Incendiary - Product of New York (2026) Review

Compilations like this make a lot of sense. Surely, Incendiary fans waste no time hunting down copies of their main LPs, especially since band's considerable rise in fame after the release of Cost of Living (2013), but it's always more difficult to trace smaller-scale releases, or long-time sold out mini albums. So now, we get the chance to enjoy almost all the early material (debut EP, three split releases) in one neat package, freshly remastered by Will Putney (Fit for an Autopsy, End, Better Lovers), walking down memory lane and getting fists bloodier and bloodier as it goes. 

Tracks are then also smartly placed going for the most part backwards in time, starting from the split with Xibalba in 2012, and arriving to the Amongst the Filth 7" inch, released originally in 2007. After the opener, "Not Your Prophet", which is actually an unreleased song from the sessions of the band's latest album, Change the Way You Think About Pain (yet another reason to get on this), listening to this material made me hit my head in annoyance of how I had forgotten how awesome early Incendiary were. 

Who doesn't remember the band's rampant fury on the split with Suburban Scum, where both "Victory In Defeat" and "God's Country" are absolute demolishers. The whole debut EP is a favorite, especially the guitar's short sludge adventures on "Angels With Filthy Souls", while the breakdown on "Rome Is Burning" truly is unbelievable. What I had heard the least were the tracks from the split with Unrestrained, and I was unfamiliar with "Bond and Break" (another unreleased song..?). 

The aggression is clear on the album as lyrics, voice and guitars seem to strike with an honest moral insistence, nicely showcasing the blazing early days of one of the best modern hardcore bands worldwide. Product of New York closes with an incredible cover of "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys, a track you didn't know you needed in a crushing hardcore version. What a bass sound on that one. The grand city across the water so often promises, and now also delivers. One listens, and one feels implicated. These streets are the veins of Incendiary.

Release: March 23rd, 2026 | Closed Casket Activities
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Fear and Filth - Blessed Be

Listless avowals.
Brand
The mark into the hands of the masses.

No one to save us.
Out on our own.

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Sonic Poison - Eruption (2023) Review

After a short series of mini releases, all in good spirits with speed and brutality, Sonic Poison from Finland unleash their debut full length Eruption through the solid Me Saco un Ojo Records. The band's blend of death metal, grindcore and hardcore shines in this short and fierce release, comfortably rooted in classic extreme metal of the late 80's.

The record is 20 minutes long and features 16 tracks, showing absolutely healthy levels of track duration / number ratio for such a release. Not at all as polished as more popular acts of the continent across the Atlantic, Sonic Poison still present the same amalgamation of frenetic riffs, potent grooves, frequent tempo changes as what you would expect from a band of the aforementioned genres. I was thinking of an unlawful marriage between really early Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror of the same time when it comes to the undulating tempos and overall madness Eruption, an album that lives up to its name.

Equally deranged are the vocals, which go on wild rides as the tense tracks come hammering one after the other at frequencies that the listener might give up trying to keep up with all the riffs. Sonic Poison don't invent the wheel with the record, and there are no unusual meanderings at any point in Eruption, so it is one of the cases of knowing really well what you're getting into. Nevertheless, the recipes are executed successfully and the outcome is a quite enjoyable grind record, especially for fans of a more old school approach instead of the ultra noisy new influences that more modern bands introduce.

With Eruption, Sonic Poison make a clear and solid case for themselves and bring forth a well-made record that can live up to the expectations, considering their earlier, smaller releases. It is fully jammed with ongoing riff ideas and everything is pleasingly heavy in what would be another piece of work that more fanatic fans would use as a “machine to keep posers away”.  

DAMAGE: 3.5/5

Listen:

Bandcamp

Scalp - Black Tar (EP, 2023) Review

Plain and comprehensive, Scalp deliver a compact set of ultra aggressive, medium paced grind (yes) with their new EP, Black Tar. Clocking at just 12 minutes, the band’s ferocity once again aims for the throat with this mixture of the ugliest extreme metal genres and is done with you before you even notice.

With a bloated, harsh production, one crystal clear comparison can be drawn after the one minute abstract introduction of the EP: these guys are big Nails fanboys, and especially the singer. Black Tar doesn’t achieve the same earthquake as your average Nails rocker, but Scalp try hard to emulate the same kind of frenzy across the whole of Black Tar, especially in its faster moments like in “Jesus is God”, “Pollute” or the introduction of “Diabetic Necrosis”. The slower grooves are also sometimes too close unfortunately, for example in “Endless Relapse”, which sounds a lot like “Endless Resistance” or the excruciating slow ending of closing track “Broken Vein”. 

It is noticeable how Scalp practice less speedy, modern noise / hardcore-like breakdown parts quite often, something that made me wonder if Black Tar generally reaches the minimum limit of velocity to be considered grind, but the case remains. As far as the originality of this material goes, get ready for a short amusement park ride for all Nails fans and the likes, yet for me in this case, it would be more relevant to stick to the original. However, Scalp are heavy enough and hit hard with this fine EP, which lacks a bit in memorability what it has in fury. 

Three years since their previous EP, which was also 30% longer in duration, had me thinking that it’s high time this band releases a proper, careful debut full length album, and that will decide a lot about the perception they leave to the scene. 

DAMAGE: 3/5

Links:

Bandcamp || Instagram

Venom Prison - Erebos (2022) Review

Band: Venom Prison

Country: United Kingdom

Album: Erebos

Label: Century Media Records

Website: Instagram

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Another act that made its presence known quickly after its formation, Venom Prison's debut Animus in 2016 contained its fine amount of hardcore induced death metal and it was quite expressive when it comes to the contents and the messages it conveyed, an expression that started from the album's splendid and afflictive cover art. I'm really glad to see that they stick to the same kind of aesthetics in their albums, as it is evident from the equally dense design of their fourth full length album to date, Erebos.

From day one, the band didn't fall in a specific genre well, yet the different elements in their music come from styles that are already well connected. I would definitely put them into the category of modern death metal, but one who goes into a Venom Prison album expecting just that would be, quite possibly, repeatedly surprised. Personally, as much as I find some aspects of the band interesting, more often that I would have hoped for, I found myself having difficulties appreciating the musical directions because of a feeling of idleness it gave me, as it is in a sense, a jack of all trades example of a band. The music scene praises them for their genre-defying work, yet I am not clearly seeing that: you have heard of some deathcore, Carcass, groove metal, and then you have already mapped almost all of Venom Prison's content.

At the same time, it's quite clear that they try to push their own boundaries with every release, without that meaning that the situation changes that much. There's more attempts of experimentation, or to put it more accurately, not real musical experimentation but an addition of song types that you wouldn't think they fit here, which is the case in Erebos for example with "Pain of Oizys". Much like "Immortal" in Der Weg Einer Freiheit's latest opus Noktvrn, "Pain of Oizys" sticks out like a fly in milk and features a pop rock song with a few moments of angst, screams above clean guitars and eerie keys, but also with lyrics much closer to the heart and of personal struggle rather than a social one. In my opinion, apart from an interesting (almost post-rock, if you listen to it as a stand alone melody, it would easily fit in a God Is An Astronaut or If These Trees Could Talk session) solo towards the end, there's no smooth transition in this song and it crumbles because of its own ambition, a quite clear weak point in Erebos. At the same time, it will be one that might be the favorite for many out there, so probably it's a great piece!

Thankfully, this mellow / indie trickery is contained in just one track and the listener gets immediately repaid for his patience with an ultra bombastic piece "Golden Apples of the Hesperides", bringing back the loathe of modern society and its rotten foundations. Erebos deals a lot with oppression and inequality but its more particular target against misogyny, which was central in previous works, is also present here, for example in "Gorgon Sisters", which has some of the nicest and most visceral breakdows of the record, much like in "Judges of the Underworld", also spewing a seriously heavy part towards its end. Forceful grooves are employed in "Nemesis", along with some short clean guitar lines that make Venom Prison different from the whole lot, and there's plenty of riveting riffing and soloing throughout Erebos to make its case solid.

At the same time, we shouldn't exaggerate by how much innovation the band has. Take a track like "Comfort of Complicity", which is a clear reproduction of Lamb of God riffs and fast paced As Blood Runs Black patterns, and that's all. If it wasn't for Larissa Stupar's unique vocals, you wouldn't tell the difference, it's just too close. I hear almost Swedish melodic black / death metal in "Technologies of Death" and slight The Black Dahlia Murder influences might be hidden here and there, especially in the vocals.. "Veil of Night" is a solid track, yet "Castigated in Steel and Concrete" is not nearly as heavy as the title suggests. These comments don't stand as pure complaints for Erebos, however I see Venom Prison in accordance to their magnitude at the moment and while the band is fully deserving of someone times, and that goes also further than the music, I don't see myself lifting them higher than at the level of an above average band.

If you're into implausibly heavy death metal, Erebos will feel like a Christmas cookie to you. If you're into socially angry, groovy deathcore with some death metal influences, and a couple of twists towards lesser aggressive sounds, Venom Prison is for you. The band has a singer with a great vocal variety, striking lyrics, a mind for new ideas which might not work for this author sometimes, yet the intentions are pure. Since I listened to the new Acranius album at the same day as Erebos, the comparison with more ear punishing clamors might not have helped them, but Venom Prison are surely a more multifaceted band. I'm slightly offput by the possible misspelling of the album title too. Anyway, in the end, just listen to some Dyscarnate when you're in this mood.

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Release date: February 4th, 2022

Tracklist:

1. Born from Chaos

2. Judges of the Underworld

3. Nemesis

4. Comfort of Complicity

5. Pain of Oizys

6. Golden Apples of the Hesperides

7. Castigated in Steel and Concrete

8. Gorgon Sisters

9. Veil of Night

10. Technologies of Death

Listen:

Youtube | TIDAL

Abandon all life

Artist: Nails

Genre: Grindcore / Powerviolence / Hardcore

Origin: USA

Year: 2013

Label: Southern Lord Recordings

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The second album of a band that is loved by the media, is undeniably heavy, but also draws a lot of hate from fanatics in the true underground. 

Abandon All Life was the follow-up to Unsilent Death, which was praised like a god by fans of hardcore and not only. The album has a lovely total of 17 minutes, which is the starting point to get pumped about a record that you want to be hard-hitting. How hard does it hit, you ask?

Well, Nails is a kind of a band that seems like a constant, really angry thug. Merciless music, unforgiving lyrics, intense shows and playing, it doesn't give you a break and if you think it is easy to go through these seventeen minutes, you will stand corrected.

If I had listened to them in time, this would have been really high in my lists for 2013, as You Will Never Be One of Us was in 2016 (even though, this cheesy title is annoying). 

I think Nails have an awesome grindcore / powerviolence palette. They have nose-bleeding hardcore breakdowns and supreme vocals. The lyrics are sincere and agressive. Their metallic sound gives a hint of a slight, really slight though, look towards extreme metal. But their core is not in that genre.

This production, which is quite heavy on its own, makes them a bit more accessible compared to frantic, insane grindcore acts who play anti-music and talk about raping worms.

What I mean is, it is universally true that The Inalienable Dreamless is the best grindcore album ever. Nails have more popularity than usual, because their kind of extremity is actually media-friendly. They are guys to be featured on the fronts of zines.

That is not to undermine their music, as I enjoy all their stuff and I have listened to the b-sides too. Abandon All Life was an instant fall for me. It has a great title, improved artwork, improved sound (in my opinion), and much better vocals (my opinion, but also adjectivally true) than Unsilent Death.

Listening to Nails is a physical boost of testosterone and it's impossible not to get your blood going. The process of their songs is actually well thought. The death metal elements are wonderful. The band's solos are basically worshiping of early Slayer. What can go wrong? Only the fans can really go wrong.

I am very happy they are not a professional band but do this on the side, as they have their own families and lives. It's less compromising. 

I come back to Nails from time to time and share it with non-metal friends to scare them off, because to an outsider, all of us are an impassable grey, freaky cloud. Abandon All Life is one of the albums I listen to the most from this decade, when I don't feel like listening to my regular black metal playlists.

2019 might be the year they release a new album, if they keep being punctual with their releases (2010, 2013 and 2016). We'll see later this year.

Track listing:

1. In Exodus

2. Tyrant

3. Absolute Control

4. God's Cold Hands

5. Wide Open Wound

6. Abandon All Life

7. No Surrender

8. Pariah

9. Cry Wolf

10. Suum Cuique

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Listen on Bandcamp

All Pigs Must Die - Nothing Violates This Nature (2013) Review

All Pigs Must Die "Nothing Violates This Nature"

Summer 2013, Southern Lord Records

Listening Needs

Physical Needs

Hardcore is not my thing, and i generally avoid any bands that fall under that label. Typical hardcore bands like Terror, Agnostic Front or Sick Of It All have nothing to give me at all. I saw this album labeled Dark Hardcore somewhere, which is something i might give a chance once in a while. All Pigs Must Die is a project by members of Converge, The Hope Conspiracy and Bloodhorse.

Hopefully, they indeed take the straight-edge culture hardcore sound to darker paths, since by itself its unbearable to me. The band name is catchy, the album title is catchy, lets get on with it. From my point of view, this is a hell of an album to headbang to. These guys know their way around making hardcore melodies powerful and there is finally a voice i can stand, these sweet shouting vocals. The flirt with extremety, having ounces of grindcore here and there, their music is assaulting and pleasing to the ear. I can even hear some blackmetalish riffs in some parts, especially the introduction of "Of Suffering" or "Bloodlines". Always a good thing.

In general, the album is groundbreaking and skull crushing, i didn't see it coming at all. My eyes fell off while i was listening. Not because this is a musical extravaganza or a demostration of magnificent and complex musicianship, its just that they have hit the heart of the music they're playing, they have composed a very good album around it, with personal additions in the lyrics and the songs. Im gonna be replaying this a lot until i get sick of it.

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DAMAGE: [7.5/10]