The Asteroid Bullet Belt

"Shit has riffs, man."  Side-projects are a fascinating thing, but also a total crapshoot. For one, they can provide a glimpse into a different side of an artist’s sources of inspiration, or what might interest them besides their main source of creative output. People are complicated after all, that much is evident from all the black metal musicians who also have an ambient side-project. Yet at the same time, it does raise the question of how much effort has been put into it, especially when it appears to be a footnote in their catalogue. Συντρίμμια’s (Debris) Repulsive Inexpression piqued my interest owing to Ivan’s (of Kvadrat fame) involvement, not only as a musician, but also as a graphic designer. Seeing as the trio dropped this album back in 2023 without much fanfare, I couldn’t help but be a little curious about it. Was it a different take on deathgrind, a little fun thing to do on the side, or just an unremarkable album in the infinite ocean of the internet? One thin...

Sure, it rips, but where do we go from here? Well, it sure was a tumultuous couple of years before Abraded’s “latest” work finally managed to see the light of day. Originally slated to come out some time in 2024 on an entirely different label, Ethereal Emanations from Cthonic Caries , was seemingly cancelled, and all traces of it removed off the internet, barring the occasional listing on websites such as the Metal Archives and RateYourMusic. It’s not up to me to figure out what went down that resulted in that, as what counts is that we do have “new” music to listen to from the Cleveland trio.  I use quotations when referring to the music’s recency, as the material was for the most part recorded by Patric Pariano back in 2017, preceding the band’s first release, the Descendants of the Swamp demo. It’s something that is evident in the music itself, as it’s a far cry from 2023’s divisive Unadulterated Perversity , the sound being stripped back and eschewing any sort of experimentat...

Perhaps a bit less perverted than they’d like. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on May 4th 2024)  I have some rather fond memories of Abraded’s self-titled debut. It wasn’t anything particularly special, it was a simple, yet well-executed, slab of grind that thrived on its brevity and disgusting sound, nothing more. There was the occasional interesting idea here and there but it wasn’t enough to blow your mind. Nevertheless, I decided that I wouldn’t mind hearing anything they might put out in the future. And wouldn’t you know it, they actually did release their sophomore, Unadulterated Perversity a year after the fact. I went in without much in the way of expectations and came out rather confused, certainly not something I expect feeling when it comes to deathgrind. I mean seriously, why the fuck is there shredding in this album? This came as a total shock right from the title track, which is probably the fastest I’ve seen a band declare a mission sta...

This review is full of shit. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024)  While the title might make you think I am about to offer very little insight into Tithe’s debut effort, Penance , it’s more about the trio’s irreverence towards this text than anything else. As the group says on “Apostasy”, “the critics are full of shit”, a stance that in and of itself challenges the existence of this review. How do you cover something that outright rejects any opinion one might form about it? All things considered, it’s not even a particularly original stance to have in the context of heavy music, many a band have said they don’t aim for mainstream appeal and want to stay underground, but few are as forward about it. Nevertheless, the purpose of this text isn’t to philosophise about the concept of reviewing music, not to mention the band themselves said that they too are full of shit, thus enabling me to write with impunity. Tithe’s mix of sounds is surpr...

Why is the grindcore album making me sad? (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 20th 2022)  Grindcore is a genre that I’ve grown quite fond of over time, but one that I always find myself being exceptionally picky with. For every band that puts together blistering riff assaults, there’s a handful that feel like shitposts that never go beyond making some fast 10-second tracks. Those obviously do have their place in the genre, but bands that focus on that miss the forest for the trees. That being said, the 21st century has treated the style kindly, as has been the case with metal as a whole. One of the bands that has helped the style immensely is Wormrot, the topic of this here review. The Singaporean trio has put out some of the most intense grind of the 21st century so far, all while at the same time evolving as musicians and expanding their sound. Hiss , their fourth release, is another chapter in this ongoing saga, and one that as of right now is...

Korgoth would approve.  (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 1st 2022)   One thing I’ve always found quite amusing is how interconnected underground metal bands tend to be. Seeing a single member being in 3 or more bands at a time is a great way to find new stuff to listen to. And that’s exactly how I stumbled upon Abraded. Patric Pariano is the band’s drummer, and it’s through his other band, Abreaction, that I ended up stumbling upon the Descendants of the Swamp EP last year. As chance would have it, I was looking through the guy’s page on the Archives and ended up finding that Abraded had released their self-titled debut, which turned out to be quite the nasty slab of deathgrind. Looking at the tracklist, and the album’s 19 minute runtime can give you a very good idea of what you’ll be experiencing: short, energetic bursts of speed with the occasional mid-tempo slugger that’s guaranteed to knock you on your ass, and as is tradition with gr...

Crumbling into infinity. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 8th 2021)  There’s nothing quite like being fashionably late, and what’s a better example of that other than covering an album 2 months after its release? Like I said earlier this year in my review of Weeping Choir , I had been looking forward to Full of Hell’s fifth full-length release ever since they had teased it on social media. 8 months after that, Garden of Burning Apparitions released, and I obviously went and listened to it as soon as I could. Did I get what I expected? Well, yes and no. Every Full of Hell album thus far has had its own distinct identity so far, and this one is no different. Following the deathgrind madness of their previous 2 works, Garden… sees the band inject a healthy dose of mathcore influence to the mix. Tracks like “Guided Blight”, “Burning Apparition”, and “Reeking Tunnels” mix grinding death metal with spastic riffs and rhythm changes in a very fresh ...

 I have no hands and I must riff. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on April 25th 2021)   Every year, there is a handful of bands that release stuff that goes under the radar and isn't acknowledged by many despite its quality. Cryptic Void is one of those bands, with their 2017 debut Into The Desert Temple being a good, albeit forgotten, album. Following its release they disappeared off the face of the earth, remaining radio silent until this year. Post-Human Godhood is the band's first release since then, and not only does it prove they haven't missed a step, but also that they managed to improve inbetween releases. From the first track, "Offering to the Technocrats", we can see the band has expanded on their sound with fresh ideas. They haven't abandoned the (grind)core of their music, still utilising aggressive riffing and punk-styled drumming, but leads like the one at 0:20 were completely absent from the debut. For an EP that...

Weeping tears of joy. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on February 21st 2021)  Over the past few months, Full of Hell has been teasing the fact that a new album is on the way, and what better way to celebrate it than by reviewing the album that got me into them? Weeping Choir , the band's 2019 release was my introduction to their chaotic brand of deathgrind, and what made me fall in love with their sound as a whole. The sheer savagery on display left me in a daze the first time I experienced it. It also proved to be quite intoxicating, leading to me to giving the album multiple listens ever since. Things start off on a blistering note with "Burning Myrrh", which, even after multiple listens, never fails to blow me away with its sheer intensity. It really helps set the tone for the aural violence that the band engages in on a regular basis. That being said, they do sprinkle in some tempo changes, like the section at 0:33. The final leg of the track...