I have been warned in advance of how nasty these picture lathes sound, but I am pleasantly surprised by how clear everything is...I have heard some absolutely fucking shocking lathe cuts, and this is far, far from the worst. From what I can tell this is two one-sided lathes glued back to back, with a picture trapped between them...that's a pretty ingenious way of making DIY picture discs, I gotta say. I dunno who cut these, but they were released by Ostie himself in Canada and Legs Akimbo Records in the UK.
"Howls Of The Dead" is pretty entertaining, not to mention kvlt as fvck, complete with sampled wolves and some serious riffage. "From The Hate Factory" however cements the reminder that Ostie must be a joke, despite it's super-serious black metal vibe. Anyways, these are pretty rare, not to mention collectable as fvck (I mean, just look at it!) so I'll be holding onto this like it was the last thing on earth. Seriously cool! Or should that be "seriously frostbitten"?
Death metal has a limited appeal for me, but when it's done right I just fucking love it. Maybe it's coincidence that I love my "local" death metal band Desecration more than most other death acts, or maybe it's not. I donno, I'm not a psychologist. All I know is that Desecration is fucking awesome. The sound (on any record) is spot on; the drums are dry and precise, the guitars clinical yet fuzzy and warm, and the bass clanks underneath at just the right volume. A whole world of growly growly vo-kills over the top of it all and wehey, instant death metal boner.
Regardless of the endless controversy that surrounded this band in its earlier days, I've always found their blood splattered themes to be rather tongue in cheek. Perhaps it's because the music is so groovy. I don't get an evil vibe from Desecration. "Bloody Human Carvery", whilst looking rather grim written there like that, is an absolute groove-fest. "Frosted Breath" sounds like a black metal song, but it really isn't. "King of the Missing" is a rather perplexing title, and "Offer the Flesh" opens with some really impressive drumming. That's what I'm talking about!
I got this picture disc from Ollie at Damnation 2012 when he was selling shit on the Extreme Noise Terror merch table. I can't remember what I paid for it but it was dirt cheap and I was chuffed to a thousand pieces to finally pick up a Desecration record on vinyl. Their discography is rather inconsistent with regards to format, but I do try to buy wax whenever possible, as I'm sure you're all aware by now. Out on Copro Records.
I've never been a big Linkin Park fan, even though Hybrid Theory was the first album I ever bought with my own money when I was 11 years old. I'd lost all interest by the time the second record came out, but when the third album came out around 2007 the band (or more likely the label) came up with the idea to release the singles off that album on mini 7" picture discs, which was pretty cool. I missed the first one but ended up getting Bleed It Out and Shadow of the Day before realizing that my money was better spent elsewhere.
I've tried to sell Shadow of the Day to no avail but will keep my hands on this version of Bleed It Out as it has an absolutely fucking wicked remix of "What I've Done" on the flip-side IMHO "What I've Done" was the last half-decent Linkin Park song, and this nastier, dirtier remix was right up my street, and makes it worth keeping this record. Out on Warner Bros., that I won't be linking to.
What I have here for review is the 1997 Morbid Records (RIP) LP release of Humarrogance. The sound is that of the usual Agathocles stock, if not a little crisper than most recordings. The tracks blast and grind away with impressive mincing fury until it comes to an abrupt halt at the start of track eight, “White Horse”. This song has a strange rock and roll vibe to it, and it is very refreshing to hear Agathocles mince through something with such a prominent groove factor. The tracks that follow, “Ain’t I?” and the interestingly titled “Beam Me Up, Scotty”, are of equal quality and I find myself banging my head like an idiot.
The four bonus tracks that come on the CD version (I have that too) are either live gigs or live rehearsals of songs that hark back to Agathocles’ earlier days, with even pitch-shifted vocals in tow. The quality of sound on some of these tracks is pretty grim, but enjoyable none-the-less. It is my opinion that these tracks belong on a seven inch record, to truly emphasize the crust factor (actually chances are they have already appeared on seven inch about 37 different times).
The artwork perplexes me. It reeks of the typical D.I.Y. ethic you come to expect of grindcore, but the front sleeve is something else entirely. It is some sort of surrealist painting by an unidentified artist. Perhaps the painting is famous, and therefore does not require a credit. This could well be the case as I have little experience with the world of “art”. It is a painting though, that much I can tell, of two ghostly figures examining objects on a clothed table; there is a butterfly, an hourglass, and what appears to be a French baguette.
Since this CD/LP was my first experience of Agathocles, and I fully appreciate this piece, I would recommend this release to any fans of grindcore, especially those looking for an in-road into the never-ending maze of Agathocles releases (trust me, it's a fucking nightmare). Although, the constant vegetarianism / anti-nazi / anti-racism / anti-fascism edge may put off some people.
The Youtube user SPEAKERHUMAN has kindly put together the whole album as a playlist, so sit back and grind away!
