Begging For Incest - Orgasmic Selfmutilation (2012)

Oh god. What the fuck has happened to me. First of all, I apologize, for I am slightly inebriated, but goddamn. I should not love this as much as I do. The band name is goddamned childish and quite awful, this band does nothing to further the genre in any damn way. Hell, even the song titles are pretty damn cliche. There is something about this damn album though, I can't stop listening to it, and I guess it's my duty to explain why.

I'm sure everyone who reads this blog is well acquainted with Begging For Incest. They released a few demos a few years back which were quite mediocre Waking The Cadaver worship. That meant they were pretty damn bad in all honesty, but something happened here. It's almost as if they decided to buckle down and attempt to make something worthwhile, to create something that would stand the test of time, and prove that they were more then a clone of Waking The Cadaver. Oddly enough, they succeeded in a much different way then I assume they intended.

Orgasmic Selfmutilation did not succeed on making something that stands out, at all, but it did succeed in making 28 minutes of the funnest slams and beatdowns ever put on CD. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough, this album is incredibly stupid. This makes Cephalotripsy look like Dream Theater when you break it down, but it is just so damn catchy. Begging For Incest mix beatdown breakdowns (sometimes misunderstood as deathcore breakdowns, but there is a difference), and huge slams, in a way that makes you want to break everything around you. Hell, as I write this I am humming the slams from Bashed Beyond Recognition, it's that catchy. If I were to aliken it to anything, it would be Cephalotripsy's debut album, in how you know it is just plain fucking stupid, but it sticks with you even if you wish it wouldn't. Hell, they even throw in some intense epic melodic riffs a la Ancient Necropsy and Inveracity, kudos to that.

There really isn't much to be said about this album. Everything on it you've probably heard before, whether it be from a Abominable Putridity album, or a Waking The Cadaver album, but somehow these guys mix it together so well that you don't care about how retarded that sounds. The only real fault I can find within this album would have to be the vocals. They aren't really all that powerful, and sometimes detract from the listening experience, but thats just a nitpick really. I never thought I would say this, but Orgasmic Selfmutilation might be my favourite album of 2012 so far.

7 H.Target - Fast-Slow Demolition (2012; Coyote Records)

Wow, this is a good way to start off February. Welcome back, S-M devotees; here is the first great slam release of 2012. Russian Tetsuo-fanboys 7 H.Target are here to brutalize you with some intense and crazy brutal death metal featuring strong vocal offerings, a great snare tone and punishing slams delivered in a variety of ways.

This album pretty much wastes no time getting you acquainted with it other than by blowing straight out of the gates with a pinch-laden breakdown section featuring samples from their obvious favorite movie series. Big, meaty riffs are thrown down one after another before they decide to toss out all logic for a phasing drum segment and some Devourment-esque slam rolls. A funeral slam follows this section and almost seems to touch on incredibly slammy minimalism; I can safely say there's nothing like this album in the contemporary world of slam. Love the off-time slamming in the beginning of "Technosex"; this is the first part of the album where 7HT remind me greatly of Alienation Mental circa Ball Spouter, although there are way more coherent breakdowns on here and just a little less spazziness than those Czech psychos. About halfway through this song, there's some really Gorguts-ish craziness going on, and this band excels at deviating from the norm in a very similar way to those Canadians; Logan described this to me as sounding like the band was listening to the aforementioned band and Defeated Sanity at the same time while drunk and/or high and just being like "yep, this sounds awesome, let's record something like it", but it even hits a bit more straightforward at times, such as the rolling riffs and rhythms on "Metal + Flesh". This album just works, almost in spite of how much it feels ridiculous and over-the-top.

This is a crazy, awesome album. It's listenable over and over because of how intense and varied it is; the beginning of "Drill Penis" has some crazy fret-mangling guitar stuff and there are parts that just sound like insane techno-grind; while all the sections feel very different, they don't feel forced or jammed together unnecessarily. Almost everything on this album feels somehow organically connected, despite some sections seeming very separate. I appreciate the band's use of reverbed snare to hit "full stops" in songs, because continuity doesn't feel lost. There are even some really groovy slams which really hit hard and satisfy big time, but they generally don't last that long. Even though everything fits exceedingly well, it does feel like it has a bit of songwriting-ADD overall. It's incredibly enjoyable, though, in spite of its own ridiculousness. Perhaps the band members just realized this is amusing and fun shit and decided to make it sound as "serious" and "true" as possible, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Whatever the case, you should probably all be listening to and loving this. It's diverse, entertaining and progressive slam with lots of surprises. Great shit from the Motherland. Hope this year brings more our way.