Loose Teeth - Confronting The Inevitable Premiere

July 31st, save the date, because it's the day that the brand new split between Toronto (CAN) chaotic hardcore band Loose Teeth and and fellow metalcore countrymen Constrain is being released by Tomb Tree. To wet your appetites for the release, I'm lucky enough to be able to share Loose Teeth's closing song 'Confronting The Inevitable'. Play it loud below:-

Loose Teeth had the following to say about both the song and the split:-

“Confronting the inevitable is a commentary on the encombrant struggle that is; accepting a wealth of mental health issues brought on by years of maladaptive substance abuse as a means of coping with trauma. It is meant as a reminder that there comes a time when excessive medication used as an anxious-avoidant agent without coupled therapy - or other means of acceptance - leads to a breaking point. For some, that breaking point can be harnessed as a positive turning point where they seek out appropriate help or manage to make significant changes on their own. For others, it can mean a detrimental impact on their livelihood or worse.”

“This split is a large departure for Loose Teeth. We wanted to do something different and express our more emotive side following “A Comorbid Letter” and ahead of an even more aggressive album later this year. There are very few times where we have a moment to breathe and reflect when expressing the darkest forms of ourselves constantly and we had some spare time to do so over the pandemic when we wrote these songs from opposite sides of the continent together. Constrain are a new group formed from long-standing friends and pillars of the hardcore community in Hamilton and they were a natural fit. We’re also stoked to be backed by the amazing people at Tomb Tree and even had some assistance from No Funeral Records with the artwork.”

In terms of the physical goods from Tomb Tree, the split will be pressed on a total of 33 tapes. 20 will be on silver swirl, 10 on grey with 3 test dips coming with matching swirl cases. You can peek them below:-

Finally, the full tracklisting for the split is as follows:-

1. Constrain - The Fantastic Mr. Fox (You cussin_ with me -) ft. Thomas Erak of The Fall Of Troy

2. Loose Teeth - Rancor

3. Constrain - Lavitz

4. Loose Teeth - Longest Week

5. Constrain - When I Was Sick

6. Loose Teeth - Confronting The Inevitable

Keep your eyes peeled on the links below for news of the split drop:-

Tomb Tree - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/tomb-tree-tapes / https://www.facebook.com/tombtreetapes

Loose Teeth - https://www.facebook.com/LooseTeethHC

Constrain - https://www.facebook.com/Constrain905

Stuntman/Art Of Burning Water - Split 7"

Labels: Bigout Records/Ecstatic Shock/Emergence/Dingleberry Records/ Jungle Khol/Superfi Records/Wooaaargh Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Tracklist:

1. Stuntman - Easy Prey

2. Art Of Burning Water - The Death Of Unconditional Love In The Age Of I-Me-Me

3. Art Of Burning Water - Don't Need (Deep Wound Cover)

The march continues unabated in 2018, with countless releases still to see the light of day. This split 7" featuring French noisy hardcore mob Stuntman and fellow Brits Art Of Burning Water is very new indeed and will hopefully help to kick you full-force into the second half of your week. It was forged out of a long friendship between both bands and is being released by a group of labels that share an equal friendship. Two heavy, fast originals and a Deep Wound cover. What's not to like?

If you want chaotic and brutally noisy hardcore, then Stuntman is most definitely your band. Metallic guitars, up-tempo blasting percussion and vocals delivered with ferocious intent should be enough for you on their song Easy Prey. However; if they’re not, then Stuntman’s combination of fast and slow heaviness will seal the deal. There’s the best of both worlds here including a heap of powerviolence-esque sludginess. 

Art Of Burning Water are known for not taking any prisoners. The Death Of Unconditional Love In The Age Of I-Me-Me is filled with huge riffs that sound more like proper hardcore stompers before the pace is upped and they fly headlong into some grinding hardcore madness. They add a cover of Deep Wound’s Don’t Need onto the end of this split and it’s ever shifting time-signatures suit them down to the ground. 

AOBW are masters at what they do and Stuntman’s added ferocity makes this split a must for fans of heavy and noisy hardcore. So many bands play this form of hardcore but both bands here deliver it in a unique way, which is exhilarating to listen to.

You can stream and grab a download of the full split below:-

Stuntman - https://www.facebook.com/stuntmannoise/

Art Of Burning Water - https://www.facebook.com/aobwmusic/

Physical copies can be ordered from the links below:-

Bigout Records - https://www.bigoutrecords.com/cat/bigout-releases/

Dingleberry Records - https://www.facebook.com/Dingleberry-records-and-distribution

Jungle Khol - https://www.facebook.com/Jungle-KHÔL

Superfi Records - http://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/

Wooaaargh Records - http://www.wooaaargh.com/

Bigout Records - https://www.facebook.com/bigoutrecords/

Superfi Records - https://www.facebook.com/superfirecords/

Wooaaargh Records - https://www.facebook.com/WOOAAARGH/

I've been unable to find store/page links for Ecstatic Shock Records or Emergence Records, so please help me out if know of any! Thanks.

Wowod - Nutro

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 19 Jan 2018

Tracklist:

1. V Nas Net Lvbvi

2. Cerbervs

3. Chvzhoe Nutro

4. Sozdatel'

5. Slepaya Vera

6. Death

When I started doing interviews again at the turn of the year, Russian blackened hardcore/post-metal band Wowod was one of the first bands I contacted and the first to be featured. You can read that interview here. It felt great to be able to feature a band like Wowod, whom were completely new to me. I promised myself for ages that I'd sit down and give their 2018 debut record "Nutro" a proper write-up and after a little bit of time, here I am. Wowod formed in 2017 and they've already notched up a lot of shows in Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine (including a show alongside Wiegedood in St. Petersburg).

Angular, heavy hardcore and sludge tempos are the order of the day on “Nutro” as opener V Nas Net Lvbvi sets a nasty tone. The vocals are spewed out in Russian with both deep growls and high-pitched screams, while the instrumentation underneath is both technical but also raging in the same way that bands like Gaza are (or were). Cerbervs is more aligned to hardcore early on but Wowod’s black metal textures shine through and provide both melody and layers of sound that are completely engaging in their entirety. All forms of extreme hardcore and metal can be emotive and eye-opening in their own way and this is no different. 

Wowod leaves the murkiness of the previous song behind with a big climb in tempo on Chvzhoe Nutro. The bouncing punk rhythms laid down by the drums during the opening sixty-seconds are impossible to ignore, while their ability to temper that speed with a latter half that’s on the other end of the spectrum in terms of speed, seems effortless. Despite the seemingly expansive nature of Wowod’s music, “Nutro” passes by extremely quickly and Sozdatel’ guides you into it’s second half with another haunting black/post metal number. It’s the longest song on the record and while it has plenty of progression, it’s not overly experimental or head scratching. It stays very much true to Wowod’s sound and their approach to heavy music. 

The intensity of the record is most aptly displayed in penultimate song Slepaya Vera. It distills everything that is great about Wowod and puts all of that emotion and catharsis into one song. Music doesn’t have to be fast 100% of the time to be intense. That descriptor means different things to different people, but to me it’s about how it makes me feel and how engaged I get with it. This album makes me feel so happy that I get the chance to do this, to listen too and write about bands like Wowod. Who would’ve thought that through music with such negativity at it’s base, it would invoke that kind of reaction. Talking of negativity as a catalyst, Death is a very apt closing song. It’s urgency is apparent and it’s the band’s last opportunity to rage and rage they do. Revisiting “Nutro” has been brilliant, it’s great. Wowod is great. 

You can stream "Nutro" and purchase it digitally below:-

Wowod - https://www.facebook.com/wearewowod/

Untold Want/Ostraca/Vril/Coma Regalia - Yarrow 4-Way Split

Labels: Zegema Beach Records/Middle-Man Records/I Corrupt Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 04 Sep 2017

Tracklist:

1. Untold Want - Nameless/Formless

2. Untold Want - Bright As Ash

3. Untold Want - Soft Veils

4. Untold Want - Second Child

5. Ostraca - Against Decency

6. Ostraca - So Do I

7. Vril - Sacrosanct

8. Vril - Vemodalen

9. Vril - Mirrorshield

10. Coma Regalia - Convince

11. Coma Regalia - Destroy

12. Coma Regalia - Release

Another day another screamo release. Not by design but because I found me some extra time and because I'm a sucker for it. This 4-way split was released in late 2017 (early 2018 if you're talking about the 10" vinyl pressing) and it features four US bands that all present a variation on a theme. The only band on here that I'm truly familiar with is Coma Regalia, but I'm eager to hear Untold Want, Ostraca and Vril as well. Untold Want is from Denver (Colorado), Ostraca is from Richmond (Virginia), Vril is from Los Angeles (California) and Coma Regalia is from Indiana. 

It’s so great to be able to listen to a record that features four like-minded bands, sharing the same passion for the music they play. That’s exactly what happens here on “Yarrow”. Untold Want is up first with four fairly short tracks. Their opener Nameless/Formless pretty much sets their stall out early with a chaotic, abrasive form of screamo and hardcore. They’re in the same vein as bands like SeeYouSpaceCowboy and oh yeah…Vein, but with less of a grinding mentality. That is until Bright As Ash comes along. It initially starts of at a mid-pace, before the band launches into something all the more destructive. Soft Veils follows suit with no real let up but with plenty of great riffs. Their final contribution Second Child features a whole heap of feedback and rabid screams. The rest of the instrumentation is just as chaotic as Untold Want leaves it’s mark planted straight in the middle of your forehead.

Ostraca is up next with two songs. Against Decency picks up where Untold Want left off in the abrasive department, with definitely more of an emo-violence feel. The underlying melody created by the guitars permeates through the noise though and makes for a captivating listen. Their expanded song-writing on second song So Do I is a welcome addition to the record and it suits their sound really well. Quite mesmeric at times. Vril are instantly more of a technical proposition. Their first song Sacrosanct is experimental and leans towards the metallic end of the screamo spectrum. It’s layered with cool guitar melodies and filled with atmosphere. Vemodalen is an interlude that breaks up Vril’s intensity and leads to Mirrorshield, which underlines the subtle old-school approach that they take. Vril is a great find, though as you read this they have changed their name (or are about to) to Nuvolascura.

This record ends with the always frenetic screamo of Coma Regalia. Convince is an angry song that’s full of impact. For such a productive band to write such consistently good songs is incredible. There’s a lesson in here for younger bands. Destroy is punchy and to-the-point, following on from where Convince left off. In fact all three songs sound as though they were conceived as one and then split up (if you know what I mean). Release certainly feels that way and brings this record to a highly charged conclusion.  I hate writing closing pieces for reviews like this, as I don’t want to sound pretentious. If you like (proper) screamo/violence and you want to take a chance, you could do far far worse than to pick this up. Every song is great and each band has their own personality. 

You can stream "Yarrow" below:-

Untold Want - https://www.facebook.com/untoldwant/

Ostraca - https://www.facebook.com/ostracava/

Vril - https://www.facebook.com/Nuvolascura/

Coma Regalia - https://www.facebook.com/comaregalia/

Physical copies can be purchased from the labels below:-

Zegema Beach Records (Can/Aus/NZ) - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/

Middle-Man Records (USA) - http://middlemanrecords.storenvy.com/collections

I.Corrupt Records (Eur) - http://icorruptrecords.com/products/icr-releases

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords/

Middle-Man Records - https://www.facebook.com/middlemanrecords/

I.Corrupt Records - https://www.facebook.com/icorruptrecs/

10 Questions: Wowod

Recently, I wrestled with the idea of giving up on doing band interviews on This Noise Is Ours, because I never felt that I was that good at coming up with interesting questions and also because of the amount I've sent out to people that have never found their way back to me. Earlier this year I came with idea of doing standard interviews (using the same 10 questions, hence the name!) that will provide readers and music fans with introductions to new bands, while being able to reach more bands and give them more promotion. I've contacted a number of bands already in recent weeks and Wowod is the first band I'm featuring.

1. Who is in the band and where are you from?

Wowod is a quartet from a gloomy, cold but charming city of St. Petersburg (Russia) that cannot but inspire heavy gloomy music. Mikhail plays the drums, Konstantin plays the bass guitar, Gennady plays the guitar, and Anton sings.

2. What is the history of Wowod? When and how did you form?

Our final lineup was formed at the beginning of 2017. Gennady had played in the band until 2013, and when it broke up, he started to search of guys to play with. This search was a long one. It may sound funny, but all new band members wore Plebeian Grandstand T-shirts. It was a sign. Mikhail was the first who joined the band. Gennady found him on VK, and there was a picture of him wearing this T-shirt while playing drums. Konstantin had tried speak to with Gennady earlier, but these efforts were fruitless. However, they moved to a new location, and he was sitting there with his other band in these T-shirts, when Gennady offered him to play together again. Konstantin agreed at once. Then there was a complicated search for a singer when Anton turned up. He was performing in a Plebeian Grandstand T-shirt with his other band. And this is how Wowod was put together.

3. Have any of you played in previous bands and are you any other bands currently?

We all have played in two or three bands of different genres. We’d rather not speak about that. All of us, apart from Mikhail, currently have an additional project or band. Konstantin is playing in Antethic that winning hearts of post-rockers from all around the world, Anton is playing in a post-black band Pechora, and Gennady is working on his project Gena together with a drummer from Antethic.

4. Who write’s the lyrics/music? Is it collective? 

We make some final adjustments all together, but the major part of lyrics is brought to us by Anton, and the music is created by Gennady.

5. What subjects do you cover in your lyrics?

We touch upon various eerie supernatural images that can be easily projected to our world. We’ll try to explain what we mean, as it could be quite difficult for non-Russian speakers. For example, the song “V Nas Net Lvbvi” (There is No Love in Us) is a story where human-like half-souls lack such a basic feeling as love, which makes them suffer endlessly, buried in the ground, and they are burning there. The song “Slepaya Vera” (Blind Faith) is about fanaticism when the common sense is sleeping, like a fetus in the womb. It’s also about the moment of awakening when it is all too late to fix anything. 

“Chuzoe Nutro” (Stranger's Gut) is a song about something supernatural that appears in you, takes root and totally consumes you at some point, so you remain just an observer in your own body.

6. Are there any bands that have influenced you?

We like the French and Belgian scene very much. At some time, we were influenced by early Plebeian Grandstand and I Pilot Daemon. We were influenced by various bands at different times, but it all probably have started with these two.

7. What are your favourite albums/EPs at the moment?

Our new favourite albums are released by GoGo Penguin, Rolo Tomassi, Шишкин Лес (Cone Forest) and Carpenter Brut.

8. What is your favourite gig/tour story?

Let tour stories stay in tours. Hahaha. We'd share just this one about an angry Russian cop who claimed to have chased us for several kilometers with his beacon light flashing, while we were ignoring him. He then tried to break into our car without even suspecting that all outer door handles were broken apart, except the driver’s, and when he finally got in he said, “Well! А fun tour, we have arrived!” We almost laughed right out loud. After a bit of haggling on the roadside we gave him a little money and moved on.

9. What is your local heavy/punk scene like and who should we check out (band-wise)?

Oh, the St. Petersburg stage is fabulous. We are proud to say that you cannot imagine how many cool bands we have here. If to look at the heavier side, you should check out Euglena, Колчак (Kolchak), Mother, Vranac and Ypres. In Moscow there are Tsygun, Volan and Kulta. They are awesome guys. Believe us, it’s just a handful of bands from a long list.

10. What is your favourite beer (if you drink)?

WE LOVE BEER! Невское Классическое (Nevskoye Classic), it’s a Petersburg classic lager, still unchanged as the years go by, unlike other brands. We also like craft beer, for example, Мохнатый шмель (Mokhnaty Shmel/Shaggy Bumblebee) and Craft Brew Riots products.

Wowod sent across some more band shots, which I've shared below:-

Wowod describe their music as chaotic hardcore with post-metal and they certainly follow in the footsteps of bands like Plebeian Grandstand and the like. If you're a fan of Calligram from the UK, then you should give these guys a listen. 

They recently released their debut EP "Nutro" on bandcamp. You can stream and purchase it digitally below:-

Links to Wowod and their other projects are below:-

Wowod - https://www.facebook.com/wearewowod/

Antethic - https://www.facebook.com/Antethic/

Pechora - https://pechora.bandcamp.com 

Gena - https://www.facebook.com/wearegena/