Napalm Death
Scum
Earache Records (UK; 1987)
Ok, so it's part 3 now and we're finally onto proper grindcore. And where better to start than with the album that kicked the whole thing off?
I won't bore you with Scum trivia - it seems every time someone mentions this album they talk about how the A side and B side were essentially recorded by two different bands, how "You Suffer" was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest song ever recorded, how Napalm Death basically invented grindcore, etc., so I'll just assume you know all that already. I'm just going to dive straight into the music.
The previous two installments have been basically a warm-up, preparing you for this record; Scum takes the joy of punk, the bass-end heft and rumble of crust and the sheer speed and aggression of hardcore and turns them up to 11. The vocals are guttural, grunting, bear-like; Bill Steer (Side B) and Justin Broadrick (Side A) play riffs that come at you like a freight train, only breaking into the upper end of the scale with a few screeching solos; and the whole thing is held together by the hyperspeed blastbeats of Mick Harris, the only member present on both sides of the record.
This is a great starting point for our exploration into grind proper, not just because it was the first real grindcore record, but because it represents perfectly one of the key aspects of grindcore. The subgenre has always been a combination of metal and punk, and while I'm not going to get into the (seemingly endless) debate about which genre grind leans to more, it's clear that it began in punk. Napalm Death's earliest demos sound like a cross between Crass and Discharge, and while the band were all into death metal, it's pretty clear that Scumowes more to the low-budget anger of punk than the theatrics of metal. Scum exemplifies the punk end of grindcore, from the dirt-cheap production to the political sloganeering of tracks like "Multinational Corporations" and "C.S. (Conservative Shithead)" (love that title). While Side B leans more towards metal with the buzzsaw guitar tone, this is undeniably a punk record from beginning to end.
While Napalm Death would eventually move into more metal territory, to mixed reactions from fans, this album shows their punk roots more than any other, and that's part of the reason it's one of their best.
So turn it up and enjoy.
Friday 31 May 2013
Friday 17 May 2013
Review - The Only Good Tory
This is a free UK powerviolence comp that I came across on a blog called No Clean Singing - check it out, it's pretty awesome.
The Only Good Tory was released a little while ago by the aforementioned blog, and it's pretty damn good.There isn't a whole lot new about the bands on here musically - basically, it sounds like you'd expect a powerviolence compilation to sound. I'm not going to review every song on there as, let's face it, that would bore the tits off all concerned, so I'll just tell you what I thought of the tracks that particularly caught my ear. There are also a couple of tracks on there from bands I've reviewed on here - look out for them.
Standout tracks:
Dun Fother by Ablach
This is some really, really nice shit - probably as noisy and lo-fi as a recording can be without being completely unintelligible, but dammit, it works. Pure, exhilarating low-budget PV noisefuckery.
Lost by Death Tripper
Very nice - the opposite of the Ablach track, this song is about as professional-sounding as a song can be while still being classifiable as powerviolence. Starts with a truly crushing riff and some excellent screams, then into - hold on, why am I describing this? Imagine a fucking good powerviolence song. That's what it sounds like.
Some Songs by Deathwank
Yes, you read that name right. The name is kind of indicative of the music here - if the Ablach track was as unprofessional as good music can be, then this is as unprofessional as music can be, full stop. Worth listening to for the sheer wtf factor.
Order 66 by Horsebastard
This is just flat-out brutal - it's saying something that it's on a powerviolence compilation, right after a song by titans of the genre Gets Worse, and it still stands out for its ferocity.
Baby Guts by Meatpacker
This is just flat-out awesome. Good old fashioned, no-frills PV.
Napalm by Scumkiller
This one gets a special mention just for the vocals - really abrasive, tonsil-scraping shrieks that sound like a velociraptor giving birth. Excellent.
The Bitter Aftertaste of Exploitation by The Atrocity Exhibit
Nice groove to this one, it keeps the rhythm solid without cutting back on the brutality - also, love the Ballard reference.
Overall, it's a nice collection of songs, though the uniformity of style gets a bit wearing after a bit - I had to take a break about halfway through and listen to some Joan Baez to refresh my ears. It's not that the bands aren't (mostly) good, it's just that forty-odd minutes of powerviolence is a lot to listen to, especially when none of the bands on the comp really do anything new with the style.
Still - I'd definitely recommend this release. You can download it (for free!) here - either download the whole free album or pick and choose from the individual tracks. It's free, so there's no reason not to grab a copy.
Did I mention it's free?
Rating: 7/10
The Only Good Tory was released a little while ago by the aforementioned blog, and it's pretty damn good.There isn't a whole lot new about the bands on here musically - basically, it sounds like you'd expect a powerviolence compilation to sound. I'm not going to review every song on there as, let's face it, that would bore the tits off all concerned, so I'll just tell you what I thought of the tracks that particularly caught my ear. There are also a couple of tracks on there from bands I've reviewed on here - look out for them.
Standout tracks:
Dun Fother by Ablach
This is some really, really nice shit - probably as noisy and lo-fi as a recording can be without being completely unintelligible, but dammit, it works. Pure, exhilarating low-budget PV noisefuckery.
Lost by Death Tripper
Very nice - the opposite of the Ablach track, this song is about as professional-sounding as a song can be while still being classifiable as powerviolence. Starts with a truly crushing riff and some excellent screams, then into - hold on, why am I describing this? Imagine a fucking good powerviolence song. That's what it sounds like.
Some Songs by Deathwank
Yes, you read that name right. The name is kind of indicative of the music here - if the Ablach track was as unprofessional as good music can be, then this is as unprofessional as music can be, full stop. Worth listening to for the sheer wtf factor.
Order 66 by Horsebastard
This is just flat-out brutal - it's saying something that it's on a powerviolence compilation, right after a song by titans of the genre Gets Worse, and it still stands out for its ferocity.
Baby Guts by Meatpacker
This is just flat-out awesome. Good old fashioned, no-frills PV.
Napalm by Scumkiller
This one gets a special mention just for the vocals - really abrasive, tonsil-scraping shrieks that sound like a velociraptor giving birth. Excellent.
The Bitter Aftertaste of Exploitation by The Atrocity Exhibit
Nice groove to this one, it keeps the rhythm solid without cutting back on the brutality - also, love the Ballard reference.
Overall, it's a nice collection of songs, though the uniformity of style gets a bit wearing after a bit - I had to take a break about halfway through and listen to some Joan Baez to refresh my ears. It's not that the bands aren't (mostly) good, it's just that forty-odd minutes of powerviolence is a lot to listen to, especially when none of the bands on the comp really do anything new with the style.
Still - I'd definitely recommend this release. You can download it (for free!) here - either download the whole free album or pick and choose from the individual tracks. It's free, so there's no reason not to grab a copy.
Did I mention it's free?
Rating: 7/10
Monday 13 May 2013
Review - Dir En Grey
Dir En Grey
The Unraveling
Ok, it's been a while since I last posted - various things have got in the way, but now I'm back.
Dir En Grey are a band I've been sort-of aware of for a few years, but have never really listened to until now. Good timing, as it turns out, since they released a new album just over a month ago. And it's an interesting one. Now, I'm not a fan of clean singing in metal, since most metal lyrics are - there's no nice way to say this - shite. Fortunately, Dir En Grey's lyrics are all in Japanese, so I can enjoy the melodies and the singer's very pleasant voice without cringing at their attempts at poetry (tbf, I don't know what their lyrics are like, I'm just assuming here). There are some screams on this record, and a bit of very porcine grunting, but they don't dominate the record. That doesn't mean this isn't a heavy album though - opening track "The Unraveling" centers around a very hefty riff and some almost death metal-y passages pop up in places. The second track, "Karma," again starts with a nice, crushing guitar riff, and some lead playing that's vaguely reminiscent of "Heartwork"-era Carcass. From then on, it settles into a nice groove, and then the screams come in, mixed with clean vocals, which is a move I thought I hated until I heard this. There's also an interesting guitar solo - not my favourite moment on the album, sounds a bit cheesy to these ears, but fortunately it's very short. Then it's into a rather cringeworthy melodic third track that falls into all the traps that metal does when it tries to be sensitive.
Fourth track "Karasu" starts with an eighties-style synthy intro, with cheesy "atmospheric" lead guitar that sounds like Metallica at their most embarrassing. The singer's voice is probably supposed to sound tender and emotional, but the overall effect is that of reading a teenager's diary. I'm beginning to see why Kerrang! likes these guys so much. Fortunately, all that doesn't last too long before it's back into the crunchy riffs and genuinely brutal vocals - unfortunately, that part doesn't last too long either. After a few moments of awesomeness, it's back into full-on emo territory. The song switches between these two modes a few times - just enough to keep one listening - before settling into something that's halfway between the two. "Bottom of the Death Valley" begins with the same soft, feelings-wracked pish, but by this point it's difficult to care. The acoustic guitar intro to "Unknown.Despair.Lost" promises little, but then those big, heavy guitars come in and things start looking up. The song is somewhere between Rage Against the Machine and Slipknot (good Slipknot - as in, Iowa). There's a slightly cheesy chord progression in there that sounds like something a motivational speaker would play at the end of a speech, but all in all, this is a good song, and contains some of the most disgusting vocals I've heard in a while (that's a good thing). There's also a nice falsetto part. The final track, aptly titled "The Final," oscillates between the two poles of this record - exhilarating death metal on the one hand, Evanescence on the other.
Ultimately, this isn't an album I'd recommend. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, you can buy the good tracks and leave the rest.
Rating: 5/10
The Unraveling
Ok, it's been a while since I last posted - various things have got in the way, but now I'm back.
Dir En Grey are a band I've been sort-of aware of for a few years, but have never really listened to until now. Good timing, as it turns out, since they released a new album just over a month ago. And it's an interesting one. Now, I'm not a fan of clean singing in metal, since most metal lyrics are - there's no nice way to say this - shite. Fortunately, Dir En Grey's lyrics are all in Japanese, so I can enjoy the melodies and the singer's very pleasant voice without cringing at their attempts at poetry (tbf, I don't know what their lyrics are like, I'm just assuming here). There are some screams on this record, and a bit of very porcine grunting, but they don't dominate the record. That doesn't mean this isn't a heavy album though - opening track "The Unraveling" centers around a very hefty riff and some almost death metal-y passages pop up in places. The second track, "Karma," again starts with a nice, crushing guitar riff, and some lead playing that's vaguely reminiscent of "Heartwork"-era Carcass. From then on, it settles into a nice groove, and then the screams come in, mixed with clean vocals, which is a move I thought I hated until I heard this. There's also an interesting guitar solo - not my favourite moment on the album, sounds a bit cheesy to these ears, but fortunately it's very short. Then it's into a rather cringeworthy melodic third track that falls into all the traps that metal does when it tries to be sensitive.
Fourth track "Karasu" starts with an eighties-style synthy intro, with cheesy "atmospheric" lead guitar that sounds like Metallica at their most embarrassing. The singer's voice is probably supposed to sound tender and emotional, but the overall effect is that of reading a teenager's diary. I'm beginning to see why Kerrang! likes these guys so much. Fortunately, all that doesn't last too long before it's back into the crunchy riffs and genuinely brutal vocals - unfortunately, that part doesn't last too long either. After a few moments of awesomeness, it's back into full-on emo territory. The song switches between these two modes a few times - just enough to keep one listening - before settling into something that's halfway between the two. "Bottom of the Death Valley" begins with the same soft, feelings-wracked pish, but by this point it's difficult to care. The acoustic guitar intro to "Unknown.Despair.Lost" promises little, but then those big, heavy guitars come in and things start looking up. The song is somewhere between Rage Against the Machine and Slipknot (good Slipknot - as in, Iowa). There's a slightly cheesy chord progression in there that sounds like something a motivational speaker would play at the end of a speech, but all in all, this is a good song, and contains some of the most disgusting vocals I've heard in a while (that's a good thing). There's also a nice falsetto part. The final track, aptly titled "The Final," oscillates between the two poles of this record - exhilarating death metal on the one hand, Evanescence on the other.
Ultimately, this isn't an album I'd recommend. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, you can buy the good tracks and leave the rest.
Rating: 5/10
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