as well as the at the time almost dead New School Florida Mosh stuff. Besides that, I always had an open ear for other music styles, though most of the music didn't have an impact nearly as big as Hardcore and Punk music did.
The most music I listen to mostly today I still relate to the Punk-movement somehow (considering it's attitude and ethics). But some might see this different.
Next plans?
We got two records planned. One will be our second full length called "Red Suns". Two of the songs you can already listen to on our bandcamp page or on our 7" "Ruins of Men" out on Cobra Records. We recorded 10 songs for the album in January and are now busy with mixing/mastering as well as the artwork.
Then there will most likely be another - yet untitled - record with five songs we recorded just a week ago. However, we will have to rearrange some of the tracks, so we're yet far from finished. The five Songs definitely don't have anything to do with Hardcore or guitar music at all. I'd say it has a Industrial/Ambient feel to it. Personally, I've never been as exited about any of my own music as with this. Hopefully, it'll turn out the way we want it to sound.
We're currently without any record label and we're not really sure about this whole issue. Maybe we are going to release the new stuff on our own, since we're no "good selling" or touring band. Besides that, we have tons of ideas for the layout and most labels don't want to pay for all those great ideas we have, haha. I don't blame them.
And then, last but not least we might try to tour Europe, once the records are done.
What's the best thing about being in a band for you?
There are two things about it. For one, I just enjoy making music. There is no other thing in life that I've yet discovered, which gives me the same feeling. Currently, I pretty much work the least I need to, so I can spend the rest of the days and nights for jamming, recording or rehearsing with different projects and people. I know, this is basically a pretty hopeless cause and I don't feel like I may once earn a living off it, but I don't care.
Then second: I just have the best people around me for a band like Seed of Pain. I couldn't imagine anyone better. It's a pack of six idiots, all middlefingers up in the air and that's pretty much it.
Beggars & Gentry is a quite new band from Switzerland, with some ex-members of Fall Apart. It's a little bit funny, because all bands from Switzerland I know are pretty good in what they're doing. Well, to be honest I don't know too many bands from the land of cheese and chocolate, but that's just alright, it helps to maintain the perfect image of a country where there are only cool kids playing cool music in cool bands. Not to forget about Celtic fucking Frost.
OK, so Abwärts is the band's first proper release I guess, in 2010 there was "just" a demo. This full-legth was released by Take It Back Records and Wanne Eickel's infamous Cobra Records, so you know that you can expect a certain quality here. The artwork's really cool and coloured vinyl is avaible. So much for the facts.
Beggars & Gentry's music could be described as rocking Hardcore-Punk. Mostly in mid-tempo range those five guys play a kind of Hardcore that allows associations with bands like Poison Idea, Wipers or The Suicide File, always keeping a rough, grumpy Punk-attitude and sound. Cool guitar leads, that blend into the overall instrumentation, and sweet bass-lines make this record a quite interesting piece of music. Sometimes, while I listened to it, I thought that a little more speed here and there would do no harm, and now and then I thought that the record could risk to get a bit boring - but everytime Beggars & Gentry manage to come up with a nice break, a guitar lead, a cool line in the lyrics to turn it around and keep it interesting.
Speaking of the lyrics, they cover the whole range of post-modern twenty-something anger and frustration - isolation, alienation, broken dreams, solitude in our society - but political and social themes as well. What I totally dig about the lyrics that they're far from being pathetic or overdrawn but play a lot with cynism and bittersweet irony. And that makes them appear totally credible.
YES, I made it, I really managed to write a 350-words-review about Abwärts without mentioning Fucked Up. This record sounds so much like early Fucked Up, the comparison would have been just too easy. On the other hand, this fact ensures a certain quality, doesn't it?
This decent record could easily become a very sought-after collectors item, due to the fact that Damian from the almighty Fucked Up is doing the vocals. If that wouldn't be rad enough, Jordan from No Warning/Terror is playing guitar. So I guess this is enough all-star-line-up'ness. Millenial Reign's only goal was to worship Integrity, nothing more, nothing less. Well, they definitely succeeded in this, there's not much more to say about it. Heavy, Melnick'ish riffs, sick solos, Damian bawls the dark, metaphoric lyrics, so everything you'd expect from a Holy Terror worship is there and accomplished well. I mean there are many, many bands at the moment that try to do the classic Integrity sound, copying everything from A to Z and think nevertheless that they're the most innovative thing in the world. Millenial Reign copy everything, too, but, and that's what makes the difference, they never said they wanted to do anything else. And, as opposed to this whole "Holy Terror kindergarten", the lyrics are really worth to be read, and even come along with short liner notes. Conclusion: for sure not the reinvention of the wheel, but super well done and Damian is cool anyway. Go for it.
So here is my contribution to Lost In Sabbath. Another old jaded dude.It doesn't happen often nowaways that a band really catches a glimpse of my eyes and ears. I finally figured out that my taste in music stagnated somewhere in time and only few bands that formed and released their shit after 2003 interest me much but every now and then you cross something.
I stumbled across the name SURROUNDINGS in a thread about the beef between their singer and Mr give-me-my-burger-usa-rules (Let Down. Mother of Mercy, soon on a European Tour again). Apparentely they played a show together and the singer of SURROUNDINGS was watching Let Down in the front row with a beer in his hand (nothing better than having a beer in hand and enjoying the show of a mediocre band) and got his keg of beer kicked out of his hands and getting called a whiny faggot afterwards. So this incident founded my sympathy and I have started my researches. The result was well this something, a split record called "World Darkness" between Pellinore and SURROUNDINGS. [Yes, the word actually is WORLD and not this fancy fashionshit like VVorld.]
I have to admit that Pellinore are great as well but SURROUNDINGS really did it for me. Besides this split they have released so far a nice 7" called "Monuments in Ruins". This year Surroundings have now unleashed their first long-player (I guess you can call it that way) which is simply-put "self-titled". So why did I claim that I rarely listen to any new shit. Well, the new shit I mainly listen to sounds like old shit, like the good old days. I will now quote the influences that SURROUNDINGS stated on their myspace and as you will see, besides the name-dropping, they cover a nice range of influences, at least in my book: Eyehategod, Neurosis, Unsane, Discharge, Nirvana, Earth and Discordance Axis.
And if this isn't self-explanairy enough, I will give you a short description: SURROUNDINGS are playing their own interpretation of hardcore: lightning fast, heavy and slow, down-tuned riffage, distortion and ear-piercing feedback and heartfelt screams/yells. Calling them powerviolence won't do them justice, neither are they a Mind Eraser rip-off. They remind me of Drop Dead and Siege a fair amount of times and they have this southern sludge introspective nihilistic element. The lyrics are harsh and tell us that this world and what man made out of it is just a huge pile of shit, the songs are short and grinding. When you expect it the least SURROUNDINGS will turn around the song structure and let the song fall apart in a gritty way. Then you have deal with an unpredictable feedback-infested muddy slowpaced swamp and the notes keep dragging and dragging. While most (let's call them evil, depressived, dark) bands stick to a well-ridden dark and depressed formula: Let's just play real slooooow and let nothing else happen and bore the shit out of everyone, SURROUNDINGS present a different approach with the sheer rage, compressed negativity and the brick to your face.
The guy has a voice that I envy and I jealously wish was my own. He has a great feeling when it comes down to place the words and how to fit them in. Most vocalists don't understand that their voice is an immanent element of a band, another instrument to be taken care of, another piece to keep it all together and they give the sound their own gritty character. SURROUNDINGS know how to do it and how to do it right.
I haven't been excited about a band coming from the hardcore spectrum lately and that's why you should be too.
Tracklist:
1. World of Failure
2. Virgilkapelle
3. Harvesting Dirt
4. No Seed
5. Man Has Failed
6. Dead Mass
7. Five Suns
8. Trouble In the Dunes
9. The Jar Is Empty
10. Walls and Wires
11. Gluttony of God
When you're in a band that plays shows on a quite regular basis it's probably unavoidable that you get to know loads of new bands. Most of the time local ones that are opening, and more often than not those bands aren't that great - probably the reason why most of them never leave ther "local band" status. However, sometimes it happens that those new bands leave a good impression, may it be because they are totally rad people or the music and performance is really inspiring. Within the last few months we played with a couple of new/young bands that appealed to me in a way or another - so I decided to feature six new bands on this blog. The rules are easy: six bands, the same five questions to each band. Enjoy this and support the bands!
Lightbearer are from Essen, Ruhrpott, Germany. We played their first show with them, and as far as I remember it was the best first show I've ever seen. In addition, their bass player Ansgar is one of the raddest persons I know.
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
Our drummer Marcel and I (bass) started the band almost one year ago. It took us a few months to find a singer and the guitarplayers. We started the band because we wanted to play heavy music that fits our taste and we needed an excuse to have some beers during normal weekdays.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
Speaking for the whole band I would say that Pantera is definitely number one. Next is Down and at the moment The Sword for one half of the band and High on Fire for the other half.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
We have really nothing that makes us unique. We are just a bunch of guys who like to play heavy music and drinking beer.
Your lyrics usually deal with...
Anger, Frustration, Destruction, and Death... keep it metal... haha. But I think we´re going in for Satan next time... hahahaha
Your next plans as a band?
Honestly speaking, there is no real plan at the moment. We just want to play some good shows and hang out with friends. Hopefully, we´ll find a label soon and have a 7" produced. We are also talking to some friends to have a split 7" in a few month and if we are lucky we can play a tour next year and have enough money to hit the studio again.
A wild band from Vienna, Austria. Hard partying whiskey drinkers and hell raisers with the heart in the right place. Love 'em.
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
I think our first practice was some time around December 2008. We never had a certain goal in mind or anything, we just wanted to write some songs, have some kinda outlet, you know.. and yeah, that's still what it's about.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
I hate such questions, they're always pretty hard to answer as there are usually a billion of influences and they change on a daily basis. However, there are of course some constants, recently including mainly Cleveland/Holy Terror style bands, and a lot of Thrash and Death Metal classics, such as Kreator or Bolt Thrower.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
Well, we're still trying to find what you could call our own sound. As we develop as human beings throughout the years, so do our creations, and the more music we write and play, the more distinct our ideas become. In the last time, we tried to break out of that generic hardcore song structure our demo songs still had. I don't know if that makes us unique, but we actually just want to create music that we ourselves like at the very moment, the song comes into existence. Everything else would be kinda strange anyway, I think.
Your lyrics usually deal with...
The usual stuff: feeling confused, disoriented and misplaced in this world. This is of course very generalized but sums up everything quite well, haha.
Your next plans as a band?
As mentioned before, we're still working on finding a unique sound. Something that doesn't feel like the music we write actually came from someone else. This is our music, so we want it to sound that way. Of course we also want to do everything every band wants to do like releasing a lot of records, getting rich and never having to work again.
Infected are from Saxony, Germany. We shared the stage twice. They instantly got my attention with their super heavy, no bullshit attitude. There are many bands doing the super-fast-meets-super-slow-thing right now, but Infected are able to scare you
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
We startet in fall 2007 as a side project, with honestly no expectations, but in early 2009 Infected became our main band. The only motivation was just to hang out, having a great time together and creating a beast that contains powerviolence, doom, metal and punk.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
Eyehategod, Mind Eraser and some 80's stuff like Depeche Mode, Phill Collins etc.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
Uhhh, hard question, don't know, we're just a band playing the music we like. The people who listen to our shit should decide if we're unique or not. We don't care.
Your lyrics usually deal with...
Disbelief & SATAN!
Your next plans as a band?
Artwork and master for the split with Mind Trap are finally done. Hopefully it will be released in November. Also in November or December we will recording a few new songs for another split with our mates from Dresden in Equality, if you're into Botch or Converge, check them out. And of course, playing shows as often as we can.
To be honest, we've never played with Coldburn so far. A fact that sucks, because they're great. As easy as that. I know Christian, one of their guitarists, when we were touring together with his old band The Realness. If Coldburn can get their shit together, they could get big.
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
We started the band in autumn 2009 and our motivation was to play hardcore music the way we like it. I guess theres nothing more to say about it.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
Terror, HopeCon and Biohazard.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
I think its hard to say what makes a band unique in times, when there are so many bands around. Were definitely doing our own thing, but were also influenced a lot by music we‘ve heard, shows we‘ve seen and the lives we‘ve lived. We dont know if we are really unique and in the end its up to the listeners and show-visitors to decide if we are.
Your lyrics usually deal with...
Situations and experiences we had, made and learned from. Since most of the stuff which had huge impact on us were feelings like anger, letdown and hard times we shout out about that. However, we dont like to be considered as a negative hardcore band cause in the end were all pretty nice guys and our message definitely has a positive outlook. But to sing about being in love and partying wouldn‘t fit the musical idea.
Your next plans as a band?
We recorded songs for a 7inch which is coming out this winter on Worship Records. Apart from that we wanna play as many shows as possible, meet more great people on the road and hopefully go on our first tour next year.
In a review of their demo I wrote that they remind me of a glue sniffing version of Infest. Well, they still do. Playing with them is always cool, and just like their friends of Juggernaut they like to have a nip of liquor now and then.
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
We started with Mind Trap in early 2009! Our motivation? It’s the best feeling when we see people going nuts and singalong to our music.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
Infest, Neanderthal and Mind Eraser.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
Well, each of us has a stunning, beautiful, cute and intelligent girlfriend. Be jealous!
Your lyrics usually deal with...
This fucked up place we call earth and these fucked up things we call humanity and religion.
Your next plans as a band?
At the moment we are playing a game. It’s called “Who in the band can be the laziest?”. But in the next few weeks a split 7” with Infected from Germany will come to life on Power Trip Records. Our plans for the next year are simple, release the first LP and play as much shows as we can. Thanks for your support. All of you should listen to Avalanche!
My first impression of Soultrader, when we played with them a few months ago, was: "Damn, their intro sounds kinda like SOD." All in all, Souldtrader doesn't sound like SOD, but they're a good band anyway haha. They recently released a 7" called "Inner Universe", so check that out!
First of all we have to say that it's difficult to entirely answer these questions without neglecting some personal aspects because subordinating five individuals in one group never engenders an unmitigated result. Nevertheless, here we go...
When have you startet the band and what is your motivation?
We started around May 2009 after different other projects with the intention to create a personal escape out of reality and just beeing creativ. As a band and as five individuals we try to slip through the daily torture while making music and writing lyrics which just reflects the liaison of all of us.
Name three bands that influenced your music and/or attitude...
Hard to choose only three from tons of stunning bands out of over 30 years “hardcore/punk history”. We would say that we are influenced by many different genres which are mainly based in the hardcore/punk/metal movement. Especially the 90s took our fancy. Naming only three bands would cause a misrepresentation, so this has to be enough.
...and now tell what makes you unique.
Listen to our records and tell us.
Your lyrics usually deal with...
...personal emotions, problems, experiences and/or politics; both packed up in a garment out of metaphers and destined to make you think.
Your next plans as a band?
We try to play as many shows as possible. Furthermore SOULTRADER will write and record some new songs for a planned 10”. Therefore we search for supplementary labels (next to Demon Spawn Records). So hit us up.
Most of the time you pick up a record, listen to it two or three times, and maybe like it. You remember every song after the first listening, have your favourite ones after the second time, maybe already know some of the words. You understand the song structures, the riffs, the composition, if you like the record it gives you a good feeling. But sometimes you listen to a record that's very different - the music that beats down on you is so complex it's hard to follow the songs, with a shitload of riffs is packed into every single song, when you listen to the record for the first time you turn it off after three tracks because you can't handle it. If you knew Starkweather before their latest record on Deathwish (they're already around since 1989), you know what kind of record "This Sheltering Night" is: a complex, harsh, uncomfortable one. By the way, props go out to Deathwish for releasing awesome records like this and not only mediocre crap like Killing The Dream. So I think in a way Starkweather translated 70ies Prog-Rock à la King Crimson into (Post-)Metal, with all its weird riffs, chords, time signatures and guitar leads, all very heavy and very, very dark. The most outstanding thing about Starkweather is (and always were) the vocals though. It is simply unbelievable how one person can come up with so many different voices (and not sounding like someone who tries to fake them). From sung vocals to nearly guttural ones, screaming, whispering, it's all there and all good. As good as it is, I have to make clear that "This Sheltering Night" is definetely a record that demands a lot of time. I listened to it for quite some time now and still discover new aspects, new layers of guitar underneath the riff-storm on top or new sick breaks I haven't perceived before. So if you like to spend a lot of time with one and the same record, and wish not to get bored after two days, check out "This Sheltering Night", if you're looking for your rather generic Hardcore or Metal record, better stay away from this one.
When I read the news that Aaron Melnick of Integrity/In Cold Blood fame would release a split 7" with his new band Shin To Shin and Pulling Teeth on the flipside I was so amazed I couldn't sleep for three days. Aaron Melnick is definetely in the 5 of the most influental guitarists for me - I stopped counting the riffs I stole from him. As you might guess after this introduction, I really expected A LOT from Shin To Shin. But when I listened to one of the tracks online as soon as possible, I was quite disappointed. On the one hand I probably expected to much, on the other hand I didn't really know what kind of sound to expect. Of course I ordered the 7" anyway, and after it took a few spins on my record player I had to reconsider my opinion. I think what turned me off the first time was the fact that Shin To Shin's riffs aren't in the fashion of Melnicks "early works". The music hasn't too much to do with the classic Clevo-Hardcore sound, but, in my opinion, a whole lot with first wave Black Metal, think of bands like Hellhammer, early Celtic Frost and, most of all, early Venom. This, a little bit of Motörhead'ish rock and Discharge's wall-of-sound brutality is what Shin To Shin sound like, well, at least in my ears. And the more often I listen to it, the better I like it. It's different, it's not very Hardcore'ish, but it's hard, and that's the important thing isn't it?
On the flipside, like I mentioned before, Pulling Teeth. This song was already avaible online for quite some time, sounds like Slayer meets Integrity and is awesome, like all of their stuff. Nothing more to say. Oh well, one more thing: the artwork sucks, what's the matter with a bunch of bugs? I don't get it.
A while ago I received a five-7"-pre-order-package from A389 Records (what else...), but due to the fact that I fall asleep after 30 minutes at most after I come home from work, I haven't found the time to review that stuff. And if I keep up this rate I'll have all five 7"s reviewed in January 2011. Nice. Anyway, I'll start with the Hatewaves 7" because of all records in the package I like this one best. Hatewaves is another band with Dom from Pulling Teeth/A389 Records on guitar, so I knew already beforehand that this record wouldn't suck. Somehow this band reminds me of a faster version of Until The End, especially the style of the (backing) vocals, the production and, most of all, the super heavy moshparts. But don't expect this "mosh part during another mosh part"-thing Until The End celebrated in excess, Hatewaves keep it rather short, but nonetheless heavy. Throw in a few blast beats here and there, pissed-off lyrics (on this record is the first anti-facebook-song I know...), a bunch of catchy sing-alongs ("there's nothing free but death and air, I pay no taxes I refuse to share" <= I've had these lines in my head now for weeks)and you'll get a quite amazing Hardcore record. By the way, on the label's website it says "Brutal, stupid and awesome grind/hardcore". Now it's time for me to practise spin kicks.
I realized a lot of people coming to this blog via google because they searched for information concerning the Morning Again reunion, so here's the newest info from Stuck In the Past:
It's true: Morning Again will play one reunion show this year: The show will take place at Churchill's Pub in Miami on Saturday, December 11 2010. More details will be released later this week but the following bands are scheduled to play:
Morning Again
Kids Like Us
All Hell Breaks Loose
Remembering Never
Knock Em Dead
Homestretch
Harbinger
The lineup for the band will be John and Steve on guitar, Jerry on bass, Kevin on vocals and Matt on drums.
When I heard that Pale Creation were about to release a new 7", I was more than stoked. I mean their last record was released in the last century, who would expect to get the chance to listen to new Pale Creation songs at all? Not me. And of course my expectations were quite high - to me, the Twilight full length is one of the most outstanding records of the 90ies. Surely rooted in Clevelands Hardcore scene, Pale Creation managed to create something really unique. It's not just Hardcore mixed with Metal, so way deeper than that. I'm not sure if Neurosis was an influence, but I think the comparison is not too odd. The factor that really made me an Pale Creation addict are the guitar solos: They're not of the Thrashy kind like those of Integrity for example (which are, of course, awesome as well), but more atmospheric, with loads of delay onto them, and a very smooth neck-humbucker sound. It's the kind of solos that let you shiver.
To make a long story short: the new 7" doesn't sound exactly like the Twilight record, which isn't too surprising when you consider the timespan in between, it sounds different but still awesome. I'd say it's more a mix of the (split-) 7"s and the full length, soundwise, and the songs are just plain great, really, there's not much more to say about it. The song on the A-side, "Rose Colored Haze", comes with an super spheric intro, then the guitars all of a sudden start, and you get washed away by a whirl of harsh vocals, double bass, and the heaviest riffs pressed onto vinyl in 2010. The solo ain't missing as well and it completes the song in a way only Pale Creation solos can. The song on the B-side, "Wake Of temptation" starts calm, with sung (!) vocals, and leads to the chorus, where Dwid Hellion is doing guest vocals. And whereas I still don't like his vocals on the new Integrity full length, here he's doing an awesome job. All in all, I think "Wake Of Temptation" is arguably Pale Creation's best song ever, and for damn sure the best song released in 2010 so far. Seriously, I'm addicted to this song. It's emotive, it creates a tense atmosphere, it's heavy, dark... I don't know, it's hard to describe music in words. Just go get this 7", and if it's the only 7" you buy this year, so be it. There's not likely anything better to come.
Black Breath got my attention sometime last year, when they got featured in the same fanzine like my own band. They had one record out, "Razor To Oblivion", a 10" I purchased shortly afterwards. A heavy, solid record for everyone who likes rough Hardcore and Swedish Deathmetal (so obviously this record was made for me, haha), giving you a good 50/50 mix of both genres. Their new record entitled "Heavy Breathing" was released via Southern Lord Records, somehow I missed to order it directly, so one day I checked the SL-site again when the vinyl version's gonna be released, and found out it was already sold out. Bummer. But Per Koro Records from Germany got some copies shortly afterwards, so I finally got mine. And, as you've probably heard somewhere else, this record is fucking awesome. It leans definetely more towards early Swedish Death Metal, sound- and songwise, a.k.a. Entombed "Left Hand Path" era, Dismember "Like an everflowing stream" era, or, not so Swedish but for sure influental for those, Autopsy. Heavy, groovy Death Metal riffs, uptempo beats but not ridiculously fast, that's the way it goes. Add a good dose of Motörhead and Discharge, put a Boss HM-2 pedal between guitar and the old Marshall, there you go: Black Breath. The vocals are the main factor reminiscent of Hardcore, but don't get me wrong: "Heavy Breathing" for sure eyes more towards Metal than the previous record. The first Black Breath full length should complement everybody's record collection (if available haha) who likes his Death Metal "Stockholmish", his Hardcore raw and/or his hair long. Amazing record that leaves me longing for more.
The latest Integrity output called "The Blackest Curse" was maybe one of the most anticipated records in 2010. And 2009. And 2008, or since the date it was scheduled for the first time, when ever that was. Because of the growing attention towards the classic "Holy-Terror"-sound (whatever that term means, nobody really seems to know that, even bands that use that term to describe themselves don't know it; I'd really like to know what the idea behind Holy Terrorism is, if there really is one) during the last few years, a lot of people look at the originators Integrity and what they are doing within this sub-sub-genre. And, to be honest, I was quite curious myself. Would Dwid surprise/piss off a lot of people again by doing something different like Integrity 2000, would Integrity do a second "To Die For" record, or would they even go for a more "classic" Integrity sound à la "Humanity Is The Devil"? The truth lies in between the latter two options. The riffs are huge, the solos are awesome, the songs are all heavy and dark, in general they are a lot more raw and unpolished than those on "To Die For" - of course, due to the awesome, rough production, that even adds a punk-feeling to the sound. So song-wise, "The Blackest Curse" is definetely a winner. But not everything's good about this record: the total lack of any information about who actually played on that record, no lyrics, no credits, just nothing, could be interpreted as the artist's idea of focusing the listener to the music, but basically it pisses me off. I mean I'm not a fan of liner notes that are longer than the lyrics themselves, nor of never ending thanks lists, and I see that those would be pretty displaced in an Integrity record anyway. But at least some basic information about the record would have been fine, if all records I buy would be like this one I'd stop paying for them and download everything. I mean if you don't miss anything by downloading a record instead of buying it, why do it then? But the fact that makes "The Blackest Curse" just a good, and not an awesome record is Dwid's vocal performance. The vocals are monotone, too deep, and way too gargling, in a way they even sound a bit bored, you know, just sung somehow - no comparison to the grandness of the early Integrity recordings. After a while I really feel annoyed - and keep in mind, this is written by someone who "likes" the vocals on Napalm Death's "Enslavement" record for example. To sum it up, if you dig the early records by this band, and don't need a super high-end sound like they had on "To Die For", you'll probably like "The Blackes Curse". But because of the substandard vocals and the lack of information I'd only give this record a 7 out of 10.
The beginning of the first track reminds me of Napalm Death’s „Enslavement“ record, just because every record that starts with a bass drum with lots of reverb does so. Well, not the worst first impression I’d say. The Love Below are quite hard to classify, which isn’t a bad thing, somehow they sound like a tougher version of Left For Dead, which is a stupid thesis anyway because Left For Dead were tough as fuck. Next try. The Love Below combine the heaviness of bands like early Blacklisted and the rawness and riffs of bands like Left For Dead or the more Hardcore-ish songs of The Swarm, with vocals that remind me of spazzy Hardcore outfits like early Some Girls or even Swing Kids. The lyrics are quite personal, quite pissed, and more in the vein of Hardcore ca. 2001, but without all the sadness-thing. On their myspace page they state their influences the following: "godlessness. drug abuse. adult situations". I guess that sums it up pretty well. The more often I listen to this, the better it gets, this record is definetely a grower. At first I thought something like „well, another Hardcore record, not bad, but not exciting as well“, but after a few more turns this record get’s damn awesome, and proves that you just can’t go wrong with A389 Records. Oh, and on the cover artwork there’s a lot of pink. Hint, hint.
Here we have a cool Hardcore item on a small label I unfortunatly haven’t heard about until now, Free Cake Records. In Virgin Witch, Dom from Pulling Teeth is filling on the bass and guitar duties, so I knew beforehand that this shit’s gonna rule. So what music can you expect from a one sided 7“ with two songs, the flip side of the record with a silk screened pentagramm on it, and a cover artwork that has everything what’s good (boobs, skulls, devil horns)? Let me say it like this, if the number of the Os in the word doom correlates with the slowness of the music, the first track is definetely a dooooooooooooom song. Sludgy, with nice twin guitar harmonies here and there, and realy slow, mean vocals, you know the deal. Nothing to bring you into an happy mood, though, like Grief when they had a really bad day. The second song is faster, not really super fast but a solid midtempo, a good Hardcore song in the vein of Pulling Teeth (sorry for the unoriginal comparison), and the solo is one of the best Dom has done so far. It could very well be on one of the earyl Angel Witch recordings as well. I love Angel Witch’s solos. Virgin Witch is probably only one of Dom’s many side projects, but a very good one and I hope that there will be more tunes of that band sometime soon.
Does anybody remember the movie 28 Days Later? In that film humans get infected by a virus, that is basically like to pure rage and turns its victims into some kind of zombies („some kind of“ because they are able to run and climb, something a normal zombie doesn’t). Why am I mentioning this? The first time I’ve listened to this LP, I thought that this record was pure rage pressed on vinyl. And I still think it is. At first I wanted to make the usual Dropdead-meets-early-Terror-comparison, and it still would describe pretty good what’s going on here, but this morning, on my way to the bus, I suddenly knew of what band Nails, especially the new record, reminds me. I think Nails are like a Hardcore-interpretation of Terrorizer (speaking of Terrorizer I only speak about their masterpiece „World Downfall“ of course, I never even listened to the second record because everybody kept telling me how shitty it was). Nails have the same „all go no slow“ meets unseen brutality attitude, a lot of blastbeats, typical Hardcore-rythm parts, with 20 Boss Heavy Metal pedals between instruments and amps, add the hardest moshparts since Hatebreed's "Satisfaction..." record, there you are. The angriest vocals on earth screaming some of the most pissed off lyrics in Hardcore's short but angry history: "Bow to no man, no pig, no book of myths/tolerate no deception, no ignorance/I'm not your fucking servant" ("No Servant") or "Show your true self/Your loyality runs thin/You want to be liked by everyone/Two-faced faker, fucking traitor/Your feet are firmly planted/On both sides of the drawn line/Coward" (Traitor). A lot of "me against the world"-attitude, which is cool if it's authentic like in Nails' case. Now I probably should write about who’s playing in this band, but I don’t think Nails really need that. This thing was recorded at Kurt Ballou’s Godcity Studios, but don’t expect something rather slick like the Carry On full length (no diss towards Carry On, I love that record), the production is really noisy and dirty, still super heavy and, well, brutal. What more can I say... this is one of THE Hardcore records in 2010, if you’re into bands like [namedropping mode on] early Terror or Hatebreed, Terrorizer, Mind Eraser, Dropdead, Entombed or Napalm Death [namedropping mode off] you’ll be blown away by Nails.
Maybe you remember this post from March - I finally found the time to read this whole thing and write a review about it. First of all, the guy who's doing this zine, Apostolis from Athens, Greece, seems to be a very nice dude, so I didn't buy only one zine but six, so if you're from Germany and want to have one of those babies, drop me a line. Price is three Euros plus shipping haha. But back to the review. First thing you realize when you pick this up is of course the artwork, and this one looks really cool, as you can see on the picture to the left. It was done by a guy named Peio. Second, the paper is quite thick, especially the cover, but the normal pages as well, so reading this thing is also a haptic experience, which is cool. Zines that are made of this super thin paper (like MRR for example) always tend to annoy me after a while, because the pages get ripped up quite fast. No diss towards MRR intended by the way. Content-wise, this zine offers a good mixture of bands, and from a subjective point of view, of bands I can relate to. I especially enjoyed the interviews with Pulling Teeth, Poison The Well, Vitamin X (I didn't know Wolfi of Tangled Lines fame is drumming in that band now, I did an interview with him like five years ago) and above all (and to my own surprise) Greg Bennick of Trial. He has a lot of interesting things to say, and manages to do it in an entertaining way. The let downer is IMO the Lewd Acts interview, due to the LA-guy's laziness to come up with a little bit more interesting answers. The questions in all interviews are above the average you usually get to read, although I wish that Apostolis would have pressed on certain topics a little bit more. Then there's an article about Krishna consciousness, not something groundbreaking new, but on the other hand, 90 percent of today's Hardcore kids surely don't know about the connection between Hardcore and Krishna anymore. Personally, I always thought it was kinda strange, and this not only due to the fact that Krishna also involves some kind of organised religion, and with that, religious leaders, something that doesn't go to well hand in hand with Hardcore in my book. The other side of the coin is that I'm still siked about hanging out with the guys from 108, especially Vic, three years ago or something when we had the chance to play with them. Vic is cool, and for sure wouldn't be the person he is without all that Krishna-rave. But back to the Keep It Real zine, well, there's not much left to tell you, there's also a photo report from last years Fluff Fest, I never understood what's so great about festivals, because this is not what keeps Hardcore alive, but I can understand that a lot of people appriciate the chance to see a lot of good bands in a very short time. In addition to this content there are a couple of record reviews as well, I know people who only read the record reviews in zines. Whatever, to bring this to an end, this printzine is definetely worth your money, all in all it's nice to read, looks great and seems to be the perfect match with a hot summerday by the swimming pool, hanging out, drinking ice tea, and reading a zine.
You've probably heard about that: Morning Again will reunite for a bunch of shows in the US and Europe. I probably won't go haha, but it would quite rad to see them playing songs like "God framed me" or "Martyr"
My friend Apostolis from Greece asked me to do a post about the newest issue of his print-zine, because it just got released. Well, I don't know a lot about it now, because I haven't read it yet, but since I ordered a few copies I will review the zine later on.
For now I can tell you what's inside: Interviews with Greg Bennick of Trial, Birds Of A Feather, Lewd Acts, Confronto, Vitamin X, To Kill, Pulling Teeth, Poison The Well and Despite Everything. Especially the combination of Pulling Teeth and Poison The Well is fucking rad, I wouldn't have thought that somebody except me likes both bands haha. Besides that you'll get a six pages photo report of Fluff fest '09, a thought provoking article concerning Krishna Hardcore Consciousness and the usual reviews.
There will be 500 copies, Din A4, price for this baby is 3 Euros plus shipping. You can contact Apostolis at hxf_prodaxionz@yahoo.com (also for wholesale and what not).
Judas is a band from California, thrashing out some of the heaviest Hardcore imaginable. You already know what to expect just looking at the dark, disturbing artwork, which looks really awesome and contributes a quite big part to the overall violent and dark atmosphere. The lyrics get spitten out in short phrases, not unlike bands like Dropdead, but way sicker. "I am here/From the depths of hell/City streets I dwell/Control this world I shall/Judas lives" (Ascension). That's one song. So as you might guess, the songs are rather short, burning out in an explosive mixture between Powerviolence and Sludgecore, taking no prisoners.
At first I wanted to order this record directly from the label (16 Oh), unfortunately I never received my 7", nor any replies to my e-mails. So I bought months later from a mailorder in Germany, being glad I wasn't a cry baby not buying the record again haha. Because this shit rules. I wonder why there isn't much more rave about this band.
Just like their now-labelmates in Full Of Hell LOW PLACES combine wildly everything fucked up and heavy there is and spit it towards you with so much hate and anger you're running the risk of wetting yourself. I've had the chance to listen to a roughmix of their new output Spiritual Treatment and I'm super stoked about it. Imagine Neanderthal having sex with Eyehategod and early Napalm Death is watching the mating through the keyhole. Got the picture? This is how LOW PLACES sounds like. 
Do you have an idea where this trend during the last years comes from? I mean, six oder seven years back it was hip to be into Nike Airmax und PMA and all this, now it kind of completely changed to a bunch of middle/upper class kids pretending to be as evil as possible.
Are there people who are upset by your musical development?
Next plans?
This decent record could easily become a very sought-after collectors item, due to the fact that Damian from the almighty Fucked Up is doing the vocals. If that wouldn't be rad enough, Jordan from No Warning/Terror is playing guitar. So I guess this is enough all-star-line-up'ness. Millenial Reign's only goal was to worship Integrity, nothing more, nothing less. Well, they definitely succeeded in this, there's not much more to say about it. Heavy, Melnick'ish riffs, sick solos, Damian bawls the dark, metaphoric lyrics, so everything you'd expect from a Holy Terror worship is there and accomplished well. I mean there are many, many bands at the moment that try to do the classic Integrity sound, copying everything from A to Z and think nevertheless that they're the most innovative thing in the world. Millenial Reign copy everything, too, but, and that's what makes the difference, they never said they wanted to do anything else. And, as opposed to this whole "Holy Terror kindergarten", the lyrics are really worth to be read, and even come along with short liner notes. Conclusion: for sure not the reinvention of the wheel, but super well done and Damian is cool anyway. Go for it. 
So here is my contribution to Lost In Sabbath. Another old jaded dude.It doesn't happen often nowaways that a band really catches a glimpse of my eyes and ears. I finally figured out that my taste in music stagnated somewhere in time and only few bands that formed and released their shit after 2003 interest me much but every now and then you cross something.
I have to admit that Pellinore are great as well but SURROUNDINGS really did it for me. Besides this split they have released so far a nice 7" called "Monuments in Ruins". This year Surroundings have now unleashed their first long-player (I guess you can call it that way) which is simply-put "self-titled". So why did I claim that I rarely listen to any new shit. Well, the new shit I mainly listen to sounds like old shit, like the good old days. I will now quote the influences that SURROUNDINGS stated on their myspace and as you will see, besides the name-dropping, they cover a nice range of influences, at least in my book: Eyehategod, Neurosis, Unsane, Discharge, Nirvana, Earth and Discordance Axis.
Tracklist:
