FIGURE FOUR.

While I could give a shit less about someone's secular beliefs (be they for Jesus OR be they for Satan - you can't believe in one w/o the other), I have always found the first album from this "brutal-to-the-max" thug-core band from Winnipeg, Canada to be a serious ass-kicker.

Having to attend Catholic Schools for 10 years of my life, as well as also having to attend Mexican Baptist masses throughout those same years has probably been the one thing most responsible for turning me into someone who thinks that religion is a fuckin' crutch. Regardless of how I feel about "faith", I am open to everyone's interpretation as to "what it means & where it all comes from". Usually, I like to keep this out of my music - I like to keep the politics out of it as well these days, but as far as Figure Four goes, they played a seriously heavy version of tough-guy hardcore - harder (aka, "better") than Madball or many of those other "Jersey Meatbag" bands.

Take it it for what it is - you either love it or hate it - but there is no denying the power of the music that these Christ-fueled Canadians laid down...



Figure Four - No Weapon Formed Against Us

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HOMBRINUS DUDES.

This fuckin' two-man unit of fuckin' pain & anguish fuckin' blisters your fuckin' cranium-innards with a caustic fuckin' grind that fills your fuckin' earholes to the magnitude of where your fuckin' dumb ass is sayin', "there is no fuckin' way that this glorius fuckin' din I'm hearin' is made by just two fuckin' manic-blasting motherfuckers from that fuckin' town in shit-fuckin' Michigan where that fuckin' Amway cleaning products fuckin' cult BULLSHIT & sturdy fuckin' office furniture comes from", but when it comes down to it, that's the fuckin' truth, so you best believe it.

Completely off-the-radar - and off their rockers - these guys bust out an acidic blend of classic grindcore that hints at the greats such as vintage Napalm Death & at-their-best Nasum.

Fuckin' take that, brand-new-neck-tattoo-slash-mathematical-haircut-guy!



Hombrinus Dudes - Politi-Kill

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KNIFE FIGHT.

So-Cal hardcore that "the kids" like to call "fastcore", but to be honest, that tag seems to weaken a powerful band in my opinion - no need to call them that as a true hardcore band is based on that element, correct?

(The kids aren't always aware of this though, I forget sometimes)…

Anyways, these guys were around for a few years in the early 2K's, and they proudly & shamelessly wore their first-generation (classic) American Hardcore band influences on their sleeves - yet they added a new-school element to the mix w/o the massive earlobes and girls jeans, per se'.

They may have not been the most original, but their prolific output is without a doubt powerful, and stands on it's own, for sure - much like the buzz from the beers I've been drinking since I got off work tonite…



Knife Fight - Out of Print: 2002-2004

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CARNAGE.

A bit of long-lost & under-appreciated Swedish Death Metal, Carnage often get overlooked when it comes to said country's DM lineage.
These dudes were mere pups at the time of this recording, and didn't get the attention that Entombed & Dismember received - "Left Hand Path" blew the fuck up around this same time…

Some classic Swedish twin-guitar attack tones, fat & chunky, rumbling bass lines thickening it all up, and I must admit I rather enjoy the drumming on this release quite a bit - some interesting fills & tempos played within the riff, etc.

Some of these dudes went on to bigger bands, but honestly I can't say as though I liked anything those dudes were/are involved with other than when they were in Carnage.

This is a SEMINAL release as far as Swedish DM goes, but you knew that already, right?



Carnage - Dark Recollections

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NUCLEAR ASSAULT.

Not the strongest / heaviest set by these (baked) NYC thrash merchants, but nonetheless, this is a somewhat rare release, so I thought I'd share.

The mix ain't so hot (but it ain't that bad) - our boy Lilker is buried in there somewhere, but JC's pipes are spot-on, as is the drumming. The twin-guitar attack is pretty sweet, and - oh yeah - Lilker's backup vocals are pretty choice - and there might be a blown riff here or there, but these guys are legends in their own right. Definitely worth a listen now & then.

You can check them out - holy shit - in Oslo, Norway Jan. 29th. 2K11 @ the Metal Merchants festival…



Nuclear Assault - Live at Hammersmith Odeon

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CARCASS.

Let's start the year off by ripping & tearing into a greasy fat chunk of meat from the Carcass of some of Liverpool's finest gore-death mongers ever known to filet the riffs, shall we?

Not much needs to be said - a visceral power-trio if there ever was - Bill, Jeff, & Ken lay down the heavy - w/ the grind - w/ the atmosphere to create something unique in the gore/death/grind genre.
We all have our favorite era of Carcass, and I pretty much like all of them - really. This one is cleansing my palate quite nicely right now.

Rediscover this if you haven't already.



Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness

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Kind Reader:

Sorry the year didn't go out with a bang around here. I was totally sick w/ the flu all through the Xmess holiday, then I barely recovered a day before I had to fly (last-minute) back to MI for my Grandmother's funeral service.

That was the relaxing part of the last two weeks for me in many ways; the flights I took were all delayed/almost missed/or rebooked. I spent New Years Eve by myself in a hotel in Cleveland for fucks' sake - then I got flown to Newark, NJ the next day so that they could put me on plane EIGHT HOURS LATER bound for SF.

FUCK CONTINENTAL / DELTA AIRLINES!!!

Let's all hope that 2011 holds something better than what 2010 shit out.