Dead in the Dirt- The Blind Hole LP review

Dead In The Dirt- The Blind Hole LP review

This manages to be heavy, fast, artsy, and thought-provoking, all in one.  And all this, coming from a grindcore band.  That’s right, the genre known for non-sequitors, an uncanny emphasis on drugs and political incorrectness, tunelessness, and generally being uncompromisingly stupid, managed to churn out something THIS good.  Heavy riffs, blastbeats, social critiques, oh my!

The guttural and shrieking vocals going back and forth is one trait of grindcore that the band kept, but the rest almost seems like it’s too good to be called grindcore.  Some songs clock in well under a minute, while others are almost three minutes, and the nigh-sludgy riffs are what keep one’s interest peaked.  Downright crushing!

-Aunty Social

Correction- Weaken the Stronghold EP review

Correction- Weaken the Stronghold EP review

The power of the riff and the drum beat are strong with these ones- the title and band name track and unquestionable signs of this.  The one epic track is the last one, and the most memorable, and the first five are burly bruiser boy straight edge hardcore punk out of France.  The singer has an extraordinarily deep growling grunt to his vocals, the guitars are beefy but still chop pretty fast, and the drums are much the same, strong in both fast and slow parts.  This is good shit right here.

-Aunty Social

Raw Justice- Artificial Peace 7" review

Raw Justice- Artificial Peace 7” review

The band’s first EP set the stage for some good old brutal straight edge hardcore punk- I didn’t think that they could improve on it, yet they did.  I didn’t think that one guy belting out some angry shouts backed with thundering drum rhythms could make me want to get violent and mosh, but it did.  To top it all off, this record is named after (inadvertently or not) a lesser-known 80s hardcore band from Washington, D.C.  The only thing that might have made this record better is if Raw Justice had covered one of their songs.  Barring that, this can’t get any better.  The guitars are goddamned brutal, the bass chugs along with all the force of a fucking train, the drums are crushing whether they’re fast or slow, and even though the vocalist sounds like Peewee Herman singing Infest songs, I fucking love it.  This is one of the best EPs I’ve heard all year.  Jaw shattered.

-Aunty Social

Drug Dogs- s/t EP review

Drug Dogs- s/t EP review

Sounds like S.S.D. and 86 Mentality getting into a street brawl in a reverb-drenched room- it’s burly, short burst hardcore punk with a heavy emphasis (for hardcore, at least) on the reverb for vocals, and a slightly quieted sound on the instruments, a la Pick Your King.  You could say it is a short, sharp, shockwave of simple sounds, serious yet sober and cynical.  This is yet another piece of a fantastic hardcore punk scene happening right now in Texas.  If this were recorded in a more professional way, it would either jet this band to be ten times better or ten times worse, depending on the engineer.  This debut has promise, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for Drug Dogs.

-Aunty Social

Correction- demo tape review

Correction- demo tape review

This hits hard from start to finish- burly, fast, gruff straight edge hardcore punk from France.  This has both fast and slow parts, no weak parts or B-sides or anything to suggest that it is anything short of stellar.  Lyrics are straight to the point, vocals gruff grunts of boiling rage, the bass is very distinct and plays a large role in the band’s sound, the drums thump away, never to miss a beat, and the guitar seems tuned down a step or two, but not notably so, at least in the mix.  The hardest song on this tape is the self-titled one, but regardless, this is as close to a flawless demo as one can get for modern hardcore punk, all songs included.  If you can, grab this ASAP.

-Aunty Social

Hit List- You’re Next EP review

Hit List- You’re Next EP review

This EP makes me want to rip my dick off, throw it at skinny people, and proceed to beat the fuck out of everyone weaker than me.  Not shoot, not stab, but punch; choke; slam; kick; skull bash; strangle.  Baseball bats could also be considered acceptable in this situation.  Imagine if Axel from Streets of Rage went on a huge ‘roid rage- that’s what this EP is like.  It exaggerates every part of straight edge hardcore to the most ridiculous lengths, and it’s awesome.  Not gonna lie, these are some real crowd-killing, hate-moshing, clean-up-your-life-while-you-mop-up-the-mosh-floor jams.  Guttural grunts, burly bass lines, garbled grinding guitars, awesome alliterations, and simple but very direct and uncompromising lyrics.  This straight edge cuts to the chase, not to the veins.  Recommended.

-Aunty Social

Sectarian Violence- s/t 7" review

Sectarian Violence- self-titled 7” review

Fast, 80s-tinged hardcore with two guitars instead of one, they are not unlike singer Nick Tape’s other band Coke Bust; however, this band definitely breaks it down a lot more, and has more in the way of quotable lyrics.  This has a great degree of the “skate thrash” vibe a la What Happens Next, Common Enemy, Disco Assault, Dr. Know, etc., and that sound mixed with traditional youth crew is what Sectarian Violence has in store.  The two guitar approach undoubtedly sets the band apart, sounding better more often than not.  A circle pit would be an appropriate reaction to this band and record.  Pretty good stuff- not on my top five list of records of the year, but worth unearthing from one’s collection of records every so often.

-Aunty Social

Retribution- Consumed 7” review

Retribution- Consumed 7” review

Upon first glance of this record, the first thing I noticed was the utterly fantastic artwork.  That was a great start to jamming out this EP.  The record begins with a punishing intro- you can almost sense the pit warming up as the drums smash in the background and the riffs ring out.  Then, the intro moves into the song “Diseased and Dead”, which rolls along rather quickly, pummeling with speed and focus from all the members of the band, before the tempo slows and the breakdown (inevitable to all hardcore bands, local and otherwise) begins, as the chorus is shouted out from both singer Kenneth Smith and the various voices in the gang vocals, being appropriate here- this is a crowd favorite, so these are words actually screamed out by fans at shows, which is fitting.  Next, “D.R.A.”  is a track about a lost friend and the sorrow and regrets that follows with that loss.  I didn’t get too into this one, but I can see why this song is important- to both the band and the friends who lost the friend whom the song is about, and I can at least give respect to a band for that.  “Consumed” is a metal-tinged hardcore straight-edge jam about, of all things, not being overly occupied with the many vices of “poisons” that lurk in our worlds.  This song is a killer jam- it is direct and pointed, rather than most straight edge songs, which usually are metaphorical and somewhat indirect.  Concluding this EP is a song called “No More”, about taking back the world from the control of those who do evil to other people, namely killers and rapists.  Philosophically, this is right on my level- no moral high ground or being the better man, but instead imposing the suffering that these victimizers have dished out.  There is something inexplicably satisfying about bringing that sort of pain back to someone like that.  It rings of the Malcolm X idiom “by any means necessary”- when danger lurks around every corner, it is a great deterrent to have when equal pain brought will be received in return.

Not groundbreaking, but the songs are some real damn good hardcore jams, the artwork rules, and this band deserved the work put into this record.  Definitely worthwhile, money and time-wise.

-Aunty Social