CVLT Nation’s Top 6
Grindcore // Powerviolence
Releases of 2013

By Corey & Gene of Pledge Allegiance to Grindcore

Corey’s Top 3 of 2013:

Iron Lung – White Glove Test

This, hands down, is the PV/Grind album of the year. This duo out of Seattle, Washington, manage to craft some truly memorable, violent jams for 2013. The Brutal Supremacy trilogy alone would put them on the list, but their are 17 other songs of blistering power violence to power house this release! This is pure, unbridled power violence that delivers gang vocals, memorable riffs, pure hardcore attitude in spades! The fact that they recorded the album in three different variations, and packaged it as a whole, is amazing. Hearing the “standard” version is all well and good, but to hear it meshed with the noise track they created truly adds a level of unparalleled violence. Pure and simple, this is a must listen album from a band that has been storming the underground for well over a decade.

Sacridose – Anxiety Tremors

Featuring members of Cellgraft and Bastard Deceiver, Sacridose dropped one of the most mind melting releases of the year. This release felt like a tech death band was fed bath salts and just left to their own devices for an hour. Hyper fast riffs, scathing vocals, and an almost toxic level of adrenaline make this a must for any grind fan.

Kindergarten Hazing Ritual – That Awkward Moment Between Your Birth And Your Death

One man cybergrind out of Peekskill, NY. What we have here is a masterful blend of Nintendocore blips meshed with unbridled hatred. This band takes Nerd Rage to a whole other level! What truly sets this apart from other cybergrind (and a lot of grind in general) is the fact that the songs are memorable and don’t over stay their welcome. This is a band to watch in the coming years, if this material is any indication.

Gene’s Top 3 of 2013:

Narayama – Pro-Exploracao

There are great albums and then there are game changers and ladies and gentlemen, this one is a game changer. Ear-shattering hate grind on the same elite level as bands like thousandswilldie and Insect Warfare. There is an unparalleled explosive quality to the music which relentlessly attacks the listener and everything is covered in sheets and walls of noise and chaos. The dual vocal attack is executed perfectly here alternating between acerbic high pitched shrieking and bowel shaking gutturals. Every song ends with half a minute of feedback and harsh noise. Their last.fm profile consists entirely of the words ‘Anticapital grindcore’, a fittingly terse description for one of the most powerful and violent bands in exsistence. Handle with caution:

Cloud Rat – Moksha

Poetic Crust/Grind Violence from Michigan. These guys have the potential to break out in a big way. Take the melodicism of Fuck the Facts and ‘Shift’ era Nasum and blend with the rustic punk intensity of bands like Converge and Trap Them and you get an approximation of what this band sounds like. I like to refer to it as ‘Sad Grind’, a sound which augments the primal anger of grindcore with the melancholy and expressive introspection of depressive black metal. Some real barn-burners here, such as ‘Olympia’ and ‘Widowmaker’, and the band even has the balls to cover the Neil Young classic ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’. How kick ass is that? But the stand out track for me has to be ‘Infinity Chasm’. An absolutely stunning display of beautiful sadness augmented by very Converge like vocals and atmosphere slowly builds into a crescendo of glorious Powerviolence intensity. Mark my words, this band is going places, hop on board while you still can:

Lxs Jugadxs – Demo

These guys are definitely tied with Hatefuck (hatefuck.bandcamp.com) for being the most ‘fun’ grindcore bands to listen to this year, although I think these guys are a bit more serious then the Hatefuck crew. Suffocating with their technicality yet not above getting down with some sinister death metal groove, this is probably the single best demo I’ve heard all year. Definitely in the same vein as bands like Maruta and Priapus. The vocalist sounds like he is absolutely losing his mind without ever having to resort to death growls or high pitch shrieks, just mid level barking. The snare drum is a little ‘pong-y’ and that might turn some people off but I feel it adds a certain level of character to the barbaric proceedings. Tune in and drop out: