Beatriz Carnicero / Pudrëtë split (2013)

this cool split features two cool bands from from south america and playing fastcore / grindpunk.

on one side you have Beatriz Carnicero from Uruguay. I reviewed their previous releases and you can read it HERE and THERE (you'll find as well an interview in english and spanish that we did by mail last year).
their songs are really short (under one minute), fast and raging, with two vocalist singing in spanish. I really like how they strip the songs from all unecessary "fat" and goes straight to the point with a feel of urgency. they really do what I love in punk / hardcore / grind.

On the other side of the split you have Pudrëtë from Peru. what they do is in a similar vein but i'd say it's more crust, longer songs, more slower parts (but it's still fast overall) and with a sound that is less sharp but more raw and noisy.

both side of the split are really good and enjoyable if you're into this kind of music and I really recommend it.

you can stream / download it from free on Bandcamp

Malthusian - MMXIII (demo 2013)

Malthusian is a new death metal band from Ireland. their first release is called demo MMXIII but is released by Invictus productions and with good produciton value so we could say it's more like an EP (three song but around 23 min of music) than a demo (and its members are experienced, some have been in Altar of plagues and Mourning beloveth among others). it's a really solid and interesting release,a start already on a high note. it's rooted in old school death metal, with some element reminding a bit Morbid angel in it's massive epicness and weird melodies. but it develops also more modern elements in its songwriting, evoking sometimes the darkest doom metal and even more some recent death metal bands like Mitochondrion or Portal, basing more its effects in the building of suffocating and ominous atmospheres than on brute force. we could say they choose with taste their recipes and cook it with all the needed savoir-faire to get their own tasty blend of death metal. if you're into death metal this release really deserves your attention.

its BC page

Wino & Conny Ochs - Heavy kingdom (2012)

I'm a bit late with this one (it's been released in 2012) but it's so good and I still listen to it on a very regular basis so I had to post about it.. Heavy kingdom is a collaboraiton between Wino (yes this Wino, the one of St Vitus) and a young german folk singer songwriter called Conny Ochs. except for some guitar solo it's entirely accoustic. but they prove that songs don't have to be amplified to sound heavy or have a doom vibe! even if it's more about the melodies than heaviness it still sound heavy and very..Wino. because of Wino's great vocals and because of the riffs that are powerfull enough to sound great without needing any amplification. I said it sounds very Wino but that doesn't means that Conny Ochs is a dead weight for this album, far from that, I don't know exactly which part he played in the songwriting but what is sure is that he's a great singer and his vocals are a great complement to those of Wino, bringing an extra dimension to the songs. I'm sure this album will stand the test of time and I would be really pleased if they do another one together.

the Lastfm page

Power trip - Manifest decimation (2013)

I suspect the guys at Southern lord records to know a few things about metal. anyway they did a really good job in releasing this Manifest decimation , the first full lenght of Texas' Power trip. I'd say it's easily one of the best recent records in the good ol' badass 80' metal style. even if the guys in the band were not even born at that time, when listening to it you have a taste of the urgency, the attitude and the genuine spontaneity of the good metal of these days. it's mostly trash metal (think Slayer circa Hell awaits and Reign in blood. the riffs, the sound, and the drummer paying some cool tributes to Dave Lombardo)  but also death metal (think Bolt thrower) and a touch of crossover hardcore (think Cro-Mags).  a really awesome and flawless record (flawless if you don't absolutely needs something really original). just push play and soon it will grab you and make you headbang and air drum in your living.. you've been warned..

Power trip on BC

Six brew bantha / Suffering mind (split 7''-2013)

Six brew bantha and Suffering mind are two of the best grind bands of recent years and also are among those very active on the split releases front. so this split bringing them together is not a surprise but is nonetheless really welcome. the Suffering mind side is maybe a bit more old school and with more mid tempo parts while the Six brew bantha side is maybe more all-out grind.

Here is what I already wrote about Suffering mind.

and HERE is what I wrote about Six brew bantha.

if you need your 10 minutes dose of grind assault  don't think twice and go for it!

The BC page for the Suffering mind side

The BC page for the Six brew bantha side.

Head records : the interview

Head records is a label based in Montpellier (south of France) It  releases different kind of underground music, it can be hardcore, stoner, math rock, noise rock, or something else, but whatever the style it's interesting music of good quality (you might have heard about Verdun, Mudweiser, Morse, Pneu, Microfilm, or Cafe flesh for exemple which are among the bands associated with Head records) .
living also in Montpellier I had the occasion to interview Abel, Head records founder, about his label.

Check Head records website

and Bandcamp

and if french is not unknown to you, read the interview below :

-Abel, pour commencer est ce que tu peut revenir sur ce qui t'a motivé et décidé à lancer Head records?

 Abel : à la base j'étais chanteur dans un groupe hardcore / noise qui s'appelait Spinning Heads, ce qui m'a amené à auto-produire des disques, d’où le nom du label Head records puisque sa vocation première était alors de sortir les disques du groupe. Avant la sortie du premier disque en 2006 (le premier 45 tours de Spinning Heads) Il y a eu en 2003 la création d'une association pour organiser des concerts. Au départ Head Records faisait plutôt du management de groupe, aider à trouver des labels, etc., puis a fait label directement. le déclic a été de sortir le disque du groupe Goodbye Diana, ce qui a montré que Head records pouvait fonctionner comme label. 

-Quelles sont tes activités en dehors de Head records? 

Je produits des disques pour des labels de jazz basés à Montpellier, et depuis juin 2013 je fais aussi la programmation du Black sheep. 

-quel était le projet artistique de Head Records au départ, est-ce que ça a évolué? 

Non pas de ligne artistique bien arrêtée au départ, je fais mes choix selon mes goûts personnels tout simplement, aujourd'hui c'est globalement noise, stoner, hardcore, math rock, mais ce qui compte pour me décider à le faire c'est que j'aime la musique du groupe, quel que soit son style. 

 -comment se passe le processus qui va jusqu'à la signature d'un groupe? 

Comme je disais, mon choix se fait selon l'affinité musicale. Parfois c'est le groupe qui m'a contacté au départ, parfois c'est moi. Je reçois plusieurs liens de groupe par jour, qui viennent de presque partout dans le monde, certains sont pour les concerts que j'organise. Pour donner un exemple, sortir le disque de Mudweiser m'a fait recevoir beaucoup de musique de groupes de stoner. 

 -Il a bien marché donc ce disque de Mudweiser? (vous trouverez ICI la chronique Blasting days du disque en question, avec l'interview que j'ai faite avec Jay le bassiste du groupe) 

Oui leur disque a pas mal marché, avec Pneu et Microfilm c'est le groupe du label qui marche le mieux. 

 -tu peux nous présenter maintenant les sorties les plus récentes du label? 

Alors les dernières sorties sont : 

 -Morse : (voir la chronique et l'interview dans Blasting Days). 

les autres gars du groupe m'ont forcé à sortir le disque (lol) ! 

 -Les yeux de la tête : Trio instrumental basse, batterie et saxophone. C’est le deuxième disque que je sorts pour eux, le premier étant co-produit avec un label jazz (Rude Awakening) pour lequel je bosse par ailleurs. 

 -Jean Jean : Duo instrumental math rock, Je les suis depuis leur début et leur ai proposé, il y a quelques mois, de sortir un disque, ce qui est désormais fait. 

En tout cette année 5 sorties donc (ces trois là plus Mudweiser et Town in a Mess, trio rock noise hardcore avec un ancien Spinning Heads). 

-et les prochaines sorties ça sera quoi? 

Le CD de Stuntman (métal core de Montpellier) en 2014 avec Solar flare records et Lost Pilgrims records sur d’autres formats : respectivement vinyle et K7. Mais aussi un split entre Les Yeux De La Tête et un groupe batterie et saxophone de Rome : Mombu. Un autre split vinyle entre deux groupes stoner de Montpellier : ÖfÖ Am et Lahius (voir ici la chronique et l'interview concernant le dernier album d'ÖfÖ Am, The beast within). On travaille aussi sur un prochain album de Pneu, j’espère le sortir en 2014. 

-de façon plus générale, comment tu vois l'avenir du label? 

J’ai prévu d'acheter un camion pour aider les groupes à partir en tournée, d'abord ceux du label, puis d'autres groupes de la région éventuellement. Sinon poursuivre l'activité "normale" chercher à avoir des chroniques pour les disques, les faire connaître via les réseaux sociaux, organiser la distribution (disquaires et streaming / download) et développer la vente par correspondance des groupes et labels que je distribue. J’aimerais créer de l’emploi mais pour le moment ce n’est pas facile de générer suffisamment de rentrée d’argent régulière pour y penser sérieusement. 

-c'est quoi ton avis sur le téléchargement? 

Au début le téléchargement illégal m'embêtait, mais j'ai compris que maintenant les gens voulait être sur d'aimer avant d'acheter et pour ça il faut qu'ils aient l'opportunité d'écouter avant d'acheter…

Nibiru - Caosgon (2013)

This time the nightmarish sludge heaviness comes from Italy. they are called Nibiru and their stuff is like a different kind of drug, a different formula in downward slow heaviness. Caosgon released in the beginning of this year is their fisrt album and it's excellent. I said sludge but it's because of the dirty noisy guitar tone and the raw vocals, there's no punk element or uptempo, it's mid tempo or for the most part slow. what's the most striking is the ritualistic vibe of their music, with a somewhat "tribal" touch provided by some excellent and original drumming. it evokes some primitive lysergik  induced collective hallucinated gatherings. the effects and the vocals and the guitars helping to build these omibous and eerie trippy atmospheres. dark psychedelia in its most powerful musical powers.

their Bandcamp