Mini-Reviews From Around the Bowl (1/13/22)
Little reviews for little people. If you are a big, do not entry.
偏執症者 (Paranoid) – Tatari
PND | January 10, 2022
Do you not remember the last time you showered, but you do know it was in your crusty battlejacket? Do you talk about UK82 like it was Prague ’68? Do you honestly care what the “d” in d-beat stands for? If you answered yes to all of these, then break out your Crass t-shirt, un-hide your Man is the Bastard tattoo you have to cover for work (I don’t actually have one of these), and get ready to make some scene kids Dropdead in the pit. You’re the same kind of degenerate crossover fan I am and the exact kind of person this EP is laser-targeted to appeal to. This is Discharge worship on crack, a 2 song seance to bring Anti-Cimex back to life, a pipe-bomb of 80’s DIY crossover d-beat crust nostalgia. You’ve heard this 100 times before, so why not go for spin 101? Hell they’re even Swedish. — Eenzamheid
Monosphere – The Puppeteer
Independent | November 27, 2021
A while back I premiered a Monosphere track that I really enjoyed, but was a little occupied around release time to check out the full album. The Puppeteer is an excellent conceptual prog/tech album that has maybe the slightest touch of their deathcore roots which somehow works to their benefit. The bi-polar switch between soft melody and brutal heaviness is just a lot of fun. Fans of BTBAM should really enjoy this. — Joaquin
Novere – Soulless Elements
Independent | December 9, 2021
Novere are an up-and-coming killer post-metal/doom band that I should have written about last year. This EP is a great showcase of their ability to build from slow melodic grooves to pummeling riffs with super explosive transitions. The standout linear melodies and dramatic clean sections give me hope that these guys might do something big in the near future. The EP has a great unpolished production that sounds like a live performance with solid acoustics, which is perfect for the style. — Joaquin
Daxma – Unmarked Boxes
Blues Funeral Recordings | November 19, 2021
How about some bleak atmospheric post-rock/doom for the depths of winter? Daxma have you covered with their sophomore album that provides just enough cathartic moments to make up for the mental gray skies. They have a little bit of that spacy Godspeed feel, especially when the violin is added, but the traditional post-rock instrumentation keeps it a little more grounded. It’s just an overall pleasant and cozy affair with just enough heft to meet my post-metal needs. — Joaquin
Barús – Fanges EP
Independent | December 31, 2021
Musicians should reconsider releasing in December because we humble Flushers are likely to miss gems like Barús’s Fanges EP (pronounced “fonj” because Barús hails from Grenoble, France. It means “mud”). Think of this as a ‘core- and post-tinged black metal Qrixkuor—like the latter, Barús uses two longer tracks to incinerate the listener. The title track is absolutely titanic, with barreling drum passages and squalls of guitar. I, for one, have no problem whatsoever with bands working in this more symphonic mode. Give me all your 20-minute songs! “Chassis de Châir,” the shorter of the two at 15 minutes, begins with another unforgiving assault, segueing into chugs and dissonant noir passages. Barús don’t waste either track’s runtime. Their previous release, LP Drowned, even dabbles in jazz. Start your new year nice and salty with a helping of Barús. – Theophrastus Bombastus
Slowbleed – The Blazing Sun, a Fiery Dawn
Creator-Destructor Records | January 14, 2022
Slowbleed has their roots in the Nardcore scene of Oxnard, California. That said, this pulverizing act keeps the hardcore influences relatively subtle in favor of ripping riffs and brutal mid-range vokills. I’m admittedly not a deathcore guy, and I opened this promo mostly because of the badass cover art, but before I knew it I’d played this fucker through twice. “No Shepherd (Of Wolves)” will give you a good idea why— with ominous tremolo picking, artillery drums, big chonkin’ chords, and just enough weedly deedlies for the nerdier DM fan, this track is perfect for priming a circle pit. “Sangre” is another vicious track that shows Slowbleed at a thrashier tempo. Fantastic production, beefy breakdowns, and Gatecreeper-style anthemic guitar work, plus a few slower, sludgier moments (as on “Driven by Fire”) round this LP out—The Blazing Sun, A Fiery Dawn is the full package. Hurry and grab this boi when it drops tomorrow. – Theophrastus Bombastus
Cruel Bomb – Man-Made
Independent | January 7, 2022
With this 3rd EP, Pennsylvania’s Cruel Bomb have a hat-trick of groovy, off-road crossover thrash. It’s enough tracks in all for a quality full-length, which they’re certainly due for. These are no Pleistocene Power Trip apers, either, adding some snap to their pulse and even biting a bit of Municipal Waste’s radioactive party shtick, but with a lot more muscle. Appropriately to their namesake, Man-Made goes off like a nuke. This is good a place as any to muse on hardcore nostalgia for the days of nuclear deterrence. Man, remember when that was the number-one disaster anxiety across the country? How quaint. Finished in a flash, too fast to register dread or worry to your toasted brainstem, and undeniably looming to even the most tinfoil-coifed conspiracist. The Boomers even got a cushier doomsday dream. — A Spooky Mansion
Pizza Death – Slice of Death
Independent | November 1, 2021
Another lowbrow, junk-culture, Commonwealth crossover outfit to sit alongside my old Pizzatramp (Wales) tapes. Pizza Death are a perfectly acceptable album cover and cool t-shirt endeavor, that also has some hot-out-the-box riffs attached, if you like that sort of thing. This is just a band you plug as a conversation starter, or to vie to be the most self-aware guy at the kegger. Junk food in every sense, goes out the same way it came in. Could not recommend more. — A Spooky Mansion
