Archives for posts with tag: Gism

Mastering GAG “America’s Greatest Hits”

January 15, 2017 //

gag

Mastering GAG “America’s Greatest Hits” on Erste Theke Tontraeger.

“Your favorite mid-tempo manglers are back and you should hold on to your fucking shit because this noisy hardcore punk outfit will make you want to fight someone. GAG is from Olympia WA and bring deranged, distorted and noisy hardcore with strength and anger. This record is a continuous attack on your senses. And I mean that in the best possible way! Ferocious dissonant hardcore focused in intensity and all-out rage. Experimental hardcore, an album of feedback and reverb drenched punk. A storming sea full of noise, with delayed waves!

Our friends at sorry state said: I’ve loved this band pretty much from the beginning, but “Locker Room” just blows away their previous records with heavy, spot-on production and a complete sense of recklessness that very, very few bands are capable of capturing on record. Much like Gay Kiss and Avon Ladies, Gag at their best have this way of combining the meathead brutality of Hoax with something more dissonant, uncomfortable and exciting. Basically, what that means is that the bass player is playing a total pit-clearing riff while the guitar player(s?) just wail out with sheets of noise over the top. A simple formula, perhaps, but one that is executed to perfection here. This is the type of band you expect to see people emerging from the pit bruised and bloody after watching them.

Their earlier releases perhaps left a bit to be desired fidelity-wise, but this 12″ hits with maximum impact. The sound is raw, fucked, and wild hardcore with a heavy delay on the vocals and weird changes throughout. If you like bands like GISM, Church Whip, or United Mutation not just for their aggression but also for their weirdness as well, you’ll flip for GAG.

You want any references? I don’t have a clear one! Listen to this beast and judge for yourself! The only thing I can say, the flagship of the NEW WAVE OF INDUSTRIAL HARDCORE IS BACK! This is music for freaks! Play it loud, get weird and spread the noise with the upside down smile!”

Buy it here!

Tags Avon Ladies, Church Whip, Erste Theke Tonträger Records, GAG, Gay Kiss, Gism, Hoax, United Mutation

Categories Mastering

Mastering No Form 12"

August 16, 2015 //

Mastering No Form 12″ on Muscle Horse Records.

“A boundary-pushing record from the North of England. Bathing in the murk, devoid of light, it invokes a dark atmosphere that has little to do with any gothic plod or metal pose. This is punk, as antagonistic and cleansing as it ever can be. NO FORM’s notorious live power is finally captured on this, their first record, with four shorter pulsating numbers on Side A and one long jam on Side B that approaches the outer limits. Shrill, disconcerting guitar leads and tormented vocals slither over an affirmative pummel that exists at the meeting point between outlier hardcore punk – SIEGE/UNITED MUTATION/GISM – and post-punk/proto-industrial at its most confrontational – SPK/CABARET VOLTAIRE/GOOD MISSIONARIES. Deceptively catchy thrashing coexists with sinister, siren-call sax that evokes THROBBING GRISTLE. This is music for the perennially despondent. Music for the subconscious, not the fashion conscious. This is music that could have been the soundtrack to the Blood Garden in JG Ballard’s ‘High Rise’. This is music as life ritual, to be listened to by all or none.” (Rob Tyers)