INTERVIEW: Blake Connally (Dead In The Dirt)

Dead In The Dirt just completed tracking for your first full length, The Blind Hole, with Andy Nelson from Weekend Nachos. How was the recording experience?

We had a great time. A residency studio experience was exactly what we needed to focus and complete the record. We were able to immerse ourselves in the process instead of being surrounded by the distractions of being at home. Andy has been a close friend for a few years now, and so he was in tune with our live performance and our previous records before we entered the studio. This gave him an edge and personal stake in helping us create an aggressive and harsh record.

How will the songs on The Blind Hole compare to the Fear and Vold EPs?

The new LP is much different in a lot of ways from our previous material. The Blind Hole is an extremely personal record lyrically. We wanted to create something that not many people are doing in extreme music, which is right songs about reality, not some fake nihilistic world view. So many bands want to make loud aggressive music, but have nothing to say. Musically, I feel like there are many different atmospheres and a lot of our influences come through. Fear and Vold have their place in our history, but The Blind Hole is a step in much more painful direction.

You mentioned the lyrical content of the new record as more personal. What topics do you touch on, and are there any specific recurring themes?

There are many recurring themes: the fear of death, wasting what little time we have, losing loved ones, being vulnerable. We wanted to make a record that people can connect with, and write about our reality as it is. We have no interest in making music that is emotionless or superficial.

This LP will be your second release through Southern Lord. What is the relationship like between DITD and SL?

Southern Lord is a great label to work with. We have a good working relationship. We are pleased they will be putting out our new LP.

The band also completed a decent amount of touring with Sunn O))) last year. Was it an interesting experience playing to a more chilled out metal crowd than a rowdy hardcore crowd?

It was definitely a once in a life time experience. We really didn't know what to expect. The entire touring experience was much different than what we were used to, and spending time with people we look up to was a very surreal experience. It was really nice to play places where shows are taken seriously, where people actually watched us instead of being more concerned with beating the shit out of each other. Playing a 15 minute set, I think we were on and off the stage so fast most people didn't know what was going on until it was over. Sunn O))) were very supportive and great to hang with, hopefully one day we can do it again.

What are the band's plans for the rest of 2013 and beyond?

We are doing a short two week run of the midwest starting in the beginning of May, and we may be doing a west coast run in late July, but we are most excited for our month long European tour starting in October.

INTERVIEW: Dylan Walker (Full Of Hell)

Full Of Hell is gearing up to release its second full-length album for A389, Rudiments Of Mutilation. How was the recording process for this album in contrast to Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home?

Going into record this second record, we definitely had a much clearer vision for how we wanted it to sound on all levels. We recorded with the same engineer and took about the same amount of time (3 days). The main difference this time was the confidence going on. We had a much clearer vision for the record, and thankfully it fell into place like we wanted it to. The band has always seemed to be busy in regards to releases.

In between your LPs you've released splits with Code Orange Kids, The Guilt Of and Calm The Fire as well as volumes two and three in the FOH Noise series. Where does the band's desire to release so much content come from?

The musicians and bands that we have grown up admiring have always been prolific. That isn't the main reason for doing a myriad of releases, but it's definitely the inspiration behind it. We release material when we have ideas formed. We just do a lot of writing, and we enjoy putting it out. I don't think we would release as much if we didn't enjoy what we were creating.

After looking at the track listing for Rudiments Of Mutilation, I noticed the band re-recorded a track from the Goldust split, "Vessel Deserted", while the other tracks will be new. How does the new material stand up against your old material?

I don't think it stands up very well. I was on the fence about including "Vessel Deserted" at certain points before going in to record, but I was really into it when it was finished.. Lyrically, I think that song in particular is still okay. It's not great, but it has a very personal meaning, and fit very well with the theme of the record. There is a large part of the back catalog that I feel does not stand up to this material. That's normal though, isn't it? A band always says the newest record is their best.

The band mentioned FOH Noise vol. 4 coming soon, and I've always felt these noise tapes are your most experimental and genre-challenging releases. The first three have been drastically different than the prior volumes. How will volume 4 measure up against the first three?

Volume 4 has been honed much further than the previous 3. It's the longest entry yet, and definitely the most interesting, in my opinion. We have been able to experiment with new textures, due to some new equipment. This is being released through Arctic Night Records in late spring. A small amount will be available online, mostly only available on tour, as with the others.

I also saw you were involved with a three-piece group called Gerald Fletcher Memorial Grindcore Explosion. How did that idea come about?

We met a drummer named Balazs Pandi in Brooklyn last year at a show we played. He was super friendly and interested in the band and we kept in touch through email. It turned out that he was a pretty prolific musician, and is currently a huge collaborator with Merzbow, playing drums live and on record. We kept in touch. This year, Balazs asked me to come up to NYC with him to make an album with jazz legend Jamie Saft. I couldn't refuse. We worked on a very strange and bleak sounding LP while I was up in New York and we played a set in NYC. I'm hoping more comes of this project. The name is changing though.

Full Of Hell has announced US touring plans with Seven Sisters Of Sleep and Gehenna, as well as another European trek with Circle Takes The Square and Code Orange Kids. What else is in store for Full Of Hell in 2013 and beyond?

We've got a pretty full plate until the end of the summer. I don't think we could have anything better lined up for ourselves and I'm really excited. We are just starting to look into the fall, but it should be really cool. Nothing set yet. I only know that we will be playing a lot, in as many places as we can.

REVIEW: Full Of Hell - Rudiments Of Mutilation (A389, 2013)

Full Of Hell’s second full-length album for A389 Records, Rudiments Of Mutilation, follows up the band’s extensive output since its first LP, Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home, while keeping the band’s signature blend of hardcore, grind, and power electronics fresh.

This record wastes no time getting into the thick of things. The first track, “Dichotomy”, starts with wailing feedback and heavily reverbed vocals over random drum fills, which makes way for the harsh noise Full Of Hell has become infamous for. “Dichotomy” then leads right into a re-recording of “Vessel Deserted”, which made its first appearance on the band’s 2010 split with Goldust. The second take of this song charges forth with even more fury than the original, adding more urgency to the track. In the most sludge-laden portion of the song, vocalist Dylan Walker and bassist Brandon Brown trade syllable for syllable and create an interesting landscape for the breakdown with Walker’s mid-pitch vocals and Brown’s guttural blows.

The song leads right into the third track, “Coven Of The Larynx”, which contains the signature Full Of Hell sound: fast and abrasive, leveling out the amount of fast punk drumming and blast beats from drummer Dave Bland. The track even receives some guest vocals from Heartless vocalist Cory Smith. “Throbbing Lung Fiber” follows soon, clocking in at a little over a minute, as does its predecessor. “Throbbing Lung Fiber” is a minute-long grinding explosion detailing, as Walker describes, a “narrative a family being burned alive”. The music reflects the inhumane detailing of the lyrics, creating an atmosphere where the listener can almost smell the demise of the family within the storyline.

“Indigence And Guilt” follows, serving as the fifth track of Rudiments Of Mutilation. This song offers more classic Full Of Hell, with guitarist Spencer Hazard using some interesting chords in the middle passage. The song also features more guest vocals, this time from Weekend Nachos frontman John Hoffman. The latter half of the songs features stop-and-go drumming from Bland, which stomps through the song quickly, paving the way for the slamming ending. Track six, “Embrace” is the second longest song on the album, clocking in at over three minutes. The song features squealing feedback, tom-heavy drums, and creepy spoken passages by vocalist Walker. “Embrace” almost serves as a cooling off period, given its placement right in the middle of the record and following five tracks of nonstop brutality.

The latter half of the album kicks off with "The Lord Is My Light", a song showcasing some of Walker's more guttural vocal attacks, harkening a black metal vibe. The track sludges along, encompassing a bleak atmosphere. Walker also adds more unsettling talking, sounding almost possessed at times. After drawing back in a lighter dynamic, the band slams back into the song and rides it out, slamming right into the next song, “Bone Coral And Brine”. The song features more blasting drum passages that lead into a sinister slow part with rung out chords. The title track, “Rudiments OfMutilation” follows, another offering of unrelenting blasts of aggression. The song then breaks, making way for slow and churning riffs from Hazard. The track leads right into the final song on the album, “Contempt Of Life”. The song starts off with a drum track that sounds like Full Of Hell is marching right into the heart of war, accompanied by an arsenal of feedback and tense chords that retreat as soon as it barges onto the battlefield. The song comes to an abrupt end with only a swirling noise track that sounds like a swarm of bees. Walker adds some sparse vocals to the end, washed out heavily by reverb to finish off Rudiments Of Mutilation.

REVIEW: Nails - Abandon All Life (Southern Lord, 2013)

I’m a sucker for three-piece extreme bands. If you can pull off doing a really heavy or fast band with only three people, then you’re doing something right.

Rewind to September 2012. I was watching a video of Nails’ set from This Is Hardcore the month before and noticed they added a new guitarist. I’ll admit, I was a bit disappointed; seeing Nails completely destroy a small venue in Pittsburgh the year before really cemented my love for the concept of the hardcore trio. However, as the video rolled, I warmed up to the idea and eventually abandoned the three-piece Nails I once knew for the quartet I was currently watching. During the set, Todd Jones announced they would be recording a new album for release in 2013, which would become the band’s sophomore release for Southern Lord Records, Abandon All Life.

After listening through the album, I decided there was no way to compare Abandon All Life with the band’s prior effort, Unsilent Death. The new record comes off more as a metal album than a grind-influenced hardcore record, incorporating more death metal influences and punishing listeners in new forms. The band comes right out of the gate with the opener, “In Exodus”, which rotates between crushing slow parts and otherworldly blasts with Jones’ signature high-pitched howl layered on top. The song is followed by two 45-second bursts of grinding fury in “Tyrant” and “Absolute Control”; the songs run you over like a steamroller and are finished before you even realize what hit you.

One thing that really shines through for Nails on this record is the utilization of slower and more sinister passages such as “Wide Open Wound” and the album’s closer, “Suum Cuique”. These songs sit nicely between the short songs on the latter half of the album, not one of which clocks in over 90 seconds, and create a more cohesive album experience. Don’t get me wrong, Unsilent Death was great, but compared to Abandon All Life, it was short and not as varied.

REVIEW: Hoax - Caged/Sick Punk 7" (La Vida Es Un Mus, 2013)

Massachusetts mystery punks Hoax really took the hardcore world by storm with its first handful of releases and the band’s volatile and violent live show. Releases on Deranged, Youth Attack, and Painkiller polarized Hoax: either you love them or despise them. Most recently, the band issued the “Caged” single with “Sick Punk” as a b-side through La Vida Es Un Mus.

The first thing to note is the production value. While not as abrasive and blown out as the band’s Painkiller EP, the sound is still fuzzy but not distorted enough to distract (this was my case with the Painkiller EP: I absolutely hated how distorted the final product was I couldn’t get into the album itself). “Caged” starts off with a chunky bass intro leading into an evil mid-tempo barrage of hatred and venom. The song barely makes it over 90 seconds, pogoing along in the same pace for the duration of the song. As the record is flipped, “Sick Punk” smacks the listener right away with the signature Hoax feedback, right into a demented and malevolently fast segment that sounds akin to classic east coast 80s hardcore. The song twists and turns between fast and mid-tempo parts and also keeps it short and sweet, containing itself right around a minute and a half like its A side companion.

While the two songs contained are good, and I think a step up from the release before it, “Caged” and “Sick Punk” fail to maintain the attention of the listener like some of Hoax’s earlier releases did. The band has seemingly traded in its blistered mosh-inducing hardcore for a more deranged punk sound, which is a fine direction to go in, but if you’re looking to mosh, stick to Hoax’s older material.

NEWS: Code Orange Kids post new song from upcoming four-way split

Topshelf Records has posted a new song from Code Orange Kids that will appear on the band's four-way split with The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Self Defense Family, and the recently deceased Tigers Jaw. The split will be released through Topshelf and Run For Cover Records.

INTERVIEW: John Hoffman (Weekend Nachos)

Weekend Nachos just announced plans to record its fourth full length album, "No Idols & No Heroes" at the end of May with a late summer release by Deep Six and Relapse Records. Where is the band planning on recording the new album and who will be at the helm?

We'll be recording with our main man Andy Nelson at Bricktop Studios as always. Andy has recorded pretty much everything the band has EVER released from the original demo tape to the "Watch You Suffer" single. He keeps improving his skills over time and since he's also the guitarist of WN, he knows our sound real well and is a vital human in regards to our recordings. Couldn't be better!

I actually had no idea Andy does all the WN recordings, and you're right about him getting better and better with each release (I also can't wait to see what he did with the Dead In The Dirt LP). Do you think that if you guys recorded with someone that wasn't involved with the band you would get a different (possibly worse) final product with a record?

Dude, the Dead In The Dirt LP is seriously fucking excellent. I heard a rough mix the other day (I know people) and it is going to STUN people. So fucking solid and exciting. And to answer your question, yes, I definitely think that a recording of ours could suffer if it wasn't recorded with Andy...it's just become our comfort zone at this point. Then again, GREAT things can happen when you step outside your comfort zone so i'm not denying the possibility of recording a great record somewhere else....Kurt Ballou would probably "get" us, i think. Dude knows a thing or two about capturing offensive riffage.

How will the songs from the new record compare to the band's older material, especially the newest output from Worthless and the Lack Of Interest split?

Well that's the thing...our sound is always developing into something else. It's always got that Weekend Nachos vibe to it, but we like to have fun and get creative with our songwriting, always. I usually don't say too much about where we're headed but I will say that everything you may or may not love about Worthless and Unforgivable will be present on this recording. However, I will also say that "No Idols & No Heroes" will not remind you of Worthless or the LOI split at all. Every listener will have to decide on whether or not they can hang with where we've traveled, for sure.

Weekend Nachos is no stranger at working with Deep Six and Relapse. What is the relationship like between the band and those labels?

Both are great in different ways. I will say we have a more intimate relationship with Bob/Deep Six (meaning, we have sexual intercourse at times) but the Relapse dudes have always been very supportive as well. They handle an area of marketing the band that we really have no feel for, the metal community is awesome but i'd be lying if i said I didn't kinda rely on Relapse to sorta keep the metalheads "in the know" about what Weekend Nachos is up to. Bob and Deep Six Records are more on our level community-wise so we obviously love working with them too. Really, we just release music with friends that we trust, no more no less. That goes for every label we've ever worked with including A389 Recordings, Cowabunga Records and the sketchy dickwads at Tooth Decay Records. Probably the only label we will NOT miss working with.

You just started a new label yourself, Bad Teeth Recordings, with the first few releases already out or planned. What made you decide to undertake a label and how have you been picking out bands to work with?

Well honestly, I have always been about releasing my own music. Sometimes that happens with friends but I always have a hand in it, so i consider it all the same. I have experience with this sort of thing in the past so I finally decided it was time for Spine to have a debut 7". Honestly there is no better feeling than releasing your own shit. You owe nobody a damn thing that way and you control your own destiny. It's very similar to the idea based around the first Mortal Kombat movie. Shang Tsung will never put out your record so don't even ask him.

In regards to BTR, the Wake Up Dead compilation was a solid release. I know you touched a bit on this in the insert, but how did you go about choosing what bands to put on it?

Thanks, man. The comp got a really solid reaction...I was not sure what to expect but it set out to do exactly what I hoped...get people into good bands that I think are genuine about what they're doing. So that sorta answers your question right there. When I go on tour i pretty much watch every set of every band. That's not to say I deserve some sort of pat on the back because I think that should be pretty standard when it comes to "going to shows", but my point is that that I am exposed to LOTS of bands. Some are alright, some are not so alright, but some of them actually assault me. The bands I chose to put on my comp are bands who I either saw live for the first time in the last year or so or have been friends with for many years and/or have already seen live a bunch of times. I carefully choose who i work with based on integrity, genuinity and morality. And riffs.

I know you've announced releases for Sex Prisoner, a Spine/Repos split, and Wake Up Dead Volume 2. Are there any other releases you're brainstorming just yet?

I've got a few potential ideas in the works...my latest band THE NUKES have recorded a single and i will probably be releasing that as a 45. Also, SIDE FX from Indianapolis are breaking up at the end of the year and I have plans to release a very limited quantity of their final 7", which is being recorded right now! Should be great, that band was fantastic and will be missed by 5-6 people.

After the recording of the new Weekend Nachos album, what does the band have planned?

That's up in the air now...we've kinda slowed down with our touring schedule. 2014 will probably mean us continuing to do more weekend trips, trying to cover as much ground as possible on the East and West Coasts. But really, it's hard to promise anybody an appearance, we're all very busy with our clothing lines.

REVIEW: Heartless - Certain Death (Halo Of Flies, 2013)

In 2011, Heartless came right out of the gate with its punishing Southern Lord debut, Hell Is Other People. The record was 13 tracks of relentless and scathing d-beat-laden hardcore that garnered the band comparisons to Napalm Death and Hatred Surge. After grueling North American and European tours supporting Hell Is Other People, Heartless settled down to write another harsh release, this time putting together the eight-song Certain Death 7”, released by Halo Of Flies Records.

Certain Death leans more in the direction of the band’s metal influences rather than the punk and hardcore influences that aided themselves to Hell Is Other People. While those aspects are still there, the band has a lot of stop-on-a-dime transitions reminiscent of the early grindcore and thrash bands of the 80s that breathe new life into the Heartless sound. The runtime of the 7” also looks like more like a metal record: eight songs in a little over 11 minutes, with only two of the eight tracks failing to break the one-minute mark (“Excess” and “Unhinged”). While the songs may be longer on this release, they keep the attention of the listener while still drawing out some heavier portions such as the latter half of the title track.

Another notable shift in dynamic is the range used by vocalist Cory Smith. Instead of relying solely on his exasperated holler that blended well with the crusty hardcore atmosphere of the band’s prior output, Smith gets pretty low in specific places on Certain Death, adding even more of a bleak and dark layer to the EP.

Heartless comes out swinging on this 7”, which is up for pre-order now through Halo Of Flies. The band will be playing Maryland Death Fest along with Infest, Converge, Iron Lung, Dead In The Dirt, Weekend Nachos, and more this May.

Preorder Certain Death at Halo Of Flies

REVIEW: Title Fight/Touché Amore – Split (Sea Legs, 2013)

To me, cover splits have more or less gone the way of the buffalo in modern hardcore and punk. While there have been a few bangers released in recent memory, they are few and far between. Perhaps the general consensus is that a split where band A covers band B and vice-versa comes off as a bit hokey and trite in this day and age. However, Kingston pop punk juggernaut Title Fight and California screamo giants Touché Amore, along with Sea Legs Records, have gone out on the proverbial limb to test the waters of the cover split.

Side A contains Title Fight taking on Touché Amore’s “Face Ghost” from the 2011 album Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me, released by Deathwish Inc. The band takes the song and crafts it into a serpent-like shoegaze song that would fit perfectly into a Title Fight set list, slinking its way through the speakers. Bassist Ned Russin takes the lead on vocals, changing the original vocal attack of Jeremy Bolm and submitting his own simple croon which carries well with the chilled out arrangement by the rest of the band.

Side B is Touché Amore’s interpretation of “Crescent Shaped Depression” from Title Fight’s 2011 Side One Dummy debut, Shed. Much like side A, Touché Amore does a fine job of taking the song and turning it into its own. While a bit slower and stripped down than usual TA material, the band keeps the song light and really highlights the guitar leads throughout the two-and-a-half minute venture. Bolm harshens up the vocals a bit, abandoning any melody laid out by Title Fight in the original cut of the song, but that is what aids the band in giving the track the screamo treatment.

While the release is short, almost hitting the five minute mark, the gutsy move of releasing a cover split in 2013 has proven to be a success for Title Fight and Touché Amore. Who knows, maybe more bands will take that chance and release similar records in the future.

Hectic World is born

Hey, thanks for checking out Hectic World. The purpose of this blog is to bring all aspects of hardcore, punk and metal into one source: news, tours, album reviews, interviews, audio, video, etc. We want to give our readers exclusive and exciting content that they won't get anywhere else. I think we can do that much. So keep an eye peeled here for all things hectic. Thanks.

Gregg