Necrot - Blood Offerings

By Matt Hinch. Recently I talked about a little band featuring a member of Vastum (Shelby Lermo) called Extremity and their debut, Extremely Fucking Dead. It's one of the best death metal albums of the year so far by far. Well, hold on a minute.

By Matt Hinch.

Cover art by Marald Van Haasteren

Recently I talked about a little band featuring a member of Vastum (Shelby Lermo) called Extremity and their debut, Extremely Fucking Dead. It's one of the best death metal albums of the year so far by far. Well, hold on a minute. Hot on the heels of that bruiser comes Blood Offerings, the debut (proper) full-length from the Bay Area's Necrot, also featuring a member of Vastum! That would be vocalist/guitarist/bassist Luca Indrio. Rounding out the deadly trio is Vastum alumni and current Atrament drummer Chad Gailey and Saviours guitarist Sonny Reinhardt.

Almost everything I've seen regarding Necrot likens them to Bolt Thrower. I couldn't name a Bolt Thrower song if I tried (nor could I for the other name bandied about, Autopsy) but that doesn't mean the meat and potatoes death metal that crushes your ears on Blood Offerings won't endear itself to like-minded individuals. It just might mean spending some time with Bolt Thrower is necessary. But there's no rush to visit a classic band when Blood Offerings has all the makings of a classic itself.

The first thing to notice is how the album never quits. From start to finish it simply kills. The rhythm guitars fire off enough chugging riffs and speed-laden runs to subdue any foe while the leads burn their bones to ash. Dictating the carnage, Indrio shreds his throat with the kind of growl that isn't totally indecipherable and drips with a bloody sheen that never feels too forced or ridiculous. In other words, perfectly suited to the necrotic filth around them.

Photos by Carmelo Española.

Let's not forget how much of a machine Gailey is. His energy is non-stop. To keep a creature like Necrot continually pushing forward requires horsepower and stamina. Both of which are present in spades. His cymbal work is outstanding, especially on the title track.

Necrot capture the essence of what makes death metal death metal. It's something that makes the muscles flex, the neck specifically. Spectacular riff after spectacular riff unleash the beast within balancing speed and power. If I wanted to marvel at complexity I'd listen to prog. This is straightforward but not stupid. There's a lot going on sometimes but you don't have to “figure it out”. They find that propulsive drive, that chugging rhythm, that “crush it all” mentality and work it hard. Sure they throw in some fine-fingered touches but they don't make fretboard Olympics the focus. Just beat me over the head with a bag of shrunken heads and keep it coming!

I'm not trying to dumb it down, but sometimes you just have to put your shit away and rage. That's where Blood Offerings comes in. A lot of death metal has and will be released this year but Necrot and Blood Offerings will definitely make the podium when all is said and done. It's an outstanding 40 minutes of destructive power and sickening riffs you should be willing to offer blood for.

Now when can we expect a Necrot, Extremity and Vastum tour? Can Memoriam come too? Would anyone survive?

Fucked Up, Fuck You, and Fuck Yeah: A Tankcrimes Threesome

By Matt Hinch. I should have know better than to approach a Fucked Up release with expectations. Unless we're talking about expecting the unexpected. I don't know the band well but I saw them play a couple years ago and

By Matt Hinch.


I should have know better than to approach a Fucked Up release with expectations. Unless we're talking about expecting the unexpected. I don't know the band well but I saw them play a couple years ago and it was nothing like Year of the Snake. It was a hardcore show. This is neither hard nor core. The title track is almost 24 minutes of groovy psych pulling on an Asian hookah, astral planing through time, spiraling skyward, bathed in a meditative aura. The ambient sections and blissful sojourns to realms beyond the earthly call forth peace. The gravelly vocals (and clean female) do little to harsh the mellow even when the track is at its most muscular. The climax will transport you and the varied instrumentation (synths, bells, panpipes) are trippy as fuck!

The only other track they have time for is “Passacaglia”, six minutes of Monster Magnet meets Brant Bjork with an almost classic rock tilt. It hits on a riff and rides it across the galaxy. It's instrumental, with endless groove and it's a bloody shame it's not 10 times longer.

Lemme dumb this down for you. FYPM's Dumbed Down is crass, abrasive and as nasty as the floor after a Piss Into A Cup Contest for blind alcoholics. It's about as subtle as trying to cure syphilis with hydrochloric acid. It's superb hardcore. They get in, fuck you up, and get out. It makes you feel like you took a shitkicker to the temple just listening to it. It's the auditory equivalent of getting curb stomped but with all the feral energy you just get back up and eat some deserving douchebag's face with busted chicklets. Crazed Cleveland hardcore, crossover sensibility, street punk swagger and song titles like “Dark Side of the Spoon”, “Douche Chills” and “You Hate Me and I Hate You” kick as much ass as the bruising tunes they represent.

Perhaps the best part is that they are very self-aware (“50 White Dudes with Machetes/Crisis Actors”), socially conscious (“Steubenville City Limits”) and not afraid of calling anyone out. Dumbed Down will seriously beat you silly.

Two years after dealing out some Stoner Justice, Connoisseur are back with Over the Edge. Smokeland's finest weed enthusiasts fall somewhere between Fucked Up and Fuck You Pay Me in a way. Like FYPM they're as nasty and infectious as hepatitis, brutalizing the listener with gnarly tone and unrefined vocals. While there are no real sonic similarities to Year of the Snake, Connoisseur's drug of choice pairs perfectly with Fucked Up's psychedelic and mind expanding offering.

As you'd expect, Connoisseur bathe the listener in as much pot smoke as you can handle. If I had a nickel for every time they mention smoking weed I'd have enough money to buy some weed. If you can drag yourself off the couch Connoisseur's sludgecore makes for some pretty violent moshing. Whether fast or slow Over the Edge gets its sense of heavy from the state of the band's eyelids. Take the red eye Over the Edge and death to false stoners!

That's Tankcrimes output for 2017 so far! FUCKING KILLER. The first track off Necrot's June release (Blood Offerings) sounds pretty good too!

Cannabis Corpse / Ghoul - Splatterhash

Written by Andy Osborn.

Artwork by Andrei Bouzikov

Stoners worldwide have been rejoicing at the recent legalization efforts taking place, and what better way to kick off the celebration -- and the new, smoke-filled year -- than with a blazing split from Tankcrimes. The two finest acts on the small label’s roster are also some of the most 420-friendly around, but don’t get them confused for the mellow, relaxed types. Sometimes a high calls for a faster pace and a bit more humor than provided by your typical trudging bong rippers, and that’s exactly what these maniacs deliver with this four track offering. 

Continuing with their potent strain of punk-infused death metal, Cannabis Corpse lay weed-worshipping, comical lyrics over a deadly serious sheen of tight musicianship and surprising technicality. As they’ve always done, the Virginians both parody and pay homage to the best aspects of the genre while still being able claim a sound as wholly their own. Ghoul’s death-thrash keeps the buzz going with 80s Bay Area riffs and intelligent phrasing not normally dished out by their regional brethren. “Inner Sanctum” is the highlight of the split that plays with blistering leads and ever-changing vocal deliveries that keep you guessing what these hooded menaces are going to pull out next. The session ends with a crossover anthem that’ll force you to scrape the bowl and fire it all up over again and again.

As is common with splits, Splatterhash will you wanting more from both bands. But everything about this release -- its concept, cover art, title and production -- is damn-near perfect so it’s difficult to be upset at such a supreme high, short-lived as it is. Light it up, take a deep breath, and don’t forget to pass it around.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Obsessor - Mental Hell

Artwork by Andrei Bouzikov

Brandon Ferrel is back with the fourth and final installment in the series of Obsessor singles. The production values has improved during the series, on Mental Hell there's a good balance between clarity and rawness. Very befitting the fist pumping punkish thrash that Obsessor delivers. The second track Evil Supremacy is a veritable riff-fest. The title track has a short flirt with 80's metal, and is supremely illustrated by Andrei Bouzikov's cover art: "Give me the gun, give me the knife - So I can end this nightmare life!"

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Obsessor - In Fear of the End

Awesome artwork by Andrei Bouzikov

Obsessor's third single In Fear of the End is available on the Tankcrimes Bandcamp. This is punk-flavored thrash, marrying d-beats with Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom. Two short tracks featuring furious riffing and vocals with an attitude (and background vocals by Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God). Plus a production that is both clear and appropriately raw.

Enjoy all three Obsessor singles below, the newest on top. And check out reviews of Obsession and Sick Salvation from American Aftermath, Meat Mead Metal and Invisible Oranges.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Ghoul - Transmission Zero

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Oakland-based horror lovers Ghoul have returned with Transmission Zero, their first full-length album in five years. The members of Ghoul conceal their identities behind masks and maintain grotesque alter egos

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published by Exclaim.


Oakland-based horror lovers Ghoul have returned with Transmission Zero, their first full-length album in five years. The members of Ghoul conceal their identities behind masks and maintain grotesque alter egos, with names like Cremator. Their music is brutal and abject, rooted in an aesthetic of disgust and revulsion. They are also extremely self-referential and revel in not taking themselves seriously. There's a sophisticated sense of humour mixed in with the splattering gore, but what does this sound like?

Ghoul produce a clotted, congealing guitar sound with jackhammer drumming. "Death in the Swamp" has a demented surf-rock quality that recalls classic horror films and the way they become appropriated as comedy as they age. Transmission Zero might be funny, but Ghoul also know how to churn up filth and write a good riff. The tongue-in-cheek smirk of the band shouldn't be mistaken for an excuse to dismiss them.