Mistress singing Christmas songs on Never Mind The Buzzcocks

OK, Mistress fans, long time Buzzcocks fans, you know the drill.

For those of you not in the know, enjoy.

And oh yeah, prior to Mistress, there's reggae star General Levy. Not metal, I know. But equally hilarious.

Peter Clegg

'Kin Hell Fest @ The Well, Leeds, 13/11/2011

(Originally posted on 12/12/2011 - now with live footage!)

Ninkharsag; I have no idea what that means, but every time I saw the name on a flyer it said to me “black metal,” which I suppose is helpful. Deeply rooted in the early days, this band would probably make those who use the words ‘kvlt’ and ‘trve’ do something sticky in their pants if they weren’t all miserable cunts and actually went to gigs.

The temperature of The Well is lowered as the grim hypnotic riffs flow between rolling drum fills and dark melodies. Ninkharsag have the same trance inducing quality to their music that Burzum have although they don’t follow in the same minimalist vein. They don’t compromise the song for the sake of speed, and the drums often emphasize the groove of a riff giving more weight to the track than endless shred/blast, although there is plenty of that to go around. I felt that the vocals didn’t quite match the power that the rest of the band created but Ninkharsag basically sound how black metal should do, evil as fuck. I was in fact so impressed, the urge to maniacally crab walk around screaming came over me. Unfortunately the ratio of beer to hangover was so far to the latter that by doing this I’d probably have fallen over and died. One black metal lunatic was completely overcome by the performance, he immediately set off out outside and set fire to a pile of leaves. Not quite a church but still.

Colonel Blast bring death metal but not as you’re used to. There’s a lot of shredding and build up riffs to big moments that sound like some sort of post death metal pinnacle, uplifting rather than minor orientated. Amongst these moments there’s moody acoustic dynamics that are eventually savaged by all out death metal, jittering riffs and gruesome vocals delivered by a front man who gesticulated wildly, throwing punches around his unaware band mates, and at several points I feared for the safety of the bassist. There’s often a feeling of moving over several different types atmosphere within one song, all surrounding one moment of sheer power to follow these disjointed parts. Colonel Blast have defined death metal their own way, and it sounds good.

Oblivionized push the boundaries of the term tech death, the speed and ability of the musicians is incomprehensible to me. The complete insanity of what’s going on is probably a little lost in a live show and I won’t pretend that I knew what was going on most of the time, apart from the drums being ridiculously fast. If you like your death metal as intense as possible and have bionic hands, then these guys would be right up your street, or you could combine a CD with strobe lighting and have a useful tool for extracting information from a prisoner of war. I honestly can’t get into what’s happening and the only appropriate action I can think of while listening to Oblivionized, would be to internally combust or lose my mind. The vocalist also adds a strange style of chaos to the noise. Chaos however is what the band are obviously going for and they do achieve it.

The Atrocity Exhibit were up next and they bring on the filth; an unmistakable gravel like tone slaps you in the face and bastardized punk riffs give you that feeling in your gut that only something so brilliantly rotten can achieve. With the same kind of energy that Magrudergrind or Napalm Death can supply, the Atrocity Exhibit make me want to destroy everything in a grind induced frenzy and generally spaz out. The riffs are simplistic nasty, and seldom without massive groove. Obviously dedicated fans of all styles disgusting, the groove sometimes slows up into a sludged out stomp along, while piercing, abrasive screams tap into the feeling perfectly. Amongst the best underground grind bands in the UK, raw as hell and ferocious.

 

Foetal Juice bludgeon the energetic and appreciative crowd with fantastically sickening death and grind. I however, am sick of talking about the dodgy cunts so that’ll do. (Look at the Cannabis Corpse gig for more on these).

In a welcome change of pace, Wizard’s Beard appear to crush you like some sort of malevolent steam roller, assuming you didn’t have legs and couldn’t escape. The band drops into a disgustingly grim and droning start, each note pulling you further into some kind of sonic nightmare. Screams and shrieks punctuate howling feedback and fill the space between notes. As the tempo increases (not too much) the crowd are drawn in by planet shifting noise. The band are an interesting mix of droning depression and groove laden, schizophrenic blues. The groovier parts have an Iron Monkey type vibe to them, which is even more apparent with the similar all out throat ripping vocal style. While some parts of the set definitely stood out over others, the band has a distinct sound and can be crushingly heavy. One sinister and freakish crowd member of the crowd known as “Professor Big Bulge” described them as “swamp sludge, slow, heavy and powerful”. To be honest, that sums them up.

The band Diascorium is a violent attack on the idea of traditional song writing, and the musical equivalent of Mental illness. Insane sweeps are followed with slamming down beat brutality and a melodic interlude can descend into a complete cacophony within seconds, all while guttural/shrieking vocals perforate your ears. What surprises me about Diascorium is there one of the few bands I’ve seen that really make this work. The changes aren’t whimsical and work for and compliment the whole song. While it would be easy to watch them and focus on how impressive the musicianship is, it isn’t a regurgitated gimmick. There’s was plenty of crackin’ normal paced riffage and even the odd doomy bit to mix it up. One great thing about this was if something’s not to your taste in a track, you can guarantee there’s something in the pipeline that you will appreciate. This made them a fantastic band to watch live and they were certainly appreciated on the night.

 

Hangover defeated, I now faced a new challenge, which was staying upright and functioning with a great deal of beer and some very questionable local chicken inside of me while watching The Afternoon Gentlemen. The realisation that I couldn’t deal with the crowd at this point in time came as I first hit the deck, deciding to retreat towards the back and observe from afar. The Afternoon Gents bring awesomely psychotic violence in the form of music. Shredded vocal chords shout and screech in a constant barrage while relentless snappy punk and grind riffs create a whirlwind of flying bodies at the front of The Well. The bass crunches solo, with fuzz injected twang intermittently preparing you for the next bout of furiosity. The pace doesn’t let up but it doesn’t get boring; it’s kept fresh with stabs of sheer aggression and shredding followed by groove and power that keep the crowd moving.

 

The band are also pioneers of their self-coined genre ‘Power Joogle Pogger Violence’ which is their well practised art of running whilst playing with the retro toy known as “pogs”, and being angry at the same time.

I always though pirates were about disease, alcoholism and being sodomised but Skull Branded Pirates sound like they know otherwise. Power metal and melodic wizardry forms itself in tales of adventure from the seven seas. Good drinking music and a lot of fun if you’re not a cynical wanker (I am).

The drum kit has been moved from the middle of the stage and now sits amongst a captured audience, who are gathered in a circle focusing intently on two individuals in the centre. From the back of the room you can see no band, and the scene looks like a weird pagan ceremony’s under way, having said that, if I was at some sort of ritual of the earth and universe, I’d want Khuda playing as well. It must be almost impossible to define this band with a few words and without mind expanding substances but here goes. A great deal of their sound seems to be influenced by post rock, looping, layering and building up to a sound that should be orchestrated by the big bang itself. Post rock however, wouldn’t exactly be a fully accurate description, a great deal of foreign rhythms and styles present themselves, some of which sound Baltic, yet these are still only part of a complex tapestry of sound. Many of the climatic moments do fit the post rock label but there’s no certainty as to how things will go. Psychedelic acoustic twangs ring out in slow spacey moments that build up to die out or explode with energy and percussive power.

A very interesting and dare I say original band that stole the day for me as I know they did for many others. As if Leeds shat this golden nugget out.

Astrohenge bring the ‘omni metal’, which I’ve never heard before, but quickly decide is fairly odd. They give me the feeling of being chased around a dodgy fairground haunted house by Papa Lazarou, a scenario in which their music certainly fits. The instrumental four-piece have people stomping about the front with an odd combination of synth-fuelled riffs. There’s plenty of E-string thrashing amongst the groove and general anxiety inducing sounds. Astrohenge remind me slightly of Fantomas, but more riff focused.

The crowd that are watching Ingested don’t tell anything of the mixed feelings I’ve listened to through out the day. It’s easy to see why they’ve have gained popularity when watching live; they’re heavy and you know there’s going to be more than several points when you can stomp around pushing each other, or do that weird breakdown dance that makes me uncomfortable. I find parts of the set generic, predictable and very familiar, but there’s also quality death metal in there, plenty of fierce rhythms and some catchy riffs. Ingested have a formula and it works for those watching tonight, many of whom aren’t actually wearing New York caps and Ed Hardy t shirts!

 

‘Kin Hell Fest was a really fucking good day thanks to an awesome selection of bands

and a great atmosphere. It was also however, a very messy time, so the bands aren’t in the order they played, probably. Thanks a lot to Paul Priest and whoever else helped organise what was one of the best underground all dayers I’ve been to. Cheers to Jez Walshaw of Monster Riffage for the footage. Apologies to Decayed Messiah, who I unfortunately missed.

Bring on the next one!

Michael Collins

Vektor - Outer Isolation

Vektor
Outer Isolation
Heavy Artillery
While thrash enjoyed something of a mainstream resurgence in the last few years, one band became a buzzword among underground thrash fans and yet haven't received the attention of their less forward thinking peers. Crossover and Exodus baiting are all well and good, but why not push the boat out a little. Thirteen minute progressive sci-fi thrash metal odysseys? Ladies and gentlemen, and the uninitiated, welcome to Vektor, an outfit mixing old-school values with the lyrical vision of Voivod and classic science-fiction. Their debut 'Black Future' is seen a something of a rare undiscovered diamond, so standout it was from other releases of the time, but chances are you probably haven't heard of it as they didn't get swept up in the first instance.

The surprise factor may have disappeared for the initiated, but Vektor still have plenty to offer the unsuspecting potential fan, and 'Outer Isolation' delivers that in spades. The riffs churn and probe more than ever, and are incredibly distinct and memorable, an ace in the deck for any would-be standout thrash band in 2011. The ten-minute, multi-limbed 'Cosmic Cortex' is a swirling vortex of riffs, soloing and blackened blasts and screams spewing forth from the Arizonans. There's so many awesome riffs in there, blackened or not, as sums up Vektor in a nutshell pretty well. Unlike 'Black Future', where they broke the 10-minute barrier on more than one occasion, there are no further forays of such duration on 'Outer Isolation', yet this doesn't shackle Vektor one bit, often displaying several memorable moments per track A sickening turn of pace halfway through 'Echoless Chamber' is one such example, adhering to old-school thrills, and the riff that appears near the beginning and end of 'Venus Project' is so different and intense it almost channels an unearthly threat. Vektor always recognised the need to input a melody when necessary, the surf-esque lick in 'Tetrastructural Minds' being a highlight, as is the mid-section of the title track. I could go on about these key points within tracks, but they're too numerous to mention them all, and they wouldn't be so important were the bits inbetween them so damn incredible.

The eight tracks here further emphasise Vektor's portrayal of the future as bleak, barren and destined to become hostile. Frontman David DiSanto has a voice perfect for this material - his scowl has a quality that seems almost alien in its delivery, adding to the authenticity of the lyrical themes. His screams (such as those on 'Fast Paced Society') make it seem as though extraterrestrial beings are conducting experiments on him as he lies awake, with lead guitarist Erik Nelson hellbent on getting every skronk, solo and squeal out of his guitar in another impressive lead performance.

Put simply, Vektor have proved themselves not to be one trick ponies, although the constant fast pace could do with being reined in a little more in future. That's just a minor quibble - Vektor may wind up being a distant star, one admired by few from afar and not being fully appreciated for their majesty. Justice decrees their bionic thrash should be worthy of gracing more lost souls in need of an original metal fix. 'Outer Isolation' is an impressive roadmap for a dystopian metal prognosis, and if Vektor were to be at the helm of that potential future, I'd honestly lend myself to their vision.

Peter Clegg

Buy/download 'Outer Isolation' here
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Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Make a Joyful Noise 7"

Agoraphobic Nosebleed

Make a Joyful Noise

Those of you in the US who subscribe to Decibel magazine will have been the recipients of free Flexi-Disc 7" vinyls from the likes of Wormrot, Goatwhore and more. For the rest of us, there's YouTube, ha ha. And spreading festive joy to extreme music fans with the latest issue are Agoraphobic Nosebleed, making a joyful noise with 'Make a Joyful Noise'.

There's not a heck of a lot I can say about this release as its so damn short. Around a meagre four minutes, in true ANb fashion of course, not one of the 11 tracks exceeds a minute in length, and while there is a Christmas theme, its loose at best as J.Randall, Kat and co go all out with twists on Christmas traditions (have a guess what 'Hung Like a Stocking from the Chimney with Care' is about), as well as tirades against death metal ('Ghost of Christmas Past'), the Entombed obsession (the mosh-friendly 'Little Town of Bethlehem') and even songs about the very vinyl some of you lucky punters own - all awash in feedback and noise from the guitars on numerous occasions, creating one hell of a racket.

Whilst certainly a gift from the band for the holidays, this is no novelty record. Yes, most of the songs are Christmas-themes, but its still 100% Agoraphobic Nosebleed, belligerent, uncompromising and in-your-face as ever. Check it out below and try not to tear down your Christmas tree.

Peter Clegg

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Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Make a Joyful Noise in full (stream below)

We'll Go Machete - Strong Drunk Hands

We'll Go Machete
Strong Drunk Hands 

Earlier in the year this album dropped in our inbox - however, I never got round to listening to it as I had my ear to whatever seemed to be coming out next. Eventually I gently reminded myself to get through the submissions whilst it was still manageable. Hence, here we are at Texan rockers We'll Go Machete and their second album, 'Strong Drunk Hands'.

The first thing to notice of 'Strong Drunk Hands' is the strong afterscent of bands like Fugazi, The Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu, and their ilk, and to a lesser extent, Helmet and At The Drive-In. The discordant riffage and let-me-out vocals wouldn't go amiss in the mid-90's. This is a good thing, helped by crunching, angular melodies and intriguing lyrics besides. 'Strong Drunk Hands' is something of a grower. I didn't take to it straight away and felt it just became a little samey towards the end. Perseverance is a virtue, however, and the quality of the music stands out. Repeated listening exposes this album for what it truly is, and that's a quality record, by a band ready to display their influences but not simply be in awe of them, in the process reviving a classic sound and sounding fresh and menacingly dangerous.

This is definitely an album, and indeed a band, worth seeking out. I didn't exactly see this record coming but I'd definitely rank it as a lot better than most records I've heard this year, and it seems to get better and better with each listen. It feels as those this noise-rock renaissance hinted at by bands such as KEN Mode, for example, really has some legs to it, and We'll Go Machete are a welcome addition to that movement.

Peter Clegg

Buy/Download 'Strong Drunk Hands' here

Official Bandcamp page 
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Sea Bastard - Great Barrier Riff

Sea Bastard
Great Barrier Riff

The UK sludge/doom uprising continues with this excellent demo from Brighton-based doom worshippers Sea Bastard, brilliantly titled 'Great Barrier Riff'. Featuring former members of Funeral Hag and Jovian, 'The Great Barrier Riff' is three life-draining tracks which no self-respecting fan of the genre should overlook, with riffs as deep and massive as the reef its shares its name with.

The highlight here is the middle track 'Taedium', a near 14 minute dirge that agonizingly crushes with an almighty crunch that persists for the first eleven minutes, emphasising just how overpowering doom of this intensity can be, before upping the pace in suckerpunch fashion to finish. Hail indeed. The production is crusty, ugly and raw, perfectly suitable for bowel-shaking riffs. Closer listening might detect one or two mistakes but having only been around since July and this being their first demo, it's not disruptive at all to really matter. Sea Bastard certainly have a lot to offer the UK doom scene and on this basis, the full length can't come soon enough.

Peter Clegg

Download 'Great Barrier Riff' here (name your price)

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Remembering Chuck Schuldiner - 10 years on

Today marks ten years since a brain tumour claimed the life of Death guitarist/vocalist, and all-round death metal pioneer Chuck Schuldiner, at the age of 34. It’s fair to say that his legacy and influence are stronger than ever, with countless up and coming bands arguably inspired by Schuldiner’s ever evolving take on the style he played a huge role in creating.

The recent reissues of landmark Death albums ‘Human’ and ‘Individual Thought Patterns’ are living proof that Death’s music has stood the test of time. I finally got round to listening to the reissue of ‘Human’ just a couple of weeks ago and not only does it sound as fresh as did when it was released (and indeed, when I first heard it for myself around eight years ago), but its so darn heavier than the majority of (death) metal (or what passes for it) these days. Everything about Death’s Human-era line-up was firing on all cylinders when that album was recorded. As Chuck steered death into a more technical, progressive future, he also changed his approach and insisted on recruiting session musicians, as opposed to being part of a full band as per the first three Death albums. And in guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert, both of cosmic progressive death metallers Cynic, he had two candidates who were absolutely ideal for the role, while bassist extraordinaire Steve DiGiorgio (of Sadus) completed the line-up. Such a line-up underlined Chuck’s perfectionism, but Death wouldn’t be Death without Chuck’s attention to detail.

‘Individual Thought Patterns’ continued Death’s progressive trend, again enlisting DiGiorgio, and replacing the Cynic guys with Gene Hoglan on drums and King Diamond’s legendary guitarist Andy LaRoque. Schuldiner further pushed the boundaries of what could be done with death metal, throwing into jazzy bass rhythms and supreme technicality than was more than ably performed by his backing band, especially so by DiGiorgio. It even turned Hoglan into the in demand name for numerous metal bands to call upon, such was the performance and the album’s impact.

I’ve only put primary focus on those albums given their recent reissuing. Death’s legacy reaches far beyond these albums, of course; their entire discography reads essential, and is full of classic metal anthems, namely ‘Zombie Ritual’ (from 1987’s ‘Scream Bloody Gore’); and Crystal Mountain (from 1995’s ‘Symbolic’) just to name a few. Add to that the numerous bands and musicians who can count Death and Chuck Schuldiner as an influence and the evidence speaks for itself. Chuck Schuldiner was a progressive visionary, a talented genius and unconstrained by the boundaries which seem to shackle so many of Death’s descendants today. 10 years on from his death, Chuck Schuldiner remains death’s metal’s most important figurehead. Keep on rocking Chuck, wherever you are.

Peter Clegg

Empty Words – the official Death/Control Denied/Chuck Schuldiner website

Death Bandcamp page

Official Death Facebook

Hydromedusa - Hydromedusa

Hydromedusa 

Hydromedusa

Another album that I've been sitting on too long, thanks to overstretching myself. But enough about my shoddy timekeeping - Australia might well be more known for stadium filling pub rock, a strong underground death metal network, and Peter André among many other delights, but sludge and doom metal? Well, its a little more well established than you think with acts such as Mournful Congregation and Adrift For Days to name a couple, but a sludge/blues metal band with psychedelic itches and urges to rock out? That be Hydromedusa. This quartet fuse all that together on their self-titled album over the course of six tracks, the centerpiece being 'Pemulwuy', a monstrous 24-minute that encapsulates the band's influences into one song, making for an enjoyable stoner metal fest.

As far as the shorter tracks go, it's by-the-numbers stuff but done pretty well. The album starts with the upbeat rocker 'I'll Make it Home' before diving into 'Pemulwuy', which finds its groove early before jagging into a sweet southern sludge groove, peppering some a dash of psychedelia and a heaping helping of blues through the huge chugging riff that makes up the majority of the song. It could easily get stale, and it often does feel like a 'when will it end?' riff, but thankfully the band have enough nous to know where to implement fretboard worship and blues jams.

The remainder of the album flits from psychedelic interlude to more blues metal, including a more straight-up rocker, the hateful 'Pathetic' and another sludge/blues dirge, 'Caps of Tea', although only half as long on this occasion. And with that, Hydromedusa have run the gamut of their influences in one record. It's wide and varied and perhaps lacking slightly in solid direction, but there's more than enough to suggest Hydromedusa are worth keeping an eye on, especially in the way they fuse blues rock and sludge together. Antipodean sludge is obviously alive and well.

Peter Clegg  

Download 'Hydromedusa' here (name-your-price) 

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Have yourself a very merry Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas

Earlier this year, we reviewed Scotland's finest grind offenders, the impressively monikered Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair, who delivered an incredible record in the form of the conceptual grind romance piece 'Contraception'.

Now Facebook followers of the band may already be aware, but in case you aren't, its time to get acquainted, if our glowing review didn't persuade you already. Because the Wheelchair x4 boys are the gift that keeps on giving, as their 2008 debut, the festively cheerful 'Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas', is available as a free download, courtesy of Messrs Finnie and King! Featuring incredible Christmas carols such as 'Daytrip to Lapland New Forest' and 'Holly Berries are Poisonous', delivered through the production of a cheesegrater, as a free download its recommended for any grind/powerviolence fan looking for a twist on the genre.

This is old news to those of you in the know, but with the 25th fast approaching, this is well worth an early festive treat.

Download 'Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas' here
The 'hymn sheet' can be found here!

Peter Clegg

Savage Messiah - Plague of Conscience

Savage Messiah
Plague of Conscience
Earache

British melodic heavy metallers Savage Messiah certainly generated themselves some welcome publicity when they announced they'd be giving their new album 'Plague of Conscience' away for the price of your e-mail address just a couple of weeks ago, allowing their fans to taste the album prior to its official January 2012 release, ahead of the major press outlets and without resorting to piracy either. The move is nothing new (labelmates Gama Bomb did the same thing in November 2009 for 'Tales From the Grave in Space') but its still bold to risk your album sales for free promotion and hope of added merch sales.

The promotion is something Savage Messiah could do with. They possess the same melodic metal abilities as the likes of Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, etc. while maintain a slight thrash leaning that beefs them up enough to distinguish them from the pack. It owes more to Megadeth, Testament, and contemporaries like Evile musically than the more mainstream acts, and this gives them a good platform to work from. Unfortunately, 'Plague of Conscience' doesn't quite exploit the potential shown by the band. The groundwork was there on previous albums 'Spitting Venom' and 'Insurrection Rising', and despite its best efforts, I don't feel 'Plague of Conscience' goes far enough. There's nothing much wrong with the songs, with some pretty enjoyable numbers like 'Carnival of Souls' and 'All Seeing I', and the guitarists are certainly on fire during the solo sections, but ultimately its all a bit too samey for the first nine tracks, as good as the tracks are in terms of quality.

It takes right up until the final song, 'The Mask of Anarchy', for Savage Messiah to truly spread their wings and attempt something different, even if its fairly indifferent within metal circles. At 8:37 in length, it has plenty of time to breathe and develop, starting as an acoustic ballad before shifting into heavy mode, back to acoustic, and then heavy again with some more impressive noodling. For me its by far the best track on the album, and leaves me questioning why they left such an approach late?

'Plague of Conscience' is certainly more palatable than the majority of the radio friendly hard rock/metal frontline (although that's not too difficult in itself) and they ought to be challenging them, putting themselves in the mixer and pushing onwards. Having not quite been swept up by thrash's brief renaissance, 'Plague...' for me represents an opportunity for Savage Messiah, with the right backing, to take the bull by the horns, and will certainly appeal to those looking to try something a little heavier and truer. But its not quite exceptional, and Savage Messiah may just want to take a few more risks in future to get ahead in this game.

Peter Clegg

Download 'Plague of Conscience' here (e-mail sign-up required)
Officially released on Monday 23rd January, 2012

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