Lupara Bianca

Here's just a quick post about the cassette version of the recent Deterioration EP, "Lupara Bianca". I'm not gonna go into much detail with this one, since most of my opinions will mirror Tylers from his earlier post about this release. This is the cassette version, self released on Deterioration's own label, Shattered Dreams Productions in a run of a think 50.

This thing sold out almost as soon as it went up. I got mine from Acid Redux Productions, who were thankfully stocking a few copies. This definitely ranks as one of my favorite Deterioration releases so far. Great, heavy recording, super tight and catchy riffs and drum syncopation, good flow from track to track, and a good chunk of song writing variety. The ending to the last song, "I'm Actually Wearing A Lot Of Explosives Right Now" is one of the most intense bits of grindcore this year, totally unrelenting. I definitely have found myself returning to this tape a lot out of all the Deterioration releases I own, and will probably be on my favorites of 2018 list. These guys just can't stop!

Got a nice, to the point layout without anything flashy in the packaging. The jcard feels like its made of photocopy paper. Great sounding cassette though, undoubtably a professional dub job.

Maybe one of the best/dumbest spine fonts I've seen. You don't see many bands fuck with all lower case Times New Roman. The only thing that would have made it more extreme is Comic Sans.

Great EP from one of the best American grindcore bands. I hear that this is supposed to come out on a 7" too at some point, so if you missed out on the CD, cassette, or 8-track, keep an eye out for that.

~VII

Suh Dude

HOT FIRE TAPE ALERT! Fuck, I really really wish I had picked up this cassette sooner. This thing was recorded in 2016 and I only just caught on thanks to some friendly hype from some trusted peers. I picked up this Suh Minutes of Dude tape from a recent order from Acid Redux Productions, who also released it. Released on a pro tape, my copy is obviously on a green cassette, limited to 60 copies.

So, great band name right?? Meme status aside, it's a brilliantly humorous take on the classic 7MON name. The name is honestly probably what kept me away from buying it for so long, cause on the surface this looks like it would be an enjoyable, but overall standard, stupid as hell noisecore tape. Boy oh boy is that not the case here. Noisecore; absolutely, but this is some of the most pulverizing shit I've heard in a minute. An international quartet/supergroup of heads in the scene, though I'm not exactly sure who. The only name I recognize in the credits is Rado, who I'm just gonna assume is the same Rado from 7M$.

Basically what you get here is 20 tracks in almost 10 minutes of some of the most legit and hard slapping Fear of God worship I've probably ever heard. Right down to the unchanging "Peeeaoohhhhh" growl vocals. The recording is perfect. Hard panned, dual bass assault with avalanche heavy drumming. Everything is basically low end, but with a nice amount of trebly crunch on the basses. There is some semblance of riffs that pop up occasionally, but mostly it's just noise. This is just crazy, chaotic, knuckle dragging noisecore to the max, it's incredibly aggressive and honestly makes me wanna throw objects at walls.. There's even a burp or two that they keep in. This session could go on for 3 times as long and I would enjoy every second of it. My roommate said a funny thing in regards to this. I'm paraphrasing but it was like, "You have that kind of life where you say things like "Dude, Suh Minutes of Dude is an awesome band."

Pro tape means pro volume levels, and this tape sounds destructive! Very smart to have the full recording on both sides too. With my new auto-reverse cassette deck I can just let this shit play over and over.

There are still copies of this available from the label, so you know what to do. This gets an incredibly high recommendation. 

~VII

Waste Of Notes

This was a split that I knew I had to buy right away,  as soon as it popped onto my radar, no questions asked. Hard to believe it actually took this long for these two legends to do a proper split 7" together. If you need an introduction to either of these bands you probably aren't the type of person who would read a blog where I'm geeking out about them. You also probably know if you want to buy this regardless if anyone says it's good or not. This was released by the infamous Ratgirl Records, in probably a multitude of color variants. The white color press is limited to 100, 33 RPM.

There was a time when I aggressively collected Agathocles records. Nowadays, I've definitely slowed down, especially with the 7"s. I don't know, it's hard to find the Agathocles splits that really "wow" me these days. This is one of those recordings that falls into that "okay, but nothing great" category. The recording is putrid sounding, obviously. The cymbals really wash over everything and the snare is barely audible, making it kind of a slog. The guitars have a nice dirt bike buzz to them, and Jan sounds great as always over these simple riffs. There's a couple moments here for sure, but nothing that's really outstanding.

Definitely more so, I bought this record to hear the Deche-Charge side, and boy did their half deliver all the goods! This is the kind of DC recording that I love. Just the complete destruction of music, blown out to the absolute max! No riffs, no fidelity, just ugly sounds and Chainsaw's grunting. It sounds like the microphone was literally placed inside one of the amps, it's that kind of super hot low end. There's some great short traxxx moments with more pauses towards the end to keep it flowing and engaging. A lovely recording from these legends!

I absolutely love this cover art. It's a beautiful illustration, I wish I knew who drew it but no information was given.

So yeah, Deche-Charge and Agathocles finally did a split 7"! You already know if you need it or not.

Bathing In The Excrement That Is Your Contrarian Opinion

This is a nice and rowdy split from a couple of super sick bands that always bring a walloping amount of pure grind fury. Indiana's own Flvx Capacitor and one of Lima, OH's nastiest bands, Landfill. Released on these sick orange tapes by Riotous Outburst Records, limited to something like 200 I think!

Flvx Capacitor are up first, serving up 9 new tracks of warp speed grindcore, plus a cover of Extreme Noise Terror's "Deceived". This side is awesome, and some of the shortest and most urgent sounding songs the Flvx has made so far. I think Chris told me that the riffs were written over improvised blasting that was recorded earlier in time. This band has riffs for days, both familiar and more modern sounding, but without sounding techy. Basically these three just know what the fuck their doing when it comes to grindcore. The very high quality recording is also top notch, everything sounds powerful and clear, though their is a noticeable drop in volume and umf on the "Deceived" cover. Great side overall though, just vicious!!

If you haven't heard Landfill yet, you're most definitely fucking up hard. Spearheaded by Will Otler (Methlab Explosion/Faction Disaster/Hot Babes/etc.), Landfill has been one of my favorite projects of his yet. Their side is completely disgusting, brutal grindcore with all the fixings you would need. Deep, gurgled vocals, thick down tuned guitars, a pingy snare, and head-to-concrete riffs. Like the Flvx side though, after track 3 it sounds like a totally different recording, way more raw. Landfill is a somewhat swirling ensemble of members, so this is nothing really new or problematic. No matter what Landfill is always brutal and I dig all of this.

This is a nice looking DIY tape, I adore the orange cassette shell. My copy got just the taddest bit fuzzy in the dubbing I think. The cymbals kinda have that washed out sound. However when you're doing 200 tapes on your own it's pretty dang forgivable.

This is a sick little split, you should definitely give it some ear time. Both these bands are definitely putting out stuff you should own , what are you even doing??

~VII

Catalyst

Washington State based fastcore/noisecore mashup titans Sidetracked have had nothing short of an incredibly prolific couple of years. Releasing at least 12 individual pro-CDr EP's on Jay's own label, Problems They Persist, on top of many other split 7" records, tapes, and so on. I recently was able to snag the latest 6 (!) CD's, plus this super quick 10 track cassette EP released on Practiced Hatred called "Exile". Not sure how many this was limited to, but the red artwork variant has the lyrics included. Naturally, I had to snag that version. 

Wooo boy is this fassst. Pretty much by the time you pop in in the player and go and sit down, one side is over. Hardcore dudes will have the hardest time moshing to this. Heavy duty, super raw and incredibly stop/starty micro-jams. Long time admirers of Sidetracked will probably find a lot of similar qualities to the "Hustle" cassette, another 2 minute or so tape release if I remember correctly. Working with a heavy inspiration from early super aggressive hardcore bands in terms of riffs. Breaking them down and boiling song structure down to the shortest of track lengths. I've always thought Sidetracked was a genius band, and seeing them embrace rawer recording choices and taking on almost pure noisecore styles from time to time has been a very fascinating and wonderful thing to see.

I'm curious why the lyrics were only given to people who bought this red cover version. To me the lyrics in a Sidetracked song serve as strong a purpose as the music does. That aside, this tape looks sick. I really like the design, it's straight and to the point, and diverts from the usual look that Sidetracked releases have.

"Exile" has already sold out from the label, but I think Sidetracked still have some for sale on their bandcamp page.

~VII

Chopped and Slopped

The mash up of Australia and the American Midwest is a beautiful combination. While these regions may be separated by thousands of miles both have scenes that want to create the most punishing grindcore known to man. On this split we have Sulfuric Cautery from Dayton/Lima, OH who have been crushing the goregrind/grindcore game the last few years. On the other side we have Take That Vile Fiend which consists of Brad of Radical Blarghst and has played in bands like Internal Rot, Holy Boner, Super Happy Fun Slide, and more. 

The TTVF side is goregrind to the max. The guitars and bass are a bit muddy but regarding the overall sound it helps, as it gives the recording a super gross sound. The vocals are pitch shifted well and are very deep without getting too lost in the mix. Drumming is on point with tight grooves and mince beats countered with hyper fast blasts. The snare has a nice ping to it that cuts through just right. Each song begins with a sample and because of this I wish there was another song or two as the songs on this have exactly what I am looking for in goregrind. Overall a solid chunk of music that plays through really well. If you haven’t heard their full length "Excreted Brain Matter" it is worth checking out.

On the other side we have Sulfuric Cautery bringing 6 tracks of their signature, over-the-top gore/grindcore. The tracks flow together really well just like the TTVF side. Their side kicks off with a drum fill with possibly the most ridiculous snare drum tone. I say ridiculous but it works well with that sound being pushed so far up in the mix compared to the bass and guitars. Listening to this I wish the guitars and bass were a bit clearer but their tones overall sound great for what they are doing. The songs are jammed packed with riffs and within a short time which gives the songs a very spastic nature without it sounding like disjointed. These boys are on top of their shit and are not holding back at all and it really shows on this recording.

Several great labels helped put this out including Radical Blarghst and Blast Addict which are run by Brad and Isaac respectively. The record is a nice dark blue and plays great. Overall this is a fantastic record and definitely worth checking out. Sulfuric Cautery are making huge waves in the US scene and Australia pumps out tons of great grind. 

~Tyler Hammer