Metal’s old/new flavor of the month: Power Violence
Calling recent Power-Violence bands revivalists is kinda/pretty/absurdly far from the truth. Firstly, I can’t think of a single one that doesn’t borrow heavily from their grindcore brethren. Secondly, the Power-violence sound is changing. Bits of sludge, metal, and electronics are seeping in like a bubbly cyst. Nonetheless, PV and PV influenced bands having been popping up all over the place. Recently, a few bands have been catching my attention.
Extortion hails from Perth, Aussieland. I’ve only had the privilege of checking out two their records (Degenerate and Loose Screws), but both have been amazing. Formed in 2004, Degenerate (2006) gives one a good idea of what kind of potential Extortion held, while Loose Screws shows off what kind of band they’ve become.
Degenerate shows off a young Extortion who brings out all the stops in familiar grindcore and power-violence sounds. Its almost a comfort food record- nothing new, nothing gained, but one hell of a fun trip. Things get really exciting with Loose Screws, where Extortion amps up their own brand of PV/Grindcore/hardcore. Riffs have been distilled down to a stop-go, blistering fast, chuggachugga formula. Vocals are distorted, often, and thrown right into the mix. All in all, Loose Screws could very well be one of the best records of 2010.
The first time I heard about these folks was after Dudefest 2009. Several people I know came back with accounts of being absolutely floored by the relatively unknown Hatred Surge. Later on, I found out that Hatred Surge started off as the bassist’s side project of the now-defunct Insect Warfare. Their only full-length, Deconstruct, lays out a path of mud-soaked riffs followed by passages of duel male/female vocals.
In retarded metal writer logic, that means an upfront, lofi mix, with tons of blastbeats and sludge riffs. Sounds cool as shit, right? Go get the damn record all ready.
Bastard Noise/The Endless Blockade
I’m putting these two together because I’m specifically talking about their 2010 split, The Red List. Unless you are completely unfamiliar with PV, then Bastard Noise is a familiar name (cough Man is the Bastard cough cough). Both Endless Blockade and Bastard Noise extensively use electronics, the difference is that Bastard Noise actually decided to use real instruments this time as well. I guess you could call it a return to form of sorts?
Bass and drums are blasting like they were in MITB, but with electronics they seemed to have mastered over the last decade. The Endless Blockade half is really only one song and two remixes. Both remixes suck; one is too choppy and metally, going riff after riff without a cohesive flow, while the other is 15 minutes of straight noise without a single note of variation. Fortunately, Endless Blockade’s single new track, Deuteronomy, is 14 minutes of pure sludge/electronic infested PV.
-Austin
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