Welcome to a new mini-feature here at Blast Worship INC: Round-Up, in which I shine a spotlight on a group of bands that have tickled my fancy who don’t quite fall under the specific grindcore umbrella but deserve recognition nonetheless. This time around we’ll focus on some killer powerviolence bands who have caught my ear recently and whose musical gifts I wish to share with you, the dedicated reader. Giddy Up, baby.
MEDICATION TIME
This Slovakian group’s split with Mental Tension pretty much is the perfect example of modern PV executed at a high level: berserk Gets Worse-style fast parts intermittent with punishing breakdowns and just some of the most perfect Mongo-style vocals with just the right amount of reverb on them. My favorite moment on this album is actually the count-in the singer does to start the first track, it’s just so fucking punk.
HARM DONE
I was dismayed as I was starting to write this article when I found out that this French powerhouse recently called it quits. At least it appears to be on amicable terms which at the very least is better than being #cancelled. This is definitely the bro-iest band on this list as the mosh parts here are just completely ignorant, so if you’re Jon Chang you might want to avoid this stuff. Everyone else though should be able to glean some caveman-like enjoyment
HONG KONG FUCK YOU
Normally I am not too keen on PV bands that are only bass and drums, but the fact that this band has TWO bass players and manages to make music that is equal parts pissed off, unique and catchy is a testament to their PV greatness. Once again I think the vocals really make this one for me, that and the fact that the drummer executes everything with super-tight precision makes this album one of the most surprisingly brutal pieces of music I’ve heard so far in 2019.
FISSURE
I could tell you about this band’s punk-as-fuck take on west coast PV but instead I just want to talk about how I witnessed this band’s bassist prank call several hotels in Las Vegas pretending to be the lead singer of Korn. It was hands-down the funniest thing I have witnessed in the past 10 years, and this is coming from a guy who does stand-up comedy six days a week. DA BOOM DA NA BOOM.
SICK SHIT
I’m not sure you could technically call this New Jersey based group a “powerviolence” band, at least in terms of musicality, but god damn do they get everything else right. Having known this band for several years, I can honestly say they are the most punk motherfuckers in the game right now. Everything about this band drips with pissed-off cynicism and just plain old “not-giving-a-fuck.” Get beaned, coward.
GOOLAGOON
Powerviolence. Spongebob. Surf rock. I mean, what more could you possibly want from a band? I normally really hate “gimmick” bands (you know who you are) but this group holds it’s own and doesn’t solely rely on their Spongebobness to garner attention. F is for friends who do stuff together.
