It's almost here! Tomorrow is Complexity Fest 2017, sponsored by Mathcore Index and featuring our friends in Arms in their European debut just days after their signing to Dark Trail Records, Frontierer in their EU mainland debut, Gorod, Obscura, Ihsahn, Humanity's Last Breath, Uneven Structure, and many more!
I hate ranking things I love (especially when it comes to music), and because this year was so exceptionally challenging, I decided to organize my lists based upon pure volume of listens. I also took the time to make a list for unsigned/underground acts, another for signed/major acts (bands that are well known within our scene), and finally 2 smaller lists for EPs and honorable mentions, respectively. Lastly, most of these bands appear on our compilations, so hopefully that doesn't come as a surprise. Allons-i.
Paul Hundeby (also of City of Ifa and City Pro Recordings), the mastermind behind this once one-man project, wrote and recorded all instruments as well handling all engineering and production duties on this powerhouse of a record. I love this record because each song holds truly memorable passages, and I find myself absentmindedly humming the riffs a lot. Arms shared the stage with many notable national touring acts in 2016, and this year they are making their first European appearance along with our friends in Frontierer at Complexity Fest 2017, which is sponsored by Mathcore Index.
"To Cast the First Stone" recalls the chaos of "Solace" while still retaining the heaviness of "Minus the Herd," and, simply put, is a banger. Many thanks to Good Fight Music for allowing them to appear on our second compilation, Mathcore Index: Volume 2.
The perfect band, and a perfect end (allegedly) to their career. I would say music is better now, them having existed, and there is no band more influential in our scene.
Here I have included my Bandcamp review for "Meta," as it still seems the most effective description:
"Absolutely outstanding and incredibly innovative, Car Bomb are one of the most compelling bands in extreme music, and they have truly outdone themselves (again) with "Meta." I could continue heaping praise or add comparisons to other bands, but the fact is: there is no comparison to Car Bomb."
It's the last Sunday of the month, which means its time yet again to browse through our recent submissions and discoveries of the last month or so, and from here on in we're keeping it strictly releases from the past month in question (that means anything released after our last Submission Sunday post).
This submission is sort of an obvious one if you follow our video premieres, but we wanted to give them exposure here as well; Telos, dark hardcore / mathcore from Copenhagen.
FFO: Converge, FBTMOF
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A super lo-fi but extremely compelling submission from Those Darn Gnomes (featuring members of Pyrrhon), avant-garde mathcore from San Diego. Quite the ensemble was utilized for this one.
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Super catchy submission from Geil, hardcore from Halifax.
FFO: Heavy Heavy Low Low, Prissy Whip, hardcore punk
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Dirty submission from Falter, heavy hardcore from Milwaukee.
FFO: Nails, His Hero Is Gone, Dead in the Dirt
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One of the most exciting submissions this month comes from Dead Kiwis, mathcore from Lyon, France. Be sure to watch out for the full EP, "Karate Karnage," January 2017.
FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Norma Jean,The Chariot
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Like weird noise? Nimitta's got you. Instrumental 2 piece from Chicago with an impressive back-catalog.
FFO: Yowie, The Flying Luttenbachers
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Our last submission is wild one, The Bugs, experimental hardcore / cybergrind from Sydney, Australia.
FFO: The Locust, Melt Banana, Head Wound City, Some Girls
We'll be back again on the last Sunday of every month with more of our favorite new releases, please support the bands; like them on Facebook, nab their releases on Bandcamp, buy their merch.
We are proud to present to you our second compilation, Mathcore Index: Volume 2, featuring nearly 30 unique underground artists from around the globe. Artwork by the supremely talented Karl Frandsen, layout by Tamás Bakó, and original logo by Keith Carlson.
