Split Level Housing: Estinzione/Klava Split CD Review

     I was trying to think of a turn of phrase to connect William Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona to "The Two Bands From Bologna"—a pun that I'm sure I could have figured into something. However, I then remembered how truly problematic that play is. Anyways, Bologna, Italy's Estinzione and Klava teamed up for a split back in 2025. A modest five tracks between them, both Estinzione and Klava both dole out a heavy, low-end mix of crust-caked grindcore. 

    Estinzione recently formed in 2023 and has quickly begun elbowing their way through the Italian crust and grindcore scene. The band released a lengthy 2024 demo tape—a raw piece of political D-beat with dizzying guitar and a Ramones cover—followed by a 2025 split with Klava. Most recently the band released a live recording, Live in Piumazzo, in February 2026.

    Estinzione's side of the split offers three movements of the "Endless Dark Age" entitled "Kali Yuga Infinito I," "II," and "III." Each movement has a prolonged subtitle with wording pertaining to some conceptual, apocalyptic, Lovecraftian cosmic ritualism that I won't pretend to understand or interpret, yet I'm sure are full of socio-political allusions. The songs are booming with touting bass, retro-punk swirling guitar, gruff vocals, and single-foot-stomping D-beat.

 

    The band's strongest and most dynamic song would have to be the second movement, "Kali Yuga Infinito II." Clocking in at two and a half minutes, this track is by far the band's longest song on the split and is a smorgasbord of their influences. Apart from the skittering blast beats and crusty grime, the song has an overt death metal swagger with hardcore undertones. In a departure from their 2024 demo, Estinzione's vocals are much lower and more guttural this time around. "Kali Yuga Infinito II's" thrashing two-step drum beats, the metallic mid-tempo pacing and the vocals remind me very much of Los Angeles' Brujeria. The vocals are so similar to Brujeria's Juan Brujo that I kept expecting a "Pinches polleros que viven pa' feria" after the intro. Yet, Estinzione tapped into that aforementioned dynamism by not only employing high and low vocals, but some well-implemented pig squeals as well. 

    If there was ever a perfect match for Estinzione it would be Klava. Beyond the obvious relation by proximity, both bands have an extremely similar penchant for brutal, bass-toting crustcore. Much like their neighbors in Estinzione, Klava released a demo tape in 2024. Also like Estinzione it was much more of a low-fi and raw recording, sounding like an almost blown-out MIDI thrashcore. 

    Klava's two songs on this split are on theme with the metallic crust and groove-laden hardcore. Their songs have a hard-hitting bounce and an extremely solid rhythm section, and not just figuratively. The galloping clap of the drums are at the forefront of the mix, which is sonically an improvement above their demo. The alternating mid paced snare and kick have a cracking, tactile impact. The guitar is a hairy distortion that is largely overshadowed by the tension-tight punch of the bass guitar. The mix of the bass and drums is like that of a volley of Black Cat firecrackers. 

    The vocals are low gravelly barks that are, in my opinion, reminiscent of Gwar's Sexecutioner. Klava's second track, "Eterna Illusione" could easily start with "To die, perchance, to sin, hahahaha, there's the rub." (There's your Shakespeare tie-in resolution.)

    This split CD between Estinzione and Klava is short but pretty solid. Both bands play a fairly similar brand of meat-and-potatoes crust and trudging hardcore that muscles its way into grindcore. You won't hear too many blast beats; instead, both bands rely on consistent and perpetually moving D-beat drumming, head-bobbing grooves, and reciprocating two-steps. Likewise, both bands' recordings are mixed in a heavy, bass-emphatic tone that gives the tracks a weighty bulk that sounds pretty pleasing.

    For Estinzione and Klava's first release after their prior demos, this split CD shows the growth of the bands and the solidifying of their sounds. Hopefully these two are working on full-lengths so we can see what they can do with some more time and elbow room. 

FFO: Brujeria, Força Macabra, Nashgul, Ratos de Porão

Listen to the album:

https://estinzione.bandcamp.com/album/estinzione-klava-split-2025

https://klavahc.bandcamp.com/track/eterna-illusione

Split Level Housing: HWA/Naiite Split CD Review

    The House Of Grindcore doesn't get a lot of submissions from the Korean Peninsula. In fact, up until last week, I don't think I have ever received a submission from Korea. Like many of you, I'm sure, I was not at all familiar with South Korea's extreme music scene. However, looking to change all that is Jane, lead singer of Korean grindcore band HWA, as well as an up-and-coming online influencer and social media creator based in Seoul, South Korea. Jane is working hard to raise global awareness about Seoul's punk, hardcore, metal, and grindcore underground communities via social media videos, interviews with bands, and international networking. And it was through Seoul's would-be grind ambassador that we were given the 2026 split CD between HWA and their fellow townsmen, Naiite.   

    HWA are a three piece, dissonant, guitar-driven grindcore band from Seoul that formed in 2024 and are heavily influenced by bands like Gridlink and Discordance Axis. Founding member and guitarist OCheolWang's shrill, angular riffing is obviously reminiscent of Takafumi Matsubara's work in various bands and solo endeavors. OCheolWang's guitarwork is a torrent of dizzyingly discordant and progressively proficient technical riffing. Like Matsubara, OCheolWang incorporates healthy doses of squawky jazz and melancholic melody.

    Capitalizing on OCheolWang's fretboard bonfire, Jane's fiercely hyper-pitched vocals emote over the songs with piercing barks. She occasionally reminds me of Closet Witch's Mollie Piatetsky, especially on HWA's track, "Hollow Face." Both Jane and Piatetsky wrangle the line of beauty and chaos and explore personal lyrics of vulnerability and despondency.

    HWA's other founding member, drummer GopChang, reinforces OCheolWang's zigzagging guitarwork. GopChang plays a hyphenate of mechanical stamping blast beats and rolling jazz fills. His chopping snare is a signature hole punch that will come into play more later in this review. 

    Also from Seoul, Naiite features vocalist Pepperman, bassist Askii, and HWA's OCheolWang on guitar and GopChang on drums. You would think that sharing such integral members would make the two bands nearly carbon copies of one another. However, Naiite does an excellent job maintaining a distinct and individual voice. Of the two bands, Naiite is more of a straightforward form of fret-heavy death-grind, much in the vein of bands like Pig Destroyer or Cognizant. OCheolWang's guitar is still spiralingly sharp and discordant, yet he tends to incorporate some warped power chords that ooze through the band's sludgier parts, like in the song, "Caress Triangle." Unlike HWA, Naiite intentionally incorporates the bass into the songwriting, giving the songs a more rounded and heavy fullness to them.

     GopChang's signature trampling blasts turn the tracklist into Swiss cheese, much akin to his prior work in HWA, yet his death metal, mid-tempo drumming emphasizes a weighty groove within Naiite's songs.

    Pepperman's vocals remind me of a slightly more unhinged version of Limp Wrist-era Martin Sorrondeguy, with the delirious cadence of Pig Destroyer's J.R. Hayes. His screams are generally paint-scrapingly consistent, yet you can hear him drag the depths of his vocal cords to accentuate what I'm sure is either anger or disgust. It sounds as if a skinned knee had a voice. 

   HWA's first half of the split offers eight tracks in just over ten minutes. Half the songs are remixed and remastered tracks from the band's previous 2025 demo with the addition of bass guitar tracking. The other half are newer songs recorded in May of 2026. HWA's portion is a technical and chaotic tangle of raw emotion and speed that goes down easy. HWA goes well alongside of any of Takafumi Matsubara or Jon Chang's projects. 

    Similarly, Naiite's side of the split is a combination of five previously released tracks from the band's 2025 demo alongside four new tracks recorded live at BBC Studios in February of this year. More chaotic but less jazzy than HWA, Naiite still manages to maintain an understated control over their tunneling musical mayhem. With no time for harmonious melodies, the band focuses instead on pure speed and fury. Naiite should please most fans of bands like Cognizant, Chadhel, Maruta, Pig Destroyer, and similar acts. 

FFO: Gridlink, Discordance Axis, Cognizant

Listen to the album: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpVGGiuur0&list=RDuQpVGGiuur0&start_radio=1

HWA: https://hwagrind.bandcamp.com/album/hwa-naiite

Naiite: https://naiite.bandcamp.com/album/hwa-naiite

Vanilla Thunder Records: https://vanillathunderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/naiite-hwa

Split Level Housing: Chadhel/Massive Charge Split 7 Inch Review

    On an almost daily basis, I think about that scene from the 1993 summer blockbuster, Jurassic Park, in which Dr. Ian Malcolm—played by Jeff Goldblum—mutters the phrase, "Life finds a way." Obviously the character in the film is talking about the unstoppable engine of nature and evolution, but the way I internalize it is more of a predatory sense of fate. As if life will never fail to assert itself upon you in ways that are rarely welcomed. This summer was full of several setbacks and minor misfortunes. However, there was a particular evening that I found myself under the full thumb of the "life" experience. The kind of events that thicken the air of a room in which you don't walk into it, you force a path like a dull knife through a cheese block. Where the air has a sick heat to it and it makes your ears ring. It is the kind of life experience that quite literally has you sitting in the company of death—both of you watching and waiting.

    Fortunately, I currently find myself in the company of dear friends of the blog: the best in Québec, the Esoteric Order Of Dagon practitioners, the grinders Chadhel, and their brand-new split seven-inch with fellow francophones from across the Atlantic, Massive Charge. Undoubtedly, this is a record born from the friendships forged while Chadhel supported Massive Charge on their 2024 tour through Canada and Québec. We last saw Chadhel on the blog with a review of their 2023 split release with rabid dogs, Faché. This split marks Chadhel's first release since their much-acclaimed 2024 split with Hungarian crust-grinders, Jack. (I'm fairly certain there was supposed to be a review of that split, which may or may not be coming.) 

    Very much the opposite of my familiarity with the northern fish-god zealots, I have not heard of Massive Charge prior to this release. Formed in 2003, the French grinders released two full-lengths in 2007 and 2011 before a seemingly eight year hiatus. In 2019 and 2021 the band released a series of singles followed by their third full-length, For Those We Hate, in late 2021. After nearly two decades of releases that flew under my radar, Massive Charge's first release in almost five years has opportunely been brought to my attention.

    Chadhel, ever the formidable and proficiently tight grindcore unit, returns with four new songs on this, their latest, split EP. While delivering a performance just as intense and just as tight, the band is markedly different. According to the liner notes, the band consists of only two members: founding member GT provides guitar and vocals, while former lead vocalist Yan handles vocals and drums. Yan originally joined the band following the departure of founding vocalist JP, who took time away from Chadhel back in 2023. 

    GT's guitarwork is still as focused and sharp as ever. His shrill and discordant fretwork convulses up the fretboard like a power drill. The siren-like repetition is almost pushed to the limit before being pulled back into heavy crushing power chords. GT's rapid off-and-on palmuted riffing, particularly in the opening track, "Internal State Of Manic Rage" lashes out with a venomous ferocity. 

    Normally, I would make an obligatory comparison of Chadhel to that of Pig Destroyer, based primarily on both the adept guitarwork and rigid vocals of prior releases. However, I don't hear that here. Instead, the consistency of the monotonal, guttural vocals in tandem with the pinballing guitar reminds me more of bands like Meth Leppard.

    Obviously, this change in lineup resulted in an aberration in the band's songwriting and sound. I am not sure if it's psychological because of the two-piece lineup or not, but the songwriting on this EP sounds a little leaner. The band doesn't seem to venture far into arthouse dabblings or over-melodic experimentation. There's a sense of a stripped-down, nuts-and-bolts style of grindcore. Chadhel might be a few members down, but they are still just as fierce. 

    Unlike some of Chadhel's more polished and uber-produced past releases such as 2022's full-length, Failure//Downfall, this current split is comparably more raw and notably underproduced. The drumming seems more natural sounding without any of the usual triggers. The guitar distortion is extremely blown out and sizzling with static. 

    Chadhel only really suffered in the mastering of their tracks. Their side of the EP is lower in overall volume and is very bass-heavy. Turning up the volume to a more appropriate level might result in a headache-inducing strobing of the kick drum or some subwoofer trauma. I found that if you are capable of adjusting the equalization, turning the bass down about two-thirds, boosting the mids all the way up, and cranking the volume allows you to really appreciate the musicianship that much more. 

    France's Grand Est grindcore quintet rounds out the record's B-side with just a mere two tracks; nevertheless, within those two tracks, Massive Charge manages to cover a lot of ground. The band alternates through their blend of metal, grindcore, punk, and hardcore in just over four minutes like a dissociative identity disorder grindcore chameleon. 

    Immediately, track one—"Youth Crusher"—blasts open with fast, drilling death-grind before dropping down into a sort of melodic punk with a hardcore bridge. The hook-laden punk riffs and vocals remind me a lot of the street punk band, The Unseen; if they were pulverized by a double bass pedal and backed by guttural vocals.

    Track two, "Candy Delivery," threw me for a loop upon first listen. The song plays more like a Sick Of It All-style of hardcore rather than a traditional grindcore song. Like a French grindcore Lon Chaney, Massive Charge changes styles completely. Even the vocals are different. If it wasn't for the guitar's similar distortion tone as well as the physical presence of the song on the tracklisting, I would think this was a completely different band. The distinct mix of hardcore and grindcore is very similar to Maryland's Strong Intention and their 2013 split with Department Of Correction.

    Massive Charge pulls it off flawlessly. The guitar on "Youth Crusher" shifts from winding black metal gales to punky palmutes, while "Candy Delivery" is completely different with energetic, uptempo punk verses and plodding hardcore choruses. The drum work is just as tight, just as versatile, just as intuitive.  

    

      This split seven inch between Chadhel and Massive Charge is certainly a fun one, as the bands complement each other well. The two sides of the record definitely overlap like a Venn diagram with each band playing on-theme, while also showcasing their unique takes on the genre. 

    It sounds like Chadhel might not only be outgrowing their eldritch aesthetics but also embracing a more organic, less sterilized sound. While it may sound like I am disparaging Chadhel, I can assure you I am not. Remember, they are still fucking Chadhel and are certainly no slouches. Yet, whether it was intentional or unintentional, the studio mix and mastering did the band a disservice, in my opinion. Perhaps the engineer was trying to match the rawness of the songwriting. 

    I am really anxious to see where Chadhel goes from here. If they can somehow marry the natural sounding recording with their previous, more polished production levels, it will be interesting to see how their current streamlined writing process evolves; especially considering how prolific they are in the studio. 

    I am also interested to hear what's next from Massive Charge, because I honestly have no clue what it will sound like. The band's split with Chadhel stands out in their discography as something new and different. Past records leaned more into that heavy death-grind sound—really tight, blazing fast, razor-sharp. Those prior records sound more like Napalm Death than the Massive Charge on this split. The tracks here introduce that punk and hardcore element that made their side so entertaining. 

    The split is available in the States right now via Throne Of Lies Records and in Europe via Nihilocus Records and Necro Records. 

FFO: Meth Leppard, Wormrot, Strong Intention

Listen to the album: 

https://chadhel.bandcamp.com/album/split-chadhel-massive-charge

https://massivecharge.bandcamp.com/album/split-chadhel-massive-charge