SMOLDERING HUMANITY     v/a CD-R
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FISHCOM COLLECTIVE (usa) > http://www.fishcomcollective.net
Buy this while you can. There's only 300 available. That's all that this label issues of each release (they're limited editions, numbered and everything). So listen up all you weird ass people out there. Fine, I know, I'm at fishcomcollective.net. So you're all fucking weird. Even the most mainstream shit here is weird. Fine, well, let's just say after all my reviews of fairly "normal" metal bands now I'm here with some way deep underground shit. "Yah!" the cheer echoes from the back of the room. Fine. Thanks. Shut up. I have a lot to cover in this review. I have discovered a GREAT underground label. This one man label embodies D.I.Y. Which is probably why D.I.Y. is in the name of the label. Specifically, Do It Yourself Cancer Removal Productions. If you don't have some idea what you're in for ‹ or at least that you're in for something ‹ at this point, I have no fucking sympathy. But, fortunately, all of us sane people here at the Collective expect to be battered unmercifully with the weirdness manifested at this, the current climax of mankind (until someone finds a way to beat underground grindcore for weirdness and extremity).
Ooooh, finally, I find a way to transition from my paragraph-long rant to an actual music review. Fine. It's a compilation. The name of it is "Smoldering Humanity." 32 tracks of insanity by 15 bands. That's right. Be aware, while that averages out to around two tracks per band with some give and take, that's not how it actually plays out. The end result is some bands have upwards of five tracks while some bands are represented by only one or two. You can tell I love this CD because I'm elaborating on every fucking detail. Remember that guy that hollered "Yay!" a few minutes ago? Now, he's saying, "When is this motherfucker going to quit yammering and review some music?" Now. The CD kicks off with Malignant Tumour, which may be the most normal (HA HA HA HA HA HA) band represented on the compilation. It starts with what sounds like hardcore vs. grindcore and then pretty much phases into grindcore. Then we move on to Serrando Codos. I love it. This is so raw and reversed. OK, what the hell am I talking about? Well, the instrumental pretty much just sounds like some dude fucking around with his guitar and amp in his room. All the distortion seems to have been reserved for the completely indecipherable groundcore death buried vocals. And there's a drum machine in there somewhere. OK, after these sickos, it's time for Intumescence. All of their tracks are live tracks, which is a first for me. Not live tracks in general, but the world of way underground grindcore live. Very tinny. You'll have to turn the volume up. (That's the only warning I'll issue about this CD. The volume is very uneven. Keep your remote control handy, you'll need it. But it's not the label's fault. It's a compilation of various underground grindcore bands, some with better production values than others.) Anyway, screamy throaty vocal hardcore/grindcore band. Next: Katalepsy. (By the way, I just looked at the little program on my computer that makes the pretty colors that move to the music. It looks like a schizophrenic three-year-old is fucking scribbling on my monitor. That is too fucking hilarious.) Katalepsy is just good straightforward indie grindcore with some high pitched scream death thrown in to keep tings interesting. Modern Day Martyr: Another indecipherable live harcore inspired grind track. Oddly, the nut-kick-core (you know, there's only so many times I can say "high pitched" before I get self-conscious) is some stuff I've been craving lately and all of that stuff on here is the live shit. Funny. Actually, it lends a nice ambiance. The roughness of underground recording is a huge part of the appearl. It's like G.G. Allin on speed ... maybe. Blue Holocaust: Way deep grindcore vocals. Very bassy and distorted. Like Serrando Codos, only the distortion is pretty much evenly distributed and it's not as spitty (like when a speaker is taking more than it can handle). This is like being chased by a demonic Doberman pincer armed with a badly tuned guitar with a pillow tied over it. I love it. Then we have Scenario: Slaughter. Oh, my, was this a surprise. Apparently (I only surmise based on my previous experience - limited perhaps - with one man drum machien grindcore), this is a one man band. I've heard one man drum machine grind before (which I'm only assuming this is, remember), but Scenario: Slaughter actually surprises with some industrial elements. But maybe there's a lot more of that among one man drumgrind and I just don't know it. I'm new to this world but in love with it. By the way, Scenario: Slaughter was, I think, the first band that had me outright laughing. Which isn't a bad thing. There's a certain sense of humor to this underground grind stuff. OK, next in line is Kots. Water vocals. That's all I can say. Bubbly. (Weird, this too must be common among this music scene as this is the second band I've heard display this sort of ...vocals.) F.F.F.F.F. That's a band, not a repetitive typo. And I'm only going to say this: Homemade new wave 80s synth pop meets goblin mouthed grind vocals. Cool. Next: S.M.E.S. Grunty vocals so low it lands in Kots-ville. Which makes sense, since (NOW THAT I TAKE THE TIME TO CONSULT THE GODDAMN LINER NOTES) S.M.E.S. and Kots are apparently the same person. And I think S.M.E.S. was the first band I ever heard with gurgly vox. So maybe it isn't as common. Maybe it's just S.M.E.S./Kots. Maybe he dropped his amp in a pool. Maybe I should shut up and keep reviewing. Exophthalmos ... damn you for me even having to type a fucking typo-landmine of a name like that. Shit. Techno. Trippy. Good. OK, so what about Schizoid Embolism? Well, at this point I feel we're firmly in industrial territory, because this is a wonderful little piece of electro industrial that would fit right in on a compilation of bigger name signed industrial bands. I hope Cleopatry Records is paying attention. Next: Dark ambiant noise describes Napalmed. Ironic. It's one of the quietist tracks on here. Following that and track 31 is nigh. And it's Nigh. Nigh=noise-biant. The end. Afterward we have Hombre Muerto. Even more out of control noise-biant. This is a god among underground collections. Now. While you still can. 299 of you bastards (since I have No. 96 of the 300) better get out there and purchase the rest: http://listen.to/sickened. Oh yeah, and before I forget, if there was some contest for the best CD artwork on an underground collection, I'd be ready to vote for Smoldering Humanity right now. This is incredible, especially considering it's a private, DIY one man gig. The black and white cover art is stunning and pretty detailed. The S.M. logo is a thing of dark beauty. And then you open the case and there is this incredible disc with red spattered wording across it: "Smoldering Humanity." My god. It's incredible.
upchuck undergrind