Cimiterium / Slavery split EP
This EP is a record that does not lie. We’ve all been disappointed with lying records, especially before you could stream everything beforehand. I remember getting a supposedly “crust-as-fuck” LP from an American band once, and it ended up being boring metallic hardcore. It looked crusty, the label said it sounded crusty, the distro said the same, and yet, it was not—the record did not do what it said it would and it was most upsetting. No such treacherous fannying around here: it looks like a stenchcore record, the bands proudly claim they do the stenchcore thing, and indeed, it sounds like stenchcore. Great customer service here. CIMITERIUM is a relatively young band from Melbourne I had the pleasure to see live last year, and they deliver what you’d expect from a band that uses a “battlecrust” logo. Perfectly executed ’00s-style stenchcore with an emphasis on the BOLT THROWER side of the spectrum. Heavy, super gruff, cavernous, downtuned filthy metal crust reminiscent of SANCTUM, CANCER SPREADING, or STAGNATION. Totally unsurprising. Of course I love it. On the other side your date will be with SLAVERY from Praga. They have been going for a while now, and their 2022 LP was a definite success in the always stable stenchcore category. They are thrashier than their Australian tag-team partners, and more epic I’d say, somewhere in the devastated neighbourhood of mid-’00s HELLSHOCK, early FATUM or early ’10s CANCER SPREADING (again). I particularly enjoy the moshing, mid-paced moments here, how aggressive the Czech vocals sound, and the fact that the song really keeps a punk production, warts and all. Another victory for soap-dodgers released on the always reliable Phobia Records.