Lord Dying - Summon the Faithless (2013)

Lord Dying, another good band from Portland, had been noticed with their first good demo and are now confirming their quality with their first album called Summon the Faithless, and released by Relapse. What they play is some doomy heavy metal with also some thrash metal aggression. They sound at bit like a mix of early Mastodon and Slayer, which is cool actually. The vocals are screamed but not extreme like in death or black metal, the guitar goes from trashy riffing to melodies, with cool leads. They play most of the time at mid tempo. The songs are well written and catchy. What I like in their music is that they found a good combination of heaviness and melodic thrashy riffing.

Check it on their BC page.

Hail spirit noir - Pneuma (2012)

we get used to black metal bands adding a touch of psychedelia / prog elements like Enslaved does for exemple, but with the greek duo Hail spirit noir it's a different dosage, we could say their first release Pneuma is equal part black metal and prog rock (think King crimson or even..Yes!) so it's something different, and maybe more exiting. and what's best is that the result is brilliant due to an excellent songwriting. the vocals are sometimes black metal sometimes clean and the metal riffing is balanced by the sound of vintage keyboards (mellotron, stuff like that) and guitar melodies, the drumming goes from blast beats to post-punk patterns (especially the song called against the curse, we dream has a post punk flavour, along with the prog and black metal elements). It's extremely well crafted and pleasing and I could listen to the four songs countless times. well, that's the only problem, it's just four songs, less than twenty minutes for the whole thing. and it let's you hungry for more. but the good thing is that, as I write, their second release is nearly recorded.

check it on BC.

Ratbomb - Natural born grinders (2012)

Ratbomb is a very cool new band from Starsbourg (east of France) and playing some grind / crust. they released in 2012 their first album called Natural born grinders. the old school vibe of their grind reminds me a bit of Blockheads (but is more crust punk maybe). fast and raging but catchy in the grindiest way, with well rythmed vocals, it has everything I love in grind and sounds fresh and spontaneous. I'm just asking for more and it's cool that they already annouced a follow up in 2013 that will be called "low cost gangstas".

but for the moment just enjoy their first one!

 their BC page. 

Sacridose-Anxiety tremors (2013)

Sacridose is a new band from the USA with the guitarist of Cellgraft (Here are what I posted about Cellgraft, may this excellent band rest in grind!). on their first release called Anxiety tremors Sacridose plays some classic good ol'grind : very short and fast songs, blast beats, shriekings, hardcore or thrash / death riffing. well, grindcore..Sacridose being more on the punk/hardcore than on the death/gore side of grind. it's less strikingly powerfull and special than Cellgraft was in my opinion. but let's not compare the bands, just take Sacridose for what it is : another cool grind band, sharp and fast. just enjoy!

here's their Bandcamp.

and here's the interview we did by mail :

-how did Sacridose formed, what was the project at the start of the band?

Me and Jaydee had been talking about starting a grind band for a while. On the first Bastard Deceiver tour we went with Radiation from Gainesville, which is how me and Palmer met. He basically did blast beats for two weeks straight so it was an easy choice.

-what about Anxiety tremors, how was it created and how would you decribe it?

We wanted to shoot for a more old school, punk influenced grind sound. Not so worried about how technical it was but more about how pissed off and primitive it could be.

-in Sacridose the guitar sound is more "normal" than it was in Cellgraft, did you wanted to try a new sound?

I definitely wanted to make it sound completely different than CG, hopefully more audible.

-what about the lyrics of the songs?

Mostly focused on hatred of civilization, science fact, and the flaws of the human psyche. Also death.

-do you already have new songs?

Enough to do a split or something. Trying not to rush writing just to put out more records.

-what does grindcore means to you?

Life. And a good way to crush ignorant losers with blast beats.

-which new grind (or not grind) recent bands would you recommend?

 D.O.C.
 Terrorist
  440
  Dead in the Dirt
  Turbokrieg
   Rapturous Grief

-what's going on in the Tampa scene?

a lot of hipster kids discovering the smiths for the first time, some sweet death metal bands popping up, a lot of hardcore straight edge kids buying HM-2 pedals and not a whole lot of grindcore.

-which evolution would you like to see for underground music in the future?

Hopefully less trend following, more tours, more younger kids getting into punk and metal, and more...blast beats.

-what is planned for Sacridose in the coming months?

Hitting the road for our Midwest/east coast tour in November. After that, 305 Fest and more writing.

-something to add?
  Listen to Slayer.

Primitive man - Scorn (2013)

new band Primitive man made a big impression with their first album called Scorn (released by Relapse). Scorn is a nasty and intense piece of extreme doom metal. Primitive man manages to give to the style an especially grim, raw and evil twist, at the same time deepening the doom elements and pushing further its boundaries. it's heavy and slow of course but in a darker and rawer form than usual, well it's more primitive! and it's also more diverse than most doom albums, with some sludge epic cavalcades but also some scary noisy instrumental parts bordering industrial with a bleak vibe reminding early Godflesh. very highly recommended!

check this impressive first album on their Bandcamp.

Autopsy - The headless ritual (2013)

The headless ritual is the sixth Autopsy album and their second since their return. and if you liked it then, you'll probably like it now. it's the same quality that their good ol' albums had with a more modern sound. is an Autopsy album relevant in 2013? I think so. Chris Reifert vocals are still so special in the grotesque category, and their own special brand of death metal songwriting is still there, with the old school death metal punkish drumming, the crazy solos, the catchy riffing, the doomier parts. it's Autopsy, it's special and it's really cool. what you like in good ol' death metal they do it, but like no others, in their own twisted way. good dirty fun!

the Peaceville page for the record

Feastem - Avaritia humanae (2013)

After their very good album World delirium in 2011 and their split with Kill the client last year, Feastem, from Finland, are back with a new album called Avaritia humanae. and be reassured they haven't slowed down a bit. their grindpunk is still foot to the floor from start to finish (or finnish!). don't expect no sludgy, noisy slow parts on this album it's all the way straight to your face with agressive and dynamic riffing, fast singing with an effective flow and relentless very fast drumming (fast d-beat and blast beats). maybe some would complain it's a bit too clean sounding and too straightforward with some craziness missing. hum, well, maybe, but on the other hand the songwriting and production did a good job in going straight to the point and leaving away all the fat and useless. just take it for what it is and I'm sure you'll agree it's a very effective and pleasing delivery of merciless grindpunk speed beating. 

check it on their Bandcamp.