What is Rapid Fire? Rapid Fire is a series of reviews for short EPs or Demos that the Audiocancer team does not feel the need to write a three thousand word essay on. It does not automatically mean your EP or Demo was horrible, it’s just that there are limited amount of things to state about your 20 micro-song 7 minute Grindcore EP. So seat back, and enjoy the Rapid Fire.
For this week’s (inaugural!), Rapid Fire we
have Theist (Bandung, Indonesia) and Dance! On Your Grave (Kuching, East
Malaysia)
Theist - Self Titled
Theist is a Crust Punk band (they call themselves Neo-Crust) from Bandung, Indonesia. While most Crust Punk bands attempt to get a lo-fi aesthetic, akin to their fore fathers, Amebix, Theist decides to discard this for a much more modern production. To be fair, in this day and age, it is easier to get that modern production, judging from the availability and range of production tools at the disposal of the average man.
While Amebix took their harsh production qualities from old school raw Black Metal, Theist seems to be from the camp that tries to modernize that crossover sound. Like the evolution of Black Metal also, Crust Punk has evolved from the raw abrasive melody to more complicated pieces. Theist embodies that concept, thus the tag neo-crust. While in essence, the faster power-chord charged parts are the embodiment of Crust Punk/D-Beat, the slower parts carry an atmospheric feel with riffs that are almost Doom Metal like.
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| Source: THEIST.NEOCRUST |
In fact, if the band were to have riffs that were to be bluesy, the band will be able to pull off as a Sludge band. That however, would take away from the dirge environment they attempt to create. While not the first band to play in this style, the riffs of the band are not second-grade throwaways. It manages to be hard and uncompromising.
The feedback continues to ring in the background while the guitar goes into a melody line in the lower strings, almost Post-Punk like. As you are about to get ready to be adjusted into the doom-laden vibe, the band then pushes the tempo a few notches up but not turning the knob until its fullest extent.
The result being a transition between slow to mid paced rather than an abrupt change in speed like most Hardcore bands would do. The closest there would be to a snare-centric blastbeat would be in the track At the End of The Maze but it quickly dissolves into an old school Hardcore breakdown. All in all, a good listen for a few spins. Neo-Crust isn’t for purist but those who enjoy a good modern interpretation of Post-Punk influenced Crust now and then will love this.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEIST.NEOCRUST
Bandcamp: http://theistsludge.bandcamp.com/
Dance On Your Grave - Paper Guns
Dance! On Your Grave (DYOG) is a
band from Kuching, Sarawak. While we had a Crust Punk in the first of this
article, Dance! On Your Grave plays a cheery (for a lack of a better term)
version of Hardcore Punk. What struck me at first was the band’s name which
sounded similar to Motorhead’s song “Dancing On Your Grave”.
Judging from how the scene has gone through so much crossover the years, it won’t be that surprising the band got their name from the song. However, if one were to listen to the music is far from Lemmy’s Jack-Daniels charged brand of Metal.
This two track EP consists of two catchy mid-paced Hardcore Punk. Don’t expect the micro-songs of Minor Threat nor their ferocity but they have more in common to modern day Punk Rock like The Distillers and an almost Garage Rock like vibe in the verses or leads.
The guitar work isn’t your simple power chord centric you might expect from a Hardcore band but they contain amazing melody-lines. The bass comes in and does not blindly follow the guitar by playing root chords but liberally comes in with its own amazing lines.
In fact, I was half-expecting a solo like in Hellacopter’s Paying the Dues. What I really love about these two tracks are the extremely catchy chorus with the double vocal attack. On one layer, you have a female vocalist starting off with a percussive method of sing talk, compressed and filtered like an old microphone, only to be accompanied by another half-screaming male vocal in the chorus.
The chorus of Paper Gun, while the vocals may come off with those rough sing-a-long qualities, the lead guitars joins the trip and becomes the base melody. On the track El-Matador on the other hand had an almost Post-Hardcore vibe when another vocalist comes in with a repressed scream.
If you enjoy some Garage Rock influence in your Hardcore (and I assume the band does listen to those kinds of bands), just get this EP. This is a nice alternative to your library of aggressive Hardcore bands and let those amazing guitar melody take control instead.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danceonyourgrave
Bandcamp: http://danceonyourgrave.bandcamp.com/
(It's free by the way)
Judging from how the scene has gone through so much crossover the years, it won’t be that surprising the band got their name from the song. However, if one were to listen to the music is far from Lemmy’s Jack-Daniels charged brand of Metal.
This two track EP consists of two catchy mid-paced Hardcore Punk. Don’t expect the micro-songs of Minor Threat nor their ferocity but they have more in common to modern day Punk Rock like The Distillers and an almost Garage Rock like vibe in the verses or leads.
The guitar work isn’t your simple power chord centric you might expect from a Hardcore band but they contain amazing melody-lines. The bass comes in and does not blindly follow the guitar by playing root chords but liberally comes in with its own amazing lines.
In fact, I was half-expecting a solo like in Hellacopter’s Paying the Dues. What I really love about these two tracks are the extremely catchy chorus with the double vocal attack. On one layer, you have a female vocalist starting off with a percussive method of sing talk, compressed and filtered like an old microphone, only to be accompanied by another half-screaming male vocal in the chorus.
The chorus of Paper Gun, while the vocals may come off with those rough sing-a-long qualities, the lead guitars joins the trip and becomes the base melody. On the track El-Matador on the other hand had an almost Post-Hardcore vibe when another vocalist comes in with a repressed scream.
If you enjoy some Garage Rock influence in your Hardcore (and I assume the band does listen to those kinds of bands), just get this EP. This is a nice alternative to your library of aggressive Hardcore bands and let those amazing guitar melody take control instead.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danceonyourgrave
Bandcamp: http://danceonyourgrave.bandcamp.com/
(It's free by the way)
Terence A. Anthony commutes between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching. Co-Founder of Aural Chaos. He also writes for Greater Malaysia and Opinions Unleashed.
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