Michael Hill was a Florida man, who in 1998, had the extreme misfortune of answering a knock at the front door of his sister's home while he was visiting and ended up getting the business end of an eight inch survival knife buried up to the hilt into his skull. Turns out a feuding neighbor of Hill's sister—whom Hill didn't even know—was the knife-wielding would-be assassin. But the story of why is not what makes this incident as interesting as it is. Against all odds and to the surprise of paramedics and doctors, Hill was completely conscious after the event and through a successful surgery ended up surviving with only some memory loss and limb mobility limitations on his left side. His x-ray is the stuff of Google Image legend and makes great fodder for show flyers and album covers. Hill went down in the pages of Guinness for having the world record for the largest foreign body removed from a human brain that didn't result in death. His is a story of chance, survival and triumph.
The story of Michael Hill reminded me of that of Phineas Gage—a railroad foreman who historically had a metal pipe explode through his face and out of the top of his head in an 1848 railway accident that occurred while clearing rock. Like Hill, Gage remarkably survived and made a quick recovery to the shock and disbelief of physicians at the time. But unlike Hill, Gage would not suffer any memory loss or major physical disabilities. What Gage would suffer from would be a personality shift caused by frontal lobe damage. The former mild-tempered and dependable worker became irritable, unreliable and profane. Phineas Gage went down in neurological and psychological texts books as a medical anomaly. His skull and the iron rod that pierced it now sit in the Warren Anatomical Museum located in the Harvard University campus.
The Michael Khill that are the subject of this text are not a victim of massive brain trauma, but instead are an Italian metalcore band formed in 2019 and are looking to cause some cerebral abuse of their own, albeit aurally.
Now, the descriptor of "metalcore" can certainly be polarizing and invoke thoughts of some cringe-worthy acts from the early 2000's, while the more creditable term of "metallic hardcore" should put you at ease with the perception of bands that you might find on the rosters of labels such as A389 Records or Southern Lord Records. Michael Khill should be thought of as being in the latter—bands like All Pigs Must Die or Trap Them that flirt with the borders of hardcore punk and metal, as well powerviolence and grindcore. That being said, Michael Khill's 2023 eight song debut CDEP, Infierire Sul Malessere, is obviously not going to be a blast-fest. Instead, the band uses blast beats to emphasize their calculated song structure and textured sound, just barely qualifying for entry into this blog. Yet, technically qualifying should definitely not be confused with something disparaging.
Michael Khill's thick and heavy guitarwork is integral to Infierire Sul Malessere. The driving hardcore riffs that make up a majority of the songs are straightforward and effective. Their simplicity is deceptive because they are the motivator of the catchy grooves within the songs as well as the basis for the interweaving of the other genres. Songs like "Torcicrollo" rely on that typical metalcore talent of chuggy palm mute alternations and pinch harmonics, while "Perizia Asettica" is a tornado of thrash riffing that is only amplified by its third act consisting of the classic pairing of cymbal catches and speed picking. The combination of catchiness and versatility make for some truly dynamic songwriting. Unfortunately, the bass guitar is merely a shadow of the guitar and is largely inaudible with the exception of a twelve second solitary intro on closing track, "Crepe". It seems the band has more grindcore attributes than just blast beats.
Working in tandem with the guitar talent, the drums are the power behind the band's mosh pit inducing metalcore. The drumming might easily be looked over as subtle, but the percussive ability is highly effective. Hardcore beats and skank beats flaunt those thrash influences, and even though the blasting is mainly kept to the double bass pedals, tracks "Bisogno", "Torcicollo", "Frecce" and "Coscienza Del Malehave" have enough blast beats to keep the band's "grindcore" tag honest. The tight rolls and thunderous tom work are just the icing on the cake that make you rethink that aforementioned "subtle" remark. The overall polished production allows the drumming to be deeply impactful and clean. You can hear every snare hit and each cymbal strike crisp and clear. This being of little surprise as the band recorded at the studio of Luca Incerti—drummer of Italian pop-punk band, Why Everyone Left—whom I'm assuming also produced.
Michael Khill's vocalist(s) are packing a short stable of oral accents that typically side on the more intelligible yelling style. Their strangled low yells occasionally drop down to a more grindcore roaring guttural that are then contrasted by strained higher vocals that tip the scales in the other direction. There are also some Tom Araya style mid-ranged shouts that, yet again, nod to the band's thrash leanings, especially when it's held and sustained in that classic Big Four fashion.
While Michael Khill is not what I would traditionally recommend as a grindcore band, they are definitely within the realm. If you are looking for all-out speed and obliteration, I suggest you traverse elsewhere, but the band have released an extremely solid metallic hardcore record with grind-like tendencies in Infierire Sul Malessere. Through crushing and fast-paced metal guitarwork, stampeding hardcore drums and an array of scouring vocals wrapped in an especially professional package, Michael Khill earn their ground in each of the genres they take influence from. Each and every one of the band's elements are firing on all cylinders. Infierire Sul Malessere is a stout mix of heavy hardcore, chucky metal and dynamic songwriting with an elevated production quality that doesn't hide behind harsh noise or distorted effects, which in return, makes for a powerful first release.
FFO: Complete Failure, All Pigs Must Die, Cripple Bastards, Baptists
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