"What happened was I began to eventually lose everything because cocaine had such a hold on me. I wouldn't show up to do things I had been hired to do—whether it was film for a video or do an ad for a magazine or something. I'd be out partying with cocaine. Eventually, I began to lose everything."
-Jay Haizlip
"Wanna buy a kilo?"
-Bob Morales
La Bamba (1987)
Generally, I'm a firm believer that nothing good comes out of Houston, Texas—with the exception of maybe music. Texas Gulf Coast grindcore and powerviolence is legendary and considered something sacred within the genre. Bands from the likes of Insect Warfare, PLF, 50/50, Mindboil, Türbokrieg, Knuckle Scraper, Machine Gun Romantics, Cryptic Void, Apocalyptic Noise Syndicate—to more recent bands like Active Shooter, Shotcaller and Shitstormtrooper—to even the infamous Geto Boys and hip-hop label/collective, Swishahouse—all hail from The Bayou City. Insect Warfare's presence alone is enough to make Houston hallowed ground in my book.
The latest crew of upstarts attempting to lay claim to the throne of the mighty Houston grind dynasty are the Space City newcomers, Cocaine Titans—a four-piece death-grind unit with a habitual idolization of a certain Schedule II narcotic. With as flagrant as Cocaine Titans are in their obsession with la cocaína, you'd think they would be repping the Dallas grind scene.
Nevertheless, the band debuted a four song live studio single, The Drip, in 2021 and another two releases in 2022. The first of which was a five song EP cheekily titled, Raw And Uncut. Based on the name and sound quality of the EP, I'm guessing that it was another live studio demo recording that was workshopping songs for their second release—the more traditional studio recorded, eleven track full-length, Chosen Violence.
The band's death-grind moniker lies predominantly on the shoulders of guitarist, James Lopez. His metal twanged guitar, with its chirps and squeals, provides a certain aspect of Cocaine Titans' distinct and palpable high grind personality. His zig-zag patterned riffs are as thick and heavy as the Houston humidity. Each song is bookended with sonically piercing feedback that is shrill enough to give you some foil-on-your-fillings style tinnitus. The prominent use of feedback gives the listener that live show feeling and strings the songs along like one consistent set. Lopez's technical prowess is on full display, but not overly showy. He keeps his riffs fast and chock-full of frequent pinch harmonic breaths that punctuate the riffs like a death metal asthmatic. The song "Rocketh In My Socketh" is a good example of that.
Bassist Michael Feltersnatch is more of the unsung member as his contributions—in true grindcore fashion—are mostly relegated to the background. His fingerstyle picking is the warm bottom behind Lopez's already crushing metal guitar. Never too forward, the bass is mainly heard in the rare instances that the band slows down below ninety beats per minute and the guitar is droning out single chord strikes such as the sludge intro to "Don't Thank Me, Thank The Knife" and the hardcore stomping breakdown of "Outlined In Chalk". Although the bass is not outright as flashy as the guitar, it definitely is contributing to the density of the band's aforementioned heavy grind "humidity," so to speak.
Cocaine Titans' drummer, Felipe Soria, is obviously putting the "grind" in the band's death-grind sound with high tempos and blast beats, and his natural skill behind the kit makes for an agreeable performance. Soria's casual style of drumming is a constant sustain of galloping and blasting. His quick rolls on the top of the kit are just as sharp and precise as the double bass pedal ones below it. He's tossing out brisk rolls and fills like he's shelling peanuts—subtle, but effective. The shuffling blasts on closing track, "No Front" are a way of changing things up while still keeping things moving. When things do slow down, his tribal-esque hardcore breakdowns and sashaying cymbal work underscore the guitar's massive chugs.
Another thing the drums have going for them is a solid and quality production. A benefit of the album being recorded by Dark Tone Audio engineer and metalcore drummer, Ramon Villarreal. The tom hits are booming, the snare is where it's supposed to be in the mix and the kick drum has a real nice sound to it. Whether it's synthetic or not, the kick stands out and hits pretty crisp and professional. You can almost visualize the blurring of the resonant head and feel the impact. All and all, the kit sounds overly decent and sounds like it could almost hold up to some bigger named, more funded metal bands.
Keeping track of Cocaine Titans' vocals and who's doing what, when and where, can be a little convoluted on Chosen Violence. Live performances offer some indication, yet how things are apportioned in the studio is difficult to discern, in my opinion. But who cares? The contributions of the group make for a more tumultuous temperament and more of that Cocaine Titans personality. The vocals incessantly shift in pitch and tone as the band sees fit, like some sort of coked-up sardonic skin-walker.
Frontman Niko McDade, cuts a fun and imposing figure with his grilled-out snarl and his signature ski-masked stage persona. The balaclava-wearing, bespectacled brute MC's the mic with a rabid roaring rampage of husky growls and gurgled howls that are seething with a shit-talking mockery. A very similar style and aesthetic to City Hunter's James Trejo, although more hoodrat than horror.
Flanking McDade's frothy barks are Feltersnatch's death metal lows and Lopez's hardcore shouts and additional high screams, or at least from what I can tell. As far as what I can make of the lyrics, they seem to be a combination of antagonistic verbal abuse, Tony Montana quotes and the acclamation of cocaine and cocaine accessories—all delivered with as much spite as legally possible. Although, this band doesn't seem to be concerned with legalities.
With song titles like "Habitual Line Stepper", "Razor Ramon","Rocketh In My Socketh" and "Don't Thank Me, Thank The Knife" (a "Don't do what Donny Don't does" deep cut) I think it's a safe bet that Cocaine Titans are as much tongue-in-cheek as they are finger-to-gums.
I don't like solos. I don't like lead guitars. I don't like melodic riffs or vocal harmonies. I like my grindcore how I like my Whataburger order—plain and dry—fast blast beats, heavy riffs, unintelligible vocals, no vegetables, no condiments. Cocaine Titans are all of that, yet still have enough charm and skill to have a unique and alluring grind flavor.
Despite the band's prior EP(s), 2022's Chosen Violence is Cocaine Titans' first truly legitimate release and for a premiere album it is an exemplary debut. The fourteen minute CD is a great sounding, well played addition to Houston's legacy of genuinely great grindcore bands. Currently, 2023 finds the band working on a split EP with fellow H-Town grinders, Shotcaller.
Chosen Violence's combination of grindcore, death metal and even hints of beatdown hardcore are the best combinations of velocity and ferocity. These nose-candy ne'er-do-wells are doubling down on the Hustle-Town heavy. The style, the quality, the band themselves are Houston through and through. Cocaine Titans might just be well on their way to the top of the heap of Houston, Texas' grindcore empire. Now, who's holding?
FFO: Insect Warfare, Skullsmasher, PLF, Kill The Client
Listen to the album: https://cocanettans.bandcamp.com/album/chosen-violence
