Hardcore

Kruelty, Untopia (Profound Lore 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Kruelty brings its message of metallic hardcore to the masses once again on Untopia.

Coming together in Japan six years ago, Kruelty took the path of many hardcore acts before it, choosing to release a large number of demos, EPs, and splits. It is a lot of fun for collectors as it creates a kind of treasure hunt that becomes increasingly more difficult the later you get on board. Their first long-player came out in 2019, A Dying Truth. Their latest might only be their second full-length album, but the band has done a lot of groundwork prior to this new one and you can tell when you hear it.

A chime starts the set in motion. Chants, as in Gregorian, follow. “Unknown Nightmare” is quite creepy. The guitars land with a massive doom slap, and in the next stanza have begun their rampage. The croaking vocals hover over the rumbling riffs and the clip slows and accelerates at unpredictable turns. “Harder Than Before” sounds like a tagline for a new ED treatment and, given the vibrant energy that the song opens with, it could be used in an ad for a new blue pill. This one is a flesh ripper, speeding and slowing and grating its way to your bones. The shrieking ending is startling. Excellent metal. “Burn The System” is a high-tension mission ender. The killer percussion and rhythm will give you a well-earned rash. “Reincarnation” is surprisingly peppy. I wouldn’t call it a happy song, with all the screaming and what not, but its early attitude is less dense than the previous songs. It does turn less than a minute in, though, and the savage, chewing metal is at you again.

“Maze Of Suffering” made me feel like I was drowning in its crushing doom and ominous death summoning. “Manufactured Insanity” goes the other way, starting out as a rollicking cracker and laying in the heavy later on. The record finishes on the title track, and this one will eat you alive. I haven’t followed Kruelty very closely over the years, but this new album has inspired me to go back and listen to everything they have done before. Recommended.

Untopia is out on Friday, March 17th through Profound Lore Records. Have a closer look at the links below.

Band photo by Seijiro Nishimi.

Links.

Kruelty website, https://www.kruelty666.com/

Bandcamp, https://kruelty666.bandcamp.com/album/untopia

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

Profound Lore Records, https://profoundlorerecords.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Kruelty, Untopia (Profound Lore 2023)

Gravehuffer, Depart From So Much Evil (Black Doomba 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Crust thrashers Gravehuffer pull out all the stops on their fourth long-player, …Depart From So Much Evil.

Joplin, Missouri’s own Gravehuffer has been haunting stages and studios since 2010, and even before that under the name Krom. With three previous full-length records in their wake, not to mention the EP and a generous ration of splits, these musicians have been around the block a few times. The new record expands on their previous work and moves into spaces they have not occupied before. Gravehuffer is Travis McKenzie (vocals), Mike Jilge (bass), Ritchie Randall (guitar), and Todd Morrison (drums).

“Blueprint For An Early Grave” opens with a fog horn sounding an alarm and an evacuation notice. Some shit is about to go down. A clobbering riff follows, and a pumping rhythm that leads to the first growling stanza. It is a quick punch to the head, and it gets things rolling nicely. “Slayberry” is another short one, and it is more actively savage than the opener from every angle, but especially in the vocals that hiss into black metal territory now and then. Grisly. The back half is a hop-along reconnoitering, surveying the damage. “The Cryptid And The Iron Bird” expands the metal palette and spreads its wings into a longer form where a wandering can take place. This song in a way presages the anchor piece.

“Brainstorm” takes a different approach, opening on acoustic notes, then proceeding to a creepy whisper. The acoustic guitar returns and you start to wonder where you are. Dual vocals and electric menace kick your cage, making the acoustic returns all the more unsettling. “Go Murder Pray And Die” is a screaming hardcore punk pummeling that has a tasty lead guitar break. Love this song. The big news, though, is the twenty-two-minute epic title track that waits for you at the end of the road. Solemn cello and emotional accompaniment lead off in a direction we haven’t heard before on the album. That is only the beginning, and, given the length of the song, you can imagine the ground that the composition covers. It is a journey of highs and lows, fasts and slows – growling and punishing and melancholy. It is an excellent suite in construction and execution. If you have never heard Gravehuffer before, this album is the place to start. Recommended.

Depart From So Much Evil is out now through Black Doomba Records. Snap it up at the links below.

Band photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://gravehuffer2.bandcamp.com/album/depart-from-so-much-evil

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

Black Doomba Records, https://www.blackdoombarecords.co/

© Wayne Edwards

Gravehuffer, Depart From So Much Evil (Black Doomba 2023)

Photo Gallery: Integrity, Pure Filth Festival, Sharkey’s, Liverpool, New York, June 18, 2022

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Ghost Cult Magazine article, https://www.ghostcultmag.com/festival-review-pure-filth-festival-at-sharkeys-event-center-liverpool-new-york/

Integrity website, https://www.facebook.com/INTEGRITY.HT/

Sharkey’s Event Center, https://sharkeysbarandgrill.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Photo Gallery: Integrity, Pure Filth Festival, Sharkey’s, Liverpool, New York, June 18, 2022

Venom, Inc., There’s Only Black (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The sophomore full-length album from Venom, Inc. is an unwavering menace: There’s Only Black.

Venom is the iconic band that brought us Welcome To Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), essentially creating Black Metal from punk and speed metal. Since then, black metal itself has evolved in a particular direction while Venom had other ideas. At War With Satan (1984) was on brand but it was clear that things were changing, and then Possessed (1985) was a noticeable, clear shift. The seas calmed a bit with Prime Evil (1987), but chaos was coming. The band paused, considered reforming, then split in twain.

Venom, Inc. emerged from the schism of the original band. Their debut album was Avé (2017), and I found it enthralling. That one will be hard to follow, but if any band can do it, Venom, Inc. is the one. The musicians are Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan, Jeffrey “Mantas” Dunn, and Jeramie “War Machine” Kling.

You can hear the music coming from far away on the first track, “How Many Can Die.” It is a stylized punk attack with a hardcore head and intermittent hooks. The song works, and still this is a chancy approach for an opener – you have to really depend on the fans being in to what you are putting down. And I was. “Infinitum” is a stone cold killer with a battering mission. The lead guitar break will really wind you up. “Come To Me” is a chopper. I love the straight-forward, no nonsense musical construction. An excellent metal song where the vocals take the forefront while the riff and rhythm provide an indelible platform and the dark lead guitar work intoxicates.

I am having a hard time finding anything to complain about on this record. The title track is a stunningly superbly sinister metal song. “Don’t Feed Me Your Lies” begins on a contemplative foot and then turns into a ravager. “Rampant” is a race straight toward a sharp cliff. Every song has a unique appeal, and they all come together to create a solid set you will want to listen to over and again. Recommended.

There’s Only Black is out now through Nuclear Blast Records. Links below.

Links.

Venom, Inc. website, https://www.venom-inc.co.uk/

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

Nuclear Blast Records, https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/shop/index.html

© Wayne Edwards

Venom, Inc., There’s Only Black (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Buried Under Sky, Darkest Corners (2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The debut EP from Buried Under Sky melts the line between melo and harsh: Darkest Corners.

Buried Under Sky is comprised of veteran Connecticut musicians who have been active in well-known bands for many years. This first EP of theirs was conceived during the pandemic, as was nearly all music comping out now, and the realizations brought on by this local/global event are apparent in the included songs. The band is Ian Kauffman (guitar, keys), Kevin Salvatore (guitar), Jay McGuire (bass), Charlie Sad Eyes (vocals), and Mark Castillo (drums).

The set begins earnestly with “Extinguishing The Stars,” a melodious exploration of dark ideas. The rumbling percussion and surgically sharp guitars share time and space with melodic vocals, acoustic guitars, and soft engineering. Occasionally, they are confronted by gruff and ragged singing. The gentled delivery of disconcerting ideas is a recurring theme on the album. You can hear it on “Darkest Corners” as well, although this second track is generally more overtly ominous than the first. Perhaps this is a symptom of contemporary society. Then again, maybe it is the new face of a resurging goth movement, as the two shares many similar characteristics.

Reflect on the title of the third song: “To Walk Upon Disintegration.” You could see the idea as a positive one – the ability to survive and walk along even after the end of something (or of everything). Contrariwise, it could also be seen as an ode to destruction. That is, walking over something and causing its disintegration. Given the merging of opposites this music achieves, listeners get to choose their preferred reality. Tell me that is not a characteristic of contemporary society.

The final two tracks are “Ghosts of May” and “We Eat Our Own.” The former is a complete divergence from the sonic template of the first three, taking a slow walk through the fields of ruin rather than pepping it up. The song is beautifully and eerily rendered, and it is my favorite song on the album. The closer brings the contrast back and produces the most effective example of the style, and perhaps the most gothic-sounding of the batch. It also offers the best guitar work on the EP.

The album is fascinating. It reminds me of many things from the past while simultaneously positioning itself as forward-looking. I expect to hear a lot more music like this in the coming couple of years. Recommended.

Darkest Corners is fully available on August 19th. I recommend Bandcamp for the gathering.

Links.

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Buried Under Sky, Darkest Corners (2022)

Blasphemous Creation, Beyond The Grave (HPGD 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

Reno’s Blasphemous Creation re-records four classic tracks on Beyond The Grave.

Blasphemous Creation is a death metal / thrash metal quartet centered in Reno, Nevada. Since 2009 they have been handing fans a steady flow of full-length albums jam-packed with searing metal. The new EP is a blast from the past. The band has gone back to the early days from 2006-2009 and cherry picked four of their favorites to re-record and re-celebrate.

“Diabolical Kingdom” is a high-speed invocation. The vocals are grumbled and run so quickly you have to put your ear into it to get it all. The lead guitar is a whirlwind, a bladed assassin’s weapon that has you down before you even know it has hit. “Beyond The Grave” has percussion that seems to be beating directly onto your defleshed skeleton. This song is a ravaging in every sense of the word. The guitar here is speedy and sour, with more than enough bite to make you squeal. There is an extended groove passage in the middle that is completely unexpected, and it rolls back into speeding metal with little concern for your equilibrium.

“Shadows Of Evil” is creepy, as the title implies it should be. Don’t worry, though, because the gleeful pummeling and the hooks are in here as well, along with shocking moments of belligerence. The final track is “Black Winter,” and it is my overall favorite of the four. It contains all the elements I like about the band, and they are executed with insistence. The darkness combined with the groove is a beautiful thing. Recommended.

Beyond The Grave is out now through Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. Bandcamp is the quick place to pick it up.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-grave

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

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

© Wayne Edwards

Blasphemous Creation, Beyond The Grave (HPGD 2022)

Cancer Bats, Psychic Jailbreak (New Damage Records 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Canadian hardcore band Cancer Bats continue a winning streak with their seventh studio album, Psychic Jailbreak.

One of the great things about the Heavy Montreal festival is, coming from the states, you get to see a lot of bands that don’t always play at the US festivals. I saw Cancer Bats there for the first time in 2019 (I put a couple photos from that show at the bottom of the article). They were fantastic, and I have had an eye out for them ever since. As a result, I was pretty excited when I heard they had a new album on the way.

The band had a steady line-up of Jaye Schwarzer, Liam Cormier, Mike Peters, and Scott Middleton for more than a decade. Just last year, Middleton exited the band and the remaining three have continued on. Over the years they have released six previous studio albums, the most recent being 2018’s The Spark That Moves. Cancer Bats’ music is almost always labeled hardcore, and that fits. You will find as you listen all manners and shades – fast, slow, heavy, light, and dark. There is a corridor in their music for all types of heavy music fan.

The new album has eleven churning tracks, cracking the egg on “Radiate.” It is a stomper, driving the idea into your head with delectable repetition and a short pointed lead break toward the end. Do your stretches before this one because it will get you going. “The Hoof” follows and ramps the tempo up even higher. This is an early keeper. I love the driving force of it and the plunging inertia it creates.

“Lonely Bong” has a lot of plays on Spotify, as does the title track. The bong song is a trooper and a metric ton of fun to bounce around with. “Psychic Jailbreak” has a more serious tone to it, and more apparent aggression in the riffs and vocalizations. It is a menacing creeper toward the finish and definitely memorable – just the kind of song you want to go out on.

Other stand-outs for me are “Hammering On,” which is a laid back number with a big pounce to go along with the impressive vocals, and “Shadow Of Mercury” because of its straight-head clobbering approach to musical construction. “Pressure Mind” and “Rolling Threes” is a tasty pairing, too. They are the kind of songs you want to hear in the second half that keep the pace, energy, and inventiveness hitting hard as you roll toward the finish. This new Cancer Bats album delivers the goods. Recommended.

Psychic Jailbreak is out now through New Damage Records. Check out the links below.

Band photo by Sid Tang.

Links.

Website, https://www.cancerbats.com/

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

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

New Damage Records, http://newdamagerecords.com/

Live photos by Wayne Edwards from Heavy Montreal in 2019.

© Wayne Edwards

Cancer Bats, Psychic Jailbreak (New Damage Records 2022)

Overkill, Prong, and Cultus Black at Piere’s, March 9, 2022

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

It was a night of thrash in northern Indiana when Overkill stopped by for a little rampage on The Wings Of War tour.

I like the extremes of heavy music – I love doom and I love thrash. New Jersey’s Overkill has always been one of my favorite thrash bands. Starting back in the early 1980s, they have released nineteen (!) studio albums, the most recent being The Wings Of War (Nuclear Blast), which they are supporting with the current tour. My favorite Overkill album is probably The Electric Age, and I have been told many times that it’s a controversial choice. I stand by it, and at the same time, I will listen to any of their albums all the way through any time. The music always cranks the adrenaline up. I was most excited to see Overkill, but two other impressive acts went on ahead of them.

A band that I was seeing for the first time, Cultus Black (or Cvltvs Black), opened the show at Piere’s Entertainment Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On their Facebook page, they describe themselves as “a dramatic deathcore/Nu-metal crossover.” The photos will give you some idea of what went on. These musicians were fully committed and you have to see them live if you really want to understand the experience.

Like Overkill, Prong, too, have a history that stretches back to the 1980s. They released five albums during their first run, then took a break for a few years. For the past twenty years, they’ve been hitting it hard and putting out new music regularly. The band’s latest full-length album is Zero Days (Steamhammer). The style of heavy metal they play has been described in many ways, ranging from hardcore to punk to industrial to thrash to groove. I am satisfied to call it high energy heavy metal, and they stalked the stage like they owned the place. Great set.

Overkill took the stage and took no prisoners. They opened with “Wrecking Crew” and played one monstrous metal anthem after another, wrapping things up on an tidy encore. Founding members Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and D. D. Verni led the way and Overkill tore the roof off the place to the delight of screaming fans. I was expecting to see a raucous performance but what the band delivered went above and beyond. Many famous and impressive bands play at Piere’s, and Overkill making the journey there was something extra special; another step up.

The Wings Of War tour continues, with many more dates this month and later in the year. Get out there and see these bands to satisfy your need for speed.

All photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Overkill, http://wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/

Prong, https://prongmusic.com/

Cultus Black, https://www.cultusblack.com/

Piere’s Entertainment Center, https://pieresentertainment.com/

Nuclear Blast Records, https://label.nuclearblast.com/en/music/band/about/71097.overkill.html

Steamhammer, https://shop.steamhammer.de/artists/prong

© Wayne Edwards. All rights reserved.

Overkill, Prong, and Cultus Black at Piere’s, March 9, 2022

Great American Ghost, Torture World (MNRK Heavy 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

In their tenth year, Great American Ghost offers up a bloody aperitif in the form of Torture World.

Boston hardcore band Great American Ghost has been doing their thing for a while now, and has documented their rage on a number of albums including Everyone Leaves (2015), Hatred Stems From The Seed (2017), and Power Through Terror (2019). The new four-track EP is just as expressive as anything they have done before, and it seems to me that it is meant to charge up their fans for the current tour they are on with Fit For An Autopsy and Enterprise Earth. Mission accomplished. The band is Ethan Harrison (vocals), Niko Gasparrini (guitar), Davier Perez (drums), and Grayson Stewart (guitar).

“Kingmaker” sounds excessively angry and also, inexplicably, holds a kind of groove. In contrast, “Torture World” begins quietly and sweetly for a couple of seconds. The liltyness recurs throughout the song, shining a bright light on the savagery.

“Womb” is unbelievably intense with its off center attack and recursions. It is a horror elemental, inspiring fear and trepidation. The final track is the clangy and gritty “Death Forgives No One” which, despite its title and theme, has a catchy chorus that could be a radio hit in different song.

This music makes me feel punchy, makes me want to crack some heads – makes me remember the taste of blood. I don’t know if Great American Ghost has this effect on everybody, but the adrenaline injection I received is exactly what I wanted, and I am not interested in coming down. Recommended.

MNRK Heavy releases Torture World on Friday, January 20th to the masses, whether they are ready or not. Get your heaping helping at the links below.

Band photo by Chris Klump.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://greatamericanghost.bandcamp.com/album/torture-world

Website, https://tortureworld.com/

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

MNRK Heavy, https://mnrkheavy.com/

Great American Ghost, Torture World (MNRK Heavy 2022)