Gets Worse - The Blues

 Gets Worse's latest EP literally gets worse (I'm so sorry). Nah, I'm kidding - every single time I hear something from these guys they raise the bar. The sound here is absolutely fucking spot on; so crunchy and heavy but with clarity and definition. And the music? Well, it's Gets Worse, but a little bit more grown up and defined. The fast bits are there; the powerviolence vocals, the cheesegrinder bass, and that interesting snare sound, but there's also an interesting experimental edge - the slower songs seem that extra bit slower, and there is a fucking saxophone solo at one point. And let's not forget the Alan Partridge sampling.

This shit is literally the bomb. I cannot, no matter how hard I try (despite my will), find any fault whatsoever with this recording. If you are into heavy music in any way shape or form, I fail to see how you can pick any faults in it. I will crawl outta the band's arse just a little though, by complaining about the eight minute run time, but hey - this is a fucking EP, not a space opera.

Powerviolence is beauty.

Shoot The Bastard - Demo 2012

This is one of my favourite grind-related things of 2012. Everything about this thing is just perfect; the production, the balance and the over-all vibe is amazing. Shoot The Bastard are a fast, punky grindcore act that features members of boozing grind unit The Afternoon Gentlemen. STB are most definitely more "to the point" though, with a stripped-down affair of super-fast hardcore goodness. Imagine Crass on amphetamines crossed with, I dunno...Unseen Terror or something. That's a pretty far-out comparison for such a simple, no-nonsense sound, but fuck it.

I caught these guys supporting Weekend Nachos at some crazy grind/hardcore all-dayer in the now sadly-defunct Croft venue in Bristol, and that's where I picked up this demo for £2. Best £2 I ever spent, I think (and that's coming from someone who's bought a lot of bottles of Estrella). I award Shoot The Bastard bonus points for the cover art. Whilst I don't think wetting up Cameron with hot lead would solve any of the country's problems it would be extremely funny to see, because obviously, he is just a dummy stuffed with used bank notes; a capitalist puppet on a series of invisible strings. Yes. Time to stop writing now. Enjoy the music!

By the way, I also made this whilst editing the photos for this post, although I have no idea why I did it. Looks cool though, I guess.

Gets Worse - Negative

I fucking love Gets Worse, to be honest. What a cracking fucking band. This little 45rpm 7" EP starts off sounding very metal indeed, but it does not take long for the powerviolence assault of the senses to fully begin raining down on your poor little ears. After the little intro "Too Much Talk" starts off with a mid-paced growly approach before heading into blasting territory and then into something resembling a hardcore breakdown...that's pretty much everything Gets Worse are about in one little song!

 

Side A is over in a fucking flash. I have a bit of difficulty with Side B; I have some crazy popping going on with the first track, which eventually resulting in a never-ending skip loop. I decide to give this track a skip and move it onto the next one, "Pessimist" and all is well with the world! All the powerviolence back up in this bitch! My favourite thing about Side B however is the final track, "Stubborn" which is a dirging, almost drone-y build up of wicked guitar and bass distortion, culminating in a massive sludge metal attack. Blimey!

This little green fuck was put out as a collaboration between Hygiene Records in the USA and Evil Purple Bastard in the UK, and is limited to 500 copies, all of which are on transparent green wax. Sexy.

 

Gets Worse - Gets Worse (10")

I've had this EP (or mini-album?) for a while thanks to Grindcore Karaoke, and considering it is powerviolence to the core I really enjoy it. I can never seem to shake the comedy value behind the "low" powerviolence vocals (and this is coming from a guy who loves goregrind), but sometimes the music is so awesome that it all just fits together and I totally see where the sound is coming from.

 

The record initially comes on in a very similar vibe to Shoot The Bastard, whom Gets Worse kinda share personnel with through the medium of The Afternoon Gentlemen. The drum sound is very similar, but after an small settling in period, Gets Worse takes on a whole new violent form of its own; crushing, grinding power at it's purest! The guitar sound is one of the crunchiest I've come across in some time, the bass is Repulsion-grade fuzz and the drums are sprightly and bright enough to soar over the mix. The vocals are a dual-attack of powerviolence lows and more typical screamy highs, which keeps things interesting enough for me.

Mad props (yo) to the label here, the fantastically-named Evil Purple Bastard, as this 10" only cost me £7 with £2.80 postage, but the postage label reads it cost over £5 to send. Having been fucked in the arse at the Post Office many times myself, that got me right in the feels.

 

I would recommend this record to anyone who is into heavier hardcore or grindcore music. You can stream the entire thing for free below, so there's no excuse, tuck in my pretties! It's strictly limited to 200 physical copies though, so if you want one I'd act fast. Evil Purple Bastard sells the purple version that I have here but if you buy directly from the band you can get your hands on a red version.