The 7 Best Albums Of 2014 From Ottawa, Canada by Topon Das (Fuck The Facts, Merdarahta)

I recently asked my friend Topon Das if he would like to put together a "top 6 albums of 2014" list for the blog. Not only did he do me the favor of putting together a "Tops" list, but he added 1 and chose his favorites from his very own hometown of Ottawa, Canada. Enjoy!

---------------------------------------

Accursed Spawn - ‘Putrid’

Ottawa has always had a really strong death metal scene. Maybe it's the cold winters or the government jobs, I don't know. But it manages to create some of the best death metal that I think this country has to offer . Accurse Spawn is still somewhat of a young band, but you would never think it if you were to listen to this. They have the old school roots, but are shredding hard without being annoying and distasteful. Some first class riffs with solid song structure make it a bummer that this release is so short.

Accursed Spawn's Bandcamp

Alaskan - 'Despair, Erosion, Loss'

Check it out. You'll love it.

Alaskan's Bandcamp

Ash And Elm - ' S/T'

I listen to a lot of angry, screaming, loud music. Not only because I enjoy it, but also because I have to as part of my job. So it's always fun when I discover something that is the total opposite of that that I actually also really enjoy. Imagine that you're listening to Cannibal Corpse's "Tomb Of The Mutilated" and all of a sudden your mother-in-law shows up. You can put this on quickly and she'll be happy, you'll be happy; everyone wins.

Ash And Elm's Bandcamp

Street Meat - 'Taco Night!'

My 4-yar-old daughter is always asking me to put this album on. I know that it's the album cover that first caught her attention, but the songs are infectious enough that it has kids (and adults) shaking every available body part to the dirty beats. The only things that's better than this album is thir live show.

Street Meat's Bandcamp

Dead Weights - Dead Ends & Closed Doors

I'll admit that I have listened to the song "Fall Down" on repeat numerous times. Extremely well written catchy punk rock that'll have you singing along after just the first listen. I want to say 'great dudes, great album', but even if these guys were assholes I would still want to listen to this.

Dead Weights' Bandcamp

Norilsk - Japetus

Really sweet new doom band in the area. Brings elements of doom, post rock and even old school death metal together into a seamless match. Imagine Russian Circles tuned down and with a death metal vocalist. Chock full of simple melodies that'll have your head moving without you even knowing it.

Norilsk's Bandcamp

Sombre - Demo 2014

These guys come from a band that wanted to be The Dillinger Escape Plan and you can still hear some of that in this, but now it's mainly just raw, angry and pissed off hardcore. One of the gnarliest guitar tones I've heard in awhile and one of the best hardcore vocalists this city has to offer. Keep an eye out for this young band.

Sombre's Bandcamp

-------------------------------

Thank you to Topon Das for putting this list together for the blog!

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights Review

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights

Tracklist:
1. Im Rauch
2. Bei Rosarotem Licht
3. Fahr Zur Holle
4. Irrwege
5. Ganz Leise Kommt Die Nacht
6. Segeln Ohne Wind
7. Unrasiert
8. Verloren (Alles)
9. Komm Zuruck  Zu Mir

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore are a 4 piece, ambient jazz group from Germany. With 8 albums under their belt since 1992, they're well versed in creating an ambiance noir.
My first taste of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore was from their 2002 album "Black Earth". Super dark, instrumental, ambient jazz that features piano, percussion, stand up bass, and a sax. This release (Piano Nights), along with the other albums I've heard from them, all have the same vibe and feel to them. However, I'm completely and totally ok with this.
B&DCOG have this eerie air about them. I would describe their music as something that would be playing on a dusty, cob web infested record player in a decaying coffee shop next to a graveyard. It's soothing and unsettling all at the same time. As if you feel something is going to pop out you and kill you, but you've already accepted death.
The instrumentation and composition on this album is masterfully brilliant. You can tell by the way this album was written that they've been at this for years and know exactly what they're doing. Every note laid out beautifully. Every drum beat timed exactly. If you want something different to just vibe out to and chill with a morning coffee and cigarette then this is EXACTLY what you're looking for.

Bandcamp:
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Piano Nights

Disabler - Aggressive Negativity Review

Disabler - Aggressive Negativity

1. Bitter & Resentful

2. Tamas

3. Your Opening Act, The Date Rapist

4. Hibernation

5. Leary's Still Dangerous

"Aggressive Negativity". Exactly the way I would describe this EP. There's something in the water in Edmonton apparently. And it turns punks even angrier than normal. Disabler kidnaps you, ties you up, gags you and throws you in a small room for about 13 minutes. Only for a few seconds in "Hibernation" do you get a moment to breathe. And then it's right back to the slammer, but man does it feel good to be back.

These guys take all the best parts of a very dark and heavy strain of hardcore punk and push it to the limit. I sat on this in my emails for quite sometime and goddamn I wish I hadn't. How this bands isn't more well known after sharing the stage with KEN Mode and Full Of Hell is beyond me.

I would honestly put this in a list among the best releases of 2014 for me.

Bandcamp:

Disabler - Aggressive Negativity

Terminal Nation - Demo 2014 Review

Terminal Nation - Demo 2014

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. How Will You Be Remembered?
3. Preexisting Condition
4. Employee Of The Month
5. Stay In Your Lane

6. Messiuhhhhh/Outro

This isn't your average punk band. From the very first "intro" track you can tell you're for a bit of a twist. Yes it has simple riffs, gang vocals peppered in, old school two-step breakdowns and fast passages, but it also has solos! That was what surprised me the most. These punks not only make good hardcore, but they know how to play their instruments pretty well. This demo was recorded well, but not too well to detach from the raw and organic feel that goes so well with punk/hardcore.

The main vocals have a very jock punk (think Infest. Which is probably where they got their name from.) feel to them. I'm not the biggest fan of this style of vocals, but it does go with the style of hardcore that they play. They do seem to have another back up vocalist in the band with a different vocal approach. This can be heard on "Employee Of The Month" and a completely different style of vocals can be heard on "Messiuhhhhh". These different vocal styles definitely give this band some unique qualities and help them stand out from other modern hardcore acts.
I'd highly recommend this if you like your punk sludgy and raw.

Bandcamp:

Terminal Nation - Demo 2014

Fuck The Facts - Abandoned EP Review

Fuck The Facts - Abandoned EP

Tracklist:

1. Endless Emptiness

2. Disabused

3. L'impasse

If you're a fan of Fuck The Facts then I really don't need to convince you to get this because you already know the quality grind that will be blasting out of your speakers when you hit play. But for those of you that are new to this legendary Canadian experimental grind outfit, "Abandoned" is a 3 track EP filled with older, but newly recorded songs that were written as far back as 12 years ago. L'impasse actually began as the first song they had written for their "Die Miserable" album. "Endless Emptiness" and "Disabused" however, were actually even older demos that were written back in 2002. But for whatever reasons, these songs were 'Abandoned' from the finalized "Die Miserable" album.

Now, Fuck The Facts is most certainly not your stereotypical grind band. With songs lasting much longer than thirty seconds and straying from the well-worn path of pure blast beats these tracks are much more progressive and groovier than your typical grindcore release. The songs on this EP definitely takes multiple listens to be able to hear everything. There are so many things happening that it's impossible to take everything in at once. However, this is NOT a setback. It makes things interesting and keeps every listen fresh. All in all, this is a strong release with a very relevant sound that just goes to show how well the members of Fuck The Facts can write quality grind that never sounds boring or dated.

This is also a first for the band, in that it was released on their very own brand new label Noise Salvation Records. "Abandoned" is also but 1 of 3 new releases from Fuck The Facts that are coming soon! So keep up to date with em!

Stream the full EP here:

FUCK THE FACTS - ABANDONED

Purchase the EP on cassette here (LIMITED):

FUCK THE FACTS - ABANDONED (LIMITED CASSETTE)

Purchase the digital version:

FUCK THE FACTS - ABANDONED (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD)

"What in the fuck are these fools thinking?" Interview With FISSURE Drummer Dylan Arseo

Hollowed Out: So how did the idea for FISSURE come about?

Dylan: Basically, Brendan (Duff, Bass) and I had been wanting to get something started for a while, even while I was living in the Coachella Valley and he was living in L.A. but that hadn't fully come to fruition until we had both moved in together in Orange County in early 2012. Immediately, we began jamming material all while trying to find a singer and guitarist to bring into the mix.

HO: Was it difficult getting started?

Dylan: Not really, to be honest with you. We got in contact with Blake and Henry by way of a Craigslist ad. We got together with them on the afternoon of Sunday, March 11th, 2012 and from there on out, we started putting together a 12 song set that really put us into motion in the beginning.

HO: When Blake (Andreas, Ex-Guitar) and Henry (Mondaca, Ex-Vocals) left the band was it difficult to find replacements?

Dylan: I don't think it was. We had known Oscar and Leo for a while just from seeing each other at shows, playing alongside their bands (Venganza and Plagues, respectively) and just toying with the idea of having them come over, jam a bit and seeing what happens with it. I think it proved to be the absolute best decision.

HO: What do you attribute the fast growing popularity of the band to?

Dylan: I think the popularity is just a measure of how much we don't try to stick to one genre. We're able to incorporate several different styles of music seamlessly and I think that's why fans of most aggressive musical genres can get behind it. I'd at least hope people can get into the changes other than, "What in the fuck are these fools thinking?" hahaha

HO: Where does the inspiration for your unique style come from?

Dylan: All over the place. We all come from backgrounds of hardcore and punk but individually, we all listen to so much different music. It stems from that and the desire to just want to push the envelope that much further with whatever we come up with. I can't pinpoint just one collective influence between the four of us other than we aren't afraid to try something new.

HO: How would you describe the difference between Grindcore and Powerviolence?

Dylan: Grindcore, to me, is much more abrasive, noisy, spastic, overall intense etc. Powerviolence, on the other hand, takes much more of an old school hardcore approach. Breakdowns, the punk beat played at an extreme pace, vocal style but the one thing they have in common is the extremely short song lengths!

HO: You have a 7" EP out on Melotov Records and Split 7" with Leeds band Gets Worse coming out soon. How did the split with Gets Worse come about?

Dylan: Brendan got in contact with them a few months back via way of email and just point blank asked if they'd be into putting a split out together. Almost immediately, they responded to him with a "Yes!" so after the confirmation, we wrote the 5 songs on that split, recorded them, sent them to the dudes in Gets Worse and it was all set to go. The European pressing of the record will be out at the end of September on Dead Heroes label and the U.S. version should be out before the end of the year via way of Murdernoise! Snag both copies and add some serious color to your record collection!

HO: I've really noticed that your guys' sound has definitely evolved and progressed since you first began. Do you guys just play however you want, or do you think about how the crowd will react in a live setting?

Dylan: For the most part, we play whatever we want and what we think sounds good. There have been times though when we come up with parts that are like, "Oh, it's cool but maybe not fitting for our particular sound." There's been times where we think "Oh man, this part is gonna get the crowd to be like 'FUUUUUCCCKKK'" and those are what we look for in each song.

HO: That's about all the questions I have for you now! Is there anything you'd like to let everyone know?

Dylan: We are going to be extremely busy in the next year with some cool stuff in the works so just stay tuned and thank you for every bit of support! It means the world to us. And thank you taking the time to interview us. Hope we weren't too boring

Sick 'Em - S/T Tape Review

Sick 'Em - S/T tape

Tracklist:

1. 808

2. Progress

3. Playing House

4. Rather Figure

5. Soft Money

6. Mi Felicidad

7. Trapped Dragged Down

Sick 'Em is a band from LA with a strong hardcore punk sound. They've labeled themselves under the genre of thrashcore. However, while there is a clear influence of bands under the thrashcore banner, such as early D.R.I., the majority of the EP has a much stronger straight up hardcore punk feel.

A very short, but very energetic EP, Sick 'Em have released a very good representation of their live performance in this EP. They've harnessed the crazy energy and pissed off punk attitude they give off while playing live and condensed it so well here that if you listen to these recordings and go to a Sick 'Em show for the first time, you know exactly what you're gonna get. Rather Figure, Progress, 808 and Mi Felicidad are definite highlights of the tape for me. If you love fast, mean and energetic punk then this is definitely a band to check out! The EP is on Obscene Records/Murdernoise but you can check out two tracks from it!

Sick 'Em Tape Preview

Facebook:

Forever Thrashcore

Bandcamp:

Sick 'Em Bandcamp

Blogspot:

Sick 'Em Blog