Scarver's Calling

Better-than-average serial-killer hatecore from Akron, Ohio. But who are we kidding here, the only reason anyone's ever heard of Scarver's Calling is the fact they made it onto a 1999 split 7" with Japanese sludge gods Corrupted. Take the two guitarists and bassist from obscure Cleveland grinders Apartment 213, add a few vocalists and the drummer from Sloth and there ya go: new band. Surprisingly the songs were actually written during the Apartment 213 time period and "Mangler" actually appears on a 213 split 7". The music is pretty solid although the crusty Macabre-ish high/low vocal pairing can get a bit grating. The deep vocalist sounds exactly like the guy from Fornicator and the high one sounds like the dude from Macabre's "Embalmer" (off their Gloom album). The songs have a particularly mean fucking vibe - especially the "Missing Child" one - it just goes on forever. Perfect for all you brooding sociopaths out there. I also included the Corrupted track, a nice change of pace in the fact that it only runs 5 minutes (although I expect the original recording went on a lot longer - there's a weird out-of-place fade at the end); typical pounding sludge from seasoned verterans of the genre.

Driven To Download

Best. Compilation. Ever.

The thing about comps is they tend to let you down. Yeah, you buy it for the one band on it and end up clicking the "next" button a lot. Occasionally you stumble upon a diamond in the rough, though. The incredible Apocalyptic Convulsions 10" (this blog's first post and a watershed album for me), Judgement Night soundtrack, and hell, even the Easy Rider soundtrack. Included on that exclusive list is the above double 7" comp released in 2001, Twin Threat To Your Sanity. Whoever decided to compile these four sludge giants on wax deserves many a free bar tab in my book. Dystopia open with a soundcheck take (maybe before their oft-bootlegged KJFC show?) of "Diary Of A Battered Child,"  Noothgrush follow with an amazing live cover of Celtic Frost's "Procreation Of The Wicked," Bongzilla adds a live version of "Gestation" to the mix, and the godly Corrupted close this slab of smear with the epic "Nieve." Unbelievable bands, fantastic songs, easily one of the best releases of the last decade. Enjoy then kill yourself.

DNBC

 
Currently watching: The Other Guys
Currently listening to: Disgorge Forensick

Filling Oneself With Worms

I opened a can of worms with my previous post (ha), I haven't stopped listening to Corrupted since. The first album I ever got of theirs was 1999's incredible Llenandose de Gusanos. It takes a bit of patience to immerse oneself, but hopefully it emerges as a truly one-of-a-kind experience. But my words don't do it justice, check out NausikaDalazBlindaz's thorough review:

"Never ones to court mainstream interest and popularity, Corrupted put out this double CD set totaling about 120 minutes of music many years ago - with one disc in the set containing one track of 73 minutes of quiet drone! Hevi and his men sure like to give value for money and listening time. This album is a call to listeners to be more aware of the state of world we live in where greed and blind obedience to tyrannical leaders and politicians count for more than honesty, conscience and wise stewardship of the Earth's resources.

Going against number order, I'll start on the one-track Disc 2 first, this is the one with "VIII - El Mundo", a long quiet drone on guitar that for much of its length has long tones that vary by a note or two. Around the 20th minute mark, there's a change in key and the track goes up the musical scale so there is a steady evolution throughout this piece. A dreamy mood occasionally goes ominous with changes in key and then turns hopeful for a while, then perhaps goes back to being peaceful or to troubled and foreboding. Quite amazing how changes in feeling can be influenced so much by such minimal changes in music! The long steady tones give the track the feel of wide, open spaces with much implied potential for the improvement of the planet's conditions. There is also a softness in the atmosphere and music which adds to the meditative aspect of the track. It's worth listening to this track at least a few times if you have this album even if you consider that nothing exciting happens: the changes in mood and ambiance give backbone to the track and you may actually find it very relaxing.

Disc 1, with "III - Sangre" and "VI - Humanos", at least promises to be very different and shorter, and so it is: it starts with a quiet piano melody that is minimal, repetitive and very stark, and goes on for some time. As the track progresses, Hevi starts to talk in Japanese in the background. The melody develops further but no other instruments appear until the 17th minute when sledgehammer doom guitars and drums slam into range and keep slashing away while Hevi growls and a lone guitar drone quivers over the top. Eventually Corrupted's usual weapons of choice take up the piano motif and continue to develop it more. A choir joins in and piano returns, building the track up and up to a solemn keyboard-dominated climax. The guitars gradually fade away and percussion also bows out leaving the piano to carry on tragically and majestically to the end.

A sorrowful, yet in a way quietly defiant and determined recording that urges us to keep fighting against abuse of humanity and nature and the decay of everything that is good: this is Llenandose de Gusanos. It may not be to everyone's taste and those of short attention spans will wander off to find something more exciting and short-lived but if you're prepared to stick around for Corrupted, you will find understated dignity and other rewards that need no fancy special effects and pyrotechnical displays to dress them up."

Squish

One band down... One to go

I don't know why I didn't post Corrupted's half of the split CD with Noothgrush when I did so for the latter. Probably because I'm lazy and wanted to milk out two posts, who knows. Regardless, Corrupted's two songs perfectly epitomize the reclusive band's dedication to heavy, sluggish sludge. "Inactive" is a twenty-minute epic of doom while "Estar En Visperas De Ultima" is a tight five minutes of pounding grimness. There is little to report about these Japanese sludge gods as they shun the media and rarely play outside California in the U.S. Per the band themselves:

"We've never done an interview and we don't let professional photographers take our picture. This is our policy—more an attitude—that we'd like to keep. Our expression of being Corrupted is in the sound, lyrics and artwork of our records. Of course, we always appreciate the people who buy our records, see us play and support us along with the fanzines, labels, distributors and event planners. We do not reject all media, or bash writers who express themselves through articles or reviews. All are free and it's only through our personal expression of using the media that we exclude interviews."

The band's sound is characterized by slow, down-tuned riffs under deep layers of feedback. The vocals are harsh, guttural grunts, and the music alternates between long instrumental and vocal sections pounding on for what seems almost monotonous. They have been described by Grooveshark as "some of the heaviest, gloomiest doom/sludge around... layering feedback-pulverizing progressions into a distinctly cacophonous rumble." Surprisingly however, they occasionally engage long acoustic sections, spoken-word interludes, and other breaks into their traditionally sludgey style. 2005's El Mundo Frio is a 72-minute dirge containing extensive sections of harp(!). Regardless of the song or the instrument, Corrupted lets their music speak for themselves. It is dark, dirty doom that ranges from ambient minimalism to riff heavy sludge. Their influence is as huge as their sound. Enjoy.

Grrrrrraaaaawwwwwrrrrrgggggg!