Skaven- Discography review

Skaven- Discography review

Crusty west coast sludge dirtier than almost anything of its time, Skaven’s small but sinister discography is a precursor to the American crust bands of the modern era.  Raspy, somewhat discernible vocals, clear but still animalistic in energy, were not a common vocal type, but went on to be used fairly frequently.  The guitars, though dirty and tuned down to emphasize heaviness, still possess enough drive to be “punk”, although this would not succinctly describe Skaven’s sound to any but the most unfamiliar of individuals.  The bass is blended into the overall guitar sound well, but there does remain some distinction between them, the former having a very punchy sound.  The drums, though the driving force of the overall sound, are not set in their speed, speeding up and slowing down all over the songs.  The overall mix is excellent; everything is distinct, clear, well-blended, and alters as is appropriate for the atmosphere of the sound.  This is also a mix of the dirty punk and metal primitivism and the unending artsy and melodic complicated-ness, as hardly any bands had done before this.  The lyrics are much the same- at times primitive, other times artsy, and often mixed together.  Too bad this band only lasted for a couple of years- these songs rip and could have evolved only further.  If nothing else, this reminds me slightly of the evolution of His Hero Is Gone into Tragedy.

-Aunty Social

Disobey- Power & Greed tape review

Disobey- Power and Greed tape review

Beginning with a black metal “Oomph!”, one might get the wrong idea about this EP.  However, this is His Hero Is Gone worship with an occasional lead break or melodic harmony shared between the two guitars.  This is dark hardcore that sounds like sludgy crust punk- even the likes of Xibalba and Harm’s Way come to mind when jamming this tape.  However, this is definitely a great majority part HHIG, a larger minority part Tragedy, and a smaller part general punk/ hardcore influences.  In a town devoid of decent crust punk, this is a refreshing sound to hear at times.  I kind of wish they were from here, as it would be a nice change of pace.  Worth the jam, no doubt.  For the crust, a must.  For the punk, not quite a slam dunk.

-Aunty Social

Lungs- 10" record review

Lungs- Sermon on the Plain b/w The Pith 10” review

Something about this album is fucking menacing.  It’s hardly even mid-tempo, but goddamn if the notes rung out don’t send an eerie chill down my spine and through my brain.  This crust-influenced doom metal moves like a tank- slow, but unstoppable, powerful, and murderously intimidating.  If these songs had more lyrics, I imagine they would be apocalyptic and hopelessly bleak, because this music has not one shred of hope in its sound- this is the younger cousin of Black Flag.  This punch takes seven and a half minutes to hit you, but it’s deadly.  Only the likes of the Twin Cities could spawn something so unexpectedly awesome.  The place that gave birth to Havoc and Profane Existence, anarcho and crust labels from the start, churns out something like this… and it works.  This is music to scratch your skin off to and scream at the top of your lungs.  Gnarly!

-Aunty Social

Dredd- Cursed Earth EP review

Dredd- Cursed Earth EP review

It’s a shame this EP is so short, but such is the life of an EP.  This record (not actually a vinyl or cassette record yet, as far as I’m aware), while quick, is twice as heavy as it is fast, its speedier parts strongly resembling Trap Them; this works out in their favor, as this crust/ sludge band seems to flourish when mixing heavy guitar sounds and thundering drums.  If power can be achieved in music by being powerful yet slow or average yet fast, Dredd has a shit ton of power; if heavy and slow is a moving tank and average but fast is a speeding bullet, think of this EP and band as a light, agile battle tank.  The weirdest element of this record is not in the relative uniqueness of the sound (not so much unique, but certainly the road less traveled), but in the fact that this record likely will not grab you right away.  It took me about five front-to-back listens to truly dig this, mostly because it IS one of those bands that deviate from the usual crust and sludge sounds.  Personally, I had the same experience with His Hero Is Gone and the later Black Flag material; I would suspect I am not the only person experiencing this grows-on-you phenomenon.  Overall, I rate this as a solid EP that deserves a wax commitment.

-Aunty Social