[April/May 2005]

INGROWING "Cloned & Enforced " Cd

(Obscene Productions - OBP 064)
Release date: 2006
Running time: 31:33

Review: So that's the third (I think) full length album by Ingrowing out of Czech Republic; I'm afraid I must have missed their second cd but anyway, this band has grown into a much more distinctive sounding band since their "Cyberspace" debut... They really sharpened their sound into grind/death that's much slicker, more diverse and cativating. I totally love the guitar sound, it's raw, incisive and always comes across totally clear, with some tight-as-fuck riffing that'll just shred you apart, there's a really awesome catchy thrashiness to it too... Guitars are rather high tuned, and a few songs also have some few death metal flavored melodic threads but overall it always keeps a steady grinding direction and an ultra-fast pace. The high speed drumming is some pretty amazing and powerful stuff, insanely tight and greatly varied, with tons of blistering blasts obviously but also lots of tempo changes and groove also preventing everything from getting stale... Lead vocals are earsplitting, twisted throaty shrieks with totally low, abrasive backing growls as counterpoint. Some of the other vocal choices can be a little out-there and awkward like the brief Bizarro-Jello Biafra-isms on track 3 or some clear spoken parts later on, but this kind of stuff is really kept to a minimum. The band has a pretty unique style that's all their own but if I really had to I'd say Ingrowing males me think of a fierce, slightly more sophisticated Blood, mixed with a catchier grind vibe like Birdflesh, it might be a crazy comparison but that's all I can come up with right now. Art and cd layout are a little generic but decent enough, as usual the band has their own sci-fi concept with lyrics written about clones and stuff, I'm not sure this stuff makes a lot of sense but at least it manages to feel pretty refreshing... All in all, awesome cd, loads of great songs, tons of speed and some really awesome riffs...

Tracks: 1)Life Stealth 2)Nanopunctures 3)New Flesh to Cultivate 4)Shapeshifting / Unidentification 5)Ground Subzero 6)Kill The Original 7)Tragic: The Gathering 8)Blind Light 9)Fight Might Be Right 10)Revolting Waste (Fuck the Hoax) 11)CyClone 12)Ionized Fluid Being 13)Mind Drillers 14)Enforce the Clones! (Kill The Copy) 15)Deletion - A Cyclic End

Label: www.obscene.cz
Band: www.ingrowing.wz.cz

NEEDFUL THINGS "Dead Point" Cd

Release date: 2006
Running time: 31:33

Review: This czech band has been around for quite a few years now, they've put out at least one demo and a handful of split ep's but this is their first actual full length Cd release. Expect nothing but fierce, in-your-face grindcore here, rife with speed, crushing low-tuned riffing & intense vocals... A raging blend of Brutal Truth, Nasum & Excruciating Terror influences and a nice balance between old school & more modern type grind... Fast blastbeat rhythms are quite prominent, songs are often fairly concise, expeditive but from time to time also boost groovier parts that are just as gripping and filled with anger... This stuff never gets sluggish. Vocals are just about equal part extreme shrieks & roaring growls (ok, the screaming parts might have the edge but not by much), the band's vocalist pretty much goes all-out here, the vocal delivery's pretty ballsy! Sound production's also quite heavy, pretty clean but with enough distortion to satisfy my craving for rawer vibes, in other words this stuff's tightly executed but with enough chaos thrown in to keep a rather spontaneous, grindy edge. Cd layout's looking pretty good, with a very Nasum-like design, lyrics come in slightly broken english but always manage to get the message across alright... The cd finishes with a pretty unusual choice for a cover version with a Napalm Death song off "Inside the Torn Apart" which would be another of the band's influences. Bottomline is this whole cd kept my interest from start to finish, this band plays grind the way I like it, I'd say they're one of the best if not the best czech grind band around, so just check 'em out!

Tracks: 1)Life In Lie (1:26) 2)Resignation (2:33) 3)Blind Followers (1:42) 4)Entombed (2:14) 5)Hybridism Lie As An Facts (0:58) 6)Mental Level: Zero (1:50) 7)Cancer As A Business (1:15) 8)Disease Of Mind / True Lie (4:23) 9)Pharmacology (2:23) 10)Controlled Madness (2:16) 11)Paradise In The Earth (2:00) 12)Phobia (2:05) 13)Fucking Judge Career (1:29) 14)Control (1:54) 15)Low Point (Cover Napalm Death) (3:05)

Label Contact: http://www.khaaranus.wz.cz/

Band Contact: Otto BERAN
Anenska 1296
PARDUBICE  530 02
CZECH REPUBLIC
psyrec@post.cz
www.psychotherapy.wz.cz
www.needfulthings.wz.cz

AGATHOCLES "Mincer" Cd

(Displeased Records)
Release date: 2006
Running time: 36:27

Review: So, Agathocles shifts to a new label for their new studio full length album... The band's line-up has been fluctuant along the years, but of course bassist/vocalist Jan is still the driving energy of the band as always and obviously Agathocles' very specific style and sound remains completely unchanged... I wouldn't say this cd reaches the heights of what is in my opinion their best release "Razor Sharp Daggers", I'd place it more along the lines of "Thanks for your Hostility" or "Humarrogance"... A kind of dark feel, with some prominent crispy, sizzling bass lines, tenacious roaring and gurgling shrieks, in-your-face drumming and quite basic and incredibly catchy song writing... The album never goes into too much of a punk/hardcore oriented vein but you can't ignore that alot of this stuff is actually pretty midtempo and that the band have gained some additional groovy angles and more metallic arrangements here and there... Sound-wise this stuff abounds in rawness, dissonance and distortion, the buzzing bass sound takes a front position and vocals are pretty often kinda drowned in the background, so I wouldn't say the mixing is totally perfect but overall alot of clarity is retained and the whole album is of course extremely listenable! I feel this cd might suffer from too much of a routine feel and not enough genuinely raging moments but hell, this is Agathocles so you can expect their usual standards of quality, that means well above most grind bands around these days... It also looks like the band gave some extra care to the laying out of their booklet this time with a pretty nice and slick design... Of course you'll find a complete lyric sheet with strong political content as always or it wouldn't be Agathocles! I love how the band has "No fuck off list... It's a waste of valuable paper for which too many trees already been down for." after so many releases and some of the thickest booklets ever, could Agathocles actually be evil destroyers of forests, haha!!! Anyway, a ton of fresh, grinding new Agathocles songs is always totally welcome, so it goes without saying, this new album comes highly recommended!

Tracks: 1)Dethrone The Tyrant (1:07) 2)Matadores Del Libertad (0:57) 3)Maze Of Papers (2:31) 4)Empty Frame (2:59) 5)War Fetisjists Kill (2:52) 6)Carved Face Fashion (0:11) 7)Forced To Masturbate (2:25) 8)Ergos - Thanatos (1:01) 9)Archives And Files (2:17) 10)Yuppie Career Freak (2:16) 11)Diary Of White Trash (1:56) 12)Bass The Gabbers (0:43) 13)Kurose (1:51) 14)Expendable Goods (2:02) 15)Class War Necessity (1:17) 16)Logical Exodus (2:02) 17)Misery = Destiny (1:54) 18)Pricks At Gigs (1:29) 19)Goredom - Boredom (2:26) 20)Where It Belongs (1:07) 21)Mincer (1:04)

Mp3: "Dethrone The Tyrant"

www.agathocles.com
www.displeasedrecords.com

TREPAN'DEAD "Obsessional Dysfunction" Cd

Release date: 2006
Running time: 39:40

Review: I see Trepan Dead is being advertised as death/grindcore but honestly this sounds completely, 100 hundred percent brutal death metal to me... Good and effective brutal death metal but still! Sound production is quite clear, meaty and very metallic... The style and sound here is extremely close to Monstrosity, with some additional Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation elements and an Inhumate-style french touch... Honestly this style doesn't really strike a chord with me right now, but Trepan'Dead keeps things interesting with pretty energetic song writing, a good enough amount of diversity and more importantly unrelenting speed... Vocals range from the growls to higher, vicious shrieking, some dual vocal work that really can only be described as a mix of George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher & Chris Barnes... Riffing is thrashing, heavy and pretty technical... Blastbeats can sound a little stitled at times, but otherwise the largest bulk of the drumming flows fine and works nicely, rhythmically speaking, of course you've got alot of double-bass work too... Really, all the staples of brutal death metal genre are there! Some of it could be compared to late Napalm Death too and you might argue a kind of grindcore influence is also infused through the lyrics, although again I'd say this stuff's closer to something like Dying Fetus. Anyway, overall a pretty awesome album, self-produced and totally professionally done... However my bet is this will appeal more to a brutal death metal audience than to grindheads out there...

Tracks: 1)Just A Little Incision (2:32) 2)It's Crap (1:53) 3)Suffer From Premature Ejaculation (2:43) 4)Cursed (2:19) 5)Awakening (2:47) 6)Drilling Machines (2:11) 7)Human Truth (3:33) 8)Light Burns My Eyes (2:44) 9)Ten Minutes Before Midday (3:04) 10)With Great Of Pickaxe Handle (2:06) 11)Mind Your Head When Getting Up (1:53) 12)Obsession (2:09) 13)I'm Not Nut (1:16) 14)U.G. (2:01) 15)Rien A Foutre (1:03) 16)After Us, The Maggots (3:06) 17)Eat (Cover Done By Goryptic) (2:20)

www.trepandead.com

LINCOLN LOVE LOG "Are You BBQ?" Cd

(Half Life Records - HL015)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 32:34

Review: Lincoln Love Log is a twisted, weird, carnivorous, distorted, at times grindy sludge duo! You've got a prominent raw, fuzzed out bass sound taking the forefront, rhythmically fuelled by mostly mid-tempo but still pulsing and kicking drumming... Everything then intensified by sick garbled shrieking and loud screeching vocals... Sound production comes in varying degrees of the sickest, most low fi kind of abrasion, maybe taking cues from the sound of crepitating meat?! Anyhow, expect something pretty rough, harsh and a little over all the place... Most of the cd has a really filthy rehearsal type of sound which I think really gives the band a special, energetic live type of feel which I'm digging a lot! I'm hearing Sloth, Today is the Day kind of sludge noise/experiment mixed with early Impetigo and Exit 13 wild grind in this stuff... But honestly Lincoln Love Log just does its own thing which is difficult to actually describe or label, they definitely have their own unique vibe, that's for sure and this cd is totally worth checking out, I think!

Tracks: 1)La Carne Picada (Chopped Meat) (2:17) 2)Are You Bbq? (1:33) 3)The Gurgles (0:40) 4)Pork Grind (DM) (1:35) 5)Chorizo (2:30) 6)Intestines (Part 2) (2:33) 7)...On The Grill (2:25) 8)Sweet And Sour (0:28) 9)Orgy Of Terror (0:27) 10)The Way In (3:27) 11)BBQ Lust (1:12) 12)In Your Skin (1:47) 13)Pink Taco (3:54) 14)Camel Toe/In My Sewer (6:02) 15)Dark Basement (1:44)

lincolnlovelog.home.insightbb.com
www.halfliferecords.com

NEGLIGENT COLLATERAL COLLAPSE "Sick Atoms" Cd

(Obscene Productions - OBP 069)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 36:43

Review: Czech death-grind band Negligent Collateral Collapse returns with this third (I think) full-length cd and things basically remain unchanged since the release of their last offering... Heavy and distorted riffing sludge, blasting electronic drumming and the some of the most extreme pig growls ever! Alot of this stuff is kept pretty midtempo and with alot of groove, although bursts into blastbeat grind can happen anytime. The big, catchy, meaty, low-tuned, grinding or thrashing riffs take the forefront, even with some occasional melodic hooks, the sick gurgling vocals actually add some rhythm to the mix too. Sound production is pretty fine to me, there's definitely an accent put on heaviness and bass tones; my only beef would be the drums which can sometimes be drowned under everything else, also electronic drumming can sound a little rigid and unnatural a times. Hard to find another band to compare NCC to, I'd say they sound alot like Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, they actually also have a very "brutal death metal" side to em I think... Anyway, NCC also keeps it up with their usual "science" concept with this time lyrics written like a narcotics catalog, going into the specific details of each drugs and stuff... All in all, this is simply some extremely listenable and fun basic, guttural, low-tuned death-grind!

Tracks: 1)Nitro (0:20) 2)Sick Atoms (1:20) 3)Heroin (2:55) 4)Tranquilizers (2:26) 5)Crack And Cocaine (1:52) 6)Hallucinogens (1:21) 7)Smoking (3:30) 8)Ecstasy/Herbal Ecstasy (2:16) 9)Alcohol (1:36) 10)The Facts (1:01) 11)Steroids (2:38) 12)GHB (0:43) 13)Ritalin (3:18) 14)Inhalants (1:14) 15)Methamphetamine (2:47) 16)Marijuana (1:06) 17)Ketamine (1:45) 18)Methcathinone (3:13) 19)Rohypnol (1:22)

www.obscene.cz

BOLESNO GRINJE "Pobjeda je Nasa" Cd

(Endless Brutality of Men Records)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 34:43

Review: It took me a while to find where this band was from... So anyway, I'm pretty sure they're croatian and they play some pretty nasty, raw-as-fuck, straightforward grind. Their sound is completely dirty, abrasive, distorted and with a definite live feel... Musically they're extremely energetic, totally focused on speed and intensity... Tons of crusty d-beat drumming but a healthy share of grindy blastbeat outbursts from time to time as well... Vocals are mostly roaring, angry growls with sometimes slightly more shrieking backing vox. Guitar riffing is pretty aggressive, sometimes with too much of a melodic line for my taste but this stuff has an excellent violent crust-grindcore vibe going for it, the band went insane with the distortion effects here too, this stuff sounds pretty fucking noisy, personally I like it but this might not be for everyone! You can still hear the bass pretty well in the mix too, and yeah, it's distorted as fuck too! If you love old school raw grind/crust like Extreme Noise Terror, Cripple Bastards, this is the band for you!

Tracks: 1)Introdukcija 2)Ne 3)Bolesno grinje 4)Nema powalka 5)Depresi}a 8)Osuoen na tapilju 7)Alarm 8)Noz u leba 9Jebem 11 posao 1O)#13 11Generacija zajeb 12 P. SA M.B.K.ZS. 13)Vjesanje br.176 14)Mrt av/pljan 15)Gledam u prazno 18 Trovanje 17-Bec teksta 18)...Je kraj

www.bolesnogrinje.com - bolesnogrinje@email.t-com.hr
Endless Brutality of Men Records: www.ebmrecords.com - contact@ebmrecords.com

CATHETER "Dimension 303" Cd

(Selfmadegod Records - SMG 019)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 35:19

Review: Hey, this album is pure grindcore fury, Catheter definitely delivers the goods here! This is their usual rough and tumble grindcore style, fast, raw and slightly hardcore-tinged (very much in Phobia's vein)... All-out anger, full speed, blasting drumming, blistering grind riffs, great, intense vocals filled with venomous rage. Everything here is tight, neatly flowing and delivered in a blazing fast manner; Taking originality is out of picture, I can't find anything done wrong on this album, it's pretty irreprochable really... Guitars have an extremely incisive, ripping edge, instruments don't seem to be as low-tuned as most bands nowadays which gives this stuff an extra raw, biting quality! Drumming is super fucking tight and going at pretty overwhelming speeds too! My promo copy is a lame cardboard thingie so I can't comment on the whole cd layout, this art doesn't look that hot to me though, I reckon it has a cool Napalm Death/"Utopia Banished" kinda thing going for it and I'm all for hand-drawn art but this doesn't exactly catch the eye, I'm sure the band would benefit from slightly slicker designs! Anyway, my review in a nutshell: this is one hell of a good grindcore album!!! Oh and is it me or Catheter is an extremely underrated band? They kick so much ass!

Label Contact: Selfmadegod c/o Karol Pienko / POB 46 / 21500 Biala Podlaska / Poland
tel# (+48) 600 87 82 17
E-mail: karol@selfmadegod.com - karolsmg@o2.pl
Website: http://www.selfmadegod.com

Band: www.sensitivewormrile.net

WOJCZECH "Sedimente" Cd

(Selfmadegod Records - SMG 020)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 23:49

Review: This band really sounds like a blend of distinct influences, death metal & grindcore being the major, most obvious ones... Songs often open with some terrific devastating grindcore or crust parts blasting away, which sadly too often dissolve into slower midtempo chugging, sludgy or thrashing segments, honestly this stuff taps a little too much into a metal/progressive vein for my taste at times; some parts go a little too overboard into a sickly bland metal style, which is a shame because otherwise I really dig the more grindy parts... So, I'm getting a sorta half-hearted impression about this stuff. Anyhow, musically the band still keeps a sinister and very aggressive vibe throughout, which is appreciated. In the vocal department, we've got dual roaring/shouting and shrieking voices, often brought together in pretty wicked assaultive choruses. I guess this band is typically in the vein of bands released by Selfmadegod like Antigama, Toxic Bonkers... Kind of a crossover between Nasum, Groinchurn & late Sepultura/late Kreator for the more metal side. Anyway, this album benefits from a good heavy sound production, guitars and bass have a pretty nice, thick texture and the catchy, diverse drumming has some cool depth to it... If Wojczech concentrated more on the catchy, kick-ass fast parts, I'm sure I'd dig them tons more, the band seems to aim a different objective than playing simple, basic grind, heh!

Tracks: 1)Krebskult (1:34) 2)Superparadigma (2:27) 3)Wachkoma (2:36) 4)Graufilter (1:12) 5)Holzklasse (1:58) 6)Macht Der Beseelten (0:59) 7)Kein Gesicht (1:12) 8)Dogmafalle (2:39) 9)Tunnel (2:55) 10)Redeschleife (2:04) 11)Letzer Ausgang Opferrolle/Reste Der Vergangenheit (4:13)

Label Contact: Selfmadegod c/o Karol Pienko / POB 46 / 21500 Biala Podlaska / Poland
tel# (+48) 600 87 82 17
E-mail: karol@selfmadegod.com - karolsmg@o2.pl
Website: http://www.selfmadegod.com

Band: www.sensitivewormrile.net

ANTIGAMA "Zeroland" Cd

(Selfmadegod Records - SMG 020)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 24:00

Review: This new release from polish band Antigama's got some good stuff in it, I can't say I wholeheartedly enjoyed as a whole though... What we've got here is a good grindcore base with some "experimental" parts stitched upon it... Some pulsing and blasting rhythms, weirdly fractured song structures, almost constant breakdowns, quite diversified vocals from ear-piercing shrieking to *gasp* clean, almost sung vocals! It sort of sounds like the band is trying to make their impression of Dillinger Escape Plan, perhaps with more of the brute sound of late Brutal Truth/Napalm Death. This stuff sounds experimental for the sake of experimenting, unfortunately this stuff does not always sound integral to the songs, I can't always feel the soul within this stuff man!!! So yeah, I can't say I totally, utterly digged this album, songs might too often be meandering and repetitive and the "clean" vocals really don't work except in a grating way in my opinion... Still, you've got tons of really nice, grind riffing and savage intensity that are totally salvageable here, I mean this is pretty damn solid stuff. This cd is advertised as the band's third full length but the last 9 minute track is merely an ambient noise track, so it's more like you're getting 15 minutes of actual music right?! I'd say this is really more like a full length Ep, but that's maybe just me! Recommended to people into more "progressive" metallic grind out there!

Tracks: 1)Seed (1:24) 2)Izaak (1:18) 3)Jazzy (1:34) 4)Starshit (1:25) 5)How (2:32) 6)The View (1:57) 7)Wounded Butterfly (1:35) 8)Sorry (2:47) 9)Zeroland (9:28)

Label Contact: Selfmadegod c/o Karol Pienko / POB 46 / 21500 Biala Podlaska / Poland
tel# (+48) 600 87 82 17
E-mail: karol@selfmadegod.com - karolsmg@o2.pl
Website: http://www.selfmadegod.com
Band: www.sensitivewormrile.net