Mix Tape Vol. 1: Grinding into the New Year

This is what will hopefully be the first installment of many. I like the idea of mixtapes. I don't want to post entire albums and give it to you, sometimes that almost too easy. This is meant to encourage you to seek bands out and support music, not feel entitled to freebies. Enjoy! (Download under the track list)

My hopeful goal with this 'segment' is to get demos, albums, etc. of local bands. Whoever reads this, please help spread the word. my email is melvinsfink@gmail.com. If you can send me a digital copy that would be rad, or just email me and we'll work it out.

Vol. 1: "Grinding Into the New Year"
1. Agorapocalypse Now- Agoraphobic Nosebleed
2. Conform- Nails
3. Gestation of Smegma- Cattle Decapitation
4. Decontamination- Insect Warfare
5. Living Next Door to Malice- Nasum
6. Targets- Rotten Sound

http://www.mediafire.com/?1sx4802o4yone

(Sorry if the whole download thing isn't what you're used to. I'm still figuring all this stuff out. thanks for the cooperation.)

Nailing It (Puns intended)

Nails' 2010 album 'Unsilent Death' is probably the best grind album I've heard in a while. You can tell from the card stock slip and captivating album art, that looks like it was xeroxed or silk screened first, that this album will fuck you up. It has all the signs of a band that's going to crush you with their music (not to discredit the time spent on the album artist). This album, which is only just over 13 minutes, is why I love grindcore. The opener, 'Conform' wastes NO time smashing your face into the sidewalk. I've heard this expression, and have used it before, but I really mean it this time. There's no build up, no soundclips, just grind. Nails conjure the spirits of their brothers in grind from Sweden without sounding like them. Okay, they like Nasum, but they hide that notion more than, say, Rotten Sound. The album, recorded by Converge's Kurt Ballou, captures the rawness of the grind. Having someone like Ballou behind the mixing board was the right choice, he knows how to capture raw energy without too much cacophony. The genius behind the song writing on this album is that it doesn't rely on technical musicianship, just sheer brutality. The music is not very complicated, which allows the songs to get right to the point. It possess a lot of the good parts of early crust grind and some hints of 90s hardcore. The lame part of this record is that it's so damn short! I want more! Simply put, go buy this record.