Grindcore Bracketology: Semifinals/Regional Championships

All the winnowing to date leads to this. This round you’re going to crown kings of the region who will advance to compete for hemispheric dominance and, ultimately, the global title. You guys have been in top game form to date, but I think a few of these are going to test your argumentary mettle. Who is going to advance one step closer to grindcore's Mount Midoriyama?
Take a gander at the brackets here, and now it’s game on. You’ve got until Saturday.

North America
Pig Destroyer (1) v. GridLink (2)
Art reigns supreme in North America. Now it’s a question of whether you prefer Pig Destroyer’s nightmarish explorations of psychological decay over GridLink’s neon jazzed tribute to the New World’s enduring fascination with the Far East. Many of you have grumbled about GridLink's dearth of material. How will they fare against Pig Destroyer's quartet of albums and a few splits?

Asia and Australia
Wormrot (1) v. 324 (2)
For the Pacific Rim, it’s a battle of the old guard vs. the new jacks. 324 have been pretty consistently awesome over a dozen years (though I will acknowledge Rebelgrind was not to everyone’s taste). In the other corner is Wormrot who are still riding the buzz of a single unbelievably awesome record that channels the pure essence of grind.

Scandinavia
Rotten Sound (1) v. Sayyadina (2)
Apparently Sweden and Finland have been nurturing a healthy rivalry for about 1,000 years that is often settled at the hockey rink. I now propose we lay it to rest permanently on the vaunted grindcore pitch. Rotten Sound versus Sayyadina: whose country will be taking the bragging rights home?

Continental Europe and the United Kingdom
Napalm Death (1) v. Nashgul (5)
Napalm Death continue to surprise me. Given the antipathy to the current incarnation in some corners, I secretly expected them to nosedive in the first round when matched with Agathocles, but like the actual band, they just keep grinding it out. If Napalm Death are surprising me, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was by the passionate following Nashgul have engendered on the strength of their steadfastly classic approach to grind. Nashgul embody the same drive that Napalm Death shepherded into being but have since abandoned. Do you honor a legacy band still willing to take a chance or the young bucks who lay it on the line for heritage?

G&P Review: Comparative Anatomy

Comparative Anatomy
Mammalian
Mind Flare Media
Just when you thought Hatebeak and Caninus were enough to get PETA’s fair trade, animal product-free panties all bunched, Virginia’s Comparative Anatomy stitch together an entire album of experimental electronics from the tortured bleats of defenseless animals and abused machinery. Fair warning off the top: this is not grindcore. Instead, Comparative Anatomy wield a pastiche of funk bass, industrial drum machining and audio loops into a sometimes coherent ruckus all while sporting animal costumes that would make Attack of the Mad Axeman blush from shame.
Largely instrumental, the two manimal band lets the animal noises stand in the stead of vocals on songs that are looping and slowly mutating with repetition. It’s like listening to Swans’ Soundtracks for the Blind as remixed by an autistic kid with a Fisher Price See ‘n Say. Each song gets its own animal avatar guiding development of the noise. “Peter Rabbit the Great’s Carrot Phalanx” rings with martial horns, sending up military engagement in the tradition of the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup. “Puppy Hatred” blends ’50s crooning with Red Harvest industrial glower in an intentionally jarring juxtaposition. Among the most involved and layered songs, “Swarm of Camels” manages to stitch together samples of Indian vocals and melodies, funk bass, industrial beats and cell phone ringtones into something that stops just short of unified.

Comparative Anatomy – “Swarm of Camels”

When things don’t jell, like the screeching, monotonous “A Car Full of Seals in the Mall on the Day After Thanksgiving,” Comparative Anatomy begins to look less serious about their craft.
And that’s the crux. A lot of the compositions tend to be clever and can engage on an intellectual level, but I’m not getting any kind of visceral or emotional jolt from the songs. I’m left wondering how much further Comparative Anatomy can take a concept many (most?) people will write off as a one-note joke.

[Full disclosure: MindFlare sent me a review copy.]

Grindcore Bracketology: Quarterfinals 2 Winners

Despite one turd in the pool, I’m absolutely enjoying sitting on the sidelines watching you guys (respectfully) argue this one out. Quarterfinals 2 has been another brutal round and there are some heart wrenching eliminations coming. But it had to happen sooner or later. Here’s who you said should advance to fight it out for regional mastery. As always, updated brackets can be reviewed here. Well get back to voting again on Monday.

North America
Was that a hint of an anti-GridLink backlash I was picking up in the comments? Though some of you remain unimpressed by Chang and Matsurbara’s collabo, the Jersey-Japanese amalgamation powered passed Texas heroes Kill the Client by 13-9 in a thoroughly grueling matchup. No matter who won that one, I kinda feel like we all lost.

Asia and Australia
Luckily, Gamefaced will not be hunting each of you down to devour your souls because 324 cruised past Singapore acolytes Mangnicide by either 16-1 or a perfect 17-0. (Sorry, Amalgamated, I wasn’t sure where you’re going with that. If you’d care to clarify that in the comments, we may just have our very first shutout.)
[Addendum: Amalgamated said it was a vote for Magnicide. So the official final count will stand as 16-1 even though he/she/it/they will bow the majority. Either way, look out for Gamefaced, my friend.]

Scandinavia
I fear the Afgrund v. Sayyadina rivalry will never be satisfactorily resolved. Though Sayyadina eventually won out by 11-6, this was the closest call of the lot and the quality arguments offered for both suggest a convincing case could have been made to overturn the will of the people. Too bad I’m on Team Sayyadina.

Continental Europe and the United Kingdom
Upsets have been vanishingly rare so far, but Dutch crushers Blood I Bleed will be hitting the showers early after getting thoroughly pummeled by Nashgul 12-4. The Spanish band was probably the hardest ranking decision I had to make initially, and they’re quickly proving themselves to be a dark horse to watch with a second upset to their credit.

Demo-lition Derby: Standing on a Floor of Bodies

Standing on a Floor of Bodies
Teaching Pigs to Sing (Demo)
The grind band without a bassist is such a cliché at this point it passes without comment.
Mike Stitches, vocalist of deceased Rhode Island ragers Thousandswilldie (who seems to have this thing for elaborate band names) flips the script in his new solo project Standing on a Floor of Bodies [just to clarify, part of TWD was from Rhode Island, but Bodies is actually based in California. Sorry for any confusion.], banging out a one man brand of grind with nothing but bass and drum machine. It’s a testament to his execution that I didn’t even notice until I did some additional research on the band.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then Stitches could trade barbs with Groucho Marx as he stitches together (hardy har har that’s sew funny) 20 to 30 second quick burns of bass-led brutality blasted by samples and tape loops that give it the EP a nice, creepy vibe. “Gone the Way of All Flesh” harnesses and rides the decayed grooves that undergirded Man is the Bastard if that band ever soundtracked a psychological horror film. The snarl of “Slaughterhouse Hitchhiker” or the rapacious Pig Destroyer rampage of the title track only slam that slasher vibe home.
More than a cool experiment in treble-less songwriting Bodies crafts a consistently satisfying listening experience that sounds larger than its humble constituent parts. Check it out here in the audio format of your choice.

Grindcore Bracketology: Quarterfinals 1 Winners

That grindcore trophy is almost in sight and you’ve eliminated another four contenders from competition. Here’s who you thought should move on to the semifinal round to fight it out for the title of top dog in their respective region. As always, take a gander at the revised brackets here.

North America
If you cross Pig Destroyer with Brutal Truth you’d have Brutal Destroyer and that’s what happened to the New York institution: they got brutally destroyed by the porcine ones. Though it was the closest matchup of the round, you deemed BT’s brightest days were behind them while PxDx has smooth sailing ahead by a vote of 11-9.

Asia and Australia
This one wasn’t even close. Every so often I have to stop and ask myself if Wormrot is really as good as I kept telling people they are. Was I just overhyping them? Nope. Aussies The Kill couldn’t stand against Singaporean perfection as they cruised to a 14-4 clobbering.

Scandinavia
Ditto Finnish institution Rotten Sound who clobbered forward thinking Swedes Gadget by 15-4 in the most lopsided blowout of the lot. Even though many of you grumbled the band seems to have peaked at Murderworks eight years ago, their last couple of albums were still strong enough to keep William Blackmon and crew at bay.

Continental Europe and the United Kingdom
There are plenty of people who have written off post-Dorian Napalm Death, but apparently the Brummie bangers still hold enough of a reign on your affections to power them past German goofs Attack of the Mad Axeman by 14-6. Though they may have strayed from their straight grind roots and questionable death metal excursions, the four man band’s last few platters of crusty power seem to have hit the sweet spot.

G&P Review: Quarter the Villain

Quarter the Villain
Regicide
Self Released
Tech death mongers Quarter the Villain pound hard out of the gate with “Frontier Justice,” slamming face first into a scream and horse gallop riff that slams together Gorod and Luddite Clone in a supercollider, unleashing intergalactic cannibal beetles to burrow subcutaneously.
Those bugs get a work out because Quarter the Villain have notes to burn. Like a lot of tech bands, they firmly believe one good note deserves another 25. The guitars seethe and tweedle in a way that seems all random at first but must be carefully constructed to be that chaotic. Belying its titular mammal, “Choking a Sloth” throws up a sparkling fountain of notes that burble and sing over mournfully bent counter points. Proving their fearlessness in the face of traditional musical boundaries, Quarter the Villain cross pollinate “Sock Puppet Vendetta” with a stately waltz propelled by strident horns and tinkling keys.
Like a lot of tech obsessed bands, Quarter the Villain are brimming with ideas, but actual songs sometimes get lost amid the noodling, particularly for someone like me whose tastes run to simpler pleasures. I think Quarter the Villain is one of those bands I respect more than I enjoy, but tech-heads may find something interesting to latch on to here.

[Full disclosure: QtV sent me a download. Meant to make that clear earlier.]

Grindcore Bracketology: Quarterfinals 2

Here’s the second half of the quarterfinals. You’ll have until Tuesday to make your case in the comments.

North America
GridLink (2) v. Kill the Client (3)
A battle of aesthetics. GridLink are sleek, emotional and oddly positive for the normally grumpy world of grind. They’re like magically finding one of Japan’s legendary vending machines outside of your local 7-Eleven. Kill the Client just want you to die. Preferably exploded into little pieces. Subtle is one thing they’re not with their violent brew of blast beats and punk riffs.

Asia and Australia
324 (2) v. Magnicide (3)
Like Obi Wan and Darth Vader, this is a meeting of master and student. Has the circle been completed? Are Magnicide now the masters while 324 has laid idle due to lineup instability? Who wears the Asia crust grind crown at the moment?

Scandinavia
Sayyadina (2) v. Afgrund (3)
There’s no need to rehash old territory. We’ve had this argument before. I think Sayyadina represent the best of post-Nasum Swedish grind. Many of you offered up Afgrund instead. Now it’s time to make your case in the comments. May the better band win.

Continental Europe and the United Kingdom
Blood I Bleed (2) v. Nashgul (5)
Two of Europe’s most promising bands offer a fairly stark contrast. Holland’s Blood I Bleed embody the finest aspects of modern grind songwriting. Everything’s spiky and frenetic, strangled by deliberately placed static. Spain’s Nashgul, on the other hand, think grind peaked with Horrified and are content to keep it traditional. So do you prefer Coke Classic or New Coke. Wait, bad analogy.