Eye of Nix

From Seattle, whose water supply must be nightly tainted with goat's blood by some dark, hooded figure, comes yet another smashing addition to metal's grayest enclave. Eye of Nix is the sound of Empire crumbling: a lone woman's wailing is heard, awakening old despair.  The populace stirs to a mumble of discontent traveling mouth to ear, thrusting the gyres of dissent into motion; the throb and pulse mounts to a critical mass that the mechanisms of power can no longer contain.  Chanting and drumming dissolves to caterwauling and crashing; before long, all is dust and rubble, and the hazy promise of things to come.

Call it black metal, if you have to call it something. Cold, ambient, hypnotic, noisy-- the kind of band you'd want to have play at your next black mass, yet whose lyrics (that aren't in Latin) are refreshingly straight forward.  I came to know Eye of Nix because of their connection with other Seattle favorites, Same-Sex Dictator and Hellgrammite, whom I hope you'll check out too.  For a time, I'll post my tape rips of the Eye of Nix demo below, but I hope you'll go to their bandcamp page and support them if they appeal to you.

Eye of Nix demo, 2013

Live video of another EON track.

Re-uploads:
Counterblast EPs
Counterblast first LP
Counterblast second LP
Mine first 7"
Grinch/Lost Goat split LP

Succeeding Where Celtic Frost Failed

Fast-forwarding 16 years from the last post, this split series continues with an outstanding pair-up from last year.  Side A is (I believe) the second outing from San Diego bros, Death Crisis.  From their name, you probably guessed one band members were in previously.  DC are hardcore for the fan of bullshit-free bands like Out Cold, but whose ADHD is lighter on the "AD" and heavy on the "H."  Tried, true, but still relevant themes of media brainwashing and apathy are strongly represented, as well as a new one: douches who bring their dogs to hardcore shows.  While I've never experienced this first hand, I can understand their irritation (but for the record: my dogs do/did like hardcore... still wouldn't bring them to shows though).  Death Crisis also have out a 7", and another split 7" with 80's San Diego D-beaters, Diatribe; a burgeoning website can be found here.

Side B brings perennial FE favorites, Same-Sex Dictator, in what might be their most primal form.  These two tracks were written and performed straight from the brain stem, and given the option of fight or flight, I'm thinking SS-D choose the former every time.  In describing the band's inimitable and incredible LP, Justin (drums) felt that his band was more caveman than the proggy descriptors I used.  If you've heard the "Descend to Syncope" tape then you know what he means, and on this outing the band has gone positively neolithic!  It's also possibly their most blackened offering, considering the faster speeds, atmosphere, and less-than-sparkling production values.  This time the lyrics take a blunt ivory implement to the skull of themes like system moochers ("I'm Not Paying for Your Failure") and the Orwellian/Kafka-esque world we drones inhabit ("Removed By Paperclips").  The split is still available in two formats, so I'm supplying my crappy vinyl rips for a limited time.  Yes, music is digitized, but real people are putting in real time and resources to make this all happen.  Please support them.

Buy the vinyl here
Death Crisis digital tracks here
SS-D digital tracks here (awesome Eyehategod and Joy Division bonus cover tracks available!)

Vinyl rips here.

Unsavory Secret Cloaked in Mystery

With tracks as long and complex as the life cycle of its namesake, Hellgrammite amble, trod, and ravage through mindscapes... well, unsavory, secret, and mysterious.  And, not unlike the fungus of the opening track's title, each of the four compositions on the "II" cassette are like deadly spores infecting the listener's brain, splitting sword-like through the cranium, revealing the tangled bramble-patch of the mind's sense of pleasure, euphoria, pain, and fear.  Black metal, doom, prog... these are all comfortable reference points, but like all art/music, it's not just what is present that matters, but the spaces between.  Whether those spaces take the form of bass-heavy drones, or echoey psychedelia, the violent times are all the more confusing and thrilling by contrast.  Hellgrammite is brought to you by one half of Same-Sex Dictator, and members of Forest Friends and ...Wind Swept Planes... The "II" tape is (possibly) available from End Theory Records, or contact the band.

Hellgrammite "II" Cassette (digital rips... 320)

** Special thanks to Justin for hooking up the tape and the WAV files (and for the awesome drumming)!

For All You Media Parasites

This'll probably be the last Decrepit post on this site, but it's a real humdinger. Be sure to track down their CD released in Poland which collects all their work. On tonight's featured disk they team up with Seattle grinders, Cephlatripe. Decrepit are a great example of a band that broke no new ground, but made excellent use of the land they roamed. Those vocals are most certainly Decrepit's badge of distinction- like a Tasmanian devil hooked up to a car battery. They're in rare form on their side, and fire out a Disrupt cover to seal the deal. Now, as mentioned before, Cephlatripe play grindcore. You should know what that sounds like. It comes with all the usual trimmings of heavy, metallic guitars, dual vocals, blast beats, etc, but with nice start/stop precision and lots of intensity. If you really need a reference point I'll go ahead and throw out the Assück comparison, or maybe an obscure one like to their fellow Northwesterners, Blight. More info about this band would be nice to come along. Meantime, enjoy the noise...

Decrepit/Cephlatripe Split 7" (Extortion Records)

You're On My...

...Shitlist is a band whose brilliance was brought to my attention through the miracle of blogging. With all the great, mediocre, and terrible crust released in the nineties/early 00's, it's nice to have some guidance to navigate it all. I have blog hommie, Shawn, to thank for holding the torch up to this band. Shitlist's pedigree, while impressive, only serves as a stylistic reference index, because their power is absolutely singular. I believe the band is related to Hail Of Rage, Inhaste, and possibly Decrepit. I apologize if I'm wrong; all of the music and info I take up daily is getting to be too much for the o'l Duder's head. But the nine tracks on this slab lay waste to much of the material from those other bands. The tightness, the unrelenting fury... unbelievable. Thanks again, Shawn.

If you're energy isn't completely sapped from Shitlist, Calloused offer another challenging aural workout. Blokes like me who'll never get enough Detestation and Pink Turds In Space will find a 10 track feast of obnoxiousness bursting through the grooves of side B. The collusion of these two bands is just pure crusty perfection. The CD version of it was been posted elsewhere, but I really wanted to have it here for personal reasons. The link below has the usual 320 kbps vinyl rips with complete scans...

The Shitlist/Calloused Split LP

Chernobyl Cthulhu

I was pleasantly surprised to find out how many FE friends enjoy Wormwood as much as I do. So as not to keep you waiting too long for more from these sorcerers of despair, I offer you their limited split picture disk with fellow Northwestern Metal alchemists, Teen Cthulhu. To be honest, I'll pick up anything by Wormwood, as long as it isn't at some crazy collector price. It doesn't hurt that the track provided, "Released From Expectation," is quite possibly the band's most deeply penetrating song. Words will inevitably collapse in weak-kneed admiration if any attempt is made at describing its power. Three years later, it would grace the grooves of the Starvation" LP. Brilliant, no matter where it appears.

Teen Cthulhu have made friends and enemies with their synth-laden horror-death metal-violence. I thought their LP was pretty fuckin' solid, and the two tracks on this disk are right along those lines. After that LP cover, the art submitted on this thing is a little lacking (just a humble opinion). Their two tracks deliver the goods, though, and for additional spankings, be sure to grab the band's LP and split with Iron Lung here and here respectively.

The Wormwood/Teen Cthulhu split pic disk

The Social Darwinism Of War?

The excitement of adding a new favorite band to my list continues with the "Weed & Seed" 7". Whipped is by no means a new band, but for me they are; and it was all made possible by the power of blogging! Brandon H. introduced me to them, and Shawn pointed out the greatness of this EP (thanks for offering to rip it, by the way!). I finally found a (much abused) copy of my own and ripped it for you all. This is possibly the best and fiercest of the band's releases. If you enjoy the snottiness and power of bands like Dirt, Lost World, and Harum Scarum, Whipped might be a new old favorite for you as well. The band mentions that these tracks are "old," and since they deal with George Bush the senior's foreign policy, I would date them around the time of the band's inception ('90 or '91?). The four tracks have a long release history, appearing first on some comps and demos before being compiled conveniently for us here. Some of the lyrics are a bit naive (see post title), but their intentions are good and crusty, and the music is action packed! Member's previous involvement in Aspirin Feast may or may not interest you; either way, enjoy these crackly punk rock rips:

Here

Oasis Of The Shit

I love finding new favorite records. Just when you're getting jaded about music, you discover yet another overlooked, should-be classic, and it renews your once tireless search to unearth other such gems. This treasure hunt led me to the "Agitator" LP by Whipped (Outcast Records, 1995); I have to thank Brandon once again for supplying the map. The last post was a teaser for what Whipped would do two years later on this LP, which is a twisty adventure through the sardonic and impassioned hearts and minds of a small group of Seattle crusties. Expect no boring formulas, though; they're much faster than peace punk, sometimes nearing grind velocity, but don't expect brooding, metallic Nausea-crust either. They do throw in some awesome metal chugging, but it doesn't dominate the writing. And from song to song, you never know what to expect from the multi-faceted vocal attacks, except that there will be some snotty yelling and screaming at some point. What you can certainly expect over all is a powerful hardcore punk experience that will leave you asking where this band has been all your life!

Enjoy

We Need Our Wars

Many 'Mercans have the day off today to celebrate a holiday notorious for its imperialist origins. Really it has just become an excuse to feast and hang out with The Fam. So if you've got the day off, enjoy! And to cleanse the genocidal aspect of the day, I have a nice nugget of crust to offer. The second featured band this week was brought to my attention by Brandon. This dude was cool enough to send an e-mail requesting any rips I may have by Seattle's Whipped. I hadn't heard of them, but I figured if someone likes what they hear on this blog and goes out of his to e-mail me, this band must be great. My search led me to their split with Inhumane, an LP, and I almost got a 7", but that's gonna have to wait. Until I get the LP ripped properly, chew on this split! Whipped play crusty hardcore punk that totally kills. On this split they remind me of Dirt or Mankind?, although their sound expanded quite a bit on their LP. So on this little Martha Foker, you'll receive two snotty originals and an Aspirin Feast cover. These songs only hint at what these guys/gals would do on the full length, which I'll have up by this weekend. From what I understand, some members of Whipped continued the rock legacy in Whorehouse of Representatives.

If you like other heavy crust bands from the early nineties North West (Decrepit, etc.), Inhumane may tickle your fancy. They may not have been prolific or original, but crust is all about power, not forging the next fashionable sub-genre. Metallic, heavy, plenty of conviction, and a bass player with a motorized finger. Sounds good to me. The 7" was put out by Sabotage, Earth Records and came with a poster for each band. The cover design looks generic from a distance, but upon closer inspection it's actually pretty kick-ass.

Get it

Blinded By Your Vision

The Aversionline Blog just reposted Christdriver's monstrosity of a CD, so here's a companion piece-- the band's two song 7" (Profane Existence, 1995?). Armed with a frighteningly heavy, metallic guitar sound and a penchant for movie samples, these ex-Subvert players wail out a bleak and detached form of metal that takes its influence from doom metal and industrial music, but is neither. Having less room on this EP, the band keeps it fairly straight to the point, although the doomier, hypnotic "Sight" almost reaches the six minute mark. If you can handle the slow and heavy stuff, this band is crushingly good, but I recommend listening to the album first.

The 7" (320 kbps) You might be able to buy a copy here!

In update news, if you enjoy Enewetak and Burning Kitchen, go to the comment boxes for those posts to find some more free goodies!

One Nation Under GOB

This double post concludes the GOB series (for now). The download link below conveniently combines two classic, rare, noisy compilations, starting with "Mandatory Marathon" (Amendment Records, 1999?). A comp. that boasts multiple tracks from Charles Bronson, Capitalist Casualties, The Gaia, Palatka, GOB, and Laceration should require no encouragement for download. Two warnings though: 1. The sound quality is rather ass-like 2. There are several "joke" or "experimental" bands/projects on this one that are less than entertaining. Regardless, there's some rare noise here that you need.

Back Cover: Try not to go blind reading the track list








Also featured in the folder below is this Food Not Bombs benefit comp. Six Weeks Records put out in the late nineties. There's some good to great Reno bands, and some other semi-well-known bands like The Dread and Bristle. There's also a decent amount of variety (all within the boundaries of punk and hardcore) and you may find yourself liking the bands you haven't heard of. Nice little record!

Back Cover:

Download these comps HERE

Land of Eternal Stench

Here's a couple of Nor-Western bands that may not need too much of an intro. Hellshock is the advanced guard of the stench-core comeback and features a bunch of musicians from all of your favorite Portland bands. Their output has ranged from pretty good to outstanding, and I'd say the two tracks posted here are among their better ones. The band has released some EPs and two full-lengths, but many of their records are going out of print (perhaps this foreshadows a coming discography CD?); "Shadows of the Afterworld" may be purchased here or here. Sharing this EP is Consume, which is a Seattle-based band with a long history (members have played in Disrupt, Shitlist, State of Fear, Decrepit...). Their attack resembles that of their predecessors, and they have an uncanny way of making simple riffs that are engaging and powerful. You can still pick up their excellent split LP with Born/Dead here, and if you search hard enough, you may find their LP which collects their split and EP material.

The Hellshock/Consume split 7" was pressed by Blackwater Records in a series of presses that totalled 2000. You may still be able to find a copy here. The awesome cover art was done by Dennis Dread.

Download

Back Cover

Dark Freaky Circus Music of the Northwest

The final EP for today comes from the Seattle masters of gloom: Wormwood. Many genres claim these guys: doom, hardcore, black metal, goth... you decide. This EP is Wormwood's debut on vinyl, containing the two tracks, "Circus," and "Seven." If you're familiar with their album "Requiescat," then you know what to expect: guitarless, plodding bass mayhem with angry vocals and eerie organ-style keyboards. It's as if Man is the Bastard and/or Seized were asked to compose the soundrack to a Vincent Price movie, and it turned out good. All descriptions will end up sounding goofy, so if you're curious, just give the band a try. Perhaps it's needless to say, but Wormwood is no longer; their two full lengths are fairly easy to find and are highly recommended.

listen

Endless June Gloom

There must be something in the water up there in Washington-- a toxic level of gloom (or maybe it's just that lingering, oppressive overcast)! Öroku embodied this gloom with dreary down-tuned guitars, fairly slow tempos (mostly), and relentlessly caustic vocal snarls. This untitled EP provides three doses of gloom that remind me a little of the bands King of the Monsters Records used to specialize in (metallic, but not metal... hardcore, but not typical of any one particular style... always heavy, though). Öroku also released an excellent LP, but unfortunately they fell victim to the slash-and-burn trend of many Seattle bands these days, and broke up prematurely. Cool band... check 'em out.

Here

Northwestern Blight

It looks like I'm locking myself into a theme this week: wicked, gloomy bands of the American Northwest that may or may not have broken up. All the EPs posted today are presumably out of print and fit the above description (if you know them to be in-print, please comment so I can remove them). First up is a powerful, pre-Sanctum grind/crust-core band called Blight. This EP is their only vinyl release, as they broke up entirely too early. There are six crushers packed on this slab... for fans of Disrupt, Masskontroll, Infekcja, ENT, Napalm Death...

Listen

No Sanctuary, and No Sanctum Either?

I thought I heard/read somewhere that Sanctum were breaking up. I hope that's not true, because they have been a powerful entity in the Pacific Northwest crust revival. The band plays/played dreary and brutal crust-metal not unlike Deviated Instinct engaging in D & D battle with Bolt Thrower. This 7" (2005) is the self-released press of their first record, "Enslaved" (another batch of 500 was repressed with different cover art). Aside from some recording flaws (I'd like to hear more vocals...), this is a solid debut from a formidable band. For more listening agony, track down Sanctum's other EP, split LP with Stormcrow, and recently released LP, "On The Horizon."

Listen here