Last Agony "The Imminent Slaughter"

   As the world burns and the foundation of our existence begins to crumble, Last Agony shall be the ones playing the soundtrack to our ultimate end. These Canadian noise-punk maniacs launch a feverish attack with the release of their first full-length album, “The Imminent Slaughter.” 

   By now whenever I receive a promo from Sentient Ruin, I already know that the band is going to be extremely unforgiving and capable of dealing out a savage sounding release. Honestly, I was not ready for the passionate sounding hardcore drive and pure hateful sounding nature that Last Agony was able to conjure up on their debut album. This album is a hellacious sounding punk release and digs deep into the blackened depths of unapologetic artistic expression. From the ear shattering guitar riffs to the ravenous rhythms, these musicians have their sights set on unleashing apocalyptic chaos throughout the world wide extreme music community. 

   For around 18 minutes, I can guarantee you that this band deals out 100% effort and never succumbs to that generic hardcore mentality which kills so many albums. The eight tracks featured on this album may not be long in terms of length and are packed full of technicality, but they sure as hell deliver a punching amount of musical brutality. The first track, “The Imminent Slaughter,” does a tremendous job introducing the agonizing songwriting style that Last Agony sets out to establish with this album. Ear piercing feedback followed by a sinister sounding guitar onslaught pulls you right into a war zone of instrumental chaos. The singer’s vocals spew out pure hatred and venom to compliment the aggressive sounding arrangements that show a band fueled by disillusionment and disgust. 

    Another area of this album worth mentioning is the bass playing and how the bass parts inject an extra boost of bombastic sounding hostility. On the song, “Diabolism,” you can vividly hear the bass notes complimenting the crushing drum parts, thus creating a seismic shockwave that hits you right in the gut. Also, on tracks like, “Maniac” and “Hacked to Pieces,” you hear these musicians playing with such ferocity that even though the arrangements sound completely chaotic at times, the raw and unforgiving mindset is extremely compelling. 

    There is no bullshit with this band and on the last two tracks, “Unbridled Lunacy” and “Propaganda Bleeds,” I was highly impressed by the fiendish sounding guitar riffs. “Propaganda Bleeds,” is a very thought provoking track and the overall atmosphere during the song was like a firestorm scorching all that stood in its path. 

    Last Agony’s, “The Imminent Slaughter,” is probably the most raw and intense sounding album that I’ve heard so far this year. These musicians really know how to write catastrophic sounding hardcore punk. Trust me when I say that the destruction that Last Agony brings to the table is imminent and once this album comes out on May 7, 2021, there shall be no place to hide once this band is unleashed!

Check out the song "Diabolism" : 

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/the-imminent-slaughter

Indus Valley Kings “Self-titled Debut Album”

   Indus Valley Kings lays down the monolithic sized heavy doom thunder with their self-titled debut full-length release. This trio of musicians takes listeners on a ride through an ancient city full of groovy sounding doom and pure vintage sounding ass kicking rock and roll.

   As much as you hear the doom influences throughout the album, you also get this straightforward hypnotic hard rock sound which then makes way for some really catchy riffs. The musicianship is extremely tight and I find that this trio has a truly massive sound when hammering out their arrangements. Also, the singer’s vocal style provides a nice touch to the groovy sounding compositions that one can hear throughout the album. From top to bottom, there is not much to complain about and the production is very impressive as well. 

   The opening track is a crushing jam called, “Angels,” which sets up this fuzzy sounding riff laden atmosphere that comes sweeping across the musical landscape faster than a sonic titan. As I’ve stated before, the musicianship is very tight sounding and keeps you fully engaged once the band begins playing. Fans of classic 70’s hard rock that has that doomy psychedelic sound will really dig the slower more haunting instrumental arrangements that can be heard on tracks like, “The Method” and “Devil.” The guitar playing really stands out, especially when the guitarist dives into a mesmerizing solo that rips through these addictive sounding scales. 

   Other songs worth noting are “Phoenix” and “Rest in Waste,” which continue to explore the ancient distorted pathways first established by bands like Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Witchfinder General and Black Sabbath. “Phoenix,” is full of bombastic sounding compositions that take you through all sorts of twists and turns in terms of tempo changes. In the end, the band keeps the music flowing and doles out a mighty helping of blazing doom. You really have to give the drummer credit for maintaining such a solid sounding rhythm section that can be used by the guitarist and bassist for them to construct these monstrous sounding riffs. 

   Overall, I find this to be an enjoyable release and one worth checking out if you are a fan of solid sounding doom music. With so many doom bands all looking the same in their promo photos and playing the same generic sounding riffs, you really have to find those acts that truly standout. I believe Indus Valley Kings has a sound and approach which helps them offer something a bit different compared to what you usually hear. To be quite honest, if the riffs are ridiculously catchy and you find yourself banging your head, then you know a band is worth your time. Also, make sure you turn the volume up to eleven on your stereo when playing this album! 

Check out the album below:

Indus Valley Kings Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Indusvalleykings

Indus Valley Kings Bandcamp:

https://indusvalleykings.bandcamp.com/album/indus-valley-kings

Animal Schoolbus "Going to Grammy’s House"

   To start off this review I am going to say that this is a great example of parenting done right. In a current day and age where children are listening to some extreme pieces of garbage in terms of music, I extremely am glad to see people out there getting their children into extreme metal music. 

   Animal Schoolbus is a father and daughter grindcore project that throws down a devastating debut release called, “Going to Grammy’s House.” This album is full of sickening sounding riffs and utterly pissed off sounding vocals. The album contains twenty tracks, 14 of which were recorded when lead singer Princess Beast was only two-years-old. There are a few new tracks along with some live recordings from a show back in 2019. Now, the guitarist, drummer and individual responsible for getting his child into fast bone grinding music is none other than Charlie Sad-Eyes who is the genius behind Crawl Below, which is an awesome band worth checking out. 

   I think what stood out to me most was the raw and honest aggression that comes from Princess Beast when screaming over the punishing instrumental compositions. At two-years-old most of us were just beginning to really grasp the concept of unleashing our frustrations and sometimes that also turned into tantrums. However, I cannot think of a better outlet for a young child than getting to unleash their inner fury by working on creating furious sounding grindcore songs. The titles of the songs alone are truly amazing with tracks such as, “Mommy’s Car is Blue,” “Stuck in a Tree” and my favorite which is, “Oreo’s My Favorite.” The music has that Napalm Death and early Carcass vibe, but also has that raw power violence approach made famous by bands like Charles Bronson and Spazz. 

   The three songs that were recorded more recently definitely turn up the heat, especially in terms of sheer musical brutality. “Everyone Had Mullets in the 80s,” “I Can Do One Handed Cartwheels” and “I Bet Taylor Swift Never Has to Clean Her Room,” are extremely ferocious pieces of pulverizing grindcore. The frantic sounding guitar playing from Charlie matched with Princess Beast’s more vicious style of singing would probably scare a group of pathetic looking metalcore kids right out of their skinny jeans! Also, the contrasting vocal parts during, “I Bet Taylor Swift Never Has to Clean Her Room,” injects a monstrous sounding element to an already chaotic sounding piece of music. 

   In the end, I was really impressed by this album and the strong collaboration between father and daughter made for such an enjoyable and impressive sounding release. I get sent a lot of grindcore promos for review that sound dreadfully awful, so hearing this was a breath of fresh air after getting suffocated by all those basement dwelling piss poor Napalm Death copycats. In a world being overrun with crappy music from artists like LiL Nauseating X, Cardi Beehive and that one guy who used to be in One Direction and now makes horrible films, Animal Schoolbus is here to save us with one brutal song at a time. The Grammys better give this album a nomination, or else Princess Beast and teddy bear friends are going to be coming for all of you!

Check out the song "I Can Do One Handed Cartwheels" : 

Link to their Bandcamp (Album comes out April 30, 2021) : 

https://animalschoolbus.bandcamp.com/album/going-to-grammys-house-2021-remix