unseen terror

Picked this up from the same eBay seller whom I won the Fear Factory record from a few weeks back, the masterpiece from Japanese legends S.O.B., "What's The Truth". Black wax, UK tour edition, Rise Above Records.

This would arguably be the bands last legitimate grind/thrash record, they began to go off on a bit of a tangent following this stuff, utilising more professional sounding recordings and less grind orientated styles. Here they're at their peak; maniacal, fast speedcore with the best (loudest/dirtiest) recording they managed to muster of all they're material and a vocalist that sounds like a rabid dog. I think some may disagree with me, but this is certainly they're best recorded stuff in my opinion.


Released officially on CD in Japan by Selfish Records, the label that had a hand in just about every Japanese classic, England's Rise Above obtained the rights to the European release and pressed they're own CD version and two vinyl editions in 1990. More or less exactly the same as the regular version, this tour press was identified with an inner sleeve scrawled with the tour dates of their romp across Europe that October. This Euro version also different from the Japanese one in that it contains the entirety of the "WTT" album on the A side plus "Thrash Night" 7" on the B.

Worthy addition.

hunch

Poland's Suffering Mind are a band that I've taken a heavy interest in over the course of the last six weeks or so, thanks largely due to VII's posts about the band on his blog Built To Blast. Put it down to the saturation of shitty grindcore bands on the market maybe, but they're a band that I'd just never given the time of day to until more recently. These guys are anything but shitty. Relatively speaking, they play a pretty modern style of grindcore most akin to the mighty Insect Warfare. Brutal grind free of goofy humour and dumb gimmicks. Hard metallic guitars underpinned by precise grind percussion and vocals mostly characterised by guttural groans offset with raspy high's. This is their split 7" with Wisconsin's Neon Hole. Clear vinyl pressed by something ridiculous like nine different record labels, most recognisable of the lot I suppose would be Bovine, Halo Of FLies, Crucificados and Give Praise.


Judging by their two offerings here, Neon Hole play a pretty cool, rough brand of grindcore influenced by the obvious picks. They employ what would probably be interpreted as some more basic power violence stop start tendencies as well. Knowing next to nothing about the band other than what information is presented here, and having heard nothing else of theirs either I can't really get a proper feel for them. I like these two songs though and will certainly make the effort to track down any other material of theirs.



The four songs Suffering Mind present would have to be some of their best recorded stuff. During my research of this band I've found that quality ebbs and flows quite a bit throughout their relatively lengthy discography. Count something like 10+ records that span various formats and sizes before this split, and another three afterwards, and to me it's obvious that as they've progressed noticeably since their inception. Over this time they've also certainly developed a more interesting writing style and Ula's vocals improve obviously. Every new record manages to present a far superior recording quality also, which is always an important factor with this style of music. In recent times the band have recruited a new vocalist in a fellow by the name of Radek, but in terms of 'Ula era' Suffering Mind this split along with two lathe cut records they did last year (a 2"and 3", very limited, no i'm not bullshitting) would easily be the best stuff of that period. I won't lie when I say that I prefer the new guy pipes, but that's a story for another time.



I almost feel like one of those dick head kids that fills out both of his arms with sleeve tattoos in less than a year when it come to this band. I've only been into them for a short while but I've already managed to amass a large chunk (ie the majority) of their releases, of which I hope to post about in the coming weeks. They've also got something like ten or more planned releases due in the coming months, most of which are on stupid formats and sizes. If all goes to plan, I'll be able to add a 4", and 8" to my collection to create an almost prefect sequence from 4" up to 12". All I'll need is an 11". It wouldn't surprise me if they decide to press that too. Someone hook me up with those previously mentioned 2" and 3" records please.

desecrate

Along with a small handful of other early/mid 90's more mainstream metal bands, Fear Factory were a big part of my regular listening routine for a large portion of my mid teens. More accurately, this album, their debut "Soul Of A New Machine" occupied a large portion of my daily listening schedule for a long time. I dare say that this album was most likely my first ever foray into any kind of heavy music remotely related to death metal. I recently acquired a vinyl press of this album, released by Roadrunner Records back in 1991. It's never seen a reissue since and hence isn't the cheapest buy on eBay, though I have seen it go for more than what I paid in the recent past. Like a lot of those 1990's Roadrunner vinyl releases this was pressed on black vinyl with a somewhat shifty, thin piece of plastic and a relatively low quality sleeve.

Regardless of Burt's often irritating 'clean' vocal bits, and where he, Dino and co. decided to take the band with later albums, every song on this LP is a brilliant display of relentless, crushing industrial influenced death metal. They were often described as a splice of mid era Napalm Death and Godflesh during this period and you can't really deny some similarities. For one, Burt sounded remarkably close to Barney Greenway during this era, and a heap of the electronic, mechanic sounds that they utilised were comparable to a pile of that good early Godflesh stuff. FF certainly cemented to an extent their own kind of sound though with that precise, triggered double kick that Raymond Herrera originally pioneered, a sound that they've continued to use throughout their career, numerous break ups and personnel shifts.

I haven't paid any kind of genuine attention to this band since "Obsolete" and I don't plan to soon, but this is a record that I've been meaning to add to my collection for quite a while. Massively underrated on a larger scale, to me this album was certainly the band at their peak and I really wish that they continued in this direction.

YOU CAN'T KILL AN IDEA

All moved in. Back to regular posting.

cut in half

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last fortnight. I moved house over the weekend just passed. I have a load of new fodder which will see the light of day once I sort out an internet connection. In the meantime, enjoy a new Extortion track from their forth coming split LP with Austria's Cold World.

dead meat

One of the best (and perhaps one of the most underrated) products of the 80's Boston Hardcore scene would have to be the "My Friend The Pit" 7" EP by Impact Unit. Secured recently in a modest eBay auction. Black vinyl. Crucial Response Records.

Such is legend, I doubt (or at least hope) that I don't really have to go into depth explaining the origins and story behind this band and record. Originally recorded in '83 as a demo and then released as this piece of vinyl six years later by the label. Dickie Barret of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones started his frontman career yelling and groaning for this band.

To me this is easily one the best records to come out of this era of Boston Hardcore. Heavily comparable to Negative FX with those short, sharp songs built around 1-2-1-2 beats and snappy snare fills, often when I sit and think about what I would consider the epitome of Boston Hardcore I think of this band. Seven no bullshit tracks of fun, catchy hardcore.

The Flex Hardcore Discography suggests that this has been pressed a number of times over the years, but officially this thing has seen one edition of 1000 copies. I will admit that it's possible that subsequent pressings were made as mine, apart from one little stain, is in near flawless condition for a record that should be 23 years old.