Winter Power-Violence

As Autumn quickly fades into Winter, I devour a steady diet of power-violence and grim stoner jams. While classics such as Neanderthal and No Comment get the most play, Extortion has slowly crept into the play-list, more and more. Based out of Australia, Extortion play a punishing brand of power-violence laced hardcore. I slept on this band for the longest time, even after being intrigued by the artwork – done by the band’s vocalist Rohan. I heard the “Loose Screws” 10″ and was immediately blown away.

The style borders between fast hardcore and power-violence so the obvious influences are prevalent (The aforementioned No Comment, Neanderthal with tinges of Gang Green, SSD, and UK’s Heresy) but there is a level of originality that gives this band – and record – an edge few have. “Loose Screws” has its fast tracks; “Regrets” and “Degrade” immediately come to mind. The album’s closing number, “Socially Inept”, is a strong instrumental number with repetitious riffs and a slower, sludgier groove. This 10″ reminds me of California’s now defunct Judas. When it’s time to just rage, both bands bring top material but they aren’t afraid to slow it down to close things out. That comparison aside, Judas sadly released a mere two EPs and a contribution track on the “Freak Power” Comp while Extortion continues to release a new record every few months.

Thanks to some good timing – Black Friday and the upcoming holidays – I was able to score most of the band’s discography from a handful of distros. No matter how bad the dollar to euro ratio is, these records are worth it. Setting “Loose Screws” aside, I managed to pick up Extortion’s newest offering, a split with Japan’s Completed Exposition. RSR put out this monster in two variants: a limited tour edition out of one-hundred copies and a standard version out of five-hundred. The label still had copies of the tour edition – luckily – so I only paid the normal price, not inflated eBay nonsense.

Another band that infiltrated the usual rotation is Japan’s Su19b. The band plays power-violence with a lot of sludge and doom thrown in. After releasing a tape back in the late 1990s, Su19b has put out a handful of splits and a self-titled 7″. I once read that Su19b is like Corrupted mixed with Man Is The Bastard and I couldn’t agree more. Their tracks are rarely over two minutes long and come complete with gnarly growling vocals. My favorite release by them is their self-titled 7″, which was put out by Blurred Records. It has the perfect mix of heavy jams without getting repetitious or boring.

The only negative thing I can say about the band is just a petty personal preference; I get annoyed when a band releases a string of vinyl albums then goes the CD only route. The split with cult doom band dot[.] is absolutely crushing but is only available on CD. No matter, Su19b is a brutal band that fans of MITB, Crossed Out, and Noothgrush should immediately check out.

Taking a step away from power-violence for a moment, one of my favorite bands is Enewetak. They put out a string of flawless albums from 1995 to 2003 before disbanding. Since then, ex-members formed another two bands that have been getting a lot of play time: Tafkata and Seven Sisters Of Sleep. Tafkata’s “Worker & Parasite” LP takes the harsh brutality of Enewetak and mixes it with Southern sludge such as Eyehategod. As powerful as the LP is, I prefer the band’s demos. Mostly it’s alternate takes on tracks from “Worker & Parasite” under different names, but I can’t get enough of the raw, sludgy feel. Just gnarly, plain and simple.

After Tafkata’s end, Seven Sisters Of Sleep took shape. Featuring members of The Arm And Sword Of A Bastard God and the previously mentioned Tafkata, Seven Sisters Of Sleep continue to lay down aggressive tunes. Mike Cheese, vocalist for the Infamous Gehenna, described the songs as “stoner jams for people with short attention spans”. At the moment, the only thing available are a handful of very well made music videos (Just to clarify, music videos as in SSOS’s music being played over older film clips, not MTV nonsense). Seven Sisters Of Sleep’s debut self-titled LP can be pre-ordered at A389 in three variations: black, green, and red vinyl respectively.

A389′s annual anniversary show in Baltimore (Jan. 22 2011) has Seven Sisters Of Sleep on the bill – along with The Love Below, Integrity, Rot In Hell, Pharaoh, and Dropdead. I can’t wait to see them live and experience their brand of music.

As the snow continues its descent, I see a lot more power-violence in the future.