Where they from?
Cleveland, Ohio. Is it at all weird that I didn’t even have to look it up to know that this band was from Ohio? There is something about that particular state and the fast music it puts out that makes it very distinct. I’ve heard it described as “hillbilly grind” and uh, “a bunch of dudes in a basement watching murder documentaries and fiddling around on 7-strings.” This band, along with groups like Hemdale and Pizza Hi-Five, carry the mark of The ‘Land heavy on their proverbial sleeves.
What do they sound like?
Like Discordance Axis but if Jon Chang watched skateboarding accidents on YouTube rather than anime.
Why the hype?
Travel back with me to a forgotten time known only as “2009”. This was a time when I, a young whippersnapper just getting seriously into grindcore, happened upon a blog (yes, a blog) called CEPHALOCHROMOSCOPE and started a correspondence with the Czech man who ran this site and we discussed our mutual worship of Discordance Axis. He informed me of a small, but growing school of bands who drew direct influence from them such as Agents of Abhorrence and Swarrrm, and somehow he dropped the name “Jesusegg”. Despite being instantly put off by their name, and the absolute hyper-obscurity they resided in (he literally had to e-mail me their album because it did not exist anywhere on the internet) they quickly became my favorite of the bunch. They married the angular Discordance Axis sound with the bouncy nu-metal grind/grooves of Hewhocorrupts and the crusty metallic guitar tone of Damage Digital. This all very much makes sense to the 3 people on the planet familiar with those bands.
So, I was unbelievably delighted when I saw this band finally got their shit together and made a bandcamp with all their past music available and even a brand new album. But also, I found myself in a way weirdly disappointed, because to me there was just something special about a band so impossibly obscure, so below the radar that I was pretty sure I had listened to their music more than they had themselves. Oh well, life moves on. There will always be Ringbearer. (Ringbearer was an insane metalcore band from Iowa, if you know any of the members please ask them to make a bandcamp).
Latest Release?
The Second Coming. Though their collected earlier discography will probably always be my favorite album from this group, The Second Coming definitely does enough to show new listeners what this band is all about. It’s experimental Discordance Axis-worship that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Listen to “Mambo #4” and tell me it’s not the greatest thing you’ve ever heard, I dare you. Also, there are ska horns sprinkled throughout this thing. Take precaution.
