Negative-Existence - HAILSTONES KILL 200 "JUNE 19, 1932" CD

HAILSTONES KILL 200 "JUNE 19, 1932" CD
[GHR003]

~~$12.00~~ $8.40

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Artist: HAILSTONES KILL 200

Title: JUNE 19, 1932

Format: CD

Country: Australia

Genre: Grindcore

Record Label: Grindhead Records

Like a thunderstorm that comes out of nowhere, Perth's Hailstones Kill 200 relentlessly assault the senses with June 19, 1932 - twelve pulverizing bursts of grind madness with ear piercing vokills, blasting drums and insanely shredding guitars. Featuring members of the infamous Extortion and AIDS.

Run for cover, before the clouds open up to impale you!

Reviews:

Diabolical Conquest
This dense EP is attention-grabbing and charismatic in its approach. The sound production and general feel of the riffage owes much to The Dillinger Escape Plan, but with a berserk fizzy-edged Nasum quality. The level of technicality is somewhere between these two bands; never attempting to outmanoeuvre the former and retaining the effective bluntness of the latter.

The band are a tight and capable unit that weave death, grind and mathcore influences into pithy packets of sabre-toothed ferocity. Furthermore, most of the quicksilver songs have their own recognisable quirks and crazed delivery. Thick clanging bass intros, shuffling disharmonics, volatile breakdowns, syncopated grooves, intermittent blasting, dissonant chords punctuating fretwork - all in a very short space of time.

Strictly speaking there is nothing new here, but the band already have found an eccentric niche that may actually satisfy a broad fanbase. So far we only have a synopsis to judge; now we await the red-blooded onslaught of a full album.

Metal Forge
Aural storm brewing – batten down the hatches. Continuing the flurry of metal acts to come out of Western Australia is Perth grindcore quintet Hailstones Kill 200, who is vocalist Matt, guitarists John and Nick, bassist Rohan and drummer Dan. Their debut release is an EP on Grindhead Records titled June 19 1932 and their modus operandi is a short, brutal and extreme mix of hardcore, grind and punk across the 12 songs on this EP.

The discordant hyper blasts and rhythms of 40Hr (Albert DeSalvo), Stand In Line and Power Of The Stranger reminiscent of the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan, Nasum, Sore Throat, Intense Degree and early Napalm Death. They rain sheer brutality as they aurally violate your senses through razor blade guitar tones, grinding blast beats and Matt’s mid range scream. I’m Not Afraid and Needle Or The Box unleash sub 16 second grind ambushes a-la early Napalm Death before Everything For Nothing slows things down enough to show the first real signs of dynamics.

As one of only three songs clocking in just past the one minute milestone, Spiderectomy also explores different song dynamics mixing blasts of pure chaos with slower and more accessible passages bookended by blinding spurts of grind. Guns Company, Balga By The Sea and Story Of My Life all return to the comfort of blisteringly short non stop grind in the vein of Sore Throat and the like, whilst Chapter 37 and Chapter 41, both of which are epic by Hailstones Kill 200’s standards running at just under 90 seconds each, show slower, more melodic but no less extreme examples of menacing riffs, and panic stricken vocals.

Like any ferocious storm, they can form out of nothing and be all over in a matter of minutes. Hailstones Kill 200’s debut EP, June 19 1932 is the modern day musical equivalent of Mother Nature’s wrath and it’s all over in less than nine minutes. No doubt this won’t be for every metal fan, but for grind fans, there’s enough here that’ll satisfy without overstaying it’s welcome. 7/10

Antimusic
How would you like your grind? If adjectives such as searing, caustic, and discordant come to mind, then (Perth-based) grindcore outfit Hailstones Kill 200 should prove to be what you're looking for. With their latest release, June 19th, 1932, these grinders from down under have seemingly avoided a cut and paste approach to their particular brand of sonic terror. The recipe comes over with authority, and establishes its frenetic but oblique attack at once. With June 19th, 1932, Hail Stones Kill 200 have taken an abrasive skin of expansive, cacophonous chordwork (in the vein of acts like DEP, Pig Destroyer, Agrophobic Nosebleed, et al), and stretched it across a foundation not unlike Nasum or (even) early Napalm Death.

Within the quickly marching twelve tracks contained in June 19th, 1932, HK200 have swerved noticeably (and refreshingly) from the three-finger model, opting instead for diminished, augmented, and (even) chromatic combinations to cauterize the contents of their sound. The overarching tempo of the recording is essentially free of dirge-time rhythms, though these rare moments (happening in tracks such as "Everything for Nothing", and "Spiderectory") provide a means of decompression in between the otherwise relentless assault of the brain-needling, chaotic tug-of-war.

Blast-beating is the mainstay of this musical diet. "Power of the Stranger" is a prime example of this observation, where HK200 pulverize the listener within its opening measures with an insane mass of blast-beating fury, or also "Story of My Life", with its classic short-fused speed, and white-line grindcore feel. "Chapter 37" is a standout, with its break out 1-2 drum punching, and (0:12) lead-in to a hard, atonal hardcore take-down. A gradual tempo slope sets in around 1:25, and shifts the riffing aggressively into a scrappy pit romp.

Indeed, the wind down riffs are, on the whole, well placed throughout the recording. One gets the sense that these phrases are there for strategic purposes--- to coil back the steel springs, so to speak, so that the song can have a musical vantage point to lunge from and (naturally) inflict the greatest amount of virulent impact. The guitar mix scours the eardrums with unbelievable grit and grain, and the drums are clearly mixed midway to deliver a sharp, gut-popping blow with every note.

Less guttural and falling boulders, more broken glass and anti-tank ordinance--- such is the way of July 19th, 1932. This recording bleeds with the speed of a mortal head wound. Get it, and give your speakers a good thrashing.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 29 July, 2010.