Free Flush Vol 13: HxC Edition
Oh(The featured image wont upload for reasons I don’t know so I’ve emailed it to the toiletovhell email)
Last week or however long ago it was I posted a massive XXL edition of the Please Sir, I Want Some Core roundup article at Noob Heavy and in my journey I discovered a lot of great free ones I’ve decided to save for this very special column. Don’t let the price tag fool you, these are either really solid albums or an alarming preview EP for what some new bands may be packing next year. All styles of hardcore. Check out below for the regular volumes posted so far. THE YELLING CAPSLOCK AT THE START OF EACH REVIEW ARE LYRICS FROM THE ALBUM IM REVIEWING.
Vol 1 – Vol 2 – Vol 3 – Vol 4 – Vol 5 – Vol 6 – Vol 7 – Vol 8 – Vol 9 – Vol 10 – Vol 11 – Vol 12
Huntress Of Stars – Endless Landscapes of Grim Carnage
ONCE INSIDE, A CHILL WIND DREW ME FURTHER DOWN, DESCENDING INTO THE BLACKENED DEPTH. I don’t honestly know if I’ve covered this album already but I certainly covered their last one. They’ve really nailed down a guitar pedal-fuelled combo sound of stoner sludge and hardcore that comes through in more subtle ways than most other albums on this list. Huntress Of Stars always delivers a whimsical style of songwriting that is as pretty as it is abrasive. I don’t know why they keep dropping great albums with awesome cover art for free without any real press but I’m glad I’ve firmly got my finger on their pulse now so I won’t miss any in the future. No idea who is behind it but they clearly put a lot of care into their writing and sound like they might be a musician experienced in other bands or projects. It’s quite simply a joy to listen to and reading the lyrics provides a good insight into some of the magical elements at play here. Some real curses and fantastical places described.
Choking Game – This Time, It’s Personal EP
GRAB YOUR HEELS, GRAB YOUR BATS, CUZ TONIGHT WE ATTACK, HOMOPHOBES WATCH YOUR BACK. Aggressive hardcore that shouts about equality and trans issues. Done so with an uncompromising anarchist grit that values the message over how people feel about said message. I found Choking Game via a 4-way split called 20925 Split that I highly recommend. The This Time, It’s Personal EP is a grimy, muddy experience with heavily distorted guitars, blast beats and relentless powerviolence screaming. I love the lofi production where they sound raw as fuck but everything is still quite clear in the mix, it sounds perfect for cassette. It’s a short experience but it’s a lot like a stab in the stomach that pours forth blood in a quick gush leaving you lightheaded on the floor by the end of it.
Antipath – Cope
I TAKE IT DAILY, SLOWLY SAFELY, WATCHING EVERYTHING SO I DONT FUCKING HATE ME. Metallic hardcore with a bit of math and nu metal in this bad boy. The song “Cope” absolutely sounds like an old Slipknot song, which isn’t a bad thing—I’m pretty sure most metal people will agree there were some big tunes in those early days. The slower bits really bring out the more hardcore vocal inflections where they are otherwise more of the crossover variety. I enjoy the timings on the palm mutes here, they feel very tight and fast yet irregular, rather than the usual fat boys like you tend to get in metalcore and deathcore that ring out with muddy sustain. Thematically it deals with a lot of mental health and self hatred. Real bad brain day material, which many of my readers can strongly relate to. Why do our brains hurt us? And who gave it permission to? It was very much overlooked due to being released in the first week of the year.
Jivebomb – JVBM
FUCKING SHAME, A FRAUD I SEE RIGHT THROUGH. I SAID YOURE FULL OF SHIT I’LL NEVER BE LIKE YOU. It’s short but it’s short and shouty like a firework. I love the way this starts and ends, beginning with a swooning olden days number that makes me feel A Certain Way which is quickly dashed away by guitars. The end is a song called “JIVEBOMB” by JIVEBOMB where they say the word JIVEBOMB which is something I’ll always enjoy. Why wouldn’t you have a song where you say your name? Make those fucks remember who you are. A spectacular debut EP, I will be eagerly waiting for more.
High Cost – What’s Living Worth?
Sick powerviolence with a really cool aesthetic across their albums. If the genre tag isn’t a hint, I could not understand any lyrics or find any. It is just a lot of power and a lot of violence presented in an appealing way. Some of the screams are legitimately terrifying and primal. The bullshit fast punk guitars aren’t afraid to let a lot of feedback through the amps. It’s very punk rock and all of their artwork is mint. This must absolutely shred live, they probably run through their whole discography in a set.
Friction – Conditioned to Chaos
WHO PAYS THE PRICE? WHAT DOES IT COST? I had to listen even if just for the dope album art that puts a lot of thrash metal to shame. With Friction we bring the pace down a bit—a nice slow start with a more jabbing style of guitars palm muting under a nice variety of well-timed vocals. The guest vocals are a nice touch that bring a lot to the album but the main vocalist is also very talented switching between cleaner punk, hardcore punk and some weird spitting crust punk thing. Overall I’m reminded a lot of Black Flag and Rollins Band but with more of a thrash metal influence. The title track brings some poppier guitar licks into play rather than the droning we were met with at the start, it’s a very lively little album that keeps me entertained throughout with the little extra touches and random one off vocals. It’s a well flowing release!
Hostage 905 – All Hope Defiled
HAVE YOU EVER FELT SO LOST THAT ISOLATION FEELS LIKE HOME? NO CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ALONE, AFRAID. I am running out of ways to describe cool guitars with shouting guy and fast drums, such is the nature of powerviolence. It’s always going to be a clusterfuck and if it isn’t? What’s the point? Bands just make their flavour of it and go hard. The flavour Hostage 905 makes is a constant smashing with little guitar drilling piercing through the wall of sound as a starter but the rest of the tracks bring a lot of rhythmic chords that drive the sound in a forward motion. “Blue On Black” has a surprising amount of emotion and expression with colder moments but it’s definitely still heavy. It’s always heavy.
Doped Up – Self-Disgust
ON A CLOUD I FALL INTO ETERNAL SLEEP. WHEN THE TIME COMES ILL LEAVE FOREVER, TIRED OF THIS LIFE OF SCAVENGER. I have never had the misfortune of trying heroin specifically but I have seen others go through it and have dealt with opioid addiction of other kinds myself, and I gotta say that Doped Up does a great job of representing the slow toxicity and carnage of it all. Lyrically it delves into the self-inflicted agony of it all while the music churns out the same vibe in a visceral gutter punk way. It’s a short burst that managed to get a hell of a lot out of the system and very clearly cements Doped Up’s style and message with this debut EP. The first vocals of the EP are so wild, UUUUUURGGGGHH AAAAAAAAHHH. So good. If you’ve ever woken up in a gutter in the middle of the night just absolutely munted then this might be the album for you, hopefully that’s in the past for us now.
Black Market Kidney Surgeon – Black Market Kidney Surgeon
WHY CAN’T IT STOP. EVERYTHING’S CONFUSING. I FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT. I JUST KEEP LOSING. Well that’s pretty fucking relatable huh? Life with autism in a nutshell for me. Very punk rock, again, but more crossed over with some gritty thrash. Vocally it’s a pretty distinct release due to the vocalists style being kinda… weird? It’s quite loose and hard to make out but they do some really cool Mike Patton style shit like on the track “Nuclear Assault” which really helps break up the standard crossover vocals woven throughout. Peep the track “Cop Destroyer” for your fix of ACAB rock. Like most of these releases, it’s about 7 or 8 minutes but by the end of it, it does feel completed and you will feel somewhat exhausted.
Kill The Conman – Operation Just Cause
FUCK YOU BEFORE YOU FUCK ME, KILL YOU BEFORE YOU KILL ME. Right off the bat, the moment you press play, your face will be grinded into fucking moot. It is super fast and pretty technical compared to other stuff on here, with some clear deathcore influences. The drums are quite overbearing in their weight compared to the thin sounds of the guitar but the think in the centre that brings it all together is a hectic vocalist that does both the speed but also adds some really cool accentuations to moments. It’s not quite as in your face obnoxious as Archspire, there’s some catchy moments like on Enemy Of My Enemy with the rhythmic cleaner deliveries. Check out “We See You (A. C. A. B)” for your daily fix of ACAB grind. As for their other messages, “fuck me, fuck you and fuck everyone else too” sums it up neatly.
