Your Pain Ends Here, On the Internet

Magnicdide obliterate ten short bursts of eastern Asia inspired grind on their "S/T" cassette tape. They are often touted as the Malaysian answer to 324 and that's a pretty fair assessment. Both bands have shared the stage several times in the geographical region and have a similar sound, however, 324 is more punk and crust sounding and Magnicide is has a more buzzsaw metal sound even if their riffs are hardcore punk as fuck. Gruff vocals over violently fast blast beats exceeding obscene speeds, though that description does glue them to a 324 reference. One would have a hard time saying they don't sound 324 but I would prefer to just use that as a base reference for Magnicide. I also hear traces of American hardcore in their sound. They utilize some New York style beatdowns a couple times and that shit fills me with energy and the desire to get into a pit.I'm actually REALLY curious to find out how many of the three guys in the band actively listen to American hardcore on the reg. Each of the ten tracks grinds in your fucking head with little variation of speed. This band adheres to Rule 324 just like other truly good bands. One of the few true hallmarks of a great metal/punk band.There are moments of start/stop grinding but it achieves a great effect instead of a pace impediment. This S/T tape is a precursor to their longer, more 324 influenced full length I've talked about before. I personally love being able to see a band's sound evolve, and you absolutely see that when comparing the two tapes. The songs on "Rise to the Annihilation" are generally longer with a more 324 feel to them. Straight up they sound 100% more like 324 on the follow up to this amazing tape. Listen and compare for yourself.

"Exceeding boundaries of mankind analogy"

Rotting In America

 So everyone's favourite fresh new band Wormrot recently released their sophomore full-length through Earache. There have been a lot of expectations thrust on them by our internet grind community. We longed for more greatness and not lackluster grind. We prayed to Merlin, Glycon and Crom that their signing to Earache was the impetus to bring the band and label to new heights of grind glory. And to be honest. This record fucking rules.
One highlight I really like is the new mix on Arif's vocals. It really sounds much more powerful to me this time around. Well I guess starting on the I Abhor split, but still better production all around. It could a little further in the back so Rasyid's guitar can truly slay with Fit's drumming. Fit by the way fucking rips it apart on the album. His shit is tight, fast, energetic, upbeat and just plain impressive. He can blast or play the groove parts to counter Rasyid's sick guitar slaying. That guy just drops awesome riffs out of his dick. Just all over the place too, really letting us have the proverbial "money shot". Songwise I love the varied lengths and the awesome song titles. "Deceased Occupation" takes it for me groove-wise. It's the "Murder" of the album. I wish it could be seven minutes of the riff at the end of the song. "Murder" was the gallop riff at mid pace, "Deceased Occupation" is start/stop rock and fucking roll. When was the last time you heard a grind band just rocking? A friend brings up an interesting point with this new songwriting direction. There's a lot of power violence going on here along with an upped Insect Warfare influence. I even hear some mincing! When did the 'Rot start mincing! I like it on all fronts. This release is aggressive, powerful and fucking grindingly fast.
 My respect for this band only increases every time they have an album come out. I'm aware that in recording this record the band was basically tossed into the studio and forced to bang out these 25 songs in their allotted recording time. The fact that under this immense pressure from a founding force in grind and DIY music they still produced such a blitzkrieg of awesome music demands even more respect. I only wish I had the chance to go see them while touring in america. Two tours, two shows I can't make it to. Maybe Scion will pay for them to tour next year, but we can only hope. I'm personally hoping for an Unholy Grave, 324, Magnicide, Wormrot tour. "Rot Over America".

In Grind We Rot!

Fairytale Beginning Ending

 So after much delay(not a complaint) today I received my Magnicide "Rise to the Annihilation" cassette. This is the fifth or sixth time I've ordered something from a foreign country. I've ordered from TVG (Germany) and an independant t-shirt company in England. But my favourite packages always come from south east Asia. I ordered my Wormrot LP straight from the band and I'm still pumped to look at it. Starting last month and culminating today I've received two packages from Magnicide. My first package was their split LP with Toxic Revolution that had some show flyers and stickers in it. On a flyer was a note from Jali that he mailed the cassette separately to insure integrity of all product. I for one fucking appreciate that. A band that cares. Imagine. I bring this up because it's interesting to me the lengths at which people go to receive products. It takes over a decade to obtain a car if you live on Hawaii. It usually takes upwards of two months to receive blast beats in the mail from Malaysia. The waiting, pining, anticipating for that square shaped, thin cardboard box or small bubble wrap packages. The processes the product goes through. Writing international addresses, putting on correct postage. There are even Customs Declaration stamps that the proper authorities must see.

StrainEyes No. 6

 And then finally you open your package to find its contents. In this instance it was a rad yellow pro cassette with a lyrics booklet rubber-banded on.  This is another example of the essence of DIY. I know how hard it is to track down specific parts. The plastic case is an example. Where the fuck do you just go buy a bunch of empty cassette cases? And for records it's even harder. How do I make this 5" record fit into this 7" bag? How do I package this 3" CD? For most bands it's using ingenuity and their own hands to put things together. They will print 100 5" cases, fold every one and bag them. They will screen print their own patches or 7" cases then glue every case together one by one.All this labor goes into a tiny little package only a few select people will seek out to hear. This tape will bring me much joy to listen to in my bakery, and everyone else is left saying "Hello Misery".

straineyes@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/straineyes

 For me when I sent the band money I was worried I fucked up the address. I'd never sent a letter to the other side of world in a physical sense. Let alone money I worked for. Things are different in the digital world. Wi-fi banking, ATMs, credit, debit. I can't do any of these things because I have no bank account so it's the old school DIY way for me of contacting bands directly and waiting.

Old computer gets a speed upgrade.

From Soft to Hard

Monday I received my vinyl copy of Wormrot's debut LP "Abuse". My iPod said I listened to it over 1300 times since first finding out about them in early December, so thank Merlin that wasn't the deal with the vinyl. It was imported however so there is a little damage to the cover, I mean TVG is in Germany. But oh wait, I ordered this straight from the band, so it came from fucking Singapore, so I'm not really bummed. I got one of the 552 black records, and TVG still has some of the red available, but there are only 110 so if you want one get it quick.
I don't know how to adequately describe what follows after putting needle to wax. One can hear the influences of Insect Warfare, 324 and Napalm Death. But having read interviews I find that there are lots of western pop influences in the band. The is blatantly obvious by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover. It's shocking how fucking good it is too. The upbeat tempo and energy out the ass, just their originals. I also love Arif's Engrish lyrics. Reminds me of Total Fury and the Burning Spirit scene, and I dig that shit!
These dudes just got signed to Earache who's reissuing this on double CD (Abuse+34) and vinyl. They have a couple of cool shirts too with cool package deals. I think I'm gonna buy the CD for the extra tracks. Well and because I think these guys are amazing and I can't wait for them to get huge. They are putting together a US tour for later this year, so try to get them in your city.

Abusive grindcore holocaust is right.