Fuck the Facts - Amer

"The Beauty Under the Grind"

Fuck the Facts is a band that has been around since 1999 with Topon Das being the only original member left, they have released eight albums and a ton of splits, EP's and compilations. And in my opinion the band really got into its groove when vocalist Mel Mongeon entered the band in 2002. It was when I listened to their 2006 album Stigmata High Five, that I was intrigued with the bands panicky and eccentric grindcore and melodic, groovy and noisy style of death metal. And it should be said right away that I really love this band, so it is very hard for me to maintain an objective view of this EP.

Fuck the Facts have changed their sound slowly over the years, from a very eerily and outright maniacal sounding grindcore group to the more melodic and groovy sounding metal, while still maintaining their grindcore roots. While this EP certainly has much more melody and less grindcore, their intentions are the same. Insane up-beat music on songs such as 'Vent Du Nord' and mindblowingly beautiful passages in songs such as 'Une Triste Vue' and 'Amère', Now I must admit that I don't know shit about the french language even though I had it in school through 7th to the 9th grade. But I don't really mind it since I don't read lyrics half the time I listen to metal anyways, there is one song with english lyrics though and that track is just as good as the others.

The whole EP is full of both intense grindy moments and fantasticly executed more melodic passages. Topon delivers some really insane riffing, the insane kinda riffing that is both wild and catchy at the same time. Drummer Vil applies fast and precise blast beats and other tricky-sounding beats. The bass I can rarily hear, though bassist Marc Bourgon delivers some great backing vocals. On top of the pile of excellent music and productions is Mel Mongeon's signature yelling vocals mixed with some deep-growls which was used on the
last album 'Die Miserable' and EP 'Misery', and they're certainly a welcoming addition on this EP as much as they were on the forementioned.

Fuck the Facts is a band that continues to get better and better, and this is no exception. This is definitely a great collection of tracks that I'm gonna listen to a long time from now.

Rating

8.8

Exhumed - Platters of Splatter

''A Feculent Cluster of the Purest Gore Metal''

When I first saw the album cover to this album sitting in the store I picked it up and thought it was disgusting as hell. All I saw was a gorefest, I did not think it was resembling anything, but now my eyes see it is a tribute shrine for all the filthy, disemboweling goregrind Exhumed did back in the day.  Little did I know that some years later I bought this very record and it would become one of my all-time favourites.

At the beginning of this feast of a beast, a typical death metal enthusiast's mouth would make it drivel all over. Its, griddy production value, the muddy guitar-squeeling sounds, vocals both so high and low that it will make your head explode and lyrics so grisly and loathsome it made me cringe, which gore lyrics normally don't do. Most gore metal fans just don't take the gore lyrics-thing too serious, they just have fun with it. And Exhumed sure had fun with them here, but at the same time they are very disturbing imagewise.

Matt Harvey really is a frenetic and hard-working musician, you can hear that on tracks like 'Necrovores: Decomposing The Inanimate' and 'Bone Fucker', so many changes, passages and variation of chugging and tremolo-picking. Harvey's gore-soaked vocals completely dominates this record, they are in great shape and really tearing up each track like it was a chunk of dripping flesh, plus they have a striking resembling to Carcass, which is also the main inspiration for the most of Exhumed's 20 year long career.

Now, the only thing that bugs me with this record are the drums and the bass. Now the drums are audible most of the time, but sometimes they are very muddy and sloppily produced, but that is to be expected since it is from self-produced and released demos. The bass is almost inaudible throughout all the demos, except on a few tracks like 'Emeticide' and 'Quagmire of Flesh'. But besides it being buried beneath the bludgeoning drums and screeching guitars it just becomes awesome and does its own kind of thing, when you can hear it.

This platter splattered masterpiece remains one of my favourite records to listen too on a daily basis, the sheer brutality, variation with interesting covers and just pure awesomeness. A great recollection of the early Exhumed, and is something every death metal and grindcore fans should listen to, it will be worth your time and money. This band is a true testimony to all that is good about extreme music, it will demand your attention and punch you in the balls with a chainsaw for a hand if you don't give it.

Memorable songs:
Horrendous Member Dismemberment, Necrovores: Decomposing The Inanimate, Torso, Dead Again, Goreified, Grotesque Putrefied Brains, Quagmire of Flesh and Puke of the Dead

Rating

8.5