Think!

In case you've been living under a rock since 2004, Venomous Concept is a blistering Poison Idea worshipping supergroup featuring members of Brutal Truth, Melvins and Napalm Death. Being a massive BxTx fan at the time this album came out, I simply had to get m hands on anything Kevin Sharp lent his vocals to. So how does it sound? Poison Idea fans will be creaming in their jeans with this record - wicked fast heavy hardcore punctuated by Sharp's abrasive screams. Not particularly original but pulled off perfectly old-school style. "Monkey See - Monkey Beat" is my favorite - amazing how much music they can cram into one minute. The bass-heavy breakdown at the end of "Total Recall" is equally huge - the best thing I've heard in weeks. Enjoy.

Weirdo

Musick

I first heard Exit-13 on the amazing Ax/ction Records Apocalyptic Convulsions compilation 10" (of which I've previously ranted on and on about); their tune "Only Protest Gives A Hope Of Life!" was a weird yet cool lo-fi grindcore mishmash which took a lot of listens to decipher. The neat breakdown at the end instantly had me hooked - seeing the involvement of S.O.D. fave Dan Lilker on bass was a clinch as well. I added their second full-length as a "alternative" on a random Relapse Records order and whaddya know - Ethos Musick showed up on my doorstep a few weeks later. Man, I can't remember what I originally ordered but who cares, Ethos is a fucking amazing album. Kinda like what Brutal Truth was beginning to do, Exit-13 brought a whole level of technicality, intelligence and maturity to grindcore. It wasn't simple speed, screaming and blastbeats (a la Napalm Death) anymore. Adding strange tinges of jazz, dissonant time signatures and enough vocal effects to keep a pornogrind band going for a decade; Exit-13 really raised respect for the genre. The song themes focus on protest-heavy topics: pro-animal, pro-vegetarian, pro-environment, pro-marijuana, anti-establishment; it reads like a college sophomore's hippie mantra. They've released bunch of other singles and such but none touch this one on either production value or entertainment. A final note: skip the last track on the album, per the CD cover:

   Track #13 was digitally mastered with continuous overlevel indication (OL) at the request of the artist/Producer, this CD is not in accordance with Sony-Phillips Red Book Specification, nor is this practice advisable in the process of CD manufacturing.
   Relapse Records, their affiliates and/or associated manufacturing facility will hold no responsibility for power supply component, recording, processing, loudspeaker or other, transducer, malfunction/failure and/or destruction of referenced audio playback system. Please exercise extreme caution when utilizing this Compact Disc on consumer grade high fidelity playback equipment.

You've been warned...

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Grindcore Gods

 

Dan Lilker is the Puff Daddy of the heavy music genre. Not only is he an incredibly versatile musician (bass guitar, guitar, drums, piano, upright bass) but he has also played in (and founded) some of the most influential metal acts in history. The list goes on and on... Nuclear Assault (thrash), Anthrax (thrash), Stormtroopers Of Death (crossover), Exit-13 (grindcore), Malformed Earthborn (industrial sludge techno weirdcore), The Ravenous (death metal), Hemlock (metal), Venomous Concept (punk), Crucifist (black metal), Overlord Exterminator (black metal) and, my favorite, Brutal Truth. The NYC legends started out with more of a death metal flavor with 1990's Birth Of Ignorance but by 1997 had blown conventional grind out of the water with their schizophrenic death/crust/grind assault. Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom sounds as good today as it did over a decade ago. Recently reformed (and with a new album out), Lilker and the BT gang continue to redefine the genre they helped create. Graaaaaaaawwwwwwwwlllllll!!!!

Prey