Sunday, November 2, 2008

Schizophrenic bliss........

I recently discovered, and purchased an amazing and much needed 7" that I did not even know existed. While going on that same To Live a Lie binge, I once again stopped dead in my tracks due to another surely crucial split. It's best of the best between Michigan's fastcore hero's, Xbrainiax, and Japan's sludgecore beasts Su19b.

Xbrainiax blaze through 12 songs of face removing same said fastcore. If you for some reason don't know, this is some of the best newschool, oldschool violence, with nods to both the legends such as Hellnation, and newer broods a la Threatener. They aren't trying to fix what isn't broken, they're just trying to attach uzi mounts and sweet exhaust flame throwers too it. They've got all hooks, samples, and rapid fire tempos that show off the very best of what can be done with this genre, and yet still in a very raw and uncontrolled sounding way.

Su19b comes back with some of their most crushingly brutal work to date. I cannot say enough good things about this band. I know we all love classic punk based sludge such as Noothgrush, and the ever evolving doomy sounds of the cult followed Corrupted. But Su19b, in my opinion, just drops it down to a whole new level. Maintaining their molasses like integrity, infused with blistering speckles of blastbeasts, they lay down one moody and grim track on this 7" to counter the dozen that Xbrainiax rips through. Coming quietly out of the murk, Meadow Meal churns along, with not so much Sunn 0))) or even Moss like bass, but more Dystopia sounding down tuned guitars. The ambient dirge flows undisturbed until suddenly the hellishly deep and gurgled signature vocals (or god, probably one of those apropos moments to use the term "vokills") come tearing up straight from hell and into the mix. Accented with drum strikes and guitar pounds, the song picks up an agonized momentum that steamrolls over the listener, as the apocalypse is proclaimed in a terrifying unknown tongue. Finally, of course, in true Su19B form, Meadow Meal is punctuated by a hail of blast beats and machinegunned vokills that leave the listener feeling like they've been punched in the face. If you have never heard Su19b before, then run, don't walk, to the nearest place that has any of their releases, and drink deep.





The record itself was released on Crucificados records, a label that I have never actually heard of before. It's got fantastic cover art depicting some sort of horrible science experiment, with an unwilling subject being mainlined by hypos of both Su19b and Xbrainiax (of course!) right into the eye. The 7" is a pretty great looking candy cane colored marble slab of quality vinyl.

I know I don't need to preach to the initiated to pick up this split asap. Anyone familiar with either band will. But those of you who fall into the "Un" category, do yourself a favor, and grab this anyway. I know at the very least To Live a Lie is carrying it.

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