Monday, September 15, 2025

Scene Report: The First Annual Texas Grind Fest


"Brenda"
    Growl is a combination record store and comic book shop situated in a small strip mall on East Abrams Street in Arlington, Texas. This retail establishment is a subsidiary of the Division Brewing Company, which operates an eatery serving pizza and burgers right next door. In the back, a nondescript garage houses the brewery's modest collection of boilers, barrels, and a bar. Both Growl and Division Brewing share a concrete courtyard with picnic tables, large cable spool tables, and a lighted canopy, providing a secluded outdoor seating area.
    The first time I went to Growl was on a scouting mission with my good friend Natalie (formerly of Wildspeaker, currently of BadxMouth) back in March of 2018. We heard shows were being booked there—and not just shows, but punk shows—so we went to size up the promising new venue. We were met with an empty linoleum floor, a large storefront window, and a heavily graffitied female mannequin in a wheelchair with a bandolier of bullets, a hook hand, named "Brenda." It was literally that hardcore meme of Michael and Daryl from The Office of them looking at a wooden pallet on the floor as a stage. Perfect.

    Now, some six or seven years later, Growl has become one of the unofficial homes for the local Dallas-Fort Worth nomadic grind scene and touring genre acts. This is largely thanks to Irving Lopez (Cognizant, Trucido, Real Life Ugly, Anomalous Mind Engineering) and other like-minded promoters. The DFW grindcore scene, pre-pandemic, was a modest and honed tribe. Post-pandemic, the scene has bolstered its numbers with an influx of a new generation of grind youths, as well as a fresh overflow from the punk, hardcore, and metal communities.

    I have often playfully, yet in all sincerity, referred to Irving Lopez as the hardest-working man in grind. He's currently in enough bands to fill a show bill on their own, works a full-time day job, is a devout family man, and chances are you own at least one—in most cases, several—records that have his name in the technical liner notes.
    Through his bands and his recording and sound engineering, Irving has been fortunate enough to tour outside of Texas and the United States, meet a lot of different bands and people, and see numerous grindcore scenes at work. This year, Irving has decided to show the grindcore fans of his hometown some of what he's experienced on the road. "Dallas needs to hear how different scenes interpret this music, whether it's L.A.'s grind-violence, Chicago's goregrind, New York's tech-grind." states Irving in a social media announcement. 

Irving Lopez
    The Texas Grind Fest is Irving's way of sharing that extended community with the North Texas Metroplex.
"Houston and Dallas are very much into hardcore. So what we're trying to do here, we're trying to make an expansion to a grindcore family." 
    With the help of DFW punk and grind stalwarts—Will Colley, Jay Gutierrez, and Jakob Barron—Irving has not only aimed to bring some of the top national and international grindcore acts to Dallas, but also put Dallas, Texas on the world map as a more than decent place to stop when bands tour the south. "This is just the start. After laying the foundation with U.S. acts, the goal is to bring international grind acts to Dallas next year." promises Irving. 
    Irving also hopes the Texas Grind Fest will put focus on the health of the Dallas grindcore scene as a whole. He believes positivity, respect, and crowd inclusivity are not only the keys to keeping The Metroplex grind community fun and thriving, but also the keys to establishing and sustaining a successful annual ongoing music festival. In the past, Dallas has had some grindcore music festivals that eventually turned rancid due to sketchy and abusive promoters that left the bands feeling taken advantage of, as well as leaving the fans with a bad taste in their mouths. Irving's goal is to restore faith in the scene and make sure that the infrastructure is there to accommodate touring bands. All bands get paid and are put up, or as he puts it, "Too many times people get burned by empty promises in the scene. We're doing the opposite: putting every dollar back into bands, the venue, and the people who make it happen. If you're part of this, you're family."  

Stefan González
    Part of that Dallas grindcore family is Texas Grind Fest 2025 honorary Master of Ceremonies, Stefan González, widely known for his bands, Akkolyte, Orgullo Primitivo, and Imperial Slaughter. Stefan is a renowned jazz drummer, a local grindcore legend in Dallas, and is one of the most kind and generous people I've ever met. I've probably known Stefan over fifteen years or so. Even with legend status, Stefan always supported my fledgling bands or helped us fill a bill for a show. Their frequent Outward Bound Mixtape events showcased an eclectic array of music from the Dallas underground. Stefan was responsible for laying down a lot of roots for the scene in the late 90's and early 2000's, including bringing in bands from outside the state and the country. (I recall a very specific Magrudergrind and Unholy Grave show in a Fort Worth strip mall.) "When I was first coming up here, Stefan was bringing bands, obscure bands, from around the world: Japan, France, Europe," Irving says about Stefan. He adds, "And I hope to keep going."

Bryan Fajardo
    Saturday afternoon, the sixth of September, I walked into the calm, yet active, sunbathed courtyard between Growl Records and Division Brewing. At the entrance was a merch table selling entry tickets as well as official Texas Grind Fest posters, T-shirts and event card lanyards that read "Tx Grind Fest Survivor." (I myself was presented with a "Press/Media" lanyard. Days later, my girlfriend made fun of me because I was still so genuinely grateful and touched by the badge.) The courtyard was flanked on either side by vendors. Fold out tables and canopies featured art prints, clothing, patches, pins, jewelry, skateboards, free Narcan, and even oddities. In the center—backed against a tall, staggered, large planked wooden fence—was a platform stage. On either side of the stage the bands made camp on wooden picnic tables that displayed the usual spread of tour shirts, records, stickers, and patches. Hung on the fence, stage right, was a large professionally printed vinyl banner with a list of bands and the duration of their set times. This banner was pure genius and invaluable to someone in my position. The official Texas Grind Fest 2025 lineup included: Puppy Mill (TX), Dried Remains (TX), Winona Grinder (TX), Hematochezia (TX), Cognizant (TX), Cryptic Void (TX), Triage (TX), Shock Withdrawal (CA), Trucidio (TX), Slab (LA), Pavel Chekov (TX/Canada), Moisturizer (RI), Shitbrains (CA), Impulse Noise (WA), Morgue Breath (CA), Organ Failure (IL), Noisy Neighbors (TX), Terminal Lucidity (TX).
    The festival set times were scheduled to trade-off between Growl's aforementioned indoor linoleum floor stage and the outdoor elevated stage. The staggered timetable would essentially have one band playing, while the next band would be setting up. This system worked so efficiently that the festival would eventually be ahead by almost an hour. 


    Just after 2:30 PM the fest began in earnest with the initial sets being made up of some talented up-and-coming DFW local support. 
    Now, I can assure you that I took my Press/Media credentials very seriously and took photos, video, and notes on every band and every set. Yet, after Googling, "How do you write a music festival article?" I was informed that talking about each and every band might come off as "tedious" and "boring" for the reader. Several articles insisted that I stick to the highlights. So here's my attempt to corral most of my personal "highlights."

Cryptic Void inside
Growl Records
    Houston's Cryptic Void put on a hell of a set on the Growl floor. Their acclaimed all-star death-grind is why Texas' Gulf Coast remains hallowed ground for grindcore. I always love seeing the band and feel lucky that it's often in such an intimate setting.
    Immediately after Cryptic Void, Triage took the outside stage for their amazing set. I had never seen Triage live before, so I was excited when they were announced for the gig. Having been a big Kill The Client fan during their long tenure, I was stoked to see the next evolution of what could be argued as fundamentally the same band, now featuring Knife Kult bassist and all-around nice guy, Travis Tompkins. Vocalist Champ Morgan (Kill The Client, BLK OPS) was as
Triage Featuring
Mitchell Luna
imposing a frontman as ever. He took time out of the band's set to disparage the likes of ICE and DOGE, warning the crowd that times are coming where simply cheering might not be enough and it might be time to "stand up or get the fuck out of the way." Mitchell Luna of Shock Withdrawal and Maruta fame joined Champ on stage for vocals on one song in what seemed like a rare moment. The set also marked the second of three sets that Bryan Fajardo (Trucido, Noisear, Kill The Client, Gridlink, PLF, Cognizant) would be drumming in at Texas Grind Fest.

    Speaking of Shock Withdrawal, they were another band that I was eager to see perform. I really liked Maruta back in the day and I was pleased to see Mitchell Luna behind the mic again. They put on an extremely tight set that I thought was criminally under-attended, but I was grateful to see them. At the end of the night I forgot to get a T-shirt from the band and it legitimately makes me sad whenever I think about it. 
Pavel Chekov
    A band that I never thought I would see again were my old friends in Pavel Chekov. The band and their vintage communist/Star Trek themed "warp-core" grind only play sporadically nowadays after drummer, Alan Dailey moved from Texas to Canada. Pavel Chekov and my last band came up together years ago and played a lot of shows throughout The Metroplex. They are good dudes and are the best at what they do. I was, however, pleasantly surprised how tight they were given the massive international distance. And it looks like there is more Pavel in the public's future, as their Canadian tour with Endless Swarm starts later this month. 

Shitbrains
    As the sun set in the western sky and the moon rose in the east, what could possibly be the band I was most looking forward to out of the entire fest started soundcheck on the stage. Shitbrains is one of my favorite bands. I unfortunately missed the band when they were here a few months back. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to be given another chance. The Californian couple's playful set of stop-and-go grindcore was nothing short of an aural treat. If there were a blast beat flavored ice cream, it would be called Shitbrains. 
    Like so many other musicians on the day, Shitbrains' Emi Tamura played double set duty with her other band from Los Angeles, Morgue Breath. The band was another bucket list band that I didn't think I would ever see. Back dropped by a night sky of light pollution and framed by passing plumes of marijuana smoke, Morgue Breath put on a brutal, albeit, bubbly show.

    Finally, San Antonio's own, Noisy Neighbors managed to give possibly the most entertaining set of the evening. Part grindcore set, part stand-up act, part vaudeville routine, Noisy Neighbors brought both the laughs and the blasts. Sardonic cover songs, comically flippant crowd participation, and exaggerated bravado punctuated some of the best and heaviest grindcore in the state. And yes, there were Skittles. 

Impulse Noise

    As for Growl and Division Brewing, they continue to foster a symbiotic relationship with the DFW grindcore scene. The whole plan of getting bigger or foreign bands out here is reliant on accommodating venues willing to work with promoters. While most venues wouldn't necessarily want punk or grindcore shows—which admittedly can get pretty rowdy—Growl and Division Brewing have embraced these fervent subcultures. Division Brewing even went as far as making an exclusive beer for Texas Grind Fest 2025—Blast Brau Blonde.


The Division Brewing Company bar

    I will say that this was possibly the best grindcore show I've attended in recent memory. I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment, as the Texas Grind Fest social media is still being tagged in videos and photos a week later from fans expressing their thankfulness towards the fest and the bands. 
    Irving's quest for positivity and love in the grind scene seems to be taking root. I was personally overjoyed to see old friends from the before times, as well as members of bands I used to play with—not to mention the current bands I was keen to see perform on stage. While Texas Grind Fest 2025 was nothing wholly new, it was a much-welcomed shot in the arm for grindcore fans in The Metroplex. Irving noticed an opportunity to do something bigger, stating with a humble shrug, "Somebody had to do it".


    So, why is Texas Grind Fest so important? After almost a decade since Dallas's last repeating grind or grind adjacent music festival, Irving and company are steadily sowing the seeds for what promises to be a far reaching, well organized annual festival based on solidarity, positivity, and community. While the crowd might not be strictly puritanical "grind freaks," as Irving calls us, the bands will be, and that's vital.
    The Dallas-Fort Worth grind scene isn't defined solely by Irving and Texas Grind Fest; shows are happening all the time. The circle pits of scrawny elbows and stretched-out T-shirt necks that I witnessed prove that DFW's younger generation and newer bands are giving the scene a fresh breath of life. While out-of-state and international bands do occasionally come through, this fest might provide a foundation for much more. By nurturing the local Dallas grindcore scene, Texas Grind Fest can only hope to improve itself in the years to come.





Helpful links:
For The Love Of Grind/Texas Grind Fest: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofgrind/
Division Brewing: https://divisionbrewing.com/
Dried Remains: https: //www.instagram.com/driedremains/ 
Texas Grindcore Obliteration Compilation Album (Doom Records):
 




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Saturday, August 30, 2025

Yatsu Summer: Yatsu - "It Can't Happen Here" LP & Split With Wanderer EP Reviews


Prologue
    Dallas, Texas' Yatsu is a bit of an anomaly to me personally. After a couple of decades of playing in Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex bands—half of which being involved in the local grindcore scene—I have never shared the stage with Yatsu nor have I ever seen the band perform live. Their elusivity is simply serendipitous misfortune. They have to be one of, if not the only, local bands within the genre that I haven't seen live or don't know personally in some way. Although, I think I still have a standing invitation to play bass with my former guitarist who jams with Yatsu's drummer in their would-be professional wrestling themed power violence side project. 
    So, as you can see, the six degrees of separation notwithstanding, I have never had any formal introduction to this band until now. 

Chapter 1    
    Yatsu was formed in DFW in the muggy Texas summer of 2019. By 2020, as the majority of the United States was in social unrest and mass protestation, the band began writing for what would eventually be their first full-length, It Can't Happen Here. As things got worse and worse the band responded in kind with a seventeen track, twenty-three minute socially conscious, politically critical harangue. The band's debut album is marred by the volatility and contention of the political climate from the era in which it was forged. Even though It Can't Happen Here wouldn't be released until the tailend of 2023, the lyrical themes and political issues haven't changed much from some five years ago. 

    Musically, Yatsu is a distorted and noisy form of grindcore by way of metallic hardcore and power violence, with a fair shake of more modern hardcore and screamo. As far as corralling the band within a specific genre, it's best left undone. It Can't Happen Here is a chaotic consummation of influences smeared with fuzzy muff and chromed in some serious political angst.  

    The vocals on It Can't Happen Here are not exactly unique for the genre, but they are more rare when compared to your average shrieking highs, guttural lows, and the entirely indecipherable scribblings that are grindcore vocals. They are more akin to metallic hardcore bands like Trap Them or All Pigs Must Die. The band's leftist leaning lyrics are on the more atypically intelligible side. They are very impassioned, very youthful sounding. The vocals are roared out so wholeheartedly that the vocalist's voice nearly cracks. The lyrics are punctuated with deep gasping breaths in-between the unbridled screams. You can hear the conviction and frustration in a mix of pleading aggravation and mocking indignation. 
    The guitar is an amalgam of hardcore metal riffs, discordant asides and avant-garde noodling wrapped in hairy distortion. The riffs are either heavy and digging or bent and pulled like a rubber band. Songs like "Misanthropy Impure" really showcase the guitar's variety. The dive bombing end caps towards the end of the song are really fun and they drag the song up and down like a dimmer switch. The guitar straddles the line between satisfactorily subdued to artistically divergent. 
    The bass is beautifully high in the mix. Its flatulent piano wire deep stringed quiver is brazenly audible and present in each song. From the nostalgic punk rock intro of "Civic Duties" to the lashing newly-strung bright tones of "FOMO & Sickness," Yatsu's bass lines remind me why I love the instrument so much. 
    Yatsu's drumming is mechanically precise while also stirring the pot just enough to keep songs chaotic and blistering. The use of blast beats is almost twofold: there is a use of speed for the purpose of propulsion on some songs, as well as a use of speed as a teeming busyness that keeps songs constantly simmering and noisy. When not blasting through the frenzied hardcore riffs, the drumming reverts to that stamp-press solid percussion or tentacled, biding fills.

    It Can't Happen Here is well recorded and well produced. It is enviously well sounding for an inaugural release. It's very professional sounding while being just out of focus enough to facilitate a hecticness in the tracks. 
    The noise aspects of the album are a little more subtle than what you would hear on maybe a Nerve Altar release, but it's doing its best rendition of GodCity Studios as one can do this side of Denton, Texas—that would be Michael Briggs at Civil Audio. Briggs is also credited in the liner notes as providing noise. The only real and true harsh noise element is a token bacon fried, staticky noise track entitled, "It's Already Happening Here" courtesy of Ben Chisholm of Chelsea Wolfe fame.
    It Can't Happen Here is a very impressive debut release and it has wide, multi-genre appeal. The album's overall activistic and anarchistic political commentary—from title to cover art to lyrical content—is a sincerity that is nice to see in grindcore and hardcore these days. Lest we forget.  
    

 
    
Chapter 2
    A little over a year after It Can't Happen Here, Yatsu released their second record, a split EP with Minneapolis’ Wanderer. Each band issues forth two tracks on a single seven-inch record. The EP was released on The Ghost Is Clear Records and Mummified Gasp Records, the latter being a label run by Wanderer guitarist, Brent Ericson.

    Yatsu picks up similarly to where they left off with their former full-length; with only minor omissions. The band is still brandishing their flawless mix of grindcore, metallic hardcore, power violence, and whatever other genres they are drafting into their songwriting repertoire. 

    Probably the band's biggest departure from It Can't Happen Here might be the vocals. The socio-political and outspoken lyrics remain uninhibited—this time being a commentary on the ongoing Gaza conflict and subsequent genocide—but the tone of the vocals seem to be slightly different. The vocals seem to lean more into the screamo influence. They are even more comprehensible, almost carried in a sort of sing-songy jaunt. I am honestly not the right person to comment on screamo—or clean vocals of any kind, for that matter—but maybe they are of a Norma Jean-esque likeness? What immediately flashed to my mind was the cleaner vocals on the breakdown to "Dead Hopes" by Provoked back in 2003. (My apologies, my punk roots are showing again.) However, Yatsu's vocals on this split are more of a spoken word if anything. (The end of Capitalists Casualties' "Border Murders" flashes to mind.)
    Both the guitar and drums are running a similar pattern on both tracks. There seems to be a revolving juxtaposition of fast dissonant riffs over blast beats and more subdued droning riffs in step with looped drum beats. The guitar on this split seems to be just as heavily distorted as It Can't Happen Here, but the tone is more of a sonic screaming. 
    What I'm assuming are the noise elements, play mainly in the background and sound like a howling digital windscape that comes off as almost symphonic. It might be part of the guitar, but I don't think so. The production overall is a bit more muddied than the band's previous full-length. Things are less pronounced this time around, in fact, I didn't really notice the bass really at all until the tail end of "Biological Bullseye."
    
Chapter 3
    Minneapolis, Minnesota's Wanderer are much on the same plane as their split mates, Yatsu—blending elements of grindcore, metallic hardcore, power violence, mathcore, and noise. Wanderer's two tracks on this split are apparently re-recorded versions of the first two tracks from their 2016 EP, Gloom Days. According to the band themselves, the choice to re-record these songs is a way of showing both the band's musical past and future. Time is a flat circle, I guess, literally in the case of this seven-inch. 

    Wanderer's side of the split is a feedback bleached heavy metallic hardcore and grindcore black spot. The band definitely has more of the traditional grindcore vocals scheme with hot breathed low roars and shrieking, sometimes strangled, black metal-esque highs. The guitarwork is also more inline with that grindcore leaning tendency as it comes off as a wiry wall of noise. I couldn't really differentiate a bass guitar. 
    I can't really go on without referencing Wanderer's original recordings of their two tracks. 2016's original versions of "Glass Chewer" and "Presence // Absence" sound even more compatible with Yatsu; insofar that Wanderer's vocals were similar to those aforementioned metallic hardcore bands like Trap Them or Nails. 
    It seems like Wanderer beefed up their sound with some harsher vocals and more blatant blast beats. The guitar riffs are still very much in that same metallic hardcore or metalcore writing style—fast riffs interlaced with dissonant leads—just more heavy and imposing. 
    
    Wanderer do, however, differ from their split mates, Yatsu, in their overall songwriting and composition. Wanderer's songs are notably longer as the band plays more in their baths of feedback within the songs, as well as incorporates even more musical genres. The band likes to take their time, occasionally delving into sludgey breakdowns. And this is yet again another good example of the differences between the original tracks and the newer 2024 reinterpretations. "Glass Chewer (2024)" turns what sounded more like a hardcore interlude in 2016's version into what sounds more like a groove metal joyride. 

Epilogue
    Yatsu and Wanderer are both aggressively heavy and overdriven coalescents of metallic hardcore and grindcore. The bands' mutual admiration for each other after performing a string of shows together in 2024 is memorialized here in vinyl. Each band has their own take on a similar genre and both are walking similar paths. As Wanderer is the senior band, they exhibit a newly evolved representation of themselves while at the same time looking back at where they came from and the sound and style that commemorates that time. Concurrently, Yatsu's current sound resonates more with Wanderer's past than maybe Wanderer now. And as Wanderer has a concept with their side of the split, Yatsu has their own political theme and agenda with theirs. The bands are linked yet distinct.    

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Monday, July 21, 2025

Ritual Sacrifice: Uhritoimitus - "EP Anthology" CD Review


    Uhritoimitus is a Finnish one-man noise-grind band solely made up of Tomi Salmela from multiple time blog alumns, Fading Trail. While at times Fading Trail had Salmela wearing several hats, Uhritoimitus is exclusively reliant on his multifaceted grindcore abilities and singular vision. Uhritoimitus combines noisecore, grindcore, murderous true crime, and all around general vice.  
    Formed in 2023, Uhritoimitus immediately released two EP's the same year, Uhritoimitus and Valtion Omaisuutta. Before the year was out, EveryDayHate Records and Esagoya Records teamed up to release both EP's as one compilation CD. 
    Before this review I had never heard of Uhritoimitus. It wasn't until our good friend, Andy at EveryDayHate Records dropped this release in my Email that I got my first listen to the band. I'm not sure if it was a proper submission for review or just something new (at the time) that he thought I might be interested in. Either way, I put it on the list and gave it a listen.    

    Uhritoimitus' guitarwork is a noisy cacophony of static and distortion. It's like deciding on Harrier jet as a guitar tone. The caustic and shrill tidal wave of blaring snow is intense and solid as a wall. It's hard to make out any real chords or semblance of melody—especially on the self-titled first EP. The guitar has a little more shape in the second EP when compared to its predecessor, but not by much. Things are a little more clear and you can see a shift towards a more conventional sounding grindcore. You can hear the churning higher, discordant notes surfacing above the crackling waves of distortion like the serpentine body of a snakelike leviathan. The fuzz of the guitar is like an inviting warm aggression. Both EP's wrangle the buzzing torrent of distortion and maneuver it into a driving and overly throttling weapon. 
    The bass is the anchor around the neck of the beast with its heavy and detuned low bottom. It has an almost gas powered generator, Mortician-esque sounding rumble. Surprisingly, the bass is fairly audible in the mix; which only adds to the squalling clamor and molds a lot of the riffs. 
    The drumming, like the guitar, is a bit difficult to sort out when it comes to the minutiae of it. The ceaseless pummeling and blasting speed is basically all you can hear. However, again like the guitar, the drums are more decipherable on Valtion Omaisuutta than the self-titled EP. Almost as if Salmela decided to highlight more of the musicianship over just the gnarliness of oppressive noise. 
    The band's vocals are a neopolitan trifecta of Tasmanian Devil blatherings: grating shrieks, spuming gutturals, and some belligerent midtone yells that run through the center. They are yet again another layer of the white noise that is Uhritoimitus. 
    In between songs, the band hemorrhages hissing, piercing, and feedbacking noise tracks complete with manipulated audio clips. It does a great job of stringing all the tracks together and thus creating a constant chaotic steamrolling listening experience. 

    Now, if any of the aforementioned attributes and accolades scared you off or didn't sound absolutely appetizing to you, then maybe you can listen to some trend hopping, pop pandering, hype-grind or d'jent or some shit like that. But for those of us who don't mind a blowtorch duct taped to a microphone trampled over by a stampede of blast beats, Uhritoimitus hits the spot real nice.
    As individual releases, Uhritoimitus and Valtion Omaisuutta are two stout and brutal EP's. Together on one compact disc, they are twenty-five tracks; twenty-two and a half minutes of hearty noise charred tinnitus-grind. 


FFO: Horornisdiphonevalley, Jardim De Flores, Subscum


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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Tweakers, Bogans & Blast Beats: Meth Leppard - "Gatekeepers" LP Review


    Adelaide's reigning grindcore standard-bearers of all things blast, Meth Leppard, once again unleash straight fucking Hell with their brand new LP, Gatekeepers. The last time we saw Meth Leppard on the blog was back in 2021 with the band's split EP with Infanticide. (That also happens to be the last record I reviewed that was not a submission from a band or label.) 
    2025's Gatekeepers is the band's first full-length since 2020's Woke LP. Woke was released into a literal world on fire. The Australian Black Summer brush fires tragically devastated forty-six million acres of the country, displaced almost a hundred thousand people, and killed a billion animals. The Covid pandemic global lockdowns had over thirty billion people in ninety countries sheltering in place and millions of others dead. The final years of Trump's first presidential term (big eye roll) were inflicting as much damage as they possibly could. And now, some five years later, Gatekeepers is released into a sickly familiar looking world.

    The guitar is very much at the forefront of Gatekeepers. Guitarist and vocalist, Ryan Cheesman's near-patented thrashing guitarwork is a ricocheting style that pinballs over the fretboard with as much ferocity as skilled talent. Riffs switch and turn like the furious gear shifting of a careening rally car. From starchy palm mutes to dark single string drills that warble like a death metal didgeridoo, songs are grab bags of high-octane, vicious refrain. 
    The guitar tone is rich and distinctive. Unlike Woke—which had an underlying howl in the distortion and throughout the record—Gatekeepers' tone is crisp and vivid. It's a sound more reminiscent of Meth Leppard's most recent split with Axis Of Despair, if anything. If you actually dig in and listen, the layers of depth in the guitarwork are impressive on a technical level. 
    While a majority of the record's guitarwork is pure needling brutality, there are some moments of subtlety. Opening titular track, "Gatekeepers," ends with an almost orchestral, melodic outro that adds an additional level to the album's composition. Likewise, the final track, "Idiocracy," ends the album with murky, mid-tempo, trumpeting peels that give a hint at a sophisticated metal element. 

    Cheesman's vocals are those bursts of low monosyllabic propane breathing roars that have been stock and standard for the band for the better part of a decade. The vocals are given plenty of space to seethe, yet seem to be obscured partially behind the guitar in the mix. 

    And as always, the famously bearded Kieran Murray provides the record with another impressive percussive performance. His laser focused, ultra tight style of drumming is not only on par with Cheesman's fretboard freneticism, but his heavy ballistic bombardment of blast beats obviously creates an intense sense of mass and momentum. The breakneck speed of the double kick pedal and tom rolls is absolutely pulverizing. They sound like a jackhammer fucked a typewriter. Even though the palpitating snare is omnipresent throughout, Murray does hit the brakes occasionally allowing stomping, mid-tempo hardcore mosh beats to add that extra layer of depth. The second half of "Mind-Ctrl-Alt-Delete" is a relatively simple beat, yet when paired with Cheesman's chugging riffs, it is absolutely crushing. 

    The album cover art suggests a more mature layout concept for the band. While the usual cheekiness of the album's song titles implies that the band is still taking the piss out of the modern sociopolitical struggles and follies of western culture, the weightiness of Gatekeepers' cover image might convey something else. The absence of art from frequent collaborator and illustrator, Jasper Swerts is surprising. Swerts' dystopian crust punk pointillistic designs have graced many album covers and t-shirts within the grindcore scene over the past few decades; and usually depict the political clusterfuck that bands like Meth Leppard typically write about. However, Gatekeepers' cover art is a hauntingly stark surrealistic visage of a child with his head being both anatomically destroyed as well as depicting the ruin and rubble of a decimated urbanscape. The obvious allusions to the current genocide in Gaza are palpable. Other interpretations such as the psychological effects of modern technology on developing minds, or the moral corruption of the youth via the rise of fascism and totalitarianism, or the doomed future that awaits the coming generation due to current environmental neglect are all up for grabs. 

   Gatekeepers is exactly what you would expect from one of the world's most premiere grindcore bands. The fifteen minute full-length is already mandatory listening. Meth Leppard's thrash laced, riff worship cannonry mounted on the treads of blitzkrieg-styled blast beats and micro-milling drumwork put the band in the higher echelon of grindcore acts. They never stay in one place too long and really keep the listener on their toes in a genre that might not generally lend itself to too much unpredictability. 
    The Australian two piece seemingly can do no wrong as far as writing and performing. The fact that you read this entire review should have been a waste of your time. You should have been streaming Gatekeepers online as soon as it dropped. You should have already pre-ordered the vinyl. You should already know all the songs and already have scratched the band's logo onto the cover of your Trapper Keeper.

    Meth Leppard are currently balls deep into their European tour with Travølta and are performing at the world famous annual Obscene Extreme music festival in the Czech Republic this week! The single sided vinyl LP of Gatekeepers is currently available for pre-order on Here And Now! Records and Psychocontrol Records.


FFO: PLF, The Kill, Shit Life

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Thursday, July 3, 2025

Split Level Housing: Merked/Kageneko Split Cassette Tape Review

    
    Have you ever seen that movie, The Proposition? The 2005 film starring Guy Pearce and written by Nick Cave is basically an Australian Western set in the 1880's and is based around a gang of outlaw brothers wanted by local law enforcement. Anyways, eldest brother and gang leader, Arthur—played by actor Danny Huston—has a tense and violent confrontation with Police Sergeant Lawrence. The sergeant offers to help Huston's character by providing him with what he thinks is unknown intel that he hopes will better his increasingly dire circumstance. "I can help you," begs Sergeant Lawrence. Huston's Arthur replies in kind by repeatedly saying, "Help your fucking self," while stomping the man's head in. "Help your fucking self." That's what I think of every time I listen to Oakland, California's Merked. "Help. Your. Fucking. Self." 

     Merked are back on the blog with one of their many splits that they have released in the last couple of years. Most of which, if not all, are in line for future reviews courtesy of Enemy Of The Goat Records and their generous submissions. The three-piece have not deviated much since we last heard from them and their 2022 Murk-Mob full-length. Their sludgy, hardcore glazed grindcore/powerviolence remains just as heavy and antagonistically cold-hearted.

    The bayside Merked boys, much like the previous blog episode featuring Malicious Algorithm, are at the forefront of California's modern era of rough and ready, no bullshit grindcore. While not being as lo-fi as their peers in Malicious Algorithm, Merked still have that heavy, low end mix. The band's usual wall of noise accented by feedbacking highs and quick bass gulps is in full force. That deep creak of the bass guitar that was so lovingly commented on back on Murk-Mob has seemingly bled over into the guitar on this release. The tone of the guitars has been generally consistent throughout the Merked discography, but I am going to lean on the opinion that they are slightly more woolly here. 
    Just as burly, the standard Merked vocal fare of low, slurred gutturals and squawking highs are suggestive of being a shave more viscous, as well. Or perhaps just more smooth, maybe? Like the uneven tooth on a turning gear that is inevitably worn smooth; free from any previous grating—flush. 
    Merked's songwriting style is still that tumbling, asymmetrical powerviolence. Songs are heavy and fast, yet manage to roll with a kind of Fibonacci bounding. I'm assuming this is in large thanks to the drumming, although I'm not entirely sure how to specifically pinpoint it. Songs are explosive bursts of blast beats that fire off and on in-between hardcore potholes. This time around, Merked skip out on the overt sludge influences that were so prevalent in Murk-Mob in favor of more traditional hardcore. Songs like, "Abuse," "Got what's Coming," and "Gray Death" are among the "slower" songs, but they manage to fall easily within the heavy mosh inducing hardcore than any sort of sludge or sludge-violence. And as always Merked's side is chock-full of movie sound clips, plenty of violent squelching cinematic foley work, and lyrics that are lacking in any sort of pity or empathy for the lazy-minded and morally weak. 

    Overall, Merked's side of this split is still in the vein of the band's well established style of grindcore and that of California's rising pocket of grime-violence. All tracks are under a minute long, leaving songs fairly streamlined and lean. The heavy, oblong mix keeps things brutal and loose. The band's cadence is unique and revolves like a tumbleweed of barbed wire sparking across the concrete. Honestly, the structure of the songs reminded me a lot of my last band. A few of the vocal patterns and drum fills triggered my practice space spidey-sense and I instinctually prepared myself for the upcoming chord changes that never came.  

    On the flipside of the cassette, Kageneko is a one-man death-grind band from either Seattle, Washington or Kitsault, British Columbia (depending on who you ask.) This is the first time that I have heard of Kageneko and I did my best to scrounge up some of the scarce information that is out there on the band—as contentious as it may be. The man behind the moniker is a member of the noise-grind band, Asmodexia. He plays all the instruments himself, including vocal duties and the programming of the drums. Kageneko released a demo entitled Ichiban on Soundcloud in 2020. In late 2023 Kageneko released Siamese Twin Cobra—a split with Mississippi noise-grind outfit, Boiled Tongue. Finally, Kageneko appeared on this split with Merked in the summer of 2023. 
    
    The band's split with Merked offers seven tracks of ruinously heavy blasting. Kageneko's straightforward approach to grindcore represents a singular, pummeling focus. The dark growl of the guitar distortion ties in well with the low-pitched vibes of the tape as a whole. If nothing else, the downtune guitar is a menacing storm of noise and a big presence in the songs. The death metal styled vocals are just as low as the guitar; almost bordering on goregrind without getting too regurgitative sounding. The programmed drums mainly alternate between blast beats and rapid fire double bass hammering.
    There is an obvious Japanese themed aesthetic as well as major musical influences from bands like Assück and Insect Warfare. In my opinion, Kageneko has a lot of similarities to the Texas Gulf Coast grind scene. Bands like PLF, Noisy Neighbors, Apocalyptic Noise Syndicate and Ganglion pair well with the Pacific Northwest's, Kageneko, despite an almost two thousand mile transcontinental gap. 

    Come for the Merked, stay for Kageneko is essentially the deal with this tape. Like me, I'm sure a lot of people will learn about Kageneko here for the first time. The band's mix of brutal death metal and ferocious grindcore should be enough to satiate any self-respecting grindcore enthusiast. Honestly, the band reminds me of a stripped down, synthetic, Oops! All Gutturals version of Insect Warfare. 
    The only real criticism I could see anyone complaining about might be the use of programmed drums. I know a lot of purists, or whoever, lose their minds over drum machines and drum triggers, but I have never been that judgmental over such things. Although the programmed drums are noticeable, I don't think they are detracting or distracting. Either way, Kageneko are more than capable of standing on their own and are well deserving of being taken seriously.


FFO: Choke, Malicious Algorithm, Insect Warfare, Fuck... I'm Dead




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Friday, May 30, 2025

Tech-Noir: Malicious Algorithm - "Progress" Tape Review

 

"Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 
-George Santayana


    The above quotation was written in 1905 by the Spanish-American writer and philosopher, George Santayana and was originally published in his book, The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress. The now popular aphorism was later immortalized when it was inscribed on a plaque at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, Poland. As the name suggests, the museum is on the site of one of the most infamous death camps used by the Nazis in the systematic extermination of over a million Jews. 
    Thirty-plus years later a derivation of that poignant quote was also carefully and measuredly stenciled onto a hand-painted sign, nailed to the interior of a wooden pavilion in the stifling jungles of Guyana. It hung above a whitewashed wooden chair where a pill-fucked, slurred-mouthed, intoxicated Jim Jones convinced over nine-hundred people to commit a mass act of "revolutionary suicide." Just like the Holocaust memorial plaques in Europe, the South American sign inadvertently became the epitaph to a historic tragedy. 
    Both iterations of the Santayana citation are found in the wake of some of the world's darkest offenses, yet hold separate connotations based on the intent of the persons who mounted them. 
    I'm not really sure where I was going with this. Sometimes these are just streams of consciousness, you know? However, I do remember thinking about the progression of society and mankind as a whole. It seems like things can only advance so far before they inevitably take a massive step backwards. 

    I was recently having a cursory discussion about studio engineering with a work buddy and he brought up the growing prevalence of AI in music recording: AI-powered mixing and mastering, intelligent effects processing, instrument-less songs, musician-less bands, blah-blah-blah. The results being a modern form of extreme music that is so sterile and polished that it sounds overtly synthetic. Enter Malicious Algorithm. 
    Malicious Algorithm are that massive step backwards—at least in the terms of modern production worship and traditional musical sensibilities. The powerviolence/grindcore band from Humboldt County, California initially formed at the tail end of 2019 as a two-piece before releasing their 2020 four-track demo, TransubstantiationOfHumanFleshIntoCyberneticCircuitboardInterface. TransubstantiationOfHumanFleshIntoCyberneticCircuitboardInterface was a mince-drenched, chaotic clamour of blast beats, blaring cymbal peaks and overlaid arguing. You know, typical demo tape stuff. 
    By the band's 2021 first full-length, Gorgon Stare, Malicious Algorithm had filled out as a proper quartet and released an album of more traditional sounding powerviolence. Vocals were cleaner and snotty hardcore punk breaks ran throughout the record. 
    In 2023 the band released a split with Agathocles that saw the band returning to the hairier and noisier sound from their original demo and forging the band's present brand of noisy grindcore. 
    Last year's Progress full-length comes some four years and five releases after TransubstantiationOfHumanFleshIntoCyberneticCircuitboardInterface and is easily the most blown out and fuzzed-out album I've heard in a long time. 

    Malicious Algorithm's Progress is obviously a commentary on current technological politics, cybersecurity and the implication of the ethics of AI use. From the looks of the cover art, the song titles and the band's name, I think I'm safe in assuming that it's all of a dubious, tech-averse vantage. 

    Progress is tonally and sonically the band's best effort to date. The album boasts a huge low end that distorts the riffs in a sizzle of gain and overdrive. Progress plays like it's filtered through a torn speaker cone played at max volume. Intentionally muddied and grimed, Malicious Algorithm aren't concerned with any sort of pomp or polish. Songs are calamitous and ugly, marred with vocal fry and blast beats, but in the best ways. The band's three pronged vocals and tumbling instrumentation is still as tight as one would expect from cymbal choking powerviolence. 
    The band includes a heavy Dystopia styled sludge-crust influence on Progress, especially on the A side. Tracks like, "When You Die In the Metaverse, You Die In Real Life," "Executed For Time Theft," and "Loose Screw" really emphasize the band's slow paced sludge stylings. And to be honest, I found these segments to be a tad bit tedious. The juxtaposition of blasting-fast and glacially-slow is nothing new in grindcore and is par for the course with powerviolence, yet these down tempo tracks on Progress aren't my favorite. Fortunately, most of the previously mentioned tracks tend to speed up towards their conclusions, and the album seems to pick up towards its second half. 

    Malicious Algorithm's current sludge-scuzzed, crust punk caked mix of powerviolence and grindcore is what I wish Man Is The Bastard sounded like rather than what Man Is The Bastard actually sounds like. 
    Malicious Algorithm are part of the current down and dirty grindcore scene that's blistering out of California right now. The band and their latest cassette tape are an aggressively caustic and manic assault of techno-dystopianism grindcore channeled through the white noise of television snow. The heavy bass and brash equalization clipping when mixed with the rabid vocal delivery and tumultuously bloodied instrumentalization makes for a whiplashed tempoed release. The music might be low-fi, but it's still a tight, heavy and concussive brand of grinding powerviolence. 


FFO: Dystopia, Gowl, Violent Gorge

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Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Martø Madness: Martø - Self-titled EP Review


    Time in my household has a way of evaporating, much like the heating and air conditioning through the poorly sealed doors and windows. Squeezing whatever small amount of time out at the end of the evening to write is getting trickier and trickier. This is an active household that is in a state of flux more than it's not. The latest levy to be weighed against my attention is my kid's budding interest in music and learning to play the guitar. She recently discovered "grunged" and "indie-garage" rock music via her friends from school. They started a cover band, despite not owning or knowing how to play any instruments. (Sounds like a punk band, if you ask me.) So I've been teaching her power chords, the notes on the fretboard and a Surf Curse song that has recently gained popularity on TikTok. That said, I have spent the last few weeks researching and pricing budget acoustic guitars online in the hopes that we can get her her own instrument soon. 
    In an even further look behind the curtain—as many of you can see from my timely release schedule, I average a new blog posting about once a month. With review submission averaging five times that with each posting, you can see the bottlenecked situation the blog is in. This month's review emphasizes that sentiment to the utmost degree. The Gloucester based label, Let The Bastards Grind, contacted me last year in the hopes that I would be able to review some of their releases. Well, now that I have finally gotten around to the label's review, I find the record label is on indefinite hiatus. Apparently, Let The Bastards Grind called it quits in February and their distro has been absorbed by 783 Label. The embarrassment and shame in the fact that it took me so long to get to them that the label actually died is palpable. Regardless, this butter-mouth blogger respects the vague ordinances surrounding the principles of first come, first served and I will review a release by Let The Bastards Grind because it is in fact their turn.

    Nevertheless, while perusing Let The Bastards Grind's more recent back catalog, I chose to write about Martø and their 2023 self-titled twelve-inch EP. Now, Martø is a band that I had not previously run across before. It seems like the French powerviolence four-piece formed in 2021 and I don't see any other major releases from the band. Whether the band is still active or not is beyond my scope. 
    The band's self-titled record was collaboratively released by some dozen labels, alongside Let The Bastards Grind, and pressed on five-hundred one sided twelve-inch vinyl records and a mere thirty ten-inch vinyl records with the moniker of the "Québec edition" (because of course.) The record is a twelve track, ten minute blend of hardcore and traditional powerviolence. Think bands like Los Crudos and Cut The Shit mixed with Spazz, The Afternoon Gentlemen or Lugubrious Children. 

    Martø's songs collectively have a signature style throughout the majority of the record. Songs are generally composed of hardcore punk riffs over mid-tempo cruising speed snare pops that—like a turntable being flicked from thirty-three and a third RPM's to seventy-eight RPM's—slingshots into powerviolence speed riffs and blast beats. The snare drum is a distinct microwave popcorn kind of snap that really cuts through the mix. 
    Vocally, things are your basic powerviolence archetype of dual vocals that trade-off between some throat shredding hardcore yells and the powerviolence cricked caveman vocals that are a staple of the genre. Martø, once again, lean into their hardcore influences with their use of punctuated gang vocals. Just like the tempo, the vocals toggle back-and-forth with the thick and thin, creating a familiar Spazz-esque texture. Occasionally we're given a third vocal addition with another strangled hardcore scream, most notably in the song, "La Gummolle." The tight vacillating of the vocals on "La Gummolle" inspires a whack-a-mole visual while the punk-as-fuck guitar riffs and blast beats make for a blistering track.
    It's in the record's final quarter that Martø's modus operandi only slightly shifts. What little variations in the band's songwriting is found here with tracks like the aforementioned, "La Gummolle," as well as "L'oubli." "L'oubli" begins with a slower and swampier hardcore haunt that picks up with the inevitable blast beats and high speed riffs. However, the track is probably the most melodic of the EP. It also has the insertion of flagrant hair metal guitar flourishes and solos. Yet, "variations" is used loosely as, again, Martø are fairly uniformed and distinct.

    Martø is very much your standard fare powerviolence. They sound very similar to many of their powerviolence peers, not to mention so many of the hardcore bands that came to my mind. Yet, I did choose Martø over Let The Bastards Grind's final and most recent release—an Archagathus split from 2024. I found Martø's record much more gratifying and entertaining, if that tells you anything. There's no shame in peddling quality powerviolence. Martø's Francophonic hardcore blast-violence is as tight as the band's firecracker-strung snare drum. Their stop-and-go composition laced with hardcore crowd vocals and pragmatic punk power chords nods to the old school, but plays to the contemporary. Powerviolence purity never really goes out of style. 
    I'm unsure of what happened to Martø or if we will ever hear more from them in the future, but whatever the case, be sure to look into the band's lone self-titled record because it's already better than what you were going to listen to. 


FFO: Lugubrious Children, Ona Snop, The Afternoon Gentlemen 

 



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Monday, February 17, 2025

Open House: An Interview with Travølta


    Belgium's grindcore, powerviolence, fastcore, hardcore, political punk powerhouse, Travølta, have been taking the piss out of the plutocratic and patriarchal powers that be since 2015. The outspoken leftist band combines all the aforementioned subgenres into some snarky and searing blitz styled attacks that they have funneled into some four split releases and three full-length albums. They have been a staple in both the grind/powerviolence scenes as well as the social activism scenes in Belgium and Europe. 
    In the rising tide of right wing political tyranny, legalized xenophobia, open racial and sexual prejudices and budding fascism coming out of the U.S. right now, the politically critical music from bands like Travølta seems more necessary now than ever. They, and bands like them, put their politics where their mouths are and promote dissent and direct action. Travølta is one of those bands that has that egalitarian moral compass as well as their own satirical voice. I recently had the pleasure of bombarding the band's DM's and getting them to talk with me about what they have been up to lately, their thoughts on grindcore and their plans for the summer. 

How's it going? I hope the new year is going well for you guys. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for the Return to the House of Grindcore blog. I'll begin with the obligatory introductory question of who are the current members of Travølta and what do they do in the band? 

    Nico is the singer, he also writes all of our lyrics. Jonas plays guitar. Kevin handles the bass, artwork and recorded/mixed our upcoming stuff. Rik is the one throwing sticks. He also does most of the samples on our records. Nico and Rik are also the guys behind Loner Cult Records so they distribute the Travølta stuff.

How did each of you get into grindcore/powerviolence/punk and how did that lead to the formation of Travølta?

Nico: I got into hardcore/punk when I was 13 or 14 years old. From a time without internet so… It all started with tape trading in school, reading zines and writing letters to bands. After a while I got in contact with a bunch of local bands. When getting in contact with the people from Zero Positives and a bit later with Agathocles, I crawled way deeper into the underground. In 1992 I started my first little distro and a couple of years later I start playing bass in Outrage (political straight-edge hardcore), later on that band evolved into Reller (a grindcore band, the first band I was singing in.) After both bands broke up I ended up playing bass again in Vuur (raging hardcore violence) and KingTerror (fast-core.) Still wanna be singing, but It never happened until the Travølta kids crossed my path. 10 years later I’m still enjoying it so… Later on I’m also involved in a D-beat band called Arrogänt.

Rik: We all started listening to hardcore/punk when being teenagers. After discovering local hardcore bands, I delved into darker bands like Integrity, Damnation AD and Ringworm. All these hardcore/punk bands were gateway bands for even more extreme kinds of music. I guess no one starts with grindcore when being introduced to underground music or guitar oriented music in general?
Jonas was more into metal but couldn’t handle the meaningless lyrics and rock star attitudes of some bands so he got into old school 80’s hardcore (Black Flag and stuff.) He just likes angry fast music and powerviolence seems to fit his needs perfectly. Kevin has a Kill Your Idols tattoo, so I guess that band influenced him way back.
    The formation of the band was with another guitar player. He and the drummer (that’s me) wanted to do a powerviolence/crust band. They contacted Kevin which they already knew for many years and shortly after Nico joined. During the first COVID period, the previous guitar player took a step aside and a few months later Jonas joined the band. We already knew this guy for many years and the fact that he also lived in our area made it even better.
    The COVID period was a time of reflection and adaptation. Because a tree fell on our original rehearsal space, we were forced to rehearse somewhere else. That place got shut down for more than a year so our way of making music totally changed. We constructed blueprints for songs at home and exchanged files through the internet. Afterwards, when it was possible to meet, we started rehearsing those songs and a few jam sessions followed. This is how our previous full length Disco Violence Up Yours! was created.

What genres and what bands played the biggest influence in Travølta's sound and style?
 
Nico: For me I got inspired by bands as: Ripcord, Agathocles, Lärm, Crossed Out, Seein’ Red, Dropdead, Chokehold... I got inspired by a lot of outspoken and political bands. Genres? I always fell in love with the more gritty and extreme kind of our scene. When music becomes happy I’m off, I always look for real anger and passion in music.

Rik: At first we tried to mix crust and powerviolence. We always said Extortion and Disgust were our influences. I’m not really sure you can hear this in our first record but there are some parts more akin to crust or D-beat and some to powerviolence.
    Nowadays we have less crust influences and more fast hardcore parts thrown into our eclectic mix. In Tinnitus We Crust had some old school death metal influences because our previous guitar player was getting more and more into death metal. When he stepped out of the band we wanted to make a return to old school powerviolence. Jonas’ songwriting has a more punky feel to it and you can hear it in our music.


I got into grindcore via leftist punk music. Travølta is a hugely outspoken political band and your lyrics obviously reflect that. How are politics important to the band and how are you using the band as a platform to promote them?
 
Nico: The same here… I grew up in the 90’s, a time when bands where all pretty outspoken. So the thing was that I wanted to join the band, but wanted to do more than just music. Especially ‘cuz no one talked anymore on stage… it all became just a music thing and that frustrated me so… I wanna do it differently. The lyrics are sometimes a bit sarcastic, but still clear enough to point out at things.

Rik: We’re very glad that you are describing us as hugely outspoken. We all have kind of the same views on politics which are pretty leftist. Some people love it but also many people don’t like it when we preach while performing. You know the drill, less talking more music. We want to party and don’t want to listen to your messages.
    We think hardcore/punk and in extent grindcore or powerviolence are intertwined with social messages and social critique, it’s part of the strength of the music. Lyrics from many bands that recorded records twenty years ago are still very relevant today. Personally, I also think that these messages add to the overall “value” of the music. For example, I do love the music created by Cannibal Corpse, but I honestly can’t really stand by the lyrics. I can headbang to it, I can enjoy the songs, but they don’t touch the heart. That’s where hardcore/punk, powerviolence and grindcore (let’s exclude goregrind… haha) come into play. The Smiths wrote a nice lyric about it which is a good comparison to what I’m trying to say: "Hang the blessed DJ, because the music that they constantly play, it says nothing to me about my life."
    For us, the lyrical content is a very important part of the band. On our lyric sheet the lyrics are accompanied by commentary. We always get bummed out when we see a good band, but they don’t say nothing in between songs and just act cool and hip. We really don’t care if you wear sunglasses on stage or if you keep your leather jacket on when the temperature is rising. We care about your integrity and your message, fuck that rock star attitude! Be real, don’t act! Bands like Seein’ Red and Dropdead are good examples of how we like it!

What are some of the band's favorite activist groups in Belgium? Are there any political/human rights organizations that you support and that you think people should know more about?
 
Nico: We already played a bunch of benefits for human and animal rights groups. Going from medical aid for Ukraine war victims, aid for Palestinian refugees, law costs for anarchist prisoners, a dog shelter in Greece, [etc.] In our area you got some interested citizens movements like Hart Boven Hard (an organization that fights against injustice and asocial government laws.) You also have Straatsyndicaat in Antwerp, an organization that fights for a more humane policy for homeless people. You also got some activist and anarchist groups in the bigger cities. I always thought that the personal is also the political, so... I try to join manifestations once in a while... We also adopted our animals from an animal shelter called: Forest & Friends. We put up local shows in our area lately to get something moving in our area, also to get the anarchist/political statement out to a wider audience: I live a vegan lifestyle, etc, etc.

How is the grindcore scene in Belgium? Who and what are some of your favorite Belgium bands or labels?

Nico: Grindcore is always kind of strange in Belgium. People from outside of Belgium always think the scene is big and filled with bands with international fame: Agathocles, Intestinal Disease, [etc.] But the scene is kinda small lately. When we release brutal grind records with our label, we mostly sell ‘em outside our country. But you definitely have to check out the following bands: Parasite Circus, Head Of The Baptist, Verpest, Loathsome, Assur, Days Of Desolation, Monnier…

Rik: Well, when Napalm Death plays in Belgium (last time was with Pig Destroyer, Primitive Man and Wormrot) they can fill a venue with a thousand people. When a smaller international band plays on a Monday, you may have 10 people sticking around (or less.) You also have some labels backing up the scene here in Belgium. Loner Cult really does it’s part by releasing many Belgium bands, including grindcore. Other noteworthy labels are: Bringer Of Gore (true underground noisy grind), Halenoise (members of Days Of Desolation), Sick Phoque Records, BCR-30, [etc.]
Some interesting bands (yes, I forgot many bands but I can’t make this an endless answer.):
Verpest: They sound like Mayhem (Deathcrush period) playing grindcore.
Days Of Desolation: Ultra tight, crusty and technical grindcore.
Hetze: Hardcore/punk meets powerviolence.
Assur: If Mortician was created in Belgium, they’d call that band Assur.
Parasite Circus: Heavy hardcore/grind with a very good sound. Sometimes I think it’s Coalesce playing grindcore.
Head Of The Baptist: Crusty metal.
Plague Thirteen: Crust for fans of Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone.
Raw Peace: Crust spicing it up with that Japanese vibe.
Reproach: Trashcore, going wild on the live shows. Imagine Bones Brigade but based in Belgium.
Röt Stëwart: Oldschool hardcore for awesome people made by even more awesome people.
The list is endless: Dögmën, Serial Pissers, On Fire, Burning Kross, xINVICTUSx, xINCLUSIONx, Drudge, Sore, Visions Of War, BezetteStad, Toxic Shock, [etc.]

Songs for the split with We Sleep are starting to come out. How did this pairing come about? When can we expect the upcoming split to be released?
 
    We played Dräschfeschd in Germany (Hamburg), it’s a grindcore/powerviolence festival in a school with only 15 minute sets. The fest is organised by Ralf, the drummer in We Sleep (Nico knows him from his days in Stack.) We got some sleep at his place (pun intended) and the next morning there was this idea of making a split record.
    The record will be released in April on Loner Cult Records, Flower Violence Records, Give Praise Records, Rotten To The Core Records. Global Help Foundation is doing a CD version of it.

This Summer has Travølta embarking on a European tour with Meth Leppard in July. Will you be returning to the Obscene Extreme Music Festival? What are your favorite experiences at Obscene Extreme?

Rik: We’re not playing Obscene Extreme this year, but Meth Leppard are. We’ll be joining them after the weekend for a two week tour across Europe. 
    We played on Obscene Extreme in 2023 and it was a great experience. People seemed to like our music and lyrical content, so we’re very happy about that. Saw many old friends, made some new ones and saw many great bands!
    Nico is going to Obscene Extreme, but the rest can’t make it. Here are his top bands to check out: Lack Of Interest, My Minds Mine, Bas Rotten, I Scream Protest, Eraser, War//Plague, Odio Social and Meth Leppard, of course.

How did a Summer 2025 tour with Australia's Meth Leppard come to fruition?

    We co-released the first 7" of Meth Leppard. On an earlier tour we also played one show together. So I guess it’s helping each other out, pure DIY style!


Strictly speaking grindcore/powerviolence, what bands are you guys currently listening to? What bands or albums would you consider essential listening for fans of the genre? 

Nico: There are some really interesting bands around in the underground lately. I think about bands as Dögmën, Hetze, Raw Peace, Teigne, Crippled Fox, Lady Gaza, LilyxElbe, Possible Damage, Failure, Plague Thirteen, Jodie Faster, So Close, Gummo, Tael, False, LMDA, The Prim, Martø, [etc.]
Check out Skiplife, they always deliver with their old school powerviolence sound, but also check out the [music of] Loner Cult. All these bands deserve a lot more attention and they’re all worthwhile to check out. 
    If you want me to drop some oldies, definitely check out: Neanderthal, Siege, Crossed Out, Avskum, Fuck On The Beach, Deathtoll 80K.

Rik: Some of my favourite powerviolence/grind releases of last year:
Failure: Obstinate
So Close: Painkiller Mentality
Trigger/LilixElbe split 10"
Brodequin: Harbinger Of Woe
Horsebastard: Horsebastard
Archagathus/Assur split
ACXDC: G.O.A.T.
Completed Exposition/Maxxpower split
Tael: Self-titled
Convulsions/Civilian Thrower split
Turtle Rage: Curse Of The Mutants
Final Exit: Born In Hell
Eraser: Harmony Dies

Favourite all-time grindcore/powerviolence records:
Infest: No Man’s Slave
Extortion: Degenerate
Siege: Drop Dead
ACXDC: Self-titled
Fuck On The Beach: Power Violence Forever
Discordance Axis: The Inalienable Dreamless
Napalm Death: From Enslavement To Obliteration
Misery Index: Dissent EP
Antigama: The Insolent
Hellnation: Your Chaos Days Are Numbered
The Locust: New Erections
Unholy Grave: Grind Killers
Agathocles: Theatric Symbolisation Of Life
Wormrot: Dirge
Iron Lung: Sexless // No Sex
Spazz: La Revancha
Nasum: Human 2.0
Psudoku: Deep Space Psudokument
Gadget: The Funeral March

Other than the upcoming We Sleep split and Meth Leppard tour, what's next for Travølta? 

Rik: We’re doing a new live split record with Slutbomb from Cincinnati. We got some recordings from a show and thought they captured our essence quite well. It’s rawer and even sometimes faster than the stuff on our studio records but we liked it.
    We’re also recording music for a new split 7" and have blueprints for another split 12”. Gotta stay busy, haha.

Any last words?

    Thanks for letting us speak up on your blog, keep up the good work. People mostly forget about all the hard work people like you put into this underground scene. We aren’t anything without people who set up gigs, do artwork, do labels, do zines, blogs, etc. It’s because of people like you that the D.I.Y. scene is this fantastic place to be in! Keep up the good work and hopefully we’ll all meet somewhere on the road. Cheers.

    It has been a pleasure. I cannot thank you guys enough! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all my not-so-inspired and redundant questions. And thank you for all the kind words about the blog. I can't wait to check out the upcoming splits. I'm especially eager to give those new live tracks a listen. 
    As I am stationed stateside, I can't say that I'll catch the band on tour this summer, but European readers be sure to catch Travølta on tour with Meth Leppard. I'd hate to miss those dates if I were you. Once again, thank you so much to Travølta for their words and time.
    For everyone else, you can listen to Travølta and grab some merch on the band's Bandcamp page: https://travoltakvlt.bandcamp.com/ 
Also be sure to follow them on Facebook for news and info: https://www.facebook.com/travoltaviolence/ 
Also check out all the great bands and releases on Loner Cult Records on the label's Bandcamp page: https://lonercult.bandcamp.com/ 

More links to good things: 
Hart Boven Hard (Belgium): https://hartbovenhard.be/
Forrest & Friends (I think this is the correct organization, Belgium): https://forrestandfriends.be/
Doggybag Crew (Belgium/Greece): https://www.doggybagcrew.org/

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