I miss my homeland. Italy is going through times of hopelessness and uncertainty right now, as the recession and corruption still plague its economy and the youth are faced with great worries and challenges as opportunities get snatched away from under their noses daily. You know what that means, of course. That on the flip side, a ton of pissed off and vengeful music is being made as we speak. Here is the latest. Bands, people, kids, who are fucking pissed and full of hate and disgust for everything, and who let their bitterness loose in their basements, bashing away at their musical instruments, and with their songs as their only weapons against politicians and this fucked up society we live in.
1. Self-Titled by Вий (Vij)
I really am not sure how the fuck you pronounce the name of this band, but god almighty is this shit fucking heavy. Вий create some pretty colossal and bone-crushing stoner doom. Stoned out and completely intoxicated anthems of aural disgust. Standing somewhere between Conan, Moss, Electric Wizard, Goatsnake, Warhorse and Corrupted, Вий are the authors of some of the most vile, putrid and disgusting doom coming out of Italy today. These guys probably numb their anger towards society with loads of weed and satan worship, and rightfully so – there is plenty to be hateful about out there and their music communicates just that. Total disgust!
2. Your Sister by GERDA
GERDA don’t play the hippest style of music these days. These guys sound like they came straight out of the nineties glorious days of labels like Amphetamine Reptile or Touch and Go. This is something that honors them, as those times and that sound ruled. Their ripped apart, abrasive and chaotic noise rock/hardcore punk hybrid sounds like fangs to your jugular. Taking elements from Shellac, Killdozer, Unsane, Dazzling Killmen and Craw, GERDA have crafted a second LP that is packed with the roof with dissonance, scraping guitars, gut-twisting vocals and a completely hysterical rhythm sections. One of the best noisecore bands coming out of Italy these days. LP out now on Shove Records.
3. Live and Destroy! by LOIA
I have no idea how I came across this band but what I do know is how much they rule. This is actually a live recording, so the sound is what it is, but nevertheless what is clear is that you can hear the sheer intensity and crude brutality of this band as it rips through their set of wrecking hardcore punk songs with the wrath of a fucking swarm of angry wasps. LOIA‘s music is all gut and no bullshit. It’s hardcore punk made to make you feel uneasy and embarrassed to be a human being. It’s anti-human in everything. It takes all that punk rock has been at its utter worst and most dangerous, chews it up and spits it out as something completely new and totally botched. Ranging from Anal Cunt, to GG Allin, to Siege, to Dropdead, to Black Flag, to Minor Threat, LOIA’s music rips through it all, and covers the entire spectrum of Italy’s legendary hardcore punk legacy, spanning from Raw Power and Negazione and going all the way down that legendary path of destruction with constant reference to Church of Violence, Wretched and Nerorgasmo. Total war!
4. Split with Subjugation by HAEMOPHAGUS
Oh yeah, like HAEMOPHAGUS need any introduction… Not! Italy’s most (in)famous stench-grinders are fucking back, sounding more raw and filthy than ever. These dudes are no newcomers whatsoever – they are stalwarts of Italy’s goriest metal, and members of this band come from such heavyweight monster bands as Assumption, Gravesite, Morbo, Interior Demise and Undead Creep. Their minimalist, disgusting, downtuned and rotten-to-the-core death/grind makes early Carcass, Repulsion, Autopsy and early Obituary sound as fresh and disgusting as ever, but the dudes certainly don’t stop there, rather stirring shit up even more and injecting their decaying and downtuned blasts of sonic filth with an overload of rabid punk urgency. Not far from stench-core and crust, HAEMOPHAGUS’s music is an awesome overload of filthy and decaying high voltage punk/metal that will rattle your bones and fill your ear ducts with buckets of maggots. Turkey’s SUBJUGATION provide the B side of this rotten split, making it one of the filthiest underground death metal/grind releases of 2014. Grab a copy now from Everyday Hate.
5. Night Gaunt by NIGHT GAUNT
Time to get high and die. NIGHT GAUNT from Rome play some of the grimiest, intoxicated and creeped-out sounding stoner doom coming out of The Boot these days. Their riffs are absolutely crushing and the rhythms, while slow and slimy are also unrelenting and totally punishing, and despite all the heaviness and sheer tonnage of the riffs, their songs don’t come with out licks. Quite the opposite. There is some pretty awesome soloing going on in this band’s music, and the clean but hollowed out and spooky vocals provide that awesome and timeless Cathedral feel, while also giving way to some pretty slick 70’s psychedelic rock vibes. If you are fans of the aforementioned Cathedral, of the golden days of Rise Above Records, or the early days of Southern Lord Records, but also of bands like Electric Wizard, St. Vitus, Pentagram, Goatsnake, Reverend Bizarre, Witchcraft, Ufomammut, Monolord, Yob and the such, then NIGHT GAUNT is most definitely the shit for you.
