MORTUARY DRAPE - ALL THE WITCHES DANCE

Peel back the drape to reveal one of the coolest BM bands to ever walk the earth. These necro obsessed weirdos take their perverse brand of pageantry to the extreme. Imagine an updated Merciful Fate complete with shiny hooded robes and a buxom, guttural apache on vocals. All The Witches Dance twists a wide range of high and low metal arts into a confounding and furious whirlwind. Even with familiarity, there's a persistent and illusive surprise element to this record. As you fall prey to the wild chants of these axe wielding muppets, one senses infinitely more sinister forces galloping in from the outer realms. The ground becomes liquid. You're drawn down with inexplicable speed. Horrific trumpets announce a soul crushing pain of loss. At last you rest, a mere silhouette at the gates of hell. Necomania!

SPAZZ - DWARF JESTER RISING

           

When I first heard these guys I had no clue that they were forging a new sub-genre of hardcore. I just knew it was the fastest and funniest shit on the planet. With countless releases and splits, Spazz endures as one of the most prolific bands in HC. Though not as aggressive or refined as some of their later work, Dwarf Jester Rising remains slightly more memorable for me. It was my introduction to both the band and to language of the music they inspired. Whether playing a bass laden sludge part, or a blinding garbled blast, Spazz delivers the goods as a cartooned badass that rises from the page to kick your teeth in. Unlike the metallic leanings of many of their spawn, they managed to move into uncharted territory without sacrificing one single ounce of punk rock. Who knows? Maybe someday HC bands will have ideas again. For now...

CHEST PAIN - S/T 7"

More powerviolence! This time from the great state of Texas. Ten choice, god hating slammers delivered in under eight minutes. Though rooted in standard 1990-esque PV, there's an underlining youth crew cleanliness to these songs. The strained vocal delivery is hybrid between SSD's Springa and the standard Crossed Out guttural thing. As always, I'm a little perplexed as to why today's PV bands sound so much like bands from twenty years ago. Regardless, this is an adept addition to the dialogue (despite the Andrew W. K. pic). I'm told they kill "it" live too. Party Hard!

ASSÜCK - BLINDSPOT 7"

This is one of the first grindcore records I ever bought. I have yet to hear better. It was recommended to me by Judy from Fast Forward in Providence RI. I think she was dating Ben from Dropdead at the time and he also worked at FF. They both turned me on to powervoilence and tons of other stuff. I remember being uncertain what speed to play it at. I eventually decided that it sounded best on 33rpm. Ha! It's actually 45. The only time I caught them live was with Rorschach, Merel and Dropdead at AS220. Needless to say, it was awesome. Anyway, get ready to watch all your glamgrind/boy bands with their ridiculous swine vocals fall by the way side. Suck ass!

Fast Forward is long gone, but Ben currently co-ownes a store called Armageddon Shop. They have an amazing selection and they're great folks to deal with.

Armageddon Shop

MAN IS THE BASTARD - SUM OF THE MEN "THE BRUTALITY CONTINUES...."

Aside from making what's among the most powerful and violent sounds on the planet, I never 100% understood how MITB could be categorized as powerviolence. The rest of their PV contemporaries took such a specific straight up HC or grind approach to the fast/slow thing. MITB evolved out of some earlier PV-ish projects, but ended up opting for a more flushed out, organic, even jammy feel. Sum Of The Men was my first exposure to the band. Despite being familiar with it's member's earlier work, this record came out of left field offering the most distinct and challenging music that had yet graced my dirty little teenage earlobes. To top it off, the lyrics are über intelligent. Really! Absolutely fucking hilarious. Poodles!

PESUDOGOD - DEATHWOMB CATECHESIS

Satanic black death from russia, Pseudogod stands out among a slew of bands working in a similar vain. Less veiled than Titanblood and as large as the likes of Black Witchery, Revenge or Conqueror. Deathwomb Catechesis delivers 8 raw, rhythmically diverse and aggressively crafted rituals to blacken the sun and boil the seas. The vocals hover like a sphincter in the skies of hell, vomiting the entrails of the damned, into the mouths of the damned. Why anyone would choose to manifest such a ravaged and hopeless reality is beyond even me. All I know is that it draws me back again and again; deeper and deeper into the odorous din of the great pit. Monkey ballz!

SEX PRISONER - S/T 7"

If you missed this sweet 2010 release then here it is. More butt pummeling powerviolence to help you strangle that naughty kitty. Oh wait, you're vegan. Not as memorable as Crossed Out or Infest (few things are) but ther's plenty of relentless aggression packed into SP's cascading, palm muted assault. It's amazing how much house cleaning I can get done in 10 minutes. Choke it!

NEGATIVE PLANE - STAINED GLASS REVELATIONS

This band's sophomore effort was one of the strangest and most celebrated american BM records to come out in 2010. Lots of intricate, proggy interludes filed among truly aggressive blasts of soul wrenching evil. These dudes deliver their message with absolute conviction. I think some of the members live in different cities. Anyway, they don't play live that often. They're playing a bunch of shows with Vomitor in Dec. I strongly suggest you catch them! Streaming!

NEUROSIS - THE WORD AS LAW

When Neurosis released Word As Law in 1989 every record I owned instantly turned into trite crap. This transitional effort bridges the band's early crusty hardcore approach with it's vast later collection of epic, genre defying, halloween soundtracks. It's not uncommon to meet a diehard Neurosis fan that doesn't know their early work. :( Well we're gonna fuckin' change that! :) Word As Law is not as fast or sloppy as their first record and not as heavy or layered as their later work. Instead expect mid tempo, bass driven punk with the standard signature Neurosis tri-vocals and noisy, but diligent guitars (imagine the Minutemen on bath salts). These songs are constructed in a manner that hallmarks the bands intuitive feel without becoming jammy or wanky. Though the production seemed very metal at the time, in retrospect, there isn't another record on earth that sounds remotely like it. I'll always have a ton of respect for these guys, but this was the high point for me. Become machine!

NECROS - CONQUEST FOR DEATH 7"

After a lifetime of looking, I finally found a copy of this early 80's punk/hardcore perfection. The Pusshead cover alone makes it almost worth the embarrassing amount of money that I paid for it. If you don't know this then you're not a man (especially if you're a woman). My only complaint is that it's too damn short. I wish it went on for ever. I want to forever... Be a man!

VILE INTENT - SHADOW OF THE SKULL 7"

Hailing from Toronto, Vile Intent are the absolute best of what currently feels like 10,000 Crossed Out cover bands (yes I have heard all of them). This 7" is pure Slap A Ham era powerviolence, but delivered with a freshness and vitality that separates it from mere nostalgia. These folks stand shoulder to shoulder with their predecessors and prove that there's more to mine in the genre. I can't help but wonder if the title isn't an homage to MITB. Vegan apocalypse!

SALÖ - MANGIA MERDA E MORTE! CASSETTE

Cool crusty BM (had to say it) from Brooklyn. In the vain of Leviathan or Odz Manouk, but with an added dose of restrained thrash. These songs burn with an atmosphere that feels intensely drugged. Live, Salö offers an eerily aggressive avalanche with a singer who’s aura reaches far beyond the confines of any room. Pick up a copy if you still can. Hell-stank!