Tag Archives: Black Flag

Obliterations – Poison Everything

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Emerging like a bile fuelled viper, Poison Everything (Southern Lord) is the third release from Californian based hardcore four piece Obliterations is a frenetic, dirty and all round in-your-face release that doesn’t let go from the second it sinks its teeth into you.

Taking influence from across the hardcore genre, from the organised precise chaos of Converge to the back to basics approach of classic Henry Rollins fronted Black Flag. To even some hooks and groovy riffs that is reminiscent of the first two The Bronx albums.

The record flies by with its run time of just over half an hour with its old school Black Flag influence running through the albums run time from its first second to its last. The Hardcore fury is nicely countered with a large slice of doomy Black Sabbath riffage in the albums more groove orientated moments, as well as its rumbling bass sound which chugs its way through the album making the record sound like a hardcore punk Motorhead.

The vocals are where the album steps into its stride, switching between Henry Rollins snarls and barks to Jacob Bannon shrieks and screams almost instantaneously.  Front man Sam James Velde pulls off these vocals seamlessly, sounding as if for his album preparation he gargled glass for a decade beforehand in order to transfer as much savagery into his delivery as possible.

Overall, Poison Everything is a great hardcore release from the band and is easily their best record to date. With all the snarl and aggression that you would want from bands such as Converge or Black Flag, Poison Everything does exactly what the band set out to do. The Sabbath riffs and Motorhead rumble and pace add all new depth to the release and lift it amongst most hardcore releases.

7.0/10

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DAN O’BRIEN

 

 


Lecherous Gaze – Zeta Reticuli Blues

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When the band began life as Annihilation Time, a punk/hardcore band from California 13 years ago, there would have been few people that could have predicted its progression to Lecherous Gaze and Zeta Reticuli Blues (Tee Pee). While the band still retain their attitude, the music took a radically different path, with the band more aptly describing it as ‘psycho-delic shred-tastic ultra-hyphened rock-punk heavy jams’. The album has a serious throwback sound, taking heavy inspirations anywhere from the rock n roll of the 50s to psychedelic rock and punk from the 60s and 70s, all tied together perfectly with the rasped vocals of Zaryan Zaidi.

The album opens on ‘End Rising’ diving straight into huge riffing with a distinctly retro sound. The myriad of influences ensure that each song has its own distinct sound, with ‘Animal Brain’ screaming Chuck Berry meets the Ramones, while ‘Zeta Reticuli Blues’ steps back for a hazy psychedelic Hendrix style instrumental. The music may dance between genres, but it’s Zaidis vocals that really highlight the straight up punk attitude to the music with his distinctly graveled tones.

While you could endlessly pick out and analyze the genres and painstakingly list each of the influences you’d be missing what this album is really about. The music is the culmination of decades of drug-fueled, mind-altering and downright sleazy musical endeavors. It is the lovechild of everyone from Motorhead to Black Flag to MC5. This is drinking and whisky music. This is trashed motels and vomit stained carpets. This is a record for those looking for a solid injection of partying straight back into punk.

8.0/10.0

 

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CAITLIN SMITH


Bastard of the Skies/Grimpen Mire – Split Album

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While the UK may lack the swamps or deserts that inspire our fellow Sabbath-worshipping cousins across the pond, we more than make up for it in grim urban sprawl, which is more than depressing enough to fuel our own fertile sludge scene. So what better time to take a look at a new split release (on Future Noise Recordings) from two homegrown lurking horrors that dwell down in the deep?

 

First up we have Blackburn trio Bastard of the Skies who have been knocking around for a good eight years or so now. While adhering fairly rigidly to the well-defined sludge template with the plodding, mid-paced rumble-along that is opening track ‘Yarn’, there is a pleasing undercurrent of menace and violence in the riffs and delivery which is just quite nasty sounding, frankly. This is exacerbated by vocalist Matt Richardson’s strained and haggard vocals which appear to have been recorded in some grimy cellar bereft of light and hope. ‘Bao Fu’ continues the trend, adding in a few Sourvein style anti-grooves before the brief curveball of ‘Wounder’ increases the pace. Closing number ‘Old Vessels’ veers into doom territory and makes good use of quiet/loud dynamics before locking into a monstrous groove to finish things off. Lovely stuff.

 

Erdington trio Grimpen Mire have also been doing the rounds for a similar length of time and their experience on the toilet circuit has clearly paid dividends for they have evolved into a tight and thoroughly abrasive unit with an appreciation for Black Flag at their most unpleasant. ‘The Hollow Wreck’ coils and slithers menacingly like a venomous serpent while ‘Vermin Hive’ does its best to wear the listener down with waves of monolithic misery. Eight minute closer ‘Fragments of Forgotten Craft’ starts slowly but then adopts some Wounded Kings-esque Hammer Horror vibes that go down a treat, ending things in suitably sinister style.

 

A cracking release that shows just how healthy (or should that be fetid?) the UK sludge scene currently is. Well worth a look.

 

7.5/10.0

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JAMES CONWAY

 

 


Bl’ast – Denim and Leather: Live at Star and Garter, Manchester, United Kingdom

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A beloved haven of British punk rock, the Star and Garter pub is rough and ready, but a great setting for an intimate performance from SST Records luminaries Bl’ast. Many will have felt the pull of guest rhythm section, namely former Queens Of The Stone Age men Joey Castillo and bass playing hellraiser Nick Oliveri, himself fresh off his second solo acoustic tour of the UK. Make no mistake about it, this is a set of high-octane punk from a much overlooked underground act that helped shape the face of American hardcore.

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Before the main event it’s time for Denim and Leather to warm up an already sweaty venue with their skinny frontman flailing across the stage. The group mainline Black Flag intensity with a few soiled Discharge riffs in an effective manner, warming things pleasantly for the headliners.

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Bl’ast are like a kick to the gut. The predominantly thirty plus audience really wake up to the raw intensity before them. Vocalist Clifford Dinsmore passes the mic around and Oliveri hammers out guttural basslines while Castillo is a hive of activity behind the kit. Focussing heavily upon their It’s In My Blood and Take The Manic Ride records, this may be an exercise in punk rock nostalgia but it cannot be denied that this old workhorse can still “go”.

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A frantic moshpit ensues at the front of the stage with Dinsmore gleefully egging the crowd on, with the punters hanging on his every word. Even members of Denim and Leather get in on the action hurling each other around amongst the audience. The venue may be an intimate one but it is barely able to contain the celebratory atmosphere within it.

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The punishing “Something Beyond” rides another grimy Oliveri bassline with Castillo beating his drums with such vigour he manages to dislodge a fan from the app above him. Without missing a beat he hurls the offending item into the audience who catch it and parade it around like a trophy before dumping it unceremoniously back on-stage.

 

 They may be greying, but this was still a righteous display of exuberance which belied their veteran status.

 

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WORDS BY ROSS BAKER

PHOTOS BY LUKE DENHAM PHOTOGRAPHY