⋘Prolific South-West grinders Human Cull have been throwing out more splits than a furious ice cream parlour in a heatwave. This time, they’ve been tag-teamed with impolite Canadian noise collective Homolka for a tape released by Goatprayer Records in December. Let us investigate…

Side A: Human Cull – ‘Cities Become Graves’

A note before we start, this single Human Cull track is actually longer than their last album but they’re allowed to do that because fuck rules. ‘Cities…’ kicks off the tape with purpose, direction and aggressive swagger. A tasty riff collides with blastbeats like Doom speeding in a built-up area and crashing into Drum Depot, but then it all becomes sluggish and deliberate, as the survivors climb out of the wreckage and take stock of their situation. Or, to use a vaguely less tenuous analogy, the track then resembles a rabid baboon being tranquilised by terrified zoo-keepers: filled with murderous rage, but slowing inexorably down. From here it’s the same three chords, ripped from guitars with full-bore tone worship, becoming a slow build exercise that Dragged Into Sunlight would be proud of. The whole maelstrom kicks back in at 9.40, and by 11.40 the rabies baboon is back at full vengeful consciousness, thrashing around and biting all the vets in the face with foaming AIDS jaws. Everyone dies, fade to black.

Side B: Homolka

Round 2 begins with screeching feedback (ALWAYS a good sign) at the tone of a whistling kettle, immediately evoking two of my favourite things, drinking tea and scalding unwanted house guests. What Homolka delivers is 6 songs in half the running time of ‘Cities Become Graves’. To express that another way, that’s 600% more grind in 50% of the time, exactly the kind of ludicrous quantum maths you get in grindcore. Do they deliver the goods? Yes, they do. Blastbeats aplenty, more feedback between each track, quickfire riffing and the frostbitten howling appropriate to their northern locale are all evident in shovelfuls. The track titles are devised with consideration and wit, one of my favourite things about grindcore: ‘Doped Up, Bloated and Rotting on a Toilet (Fuck Your Stupid Hipster/Rockabilly Boyfriend)’ and ‘Seth Putnam Isn’t Dead, I Just Saw Him At The Oak Leaf Steambaths’ are two absolute gems, the latter raising the intriguing, beautiful possibility that the late, great Seth Putnam may be some kind of latter day grindcore Elvis. If I have one criticism, it’s perhaps that some of the songs feel a little like Toronto in-jokes, ‘Rob Ford Doesn’t Care About Gay People’ and the 7-second ‘Book Us, Matt Cuthbert’ being prime examples but a quick trip to The Internet will give you the info if you’re interested. Side B is too short to even receive a welcome, let alone overstay it and it’s a good, solid effort from the Canadians.

Overall, this tape is an appetiser designed to make you hungry for more grind from both bands like a fat, disgusting grind-glutton. If you like what’s rammed recklessly into your ear-holes, I strongly suggest you check out the offerings from the lovely chaps at Goatprayer Records immediately by clicking here.

Keep on Grinding,

Rumple

7.5/10

SOURCE: badassngrimness.wordpress.com/tag/homolka/

...not a bad review for a great album!⋙

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ BAND BIOGRAPHY & INFORMATION ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Homolka are a four-piece grindcore band from Toronto, Canada. Pissed off and fast. Formed as a side project of M. Deneau (Eyeswithoutaface, Vices), T. Shahidi (Eyeswithoutaface) and Y. Zacharov (Kosmograd,) members with J. Boehm (ex-Orchidectomy, Animals Killing People) on bass. After recording their 2012 demo S. Tessier (The Isosceles Project) joined to complete the current line-up. Also occasionally features live noise contributions from M. Szarejko (Eyeswithoutaface, Morbido Bis).


BAND CONTACT INFO: send Homolka a message through Facebook or Bandcamp and be sure to receive a response!