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!

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!

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!