Slang - Glory Outshines Doom

Slang has always been a bit of an anomaly.  They're the only ones (that I know of) that mixed 80's Japanese Hardcore with 90's New York Metallic style.  They never could quite pull off the mosh riffs, so I'm glad they've left all the "pit riffment" behind and have given us a no-frills D-Beat assault.  They're new, focused style has them sounding better than ever.  There is some Metal influence creeping in here and there, but in a much more Crusty fashion a la Filth of Mankind/Misery.  The production is decently clear, but brittle.  But hey, you can never expect too good of production with this kind of shit.

lookin' california, and feelin' minnesota

Martyrdöd - Paranoia

You know how people are always saying "their first album was amazing, but everything after that sucks"?  Well, I often find myself saying the opposite.  It can take a band a decade's worth of albums before they've reached the level of maturity that my exquisite pallete demands.  Such is definitely the case with Swedish D-Beaters Martyrdöd.  Their vaguely Metallic Crustcore never quite drew me in.  Their riffs were just a little too ordinary and they never brought enough of the Black Metal influence that (their cheerleader) Felix Havoc would go on and on about.  Usually Crustcore bands keep toiling away with the same formula (Wolfbrigade, Wartorn) their entire career, which is fine if you love that style.  Thankfully, Martyrdöd have bucked that tradition and have shown great progression since I last heard them in '05.  The Black Metal presence has increased as well as the overall songwriting.  Aside from a couple of straightforward bashers, these songs actually develop and have depth.  The tones have better "texture" and there's some real melodies being played (not just two-chord overdubs).  Yes, this is still Crustcore and inherently modest in techincality, but is a million times more interesting than the contemporaries relying only on distortion and militant politics.

   

good taste is easy to recognize... 

Parasitic - Poison Minds

Parasitic (I'm intentionally spelling it wrong) are somewhat of a supergroup with members paying dues in slightly better-known bands: Cannabis Corpse, Behind Enemy Lines, and Morne.  Those bands were all fine for what they were, but always fell a little short of my standards.  Thankfully, Parasitic very much delivers.  Poison Minds is a concise blast of serious, stinky Thrashing.  Parasitic remind me of the English "Stench-Core" originators Hellbastard and Deviated Instinct, mixed with modern purveyors of the genre Hellshock and Age.  If you're not hip to all this Crust Punk jargon, imagine Discharge playing Slayer covers and you won't be far off.  The riffs are outstanding, the song quality is consistent, and the musicianship is above average for this sort of thing.  You can't lose!

egregious bladder

Ursut - Dårarnas Paradis

Simple music deserves a simple review:  The best Crust/Core album in years.  D-Beat Apocalypse!!!

 

slamcamp

Brut - Brut

Interesting...  Definitely Hardcore, but getting any more specific by type is rather difficult.  Likely, Brut have been influenced by every kind of "harder" Punk from the past three decades.  What I can tell you is that it's vaguely dark, plenty angry and strongly mid-paced.  The production fits in perfect; very live sounding without any annoying harshness or "hiss".  My only complaint is that the drumming is rather plain and metronomic.  Although, in Hardcore you can't expect too much "virtuosity".  Beyond that, all I can say is that it's good.  You're gonna have to come up with your own descriptions.

brah I like sample...

mean cuz!

Moksha - Sang De Roure

It's been forever since that last post, hasn't it?  Luckily, I've come across several cool new finds during my absence.  Because it's been so long, I think you guys deserve a double post.  The first one is a bottom-heavy bruiser from Spain.  I'm usually a sucker for sludge/hardcore/metal hybrids, so it's right up my alley too.  Moksha deliver equal parts High on Fire, Trap Them, and His Hero is Gone for a decidedly bassy, crushing and probably weed-influenced experience.  It's dynamic and varied without being "mathy", so don't worry about it making your simpleton head hurt like some of my "proggier" posts. 

  Moksha "Sang de Roure" by BCore Disc

like a flesh tuxedo

To What End? - Concealed Below the Surface

It's been a dry spell for good downloads recently, so I had to reach back into cd collection once again to bring you this one.  It's another crusty winner from the very underrated Crimes Against Humanity Records.  To What End? is equally underrated as well, being a Swedish Tragedy of sorts, but with the female/male vocal attack of Antischism.  Pretty well-produced "Epic Crust" is what you'll get with lots of leads and mid-paced parts to keep it from being D-Beaten to infinity.  Not particularly metallic or "grindy", just good, listenable songs to get your head moving, your hair dreaded, and your body smelling like stale PBR.

don't bogart it

Desolation - Desolation

If Shikabane mixed Crust and Black Metal the most evenly, Desolation mixed them the best.  What does that mean?  The line betweeen their influences was thicker than some of their contemporaries, but they still wrote better music.  Being a side project, Desolation was always overshadowed by the more popular sister band Born/Dead.  It's a shame too, because I think Desolation was easily better.  This project had all the feeling and intensity of their more straight-forward Punk contemporaries, but boasted the added sophistication of Metal guitar leads and playing techniques.  In short, there was just more to this band.

 

the only wee

Shikabane - Why Do You Live?

Crossovers, mash-ups, whatever you want to call them, they've been happening forever.  Ever since about 1980, Metal bands started taking D-Beat and screamed vocals from early Hardcore bands, and those Hardcore bands (in return) were taking the heavy distortion, palm-muted riffing, and solos from the already well established Metal blueprint.  Fast-forward more than twenty years later, Crust Punks are still digging the hell out of Metal records, and   "strict" Metalheads (like I once was) are crossing over to the ultra-political and "P.C." world of Punk.  This particular record is an example of the former.

As is the norm with Crusties nowadays, the members of Shikabane love Black Metal so much that they decided to make a Crust/Black Metal hybrid.  While Shikabane may not be the first to create "Blackened Crust", they pre-date better-known bands of the style (Fall of the Bastards, Martyr Dod) by at least a couple years.  Why Do You Live? is also the first time I've heard the two genres mixed so evenly.  I'll spare you (and myself) the sonic details this time, just hear it for yourself...

listen this record and make die

Elitist - Fear in a Handful of Dust

What, crusties doing Death Metal?  I know you've heard this before with Sanctum and Stormcrow, but these guys are actually good.  What I mean is that this band actually succeeds in playing Metal, something which is lost with most Crust/Metal or "Stenchcore" hybrids.  This record sounds just like it should, cavernous, dark and muddy; no solos or "technical" anything.  In addition to the Death Metal base of this smelly stew, you'll also hear "epic" Crust influences (ala His Hero is Gone) as well as some Sludge influence (ala Noothgrush).  At it's heart though is early-humanoid barbarism.  Seriously, this is the best band to come out Portland since Sleater-Kinney (just kidding, I'm pretty sure Portland had no good bands until now).  If you like your Death Metal oafish and moderately lethargic like Asphyx, early Incantation, or Witchrist, you should probably stop smoking so much pot... and then listen to this.

near a handful of bust

Battletorn - Terminal Dawn

It's time to go stupid again.  Seriously though, it's pretty stupid how this album was being sold for only 2 dollars.  Oh well, bad for them, but good for me!  Battletorn are from the hipster stronghold of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but thankfully, they don't sound like it.  Delivered here is some mean, low-IQ Crusty Hardcore.  Like Iron Lung, they're also a power-duo, so they have a concise and lean sound perfect for cutting your head in half.  Musically, they sound pretty similar to late 80's/early 90's Crust like Antischism, if that band had Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer) on vocals.  Expect huge amounts of D-Beat, and never-ending distortion complimented by a clear, yet piercing production.  Sure, prog music is great how it's challenging and stimulates your intellect, but sometimes, you just wanna tweak on some simple brutality.

remember myspace?
tap the Rocky's

Extreme Noise Terror - A Holocaust in Your Head

You're just going to have to forgive me for not always being able to find something really obscure to post about.  I'm not enough of a blog hound to be that consistent.  Today, I bring you my first foray into full-on Crust, Extreme Noise Terror's "A Holocaust in Your Head".  If you're unfamiliar with the genre, this beast of an album is the perfect place to start.  This classic came out in a really pivotal time in extreme music ('89), but at the same time, was totally oblivious to it.  While Black Metal, Death Metal, and Grindcore bands were getting tighter and more sophisticated, Crust bands like E.N.T. were totally content to caveman-bludgeon their instruments and write brutally simple songs.  Pure sonic violence is what you can expect; this is about as heavy as Punk got, prior to the advent of Powerviolence.  You'd still be hard-pressed to find something more guttural than this, without vocal effects and drum machines all over it.  It's true that E.N.T. eventually became an unremarkable Grind band, like a poor-man's Napalm Death, but this is when they were at their Stylistic peak, before the cheesiness and the poor fashion choices.  This is the essence of brutality.

it stinks in here...
(flac file)

Perth Express - Discography

A recent, yet forgotten band that never quite got their due.  They created the perfect marriage of Converge Mathcore with His Hero is Gone Grindy Crust.  They were pretty damn tight, especially the drums, which betrays their Crust influence.  Interesting songs, no-frills production, strong performance, you can't go wrong here.  I'm no feeling very descriptive right now, so listen, and judge for yourself...

*i know that was short, but hey, this is also the only 320k rip of this album on the web.

panda express