The sky has taken on a bleaker quality than usual, the first proper snows of the season have arrived and that showy wanker round the corner has got his big Christmas lights up. Winter has finally come upon us. As I sit here during the seasonal perineum that squats between Christmas and New years I took the opportunity to stick on my wellies and wade through the tide of absolute shit that laps at my door 24/7 aka this months massive pile of demos and EP’s. Here’s three things I thought were good..
Rancour from Wales put out a decent enough demo last year but they have significantly upped their game with this new release on Neutral Words Records entitled Lucifer’s Kin.
I love the frontman’s seething frostbitten vocals, they are absolutely inhuman. Imagine locking Human Furnace in a rape basement for a week with only moody polish Vodka and the Sangraal demo for company and this is how he might sound. There are BIG Ringworm ‘Birth Is Pain’ vibes throughout these songs, throw in some fast bits ripped off of the better H8000 bands (early Congress and Sektor) and Rancour are the witches tits. Ash from Venom Prison plays guitar in this band so you know the shred is on point.
Suitably hellish cover artwork comes courtesy of tattoo god/donut whisperer Simon Erl and is a real feast for the eyes. Despite using the same played out Taxi Driver sample that Earth Crisis used on the OG version of Firestorm, Lucifers Kin is a certified banger. and I would definitely go and watch them if they play Leeds. Well done everyone. Listen HERE
Ager and I caught Ratlord opening up for Gatecreeper a few months ago and aside from the singers TK Maxx trainers, we thought they were great.
Injustice Records gave us the heads up on Ratlord’s self titled release and it rages. I wont pretend that I know enough about death metal to give you an accurate comparison but it definitely feels like punk kids playing death metal as opposed to a purist death band. It’s hard to explain but there’s something in the placement and style of the breakdowns that just reminds me of Liar rather than Decapitated or whatever.
Either way, Ratlord melt faces in the right places and make me want to wear a PING golf visor and start unnecessary pit beef with Belgium straight edge kids. Make of that what you will. Check them out HERE
Finally we have Mourning. Mourning is the brainchild of former Payday shredder Connor Hehir, he performs guitars vocals and bass here. Riffs are fucking great, kinda feels like the first Kickback album or some of the metallic stuff from New York state from back in the day (think Stigmata/ All Out War/ any band on RPP). The breakdowns hit harder than a breezeblock chucked off an overpass and there’s a genuine fury behind the lyrics that I back entirely.
Honestly I think the vocals let things down a touch here and could use a bit more throat but given the subject matter can totally understand why Connor would choose to perform them himself. I hope Mourning becomes a “proper” band at some point because these songs are hard as shit and I would definitely love to watch the demons of the pit beat each others brains to meat paste when the hard bit in Grut Forever kicks in. Have a listen HERE
Thats it for 2017. If you want your shitty band reviewing, send links/bribes etc to Corehammercrew AT Gmail DOT com. I don’t promise good reviews but you’ll always get an honest one. Lates.
