Greed Worm/Blackwater Sniper - Dance Tonight! Decomposition Tomorrow! Split

Labels: Tomb Tree

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 11 Jan 2023

Tracklist:

1. Greed Worm - Project Sunshine (feat. Z from WastedInkk)

2. Greed Worm - Gary Webb

3. Blackwater Sniper - Blunt Force Negotiation

4. Blackwater Sniper - He Calls Me Friend

Some of you might remember my review of Chicago hardcore/grind band Greed Worm's their Hell Is Real last April. That EP went hard! Well... they released a split tape in January alongside fellow Chicago powerviolence band Blackwater Sniper, via Tomb Tree (limited to a mere 79 copies). Two songs from each band, as well as a not so subtle nod to Orchid!

Something tells me this split isn’t going to be laid-back. Greed Worm’s side flies right out of the traps with ‘Project Sunshine’ and what can only be described as utter pandemonium. Screamo, panic chords, mathcore, grind and everything heavy makes the cut here. Even windpipes get some prime real estate as it closes! ‘Gary Webb’ sees Greed Worm lulling you into a false sense of security with an extended (for them) instrumental build up before unleashing more hardcore-infused madness. So enjoyable in it’s sheer brutality.

Blackwater Sniper are an unknown quantity to me and their opener ‘Blunt Force Negotiation’ leads down a glitchy, noisy, drum machine-led path filled with samples and electronic effects. I read that Spotify rejected their music because it was too fast. Spotify’s loss if you ask me! ‘He Calls Me Friend’ points towards Blackwater Sniper’s rejection of God and the music does nothing to dampen that notion. High/low vocals, guitar feedback and earth-shaking percussion show just how end-time inducing they can be. A brief but epic intro to the band.

I’m pretty sure I say this all the time but this split is too short! Greed Worm satisfy that love for mathy/violent hardcore while Blackwater Sniper cure the weirdness itch, while both together help to fill the void left by (the no longer active) Grindcore Karaoke net label. Grab a tape while they last!

Stream and purchase the split digitally below:-

Greed Worm Instagram - @greed_worm

Blackwater Sniper Instagram - @blackwater_sniper

Here's the video for 'Gary Webb' as well:-

Physical tapes can be purchased from Tomb Tree below:-

Tomb Tree - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/tomb-tree-tapes/tt089

Tomb Tree - https://www.facebook.com/tombtreetapes

Song Premiere: Greed Worm - Baptized By Arsonists + Hell Is Real EP Review

On April 20th Tomb Tree will be releasing the EP Hell Is Real by Chicago's Greed Worm on 12" lathe format. Some are even rumoured to be swirl dipped. If you've been checking in with ZBR/Tomb Tree of late, you'll have seen some dipped LPs already. They're a work of art! 

Greed Worm is a sludgy hardcore band from Chicago and this is their debut release. It's my pleasure to be able to share track 2 'Baptized By Arsonists' with you prior to the full EP release on Wednesday:-

Make sure you head over to https://www.facebook.com/tombtreetapes tomorrow, to get a peak at the physical records.

Lathes go live on the Tomb Tree store at 11am CST on April 20th - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/tomb-tree-tapes 

The EP will be available digitally via bandcamp too - https://tombtreetapes.bandcamp.com.

Tracklist: 

1. Trash Kingdom

2. Baptized By Arsonists

3. Cold Dead Hands

4. Hell Is Real

5. Sermons Of Vermin

6. Dumbocracy

Greed Worm is a proper heavy prospect. EP opener ‘Trash Kingdom’ starts out as mid-paced, stomping sludgy hardcore before hitting a higher tempo later on. Bass-heavy, it takes it’s lead from the drumming, which dictates the intense riffs and throaty roars. The blasting that closed out the opening song, carries on through to ‘Baptized By Arsonists’. There’s a slightly distressed rawness to it but that’s how it should be. Just balls-out heavy hardcore in a nutshell. 

Greed Worm’s use of samples throughout paints a picture of the EP’s theme, which is pretty apocalyptic. ‘Cold Dead Hands’ employs a lengthy sampled passage at it’s beginning and when the full band hits the loud pedal, it reminds me of the slower, sludgier end of powerviolence. I’m pretty convinced that this is one of the heaviest releases that Tomb Tree has been involved in. The title-track ‘Hell Is Real’ definitely backs up that notion with some added technicality and metallic might.

It feels like Greed Worm is heralding a new age of metallic hardcore. ’Sermons Of Vermin’ is a battering ram that decries the state of the US at the moment and in doing so, it brings the political message back into the music too. EP closer ‘Dumbocracy’ takes on more of an industrial form, which I guess has been present throughout but it’s more obvious here, especially in the percussion. It’s ends very abruptly and then there’s about ninety-seconds of silence before some bizarre, electronic music and vocals appear, as if they were a secret track. A great EP overall

FFO: Integrity, Cursed, Trap Them, Water Torture, Full of Hell (IMO)

Greed Worm - https://www.facebook.com/GreedWorm