Baptists - Self-Titled 7" Review (Southern Lord)

STREAM: Baptists - "Good Parenting"
(RIAA Weenies - Link is posted on the band's Facebook page - Buzz off!!)

Vancouver four-piece hardcore band Baptists just released their self-titled debut 7” for Southern Lord. Baptists is a fairly new band, having formed in 2010, but is comprised of long-time veterans of the Vancouver hardcore scene. Members have had stints in bands that include Ladyhawk, Sports and A Textbook Tragedy. This new four-track (12 min.) single is raw, aggressive hardcore played in the style of bands like Converge and the Cro-Mags.

In a recent interview with Discorder Magazine, the band talked about putting out this record on Southern Lord:

Discorder: How did Baptists come to put out a record on Southern Lord?

Danny: We got a MySpace message from Southern Lord. We never used our MySpace.

John: I thought it was a hoax.

Danny: We kind of did until it [the record] was in our hands. Greg [Anderson] from Southern Lord messaged us and told us to email him and [said] they’d be into doing something. We had these four songs recorded that we just basically recorded before Nick went on tour for two months so we didn’t forget them. Ya, I don’t know, we sent him those songs and he said he’d put them on a record.

After dropping the needle onto the 7”, the first track, “Good Parenting”, sets the tone and kicks off with a wave of grinding distortion prior to vocalist Andrew Drury unleashing his shrieking bark. Across this single, the guitars grind and chug but keep things off-balance by sneaking in some winding, melodic leads. Nick aggressively pummels the drums and John locks onto the beat with his bass.

This is no-frills hardcore that will strike a familiar and positive chord with fans of the bands that came out of the 80’s/90’s East Coast hardcore scene. There is enough anger in these tracks to be a flashpoint for the mosh pit but there is enough substance in the band’s music to keep the tracks memorable.

Baptists' debut single is available on limited-edition splattered grey wax (ltd. to 300) for $5 through Southern Lord's webstore.

Links:
Baptists

Wormrot Releases New Track "Manipulation" from Forthcoming Disc "Dirge" (Earache Records)

Singapore's grindcore band Wormrot have released a brand new track from their forthcoming album, Dirge. The track below, entitled "Manipulation," is a minute-long burst of ferocity, terror and outright aggression. It hits all of the marks that have endeared Wormrot to the worldwide metal underground. The video also includes a first look at the album's cover art, created by Andrei Bouzikov (Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Cannabis Corpse)



"Manipulation," along with the rest of Dirge was completed less than 10 days ago. Drums were completed on January 4th, guitars, vocals, mixing and mastering were completed in various days ending on January 10th. In many ways, "Manipulation" is as raw as Wormrot gets -- a hell of a way to raise the already high expectations for Dirge.

Wormrot will be coming back to the US for a full Coast-to-Coast tour starting in March. The West Coast dates have been announced (see Wormrot's MySpace page) and the tour kicks off at The Ruby Room in San Diego on March 3rd. Other announced dates include the Scion Rock Festival, which takes place in Pomona, CA on March 5th at the Fox Theater and The Glass House. Dates for the other parts of the country will follow shortly and will include a stop at SXSW.

Links:
Wormrot

Nails (Southern Lord) Plays A Short Run of East Coast Dates Prior to Appearance at Maryland Deathfest

Nails sits right on the line between hardcore and grind and the band released their debut thirteen-minute full-length album Unsilent Death at the beginning of 2010 on their own Streetcleaner Records, and were shortly thereafter picked up by Southern Lord. The Southern Lord press release for the disc compared Nails to a "cross between the good Amrep bands of the nineties (Helmet, Hammerhead, Today is The Day, Unsane) and Cro-Mags Age of Quarrel riffage played at breakneck speeds."

Nails has just confirmed a short run of East Coast appearances this Spring, as they will attack Boston, Brooklyn and Philly in a straight three-day rampage with support from Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die and New Lows. Nails are also one of the many acts on the roster for this May's annual installment of the Maryland Deathfest, scheduled to play on the first night of the festival alongside Pulling Teeth, Neurosis, Corrosion Of Conformity, Marduk, Kylesa, labelmates Masakari and Goatsnake plus tons more.

Nails East Coast Tour Dates:
3/31/11 -- Great Scott, Boston, MA w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows
4/01/11 -- Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows
4/02/11 -- The Barbary, Philadelphia, PA w/ Burning Love, All Pigs Must Die, New Lows
5/27/11 -- Maryland Deathfest - Baltimore, MD

Links:
Nails

Drugs of Faith Release First Video "Grayed Out" From Forthcoming Full-Length "Corroded"

Virginia-based trio Drug of Faith have completed their debut full-length album Corroded which will drop next month on Selfmadegod Records.

Drugs of Faith's riotous attack that fans have become attached to on their previous releases -- including their recent inclusion on Relapse Records' This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2 compilation, and their 3" split CD with Antigama and the infamous self-titled MCD released by Selfmadegod -- is more potent than ever on Corroded, which bears 14 new tracks in under 27 minutes. Lyrically they continue to focus on socio-political themes in their anguished but empowered fashion, while musically they continue to hone their distinctive dissonant grind n' roll attack.

A live-in-the-studio video of the disc's lead-off track "Grayed Out" has been posted to Decibel Magazine which was filmed by Handshake Inc., who did the Fuck the Facts, Maryland Deathfest and Today is the Day movies.

Corroded Track Listing:
1. Grayed Out
2. Foreign Climates
3. Race to the End
4. Hidden Costs
5. Giveaway
6. Anemic
7. Vignette
8. No We Can't
9. Untitled
10. Checkers
11. Sight Unseen
12. Farewell Kiss
13. Hinges
14. The Age of Reason

Set for release via the band's label home, Poland's Selfmadegod Records, Corroded will be available to the public in February 2011, with a final release date to be announced shortly. Recorded at Developing Nations in Baltimore with Kevin Bernsten at the helm, and mastered by Scott Hull of Pig Destroyer/Agoraphobic Nosebleed, the album also features guest contributions from Pig Destroyer’s JR Hayes on a cover of His Hero Is Gone's "Hinges" anthem.

Links:
Drugs of Faith

Disfigured Corpse - "Human Corrosion" CD Review (Crystal Productions)

Czech Republic death/thrash metal band Disfigured Corpse released their sixth disc Human Corrosion (Crystal Productions) earlier this year.

As this is the first time that I've heard Disfigured Corpse, based on the band's name alone, I was expecting them to have gore-core lyrics, similar to bands like Cannibal Corpse. After listening to this disc, I found my assumptions to be completely off-base. The band's outlook is significantly closer to a grindcore point of view - “We are DISFIGURED CORPSE, but in our lyrics you can´t find flying brains and ripping corpses. We are disfigured by the system we live in. Social topics, politics, establishment, religions, everyday life, this is our words we sing about and also have some fun with the posers and trendy styles still going around”. (From the band's MySpace page)

Musically, Disfigured Corpse play with the speed of a punk/thrash band so there is no superfluous guitar shredding or blast beats. Surprisingly clean (for the genre) production brings out the power of the band's attack and they sound somewhat like Cannibal Corpse crossed with D.R.I. Most of the songs utilize the (now standard) down-tuned guitars but singer Vladis breaks away from the gargled "Cookie Monster" vocal style that too many bands employ and sings with a hoarse, but understandable growl so the lyrics are mostly discernible. Breaking up the death metal tunes are straight-forward thrash songs like "Social Sterility" and "Terrible Certainty" which leverage (reasonably) clean vocals and guitars.

The disc goes by fairly quickly as the band blasts through seventeen songs in about 35 minutes. While Human Corrosion covers musical ground that will be immediately recognizable to fans of the genre, they do so with a freshness and old-school vigor that allows them to stand out from the pack. After nineteen years as a band, Human Corrosion shows Disfigured Corpse still standing strong.



Links:
Disfigured Corpse

Nails - Unsilent Death CD Review (Southern Lord)

Tim Lambesis ruined the ability of music reviewers to use the phrase ‘totally brutal’ with his Austrian Death Machine project but I’m going to go for it anyway and call the new CD from Nails “totally brutal”. Over the last few decades, I’ve seen some crazy mosh pits but Nails’ new disc sounds like an immediate flashpoint that will start the violence flowing.

I was only loosely familiar with Nails prior to Unsilent Death [the band’s second disc] and had made some assumptions based on guitarist/vocalist Todd James’ time in Terror. There is really no comparison between the two bands as Nails’ music sits right on the line between hardcore and grid. The disc’s ten tracks blast through in fourteen minutes and most tracks clock in at about a minute.

The disc contains two ‘longer’ songs ("Unsilent Death" and "Depths") which are given the opportunity to develop musically but even the shorter songs have a chance to spew their fury. These shorter songs don’t feel like the typical grindcore microsong as producer Kurt Ballou brings out the band’s chugging riffs, noisy leads and blast beats so that they are all individually distinguishable. Even more noticeable is that the vocals are (somewhat) understandable and the listener can hear James’ lyrical themes about railing against authority and the struggle of the human condition.

Nails just came through with Venomous Concept and here is some live footage from their stop in Albany.



Unsilent Death was originally released earlier this year on CD (Six Feet Under) and limited edition vinyl (now sold out). Southern Lord recently reissued the new disc on both CD and 180 gram black vinyl.

Links:
Nails

Oceano Head Into the Studio with Zuess to Record Second CD "Contagion" // Summer Tour with As Blood Runs Black

Chicago deathcore band Oceano are heading out on a July/August tour with As Blood Runs Black as part of the Over The Limit Tour. The tour will act as a prelude to the release of the band's forthcoming sophomore album, Contagion and the band will be debuting new material as part of their set.

Joining co-headliners Oceano and As Blood Runs Black on the bill will be Arsonists Get All The Girls, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Thick As Blood, Burning the Masses, Circle of Contempt, and Blindwitness, with Son of Aurelius and This Or The Apocalypse on select dates

Oceano have also begun recording their sophomore disc, Contagion, with producer Zuess (Municipal Waster, The Acacia Strain, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall) which will mark the recording debut of the band's two new guitarists.

Oceano frontman, Adam Warren chimes in from the studio with a brief update:

"As of last night we finished up drum tracking! Danny's a little monster and flew through everything in a 2 1/2 days. Now we're onto guitars today. We're excited to begin and work with Zeuss as we are looking forward to getting his input on what we have come up with. We are all confident he's going to help further creation of Contagion to be even more infectious to all of your ears. LET IT SPREAD!"

To kick off the start of Contagion's recording process, Oceano have posted the premiere episode of OCEANO TV on their brand new official YouTube page. Styled similarly to a 90's-style multi-camera sitcom, this episode stars drummer, Daniel Terchin. Here, he gives fans a tour of his drum kit, pwns n00bs on Call of Duty and sneaks a peek at his tracking sessions.



Links:
Oceano

The Endless Blockade / The Bastard Noise - The Red List CD Review (20 Buck Spin)

DOWNLOAD: The Bastard Noise - "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld" (hosted on 20 Buck Spin)

The Red List came out last month on 20 Buck Spin and this is a split release from grindcore heavyweights The Bastard Noise and The Endless Blockade. According to 20 Buck Spin's website, this "album was first hatched in idea form on the occasion of a show between both bands in 2007".

The Bastard Noise start off the disc with five tracks (~30 minutes) of sludgy, bass-heavy doom which is overlaid by squalling guitars and electronics. Vocals range between a "Cookie Monster" death metal growl and a higher pitched demonic shriek. Unlike some of the past releases from The Bastard Noise, there are some boundaries and structure to the music which makes this the closest that I've heard the band come to actual songs. While this is still music the most people outside of the genre wouldn't understand, The Red List moves The Bastard Noise back toward their hardcore roots (which started with Man is the Bastard) and the sound on this disc is comparable to bands like Starring Janet Leigh (Metal Blade/Ironclad).

The Endless Blockade contributed three tracks (two of which are ~ 15 minutes each) which range from power violence to white noise. The leadoff track, "Deuteronomy", is a solid slice of aggressive hardcore that starts off with some blast beats and hoarse, street punk vocals. Over the course of this 15 minute song, there are slower almost proggy moments and an interlude of squalling electronica (both of which the band returns from with a hardcore blast). Unfortunately, once the band got my attention with "Deuteronomy", they lost it with remixes of "Advance Directive" and "Model 49 Rebreather" (both from 2008's Primitive sessions). "Advance Directive" isn't a bad song but Noah Creshevsky's cut and paste techniques left this song as a jarring series of starts and stops that seemed out of place with the overall flow of this disc. I don't know what to say about "Model 49 Rebreather" other than it is 15 minutes of pure white noise. The "song" was supposed to have been remixed by The Rita but I'm not sure how one would remix static.



Links:
The Endless Blockade
The Bastard Noise

Starring Janet Leigh: Live Footage & Interview from "Metal As Art" Tour, NYC 3-4-10

Metal Blade/Ironclad Recordings band Starring Janet Leigh was in town last week for a show at Fontana's, which was also the final night of the "Metal as Art" tour. The death/math-metal band has been touring behind their debut CD, Spectrum, which was released in 2009.

I had the chance to catch up with Matt Z. ( Guitar), Matt N. (Vocals) and Justin (Bass) before the show to talk a bit about Spectrum, the current tour and what's next for the band.



Starring Janet Leigh's set was great; the band plays death metal that is punctuated with some serious jazz breaks that is comparable to Mr. Bungle or a harder, more out-of-control version of Candiria. The music shifts from brutal chugging riffs to intricately played jazz notes and polyrhythmic drumming in the blink of an eye but all of it sounds very purposeful and focused.

Links:
Starring Janet Leigh

Oceano: "Depths" CD Release Interview, NYC 3-11-09 (Earache Records)

Chicago deathcore band Oceano was in town last week to promote their forthcoming debut CD, Depths. The new CD is coming out April 7th on Earache Records and the first pressing will contain two bonus tracks and a free DVD.

I had the chance to catch up with the band to talk about the new CD, line-up changes, fighting at the band's show, illegal music downloading (a potential cause of fighting at the shows) and more.



Oceano has a couple of tours lined up and plans to be coming through the East Coast in April. Here are Oceano's current East Coast tour dates:

April 3, 2009, 6:00PM, JACKSONVILLE USO W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
April 4, 2009, 6:00PM, PLAN B W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, DANVILLE, VIRGINIA
April 5, 2009, 1:00PM, MOJO 13 W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
April 6, 2009, 6:00PM, THE REFUGE W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
April 7, 2009, 6:00PM, MT. AIRY FIRE CLUB W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, MT. AIRY, MARYLAND
April 8, 2009, 6:00PM, CLUB OCTANE W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, CHARLEROI, PENNSYLVANIA

Here is the trailer from the bonus DVD that comes with Depths:


Links:
Oceano's MySpace Profile

Oceano: "Depths" CD Release Interview, NYC 3-11-09 (Earache Records)

Chicago deathcore band Oceano was in town last week to promote their forthcoming debut CD, Depths. The new CD is coming out April 7th on Earache Records and the first pressing will contain two bonus tracks and a free DVD.

I had the chance to catch up with the band to talk about the new CD, line-up changes, fighting at the band's show, illegal music downloading (a potential cause of fighting at the shows) and more.



Oceano has a couple of tours lined up and plans to be coming through the East Coast in April. Here are Oceano's current East Coast tour dates:

April 3, 2009, 6:00PM, JACKSONVILLE USO W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
April 4, 2009, 6:00PM, PLAN B W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, DANVILLE, VIRGINIA
April 5, 2009, 1:00PM, MOJO 13 W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
April 6, 2009, 6:00PM, THE REFUGE W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
April 7, 2009, 6:00PM, MT. AIRY FIRE CLUB W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, MT. AIRY, MARYLAND
April 8, 2009, 6:00PM, CLUB OCTANE W/ ENDWELL & THE MILES BETWEEN, CHARLEROI, PENNSYLVANIA

Here is the trailer from the bonus DVD that comes with Depths:


Links:
Oceano's MySpace Profile