anyone remember these guys? I sure do. I put up their four song demo some time ago, and it ripped holes into brick walls. and now, here’s a new demo. this is supposedly a little testing of the waters before releasing a full length album… so I’m assuming that means a full length is on the way? if so – YESSSSS. to get back to this demo, it’s two songs. “Hipster Trash” and “Maps”. the first one is about hardcore fashionistas who make the scene look like a fucking joke. the second one is (I think) about rejecting social conventions and religion. both causes are valid, and it’s great that a band like Nightmares speak up. what’s even better is that they *shout* them. on top of a brutal as fuck hardcore sound with grindcore tendencies. despite being less than three minutes long, I hope this demo is an indication as to what the full length will sound like, because it sounds like the full length will be a crushing affair like none other. this band slays all. download.
Charles Manson – Demo
Edwin and Steven from TEETH have a band called Charles Manson. and like TEETH, Charles Manson have fade outs to their songs. this band has a demo, consisting of four tracks with Charles Manson samples, blast beats or heavy beats, a heavy bass and shouting this is extremely raw power violence. this demo doesn’t *focus* on recording quality, to put it like that. if you aren’t into stuff that kind of sounds like it was recorded in mono into a boombox that was inside a metal trash can – you might just want to avoid this altogether. but if you aren’t too picky in terms of production value, you might enjoy this and all of its dissonance. this is power violence stripped down to its core. get it!
Mutiny – Mutiny
from Norwegian screamo to the Canadian crust band Mutiny. including members of that’s punk favourites Iskra, they are a more than welcome addition to this blog. this is their self titled 7″, my last blog update for today. Mutiny are a really heavy crust band. grindcore and power violence influences are more than apparent. these guys slay. they go from heavy, gloomy and trance-inflicting metal, to fast-as-shit thrashing grindcore, with almost shrieking vocals, rapid-fire riffs and blast beats. it’s amazing. thirteen songs in fourteen minutes, this is mind-melting hard and politically outspoken music. it destroys. get it.
TEETH – Demo
if you are longing for something more violent than the latest posts, then my friend – TEETH are for you. early ’90s sounding power violence with some amounts of grindcore, some amounts of hardcore – and some crust. very bass-heavy, and with fade-outs on every song. I’m not a fan of fade-outs at all… but fade-outs on *power violence songs*? that is just amazing. in under fifteen minutes, TEETH deliver some very much refreshing as well as crushing power violence in the vein of Man Is the Bastard, Hellnation and even Dropdead at times on the faster songs. oh, and with fade-outs! the recording quality is so so. the cymbals are very loud… and most of the other stuff is not so loud. but I mean they get their point across just fine… and they cover Napalm Death. so I’m very much looking forward to hearing more from this band, because this demo gave me a very appealing first taste of TEETH.
The Revolt – The Revolt
The Revolt are a fairly hard and brutal band from the chills of North Norway. desperate screaming, psychedelic guitars and a straight up brutal rhythm section are among the things this band has to show for themselves. playing their ear-bleeding fast hardcore that almost passes into grindcore, they hammer through this album with style. their progressive hardcore style has earned them a spot in everyone’s hearts. let them into yours as well, so they can rip it apart and eat the bits only to puke them up in the world’s different corners. this band rules. if you get a chance to see them live, do it.
Alpinist – Minus. Mensch
well here is something I should have posted ages ago but never got around to do. I apologize for taking so long, because this should really have been up the day it was released. it’s *that* good. no, it’s better. it’s the furious crust from the glorious German band Alpinist, whose demo has been up on this blog for quite some time now. it’s dark, heavy and angry crust with rapid drumming, brutal rhythm guitars, fierce lead guitars, and insane screams and twisted growls. though displaying some screamo influence throughout the album, it’s way less evident than on their demo. Alpinist has become a much more powerful and direct band, not giving away much time to twinkly interludes any more. but they are still highly melodic! even though playing blisteringly fast enraged crust punk, Alpinist’s wrath is a melodic wrath. this is basically a half hour worth of apoplectic apocalyptic intensity almost passing into power violence at times. if you like aggressive music, this should be the crown of your collection. GET IT!
I.Witness – I.Witness
have you picked up these guys’ demo and/or the live show posted on this blog? well then you know how awesome they are. this is their album. it consists of the four tracks on the demo (in a remastered version) plus five more tracks. (most of which appear on the concert from this blog.) I.Witness has always been in between genres, and this persists with their début album. right off the bat they combine screamo sensibilities with a hardcore drive and crust guitars. heavy breakdowns and constant movement are key words to I.Witness’s sound. the diversity represented on the album is stunning. this album fits in like half the categories on this page. they fall somewhat on the same side as Alpinist, with their crust/screamo (creamo) combination. dynamic screamo passages and outros break up the intense crust drive of the songs. there’s low and guttural rhythm guitars and more high semi-twinkly screamo leads with shouting and screaming on top, and vivid cymbal-reliant drumming to keep it alive and moving. hardcore from Rossija. get this!
I.Witness – Demo
with fast and to the point hardcore punk with heavy breakdowns and easy on the ear screamo chord progressions, this release has one foot in screamo, and one foot standing on the border between hardcore, crust and metalcore. it could just as easily’ve been in the crust/grind/power violence category or the screamo category. whilst obviously influenced by the likes of Modern Life is War and Tragedy, this band takes an even more melodic approach with their guitars. it reminds me of Alpinist at times. so if you like screaming, the guitar style of crust/screamo (creamo) bands and the sheer power of hardcore, then definitely check this out. peace.
Isaïe Buried Memorial – Demo
you like what? French emo? hmmm… guess that means I’ll have to put up yet another French band then! and it’s another winner, for sure. ofc it is. I wouldn’t put it on the blog if it didn’t rip! and this band certainly does rip. in a vastly different ways from most of the other French bands on this blog though. while this still has some twinkly stuff like the others, it is noticeably more aggressive and fast. they vary between emo violence and Orchid-ish hardcore/screamo, kind of like Palatka. and they do so by rapidly hitting the snare, thrashing the guitars, screaming and pretty much just tearing everything apart. while this demo doesn’t have the best production quality (it is after all a demo), the point certainly comes across. this is sooo gooooddd, and everyone needs to download it and give it a listen. you can buy the demo from their MySpace, and you should definitely consider doing so if you are a fand of outstandingly aggressive music. :)
I.Witness – Live In Tomsk 02.05.09
if you liked Spray Paint the Sun, chances of you liking this are pretty high. the guitarists from SPtS are in this band as well. and you can tell. even though I.Witness’s sound is generally more upbeat, the lead guitars are noticeably dreamy, like in SPtS. but the chord progression is much faster, like in a hardcore band. but at the same time it is way twinkly and obviously screamo-tinged. the vocals are in between screamo and hardcore. so is the upbeat and dynamic drumming. everything is just a big blender of hardcore and hardcore-derived genres. including a huge crust factor. this is all the way through an interesting and highly worthy listen. aggressive and angry. despite being twinkly, I.Witness sounds nothing like midwest emo bands or the modern experimental screamo bands. this is a band that has much more in common with the neo crust sound albeit with some passages that are reminiscent of those experimental screamo bands. also be sure to check out the awesome Hüsker Dü cover!
Damage Digital – Split Tape
hard grindcore with blast beats and alternating fe/male vocals. everything about this is truly awesome. from how hard it is, to how they make it sound diverse, experimenting with different breaks and so on. oh and the snare drum sounds like a bell. get this.
The Spectacle – I, Fail
on I, Fail, The Spectacle takes things to the next level. they abandon much of the heavy and gritty crust sound of previous releases in favour of a far more experimental sound that incorporates eastern influences as well as a much wider utilizing of their core instruments. the guitars twinkle in that early 90s emo fashion, but with the more modern chord progressions of bands such as City of Caterpillar and Circle Takes the Square. but admist all of the expected screamo guitars and snare-focused upbeat drumming is a spiritual or magical presense. when they break away from the punk rock chains and play the mesmerising acoustic guitars and hypnotising battle drums, you feel like you are in the middle of an epic middle-age tale. and perhaps you indeed are? this album is timeless and beautiful like no other album ever made. if you are a fan of epic rock/metal bands, then you will absolutely absorb this album, and refuse to listen to anything else than this for the next few days (or weeks). because this is a monster of an album that deserves the attention of everyone. listen to this!
The Spectacle – Rope or Guillotine
«the most beautiful, dynamic, aggressive, dark punk record of the year, hands down», says Crimethinc. then it must be hardcore, right? well yeah. it is. His Hero Is Gone’s meets Darkthone . three guitarists making a lot of noise, brutal vocals and thrash rhythms. epic hardcore. stunningly beautiful, marvellously intense and magically passionate. get this!!!
The Spectacle 7″
you probably shouldn’t get this if you are bipolar, because it might fuck you up a bit. this is some of the most depressing and heavy crust you’ll hear, but also some of the most uplifting epic progressive hardcore you’ll ever hear. this is only two tracks, “Beats” and “Terms”. and you need to listen to them asap.
The Spectacle – Lakonia Demo
is extremely powerful and intense crust your thing? get this. the screamo and hardcore influences are evident, but the sound is heavy and dark crust, that incorporates epic hardcore that sounds like Godspeed You! Black Emperor jumping between grind and progressive, and epic emo like Envy displays on latter albums. the vocals have a clearly evident passion to them. the vocals vary between screams and dark growling. the guitars play an epic progressive chord progression with punk rock undertones and sceamo overtones. the band basically blends what must be a thousand genres in this. and they do it very well. in short: don’t miss out on this. it’s just one song, but what a song!
Alpinist – Demo 2007
imagine Graf Orlock remove the heavy focus on dual vocals (not that there isn’t dual vocals here… but it isn’t as reliant on it). and less tempo shifts. and no futuristic cinematic crap. this isn’t cinema grind. it’s more of a mixed bag with a lot of crust and screamo in it. Graf Orlock with Combatwoundedveteran and The Spectacle. it’s cool. raspy screams, driving guitars that mostly are just heavy and fast, but sometimes melodic and all skram-like. the drums are fast and technically not all that bad. actually, it’s all rather good. while it’s most of the time rather straightforward power violence-esque crust that’s so heavy it actually sounds slow due to the guitars, it sometimes breaks down into screamo passages with twinkly guitars, preventing it getting repetitive. it’s very dynamic, and well worth a listen. this demo has ten songs between one and six minutes long. it’s basically just packed with intense semi-epic music. LISTEN!