| CD REVIEW Agoraphobic Nosebleed |
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Band: Agoraphobic Nosebleed Woooaaaarrrrrggghhhh…hhh…hhh…!!! Anyone trying to emulate the triple vocal wackiness of this band is bound to come up short in breath! Since its formation in 1994, Agoraphobic Nosebleed (further abreviated as ANb) has gone through several line-up changes, the only constant member being guitarist Scott Hull (also active in Pig Destroyer), whom replaced the original drummer for a programmable drum machine, allowing the band to occasionally play songs with up to 1,000 beats per minute! Oh…forgot to tell you: ANb is a Grindcore band, in fact, in spite of having released only 4 “full-length” albums to date (this one including, that leaves 1998’s Honky Reduction, 2002’s Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope, and 2003’s Altered States Of America) ANb has grown to be thé most influencial drum-machine Grindcore band. The band is a firm believer in the release of split 7-inch EPs [acts with whom they’ve allied to bring such product include Enemy Soil (1997), Laceration (1997), Gob (1998), Benümb (2001), Halo (2002), Kill The Client (2007, Total Fucking Destruction (2007), and Crom (2009)]. In between, they also released a split LP with Cattlepress (1997), a split CD with Converge (1999, titled the Poacher Diaries), a split LP/CD with Apartment 213 (2009), a split 5-inch/CD with Insect Warfare (Relapse, Nov. 2008), and several 7-inch EPs of their own (their self-titled 1996 debut release on Bovine Records, which followed the 1995 30 Song Demo cassette; a re-issue of same on Clean Plate Records; 1998’s PCP Torpedo (actually a 6-inch), and the 2007 A Clockwork Sodom). On top of that, Relapse issued the Bestial Machinery double disc compilation in 2005, and re-issued the PCP Tornado EP on CD in 2006, with a bonus CD featuring over an hour’s worth of remixes of the original 10 track, 6-minute EP! During 2007, they also re-issued the Altered States Of America with a bonus remix CD. Some ANb releases are still forthcoming this year: split 7-inches with Agents Of Satan (apparently rescheduled for 2010) and Endless Blockade (on Relapse), Lack Of Interest (on the Deep Six label)…I’m not sure how far things are with the split 7-inch with Crom, the split LP/CD with Despise You (Relapse), the split 12-inch with Thrones (Hydrahead), the split 5-inch with ANS (label currently unknown), and their collaboration with Wadge…but all of this should be enough to show you that the guys are currently quite active, correct? The “guys” currently include (besides Hull) singers Jay Randall (whoom also adds additional electronics), Katherine Katz (of Salome), and Richard Johnson (of Enemy Soil and Drugs Of Faith), whom also handles the bass! To get an idea of what the band sounds like (mind you, they have a tendency to make rather concisively short tracks – the Altered States Of America album, for instance, had 100 tracks played in just under 22 minutes, the longest clocking in at 1:45), surf to myspace.com/agoraphobicnb, where the band posted no less than 4 songs off the new album, all at least 2 minutes long (one even a full 3 minutes) alongside other releatively new material off split outings! One warning: do not try unless you have a good understanding of Grindcore! ANb is brutal, ultra-aggressive, and the fact that they have three singers each taking their turn (sometimes collaborating) makes for a varied vocal soundscape! Of course, if you haven’t got the stomach of stamina for this kind of Hyper Grind, you’ll probably get lost before getting through half of the 7 posted songs! Personally, I LOVE this band, have done so from the first time I came in contact with ‘em (their 2002 Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope), and simply can’t get enough of their frantic music! For some reason or other, I’ve always had a weird penchant for Grindcore, and would give any album in the genre a higher rating more easily…but in the genre, ANb are the absolute crown bearers! Ergo: here goes my nomination of “Agorapocalypse” in the category “Best (Grindcore) Album Of 2009”! 99/100 Tony. |