Michigan trio Cloud Rat have grown steadily from their solid grindcore foundations into one of the most boundary-pushing outfits in a generation of heavy punk-driven bands. They’ve put out more than 20 releases since forming in 2009, but this prolificacy hasn’t been accompanied by a holding pattern in their songwriting—their records feel increasingly packed with […]
Tag: grindcore
Dreary North Fest will broaden your understanding of extreme music—and test your limits
Brett Ray had proved his commitment to extreme music long before he launched the extreme-music blowout Dreary North Fest last year. He’s been booking shows for more than two decades, and he’s been releasing music through his label, Suspended Soul Tapes and Records, for close to ten years. He also regularly tests strangers’ capacity to […]
Duma show that the future of metal is in eastern Africa
Africa’s metal scene has been quiet compared to its counterparts on other continents. Duma rectify that, and loudly. Vocalist Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and guitarist and producer Sam Karugu hail from Kenya, and they relocated to Uganda to release their self-titled 2020 debut album on Kampala’s Nyege Nyege Tapes. That label is known […]
Chicago’s Nequient want to rile you up with Darker Than Death or Night
Chicago’s Nequient hit the ground running in 2015 with the EP Infinite Regress. By the time of their 2018 full-length debut, Wolves at the Door, they’d solidified into a brutal, versatile metallic-hardcore unit. They’d also established their studio methods and favorite producers (Pete Grossman at Bricktop Recording), and they accumulated some DIY touring experience. The […]
Napalm Death call for empathy and action in a troubled world on Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
Two days after the 2016 election, when I caught a package tour headlined by British-American grindcore pioneers Napalm Death, the night seemed to encompass the best and worst of the moment: After witnessing a presidential candidate openly lean into hate and emerge victorious, the sound of hundreds of people belting out “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” […]
Grindcore legends Pig Destroyer expand their horizons on a new EP
Pig Destroyer have been at the forefront of grindcore for more than 20 years, and over that time they’ve found a way to push the notoriously rigid style into far-reaching spaces. Helmed by guitarist Scott Hull (also the mastermind behind psychotic “cybergrind” outfit Agoraphobic Nosebleed), the Virginia band started out playing fairly standard grindcore in […]
Kriegmeister Hatestorm of Neckbeard Deathcamp on heavy music as protest
Current musical obsessions of Neckbeard Deathcamp front man Kriegmeister Hatestorm, Haggathorn guitarist Nathan Scripter, and Reader music editor Philip Montoro
Local powerviolence trio Stay Asleep drop the first single from their long-anticipated debut album
The members of Stay Asleep may have emo pedigrees, but “Misanthrope” is hard, heavy, and mean.
Weekend Nachos leave behind a legacy of brutality
Chicago powerviolence jokers Weekend Nachos have ripped it up around the world for 13 years, and this weekend they say farewell with two hometown shows.
Brilliant Michigan grindcore band Cloud Rat stream new album, play Chicago
Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is the entirety of Cloud Rat’s forthcoming Qliphoth, because it’s too consistently good to pick just one song.
Puig Destroyer blends grind and baseball on ‘Mike Trout’
Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is Puig Destroyer’s “Mike Trout.” It’s baseball-themed grindcore. What more could you possibly want?
Artist on Artist: Justin Broadrick of Godflesh talks to producer Sanford Parker
Justin Broadrick of Godflesh talks drum machines, Crass, and 80s hip-hop with producer Sanford Parker.
In Rotation: Engineer Jason Ward on Grimes’s “Oblivion” video
Current musical delights of Tic Tac Totally founder Matt Clark and Chicago Mastering Service’s Jason Ward
12 O’Clock Track: Nails’ “Wide Open Wound,” hate-fueled hardcore
Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is “Wide Open Wound,” from the upcoming Nails album Abandon All Life.
Stream the new Brutal Truth album, End Time
Some top-shelf grindcore sickness for today’s lunch break