Suppression (USA) - Spiritual Sepsis (2024)
The bass guitar is the black sheep of the standard rock band configuration. It’s a well-worn saw among rock musicians that the bass exists simply to fill in the audible frequencies not covered by the rest of the band. Bass is considered simple enough that anyone with a shred of musical acumen can pick it up in a pinch. However, some musicians take its black sheep status as a challenge. Groups like Primus invert the usual bass/electric guitar dynamic, with Les Claypool’s lead bass augmented by Larry LaLonde’s adventurous guitar work. In extre…
Holy Grinder (Canada) - 10 Desecrations (2024)
For some bands, a signature sound is a curse. The Ramones never shook the "every song sounds the same" accusations, despite making a record with 60s Wall of Sound pop producer/murderer Phil Spector or making a mid-80s hardcore album. Neil Young famously waged war on Geffen Records in the 80s by releasing an electronic, vocoder-heavy experimental rock album followed by a 50s-throwback rock 'n' roll album after pressure from the label to imitate his previous successes. For Holy Grinder, however, their distinctive sound is a s…
Holy Grinder (Canada) - Divine Extinction (2020)
I've recently gotten deep into lesser-known '70s and '80s horror movies, and there's a certain feeling of risk that comes along with dredging the depths for your next favorite film. Sure, you may come across a Messiah of Evil (1973) or Fascination (1979), movies with a surprising level of craft and beauty beneath their meagre budget and lurid subject matter. But when searching a distributor like Vinegar Syndrome , whose mission is to release rarely seen horror and exploitation films (among other genres) you're just as like…
Final Exit (Japan) - ノイズの若大将 (Young Guy of Noize) (2020)
Movies often serve as an inspiration for grindcore bands. Grind albums are littered with film dialogue samples, bands like Repulsion take their name from films, and bands even occasionally use a still from a film as an album cover. And as is befitting grindcore's chosen subject matter, these films are predominantly in the horror genre. Long-running Japanese noisegrind stalwarts Final Exit, however, take a different approach. Their new LP Young Guy of Noize blends fragmented noisegrind with smooth, competent surf rock. It also, unusually …
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