Abscess - Urine Junkies

Urine Junkies is a Relapse compilation CD featuring three of Abscess' earliest releases and demos. It was put out in 1995 under the label's Underground Series, and brought Abscess to a whole new level of exposure. One of the downsides of listening to a compilation is that the sound is all over place, but it is a small price to pay when you get to check out a cross-section of stuff that a band has to offer. Hey, this shit is nowhere near as fucking terrible as that Nunslaughter compilation I got last year. Abscess, thankfully, seem to lack in the nauseatingly bad live recordings department.

My favourite thing about Abscess though has got to be the vocals; incredibly nasty gargles, shouts or even lows. Also, I get the feeling that a lot of this older stuff just got tarred with the grindcore brush at the time because it was, for some surreal and brief moment in history, the "in" thing to do; Abscess' cheeky lullabies of filth are more akin to some bizarre world of punk mixed with death metal (I get a Pungent Stench vibe, if that is applicable?) than anything grinding. Regardless, this is fucking excellent.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Arc

(Words by Gumpy, Doomfinder General)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed return faster than ever, this time managing to squeeze 27 songs into only 3 minutes.... Wait a second, there's only 3 songs and one of them is 12 minutes long? It's a sludge album? What the hell is going on?

Shit talking aside there is a very good reason for this drastic change in direction; instead of just making another album, Agoraphobic Nosebleed decided to make 4 because... why not? Each one is being written by a different member of the band, and the first of these - Arc - is Katherine Katz's one. However how does it hold up? Agoraphobic Nosebleed may have dabbled with slow in the past but they are predominantly a fast-as-absolute-fuck band.

It's amazing, of course it's amazing. Agoraphobic Nosebleed could make a power metal album and it would still kick the shit out of every other power metal album (that's not a challenge by the way).  Kat's vocals, which if I'm being honest I thought were a bit off on Agorapocalypse, are perfect here. The slower pace gives them a bit more room to breathe and they sound better for it. There are massive riffs flying about everywhere, and the programmed drums sound meaty and must have some sludge drummers worried about their jobs. It might not be Agoraphobic Nosebleed as we know it, but when the music is this good who cares? (I still want more weird ultra fast grind, though.)

Jucifer - L'autrichienne

I have been beyond in love with Jucifer (or maybe it's just frontwoman Amber Valentine ;D) ever since I saw them playing in Temples Fest last year. They have always been one of those bands that I wanted to check out but I never got around to doing so. I was expecting some half-arsed female-fronted stoner rock bullshit that's all the rage these days, but Jucifer tore me a new arsehole and blew away most of the bands that played that day, including the revered headliner Electric Wizard. They made an incredible amount of noise for a band consisting of two people.

I believe that L'autrichienne (a concept album about Marie Antionette) showcases every facet of Jucifer in every possible way. As far as 'rock' goes, Jucifer are entirely genreless. The album opens with a sunkissed rock and roll number ("Blackpowder") before blasting through messy, muddy grindcore and then into the almost acoustic siren song of "To Earth", all within three songs! I get a Children Of God-era Swans vibe from the way the music is so juxtaposed from savage brutality to ethereal fragility. It happens again shortly after when the grinding mass of "Fall Of The Bastille" cuts straight into "To The End". It's like Anal Cunt doing a split with Imogen Heap, and it's fucking brilliant.

"Armarda" brings sludgy death-doom onto the menu before the absolutely insanely gorgeous title track steals your heart for 5 minutes. Other highlights include "Birds Of A Feather", the 9 minute doom epic "The Mountain" and the creepy-ass outro track "The Assembly". Seriously give this a listen if you've never heard of this band before.

Nile - Annihilation Of The Wicked

I love absolutely any band that can keep death metal especially fresh and vibrant, without becoming too gimmicky. Nile have a hit and miss discography, in my opinion, but 2005's Annihilation of the Wicked on Relapse Records is a monolithically heavy recording of blasting ancient Egyptian brutality. If there is a world in history that was particularly grim and unforgiving, ancient Egypt ranks pretty high on that scale. With sarcophagi bursting open with mystical and disturbing subject matter to fuel Nile's song-writing fire, the "band what like does songs 'bout Egypt and that" have given us thus far seven albums of Pharoahcious (I went there) death metal. 

The first thing I noticed through the chunky, Relapse-budgeted production was the immense, seemingly unstoppable wall of drums provided by one George Kolias. On sheer performance, discipline and astounding stamina this record is aeons above other death metal records alone, but couple said drumming wizardry with immensly technical riffs and super-complicated songs about stuff you can never begin to understand, and Nile take the crown with this record for the most elitist death metal performance that wasn't boring or even maybe contrived. 

After a brief intro, the first proper song, "Cast Down The Heretic" blasts a fucking hole in your skull. "Sacrifice Unto Sebek", the single from this album, oddly reduces the pace a bit, before we get the first of three 9-minute epics, "User Maat Re", which is mind boggling in scope and duration. There's always time for more ultra-elitist Egyptian tunage - "Chapter Of Obeisance Before Giving Breath To The Inert One In The Presence Of The Crescent Shaped Horns" (lol) - before "Lashed To The Slave Stick" comes in. This track is one of my favourite death metal songs of all time. The album closes off with two more (approx) 9-minute epics, making Annihilation... a long but ultimately satisfying trip into a world of unstoppable death metal force. 

If you're into this shit and haven't heard this album....Well, I dunno how that's really even possible, but check out the link below.

Japanese Torture Comedy Hour - Voltage Monster

This was my first ever noise CD. I accidentally bought it before I'd even heard of the noise genre, let alone of Merzbow or any of his button-pushing, knob-twisting, pedal-stomping ilk. I bought this CD once upon a long time ago off the Relapse mail order, purely because Jay Randall was involved. Boy did I have a shock when I played the fucker! At 17 years old I was at no stage in my musical development to even fathom the existence of - let alone appreciate - something as downright artsy-fartsy and nihilistic as harsh noise.

If some beret-wearing hipster had told me: "You gotta look passed it, maaaaaaan, to find the textures with the chaos, maaaaaaaaaaan, for each and every one of us interprets noise in a special cerebral way, maaaaaaan!" I would have set fire to his silly little beard and pushed the fucker down a flight of stairs. After insisting he shut the fuck up and listen to some goregrind, of course. However, as the existence of noise and power electronics as genres became apparent to me with time, I eventually remembered this prickly little CD gathering dust in my collection that I bought so many moons ago.

It suddenly all made so much sense! You're right, potentially imagined hipster with a silly beard! I can see (or is it hear?) the beauty within the chaos. I can interpret patterns and textures beneath the sea of mindfucking white noise like the best of 'em! Voltage Monster might not be as challenging or downright fucking insane as JTCH's 24-hour song "Lost in Distortion", but it is still as vicious, pairing the most head-frying harsh noise with the creepiest offerings of dark ambient.  I'll soon be running out of fancy adjectives so it's probably better if I just shut up now and let you listen to the track below and be done with it. Open your ears, and your mind, maaaaaaaaan!

Zeke - Tour 7"

 

I never know what to make of Zeke. I picked this 7" up purely because it was so cheap on Relapse a few years ago. I picture this band to be great live. I envision it as fast sludge. It is like rock'n'roll and hardcore punk mixed into a sludgy southern feel. There are a lot of traditional influences here, and it even sounds like something altogether more Black Label Society in parts. Hmm. Puzzling. This is pure rock and / or roll, so I'll just shut the fuck up and let you enjoy the tunes! Bang your head and drink some fuckin' whiskey, boy! 

What I have here is the standard black pressing, limited to 1000 copies. A further 900 exist on transparent gold (looks orange more than anything) and the usual Relapse 100 on clear. Although this is out of print, it can still be picked up very cheap online, especially the standard black which is averaging around £3 on Discogs right now. 

Enemy Soil - Casualties of Progress

Sorry it's been a while since I've done a post, I've been working on other things including behind the scenes work for this blog (writing a lot of posts in advance is a new tactic I'm going for). Today we have a post for Enemy Soil's classic slice of drum machine grind; Casualties of Progress. The EP was put out on Relapse in April 1995 on a run of both black and grey marbled records. It has since been re-issed on CD, with a bunch of bonus tracks as per usual.

 

It's a excellent romp in the grindcore template; samples open songs before catchy riffs plunge headfirst into all out blastbeat carnage not dissimilar to Agoraphobic Nosebleed, who would go on to become rather popular (in more recent years). It was a logical progression then, I think, for Enemy Soil main man Richard Johnson to end up in Agoraphobic Nosebleed. 

 

I picked this up for dirt cheap off what looked like a private stall at Hellfest 2010. The guy only had a bunch of records for sale, and this was one of them; a steal at two Euros. It averages about a fiver on Discogs now so go for me bargain hunting. Ha ha

Birdflesh / Hatebeak - Split 7"

This here is one of the very first 7"s I ever bought! Birdflesh split with the hilarious Hatebeak on Relapse Records. I have the repress edition of 500 on transparent purple / green splatter. The original press consisted of 400 yellow and 100 clear (currently for sale on Discogs from Relapse themselves).

Hatebeak are just a novelty. If you've not heard them, it's quite interesting. It's pretty bog-standard low-production value death metal with a parrot as a vocalist. Yes, the parrot is also capable of death metal lows as well as it's natural shrieks. Excellent!

Birdflesh are as happy and chirpy as ever, their tunes very uplifting for grind, almost a party vibe going on here. "Harmony Barn" will get you headbanging like a clinically insane maniac, while "Happy Death" is just ridiculous. Happy awesome grind for all!

For those of you who have not been enlightened to Hatebeak:

Anal Cunt - Morbid Florist 7"

This is the original press of Anal Cunt's "Morbid Florist" on Relapse's single series from 1993. It was released on black, white and clear vinyl and on a cool little CD in a cardboard sleeve, part of Relapse's "Underground Series". It was re-released in 1998 as a proper CD with bonus and hidden tracks.

This is by far my favourite Anal Cunt sound. It's a good mix of the spazzy early material and good production values! Seth's vocals are at their best on this record, in my opinion. The mix allows you to appreciate the sonic chaos of Anal Cunt in all it's glory. You can still pick this up fairly cheap, say around an average of £15 for even the original 7" pressings.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / The Endless Blockade - Split 7"

Here we have Agoraphobic Nosebleed's 2009 split with The Endless Blockade, which was released on a 1000 copy press by Relapse Records. 500 were made on blue, and 500 were made on black. Strangely enough, there doesn't seem to be the usual 100 clear pressed on this Relapse release.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed's material sounds like a carry-on in the vein of their "Agorapocalypse" tracks. There isn't any hateful Randall vocals to be heard here, but Katherine Katz and Richard Johnson sure as hell make up for that. The grind is blisteringly fast and the final track is harrowing as fuck. Short, but sweet.

The Endless Blockade starts off almost with a doomy feel, before heading full throttle into endless grind terror (no pun intended) melded dangerously with snarling electronic passages and over laps. According to info on the sleeve, vocals on this release were done by a Mick Harris; whether this is the Mick Harris of Napalm Death / Scorn /Lull fame, I do not know.

There has been no repress and prices are generally high for such a modern grind 7", glad I nabbed this on the Bones Brigade stall at Hellfest when I did (it was sold out then, I believe).

Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Kill The Client - Split 7"

This is a special post for me, as this was my first ever Agoraphobic Nosebleed vinyl, and also one of the first 7"s I ever bought. I am talking, of course, of the fucking livid split ANb did with Kill The Client on Relapse back in 2007. This is part of the original pressing of 1000, split into 500 on yellow / red splatter, 400 on green / yellow splatter and 100 on clear. It was sneakily repressed in 2010 on 500 copies of solid purple.

Kill The Client play some fast-as-fuck blistering grind. The drumming is ultra tight and the guitar work is rapid, but this is just one of those records where one band dominates over the other, and here the monumental digi-grind of Agoraphobic Nosebleed towers over Kill The Client's performance (as amazing as it is), almost eclipsing it completely!

I've never heard a guitar tone quite like Scott Hull's set up on this recording, the guitar itself almost sounds robotic alongside the endless pummelling drum machines. Randall's cracked, angry-as-fuck white guy voice sits awkwardly on top of bare bones guitar and drums, spitting questioning bursts of hatred and pure anger. Agoraphobic Nosebleed's self-destructive, nihilistic lyrical angle is never as clear cut as it is here; these few minutes are nothing but pure, spiteful hell. And it's fucking perfect.

I will be silly enough to make a bold enough statement that every single person into heavy music must hear this record (the ANb side, at least). Ladies and gentlemen, this is grindcore.

Slimewave #4 - Japanische Kampfhorspiele / Bathtub Shitter - Split 7"

Slimewave #4 featuring Japanische Kampfhorspiele & Bathtub Shitter. Limited to 1000 copies on Relapse Records. 900 on white/orange haze and 100 on clear, as per Relapse tradition. This here copy is number 159 of 1000.

Bathtub Shitter bring the chunky, Eastern gore grind to Relapse's compilation. You just can't help but love it. JxKx on the other hand, have a really meaty sound that belongs more in metal that it does in grind, but that doesn't mean they can't play!

Slimewave #5 - XXX Maniak / Throatplunger - Split 7"

Slimewave Series #5 featuring XXX Maniak & Throatplunger, limited to 1000 records on Relapse Records. 100 pressed on clear, 400 pressed on yellow/green and 500 pressed on red/yellow. I have number 420.

This was the first Slimewave 7" I got my hands on and it's one of my favourite releases by both bands involved. XXX Maniak's new cleaner sound was a teaser for what was to come on their split with Coffins, and Throatplunger are just completely insane, hands down.

7000 Dying Rats - Forced Boat 7"

7000 Dying Rats "Forced Boat" EP on transparent pink 7" vinyl, out on Scenester Credentials records in 2002. I bought this from www.relapse.com

This 7" record has quite the story behind it, as the extensive notes provided with it depict. Basically, the label were screwed over by a massive corporate pressing plant, and lost all their money to them. It took nearly 5 years to produce and press this record. It comes with an insert featuring two more versions of custom label artwork, and instructs you to cut around and paste these onto the existing centre labels.