Marrow – “Testament to Dissection” MP3/download
Machetazos – “El Torreon” MP3/download
[The images above are borrowed from www.invisibleoranges.com, so check them out and stuff.]
I didn’t even realize it, but a heart-bursting BLAST of aural speed and mind-spiking technicality was just what I needed, care of a ridiculous sawblade 12-inch (on gray vinyl) I found the other day. Both sides — one-each provided by Marrow and Machetazo — attempt to scalp the purest essence of withering grind-metal from its fresh corpse, and both in their own way succeed.
If you ask me which band wins out, I’d have to go with Machetazo for a few reasons:
- they’re just a bit heavier
- I’m pretty sure they’re named after a Brujeria song (not positive, just a hunch)
That’s … that’s all I got because Marrow get right to the bones of the metal matter as well. If you’re yearning for the capillary-rupturing sound of skulls being dozed, corpses losing their insides and eyeballs exploding like kernals of poppin’ corn, you won’t be for long if you rage this record a few times through. It’ll gut you like a fish, brother!
Marrow remind me more of … well, let me address this in bullet form so’s to keep with the format:
- Training For Utopia (in my book a great band to be compared to)
- Zao (another quality act)
- Caliban (actually I’ve never heard Caliban, but I imagine this is what they sorta sound like; HA!)
- pretty much any band on the Corrosive roster (Blues, etc.)
- Unholy Grave
I wish they would blast-beat on the skins a little more, get a little mathier — with all the competition out there it’s time to destroy some fuckin’ PIGS already, no?
Machetazo, more of a purebreed than Marrow, seem influenced, just a tad, by a lot of groups I was never that into (Hatebreed, Strife) and a lot of groups I fuggin’ LOVE (Converge, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse), crisping into an interesting mix of death metal, grindcore and even certain strains of hardcore.
With all the talented axe-wielders out there it’s tougher than ever to stand out in the field Machetazo are playing in; since they’ve been at it since 1994 or so, I give them the benefit of the doubt. They know how to milk a riff for all it’s worth, how to turn each song into its own ode to horror. While their music isn’t exaclty oozing with originality, the pure intensity shines through like the sun through red cloth, cloaking everything it touches and rotting it to the ground.
There will always be a place in the graveyard for bands like Marrow and Machetazo, though I posit both of these outfits would benefit if they did a little more to push through to the next layer of possibilities (obviously to each his own on this point).
influenced by hatebreed?? you don’t know shit about music.
i understand why that comparison may have sounded ridiculous to a younger listener without the benefit of experience. but the truth is, grindcore is an outgrowth of several metal persuasions, not just a spontaneous combustion, and Hatebreed were right in the thick of all of it for a short time. they were heavy and they raged and they had breakdowns that could give your mom a bloody nose from a thousand miles away. if you were like 12 when that was going on it’s not really my fault, just as it’s not my fault that I’m no longer 20 and small-minded enough to think that metal is the only genre worth following.
not to mention that you’re a retard; this is the sentence you’re commenting on:
Machetazo, more of a purebreed than Marrow, seem influenced, just a tad, by a lot of groups I was never that into (Hatebreed, Strife) and a lot of groups I fuggin’ LOVE (Converge, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse), crisping into an interesting mix of death metal, grindcore and even certain strains of hardcore.
so not only did I say they were a TAD influenced by Hatebreed and Strife, I mentioned three other bands they sound much MORE like.
In the review I also mentioned: Training For Utopia, Zao, Caliban, any band on the Corrosive roster (Blues, Harlots, etc.), Unholy Grave and Brujeria.
SOOOOOO, let’s see here: You have a problem with ONE of the comparisons I made out of nearly 15. So you’re totally cool with me comparing these bands with Training For Utopia, Zao, Caliban, Blues/Harlots/Corrosive Recordings, Unholy Grave, Brujeria, Strife, Converge, Bolt Thrower and Cannibal Corpse, but the one factor that turned the nut for you was Hatebreed? Why? Because they sold some records? Hell, I don’t even like Hatebreed, as I mentioned in the text, but I admit their influence on modern metal because I’m not some youngster trying to KNOW EVERYTHING before I’ve even heard all metal has/had to offer. But hey, that’s me.
Thanks for the comment dipshit! (oh, and if you’re a guy from one of the bands, DOUBLE-DIPSHIT STATUS FOR YOU!)