Painkiller "Guts of a Virgin" EP Review

PainKiller “Guts of a Virgin” EP

   I recently checked out this bizarre concoction of avant garde jazz and grind core known as Painkiller after discovering that this was the brainchild and project of saxophonist John Zorn(Naked City), drummer Mick Harris(ex Napalm Death/Scorn), and Bill Laswell(Massacre). In a nutshell, the album is basically a jazz session with hints of old school grind making its presence known on several of the albums tracks The material is basically improvisation based not to say that some of the material wasn't premeditated.. The vocals are very chaotic and spastic sounding which definitely mixes well with the chaotic musical structures. The drum break in the beginning of “Damage to the Mask” and the saxophone solo on “Dr.Phibes” are definitely stand out moments for me on this record, and to understand this band fully I would just check out the entire album. If anyone has doubts about grind core and jazz being good bedfellows, this record will definitely change your mind. 

Khanate "Clean Hands Go Foul" LP Review

Khanate “When Clean Hands Go Foul” LP

  I’ve been definitely treading into more experimental and doom based music as of late, and I would have to say that Khanate’s “Clean Hands Go Foul” is definitely one of the more dark and abstract albums I’ve checked out recently. The album is almost very free jazz based especially on the drums- courtesy of Tim Wyskida (Jodis).The guitars and bass on this record are more or less used to create abstract sounds than actual riffs with  Stephen O Malley(Sunn O)) ) creating delayed notes that ring out for ages mixed with James Plotkins'(Jodis) very heavily distorted bass lines and sporadic synth lines.  Together, along with the tortured crones of vocalist Alan Dubin(ex O.L.D. and GNAW) you can sense his emotions of discontent and anger for normal society.  For me, the album is very Abruptum-esque minus the black metal elements.  It’s very sporadic and improvised, but seems to mesh perfectly together. This to me is some of the darkest stuff I’ve heard, and even though it’s not as heavy as their previous work, it has definitely worked out for them when all was said and done.

Encounters"Houses" EP Review

Encounters “Houses” EP

  Jacksonville’s Encounters, which is the project started last year by Ryan Reno(NRIII) and Todd Watson(Husere Grav), brings an elegant mix of dark, atmospheric ambient and drone to the table with their debut EP “Houses”. I ended up checking them out recently and was very impressed. The live set was a lot noisier than the recording, and even though I enjoyed them live, I really wish the live dark space atmosphere would have come out better in the live scenario. The atmospheres are very space sounding and dark locking you in a meditative state of mind. The feeling can be described as being encased in a dark room, or traveling into the unknown abyss of space.  One could also describe it to the close audio configuration to near death experience. I can definitely see this material being presented on a soundtrack for a silent film. Even though each track differs from the next, they all seem to coincide very well together, making for one composition with sections similar to an orchestral piece. I definitely can’t wait to see what these guys have in store for us in the future…

Cystgurgle "Regurgitant Slurp of Mashed Embryo" EP Review

Cystgurgle “Regurgitant Slurp of Mashed Embryo” EP

The goregrind drum and bass duo of Goredick (Small Pox Aroma/ExPxWx) and Niose (Masochist) bring an utterly disgusting, vomit-soaked laden batch of groovy and fast goregrind to the table with their EP “Regurgitant Slurp of Mashed Embryo” EP. The album is the typical gore grind, offering gory photos, song titles, and disgusting vocals with the music to match. Even though I’m a fan of Small Pox and ExPxWx, I like the fact that this band seems to be a bit more controlled and not so sporadic at times separating it from the other projects they are involved in. The grooves are very punchy and punk- esque, and the blasts are still menacing and aggressive in the same breath. The vocals seemed to be a bit high in the mix, burying the music at times, but overall, I have to say I enjoyed this recording very much.  Some of my favorite tracks included “Scattered Cadaveric Mess”, “Anally Devouring Prolapsed Intestines”, and “Fist Fucking Dead Tracheal Tissues”.  Certain highlights I personally enjoyed were the vocal hangout on “Tongue Slipping on Larvae Ridden Peritoneum” and Pulmonary Fibrosis’s “Facial Mastication Cadaveric Sub Tumours” to end off the album.  This, to me, definitely added to the entirety of the album.  I recommend this to fans of Last Days of Humanity, Cock and Ball Torture, Die Pigeon Die, and Methadone Abortion Clinic

March/April Issue Posted

April has been a busy month so it's taken some time for us to post this issue, but here it is!! I hope everyone enjoys it.The issue contains the following:

Reviews by Joe:

Gaul "Self Titled" EP, Sexual Atrocities" Planet of the Rapes"LP, Arktau Eos "Unworeldes" LP Review and Lustmord " The Place Where the Black Stars Hang" LP Review

Poems by Joe:

Disorder, Chaos, Repeat and State of Disarray

Poems by Masami

Arrows, The Sleeping Calendar and Gallivants

Have ideas composed for the May/June issue stay tuned...

Gallivants

Gallivants

The young captain’s ship softly sleeps at the docks, that smell of wine & rum. Where he writes of the trailing escapades of which the sailors sung! For he knows seldom but this land of birth, as conversation is the caravan in which he travels, Inking photographs of sound, for these lively streets are the theater he's found, & the gargoyles lean in to listen... Pitching lines in the pub, & I starve to state the words they sense, for they cannot be heard. Sculpted in stone & fated to lie like a seraphim slain in its cradle, but when will the noose of Odin be severed with the blade of wisdom's dagger?! As the crows oracle is only felt at the flashback of midnight's peak! Oh daybreak, you are but a dancer in the shadows of this ballroom. Unbridled by the lusts of a pure art! & you roam about in this quiet countryside like a headless heathen on the run, Stalked by the harrowing trigger of an impulsive marksman's gun. As funerals are the future... So, Come! Come! Celebrate & Gather! For these catacombs bear the pleasant air of a fragrant coffee shop.

The Sleeping Calendar

The Sleeping Calendar

Nostalgia scratches the days off a sleeping calendar. Tracing the butterflies in your stomach, But this sketch never appears to draw to a conclusion... & you'd found me writing in circles, of seasons the world forgot.Oh why must we travel to the ends of the earth when we return?! & I rest these reveries in the rain, but this chessboard remains at a stalemate, & Oh how the pawn ponders upon which square he shall wander? Stroking this snare to the rhythm of these velvet verses, & there we were on another holiday at the hangover hotel. Staggering with visions in the cities of Apollo, where alleyway artists revel in pungent pits of poetry & drunken thrones tumble like houses of cards. & so we traded in the records of our lives for a loaf of bread, but that won't be the final headline the newspapers said. For tomorrow we'll find ourselves far far away from these empty towns, laughing merrily on the rooftops!