Orphan Donor - Ailments

Labels: Self-Released/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: CD/Digital

Released: 11 May 2026

Tracklist:-

1. Ailments

2. Lampmaster

3. Frail Forms

4. Viscera Coffin

5. The Same Emptiness

6. Show Me the Way

7. Void Eyes

8. Acidic Prism

It's back to reality with a bang this week! Post-holiday blues suck. What doesn't suck though is that Oprhan Donor released a new album back in May! It was self-released digitally by the band, while ZBR did a run of 100 digipak CDs. Grind meets metal meets noise-rock meets skramz.

Pennsylvania’s Orphan Donor are building a reputation for colourful, eye-catching album art (courtesy of @melted.gif here) and music that’s a beast all of its own. Starting off with the album title-track ‘Ailments’, you’re greeted with a very calm intro song with gentle trumpet and percussion. It’s got a soft jazz vibe, though that vibe doesn’t stick around for long, as ‘Lampmaster’ is where the heaviness kicks in. There’s atonal noise, which at times sounds industrial. There’s grindcore in several different time signatures and belligerent vocals that pierce through it all. Give it to your “average” music listener and they’d hate it, but it works.

From that insanity, ‘Frail Forms’ sounds oddly more structured as Orphan Donor deliver a sludge/noise-rock song that threatens to descend into sonic madness once again but stops just short. There’s me trying to make sense of it all, when I really can’t! ‘Viscera Coffin’ is a fine case in point as it’s a sub one-minute barrage of everything and all sorts. I have my window open to let in some cool air. I’m smiling manically because it’s also letting out this glorious racket.

Ailments isn’t a long record and in what seems like the blink of an eye, it’s already half-way through and ‘The Same Emptiness’ is coming at you like a black-jazz odyssey (except it’s only a little over thirty seconds). Familiar territory is sort of back on the horizon thanks to ‘Show Me the Way’, in that it’s one that opens with an instrumental noise-rock feel. The latter half is a twisting, gurning mass of grindcore and sludgy interludes. 

Penultimate song ‘Void Eyes’ is unlike anything else here. Yes, it’s grinding but the trumpet sounds like a malfunctioning air raid siren (which fits perfectly) and there’s a sense that Orphan Donor just threw caution to the wind, not that the rest of the album is an easy listen or anything! Closing it all out with ‘Acidic Prism’, there’s no time for pleasantries. Blasting noise punctuated by brief moments of off-kilter guitar, as screams fade in and out, and where the trumpet looms ominously in the final bars.

Some might say that I’m poking fun at Orphan Donor with this review,  but I’m not. Honestly, I don’t waste time writing about music I don’t like. I do like this. Ailments rules and Orphan Donor create noise that’s so infectious. Go and spin it all the time! 

You can stream Ailments below, where it's available to buy digitally or on CD directly from Orphan Donor:-

If you want a CD copy and live in Canada or Internationally, you can grab one from Zegema Beach Records here - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/ailments.

Orphan Donor Instagram - @orphan_donor

Zegema Beach Records Instagram - @zegema_beach

Naked Whipper - Chapel Defilement

Labels: Iron Bonehead Productions/Messe Noire Productions

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 31 Jan 2025

Tracklist:

1. Intro

2. Depraved to the Bone

3. Bloodstained White Icon

4. Top Notch Slavedriver

5. (Pray Macabre) Chapel Defilement

6. Fucked on Cross

7. Intro

8. Celebrate Their Downfall

9. Nail or be Nailed

10. Out the Norm

11. The Swinepriest Bedlam

12. Flamethrow Messiah / The Purgatory Trial

13. Wow Wow Wholy Whore, Hot Wax Fat Candles

30 years on their debut album Painstreaks, which gained them a cult following in the extreme metal underground, German black metal/grind band Naked Whipper returned earlier this year with their newest full-length Chapel Defilement. Their story began in 1993 with the release of their debut self-titled EP. Following the release of their second EP Moloch: Acid Orgy (also in 1995), they fell silent.

Naked Whipper's sole constant Dominus A.S. gathered together musicians from Germany's truly blasphemous underbelly and together, the quartet found themselves working in partnership with compatriots Iron Bonehead Productions, committing these thirteen tracks to vinyl and CD. A tape variant was released via fellow German label Messe Noire Productions, featuring two additional live tracks.

For transparency, I’m reviewing the Iron Bonehead release tonight. Chapel Defilement begins with an Intro (it’s actually the first of two intros on this album). It’s an unnerving intro where gentle piano joins female cries that almost fit the melody it plays. Those cries no doubt caused by the seedy sounding perpetrator. It’s actually quite a fitting opener as ‘Depraved to the Bone’ kicks in with instant force. It’s fast and grinding but not without its groove, which is sometimes missed by black metal bands. The mix of black metal and grind makes complete sense, blowing new life into current underground “trends”. 

‘Bloodstained White Icon’ takes the grind influence even further, especially given Naked Whipper’s respect for Napalm Death. It’s definitely for the maniacs! If you had forgotten that they were from Germany, that’s understandable as their sound very much aligns with the barbarity of Brazilian war metal. ‘Top Notch Slavedriver’ only adds to that notion with frenetic percussion, razor-sharp bass/guitar and utterly disgusting vocals. Dare I say how enjoyable this album is so far?.

Given the ferocity of the songs so far, ‘(Pray Macabre) Chapel Defilement’s song length might have you thinking it’s going to be a slower murkier number, but you’re wrong, as Naked Whipper use it to push their extremes even further. Infusing their sound with death metal influences, they continue to find ways to reach greater tempos. ‘Fucked on Cross’ proves exactly that with yet more crazed musicianship and festering vocals. I know Germany’s known for it’s Teutonic thrash but it seems like easy listening compared to this!

That second ‘Intro’ I mentioned above is scary white noise that leads into ‘Celebrate Their Downfall’, which sees Naked Whipper continuing their aural onslaught. Whether that ‘Intro’ should have been called an interlude is another matter but the song that follows it grinds and rocks in all the right places. ‘Nail or be Nailed’ is as rabid as Naked Whipper’s songs get here. Fast, blasting and blackened. There’s no more adequate way of describing it really.

As song-titles go, ’Out the Norm’ reads as if it was thought of by an Englishman! Obviously, that wasn’t the case though and semantics aside, you’re presented with yet another raging heretical hymn that leaves no time for calm. That hymn is followed immediately by ‘The Swinepriest Bedlam’, which maintains the same intense approach. It’s mad to think that after 30 years, Naked Whipper still sound as fearsome as they did back then.

They combine what seems like two songs into one for their penultimate number ‘Flamethrow Messiah / The Purgatory Trial’. It’s four-minutes in length, so it’s nearly a symphony for them! Jokes aside, it gathers so many different influences from the Teutonic thrash of their homeland, to the barbarism of Brazilian war metal and countless other influences besides. Closing out with ‘Wow Wow Wholy Whore, Hot Wax Fat Candles’, I’m not sure what to think. It could have been written and performed by Japan’s Abigail given its sexual references, but it’s all Naked Whipper’s own creation.

I know that it seems odd to be reviewing an album from January in December but it is what it is. I’d love to have the time (and earnings) to be able to run this blog full-time. Sadly, that isn’t the case and I have to remain a corporate slave. Bands like Naked Whipper help me keep the faith though as they unapologetically deliver music that means so much to them. One day we’ll exist in utopia, maybe!

You can stream and purchase Chapel Defilement on all formats (except vinyl) below:-

Vinyl and CD copies are also available to purchase from Hells Headbangers below:-

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

Naked Whipper - @naked_whipper_

Hells Headbangers - https://www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers

Messe Noire Productions - https://www.facebook.com/messenoireproductions

Obnoxious Concoction - Obnoxious Concoction

Labels: Dry Cough Records

Formats:Tape/Digital

Release Date: 21 Feb 2025

Tracklist:

1. Painkiller's Steel Chariot

2. The Vampire

3. Dredd Avenging Battalions of 2025 AD

4. Orkish Apotheosis

5. Rangifer Tarandus Disembowelment

6. Carboniferous Copacabana

7. Rage of Augment

It's almost August, like how has that happened! Time bloody flies and bands pop up overnight. Leeds-based death metal band Obnoxious Concoction released their debut self-titled EP in February via Dry Cough Records on full-body printed tapes (yes, I know I'm very late with this review). The quartet features members from Mortuary Spawn, Tormented Imp, Gorgon Vomit and Nepalese death metallers Animality.

This EP is a fast one, so if you haven’t already heard it, prepare yourselves. Opening with ‘Painkiller’s Steel Chariot’, the riffs are the first to hit you as they pave the way for blasting yet technical death-grind and properly ferocious vocals. This is insane from every angle already. ’The Vampire’ flails with subtle thrash metal tendencies, but stomping death metal isn’t far away. It fills the mid-section before the pace goes all the way up. 

Not being too serious is a good trait for any extreme metal band, which usually manifests itself in song-titles. ‘Dredd Avenging Battalions of 2025 AD’ is a fine example as Obnoxious Concoction mix their finest ingredients to produce a blistering recipe of extremity. ‘Orkish Apotheosis’ is both the EP’s mid-way point and also it’s shortest song, picking up where the previous song left off. Much more grind-heavy thanks to the percussion (maybe a hint of powerviolence in there too), while the guitars/vocals add so much heft and vibrancy (if that’s the right descriptor).

I had no idea but apparently Rangifer Tarandus is the scientific name from Reindeer or Caribou. I had to look it up because of ‘Rangifer Tarandus Disembowelment’, which follows. I’m guessing that Obnoxious Concoction don’t approve of animal cruelty so the song-title probably refers to somebody being disembowelled by a Reindeer. As violent an image as that is, it pretty much matches the tone of the song. You’ll understand why when you hear it (if you haven’t already!). I’ve also gotta call out the sick guitar soloing towards the end.

Moving onto the EP’s penultimate song and only example of alliteration ‘Carboniferous Copacabana’; after an initial bar or two of old-school death metal riffs, Obnoxious Concoction explode once again into technical, uptempo grinding death, complete with added grooves. Without any pause at all, you’re slung headfirst into final song ‘Rage of Augment’. It’s the cherry on top of what is a ridiculously good EP from another brilliant UK band.

Obnoxious Concoction seem to have already found a formula that sounds pretty much complete, which is no surprise really given their collective experience. You’ve got another reason to deep dive into UK death metal now.

You can stream the EP digitally and grab it as a name-your-price download from Obnoxious Concoction below:-

I picked up a tape copy as soon as it went on sale; however, 1 copy remains for sale via Dry Cough's bandcamp page here - https://drycough.bandcamp.com/album/obnoxious-concoction. Sell this MF out!

Obnoxious Concoction Instagram - @obnoxiousconcoction

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Euclid C Finder - A Standard Basis For The Set Of All Discontent

Labels: Self-Released/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 26 Feb 2018

Tracklist:

1. Morning Glory Memory (Quantico 3mph)

2. I Just Want To Live In A Banach Space

3. You Too Can Be A Toxic Avenger!

4. A Proof About Hungry Ghosts

5. October 31st, 1994

There's a bit of a strange explanation behind this review. I reviewed Euclid C Finder's self-titled EP back in November 2018 and around the time of it's release, Zegema Beach Records did a run of tapes for it that also included the band's earlier EP (this one), which was released digitally in February 2018. As I've already written about half of that ZBR comp release here (and it was going to be the next write-up in my ZBR roster series), it makes sense to focus on A Standard Basis For The Set Of All Discontent without repeating myself.

This marked the debut release for a mathcore/tech grind band that has grown in stature many times over in recent years (that’s even before you get to the new 2023 full-length). Made up of five songs that barely hit ten minutes and beginning with ‘Morning Glory Memory (Quantico 3mph)’, you’re greeted with the most angry mathcore you’ll probably ever hear. The grinding drums and hardcore-inspired guitar riffs are loud enough, but the vocals are delivered in such a way that they tower over everything else (at least to me anyway).

‘I Just Want To Live In A Banach Space’ follows immediately at frightening pace. It’s first thirty seconds are just a non-stop barrage of chaotic noise before Euclid C Finder breaks it up with an instrumental mid-section that’s top-tier powerviolence (at it’s slowest) and a stomping hardcore-punk close. It’s epic.

There’s one thing you can count on with a mathcore release and that’s the well thought-out (and sometimes obscure) song titles, like ‘You Too Can Be A Toxic Avenger!’. The metallic riffs and panic chords take full control this time, and they’re glorious in their jarring beauty as they’re woven into what could be best described as the aural equivalent of ADHD (and it’a totally fine by me).

It always amazes me how musicians can Inject so much intricacy into a sound that’s so violent, which for somebody who predominantly only listens to metal and hardcore, might come as a surprise. It might be because I’m not a musician myself. ‘A Proof About Hungry Ghosts’ illustrates the point I was trying to make perfectly as it flies by in just over a minute sounding so precise. You won’t find anything sloppy about Euclid C Finder.

It’s left to final song ‘October 31st, 1994’ to provide the most bizarre of EP endings. Much like when I first heard Capitol Swizzle Credit (thanks to Mathcore Index), this song hits me in exactly the same way with it’s initial burst of mad grind. Later on it settles slightly with some metallic (post?) hardcore vibes and draws to a subtly atmospheric close.

A Standard Basis For The Set Of All Discontent is now over five years old but age doesn’t affect it one bit. Hearing the first utterings of a band can set you off on a journey. The Euclid C Finder journey is fast and wild. You’ll want to retake it over and over again.

You can stream and purchase the EP digitally below:-

Euclid C Finder - https://www.facebook.com/euclidcfinder

The ZBR tapes are long sold out but you can stream and grab the full comp digitally here:-

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

Don't forget to check out Euclid's new album The Mirror, My Weapon, I Love You. I'll have a review of that one coming up in the near future.

Euth - Euth

Labels: Adorno Records/Convulse Records/Middle-Man Records/React With Protest/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 29 Apr 2018

Tracklist:

1. Twin Tombs

2. Land Of The Breathing

3. San Pedro

4. Caustic Skin

5. Peace In The Narrow

6. Bleached White Hell

7. Disposed

8. Anomic Death

I'm still some way off my aim of posting here once a day but then again expectations are a pain. I'm back on the ZBR train once more, where I journey through the label's (now extensive) roster. This evening I'm talking about Wyoming, US screamo/mathcore band Euth. Euth released their first demo in 2015, before a split with Closet Witch a year later and this self-titled album in 2018. They went on an indefinite hiatus in early 2020 with no promise of a return. Their final shows were spent alongside Portrayal Of Guilt and Street Sects amongst others (not a bad way to call time on things).

I love it when an album starts with a huge chunk of feedback and Euth’s opener ‘Twin Tombs’ fills that craving perfectly. The off-kilter, dissonant hardcore mixed with screamo and grind provides a glorious hit of chaotic violence, while gathering together excellent instrumentation. ‘Land Of The Breathing’ gives off some nice metallic hardcore vibes (even though it’s heavy on the panic chords). I’ve been listening to a lot of early metallic hardcore/metalcore recently and I think Euth’s sound Isn’t too far apart from bands like Disembodied and Turmoil, at it’s slower end. 

The combination of both fast grind and sludgier/meatier riffs on ‘San Pedro’ manage to hide the fact that it doesn’t last more than two minutes. It’s good value for that playing time though, especially during it’s second half. I love the two approaches. If you’re after something less immediate then ‘Caustic Skin’ breaks things up a bit. It’s not any less immediate in approach but just longer, giving more bang for the buck.

The second half of Euth continues in the same vein with the slow and brooding ‘Peace In The Narrow’. Grind isn’t far away on this one but it’s tempered with another layer of unnerving atmosphere and tense instrumentation. It shows exactly why Euth were chosen to share the stage with Portrayal Of Guilt! From here on out, you’re left kneeling at the alter of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it grinding madness, beginning with ‘Bleached White Hell’. If ever there was an apt song-title then this would be it.

Following up instantly and cloaked in feedback, ‘Disposed’ is filled with hardcore tempos and shrieking screamo vocals that come from a place more blackened. Ending it all with ‘Anomic Death’, Euth proceed to destroy though noise with a masterclass in distress-inducing hardcore. The dissonance is what makes it what it is. Completely and utterly immersive from start to finish.

I’ve had conversations with colleagues recently about music and why I like heavy music the most. On all occasions I’ve said it’s because I like music that makes me feel something, that’s not mainstream and helps to balance out the negativity of the daily grind. Euth does all of those things and even if this is the last recoding they ever do, it will be enough. 

You can still stream and purchase Euth digitally from the band below:-

Euth - https://www.facebook.com/EUTHWY

Physical copies are still available from the labels below:-

Adorno Records - https://adornorecords.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-8

React With Protest - http://www.reactwithprotest.org/store

Convulse Records - https://www.facebook.com/convulserecords

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

React With Protest - https://www.facebook.com/reactwithprotestdiy

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

Forcefed Horsehead - Monoceros

Labels: Owlripper Recordings/Screaming Skull Records

Formats: Digital/Tape

Release Date: 24 Mar 2023

Tracklist:

1. Every Death You Take

2. Futile

3. Novgorod

4. Ruins

5. Iri

6. The Black Sun

7. Dragged Back To Live

8. Ubernecro

9. Spell No Stones

10. Unending Appetite

11. In a Rut

12. ...And Then There Were None

As promised if you saw one of my most recent FB posts (if you didn't, find and follow me there!), you'll know that I was planning to write reviews of two very recent releases from Owlripper Recordings. Forcefed Horsehead are from Oslo, Norway and Monoceros is their newest body of work. They released their self-titled debut EP way back in 2011 and have remained somewhat under the radar until now, as they've gathered well-deserved coverage via Decibel, Invisible Oranges and Bandcamp Daily amongst others! Owlripper released this album digitally in late March, with Oslo's Screaming Skull Records putting out a limited tape run of 50 copies around the same time. 

Forcefed Horsehead deliver grind and punk as only Norwegians can. Cold Scandi-rawness sits alongside raging heaviness on album opener ‘Every Death You Take’ (is the title meant to be a play on the famous song by Sting & The Police?). It’s fast but there’s also a more foreboding sensitivity to it as well. I’ve known Paul from Owlripper for many years now and I know he has a love for bands with this intensity, so this release comes as no surprise.

Alongside the grind und blast there’s a hefty dose of proper punk attitude, as evidenced on ‘Futile’. It’s rhythmically catchy while also being off-kilter in the right places. It stops short of being a straight-up grind song thanks to FH’s excellently performed guitar work, which for this type of extreme music, is surprisingly crisp. It reminds me a bit of some of the metalcore bands that made up the NWOAHM back in the early 00’s, like Overcast, Blood Has Been Shed and the like (as opposed to the more theatrical names). Comparisons are fruitless though so don’t shoot me down here. 

‘Novgorod’ goes in a different direction with a rawness that’s as cold as the city it’s named after. Coldness doesn’t necessarily mean unlistenable though, as it’s still got undeniably listenable hooks and melody, amongst the percussion and full-on growls. I’ve read that people have name-checked Cancer Bats when referring to FH and I can totally see why.

I can already tell this review’s gonna turn into a lengthy one (sorry, not sorry) as ‘Ruins’ begins with the most black metal-esque intro so far. It leads into a song that’s over before you know it, crawling with crust and a belligerent outlook. On hearing ‘Iri’, I’d say that FH embody fellow Scandinavian bands Turbonegro and Kvelertak purely for the catchiness of the riffs alone. That is before they go in a bewilderingly progressive death metal direction though. There’s so much going on here and we’re not even halfway through yet!

Closing the first half of Monoceros with ‘The Black Sun’, FH channel the dread induced sludge/doom of Primitive Man with the psych/prog of Leviathan-era Mastodon. It’s a departure from their faster songs for the most part, proving that they’re not just about the shock and awe (though fastness does seep in at times). The album’s latter half begins with the off-kilter/thrashing punk of ‘Dragged Back To Life’, in case you were too relaxed after listening to ‘The Black Sun’. Gang vocals are used to full effect here as well.

Naming a song ‘Ubernecro’ is either pure tongue-in-cheek or brave depending on your outlook. The song that bares it’s name is anything but necro, relying instead on FH’s musical blueprint. It’s a blueprint that brings to mind the sludgier PV of Famine (the Leeds, UK one). ’Spell No Stones’ moves in death metal circles again, but briefly. Categorising them is futile (no pun intended). The aptly named ‘Unending Appetite’ is the quickest song on Monoceros and it embodies the craft that’s put in by FH. As does the similarly fast ‘In A Rut’, which seems to last way longer than it’s ninety-second playing time.

Akin to the closing of the album’s first half, the second half concludes with ,,,And Then There Were None’, which is a post-metal beast that stretches for nearly ten minutes. The screams that are buried amongst the instruments herald what’s to come. Blackened hardcore mixed with metallic tones and orchestral flourishes. Ultimately, it’s unnerving. More-so than what’s come before on the album, though the clean vocals that come to the fore during the song’s latter half are able to wrestle back some light. 

For such a (seemingly) unknown band to produce an album with this level of assured musicianship is rare. Maybe we’ve been looking towards the wrong bands until now. Forcefed Horsehead, as well as being brilliantly named, have something special. Monoceros could well be album of the year. Fantastic!

You can stream and download Monoceros via Owlripper Recordings below:-

Forcefed Horsehead - https://www.facebook.com/forcefedhorsehead

Owlripper Recordings - https://www.facebook.com/owlripperrecordings

Physical tape copies (if still available) can be purchased by contacting Screaming Skull Records :-

https://www.facebook.com/ScreamingSkullRecords/

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