Author: SheavySubject: The Trash Compactor
Posted: 23 Apr 2024 at 7:07pm
These first two I'm
spamming reposting from the main site.
The Trash Compactor review No.1
16 – Curves That Kick
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16 are a Sludge Metal group that have been kicking out theirown unique flavor of Sludge since the inception of the genre, playing in thenot-really-recognized-as-a-subgenre of Sludgecore, basically Sludge Metal thatsticks close to what it formed from. Heavy, downtuned, slow-ass Black Sabbathand Doom Metal infused Hardcore Punk. Formed in 1991 and still rolling strongtoday, with only a brief, few year break in the mid-noughties. 16 are a groupthat, IMHO, should be talked about more and in the same breath as other earlysludge metallers like Eyehategod, Crowbar, Grief etc. I have suspicions this isdown to their own brew of influences and sounds, 16 really don’t sound like anyother Sludge band. To start 16 play at a much faster tempo than most, keeping apace similarly to Buzzoven. They also have a healthy dose of noise rock, altrock/metal, post hardcore, and even a tad of an early Metalcore sound I daresay, in addition to the typical hardcore influence sludge metal has. Anotherpotential hurdle for your average metalhead is the fx ladened vocals, which arenearly drowned out in static and occasionally reverb. Lyrically 16 often stickclose to typical Sludge Metal inspirations, drugs, depression, violence, andgeneral misanthropy, but they aren’t afraid to delve into some weirdness. Checkthe song Amish for some Jack Kerouac beat poetry.
The mailman comes
When I'm home
Acrobat
Undertow
The wooden door
Broken bone
Common growth
Telephone
Or Joe The Cat, unsurprisingly about a cat (Melvinsinspired?).
This debut album from 16 is everything you would want fromSludgecore. It’s all got a clearer production than most other Sludge acts ofthe time, but it doesn’t diminish the crackhead energy 16 have. Unwaveringlyaggressive, super heavy and chunky riffs all over the place, with intermittentflourishes and breaks of guitar scrawl. The PH influence makes for someinteresting song dynamics, there’s much more activity between guitar, bass, anddrums, more stop and go, than typical of this style. Special mention to thebass, which is that super funky, fat, and floppy bass that was everywhere inthe early 90s.
The Trash Compactor review No.2
Dead In The Dirt –The Blind Hole
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Hailing from the deep south of Atlanta, Georgia, andappropriately were signed to Southern Lord, Dead In The Dirt’s sole fulllength, The Blind Hole, is a crushing, catastrophic slab of grindingPowerviolence. DITD deal in fairly typical PV lyrically and sonically speaking,but don’t even think for a second this is meant as insult. Frequent and Extremestart and stop tempo shifts, even within the confines of 60 second or lesssongs, often punctuated and preceded by squalls of feedback. Downtuned growling,grinding guitars thunder away to merciless but tight Hardcore drumming and blastbeating. Occasionally settling into a more metal inspired mid-tempo or thrashgroove, and some songs drop entirely into disgusting filthy Sludge Metal (WillIs The War and Halo Crown). As could be guessed from the album title, nay, bandname, the lyrics all tend towards the introspective and unwaveringlynihilistic, often with political or social subtext. These are handled by dual vocalists,Bo Orr, also on Bass, and Blake Connally, also on Guitar. Dual vocalists meanswe are treated to differing delivery styles, one a Death Metal growl, and theother a Hardcore Punk styled full on shriek. Production wise it’s all veryclear and clean, none of the dirt and grime, nor aggression and rawness islost.
A beautiful, maniacal not quite 24 minute assault.
I'll get you added to our database at the weekend.
Sheavy wrote:
. 16 are great, underrated as hell.
