Corrupt Leaders- s/t 7" review

Corrupt Leaders- self titled 7” review

Heavy grindy hardcore a la Dead In The Dirt, Napalm Death, and a little Carcass here and there.  Usual fare for lyrics- anti-authoritarian, pro-individuality stuff; nothing new, nothing bad.  This errs more on the side of heavy, though, and rightfully so- not enough grindcore is able to do that; it’s all fast-fast-fast and although that formula can work in hardcore punk, it gets boring really fast in anything else.  Not too shabby.
-Aunty Social

Corrupt Leaders- Grindmother 5" review

Corrupt Leaders- Grindmother 5” review

This is definitely pure grindcore.  I don’t know if it’s your grandmother’s grindcore, but it sure is loud, abrasive, fast, heavy, and appropriately annoying.  A definite departure from their DOOM/Extreme Noise Terror vibe they gave off on their self-titled 7”.  It’s short enough that it’s no harm done if you’re not into it, cuz the worst thing that happens is two minutes gone.  Best thing that happens is you get 120 seconds of headbanging in.  I’ll bet on the latter being more likely.

-Aunty Social

Suppressulant- Revenge of the Bugs CD review

Suppressulant- Revenge of the Bugs CD review

Already, I can say that this is an improvement over the EP- the volume sounds balanced, and the songs sound tighter.  One thing that still holds true, however, is the adherence to the “Powercore” genre- the mix between blasting powerviolence and traditional hardcore.  Sometimes this sound works, sometimes not.  Personally, it sounds more developed with the drums than the guitar or bass.  Regardless, it’s a different sound, one that might take some getting used to.  The vocals are a blend of Germs-esque snottiness and guttural 90s HC brutality, creating a very raspy, spitting projection.  The guitars could be a bit more powerful, but it’s power chord punk rock- nothing exemplary, but it’s worked for almost every other band, so why not here?  The bass has more presence than usual, adding a necessary bounciness to the sound, which levels it out.  The drums are stop-go-stop-go-stop-go-go-go-stop, mostly.  It has moments of steady rhythm, but mostly it is “sprinting” (i.e. going as fast as possible with no reprieve).  Not a phenomenal release, but this is some decent hardcore from just across the Detroit river.  I’ve also been told that this band is ten times better live- may be a factor worth considering in checking out this band.

-Aunty Social

(post script- they opened for Poison Planet and Sectarian Violence on June 10th in Detroit- they indeed are ten times better live- very much worth checking out).

Follow the Leader- 6 song demo review (2011)

Follow the Leader- Six song demo review

What does one think of when thinking of hardcore?  Everyone’s answer is different, but here are a few key common attributes that may come to mind:  Anger/ frustration, simple rhyming pattern, powerful guitars, alternating slow fast drum beats, breakdowns, introversion, memorable choruses, a proletariat lean, and moshing.  Even though this happens to describe most 90s style hardcore bands, there is still much diversity to speak of in hardcore.  Here, there is a Detroit-bred anger in the vocals, and it isn’t forced, but natural (more than can be said for a lot of touring groups of today).  The guitars have a powerful chugging push to them, barreling through the mid-tempo and sub-powerviolence-tempo beats with the same energy.  Also, the band postulates a question that got me thinking:  “Where Is All the Violence in Powerviolence?”  As opposed to this, I would ask where the brutality in hardcore went.  Answer this, and I’m sure we can bring it back.  Not, not knock-down, drag-out fist fighting, but a healthy, energetic, bruise-inducing mosh pit.  Stellar 90s-style hardcore that doesn’t always lack speed, and never lacks power.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled, kids.

-Aunty Social

Suppressulant- Powercore EP review

How rare is it that a fanzine such as this one (or one of this size, so to speak) gets a review project mailed to it?  It’s rather rare, but this was the first of two CDs mailed to me from just across the border.  Do the Canadians do everything better than the Americans?  Well, not everything; they did not succeed in trumping our armed forces or our bacon.  However, they have us beat for maple syrup and not pissing the rest of the world off.  Can they beat us for punk rock?  Perhaps, perhaps not.

If this EP were indicative of Canadian punk, I would relegate it to be inferior to American punk, and it would not be a close call.  No, this isn’t god-awful or dick-shrinkingly bad, but it leaves one wishing for more.  The sound is a little too lo-fi (it’s hard to hear much of anything) and the songs didn’t grab me.  I don’t know, maybe I totally missed something; I just didn’t get it, it didn’t attract my attention the way a good punk record usually does.  Vocals are very low-pitch and scruffy (which is awesome if you can hear it), guitars were low-tuned and choppy (again, not horrible), and the rhythm section kind of bumped along, keeping pace.

Overall, nothing stood out and I was left unimpressed.  Granted, this was a first EP; I hope the band steers themselves in a more positive direction, as I would like to have a good reason to cross the border more often than never.  Not indicative of castrating horror or orgasmic awesomeness, this falls into my “Meh.” pile.

-Aunty Social