[February/March/April 2005]

SQUASH BOWELS "Love Songs " Cd

(Live Stage Productions - LSP001 )
Release date: 2005
Running time: 29:51

Review: Polish grind masters come back with this devastating new offering and a much purer grindcore styling than any of their previous cd's... Speed and crushing heaviness are the rule here.... Add to that a top notch sound production, well-rounded song writing, intricate riffing, tight-as-fuck drumming, impressive vocal work, this is just all around great work! It's pretty obvious a certain Nasum inspiration transpires through it all, especially with dual roaring/growl & manic shriek attacks (which can feel a little forced at times), but still, you'll find plenty of the good old Squash Bowels trademarks there, a nice and thick guitar sound, damn catchy and heavy riffs and a bit of Dead Infection-esque splatter wrapping things up nicely. The band also reprises Gut's "Wound Fuck" in the last half of the cd, a pretty surprising choice for a cover version! The bonus track have a slightly harsher, more saturated and distorted sound quality to them but are still pretty nice and intense... This cd probably contains some of the most furious Squash Bowels material yet, each song is a new punch in the face, everything's tight and perfectly in place... Conclusion: Simply a first-rate grindcore album and a definite must-have for any self-respecting grindfreak!!!

Tracks: 1)Dead Field (2:06) 2)Grind Standart (1:36) 3)Ungovernable (1:18) 4)Syringe With Wit (1:57) 5)Searching For The Kill (3:15) 6)Stinker Spoiling For A Fight (2:30) 7)More Our Colours (1:58) 8)To Flash The Hash... (1:27) 9)Ruthless Rabble (1:57) 10)Swinish Snout = Liar (1:27) 11)Naive... (2:18) 12)Wound Fuck (Gut Cover) (1:42) 13)Fuck Instructor (1:03) 14)Neuron (Bonus Track) (3:04) 15)Sick Control (Bonus Track) (2:13)

BATHTUB SHITTER "Dancehall Grind" Cd

(Super Hit Jam Records)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 40:04

Review: So this is the new Bathtub Shitter album, it took me a few songs to really get into this album but I think this is really good stuff... The album starts with a short, wacky nintendo-type melody intro, and for a second I panicked and thought I listening to a new S.M.E.S. release but thankfully things get louder and thrashier on the second track (though still reprising the introductory melody as chorus!), it's a good glimpse of this album... Tthe style here is much more diverse and humorous than their old stuff, the main thing here is still a kind of grind & thrash metal hybrid, in many ways reminiscent of what SxOxB used to do on albums like "Gates of Hell" & "Vicious World"... But then the band at times also breaks into funk, mix their songs with rock n' roll riffs, inject some groovy rhythms, or even cover a D.R.I. song when they feel like it! The largest bulk of the cd is however pretty straightfoward and grindy and the remaining influences are more like spicing... Vocals are exactly the same type of grumpy growls and whiny, high-pitched, almost comical screams Bathtub Shitter has always been using... The sound mix is just fine, everything can be heard loud and clear, that's good enough for me. None of the lyrics seem to make much sense, but it's all good fun anyway, I remember getting the incredibly brilliant idea of calling a song "Rest in Piss" as a joke in the past, well Bathtub Shitter actually does so on this cd! In summary, a solid, thrashing, grinding, humorous & at times pretty surprising album... Not for everyone I guess but if you're open-minded enough you should be able to dig this...

Tracks: 1)Introduction (0:22) 2)Skate Of Bulgaria (3:21) 3)World Dun Hole (4:16) 4)Umber (3:27) 5)Hello Alone (1:57) 6)Re-Shit (2:57) 7)The End Of The Rainbow (3:33) 8)Time Out (originally by D.R.I.) (4:39) 9)Everybody Has The Wet (3:02) 10)Shit Drop (instrumental) (1:34) 11)Rest In Piss (7:08) 12)PS From BS (1:03) 13)Stihs Latem (bonus track) (2:45)

HOGCALLER/HEADCRASH SPlit Cd

(Last House on the Right - HAUS 022)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 18:42

Hogcaller Review: Hogcaller's got some ex-Exit 13 personel in it, and you'll definitely hear a few similar characterics here although this is much rougher, basic and lof-fi material... I'd describe this as manic and eccentric grindcore, with pounding drum-machine rhythms, rapid, squeaking vocals, discordant alien shrieks, scorching distorted, fuzzed out catchy guitar riffs... Plain weird, raw, noisy and aggressive kind of stuff... but with a unique, unsettling and sort of surrealistic (probably drug-induced) aura about it... If I had to, I'd compare this to a really bizarre version of Total Fucking Destruction... Of and here's a release I would loved to have a lyrics sheet for once!!!
Headcrash Review: Headcrash plays much more obvious sounding drum-machine grind. Very straightforward grind riffs, drums blasts and then spewing, retching type of vocals with tons of effects... This is decent stuff, at least much better than an old demo I remember hearing from them... Not the most groundbreaking thing ever but a couple of neat little raging grind songs! Not a bad split cd at all then!

Tracks: Hogcaller: 1)Proper Parasite Mannerisms 2)Hanging The Entrails (Blood Sausages) 3)The Black Oracle Of Poseidon's Daughter 4)Fall From Bridge High Up 5)Touched By Tentacles 6)Don't Talk Just Listen To Me 7)The Cause
Headcrash: 8)When Paranoia STeps In/Mental Error/Senseless Terror/Read to Kill 9)Brainshift 10)Spirituosal Healing 11)Locked & Mindfucked

LAST HOUSE ON THE RIGHT
c/o Bill Yurkiewicz
Post Office Box Thirteen,
Washington Boro, PENNSYLVANIA
17582 United States of America

lasthouseonright@aol.com
members.ebay.com/aboutme/lasthouseontheright

FRIGHTMARE "Bringing Back the Bloodshed " Cd

(Razorback Records)
Release date: 2006
Running time: 50:42

Review: Slasher movies and death metal brought together... It doesn't get much better than this! With an equal amount of thrash and death metal influences, this album sounds like a mix of "Masters of Puppets" & Exhumed/Impaled style death metal, so basicly the same formula as "Midnight Murder Mania" but hey, it's a damn good formula! Frightmare has Lord Gore personel as core members, so there's also an obvious resemblance there too, some similar guitar playing and vocal styling (especially Gurge's very particular splattery guttural growls) but Frightmare defintely has a tighter, more upbeat thrash metal vibe which gives the whole thing a pretty different vibe. Musicianship is terrifying, with incredibly catchy riffing and expert shredding that's bound to leave you gasping in awe! Many 5 minute songs and not a boring second, that's masterful song-writing to me... Also worth noting is the heavy and thick sound production which is taking much bigger proportions than the debut album, I'd say this is one of the best sound production in Razorback history for sure! As for the obscure slasher movie references, this should satisfy even the most demanding horror geek, with a Sleepaway Camp tribute song opening the album, and more homages to flicks like "Don't Go into the House", "The Mutilator", "Humongus", "Driller Killer" along the way, cheesy horror lovers should get a kick out of this... The cd also closes with an inspired cover version of Laaz Rocket's "Leatherface", straight from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 3" soundtrack! The true final note is a killer Metallica "Motorbreath" jam though!!! All in all, simply an incredibly satisfying album, everything sounds just right here, so I'm giving this near full marks for sheer entertainment value!

Tracks: 1)Intro (0:11) 2)Angela (5:06) 3)Friday The 13th part 2 (5:10) 4)Barbecutioner (5:21) 5)They Were Warned (4:29) 6)By Sword , By Pick , By Axe , Bye Bye (5:57) 7)Terry Hawkins Arise (3:30) 8)Slayride (5:04) 9)The Island Of Humonguos (3:33) 10)The Blood Runs In Rivers (3:35) 11)Bringing Back The Bloodshed (3:50) 12)Leatherface (Laaz Rocket cover) (4:56)

www.razorbackrecords.com
www.slashermetal.com

FUNEROT "Invasion from the Death Dimension " Cd

(Razorback Records)
Release date: 2006
Running time: 26:50

Review: If Engorged, Ghoul & Frightmare showed signs of thrash metal influences well this is actually the most full-on thrash thing Razorback ever put out! I'll just say staright away I feel this is definitely gonna rank among my very fave Razorback releases for a while. This is the ultimate throw-back at 80's thrash metal S.O.D./Anthrax & Metallica "Kill 'Em All" era style! Musicianship & song-writing are pretty mindblowing here with virtuoso blazing fast guitar shredding, honestly my fingers hurt and cramp just listening to this stuff! Song after song Funerot keeps piling up terrific and memorable riffs, always keeping an exciting and fun spirit but always with a definite focus on speed and aggression, "Reign in Blood" way! Vocals also take an unambiguous 80's thrash slant with a clear, semi-spoken or shouted, S.O.D./Slayer/Repulsion-type bad-ass delivery! Straying away from typical death metal growls and totally getting back to thrash roots, though avoiding screeching high-pitched squeaks (thankfully?!) you often hear on some of these 80's thrash metal records, ha! Sound production is really awesome; great, natural, beautifully rendered guitar sound, twisted basslines, killer distortion, kick-ass drumming, all skilfully mixed and with all the riffs coming out perfectly clear... Everything here has a fresh, raw edge with vivid, in-your-face rehearsal type energy! Damn, I wish more albums would sound like this! The band also writes some nifty horror lyrics with a crazy sci-fi bent and some brilliant humor: killer robots, death by drano, that type of stuff; cool-as-hell layout adorned with really neat hand-drawn art too, I love this stuff! So yeah, this cd is simply superb, clearly a passionate effort, short but intense... Just a breeze of fresh air really and successful in every possible way in my opinion... Definitely don't pass up on this!

Tracks: 1)The Interceptor (3:28) 2)Mandroid (2:01) 3)The Man With The Megaton Mind (2:45) 4)Death Or Die (1:04) 5)Death By Draino (2:59) 6)Radioactivation (1:30) 7)Invasion From The Death Dimension (2:32) 8)Phase Zero Morbidvision (3:02) 9)Exterminate The Macrohumaniod (2:16) 10)1-900-DTH-LINE (1:13) 11)Tyrranosaur (2:53) 12)Aftermath (1:07)

www.razorbackrecords.com
www.funerot.com

EMBALMING THEATRE "The World is a Stage for Murder" Cd

(No Escape Records - NE 018)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 34:43

Review: This band doesn't slack around, they always keep helming new releases! and judging from their list of upcoming releases, they're well on their way of becoming the new Agathocles! This is their latest full length cd, the second one after "Sweet Chainsaw Melodies" ("Hormones from the Dead" was only a Mcd). As usual, this is a nice slice of sastisfying Grind/Death entertainment, going back to the basics of old school grinding death metal, with thick, heavy, chainsaw-like guitar riffing, blasting and crushing rhythms, throat-torturing guttural growls, etc... Just keeping things simple, fast, catchy and fun. It might only be an impression, but the guitar tone this time around sounds much more incisive and ripping, anyhow I like it! You probably already heard me refer to Blood & Hideous Mangleus as probable influences for Embalming Theatre's style before in past reviews, and well this album actually contains a Hideous Mangleus cover version so I wasn't completely wrong with that one, heh! Some humorous touches can also be found therein like a wacky mix of death/grind and blues in the last song and some pretty out there art direction... Honestly I didn't dig the art and layout as much as the cool stuff they did on "Hormones from the Dead", but anyway that kind of stuff isn't the most important thing. The band continues with their string of dark-humored, reality-based lyrics which are always a cool read! Overall, some very nice death/grind here... So yeah, this one gets the Braindead stamp of approval!

Tracks: 1)Buried Alive VI: Stabbed, Beaten And Pregnant (0:59) 2)Amputation Of The Wrong Leg Pt II (1:51) 3)Punched, Burned, Strangled And Decapitated (1:02) 4)Living With The Mummy (1:44) 5)Dead Garbage II: Strangled Babies Shoved In Bags (1:04) 6)Skull Soccer Pt II (2:00) 7)Get High On A Dead Dog (1:21) 8)Registered Sex Offender Lives Here (2:06) 9)Foetal Remains In A Trash Compactor (2:16) 10)The World Is A Stage...For Murder! (2:39) 11)Sex Slaves (1:36) 12)Self Devourment (Cover Hideous Mangleus) (1:41) 13)He Ate His Own Penis (1:10) 14)He Attacked Her With A Chainsaw (1:44) 15)Bake The Baby (1:03) 16)Severed Head In My Hand (2:08) 17)Hot Wedding And Burning Hearts (1:25) 18)Bulldozer Blues (6:54)

http://www.noescaperecords.com
http://www.embalmingtheatre.ch

LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER "buscando una respuesta" Cd

(Living Dead Society - LDS 003)
Release date: 2005

Review: Hey, I'm just gonna go the easy route again for this one and re-use my review of the Lp version... The only difference with this cd version is that it takes less space and you can carry it around more easily hence the name compact disc... Some of the track endings sound a little abrupt at times (I'd have to check the Lp again to see it sounds the same), but it might simply be the desired effect... Anyhow, here goes my actual review - Looking for utterly blistering, feral Grindcore with crisp sound production? Well look no further... Unrestrained speed, devastating aggression, this Lp never lets go... Overwhelming and exhilarating raging violence from start to finish... Some damn catchy tunes, a masterful use of breakdowns and all-out moshings... This stuff just feels so incredibly liberating... the way only fine grindcore can... A very clear but fierce sound production helps alot but song-writing is also really genius here; Certainly this is calculated grindcore chemistry, but not to worry... Not overly technical or anything, it's just well-organized, gutsy, in your face savagery! Vocal-wise, dual low guttural roaring/pissed off shrieking aggression is law... Add to this implacable riffage, a monstrous bass sound and crushing drum-blasts and you get Looking for an Answer! There appears to be a new wave of spanish grindcore bands on the rise, some really swell bands... It's the very first time I'm actually listening to Looking for an Answer, but they've been around since 1999... Previous incarnations of the band were known to use a drum-machine, but believe me this Lp contains nothing but real live drumming and this stuff absolutely destroys... Tight, fast as fuck, leaping and bouncing... This stuff will make you wanna completely thrash the place! Really... Each song on this lp amounts to more and more brutal intensity... Of course, it also ends on a very anti-climatic chill-out reggae-type jamming session entitled "Crustafari"! haha... But these guys are in total control here... The artwork and layout is simple and gorgeous. Lyrics are in spanish but also translated into english for people who didn't take spanish in school or just skipped it alot (like me): politically-charged stuff, straight and to the point! Oh and Looking for an Answer contains members like Inaki from Denak (R.I.P.) on the sing and Ramon who also plays in Unsane Crisis... My final words: Simply one of the best bands there is in the field of Grindcore nowadays... The only defect I could detect on this release is that its whopping 15 tracks are over too fast!

Tracks: I: 1)Machoviolencia 2)Cybercrack 3)Mas Alla de su Razon 4)tierra 5)Caminando en la Direccion Equivocada 6)Dogmatico 7)Cerrojo por Cerebro 8)Excluidos por el Sistema
II: 9)Genocidio Educativo 10)Verdera Amistad Falsa 11)Hablais de Solidaridad 12)Aislamiento 13)Los Olvidados 14)Medios de la Mendira 15)Crustafari

Label: www.livingdeadsociety.com
Band E-mail/Website: unsane_crisis@hotmail.com - http://www.lookingforananswer.cjb.net

NOISEAR "Red Tape Agenda " Cd

(Blastasfuk Productions)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 18:14 (16 Tracks)

Review: This is one of the first cd's getting released through Blastasfuk, a label from Roby, the guy behind bands such as The Kill & Openwound... Keep these names in mind because the style of Noisear in question here is exactly in this vein: intense, blistering grindcore, a bubbling mass of thrashing distorted guitars, buzzing bass, extremely fast and tortuous drumming, raucous, monstrous growling lead vocals and piercing, shrieking backing vocals... Imagine something corrosive to your ear-drums and that turns your brain to bloody pulp. Sound production is harsh and rugged which totally fits the band's music here. The intensity of this cd is almost energy-draining, everything sounds so blunt, dirty and filled with terrifying rage; you can really feel the blood and sweat that went into this! I reckon Noisear might be grating in large quantities but this cd is just 18 minutes though which feels like exactly the right amount to me. A speedball of raw, ferocious grind!

Label: Blastasfuk - thekill@iprimus.com.au - http://www.geocities.com/blastasfuk/
Po Box 133 Deer Park Melbourne VIC Australia 3023