Record Store Day is in less than two days and with it comes a commodious amount of diverse releases from multiple genres and artists…a slew of releases of which I couldn’t give two shits about. In relation, A389′s got some pretty spiffy releases coming up Saturday, of which RSD’s official site and pull-list have forgotten about. Ilsa. Seven Sisters Of Sleep. Like Rats. Ringworm. Ring any bells? Check out the full A389 RSD details as well as a stream/free download of A389′s MMXIII(2013) Digital Mixtape, which includes unreleased and exclusive tracks from The Love Below, Full Of Hell, Integrity and more, all below. Continue reading »
Last weekend, record label A389 held their annual weekend long hardcore festival in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival is usually a pretty notable show that combines a mixture of classic hardcore bands with current up and comers. This year the fest featured performances from the likes of Integrity, Full Of Hell, Like Rats, Weekend Nachosand several other artists.
For those of you who aren’t luck enough to live on the east coast, the incredible Metal Nick was there to capture a lot of the mayhem. Posted above is a sweet bootleg of Despise You ripping shit up. To view more Despise You as well as footage of Weekend Nachos and Like Rats continue after the jump. Continue reading »
Similar to the conflicted state of mind the character Jules Winnfield Of Pulp Fiction was in when he decided not to execute the characters of Honey Bunny and Ringo like “fucking fried chicken”, my American Aftermath writership came at a period in my life of transition, a time of both fleeting and returning tastes. In short, my idea of “music” was flipped upside down. What was once a streamlined process of music listening and discovery was overloaded and overridden by my previous months exploration into a multitude of realms and genres previously unexplored, most notable among that being my new found discovery of hardcore and the cascading effects of that discovery, which led to realms from sludge metal to pop punk.
The following thirty album list reflects the few difficultly chosen releases that stuck with me the most throughout both the bombarding ocean of releases this year and the aforementioned musical overturn. Before we actually begin, I’d like to thank the American Aftermath crew especially Ross Gnarly, Lane Oliver, and Josh Huddleston for allowing me to be a part of their team. I would also like to thank the musicians and bands that have created music for me to write about and those that have helped out in interviews and features. Last but not least I want to thank you, the readers, for giving a shit. See you all after the jump.
We here at American Aftermath are readying our very own year end lists, to be unleashed this Friday. We have asked some friends and musicians to submit their very own Best of 2012 List, which we will be posting throughout the week and here we go. Read on to find out what members of So Is The Tongue, El Drugstore, Full Of Hell and Like Rats were jamming to this year. Continue reading »
Falling upon my gaze through their contributions to the A389 MMXII mixtape and Toxicbreed’s Casa De Diversion Vol. III compilation, Like Rats emerged as a definite surprise for me. Taking me away from my year-long musical journey through the realms of hardcore, powerviolence, and sludge metal, Like Rats grabbed me by the collar and thrust me through a nostalgic time portal to the confines of my metal upbringing. Possessing a unique sound derived from hardcore punk, death metal, classical, Tom Warrior sensibilities, Like Rats combine the wisdom of extreme music past with the bite of the future, ultimately creating a sound I do not doubt will end up on many end of the year lists. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Todd Nief of the band in which we ended up talking about a myriad of subjects including musical diversity, piracy, the status of death metal vocals in modern context, riff thievery, and the inspirations behind Like Rats absolutely behemoth sound. Check out the full interview after the jump and a stream of the full length album.
With a self-entrusted goal to recreate music befitting the vigor and integrity of 80s and 90s extreme metal, the Chicago-based five piece metallic hardcore behemoth known as Like Rats have crafted a Gustav Gun of sorts, a 1,350 ton wrecking machine spewing steel shells of brutality and violence. Previously teased on two notable compilations this year(Casa De Diversion Vol. III/A389 MMXII Mixtape), the 2009 bred metallic hardcore group’s debut LP is finally here and it is truly a force to be reckoned with. Combining d-beat rhythms with the riffplay and dissonant harmony of early death metal, Like Rats conjure up the most malevolent spirits of metal past, all with the punishing bite of modern production. Continue reading »
Hey gaiz, it’s been awhile since (I said I’m sorry??) the last time I blogged, but I’d like to announce that I am back and have returned with some excellent news for people who like old skool death metal, ZAO vocals or Weakened Machos (Weekend Nachos?). Guitarist of Weekend Nachos, Andy Neslon, other band Like Rats has officially made their first full length available for streaming thru Decibel. Click here to give it a jam. As of now, I don’t know a release date but I’ll probably pick it up when it comes drop.
One last thought: What’s up with all these nu hardcore and grind kids lovin’ that Swedish death? Normally I think this trend is kind of meh, but this album is pretty bangin’.
Based God Dom Romeo delivers once again. If you’re anywhere near the East Coast come 2013, you’d be a fool for missing out on this historic event. Come January 18th and 19th 2013, legendary heavy hitters Left For Dead and Catharsis reunite for two days chock full of powerviolence, hardcore, and blasphemy whilst assisted by the likes of Integrity, Full of Hell, Weekend Nachos, Despise You, Lack of Interest, Gehenna and more. Unfortunately, while pre-sale weekend passes via A389 have been sold out(The awesome A389 labor day weekend store sale is still ongoing!), individual day passes may be purchased here come September 7th. Be quick though, this show WILL sell out! By the fucking power of Greyskull, expect violence.
It seems every time Toxicbreed’s Funhouse releases a new volume of Casa De Diversion, a small vortex opens in the corner of my wallet and vast amounts of my feeble funds are drained straight away. As I hit track five of the current Casa De Diversion volume, I felt a similar feeling in my back pocket. After headbanging furiously in a trance-like state for what seemed like a period of two hours, I awoke six dollars dry having ordered a 7″ directly from a band named Like Rats with no recollection of having made the transaction or having listened to their Casa De Diversion track, “Bloodline”, on repeat about 40 times.
Likewise, I was subsequently shocked to find that during that trance-like period, I had been browsing the B9 Forums with my last activity being an announcement by Based God Dom Romeo that A389 Records would be releasing Like Rats’s debut LP on August 16th. As this could only be the work of the dark lord, I am thereby obligated by blood to share my newly found information with the public. Please do not heed the seemingly coy album artwork presented above. Proceed to stream two absolute crushing tracks off the upcoming album below and order the upcoming LP(August 16th) from A389 Records. There is plenty brutality to spread around. Satan fucking commands you to.
