Paranoid Existence

Shitstorm - Paranoid Existence LP
Format: Cassette / LP
Release: 2010
Label: RSR / Vinyl Rites

This is a back catalog of sorts - the material has already been released on splits and comps between '04 and '08. The big deal here is that the band had to cancel their supporting tour - meaning 100 test pressings are available for sale. The fuzzy image below is #59, now in the property of yours truly. Not sure if they were sold in order (only 41 left! Act Now!) or if the guy is grabbing at random. But there is also a printing of 300 proper albums which are available through other sources. And for those still living in 1989, the cassette was released on RSR.

In other news, the split with Conga Fury is actually going to be released this year as well - after three years of waiting. Two Shitstorm items in the same year? Is the Mayan calendar ending early?

Putting the nix on convenience, the output ports on my mixer shorted so I can't rip this. Luckily for you, these songs are already floating around the interwebs. The collection contains their songs from: This Comp Kill Fascists Vol1, Split with Gentle Art of Chokin', Self Released Tour EP (dig it up) and their split with Sloth (ditto). For those of you who were not with us last year, please listen to and then promptly buy their split with Magrudergrind.

Once you have accomplished this, come back and answer my one question: why is Shitstorm so criminally overlooked? Is it just me? Or is it, along with Gate (who play a similar style and are similarly ignored) all due to a lack of material? It's not because of Torche, is it?

Come What May

So last night I saw Magrudergrind and Misery Index kick off their tour here in the states. The local openers were horrible and my friends and I suffered through walks in the cold to convenience stores just to avoid them (although one named Shotgun to the Dome was quite tempting just due to their name). All things aside, nothing was truer when Jason Netherton claimed "we should be opening for those guys [Magrudergrind]."

Misery Index formed out of the ashes of Dying Fetus, who at it's heart was a good death metal band who knew how to get people moving. While earlier works like Overthrow, Dissent, and Retaliation showed some wicked breakdowns and slams, they were more about the grind than anything else. Unfortunately, that all changed with Discordia which showcased a sterile production, longer songs, and an overall generic vibe that we come to expect from relapse death metal. Tendencies that couldn't be forgotten from the slam days of Dying Fetus became more apparent and the music watered down into super cleanly produced death metal metal which a touch of grind. A real shame, as I love Overthrow.

They played two new songs from their upcoming album, and it was much of the same. Slams in between blasting sections and a strong chorus like effort to get people moving. It works well live, as I enjoyed myself, but I can't say I'm too excited for their latest.

Maybe it's because they were picked up by Relapse, a label who's done well putting extreme metal into the market (Baroness, Pig Destroyer, Mastodon, etc) but I don't know how fair that is as Jason and the boys were always accustomed to bigger labels (Nuclear Blast, etc). Whatever the reason is, it's a real shame.

So here's to you, Misery Index, in 2001 you were a better child, and grindcore now, seems to have less of a footing here in America, we can only hope you bring it back someday.

P.S. Yes, Magrudergrind kicked ass. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of their latest but they really tore it up. The energy's still there and I'd gladly see them a hundred times over.

Download

-F

And for those who are interested, here's the setlist for Misery Index.

My Gift To You

I live in a fantasy world. In this world Democracy is a euphemism for State Sponsored Slavery. Capitalism is an Oligarchy Of The Rich. And the whole purpose of Free Market Economies is, as Hakim Bey so rightly put it, "the commodification of damn near everything." I call this fantasy world America, and those who live there, Americans.

For eleven months of their year, Americans are only concerned with instantly gratifying the many and varied desires their televisions impresses upon them. To this end they slave away for little green pieces of paper which they use exclusively to purchase ungodly amounts of shit they do not need. They say it gives their lives meaning, that they are these possessions they enslave themselves to obtain. But during the last month they suddenly extrovert their desires and take a tremendous interest in their friends and family - instead of spending all their money on themselves, they spend it all on their friends. This also makes them happy. They say it is all to celebrate the birth of a man who conveniently failed to practice what he preached during his moment of truth. They like it when their heroes fall from grace. It reminds them of themselves.

I think it's all bullshit, but I am unfortunately a part of this world. It is my belief that the only way out of something is through it. So until we as a collective come up with a good idea or three to distance ourselves from all this madness, I have to play along. I have to fit in, or at least pretend to. So then, with that in mind, I present my gift to you: the Magrudergrind - Shitstorm Split released on Robotic Empire Records. It contains the best work to date from both bands and features the fantastic artwork of John Baizley. This is far and away one of my favorite splits. Ever. Now if by chance you already have this, than please allow me to point something else out about the people I live with: they are insanely passive-aggressive. The proper course of action is to smile politely and say, "Thank you; it is the thought that counts," and then, after I walk away, proceed to talk with your friends about how I am the embodiment of everything you hate. It is only fair.

Cheers.