Album Review – Ape Unit / Turd EP (2015)

Leave five demented Italian apes by themselves for just 10 minutes and what do you get? Total devastation, obviously.

Rating5

Ape Unit_TurdIf you have no idea how impactful the sound of Grindcore can be, you better get ready for an intense sonic earthquake that, despite lasting for only around 10 minutes, will surely leave you disoriented and probably all covered in bruises due to its bestial rage. I’m talking about Turd, the new album by Italian Grindcore/Powerviolence lunatics Ape Unit, a delight for fans of the deranged music by acts such as Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Fuck The Facts and Ratos De Porão, and a true nightmare for “soccer moms” all over the world.

Forged in the year of 2008 in the town of Cuneo, Italy, around 150km east of the city of Genoa, Ape Unit offer a basic but very efficient formula that consists of short and wicked lyrics blended with immensurable amounts of craziness and grinding powerviolence. In other words, don’t expect to find anything philosophical or introspective in their music, all you will find is a very good reason for slamming into the pit like a rabid gorilla. In case you still don’t get it, simply take a good look at the chaotic state of the primates in the amazing artwork by renowned artist Craoman and you’ll have a comprehensive representation of the music by Ape Unit.

The opening track, entitled Puberal Baphomet, and you better get used to beautiful song names like this one, evolves from a heavy and imposing intro to a frantic devastation with highlights to all the screaming by lead singer Mariano Somà, which is very melodic and groovy despite sounding like a carnivorous mutant creature. In Mullet For My Valentine, follow the lyrics if you can while you enjoy its awesome Grindcore vibe (“The only way to rape my crush apart / The 80s: true men and true metal / You must love me / Even if I am a fat ass I’ve got the hairdo of the Gods! / I’ll stay gold: I’m like Jacob B.”); whereas the brutal slamming tune Your Body Will Become My Abat-Jour showcases riffs and drums at an insane speed and ferocity, and of course if you’re a circle- pit lover this is the perfect soundtrack for you to practice your passion.

Ape UnitIn The Will To Smith they get considerably faster with hints of Death Metal added to the song’s musicality, especially through the badass bass lines by Umberto Salvetti, turning it into one minute of visceral barbarism. And could they sound even more demonic in less than 40 seconds? Well, the answer is a song named Tropical Mode-ON, which pretty much feels like being hit by a truck. The following tune, Don’t Touch The Forbidden Congas, talks about a curious “curse”, telling us what happens to your body if you touch the “forbidden congas”, before the vicious Grindcore tune Orango Juice comes kicking you in the head with its Slayer-ish riffs. Besides, I’m not really sure what to say about its lyrics, so you can take your own conclusions about them (“Satan’s coming back to town / To find out another victim / Four legs and one cock / Beg down on your knees / This is the way you beg and suck my dick, now! / So long and thanks for all the juice! / Hail Satanas – Dominus – Satanas / Orango juice down your throat, in your mouth”).

Sperm Bank Robbery presents a “delicate” sounding for an even “cuter” story told while the whole band lacerates their instruments, followed by Children Of Boredom, a merciless ode to the place where the band comes from showcasing the best lyrics of all songs in Turd (“Cuneo, born and raised / But I’m not the Fresh Prince / Tell me now what I should do / Gianna Gancia is not the cure / Fed up of this fucking shit / Children of Boredom”). Last but not least, how about a song called Go Kart Kobain, a demented tune firing sheer violence in your face in less than a minute? And just out of curiosity, this song is a tribute to the iconic American musician Seth Putnam (R.I.P.), the founder of Grindcore band Anal Cunt.

In order to be properly be shredded apart by this excellent Italian quintet, go check their Facebook page and YouTube channel, and if you’re a true fan of violent music go grab your copy of their atomic bomb Turd at their BandCamp or Big Cartel. Needless to say, this solid Grindcore album is the result of leaving five demented Italian apes by themselves for just 10 minutes. And we all love it, of course.

Best moments of the album: Your Body Will Become My Abat-Jour and Don’t Touch The Forbidden Congas.

Worst moments of the album: Sperm Bank Robbery.

Released in 2015 Uterus Productions/Here And Now Records/Zas Autoproduzioni/Distrozione/Don Carlos Productions/Tadca Records/Vollmer Industries

Track listing
1. Puberal Baphomet 2:13
2. Mullet For My Valentine 0:46
3. Your Body Will Become My Abat-Jour 1:09
4. The Will To Smith 0:56
5. Tropical Mode-ON 0:34
6. Don’t Touch The Forbidden Congas 1:53
7. Orango Juice 0:45
8. Sperm Bank Robbery 0:57
9. Children Of Boredom 0:54
10. Go Kart Kobain 0:41

Band members
Mariano Somà – vocals
Marco Losano – guitars
Alberto Cornero – guitars
Umberto Salvetti – bass
Steve Bianco – drums

Guest musician
Mattia Gatti – additional vocals on “Your Body Will Become My
Abat-Jour”

Album Review – Carcass / Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel EP (2014)

Is this really a “surplus” of Surgical Steel, or maybe just a pile of uninspired “leftovers”?

Rating9

CoverI love Carcass, it doesn’t matter if it’s their gruesomeness from their beginnings, as the undisputed pioneers of Grindcore, or their more polished musicality adopted during the 90’s when they became a Melodic Death Metal band. For instance, Heartwork is in my opinion one of the most incredible extreme metal albums of all time, an album that was even capable of making it to MTV without sounding commercial, and Surgical Steel was a more than awesome comeback by those British metalheads. However, their new EP entitled Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel sounds a lot more like “leftovers” than actually a “surplus”.

And what’s the problem with the EP if it’s the same band that launched one year ago one of the best metal albums of 2013? To begin with, there’s a huge lack of inspiration and motivation, as if they just released it for (more) money, which I refuse to believe coming from a band so cool as they are. Let’s face it, there isn’t a single song in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel that gets close to the awesome destruction found in Surgical Steel, or is anyone going to say anything in this EP is better than the excellent “Thrasher’s Abattoir”, “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System”, “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” or “Captive Bolt Pistol”?

The first track in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel, A Wraith in the Apparatus, is relatively decent, groovy and with less gory and more political/religious lyrics, a little different than what Carcass usually offer us (“Harmless or nefrarious / A gilded new church / A false god to worship / Blind acceptance with no repentence / A jaded new church / A false deity to service”). However, it’s nothing really special or outstanding, just a good song that if it had been included in Surgical Steel it would probably be one of its worst moments.

CarcassAlthough I enjoyed the guitar riff in Intensive Battery Brooding, that’s another song that doesn’t provide us anything memorable. It pretty much sounds like a lazy version of Megadeth or a failed attempt to sound more Sludge or Southern Metal, with its drums being as boring as possible. The last part of the song, a lot faster and more Carcass-ish, is kind of interesting, but again, that’s it. Zochrot showcases another good guitar work, but it sounds like one more “leftover” from the full-length album than something fresh and unique as a B-side is supposed to be.

Finally, we have Livestock Marketplace, which despite it’s extremely fun lyrics (“Fiscal sexuality for we are all whores & prostitutes / Life’s a celebration at the cattle market / The frigid and recycling death disco / Bestial passion at the cattle market”) doesn’t have the energy we love in the music by Carcass, it’s just like if they were jamming without any commitment to the final result. And I’m not sure why there’s a “reprise” to the intro of their latest album as an outro, named 1985 (Reprise): it doesn’t really make any sense, unless their goal with this was to inspire the fans to go listen to Surgical Steel, an album worth our money, unlike this EP.

It truly breaks my heart to acknowledge Carcass have tremendously failed in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel, but at least it’s just an EP with mediocre tracks that didn’t make it to Surgical Steel. Anyway, I’m sure whenever they launch a new full-length album it will be brutally amazing, with all those sick riffs and diabolical lyrics we all love from those metal icons from the UK. Until then, please go listen to Surgical Steel, Heartwork, Swansong, Reek of Putrefaction, the superb compilation Wake Up and Smell the… Carcass, or anything else but this disappointing jumble of leftovers.

Best moments of the album: A Wraith in the Apparatus is acceptable, especially compared to the other songs in Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel.

Worst moments of the album: Unfortunately, almost everything found in the EP sounds really lazy and uninspired.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. A Wraith in the Apparatus 3:31
2. Intensive Battery Brooding 4:44
3. Zochrot 3:22
4. Livestock Marketplace 4:15
5. 1985 (Reprise) 1:48

Band members
Jeff Walker – bass, vocals
Bill Steer – guitars
Ben Ash – guitars
Daniel Wilding – drums

Album Review – Bombnation / Night Invasion (2014)

A nonstop heavy music party that will fulfill your inner desire for old school Thrash Metal.

Rating4

12 Jacket (3mm Spine) [GDOB-30H3-007}Who doesn’t love the unparalleled heavy music from the 80’s and beginning of the 90’s? Those were definitely good times, when heavy music in general was the most fun thing in the entire world, thanks largely to all new bands born during that period who were able to blend the technique from traditional Heavy Metal with the undisputed attitude from Punk Rock, bringing forth what we know today as Thrash Metal.  Despite the nuisance that the music industry has become since then, and consequently the negative impact it has had on old school Thrash Metal, there are still some awesome bands proudly carrying the flag of true and honest heavy music, such as Canadian Crossover/Hardcore band Bombnation.

Founded in 2007 in “La Belle Province de Québec”, Bombnation do not hide their influences nor their goals with their music. Inspired by classics like Slayer, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, D.R.I. and many others, and adding to their musicality some elements from D-Beat and Grindcore, those Québécois thrash metallers simply want to have fun and make life more enjoyable, and they indeed do it with their brand new album called Night Invasion. There’s nothing controversial, profound or melancholic in their lyrics: it’s a motherfuckin’ heavy music party, just the way old school Thrash Metal is supposed to be.

Fire Of The Night kicks off the album relying heavily on its harsh vocals, uprising lyrics, insane riffs and drums perfect for slamming into the pit. What really amazes me from the very first song of the album is the overall quality of the production, because although we’re talking about brutal music, it’s also very clean and pleasant to listen to. The following two tracks are the epitome of hardcore: Slayed By Slayer is a short but sick tribute to the most awesome Thrash Metal band of all time, and it’s impossible not to love its lyrics, especially when vocalist Mike Waters screams “Do you want to die!”, probably inspired by Slayer’s classic “Postmortem”; while War Beer Warrior (where do they find those song names?) was born to be a classic, sounding even more ferocious and more Slayer-ish than the previous song.

In the next track, Hops, Bombnation get closer to old school Exodus, especially its riffs, drums, and of course the guitar solo, followed by more sonic violence in Obituary, with its gory lyrics and anarchist vibe. Another brilliant tribute happens in Kreator’s Destruction Of Sodom, this time as you can see to the mighty Teutonic Thrash Metal. It is “extreme aggression” as the band says, with even its vocals being “adapted” to that type of music. Blackout Without Stout is another great choice for having a beer while getting into a sick mosh pit, and the title-track, Night Invasion, sounds more imposing, mainly due to its slow heavy riffs and great backing vocals, giving it an extra touch of wickedness.

I would definitely try the next song’s name, Kentucky Fried Seagulls, screaming its chorus with my mouth full of this “delicacy” from the hardcore cuisine, while Le D-Beat De La 50 doesn’t let the party slow down, reminding me of the Punk Rock played by Black Flag in their early days. Forget It is very similar to the previous track, but with some deeper vocals à la Chuck Billy, followed by one minute of pure devastation  with another great name, Pissed Off To Listen To Pop, as fast as violent as it can be.

The band doesn’t let the ball drop with the direct and raw musicality of Reggie’s Calling, and the pure old school Thrash Metal of Order666, where the band invites us to “Feel the power of Metal!”, followed by the violent Iron Whale and the even faster and more violent (if that’s humanly possible) Black Cable. Are you tired already? Because Bombnation still have to offer us some intense riffs and nonstop drumming in Astro Turf, a great mix of Thrash Metal and Hardcore by the way, and finally the last song of the album, In The Night, another tribute to that raw heavy music from 80’s, with highlights to its nice guitar solo,  strong bass lines, and an amazing high-pitched scream similar to what Tom Araya used to do in the first Slayer albums.

Take a listen at Bombnation’s new album at their official BandCamp page and you’ll see I’m not exaggerating when I say those guys are one of the most loyal bands to old school Thrash Metal in the world. And if you enjoy beer, mosh pits, and especially your life, simply go for it and you will not regret. I just have to find my old jacket full of Heavy Metal patches before I join the “Bombnation”, being proud of loving Thrash Metal so much.

Best moments of the album: Slayed by Slayer, War Beer Warrior, Kentucky Fried Seagulls and Order666.

Worst moments of the album: Obituary and Reggie’s Calling.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Fire Of The Night 2:33
2. Slayed By Slayer 1:36
3. War Beer Warrior 1:37
4. Hops 1:53
5. Obituary 1:53
6. Kreator’s Destruction Of Sodom 1:29
7. Blackout Without Stout 1:46
8. Night Invasion 2:22
9. Kentucky Fried Seagulls 1:50
10 .Le D-Beat De La 50 1:44
11. Forget It 1:42
12. Pissed Off To Listen To Pop 0:59
13. Reggie’s Calling 2:49
14. Order666 1:58
15. Iron Whale 1:15
16. Black Cable 1:42
17. Astro Turf 1:55
18. In The Night 2:26

Band members
Mike Waters – vocals
Whale – guitar
Jack – guitar
Dan – bass
Crocko – drums