Kriegs Legion- War Bastard LP review

Kriegs Legion- War Bastard LP review

This is real old school shit, crossover the way it was made before hardcore influenced it in the 90s.  Utilizing the two guitar sound in an almost Iron Maiden-esque way (that is, with the use of simultaneous harmonies and an individual sound for each guitar), it is the plentiful riffs that seem to drive these songs forward.  The drums are metronomic, damn near flawless; bass is bumpin’, following the high end of the riffs with a mirrored, low-sounding rhythm; the vocals are gruff, mid-pitch yells with all the youthful angst and nervousness boiled out in favor of a righteous urgency (given the lyrics, it makes more sense to be this way).  Lyrics cover a wide range of topics, most of ‘em related to the shrinking level of freedom the powers that be allow the common man, the proletariat of today.  Propaganda, bribe, coercion, or a violent end is what seems to be the accepted norm for combating oppositional individuality in this day and age, and Krieg’s Legion is unafraid to say it.

The layout of the insert for the record is smooth yet simple, the recording quality is clean but not spotless (as all metal and punk should be), and there’s some room left to headbang.  A fine piece of Motor City metal and/or punk.

-Aunty Social

Forced Order- Eternal War 7" review

Forced Order- Eternal War 7” review

It’s like youth crew breakdowns with metal riffs, periodically picking up the pace, but mostly remaining at mid-tempo or the slower end of a fast tempo.  It’s a metal band with a bunch of breakdowns and a hardcore singer.  The short lead breaks are indicative that these guys like early 90s death metal a lot, and it does add an element not usually seen in hardcore (at least the hardcore I’m listening to- word is death metal-core is the hot thing on the block right now).  This is the kind of hardcore you circle pit and headbang to- 90s death metal riffs, a hardcore singer, plentiful breakdowns, and a lot of the fat of those death metal songs trimmed out, and for the better.  Cyrus poses the question “Can you dig it?” to which I can easily answer “Yes”.

-Aunty Social

Crisis Unit- The Tape review

Crisis Unit- The Tape review

This sounds like what California’s Media Blitz was trying to do, but better.  Crossover-ish hardcore with an emphasis on tight drums and only slightly deeper than average vocals.  Not exceptional, but good.  Worth seeing where a four song 7” would go.

-Aunty Social

Krieg's Legion- demo review

Krieg’s Legion- demo review

One of the most old-school fusions of punk and metal I’ve heard in quite some time; this could have been a Plasmatics outtake minus Wendy O. on vocals or the Crumbsuckers on a 33- it’s familiar, but doesn’t sound quite like any other band one could readily identify.  It’s a mid-paced metal/punk rock fusion straight out of the late 70s, from the proto-hardcore sound to the indirect yet unabashed anti-authoritarian stance in their lyrics.  Also, in atypical fashion of bands from that era of music, this crew has two guitars and a distinct sound on one of them being a lead, making them only more interesting.  Though this is a very rough demo and some good engineering treatment would benefit the band, this is gnarly as fuck, especially for a first demo.  Check them out wherever AARP members apply.

-Aunty Social

Crosscheck- Over Analyzed EP review

Crosscheck- Over Analyzed EP review

The Shining intro is a nice touch to the beginning of this EP- an underappreciated film, no doubt; off to a good start.  The lead break in “Held Back” before the breakdown is… interesting- not sure if it fits the tone of the music, but I’ll let it slide because it sounds cool.  The song itself was alright- Lockin’ Out core/new age of hardcore in the vein of Backtrack, Build and Destroy, Agitator, Intent, Rival Mob, and the like.  “Live Through Lies” continues this trend, while “Overlooked” sounds a little more like 90s metalcore a la Earth Crisis, Strife, Earthmover, shit like that- very guitar-driven and heavy.  “Confined”, too, is like this, emphasizing the very slow end of hardcore bordering on doom or classic metal, being mid-tempo and kind of drony.  The title track managed to incorporate some crossover-style riffs while keeping an explicitly new-age hardcore sound- cool, but a departure from conventional nonetheless.  I’m not wowed, but for a new band, this is a decent start.  The crossover stuff is cool, and some of the breakdowns are good; however, I’d like to see the band lean more towards metal than hardcore, because the hardcore end of this EP is dull, thoughtless new age hardcore, but the metal end of this is actually pretty good.  The lyrics could use some more imagination, too, but if the music got reworked, the lyrics can be dull as ever, provided it was worked into newer song with proper flow.  Good first effort- hoping for more next time, though.  Don’t give it up.

-Aunty Social

Heresy- The Final Hour 7" review

Heresy- The Final Hour 7” review

This EP starts with a galloping bass, almost as strong as a guitar’s typical presence.  It definitely drives the song at first, though vocalist Tim King does begin to put in his rapid-fire words that act as the knight to the galloping horse.  The guitars are a traditional buzzsaw, not as driving as most guitar sounds, but not lacking in their contribution.  The drums are a very d-beat styled hardcore punk, definitely influenced by the likes of Discharge, Totalitar, and GBH- however, it seems to be a little more complicated than that.  It helps drive the song well enough, though.  The lyrics are anti-war, anti-system, anti-religion punk rock stuff- the words are not a huge vehicle for the band, rather it is the vocal delivery serving as the vehicle for the music.  Overall, it is low-fi raw cassette tape hardcore, the kind that ruled the 80s underground music scene everywhere, Detroit included.  Some metal influenced leaked in (in the form of short lead breaks), but make no mistake- this is Detroit punk rock.

-Aunty Social

Type-3- Corporate Reign demo CD review

Type-3- Corporate Reign demo CD review

Dual vocal punk rock that mixes a lot of oddball influences to have an almost unique blend of sounds to call their own.  Mix 90s skate punk, 90s ska-core/ crack rock steady sorts of upbeat yet angry punk, and Fat Wreck-core bands, and you have Type-3.  More of a party kind of punk, it is definitely the kind of band that might not fit in on a political straight edge/ vegan bill, although they do absolutely have an anti-authoritarian ring to them.  As for instruments, everything sounds pretty tight, balanced, and clear.  If you’re into this kind of thing as a general rule (I myself am a big fan of 90s third wave ska and CRS-style bands), this is killer.  If not, you might not dig it so much.  But these are four high-quality weed-smoking, skateboarding, 40 oz.-guzzling, chill-the-fuck-out punk rock tunes.  This demo really needs to be turned into a fucking tape.  In 90% of all punks, you’ll enjoy this to some extent, and it will be well worth your time to jam this.

-Aunty Social

Balaclava- Crimes of Faith LP review

Balaclava- Crimes of Faith LP review

This album is nowhere near what I thought it would be when I first picked it up- for some reason, I thought it would be along the lines of fast hardcore anarcho punk or a crustier version of Hirax.  Most definitely not so- Balaclava, who is from Richmond, Virginia, is a different kind of band, one much more along the lines of His Hero is Gone and what would amount to crust-influenced doom metal.

Crimes of Faith is an epic, seven song destroyer of an LP that focuses more on the crushing heaviness than anything else.  At least half of every song is instrumental and slowly chugs along, each note another punishing blow to the ears (in a positive way), further driving intoxicating negativity into one’s brain.  The other half (or less) of the songs is reminiscent of hardcore in the vein of heavier acts like Tragedy, Bullshit Tradition, and a sped-up version of Axegrinder.  There is just as much guitar work as there is bass and drum work in the instrumental portions, each one taking turns as the lead instrument while the others serve as rhythm instruments.  A very menacing beast this is; this record rules.

Toss away any preconceived ideas of what this album sounds like- chances are, they’re wrong.  Balaclava is an omnipresent insurgency that will crush you to dust with their riffs and beat you to death with their punishing beats!

-Aunty Social

Embrace the Kill/ Hellmouth/ In Defence/ Opposition Rising 4 way split 7" review

Embrace the Kill/ Hellmouth/ In Defence/ Opposition Rising 4-way split 7” review

I want to like this record; I really, really do.  Four stellar bands on the same piece of wax and some artwork by Alex Awn is a recipe that sounds like it will churn out a tasty recipe of a record.  However, the result, while not bad, by any means, is a bit underwhelming. It starts off well enough, with Embrace the Kill’s track “Blacklisted” pushing its way along, delivering a heavy, hard, hopeless and bleak black metal-influenced crust tune.  The song rules, and Embrace the Kill further solidifies itself as a killer west coast crust band (among who include Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Asymmetric Warfare, Short Changed, and loads more).  Next is Hellmouth’s “Amen Assholes”, a favorite song by a notably popular Detroit group that most in the area familiar with.  However, this song was apparently an earlier tracking of the song, and with it is a lesser level of quality.  Nothing is wrong with the song, but the levels, the mix, the sound quality… something is just not right.
Following this is the In Defence track “United Farces”, again earlier tracking of a song that would later be renamed and slightly reworked to “Corporate Bailout”.  This one suffers from the same problems as the Hellmouth track, although I liked this track of Ben Crew’s vocals better than the one used on “Corporate Bailout”.  The saving grace of this record would come in the Opposition Rising track “F.T.W.”, an oft-used acronym for a feeling that resonates in many of us.  Before deviating this into another populist misanthropic rant, I’ll return to the record:  Opposition Rising puts out probably the best track of theirs on this split (best compared to the rest of the songs on their Aftermathematics LP, which too rules).  Formed from the intact remains of Mouth Sewn Shut, the band is essentially the next chapter in the Toxic Narcotic saga.  While Mouth Sewn Shut (and Opposition Rising as well, for that matter) is known mostly for their blends of crust, hardcore, and reggae, this track is more of a hardcore track, but still retains the traditional M.S.S./ O.R. aura.

Even though I was not wowed by the two earlier tracking of these later-to-be excellent songs, there were okay, and the stellar tracks by Embrace the Kill and Opposition Rising makes this album worthwhile.

-Aunty Social