SEWN SHUT "Rediscovering the Dead" Cd

(Selfmadegod Records - SMG 014)
Release date: 2005
Running time: 26:51

Review: Sewn Shut is, in my not so humble opinion, one the finest grindcore act Sweden has to offer... They're surely one of my personal favorites; for one reason in particular: they haven't completely abandonned the lower guttural, growling aspect of their vocals in favor of more and more ear-piercing screaming (like many grindcore bands seem to do these days) and the screaming parts are really more like angry shouts! They aren't unbearably high pitched and stays in a lower frequency I enjoy really... Anyway, this "Rediscovering the Dead" disc is somewhat similar to what Selfmadegod already did on their release of My Minds Mine's "48 Reasons to Leave This Planet"... This is a collection of all Sewn Shut's Split 7" Ep releases, not exactly a complete discography cd per se since I believe stuff like the band's first full Ep might be missing... The cd starts with the more recent, cleaner-sounding recordings and goes back in time getting slightly rawer along the way... Needless to say, despite the varying sound quality, this is all around solid grindcore from beginning to end... I remember enjoying the hell out of each and every one of these Ep's when I first heard 'em... and well, I still do now! It's interesting to hear them all in a row though... Honestly I found myself digging the older stuff a little bit more. It's slightly rougher-sounding but the energy found through these songs is that much more communicative! Constantly on the move, turbulent song structures, fast blasting drumming, flesh-ripping thrashing or sludgy guitar riffs, nasty bass sound, raging vocals so full of anger... Oh and short songs, rarely running over 1 minute. I may be totally out of line here but I was often reminded of Lärm or Siege when listening to this, of course also mixed with an additional Phobia/early Nasum-type thicker, more "metal" sound... In the end, Sewn Shut is one of the most important recent grindcore bands, at least for me... The cd layout here is simple but effective, in a dismal/lugubrious way... Unfortunately though, no lyrics to be found... Anyhow, a very worthwhile cd... Missing all that grindcory goodness on here would be a crime!

Tracks: 1)Where Night Falls All Day Long (0:48) 2)Progress (0:37) 3)The Charade (1:00) 4)Foreign Corporate Reorganization (0:57) 5)The Butchering (0:54) 6)Eruptions Of Violence (0:57) 7)Assess The Damage (0:49) 8)Cretinism (1:31) 9)Reduced To Nothing (0:53) 10)Twenty-Three Million Zombies (0:56) 11)Swear Of Destruction (1:05) 12)Four Star Opposition (0:57) 13)Charred Remains (0:35) 14)Fall To Extinction (1:11) 15)Cycle Of Despair (1:00) 16)Contamination (0:38) 17)Deteroriate (0:42) 18)Dissension (0:42) 19)The Rebirth Of Freedom (1:32) 20)Knives To Our Throat (1:04) 21)Children Of Wonderland (1:20) 22)Black Gold (0:37) 23)After The Storm (1:00) 24)Dying World (0:30) 25)The Final Chapter (1:22) 26)Consistency (0:45) 27)Night Of The Long Knives (1:07) 28)Hung By The Balls (0:18) 29)Bring Forth The Killers (1:04)

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 Website: www.sewnshut.da.ru
Contact: SEWN SHUT
Box 7092
200 42 Malmö
Sweden

(Lost & Found Records)
Release date: 1993 cd reissue of 1986 material

Review: This was demo material I think, originally released in 1986 or so... Here reissued on cd. Siege was some sort of grindcore precursor, like Repulsion for example. Well, their stuff is a mix of grind & hardcore/crust, with quite high pitched vocals, but we have damn fast parts and blasts there. If you know the band DROP DEAD today, it was about the same, but more than ten years before, lyrically and musically. All the songs are quite fast, except for the last one, which is totally hardcore. Anyway, this is important stuff in grind history. It influenced Mick Harris & Napalm Death later... You can find 2 cd re-issue versions of this material, from Lost & Found Records or Relapse Records (with different covers)

Tracks: 1)Drop dead 2)Conform 3)Life of hate 4)Starvation 5)Armageddon 6)Walls 7)Cold war 8)Sad but true 9)Frim reaper

(Stagnant Blood Records)
Release date: 1998
Running time: 24:18

Review: Well, this is good. I think this band did excellent with this record. It's rather classical death/grind, without uttermost extremity, but simply a bunch of really catchy straightforward tunes. This is really well performed, well written, songs aren't too short or too long... Fast and moderate parts are well balanced. The sound production is clear, could be more powerful, but it still sounds really good. Musically I'd describe them as Terrorizer meeting Righteous Pigs and late Brutal Truth. But I'm not saying they're better than these 3 bands together... They're just in the same vein. Maybe with a little more death metal influences (like old Massacre, Grave...). Mid-high pitched Screaming, Mid-low pitched Growling vocal types, heavy grindy guitar riffs, tight groovy drumming (but NO permanent blastings for those who wonder...). I seemingly enjoy listening to this cd. But I found some flaws (which are minor flaws really): like the fact that they use too many breaks and rythmic changes. And that the drummer should train a little more on blast parts. But I'm maybe too picky... I also think the cover artwork and design are quite bad. But aside from that, this is definitely an excellent cd.

Tracks: 1)Burned and buried 2)Fist of the northstar 3)Dry heave 4)End of you 5)Bloodclot soup 6)Blind date 7)T.S.S. 8)Chaos unleashed 9)Ascend to doomsday 10)24 seconds 11)Immanent disbelief 12)Drinking song

Contact: BRIAN SMITH
P.O. BOX 634 NEW CANEY
TEXAS, 77357
USA
(281) 686-0709

Release date: 1999

Review: Here we have some very unconventional music. I can't easily label this stuff. I don't remember having heard things of the exactly same genre in the past, I'll just refer to bands like Man Is The Bastard, but my knowledge about this kind of things is quite limited. I can only say that this piece of original music is most of the time raw, slow, doomy, sludgy kinda rockingdirtmetal with low-tuned (I may say not tuned at all at times) guitar riffs sounding like old Black Sabbath/early Cathedral, and rather high pitched vocals, a little screamy, a little hardcory with a few bizarre effects used too. There's also kinda grind/noise feel through it like some of the slowest Anal Cunt songs. This cd is regorging with experiments, like interesting changings of sound quality from song to song. Another part of it is also very calm music, some pop-influenced parts, with clean singed vocals, and even a few rare piano parts! Everything's although very dissonant and twisted, so very very interesting to my hears. Personally I enjoy this alot, this has a little "artistic" feel! why not? If you look for new sounds, bizarre metal and experiments; not a particular stereotypical music genre. Why don't you contact Sloth? Last thing; I noticed that Craig Rowe was playing drums on a couple of songs (he was the Hemdale drummer)

Contact: sloth po box 1251 mentor ohio 4401

SPLATTERHOUSE "The House That Dead Built" Cd

(Razorback Records - RR26)
Release date: 2004
Running time: 34:04

Review: Here is one mighty entertaining album... Gore/death metal with a grinding edge in now classic Oregon style, by that I mean quite close to for example Frightmare... However Splatterhouse's music is also allied to a touch of german splatter-death/grind type heaviness (Dead & early Sanity's Dawn)... This is all around superbly handled musically, with a very rich and varied composition work pretty much on the level of Exhumed, Impaled or Necrony... It's got downtuned and solidly thrashing guitar riffs, some nice, diverse and punishing drum work, excellent dual vocals (deep abrasive growls à la early Grave versus throaty shrieks similar to Carcass and Sanity's Dawn again). Song-writing is very consistent and with pretty inventive things for the genre too, tracks are all quite memorable; the band's not afraid of writing long-running songs, with successions of rhythmic changes from heavy, slow, midtempo parts to blasting or blazing fast parts, stuff that really remains catchy and surprising throughout, with some solid arrangements, and even a couple of smooth guitar solis... Very strong song-writing and musicianship then... If you've already heard the Split Cd w/ Gruesome Stuff Relish, I think the material here is slightly more elaborate and thought out, just really good work... For the rest, this is pure tongue-in-cheek Razorback-style horror fun... displaying many a facet of their gore/horror culture, from the band name Splatterhouse taken from that old video game to a slick photo collage of worldwide horror movie stills & comic book art... Also some very well-picked intros, perfect morbid mood-setters or just effective humorous touches (one of the tracks even has samples from Futurama!) In conclusion, a high standard offering from Splatterhouse... And a hearty recommendation from me!

Tracks: 1)Baptizing the Dead 2)Confessions of a Grave Robber 3)Mutilator 4)They Came From Within 5)Coffin Birth 6)Warmest Place to Hide 7)Night of the Creeps 8)Somewhere in the Yard 9)Hillside Stranglers (Dahmer Cover)

Label Website: http://www.razorbackrecords.com
Band Website: http://geocities.com/rottenabode

STOMA "Scat Aficionados" Cd

(Bizarre Leprous Productions - BLP 059)
Release date: 2004
Running time: 29:07

Review: Here's the first full-length release of Stoma hailing from Holland: simply a very enjoyable and nasty piece of gruesome goregrind... Totally in-your-face grindcory approach to song-writing, complete with blistering speed, mindblowing rhythms, some great razor-sharp riffing, awesome distorted bass sound, tight-as-fuck fast drumming, sick shrieking and splattery guttural grunts/growls. Stoma actually has some pretty high standards in terms of grindcore song-writing! Riffs are pretty well-thought and effective, the drum work is solid, just all around full-fledged grindy musicianship. Sound production is quite clear but with a flesh-ripping raw edge, you can hear the guitar riffs perfectly but the songs all have a really nice crunchy vibe... I'd say it sounds like a cross between Agathocles at their most grinding & Regurgitate with a pinch of Gut. You'll also find a cool Extreme Noise Terror cover version in there which further shows the extent of their influences... As you can probably tell by simply looking at the cover, imagery and song titles are just plain vile! Of course, it's all done with a lot of humor, gotta love the band members photoshopped into bestiality, scat and cripple porn pictures... If you fancy sleaze and fine goregrind, you should eat this up!

Tracks: 1)In Grind We Crust (1:24) 2)Sodomized At The Gay Parade (2:16) 3)Drastic Clit Castration (1:40) 4)Scat Aficionados (2:34) 5)Brutally Raped/Gently Dissected (1:23) 6)Cum Choked (1:58) 7)Kaviar Schlampe (1:49) 8)Corn Hole Armageddon (2:29) 9)Stepfather's Fate (1:47) 10)Climaxing The Paedophile (2:23) 11)Violent As(s)fuck (1:13) 12)Work For Never (1:29) 13)Feasting On A Vegan Cadaver (1:59) 14)Old Hags In Body Bags (1:22) 15)Oh My Gush (1:52) 16)My Kid Sister (1:29)

Stoma: www.stomagrindcore.nl

Bizarre Leprous Production: roman@bizarreleprous.cz - www.bizarreleprous.cz
Bizarre Leprous Usa: bizarreleprous@wi.rr.com - www.bizarreleprous.com

Release date: 2001

Review: Now that's really my kind of stuff. Very basic grind, Goregrind if you will, very bass-driven, very simple and very catchy. Just sticking to the essential parts of what makes the genre great, raw violence that comes from the guts. I'm not just saying that because the vocal effects sound like severe gastro-intestinal disturbances. Suffering Bastard just expels bad feelings right in your face and it's definitely not pretty. Really the visceral kind of stuff. They're quite heavy and remind me of something like Napalm Death on "Scum", old Retaliation stuff and Exulceration. Song topics are pretty much always around crass and nasty gore. The cover is a Giger painting with excrements of some sorts spilled on it at one spot. Oh well, I'm not sure I got that last part but it's great grind stuff anyway. Great grind stuff. Mark my words.

Tracks: 1)Un-holy Cannibal Feast 2)Ripped Apart by Maggots 3)The Fox 4)Adam's Song 5)Guano 6)Ass Fucked with a Nail Bat 7)Impaled on a Bean Pole 8)Blown to Bits 9)Anal Massacre 10)Zoot 11)Genital Waste 12)Icecream Man from Amsterdam 13)Ether Suffocation

Contact:
SxBx2000@yahoo.com

(Obscene Productions - OBP028)
Release date: 1999
Running time: 34:30

Suppository "Raised by Hatred" Review: What a blast! Suppository is post-nuclear sounding destructive grindcore; or mincecore, as you wish, with an intensely heavy, thick sound... A suffocating, brain-numbing style. Violent growls and very high pitched screams (plus a very few effects for gurgling arrangements), a thrashing, smoking fog of guitars, and a sharp fast mince-style drumming. A cross-over between Agathocles, Negligent Collateral Collapse, Agony Conscience and Abstain. They are from Holland. Matty, ex-Agathocles guitarist is also playing with Suppository! So, some clever "socially aware" lyrics, very interesting all the ways... just gotta read them! To me, a real, oh so big slap in the face, especially because I just discovered the band. It's a blast!
Tracks: 1)Same old bullshit 2)Doorway to destruction 3)Raised by hatred 4)Dehumanised 5)Life denied 6)Face the facts 7)Wake up call 8)Unrevealed 9)Clueless victims of society 10)D�ja vu?

Agathocles "Hunt Hunters" Review: And another Agathocles release! At least, one of the latest one! Like on Suppository side, the sound quality is quite good. This is new studio material, 9 tracks, in the continuity of "Humarrogance", really loud mince-core, with razor sharp thrashy guitars, fast, tight, swift drumming, composition always bathing into an intense ambient heaviness, as well as into pure, insane, extreme violence , of course. As always vocals are fucking sick, with raw screams, low grunts and very distorted, gurgling vocal effects! It seems that Agathocles is not ready to stop the madness right now! They have more energy than whenever in the past! They really found their own, personal mince-core style! It's a blast too! And always with sarcastic, sharp lyrics... I suppose you know that! Agathocles in a really excellent shape!
Tracks: 11)Intro/Without a clue 12)Careless wish 13)Rip the book 14)Irreversable decision 15)Decimation of rights 16)Slaves to the beat 17)Back in town 18)Sick shows sell 19)Hunt foxhunters