Interview with Grindcore band Tools Of The Trade!!

Here's the interview I promised in ages. It's a great pleasure for me to interview Tiong of TOTT. Great band, great beats. Enjoy the interview!!

TerenceBelieves: Okay, how did the band start in the first place? Was it because of music, money or fame? Where did you guys meet and everything else about the band

Tiong TODD: Ok this band actually started on my local hom

e town of Kluang Johor. The main cause of t his band started is because we are very lack of a new grindcore band on that time and of course, it came from our infatuation and essence to play a grindcore and bring out our idea into the lyrics and spread to everyone. For more details about TOTT bio check out our my space www.myspace.com/toolsgrind

.This band is not about money and fame. It’s a bout passion and ideas.

TerenceBelieves: Judging from your band's name, you guys probably worshipped Carcass. Were you guys aiming to be like them or something more? What are your other influences?

Tiong TODD: Yes. We are devotees of Carcass and we are a very fanatical w

ith them. The names of the band are 400% precisely taken from one the title song of Carcass. There is no crest of making your own band to be like your sway or favorites band 100%. Yeah Carcass is our influence. And our others influence such as like Pig Destroyer, Cryptopsy, Captain Clean Off, Nasum and Nausea.

TerenceBelieves: What do you think of today's grindcore scene and all the new "genres" sprouting out of it? Most people seem to have some resentment towards genres like Deathcore or Mathcore, do you have any (or any other members of your band)?

Tiong TODD: From an open face, I can say this is a constructive expansion for bring up a good composition and message from the band. This is what we call insurgency or mutiny of the mu

sic that might be have a contradiction forcibly and misapprehension that we need to think together outside and inside .My thought is simple. Bring up good music, be yourself, make your own band, be your own mind and be yours.

Kia has a new project band that will be playing deathcore. Hard for me to describe because this is his project band and it’s still new, fresh and steady. Watch out.*

TerenceBelieves: Do you think his contribution for drums in Tools of the Trades will put a huge influence into his new deathcore band? Surely, I'll be expecting blast beats from Kia. Another thing, if you are able to collaborate with any band in this world, which band would you pick? (I'm guessing it's Carcass)

Tiong TODD: Good question but hard for me to answer. I can’t say too much about this because everything on his hand. What I can say, he will definitely give 100% commitment and pledge for anything that he loves to do in this world. OF course we would like to collaborate with good bands like Pig Destroyer, Cephalic Carnage,324,Phobia,Ion Dissonance, Cold Worker, Disfear and 1000000 names to list out here.*laughs*

TerenceBelieves: When can we expect another release from TOTD? Will it have heavy technical influences (judging from the Cephalic Carnage influence you guys have)?

Tiong TODD: The latest coming project should be ready on September o

r October. That will be a split 7 inches with a mighty southern grindcore from Jb, Damokis. It just not a heavy, it will be a fuss on our new music constituent that we try to put in our arrangement to be more fresh, severe and technically grindcore.

TerenceBelieves: What made you guys to decide to do a split with Damokis? Is it because you guys admire the band so much? Well, the band is quite well known in Malaysia and probably in Indonesia/Singapore.

The main reason is because a friendship and amity that we have with them (Damokis) and it’s not just about a band it self, I’m personally know all the line up very well and we are very admire or esteem with them (Damokis) since TOTT haven’t exist on this earth. To have a chance for make a project with them is a good experience for us to gain a new exposure from metal elevation and let our music can be heed from other side because I’m personally currently we only focus in certain vicinity .

TerenceBelieves: Any thoughts of touring overseas? If the band does

so, please explain where.

Yeah .Of course we would love to go oversea, arrange for tour around 1-2 weeks and meet all friends and gain new experience. The place that we dream for is Japan and Sweden. But for a squat phrase, we are targeting to go around south East Asia country like Philippines or Indonesia.

TerenceBelieves: Who else in the band has a side project? What other music do the band members listen? (Guessing that power violence would be in the list)

Kia plays on Mass Separation and another death core band which I’m not sure what the name is. Our guitarist also plays in other band call Innards Decay where they play Brutal Death Grind. I also play another band call Kah-Roe-Shi which we are in part of Heavy Sludge Crust Core.

We prefer to listen on extreme and excessive music like grindcore, death metal and grind death. But who cares, we also listen a lot of type of music such as like d-beat, punk, rock, reggae, jazz and any of other good music that exists on this earth.

TerenceBelieves: Can you tell me and the readers about all the troubles you people have to go through. Troubles from the government, family support, society, financial problems, commitment. Tell us (me and the readers) all about it.

Other than that; we have no issue with the government; it’s just that they have recently increased the fuel and rice price which is obviously abusing their power to control the economy of our country. There will be other things increased as well in the future; we’ve to do our parts as society!

We’ve been through lots of issue since day one the band gets started. The issue that you have highlighted are apart of them. Mostly are related to individual issue for e.g. to further studies; to concentrate on the other main band and also the mental issue that one can’t fight for his own self!

In terms of family support; all our families and the loved ones support

s us in what we’re doing – music; live shows; traveling and tours! So we’re happy about it. Society? We’re apart of the society as well; what’s the big deal? Financial problems? Yes, we would admit that we’re having financial issue especially for getting those equipments as most of us are having other commitment apart from the band as well and working with so little money to live in this place.

TerenceBelieves: Any last words for the readers out there before we end this interview? Any words of wisdom for future upcoming bands especially the ones that are going into the extreme direction. (IE: Power Violence, Death Metal, Black Metal, Deathcore, Mathcore,

Hardcore etc)

We would like to thank you for the interview. And to all the friends out there who comes to our show, buy our stuffs / merchandise; contact us directly or indirectly. We thank you so much! Without you guys we're nobody! To all the new bands out there - keep up the good works and don't just stop half way; our journey is still far away to go!

TerenceBelieves: Hey dude, thanks for everything. You've been quite friendly. Thanks for helping out!

http://www.myspace.com/toolsgrind
Pay them a visit at their website!!

Interview with Grindcore band Magnicide!!

Recently I got the chance to interview Memeng of Magnicide. Here's that exclusive review and with some juicy details I was able to drag out of Memeng's mind, I'm sure you fans might enjoy. Enjoy reading this chat! Haha.

TerenceBelieves: Can you introduce the band?

Magnicide: The band started in early 2007. Just some friends decided to play fast. Jali & I (Memeng) used to play in Demisor. Then we hook up Iem from Hasrat to play Magnicide.

TerenceBelieves: Here are some clichéd questions I'm sure fans are eager to know too. What are the band's influences and why do you choose those particular bands to be on your influence roster? Any new bands that might be your current song writing muse?

Magnicide: Ok we love old & new grind bands of course. Bands we adore are assuck,324,terrorizer and bunch more...probably we love more of 324 style of song writing but we dig other genre as well...anything goes wit Magnicide style of song writing...no limit..

TerenceBelieves: You guys just played in Manila this year how was it? Was the crowd as energetic back in Singapore? How was the support there?

Magnicide: It was awesome. Great crowd, great support we loved it. The venue was simply great. Emman of Delusion of Terror helped us a lot. Cheers to him & his awesome family!

TerenceBelieves: I bet you guys want to play there again. Got any footage or pictures to share from the gigs you had at the Philippines?

Magnicide: *Laughs* yeah why not...we love too...to me personally we get both vacation & gig for us...it’s a win-win situation. *Laughs*sent me your email I’ll post u some pix...

TerenceBelieves: I'm sure the crowd headbanging or moshing would give addiction of playing on stage. You guys are planning a split with Noisear and Toxic Revolution, what can we expect from these splits? What do you think of the bands you guys are working with and why do you want to work with them? (That's a lengthy question, haha.)

Magnicide: True this kind of crowd gives us energy to grind more. It’s the best drug ever!! Wow you know yer stuff! Yeah we already record for both releases. Noisear split 7"ep out soon as we speak. Probably we gonna launch it for our gig here in S'pore. Also the Toxic Revolution split LP is in the works. Both bands are great & fast!! We love it!! Cheers to em'

TerenceBelieves: Haha, I'm a metal/internet nerd what can I say. Haha So far, which release of yours is probably the best thing that Magnicide has ever produced? Another question here, among the most influential grindcore classics out there, which one do you think influenced Magnicide's releases most in terms of energy, spirit, motivation, musicianship and lyrically.

Magnicide: Probably the best stuff for us is the split LP wit Toxic Revolution-Great songs & great production. But we are still learning & improving as time goes by. To me bands like Terrorizer, Assuck, Nasum are best describe as great grindcore example in terms of great song writing wit good lyrics. Not forgetting great production as well...enuff said!!

TerenceBelieves: I can see you guys do really love Terrorizer. Does the death of Jesse Pintado affect you guys in anyway? Well he did great jobs in Terrorizer, Lock Up and Napalm Death.

Magnicide: Yeah a great guy!! I met him when Napalm Death play in KL few yrs ago...it’s a loss for grindcore music. He is like the forefathers of grind!!! Life goes on...

TerenceBelieves: Yeah, too bad I never get to meet him. Ok, I'm going to mention some random bands from today's scene and tell me what you think of them

(Warning: Not all are metal!)

1) Tools of the Trades

2) Second Combat

3) Cephalic Carnage

4) Panic! At The Disco

5) Rator

6) Nidji

Magnicide:

1) Tools of Trade are awesome! What’s up Kia!! Yeah we gonna do split 7"ep wit em...

2) Second Combat are great too.

3) Cephalic Carnage are killers!

4) Panic! At The Disco never heard?? -Any good??

5) Rator old skool black metal!! Brutal!!

6) Nidji are good!! Great band!! Good songs!!

TerenceBelieves: For your information *coughs* Panic! At The Disco is an *coughs* emo/pop band. Never thought you give such a remark to Nidji. I kinda love them (I mean Nidji, not that awful Panic! At The Disco)

Magnicide: haha ok...yeah I am open to all kind of music...music are supposed to be a freedom of choice!! But then again some just suck big time!!

TerenceBelieves: Haha, some people are kind off close minded and only want to be elite. Closing that section up, what does the band think about today's scene, especially with the emergence of genres like Metalcore and Deathcore? (I enjoy some bands) Would you people work with such bands despite the genre differences?

Magnicide: Why not but some are just trendy rite?? So how we know if this band is for real?? We try to minimize & work with someone we know closely...

TerenceBelieves: I have to agree that some jump onto the trend bandwagon. Are there any specific Metalcore/Deathcore/Mathcore bands you can actually tolerate?

Magnicide: to tell u the truth I dun have any bands of the genre that I listen nowadays. Mostly I listen to easy listening stuff. Maybe here & there extreme music...kinda flexible guy...

TerenceBelieves: Hey, that kind of surprised me because you don't even know *coughs* Panic! At The Disco *coughs*. The cool thing is you still have the grind attitude in you. How long do you think the band will last? Would the band sort of "retire" once you guys reach a stage?

Magnicide: haha well I’m kinda different from all those brutal close minded grindheads...haha. Maybe the band will last till the end of time or sooner. Yup retire when we are tired of it. Haha

TerenceBelieves: Before we end the interview, any last words for the readers out there and bands trying to make it big?

Magnicide: ok just be true to yourself. Support real bands not some trendy 5yrs band. Bands trying to make it big well u can just dream on...Nothing beats a hardworking bands...check out Magnicide & love, peace!!

TerenceBelieves: Okay, over and out sir! I'll inform you when I put the interview on my blog. Thanks for the cooperation you gave and you were quite friendly. Thanks again.

*As soon I get the pictures from Memeng, I'll post them here! Fans from the Philippines, watch out, your pictures might be up there!

Whitechapel releases video for "This Is Exile"

Yep, you read that title right. Deathcore band Whitechapel recently released a single called "This Is Exile" and a video has been released for the single. (Why do I love repeating myself??) View the video below.

Whitechapel "This Is Exile"


What do I think about the video/song?

Video: For some reason (I don't know why), the video reminds me of Goatwhore's Alchemy. Probably because of the factory looks thing. Everything green and that's my favorite color! There are some hilarious stuff in the video I would love to share. During the last breakdown, the whole band headbangs in synch with the music. You might think there's nothing hilarious when you read this but why the fuck are they squating and getting up in synch with the breakdown. I mean, that's freaking obnoxious. Why can't they just headbang in synch, just like what Amon Amarth did in Runes To My Memory? I hope they won't repeat the same mistake in their next video.

Music: Now let's get into the important part and what everybody cares about. The music. The vocals, they are in death metal fashion and done properly. Quite amazing vocals imo, deep guttural vocals, reminding me of Behemoth and no, not at exaggeration. The drumming is at top class and closer to a death metal sound. However, the composition which has breakdown as it's main arsenal, takes a lot of points away. The extended breakdowns makes the track extremely boring towards the end. They should add guitar solos/shreds. Such composition makes me less anticipated for their upcoming album. Too bad for them. I have to say, this is something for people who think Job For A Cowboy are Gods. I hope Whitechapel can improve further. There are already good riffs everywhere but please, don't make your breakdown too long. You are making deathcore, not Hatebreed styled Hardcore. Wait, Deathcore is about the breakdown. Okay, at least make your extended breakdown interesting!

June, a month of coming soons! (Part 2)-(Metallica,Motorheand and Slipknot(??)

Many bands announce their next releases around this month. Here's some stuff:

1) Thrash Metal band (or at least ex-thrash metal band) Metallica announced the name of their next release to be Death Magnetic. Do you think they will return to their old thrash sound? Clips from http://www.missionmetallica.com/ gives us hopes. Solos are back but are they any good?

2) Another legendary band, Motorhead is expected to release their new album soon too!


I believe I see a Swedish coat of arms there. The logo looks old school and I hope they retain their old sound. More details here. *Lemmy has movie on himself coming soon, just wait from our favorite Granddad.

3) The third opus that was recently announced is from the scourge of all metal fans, *coughs* Slipknot. *coughs again* Did I say the dreaded S-word? Yep I did! You people might think, why would I bother to put it on my website. The thing is, according to leaks, they actually started to sound metal! There are guitar solos (at last you start to show your death metal talents Mick!), death metal styled drumming but the vocals are in hardcore fashion so you can't expect something purely metal orientated. Their past release, Vol 3 do have metal moments and this album is promised to have more metal instead of nu metal.

New cover?? Looks cool.

I can't post the leak sample here though due to copyright infringements. Leave a message on my myspace page if you are too desperate and you can't find it anywhere else. Then again, look it for yourself!

June, a month of coming soons! (Part 1)-(Tools of the Trade,Greezminh and Death Army{now Death Armada})

Did anyone realize that? For this month, there tons of coming soon news.

Let's start with something related to the blog (and me!):

1)Currently,I'm interviewing the grindcore band Tools of the Trade. Well, only with Guitarist/Vocalist Tiong actually.

Here's some juice I'm able to get, they're going to release a split album with Damokis this September. More details in the interview soon. Just wait!

2) I'm currently recording vocals for French Electronic/Hardcore Greezminh. I won't tell yet which track exactly but just wait guys! Meanwhile visit their myspace here. Just wait you extremist!
Past EPs are available for download on myspace (no vocals).

3) Death Army(Now Death Armada!) is going to reform. It's my band. So just wait. A track called Eradicate Me has already been planned.

Claustrum Burial-Serial Killer

Deathcore bands trying to act as grindcore bands seems to be popping out everywhere. They pop up in my own hometown, the United States, some random Asian country and this one, Claustrum Burial from Brazil. I don’t even know the meaning of the band’s name. I can’t even find the meaning in my dictionary. Enough with the introduction, let’s get to the music.


This EP starts off with a track with the biggest track intro to song ratio I’ve ever seen. Abyssum Invocat, which I believe is in Portuguese, starts off with sounds off bullets being fired off. The actual song only starts at 1:40 and comes in with pig squeals (yes you read that right, annoying pig squeals). Then the song transcends with grindcore edges. Okay, the first track sounds horrible right? Yet I continued listening to next track. What a miracle. The next track comes in with some snare beats and surprisingly, the track turns out to be a grindcore track! Raspy shrieking vocals made me feel as if I’m listening to a totally different band. Pig squeals are you used but not to an annoying extend. Guttural vocals also add up in the vocals direction. The third track, also in Portuguese sounds as if a death metal track done by pros. More raspy vocals and guttural execution, best of all, less pig squeals. No guitar solos but I see hope for them if they go in this formula. The riffs are in galloping format but I don’t see any problem with this. The next 2 tracks follow the same formula as the track Miseria. The track Serial Killer starts off with a speech by George Bush. Most probably the track is mocking him.

To sum all this up, the EP isn’t that bad. Starts off with your typical annoying Deathcore but it transcends to a grindcore EP. The second half sounds as if it’s a completely different band. The production sounds raw, like typical grindcore. I have no problem with that but I know some people who will only listen to whistle clean production. Recommending this to grindcore fans but avoid the annoying 1^st track. I give 65% out of 100 for this EP. Pig Squeals takes a lot of points away from this piece. There is one thing I have to say, there only a few breakdowns here. Hope they go into the grindcore direction.

Restaurant with Metal inspired menu!! \m/

Check this out people! In Chicago,Il, a restaurant by the name of Kuma's Corner created menus based on names of metal bands. How fucking kvlt is that!!!!

Here are some awesome menu samples(including ingredients):

PANTERA BURGER 10oz. burger served with Roasted Pablano Pepper, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese and Monetary Jack Cheese Ranchero Sauce and Tortilla Strips

DARK THRONE Chipotle Peppers, Goat Cheese, Fresh Pico de Gallo

MAYHEM Sliced Jalapenos, Pancetta, Pepper Jack, Gardinera Mayo

NEUROSIS Cheddar, Swiss, Sautéed Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Horseradish Mayo

How awesome is that??? Extra grim/kvlt points for the Black Metal bands in the list!! Damn necro menu!

Visit here for info:
http://www.kumas-corner.com/food.html