Monomaniac Vol. 1

Back in the day, a day I probably don't have much business talking about, procuring music was more difficult and expensive; hence compilations provided a necessary role for those without buckets of money. Growing up I indulged in plenty of shitty compilation cds and would find one or two bands worth a damn and was thankful for that. A bit of nostalgia in that regard as Blastbeat Mailmurder's Monomaniac Vol 1 occupies an excellent niche in the grindcore world as it brings together many bands ready to burst into international acclaim (and all tracks exclusive to this comp).

Keeping with the comp's theme of roughly 1 minute offerings, I'll describe each track with one sentence.

Michigan grinders Cloud Rat start things off with "Finger Print;" a jam those Finns Rotten Sound wish they could pen.

Following up are 3 frantic, noisy and raw outbursts from Australian favorites thedowngoing (review for their latest athousandyearsofdarkness).

"Birthday Party" shows Detroit's strong suit in penning a 34 second grinder that's as elaborate and thick as you could get.

My first introduction to Sete Star Sept isn't pretty, nor is their brand of noiser than thou grind encapsulated by "Why not Intersect."

Body Hammer's "Dog Star Man" rounds off the noisy escapades with an awesomely haunting track that's 1 part grind and 2 parts evil souls lost at space.

Head Cleaner offer up the most metal approached grinder of the comp with "The Weapon of the Proletariat," which disappointingly lacks a bit of the muck the other bands include.

Diocletian's "Traitor's Gallow" is a welcomed change of pace as it ushers in one of two awesomely brutal and rough black metal tracks that incorporate an ugly breath of death metal.

The Howling Wind offer a strand of their subterranean and bizarre conjuration of black metal seen through grinder's eyes with "Bewilderment."

"Beneath the Emblems of Death" is the comp's other brutally ugly blacken death metal track courtesy of Sempiternal Dusk.

Things end on an unsettling, abstract, and alluring note revolving around noises and one noodley guitar line with This is Past's contribution "Catatonia."

A great comp showcasing bands from all over the globe that you should hear. I particularly like the combo of black metal bands with grindcore bands as it's always been a marriage I've advocated. I'm particularly fond of Body Hammer and Diocletian's contributions to this comp.

Sweatin' To the Oldies vol 1

Here's what started as a playlist to encourage my sorry ass to find its way into the gym. You'll notice the excessive amount of beatdown power violence and death metal makes up the majority of the mix. Hope you enjoy!

Sweatin' to the Oldies from Perpetual Strife on 8tracks Radio.

Song            Artist       Album 

1. Untitled I Ruin Lust Tour Demo  
2. Life Beyond Life Innumerable Forms Dark Worship 
3. Mass Obliteration Suffocation Effigy Of The Forgotten 
4. Long Gone Coke Bust Degradation 
5. Buried Death Coffins Buried Death 
6. Pity Addict In Disgust Reality Choke 
7. Kazdy Powod Wystarczajacy Suffering Mind Suffering Mind 
8. Blood War III Antaeus De Principii Evangelikum 
9. Manipulate Mind Eraser The Prodigal Son Brings Death 
10. Sheet Metal Girl Pig Destroyer Prowler in the Yard 
11. Förtärd Av Smärta Skitsystem Enkel Resa Till Rännstenen 
12. Kept in a Position of Power Sex Prisoner Sex Prisoner 
13. All About You The Berzerker World Of Lies 
14. Nuclear Deterrence Insect Warfare World Extermination 
15. La Peste Roja Looking For An Answer Eterno Treblinka 
16. Siphon Then Slit Magrudergrind Magrudergrind/Shitstorm Split 
17. Starless Dephosphorus Night Sky Transform
18. Devletin Terörü Kimi Koruyor? I Sakatat Bir Devrin Sonu 
19. Na Naszych Oczach...  Self Hate At The Beginning... (God Created Fear) 
20. Rotten To Forgotten Hatred Surge Deconstruct 
21. Master Of Profits Hewhocorrupts The Discographer 
22. Rejected Psychopath Weekend Nachos Unforgivable 
23. Hand Me Down Existencia Despise You West Side Horizons 
24. Debilitated Hands Faith Addiction Order From Chaos 
25. Greyed Out Drugs Of Faith Corroded        

Column of Heaven - Mission from God

This is the world I know. A grey and horrid north where victims lay in endless lines. A mile from my home. In the mist of the moore, heed the golden voice of God.
-"Pharmakos" 

Much has been made of the international project Column of Heaven and their second release, Mission from God. Some of the hype undoubtedly lays in the band's pedigree, most notably containing members of the seminal power violence act The Endless Blockade. Roots aside, Column of Heaven hold their own as Mission from God promises to be one of the best releases of the year.

Bands like Column of Heaven appeal to me greatly. Beyond the band's sound, it's the band's image and atmosphere that really push me into obsession. Uncomfortable bursts of noise and samples, cryptic song titles and magnificent artwork enforce the focus of the release; The Yorkshire Ripper.

While extreme music, punk and metal in particular, often focus on the unsavory and serial killers, Mission from God is hardly tongue in cheek or typical. Bouts of power electronics, distorted samples, sheets of guitars and tortured wails saturate the listener in such a way that few bands can achieve. The ending of "The Devouring Grief" as well as "Entheogen" might be the best examples of this, especially the latter as it's a trudging shamble of noisy sheets, sludgy riffs, powerful reverberated vocals and what sounds like an Adhan processed into something horrifying.

While these are definite highlights and strong accents to the band's sound, they're just that - accents. The heart of the band is grindcore, a particular style that takes influence not only from punk (as it should) but also sludge and death metal as the riffs are thick and harsh, fitting right in. In the end, Column of Heaven's strengths lay in the dense and ruthless atmosphere and their very layered sound.

Mission from God ends fittingly with an uncomfortable piano line and a recorded conversation with the Yorkshire Ripper himself (William Sutcliffe) and what I assume to be a reporter. A package in whole, Mission from God requires a morbid curiosity and a mere handful of minutes to sit through and fully enjoy. The LP of the release features art by Perpetual favorite Give Up and shouldn't be missed.

Beatriz Carnicero - No Reces

I could make a big deal about Beatriz Carnicero hailing from Uruguay, but I'll skip that and give the band their due as they play an exciting style of Slap-A-Ham power violence. Equal parts Spazz, Fuck on the Beach, and their own accent, Beatriz Carnicero capture the spirit of 90's hardcore perfectly. Quick shifts in momentum, various vocals tied together by thrashy guitars and an amazingly well balanced and perfect production creates an immediately likable sound.

No Reces ("Don't Pray") hardly sounds like a band's first release and yet it has that spirit of a young band, something you couldn't get out of many old bands if you held a gun to their head.Opener "The Haroldos" rips into things and showcases the dynamic vocal performances perfectly. "Sindrome de Lalas" is punctuated with great back and forth riffs and little breaks for the bellow vocals to cudgel everything else. From track to track the band mulls around in blast beats and punk sections, intertwining thrashy get-up-n-go parts with quick samples and plenty to circle pit to.

I have zero complaints about this release and can't get enough of it. It's like some great flashback re-imagined with both homage and personal enjoyment as part of the plan; I'm also a sucker for bands who sing in their native tongue and skip English -  it just seems more punk.

Bandcamp of the Week: Infinite Scale

In an atempt to find something close to the godly Massive Attack vs Burial EP from last year I stumbled upon U.K.'s Infinite Scale.

Sparse, soothing, blissful electronica that sometimes sounds like a film score, sometimes not. I don't know what the hell you call this stuff, but I love it. Real big fan of Ad Infinitum.

Bandcamp of the Week: Planning For Burial

Planning For Burial are one of those bands that has a multitude of styles and influences and can't be given a fair description in a short sentence or two. With that, I'll say Planning For Burial is a bleak, emotive one man act that covers everything from drone, post rock, ambient and sludge in some shape or form.

I've only listened to Leaving and because I like it so much I haven't even bothered checking out other releases.

Definitely for fans of atmospheric, depressing and ethereal music. Comparisons won't do justice, but should appeal to those who like The Angelic Process, Jesu, maybe even Caïna.

Bandcamp of the Week: False Light

So this'll start in lieu of me having to get into the gritty details of particular releases. Instead, I'll just dump what I know and embed a good song. Also, a nice follow up from the piece I did a bit back about Bandcamp.




To start things off here's False Light from South Carolina who play a dark, brutal and uncompromising style of hardcore. Loud drums, pissed off vocals, razor blade guitars and plenty of feedback to set things off. With only one EP to their name, look forward to bigger things from this act.

Free download courtesy of the band.