IMPETIGO.

If you enjoy grind-gore infused w/ a heaping spade-full of old school death metal, then Bloomington, Ilinois' Impetigo is what you're looking for.

Great snuff samples interweaving throughout; some excellent throat-gurgling groans /blood-curdling screams that sound completely inhuman in a way that hasn't been done before. The guitars are groovy-but-heavy in the riff department, not always blasting away at top speed, but plenty of down-tuned chug to set the stark atmosphere, and although this release is more death-than-grind, it completely shreds - not a bad song the album, if you ask me.

A unique record - a classic, actually - in the gore-grind/death genre.



Impetigo - Horror of the Zombies

Link removed due to bot leeches at punks and skins dot com - MOTHERFUCKERS FOR SURE.

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND.

It's been a long, slow, grueling week - always is right before Xmess, ain't it - and after a long Friday at work getting drunk on the clock and then coming home for an hour or two, then going back out for a nice dinner & cocktails at three different bars, I return to find out one of my musical mentors has passed on from from this mortal coil - this after spending the evening drinking w/ a friend whose brother died recently & I hadn't seen since that happened - R.I.P. WISP.

There will be a million posts on "The Good Captain" on many a blog worth its weight, and you either loved him or "just didn't get it", but for me as a young impressionable open-minded teen, his bag of tricks always mesmerized the fuck out of me - not an easy listen by any means - but to me he was sort of the "White James Brown" in many ways.

When I think of Death Valley I will always think him. Never mind - if you don't know by now, here's a shot at (your) redemption...

Rest In Peace, Don Van Vliet - and thank you for helping me along on my way to wherever the fuck it is that I'm headed - For reals.



Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Doc at the Radar Station

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RICK SHAPIRO.

This is easily one of the greatest "comedy" records I have ever heard.

Rick Shapiro is seriously amazing when it comes to painting a picture with his voice / expressions / mannerisms - they call that "improvisation" I suppose- but Rick transcends all that.

If you don't know who he is, Google around a bit - do your homework - because he's been around for years, & under-appreciated for most of his career.
A checkered past? Rick? FUCK YES! I would expect no less from a man who truly knows what the fuck he is doing when he takes the mic.
As far as the world of "stand-up" goes, Shapiro & Stanhope are "on the real tip" - sadly, Hedberg bit it a few years ago, and Geraldo? Well, I wanted to dig that dude, but his schtick gave me a rash more than anything else. Enough about those other dudes - Rick Shapiro is a fucking madman who is completely on-point; his material ain't "material" - it just IS...



Rick Shapiro - Unconditional Love

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BULGE.

Here's a wonderfully dingy, obnoxiously abrasive, & poignantly juvenile record from one of my favorite Boston HC bands ever, Bulge, née, Psycho.

I used to write to Charlie Infection way back when I was a shit-kid skaterat back in the mid-Eighties in mid-Michigan, and he would send me tons of flyers, homemade stickers, cassette comps, etc.
I am sure I wasn't the only one he wrote back to; I gotta say that all the cool stuff that he sent me over the years warped my young & impressionable weed-addled-sponge-of-a-mind by helping me to realize that you really could do whatever the fuck you wanted with your life if you really wanted to, and gnarly-ass hardcore, skateboarding, tattoos, a broke(n) family, & a small midwestern hick-town upbringing/existence just helped to stir the pot for what came next in (my) life.

Anyways, I'm rambling on about the path I took, but for what it's worth, Charlie Infection is 52, still jams with Psycho, puts out (aXctio) Records, etc. - what do you think you'll be up to when you're 52? You gotta make it there first, son.

(By the way, Bulge was the pseudonym that Psycho used when they backed GG Allin on his classic LP, "Freaks, Faggots, Drunks and Junkies" ).



Bulge - Penis Rising

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EXODUS.

The only Exodus vocalist that matters for me was Paul Baloff.

While the rest of the band has continued on and made great music, what is missing for me is that frayed edge, the unknowing - that feeling you get the moment before unforeseen tragedy strikes.

That's what Paul Baloff brought to the fold.

While he may not have been the prettiest, or best singer in the Bay Area Thrash Scene of the Eighties, Baloff was "the cold, hard & grim reality" screaming maniacally in your face.

To me, he was perfect for what a real thrash band was about.

Sadly, he ain't with us any more, but this here is a choice collection of material spanning the infamous "Studio 54 gig", some early demos, & a few live cuts featuring (the future / other guitar player from Metallica - the one who ISN'T gay), Kirk Hammett.

A nice addition for any TRUE "Poser Killer" like yourself.



Exodus - Bonded by Baloff

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HELLSHOCK.

More than just another "denim-cut covered-in-spikes band", Portland's Hellshock surpass the masses of D-beat / Crustcore clone bands by bringing this thing called "HEAVY" to the plate.

No "one-trick pony" here, folks - these guys lay it down fast & furious, yet are also fully capable of bludgeoning you with the doom-laden breakdown & a tight solo if need be.

PDX - for some odd reason - has always been a hotbed for killer crust bands, but these guys easily wear the crown for "superior rock power" in their neck of the Pacific Northwest.



They Wait for You

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DISASSOCIATE.

Here's a little something to get your fat ass off the couch to get ready to go back to work tomorrow morning. How about some seriously scary / real Brooklyn grind-hardcore!

None of that fixie-riding / ironic beard / women's jeans / one-man black metal bullshit. This is like "getting dusted" at some party a friend-of-a-friend "invited" you to in a strange part of town (filled with creepy people), and then not knowing who/what/when/where, etc. for the next 12 hours.

They were huge in Japan, and played w/ all the great Far East grinders, but you missed them 'cuz that fat girl w/ the white sunglasses & bitch boots (who turned you gay) "didn't like that kind of noise".

You fuckin' puss.



Disassociate - Controlled Power

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ABSCESS.

Old-school death metal with a brutal groove…

Chris Reifert is a master of the death metal arts.
A frenetic master skin-beater who has also done time in Autopsy & Death - no joke, son!
Hoarsing-his-throat-the-fuck-out simultaneously is what he does best.

Bower & Corrales have always been a lethal duo in the six-string motherfucker department, yet they hardly get any notice in the press. So under the radar…

I can easily listen to these guy at 7am on a Monday morning sitting in my car, "tuning up" for another shitty day in "The Tombs", er, "work".
It fits well in my collection right alongside Obituary, EyeHateGod, The Accüsed.

It works for me is what I'm sayin'...



Abscess - Damned and Mummified

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HYPOCRISY.

Brutally heavy & sinfully harmonious at the same time?
It must be Sweden's Hypocrisy we're talking about.

There's a few different versions of this band sound-wise, and while I dig the early satanic-leaning material, this record sounds fucking HUGE.
The drums on this underrated release are standout for sure; the battery is relentless, the vocals top-notch, the riffs keep coming, & the leads "take you there".

Melodic Death Metal hardly gets my blood boiling - in fact, I am usually a non-fan of it - but Hypocrisy has always brought something heavier & deeper - the mix is always spot-fucking on w/ these dudes as well.

If you missed this, check it out.
There is a cold blackness about this that is refreshing without being cliche'.



Hypocrisy - A Taste of Extreme Divinity

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DARKSIDE NYC.

Sometimes you just truly don't give a fuck.

When I get that feelin' - today kind of sucked a giant bag of herpetic dicks - it is not uncommon for me to bust out some burly-ass / tough-guy / circle-pit-inducing / thick-necked / thrashy / thug-core to mellow my "amped-the-fuck-up" self back down to a tolerable level.

Sometimes I add beer to the equation as well, but enough about me & my world, right?

Darkside NYC has been pummeling earlobes, craniums, & 40-ouncers for nearly 20 years on & off.
You can't pin them down to just the hardcore set either - right when you think all they got in their tank is killer heavy "chugga-chugga" breakdowns, they'll switch it up & get all "Tom G. Warrior-styled" thrashy on you!

Just go with it bro, the shit's all good...



Darkside NYC - Ambitions Make Way for Dread

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SUFFOCATION.

I love it when I dig through my archives to see if I posted a "classic album" - only to realize that I haven't - then I end up going, "How the fuck did all this time go by & I didn't post this yet!?!"…

Dark & crushing with a grip of technicality driving the brutality, this album pretty much kicked my ass the very first time I heard it.
The riffing on this record is tasty as fuck; Hobbs takes you on an unrelenting journey, while the rhythm section gives you something to hang on to.
Everybody has a favorite album by these "Strong Island" death metal merchants, and while I dig every record they've done so far, this is the one that I always turn to when I need that extra bit of juice to get my day started, etc.



Suffocation - Pierced from Within

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PULLING TEETH.

Charm City hardcore w/ a fresh and solid bent in the way they lay it down.
While these guys are a "Deathwish" band due to the association w/ said label - most of those bands on that label get/give themselves WAY too much credit - P.T. actually gets less respect than many others (who pale in comparison) in the "metalcore" genre.
They may play HC shows & such, but they play their heavy HC w/ more metal-than-'core in the mix, and they certainly know how to mesh the texture & dynamics to create a stark caterwaul of anguish whether they are doomin' it up, getting' melodic with it, spacin' out, or thrashin' their tits off!

A great bill would have been these dudes & the sadly-missed Cursed - maybe that happened, who knows?
Ignore the poorly-rendered new-jack tattoo artist covert art & let 'er rip - this one is unique & stands on its own in a genre that I find hard to back much of the time the older I get.



Pulling Teeth - Paranoid Delusions / Paradise Illusions

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C.R.

Known for being the birthplace of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as for having the honor of also being the place where all the trash/refuse from NYC goes, Staten Island also spawned one of the true greats of the powerviolence genre - Compassionate Revolution.

While they certainly couldn't be pigeonholed within that movement, "emotional, intense" hardcore just doesn't sound right when describing their sound either. They fucking blazed ass, and made stark, gritty, violent "thinking mans" balls-out adrenalin-fueled hardcore for lack of better stereotype/term.

I'd be surprised if you never heard of them, but in the case that you haven't, do yourself a favor & check these guys out.



C.R. - Discography

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DEVIATED INSTINCT.

True leaders of the pack as far as crafting the bass-heavy crust sound known as "Stenchcore", Deviated Instinct are still out there 25 years into it.
You ever wonder what you'll be doing in 25 years?
These guys are still practicing their crunchy / crusty craft, and we are all better off for it.

There are many pretenders are to throne - Deviated Instinct wrote the curriculum for how it's done properly.



Deviated Instinct - Welcome to the Orgy

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CANNIBAL CORPSE.

So here we have the first "Corpsegrinder"-fronted C.C. album, and for me, this is always a fun listen. I'm sure there's tons of "fans" out there who dig Barnes over Fisher, but I think George stepped it right up - the dude possesses a fine-tuned serrated throat-hole, for sure.

This is a heavy album full of catchy riffs, bottom-end brutality, and overall it is in-your-face with some nice thrashy bits with creepy little lead nuances form time to time. The rhythm section? Well, what can you say? They are the mainstay of the band, and for good reason - they always come correct.

Everybody has a favorite record / era of the band, and for me - this week anyways - Vile is my favorite by these "Noo Yawk" masters of death-pummel.



Cannibal Corpse - Vile

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Bonus story for you...

I once witnessed George Fisher puncture the tin lid of a Skoal can w/ two fingers on the first try after a 2001 gig here in S.F.
WTF, you say? I KNOW! Rad…

GRIDE.

Wow, I find it hard to believe no one gave a fuck about the last post.
That record has to be one of the greatest "ringtone" records ever conceived!

I'll forgive you for not a single comment left (good or bad) on that one, and in return, I'm gonna shatter your day w/ some nut-kicking Czech Republic power-grind(lence) from Gride, who - if you've been around here for awhile - I first posted here two years ago. That would be the first part of their discography.

This here collection spans the second part of their discography documenting the years 1997-2009, and was an edition of 500 CD's pressed for the U.S. tour.
Enjoy the chaotic battery thrown down by these longtime powerviolence / grindcore legends from the land of Fernet, hockey studs, & long-legged high-fashion models...



Gride - Faster Than Death, Harder Than Life

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MORBID ANGEL.

Trey Azagthoth is a six-string shredding beast from outer space, er, Bellingham, WA.
Probably the greatest Death Metal git-slingeing virtuoso ever, this here is a unique collection of molten-hot lava riffs / soloing from The Man himelf.

You will either hate this, or think it is the greatest thing ever - I personally enjoy the isolated solos on here - it's almost like being in the "Temple of Ostx" right alongside dude while he's conjuring up his magno-electric magic...



Morbid Angel - Love of Lava

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BANISHED.

Truly a fine example of some classically-American Death Metal stylings as performed by these legendary Buffalo, NY rock crushers formerly known as Baphomet.

They didn't get a lot of attention back in the day, and Peaceville fucked 'em as well - we've heard that story elsewhere, haven't we? - Vocalist Tom Frost bellows a gravel-gurgle that I find quite soothing, and the guitarwork of one Dave Craiglow is quite tasteful - not a lot of tech-fare, just serious meat-and-potatoes heaviness.
Why these guys never got big is mind boggling to me, but now you can judge for yourself. I wonder what these guys are up to these days?



Banished - Deliver Me Unto Pain

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GERIATRIC UNIT.

When your band is comprised of former members of Heresy & Iron Monkey, you know it's gonna be powerful & in-your-face scary. The only thing these guys have in common with their name is that they ain't no spring chickens - on the other hand, these guys spew corrosive thrashy hardcore all over the place.

Fast as fuck. Chaotic as fuck. A throat full of gravel. An ear full of pummel.
That's what these guys bring to the party. What you got?

You better look out…



Geriatric Unit - Kill the Pose

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DEATH.

One of my all-time favorite technical metal albums, Human is a landmark in the genre.

Chuck Schuldiner was an entity unto himself. Completely unique in style and tone, he always had great lineups for whatever flavor he was gonna throw at you next, and on top of it all, he was a normal fuckin' dude. One that had no heirs about him, no macho bullshit steez - just sick fuckin' licks that most folks still can't fathom...

Let your mind soak up this groundbreaking piece of work.



Death - Human

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(Sorry for the lack of updates recently.
It's been a rough one for me, the past two weeks.
I lost a good friend - a brother, basically - who succumbed to a brain tumor.
He battled & beat two bouts w/ brain cancer already in the last 10 years, but the third one took him out - 2 days before he would have been 34 years old).

THERE IS NO GOD.

Gladly, Black Sabbath has helped me keep my sanity, as well as cold beers w/ good friends, late nights of personal writing & reflection, a good woman, a loving son, & a loyal dog by my side. This record has been critical in my personal struggle for finding some closure on this fucked-up situation).

FUCK YOU, CANCER.

This post is dedicated to my tight homie, WISP. Godspeed to you, my brother. Thanks for the good times. R.I.P.

CHARLES MANSON.

I can't really give you much info on this compilation other than I found it via The Manson Family Tumblr. Not sure if it's an "official" release or not, but I can tell you that this collection spanning Chrlie's musical "career" from The Beginning up to the Present is chock full of great moments, most of them unheard before.

Like The Man himself, you'll either love this or hate it, and whatever your stance is on his music, or Helter Skelter is entirely up to you.
The world was a different place in the late sixties / early seventies, and as much as Charlie got caught up in drugs, women, the scene, etc., when you mix mental illness, a lifetime w/ no family stability, years upon years of institutionalization, charisma for days, and on top of that, the media hungry to vindicate it all w/o question, well, then... that's when shit gets a little weird!

There will never be another American Cultural Icon that will have the same kind of impact on the collective psyche as Charlie & The Family did.
That's all I'm saying.
Enjoy the tunes.



Charles Manson - A Lifetime: 1967-2010

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RORSCHACH.

Pretend for just a moment that you are a small animal trapped inside a vessel which has no oxygen holes. Now, think about those last fleeting minutes when you exhaust your final breath, and you realize for a few moments more that there is no space for the sound of your agony - just complete implosion within yourself.

That is the sound of Rorschach.

A masterpiece in the melding of dissonant hardcore rhythms & atonal thrash progressions, fused together via some serious out-there alienation, courtesy of the serrated throat of Mr. Maggio.
"Protestant" will always hold its own in the annals of hardcore/powerviolence.



Rorschach - Protestant

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INCINERATE.

Incinerate hail from that hotbed of gory-death metal known as Maplewood, MN.
They certainly hate that Jesus guy - even more than myself, I suppose - which ain't an easy thing to do (considering 12 years of Catholickkk School made me the fabulous human being that I am today).

The bros who call themselves Incinerate lay down a mean stripped-down version of Suffocation worship - I mean that in the best possible way. There are many pretenders to that throne, yet few can do it w/ more than just speed; Incinerate lay down some interesting tempos, riffs, time changes, etc.

If you dig this record, then definitely check out their newest release "Anatomize" which takes the formula even further. Good stuff from the Heartlands of America...



Incinerate - Dissecting the Angels

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CRYPTOPSY.

Ferocious is the word that comes to mind when I think of the drumming that comes from Flo Mounier's limbs.
The dude is definitely in a league of his own, with a style all his own.
Watching the man throw down on his kit is something to behold!

Cryptopsy has always been unique in the way that they present their version of tech-Death, and while I can't back the last record they did, I always go back to this one. Devastating tremolo-picked riffing, gurgle-grunt brutality from the throat of Thee Lord Worm, and speed for days makes this record an all-time contender you'd be hard-pressed to beat...



Cryptopsy - None So Vile

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INFESTED BLOOD.

You ever wonder what the sound of being sucked into a black hole through time and space would sound like?
I think it would be safe to assume that it sounds like THIS.

Infested Blood create some of the most caustic and agitating brutal death metal around - easily one of the most unique/underrated bands in the DM scene. If you enjoy the sound of a man vomiting broken glass & metal shards, ill car-crash guitar riff-runs, & relentless drumming that is - dare I say - "relentless", well then… here's your ticket to an endless vortex of eardrum battery...



Infested Blood - Interplanar Decimation

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