Diaries of Doom

I remember seeing Grunk for the first time. If you haven't yet, you will, too. It was Worcester Music Festival last year, they'd turned the floor of Circle of Swords tattoo studio into a pit of pure chaos, silliness and brutality. Truly a force of nature. A year on, I caught them again at the same festival, though a different venue. It was equally reckless and lawless, but with the addition of bass player Mike, their fuller sound really made a difference on the ears. In the same way, if you compare 2020's Unnecessary Hate Boner to the recently-released Tales From The Stupidity Vortex , Grunk sound bigger and better, with Ramón also adding some guttural gurgles to complement Ollie's tortured shouting this time round. They sound much closer to the finished product these days. Grunk - Hooligan's Haircut (live at Worcester Music Festival 2022) Tales From The Stupidity Vortex kicks off with the brutal and lyrically self-explanatory Radiator Spunk , led by some great...

If you like your metal extreme, you need to listen to Patiently Waiting For Wonderful Things. With perhaps the most visceral release from the UK this year (yes, even up against Napalm Death), CMA have crafted an energetic blast of refined anger that shines with tongue-in-cheek humour and fantastic musicianship.  Cathedral of Porn kicks down the door with a crossover thrash swagger before absolutely destroying the rest of the analogous room with blast beats so quick they'll break your neck. You Smell Expensive slows down the tempo ever so briefly, but only so the track can stamp on your head effectively. Swirling bass notes and searing vocals proceed utter chaos of the highest degree. The two opening tracks set the stage incredibly well for the EP: this is going to be a white knuckle ride through grindcore, but leaning heavily into the hardcore punk elements that give a fantastically fresh feel to the release.  Maximum Bastardry ups the ante with sing along hooks and punchy, pe...

Irish Sludge/Grind/Crust/Noise terror two piece Noosed are set to release Rise on the 23rd of October. It's a short slice of pummelling destruction for those who like their Eyehategod with a side of Napalm Death. The album (EP?) begins with the cold marching of boots against scraping metallic noise, and a sample along the lines of "God created this country, and it's the greatest country in the world", no doubt included as critique of oppressive religious leaderships. This positively dreadful atmosphere leads into We Aim, perhaps the most mid-tempo track of the release, which strikes me as somewhat puzzling when compared to the intensity of the rest of the tracks. It isn't a bad track, in fact it packs a hell of a wallop, it just might not be the strongest opening statement. That said, when Rise finds it's footing, there's rarely a break in the thundering momentum. This is the kind of release I can see picture the band playing back to front as their set, wi...