Roses Are Red, Grinders Are Cool

Bruised Ego are a band that are very near and dear to my heart. One of my favorite bands to come out in the past few years for sure, and some of the raddest dudes. Their first demo tape really knocked me out when I first heard it a couple years ago, and their very active progression has been insane. This, their first full length LP "Roman Numeral One", was recently released on a variety of labels. I was lucky enough to be able to pay for a handful of copies before it went to press, and Brad was generous enough to put my lil' ol labels logo on the back. So yes this review is pretty biased, but fuck it cause y'all really need to check out Bruised Ego (and buy this LP from the band and other labels please).

Bruised Ego are a fastcore band through and through, exemplifying all the traits I love about the genre and its over the top sonic nature. Passionate, opinionated, the right amount of tongue in cheek, plus they can push the tempo's to mach 5. "Roman Numeral One" is the product of many hours spent refining their craft and they gave it the treatment it so deserves. I was so stoked when I heard that super metal producer/engineer Colin Marston was going to be recording the LP, and he definitely put a large roomy, thick sound to everything. A very raw, aggressive and energetic sound and performance comes through. It's warp speed shit, I gotta catch my breath a lot when I listen to this, and I've heard it quite a lot at this point.

Every song from the first demo is re-recorded here, but the remaining 15 tracks are all new and in your face. Bruised Ego always been really terrific song writers. Brad is a riff machine, incorporating a ton of influence from different styles of heavy music besides the tried and true fastcore bands. Adam's drumming is perfectly able to add the right amount of accents and tricks to make the riffing come alive in a new way. One of the craziest drummers to watch live. The track "Dundalk" for instance, has so many sharp stops and changes, it sounds like a track from No Comment's "Downsided", but on fast forward. Or the strange and staggering snare hit break in "Old Guy In The Pit". "Human Garbage" has a fantastically structured intro that weaves and morphs so tastily, then explodes into full on war mode. Mike is also sounding as aggressive as ever. Insane praise for being able to keep up vocals towards this music.

The packaging and layout of this record is total eye candy to me. It came out so good! The absolutely amazing cover art (done by Lobo Ramirez) is full of wonderful little easter eggs that were a lot of fun to pick out.

You can pick this LP up from the Bruised Ego link up above. Also from To Live A Lie and Craniophagus Parasiticus Records (can). Tru Freak doesn't seem to have a webstore. Fastcore is alive and well in 2018!

~VII

Garbage Gets Me Hot

I'm a big fan of the whole 4-band split thing. I suppose most people would call that a compilation and call it a day. Personally I say you gotta get up to at least 5 bands for it to reach that "compilation" level. Anyway, four bands on one tape means more bang for your gorebuxxx, and I'm always down for more hot garbage sounds. This tape that Ben put out on the bodacious Craniophagus Parasiticus Records I've been after for a minute. I was happy to finally get it from him in person on the Scab Addict tour. Here's the Twat Slug/Womb Stew/Post Natal Drip/Cutaneous Horns 4-way split.

I've had an affinity for this split since it got announced. It's a stacked line-up, obviously, but everyone really just brings some of their most over the top material. One of the most coward-unfriendly splits I own, it's marvelously filthy. Twat Slug's quarter opens up the tape with four tracks of stomping, lo-fi gorenoise. Cheap, programmed drum beats, bizarre porn samples galore, blown out bass riffs and cavernously burpy vocals. This shit is great, I really adore Twat Slug. This is the kind of healthily porn-obsessed music I can get behind, and getting to see how rad the dude behind it is was really sweet too. The love for hunting down the most ridiculous and wild films, kinda like finding the most unmusical music.  Real freak music, total fetish material.
Right after Twat Slug, shit gets seriously fucking loud with Womb Stew. A harsh, harsh, HARSH gorenoise project from Aaron who ran Fermented Bile Vomit Records. This offering is one of the more pure harsh noise recordings from Womb Stew. I've always admired the projects almost complete lack of separation between pure noise and gore-stylings, but again on this split it's just extra cracked out material. The drums are almost completely buried under the overdriven distorted noise and feedback, absolutely no string instruments by the sound of it. It's a harsh and heavy wall that doesn't let up, the only thing that puts it in familiar territory are the continuous roaring troll vocals. Painful and unfriendly.

Post Natal Drip come through again with another session of drunk, no-fi jamming insanity. Post Natal Drip will rip every cowards face off, as is declared while the band prepares to slam dunk this shit. Completely free, way too overblown, sloppy and wild. Like if Deche-Charge mixed up with Peter Brotzmann. Seriously, the complete bastardization of music here is so on point and in your face, I love it.

And of course we end with Cutaneous Horns, who honestly could not have done a better or more proper job with the closing track. Big ups to starting it off with a good hip-hop sample, again referencing lack of friendship towards cowards. What follows is just pure wetness. I'm almost certain that it's just layers of water under distortion. Wet gorenoise taken to the fucking limit, shamelessly and triumphantly. What's funny is that the way the different samples weave and come in and out, it actually sounds quite nice and somewhat creepy at times.

As is usual with Ben's releases, the tape sounds great, and the whole package looks nice. 

If you can find this you should buy it, it gets a big recommendation from me. Real freak shit.

~VII

Organic Refuse

A couple weeks ago while I was on tour, my buddy Ben slipped me a copy of this here tape that he helped release on his label Craniophagus Parasiticus Records. Later on the trek, while we were all chilling in Chicago, this tape was put on in the background. Amongst the clatter, hilarious conversations, and heavy intoxication, the music on here went straight to my ears like a heat seeking missile and I was blown away. Now officially released (also by Septic Brain Tapes and Misanthropic Ignorance), here's the Cystgurgle/Vomitoma split tape.

This split is wet, brutal, hyper blasting gore to the limit! Everything I love about ridiculous goregrind is on this tape, it's all just so good! Cystgurgle, a drum/bass duo from Thailand, are up first for a crushing A-side. This was my first exposure to them and DAMN, this shit is boiling lava hot. This is that supremely fast, super tight, Inopexia/LDOH-style goregrind right here. The drummer is absolutely insane (yes, these are real drums), everything is just impossibly fast. This is one of those rare times where a professional recording actually made this sound a lot better than it would have otherwise. The kick drum and snare hits are pulverising! Same with the vocals and bass, there's obviously credit due there. The bass is a little whishy/washy sounding, I would have liked it a little more pronounced, but when Cystgurgle are blasting away I don't really have a complaint at all. I could listen to this every day!

Vomitoma should need no introduction to people who know gorenoise/grind. Now on it's 10th year, the Vomitoma project has no signs of slowing down, and apparently will only release recordings with real drums now! On this split, the drums were supplied by Adrian from Putrefuck, who does a pretty great/appropriately sloppy job. This whole side is just disgusting, as anyone would expect. Jen's toilet water vocals are some of the best in the game, it literally sounds like the noises melted, human viscera would make going down a rusty drain. WHile the impactful speed and viciousness of the Cystgurgle side isn't quite matched here, the dirty/medical atmosphere on Vomitoma's half is on another level. This is that kind of gorenoise you want to listen to when you want to watch sketchy internet dissection videos, just fabulous!

Everything about this tape was done 100% pro, and it completely looks and sounds that way! The dub is crispy, loud, and certifiably dank. I'm super happy for Ben for helping put out such a beauty!

Any of the labels I linked above should have this available. Don't skip on this, it's my favorite tape of the year so far!

~VII

Found In The Mud

Real quick post about another devestating goregrind/noise tape released by some very quality labels. The Arizonian, 1-man, goretank project that is Gastroptosis, and Japan's Oniku. Another excellent 1-man band. This sweet little split tape was released in a total run of 75 copies by Ill Faith Records, Fermented Bile Vomit Records, and Craniophagius Parasiticus Records. I got my copy from Ben of CPR when I was in Toronto last month, it is a single sided tape.

Gastroptosis is yet another stupidly good goregrind/noise project created by Chris Tapo (most notably of Oozing Pus fame), and I love pretty much every new band he starts. Gastroptosis has been one of the more active projects in his roster and one of my personal favorites as well. We get 5 new tracks on here, featuring the usual traits of what makes great goregrind; hard hitting, to the point riffs, thundering drums, horror movie samples and absolutely monstrous, wet vocals. Chris is a master at programming good drums, and while the drums here are a bit buried under the gunky guitars and vocals, their power is undeniable. Great, raw, angry and savage goregrind, so good.

Oniku is a band that I really have not given many listens to (outside of this tape), but every time I do I realize I need to get more of their releases. Five tracks of very solid goregrind, also featuring programmed drums. These songs actually sound very well developed, like some real time was spent writing these riffs and compositions. Strong obvious influences are bands like Active Stenosis, Blue Holocaust and Regurgitate, very chunky groovy riffs with a lot more variety than Gastroptosis's side previously. The recording is a heck of a lot cleaner than the average 1-man goregrind band, it has a real 90's sound to it. There isn't any noise influence at all. While this recording may lack the savage, blown out fidelity I usually like, the quality of this material is undeniable.

Very loud and crisp sounding dub, both bands are one one side as previously mentioned. I'm not sure if the other label's releases are also single sided. 

~VII

Oozing Sarcoptes

A quick little post about an incredibly dank gorenoise tape that I was happy to pick up semi-recently. A short and sweet pairing of some incredibly solid projects, Oozing Pus from Arizona and Sarcoptes from Missouri. Released by the mighty Craniophagus Parasiticus Records early in their existence. No idea what this is limited to.

I've followed both of these projects pretty closely since I found them. Both were still pretty new, like within a year old when this split was made. Fantastic, wet, gurgley, drum machine basting gorenoise, no frills or tricks. Oozing Pus opens their side up with a devastatingly long sample describing a gruesome scene of disembowelment. Whatever movie it was taken from sounds fascinating and terrible. After the long ass sample, the Pus's characteristic bass rumbles and gurgle-roars start booming. The programmed drums, as usual, sound nice and crisp and are perfectly brutal and crude. The sharp, slam snare sound is totally in effect. This project always knew how to have great build-ups and segways into hyperblast moments, it's some wonderfully crafted gore. After four great tracks the side is over before you know it.

Sarcoptes offer 4 more tracks, and it's some of my favorite material from this project by far. More blown out gorenoise, with super bubbly vocals. Again as usual, the drums sound great, but stay within that more realistic realm of drumming. No ridiculous inhuman tempos or anything. The blasts stay pretty consistent throughout all 4 tracks, saving one measly little groovy riff for the tail end of the song. Some of the best sounding recordings this project was able to get, I'm not sure if Austin is keeping it going still. Super solid stuff.

Check it out over at Craniophagus Parasiticus Records.

~VII