Punk
Toronto’s Battlebear (featuring members of Ayahuasca, Guiltfeeder and Signifier) have released the debut single from their upcoming EP, which the Canadians cleverly dubbed Grimm Horton’s. The new track is titled “Salt & Vinegar Tourniquet” and showcases the trio’s annihilating combination of death metal, grindcore and crust punk, along with intense riffage and corrosive vocals to contrast their tongue-in-cheek lyrical themes. Check out the track after the break.
Milwaukee rockers The Slurs are poised to release their debut full-length record, Shatter Sessions, on February 8. For 28 straight minutes, The Slurs deliver one loud and sleazy punk-infested hard rock jam after the next. Fans of The Stooges, The Bronx, and Murder City Devils should pay attention. Continue Reading
Nashville powerviolence duo Thetan are poised to release their second full-length album, Abysmal, on February 1 via Anti-Corporate Music. Abysmal is a raw, hyper-speed hardcore record that pumps out 18 tracks of drum and bass violence in 18 abrasive minutes. Fans of Charles Bronson, Spazz, Coke Bust, and the like, should take note. Continue Reading
In case you were inclined to wonder about the roots of Austin, TX quartet Portrayal of Guilt’s music, one probably need look no further than the credits for their debut LP Let Pain Be Your Guide. Contained therein, you would find Matt Michel, formerly of Majority Rule listed as producer, and you would also find that Chris Taylor of Pg. 99 and Pygmy Lush is responsible for the album’s art. Through that window, you could safely make some assumptions regarding what Portrayal of Guilt sounds like – in all likelihood conjuring for yourself a cacophony of grinding guitars punctuated with angularity, dissonance, and the occasional mid tempo groove. In that assumption you would not be too far off base, but I am here to tell you that Portrayal of Guilt is one of those special bands that does not simply eat its influences and then summarily excrete a slightly faded version of them. Instead, they digest them, learn, and create a synthesis. Continue Reading
Florida’s Gouge Away meld punk fury with alternative anthems on their sophomore full-length record, Burnt Sugar. Continue Reading
I’m sitting there, sweat dripping off my nose, vision blurry, with no groove, no noise besides the unfiltered masses of people and their hideous voices, screeching like nails on a chalk board. Knuckles drag, mouth breathing loudly, lost in their own little self-indulgent world of narcissism, looking at themselves in the mirror when I realize that I have work to do eventually and need something to drown out the shitty ass Journey playing overhead (Trust me, “Lights” is fucking terrible and Steve Perry is god awful). Continue Reading
A brief anecdote: in 2007 or 2008 I went to see Ottawa, Ontario band Buried Inside perform live. As one of the opening bands was setting up their frontman unassumingly took his place centre stage and they began playing shortly after. The sounds being projected from their singer was unlike anything I had ever heard up to that point. If there had been any paint left on the walls on the venue, the sound of this man’s voice surely would’ve peeled it from the surfaces. The band was Congress and their vocalist was Jamie Hooper. When not dabbling in noise rock Hooper spent some time fronting 3 inches of Blood.