Nasum - Grind Finale (a.k.a. Up Yours, 2013)

Nasum
Grind Finale
Relapse

Attention No Funeral faithful! Don't sleep on this record. You've got to hear this. This is the ultimate rarities collection from the ultimate grind band of the modern era. Let me explain.

In the mid-1990s when NAPALM DEATH swapped its punk foundation for a death metal one, it appeared that grindcore as a sub-genre had reached its logical conclusions. Then, karma smacked said sub-genre in the face when Nasum released Inhale/Exhale in 1998. Nasum brought a new level of musicianship to the grind's blinding speed. The band sparked a new wave of abstract thinking in grind bands. Nasum was beloved in its time but the band tragically ended when guitarist/vocalist Mieszko Talarczyk died in the 2004 Thai Tsunami disaster of 2004.

...But enough about the bummer stuff. Grind Finale is 152 tracks of blastbeats and psychotic guitar playing underneath a genuinely deranged vocal delivery. These songs were originally released as...

Disc 1:

1-6 Blind World split 7" EP with AGATHOCLES
7-15 Really Fast Vol. 9 compilation LP
16,33 previously unreleased
17-24 Smile When You're Dead split 7" EP with PSYCHO
25-32 Grindwork 4-way split 3" CD
34-47 Domedagen demo
48-66 Industrislaven LP
67-82 World In Turmoil 7" EP
83-90 The Black Illusions split 7" EP with ABSTAIN

Disc 2:

1-16 Regressive Hostility compilation CD
17 In Defense Of Our Future (DISCHARGE tribute CD)
18-21 tracks from bonus 7" included with Inhale/Exhale LP
22-25 split 7" EP with WARHATE
26-29 previously unreleased
30 The Bloodbath Is Coming compilation double 7"
31-34 outtakes from Human 2.0 sessions
35 Requiems Of Revulsion (CARCASS tribute CD)
36-40 split 7" EP with ASTERISK*
41-45 split 7" EP with SKITSYSTEM
46-48 Polar Grinder compilation LP
49 Japanese bonus track from Helvete
50-56 outtakes from Helvete sessions
57-58 Japanese bonus tracks from Shift
59-62 outtakes from Shift sessions





So, this year ended up being a pretty cool year. This post is more than likely the last one of 2013 and I'm glad that I kicked this year in the ass. I'm even happier that you were along for the ride. It was a bizarre year. Had to change my thinking around the reality of the situation. Got a lot of stuff done. Accepted the challenges of life and met them head-on. Yeah, there was some bummer stuff that went down but it's cool. I'm looking forward to next year. This should be cool. Stay tuned for more idiocy.




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Meth Drinker - partial discography

Some people say that they've heard it all and that everything has been done already. Those people are wrong. Other folks will tell you that there aren't any new bands worth jamming. Those people are also wrong. There are plenty of new bands doing exciting things and METH DRINKER is Exhibit A.

Formed in 2010 and hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, Meth Drinker plays soul-crushing, sludge-ridden doom. This is absolutely panicky, desperate, grief-stricken music for people already on the edge who need a little nudge over the side. This is dreadful shit; not because it's bad but because it inspires dread.

Want a taste? Here's the official video for the song "731" off of Meth Drinker's split 12" with OPEN TOMB:





Harsh, huh?

I suppose the obvious and immediate comparison that Meth Drinker draws is to EYEHATEGOD. While I wouldn't deny that Meth Drinker is influenced by EyeHateGod, I don't hear that much of a direct comparison and EyeHateGod is an inspiration to all bands that play slow and destructive metal/punk like this. When I listen to Meth Drinker, I hear something far more murderous than EyeHateGod. EyeHateGod was too fogged by alcohol and drugs to be as precise and focused as Meth Drinker. Focused on what? Fulfilling that murder/suicide pact. There's only one way out of this...





What I love about Meth Drinker is an unhinged combination of some supremely evil sludge/doom/hate/nihilism bands: DYSTOPIA, THE ENDLESS BLOCKADE, GRIEF, and CORRUPTED. This is music for people who smoke angel dust at 10:00 a.m. Along with the uplifting aesthetics of the previously-mentioned sludge bands, Meth Drinker shares the same dead-world philosophy and aesthetics as DESPISE YOU and WORLD BURNS TO DEATH, even though Meth Drinker doesn't share their sounds.

Meth Drinker kicks total ass. As previously mentioned, this is a new band that is actually worth your valuable time, energy, and money. Check out the Meth Drinker Bandcamp page to hear a few songs off of each release.





So far, Meth Drinker has released a self-titled 7" and a self-titled LP. The band also released split 12" EPs with Open Tomb and MOLOCH. Good luck finding those in the states. Full U.S. tour now! In the meantime, the proper way to jam Meth Drinker is alone in the dark with a loaded gun in your lap.

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Pig Destroyer – 38 Counts of Battery

Here's another new/old review. This was originally posted in the Spring of 2009 but "The Man" (as we discussed him yesterday) yanked down the entire post instead of just removing the link. Sigh...

What did I say back then?


Pig Destroyer
38 Counts of Battery
Relapse



I check the downloading statistics everyday, so I know exactly how psycho you guys are for Pig Destroyer. I also know how much you’re going to dig this album. 38 Counts of Battery is a discography containing some of Pig Destroyer’s early material. This is pure grindcore terrorism with the hatchlings that would become JR Hayes' lunatic lyricism. 38 Counts of Battery features the Pig Destroyer sides of split EPs with Isis and Orchid, the Explosions in Ward 6 LP, the Pig Destroyer demo and a Dark Angel cover from a never-released thrash covers compilation.

While Explosions in Ward 6 may be eBay fodder these days, it was unmastered and sounds like doo-doo. Those songs have been mastered for 38 Counts of Battery and many of those same songs turn up on the Pig Destroyer demo. Of all the material on this CD, I must confess that my favorites are the Carcass covers originally featured on the split with Isis. The final song on Explosions in Ward 6, “Pixie”, is a window into the future of Pig Destroyer, in addition to simply being ahead of its time. You know you need this.




Pig Destroyer – 38 Counts of Battery






What's changed since then?

The only changes have been positive. Pig Destroyer's stature as one of the all-time, heavyweight champions of grindcore has only solidified over the years. I am proud to say that I "nailed it" concerning the lyrics. If you read the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame article about Pig Destroyer's Prowler In The Yard album, guitarist Scott Hull is quoted as saying the best thing to happen to Pig Destroyer was when vocalist JR Hayes stopped reading Chomsky and started reading Proust. Yep, I noticed it back then and I couldn't agree more.

Here's the album, sort of. It's posted to Youtube one song at a time but the next song automatically begins when the last one ends; just like a CD. In theory, it should work the same way for you. We'll find out...

The Perfect Metaphor for Human Suffering

Iron Lung
Life. Iron Lung. Death.
625 Thrash



Many bands try to be brutal and scary. Few bands accomplish this feat. Iron Lung exceeds it. Released in 2004, the band's first LP, Life. Iron Lung. Death., is downright frightening.

Iron Lung is a two-man band that plays modern power violence along the same lines as Hatred Surge and The Endless Blockade. Drummer Jensen Ward (ex-Gehenna, Cold Sweat, Artimus Pyle) and guitarist Jon Kortland (ex-Gob; the band from the Pig Destroyer split EP, not the MTV band also called Gob) throw up a blasting, grinding wall of noise that is well-written and structured.

This is a band with a unique voice. Ward and Kortland share vocal duties. Their bizarre harsh-vocal harmonies coupled with their tight playing and artful arraignments create one of the best listening experiences in underground hardcore.

In a 2006 interview with Heartattack magazine, when asked about Iron Lung being a medically-themed band, Kortland said, "...I felt like Iron Lung was a perfect metaphor for human suffering." (HaC #49, p.20)

This is no big talk. Life. Iron Lung. Death. serves as a concept album about immobility and pain but it's also a metaphorical and symbolic tome about the modern condition. The record is a challenging listen as is but, when heard while reading along with the lyric sheet, it becomes an exercise in fear.

In addition to the Life. Iron Lung. Death. LP, this CD features the Demonstrations in Pressure and Volume EP as bonus tracks, along with Iron Lung's sides of the split EPs with Brainoil and Teen Cthulhu.

Download it, listen to it, feel the funk; but I encourage all of you to track down a copy of the real-deal album so as to the the full effect.






Iron Lung - Life. Iron Lung. Death.




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Devourment – 1.3.8.

Devourment
1.3.8.
Corpse Gristle



Devourment is by far the heaviest band to emerge from the DFW area (sorry Pantera). During Devourment’s existence, which is sort-of still going on, the band made the biggest impact on TXDM. They play brutal death metal in the vein of Suffocation and Deeds of Flesh. I suppose Devourment also sounds like Dying Fetus, but without Dying Fetus’s politics or guitar wizardry. What Devourment brings to the table is brutal death metal mixed with beatdown hardcore; paving the way for today’s deathcore bands.

Originally released while vocalist Rueben Rosas was incarcerated, 1.3.8. is a compilation of Devourment’s early material. What you get is one new song called “Babykiller”, the three-song Impaled demo and the eight-song LP Molesting the Decapitated. Get it? 1.3.8. The vocals on the CD are very cool and the music is exactly what you would expect.

The only thing about 1.3.8. that bugs me is the false snare blast the drummer uses. He does that stupid thing where the drummer slides the stick across the head of the snare. False! This album rules, except for the blastbeat thing.





Devourment – 1.3.8.




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Impaled – Choice Cuts

Impaled
Choice Cuts
Deathvomit/Necropolis



Bay Area degenerates Impaled are one of the best gore-grind bands. With Carcass as the single biggest inspiration in the gore-grind subgenre, it’s easy to see how bands end up becoming poor-quality copies of Carcass. Impaled avoids this trap by not sucking (which, apparently, is a lot to ask) and by adding enough West Coast grind violence to make things interesting.

Choice Cuts is a collection of vinyl rarities from Impaled’s early years. Featured on the CD are two separate two-song demos, the “From Here to Colostomy” EP, Impaled’s side of the split 7” with Engorged and Carcass and Impetigo covers. The sound quality on the different EPs is consistent throughout. To top things off, the cover art was created by bassist Ross Sewage and guitarist Sean McGrath. Choice Cuts is mandatory for fans of all things blood-soaked.




Impaled - Choice Cuts




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Pig Destroyer – Painter of Dead Girls

Pig Destroyer
Painter of Dead Girls
Robotic Empire



Here’s an Easter present for the No Funeral faithful: more Pig Destroyer. Painter of Dead Girls is another collection of vinyl rarities. This CD features Pig Destroyer’s side of the split EP with Gob, the band’s picture disc 7” EP and an unreleased cover version of “In the Meantime” by Helmet. They also do covers of The Dwarves and The Stooges, but both were previously available on wax.

Nothing on Painter of Dead Girls sounds drastically different from the band’s latest releases. It was while recording these 7”s that the Pig Destroyer sound emerged. You’re going to want this one. Those EPs have disappeared into the abyss called eBay (I have the S/T picture disc). By the way, did you know that Jon Kortland, currently in Iron Lung, was a member of Gob? This was the good Gob, not the one that toured with that MTV chick April Levine.




Pig Destroyer – Painter of Dead Girls




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Exit 13 – Don’t Spare the Green Love

Exit 13
Don’t Spare the Green Love
Relapse



If nothing else, Exit 13 can lay claim to coining the phrase “unique-smoking grind rock extremists”, for whatever that’s worth. That’s what the sticker says on my copy of Don’t Spare the Green Love. This was just the beginning of Relapse’s love affair with obnoxious, album-art-covering CD stickers. Remember those giant stickers on the Atheist reissues? I suppose this is a small gripe but, still, wasn’t it avoidable?

Exit 13 was a legendary Pennsylvania grind band. Relapse Records co-founder Bill Yurkiewicz was the vocalist/lyricist and Brutal Truth’s Danny Lilker frequently engineered the band’s records. Don’t Spare the Green Love compiles Exit 13’s EPs, Spare the Wrench, Surrender the Earth, Green is Good, and The Unrequited Love of Chicken Soup on to CD for the first time. Exit 13 wasn’t just a mindless blast type of grind band. They incorporated a serious jam band influence into their grind, along side tons of SST/Nirvana-style riffs. You can also find sludge, funk groove and Spanish classical guitar on this CD. Modern bands, like The Red Chord and Cephalic Carnage, definitely inherited their open-minded takes on the genre from Exit 13. Grind purists shouldn't sweat. Don't Spare the Green Love has all the blastbeat headfuckery of any Assuck album. You’re going to want this one.




Exit 13 – Don’t Spare the Green Love




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RE-UP: Insect Warfare - Endless Execution thru Violent Restitution

Insect Warfare
Endless Execution through Violent Restitution
625 Thrash



Finally, available in its entirety through No Funeral, it's Insect Warfare's second EP (and first CD) Endless Execution thru Violent Restitution. In the (almost) two years since the band broke up, Insect Warfare's legend has grown even more. The World Extermination LP was just reissued through Earache and Decibel magazine named it one of the top 10 all-time grind records. Insect Warfare is one of the most respected and beloved bands to ever crawl out of Houston. Here's the original review of Endless Execution thru Violent Restitution and the interview with Beau and Rahi. Of course, the new mediafire link is below. This is recommended for everyone.




Insect Warfare - Endless Execution thru Violent Restitution



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Rorschach – Autopsy

Rorschach
Autopsy
Gern Blandsten



In the big picture of NYHC (read: Tri-State HC), New Jersey’s Rorschach were an anomaly. They also turned the hardcore scene on its collective side, nationally. They were not Agnostic Front-style beatdown hardcore. Nor were they Lower-East-Side, activist hardcore, although they did frequently play at Manhattan’s famed DIY venue ABC No Rio. Instead, Rorschach played a discordant brand of hardcore, as heavy as any metal band, but with the musically adventurous spirit of post-Damaged Black Flag. In short, Rorschach is responsible for virtually all the weird hardcore made since the early 90s.

Autopsy is a discography featuring most of the material released by Rorschach: the Remain Sedate and Protestant LPs, split EPs with 1.6 Band and Neanderthal and four compilation tracks. The band’s music is simultaneously hyperactive and morose. Charles Maggio’s voice has the same desperate quality of The Jesus Lizard’s David Yow. Fans of useless hardcore trivia will be thrilled to know that, following the demise of Rorschach, the members later played in killer bands like Deadguy and Kiss It Goodbye. Drummer Andrew Gormley would later move to Seattle and form the ungodly Playing Enemy.

Of the two LPs on Autopsy, Remain Sedate is faster and more discordant than Protestant, which has a thick sound and almost veers into sludge territory. If you’ve never heard Rorschach before, this is the favorite band of all of your favorite bands. If you already know Rorschach, then you already know what’s up. This one is a must have.

Playing Enemy broke up this year. It's a bummer but, on the other hand, Autopsy sounds as fresh as ever. -Brian No Funeral, 21Dec13.







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Pungent Stench – For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh

Pungent Stench
For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh
Nuclear Blast



I hope you death metal freaks are ready for the freakiest death metal band ever. Believe it or not, Pungent Stench’s debut LP For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh is actually the mildest of their releases. It wasn’t until the next album, Been Caught Buttering, that Pungent Stench incorporated the porno/sexual/S&M vibe to their aesthetics. It also wasn’t until Been Caught Buttering that Pungent Stench started playing death-n-roll. For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh is, for its time anyway, pretty standard blood-and-guts, Carcass-worshiping death grind; with a killer album cover by controversial photographer Joel-Peter Witkin.

My copy of For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh is the original Nuclear Blast pressing from Germany. In addition to being record nerd fodder merely for its rarity, this pressing comes with a host of bonus tracks. Tracks 11-17 are Pungent Stench’s side of the split LP with Disharmonic Orchestra. The Extreme Deformity EP comprises the final three tracks. It’s hard to believe that Pungent Stench’s tamest album includes songs like “Embalmed in Sulfuric Acid” and “Blood, Pus, and Gastric Juice” but, trust me, it’s all downhill from here. More Pungent Stench is on the way (much more). Take the Pepsi Challenge with For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh.




Pungent Stench - For God Your Soul, For Me Your Flesh




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Napalm Death – The World Keeps Turning

Napalm Death
The World Keeps Turning
Toys Factory



Here’s a strange CD. I bought this several years ago at San Antonio’s almighty HogWild Records and I’ve never seen another physical copy of this album except for mine. The text is written in Japanese with some English translations and, despite there being a huge Earache logo on the back, I’m inclined to believe this was an Asia-only release by Toys Factory. Then again, I could be wrong.

Although nerds like me geek-out on the collector rarity aspects of records like this, the CD itself is a compilation of previously-released Earache material. The World Keeps Turning features six tracks from Death by Manipulation, The World Keeps Turning EP, the three-inch single that came with Utopia Banished, and the Live Corruption EP. This is recommended for Napalm Death completists. I’m not sure how well this is going to translate in the downloading age but, then again, I’m the one with the record. Seriously though, this is killer stuff from the Barney/Jesse line-up. You need this.









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RE-UP: Infest - Discography

Infest
Discography
Deep Six



Infest rules. If you don't know, here's yet another chance to get on board. This discography CD (still technically unreleased from Deep Six) has been covered before by No Funeral. Here's the review of the discography CD and the review of Infest's Mankind 10" from issue #1. Infest is as real as it gets.




Infest - Discography

Orchid - Totality

Orchid
Totality
Clean Plate



I really enjoy Orchid’s brand of chaotic screamo. The self-titled LP and Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow are genre classics. Totality is a discography CD and, as with all discography CDs, the quality of the songs varies wildly. This isn’t a result of production issues. Orchid never really had that problem. No, this is a case where some of the songs are clearly superior to the others.

The first nine songs are good but they verge on being indistinguishable. “Mean SOB” (track 10) is the first song on the album with some juevos. I understand that Orchid is emo-influenced but there’s a fine line between emotional and whiny. For my money, the most emotionally powerful songs, like “Consumed”, happen when they stop with the sensitive shit. When I say sensitive, I mean the riffs that sound like Mineral’s leftovers. I like it better when Orchid inhabits the space once occupied by As the Sun Sets.




Orchid – Totality



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No Comment – Discography

No Comment
Discography
Deep Six



No Comment is an enigmatic power violence band, I guess. Only a few songs on this CD have that sludgy, Infest quality. The rest of it sounds like fast, violent hardcore. Then again, as a general rule, the quality of songs on discography collections tends to vary wildly. Some of the songs have an Operation Ivy vibe while others are clearly derivative of Black Flag. The middle tracks are the best songs here. These tunes almost reach a grindcore velocity but still retain their punk-rockin’ goodness. Why couldn’t the whole thing sound like those songs? Again however, I must note that quality tends to vary wildly on discography CDs. This record may not be for everyone. Adventurous punks will dig it.




No Comment – Discography



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Tim & Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs!

Tim & Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs!
Cinco Records



Oh man, is this awesome or what? If you don't dig Tim & Eric Awesome Show, what are you doing here? If you don't get Tim & Eric Awesome Show, then you just don't get American or Canadian comedy. Somebody out there remembers Mr. Show, right? If you don't know anything, here's the basic rundown: Tim & Eric Awesome Show is a live-action extension of Tom Goes to the Mayor that focuses on public access TV parodies and poor film-making techniques.



Well, now you've got all the music to the show. Music? Yeah, remember this?



or this one?



They're all yours now. Leave a comment if you DL this one, you ingrates. What do you like about this amazing show?




Tim & Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs! part 1

Tim & Eric Awesome Record, Great Songs! part 2




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Infest - Discography

Infest
Discography
Deep Six (eventually)



You know that Infest CD that Deep Six Records has said will be "coming soon" for, like, five years? Here it is. Everything (well, damn near everything) released by the titans of West Coast power violence.

If you don't know the Infest sound, where have you been? They are too pissed to live and too ignorant to be free. The man is not down with Infest. You should be. This is hardcore, played at a ridiculous speed, with caveman sludge and an intense hatred for everything and everyone. Highly, highly recommended, 10 fucking skulls, yakkity-yakkity, wocka, wocka.

Seriously, you need this.

Infest - Discography




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Hatred Surge - Collection 2005-07

Hatred Surge
Collection 2005-07
Blastasfuk

In the future (you know… now), this is the purpose CDs will serve: this disc collects all of the out-of-print Hatred Surge vinyl, primarily the material that Alex Hughes recorded as a one-man project. The 2004 Demo, the 625 EP, the RFL 5”, the splits with Insect Warfare and the Endless Blockade and four compilation tracks are gathered together for Collection 2005-07, in all of their monstrous, grind-violence glory.

If you’re not hip to the Hatred Surge sound, it’s grind-crushery mixed with soul-killing sludge and an extreme Despise You fetish. Along with the Endless Blockade and Iron Lung, Hatred Surge is the leader in modern power violence. It’s music that is simultaneously elegant and deranged. Of the cuts on this CD (available through the Hatred Surge e-store), I’m partial to the Debut EP. These maniacs are just getting started.






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