I'm Gonna Strangle You...

After a long 3+ year hiatus, 2003's Murder Metal was a welcome return by the elusive Chicago serial-killer death metal trio Macabre. Back to the roots they sowed on Sinister Slaughter, each song on Metal showcases a particular rogue from the annals of criminal history, presented with glorious tongue-in-cheek aplomb. Amazingly produced, this record still holds the record for being the loudest CD in my collection. I can be playing anything at normal volume - switch CDs to this one and it's fucking blasting. As far as the music, while not quite as witty as 2000's epic Dahmer it's still got enough of a sick-ass sense of humor and ridiculously heavy riffage to destroy your brain. The Jerry Brunos "Fatal Foot Fetish" track is probably my favorite Macabre song ever; an incredible double-bass drum assault that I could simply listen to forever. As I've posited before, Nefarious is easily the best fucking drummer out there today - he routinely makes the craziest shit seem effortless. It's weird, I always picture Macabre as a bunch of guys working the blue-collar 9-to-5 at the local Midas or UPS; their co-workers completely oblivious to the fact that the long-haired guys down the hall in shipping are unbelievable musicians who have forever carved their own niche in the death metal world. Enjoy.

...And Leave You On The Hillside!!!

Baltimore Brutality

Saw this Baltimore-based hardcore band last weekend and I really fucking dug 'em. Crazy-ass NYHC influenced five-piece that tore up the front of the place and almost eclipsed the headliner in sheer insanity. Here's their 2013 EP for your listening pleasure, a somewhat cheesy rapcore-esque title aside the record has some great grooves, breakdowns and a general "Fuck You" attitude. Looking forward to their upcoming (within weeks as of this writing) full-length Nonstop Feeling - they played some songs off of it which absolutely killed (especially "Gravity" - fucking awesome). Keep up with the guys here and here.

Break It Down

Where Cold Winds Blow

I just got finished watching the 2008 documentary Until The Light Takes Us and decided to revisit a few of the albums that got the whole Black Metal Inner Circle shitstorm going. Listening to Darkthrone's seminal sophomore release I was surprised how good it sounds two decades later. A lo-fi mishmash of death and black metal, Northern Sky is far less cheesy than Burzum's debut and significantly darker than Mayhem's Deathcrush. Of course there are a few cringe-inducing vocal cues here and there but all in all a solid 40 minutes of angry bleakness. Drummer Fenriz came off as an interesting guy throughout the Light Takes Us documentary. At times defensive, at times unnecessarily aggressive and somewhat egotistical, he generally offers up a good sense of humor throughout it all; his opinions and recollections regarding this LP made for an even more interesting listen as well (evidently there is a 2CD re-release of this album with Fenriz offering that commentary on (or during?) all of the songs but this is just the basic Peaceville release). For even more in-depth material on the whole rise and fall of the Norwegian scene check out the amazing book Lords Of Chaos - essential shit. Enjoy.

NWOBHM

Stuck On Pussy Drive

 

I know I posted the Dr. Octagon quadrilogy just a few months ago but driving back from band practice tonight it struck me that I never uploaded the truest testament to Kool Keith's amazing lyrical skills (and fucked-up psyche but that's another story). Possible the most vulgar hip-hop album ever - the unbelievable Sex Style is without a doubt the finest release in Keith's prolific catalog. Doing what he does best, the ex-Ultramagnetic absolutely destroys the competition with post-modern classics like "Don't Crush It" and "Still The Best" - fucking shit that in 1997 the lukewarm hip hop world would have killed to have owned if they had the fucking balls. Fuck B.I.G. and Jay-Z, this album is the best shit to hit the CD racks since those MTV-owned poster boys pretended to sing about sunshine. Kool Keith should be a fucking billionaire. Enjoy.

Lollypop

Quick blogosphere shout out...

I just gotta throw it out there that my worthless non-posting drug-snorting ass has been kept alive by the amazing [shiny grey monotone]. Founded by ipecac, then Gray, now helmed by noise rock king Slander Bob... these guys know post metal (Melvins, Unsane, Bungle, etc...) and do the work way better then I ever could. The best music blog out there right now bar none. For fuck's sake the shit is posted fasted than I can read it. If you missed the first link then click here retard. Enjoy.

Green Ball Crew

One of the cooler experiences I've had in my rather dull life is knowing the guys in the Bouncing Souls - all the while my dumb ass had absolutely no idea they were in the the aforementioned seminal funky punk band. Until it was too late that is and they had hit 287 South to the bright township lights of New Brunswick. Most of the guys were two grades ahead of me and I knew of them fleetingly until I snagged a job at a local pizza shop where Brian (bass) put in work making extra cash on the side. Pete (guitarist) was one year ahead of me in school and we shared some classes - he was always a nice ass guy - I only wish I had had the slightest inkling that he played guitar. Once the above EP hit Cheap Thrills Records I had my "no shit.... really?" moment - and I never saw any of the guys again. I kept up with the band through a few of my coworkers who stayed in touch and was really into a few of their earlier CDs. I actually used to have a copy of their '89 demo as well... long gone though or I would have uploaded that. While I haven't been back to NJ or bought a new Souls album in years I am happy to hear the boys are still doing their thing. Enjoy.

Argyle

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