Corpus Christi, Texas is perhaps best known for producing the honey-toned latin pop vocal stylings of Selena Quintanilla (1971-95) for many years now. Taking that into account, the aptly named small label/distro known as Murder/Suicide Incidents are doing what they can to put Corpus on the map for underground punk and metal. With just very few releases so far they’ve offered up a small variety of delicacies which include some death metal, sludge, hardcore, shoegaze and grindcore/power violence. Murder/Sucide Incidents hosts many young and memorable bands like Esclavo (sludgy doom chaos for the cult of Noothgrush), Chuch Of Disgust (brutal shredding death doom for anyone undergoing an Autopsy) and also Skinfather (d-beaten death blast for Swedish streets circa ’91). Nestled among those sit Botfly and Sigil who are perhaps the most unlikely pair out of the bunch, which is why I’ve singled them out for the spotlight. Some of what Murder/Suicide‘s got is on vinyl but most is only available on cassette tape, which I enjoy just as much as wax, if not more sometimes. Let’s face it, you just can’t fix broken a record with a pencil.

BOTFLY
ENEMIES OF THE WORLD
New York style hardcore by way of San Antonio. All the heavy breakdowns and thrashing, in the “no bullshit” east coast tradition was refreshing to hear from a southern band like Botfly. This is a quick cassette EP with an intro, three proper tracks and they even managed to squeeze in their own version of “Birthright” by Samhain. That cover really sold me on this too. Definitely recommended for anyone who’s ever been taken in under Citizen’s Arrest.

SIGIL Review after the jump!
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The line is made up of an infinite number of points; the plane of an infinite number of lines; the volume of an infinite number of planes; the hypervolume of an infinite number of volumes…

Book Of Sand‘s fourth album entitled Mourning Star is the latest release from the Jersey Shore deviants at Music Ruins Lives. Seven tracks in just under an hour which paint a hauntingly disturbing musical portrait. From the very first track this album is quite jarring because of its base and chaotic nature. “The Face Of Water” begins with what sounds like someone playing on a children’s four key toy piano or some other kind of toy instrument and is very creepy until it crashes and what follows and plays out for the duration of the album is a blackened and doomed cacophany. My guess would be that they sourced their name from the Jorge Luis Borges story, anyway, this Minneapolis trio know how to cook their experimental black metal and let it stew to a perfection. It should also be noted that Music Ruins Lives (MRL) have a knack for releasing very ambiguous and eerie music by somewhat shadowy artists who are constantly pushing and bending genres with their music. Mourning Star is a fairly heavy album ranging in doomy breakdowns and speed-driven pulses but also at times interjecting that certain funeral-esque grandeur that is prevalent with bands like Australia’s Mournful Congregation for example, albeit without the theatrics in the vocal approach. In fact that lack of bombast is what makes Book Of Sand stand out in a sea of names. “Crawling Through Sand, Crawling Through Earth” is a composition which masks its beauty through high pitched shrieks but the layers unfold with each successive measure and what unravels is an onion-like gristle of truth. Truth not as in honestly but as in truthful expression. This musical expression collides into some brilliantly placed spanish guitar licks which bring to mind Sepultura‘s similar use on Beneath The Remains. “Planet SUV” is the longest running track here at just over fifteen minutes, it’s a violent cut which verges deeper into black metal territory than any of the other tracks on Mourning Star. The musicianship of this band really shines through on this track in particular because of the different instruments featured, which includes some sadistic saxophone abuse that would make Bleeding Gums Murphy cry.

Mourning Star should drop later this month in a limited run of 100 hand-numbered copies which come in a screen printed sleeve sporting silver ink on blue cardstock, plus an insert. Only from MRL.

Record label Indie Recordings

Norway’s Aura Noir have a brutal legacy behind them. They were the first band signed to Nocturno Culto, of Darkthrone infamy’s Tyrant Syndicate label with the realease of The Merciless in 2004 but they had been a major force in the international thrash scene for many years prior. Black Thrash Attack (1996) and Deep Tracts Of Hell (1998) solidified their place amid the dwindling and ever splintering extreme metal scene of the late 90′s. This year they’ve returned with a brand new offering entitled Out To Die on Peaceville. Out To Die sees this power trio pick up right where they left off in 2008 with Hades Rise. The eight tracks on this record clock in at just about a half hour of relentless and hellish shredding onslaught. The production on this record is much warmer in tone than any of their previous efforts and Apollyon’s vocals are far more dynamic than they’ve ever been. This is the band’s most mature effort to date. Aura Noir have always pulled more influence from the British thrash scene of yore rather than the German scene, unlike their fellow headbanging countrymen in Deathhammer. “Abbadon” is a perfect example of this and not only because it’s an obvious send up to the original drummer for Venom either. “The Grin From The Gallows” continues down this path with a very strong hook that is allowed to ring out and is very reminiscent of the Venom classic “Warhead”. The solos on this album are served up courtesy of ex-Mayhem guitarist Blasphemer who marks his return to the Aura Noir fold with this album. Pay particular attention to the solos on “Withheld” and “Priest’s Hellish Fiend”, the latter almost plays more like Venom than most Venom tracks. I got a chance to see Aura Noir play last year’s Maryland Deathfest and they ripped, Apollyon (who also plays bass in Immortal) even has the same skullet thing going on with his hair that Cronos does. Not saying that proves anything but this new album certainly shows that Aura Noir still have the chops of their youth almost 20 years now since they first appeared on the world scene while also managing to learn new tricks and improve upon their tried and true thrash technique. The old school ways die hard in the grim and frostbitten kingdom of Norway.

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With just four tracks in about a half hour Cult Of Occult set up a sludgy and haze filled maze for your senses to get lost in. This is a pretty impressive and dynamic first release from these French doom merchants. There are not very many bands in the French metal scene, let alone heavy doom metal and stoner rock groups but that scene is slowly growing. Cult Of Occult have been leading the charge since the release of their self-titled debut last November. They bring all the dopefueled psych that I love from Electric Wizard and mash it up with the hate filled sludge of Eyehategod and the end result is a brutally beautiful concoction of doom. I hope to hear more from this band in the near future. Get with this.

FML, MRL has done it again.

Jersey gets a bad rep. The small Old Bridge based label Music Ruins Lives (MRL) has been doing their part to ale that since 2010. They’ve hit the nail on the head several times already. Vit, Lonesummer, Bad Braids and Greys have all left relatively decent sized splashes in their wakes. BAD LIFE (always in all caps) is no exception to this. With the release of THE DAY YOU DIE album late last year this band broke the mold for what people have come to expect from alternative/goth/avant garde/ambient/post punk/deathrock/dream pop or simply, gloomwave. The album kicks right off with some great garage sounds, real crunchy and biting but not too heavy, actually quite light and soaring like some kind of Hall Of The Mountain Grill / Bee Thousand mashup. Somewhere in the mix the album takes a nosedive into a dreamscape of electronic programing and dialog samples that I was unfortunately unable to place but sound like they were lifted from 90′s independent films. Very reminiscent of the New York scene of the late 70′s. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is undoubtably on heavy rotation where ever these guys practice at and that’s enough reason for me to get behind this band. Imagine if Danger Mouse had produced for Warsaw or Television and you’ll get a good idea of where these guys are coming from and where they’re headed to. THE DAY YOU DIE is an incredibly intriguing musical portrait from a band that shows a lot of potential. This album is hauntingly eerie, quite dreamlike and somewhat difficult to describe so stop reading, just listen. If you like what you hear, support physical formats and purchase a CD.

Music Ruins Lives
BAD LIFE

I didn’t think it was possible but Deathhammer have raised the bar, which had been set in 2010 by their full length debut Phantom Knights, with the release of their second album Onward To The Pits this year on Hell’s Headbangers. Not since the almighty Darkthrone have two dudes from Norway produced such a wicked noise! They combine the best of old school German thrash with the worst of old school American thrash and the outcome is as breakneck and precise as it is sloppy and sleazy. While I love the technicality in thrash I’m not a fan of anything too flashy and over-polished, which would explain my affinity for this band because they’re super raw. “Fullmoon Sorcery” and “Voodoo Rites” set up the album perfectly as mission statements of what to expect. Those were my personal favorites but the album doesn’t let up from there. In fact, another aspect of Deathhammer that I appreciate are their unrelenting riffs. These guys rip the Flag Of Hate to shreds and their songs are jam packed with enough hammered-on bendy notes to choke all Four Horsemen. “To The Evil” is a prime example of that. Bassist, guitarist and lead vocalist Sergeant Salsten runs the vocal gambit from low, guttural death grunts to ultra high pitched shrieks, calling up from hell and possessing you to oscillate wildly. Sadomancer who plays drums also spits up some of the nastiest response chants I’ve heard in metal in recent years. The Sergeant’s dive bomb leads on cuts like “Seduced By The Flames” and “Army Of Death” are on par with some of Piotr from Vader‘s strongest work, in my opinion. The album’s title track, feels like it’s their “Genghis Kahn” seeing how it’s the only instrumental. On Onward To The Pits Deathhammer have really come into their own as a band and it’s a vast step up in terms of their songwriting’s technicality, structure and overall quality from any of their previous efforts which have recently been compiled in a new collection called Forever Ripping Fast.

True headbangers, the one’s that lack a sense of humor and don’t read these poorly scribed articles on trendy hipster blog sites are going to love this album and that’s about the best reason I could think to write about it.
Aside from the fact that you can skate like a demon to this record!

Everyone rip!
Satan Tonio’s KRUDS slam some serious powerviolence across the first 4 tracks on this 7″ while the last 2 are handled by RAMPANT DECAY. This split kills. KRUDS not only rip as a band but they use some of the funniest and most perfectly placed samples I’ve heard since Charles Bronson. The music is about what you’d expect from seeing the artwork- fucking brutal!
“I’ve been robbed of most of my money, can I at least get a blowjob?”
I’m all about the power of violence because the wounds inflicted often discharge sludge. Plus, any Mike Tyson quote is a good Mike Tyson quote and there’s more than one…

“Big Gulps, huh?”
RAMPANT DECAY crush these two tracks like cans on their foreheads and laugh at your four winds with some crusty death metal shit you won’t soon forget. This is the kind of music people die fast to.
Get some- PATAC Records & Distro.

The small Massachusetts based label Yersinia Pestis is responsible for a recent line of limited releases by some pretty niche artists. Doom and black metal are mostly what they’re servin’ up but they move some thrash and punk on the side as well. Among their releases so far are the Rites Of Samhain 7″ EP by the North Carolina occult rock Hour Of 13, a 2xLP collection of rarities from the west coast black metal titan Nosvrolok and a split 10″ by two of my favorite new north eastern doom acts, Pilgrim and Ice Dragon. Not bad for starters but perhaps the most intriguing addition to the label’s small catalog is an obscure cassette release by a band named Velvet Robe, about which next to nothing is known aside from their name and label. The release is limited to thirty deluxe cassette tapes very nicely packaged in hand stamped velvet lined boxes, accompanied by two double sided inserts, a small candle, mouse and bat bones handpicked from owl pellets, yeah you read that right. This release is in a world of it’s own. It plays like the blackened offspring of Jus Oborn and Justin Broadrick but when the album is in full swing it takes you to deeper and darker places than what you’re probably use to from something that toes the line of what could be considered metal so gracefully. The material heard on this cassette stands out because it is devoid of pretention, unlike a lot of new music in this vein. There are some occasional vocals that eerily creep across certain sections of the album which bring to mind the gutoral zombie calls of Scott Carlson, however significantly slower paced. The recordings are pregnant with dialog samples from obscure films and an overall cultish ambiance which permeates throughout the record. Don’t take my word for it, stream the album and check out a music video sample after the jump!

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Bay area death metal legends and death/doom pioneers Autopsy began their weird journey in 1987 and released their awesome debut Severed Survival in ’89, which is now a hallmark of the genre. After that they released Mental Funeral in ’91 and those first two Autopsy albums are often debated over, as to which is superior. They released two more albums before disbanding in ’95. Acts Of The Unspeakable (’92) and Shitfun (’95) are really very good and often overlooked albums in their own right. I personally enjoy Acts Of The Unspeakable a lot. Tracks like “Necrocannibalistic Vomitorium” and “Walls Of The Coffin” perfectly bled breakneck thrash with slow, chugging doom riffs that allow for a pleasant pause in the headbanging. Shitfun kills as an album but no tracks stick out in particular which is why I feel that material perfects their more punk influenced stuff. It is their best and closest representation of grindcore, in my opinion. The band has reunited as of 2009 and the original trio of Chris Reifert, Danny Coralles & Eric Cutler are also joined by Joe Trevisano (Abscess/VON) on bass. They released the limited and now sold out The Tomb Within EP in 2010 and then their masterful return LP Macabre Eternal last year.

All Tomorrow’s Funerals is the latest entry in the weird annals of these death metal legends. Due out on February 28th, this monster release has new studio tracks recorded late in 2011 (including a re-recorded version of “Mauled to Death”) in addition to all of Autopsy‘s previous EP’s & rarities, which have been specially remastered by the band themselves. Totaling 22 tracks in all, the result is over 73 minutes of brutal beauty. The CD and double LP set also brands some sick new cover art from Matt Cavotta who also did the cover for The Tomb Within. If you didn’t already know, Chris Reifert, the band’s lead vocalist and drummer has also played drums on Death‘s Mutilation demo from ’86 and their debut classic Scream Bloody Gore (’87) in addition to other weird projects he’s in like Eat My Fuk and The Ravenous.

Check out the video and track listing for All Tomorrow’s Funerals, after the jump!
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Boston’s PanzerBastard have been pummeling the east coast underground with their relentless aural onslaught since 2006. Their music could be described as somewhat of a more unique hybrid of thrash and crust than what most listeners are probably used to. I say somewhat because while their approach is unique, their sound is also very old school. As straight forward and blasting as their stuff is PanzerBastard contain a firmly nestled experimental center. Their willingness to experiment with weird crap like good production and catchy hooks doesn’t slow them down either. Having successfully toured the UK with crust punk legends Hellbastard (I want to shake the hand of whoever’s idea that was) PanzerBastard have shown to the world that they’re a force to be reckoned with. Their abrasive sound and attitude finds an audience with the punks as much as with the metal heads and thats no coincidence. Like Motorhead, these guys bring the rock n roll.

I talked with lead vocalist, bassist and band leader KPanzer about the bastard’s sound, influences, and goals. Hold on to your butts.

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