It’s basically all hardcore and metal this month because that’s what’s been in my ears with quite a few heavies coming in with some new stuff that I think certainly worthwhile to gush about. And even though I just recently got back fro some extended traveling some of this new stuff I’m writing about is inspired by bands I’d seen live, so let’s get to it.
Rewinding to just a few weeks ago, one of the wildest sets I saw during the Caterwaul Fest in Minneapolis last month was from locals Murf. I didn’t know too much about them but based on the one or two songs I heard from them beforehand I had an idea that things would get out of control. And you can hear that on their new record, “Already Dead”. But it hardly comes close to the wanton destruction and chaos of their live set which included, but was not limited to, pig masks, hatchets, and bondage outfits. Still, that random assortment of live props is similar to the stew of chaotic hardcore, punk, and some metallic leanings that make “Already Dead” a pretty vicious affair.
And after several years of being a fan of their music I recently had the chance to see Austin’s Drip-Fed play a small show here in town while they were on tour. I literally found out about the show maybe three days before it happened. While the room was a bit awkward for the show I got precisely what I had imaged the band would be like live and that was them being exceptionally proficient, energetic, and pushing out energy that matched the nature of their music. While most of what they played was this new record “Sold For Parts” it keeps in line with their older material- rowdy Texas hardcore full of riffs, clever part changes/transitions, and fun (despite some of these songs being about dealing with addiction and feeling like you’re at the end of your rope). It makes them one of the more original hardcore bands going today where they can utilize a catchy disposition a band like Drug Church has going on, but definitely leaning in more towards the punk/HC end of it all. This third LP they’re on just keeps things moving in a steady direction.
Speaking of hardcore, I’d been awaiting this full length from Chicago’s Porcupine. Ever since their last EP “The Sybil” I’d had a keen interest in the band as they mixed awesome artwork/packaging and a sound that was as close to Rorschach as a modern hardcore band could probably get. So with this new album, “All Is Vapor”, one thing remains constant with Porcupine- they evolve and update their sound with each release. This new stuff not only sounds the heaviest of anything they have done previously in terms of the quality of the recording, it leans a bit harder into chunky hardcore. However, there are certain points on this where they veer off into strange passages with haunting howls and singing, and lots of allusions to religion and peculiar personal anecdotes related to that as far as I can tell. And the whole thing wraps up with an acoustic mantra that should help cool down any post-mosh tension still lingering. All in all, another cool effort from a band that keeps things interesting while still always keeping it hostile…. mostly.
On the other side of the pond, Bad Breeding is a band I just recently came across, even though they’ve been mucking up British hardcore for years now across several albums. I likely came across them due to a mixture of interest-relevance: Iron Lung released their record in the US, they just did some European touring with Botch, and this album contains an accompanying zine. A zine you say? What, was this released on Ebullition in 1996? Just the notion that a band did this in the present day immediately makes me interested. So on “Contempt” Bad Breeding create punk-hardcore that pays service to the fast/dirty/damaged variety with an added air of apocalyptic desolation via recording duties from Ben Greenburg of Uniform, who adds weight to the various noisy bursts, ravaged-terrain soundscapes, and post-industrial wasteland feel of the whole record. Sometimes they’re coming at you with 2-minute rippers and at other times they’re lobbing 5-minute crushers that eventually collapse in on themselves. UK collage artist Peter Kennard has supplied the art for the cover, as well as various spots in the zine where his art is dissected, photocopied into oblivion, and set along with various essays on the sad state of the world, that matches up with the bands lyrics regarding environmental destruction, the rich get richer/the poor get poorer construct, and the breakdown of society that all leads to. They’ve done a great job at combining all these things into a formidable record/piece of art that you ought to give some attention to.
And somewhere bridging the gap between punk/hardcore and metal, but perhaps none of the above really is Reaper’s Gong. For a side project Maryland-based Reapers Gong stay pretty busy, at least with recordings. The group have quietly released upwards of 4 (I think) EPs over the last three years. I’m curious why they don’t just save up some songs and do an album? It’s good stuff and I’ve enjoyed all of it to date. This newest release, “Fruiting Bodies”, continues their blown-out grungy noise rock with airy and haunting vocals over it. It evokes Sonic Youth doing early “Born Annoying”-era Helmet while keeping each song short and sweet. I’d say grab any one of their EPs because they’re all a hoot, this one has a particularly bigger recording.
OK, check the transition…. moving into real slower, more metallic territory, comes the new one from Thou. It wasn’t until just very recently that I discovered that Thou isn’t just some middle-ages term for ‘you’, but that it also can be used to describe a friend or companion, as well as towards an object of scorn or contempt. So it’s not just a name without meaning. And I think that fits for a band that embraces a DIY community sort of ethic amongst friends, as well as the lyrical contempt they hold towards those in power. It’s with that their latest full-length, “Umbilical”, unravels in the way you’d expect Thou to deliver. Truth be told I fell off a bit from their last few releases having last caught up with them on the excellent collaboration they did with Emma Ruth Rundle. They are a rather prolific band. Still, “Umbilical” is Thou as you expect them- a subatomic tone like no other and plodding, sludgy heaviness with snarled shrieks on top of it. Maybe it has been awhile, but I feel like you get a large dose of the sludgy stuff they’re known for, as well as a few tracks that are…. I don’t know, more upbeat? Is that uncommon for them? It feels like a record that moves at a somewhat quicker pace than other records by them and that’s cool with me. It keeps things interesting. I’m always reminded of Ire, but maybe a little less overtly metal.
And speaking of Canadians (see above, Ire…. and, well, just one member), for a very part-time supergroup of sorts Sect have managed to dish out four albums so far in the space of 6 or 7 years. Not bad. It’s been a bit since their last one and hoo-boy is this one a ride. Get ready to get really bummed. “Plagues Upon Plagues” is lyrically the bleakest of any of their records. I mean all of them get on some heavy, societal collapse type shit so nothing new there. But this one moves slower (yes, there’s still grindy, fast tracks too) and lays out a manifesto of almost utter hopelessness. If the last few years haven’t shown us that the rich just get richer, the sick just get sicker, the poor get poorer, and even in the face of global issues that should have brought us more together we chose to fall apart while wars raged and greed wins out over mutual aid towards others than I’m not sure what submerged protective bubble you’ve stowed away in. This record doesn’t give a glimmer of hope, or a rallying cry to rise above all the terribleness. It holds a mirror up to it. It’s dark, man. Musically it’s more metal ( that is to say, not shying away from solos or excessive double bass) and like I mentioned, fairly slow. The HM-2 worship is still in effect as always and no lie, I do prefer this band shredding and blasting away. Also, the artwork is awesome and worth checking out for that alone.
Finally, I really thought Sulaco was calling it a day after the untimely passing of bassist Lon Hackett a year ago. The band released a couple songs they had been working on before he passed and I thought it a fitting ode to the exceptional musician and all-around nice guy. But here they are, continuing on, and another two-song EP with an updated lineup. The band sound just as pulverizing as ever. “Black Cloud” opens with an extended sample before rushing headlong into their signature sound of warped grooving/math-y metal, while the second track emphasizes blast beats and epic structures a little more. Much of this can be attributed to constant Rochester metal architect Erik Burke, who has been at the helm of the group since day one and has been in countless other noteworthy bands. Of course, he is surrounded by highly talented maniacs with minds tuned to freakish deviations of all things metal. So, ya know, it works. Hats off to Sulaco for making the dang thing still chug along.
