METALFACE RECOMMENDS ...

OK, here's a bunch of short reviews because I can't be bothered waxing lyrical about anything. The moral of the story is, the new Agents Of Abhorrence album is the shit, so go get it!

Agents of Abhorrence - Relief (Psychocontrol Records/625 Thrashcore)

 

Holy shit! The first time you listen to some albums, you know, before the first song is over, that you are going to have to listen to it again and again. This was my experience with the latest album by Melbourne grind geniuses Agents Of Abhorrence, I sat down and listened to this record three times in a row. It's a relentless, uncompromising, and blasting beast of an album that captures the brutal intensity of the band's live show. As well as A+ tunes, Relief features killer production, great artwork, and its pressed on bronze vinyl. Fuck yes! I can't recommend any particular song overall, because the whole thing is basically a flawless masterpiece. Grind 'til death, rockers!

Power Trip - Manifest Decimation (Southern Lord)

The logical follow-up to classics like Reign In Blood and Seven Churches, if 2013 was actually 1987 in an alternate universe. This album has it all: utterly crushing riffage, gang vocals, ripping leads that betray obvious debts to Hanneman (RIP), reverb covers the whole thing like it was recorded in a gnarly death metal cave, and cover art that is fucking incredible! "Conditioned To Death", "Crossbreaker" and "The Hammer Of Doubt" are all massive tunes, the kind that probably open up mosh pits that resemble the portals of Hell in a live forum. Let's face it, everything probably did sound better 25 years ago, but with Manifest Decimation, at least Power Trip are able to capture the essence of that time without being recklessly regressive.

Melvins - Everybody Loves Sausages (Ipecac)

Melvins are fucking excellent at covers: "Goin' Blind" from Houdini, "Youth Of America" from Electroretard, "Rambling Man" from The Crybaby. All awesome! They can basically do justice to anything they try, which is the difference between most other bands' cover albums and the Melvins. So this album comes as no surprise, and the cool thing about it is they enlist their pals to provide guest vocals. We get to hear Jello Biafra doing "In Every Dream Home A Heartache" by Roxy Music and Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell doing a Bowie impression on "Station to Station." Also featuring turns by Scott Kelly of Neurosis doing Venom, Mark Arm from Mudhoney doing the Scientists, and Amphetamine Records owner Tom Hazelmyer (also of Halo Of Flies) doing the Jam, the unifying thread between the disparate material (Queen to Divine to the Kinks to Throbbing Gristle) is the fact that this was clearly a totally fun record to make!