Saturday 9 June 2012

The Black Hole of Calcutta - EP Review


The Black Hole of Calcutta (BHOC) is a Grind/Thrash/Stoner Metal Band from Portland, Seattle, USA

BHOC are a band that play primarily Grind/Thrash Metal but incorporate Sludge, Stoner, Punk, Hardcore genres into their music. With it being primarily in the Grind Scene they play hard-hitting fast and furious riffs with soul destroying vocals to match.

They have just released their outstanding new album called S/T – 2. It’s a 12 song and 23 minute blast of brutal riffage that will leave you breathless from the word go.

Their first song – Myth Of Progress is a 5:26 minute opus that sets the scene quite quickly. Brutal fast-paced riffs held together by all of their respective genres. Stoner-Grind-Thrash-Hardcore-Punk extravaganza with brutal sublime vocals to match.

If your expecting more epic songs like this then think again. There is only 18 mins left and still 11 tracks to go and BHOC spend every second crushing your skull and soul with maximum perfection.

The songs are only on for about 40 secs each or upto a rather lengthy 2 minutes. So you know your in for a wild ride when the remaining tracks kick in.

It’s quite unbelievable the amount of action packed riffs BHOC manage to conjure up in such a short space of time. As stated it will leave you breathless at times. Especially on 40 second tracks such as “Total Collapse”, “No Turning Back” and “Educate”.

This is a band that is paying homage of legendary grindcore bands from the 80s/90s but still adding a highly much welcome blasts of Stoner, Sludge and Hardcore Punk.

It’s a very multi-layered album which requires your wits about you when listening to it. So you will need multiple listens to enjoy this excellent blast of loud angry music on show.

My only criticism is I would of liked a couple of more 5 minute tracks as these guys are excellent musicians who should show off their musical talents a bit more. I love the short angry tracks but the album could of done with a 5 minute closing track to heighten the mood.

Other than that this is one of the best Grindcore releases I have had the pleasure to hear this year. This release can rival their major league counterparts (OK – I mean the most famous of Grindcore Artists).

It’s a brilliantly produced record that should hopefully extend this great band’s reputation onto the next level.

All in all this is highly recommended if you want something more volatile and more fast-paced but still with a great Hardcore/Stoner/Sludge Metal edge.

Available to buy on BandCamp now.

Check This Great Band Below:

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