Sewer//Geyser

Leading up to the Napalm Death is Dead/Unexamine/Penis Geyser tour that happened in the mid-USA this year, Mikeal from Penis Geyser posted a picture of some naked 7" records. What could this be? I asked myself, eager for the answer because I knew it would objectively be awesome. Low and behold (and thanks to some tips from friends) I found out it was a new Penis Geyser split from Smash Music! The other band, Sewer System, I was unfamiliar with at the time but once I learned it was a solo project of Charlie from Sissy Spacek, my need to obtain it doubled. I was thankfully able to pick it up from Charlie himself when my band got to be on a show with SS. Not sure how many of these were made, they were most likely all pressed on black vinyl. 33 RPM.

Penis Geyser's side is a crazy spewing of violent musical nonsense, thankfully always and forever. Curiously titled "1st Rehearsal Demo", even though it says it was was recorded throughout 2017. It definitely sounds like the Brad/Mikeal duo line-up, particularly from the vocal delivery. Some in the moment singy vocals open the side before the wonderful, cassette fidelity bursts of crashing symbols and quick drum hits, out of tune guitar noise and aggressive vocals. There's several moments where the blasting cuts out and the guys just sort of fuck around, which breaks up the intensity but keeps that "fuck music" etho's alive and kicking. Great stuff, it's always good to hear new stuff from this band.

The Sewer System side is fucking great too! This is that totally raw, gross and dirty, short track worshipping noisecore that I need in my life. Kinda goregrindy vocals here, genuinely beastly and throaty sounding. I'm not sure if there's actual string instruments used here or just noise gear. Charlie does everything as far as I know, except for a few extra vocals that were supplied by some other people according to the (very hard to read) info in the sleeve. Sharp stick clicks and snare hits begin every short track, with a crunchy, low-end rumble underneath furious and powerful blast beats. Each small track more or less sounds the same, and the whole side is broken up to about 7 parts, each part containing a block of tracks. The intensity here is very attention grabbing, I'll definitely be on the look out for more Sewer System releases from now on. 

My coworkers thought that the cover of this split was hilarious, since it's just a picture of John Coltrane with a nuclear blast in the foreground. John Coltrane's the shit, so thumbs up there. The collage art here is pretty sick, it sets an interesting vibe that's for sure. The sleeve is one of those matchbook-style things, with the extra little flab on the end. 

If you're into noisecore you already know that you need this, this whole review is pretty redundant. 

~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.

Content

Y'all know I'm pretty generous with the amount of love I spread on here. I use this blog as a way to spread a positive word about things I think should be heard. Writing about something that isn't my taste, or something I genuinely just don't agree with isn't really, and has never been my goal on here. Especially since I choose almost everything I write about, I naturally just gravitate towards the tapes and records I listen to a lot. This post today is a big one, I might get a little sappy but I'm not going to worry about it. This is a release that means a lot to me, and hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it. Beggin' For Oxys debut vinyl release, their very elusive 7" EP, "Just Another Tired Ass Powerviolence Record", self released by the band sometime last year in a run of 100 copies.

Before continuing, here's a little personal rewind. Last year, my friend Matt who does an excellent noise project called Machine Moon, and I, started to arrange a week long tour for 2018. Fortunately and amazingly enough, Beggin' For Oxys were able to join the caravan. The tour inevitably happened and ended a few weeks ago, and was without a doubt the best tour I've ever been on. It was a real privilege for me to be able to spend time with and see BFO perform for a week straight. Watching their various types of performances was incredible. It didn't matter if Mark's guitar wasn't working that night, and could only do vocals, if they played their planned set or everyone was too drunk to care. They brought the house down every night. When they did perform their songs, it was some of the tightest and hardest shit I'd ever seen. The way they gradually just let the set collapse down into sheer noisecore chaos was executed flawlessly. One of the most exciting and fun bands going right now in my opinion. Mark knows how to write a twisted ass riff, and Aaron is an absolute beast on the drums.

Getting on to the actual record however, this is Beggin' For Oxys when the chaos is much more controlled. Actual riffs and songs as opposed to their noisecore side. The funny as hell title is more or less a good indication of the more focused structure of the songs. Beefy, loud, out of tune guitar riffs and rapidly quick and changing drums. This is like powerviolence performed at it's most cynical, but you're still able to take it seriously. I'm honestly fascinated at how they write their songs; it's a very seamless blend of improvisation and legit composition. The wonkiness of it leads to so many memorable moments. Starting right from the Melvins-esque intro riff to the opener, "Content". Or the nu-metal guitar scronks and grooves on "Overpowered/Underwhelmed" and "Underpowered/Overwhelmed". Like a weird mix of Charles Bronson and Final Exit. Not to mention that this whole record sounds like it wants to literally dig your ribcage out of your body and throw it against a graffiti covered concrete wall. It's a rock solid, pleasurable punch to the face front to back.

Everything about the packaging was done by the band, and they went and got the record pressed themselves which I really admire. Every cover is unique and hand drawn. They usually seem to stick with the small lettering spread out over the front on this record. However I was lucky enough to grab the cock cover copy that's pictured above. As soon as Mark drew it I needed it  ( edit: cover art by Ben Durham). And yes there are lyrics, you can't stop the sneak dissing.

True as fuck dead wax etching too. 

Now in addition to the 7", down here in the USA, Uninvited Records did a slappin' cassette reissue that's also just excellent. As usual, Joe has treated this product with the utmost care. Everything looks and sounds clean, crispy, and is wonderfully assembled. This was released in a run of 40.

So yeah, I own three copies of this excellent record. I'm not ashamed of this at all.

~VII

Fuck A Job

Another new split 7" self released by NY's Waves Crashing Piano Chords project. Joining up with the bad mushroom trip noisecore mess that is Michigan's Farting Corpse. Another pairing of bands that seems somewhat strange at first, but is another great showcase of friends supporting friends, and sharing a release based on equal appreciation of each others craft. WCPC, is an artist that is appreciated more in the Midwest more than probably anywhere else. Footage of the Harshfest sets are pretty big examples of this. WCPC's antics are seemingly celebrated down there. It's the only region I can see where getting punched in the head with a microphone or having a whole bottle of blue Faygo sprayed in your eyeballs is a highlight of a show. This split 7" was released in a run of 230 copies, black vinyl, 45 RPM.

Waves brings us a completely new song on their side, entitled "I Like You Better". Opening with subtle sounds of movement for a few seconds until the sharp squeal of the trademark microphone feedback clicks on. The track is typical WCPC, not a ton of new things to highlight here. The vocals are appropriately tough and antagonistic, and the sudden stops of silence between the words "I...Like...You...Better!" is a nice little bit of composition. The song ends with about a minute of manipulated mouth noises, which is a sound I think I would like to see Sean work with more, it works. Not the strongest track in the Waves catalog, but still solid and enjoyable.

I admittedly only own one other release from Farting Corpse (the possibly unofficial split with Penis Geyser), so I'm not entirely familiar with a lot of their recordings. The 25 tracks that they perform on their side is something I know I really enjoy though. This band is freak out, psychedelic, gutter noise sound vomit. Custom guitar/Kaossilator noise swirls and skrongs over warp speed hyper blasts and heavily manipulated vocals. Little bits of what sounds like cut-up edits pop up at the end of some of the tracks which give it even more of a frantic sound. This recording is that hypnotic, repetitive kind of brutality that you just get lost in and let it do whatever it wants to your eardrums. It's over in the blink of an eye though, they waster no time with the three and a half minutes they have. I've heard of this band performing for almost a couple hours before, I hope I get to see them live someday.

There is absolutely no info about any of the bands on this release. 

You can buy this split HERE!

~VII

Sedem Minut Samurai

The noisecore lordships themselves, my favorite band, Sedem Minut Strachu graced the USA this year on their first tour over the Pacific. Playing alongside fellow sound crushers like Final Exit, Six Brew Bantha, Space Grinder and Deche-Charge. Echoing their incredibly prolific year before this, 7MS have cemented their status as contemporary titans of noisecore. One of their strongest releases to date comes to us from American weirdo/punk label SPHC, which is a label I definitely trust when it comes to insanely bizarre noise and punk releases.  A full EP of new studio recordings, recorded on their Japan tour at Ryohei's (Final Exit) home studio. This is actually a test press version they sold on their portion of the American tour with Anal Butt. Limited to 45 copies, 33 RPM.

I'd say that this is one of 7MS's most punishing recordings to date. Ryohei did an excellent job of capturing and engineering their signature assault and boosting it tenfold. Both Rado and Richard are hard-panned into their respective channels, surrounding you in churning walls of bass distortion and free form, neanderthal vocals. Richard (right channel) seems to have a pitch shifter on his voice and his grunts never sounded more barbaric. Jan's drumming is one of the real highlights on this record. The snare is compressed perfectly and the hits are so bright and pangy, the kick drums sound monstrous, and the cymbals sound like a bunch of chains being wailed on. It's a challenging mix, but I can't get enough of it lately, it's been on repeat all week. The last 30 seconds or so actually feature Ryohei on drums, which is a fun little add on at the end. Seriously, "Sedem Minut Samurai" is a brutal, brutal EP. It's one of the best recordings I think 7MS has ever done.

The test press is packaged in a simple fold-over sleeve with no inner art. White labels, and a double sided insert with the Japan and American tour dates. According to the SPHC website, this test press was actually rejected. Hopefully the pressing plant will make this incredible EP a priority soon and it will be available to the masses.

I actually got to perform on the Rochester, NY date of the tour. One of the real highlights of the year for me.

Until this EP is released officially, you can listen to the recordings HERE.

~VII

Mr. Jolly Fucker

Sleaford Mods is a musical group that I have shamelessly been head over heels for this year. A duo based out of Nottingham, England that have very rapidly put out numerous singles and LP's over the past two years. I've heard record collectors kind of hate them, and I can't pretend I don't see why. Their style and delivery was a bit of a challenge to listen to and absorb at first, but I kept coming back to it. Generally a good sign that there is definitely something with abstract substance there. The rapid-fire, ornery lyrical pieces that vocalist/lyricist Jason Williamson shout-raps are mesmerizing. While music-maker Andrew Fearn's minimal, post-punk flavored beats provide the perfect amount of punch and energy for whatever topic is on the tongue. A punk band in their attitude, but much fresher and more original then any of the rehashed punk bands of today. There is as much influence from bands like Crass in their tunes as there is from Suicide or The Fall, or Wu-Tang Clan. Tyrannical, sarcastic, opinionated, and incredibly British.
While the Mods discography is massive, they mainly thrive as a singles band. There are too many mandatory 7" cuts to buy at one time, and many are going for a pretty penny these days. Thankfully though, these are routinely reissued with many different collectable colored pressings and sleeve designs. So I was finally able to score the brilliant "Mr. Jolly Fucker b/w Tweet Tweet Tweet" single. The 4th edition, with an orange cover and vinyl, 45 RPM. Released by Forth Dimension Records.

"Mr. Jolly Fucker" is one of the first SM songs I fell in love with, and may just be the jam of the century. A perfect two minute romper of fast paced lyrical wit and a slamming, hypnotic beat. Unfortunately, no lyric sheets have ever been provided for this single, so I am still left a bit unclear about what Mr. Williamson's main message is here. The usual pessimistic and disgruntled attitude towards the privileged and hoytie-toytie people that take up space is prevalent. Little pokes like "pushing out office turds" and rotting away in the isles of the Co-op store are just a few of the many quotables I notice. And the immortal, cut and dry chorus/hook that is simply, "JOLLY FUCKER"! Such a great song, this is definitely one of my favorite 7" records in the collection at the moment.
The B-side is a track that was later put on the end of the album "Divide and Exit". Another wonderfully written and catchy little ditty targeting the masses apathetic nature towards real life (according to me). "Dead weight is living flesh", what a great line. "Tweet Tweet Tweet" is probably one of the best early examples of a "singing" Sleaford Mods. Jason's vocals follow more of a rhythm and melody on here, with some great back-up vocals fleshing the sound out more. We even get some piano and a little bit of electronics. All around fantastic!!

The 4th edition of this single comes in a sturdy glued sleeve with orange artwork and vinyl. A nice, thick slab of wax that sings clear and loud!

So far this year, Sleaford Mods have also put out my favorite album of 2015 with their recently released "Key Markets" LP. I might get around to posting that, it's amazing and definitely worth all of your ear time. 

~VII

Disgusting Taste

I have not been very good at keeping up with my beloved Archagathus very well this year. Truly, the pains of being an avid collector of an active-as-fuck band like the this are heavy. And the Prince of Mince has definitely not been slowing down. They released the brutal, gore worshipping full length "Dehumanizer" last year, and the usual spree of crucial splits with bands like Sordo, Lt. Dan, Sete Star Sept, and Carcass Grinder. Sadly, many of these are still not in my possession, and I mourn that every day. However, one split I was very happy to recently land is the incredible split 7" with Self Deconstruction from Japan. Released on Agromosh Records this year in a run of 1000 copies.

This split seems to be unanimously received as one of the best things that Archagathus have done recently. I do definitely place myself in that club of opinion, to me one of the best group of songs they've done since "Canadian Horse". Opening shit up with that perfect and notorious cover of Dahmer's "Thomas Hamilton". Absolutely nailing it with an attention grabbing drum intro and the right amount of shameless worship of the band they're honoring. Dahmer's influence is all over this side, most notably in the layered vocals (which are the bomb btw), and repetitive and consistent riffing styles song-for-song. Archagathus's more recent evolution into a mincegore band often doesn't always leave me satisfied, but they really nailed it on this one. Throwing in a lot more catchy riffs, like on the closer "Government Influenza", which to me is an excellent blend of the gore side, and the fun punk as fuck mince of their earlier works. Goddamn I love this band.

Strangely enough, I really don't see many people mention Self Deconstruction's side when they're talking about this split. Which is really unfortunate, because I feel like that definitely would detract people from checking this band out. I initially wasn't that motivated to turn the record over and hear their side, cause I didn't hear any real hype. Holy crap though, Self Deconstruction's offering is just insanity! Admittedly, a pretty weird band to share a split with Archagathus, as their approach to writing grind is almost night and day. If you didn't know this band was from Japan, you'd probably figure it out pretty quick from just a few seconds of their side. Metallic, semi-free, chaotic and dissonant spazzcore is what they bring, with a huge thrashcore influence. Distinctly over-the-top and unhinged song writing, bouncing from riff to riff at the speed of light, but still sounding tight and professional. I was really pleasantly surprised with this band, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for them in the future.

Standard packaging on here, with all the proper info and credits on the inside. All copies are on this purpley, marble vinyl. Fun fact: Archagathus side plays at 33 RPM and SD's plays at 45 RPM. Don't let that fool ya.

There's 1,000 copies of this, so you should have no problem finding one. Buy or forever pose.

~VII

Ausländer

The "Window Hammer" 7" was one of the first grindcore-style Sissy Spacek records I really got into, even before "Contretemps". It was released last year by super-noise label Chondritic Sound, but avoided being in my possession until a few weeks ago when I spent way to much money at the SS merch table. Limited to 313 copies, all on black vinyl, 45 RPM. My copy came with the bonus DVD-r which I'll get to later.

The A-side consists of all nine tracks of "Window Hammer" that I was familiar with until getting this record. Yet another very focused and visceral take on stripped down noisecore/grindcore. This session featuring the trio line-up of Corydon, Mumma and Wiese. Loosing the guitar noise and going for more stand-alone bass riffage. Brief stick clicks are the only break between songs before all three members immediately snap into attack mode. Everything on here is tight, do not be lead to believe otherwise from the lo-fi recording and lack of song writing variation. What this group does with only blast beats and bass is very impressive. You can tell a lot of attention was put on the different variations of blasts and cymbal hits to make these songs still flow as, well, songs. Instead of just taking the easy microsong/noise burst approach. Fun fact, Joe Preston of Thrones/Melvins fame supplies some back up vocals on a couple tracks.


The B-side was a new listening experience to me, consisting of a single track entitled "Seven Dwarfs". As you could probably guess, this is another collage/cut up piece, created by the Mumma/Wiese duo line-up. If you've heard any of this line-ups work, like the "Brath" full length, you'll feel immediately familiar with the mayhem on here. Consistently harsh and blurred throughout it's whole run-time, leaning towards more of a raw noisecore style. Buried drum hits and vocals fight against blaring junk distortion and bass fuzz. It's a chaotic mess, I dug it a lot. Very similar to something that would be on their first "S/T" full length, or Charlie Mumma's other noisecore band Surplus Killing.

"Window Hammer" comes packaged in a standard fold-over, double sided sleeve. Again, no lyrics or insert of any kind. I do really wish I could read some of the lyrics. I've always been curious what Corydon is yelling about.

My copy also came with this bonus DVD-r, which contains a couple live concerts from the band during the "Contretemps" era. Most of the footage is very intimate, claustrophobic. Lots of close-ups of the band and crowd, with some extra spliced in footage of the band shooting guns, and recording a concreté piece with Smegma (I believe). The sound quality is tastefully overblown, it definitely fits the footage. I'd say it's worth trying to find a copy with the DVD, though I'm not sure how many of these were made.

Definitely another essential piece of the Sissy Spacek catalog, and thankfully this is still pretty easy to find. Don't sleep.

~VII

Gloves

"Contretemps" fucking rules. I was overjoyed when I saw that Sissy Spacek somehow still had copies for sale at their merch table. I've been after this one for a long time. This is what I like to call some perfect noisegrind. Released on Post Present Medium, 500 copies pressed on black vinyl, 45 RPM.

Out of all of Sissy Spacek's newer EP's, "Contretemps" still leads the pack as my favorite of their grindcore records. This EP managed to get a sound that none of the other records really managed to nail. John's bass tone is so rounded, crunchy, bassy and overblown here. It fills up the whole spectrum of sound. They've also just never sounded so pissed before, not like this. Corydon's voice rides a constant plateaued level of intensity. Shouting rapid fire vocals to match Charlie Mumma's stripped down, pure blast beat drumming. Listening to this on vinyl was like hearing it for the first time. The master is devastatingly loud and bass heavy, it sounds like mountains crumbling. But still under all the noise, Sissy Spacek have written some of their finest songs. Every track can stand on it's own thanks to the excellent riffs that Mr. Wiese can write. Tracks like "Gloves", "End Mill", and "On On On On" all have parts that I remember easily and fondly. Great songs, perfect sound, and incredibly tight performances.


The record comes packaged in a very flimsy glued sleeve. Seriously, I'm so scared of ripping this thing. As usual, no insert or lyrics included.

Not sure if the band still has copies or not, but you can still find this on Discogs pretty easily. Buy or forever cry.

~VII