Tag: grindcore

Groveling Before the Gods of Grind: Napalm Death at Teragram

Rob Shepyer September 5, 2018

Of all the epic metal shows Church of the 8th Day has ever put on, Napalm Death at the Teragram has got to be my favorite. The creators and gods of Grindcore, Napalm Death, changed music forever by goofing on certain elements that other genres wouldn’t dare experiment with at the time in 1981. Partially a farce, Grindcore didn’t care about what lyrics their growls were actually belting out and whether they actually matched-up with what was written. They would also do something as absurd as write songs under 10 seconds long. This was so groundbreaking at the time that the band generated mainstream attention by people that were just curious about how such a strange and shocking art form could exist. related content: Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show At The Regent: A Night Too Blackened To Forget Underneath this musical insanity and humor, Napalm Death has always carried the most serious political messaging behind their extreme sound. Their first album Scum opens up just the same way their Teragram set did, with “Multinational Corporations” going into “Instinct of Survival” which is a very confrontational, diagnosis of the world’s disease. Greedy, self-serving, corporations making money off of people’s plight and dying.

Thou Demonstrate The Blackest Doom At The Echo For FYF Club Show

Rob Shepyer July 18, 2017

Doom metal only keeps evolving and engrossing the current metal scene, drowning all the lesser genres in the tar pit of its sound and forcing the future icon bands to rise up to the surface. Thou are the inheritors of Louisiana’s rich sludge-metal heritage and they take that sound to a place no doom band has ever taken it before. With ten minute songs that feel like hell itself, Thou blends doom and black metal into a sound that brings together doom and stoner fans, black metal fans, noise fans, and grindcore fans. When a promoter like FYF Presents gives you the blessing of playing a show under their banner, you know you’re part of a brewing musical storm, if not the whole storm. But for a band as brutal and against the grain as Thou to be awarded that blessing at The Echo just 5 days before their annual festival, it’s indicative of how mainstream tastes are being pushed into a very extreme corner and FYF, at the center of it all has helped to move the status quo- even while being criticized for softening and being “less punk” themselves in the way that they book the festival. Poppycock.

1Fest-Los Angeles at Los Globos: Noise As Music As Force Is Farce

Rob Shepyer July 8, 2017

In my quest for mind expansion through live musical experience, I’ve been fortunate enough to write about festivals that I might not have cared to attend If I was just a casual music fan. This was the case for Berserktown, 8BitLA, and now 1Fest: Los Angeles. I’ve learned that taking a risk and just diving into a genre of music without prior knowledge usually only reaps joyful reward. Absorbing too much musical diversity has its drawbacks, though. The mind can expand so much that the brain might start pressing against the inside of the skull and adapt by developing a sort of exo-skeleton, a crust. Brain crust. related content: The Most Complete Sound And Fury 2017 Review On Earth Crust punk and Grindcore- Two genres birthed out of the aesthetics of British Anarchist punk OG’s Crass. Grindcore was first conceptualized by Napalm Death as half political dissidence and half musical farce, with songs that only lasted seconds and little care for actually singing the lyrics live. Grindcore, although as separate from mainstream heavy music as possible, is still thriving and alive because Grindcore is not simply a musical genre but a challenge. It is a challenge to any band to see

Head Wound City at Echoplex shot by David Evanko

FYF Presents Head Wound City at The Echoplex: Pretty Boy Hardcore

Danny Baraz June 29, 2015

When I think of metal bands I have loved throughout history, I think of mullets, Dungeons and Dragons, short busses, bad hygiene and full rooms, void of any feminine presence. My how times have changed. On Friday night, FYF Presents continued to display why they are one of the most diverse talent bookers in town when “super group”, Head Wound City played The Echoplex along with Loma Prieta and Crime Desire. Today’s Metal, no less intense in it’s impact, yet the crowd was filled with beautiful people and so was the stage when Head Wound City played their set. Grindcore, mathcore, thrashcore, noise rock, and noisegrind. Call it what you will but it all stems from Thrash/Speed Metal. There were no soccer moms wearing Slayer t-shirts in the 80’s and 90’s but now, H & M actually have a line of clothing that features bands like Slayer and Metallica on them. I wonder if those particular consumers know that Slayer stands for Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot. Metal has evolved into many things, most of which I’m not a fan of but Justin Pearson along with his label, Three One G are one of the most creative group of musicians

Retox at Los Globos are in a League of Their Own

Danny Baraz March 12, 2015

A lot of good thrash and speed metal bands played Tuesday night at Los Globos but when you see a band like Retox play, the distance between them and everyone else becomes monumentally apparent. Retox are just one of those bands that stand out from the rest of the lineup of any bill they are playing on. They have that “thing” that transcends being labeled. That being said, you won’t be seeing Retox play any psych fests anytime soon. They are most definitely a hardcore thrash/noise band. Last night was the last date of a month long tour supporting their latest album, Beneath California, released by Epitaph. Retox’s third full length album is a powerful statement of the band’s commitment to it’s overall sound. While other bands at the middle tiers of popularity seem to change course after a couple of releases, Retox has assured their base of fans that any added popularity they might experience in the future will solely be based on the merits of what attracted fans to them in the first place. At 11pm, Retox took the stage and jumped right into their set with their distinct sound. The purposely raw sounding but finely tuned guitar