All Them Witches - Our mother electricity (2012)

All them witches-Our mother electricity (2012-first and remastered release)

Fancy some blues based garage psychedelia?  Then All them witches from Nashville, Tennessee, got something for you. Their Our mother electricity record combines nicely blues, psychedelic garage rock and desert rock. The desert rock elements adding smoothly a modern touch to their 60' / 70' inspired blues based rock. They may need to add a more personal touch to their music, but that's very forgivable for a first record. A promising new band that could craft a very good magic if they find how to add more of their own voodoo to their already good music.

their bandcamp

Converge-All we love we leave behind (2012)

I use to post about less known bands than Converge. is there any use to post about their last records All we love we leave behind? yes maybe because I think it can appeal to more people than just the (many) Converge fans. I like and listen to them since a few years now but without being a huge fan. I have to say that All we love we leave behind is better than I expected, I wasn't completely convinced at the first listen, but after listening to it a few times I really like it. they managed to keep their trademark frenetic delivery, to be still grounded in hardcore (the drumming and the vocals especially) and at the same times are doing something different. what set it apart from other good hardcore bands is the guitar parts. It's maybe a bit more melodic than in their other records, and often goes into nearly stoner domain, and also in noise rock territory, while going deeper into their own Converge style. diversity, fast hardcore songs alterning with more melodic or noisy songs, catchy riffing,  intense vocals, many things gather to makes All we love behind more than another Converge record.

Converge website

the « 10 less fast & angry but nevertheless really cool bands » list :

same comments as for my "9 fast & angry metal bands" list applies (see two posts below).

-Aluk todolo-Occult rock                                    review

-Grand magus-The hunt                                     review & interview

-King giant-dismal hollow                                  review & interview

-Slug guts-Playing in time with the deadbeats   review

-White lung-Sorry                                               review & interview

-Graveyard-lights out                                           review

-Witchcraft-Legend                                             review

-Greenleaf-nest of vipers                                     review

-Unsane-Wreck                                                     review

-Monophonics-in your brain                               review

Ash borer-Cold of ages (2012)

I saw many positive comments about this band, Ash borer, and record, cold of ages, so I decided to try it. the fact that it's been released by Profound lore was also a hint of somehing good. I can only agree with all the positive comments about it. It is indeed a really good record. what it sound like? black metal with post-whatever elements. four long songs filled with good dark melodies and dissonant riffing, with a good balance between ambient / atmospheric moments and blasts beats with black metal riffing. they may come from California it nonetheless makes a good record for dark and cold winter times.


here's their blog

The nine "fast & angry" list

Before everyone gets completely fed up with all those end year list I start giving you mines.  won't be lists of "best" bands, just lists of bands I liked the most this year.

To start with here's my list of the "9 fast & angry" it's mostly extreme metal and related stuff but it will be followed by a specific grind list, death metal list, etc...and a list of bands that are less extreme but not less cool. It's bands / record that I reviewed and sometimes interviewed, so I give you the link to read that. There's not really an order :

-->

- Dephosphorus - Nightsky Transforms     review & interview

- Black breath - Sentenced to Life               review

- Cara Neir - Sublimation Therapy               review & interview

- Cattle decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity           review

- F.U.B.A.R - Lead Us to War                                    review & interview

- The Kill - Make'em Suffer                                      review

- Burning Love - Rotten Thing to Say                      review

- Martyrdod - Paranoia                                           review

- P.O.O.R - Exctinction of Trust                                review


 Use the comments section to tell me which one I missed...

Desolate shrine-The sanctum of human darkness (2012)

Desolate shrine is a finnish death / doom band. I really liked their previous and first record, Tenebrous towers, released last year so I had big expectations for this brand new one called The sanctum of human darkness and released two days ago by the excellent Dark descent records.
I cannot say yet if it's better than Tenebrous towers or not, but I can already say that it's high quality music that deserves some attention.
Still a lot of mid tempo heaviness with a songwriting inclined to "epicness". maybe it's now a bit more subtle, more sophisticated (some discreet keyboards parts here and there), I feel that they explored more their doom dimension than their old school death metal one (but you still have the death vocals, some blastbeats parts, etc). since the result is a really good, rich and complex record, I'm ok with it. I have a feeling that it's a record that is revealing it's "niceties" bit by bit listen after listen...And I think Desolate shrine is a band that is quickly becoming a classic in their musical style (at least they deserve it).

their FB page

Greenleaf-nest of vipers (2012)

Sometimes I wonder if there's more hard rock influenced by the 70' bands now than there was at the time...anyway that's a good thing when they are as good as Greenleaf, a band composed of well known musicians from the Sweden's heavy rock scene (there's two members of Dozer for ex.).
Nest of vipers is their fourth record and it plays in the same category as bands like Witchcraft or Graveyard. which means high quality. nothing innovative but really good songs played with the good vibes.

you can listen to it on the SmallStone recordings bandcamp

Slash dementia-Splits sessions 2012

This is my second review of this finnish grind band, the first one was about "wheels of Babylon " that they released in january 2012 and you can read it HERE. as the name let you guess the splits sessions 2012 are the reunion of tracks that will appear on splits with Zombie raiders and Agamenon project (I don't know these bands). At the moment it is a virtual release that you can stream / download for free on their bandcamp. What Slash dementia plays is grind / powerviolence with a rocking vibe, a bit like a grind version of the death'n'roll period of Entombed. If you're into this kind of stuff you'll find the splits sessions a cool and enjoyable listen.

Slash dementia's splits sessions 2012 on BC

the guys from Slash dementia answered to my questions by mail, read the interview below :

-how did Slash dementia started?

 Konsta: Slash Dementia was born from ruins of our short-lived hardcore punk project called "Anaalivapina". It was a hot summer and we needed a therapy project. Then we made a couple of fast grind tunes and recorded our first EP "Symptoms Are…".


-do you play or have played in other bands?

 Lassi: We all have played in many different bands for a long time and we've had other bands with the same guys as well.

-what about the split sessions, how was it planned, written, recorded, produced?

 Otto: Drinking lots of alcohol made me do rock 'n' roll things.

Lassi: We had a couple of split requests and we started to work on the new songs based on that. We don't actually know that are the splits even released yet.

Konsta: We knew that it will take a lot of time when the splits will get released so that's why we put it out as a single release as well. So you can think that as a one album as well. About writing, Otto did most of the songs on this one and Lassi did all the lyrics as well. We recorded the album in our rehearsal place. I recorded my other band's drums at the same sessions so I had to blast something like 34 tracks in one day…. Guitars and bass were recorded at my apartment and vocals again in the rehearsal place. I did the recording, mixing and maybe we could say producing as well. I am quite satisfied how the recording sounds. It is quite raw and powerful.

-I felt that the songs on the split sessions have a rock'n'roll vibe a bit more pronounced than the songs on Wheels of Babylon, do you think so?


Konsta: Yes. That's because Otto did all the songs. Maybe we'll blend this combination of rock and grind a bit further on the next album?

-what about the finnish grind scene? how do you fit into it? which bands would you recommend? Konsta: The scene is growing a lot here. There are not too much bands and people know each other well in the scene. And it is great that the quality of the bands is awesome! If I had to say just a few names then I'd say propably Feastem, Cut To Fit, Spawn From Deceit, Nistikko, GAF, Death Toll 80k….. We fit into it pretty okay though we'd like to play more shows.

-what does grindcore means to you?
 
 Otto: I don't think grindcore is a very big deal for me, I like rock n roll.

Lassi: To me it means that I can destroy my voice.

Hene: I don't know. Having fun and playing together.

Konsta: Anger management and a huge wall of noise.

-what's your opinion about the DIY ehics and actions?
  
Otto: Everything what we do is DIY. Everything that goes out of this town where we live is DIY.

-how did you get into grind or extreme music in general?
 
Konsta: I was listening to Carcass' debut album in high school with my friend and it sounded so chaotic and fun so I started to look for more bands like this. Then I found Regurgitate, finnish GAF and Napalm Death and more and more great bands. I wanted to hear something really extreme because I was tired of all of the boring metal stuff that is being played everywhere.

Otto: My friend played me Nasum's Human 2.0. once, there it started.

Lassi: I don't actually even remember when I first heard grindcore…..

Hene: I must say that to me it all started from Cause For Effect, a finnish drum 'n' bass grind core duo!

-what's your favourite record for 2012 so far?
  
Otto: Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

Hene: Testament - Dark Roots of Earth

Konsta: Killing Joke - MMXII

Lassi: Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

-what can we expect from Slash dementia in the coming months? more releases planned?
  
Konsta: We'll start working on a new album soon. Then we'll do at least one more split and there's been some ideas of a cover album as well. Also we've been thinking of doing a music video for some songs/songs from the next album.

-any final "full of wisdom" sentence to close the interview?
  
Slash Dementia: Thank you and keep grinding.

Big box-Die now (2012)

Big box is a new hardcore band from Iowa. They say their influence is GG Allin, black metal, Wipers and Nirvana's Bleach. I can hear that in their music, but the band that comes to my mind when I listen to them is Black flag. they have the old school hardcore energy, the slower heavy parts, and the noisy a bit experimental parts, the kind of elements you have in Black flag records. but anyway I don't care what their influences are, what matters to me is that I really enjoy listening to their first record called Die now (after a demo last year). It's like they really tapped in the old school hardcore / punk spirit and are really sucessfull in making some angry and dirty music that sounds for real.

check it on their bandcamp page

Graveyard-Lights out (2012)

Not easy for Sweden's Graveyard to follow such an excellent album as Hisingen blues. and my first impressions about Lights out were a bit mixed. first the ugly cover art. then it's definitely less rocking than Hisingen blues. but is it really a problem? well I think a few more rocking song on the record would have made it more enjoyable maybe. but after a few listen you realise it's still a really cool record, and maybe they were right in choosing to develop another side of their sound. this time I think the focus is on the "hard blues" mood, and they did a really good job in writing new songs that sound like good ol' classics (try Slow motion countdown, the suits, the law & the uniform, endless night) from the hard blues band of the seventies, with a more modern twist to it. They can do more rocking songs on their next record, or try more psychedelia, or whatever direction they want, as long as they keep such a high quality level in the songwriting, the musicianship, the sound, and even the cool lyrics, then that's ok with me...highly recommended.

their website

Jungbluth-st tape (2012)

Jungbluth is a new german band formed by guys from the excellent Alpinist. They recently released a self titled EP on tape. six songs (including an interlude) of screamo / metal of a really good quality. they already had a lot of attention and it's quite deserved. nothing innovative, but really well crafted songs, and it's not too generic either. If they develop a bit more their own style their next record should be really good. I recommend keeping an eye on them.

you can stream / download for free their tape on their Bandcamp

Porta nigra-Fin de siècle (2012)

have you ever tasted absinth? that's what the women on this classy cover is gonna do and if you haven't tried it yet you should. the music? Fin de siècle is the interesting first record by german metallers Porta nigra (released by Debemur morti productions, a really good black metal label). they offer some quality "progressive black metal" (for lack of a better term), with black metal vocals, clean vocals, darkness, melodies, post-punk like synths. they have good musicianship, good songwriting (Megalomaniac being the highlight), and they bring something fresh with their music. it's like absinth, you should try it...

here's their FB page

The kill-make' em suffer (2012)

Australian metal bands knows what extreme means. The kill is another proof of that. Their grindcore is completely straight to your face and relentless with hyper fast blastbeats all the time, trashy riffing forward in the mix and with a sharp cutting sound, and frenzied shrieking vocals. All that makes their latest full lenght Make'em suffer (their first in fact even if they formed more than ten years ago) released this october a really cool and enjoyable listening. Their cover of Slayer's necrophobic is not a surprise due to the trash metal influence in the guitar playing but it's a well done cover and I can't complain if bands cover such a cool song by one of my favourite bands.

The kill's FB

Cattle decapitation-Monolith of inhumanity (2012)

When it comes to death metal I'm usually inclined to the old school more than to the modern and technical death metal and I confess that I paid little attention to the previous Cattle decapitation records. But when you're listening to a record like Monolith of inhumanity, their seventh full lenght released in 2012, you're compelled to recognise its greatness. Impredictible and innovative (they dared adding some weird melodies and clean vocals giving some songs a surprising nearly industrial vibe) they are clearly playing their own brand of death metal allying a faultless technique to a clever songwriting. They kept their mastering of the brutal death grooves and sucessfully added new intersesting elements to it. many songs on the record would deserves a few words, as well as the video clips they made, but I prefer letting you discover it all by yourself. don't fail to do it, Monolith of inhumanity is really a special and awesome record. 

Cattle decapitation website

Witchcraft-Legend (2012)

There's many bands heavily influenced by the 70's but rare are those that do it with as much talent as Witchcraft do. Their new record Legend is a new testimony to that and also show that they continue bit by bit to craft their own style as well.  at times their powerfull and melodic heavy metal / hard rock still reminds strongly  bands like black sabbath (it's evident on the song called Dystopia. the closing song has a riff that's close to the one in Sweet dreams by Eurythmics and covered by Marylin Manson but I won't tell you it's an influence from the 70'!). but these moments are less present than it used to be in their first records and the voice of their singer has enough personnality to make them instantly recognizable. But above all they write really good songs and plays it perfectly. 

Witchcraft website 

Kill the client / Feastem split (2012)

Kill the client and Feastem are releasing a split 12'' vinyl record on the occasion of their common european tour. two really cool grindcore band so I expected quality...and wasn't disappointed. With eight track each they confirms the good opinion I had about them.
Kill the client is quite well known, they are masters at producing a really intense and dense grind (and Brian Fajardo behind is no stranger to it with his usual breath taking relentless and precise drumming).

Feastem from finland are less known but attracted some deserved attention with their latest record called World delirium. what they plays is a ferocious grind, less dense than Kill the client, but that does not means it's less good. just it's more punk / hardcore oriented, more old school grind.

with two bands like that it's no surprise that this split is among the best grind split of the year.

Kill the client side on BC

Feastem side on BC

Bad friends-st 7'' (2012)

Bad friends is a new band (formed in nov 2011) from Albany, NY, that plays a punishing fastcore/powerviolence (I discovered it thanks to Operation grindcore, check the link in my blog list). their self titled 7'' is ten minute of frenzied beats played with all the agressivity needed and with a production that really adds to the damages done. a good demonstration of modern fastcore, going full speed most of the time with a few vicious and noisy sludgy slowing down finishing nicely the job of audio destruction.


highly recommended!
download / stream it on their bandcamp

Deathspell Omega-Drought (2012)

Deathspell Omega is a band very respected as a leading figure among the bands that opened new paths for the black metal genre and widened its scope.  The EP Drought released last summer by Season of mist won't be remembered as one of the most experimental and innovative record of Deathspell omega. Anyway it is a really good record, combining with talent the brutality of black metal and more melodic / ambient post rock moments, moments that on Drought have a kind of "americana" feel, a kind of "desert black metal" vibe, associating warmth and darkness. Maybe that "desert" vibe is the new element in the Deathspell Omega sound brought by Drought. Not a radical change in DO music, but more like a new step in the exploration of its very own style. Like any DO records, if you like quality and ambitious extreme music, it's pretty sure you'll find something that you'll like in it.

Stream it on Bandcamp

The Ex-Catch my shoe (2010)

I recently saw The Ex play at The secret place in Montpellier with their new singer / guitarist and it was very good, the new line up is really working (last time I saw them it was a few years ago and they played then with the ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mechuria, it was quite different but also very good).  Catch my shoe, their latest record, released in 2010, was the first with this new formation. 30 years after they formed in 1980 they still are (now it's 33 years after they formed), and more than ever, a unique band in the punk or post-punk galaxy. they have riffs that non others plays, they have rythms like non others, their vocals are also specials, well, they play music like no other band. and that's a really good thing. and what's more is that the result is really interesting and enjoyable at the same time. sharp and noisy but really moving and danceable at the same time. they can even cover a folk ethiopian song, sung in ethiopian by their female drummer, and it fits very well with the rest of the record that is nonetheless a punk record...
if you know them you probably already love them, but if you don't know them, try it.

The Ex website

Rapturous grief-st 7''(2012)

Rapturous grief is from Atlanta but sings in spanish. what they play is fastcore with a lot of blastbeats and with a riffing that is mostly punk but borders sometimes old school black metal. really good dark and agressive fastcore.

I think this 7'' released in october is one of their first release (they also did a few splits).

it's ten minutes of really cool grinding fastcore so if like me you're into that kind of stuff, just check it!

you can stream/download their record for free on their BC page.


their singer guitarist, Robert Sarabia, answered to my questions about his band, read it below :

-can you present briefly the band?

Robert Sarabia - guitar/vocals

Daniel Deckebach - drums

-was it a decision from the start to play as a duo?

 

Yea, we wanted to be a two piece and still like it but we talk about possibly adding a third member.

-do you play or have played in other bands?

 

Godsballs.bandcamp.com

-what about the self titled record you released recently?

 

It's a 7" only 200 pressed. There are two covers for the release so it'll be 100 and 100.

-why are you singing in spanish? is it because you're more easy with the spanish language or is it more a musical choice?

 

Kind of both. It's not easier, it is the same process for me to write in either Spanish or English. The lyrics have personal meaning so I thought it was appropriate since I am Hispanic. I might write a few songs in English too.

-I feel something like a black metal influence in the riffs, is it so?

 

We like black metal but its not a direct influence. I would say more metal than black metal. (Think Morbid Angel)

-which bands were important and influential for you on a musical or personnal level?

 

My personal influence comes from anywhere between Celtic frost to Jimmy Hendrix. I dont have a favorite band. 

-you're currently touring the US east coast isn't it? what are your imrpessions?

 

Yes we are, it's been a great tour so far, great DIY shows done right and good people.

-are you looking for a record label or do you want to do it the DIY way?

 

We are not partial and don't mind either way. It is nice when a label can help you get records into different countries and you aren't paying for everything, but it also feels good that we do everything ourselves, we also print our own merch.

-which bands from your area would you recommend?

 

All atlanta bands:

soundcloud.com/scavengerofdeath/manic-7-side-a

Cheapart.bandcamp.com

http://hawksnoise.bandcamp.com/album/push-over

what's your favourite record for 2012?

 

Year One by Holly Hunt. It just came out but I've seen them live a few times and this record crushes. 

-what is planned for Rapturous grief for the coming months?

We are going on tour with Shitstorm in February for 10 days, in the middle of the tour we will be playing a festival in Houston TX with Dropdead and Despise You. We may have a new tape by then.

-something to add?

 

Dennis, thank you for your interest in our band, we hope to meet you one day. I will definitely follow your blog and let people know about this site. Grind on!

 

Inter-arma-Destroyer (2012)

I found this band nearly by chance during one of my Bandcamp wandering. But not completely by chance, there was two reason I stopped at it and gave it a listen. First thing, the brilliant artwork, weird, dark, colourful and psychedelic. Then I saw that they were on Gilead media (the record label that has Thou in its catalogue). They just signed now to Relapse, I hope this will do them good.
OK. What about Inter-arma music?
It's quite good. A bit like a colliding of Mastodon and Enslaved. Mastodon for the heaviness and epicness. I mean early Mastodon. And Enslaved for the vocals and black metal meets psychedelia thing. It's not very close to Mastodon nor to Enslaved but you get the idea, it's heavy, sometimes melodic, sometimes heavily crushing. Their EP released this year called Destroyer has four songs. The first is a nearly ten minutes long heavy blackened and sludgy metal epic monster, with mid tempos parts, blast beats, solos, meats and potatoes. The second one is a short but interesting and good melodic instrumental, with a mix of acoustic and noisy riffing.  The third is instrumental for five minutes, quiet and a bit psychedelic, then the drumming starts and the guitar solo, and then it's an epic black metal song. And it's another good one. And the last song is more about slow heavy and hypnotic repetitive riffing through and through. So it's a really good record with a lot of diversity. It will be interesting to hear what will come next from them... 

But for the moment check their EP on their BC page.

Their guitarist Trey answered to the questions I sent them about Inter-arma. Read it below :

-how did you form and how did the band evolved until now?

The band formed in late 2006. The only original member is TJ (drums). But we've been playing in as this exact lineup for about a year and most of us have been together for closer to 4 at this point. Joe (bass) is our most recent member. He joined up in I want to say February (maybe January) of 2012.

-what do you have to say about Destroyer? How were the songs written and recorded?

Well, the songs were written over a pretty significant period of time i.e. a year and a half or so. They didn't take that long to write, but we had a lot of material that we tossed around and by the time we got to recording them they had existed for a good chunk of time. TJ had the main riffs/progressions for "Destroyer" and "The Long Road Home", and I brought the main riffs for "Wailing Moon" to the table. We just jammed on them collectively until we were pretty happy with their composition. We recorded the EP almost as a demo with our friend Garrett Morris from Windhand. We did it all live over a weekend and then took our time mixing it and adding different things.

-I read that you had deals with different record labels like Gilead media or Toxic asset and that you signed with Relapse for your next record, what about it?

Yeah, we've worked with several different labels over the course of our being a band. We had a split 7" with Battlemaster that was released by Mirror Universe (Robotic Empire) before "Sundown" was released by Forcefield Records. We mailed a ton of copies of "Destroyer" to different labels just to see what happened and 20 Buck Spin passed it off to a friend (Toxic Assets) who offered to put out the EP on vinyl. Gilead Media is going to put out the CD version of the EP. We recorded a new record in March (2012) and were lucky enough to have Relapse approach us about putting out the newest record and future recordings through them. 

-isn't your music a bit like doing your own mix of every styles in metal and playing it with something like "epic" intentions? (a silly question just to have you speak about how you see your music).

This is a question we get a lot. I don't think that we set out to play anything in particular. We kind of just write tunes and if they're cool then we keep playing them until we're happy with how they sound. We certainly haven't made it a goal to incorporate lots of styles or create our own thing. We're just eclectic guys who like playing heavy music.

-what's your favourite song on Destroyer and why? which one are you playing live?

I'm partial to "The Long Road Home" because I get to do my best David Gilmour impersonation, or at least an impersonation. We play all of the songs live excluding "Darker Movements".

-your lyrics are a bit spiritual and metaphorical aren't they? what ideas or images do you want to communicate through it?

Mike would answer this better, but I'll give it my best. I think that's a reasonable way to look at it. Themes range from dealing with loss, to hope and hopelessness, disgust, etc... "Destroyer" itself is about Robert Oppenheimer's ambivalent relationship to the atomic bomb. I'd recommend reading about that anyway as it's pretty interesting.

-how do you fit in the Richmond scene, do you see your music related to it?

I'd say everyone's environment affects their creativity in one way or the other so our music is irrevocably tied in with the Richmond community. I mean, we don't exactly sound like other bands around here, but we're friends with and play a lot of shows with good bands from the area. Their presence and music influences us, even if it's subconsciously, and I'm sure it's the same with them.

-with Destroyer we have the impression that you can evolve in many different directions, what can we expect from your next record? Do you already have new songs?

There's definitely evolution from recording to recording, but the overall idea is pretty much the same. We try to write good heavy music that we like. The new record is fast, slow and mid-paced. It's loud and quiet. We did rerecord some songs off of "Destroyer" for the record as those songs had evolved some since we recorded the EP. We also have new songs that aren't even on the upcoming Relapse release.

-you did a tour recently aren't you? a few words about it?

Yeah, we did a full US stint in September/October. It was rad. Mostly awesome shows all over the country. A few flubs, but that's to be expected. Overall it was awesome. Good people, a lot of good bands. Got to see some people we hadn't seen in a long time and meet some new folks. Tour is awesome even when it sucks.

-do European / French people have a chance to see you play in the coming times?

We're hoping to be out your way sometime in 2013. No specific details as of yet but stay tuned.
 
-what's your favourite record for 2012 so far?

Probably "Honor Found In Decay", the new Neurosis. Honestly, though, there's not a lot that hit in 2012 that I liked a lot. I was and am still kind of bummed on the new Enslaved. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but it's not as good as I'd become accustomed to expecting from them.

-a joke to share or something to add?

I don't know enough jokes that are universally funny enough to share without their meaning getting lost in translation. Just watch Snow on tha Bluff and you'll understand our lives.

this photo of Inter-arma's singer is by Karen A.Mann. she's doing photos and reviews  /articles for different publications.  check her blog for some photos, news & reviews related to metal.

F.U.B.A.R-Lead us to war (2012)

FUBAR is a dutch grind band, they are releasing their second full lenght record called Lead us to war (seven years after their first). to put it simple it's one of the best grind release of the year. to me it sounds like a near perfect mix of old school grind / powerviolence elements (for exemple the three singers vocals ar quite old school, a bit like Blockheads) with modern grind (Nasum et al.), the production is powerful without being too clean. The vocals and the grind / punk drumming have a great sense of rythm, bringing much dynamism and contrast to the songs, making it catchy and memorable and fast and brutal at the same time. well, it's smartly crafted grindcore, and that sounds really really nice to me....  and when they move into "crustier" terriory like in a few songs it works ok as well (they don't forget to accelerate again really soon!). it's a really strong and enjoyable grind record, so don't miss it!

FUBAR bandcamp page

Mark, who's playing guitar and screaming in F.U.B.A.R, answered to my questions by mail. read it below :

-how did Fubar started, was it very different from what it is now?
F.U.B.A.R. finds its origin in a project called I scream, protest! But never did anything worth mentioning under that name. With a new singer we found a new name and we never chanced line up again. F.U.B.A.R. always have been, Luc on vocals, Paul on drums, Bas first on guitar and later bass and vocals and me, Mark on guitar and vocals.

The basis of what we do has always been the same, making grindcore. The influences we put in are always chancing, but never too far away from grindcore. Most influences are from punk, metal, crust, hardcore and power violence.

How we make songs, also chanced during the years. Through the years it became more and more a band effort. The first years we would write songs separately and bring them to the rehearsal. Now days we start with a single riff and we create a song out of that. Same with the lyrics.

We exist for more than 10 years now. So fortunately a lot has changed. Change keeps it interesting, to go and write new songs again and again.

-why seven years between your previous full lenght and the new one? what about your previous releases, splits, EP, etc.?
The years flew by. And there was always the opportunity to do a split with a band we really liked. You do not say no to a split with Splitter, Lycantrophy or Blood I Bleed in my opinion.

That’s why it took so long for us to find the time to make a full length. We had to make loads of new songs for all are past splits.

And in my opinion if you want to be in a grindcore band, releasing split records is mandatory. Same goes for releasing vinyl and having some old tape with rehearsal recordings out. No mather how professional a scene can get, never forget where you came from. And what made this scene to begin with.

But to be completely honest, I think we will be releasing our next full length in about a year / year and a half from now. We are writing new songs, and things seem to go pretty good.

So no split records in het near future. (o, I just remember, we just released a split seven inch with Embalming Theatre. Same recording session as Lead us to war).

-what about Lead us to war, how was it written, recorded, produced?
It started with the idea to make a full length for a change. So when we started to write these songs, we knew their destination. Normally we start to write songs without knowing the format which they will be released as. So we knew we had to make a load of songs that had keep the listener interesting for about half an hour. We wanted a lot of diversity in the songs, and I think we did pretty fine. Some real (old school) grindcore, powerviolence, crust, hardcore, and metal influences but still recognizable as F.U.B.A.R.

We recorded 24 songs with the great help of J.B. van der Wall. He plays in a lot of good bands like Dr Doom and Herder. We loved what he had already recorded. So we knew he could make the sound we wanted, and he knows his grindcore. We think he did a great job on our recordings. He made it sound the way we wanted our songs to sound and he made recording even more fun.

-which is your favourite song on Lead us to war and why?
I have a few actually. I scream protest is one of my favorites, because it really stands for what F.U.B.A.R. has done all those years. The title refers to our past and it’s as grindcore as grindcore can be to me. And I love screaming: I scream protest!!!!

Another song I think turned out pretty good is Lead us to war. It’s totally different from what we have done in the past. It clocks over 3 minutes (I think close to 4 minutes actually) We can play a song like Blended about 8 times in 4 minutes. So a very long one. But I think there will be more songs like that in the future. It shows an other side of us, our love for crust and more melodic music.

-It looks like the lyrics are something like in a "protest" vein, can you tell us more about it? what do you want to express?
I do not write the lyrics of F.U.B.A.R. I only scream them. Luc an Bas are the main writers of F.U.B.A.R. lyrics.
They are about frustrations, daily ones and frustrations about big subjects like politics of our society. Stuff that makes us angry enough to write short, fast and loud songs and scream very hard over them actually.

If you read them, I think they speak for themselves. So too little time to explain what they all are about. It must be over a 100 songs we written over the years.

You are right when you refer to them as protest. Grindcore is protest in my opinion.

-what about the dutch grind scene? how do you fit into it? which bands would you recommend?
A lot of quality in the Dutch grindcore scene. Most popular Dutch bands tend to lean towards more gore and metal influences as F.U.B.A.R. I think the Dutch grindcore fan has more appreciation for that kind of music, than the more punk/hardcore oriented bands. But we can’t complain at all. It’s good to play with Dutch bands. Always a good time.

As I said, a lot of good bands in Holland. My personal favorites are Blood I Bleed and Krush.

-what does grindcore means to you? 
My interest in grindcore started when I was a teenager and thought music could not be fast enough. I loved the energy of grindcore / powerviolence and hardcore gave me.

A happy coincidence was I agreed with most of the lyrics all those bands where screaming.

Later on I got interested in other styles of music also. But my love for fast and aggressive music never died.

Also grindcore is the living proof of how underground music can have a very strong scene and be self sufficient. I love that. No need to interfere with the music business and their twisted fascination with money and fame.

-what's your opinion about the DIY ehics and actions?
I think my previous answer sais enough about my opinion of DIY. Pick up an instrument and go play some music.

-are you coming from a more punk or more metal background? how did you get into grind or extreme music in general?
Both actually. My love for blast beats and heavy guitars got me interested in grindcore. Before I knew what grindcore was I was listening to punk and metal. But when I saw Last days of humanity and Suppository play at a local bar. I forgot about that and started to listen to grindcore and hardcore. Funny coincidence I got to play in Suppository a few years later.

A lot of interesting music to listen to followed, during the years. But the more punk / hardcore oriented bands are is still my favorite grind bands.

-what's your favourite record for 2012 so far?
Converge - all the love we leave behind is my favourite record for 2012.

New releases that can’t go without mentioning in opinion are Martirdöd – Paranoia, Phobia Remnants of filth, Pig Destroyer - Book Burner.

-you are touring or planning a tour isn't it? I saw that Warfuck will play with you, what can you say about it?
Last time we played with Warfuck was great fun. And I love their album The weak and the wicked and live shows. So looking forward to go on tour with them.

I think the first shows are booked now. The tour will be in May and it will take us to Germany, Tsjech Republic, Poland, Italy, Hungary, France and more.

It has been to long sinds our last tour, can’t wait to jump in the van and go through Europe to make some noise once again.

-expect touring what can we expect from you in the coming months? more releases planned?
No new releases planed for the near future. I hope we will hit the studio end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. Expect some surprises on that recording. Think it will be a new full length. We really enjoyed making Lead us to war. So a new full length will definitely not take 6 years or more.

In the mean time, go and see us, when we are in the neighborhood. Playing live is what we love most.

-any final "full of wisdom" sentence to close the interview?
Start a grindcore band.

Aluk todolo-Occult rock (2012)

This record shines like a dark star, brilliant and very special. you can call it kraut ambient black metal or psychedelic noise rock or just occult rock but what is sure is that it's a an impressive record and a special listening experience. this french isntrumental trio, called Aluk Todolo, tries with their third record Occult rock to create some ritualistic occult music (they are into Aleister Crowley and stuff like that) and even if I can't take the "occult" thing too seriously I have to say that the hypnotic and "mind blowing" qualities of their music is indeniable and strong. Aluk todolo sound like no other band. really well done repetitive drumming patterns, noisy basslines and spacey kraut tenebrous riffing makes  Aluk todolo's recipe and the effects are powerful and stongly addictive. you've been warned...don't miss this record it will stay for the coming aeons as one of the best and striking, record of this year. Highly recommended.

Aluk todolo website
Aluk todolo on Soundcloud