Showing posts with label phobia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phobia. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Plutophobia- The Repost!


After a delay, a bit of plutocrastination if you will, I found some time to re-rip the live split LP between NorCal and SoCal violence purveyors, Plutocracy and Phobia. Both sets have pretty great sound quality, and this time the rips are at 320 with photos included. Grind your fucking head in...

...over here.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A Wealth Of Ignorance

Mange's releases will make you re-assess what you used to consider "heavy." Oozing from the tar pits of SoCal, Mange lumbered like a zombie brontosaurus carcass on its own version of a feeding frenzy. This Phobia side project didn't drop too many releases in their long history; the first line-up put out the "Junkie" demo tape (1997) posted here, and the "Disillusioned" CD which I recommend you purchase here. Certain members of Dystopia and Anubis Rising joined up, and another demo was released way later (2005); you can listen to those tracks here. The "Junkie" demo doesn't have any exclusive tracks or anything, but below you can enjoy the authentic demo tape experience, complete with inconsistent volumes and lovely tape hiss. I enjoy it as the precursor to one of the heaviest records I've ever heard.

Junkie

Monday, March 10, 2008

Plutocracy/Phobia Split LP (Live)


On this split (Misanthropic Records, 1994), LA/OC kingpins, Phobia, scrap it out live with infamous Bay Area tokers, Plutocracy. Both bands have had a huge impact on the "extreme music" emerging from California over the last decade and a half, and play/played their own brands of grindcore and/or powerviolence. Phobia have been leveling cities for about 18 years now, and on this LP expel 4 blasts of "Harmony Corruption"-era Napalm Death-style grind. Considering that it was recorded on July 24, 1993 at The Butt-Cave in Santa Ana, California, the sound quality on their side definitely exceeded my expectations. A great early set, by a legendary band! On the flip, Plutocracy put their out-of-control stylings on display by way of 8 bruising tracks. These guys created their own genre of grindcore that could never possibly be copied. The vocals are nutty and all over the place, giving the tracks a chaotic feel. But the band is in total control of its "art." They play with precision and conviction, and conjure a well-balanced blend of politics, humor, and fury. I can't say for sure where and when Pluto's side was recorded, because the insert is vague. There is a funny, ambivalent write-up of Pluto's last show reprinted there, but I'm not sure if we're to believe that the tracks were recorded at this show, The Butt-Cave, or elsewhere. Either way, their set completely shreds! Pluto members went on to play in Spazz, No Less, Capitalist Casualties, etc. They released a bunch of early records collected on a CD, and reformed around 1999 to record the "Sniping Pigz" LP.


Sunday, November 4, 2007

Mange

The word of the day, girls and boys, is HEAVY! SoCal's Mange serve up the heavy with a steam shovel! Consisting of members of anarcho-grind legends Phobia, and now featuring members of crust-metal gods Dystopia and progressive metallers Anubis Rising, Mange have managed a very sparse output of some of the heaviest sludge metal ever produced. It all started in 1997 with their "Junkie" demo, followed the next year by the immensely heavy "Disillusioned" CD (Half Life Records). Release-wise, the band showed little sign of life until they put out their 2005 self-titled demo, which has a decidedly doomy, "Noothgrush-esque" lean to it (not a bad thing at all!). Their one readily available release is of course, "Disillusioned." This disc showcases one of the heaviest guitar sounds I've ever heard (the heaviest?) with tempos that are all over the place, but stay in the "fairly slow" range most of the time. The riffs are often catchy, but not too noodly, leaving enough space for the heaviness to sink through to your very soul. If you enjoy Phobia's traditional grind vocals, you'll find a similar delivery here, which of course, works well with the overall intimidating heaviness of the final product. Listen to this after a bad day, and all will be forgotten.
Sample the Heaviosity:
Support the Band/Label (as always):