Reviews.
Filthgevitter LP
ATTACK! fanzine(Sweden), Krogh - (www.attackfanzine.net)
Damn have these guys come a long way since I first met their acquaintance. My first run-in with Filthpact was on their split 7" with Afterbirth, and I crossed paths with Atomgevitter a short while after that when they did a split 7" with… well, Filthpact. So these bands have shared a piece of vinyl before, only this time they've gone for the bigger format. I find it both an interesting as well as a pretty dumb idea for two bands to do a split twice. Interesting in the sense that you can follow both bands easily, but dumb since they might not be able to reach out to as many new listeners as if they had done a split with some new band. But, they're probably good friends and that, together with great music, is what hardcore is about, right?
Filthpact are still doing their ENT and Doom styled hardcore albeit not being as dark as those bands but more on the sharp side of things when it comes to the sound. Some grinding parts and some thrashier elements added to the formula makes this pretty fucking raging.
While Filthpact add some thrash, that's what Atomgevitter is all about - raging thrash! I was not very convinced by their material on their earlier split, but this time around I don't need a lot of convincing as the material speaks for itself. Rapid drumming, manic shouting, sharp and intense guitars, and while the bass didn't really make an appearance before it sure does its job now.
A great split, on fire-red vinyl I might add, that shows two Scottish bands that have come a long way together.
Mashnote Zine (Belgium), Rik Peters- (www.mashnote.net)
Side A is a manic ride through thrash country with the UK based Atömgevitter who blast through 9 songs on their side of the red vinyl. While Atömgevitter aren't of the ultra fast blast beat kind - well, most of the time - their songs are all short, sharp edgy and they obviously know where their sound comes from! This is pure, unadultered old school thrash without the fancy, modern licks. Authentic fastcore and recommended for people into the 625 thrashcore catalogue! Filthpact pollute the other side of this split album with also (if you count the intro as well) 9 songs. With an in-your-face attack of grindy hardcore/crust, Filthpact are at least as brutal as Atömgevitter. While the latter can be brutal without using some metal influences, Filthpact goes straight for the throat with multiple vocal attacks, chomping grind riffs and some pretty fast outbursts. There's nothing wicked about the metal riffs and nothing really exciting happens with the drums. It's simply old school style ripping. Nothing more, nothing less and that's also the case what lyrics concern. Both bands explain all their lyrics and show a very down to earth critical view on society. Pretty intense and interesting stuff in my opinion. This is released by 8 labels such as Wakusei and Bay Area Thrash. Apparantly these bands also share a 7" piece of wax with eachother. Good!
Atomgevitter/Filthpact split 7"
Profane Existence(USA), Issue:Winter/Spring 2005-2006; Doug - (http://www.profaneexistence.com/)
An interesting pairing here. Scottish ragers ATOMGEVITTER play manic thrashcore that reminds me of a more hyperactive DS-13. These guys let you know whats up, although I ca't figure out if the song "Ned Fight" is supposed to be a straight edge song. Also from Scotland, FILTHPACT bust out four more songs of evil-sounding crust with equally doomy lyrics. Obviously I'm a little partial to these guys, but this is a pretty good split overall.
Collective-Zine(UK), Kunal - (www.collective-zine.co.uk)
Filthpact are the real deal, serious in every way imaginable. Seriously ugly-sounding, seriously fucking angry, seriously crusty as hell; the whole kit and caboodle. This time around, their brand of ultra-political heavy thrash punk and guttural vocals crucially manages to incorporate music strong enough to back up their powerful message, making this their most effective and enjoyable material to date. Completely raging.
On the flip are fellow Scotsmen Atomgevitter with their first release, and they're quite a contrast. Thematically we're still in political territory, and the music is similarly psychotic, but AGV go about things by tearing the shit out of everything with their proto-D.S.13 styled funny punk / thrash, super-speedy without losing their pinpoint precision melodies in the process. This injection of light into the shade makes them the winner of this fight, but it's a top-notch effort all round.
Impregnate Noize(CZ), Bohdan -
(www.impregnate.wz.cz/)
New seven inch by my friends from Scotland, at this time as the split with their neighbours. Let´s start with FILTPACT side, which destroys your ears in first moment by absolutey heavy and distorted sound. In comparisation with the 1st EP, i think this is a little bit more into (black) metal, but based on fast hardcore basics. Good production, good sound... it´s fast, dynamic... and murdering. On the flipside comes 5 maniacs from Glasgow. They play faster, angry hardcore with screamin vocals. It sounds a little bit like MK Ultra or something similar. It has nice (but a little bit chaotic) cover and the bands did this records by themselves. Cool.
ATTACK! fanzine(Sweden), Krogh - (www.attackfanzine.net)
Filthpact from Scotland are here with their second split 7" in a short while and they still know their way around the distortion pedals and worn down drumsticks well enough to create a raw hardcore assault. If loud and rough crusty hardcore á la Extreme Noise Terror and Doom get you hot this is definitely for you. Lots of energy and lots of distortion. Good stuff and a step up from earlier material.
Atomgevitter are way thrashier and also have sense of powerviolence to their material. Unfortunately the thin and bass-lacking recording brings this down. It needs way more power to knock the wind out of me - now it's more like a slap on the cheek.
Raw Nerve Promotions (UK), Paul - (www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk) 12 minutes in total between these two Scottish crust/ hardcore/ punk/ fast bands. Atomgevitter first and their sound reminds me of Jenny Piccolo, DS-13 and very early Black Flag, being quite light and upbeat. Add in some Skulls and Flames style shrieks and a lack of tightness and we have the 4 piece's sound generally summed up. It's good stuff but not the best of this style by any means. I much prefer Filthpact to be honest. Stronger sounds, better playing, and more akin to some of the bands that have appeared on the Slap-a-Ham record label throughout the years. They throw in some good little groove sections and chuck out nice thrashiness and varied vocals too.
Good work, cool 7" split with Filthpact taking the badges and cakes.
Headwound (UK), Rachel -
Glasgows Atomgevitter play maniacal skate thrash as if their lives depended on it. Screamy fast vocals over a rough and ready guitar sound you can almost feel the moshpit action coming through your speakers. Like Tear It Up or ETA on amphetamines though with a sight more positively sussed lyrics i.e. none of the live-to-skate rubbish. Heavy on the thrash and the benefits form being played at a high volume yet charming all the same. More of this please...
Open the Crust thesaurus to any page and the synonyms within will almost certainly apply to Filthpact! Brutal, raging, savage, fearsome... yeah they'll do for starters. With vocals that could peel paint off the walls of your neighbours walls, never mind your own, and a truly psychotic distorted sound this is the kind of stuff that make the ENT brigade of yesteryear like masters of the pastoral symphony by comparison. The formidable force of this all-out crust attack homes in on the many flaws of the human psyche. Ignorance, greed and intolerance pollute the world and Filthpact thrash against the tide of our inhumanity to each other. Truely raging!
Filthpact/Afterbirth split 7"
Collective Zine(UK), Kunal Nandi - (www.collective-zine.co.uk)
This is what I like to fucking see! Two bands collaborating on a release with a local flavour (Aberdeen this time round) that still has relevance for music fans the world over, with especially thought-provoking and intelligent lyrics showing that not only do they give a shit about the bands they play in, but also the situations they find themselves in every day.
Filthpact cram five tracks of furious crusty hardcore onto their side of this heavyweight 7”, full of bouncy basslines, shredded vocals and screechy guitar. They’re unafraid to slip in the odd metal lick with their full-on d-beat assault, as well as the odd near grind-esque moments. Afterbirth weigh in with what is basically more of the same, although their approach is slightly more deranged, spiralling nicely off into wayward passages, along with a vocal delivery that suggests that the singer is unhinged at the best/worst of times. Awesome.
It’s nothing original, but both bands are excellent if you’re looking for some musicians with their hearts and minds in the right place. If you’re worried about the state of the UK political hardcore scene (which you shouldn’t be anyway), just look north of the border.
PS. By the way, Afterbirth are actually from Edinburgh! Sorry about that. Don''t think they have a website either.
Attack Fanzine (Sweden), Krogh - (www.attackfanzine.net)
Filthpact is only about a year old as a band and has apart from this a self titled CD out. I haven't heard that one so I can't comment on how they've progressed during the year, but I do know that judging by the material on this 7" it's easy to think they've been together longer. Earlier experiences in bands have taught them well. Anyway, Filthpact play fast and crusty hardcore all done in the UK tradition, yet keeping it fresh. Screeching vocals as well as guitars and manic pounding drumming going from d-beat to grind, and back again. Not the most original 5 tracks, but never the less good ones.
Afterbirth offer 3 tracks and are similar to Filthpact in their approach to hardcore with the exception that this is "cleaner" and therefore the result is kinda different sounding. Shouted vocals on top of fierce guitar playing and mid- to fast ranging drumming. Never slow, and never really blasting - but going back and forth in between those two. Afterbirth also let their influences of crusty UK hardcore shine through, but neither is this band a copycat.
To sum it up I'm more into Filthpact as I like their faster and more brutal approach. But Afterbirth isn't far behind and I think this is a great pairing of bands for a split, proving that the UK (Scotland) power remains.
Raw Nerve Promotions (UK), Paul - (www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk)
8 tracks, 14 minutes. I think we have a rough idea what to expect even before it begins, especially when Filthpact's half of the CD starts with a massive pick slide and a tense metallic intro. When things kick off after about 6 different introductions, we have some fast, heavy and dark crusty thrash punk to contend with, in the vein of old Extreme Noise Terror, Doom and the like, and although this is a lot slower and sludgier, the general atmosphere is the same. Especially outstanding are the parts with the high shrieking vocals, which make it all sound the more chaotic and angry. I think there should be more of this in Filthpact's sound. Imagine His Hero is Gone if they existed in 1986, this is what they would have sounded like.
Keeping the same style going, Afterbirth have an even more old school sound to them, and although not as tight or powerful as Filthpact, their 3 songs kick across pretty well, with the second of those ‘Dead hand of the past' sounding like very early Integrity mixed with The Devils.
Not quite as intense as the best bands of this genre, but a decent little split release here.
Ripping Thrash(UK), Steve - (www.rippingthrash.com)
I am a lucky man! I’m getting some great stuff to review lately, and nice to see some fuckin ace 7” vinyl releases about too. North of the border in Scotland is producing some great grinding crust bands at the mo, these 2, along with Ruin have been getting some play at RT HQ a lot lately. This is a really thick piece of vinyl too – neat! Filthpact give us 5 short
songs, fast crust/grind with good lyrics about credit culture, celebrities, the work ethic and intolerance. Afterbirth have a crustier style, a bit slower but dirty sounding and its great! 3 tracks by them, with lyrics concentrating on war. Awesome!
Slug and Lettuce (USA), Barrett -
From Scotland Filthpact play heavy intense noisy crust violence. Vocals ranging from your typical crust band, to some semi-guttural vocals. Kind of reminds me of Disrupt's "Unrest" LP vocally w/ parts of the high screams from Code 13. Straight up in your face crust madness! Afterbirth from Scotland play a more D-Beat styled Crustcore Punk. Featuring members from Social Insecurity, a better song structure than most of the D-Beat stuff i've heard, longer lyrics, more changes in the song itself etc. Vocals remind me of old Dead and Gone a little bit.
Headwound (UK), Rachel -
A twin powerhouse of Scottish brutality, Filthpact kick it off and it's not too hard to guess what they sound like when they have a huge picture of cogs on the cover and call their side 'A Product Of The Daily Grind'! Crusty mayhem with vocals veering between searing shreiks and gutteral growls. Songs include commentries on work, celebrity and xenophobia. Afterbirth are comprised of ex-members of Sawn Off, Beergut 100 and Social Insecurity and while more d-beat than Filthpact they can still create a stampede of crust chaos. The lyrics are pretty Dis-war, 9/11, self destruction - you know what i'm getting at. This record is a mating of a gruntosaurs and a grindosaurus yet there's enough energy to keep the 'generic' tag at bay.Pressed on fucker-heavy vinyl too.
Filthpact CD 2004
Collective Zine(UK), Steve Carlin - (www.collective-zine.co.uk)
I will readily admit I was highly sceptical when I went to review this... especially when the attached flyer used the word crust, I don't like crust... Then they were happy to use the label crust violence... Oh shit! Then I was thinking where I had seen that term before and it was Kent Brockman who used it on their first 7"!! So the outlook might not be so bleak...
In this day in age where bands live and die by their mp3 demo's this debut cd from Scotland's youngest and angriest is so damn refreshing. A female spoken word introduction track that is quoted from my main fucking man, Chris Bickel (YEAH!) talking about the scene and being independent with some quiet drums in the background and just as the spoken word ends the guitars start fuzzing and it all kicks off at 100 mph! It doesn't stay that speed long before a heftily growled slow passage before going back the blast... And it's at this point where I'm like.... HELL YEAH!!! So after the intro and first track being about the scene and keeping it independent, they then go on to annihilate fashioncore, sell-outs, mankind's intent on destroying the earth and then finally baiting the christians with "No Jesus"!!! Are these kids reading my mind?!
Musically it's tight and loose in equal measure, its not over the top with technicality but there is enough to it to keep it interesting song after song, repeat after repeat... And that's a hard thing to do for any band especially fast hardcore bands! Vocally they make occasionally use of the "cookie monster" but it's slight and not too over the top, not sure how many kids sing but it seems like all of them must take turns given the mix of vocals. The negative aspect of the lyrics is not over the top and there is shedloads of sincerity and room for debate here, they are well thought out and concise so no explanation is needed... Though personally I would love to see some thoughts added to expand on the topics broached, that's just me being picky. Sure its nothing new musically or lyrically, but these kids are putting it just as well, if not better, than the likes of Dropdead, Totalitar or the previously mentioned Kent Brockman!
The DIY scene in scotland is a desolate place, those that claim to be DIY are pretty much bad nu-metal by numbers even down to the whole Lost Prophets fashion... It's a joke, but these dudes are proving there is some hope. They are taking over the mantle from Shank in pissed hardcore genre while Santo Caserio deal out some emo justice to the fakers and the Process crush the fake beatdown thugs... Scotland isn't looking so shitty after all!
Don't let the crust thing put you off, this is a perfect amount of short, fast and angry hardcore punk straight from the heart of kids, if there was more bands like this around the diy scene would not be the mess it is. These guys have just usurped Out of Vogue (review coming soon!) as my favourite new hardcore band, roll on seeing them live soon and getting the 7" that is appearing in October!
9/10
Screaming Bloody Mess(AUS), Tim Scott - (www.screamingbloodymess.com)
If the artwork for this CD came and sat next to you in a bar, you’d quietly finish your drink, excuse yourself and walk out. Yes, it is that ugly. But if you had actually spent some time talking to it, maybe share a few beers or Moscow Mules, you’d discover that in fact Filthpact is one heck of a hardcore band, able to out drink you and out fucking thrash your lame, superficial existence. This young 5 piece from Aberdeen, Scotland are giving Shank are run for their money for the best all out Scottish thrash attack. Opening with ‘The Watering Down of Hardcore’ a spoken word piece done by a Scottish chick about the importance of keeping the HC scene DIY the songs then jump into a 3 iron swinging frenzy with screaming shit about fashion, the environment and how they’re not down with Jesus and the people who read h
is books. Good stuff, or as they say in Scotland - fucking good stuff.
Eroding Empire(UK), Em - (www.eroding.org.uk)
Oh we love home burnt releases. This EP starts out with an analysis of "the scene" spoken over ye ol' Scottish drums and then breaks into break-neck-speed power-violence thrash chaos. Duel vocals, one sounds like a goat and the other sounds like a lemming, both on crack and being asphyxiated by electrical wires. Nasty dirty crust scum from these metal-obsessed throw-backs to the legendary age of metal/ punk crossover. I love it. Features members of former Aberdeen anomolies such as FUDROT, BASTARD SON OF FUD and other indecently titled projects. If DOOM were formed before your father even developed testicles, then email these nutters and see if they'll sell you a CD.
Equalizing X Distort(CAN), Stephe Perry - (http://exd.sohc.org/)
FILTHPACT are a 5-piece from Aberdeen Scotland. Featuring members of a band known as VOICE OF AGRESSION, FILTHPACT play a scrappy like version of speedy hardcore exemplified by bands like BRODY’s MILITIA. Playing a style that they self-describe as “crust-violence” their music mixes the social awareness of crust with the speed and intensity of power violence. The CD starts out with someone reflecting on the nature of the “scene” arguing it’s essence of independence overtop of some light drumming. It reminds me of SEDITION. The rest of the CD contains short speedy blasts of lo fi hardcore that would make HELLNATION happy.
Ripping Thrash (UK), Steve - (www.rippingthrash.com)
This is the best demo of a new UK band I’ve heard in a while.. this Scottish band has a couple of people that did Fastard.. and more recently Voice of Aggression. Filthpact are not quite as extreme as Fastard were, but they knock out a mean racket. Very fast in places but some slower bits too, but sounding really angry and brutal all the way through. Good thrashy crust punk here!
Slug and Lettuce (USA), Robert -
Six songs of grinding powerviolence. Mostly high shrieked vocals shouting out lyrics that voice disgust with society, and high speed high energy hardcore down your throat. Better than most.
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