This double CD
package brings together a bunch of old splits and demos from the prolific,
blackened grinding thrashers Nunslaughter, as well as a bevvy of live tracks.
The splits and demos are fantastic, and I will surely review them on their own
with the material from the respective splitting bands, but I just want to cast
some light on this little package as I got my hands on a copy recently. Do you love
Nunslaughter? Yes? Good. Do you love horrendously recorded live material? Er… Unfortunately,
about a third of disc one and the entirety of disc two is nothing but awful
recordings of live performances. I picked this CD up when I recently bought
some second hand cymbals so I didn’t pay too much for it so I’m not
particularly bothered, but don’t be fooled by the ace looking art and fancy 2
disc set. This is handy if you can get it cheap and want all the old
Nunslaughter stuff in one place, but the sheer volume of crap live tracks
really cheapens this package, which is a shame. Definitely for die-hards and
collectors only. Here are some tracks off the Blood Devil 7", which appears on disc one.
This has gotta be one of my favourite rap/hip hop
discoveries of the past year or so. Granted, this came out in 2011 but I’m not
exactly crawling all over the modern rap scene (because as Eminem so eloquently
put it – it’s a landfill). I heard enough episodes of Charlie Sloth on Radio 1
whilst at work to convince myself that hip hop was welllllll and truly dead and
anything post-2000 was not even worth farting at (play that “German Whip” song
ONE MORE FUCKING TIME and I might end myself). The main question about modern
hip hop for me isn’t “Who is the most vomit-inducing wigger spacktard; Charlie
Sloth or Tim Westwood?”, it’s more along the lines of why do hip hop fans stand
for the dump trucks of shit piling into their favourite genre? To paraphrase
Immortal Technique, each new song that comes out is another “candy ass nigga
with a candy ass beat”.
But then again we are looking at the same type of people who
idolize Lil Wayne but hate Death Grips, and that says it all really. With that
mind set it’s easier to appreciate why top rappers like Tyler The Creator tend
to stay in a semi-underground world; as the man himself professes, he’s selling
out shows but sleeping on couches afterward. Goblin is a dark record too, and I
guess that appeals to me even more, because I don’t want no “candy ass beats”
in my raps, yo. All throughout Goblin Tyler struggles with (possibly fictional
or otherwise) several recurring characters and alter egos, which makes the
whole thing quite confusing on the first listen, but you get used to it. I’m
still not entirely sure who or what Tron Cat is, but I’m digging it.
“Yonkers” is now one of my favourite rap songs ever. “Transylvania”
falls dangerously close to the stylings of the horrorcore genre, despite
protests from Tyler that he has nothing to do with the genre. But any song that
starts it’s chorus with “I’m Dracula, bitch / Ain’t got a problem smackin’ a
bitch” is a rap classic in my books. Hip hop seems to be the only genre of music
(other than slam death metal) that can keep getting away with extreme misogyny,
even in today’s namby pampy “you can’t say that” world.
Frank Ocean pops up a few times (most notably on “She”),
which is great, because I like the guy in small doses. To me he seems like the
Nate Dogg of the Odd Future crowd, adding a well needed sung chorus now and
then to Tyler’s dark and puzzling world. All in all though, and I know I’ve
kinda gone off topic a bit on this one, but Goblin is a brilliant rap record
that I would recommend to anyone who
likes rap music and who has an ounce of common sense. Kanye fucking West this
is not.
Salute To The Sun are a death metal band that sent me their demo many moons ago, when I was trying (and failing) at running a record label full time. Out of the tons of shit I got sent to me, this is one of the very few things that stayed with me and didn't get lost in moves, clear outs etc., probably because of it's professional looking cover and not just some shitty xeroxed piece of paper with the words "First Demo" written on it. At least it looked like Salute To The Sun were putting in some effort.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for the music. Sure, the passion is here but unfortunately the skill and proficiency is lacking. STTS need to tighten up bigstyle if they want to get anywhere in this particular strain of death metal. When it's heavy it just sounds like some badly recorded death metal, but when the acoustic parts come in you can really tell that a lot of practice is needed before progressing any further. The vocals, also, are a huge let-down from start to finish. I don't even know if STTS are still going, or why I really still hold onto this knowing how shite it is, but it's in my collection for now so it gets the Lines In Wax treatment. If by some random chance you come across this - avoid it.
If Shitfun isn't one of the greatest names for a band ever, then I don't know what is. And if that cover picture isn't one of the creepiest, nastiest sleeves for a band ever, then I don't know what is! Shitfun are here to ruin everybody's day with some "serial killer grindcore" from the deepest, darkest parts of Brazil. They have a growly death metal approach to the vocal side of things (this might explain why they are named after an Autopsy album?) but the grind is a low-tuned start-stop blasting nightmare.
I got this through a trade with the Japanese label Fuck The Industry, who, as I have probably mentioned elsewhere, are off to a flying start with a whole bunch of awesome releases in 2013. They are all DIY as fuck but are of the highest quality. I cannot recommend this label and their releases enough, definitely one to watch, I would think. This is out on a super limited tape release of 20 but is also available on CDr for those not so analogue-inclined.
Another Agx split with (apparent) original songs here, so I went ahead and got it from the Goatgrind Records distro. The Agx stuff is fairly good but the sound leaves a lot to be desired. As far as I can tell it isn't live or anything, but it really is a nasty recording. Yes, yes, I am still fully aware of what genre I'm reviewing here but is it too much to want on some clarity every now and then? Regardless, Agathocles do what they do best here, and I should just be thankful that the songs are originals.
P.O.S. on the other hand aren't worth mentioning at all. Well, I guess they are but they their stuff on this disc did nothing for me and I found them extremely uninspiring, and even rather boring. Oh well. I've only given it one listen so far but my first impression is rather grim. This record is out on 330 black copies thanks to the wonderful Bringer of Gore records.
PS I mentioned at the beginning of this post that I got this record from Goatgrind Records, who is unfortunately closing down. Check out his closing down deals on 7"s, tapes and CDs. Also, there are no links for this online. Gutted.
At first glance this 7" looks awesome, but take a closer look at the artwork and you'll notice it is actually badly drawn. Nevermind! Epic studio quality shits from Mixomatosis with hilarious vocals. Terrible samples aside, this music is well recorded and well put together, but side B's live track is a bit shit, if I'm honest. Also, at 45rpm it is over in such a short time.
I wouldn't know where to start with Mixomatosis' rather extensive back catalogue as I kind of stumbled onto them by chance (worked with them on a 7" compilation), but this does seem to be the best studio quality Mixo-stuff out there that I have heard. Perhaps I need more education in this crazy band's work? Neuralgia records' diatribe of pressing "ONLY TRUE UNDERGROUND, FRIEND" is tiring at best. That is all. I apologise for the massive overtones of negativity.
(there is no video available with content from the 7", instead enjoy this Mixo music video)
