Thulsa Grind

This neat lil' tape was given to me in a trade by my buddy Jordan, lead singer for BrainxToilet/Priapus and Hygiene Records owner and operator. A promo cassette for the new BxT recordings going on a split cassette with Budd Dwyer.

Don't be fooled by their goofy name, these guys are not taking a piss here. This is a very solid example of good modern grindcore. Somewhat on the techy side, with a healthy nod to bands like Nasum every so often. BxT also features Priapus riffmiester Jeremy on drums, and thoroughly kills it. Great batch of songs.

I think there were only 20-something of these made, and were sold at a few shows. The split with Budd Dwyer should be out soon, pick it up!

~VII

Slaughterlord

Hygiene Records is supplying some of the years most mandatory grind releases yet again. One of it's most recent outputs being this slam dunk of a split between Edmonton's Detroit and thedownunder's thedowngoing. A cassette only release, limited to 100-150 copies I think. 

Detroit have been steadily kicking ass in the underground with a steady stream of lo-fi blastcore. One of their more well known releases probably being the split 12" with Robocop that Give Praise records released a few years ago. This recording is definitely one of their rawest and fastest to date. Warp speed fastcore taking strong nods to The Afternoon Gentlemen and Quattro Stagioni. Excellent stuff front to back, some of my favorite from the band so far. 

Thedowngoing have been one of the most left field and polarizing bands to come out of the Australian grind roster in a while, and certainly one of my favorites. Their side is unfortunately the bands swan song effort, but they sure did end on a high note. This is some of their cleanest, and heaviest recordings ever, a fantastic continuation of the "GOATSONGS" half of the Water Torture split. It's a much more reserved sound then the tinnitus inducing noise of their previous albums and EP's. But their knack for writing brilliant discordant riffs that slash, burn, and captivate is stronger then ever. I'll miss them for sure, but A+ on the good-bye note. 

Very nice and tidy full-color layout on the J-card and cassette label. Proper presentation, very strange artwork. Which I guess is pretty fitting.

This split's definitely on my favorites of 2014 list so far. I suggest you all do yourself a favor and pick one up from Hygiene before they're gone for good. 

~VII

Bad Memories

Shame on me for not doing a proper post about this amazing EP before! Add it to my 4 mile long "better late then never" list. I don't think I need to introduce the mighty Sex Prisoner to any of the readers of this site. After a brilliant two-hit roundhouse kick of a comeback in 2013, and a semi-recent signing to über hardcore label, A389 Records, these guys seem unstoppable. Sex Prisoner's sophomore EP, "State Property", came out mid-2013 I believe, and completely blew me away on the first listen, and pretty much every listen since. 33 RPM, Black Vinyl.

Doing this post, I'm reminded of the brutal face-palm I gave myself when I just straight up forgot to pre-order this record. I made note of it, sectioned off the Bad Teeth Recordings store just so I could get quick n' easy access, the whole shabang. And I just sorta..let it..escape my mind. Of course the pre-order sold out in like, a few hours. So, I missed out on the beautiful white vinyl but as we all know, the music is what matters at the end of the day. And "State Property" is some seriously tough and incredible music. In my opinion, Sex Prisoner improved in every way from their debut 7". The band sounds absolutely massive and punishing, thanks largely to the perfect drum sound. The kick drum is like a cannon shot and those snare hits sound like spine's snapping. The HM-2 abuse guitar tone was a bit of a risky step (at least for my tastes), but it actually seems to work here. There's a full spectrum of tone's for maximum punishment. Not to mention the song writing got a bit better, the breakdown's are more to the point and impossibly heavy. Fuck I love this record. Sex Prisoner are the reigning champions of ignantly tough powerviolence, complete masters of their craft.

Bad Teeth Recordings really treated the boys well. This is a fantastic package all around. A sturdy, glued matte sleeve, and a 2-page mini poster/lyric sheet. No expenses were spared obviously. 

Pretty sure that there was a 2nd pressing done at the tail-end of last year. If you haven't picked this record up yet, you're doing a huge disservice to your eardrums. I hear tale that a full-length will finally be released by A389 sometime this year too! I'm very eager to see what they do with the LP format. 

~VII