Reinforcing The Stereotype

I'll admit I'm a sucker for offensive shit, especially when it comes to music. Already a guilty fan of Vaginal Jesus and (to a lesser extent) Mudoven, I figured I'd give the off-color death metal outfit Arghoslent a try. While their older material isn't much to speak of (especially the shitty demo compilation album), I did find myself digging 2008's Hornets Of The Pogrom. Typical late-90's death metal with occasional Slayer-ish thrash influences, the band has gained some notoriety thanks to their racially-tinged lyrics. I was almost quasi-digging 'em until I read the LP liner notes proudly proclaiming the record was "recorded South of the Mason Dixon line." Ugh. It's probably not surprising to readers that I'm not a fan of Virginia. Fuck the fact that I've called it my state of residence for the last long-ass thirteen years; I am a hard-headed New Englandah by birth and simply cannot get over the fucking idiotic racist stereotype that so many Southern rednecks seem to embrace as a pitiful tribute to their historical roots. If Arghoslent were more tongue-in-cheek I would be way more forgiving, the fact that living in the Old Dominion seems to give them some legitimacy just makes me bitter. I gotta move...

Clint Z Hilton

Old skruel

Aw c'mon it's not as bad as everyone says it is... I find it funny that half the websites offering this album up for sale or review has a CYA disclaimer warning consumers that it's a low quality recording. Are you kidding? This is GG-fucking-Allin we're talking about here, not Muse. Which of his recordings weren't low quality? While this particular compilation may be a few notches down from Murder Junkies or Carnival Of Excess, there is nothing on The Bloody Years that isn't as lo-fi as anything on Eat My Fuc or Suicide Sessions (i.e. recorded on a cassette deck). I've ranted previously about Bloody F. Mess getting the raw end of the punk rock baseball bat over the years - I actually find it cool to hear the old recordings made by an über fan of his actual idol. Absolute labors of love. People have bitched that Bloody capitalized on GG's death with the release of this material and so what? I'm sure he managed to make that extra car payment on his '88 Honda Civic with the proceeds earned from this one. Bloody was GG's pal, touring buddy and inglorious promoter through a time where GG was hardly known outside of the shitty NH suburbs. Hell, some say that it was Bloody who convinced GG to actually start shitting on stage - at his first Peoria, IL gig in 1985. GG's infamous 1986 show at "Pete's Basement" (literally, a basement in some teenager's house) is absolutely primo early Geeg and is presented here in its amazing 16-minute entirety (I'm assuming that it's "Pete" who whines through the gig that the mic GG is smashing into his face is his). I think GG was backed up by a cassette deck if I'm not mistaken - the version of "Eat My Diahreah" is one of my favorite GG tracks ever. Some of the other material is hit or miss, GG's tracks with the 1989 version of Bloody & The Skabs are OK but it's the live stuff that really kills. Wrapping it all up are some phone messages and conversations between Mssrs. Mess and Allin - I actually converted the mono files to stereo making them much easier to listen to. Funny chats between two friends - Bloody can at times be a bit overly adoring but hey, I forgive him, I woulda been too. Enjoy the history lesson.

Sew The Mouths Of Others

Crushing Split

Jesus, why don't they make split CDs like these anymore? First you have an absolutely blasting assault from prolific Tokyo sludgelords Coffins. These guys have been at it since 2000 - simple downtuned heavy-as-fuck death metal... the audio equivalent of someone punching you in the face with a molten sledgehammer. "Acid Orgy" is a cover of Las Vegas blasphemers Goatlord and sounds a little hokey at times but fuck it - it is so distorted and loud you will be absolutely reeling in sludge glory. Regarding Otesanek, I cannot say enough about this defunct and sadly elusive Philly-based drone/doom/bleak-as-fuck shit band. The most miserable dirge ever recorded (putting such compadres as Khanate, Moss and Nadja to shame) - production-wise this is easily their strongest song (all wretched 20 minutes of it). Don't be fooled, they probably were actually vomiting as they recorded this one... The cover art was created by artist Steve Mullay shortly before taking his own life, and is offered in tribute to him. Enjoy.

To Hew Children

Laughing As People Die

Recorded in 1991, the debut cassette from these Bakersfield, CA funkers is way more akin to the shit Excel (Venice) or Limbomaniacs (San Francisco) were doing at the time than what the band eventually mutated into (especially Excel - this album is absolutely on par with Seeking Refuge). For those who've been under a rock since then, soon after Who's Laughing Now dropped, L.A.P.D. found a fresh new producer in a guy named Ross Robinson who was looking for something way heavier and harder... at the same time L.A.P.D. shitcanned their singer and hired local vocalist Jonathan Davis who sang for the quasi-heavi industrio band Sexart. Interestingly, it was Sexart's pissy sound the guys embraced and the rest is nü metal history. Yes... I'm talkin' about KORN retards! Still, the funky fun of L.A.P.D. is not lost on the ages - though it's interesting to now watch some of Korn's early documentaries (specifically Who Then Now?) and see Fieldy wax historically on his multiplatinum band when in actuality he's totally talking about L.A.P.D. coming together. Still, this record has its moments, lead vocalist Rick Morrill is no Davis but he sounds like a solid southern Cali thrasher (and even like Tony Chaba here and there - check "Don't Label Me"). The band rocks through the songs - Munky is a way better guitarist then listening to Korn would ever have you believe and there are moments they almost sound like a proto-Vision Of Disorder ("Excuse Me"). I'm not going to give them that much credit so just sit back and enjoy...

Proto Korn

Black Vomit

Quite possibly the bleakest thing ever recorded, this brutal 6-track demo from an intentionally nameless Portugal black band will absolutely blow you away. Blistering fast black metal punctuated by endless blastbeats and genre-typical unholy screams from the Abyss, this limited CDr comes with absolutely no information whatsoever save for the DIY black cardboard sleeve it's crudely packaged in. Released by ultra-indie label Latrina Do Chifrudo ("The Horned Latrine" - ha), even they don't know where this blasphemous 30-minute aural assault came from. Compared to some of the lo-fi black metal out there the demo is surprisingly legit - real songs (shit one of them runs almost 9 minutes) and a respectable sense of intention behind the whole thing. I was predicting an unlistenable wall of harsh "black" noise on my first guarded listen and was really surprised how good it fucking was. Enjoy.

"We simply don't care about protegonism (sic), self reference, identities other shit like that. Black Metal is a tool for something greater, it is a mere process and not a way for self gratification."

???????

Pregnit

Old school rap fans take note, this LP is a definite keeper. Keepin' it on the Seattle tip comes the first hip-hop release from last post's Ever Rat Records (slyly re-monikered Ever Rap for their "urban" catalog) - the debut recording from west side auteur Chilly Uptown. Sportin' the laceless Adidas high tops and sweat hear, Chilly's I Got Rules would have been a little more at home with the late-80's hip-hop outta Hollis, Queens; comparisons with a 16-year old James Todd Smith are undeniable. The guy even raps about NYC at times, making the likeness even more so. "Seattle Rockers" is his best attempt at a Run-D.M.C. metal/rap crossover which actually rocks in a completely lo-fi way (I think he actually samples Vanilla Ice) and will easily pulls some dry smile sat your next house party. Of course there is the token "dirty" rap - the ridiculously titled "Big'z The Way I See It" is a 3-minute showcase of Chilly's extolling his massive genitalia and telling anyone offended to fuck off. The silly "I Got A Love Jones" is his best attempt at a "I Need Love"-esque ballad, and is an absolute riot. The only arguable downside, while unintentionally funny, are the subpar skills of Chilly's DJ. Samples are just a little bit off, fading out kinda at the wrong time, not really in synch with the beat... you just gotta hear it to appreciate it. And shit, it still sounds better than anything Rap-A-Lot was doing at the time. Uptown's career, although predominantly local, stayed strong for the years ahead. He would follow this LP up with the more gangster-ish (albeit equally obscure) This Is My Method in 1991.

It's About To Get Chilly

Ever Rat

Solid cassette-only release from the sadly defunct Ever Rat Records based out of the Seattle, WA area. A cool snapshot of 1989-era GG Allin (unintentionally humorous botched song titles aside), the side A recording with the Disappointments is the real treat on the album - GG drunkenly slurring his way through a 6-minute rendition of "Jesus And Mothers Cunt" absolutely kills. Side B showcases the one and only gig by GG and his "Expose Yourself To Kids" back-up band the AIDS Brigade (featuring future Murder Junkie Merle Allin/Pearl Murder). Years later this show would actually make it onto DVD (it's the one where the band is playing in drag) but this version actually sounds a little better then the shitty VHS sourced for the DVD. Knowing now that the band was in drag explains why GG intentionally changed the song lyrics ("Cock On The Loose" becomes "Cunt On The Loose," etc. etc.) which always escaped me back in the day. The "I Hate My Audience Interview" isn't quite that - it's a recording lifted from GG's infamous appearance on Chicago's WLUP radio morning show. The sound guy dropped some choice snippets of GG over a loop of AC/DC's "T.N.T." to create an outro jingle for the show. You can hear the full version (and whole interview) somewhere on here.

Outlaw Scumbag

Super Wet Cheese

An absolutely astounding compilation from the sadly defunt and clinically insane Tokyo jazz grinders - this epic 45-track retrospect spans a multitude of obscure 7-inches, unreleased rehearsals and long sold-out compilation LPs. Released on Obliteration Records (conveniently owned by C.S.S.O. vocalist Narutoshi Sekine) the CD focuses on the band's material through the mid-to-late 90's. Amazing stuff, some of the songs sound straight out of Meat Shits school while others are ridiculously competent avant-garde grindcore bordering on the complexity of the math metal genre that would surface years later. Somewhat unfairly compared to such goregrind bands as Regurgitate and fellow countrymen Catasexual Urge Motivation, C.S.S.O. easily outshines the competition with their musical skills and absolutely original approach to grind metal. Of course, my favorite material by the band will always be their "Diversion Of Former Customary Trite Composition" EP (which I've already posted on this blog) - an amazing eleven minutes of madness in their coolest surf-music-esque style (very similar to the stuff on their split 7" w/ Dead Infection as well).  As far as C.S.S.O.'s dozens of other releases, I fully recommend their two legitimate LPs - Nagrö Läuxes VIII and Are You Excrements? Both absolutely worth the money you'll shell out for 'em on Ebay.

Shake It Up Bokan