XXX Maniak / Coffins - Split 12"

Visual Darkness' CGI art used for the CD version.

Lou Rusconi's original art used for the LP version.

I love it when weird, totally out of the blue splits happen with two bands that are in absolutely no way related musically. This phenomenally weird split 12” between American sicko porno grinder XXX Maniak and Japanese death-doom titans Coffins is no exception to that rule. I guess the only  link between these two bands that I can decipher is that XXX Maniak love their slow, death doom shit; their label released a fancy box set version of diSEMBOWELMENT’s “Transcendence…” and related demos a few years ago. This split though - nowhere else can I hear 20 blasts of insane grind followed by a fucking Cathedral cover.

3XM’s nauseating debut will always have a place in my heart (lol) but I think I prefer the super-refined sound here. Gone are most death metal or goregrind vocal influences (as is the old vocalist, who apparently stole a bunch of money) which are replaced with a more straight-forward shouty, screamy approach, which is just lovely. Don’t think 3XM have changed up though; this is still hyperblasting drum machine grindcore littered with their trademark hilarious sampling. Despite the abundance of grinding hilarity on show here, my favourite track simply has to be “Smoking Sumerian Debris”, with its menacing riff and evil pitchshifted vocal.

Coffins are not a hyperblasting drum machine goregrind band. Coffins are a death metal influenced doom band from Japan. Coffins are slow; slower than the agonising death of a seagull smothered in spilt crude oil. Alongside their frankly excellent cover of Cathedral’s “Ebony Tears” is the single track, “The Cracks Of Doom”; a meandering, bludgeoning affair of sludgy, growly goodness.

To top off all this awesomeness, the LP release of this split uses the original Lou Rusconi artwork. Whilst it’s not quite as flashy as Visual Darkness’ CGI skeletal affair (VD did the artwork for the 3XM full length and for their split with Lymphatic Phlegm. The cover for this split is actually rather tame compared to these other disturbing creations) it’s still really, really twisted. I love Lou Rusconi’s stuff and I implore you to check it out! Eagle-eyed grinders will noticed that the second 3XM member has had his face erased from the cover art.

V/A - Alarma Records / Parkinson Wankfist Pleasures: Splatter Fetish 2 - 100 Way Split CD - Compilation

Mad props to Mike from Vaginal Necrosis / Dead Chemists Records for sending me this CD for free, you're a legend! This has been out for a few years now on Parkinson Wankfist and Alarma Records. To be honest, I expected a compilation CD with 100 Myspace bedroom goregrind bands, but this CD seems to contain about 50% Myspace bedroom goregrind bands, 25% crappy digigrind/gabba/noise artists and 25% actual death metal and goregrind bands. Those are better odds than I expected! Ha ha

I love crappy goregrind as much as the next ex-Myspace generation idiot, but I think 100 bands would be too much for even me, so I was glad for a bit of variance. What seems to happen here is that all the great bands are slammed at the front, so you get all the epic studio quality shit first before we head into bedroom territory and awful noise territory. I love the concept of this CD and it's predecessor (which I haven't heard yet), but sitting through the whole thing is difficult, even for somebody like me. For the majority of people this record would be nothing more than sheer audible hell.

My only gripe is that the excellently disgusting artwork by Lou Rusconi has been credited to the now defunct Freak Trash, which isn't really that bad because Mr. Rusconi's stuff is easily recognizable.

V/A - Six Lessons Of Hate - Split 7"

6 Lessons Of Hate 7" Compilation featuring Subduxtion, Urophagia, Deterioration, Nippercreep, Fecal Bacteria & Mixomatosis. Released on the now defunct Valley Of Death Records (which was run by myself, of all people). 250 were pressed on black, 250 on blue/green splatter. This particular record is number 111 out of 500.

I learned all about the ups and downs of running an indy label whilst working on this 7" record. It's a lot harder than you would think, and a lot more expensive. The original goal was to create a 12" compilation with a whole range of bands. That eventually ended up as a 7" because I got sick of trying to keep track of everyone. In the end I think that the diversity here led more to the record's failure, rather than help it sell. It opens with a techno beat, blasts through some gore grind and then shreds through death metal, before side B introduces us to thrash influenced hardcore punk, more gore grind and then finishing with a bad live recording of Mixomatosis. The Urophagia track is hands down my favourite. The artwork is by the hugely talented horror / comic book artist Lou Rusconi.

I am proud to say, however, that this is still for sale on Rotten Roll.

Oh, and the extra photos above are of the test pressings.