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tit's a 7 inch extravaganza 3! |
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 5
Shroud Eater, From Exile, Portall, Al-Thawra, etc...
GOLD by JUSTIN GODFREY
From The Abominable Iron Sloth.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 4
Inswarm, Batillus, Final Redemption, Dirt Worshipper & More.
LIVING THE DREAM
by Jucifer's Gazelle Amber Valentine.
AGONIA RECORDS
Impiety, Aosoth, Temple of Baal, Inferno & More.
NOTES FROM NYC'S SCENE
By Flourishing's Garett Bussanick.
IT'S A 7 INCH EXTRAVAGANZA 2
Sons of Tonatiuh, Nazi Dust, Fetus Eaters, Lighthouse Project & More.
EXCERPT #1 "THE GREASE"
From a Book by Jucifer's Gazelle Amber Valentine.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 3
Of Legend, No Pity, Isthmus, El Supremo & More.
A JOYFUL NIGHT WITH THE MORIBUND CULT 2
Merrimack, Hiems, Dodsferd, Canis Dirus & More.
TALES FROM THE CUTOUT BIN XIV
Undercroft, Rademassaker, Bitch & More.
METAL REISSUES GALORE XVI
Arckanum, Realm, Brutality, Amen & More.
MILLIONS
Chicago Scene Report.
A JOYFUL NIGHT WITH
THE MORIBUND CULT
Dodsferd, I Shalt Become, Horna, Azaghal, Necronoclast & More.
TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN XI
The Hidden Hand, Wurdulak, Gobblehoof, Insult II Injury, Master & More. |
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IT'S A 7 INCH EXTRAVAGANZA 3! |
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It is late and I must get up in a couple of hours to go to work. It is wednesday night, or actually, it is very early thursday morning, and I have spent the last four hours listening to pretty harsh music. My ears are bleeding. Time to sleep. I hope you enjoy it. Read on and spread the word...
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Maybe I haven’t been hip to 7 inches for long enough but it just seems like ever since vinyl has been in a surge, labels and bands are making an effort to put out really good looking shit. And when you have a bunch of labels collaborating (in this case Acclaim, Oxigeno, Sadness of Noise and others), therefore lowering the costs, this, some sort of luxury, becomes more possible. In the case of Down to Agony’s Requiem Por Un Mundo Enfermo ( Requiem For a Sick World) it comes with a six-panel sleeve, one side of which is a gorgeous black and gray poster. There is also an insert with all the lyrics translated to Japanese. Sure thing, lyrics are important in hardcore, but I doubt many Spanish speakers will get what is been said here as the vocalist screams and stretches his pipes to an almost ridiculous point. The music is articulate; furious but also nuanced, with enough feeling to transmit something beyond fury and ire. Down to Agony is a highly prolific hardcore band from Spain. Since this 7 inch was released, they have put out at least two more recordings, all of which are available for download in the band’s site. Official Site |
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Hostages is a quartet from Philadelphia. Burn Bridges, their label, recommends this 7 inch to fans of The Hope Conspiracy and American Nightmare, which I guess means that they sound like either or like both bands. I am not a huge fan of the Boston hardcore scene. I am not into beating people up just for fuck’s sake, and I am not that fond of dual vocals either, however Hostages do both quite well. Both vocals are harsh. Just screams with nothing special or outstanding about them. It’s just that there is a call and response element to the way they are placed in the songs, which might be just storytelling or it may just be bullshit. Also, one of the vocalists is mixed much higher than the other. With shitty speakers you won’t even notice the second one. Smartly, Hostages keep the chugga chugga riffing to a minimum and offer aggressive melodies through rock and roll patterns. Catchy shit and very unlike everyday common man meat head hardcore. MySpace |
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Divisions hails from hot as fuck, humid as Caribbean underwear Tampa, FL. This four-song 7 inch has been issued courtesy of Human Crush Recordings and if I thought the two bands above were aggressive, well, Divisions makes them sound like they belong to the Mickey Mouse Club, like they are part of the Partridge Family or some other infantile shit. This is fucking vicious hardcore. Not only is the recording super raw (grimy guitars that march relentlessly and even bend like flaccid flesh) and do the cymbals sound like they are slashing your ear holes, but the beats, them fuckers indulge in, are maniac. And let’s not even talk about the vocals, I think the vocalist's name is Justin, he should be renamed Unjustin, because that’s just not right. Very unjust indeed. Human Crush Recordings |
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Holy shit man, this Unholy Grave 7 inch hasn’t even been cut. It’s a square which makes it a challenge to position the needle right in the groove. Grindignation comes courtesy of Death Agonies and Screams and is only a small addition in the super lengthy discography (50 releases and counting) of this Japanese institution. There are seven tracks in this EP, all of which I believe were taken from demos recorded between 2004 and 2005. It’s some nasty shit, guttural vocals take turns with hysterical screams while riffs that range from the metallic and quasi melodic to the totally obliterating and light year speed. The tunes, in sound and songwriting, vary a great deal in quality but with so much material under their belts that’s just natural. MySpace
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Patac Records has just unearthed some mummies. Dormant for over 25 years, Executioner (pictured above) from San Jose, CA pretty much sound like classic west coast hardcore punk to me. From the time when punk couldn’t really be heavy and hardcore could only be fast (and the chugga riff hadn’t been invented). Instead, Executioner came to rely in aggressively pronounced and pouted vocals and songwriting that abruptly and dynamically could come to a halt and back start. When at high speeds, some of the riffage is straight up thrash metal, precisely on “”Hellbound”, while the second side shows restrain and class on “Flatlands”. These tracks were recorded in 1982 and they haven’t lost one bit of their vitality. One more reason to love classic west coast hardcore. MySpace |
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I guess somewhere along the line fans of the extremely extreme took the whole 'mince core' thing seriously. Just saying. And if you can’t have enough of Agathocles, then this worldly split may do the trick. Diorrhea are up first and their half is titled Antibiosi. I don’t know what is it with italians digging so much nastiness. Sure thing, the moniker is repulsive and the music, yeah. It rides around the same area with blast beats that could make Mick Harris red with envy and insane vocalization that is just as impressive because of the speed. Diorrhea may just be on a race to make it to the toilet. Shit is about to be dropped in their pants. Proletar on the other hand come from Jakarta, Indonesia and their recording has a stronger, more robust and less balanced sound. The mix is odd with the tom tom being placed well above everything and the guitars lack color. It may not just be the tone of the six strings but also the playing which is extremely basic and so messy the riffs just bleed into each other. This is political grind or mince, obviously, but were the mix a little different both of these bands could pass as gore brutal death metal. Or something like that. Proletar MySpace Diorrhea MySpace |
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Alright, too much speed and craziness for one night. Let’s tone this down and end on a nice more relaxed note. Let’s light up that spliff you’ve been hiding before it loses all its potency. This split 7 inch (released by Kitchen Dweller Records) between comrades Karma to Burn and Sons of Alpha Centauri is also gorgeously packaged, has been pressed in clear vinyl and comes with a few stickers. The track from SOAC is titled “Conspiracy Theory” and is an exclusive. There is a similar vibe between both bands but typically SOAC are trippier. Their song here is stellar; a heavy grower perfect for a rock version of Space Odyssey. Karma to Burn’s half, well, what can I say about their half (“Fourteen”), beside that this is one of the best stoner rock songs ever written. It has been remasterd in the UK and stripped of all vocals, it sounds purer than ever, pot of the highest quality. Karma to Burn MySpace SOAC MySpace
Got 7 Inch? Send your 7 Inch for review to Deaf Sparrow Zine, 4611 W El Prado Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629
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