Tag: thrash
ASTRAL BUTCHER Jan 2020 cassette
ASTRAL BUTCHER
Demo Cassette Tape Jan 2020
A Great Bad Transfer
I got this tape in the mail on Friday and it made for a great start to the weekend. I had zero knowledge of who these guys were and had never heard them before so I had fun digging around “the google”, while listening to this metal rawness. The tape was packaged like it came straight out of the 1980’s and a hesher handled it from start to finish and dropped it off to the post office on his way to the mall (to score weed).
Upon the first listen I could hear some demo styled Possessed from like 1984 or something. Straight up noisy and raw blackened metal that sounded kind of like Chuck from Death had come back from the grave to help them record it in a ’85 sorta way (you know… on a boom box).
Upon the second listen I could hear black metal in the bands sound, but that comes straight from the vox. Not much can be determined about songs, and the titles etc… this is done pretty mysteriously. I love the solos that basically hover over the entire recording, and after some digging I found out it was Shaun from Annihilation Time, Gordon Solie, Wetbrain, Midnight, etc. was partially to blame for this nastiness. The rest of these guys are lifers from Life’s Halt, Annihilation Time, Holier Than Thou?, California Love, Letcherous Gaze, Yarrow etc. Again, after scouring the inter web I found the bands bandcamp, and can honestly say the band sound totally different than on the cassette tape I got in the mail. First off, the vox are way to loud for my tastes on their bandcamp and everything sounds cleaner there. The tape is/was done 100% how it should be done. It sounds so old, real, and raw that it seriously leaves me wondering how they accomplished this feat. I was tape trading in the early 80s and this tape could have fooled me. Do yourself a favor and figure out how to score the actual tape… don’t listen to the digital until after you listen to the tape mix. Email addy on the tape is Denimyeti83@yahoo.com. Otherwise try to contact them on their bandcamp. (NW)
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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA
ENFORCED • At the Walls LP (2019)
ENFORCED • At The Walls LP (2019)
I wasn’t really going to buy into the hype of this Richmond, VA band. My buddy Telf has been going on to me about how awesome they are for the last year, and how the guitarist Zack is one of the best writers of extreme music in Richmond. Well, after listening to this LP only once I was sold. I immediately flipped the record over and listed to side one again….I’ve spun it many many times since then.
This is a total top notch recording for this no nonsense metal/hardcore band. People always seem to compare them a lot to Powertrip…I don’t hear it. What I do hear is a lot of Slayer. Yup… Slayer, Slayer, and more Slayer. Seriously, some of these riffs could be sold to Slayer to finally make a decent new record (donate those riffs Zack). The dive bomb solos and wanks are perfectly positioned in these songs, and are not overdone. What I do hear beside Slayer would be Sepultura, LeeWay, Ringworm, Integrity, Excel, Madball, and a little bit of the Cro-mags. But honestly, I think this stuff just stands on its own… totally tough sounding music to pound one another as your pals are running around the pit being wacky. I love this record and am very excited to hear what else these guys are capable of. (NW)
Enforced: https://enforced.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-walls
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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA
HELL BENT • Apocalyptic Lamentations LP (2019)
HELL BENT • Apocalyptic Lamentations LP (2019)
This is some raw as fuck hardcore punk disguised as metal. It rarely slows down and has elements of crust, D beat, traditional metal, thrash, black metal (at times)… I think it’s safe to just call this poor man’s metal or some type of crossover. It’s like a lot of the stuff that I heard in the 80s and didn’t really get right away due to rawness and production. Well, I get it now. This will resinate well with fans of extreme metal music for sure. My favorite song on this was the slower one called “Ichthyosis” (track three). It reminded me of Destructor. Dudes cover a Znowhite tune as well.
I hope these Rhode Island freaks keep at it putting out more records and playing some shows in NJ near me. The band features members of Dropdead, and Ulcer. I’m pretty glad I got this one on wax. Great cover art as well. (NW)
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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA
HOLY SHIT! • Not My Tempo 7″ EP
HOLY SHIT! • Not My Tempo 7”
A split release with Snuffy Smile & Vinyl Smash
These guys have been around forever with out any real recognition. I think I first heard their What the Fuck 7”EP in 2005-06, and loved it for its speed, quirkiness, and nerdism. Its crazy too me that they’ve put out another ten or so 7” EP releases since then. By now somebody should help to do a proper LP release with these Milwaukee, Wisconsin quacks.
One of my favorite things about this record is that I don’t think any of the eight songs on this ripper even hit 1 minute in length (er…well maybe the last song does). You get the picture. Musically this stuff is super jazzy and intricate while mostly played at ferocious speeds. Goofy as fuck lyrics have you giggling along to this thrashy punk rock. I do think these guys owe a little something to STIKKY. I’m glad shit like this exists in 2019. (NW)
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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA
OBEDIENCE • MMXIX LP
OBEDIENCE • MMXIX LP
Obedience are back with a full length of ripping hardcore punk that does not waste a second getting down to business. From the opener “Abuse of Power” to the closer “Divide” it’s a relentless ride the whole way through with zero detours. Pedal the the metal! Get on or get mowed over. The songs are as catchy as they speedy, which is no easy feat. Check out “Snake Oil” and “Wall Me In” (a song that sticks in your head for days) for a couple of very good examples. Catchy doesn’t always mean tepid pop punk. “Empty Words” is blazing full on number that can slow the tempo down in a flash and lose none of the intensity set up by the main hammering pace, and Dave Ackerman’s vocals have this gnarled and strained quality about them that effectively conveys the urgency of the moment. I’m also hearing some Tony Erba influences in the delivery. “I Won’t” is wound up and white hot frantic that somehow manages to stay focused on the mission of crushing your head with sonic force. That short guitar solo from Kevin Alexander pushes it over into the roiling chaos that swirls around it. There’s also a good dose of East Coast influences with breakdowns throughout the record, giving the music more power and more impact to the fast full on assaults. Band personnel consist of folks from Tear It Up, Concrete Elite, Severed Head of State, Criaturas, Breakout, and Signal Lost, but don’t come into this expecting to hear snippets of those bands. Obedience is its own beast, seamlessly melding the past with the present, and creating something that doesn’t need to rely on past endeavors. Get with the times, and get this. (MA)
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Justin Dratson: JD Nate Wilson: NW Matt Average: MA
Who we are*
Who we are: A bunch of punk rock hasbeens/neverwasbeens. At the point in life where we go to shows and stand in the back, watching the clock as much as watching the bands, hoping the whole thing is over by midnight. Whereas, when we go see movie, it generally starts on time and ends at a decent hour. We are fans of genre cinema and sounds from the underground (if such a thing even exists anymore). We cover what we like, and sometimes do not like. What we do like is: Henry Silva, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Barbara Bouchet, Edwige Fenech, Carpenter, Fulci, Argento, Sergio Martino, spaghetti westerns, Black Flag, Judas Priest, Brainbombs, noise, hardcore punk, metal, Iron Maiden, Mob 47, Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, doom, Pam Grier, Sid Haig, Robert Forester, Rudy Ray Moore, Tank, Italian prog, Can, Ash Ra Temple, The Offenders, Articles of Faith, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Crossed Out, Totalitär, Mads Mikkelsen, Corman, Landis, Godzilla, kaiju, Seijun Suzuki, samurai, Kenji Fukasaku, Dick Miller, Amarok, Roberta Collins, Chuck Connors, Ancient Altar, Pagan Altar, Karen Black, Richard Stark, Anitra Ford, and on and on and on…
Send material for review (physical formats only, thanks) to:
PO Box 25605, Los Angeles, CA 90025
* We are not employees of the Aero, just patrons, and this line up best sums up what we’re into.
BAD TRANSFER 