Shitstorm- Paranoid Existence CD review

Shitstorm- Paranoid Existence CD review

Fast, heavy, short, and brutal- what else could you want out of a grind band?  I am generally not a big fan of grindcore, but this has a very Lack Of Interest/Neanderthal/west coast powerviolence feel to it, and I like that a lot.  The downtuned guitars coupled with the blastbeats and misanthropic lyrics/vocals will tear you up- twenty-seven songs in sixteen minutes.  This should remind you of what the Circle Jerks were if they tuned down and (somehow) sped up.  Miami is known to have hurricanes from time to time, but this is a Shitstorm, and it leaves a trail of destruction just the same.

-Aunty Social

Against the Grain- Surrounded By Snakes CD review

Against the Grain- Surrounded By Snakes CD review

This is modern classic rock- while paying tribute to many old bands like Black Sabbath, Motorhead, the Dead Boys, and early Metallica, they are also planted in a more modern sounding style of rock and roll, like the anthems of a stoner who just had his first pot of coffee for the day.  The tempo is often mid-tempo and occasionally slows down to a stoner rock sort of beat, and sometimes picks up to a classic thrash pace.  The best way to think of it is like a Bell curve- most of the beats are mid-tempo, with the occasional slow-down or speed-up.  The guitars have a very heavy feel to them, but more in a loud, headbanging sort of way, rather than a sludgy, powerful way that one might envision when thinking of “heavy music”.  Sounds are well-mixed, evenly balanced; it’s very slick and professional.  Lyrical content is about traditional rock and roll kind of stuff- being in a band/on the road, love of rock and roll (which has always puzzled me, but ATG is far from the first or last band to have a song about the musical genre they are playing), drinking, the end of life as we know it, the bores of daily life, etc.  Not provocative, but definitely catchy and easy to remember, which is honestly more important in rock and roll.  This record reminds me of two things:  One, the kind of rock and roll I grew up listening to as a kid and being enthralled with the enormity of it, and two, the kind of up-tempo (at least comparatively so) music that people have sloppy drunken awesome sex to.  I can see rocking out to this at a bar or at home.  A prime example of what contemporary, non-shitty rock and roll should sound like.

-Aunty Social

Minus-9- Drown CD review

Minus-9- Drown CD review

A punk-influenced drum-and-bass group who specializes in experimental, weird, almost Crucifucks-esque punk rock, though there is a theme that seems to differ from traditional punk-sounding music.  Lyrical themes are all over, but there’s definitely a lean towards war-themed songs (Blackwater, World War VII, Genocide), and it’s all at least somewhat violent- interestingly cathartic.  However, this is very driven music for missing a key component of a band, the guitar; the songs are energetic, albeit without any recognizable song structure, just rhythms and choruses.  This band could fit into just about any kind of show line-up in music right now, given how diverse and nontraditional it is.  I dig the black-and-white imagery, though the benefit of lyrics would be nice- this is discounted only because I can understand what bassist/singer Andrew is singing.  I can dig it.  The songs are memorable, though the most notable one is the last one, “Black”.  The rest don’t stand out much for music, but the vocals get kind of drilled into one’s head, for better or worse.

“I like it!”- Jim Carrey

-Aunty Social

The Destructors/Ziplock- Pax Romanus split CD review

The Destructors/Ziplock- Pax Romanus split CD review

The Destructors side of this CD is modern-sounding Oi! with a left-leaning political stance.  The cover of Peter & the Test Tube Babies is notable, though it does seem to be a bit simplistic for the usually complex Destructors.  The vocals don’t do it much for me (it seems far too steeped in the sort of Dropkick Murphys style of Oi!), but the lyrics are intelligent, and the music, especially this time, is pretty good.  If the vocals could be a bit more gruff and grunty, I’d really dig this more than I do.  Still, a very worthy offering.  As for Ziplock, even though the name kind of annoys me, these songs too, are pretty good.  Gritty, heels-dug-in, ready to fight punk rock that could easily be hardcore or Oi!, but is neither.  These songs have some substance to them, no doubt.  I feel like their last song could have been a bit more urgent than it was, but no complaints otherwise.  Definitely the best thing I’ve received from the Destructors yet.

-Aunty Social

Bowser’s Castle- While My Genre Dies CD demo review

Bowser’s Castle- While My Genre Dies CD demo review

Mixing several genres into one sound- the typical response to a scene overwhelmed with too much straight ahead purity of music.  Most bands are boring at best when it comes to this, and after a few listen, I thought this band would be no different.  However, given time, the songs here are actually pretty infectious.  Taking parts of third wave ska, classic rock, ambient music, psychedelic rock, and a slight amount of pop music, the blend here is kind of boring at first- dreary garage rock for stoners.  I first thought this because I always compare this band (inadvertently) to bassist Joe Sicard’s old band Treehouse Rivals, who were just bursting with energy and are still one of my favorite local bands of all time.  However, when I stopped comparing the two bands, and instead pretended it was a brand spankin’ new band of ‘nobodies’, I began to see some of the higher points of this music.  It’s angst-filled, slower, catchy, toe-tapping rock and roll.  It’s a very mellow sound, but not lacking in emotion; listening to the lyrics, one can feel the frustration the singer exerts in the words.  On top of it all, this was recorded completely DIY, and for a trio with little to no direct recording experience, this is pretty decent in terms of balance, though the bass could always be a little louder.  Simple music, but only at a first glance- there’s more than meets the eye here.  For your mellower, somber moods, or if you’re a fan of sparking up, this is a decent soundtrack for cooler people than myself.  The hipsters ought to flock to this band and love them before they get big.

-Aunty Social

The Destructors- Ragnarok 12.12.12 CD review

The Destructors- Ragnarok 12.12.12 CD review

Compared to the previous releases I’ve received from these guys, this stellar.  This has a mixed Oi!/UK 82 sound that surprised me quite a bit- they do a couple of pretty good covers of the Exploited “Dead Cities” and Discharge’s “The Final Bloodbath”, albeit with a clearer, less cacophonous singing style.  Though I am not into the singing style the band usually employs, this is a modernized version of UK 82 bands, and it’s done very well.  Even the slower songs are pretty good most of the time.  The topics are still very political, one thing that’s never changed about the band in my time of being aware of them (and one thing I have mad respect for them on).  No songs that were notably bad, and the best song was the “War of the Worlds” jam; definitely above average.  If nothing else, I have a few tracks I’d certainly recommend off this record.

-Aunty Social