HAPPY SPASTICS, THE SIGNAL- Market Bar, Inverness, 14-01-12

Well this was one gig I was looking forward to as soon as I heard it was announced, two cracking bands at one of the best venues in Inverness, so off I toddled up to the big city to catch it, and boy I was not disappointed! I arrived in Inverness fairly early so it gave me a chance to get a few pints down my throat and a bit of chit chat which is always good. The Signal were first up, I have seen this band a good few times and they never,ever let you down but tonight was a bit different. This was without doubt the best I have ever seen this crew, they were absolutely brilliant! The new line-up is by the far the best so far, Nikki and Dave the always present front woman and drummer were as good as always, Nikki is all power and aggression and Dave is a mighty fine drummer, Sheree on guitar is a class act, she really is top notch and Lewis on bass is a great addition too, he really does a fine job. They hurtled through their set playing all the faves, "Tesco Inferno", "Wanker Banker" etc plus some new stuff too and it was all over far too soon, a really good set from Inverness's finest!!
A wee bit of an interlude and some more cider before Edinburgh's finest The Happy Spastics hit the stage, when  I first heard they were coming up to play I was well chuffed, a band I really wanted to see and now was the time to see them! Kicking of with "Hee Haw" the pace never relented, and absolute first class showing of pure punk rock as it should be played, the band were as tight as fuck and the crowd really got into  it. The whole set blasted along at a cracking pace and was over way too soon, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and then to end it we got "Tube Disasters" complete with "Neu Smell" intro which Jon Bones dedicated to all the old punks,which obviously was not me as I am just a young twat! They got a deserved encore and as it was ending I had to shoot of to get my lift home to McGibbon Towers, so a quick shift for me!
This was pure punk rock at it's finest, a great chance to see two top bands both at the top of their game, and it was a great treat indeed. Cheers go to the Elgin crew that made it through and a pretty good crowd in general and here's hoping it wont be long before I see them both again, I really hope to make it down to Edinburgh this year to catch some gigs so you never know!!

MALPRACTICE INSURANCE/DISEKSA- "Hard Days Grind"

First release by new tape label Sacrificial Tapes from Scotland and what a cracking start!! Side "A" has six tracks from U.S. grind band Malpractice Insurance, this band have been going for a few years and comprise of Ivo on bass, guitar and vocals and Grubs on drums and vocals. Well this is pure dirty grind from these guys, nowt fancy but good honest stuff,it's really good. You get two vocal styles, low growly and screechy higher and both are great. The six tracks blast along at a great pace and I thoroughly enjoyed the lot, my faves are "Rrhoid Rage2 and "Coffee Stains" but they are all goodies with brilliant fast, thrashy guitars, what's not to like!!
8/10
Side "B" is from Malaysian grindcore demons Diseksa, a bit more metal sounding grindcore but hard as fuck stuff!! The band are Bitch on vocals, Scum on drums and Weed on guitar. A brutal band with every track being a pure aural blast!! "Nuclear Radiation is a Nightmare" kicks it off and it doesn't stop for the six tracks, slamming guitars and great drums! There is a cover of Hemorrhage "I'm a Pathologist" which is a cracking version, another great side of grind with "Disasterpiece" my fave track, well worth checking this band out.
8/10

All in all a great first release from this new label and Munky has his plans for the next few releases which is great news, I await eagerly!! Check out the bands on Myspace and Facebook and also check out Sacrificial Tapes on Facebook to get your hands on a copy. It is a limited release with Munky only having 50 copies himself the rest going to the two bands so better get your requests in quick, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed!!

UNHOLY DEATHCUNT- "Fuck You" demo

5 track tape by one man BM band Unholy Deathcunt, great name!!, from Scotland and a mighty fine release it is too! It cranks it out right from word go with first track "Bestial Devastation" a cracker of a tune, great guitar work, fast frenetic stuff with crashing drums and great raspy vocals. "Satanic Massacre" is more of the same with some howling vocals over a great guitar riff. "Army of Hell" is up next and starts with an intro from some old horror film before the guitar and drums kick in. A different kind of vocal here more clean but distorted by effects so it sounds suitably evil! "Dying in Fucking Agony" is the fourth track with a slower feel to it, starts with an out of tune guitar before it bursts into a fast thrashy blast,another goodie! Last track is "Funeral Fog" a Mayhem cover version and is another cracking track and a fitting way to end this demo.
All in all a really good tape that I thoroughly enjoyed. There seems to be a good wee BM scene coming together in Scotland at the moment, very D.I.Y oriented and all the better for it!! Check out the bands facebook page if you want a copy, that's if there are any left!!!
8/10

HOTWIRED- "Fucktastic"

Got this 6 track e.p. from the band a few weeks ago and glad I did!  You get 6 tracks clocking in at just over 17mins and a wee belter it is indeed!!  The band consist of Emma-vocals, Si-bass, Sir Paul-guitar, Steve Contempt- guitar and Salty on drums. The first track is called "Fuck the Government" and is really melodic blast of punk that has sooooo many fucks in it it's unreal! It gets the e.p of to a great start and it just doesn't stop, up next is a harder track "Friday Night" which has some superb guitar work on it and great lyrics about the perils of getting pissed on a Friday night. The band are as tight as fuck with some superb guitar on every track and Emma has a really good voice which gives the whole thing a more melodic less harsh feel about it.
They mix it up with some slightly slower parts on this too like on the track "Make it Count" where it rattles along and then dips into a really nice slower part before taking off again, great stuff!
All in all this is a great release from a band I really want to hear more from, some great lyrics and some excellent playing makes it a must buy folks! Track them down on facebook for your own copy, it will be worth your while!
8/10

CHEMICAL THREAT- "System Error

I got sent this through the post the other day,which I am very grateful by the way!!  Chemical Threat are a four piece band from Southampton,  I have another couple of releases from this band,both of which I enjoyed very much indeed, so I was looking forward to blasting this one out as well!
What do you get? well 6 tracks that clock in at just over 10 minutes so its an all out assault straight from the first seconds. Chemical Threat are a mix of 82 style punk and hardcore and it works very well, the first track is an anti right wing scum journalism "Hate Mail" and kicks the e.p. of very nicely indeed,good lyrics on a good subject! It rattles on a  great pace and the third track "No Choice" shows their U.S. hardcore influences, reminds me a lot of the great old hardcore that I loved. Showing their U.K. punk influences is in my opinion best summed up in track 5 "Celebrity Scum" which takes a good swipe at the cult of celebrity or "nonentity" as I prefer to think of these arseholes!
Anyway 6 short blasts of anger that is over way too quickly,makes me want more! Well worth checking out, contact them on myspace or facebook for details on how to get their material, as you get good punk played well.
7/10

3 Way Split- "Trifarious Assault"

Matt of Dog Snot asked me would I review this release from Torn Flesh Records net label and with it being 3 grind/noise style bands who was I to refuse!!

Well what do you get, first 8 tracks are from one man band What-Makes-A-Time-Bomb-Tic, this is Patrick from Plasticbag Facemask side project and very decent it is too!! His contribution to this split comes from the more noise end of grindcore, loud and thrashy stuff with BM sort of vocals and loads of stuff going on in the background, really neat stuff. fave track would have to be the absolutely brilliantly titled "Nobody Puts Baby in the Coroner" a great small slice of noise!! The "Edison Project" is another decent slice of grind too!

Next up with 7 tracks is Cumbrian grind band Dog Snot who are Stacey and Matt, a bit more traditional grindcore and very good too!! They have some great titles including "URHH URHH URHHH AHHH" and "Boo Hoo You're Not Getting Laid" a band who don't take themselves too seriously but still bash out some mighty hard grind. Their tracks are shortish most coming in or around the minute mark and there is going to be a 25 minute album out soon, one I will be keeping my eyes peeled for, great stuff!!

Third band on are Skull Incision another one man band from California, again probably more from the noise end of grind with some real screamy vocals and a hint of industrial in the mix too!! "Spaced" and "Gold One" being my fave tracks from this outfit, another decent band in what is a really decent release.

Well you get 3 grind bands from slightly different ends of the genre and a very good release, you can find the download details on any of the bands facebook pages and its well worth doing. good release!!

8/10

LEGION of CROWS- "Stab Me"

I have never came across this band before but it was one of the ones I was asked to review for Funeral Rain Records so here we go!
Legion of Crows is a one man Black/Doom band from the U.K. that man being Atilla, i have lumped him in this black/doom genre as I really don't know if that is what he is, there is certainly touches of BM there and it is very Doom laden in its riffing but also a bit of Industrial there too, a good mix of stuff that actually works very well indeed!! Not my usual listening and I didn't really know what to expect but I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised indeed!
It all kicks off with "Provident Hymn" which has a good instrumental start before developing into a proper church style hymn, then it gets more like it with a some real doomy guitar work and very distorted style vocals, then reverts back to the hymn style and a bit of preaching to round it off!! A really strange track that works out really well and has some great sentiments in it too!! What then follows is more straight forward Doom/BM  with some really heavy/doomy riffing and screechy BM vocals, "Fellating the Lamb" and "Defecate" both fit in to this style. Track 4 "Carrion Pond Drove" is a different thing altogether,it's sort of like a story told over a very doomy background,it does all add to the scene being set on this album. As I said it mixes genres a little but it works well, makes for a real interesting album.
"Legion of Crows" is an epic track coming out at 8 mins and 30 secs. and is a cracker of a track, great doom laden riff.  The album ends with another church organ piece at the start of "Coventry Carol", which features a guest vocal from Paul Di'Anno. It is another real doomy track with a right churchy feel to it all be a black mass kind of churchy feel!! Di'Anno sings clean vocals over this track and it is a great ending to a very good album indeed.
Well this was a trip away from the norm for me but a very enjoyable one none the less. Well worth tacking down to get your own copy of it.

8/10