Cold Hell/Corrosion - Exposure/Three Step Program Split 7"

Labels: Agnostic About Violence/Starving Light Collective/Suspected Of Arson Records/Iron Coffin

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 10 Jul 2020

Tracklist:

1. Cold Hell - Third Weapon

2. Cold Hell - Pray

3. Cold Hell - Life Of Exposure

4. Cold Hell - Half Life

5. Cold Hell - Dead Contact

6. Corrosion - Three Strep Program

7. Corrosion - Addict

As a fairly big American pop-punk/hardcore band once said, 'I'm right back at it again' (no prizes for guessing who I mean). I'm in my happy place about to jam some new powerviolence/sludgy hardcore from Finland in the from of this split 7" featuring Cold Hell and Corrosion. A copy was kindly sent to me by new Finnish label Starving Light Collective, who released this EP alongside compatriot labels Agnostic About Violence and Suspected Of Arson Records. A limited run of tapes was also released via Iron Coffin. Both bands are from Tampere.

I don’t expect the Cold Hell side to last very long at all. Their opener ‘Third Weapon’ gives it away right off the bat with screeching feedback, followed by the warm embrace of raging PV tempos and slow heavy riffs that break them up. The percussion and guitars take no prisoners, while the vocals and slower passages are akin to the UK’s Famine in terms of quality.

‘Pray’ follows immediately and it’s really where Cold Hell’s raw but infectious sound comes into it’s own. This bass-heavy song is absolutely bonkers. There’s a hint of crust/d-beat in here as well, as the drumming at the beginning of ‘Life Of Exposure’ demonstrates, while the mix of deep and high growled vocals pierce the instrumentation with ease.

Despite the very brief pauses between songs, this is everything you want from powerviolence and the thick riffs of Cold Hell’s penultimate song ‘Half Life’ show just how gruesome and disturbing this band can be. Their closing blast ‘Dead Contact’ is just that, a blast that’s intertwined with off-kilter punk. It’s loud, aggressive and spot on!

Corrosion’s side is equally as in-your-face but with much more rawness and general chaos thrown in on their  title-track ‘Three Step Program’, which is certainly more sludgy than it is fast. If it’s one thing Finland has been doing well of late, it’s sludge.

Their second song ‘Addict’ is plain and simply a slab of ridiculously noisy hardcore-punk, which could be as party starting as it is knuckle dragging. It’s bass-heavy again but this time the low-end buzzes, as the vocals rest on top, almost screeching at times. Again, it’s eminently listenable if you like things more rough and ready. Goddamn this stuff is good!

I think that both Cold Hell and Corrosion really compliment each other on this split. Cold Hell’s powerviolence has reminded of me why I love the sub-genre so much, while Corrosion’s sludgy noise typifies everything I love about Finnish bands. If you’re a fan of both fast and slow music, this EP will sate your hunger. 

You can stream and download both sides digitally via the bandcamp pages of Cold Hell and Corrosion respectively, below:-

Cold Hell - https://www.facebook.com/ColdHellPowerviolence/

Corrosion - https://www.facebook.com/corrosion931/

You can grab physical copies from the labels below:-

Starving Light Collective - contact starvinglight[AT]gmail[DOT]com / https://www.facebook.com/starvinglight/ 

Suspected Of Arson Records - https://www.facebook.com/tulikuljekanssani/

Frogskin/Taser - Split LP (Gate Of Deliria/Iron Coffin/Penny Whistles And Moon Pies/Ramekuukkeli-Levyt)

Labels: Gate Of Deliria/Iron Coffin/Penny Whistles And Moon Pies/Ramekuukkeli-Levyt

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 21 Oct 2019

Tracklist:

1. Frogskin - Settling For Leftovers

2. Taser - Shovel Face

3. Taser - Broken Christ

Yesterday ended up being a washout (literally, due to flooding and me having to help clear the mess from outside the flats that I reside in) and also because I wasn't able to write as many reviews as I had planned for the day. I did hint on social media though that I'd be focusing my writing efforts on Finnish bands this week and here we are. This split LP was one half of a package I received from Ramekuukkeli-Levyt. It split features Frogskin and Taser, both of whom are Finnish doom/sludge bands. It feels very apt to be writing about this release given what I had to endure over the weekend. Thanks go to Tuukka for sending this to me and I'm sorry for the delay with my review.

The artwork on both sides of this split is great. There’s just something about holding the physical release in my hands and pouring over it. It came with a lyric insert and has been pressed on nice thick black vinyl (there’s also a green variant too). Frogskin’s side of this split contains the song ‘Settling For Leftovers’ and it weighs in at nearly fifteen-minutes. With the wind blowing heavily outside my window, it seems only right to jam this now. An eerie spoken word sample plays atop of slow and bass-heavy doom/sludge. It’s not pretty and nor should it be. It’s feedback-laden passages ringing from the speakers as the growled vocals enter the fray. They sit perfectly nestled within the menacing recording. The further in you get, the slower Frogskin’s music seems to become, dragging you down into a blackhole of despair and claustrophobic fear. Towards the song’s conclusion, you’re left with a screeching noise passage that’s even more terrifying than the music that precedes it.

Taser’s side is more to the point and groovy. ‘Shovelface’ is a driving beast with rock n roll sensibilities and vocals that could pass for white-noise such is their high-pitched ferocity. Their approach is to batter whatever functioning faculties you have left with hard and heavy sludge. It works too. The brilliantly named ‘Broken Christ’ continues in the same way and with it’s earth-rumbling riffs, it takes no prisoners. While Frogskin’s contribution is one born of utter harshness and misery, Taser’s duo of songs are slightly more upbeat (if that’s at all possible). I’ve always been a fan of this form of sludge and doom but this split makes me realise why I hold it above all else. It really hits that spot in my brain that wants solitude and distance from humans. 

Both sides of this split are great and while I was already aware of Frogskin, Taser was a new name and I’m glad that Tuukka put them on my radar. They both show how twisted and heavy Finnish heavy music can be. I wholeheartedly recommend this split to anyone who likes the noisier and slower things in life. You won’t be disappointed.

You can stream and purchase the split digitally below, where I've included both the Frogskin and Taser sides for you two stream here via their respective bandcamp pages:-

Frogskin - https://www.facebook.com/frogskin666/

Taser - https://www.facebook.com/socialexclusionblues/

Physical copies can also be purchased from the bands or from the links below:-

Gate Of Deliria - http://gateofdeliria.blogspot.com/

Iron Coffin - https://ironcoffin.storenvy.com

Gate Of Deliria - https://www.facebook.com/gateofdeliria/

Iron Coffin - https://www.instagram.com/insidetheironcoffin/

Ramekuukkeli-Levyt - https://www.facebook.com/Rämekuukkeli-levyt

Penny Whistles And Moon Pies is a label that belongs to Taser's guitarist. I don't have a link, but that have copies for sale via their bandcamp page above, as I've already mentioned.