UMUR "Peace Through Tyranny" is the debut full-length studio album by US death metal/deathgrind act Kill Division. The album was released through Redefining Darkness Records in September 2022. Kill Division formed in 2021 and features quite a few prominent musicians in drummer Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, Aborted, Soilwork...etc.), guitarist Gus Ríos (Create a Kill, Gruesome...etc.), bassist Jeramie Kling (Ex Deo, Ribspreader, Dritt Skit. etc.), and lead vocalist Kyle Symons (Upon Infliction, HatePlow, Malevolent Creation...etc.). Ríos is predominantly responsible for composing the tracks, and the various instrument and vocal tracks were recorded at different recording studios and put together afterwards. I might be wrong, but I´m guessing the band never met and played together.

Stylistically this is deathgrind in the vein of Terrorizer (they even cover "Barely Alive" by Terrorizer) with the occasional nod toward Misery Index (when the music is most hardcore influenced). It´s audible right away that these guys are seasoned veterans of the scene as the performances are technically flawless and there´s both bite and conviction in the way the parts are delivered. While the material isn´t particularly unique and certainly not groundbreaking, it´s quite powerful and intense. It´s also packed in a sharp, brutal, and raw sounding production, which suits the material well, so while this may come off as a bit of a Terrorizer worship project, it´s still a high quality release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Stress Related" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Nevada based grindcore/death metal act Righteous Pigs. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1990. It´s the successor to "Live and Learn" from 1989 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Scott Leonard has been replaced by Alan Strong. Righteous Pigs formed in 1986 in Las Vegas and featured future Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris in the lineup. Righteous Pigs folded soon after the release of "Stress Related" and Harris joined Napalm Death in time for the recording of "Harmony Corruption (1990)".

While "Live and Learn (1989)" was a very raw and unpolished grindcore release, Righteous Pigs have opted to include more heavy mid-paced death metal influences on "Stress Related", which is therefore more in the deathgrind fold than the more hardcore punk influenced grindcore predecessor. At least that´s the impression after listening to the opening track "Eulogy", which features death growling vocals and a riff and rhythm style which wouldn´t have been out of place on "Harmony Corruption (1990)". On the following track "Boundries Unknown" and on the remaining tracks on the album, lead vocalist Joe Caper sings using a more hardcore influenced screaming/shouting type delivery, closer to the vocal style on the debut album (maybe a little more extreme at times). The instrumental part of the music features both mid-paced death metal parts and grindcore blast beat sections, so while it´s sligthly odd that the vocal style changes from the opening track to the rest of the material, the music style is pretty consistent throughout.

"Stress Related" features a raw, powerful and overall well sounding production, which suits the music well. So upon conclusion it´s a quality grindcore/death metal release and it´s also obvious that Righteous Pigs have developed as musicians and composers since "Live and Learn (1989)", which was incredibly raw and unpolished (although still greatly charming). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Live and Learn" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Nevada based grindcore act Righteous Pigs. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1989. Righteous Pigs formed in 1986 in Las Vegas and featured future Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris in the lineup.

Stylistically the material on "Live and Learn" is raw, noisy, aggressive, and filthy grindcore. Sometimes a little chaotic in nature, but the band are well playing, delivering their parts with great precision and they also understand the importance of variation, so while they often blast away at a furiously fast-paced tempo, they play heavier mid-paced parts too, and the combination works wonders as the music never become monotonous. There´s always something new happening within the tracks. One other thing the band do well are the delivery of the vocals and the occasional hook phrase/lyric line, which makes you remember the tracks. For example the lyrics for "I Hope You Die in a Hotel Fire", which resembles the kind of sick and depraved lyrics artists like Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Pig Destroyer would produce 10-15 years down the line. Lead vocalist Joe Caper has a raw, powerful, shouting delivery. His performance here is savage and authentic. The whole band actually sounds like they are standing in a rehearsal room next to you, that´s how unpolished and raw "Live and Learn" is.

So this is an album for those who enjoy the most harsh and noisy grindcore (without entering noisecore territory). It´s old school grindcore, which is basically a fast-paced and furiously aggressive take on hardcore punk. Many artists have played the style over the years with varying degrees of success, but Righteous Pigs manage to put enough of their own spin on the style to stand out. The fact that they are skilled musicians doesn´t exactly hurt their case either. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy Having festered in the sewers of Perth, Australia, the self-penned progenitors of shitcore arose and named themselves CAULDRON OF SHIT. This extremely noisy outfit consists of the duo of Sam Ford (vocals, drums) and Drew Griffiths (guitar, drums) who together have so far only unleashed this terror-ific EP of a mere 13 minutes and 23 seconds but wow is it a nasty brutal beast of noise-fest that is guaranteed to make YOUR shit list!

While this EP is basically a hybrid of nerdy technical death metal mixed with the explosive brevity of grindcore, the Bandcamp page suggest a new term such as technical grindcore but also adds a bit of mathcore, deathgrind and speed metal to the mix. Honestly it’s almost impossible to detect strains of imposed nomenclature to these kinds of loud obnoxiously brutal albums so let’s just call it extreme grind-based noise metal. Deathgrind works too.

Like most “core” albums especially of a short length, this one is unapologetically loud, fast, brutal and as obnoxious as is possible. The guitars are primarily set to grindcore with tech death and mathcore moments thrown in for good measure. The vocals are primarily guttural growls with a few pig squeals thrown in here and there. These tracks are very short with the longest of the 17 tracks only hitting the one minute and nine second mark.

Think of this as a more techy version of Pig Destroyer and you’re on the right track. One of those releases that gets your juices flowing while you’re experiencing it’s uncompromising rampage but rather forgettable after all is said and done. These core hybrids have been circulating for some time now so the wow factor is missing and the technical playing while impressive isn’t anything new under the sun. A fun little romp through musical chaos but nothing to get overly excited about either. No shit!

UMUR "Darker Days Ahead" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US grindcore/death metal act Terrorizer. The album was released through Century Media Records in August 2006. Terrorizer is a bit of a legendary act on the early grindcore/death metal scene as it featured members in the lineup who would later join high profile acts like Morbid Angel and Napalm Death. Terrorizer had actually split-up in 1988, but was given 8 hours of studio/mixing time in 1989 and recorded and mixed their debut album "World Downfall (1989)" with a quickly assembled lineup, who disbanded again immediately after the recording sessions. So it´s not surprising that only half of the lineup who recorded "World Downfall (1989)" return on this comeback album 17 years down the line. That´s drummer Pete Sandoval and guitarist Jesse Pintado, while Anthony Rezhawk has replaced Oscar Garcia on vocals and Tony Norman has replaced Dave Vincent on bass (Norman also plays guitars).

Stylistically "Darker Days Ahead" is a much more death metal oriented release than "World Downfall (1989)" was. It´s still fast, blasting, and aggressive deathgrind, but there are also heavier and more brutal sections here, which often are more death metal oriented than grindcore styled (an example is "Crematorium" but there are other examples of the heavier style throughout the album). Terrorizer are a well playing band, and Rezhawk has a raw voice and a brutal growling delivery which suits the instrumental part of the music well. The sound production is also fairly powerful and detailed, although nothing out of the ordinary for the style. I have to give a special mention to the drum sound though, which has been successfully mixed in a way so the listener is able to hear each and every snare hit clearly even during the most chaotic and furiously fast-paced blast beat sections.

When it comes to the musicianship it´s the drumming by Pete Sandoval which deserves a mention too, because once again it is made abundantly clear how well playing a drummer he is. Sandoval´s work with Morbid Angel is of course legendary and extremely influential, but his drumming here, although typically a bit more simple (well...relatively), is also of an incredibly high quality. Paired with the aggressive growling vocals, and the fast-paced riffs, it makes for a caustic sonic cocktail of raw and brutal deathgrind. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved and I may even be a bit cheap with the stars here.