Review: Heartless - Certain Death

Heartless

Certain Death

Halo of Flies

I had never heard of Heartless.  I didn’t know they were from Pittsburgh, I didn’t know they were playing Maryland Death Fest, and I didn’t know they had a new 7” coming out on Halo of Flies (which is a label I actually do know and respect).   Usually I’m ok with the fact that I’m slowly falling out of touch with what’s new/noteworthy in heavy music, but I’m kinda kicking myself that I didn’t know about Heartless earlier than now.  Certain Death is an incredibly heavy 7” that blends hardcore, metal, and grindcore in an astoundingly impressive way.  This is music to destroy property to.  The production value is there, the ability to seamlessly blend styles is there, and obviously genuine nature of this band’s aggression is consistently front and centre.  

I don’t know who decides which bands get jocked hard and which bands have to slog it out on their own, but it really doesn’t make sense that this band doesn’t enjoy the notoriety and success of bands like Nails.  Since I can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound or dedicate billions to developing a super high-tech cave, I’ll have to live out my superhero fantasies by trying to get a band like Heartless the recognition that they deserve.  Fortunately, Certain Death is the destructive force of nature that will hopefully allow Heartless to gain the recognition that they deserve.

Pick up the 7” over at Halo of Flies.

Podcast: Ep. 47 - You're the Wrong Kind of Nerd

Lost Tribe Podcast

 

Ep. 47: You're the Wrong Kind of Nerd

In this episode the boys discuss the comedic-live-theatre genius that is The Book of Mormon and what a frustrating clusterfuck trying to buy live theatre tickets can be.  In terms of music, old Nails and new The Wonder Years albums get discussed and praised while I See Star's cover of Bane gets properly ripped apart.  At this point the discussion turns to the boys' nerdy youth, when Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering ruled their girl-less nights.  Also, how fucking cool are 20-sided dice?

Get it on iTunes or here.

Review: Greber/Hiroshima Vacation - Split 7"

Greber / Hiroshima Vacation

Split 7"

Suburban White Trash Records

It is a well-known fact (around my house) that I’ve had a HUGE musical crush on Fuck the Facts for about a 11 years now, and have had the joy of sharing stages, couches, and pizzas with them over the years.  I put this out on front street because Greber is the brainchild of Marc Bourgon from Fuck the Facts and I don’t want to be accused of having hidden biases (I’m much more comfortable with my biases when they are blatant, apparently).  Now, in all honesty, the sharing of personnel is one of the only things these two bands share.  Greber provides a much grimier, sludgier style of metal than FTF’s dissonant grind, but that doesn’t make it any less appealing.  In fact, this two-man-band (drummer and bassist) are able to outperform most 4/5 person bands on this release, as they don’t mistake minimal for boring or simplistic.  Also, my favourite song of theirs is called “Twenty Nine Years Old”, which as a 29 year old grind fan greatly appeals to me for a number of reasons. The other half of this split is occupied by Ithaca NY’s Hiroshima Vacation.  They play sludgy grind/powerviolence and can keep up with anyone else in the field.  If you haven’t yet, definitely check out this band as they are bound to impress you, even though I’m sure you have impossibly high standards like most people on the interent. 

I’m very glad that I actually sat down and took the time to listen to this release because it reminds me of when I was a teenager and would love grindcore splits because it always seemed like you got more bang for your buck, as 5 minutes of intense grind is always more satisfying than one prolonged acoustic track or some such b-side bullshit.  Also, having to grow up in a pre-internet age, splits like this always gave you a chance to find out about bands that you had never heard of.  I came across this release through a message from Greber, but are now completely turned on (not sexually...while, kinda sexually) to Hiroshima Vacation, who I otherwise never would have heard. 

Check out some songs here or pre-order the vinyl here.

Podcast: Ep. 46 - I'ma Give You Five Bucks Right Now

Lost Tribe Podcast

Ep. 46: I'ma Give You Five Bucks Right Now

In this episode the boys explain the absolute clusterfuck that is the politics of the city of Toronto.  Specifically, we discuss how the 4th largest city in North America has an 'alleged' crackhead for a mayor.  Thank you Rob Ford for being an unending stream of embarassment for all of us.  On the second half of the show is dedicated to the trainwreck that was the season finale of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares.  Bon Appetite!

Get it on iTunes or here.

Podcast: Ep. 45 - Slayer!!!

Lost Tribe Podcast

 

Ep. 45 - Slayer!!!

This week the boys begin by discussing Iron Man 3 (dont' worry, no spoilers) and happy-go-lucky music that seems to have an appeal during summer time. From there the majority of the episode focuses on the passing of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman and what it has meant to the metal community and to each of the boys themselves.  This was a musician who was a true juggernaut, and almost single-handedly transformed what Trash Metal guitar playing was.  He wrote Angel of Death.  He wrote Reign in Blood.  And now he's dead.  Fuck.  RIP.

Get it on iTunes or here.

Podcast: Ep. 44 - The Slutty Ari Gold

Lost Tribe Podcast

 

Ep. 44: The Slutty Ari Gold

On this horribly recorded podcast (don't worry, we've figured out our sound issues and every podcast after this one will sound like sonic gold...so don't get your panties in a bunch.) the boys talk about incredibly ridiculous and awesome sorority letter that has taken over the internet as of late.  We love her.  We hate her.  We love to hate her.  Once we get over our internet obsession, they discuss the repress of Cursed's legedary 'One' album, and other newer Toronto bands that are worth checking out.  Furthermore, the initial This Is Hardcore 2013 line-up was announced, so they talk about how great Kid Dynamite is.  Moving away from music, the guys talk about Newsroom, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, and how even non-gamers should definitely play the Bioshock games.  Fuck Ayn Rand.

Get it on iTunes or here.

Review: Spaz out - Demo

Spaz out

 

Demo

Self-Released

It most likely some form of nationalism speaking, but I honestly believe that Canada puts out a disproportionate amount of good hardcore/metal/punk bands.  As a country that is a mere 10% the size of the USA, we pump out consistently great, groundbreaking, and fun bands that end up making an impact despite being from the frozen North-Western corner of the globe.  While Lost Tribe is centered out of Toronto, and we all consider TOHC to be our hometown music, I once lived in Ottawa and still hold a fair amount of love for the nation’s capital.

It was this geographic affection that caused me to check out Ottawa's own, Spaz out.  Now, beside the fact that it should be spelled “Spazz” in my opinion, I love everything about this band.  The demo sounds raw (it is a demo of course), but the intensity and fury comes through clearly on every song.  “Tangled” and “Cut the Shit pt. 2” bring a style of early 2000s hardcore that I will always love best.  “Blind to the Truth” is probably my favourite song, mixing killer hc riffs, metal dive bombs, and a gang-vocal breakdown.  What’s not to love??!!  “Losing Grip” speeds things up and adds some metallic and punk roots to the release that fit perfectly. 

Look, I know we usually don’t do track-by-track breakdowns of what we review, but every song on this release is good in a different way, so blanket statements are kinda hard to come by.  Furthermore, when a new band puts out something this impressive it’s worth taking a step back and appreciating each track....jesus, now it sounds like a want to blow this band.....and I do....musically.  Only musically.

Get a free download of the demo here, and buy a physical copy whenever that becomes available.

 

Podcast: Ep. 43 - You are not smarter than the FBI

Lost Tribe Podcast

 

Ep. 43: You are not smarter than the FBI

In this episode the boys discuss the tragedy of the Boston Marathon and all of the heroicness and idiocy surronding it.  They were unsurprisingly impressed with how the city of Boston dealt with such horrific events and continue to believe that it is one of the, if not the best city on this stupid planet.  Sadly, Alex Jones, Twitter, CNN, and conspiracy theory fuckwits had to make a bad situation worse by being some of the most irresponsible, selfish assholes imaginable.  Boston Strong.

Get it on iTunes or here.