Deathgrind

Languish, Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation (Prosthetic 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , , ,

Arizona deathgrind band Languish see the future in the now on their third album, Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation.

Tucson, Arizona’s Languish having been plowing the musical fields of destruction since 2014. After an early demo, they opened the gates of the end times on Extinction (2015). Pausing for a split with Oryx, they then handed the waiting the world Unworthy three years later. Their music is a blackened death metal brand of grindcore that is a short blade to your kidney and another to your throat. The music is fast, load, and hard, and it keeps on coming. The band is Sean Mears (vocals), Zack Hansen (drums), Ryan Bram (bass), and Matthew Mutterperl (guitar).

There are eleven exterminating tracks on the new album. “Manifesto” is the first egg cracked, and it is an all-out high-speed assault on your self. It is a defining pummeling, a kind of outline for the rest of the set with its growling and grinding. The song starts fast and stays that way. “Last Legs” has a more oppressive ideology at the beginning but just as much heavy throughout. Then “Ripped Remains,” in a way, is the objective combination of the two. The rhythm and percussion coalesce to form the heart of the songs, establishing the baseline devastation while the vocals and careening features color in the darkness.

You can hear doom lines now and then, like at the front of “Parasite.” You always know the speed is not far away. Slower moments create drama and depth and are a significant part of the whole. The eeriness of “Failed State” is a fine setup for “Feeding The Flames,” a song which could be the banner anthem for the album. This is a great set, and I am hoping to see tour dates for Languish pop up soon because I can’t wait witness them on stage. Recommended.

Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation is out now through Prosthetic Records. Listen to it at all the usual places and examine the physical possibilities at the links below.

Band photo by Pablo Vigueras.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://languish.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/languishaz

Prosthetic Records, https://www.prostheticrecords.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Languish, Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation (Prosthetic 2022)

Ernia, How To Deal With Life And Fail (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Spanish grindcore band Ernia release their second album, How To Deal With Life And Fail.

Formed initially from a couple of the members of Wormed, Ernia is a blasting grindcore band from Logroño, Spain that appears to value variegation, and perhaps chaos, in their musical compositions. Mainlining death metal into the grind framework and then cracking it in every direction has worked out for them. Following up on their self-titled debut (2016/18), How To Deal With Life And Fail might just be the ticket they are looking for because it is a major accomplishment. The band is Omar I. Sanchez (vocals), Gabrial Valcazar (drums, bass), Daniel Espinosa (guitar), and Daniel Valcazar (guitar).

There are thirteen tracks on the new album, all save one running under three minutes. “Farewell Sputnik” begins with a tinkle and a scream before moving on to flat out belligerence. “Q,” up next, has a very punk feel to it, and it goes out on a thrashing ravager ramp. Very nice. “Room Full Of Paper Cranes” is like a car that didn’t pass a state safety inspection going at a high velocity on a rough road until it breaks apart, with a nice little bass romp in the middle.

By now your senses are becoming a little frayed and you are only six minutes in. Suddenly, “Frustration Theory” brings the doom, and then “The Deer Chaser” pops it up for a while, making sure to slip in multiple chops and hacks. “Dharma” is a devastating deathpunk piece. “A Mute Florist” is a chainsaw in a beehive. It is one outlandish expression after another. The final song is the epic “Ikigai,” twice as long as any other on the album. It is surprisingly somber and sad in its first half, then otherwise after.

I am not sure what I expected from this album, but it definitely delivered – which makes little sense because I didn’t know what I was looking for. But there you have it. Recommended.

How To Deal With Life And Fail is out on Friday, July 22nd through Transcending Obscurity Records.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://ernia.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ErniaTheBand

Transcending Obscurity Records, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Ernia, How To Deal With Life And Fail (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Covered In Sores, Civilian Casualties (HPGD 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Covered In Sores release a new compilation of their early demos, Civilian Casualties.

Covered In Sores is a Grindcore/Death Metal band from Philadelphia. Earlier this year, they released an EP, Putrescent Hind-Sight, after a steady stream of demos in the years leading up to it. Now you can look back to the beginning and see where all the rampaging started with Civilian Casualties.

The new compilation includes Militaristic Cannibalism (2018), Blown To Bits (2019), and Evil Experiments (2020). These demos had six tracks each, and they are all on Civilian Casualties. What kind of music are we dealing with here? The press release calls it “sadoballistic guerrilla Deathgrind.” That pretty much sums it up.

Most of the songs run right around a minute long, with only three crossing the ninety second mark. Listening to them, then, is like getting punched in the face by an invisible fist. The perfect example is the lead song, “Fatal Bacteria.” Landing at exactly one minute, it is a blistering compressed combination of screaming, percussion, and rapid-fire riffing.

The music changes up with alternating compositional arrangements – the occasional lead break and tempo shift, now and then a bridge. There is the periodic mid-tempo passage but mainly look for shrieks and breath-stealing pace.

You can hear a difference from one demo to the next. My favorite set of six is Blown To Bits, and I really like “Krokodil Tears,” “Funeral Ambush,” and “Sucking Chest Wound” from that demo. The third demo is the most aggressive and off-the-hook of the bunch, so you have that to look forward to. If you don’t already hold these demos in your collection, grabbing the compilation is a no-brainer. Recommended.

Civilian Casualties is out on Friday, July 30th from Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. Bandcamp has the goods and/or you can check out HPGD’s site.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/civilian-casualties

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/horrorpaingoredeath/

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

Covered In Sores, Civilian Casualties (HPGD 2021)